This weeks fave five posts are a mashup of posts on storytelling, lead generation, thought leadership building a knowledge network and pinch of pinterest.
The common threads in these posts have to do with content and connections and how the two are interdependent in developing B2B relationships with stakeholder groups. The nature of the social web makes it possible to create and share content that helps you make connections with people and generate business. In doing so you can develop strong stakeholder networks.
Our Favourite Posts for Week of June 18, 2012
1. Applying Storytelling Techniques To An Enterprise Computing Case Study (Video) | Ishmael’s Corner
This is a good post by Lou Hoffman where he breaks down a NetApp customer story. He emphasizes, rightly so, that NetApp told a story about their customer in a way that is interesting, genuine and focused around the things that matter to them…not NetApp. I get the impression that this story was developed from the ground up with no formula approach: Situation, Problem, Solution and Outcome. Great video…great story. Thank’s to Lou for sharing his thoughts and helping us B2B marketers learn to be better.
2. Lead Generation: B2B content generates $700,000 in leads via email | MarketingSherpa
A good case study on a closed loop business development campaign that created ROI. Key success factors included producing high value content, marketing taking a leadership position and working closing with technical engineers and sales. Simple key performance indicators were used. Some things I would liked to have known however include: How many people were sent the email; how many sales opportunities were uncovered, advanced or closed; what was the lead qualification criteria (beyond request for report and/or appointment) & total hard costs of the campaign. Nevertheless, it’s a good case study.
3. Why Twitter Matters: Tomorrow’s Knowledge Network | Nigel Cameron
This post by Nigel Comeron is a bit wordy for my liking but it’s a worth a read to learn how a futurist and a student of emerging technologies sees the value of using Twitter for research, developing knowledge and meeting people. Twitter, makes is possible for you to make connections with people in the markets you serve (most markets) but more importantly it’s a way to start building your own social network. One tip, use Twitter lists to segment your followers. Lists are great ways to organize your followers into groups. They can be public lists or
private lists.
4. Who Are The Influencers and How Do We Find Them? | Business 2 Community
Few of us are real influencers but we all, to a greater or lesser degree, have the ability to inform and potentially help influence what people think. But, very few of us can’t influence what people think on every topic or issue. I believe, that today most professionals need to establish themselves as having influence. This could be within their company, their community, their craft or industry. WHy? It forces you to establish a voice and become known or reknowned amongst your peers, your customers, around a cause or on the block. To find influencers the best advice, as cited in the post is to use keywords and look for people using the triple R rating (reach, resonance and relevance). If you want to learn about an influencer/thought leadership program I’m currently running for a large software company contact me.
5. Is Pinterest Really Leading to Product Purchases? | eMarketer
Over half of us prefer visual over other forms of content such as audio or text. We like pictures! It makes perfect sense that visual oriented sites and social networks like Pinterest are becoming popular. We also like brevity..hence the popularity of Twitter. In this article the study shows a correlation between pictures being posted on Pinterest and eCommerce sales for retailers. Pinterest is the modern day user generated catalog! If you’d like to see a B2B example of how Pinterest is being used check out my boards here
