Andy Sernovitz's Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That!: Bt. Almost every time I speak the first or second question from the audience is "What about BtoB word of mouth.
" I always give the same answer … and it rarely satisfies the asker …but it’s what I believe: BtoB word of mouth is the same as BtoC word of mouth. The topic is different, the talkers are different, but the mechanics of a successful word of mouth moment are product-independent. Word of mouth is about the people doing the talking. Who they ask, why they make a recommendation, and what they say. I doesn’t matter what the product is, because word of mouth is always between two people. Oddly, no one would question this if we were talking about newspaper ads. Sean O’Driscoll of Microsoft says it well: This question (and answer) reminded me of an issue I’ve long been passionate about. Keith Bates, Gary Slack, Gary Spangler, and Ellis Booker might disagree. Viral Video is Not a B2B Marketing Strategy. Everyone is always looking for the next big hit, especially in our always-on world of constant content.
Marketers try to break through the clutter with videos that can be shared via email (the old way) and social networking sites (the new way). B2B companies also want to join the party and “make viral videos.” There’s one problem with this strategy. You can’t make a viral video. Viral is what happens after a video, or other content, is sent free, and it gets spread wildly, like a virus. One of the most important steps in content creation is to understand that it needs to be part of a larger marketing plan with a set of objectives. While I would certainly not argue that the video is more entertaining, more engaging and visually creates a more memorable message than this copy on their web site: “frequently-used toilets often fail to fulfill hygiene standards.
Just because they have 2.25 millions views on YouTube does not mean they sold more toilets. Four Tips for Twittering BtoB « Trendspeak. March 28, 2009 at 12:37 am James Krouse By Francesca Fedele Twitter has gone from a quirky techno geek fad to a mainstream communications tool…kind of.
A lot of people Twitter and a lot more people talk about it. It’s become the next big thing. Maybe it’s the lean times that makes 146 characters at a time seem refreshingly economical. Many see the strengths of Twitter as severe limitations to what it can to for BtoB, but often this is based on assumptions about this tool that are just plan incorrect. 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) Francesca Fedele is an Account Associate in the London office of ABI. Like this: Like Loading... Entry filed under: B2B Public Relations, New Media, Positioning / Messaging. Understanding B2B Blogs: Case Abstract. While there is always plenty of buzz surrounding social media, an integrated approach to marketing and communication still works best to drive companies forward.
And as long as companies understand that social media is a flexible tactical tool rather than replacement strategy, they will see results. Despite substantial limitations, we recently completed a startup blog for a niche green-solution engineering company in about 90 days. The initial focus, after market analysis (listening), was to establish a blog capable of capturing the interest of clearly defined audiences: manufacturers and regulators in the short term; environmentalists over the long term. Why blogs work as a niche B2B solution. In as little as three months, visitation grew from 0 to 600 visitors per month (outpacing the company's Web site by as much as 4-to-1), with five subscribers and frequent return visitors.
We also knew they were the right audience based on analytics alone. Blogs aren't ends unto themselves.