Mediaboss Marketing

San FranciscoSocial media and content marketing were two of the hot topics discussed during afternoon panels at BtoB's Digital Edge Live conference here yesterday.

The event, BtoB's first full-day conference on digital marketing, attracted almost 200 b2b marketers and covered topics including social media, mobile marketing, content strategy and CMO issues.

During a panel on social media, marketers from Cisco Systems, Hitachi Data Systems and Royal Dutch Shell shared strategies for success.

Petra Neiger, senior manager-social media marketing at Cisco, gave five tips for effective social media marketing: Start at the top with senior leadership; activate and reward employees for participation; create advocates in user communities; create internal work flows, such as having a crisis plan; and share success stories.

Sharon Crost, global online marketing and social media manager at Hitachi Data Systems, presented three strategies for effective social media marketing: Make it engaging, make it social and make it count. Hitachi Data Systems creates contests for users to engage them; has senior executives speak to bloggers and influencers to create social content; and measures the impact of social media.

During a session on content marketing, marketers from Hewlett-Packard Co., Tellabs and Xerox Corp. talked about how they use content in their marketing efforts.

The key is to surround customers with content; make sure you are thought-provoking and convert content and conversations into soft and hard conversions, said George Stenitzer, VP-marketing and corporate communications at Tellabs.

By using effective content marketing such as white papers, online videos, mobile content and social media, Tellabs has tripled both soft conversions (such as subscriptions to newsletters) and hard conversions (sales and other transactions) in the past year.

Alex Flagg, manager of social media and digital content enablement at HP, said the company uses a 10-point system to review content for effectiveness.

By analyzing areas such as subject lines on emails, headlines in social media content and keyword optimization, HP has improved ROI on content.

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'BtoB' Digital Edge Live explores social media, content marketing

Small businesses are increasing their use of the Internet and social media platforms to connect with customers and grow their businesses, according to a recent survey by Citibank, with 65 percent of the 749 small business owners surveyed across the United States citing increased marketing activities as a key step in growing their business. The survey also found that smartphones ranked as the best technological solution for small businesses, with nearly half (48 percent) currently using smartphones like the iPhone or Android-powered devices.

While the large majority (70 percent) of respondents used their company website as a marketing channel, 41 percent said they have used social media channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, in the last year. Sixty-two percent haven't used email for marketing purposes -- a figure that remains the same from when Citibank first surveyed small business leaders about social media and online marketing in April 2010.

As small business owners are moving online, and relying more heavily on their company website, online channels represent an emerging opportunity to help grow their businesses. In fact, many small businesses plan to use digital and social media tools in the coming year. According to the survey, 60 percent plan to increase activity on their website for marketing purposes, 40 percent intend to use social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter for marketing or expanding their business up 10 points from 2010, and 38 percent plan to leverage email marketing tactics to drive awareness and sales of products and services.

"Although small business owners have been slower to adopt online marketing channels, they are clearly warming up to using these tools to target customers," said Maria Veltre, managing director of small business marketing and customer experience at Citi. "They are seeing that social media platforms can be an efficient and cost effective means to increase awareness of their business, engage with customers and, ultimately, to drive growth."

The number of small businesses selling goods and services online or via email rose from 16 percent to 24 percent since 2010. The use of social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, is up six percentage points during that same time frame. The survey also revealed that nearly three-quarters of small business owners who have a Website find it very or somewhat effective in generating more business for their company. More than one-third (34 percent) said that they plan to use smartphones in the future. In addition, tablet computers like Apple s iPad have penetrated one-quarter of small businesses, and another 23 percent said they planned to use them more or add one in 2012.

Small business owners under the age of 45 were more likely to use digital and social media to address their marketing needs. In the past 12 months, 54 percent of small business executives under the age of 45 used social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, compared to only 36 percent of their peers aged 45 and over. Younger small business owners were also more likely to use a company website (72 percent versus 68 percent of older respondents) and search engine optimization (44 percent versus 33 percent).

"Today, the web is the first place consumers go for information on products and services," said Tracey Weber, managing director of Internet and mobile for North America consumer banking at Citi. "The perception is that these channels are expensive and time-consuming, but the reality is there are simple ways to reach current and prospective customers online. Small businesses have a great opportunity to leverage online tools and social media to market their businesses and to help drive growth."

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Small Businesses Leveraging Social Networks for Marketing, Citibank Finds - Intelligence - News & Reviews - Baseline.com

Withing 20 months of Apple launching the first iPad in the US, local tablet ownership hit 18 per cent, and is forecast to more than double this year to 39 per cent. Photo: Getty Images

THE rapid expansion in the use of social networks as a marketing tool has been underscored in a new survey.

Browsing for product and brand information has increased rapidly, particularly on Facebook, Nielsen's January online ratings report finds.

Among regular internet users, more than one in five shops or researches brands on social media platforms.

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The top categories included retailers, movies and TV, restaurants and bars, technology brands and charities.

The change in the way consumers shop and research products comes as the smartphone replaces other hand-held devices.

By the end of this year, 64 per cent of Australians are expected to own one, up from 51 per cent last year. BlackBerry's market share halved last year, to 4 per cent.

Within 20 months of Apple launching the first iPad in the US, local tablet ownership hit 18 per cent, and is forecast to more than double this year to 39 per cent.

The popularity of Facebook as a marketing tool continues to rise - 57 per cent of online Australians have clicked a Facebook ''like'' button for a brand or organisation last year, up from 46 per cent a year earlier.

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Marketing gets social

Written by Karen Kovacs Dydzuhn Wednesday, 21 March 2012 16:30

The proliferation of social media platforms is a by-product of ever-changing technology. Theres Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, and Tumblr, to name a few. However, Bill DeRosa, co-founder of Talking Finger, a social media marketing company, cautioned local business owners about utilizing social media unless theyre willing to invest time and effort.

The success of using social platforms depends upon how much you engage, DeRosa said at a recent business forum on social media marketing at Spadaccino and Leo P. Gallagher & Son Community Funeral Home. You have to be 100 percent committed.

Sponsored by the Power Network of the Monroe and Newtown Chambers of Commerce, DeRosas presentation was supposed to address the simple steps to social media, but he dispelled this notion at the outset of the morning workshop.

Not only do businesses need to commit to spending time on cultivating effective and appropriate social media platforms but they must also frequently post innovative and even quirky comments to keep people engaged.

In putting together a plan for social media, DeRosa recommended that traditional marketing tools, such as advertising, be integrated with a companys online presence.

DeRosa advised audience members to consider how their companies will use the data generated to build their businesses. When you build a synergy, social media creates a trust with traditional advertising and marketing, he said.

Clients get to know businesses through social media. In welcoming more than 50 business professionals to the workshop, Harriette Trevino, Power Network president and owner of Bulls Head Printers, said the networking group works because people like to do business with people they know, like and trust.

Building relationships

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Local businesses receive tips on using social media marketing; 'You have to be 100 percent committed,' they are told ...

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Wildfire, the leading provider of social media marketing software with over 13,000 paying customers, today announced that veteran enterprise software executive Doug Laird has joined the company as its chief marketing officer. Laird will be responsible for leading all global marketing efforts for Wildfire, defining the global market strategy and vision, branding, product positioning and segmentation, and demand creation.

Laird has been instrumental in helping many of the world's most successful B2B and B2C technology companies define their categories, drive growth, and become market leaders. His track record of success spans fast-growing industries such as CRM, business intelligence, online trading, and compliance. Laird's background includes a deep understanding of customer relationship management, analytics, and community, three key elements of social media marketing as brands look to better use customer information to business advantage.

Laird joins Wildfire from business intelligence software company QlikTech, where as vice president of global marketing he helped the company grow its annual revenue run-rate from $80 million to $321 million in three years, leading Gartner to call QlikTech a "marketing juggernaut." Laird also oversaw marketing strategy and demand creation during the company's IPO in July 2010, which was one of the top three best performing technology IPOs of the past two years.

Prior to joining QlikTech, Laird held executive-level marketing roles at SAP/Virsa, Siebel Systems and Oracle. At Oracle, Laird reported to future Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff, and helped increase Oracle's database market share from 15 percent to 35 percent.

"Doug's background makes him an ideal fit for Wildfire with expertise in CRM, analytics, and community building, Doug has a very deep understanding of three key building blocks that will help us take social marketing to the next level," said Victoria Ransom, founder and CEO of Wildfire. "Doug is also an expert in helping enterprise software companies define categories and establish market leadership, and he will be instrumental as we accelerate our growth and continue our push into the enterprise. We are thrilled to have Doug join the team."

"As a long-time technology marketer, I believe that social engagement is the marketing model of the future, and Wildfire is in the best position to capitalize on this trend and serve the market with its volume and velocity model, focused on small and medium-sized businesses with rapid movement into the enterprise. I've seen this approach succeed time and again with the world's top software companies, such as Salesforce.com, and it's clear to me that Wildfire has the same scalable model that will allow us to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity," said Laird. "Wildfire is a thought leader that is ushering in the new era of engagement marketing, and I'm excited to join the team at this pivotal point in the company's history."

About Wildfire

Wildfire is the global leader in social media marketing software, with over 13,000 paying customers worldwide, including 30 of the world's 50 most valuable brands. Wildfire's Social Marketing Suite combines best-of-breed social promotion and advertising software, robust mobile and desktop page management, messaging and sophisticated real-time analytics in one complete platform. Wildfire's powerful and intuitive software allows creative marketers and non-technical managers alike to create social campaigns and pages, communicate with their social audience and measure social media performance. Brands and agencies such as Facebook, Virgin, Amazon, Target and Ogilvy as well as thousands of small businesses use the Wildfire platform to engage with audiences on major social networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The only social media marketing company to receive an investment from Facebook's fbFund, Wildfire has offices in California, Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Munich, and Singapore. For more information, please visit http://www.wildfireapp.com.

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Wildfire Hires Industry Veteran Doug Laird as CMO to Drive Growth and Leadership in the Social Media Market