Marketing and Social Media That Matters..the B2B perspective

Notice

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:41:00 +0000

Hello and thank you for visiting Marketing and Social Media That Matters. This blog is no longer being updated but enjoy the archived content and please visit my new home where I continue to blog about B2B marketing and business development on the Mi6 site blog.

Friction?!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:45:00 +0000

I'm the co-founder of Silicon Halton, a grass roots member oriented networking group who are passionate about hi-tech in Halton Region. This group consists of 100 people and/or organizations who live and/or work in Acton, Burlington, Georgetown, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville. There are more smaller and equally important towns in Halton that entrepreneurs and professionals work and live in as well.

Rick Stomphorst and I founded Silicon Halton in October 2009 because, as professionals working and serving in the hi-tech industry, we felt there was a need to have a grass roots "hi-tech movement" that would, at first, focus on finding each other, learning about each other and connecting with each other.

Since October, Rick and I, during our spare time have been working hard (well Rick harder then me!) in making Silicon Halton happen. We've put Silicon Halton "out there" for the world (err....region) to see, judge and most importantly encourage members to evolve it into something they want and need for their businesses and professions.

Up to this point we've been seeing how things went and whether the members see value in building Silicon Halton into something special for them and for the region. I am convinced, based on experience, that grassroots community based initiatives like barcamps, tweetups and meetups combined with social media (exactly what we are doing with Silicon Halton) enable people to establish a collective that can work together to make something happen.

We're only five months in so we're still learning. But there is interest:

Membership is at 100 and growing weekly
We've had four meetups (Oakville and Milton so far) with about 30-40 people attending per on average.
We've had a mayor attend a meetup and a member of parliament.
Joint business development opportunities are starting to surface.
We've discovered some amazing companies who are fueling the Halton economy and talented people!
My dream of bumping into a hi-tech leader at a Williams Coffee Pub or Artisanos has already come true.

The community is starting to become connected!

But, this post is not a progress report (the new Silicon Halton website will have that) it's about friction.

Friction is defined as:

The rubbing of one object or surface against another. Conflict, as between persons having dissimilar ideas or interests; clash.

Recently the term "friction" was used in reference to Silicon Halton in a conversation taking place with an Economic Development person from one of the towns in Halton Region. My first thought was "what?!". However, the more I think about this the more I think this is fantastic! Silicon Halton creating some friction in the region!

Before you call me insane, consider Michael Porter's Cluster Development concept. In developing strong economic clusters friction is a critical condition that needs to be in place for an industry to be vibrant and grow. Friction creates competition, competition forces people and organizations to get better, getting better makes us more successful as people and organizations. (Side note: Thanks to Brad Niblett the CIO of the Michener Institute for drawing this to my attention).

The opposite of friction is complacency so lets keep rubbing together, let's argue, lets compete and lets debate! Let's challenge each other to get better..to build Halton region into a hi-tech powerhouse (I feel that it already is in many ways, we're just starting to find that out...but we have to get better!).

So let's show the world that Halton is a very competitive, innovative and entrepreneurial region that is becoming the global hub for hi-tech and its supportive industries. Friction is good. Let's create some more!

Thanks to: Rick Stomphorst, Mike Orr and Sonny Jelinek whose words inspired me to right this post.

By the way, our next Silicon Halton meetup is March 23rd in Burlington. While this is a members only gig you're welcome to attend as my guest. Go here for more posts and videos on Silicon Halton. To join Silicon Halton (must have a company in Halton or live and/or work in Halton) sign up here.

Silicon Halton "Quarterly Report"

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:19:00 +0000

I interviewed Rick Stomphorst who co-founded Silicon Halton with me. This is after Silicon Halton's Meetup #3. We chat a bit about how Silicon Halton has evolved since we started it in October. Scott VanDam and Sean Hemraj from Waggware give their thoughts on the value of being a member of Silicon Halton. Thanks guys.

Silicon Halton Meetup #3, Here's what happened!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Until the new Silicon Halton website goes live in February I'm posting meaningful things about the Silicon Halton experience here on my personal blog.

For those who don't know what Silicon Halton is, it is a group of people who are leaders in technology that live and/or work in Halton region. It started as an idea that Rick Stomphorst and I had in October and it's been fun so far. If you want to know more about the group check out our Linkedin Group.

On January 19th we had about 45 people attend. Joining us were Terence Young, MP for Oakville and Rob Burton, the mayor of Oakville. Full credit to Rick Stomphorst for reaching out to Terence and Rob and thanks to both for attending.

At each meetup we have a key discussion activity. This weeks topic was "what will make Silicon Halton successful". Everyone broke into groups to chat about what success would look like a year from now. After about 20 minutes volunteer spokespersons shared what they discussed.

Mike Druiven is a teacher at EC Drury High School in Milton.

Mike Oreskovic a Senior IT Executive Leader, from Milton.

Edward L. Onate, is a Senior Account Manager from Blink Communications in Oakville.

Robert Duvall, is President of Robert Duvall Consulting from Milton.

I'd like to personally thank everyone that showed and contributed. Thanks to The Printing House, Boston Pizza, and Nancy Forsyth from UPS Store #342 for your help and hospitality.

Enjoy this photo stream. Special thanks to the talented Vicki Pehar for taking these photos.

Meetup #4 is February 16th at Ned Devines in Milton. Register now.

What's planned for Silicon Halton Meetup #3 on January 19th?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:31:00 +0000

Rick Stomphorst and I met at one of the many offices of Silicon Halton (translation: a coffee shop in Halton Region with wifi!). For those of you who are interested in learning more about Silicon Halton here's where we hang our hat in Linkedin.

If you'd like to attend register here.

Watch this quick video to see what's planned for our third meetup on January 19th.

Tweetups & suggestion for Twtvite

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:28:00 +0000

I'm attending my first Tweetup on January 28th. Thanks to Chris Farias, Jen Hudder and Meg Coppolino for putting this together.

If you live in the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada area come and join us!

They are using Twtvite to get the word out and manage registration. It's a slick tool but I would like to be able to quickly scan and learn who is attending as illustrated in the screenshot below.

Social media helps people make connections, create relationships and physically network. You can use it to have fun, meet interesting people and generate business. For those of you attending the January 28th Tweetup...see you there!

Hardest hockey shot ever!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:31:00 +0000

One of the top funniest video commercials I've seen in a while. 796,000 views and counting. Who said all advertising sucks! Enjoy!

Robert Lee now selling mobile homes?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:16:00 +0000

This was the top viral video for November 2009. Another in my growing list of funny videos. Enjoy! Over 951,000 views and counting!

Spontanious conversation using Scribble Live

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Had an interesting spontaneous discussion with a few folks tonight using Scribble Live a live blogging service recently featured on Dragons Den where they raised $250K in VC funding.

It started with @tamera asking when would we get past social media 101. I don't want to put words in her mouth but essentially her point was that the chatter on twitter is being rehashed and there is no fresh thinking and tweets coming across her tweetstreams.

So, with that challenge in mind we headed over to ScribbleLive to discuss this further and below is the transcript of what was covered. We had a few others join us and the conversation was interesting. I don't think it lasted an hour and the the conversation started at 8:30 not 9:30pm.

Nevertheless, this was interesting to me on two levels. First, I engaged with four people I'd never met before. Cool! Second, we used a tool to have water cooler discussion on a topic of mutual interest.

9:28 PM: b2bspecialist This is a realtime twitter stream meant to engage folks in realtime.
9:29 PM: tamera Interesting - I like this concept... and I like that it's easily archived.
9:29 PM: b2bspecialist Social Media 101 is dominating the twitter streams and there is rehashing of stuff
9:29 PM: b2bspecialist A canadian company developed this and just got $250K
9:30 PM: b2bspecialist Twubs is an application that's interesting as well
9:30 PM: tamera Exactly, there is nothing wrong with education, in fact it's crucial, but to evolve the space we, who have been around and involved through trial and error need to move the convo forward.
9:31 PM: tamera So, when talking about pitching journalists for e.g. should we be saying "read what they write" or should we be talking about why storytelling matters?
9:32 PM: b2bspecialist agreed, i think some of us are scratching our heads. The business case for social media could be at risk if we don't start sharing real world examples of success, frameworks to use. Will answer your post next.
9:33 PM: b2bspecialist I think ppl will have more choices where they can consume information. What's changed is the ability to have a conversation with someone you would never have met before. Like you!
9:33 PM: tamera Bingo. I wonder if it has to do with being hesitant to share our failures and our successes with a large audience so we resort to the same old same old.
9:33 PM: tamera :) absolutely!
9:35 PM: tamera So for example, in terms of failure, if you are a brand in a small market, like Canada, and you don't get the kind of coverage you want in mainstream media or via a FB page, how do you then know what to do to evolve? It cld be you should rethink what your story/ value is, or perhaps your approach.
9:35 PM: b2bspecialist I think sharing failure and success has to be shared. Ppl will make their own conclusions. There are more questions then answers regarding social media and expressing our selves in this medium.
9:36 PM: b2bspecialist You ask ppl.
9:37 PM: b2bspecialist There is always someone that is willing to help in my experience.
9:37 PM: tamera Yes, and typically ppl seem to be more willing (myself included) to jump on the negative when someone does something we perceive to be wrong vs. "sharing our trade secrets", whatever that means in this space.
9:38 PM: tamera @b2bspecialist I think that's true, but I also think you have to be aware of what the person brings to the table. Some advice may not make sense in your context.
9:38 PM: b2bspecialist That's a really tough one. Honestly I think it boils down to your personal values. I for example will share what I know and expect nothing in return. But, I'm not living in a multi-millaion dollar house...so...!!
9:39 PM: tamera @b2bspecialist Agreed. I know Miss Rouge has talked about that as well in terms of how much time/ energy you can spend helping and end up getting burned. It's happened to me, but I'll keep doing it.
9:40 PM: b2bspecialist This is an example of how we are learning a new tool together to have a conversation. We may learn from it and from each other. But, not sure.
9:40 PM: mcorsano hey there
9:40 PM: b2bspecialist Well we have a third watcher.
9:41 PM: tamera I think it's a good start. I don't expect to change the world tonight ;-)
9:41 PM: b2bspecialist Hey @mcorsano
9:41 PM: tamera Hey there :)
9:41 PM: mcorsano another peep! am catching up on the threads
9:41 PM: b2bspecialist Coolio
9:43 PM: b2bspecialist I sent out a tweet asking if ppl would like to develope a social marketing framework and pricing model with me. A collaborative if you will.
9:43 PM: tamera I'm going to have to pop out for a bit, have dinner cooking, but I'll check back in and perhaps we can try and keep this going over time.
9:43 PM: b2bspecialist Ok, great to chat in greater depth.
9:44 PM: mcorsano have a good one :)
9:44 PM: b2bspecialist @mcorsano do you want to continue with this thread? No worries if you don't.
9:44 PM: tamera @b2bspecialist absolutely, I like this, kinda mailing list meets real-time w/o the character limit.
9:45 PM: mcorsano well am not sure what the topic/theme is other than B2B?
9:45 PM: b2bspecialist lol
9:46 PM: mcorsano Now I see you are a B2B marketing agency head? interesting all my experience is B2B
9:47 PM: b2bspecialist Well, the conversation was started by @tamera in twitter. She was saying that the tweets were rehashed tweets from us folks who have been "around" the twitter world. Long in tooth so to speak. She was wondering what's next or will it be the same old, same old. And yes, B2B too! Coolio.
9:47 PM: mcorsano oh yes I saw her tweets on that
9:47 PM: mcorsano good first trial on Scribble live for me..so I hopped in here
9:48 PM: b2bspecialist Ok, want to chat about Scribble instead? Ways to use it for b2b companies maybe?
9:50 PM: mcorsano yes, sure would be good
9:50 PM: mcorsano can you put it behind a firewall for internal collaboration?
9:51 PM: b2bspecialist I would imagine so. Yammer is another option.
9:51 PM: DoctorJones Hey folks. I like the use of ScribbleLive for something like this.
9:52 PM: mcorsano Are similar functionality being built into Enterprise 2.0 platforms, say like Microsoft Unified Communications Server?
9:52 PM: b2bspecialist Hey Doc, glad to have you in this.
9:52 PM: b2bspecialist Beyond 101 is very interesting. What would 102 be is the question?
9:53 PM: DoctorJones @mcorsano @b2bspecialist We're big yammer users at our agency. Has really opened up international sharing.
9:54 PM: mcorsano 102 may include the application for intended purpose - case studies, user experiences....
9:54 PM: mcorsano 102 may include the integration -- break down the silos
9:54 PM: DoctorJones @mcorsano There is some neat capabilities in Microsoft OCS. IM, video conferencing. It's pretty cool.
9:55 PM: mcorsano Molson uses Yammer as well I understand
9:55 PM: b2bspecialist @doctorjones seems to have a good case study to share via Yammer. But yes, real world use cases are great examples. Forrester has some on their site and Josh Bernoff covers some in Groundswell.
9:56 PM: mcorsano I think these siloed one-off Web 2.0 platforms will not be useful on their own
9:56 PM: b2bspecialist I've seen Msft OCS and I agree it is amazing. What's funny is IM has been covertly in place in companies for years.
9:57 PM: mcorsano 102 may be bridging them or mashing them up
9:57 PM: b2bspecialist Cisco Community Central is an interesting use case as well.
9:58 PM: mcorsano I sold Lotus Notes in 1993 and the collaboration stuff peeps had little idea how to apply
9:59 PM: mcorsano But they caught on pretty fast -- it was advantage to have the function bundled with other utilities such as Email and document management, version control...
9:59 PM: b2bspecialist The technology is one thing but it's about the willingness to communicate. I find as I encounter older folks (not all, I'm older!) they are reluctant to share and/or are afraid of the technology.
10:00 PM: mcorsano Yes you right -- it is cultural
10:01 PM: b2bspecialist What's difficult, for some, is justifying the time investment since the condition is don't expect something in return. Quite honestly if I were to sell a social marketing program to a CEO she would ask what's the ROI. This is a fair question to ask.
10:01 PM: mcorsano I started my career at IBM mid-'80s and had to use Host based Email as part of the job ; was fortunate to grow up professionally with it - many do not have same exposure so it is a major paradigm shift
10:02 PM: b2bspecialist But, if you look at what @DoctorJones said they use Yammer and it has opened up international sharing....
10:02 PM: ShaneMS following along while making dinner and baby wrangling. re: yammer. it's a good idea... but in my experience, more of an echo sphere with about 1/2 the company using (50) and 3-6 people actually posting. however, I know people (that never yammer) do follow and have found value in what's shared.
10:02 PM: mcorsano Fact is you are a pioneer; your clients likely are not.
10:03 PM: b2bspecialist Hey ShaneMS.c Just a matter of time, I hope, before the young ones get into the enterprise and demand interaction through things like Yammer. Problem right now is the reluctance of some folks to even consider an alternative way to communicate and connect.
10:03 PM: mcorsano Clients have some serious degrees of pressure to figure this all out
10:04 PM: b2bspecialist I keep getting back to @tamera's succinct observation about Social Media 101. Can't we get past it?
10:06 PM: mcorsano Most are catching up, perhaps a factor?
10:06 PM: b2bspecialist Conversation is winding down!
10:06 PM: mcorsano But I agree...observed as much at Mesh09 found that surprising
10:07 PM: b2bspecialist Possibly or moved on! =) I've got a short attention span...so I wouldn't blame others.
10:07 PM: b2bspecialist Although we're up to five watchers.
10:08 PM: b2bspecialist Hey Tamera, that dinner starting to smell pretty good!
10:09 PM: mcorsano I'm going to exit at this time; appreciate the test run here
10:10 PM: mcorsano Q: how is this different than live chat with the feed to Twitter?
10:10 PM: b2bspecialist @ShaneMS made an interesting comment re: adoption/use of Yammer. Forrester has a profile that's interesting: www.forrester.com
10:11 PM: b2bspecialist A: you'd need to use a hashtag wouldn't you?
10:12 PM: b2bspecialist A: you can set it up so comments are moderated as well.
10:12 PM: b2bspecialist K gang, I'm going to shut this down.
10:23 PM: b2bspecialist I've reopened this live blog to experiment with Scribble a bit more.

Should I use Slideshare or Brainshark for online presentations?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

John Moore is experimenting with Slideshare and Brainshark and looking for feedback on which service delivers more value from an end user and presenter perspective.

This post is my initial review of the two services. It features this post and a Google Document that is shared below. Feel free to add your comments below and modify the google document with new insights, edits and other stuff that can help us all evaluate these two services.

Embedding
Below are the options available to anyone wishing to embed a presentation on a blog, wiki etc.

Slideshare (embed options)

Option 1: "Embed"

Twitter Personal Branding

View more presentations from John Moore.

Option 2: "Embed Without related presentations"

Twitter Personal Branding

View more presentations from John Moore.

Brainshark (embed options)

Option 1: Size: 528x439

Option 2: Size: 440x366

Option 3: Size: 422x351

Comparison Chart
Below is a screenshot of a publicly available and editable google document that you can access here.

The verdict? I'd give Slideshare the nod but I'm sure there are lots of really great people at Brainshark who are busy building a great service.

Feel free to leave your comments below regarding your experiences with either of these services, share links to example presentations (they can be yours too, just make sure it has something to do with this post). You can also contribute to the google document here.

Change can be fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:19:00 +0000

According to Visible Measures this is #2 on the viral ad charts (Oct 22/09)

Robert Scoble video chat/demo of Twitter Lists

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:59:00 +0000

Great overview of Twitter Lists by Robert Scoble. It's a two parter.

A couple of take-a-ways:

The lists you are on will matter more then how many followers you have. Well, I'm on one so far and I created it! Put me on your list! (please)
Lists can save you time because they aggregate twitter accounts based on common interest, topics etc.

The Business Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:56:00 +0000

Newest installment in my series of fun and funny advertisements.

Mobile Twitter Apps List

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:55:00 +0000

I'm starting a list twitter applications that can be used on the Blackberry and iPhone (will add others end user devices). So, this is a "Post in progress".

The goal is to provide you a list of apps that includes:

Pros/cons (mine and others) of each looking through the lens of marketing and business development professional and other business users
Links to video demonstrations so you can see how it works
Where applicable I'll have a link to the person who tells me about the app. (Note: it will be a link to their Twitter profile).

Over time, I hope, this post will evolve. For this post to be useful to you I need know about apps you are using along with your pros, cons and ratings.

iPhone

TweetDeck is a popular desktop that is also available for Apple's iPhone.

Pros: Free app (Desktop & iPhone), same interface for client and iPhone, you can manage multiple accounts, good demo walkthrough. Part of my core app package I use.

Cons: Real time updates make me lose my place when reading tweets. Needs a pause button. They have not responded to tweets I sent regarding improvements/feedback.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blackberry

Viigo is a broader Application Suite for various push based services you may want on your BlackBerry. Thanks to Alain Theriault for sending me a tweet about Viigo. Here's a video demo.

If you use Viigo please leave a comment re: pros, cons and rating. Thx.

UberTwitter is an app that Haig Sakouyan referred me to. Here's a video review.

If you use UberTwitter feel free to leave a comment re: pros, cons and rating. Thx.

Hasn’t it always been about Trust?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:00:00 +0000

The BusinessWeek article "The Great Trust Offensive" is worth a read. We consumers are skeptical of advertising, jaded by bailouts, huge executive bonuses..and let's not get into the rash of bad customer service experiences. This video (go to link above) summarizes the article....and there is hope!! =)

There are many examples of trusted companies. Companies that have figured out how to focus more on people and less on profit. Companies that are strong, sustainable and financially successful. Companies that view their people as the key ingredient to their success..not a "cost center" or a "human resource". Companies like John Deere and Chapmans Ice Cream come to mind.

In the B2B world, trust and credibility matter today more then ever. Why? Because trust is what makes or breaks a relationship and builds a solid reputation.

A value proposition means nothing if we can't deliver on it. And, today, even if we do deliver on it we must be able to prove that we did! Ideally through word of mouth. This is where I think social media and networking can play a role. (Future post planned on this!)

Lets not jump on the "trust" bandwagon and start peppering our copy and conversations with hollow promises and taglines like "trusted advisor" or "you can trust us". A great book that has really opened my eyes about earning trust is Chris Brogan and Julien Smith's book Trust Agents. I highly recommend it.

Linkroll (other links of interest):
Building your b2b brand
Importance of strategic references
Trust in the Online Retail World

If you'd like me to link to an article of interest let me know and I'll add it to this link roll.

IBM and Green I.T.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:01:00 +0000

Another installment in my fun and funny advertisements. Here are the things that I like about this ad.

Realism - businesses want to go green but they also are pragmatic and need to cut costs. They need a business case. This ad, uses humour to get that point across.

Youth and Experience - it shows a young business analyst presenting the business case to the wiser exec. New thinking introducing new ideas to practical (yet open to learn) and experienced thinking.

Humour - if someone is going to interrupt me with an ad...making it funny makes it worthwhile to me.

YouTube - this ad is available through YouTube. This allows me and others to virally spread and share this content freely. This is a smart move by IBM.

How long should a blog post be?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:53:00 +0000

This post is dedicated to those that blog and those thinking about blogging.

How long should a blog post be?
This is a question that may be on your mind. It's been on mine recently. I've conducted some research and there are varying opinions. Some folks say posts should average 500 words . But, there are some other folks who think otherwise too.

Jon Morrow from Copyblogger talks about tight writing and how some of their most popular posts are longer then 1000 words. Douglas Karr has an interesting article with some analysis on this topic as well.

I think varying opinions is a good thing. Why? Well, there should be no magic bullet when it comes to "average" blog post length. In fact, blogs in general should be unique and reflect the personal preferences of the blogger as well as their current and prospective audience.

But wait a minute, is there more to this question?

This one question leads to a whack load of others! Including:

If I was just starting out blogging where would I start? Where could I learn about how to blog?
If I want to get better at blogging where should I go?

What innovative things are people doing with their blogs?

Is brevity important when it comes to blog posts like it is with Twitter?

How long should it take to write a blog post?

Should you balance blog posts based on length to accommodate those that like to read short bursts of content and longer essay types of posts?

What happens if you're not that great a writer, but want to blog? Should your posts be shorter to start? You may have interesting things to say while getting your blogging chops figured out, so why not start writing?

Is it arrogant for a blogger to think that his/her posts length don't matter?

There are "A" lister bloggers who have a devoted group of followers already but what about those just starting out?

Time to explore this in more depth through conversation and a blog post series.

The blog post length question for me leads to a broader conversation about a blogging publishing framework, examples, best practices etc . Things like (to name a few):

Blog posts - how often, length and types of posts.

Writing styles - first person, third person, serious, fun, corporate, personal.

Categories and tags - how to define, use, manage and classify posts.

Blog types - single author, multi-author.

Long live and love the blog.

The blog, in my own personal opinion, is one of the most promising channels to express yourself, educate, inform, engage and create conversation. Whether you're a company, an artist, a hobbyist or just someone who has something to say…you now have an outlet!

I think we are just scratching the surface when it comes to blogging. There are so many things we can and are doing with blogs, it makes sense to share how we are using blogs to benefit our readers and ourselves.

So, with that in mind, I'm creating a feature series of posts that explores blogging both personally and professionally. I'm going to share things like:

What I'm learning about blogging through my own experiences and whatever else turns up in my travels.

Interviews with bloggers asking why and how they blog.

I'm not sure what to name the series but I'd like to think that it becomes an ongoing and updating "how to" of blogging with real world examples. As the number of posts accumulate it may end up being a nice resource for you to refer to over time. (That's the beauty of tagging!).

Got questions, got answers, got ideas?
Leave a comment below with your question, your thoughts and ideas and links to sites and posts that you think will help us all learn more about blogging.

By the way, this post is 654 words in length and took an hour and forty seven minutes to draft, edit, cross link and publish.

A way to make twitter better

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:34:00 +0000

In an earlier post entitled: "To Follow or not to follow, that is the question", I describe how I decide when to follow someone on Twitter who has followed me. Follower updates are sent to me via email. I review each followers Twitter profile to decide if I want to follow back or not.

Over the past two days I've had quite a few people follow me. So, I headed over to learn a bit about who had followed me and I was very surprised at the number followers whose accounts had been suspended due to "suspicious activity".

I'm grateful that Twitter and the Twitter community police jerks and spammer accounts and that these accounts get shut down. Twitter must make sure that these types of people don't ruin the Twitter experience.

I do have a suggestion as to how Twitter can improve. It would be better if Twitter sent me a follower notification once the account as been deemed authentic. Instead of sending a notice immediately they should wait until the account is verified as real.

New book on Professional Services Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:56:00 +0000

I was asked to review Mike Schultz's book "Professional Services Marketing".

There have been numerous reviews already about this book so I'm not going to summarize what the book is about. Instead I'm going to make one recommendation: buy it!

This book is a manual on how to market your professional services organization. It's not a book you read on vacation and then add to your library collection. It's a book you use to market and sell your services.

Some reasons why I believe this book is worth your investment in time and money:

Mike's firm, the Wellesley Hills Group, through years of practice and results has applied the concepts and tactics outlined in the book. This is not a book based on theory it is based on experience and results.
There are few books out there that focus on the unique realities of B2B marketing and business development. This is the most current and it uses real world research from the field.
The book focuses on the things that matter to the business owner. Increasing revenue and profit.
It provides you with tools you can use in your business in the area of revenue projection and results measurement.
And finally, at MI6 (my agency) we are implementing tactics from this book for our clients. The result? A listening tour that helped a client properly define their value proposition, generate additional sales & a whack load of testimonials.

Here are some reviews that may be of interest:

Ian Brodie, who helps professional service firms grow, has a good balanced review. I agree with his assessment of the sales portion of the book.

Chris Brown, a Strategic marketing consultant, reviews it from a business owner's perspective.

Ardath Albee, from Marketing Interactions, provides a detailed overview of what's in the book and what bonus' you get if you buy it.

Have you read the book? What did you think?

Make It Seven Groundswell

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:32:00 +0000

It is pretty awesome how Jim Balsillie and his crew are creating a groundswell of support in their efforts to bring the Phoenix Coyotes NHL hockey team to Hamilton. There are over 22,000 fans on their Facebook page, 3000+ folks following each breath on Twitter and I think over 150,000 folks who have registered on their site.

I wonder whether this support will have any impact on the judge who will be rendering a decision this week. I suspect it could. The legal team can point to the fact that there is pent up demand and support for another hockey team in Southern Ontario. The proof is the number of fans, followers and registrants! He can see the vigilant commitment of hockey fans, sponsors and Balsillie himself to the City of Hamilton. In fact, he can enjoy watching a music video too!

I'm sure social media is creating an impact on Balsillies' chances, err...our chances of having a team in Hamilton. By the way mark June 19th on your calendar because that's Make It Seven Day across Canada.

Are they serious?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:42:00 +0000

Below is an embedded conversation from Friendfeed. I'm testing it out. The article is pretty provocative as well...I hope!

[Update: I don't really like the "You" title at the top. Also, to go to the source article you need to click on the picture]

Social Media success and B2B

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:41:00 +0000

I'm a perpetual learner, information "pack rack" and in constant pursuit of knowledge and becoming knowledgeable.

The challenge many companies face is not about creating knowledgeable people but institutionalizing knowledge such that more people can become knowledgeable. Also, what I find is missing, is a platform to collaborate that creates "collective knowledge". There are examples such as wikis and Google Wave looks promising. Google wave integrates conversations (email, tweets, IM) and other forms of expression in order to create a collective conversation which can develop into a concept, a research brief, a software spec etc.

In the video below Lee Bryant, from Headshift, talks about the challenges we experience in trying to create knowledge. The answer? Well we're figuring that out..but it's not email!

I believe that B2B companies in particular can use social media to do two things. First, find knowledgeable people and second, collaborate to create, index and institutionalize knowledge.

Why do you use Twitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:38:00 +0000

Here's a twist. I'm using Friendfeed to find out why people use Twitter. I use these two social media tools and like many of you I'm figuring out how to get as much value from using them as possible.

Well, why not use social media tools to find out what value we are getting out of them? Below is a new feature I'm using from Friendfeed that allows you to embed a Friendfeed post in your blog.

Using Linkedin to listen and conduct research

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:05:00 +0000

Too Much Social Media?

In my journey to find things that matter when it comes to B2B marketing I find myself stretched thin when it comes to social media. I use Delicious, Twitter, Friendfeed and Facebook (a little). I get overwhelmed by the amount of noise but enamored with the potential social media represents. A vicious cycle no doubt. Having said that I'm starting to realize what matters to me.

First, social media starts with People and making meaningful connections with them

I do get a kick out of using these tools and connecting with people. These people, by the way you're one of them, are opening my mind and helping me see how social media can be used for business reasons.

Second, social media leverages online groups

This is the most interesting part of social media to me. In an earlier post I talked about how SBBUZZ is using Twitter to group people together to chat about small business and technology.

Another way that social media is "grouping" people is through the conducting of polls. On May 1st, a Linkedin Poll asked the question: "What is the most important new platform for brands to master?" To date over 2300 people have responded and 73 comments have been posted.

This is powerful! In Chapter 5 of Groundswell the authors talk about how social media can displace market research companies. Here's an example where that is taking place!

In summary

For me, social media is about connecting with people, learning from each other & sharing. It also can group people with similar interests to converse (like SSBUZZ is doing), vote and debate.

To follow or not to follow? That is the question

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Herbert, b2b specialist) — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:37:00 +0000

As a B2B marketer I'm watching the Twitter phenomenon closely and with great interest. I'm not so sure people are interested in following brands. I may follow a brand if it offers me something of value in the way of advice, service and ideas. I won't follow it to become another "lead" on the web 2.0 version of an email blast list.

Twitter is kind of like the "Long Tail" for creating your social network of contacts. These are people who choose to follow you for various reasons and motives. Some are trying to build their lists and sell you on how to make $10,000 per month using Twitter. (I block these). However, many people are using Twitter to share content, ideas and connections. These people I tend to follow back.

Using Gmail to track followers

To make things easy, I have set up a filter rule in Gmail, that puts all my follower notices in one place (see screenshot on the left). I can see how many people have followed me based on date. It also confirms which Twitter Followers profiles I've check out and who I haven't. (read emails means I have, unread means I haven't).

I'm not actively building a Twitter list, it's organically growing and I don't automagically follow someone because they follow me. I do get to know them a bit though. I check their profile, their tweets and their blog or site. If within 30 seconds or so, I see something that tweeks my interest I'll follow.

You'd be surprised at who is following you. It could be your next customer, your current customer or a prospective partner!