E-Commerce Manger Pam Aungst gave a presentation on January 19, 2012 to the Society of Plastics Engineers, detailing how B2B companies with long and complex sales cycles can use inbound marketing and social media to build leads.
Social Media & Inbound Marketing for B2B Companies with Long & Complex Sales Cycles
1. SPE SOCIAL MEDIA
PRESENTATION
1 B2B Social Media & Strategic Partnerships
January 19, 2012
2. INTRODUCTION
Creating websites for 14 years
Participating in Social Media
for 7 years
MBA in Marketing
Certificates in
E-Business Marketing
Management
Project Management
Pam Aungst Google AdWords
E-Commerce Manager
E&T Plastics Advanced Social Media
2
5. • 1 out of every 6 minutes online is spent on Facebook
Source: ComScore, 6/15/11
• Twitter has 100 million active users & 230 million
tweets per day
Source: Twitter CEO, 9/9/11
• Users spend 3x the time on blogs & social
sites than they do on email
Source: Nielson, 11/10
• Companies that blog get 55% more
website visitors
Source: Hubspot, 2010
• B2B companies that blog generate
67% more leads per month than
those who do not
Source: Hubspot, 2010
• Companies that use Twitter
average 2x more leads per month
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than those who do not
Source: Hubspot, 2010
7. WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?
“Inbound Marketing is the
practice of bringing warm,
qualified leads into your
sales funnel rather than
reaching outward to cold,
questionable targets”
– Clay Schossow
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8. DIFFERENCES: INBOUND VS.
OUTBOUND
Outbound Inbound
Marketing Marketing
•Telemarketing •Blogging & SEO
•Trade Shows •Video & Social Media
•Direct Mail •Webinars
•Email Blasts •White Papers
•Print Ads •eBooks & Guides
•TV/Radio Ads
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10. HOW TO “PULL”
INSTEAD OF “PUSH”
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1) Publish
2) Spread
3) Converse
11. PUBLISH “GENUINELY USEFUL”
INFORMATION
What to Publish Where to Get Ideas
Blog Posts (EASY!) Customer FAQ’s
“How-to” Tutorials
Record what you’re already doing
White Papers
Summarize latest industry news
E-Books
Lists! “Top 10” Tips For…
Review an industry publication
Videos
Interview someone
Webinars
Repurpose old content (newsletters,
Planning Tools
case studies, etc.)
Guides Repurpose new content
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12. SPREAD (VIA SOCIAL MEDIA)
Helps content get found by “warm” prospects
Social presence gives impression you’re ready,
willing & waiting to become their trusted 12
advisor
13. ALL THAT SPREADING IMPROVES
SEO sharing brings in links to your website
Social
Links to your website boost your SEO
Easier for that “warm” prospect to find you on Google
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14. CONVERSE – IT’S LIKE A TRADE
SHOW
LinkedIn = Giant virtual show floor
Prospects are there asking technical
questions - Answer them!
Point them to your resources
(that genuinely useful content you made)
Google Plus = Trade Show Sponsorship
Easy way to get your name out there
“The mouths are
already moving.
Facebook = Brochure on tabletop You need to decide
Visually show off your capabilities if you want to be a
part of the
(Pictures, pictures, and more pictures)
conversation.”
- Scott Stratten
Twitter = Cocktail party after the show
Converse to build relationships 14
15. LET THEM DISCOVER YOU
Sales Funnel Social Funnel
Manufacturers can pass the 15
lead to a distributor at any point 15
16. SOCIAL MEDIA DIFFERENCES: B2B
VS B2C
Audience Personas Length of
Size Interactions
Large Overall, Short, One-time
B2C (Speaking to
General
the Masses)
Small Individual Long, Ongoing
B2B (Group of a
Few Decision
Salespeople
Makers)
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18. HOW TO GET STARTED &
SUCCEED
18 Plan, Measure, Revise, Repeat
19. WHERE TO START?
Define objectives
Design a plan
Choose your tools
Social Media is not one-size-fits-
all
Better to be good at a few
than be everywhere
Implement plan
Measure results
Revise plan
Repeat
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20. TOP 3 WAYS TO FAIL
IN B2B SOCIAL MEDIA
2.Push out the same old sales info
3.Actdifferently online than in
person
4.Be inconsistent
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21. DEALING WITH
FEAR OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Marketing communications are
less controlled on social
Usemistakes as an opportunity to
humanize your brand
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22. AVOID SOUNDING TOO “SALES-Y”
Talk about yourself LESS than you talk about
others (At least 60/40…some say 80/20)
Less of “We are awesome, our stuff is great”
More of “Hey, our friend over there is pretty great”
Here’s where partnerships come in
Customers
Vendors / Distributors
Trade Associations
Charitable Associations
Highlight what they are doing, and ask them to
highlight what you are doing. 22
23. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS –
BENEFITS
Makes it easy to keep self-promotion to a minimum
Strengthens existing relationships
Allows for sharing of resources
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24. RECIPROCAL PROMOTION –
PROSPECTS
Works great with prospects
More effective and
memorable than a cold call
“People love to be made to
feel special.” – Scott Stratten, UnMarketing
Drives traffic to your site
“Hey, look, E&T wrote an
article about us!”
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26. HOW TO MEASURE SUCCESS
Big debate about Social Media ROI
Some say you can’t measure ROI on a
communications tool (phone system, email
server, social)
Some do have social media ROI formulas (p. 210)
Either way, there are metrics that can and
should be used to measure your efforts
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27. METRICS & OBJECTIVES
Measurable Social Media Metrics:
Number of fans/followers
Engagement level
(comments, “likes”, mentions, retweets,
shares, etc.)
Post impressions
Monthly active users
Conversation/Update Ratio
Network Influence, Amplification Probability,
True Reach
Increases in website traffic from social
sources
Number of inbound links gained
Number of inquiries/leads
Use metrics to define objectives & analyze success
Example: “Increase follower base by 5% per quarter”
Example: “Increase social-driven website traffic by 10% per year” 27
28. •Recommended Reading
•Social Marketing to the Business Customer:
Listen to Your B2B Market, Generate Major
Account Leads, and Build Client
Relationships
by Paul Gillin & Eric Schwartzman
•eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale
by Ardath Albee
THE END
28 Questions?