Sách truyền thông mạng xã hội B2B: Cách trở thành siêu sao tiếp thị bằng cách tạo ra khách hàng tiềm năng với blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, email, v.v.

Contents
Foreword:AnnHandley
Introduction:WeDidn’tWakeUpOneDayandWriteThisBook
PartI:TheFundamentalsofSocialMediaLeadGeneration
Chapter1:WhyB2BIsBetteratSocialMediaThanB2C
TheMarketingStatusQuo
WhatYourMarketingCouldBe
FiveReasonsB2BCompaniesAreaBetterFitforSocialMedia
MarketingThanB2CCompanies
WhenSocialMediaIsn’tRightforB2B
B2BSocialMediaasanAnnuity
ResultsIndependentofEffort
AnnuitiesFacilitateScale
SocialMediaIsOnlyOnePiece
BuildingaNext-GenerationB2BMarketingTeam
Storytelling+DataAnalysis=GreatSocialMediaMarketer
ThePerfectB2BMarketingLeader
ThreeB2BSocialMediaStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter2:Five-StepSocialMediaLeadGenerationProcess
Step1:GettheBasicsRight
Step2:MaximizeContentDiscovery
Step3:CreateConversionUbiquity
Step4:TestandFailFast
Step5:OptimizeforMaximumLeadFlow
ThreeB2BSocialMediaLeadGenerationStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter3:Yes,Chapter3inaSocialMediaBookIsaboutSearch(It’s
ThatImportant!)
EvolutionofSearch
ContextastheFoundationofSearch
FourOn-PageOptimizationOpportunities

AuthorityDrivesRanking
ThreeStrategiesforLinkBuildingSuccess
ChangingAuthority
SocialSearchandB2B
UnifiedKeywordStrategy
RankIsDead
SearchIsn’tJustGoogle
ThreeB2BSearchEngineOptimizationStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter4:HowtoClosetheLoopofSocialMediaROI


TheMathofROI
CalculatingCOCA
UnderstandingTotalLifetimeValue
SocialMediaIsGoodforCOCAandTLV
IntentIsAttribution
First-versusLast-ActionAttribution
GatheringtheData
MeasuringtoSuperstardom
IntegratingMarketingandSalesDatabases
ItIsMath,NotHugs
ThreeB2BSocialMediaROIStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter5:Reach:MoreIsAlwaysBetter
BeingTargetedIsn’tEnough
BeAbletoSellAnything
SixTime-TestedMethodsforBuildingReach
RemarkableandFrequentContentFuelsReach
PayingforReachIsOkay
NearsightednessKillsGreatMarketing
ThreeB2BSocialMediaReachBuildingStepstoSuperstardom

PartII:SocialMediaLeadGenerationinAction
Chapter6:CreatingEbooksandWebinarsThatProspectsLove
CreateEbooksEveryoneWants
The10-StepBlueprinttoEbookAwesomeness
WebinarsAreLow-CostTradeShows
FiveStepsforanEngagingWebinar
MarketingwithExistingSalesTools
StorytellingwithVideo
ThreeCommandmentsofB2BVideo
ToYouTubeorNottoYouTube,ThatIstheQuestion
BeingInterestingIstheNewBlack
ThreeB2BSocialMediaContentOfferStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter7:WhyYouAreAlreadyaBusinessBloggingExpert
TheOriginsofCorporateBlogging
TheThinkingPartofSettingUpYourBusinessBlog
TheContentPartofSettingUpYourBlog
TheNutsandBoltsPartofSettingUpYourBlog
TheUltimateBusinessBloggingChecklist
BlogContentDrivesLeads
ThreeB2BBloggingStepstoSuperstardom


Chapter8:BecomeaLinkedInLeadGenerationSuperstar
ProfilesAreJusttheBeginning
CompaniesCanGetRecommendationsToo
BusinessValueThroughSharing
GroupingYourExpertise:LinkedInGroups
AnsweringtheQuestions:LinkedInAnswers
ProfessionalsNeedAdvertisingToo
ThreeB2BLinkedInStepstoSuperstardom

Chapter9:Twitter:Leadsin140Characters
FiveOff-PlatformBenefitsofTwitter
AnatomyofaTweet
RepliesandMentions
Retweets
DirectMessages
Hashtags
FindingB2BLeadsonTwitter
SettingUpaB2BTwitterAccount
The10-4-1RuleofSocialSharing
14WaystoDriveLeadswithContentonTwitter
FiveIdeasforProspectEngagementforB2BCompanies
PushingtheTwitterEnvelope
ThreeB2BTwitterStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter10:MaximizingFacebookLeadGenerationthroughEngagement
ProfilesversusPages
ItMadeSenseforCiscotoJoin
ThreeReasonstoCreateaB2BPresenceonFacebook
Yes,FacebookIsforB2B
UnderstandingtheEdgeRankEngagementAlgorithm
10WaystoDriveLeadsonFacebook
FacebookEngagementMeansLeads
ThreeB2BSocialMediaFacebookStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter11:E-MailIsSocial
Opt-InIsaBetterCalltoAction
WhyNobodyLikesE-Mail
12WaystoGetMoreLeadsOutofE-Mail
TestingE-MailIdeasUsingSocialMedia
FourWaystoSocializeaProspect’sInbox
SocialProfileswithintheInbox

ThreeB2BSocialMediaE-MailStepstoSuperstardom


PartIII:TakingSocialMediaLeadGenerationtotheNextLevel
Chapter12:StopPreparingfortheMobileWeb;It’sHere
GettingSmartaboutSmartphones
TwoWaystoMobile-OptimizeaWebsite
OntheGowithMobileContent
WhatIstheContextofYourContent?
RethinkingtheMobileLandingPage
B2BMobileAppsAreforSuckers
LocationIsforSales,NotMarketing
ThreeB2BSocialMediaMobileMarketingStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter13:MakingTradeShowsSocial
DrivingTradeShowLeadswithSocialMedia
TreatTradeShowsLikeComarketing
FiveStepstoInstantlyMakeYourTradeShowMoreSocial
TakingOverPhysicalandDigitalWordofMouth
ThreeTradeShowTakeawaysfrom“DNSIsSexy”
UsingLocationtoBecometheBest“Party”ataTradeShow
VirtualConference
ThreeB2BSocialMediaTradeShowStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter14:RunaB2BSocialMediaMarketingTeamLikeaStart-Up
ItAllStartswithPassion
WhereDoesPassionComeFrom?
KnowingWhentoShip
ItBecomesAgileMarketingAnyway
ThreePrinciplesofAgileMarketing
WhenIt’sTimetoLookforFunding
What’stheExitStrategy?

ThreeB2BSocialMediaStart-UpStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter15:10B2BSocialMediaRoadblocks
1.LegalWantsFullApproval—OfEverything
2.SocialNetworkAccessIsBlocked
3.ExecutiveSupportIsLacking
4.TheCustomerBaseIsNotAttunedtoSocialMedia
5.ButIHaveaRealJobtoDo
6.ItIsFree,Right?
7.WeNeedtheRightPeoplefortheTask
8.WeHaveAlwaysDoneItThisWay
9.TheNetworkAdminIsaDebbieDowner
10.YouDon’tKnowWheretoStart


ThreeClearingRoadblockStepstoSuperstardom
Chapter16:TheBestTimeEver!
SocialMediaMarketingIsaboutLeadGeneration
BeaStorytellerWhoUsesData
SecondIstheFirstLoser
UselessMetrics
TheBeginning,NottheEnd
Acknowledgments
AbouttheAuthors
Index



Copyright©2012byKippBodnarandJeffreyL.Cohen.Allrightsreserved.
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Formyparentswhotaughtmehowtolearnandteach.AndforTera,who
constantlymakesmebetteratboth.
—K.B.
ForPeterandGrace,eventhoughyouarenotB2Bmarketers,youwoundup
inmybook.
—J.L.C.


Foreword
ThisisthebookI’vebeenwaitingfor.
Doesthatsoundlikeabloatedoverstatement?It’snot.It’strue.
Ever since social media tools started to emerge in the business world,
they’vebeensimultaneouslypilloriedandchampioned,scornedandlionized

—dependingonyourpointofvieworthekindofbusinessyou’rein.
Andthat’spartoftheproblem,isn’tit?
Social tools and platforms have helped sell airline seats on Southwest,
shoes on Zappos, T-shirts on Threadless, or laptops on Dell.com. But those
high-profileconsumer-basedsuccessstoriesareeasilydismissedbybusinessto-business (B2B) types who don’t see the same link between social media
andB2Bsales.
How can a set of tools that puts butts in airline seats actually make a
differenceintheB2Bworld?HowcanaplatformthatracksupT-shirtsales
mattertome?Whatworkssowellforonecan’tpossiblyworkfortheother,
right?
Wrong.This is why I started this foreword saying that this is a book I’ve
beenanticipating.(AndI’mthrilledthatit’shereandthatyou’renowreading
it,ofcourse.)ThetruthisthatsocialmediacanbeasperfectlyalignedtoB2B
salesasaballbearingistoitsgroove.Andhere’swhy.
B2B businesses don’t facilitate one-off deals like T-shirts or flip-flops.
Rather, they build relationships for pricier, more complex, and longer-term
sales.Theyeducatetheirprospectsandactasaresourcetothemthroughout
the decision process. In short, they lay the groundwork for a long-term
relationship,notaone-offtransaction.
Inthatway,asaB2Bmarketeryouarewayaheadofthecurve—oratleast
yourbusiness-to-consumer(B2C)brethren.Youarealreadyinthebusinessof
generating leads and nurturing them. You already have a crystal clear
understanding of who your customer is. You already have the kind of inhouse expertise you need to create content that will resonate with your
prospects because it’s what they crave.You already have a perspective and
pointofviewthatdifferentiatesyourbrand.
Socialmedia,then,isanopportunity—notaburden.Socialmediagivesyou
anewwaytoreachmorepeople,tohonewhatyoualreadyknowandshareit
withyouraudienceinanewway,toamplifywhatyoualreadyaresaying,to
engageandbeenjoyablyinteresting,tobehuman,tohavealittlefun—andso
toconnectwithyourprospectsandcustomersinapowerfulway.

I didn’t use the phrase enjoyably interesting lightly in that last sentence.
Creatingfunandinterestingcontentandamplifyingitsreachwithsocialtools


can humanize your business. It can give you an opportunity to show
personality and point of view in an appealing, engaging way that sets you
apartfromyourcompetitors.Sinceyourcontentisoftenonthefrontlines—
it’s what reaches your prospects even before your sales team—“enjoyably
interesting”canbeadifferentiatorintheB2Bspace.(Seethestoriesinthis
book for more specifics on what I’m talking about.) I didn’t use the word
powerful in that previous paragraph lightly either. Because I believe that
socialmediadoesindeedhavethepowertotransformyourB2Bcompanyin
significantways.The problem is that many companies get caught up in the
tools:HowcanwepossiblysellsolderpasteonTwitter?What’stheuseofa
Facebookgroupforourenterprisesoftwaresolution?Butthetoolsaremerely
that:tools.Therealbenefit—aswithanyothergizmo—comesfromhowyou
useit.
And that’s where this book comes in. This is the book that strips out the
hypesurroundingtoolsandplatformsandshowsyou—withhow-toblueprints
and frameworks—how you can generate and nurture business leads through
social media. It shows you how you can integrate social media with your
existing programs. It shows you how you can use content you create to
educateandnurtureprospects.And—bonus!—itspellsouthowyou,theB2B
marketer,canbetheheroatyourcompanybecausethemarketingdepartment
willbecontributingtothebottomlineinatangible,measurableway.
As someone who has spent most of her career as a writer and editor for
B2B publications, I’m practically allergic to content that doesn’t deliver on
thehow-to.I’mtalkingabout books or articlesor anykind of contentthat’s
all strategy and theory and never quite manages to offer a blueprint or
implementationframework.

Theoryhasitsplace,ofcourse.Butinmyexperience,businessesaremore
anxious to know how to do something (how to build a client base, how to
create momentum, how to grow revenue) than they are interested in
knowledgeforthesakeofpureintellectualcuriosity.
KippBodnarandJeffCohenaredoers,andtheydeliverontheirpromiseto
showyouhow,notjustwhy.Ilovethat.
You’regoingtoloveit,too.Butmoreimportant,you’regoingtouseit.It’s
goingtomatter.It’sgoingtomakeadifference.So...gettoit!
—AnnHandleyChiefContentOfficer,MarketingProfs;CoauthorofContent
Rules:HowtoCreateKillerBlogs,Podcasts,Videos,Ebooks,Webinars(and
More)ThatEngageCustomersandIgniteYourBusiness(JohnWiley&Sons,
Inc.,2011);MonthlyLeadGencolumnist,EntrepreneurMagazine


Introduction
WeDidn’tWakeUpOneDayandWriteThisBookWelcomebusiness-tobusiness(B2B)marketers!
The book you are reading didn’t happen overnight.We are so excited we
canbarelyholdbackthewhoopsandthehighfives.
In a moment we will tell you how we got here, but to start we wanted to
addresstwothings.
First, for those of you who are considering buying this book, if you are
happy with the status quo at work, don’t want to get noticed, and are not
interestedinaddingtothebottomlineofyourB2Bcompany,thisbookisn’t
foryou.Wewouldratheryounotbuythisbookthangetfrustratedwiththe
possibilitiesofafuturethatyouareunwillingtoinvestin.Fortherestofyou,
again,welcometothemostimportantbookyouwillreadthisyear.
The second thing is to answer the question, Why? Why in the digital
millennium, when everything is online, would two online guys write and
distributeatraditionalbookaboutanonlinetopic?
Even with all the changes that the social web has brought to marketers,

from tools to opportunities, there is something comforting about a book. It
cansitonyourshelf.Itcansitonyourdesk.Youcanreaditathomeorona
plane. You can easily share it with a colleague.You can share it with your
boss.Youcangiveacopytoyourpartners,vendors,andcustomers.
In the current work environment, traditional business books still make
sense. The numbers from our publisher bear this out, but of course it is
availableinanelectronicformaswell.
HowWeGotHere
Thestoryofthisbookstartsinthefallof2008.That’smorethanthreeyears
ago.Thinkaboutthatinthecontextofyoursocialmediaplanning.Whatwas
yourB2Bcompanydoingwithsocialmediabackthen?Unlessyouworkfor
atechnologycompanyoramarketingagency,itisunlikelythatsocialmedia
marketingwasonyourradar.
And what were we doing? After several years of being active in social
media on a personal level, both of us were working for B2B marketing
agencies, starting to explore how they could use blogging for business. We
bothknewthatmostB2Bcompanieshadnotadoptedsocialmediastrategies
but that it would be coming. Kipp registered the domain SocialMediaB2B.com.
JeffwasmonitoringTwitterformentionsofB2B.Therewereonlyahandful
everyday.
Early in 2009 we discussed the possibility of starting a blog at Kipp’s


domain.Wewerebothmarketerswithagreatunderstandingofsocialmedia.
WeknewthatonewaytoinfluenceadoptionbyB2Bmarketerswastoshare
bestpractices,examples,andnewideasandplatformsthatcouldbeleveraged
for success. We also talked about how the blog could lead to speaking
engagementsatconferences.Andonedaycouldleadustowriteabook.The
bookthatweoncedreamedofistheoneyouareholdingrightnow.
Welaunchedthesiteaboutamonthlatertolittlefanfare.Earlypostswere

thoughtful but uneven as we tried to find both our voice and our audience.
Some companies that were profiled at that time are included in this book
(Boeing and Indium, to name two).So when we advise marketers that you
needtostartwritingandpowerthroughtheideathatnobodybutyourmomis
reading,wedidittoo.Ofcourse,ourblogwasaboutB2Bmarketing,soeven
ourmomsdidn’treadit.
Themorewewrote,themorewedevelopedanaudience.Westartedgetting
trafficfromsearch.Ourdomainnamewasthetopicofthesite.Wealsomade
surethatposttitlesfeaturedkeywords.Theaudiencecontinuedtogrow,and
ourvoiceasexpertsonsocialmediaforB2Bcompaniesbegantospread.In
thespringof2011wedecideditwastimetowritethisbook.
AdoptionofsocialmediabyB2Bcompaniesdidnothappenasfastaswe
had expected. Many companies that had started using social media didn’t
understand why. They didn’t understand how to determine the return on
investment(ROI).That’sbecausetheyweren’tfocusedonleadgeneration.If
youarenotdrivingrevenue,orleadsastheirproxy,itisdifficulttomeasure
thereturn.That’swhyleadgenerationisthecornerstoneofthisbook.
Ifyoudon’twanttoincreaserevenue,thisbookisnotforyou.
There are many things that social media can do to help a company, and
there are many functions that can be enhanced by a social media approach.
Theproblemisthatmanagementmightnotpayforit.Ortheymight notbe
able to affordit.Ifyou can start byshowingthat socialmediacangenerate
revenue,nowyouareontosomething.Executivesunderstanddollars.
ThisBookIsanOffer
Thebiggestdifferencebetweenourblogandthelessonsyouwilllearnasyou
readthisbookisthatwewerefocusedoneducationontheblog,notourown
leadgeneration.Ourblogpostsdidnotincludeoffersandcalls-to-actionfor
almostthreeyears.Butguesswhat?Ifyouboughtthisbookthroughoursite,
youmighthaveclickedononeofthosecalls-to-action.Thisbookisnowour
offer,andyouchosetoacceptitinexchangeforyourhard-earneddollars—

andnowyourattention.
We spent three years giving away remarkable content and building an


audience for that content. So when we released this book, its purchase
became an easy exchange to pay us back for sharing our thoughts and
knowledgeaboutsocialmedia.Thecostofthisbookisasmallpricetopay
foruptothreeyearsofhundredsandhundredsofblogpoststhathavehelped
youunderstandsocialmediainaB2Bcontext.
This book is actionable, including exercises to complete along the way.
Becauseofthis,wehopethatyouwillkeepthisbookonyourdesk,notyour
bookshelf.Wedon’twanttobeonlytopofmind,buttopofdesk.Thiswill
make it easier to make sure you are completing the steps to marketing
superstardom.
YouWantMoreExamples?
Many social media books are filled with interviews and examples of social
mediasuccess.Agoodportionofthisbookestablishestheframeworkandthe
fundamentals for using social media for lead generation.The examples and
interviews we included represent those B2B companies and marketers who
understandnotjustwhattheyaredoingbutwhytheyaredoingit.
The adoption curve for social media for B2B companies has been a lot
longerthanweanticipatedthreeyearsago.Ontopofthat,fewcompaniesare
successfully using social media for lead generation. If you can master the
ideasinthisbook,marketingsuperstardomisinyoursights.
WhatDidWeMiss?
Justoveramonthbeforewefinalizedthismanuscript,Googlelaunchedtheir
social network, Google+. It roared out of the gate with huge adoption and
manywonderedifitwasaFacebookkilleroraTwitterkiller.Incorporating
elements of both, plus a requirement to organize your connections from the
start in a series of circles, many people enjoyed the experience of building

personal profiles and sharing content with their new networks. Part of its
early success was due to users’ familiarity with social networks. Others
wonderedwheretheywouldfindthetimeforanothersocialnetwork.
Businesses were asked not to set up personal profiles, as robust business
profileswerecomingsoon.Asyouarereadingthis,youprobablyknowabout
business profiles, if Google stuck to their announced timeline. One of the
compelling elements of publishing information on Google+ is that you can
segment your information by using circles to divide prospects, leads, and
customers. The principles of driving business through social media do not
changewitheverynewsocialnetworkthatopens.
AreYouReadytoGo?
Getreadytolearnhowsocialmediacanchangeyourbusinessandmakeyou
amarketingsuperstar.Thisbookfocusesonsocialmediaforleadgeneration.


Weprovidetheory,strategy,andtactics,aswellasactionablestepstogetyou
started.
Theseare notsmallsteps.They may be the biggest ones you will take in
yourcareer.Theywillchangeyourperceptionofmarketing.Theywillchange
others’perceptionofyou.Self-actualizationandcareeradvancement willbe
achieved through social media lead generation.Those are pretty huge goals
forabook.Wedidourpart.Nowit’syourturn.Itmaynotbeaneasyjourney
—anditwon’tbeashort-termprospect—butitwillbeworthwhile.
Asyouarereadingthebook,gotoB2BSocialMedia.com.Ohyeah,weregistered
thecomplementarydomaintoourblogalongtheway.Seemsliketheperfect
sitetosupportabook calledThe B2B Social Media Book.All the endnotes
and examples are on the site and organized by chapter. This way you can
easily click for more details about reference materials and company
examples. While you are there, subscribe to our regular updates to stay
informedonthemostrecentB2Bsocialmediatrends.

We have a second offer for you. Go to B2BWorkbook.com for a companion
workbooktotakethelessonsfromthisbookevenfurther.Ifyouwanttolearn
to work even smarter, we have more information and guidance for you. Go
gettheworkbooknow!
We held back on offers for so long and they just keep coming. Join an
exclusive group of B2B marketers who are willing to stand up and call
themselvessuperstars.GotoB2BSuperStars.comtosignupforaccesstoexclusive
webinars, bonus material, and the ability to collaborate with other B2B
superstars.
Andfinally,thankyou.Whetheryouhavebeenfollowingourblogsincethe
earlydaysoryouboughtthisbookwithouthavingheardofSocialMediaB2B.com,
wereallyappreciateyoulettingussharetheseideaswithyou.
Wewouldlovetohearwhatyouthinkaboutourapproachtosocialmedia
leadgeneration.Pleaseuse#B2BSMwheneveryoumentionthebookonline.
Thiswillletuseasilyfindreferencestoit,andwillalsostarttolinkcommon
conversationsaboutB2Bsocialmedia.Andwedefinitelywanttohearabout
yourtransformationintoamarketingsuperstar.Pleasereachouttousandlet
usknowhowyoulikedthebook.
We would also appreciate if you shared a review of the book on Amazon
( />Thankyou!
—KippBodnar
twitter.com/kippbodnar
linkedin.com/in/kippbodnar


—JeffreyL.Cohen
twitter.com/jeffreylcohen
linkedin.com/in/jeffreylcohen

PARTI
TheFundamentalsofSocialMediaLeadGeneration


Chapter1
WhyB2BIsBetteratSocialMediaThanB2C
Beamarketingsuperstar.Itisn’tanymoredifficultthanbeingordinary.Asa
business-to-business(B2B)marketer,youareacorecontributortothegrowth
andsuccessofyourcompany.Itisyourhardwork,balancingthedemandsof
generating quality leads on a limited budget that helps fuel the sales team.
Unfortunately,thishardworkanddiligenceoftengoesunderappreciated.
Seventy-threepercentofchiefexecutiveofficers(CEOs)believemarketers
arenotabletodemonstratehowtheirstrategiesandcampaignshelpincrease
their organizations’ top line in terms of more customer demand, sales,
prospects, conversions, and market share. This is according to the “2011
GlobalMarketingEffectivenessProgram” byFournaiseMarketingGroup.
Endthisfalseperceptiontoday!
B2Bsocialmediamarketingisanewsetofmarketingtoolsthatintegrates
withexistingmarketingstrategiestohelpyouworksmarterinsteadofharder.
When done well, social media marketing can reduce marketing expense,
increase lead volume, and provide a clear and measurable return on
investment for your marketing dollars. Don’t fall victim to the marketing
statusquo.
TheMarketingStatusQuo
Fordecades,B2Bmarketerswouldstarttheyearoffwithamarketingbudget
andthendivideitamongprintpublications,industrytradeshows,andsome
directmailcampaigns.Thisprocessinvolvedrentingattentionfromsomeone
else.Rentingisexpensive.
B2Bmarketingofthepasthasbeenaboutwritingchecksforfunideasand
interrupting potential customers with cold calling or direct mail. Enough is

enough.
Today’s marketing should be about delivering measurable results for the
business.
B2Bmarketingisatacrossroads.You,themarketer,nowstandintheface
ofthemostempoweringmomentofyourcareer.Itdoesn’tmatterifyouare
thechiefmarketingofficer(CMO)orifyouhavejuststartedyourfirstjobin
marketing.This is your opportunity to be great at the career you love. Let
business-to-consumer(B2C)marketersworryaboutcomingupwiththecute
mascots.
WhatYourMarketingCouldBe
Marketing greatness is at your fingertips. Open your hand and grab it.
Tomorrow is a day in which B2B marketing attracts the best and brightest
1


minds in business. Social media has ushered in a new tool set that
complements the skills of B2B marketers more closely than any marketing
innovationever. This book will empower you with the social media tactics,
keencontentcreationinsights,dataanalysis,andreportingmethodsthatwill
takeyoutoalevelofB2BmarketingthatfewCEOscouldevenimagine.
B2B companies are better suited for social media marketing than B2C
companies.
Stop.Goback.Readthelastsentenceagain.Itistrue.
In the initial adoption of social media marketing, an unfortunate
phenomenon happened. It become widely accepted that social media
marketing was applicable only to B2C companies. This stereotype ignores
five key ways in which social media marketing is better suited for B2B
companies.IfyourbossquestionswhyyourB2Bcompanyshould be using
socialmediaformarketing,simplysharethesefivereasonswithhimorher.
FiveReasonsB2BCompaniesAreaBetterFitforSocialMedia

MarketingThanB2CCompanies
1.ClearUnderstandingofCustomers—EvenmoresothanB2Cmarketers,
B2Bmarketersarecloselytunedtothebehavior,habits,anddesiresoftheir
prospectsandcustomers.B2Bmarketersgofarpastdemographicdata.Asa
B2B marketing superstar, you have clear and detailed personas for every
prospect you are working to reach. Having this level of familiarity and
clarityisamajoradvantageinsocialmediamarketing.
2. Depth of Subject Matter Expertise—B2B companies are trailblazers.
They develop new industries or innovate in existing ones. This type of
leadership and disruption traditionally means that B2B companies’
employees are the leading experts within a particular industry. Because
social media is often used as a platform for educating prospects through
contentandrelationships,havingthedepthofknowledgeisaclearboostin
thequestforsocialmediamarketingsuccess.
3. Need for Generating Higher Revenue with Lower Marketing Budgets—
Youareamiracleworker.Yougenerateleadsandbrandrecognitionforyour
company sales team with a short-handed staff and less budget than you
really need. B2B marketers are always looking for value on a quest to
maximizecostperlead.Socialmediaactsasalevertohelpreducecostper
leadandenablesyoutodomorewithless.
4. Relationship-Based Sales—The B2B sales process is all about
relationships.Withlargepurchasepricesandlengthysalescycles,building
strong relationships with sales leads is critical. The social web facilitates
relationship building throughout the sales and marketing cycle to help


improveleadqualityandreducesalescyclelength.
5.AlreadyHavePractice DoingIt—B2B marketers have long been social
mediamarketingpioneers,eventhoughtheymightnothaveknownit.Long
before the social web, you were publishing newsletters, quarterly

magazines,andothermarketingtacticsthatmaptomanykeysocialmedia
marketing methods. B2B marketers have a history of telling businessfocusedstoriesandeducatingcustomerswithcontent.
Don’tbelieveus?
Then believe a shipping logistics company thatincreased overall quote requests by 270 percent using
social media and inbound marketing. Lynden, Inc. (www.lynden.com), a transportation and logistics
companythatoperatesinsomeofthemostremoteareasoftheworld,hasleveragedblogging,searchengine
optimization (SEO), and landing pages to increase quotes for their service online by 412 percent. These
resultsseemastounding,sohowdidtheydoit?
Lynden has been blogging since 2009 and creating content to attract new website visits from search
enginesandsocialmediachannels.Theyusethedataandperformancefrompastblogpoststooptimizeand
increasetheperformanceoffuturecontenttheycreate.Theyalsotracknewinboundlinksthatarecreatedas
aresultoftheirblogpostsandhowtheyrankforspecifickeywordsrelatedtotheirbusiness.

WhenSocialMediaIsn’tRightforB2B
This book isn’t about sugarplums and gumdrops.Don’t think of it as some idealized view of marketing.
Instead, it is meant to serve as a reference, inspiration, and a compass for B2B marketers looking to
improve and help drive more revenue for their business. Because this book isn’t another sugar-coated
glamorizationofsocialmedia,itisimportantearlyontocoversituationsinwhichsocialmediamarketing
isn’trightforaB2Bcompany.
Inthesesituationssomeaspectsofsocialmediacouldworkandhelpsupportotherinboundmarketing
objectives such as search and branding, but the truth is, when it comes to driving transactions, there are
betteroptions.
Doyouansweryestoanyofthesequestions?
Doesyourcompanyhavefewerthanfivepotentialcustomers?IntheB2Bspace,somecompaniesexist
that have an extremely small niche. They fill a need by providing a product or service for only a
handfulofcustomers.Whenyourcustomerbaseissotargeted,youhavetobedirectwithyourlimited
marketingbudget.Regularface-to-facemeetings,customerevents,andothertacticsareabetterfitfor
thisniche.Socialmediahelpsindividualsandcompaniesscaletheirsocialinteraction.However,when
yourscaleissmall,youarelessdependentonthescalethatsocialmediacanprovide.
Dopurchasingdecisionmakersspendalloftheirtimebehindahighlysecurefirewall?Insituationsin

which you provide products or services to the military, electrical power grid, and others, key
purchasing decision makers spend their time in a work environment that is secure and locked down
fromaccesstomostoralloftheinformationavailableonline.Ifthisisthecaseforyourcustomerbase,
then using the Web won’t be a successful spend of your marketing budget. The success and
engagementofsocialmediadependsontheabilitytoreachandconnectwithcustomersdigitallyandin
person.Forcompaniesinthisenvironment,thedigitaloptionshouldbealowerpriority.
Is your company missing an internal advocate for social media? Sometimes it is not about your
customers, but rather, about your organization. One thing that successful organizations have in
common when it comes to leveraging social media and word-of-mouth effectively is that they have
buy-infromkeyadvocateswithinthecompany.AtmanycompaniesitistheCEO,butatleastitisa
key decision maker within the organization who can supply the needed resources and leadership to
allowtheorganizationtobesuccessful.Ifyoudon’thavethis,thenspendyourtimefindingsomeone


withinyourorganizationwhocanfillthisroleinsteadofrollingoutasocialmediaeffortprematurely.
Doesyourcompanyneedtogenerateahighvolumeofshort-termsales?Cansocialmediadrivesales?
Yes.Canitdrivetargetedshort-termhigh-volumesales?Inmostcases,itcannot.Ifyouhaveaplanto
sellxnumberofunitsofaproductoverthenextthreetofourweeks,thensocialmediaisn’ttheright
choice for you. As Chris Brogan, coauthor of the book Trust Agents says, creating transactional
opportunitiesontheWebtakestrust,buttrusttakestimetoestablish.Ifyoudon’thavetime,thenyou
mustgoadifferentroute.Thesearemostlikelydirectresponse,pricingincentives,orenhancedsales
support.
Doesyourcompanyhavetheresourcestobesuccessful?Amajorissuewithsocialmediaisthatmost
peoplethinkthatsincemostonlineplatformsarefree,itshouldbecheaptoaddsocialmediatotheir
marketingorcommunicationsmix.Itisn’tcheap.Socialmediamarketingdoneproperlytakesalotof
timeandthesupportofstaffwhounderstandthebusinessoftheircustomers.Manyorganizationsnow
are simply letting social media happen as an experiment.The problem with this is that, most of the
time, these experiments are drastically underresourced and handicapped from the beginning.
Understanding the resources that you need and having them in place is a critical factor for success.
Hint:You will always need more time and money than you expect for executing your social media

tactics.
We are not saying that companies in the situations outlined here, can’t use social media for their B2B
organizations.Instead,wesuggestthatfortheseopportunities,therearebetterwaystoleveragethelimited
poolofresourcesavailableandsocialmediashouldbelowerontheprioritylist.

B2BSocialMediaasanAnnuity
Thesocialwebisnotlinear.Informationandinteractionshappenacrossthesocialwebineverydirection.
There is not one clear path. It is critical to understand this simple idea of a nonlinear communications
channel.It is this idea that allows you and your organization to begin to think of marketing as an asset,
insteadofanexpense.InthestatusquoworldofmarketingwhereB2Bmarketingisaboutrentingeyeballs
andwritingchecks,itiseasytoviewmarketingasanexpense.InaB2Bsocialmediaworld,marketingis
anannuity.
AccordingtoWikipedia,anannuityisusedinfinancetheorytorefertoanyterminatingstreamoffixed
paymentsoveraspecifiedperiod.B2Bsocialmediamarketingfunctionsasamarketingannuity.Itdelivers
websitevisits,leads,andcustomersovertime,longaftertheworkandbudgetforthesocialmediatactic
havebecomeadistantmemory.
Unlike a financial annuity, social media’s annuity isn’t fixed. Instead, it is compounding. Each tactic
stacksontopoftheotherforexponentialresultsovertime.Yourmanagementteamunderstandsannuities.
Helpthemunderstandhowyourmarketingbudgetcanbecomeone.

ResultsIndependentofEffort
IntraditionaloutboundB2Bmarketingsuchasdirectmailandprintadvertising,1+1alwaysequals2.This
isbecauseyoudistributeaninterruptivemessageforafixedperiod.Intoday’smarketingworld,amarketer
budgetstosupportacompanyblogpost.Theoutputofresultsfromtheblogisnotlimitedtoasingledayor
evenafixedamountoftime.Heck,itisn’tevenlimitedtoblogging.Searchengineoptimizationandother
inbound marketing tactics benefit as well. A major distinction here is the shift from renting to owning
attention,becauseasaB2Bmarketer,youownandcontrolyourbusinessblog.
Eachandeveryarticleyoupublishhasaninfinitelifespan.Anarticleyoupublishtodayhasthepotential
to have a much larger compounded reach long-term than any initial promotion may have when it is first
published.Thereasonforthisisthe1+1=3valueofsocialmedia.Becauseabusinessownsitsblog,itis

likelytoinvestinpromotingandmarketingthebloglongtermtobuildanaudience.Thismeansthatthe


potentialpoolofreadersforeacharticleisalwaysincreasing—toinfinity,andbeyond!
Inaddition,everytopicandideahasanadoptioncurve.Peopleseekandconsumeideasatdifferenttimes
astheyhavenewbusinessproblemstosolve.

AnnuitiesFacilitateScale
Everybusinesshasgoals.Marketingisakeydriverofbusinessrevenueandtheactualizationoftheoverall
growthofthebusiness.TheproblemwithtraditionalB2Bmarketinghasbeenthatscalingbusinessgrowth
has been completely dependent on spending more money, since many results had an assumed fixed cost.
However, as B2B marketing shifts to social media and results become more like annuities, scale isn’t a
function of marketing budget spend. Instead, scale becomes about consistency and efficiency. Taking
actionssuchasconsistentlypublishingblogcontent overtime orbuilding aLinkedInGroup, serveas an
annuitytodriveprogressivelylargerresultsmonthaftermonth.

SocialMediaIsOnlyOnePiece
Socialmediaisn’tasilverbullet.Manyconsultantsandmarketingagencieswouldlikemarketerstobelieve
thatsocialmediaisamagictonictosolvemarketingproblems.Thetruthisthatsocialmediaisn’tacureall. other “marketing junk” to show off their social media marketing
expertise. These metrics don’t matter. They won’t gain the respect of the
leadersofyourcompany.
Instead, they merely reinforce the idea that marketing is about arts and
crafts andthatmarketersshouldbe lefttomanage tradeshowarrangements
whilethe“real”departmentsworkongrowingthebusiness.Themereideaof
thisshouldsendyourbloodtoanear-boilingpoint.
Fromstrategytotacticstothemarketingtoolsyouimplement,ensurethat
you are reporting and optimizing for one thing: revenue. Revenue for B2B
companiescanbealaggingindicatorduetolongsalescycles.Thisiswhyit
is importanttouseleads asapredictiveindicator ofrevenue. A key way to
reportonthisistohaveaclearunderstandingofyourlead-to-customerrate.

If you know that, on average, you generate 1 customer for every 200 leads
andyouknowthattheaveragerevenueofacustomeris$7,000,itbecomes
prettyeasytoprojectrevenuefromspecificmarketingchannels.Forexample,


if social media generated 1,400 leads in a quarter, then it would be fair to
project an estimated revenue of $49,000 from the social media marketing
effortsofthatquartergivenourpreviouslead-to-customerrate.
Marketingsuperstarsspeakinonelanguageandonelanguageonly:dollars.
Build a reporting infrastructure to easily know the expense and results of
your social media marketing efforts in dollars. This simple step will ensure
thatyoukickallofthemeaninglessmetricstothecurb.
TheBeginning,NottheEndAsthisbookends,yourmarketingjourney
isonlybeginning.Socialmediaisn’tasilverbullet.Itisoneaspectof
marketingthatmustbeintegratedwithotherchannelsforthebest
results.Examineyourcurrentmarketingstrategy.Determinehowto
integratesocialmediawithexistingleadgenerationprogramstolower
costsperleadandimprovemarketingROI.
Don’tstopnow.
Successdoesn’toccurinthetimeittakestoreadthisbook.
Youareasuperstar.Nowisyourtimetomakeeveryoneinyour company
believeit.


Acknowledgments
Writingabookistough.Itis easytosaythatyou’regoingtowriteabook,
butadifferentstorytoactuallypour60,000wordsoutofyourmind.Wedid
it. However, this book would never have happened without the support,
guidance,andinspirationofothers.
Firstandforemost,wewouldliketothankourfamilies,whotoleratedthe

lonelyandgrindingprocessofwritingabook.Withoutthemitwouldnever
havegottenpastbeinganidea.
Kipp would personally like to thank: His wife, Tera, for her unwavering
support,love,andkeeneditingeye;theHickleandBodnarfamilies,fortheir
love and encouragement; Corey Strimer, for his friendship and consistently
wise advice; and all of the brilliant marketers he works with at HubSpot,
especially Mike Volpe and Jeanne Hopkins, for being great marketers and
remarkableleaders.Inaddition,ahugethankyougoestoDanZarrella,who
encouraged this project from the beginning.Thanks and gratitude go to the
original inbound marketers and HubSpot cofounders Brian Halligan and
DharmeshShahforassemblingthebestteamofmarketersintheworld.
Jeff would personally like to thank: Stephanie Styons, for supporting my
social media ideas;DavidB.Thomas, for his support and friendship; Malia
Ott, for providing me opportunity and connections; Kathy Bushman, for
listening to me on long plane rides; SocialMediaB2B.com contributing writers
Adam Holden-Bache and Karlie Justus, who always seemed to write a blog
post when I needed it most; all of our guest writers, including Amanda
O’Brien and Umberto Milletti; everyone who ever read a post, commented,
retweeted, liked, posted to LinkedIn, shared via e-mail, or plussed what we
wrote.AndtoeveryonewhoevermademefeellikeanInternetcelebrityby
tellingmehowmuchtheylikedoursiteandappreciatedallofourcontent.
Over the course of our adventure in business-to-business (B2B) social
media we have learned from and been inspired by a countless number of
brightminds.Wetakeasecondtothanksomeofthem:AnnHandley,Jason
Falls, Wayne Sutton, Jim Tobin, Ryan Boyles, Tim Washer, Kyle Flaherty,
andthedynamothatisShannonVargoandherteamatJohnWiley&Sons,
Inc.
A huge thanks to Allison Satterfield of Studio You for her amazing
photographyskills.
Last,butnotleast,wethankyou,theB2Bmarketer.Youarechangingthe

future of marketing and business! This book exists only because of your
inspirationandbrilliance.