Savvy B2B Marketing - Latest Blog Entries

The Savvy Sisters Get Personal with Monica Magnetti

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:13:00 -0500

This week, the Savvy Sisters had the pleasure of joining Monica Magnetti on her Voice America show Brand Your Fire: Get What You Want.

Monica is a veritable cyclone of energy, enthusiasm, and joy. We couldn't have been more pleased when we received her invitation to chat about not just the business side of our Savvy Sisters relationship, but the "softer," more personal side. In this interview we got to share the story behind the launch of the Savvy B2B Marketing blog as well as some inside scoop on just what it has meant to each of us to be a part of this very special sisterhood.

The theme of the conversation was the power of collaboration. That's really what we're all about here at Savvy. We collaborate with each other, with our clients, and with our peers. If there's one thing we've learned over the last three years, it's that getting from point A to point B is a lot easier (not to mention more fun!) when you make the journey with friends at your side.

We're very grateful to Monica for sharing her airtime with us and hope to visit her virtual home again soon for another chat. In the meantime, we hope you'll give the show a listen. As a bit of an incentive, we can tell you that we announce an exciting bit of news on the call. No, we're not having another baby. (Between us, we have twelve already ... that might be enough mini savvies for the moment!) This announcement is about something we've made for YOU. Hope you like it!

As Monica would say, "Ciao!" (... for now)

Love,

The Savvy Sisters

Savvy Toolkit - List Making as a Tool of Thought Leadership eBook

Tue, 15 May 2012 02:07:00 -0500

One of the smartest marketers I know, Steve Gershik recently said “ The key component to thought leadership is really the leadership part. Anybody can have a smart thought and share it with a group but its how do you propagate those thoughts out into the rest of the world. How do you take those good ideas and evangelize them that really differentiates a good content marketer from a world class content marketer.”

But how does one hone their thought leadership skills? This eBook on List Making as a Thought Leadership lays out a practice that marketers can use to systematically collect and refine their ideas. It is not going to make you a brilliant mind in your intended specialty overnight but it will help you sift and refine your brainstorming and help you isolate the good ideas from the great ones.

Give it a try!

Savvy Week in Review: May 11

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:00:00 -0500

We've read lots of terrific posts over the past week. Here's a roundup of our favorites to get you through the weekend.

Enjoy!

Outperform in B2B Sales by Understanding the Social Business Sales Funnel by @csrollyson via @B2Community

Why sales needs to participate in the online social sphere and how to get started.

Managing Large Teams of Writers Under Short Deadlines by @globalcopywrite via @Junta42

Our pal Sarah Mitchell offers words of wisdom from the trenches.

Common Landing Page Mistakes via @MktgExperiments

Are you making these simple, but seriously detrimental copy mistakes? You could be passing up big opportunities.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Twitter Chats by @markwschaefer

Curious about Twitter chats? Thinking of starting one? This is a great overview of what you need to know.

19 Ways to Build Relationships with Blog Comments by @TheSalesLion

Lots of tactical tips on how to make the most of your commenting experience.

5 Ways to Improve Your Blogs' SEO by @ShellyKramer

You know you should, so why don't you? These five tips are clear and easy and ready to help you release your SEO guilt.

10 Ways to Optimize Your Enewsletter Landing Page – by @juntajoe

If you have an enewsletter, check out these idea from Jeanne Jennings on how to encourage readers to sign up.

How to Build a B2B Content Marketing Team – by Doug Kessler at Velocity Partners

Here’s a fun post and a great image from Doug Kessler about what skills are needed for content marketing. What do you need to round out your team?

B2B Marketers: Are You Delivering a B2C-Worthy Buying Experience?

Thu, 10 May 2012 06:00:00 -0500

We all know that self-educated buyers are holding sales reps at arm’s length until they’re quite far along the path to purchase. The fact that buyers are now in control causes no end of frustration in B2B organizations. But there’s no sense wringing your hands and trying to reassume control. The key is to focus on the experience your prospective buyers have of your organization as they narrow down their solution options.

B2B Buyers are Consumers Too

B2B marketers need to remember first and foremost that prospective buyers are people and consumers. That means the trends that impact all of us in our daily lives are also affecting prospects in the same ways. The world moves faster in general. We all have access to information at our fingertips through a range of digital devices. We can more easily tap into our friends’ and peers’ opinions and experiences. (All of which leads to the Zero Moment of Truth, coined by Google; check out this terrific post by Velocity Partners in the UK about how ZMOT impacts B2B.

We’re spoiled by the experiences we have with leading brands like Amazon and Zappos. And we don’t distinguish between the experiences we have as B2C versus B2B buyers. Consumer companies have raised the bar high, and B2B marketers need to satisfy high expectations as buyers make their B2B purchases.

Christine Crandell who speaks and writes about the B2B buyer’s journey, outlines six characteristics of what she calls Buyer 3.0. These buyers:

View the buying experience is a precursor of their customer experience.
Are outcome-driven and expect to receive meaningful value at every step.
Thoroughly research potential purchases and alternatives long before contacting sellers.
Consider any inconsistencies in their buying “experience” as a warning sign that future expectations will not be met.
Use multiple social channels to interact with and expect sellers to be able to follow the conversation across channels.
Proactively share their product and buying experiences with their social community.

In other words, the buying journey is just as important as the ultimate purchase. As Tony Zambito of Buyerology says, “Buyers not only want to ‘feel good’ about the business experiences they undergo, but now also have a higher expectations they will take away knowledge they did not have before.”

Shaping the Buying Experience

Marketers tend to get wrapped up in their inside-out perspectives, thinking about what type of collateral to produce or campaigns to run. What they need to keep in mind is that buyers are seeking information, and as long as it’s the right information at the right time – and is easy to access – they largely don’t care how it’s delivered or in what format. According to Caroline Morris with the marketing research organization Sky IQ, " They [consumers] don't differentiate in terms such as channels or devices like marketers do, they are just engaging."

B2B buyers also expect their interactions with your company to be seamless every step of the way. If there’s any discontinuity between the information marketers present and the conversations sales reps spark up, confusion ensues and the prospect is likely to bail. After all, these are busy people who don’t have time to piece it all together on your behalf. As Christine Crandell points out, this disconnect can raise a red flag for potential buyers, making them question just what their experience would be as your customers.

The key is for all relevant stakeholders within an organization to collaborate and make sure they’re working in tandem to offer buyers a unified experience.

Marketers can spearhead efforts to get everyone who interacts with customers on the same page with the storyline, messages, and content being shared with prospective buyers. This can be done through a combination of sales playbooks, trainings, and ongoing internal communications. And don’t forget to touch base regularly with your sales team to see how the content and messaging is resonating with prospects once they’re interacting with your sales reps.

Photo credit: blinkingidiot

About the author: Stephanie Tilton is a content marketing consultant who helps B2B companies craft content that nurtures leads and advances the buying cycle. You can follow her on Twitter or read more of her posts on Savvy B2B.

Savvy Toolkit - Demand Metrics Editorial Calendar Template

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:53:00 -0500

The Savvy Sisters are big advocates of using an editorial calendar. We have shared our template a number of times on this blog. Demand Metrics has given us permission to share theirs also. You can download their version here.

I like the Demand Metrics version to keep track of collateral distribution externally. Ours was developed to keep track of a multi-person blog (like ours) but the Demand Metrics one I am using with a client who is submitting articles for publication in various trade publications. Check it out!

If you like what you see, Demand Metrics has over 300 templates and tools for license in a special $100 off deal here. We will be sharing others in the Toolkit feature over the next few months!

Savvy Week in Review - May 4

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:00:00 -0500

Happy Friday, everyone! We hope that you are enjoying spring and getting outside when you can. To reduce the time you spend looking for the most useful posts from the week, check out our favorites below. Did we miss something? Add them in the comments!

Enjoy the weekend, and see you on the other side.

Is Your Content Supporting or Sinking Your Thought Leadership Efforts? by @kevinrcain via @Junta42

Kevin Cain of OpenView Venture Partners offers up a set of criteria to separate what’s often passed off as thought leadership from the real deal.

On-demand Sessions from the B2B Content2Conversion Conference via @DG_Report

DemandGen Report hosted a content marketing conference in NYC on April 24 and you can watch all the sessions for free online! Don't pass up this opportunity to hear from Ardath Albee, Christina "CK" Kerley, Jeanne Hopkins of HubSpot, Elle Woulfe of Eloqua and more.

New Research: B2B Content is a Dead End by @wittlake

Eric Wittlake shares the results of his informal survey of white papers produced by 10 large B2B companies. Find out why these papers fail to keep prospects engaged.

B2B Content Strategy Should Never Be a Wallflower – by @ardath421

Ardath Albee discusses why transitions between channels in B2B marketing.

Ten Brands Doing Post-Adverting Right: Spring Edition – by @Story_Jon

Here are 10 great examples of content marketing and brand storytelling.

Does Your Website Need a Mobile Makeover? 8 Mobile Optimization Tips To Improve Your Site’s UX – by @KISSmetrics

If you are looking for examples of how mobile optimization can help your website, check out this image-rich post from KISSmetrics.

How to Write a Better Call to Action via @MarketingProfs

Next to your headline, your CTA is the most important piece of copy on your page. Do you know how to write a good one?

5 Steps Brands Can Take to Tell Better Stories by CMO.com via @getcurata

Do you know how to get the best stories in front of your customers? This post includes five tips on how to maximize your storytelling opportunities.

Five of the All-Time Biggest Blogging Questions Answered by @markwschaefer

You have questions, Mark has answers. Come and get 'em!

What My Grandmother (Should Have) Taught the World about B2B Marketing

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:23:00 -0500

My grandmother was not a business woman. She was mostly a mom, a grandmother and a homemaker. She passed away when I was only 16, but I still remember (nearly every day!) some pearl of wisdom she passed along in the form of an old saying or another.

One that I have been thinking about A LOT lately is “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.”

It seems like in B2B we are always in a rush. The next trade show, the next product release, the upcoming networking event. And unfortunately, it seems like content is always the last thing on the to-do list for these events. That results in a rush job that stresses everyone out (from the sales person to the print shop) and all that effort frequently ends up getting scrapped after the event because the content was done in a rush and doesn’t quite hold up to scrutiny.

How can you ensure that you always have quality content to back you up when you take your B2B products and services out for a spin? Yep. Grandma had this one covered to: “Plan your work and work your plan.”

You see, content shouldn’t be created for events. It should be created for products and services. It should be as much a part of the creation process as coding, manufacturing and packaging. Making content a part of the process results in better content that connects more effectively with prospects. So how can you work content into your product and service lifecycle?

1. Plan ahead

This can be as simple as having a list of every piece of content needs to be developed to accompany a new product or service launch. Maybe services only need web copy, solution briefs and sales presentations while products require case studies and white papers on top of that, but encoding content requirements is a big step in ensuring your content library stays current.

2. Get it in the workflow

When does content creation need to start? Perhaps not from the very beginning, but certainly once the launch date is set. Be sure to start with high level messaging that gets approved up and down the chain of command – that way you can create individual pieces of content with greater confidence – and fewer review cycles.

3. Refresh often

Product update? Brand re-launch? Time to go through your content with a fine tooth comb to make sure it always represents the latest messaging. Do not, I repeat, do NOT send your sales people out with content they have to qualify.

4. Curate

“Clean as you go along” grandma always said. And this is the one content item that is the most likely to get overlooked. If you just keep stacking up content without keeping track of it and culling it down once in awhile, you will end up with a big mess that no one can navigate. Creating (and sticking to) an iron-clad versioning system and cleaning schedule can help a lot here.

5. Send out content with confidence!

About the author: Kate Headen Waddell is a strategic copywriter specializing in web copy, white papers, case studies, blogging and other B2B marketing tools. You can visit her website at www.smartb2bmarcom.com.

Savvy Week in Review: April 27

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0500

TGIF, people!

Another week, another tasty selection of fabulous posts from around the blogosphere. Welcome to our smorgasbord of the best B2B blogging tidbits this week. We hope you enjoy them and then go unplug for the weekend - spring is coming into full swing all over the place and you ought to go out and have some fun in it.

Happy reading & see you next week!

How to Get People to Click a Link in a Newsletter by @jonbuscall

Don't overcomplicate things. This post includes several experienced-based tips on how to make your email work harder.

How Content Marketers Can Reach a Larger Audience by Redefining the eBook by @Wogahn via @junta42

Great ideas on how to go bigger and better with your ebooks - get more bang for the buck, so to speak.

Are You Worthy of Social Media? The 2 Types of Talk Triggers by @jaybaer

Do you know how to earn engagement on social media? This post will help you get it.

How to Discover the Key Words People are Searching For by @SEWatch via @GetCurata

Key words. Everyone knows they are important, but do you know which ones you should be using?

My Blog Made Over 2 Million Dollars in Sales: How’s that for ROI? by @TheSalesLion

Want proof of social media ROI. Here it is in black and white. How d'you like them apples?

Marketing Scores Leads, So Why Doesn’t Sales Score Opportunities? by @DataDrivenSales via @bobapollo

Swayne Hill shares a proven way for sales to save significant admin time better deal with sales forecast risks.

The mainstreaming of content marketing: ten implications by @dougkessler via @Econsultancy

How to stay ahead of the pack even as content marketing becomes the norm.

... and just for fun: Top 10 Most Unforgivable Twitter Spelling Mistakes on @buzzfeed (Thanks to @shellykramer for the tip off!)

And last, but certainly not least, we hope you'll enjoy this great interview of B2B marketer extraordinaire and Savvy B2B Marketing friend @DiannaHuff being interviewed by @MonicaMagnetti about her wonderful Women Achieiving Dreams ebook.

The Death of Creativity in Writing

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:57:00 -0500

This week my kids are on spring vacation from school. One of my sons, who had done poorly on the writing essay portion of

the SATs, along with two of his buddies, will be taking a class I am teaching on how to write an essay for the test.

The SAT does not ask you to be creative; instead it asks you to follow a format. It wants to see if you can follow rules. When asked for an essay, you had better provide one using 5 paragraphs with the following format:

· Introduction

· Example 1

· Example 2

· Qualification

· Conclusion

Or you will fail.

“Can I use “I”?” one of the kids asked.

Nope, the graders don’t care what you think. They only want to see that the structure has been followed - is your thesis sentence in the right place, do you have 5 facts in each example paragraph, and have you acknowledged the other point of view?

“I’m not teaching you how to be a good writer,” I started the class with, “I want you to understand that I am simply teaching you how to write for a specific test.”

“What about personal opinion?”

Not allowed.

“What voice should I use?”

Only authoritative and never chummy, do not have a friendly discussion with your reader. Assume that you are in a court of law and you need to convince the jurors of your position.

One boy in the class told me that he was told by his English teacher that if he couldn’t come up with a reference for the test essay to make one up, but to be sure to make it “looks like it’s real.”

*sigh*

This is what writing has come down to. And while I understand the need for some sort of metrics, it makes me sick that our kids, the future of tomorrow, are being taught to write like this.

This is a formula - follow it. Breaking from the mold will result in failure.

If you can’t make it, then fake it, as long as you can conform to the standards.

While we are rapidly heading into a world where group allegiance to the whole will be demanded from kids who are taught to numbingly follow the rules, in my world of art and creativity, we are silently weeping.

***

Wendy Thomas is a writer, journalist, and blogger on subjects ranging from social networking and e-marketing to owning backyard chickens. She spent more than 20 years as a technical writer and has taught classes in technical writing and instructional design both at the graduate and undergraduate level. Through her business; Jackson and Thomas e-Writing, her work with marketingprofs.com, and as a Savvy Sister at savvyb2bmarekting.com, she regularly consults with companies advising on best practices to use when trying to effectively get their brand and platform recognized on the Internet.

Wendy has been a guest speaker, a columnist, and has been published in regional and national newspapers and magazines, as well as on many blogs. You can contact Wendy at Wethomas@gmail.com.

Who Do You Love? Marketing Sherpa's Best Marketing Blogs Nominations Going On Now!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:07:00 -0500

Marketing Sherpa is running a Reader's Choice Best Marketing Blogs. They are asking for nominations in a 13 categories!!! We applaud the diversity in their options. So often all marketing blog "Best of" lists lump all blogs into a single category or into just B2B and B2C. So check out the list below and nominate your favorites by commenting on this Marketing Sherpa Blog post!

Here are the categories:

Best B2B Marketing Blog
Best Email Marketing Blog
Best E-commerce Blog
Best Inbound Marketing Blog
Best Copywriting Blog
Best PPC Blog
Best SEO Blog
Best Marketing Strategy Blog
Best Social Media Blog
Best Viral Marketing Blog
Best Marketing Operations Blog
Best Design Blog
Best Optimization/Testing Blog

Nominations are open until Sunday May 13th. If you are a fan of Savvy B2B we would love to have your vote of confidence with a nomination in the Best B2B Marketing Blog category. We particularly love being recoginized in Reader's Choice lists because we value your opinion of our work first and foremost!

Savvy Toolkit - easel.ly Infographic Creation Tool

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:56:00 -0500

The Savvy Sisters love a good infographic! We post them in this Toolkit feature, share them in our original posts and on Twitter. We are information junkies and we know many our readers are too! So when Jamie came across this new infographic creation tool easel.ly we were excited to share it with all of you.

Please check it out and tell then fill out the feedback form for the easel.ly development team.

A word of caution about infographics, they are only as good as the information behind them. They are a powerful tool but you still need to use solid research techniques to gather the data you put in them. You might want to check out this post on 7 Critical Steps to Collecting Effective Survey Data.

Savvy Week in Review: April 20

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0500

Another week, another set of inspiring posts. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

The Myth of Having To Post Every Day to Be a Successful Blogger by @DannyBrown via @BlogTipsOnline

Here's some proof that you don't have to blog every day to make blogging worth your while.

LinkedIn 4x better for B2B leads than Facebook or Twitter says HubSpot study by @dmscott re: @Hubspot

Hubspot reports that LinkedIn is the place to be if you're trying to generate leads.

A Strong Cast of Characters is Vital to Telling Your Company’s Story by @bradmarley via @SpinSucks

How do you create affinity for the people behind your company? Take a notes from Brad Marley who works with GM to create stories that help build community.

75 Top Marketing Blogs to Make Your RSS Reader Fat! – via @unbounce

Not that you need more to read, but if you are looking for new blogs to follow, check out this post from Kristi Hines. She packages up categories of blogs into RSS feeds so you can easily subscribe to multiple blogs at once.

Social Media Time Savers: 4 New Productivity Tools and How to Use Them – by @jessostroff via @jaybaer

I’m all about finding tools to make help with collaboration and productivity. Here are four you should try out.

5 Unorthodox Tips For Finding Blog Inspiration – by @pushingsocial

We are all looking for inspiration at some point, and Stanford Smith has some ideas that may help.

How Asking “Why” Helps Us Get to Our Larger Story by @Robert_Rose via @Junta42

The 5 "whys" critical to content marketing.

Content Authors Wanted - Cross Departmental Recruitment Encouraged!

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:22:00 -0500

I recently heard Joe Pulizzi, Founder of the Content Marketing Institute, speak at DemandCon. He spoke about marketing departments hiring former journalists as Content Directors for their organizations. He gave several examples of valuable insights that trained journalists bring to the role of Content Marketer. To watch Joe’s entire presentation visit the DemandCon BrightTalk channel here.

As moved as I was by Joe’s presentation I began to reflect on my own career and path to success as a content marketer. I do have a marketing degree but I spent most of my actual work career as a project manager, professional services manager and pre-sales engineer. I think all of these areas provide skills that could be leveraged by the marketing department to create good content. As guest authors on blogs, to contribute to or author white papers and they are invaluable resources in the creation of case studies. I will give you a few examples of skills I picked up in each of these roles that prepared me to be the content marketer I am today.

Project Managers

As a general rule project managers are skilled documenters. They are responsible for keeping their projects on-time, in scope and under budget. Because they rarely have direct supervisory responsibility for those under them they have to use well honed people skills and wide array of motivation tactics to keep their teams performing in harmony. They also must constantly balance the needs of both internal and external customers. I truly never had such a challenging job as the 5 years I spend managing IT implementation projects.

Why those responsible for content marketing should get to know their organizations project managers? Because they know what happens after the sale. They can review your content marketing materials with a finely honed BS meter. They have tremendous contacts within the organization to the deepest Subject Matter Experts on any given topic. They know where the product guys and gals go for lunch and what kind of beer the Quality Testing staff drinks.

Professional Services

These are the road warriors of any B2B organization. They are the folks who are tasked with going to whatever remote area your customers data center, warehouse, etc is in and physically implementing the product. Whether that be software, hardware, a conveyor belt these soldiers of your industry have seen more Hampton Inn’s that anyone else and they are the “face” of your organization to end user.

Marketers need to know them because they know what customers say about your organization during the implementation, what the hidden benefits of your product are and what ends up making the biggest difference to customers in the end. They know what your customers say about your competitors that you are either replacing or got selected over. Once a Professional Services person has been on site with a client for several weeks they often develop a closeness that can’t be duplicated. I once spent 9 weeks at the same company in rural Wisconsin doing a proof of concept. When I was done with that implementation I knew more about the internal politics of my customer and their buying process than many of their internal staff because the CIO’s secretary who arranged my hotel and travel was very talkative. We used feedback I picked up from that client to reshape our whole ROI model and value proposition for all deals within that industry.

Pre-Sales Engineer

If a Content Marketer wants to float some possible messaging, a new product brochure, sales deck out into the world their best friend is the Pre-Sales Engineer. Pre-Sales are the technical grunts that travel around to most product demo or second tier sales meetings and sit silently waiting to expound on the deep intricacies of the product when the Salesperson has run out of blurbs and drivel they memorized off the slicks that marketing provided them. In most meetings that means the Pre-Sales person spends the first two-thirds or three-fourths of the meeting sitting and watching the crowd. They are lying in wait for the moment when the sales rep says “would you like to see a demo”.

Why is this valuable to content marketing? Because Pre-Sales is trained to listen to what departments / pain points are represented in the meeting and then when it comes time for their demo to make sure they include some sort of example or benefit for everyone in the room. “Jane, I remember you mentioned you are from inside sales. I wanted to make sure I showed you the workflow component of our application which allows you to quickly enter data one place and have it populate the CRM and ordering system. It sounds like that is a two step process for you with your current application”. Once you get a vigorous head nod from a department or a request for a follow up case study / white paper on a particular pain point then you know you have hit pay dirt.

If Pre-Sales is actively involved in contributing to your blog or is aware of your editorial calendar they can help engage these departmental attendees and evangelize engagement in your community.

I would love to hear examples of other Content Director working across their organizations to get content contributors in unexpected places. Please comment below!

Savvy Week in Review - April 13

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:01:00 -0500

Friday the 13th is upon us! The only bad luck we see this week is if you don't catch these great posts we've found across the blogosphere.

Enjoy -- and have a great weekend!

Meet Generation C: The Connected Customer by @BrianSolis

Eye-opening overview of statistics on the next generation of consumers. This will undoubtedly have repercussions in all areas of business and marketing.

How PowerPoint + YouTube = Great Content Marketing by @brencournoyer

Excellent idea on how to turn all those PowerPoints you have lying around into YouTube gold.

50 Content Ideas to Create Buzz by @ConversationAge

Excellent and thorough list of great ideas - each with a linked example.

Redesigning Your Blog to Drive Reader Behavior by @jaybaer

Detailed, behind-the-scenes look at Convince and Convert's strategic makeover.

10 Tips for Creating Effective Calls to Action – via @B2Community

Once you have great content, you often need to get people to sign up. Marianne Cellucci shares concrete ideas and examples on how to get a visitor to complete a goal.

Content Marketing for In-Person Events: 15 Ways to Extend Your Reach – by @Juntajoe

This is a must-read article from Joe Pulizzi if you work on in-person events.

35 Beautiful Landing Page Design Examples to Drool Over [With Critiques] – via @unbounce

If you are creating landing pages, bookmark this post from Unbounce. You’re certain to be inspired!

How To Be A Better Listener in Content Marketing

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:00:00 -0500

Like any marketer, I believe in the value of listening: monitoring multiple sources for information about my industry and company to keep on top of trends, find relevant info to share, connect with others in my field and participate in conversations. While I've followed blogs, used Google Alerts, followed Twitter streams, and subscribed to a lot of emails for years, I'll admit that I was a bit of a disorganized mess. Not only do I get my info from different sources, but I use multiple devices: a MacBook Pro, an iPad and a Droid. So, even though I was listening, I was missing information and spending too much time in the process.

If you are looking to streamline your listening process, here are are some of the challenges I faced with solutions for each.

I needed a more robust RSS reader for my iPad.

I do most of my reading on my iPad, so I needed a reader from which I could do everything I need. I settled on Feeddler Pro ($4.99), which I really like because it meets many of my requirements:

It syncs with Google reader and all of the folders I have set up
I can easily add new feeds directly from Feeddler Pro
It has a straightforward interface
I can easily share posts directly to Twitter or email
I can easily send posts to Evernote (my new content repository, which I LOVE)

Now when I have a few minutes to spare, I am much more productive because I am sharing and saving the info that is most relevant to me.

I signed up for industry-related emails, but I hated all of the clutter in my inbox.

While I see value in getting industry news via email, I found that all of the emails would distract me from necessary work, or worse, clog up my inbox, resulting in me losing important emails admist all of the clutter. One solution was to simply delete these messages without reading them in an attempt to keep my inbox clean(ish), but then I was missing some good info!

To combat this issue, I first unsubscribed from all of the emails that I no longer found useful. Then, I set up filters on emails that I still wanted to still review (I use gmail-based accounts, so I followed these instructions). These filtered emails automatically bypass by inbox and are fed to a folder so I can see them when I have time, but they don't distract me from my other mail. It's amazing how much less email I see in my inbox, which is a huge time-saver. Out of all of the changes I made, this is one of my favorites as I can now more easily focus on the emails that need my attention while accessing the industry-related emails when I want to listen.

I wanted to limit my time on Twitter.

I use Hootsuite, but I don't love having it on in the background because it's another distraction. So, I started subscribing to NutshellMail, which delivers a digest of Twitter @and LinkedIn) info via email. You can customize what info you want to receive and choose the exact frequency of the emails. I have one email delivered around 11 so it's something I can review when I am eating lunch. Just knowing that this info will be delivered has helped me focus on Twitter in a more productive way.

I wanted to end the feeling of information overload.

No matter what process I use for listening, there is always going to be more info than I can possibly consume, so I allocate a certain amount of time to listening each day. I only read what I can, and I no longer worry about "keeping up." Having this change in attitude has really helped.

These small changes have resulted in great productivity gains for me. What other tips do you have to streamline the listening process for marketing?

About the author: Michele is the Content Development Director of the Content Marketing Institute where where she works with a fabulous group of contributors who know a lot about content marketing. She's also a B2B content marketing consultant who has a passion for helping companies use content to connect with their ideal buyers. You can follow her onTwitter @michelelinn or read more of her posts on Savvy B2B.

Savvy Toolkit: How to Grow Your Business with Content Marketing

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:26:00 -0500

Anyone who is involved with content marketing knows that there are a lot of steps. If you are looking to put all of the pieces together, check out this new ebook from Right Source Marketing called How to Grow Your Business with Content Marketing (Note: Registration is required.)

The eBook covers the following topics:

Twelve steps to form the framework of any effective content marketing plan.
A checklist to determine if your content is engaging the right people
A look at the various types of content you can create
Best practices to follow for an integrated content marketing and SEO effort
Content distribution tips
A checklist of what to include in your content analysis and reporting approach
Ideas in how to get started in social media

I was asked to participate in the ebook, so it was fun to see it come together. It's a great resource for any content marketer!

Savvy Week in Review April 6th

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 06:25:00 -0500

Friday, again?

And - APRIL? Really? When did that happen? (And, how did we escape April Fool's Day intact?)

Well, the Easter Bunny may be hopping down the bunny trail, but all our marketing buddies have been busily hopping down the blogging trail - dishing up lots of fabulous posts to inspire and educate. Here are our favorite picks of the week.

Hope you enjoy them & that the Easter Bunny brings you some awesome eggs.

Complex Sales Processes Drive Need for Content Marketing, Content Curation by @GetCurata

This overview of the importance of content marketing to the compex sales process includes insights from a new Mediative white paper and examples from SAP and Amex's Open.

6 “Start-Me-Up” Tips for Novice Content Marketers by @apritchie via @junta42

Great overview of how to get started with content marketing ... the right way.

A Dozen Ways to Combat the Echo Chamber by @jasonkonopinski

Not sure what to write about on your corporate blog? Afraid of putting me-too content out there? Check these tips to help keep your content fresh and unique.

No Pictures Allowed by @mitchjoel

You're not doing this to your customer. Are you? Tell me you're not.

5 Content Ideas You Can Use Today by @ConversationAge

Solid tips on how to make your content work harder.

3 Reasons No One Comes Back to Your Blog—and How to Fix It by @MilkThePigeon via @problogger

If your blog isn't attracting an audience, you might want to check these three points to make sure you're not making an obvious mistake.

44 Must Read Resources on Content Marketing– by @KISSmetrics

I found myself going to and bookmarking a lot of the posts referenced in this handy list from KISSmetrics.

How to Quickly Discover and Organize New Blog Post Ideas – by @pushingsocial

If you are a blogger looking to streamline your process, check out this post from Stanford Smith.

21 Tips to Keep Your Writing in Shape – by @HeidiCohen

Heidi Cohen shares some ideas on how to keep writer’s block at bay.

Six tips for an effective online press room– via @econsultancy

Do you have a press room on your website? If not, you should. Here are some tips to get started or improve what you have.

Why Your CMO Doesn't Like You - by @noyesjesse

Find out what gets under the skin of CMOs so you can stay on your CMO's good side.

Why You Should Stop Mapping Content Formats to the Buyer's Journey by @wittlake

Eric Wittlake plays devil's advocate and sparks an interesting discussion -- check out the comments.

Be human. Your customers will thank you.

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:38:00 -0500

Technology, analytics, ranking, ROI, KPI, metrics, SEO, statistics, widgets, automation, media … each of these has a role to play in marketing a brand, but sometimes we put too much weight on them. We get caught up in making sure we have installed the latest plug-in, created a presence on the newest social network, and optimized our content to within an inch of it’s life. We forget that search engines and apps don’t buy our services – human beings buy our services.

Your brand needs to be human, too.

Whether you’re selling coaching or core processors, pet sitting or software, connecting with your customers on a human level is critical to capturing their interest, building strong relationships, and nurturing brand loyalty. People do not fall in love with brands because of what they are. People fall in love with brands because of “who” they are – the people behind the brand, the human experience of the brand, the emotional “why” and “so what?” of a brand.

If the face of your brand lacks a human element, you’re making your job as a marketer much harder than it needs to be. You’re setting yourself up to do a lot of extra work around convincing prospects of your brand’s value. Though we humans like to think we make choices based on a logical thought process, the truth is we usually make decisions based on gut reactions. We “like” a person or a product or a brand “just because.” Though a side-by-side comparison of two similar products might tell us that product A is the logical choice, if product B has found a way to connect with our human, emotional side, it will have the edge.

Four ways to humanize your brand:

There are four brand element categories that can benefit from the human touch: message, language, visuals, and interaction.

Message:

A human message focuses on people and their problems instead of products and their features. You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s worth repeating: talk about benefits, not features. Don’t make your product the star of the show, shine the spotlight on your customer. Talk about her life, her problems, her goals. Provide clear examples of how your product or service has real world applications for her.

Language:

Use simple, straightforward language to communicate your message. Don’t get tangled up in corporate-speak, marketingese, or technobabble. Talk like a human being. The shorter and simpler you can be in your presentation, the higher your audience’s comprehension and retention. Use stories and anecdotes – story is the language of humanity. Stories are easy to remember and share. Develop a conversational tone and style that is pleasant to read. Don’t be scared off by the naysayers who warn it’s the kiss of death – give humor a try. (Humans love to laugh.)

Visuals:

Please, please for the love of the marketing gods, do NOT use boring, seen-everywhere stock photography. The ubiquitous image of the office girl in glasses seen drawing a flow chart through a clear white board does not give anyone the warm and fuzzies, and it doesn’t do anything for your credibility either. Take the time to source interesting images that speak to the personality and philosophy of your brand. Better yet, invest in custom photography. Use nice head shots on your team bios, add head shots to your testimonials, include accent images throughout your website and in your ebooks and white papers. The rise of sites like Pinterest shows that we humans are visual creatures – give your customers something to look at.

Interaction:

Perhaps most importantly, be human in your interactions. Encourage conversations on your blog, and participate in them. If you engage in social media, don’t make it all about you or your product. Share other people’s content, share non-business content, don’t be afraid to show your personal side. Write emails that sound like emails, not like mandates handed down from on-high or slick sales messages wrapped in pseudo-informational content. Make customer service a central focus of your humanizing efforts. Your policies should advocate for the customer, not act as laws to keep her toes to the line. Provide direct access to real people. Respond promptly. Don’t freak out if customer interactions include banter or chatter or gossip about favorite TV shows. Embrace it. Those are the moments that make magic.

If you can humanize your brand, you will have an easier time connecting with customers. You won’t have to push so much on the hard sell. You won’t be cornered as often in feature- or price-based showdowns with competitors. Your brand will have that je ne sais quoi which appeals to people’s emotional, gut reaction side. And – just like that – you win.

So, how human is your brand? When you convert a customer, do you know what tipped the scales in your favor? Did the human element come into play?

About the Author: Jamie is a freelance strategist, teacher, and copywriter who partners with solo entrepreneurs to define and market their brands. Her specialties include brand development, social media strategy, and content marketing. Enjoy more of her posts, visit her site at Suddenly Marketing, or drop her an email.

Savvy Week in Review: March 30

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:00:00 -0500

Even though temperatures have returned to “normal” for us, we still have a bit of spring fever. It’s that time of year when we want to get everything in order! If you want to get your marketing in order, check out some of these great posts from around the web this week.

Happy Friday!

5 Questions to Ask before Jumping on the Infographics Bandwagon by @ahaval via @Junta42

Ahava Leibtag gives us cause to pause before we take the infographic leap. If for no other reason, read this post for the lively debate in the comments.

50 Smart Ways to Craft a Social Media Content Marketing Plan by @amandalnelson of @Radian6

Radian6 distills its eBook of the same name into 5 categories and 50 steps to help you produce content your social community is likely to share. As a bonus, you can access the original eBook at the end of the post.

Is the Latest Eloqua & JESS3 Animated Video Art or Marketing? by @jchernov of @Eloqua

Eloqua & JESS3 teamed up (once again) to produce an engaging, Rube-Goldberg-inspired video on "revenue performance management." This post lays out their thinking, and includes the video and the script.

Content Marketing Overtakes SEO as Google’s Quest to Be “Human” Continues by @TheSalesLion

Agonizing over whether you're doing SEO right (or, at all)? Relax. Google's Matt Cutts has some sane advice that'll ease your mind.

The Power of Delight by @JonathanFields

Acquiring new customers is important, but your existing customers are your most valuable asset. (Think - "bird in the hand.") What are you doing to delight them?

Is Social Media Strategy Required or Redundant? by @JayBaer

Do you have a social media strategy? Should you? Do you know the difference between business strategy and marketing strategy and social stratgey? Is your head spinning yet? Check this post to get your feet back on the ground.

Four Ways to Optimize Content for B2B Search by @abarcelos via @SpinSucks

These often overlooked basics can make a difference in getting your brand found.

11 Ways to Take a Break from Lists and Bring Variety to Your Content – by @willdavis via @rightsource

Yes, the title is intentional, and Will Davis provides some great ideas on how to break free from list posts.

Mobile email best practice: ask the experts – via @Econsultancy

If you are doing or thinking about mobile marketing, this post is one to bookmark as it has good ideas on how to get started with design.

The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs – by @WalterIsaacson via @HarvardBiz

Even though I read the Steve Jobs autobiography, I appreciated this wrap up of some of the key things that made Jobs so successful at Apple. Great lessons for any marketer.

210 Seconds of Fame. What happened and what’s next? – by @markwschaefer

A shout out to our friend Mark W. Schaefer who was on CBS This Morning this week. Check out his appearance in this video!

B2B Videos: Go Beyond Humdrum to Engage & Enthrall

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:00:00 -0500

Whether used to inform or entertain, videos are claiming a place of prominence in the world of B2B content assets. And it’s no wonder. When asked which content types they had consumed in the previous six months to evaluate a technology purchase, respondents to the Eccolo Media 2011 B2B Technology Collateral survey listed videos third behind brochures/data sheets and white papers.

Findings from research conducted by Searchmetrics help explain this trend. The search analytics software company found that, of content included in Google’s general search listings, video appeared most frequently, being displayed in over 70% of search results.

It’s no surprise then that the use of video is on the rise, according to the 2012 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report published by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs.

Why to Use Online Video for B2B Marketing

Looking for more reasons to produce videos? Salesforce.com lays out plenty of compelling arguments in this video (shown below) explaining why and how it uses video in its own marketing. (For what it’s worth, this video earned the Grand Prize in Beagle Research’s Short Tale Awards 2011. Be sure to visit the Beagle link for more award-winning examples.)

Inspiring Real-World Examples

The problem is that too many B2B videos put us to sleep. Once you’ve been wowed by the interactive wizardry and special effects served up by Hollywood, it’s hard to settle for a talking head juxtaposed against tedious office and product shots. How can you make sure your videos are standing out when 60 hours of video are uploaded every minute and over 4 billion videos are viewed a day on YouTube?

For better ways to use the power of video to engage your audience, check out these inspiring examples.

Eloqua: What is Revenue Performance Management?

According to Eloqua’s PR firm, SHIFT Communications, Eloqua and JESS3 tried to blur the lines between art and marketing with this video (shown below). As they say, the result goes beyond the average corporate video – it’ something like a Rube Goldberg machine built by Salvador Dali.

When it was first published, an earlier Eloqua video -- The Future of Revenue -- resulted in the most traffic to Eloqua’s site in the company’s history. It's hard to believe the traffic surge was due to the subject matter alone. Rather it's quite likely that the hand-drawn, animated nature of the video encouraged views and sharing. In fact, the video won in three categories of the 2011 Beagle Research Short Tale awards: Best Story Telling, Best Video with an Educational Theme and Best Animation. As Beagle said, "… the animation is continuous stream of clear and relevant visuals punctuated by consistently enlightening and interesting information.”

Velocity Partners: Application Intelligence

Velocity Partners in the UK takes a similarly creative approach to covering what could otherwise be considered a dry topic: outlining the problems suffered by companies with huge application landscapes and a sensible solution. Check out the video and Velocity's considerations as it developed it on the Velocity blog.

Kinaxis: Supply Chain Entertainment

Kinaxis has taken B2B videos to an entirely new level with its humorous, entertaining, and self-deprecating takes on supply chain management software. According to a write-up on the Social Media B2B site, prospective customers says the videos make them feel they already know Kinaxis by the time they meet company reps at trade shows.

Bonus: Coca-Cola – Content 2020

Though not from a B2B company, the Content 2020 videos produced by The Coca-Cola Company offer plenty of creative goodness and a solid walk-through of the process to develop and execute a content strategy. You can find links to these at the bottom of my post on the Content Marketing Institute blog covering the top 3 lessons B2B marketers can glean from these videos.

Time to Jump on the Video Bandwagon

Convinced but feeling lost about how to execute a winning video? Your best bet is to engage a creative firm with the chops to pull it off, such as Velocity Partners or JESS3, the agency that developed several of the videos that won Beagle awards. If you’re determined to handle it on your own, check out this video from Salesforce.com (shown below) outlining how to create a successful one.

Have other B2B videos inspired, entertained, or just plain mesmerized you? Please share them with us!

Related posts:

Personality: The Missing Ingredient in B2B Marketing Today