Adapting to Inbound Marketing for B2B Lead Generation…Are You Ready?

Posted by JasonB on December 15, 2009

Although it may not be your company’s style to “tweet”, Facebook, or blog, you need to think about making yourself accessible to other companies who may benefit from your business, and you theirs.

Inbound marketing is a style of marketing that focuses on getting found by customers. And today, Social Media is a leading tool for inbound marketing.

Why Change Now?
Adapting to the variations in marketing tactics doesn’t mean you have to give up your current marketing strategy, it just means you need to be available through a few social media outlets.
Social media makes your company accessible online gives other companies and opportunity to seek you for your service.

1) Improving B2B Relationships
B2B marketing makes up a significant portion of overall online marketing activity. Roughly one-third of all commercial searches on Google are business to business related; more than 50 percent of Google’s target advertisers are B2B, and almost 38 percent of Yahoo’s target advertisements are B2B related.
Being available online helps your company to extend its lines of communication and stay in close contact with current and potential clients. Using online videos, pictures, and event calendars can help engage possible B2B relationships.

2) Increasing Visibility
When a potential buyers are in the market for a new product, they will often post a question online asking their peers which products are the best. You need to make sure that when that time comes, your name is mentioned first. You never know where your customers are online; LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Companies who start or participate in these discussions in an informative and helpful manner get instant credibility and a foot-in-the-door with decision makers.

3) Achieving Maximum ROI
Adapting to inbound marketing will not only increase your visibility online, it will generate more leads for your business. Getting exposure early in the buying cycle will increase your networking opportunities and profitability.

You Don’t Have To Do It Alone…
Social media is always changing so consider having a specialist maintain your sites and work with your company to help determine key steps and strategies. Your specialist can also help you stay ahead of the competition. Specialists can help you:

1) Maintain your social sites.
2) Find relevant conversations pertaining to your company or industry.
3) Author content for your blog and share with online communities.

Many people jump on Google to find the answer to a specific question or to prospect business relationships. Being a part of several key social media sites will help to increase your search engine optimization thus making you more visible online.

It’s time to take the plunge and begin social media marketing to take your business to new heights.

Using Facebook as a Business to Business Lead Generation Tool

Posted by JasonB on December 10, 2009

As a new era of B2B lead generation arises, it is important to familiarize yourself with the benefits of social media. Facebook – what was once an online community for college students – has come to the forefront and morphed into an online marketing powerhouse. If utilized correctly, Facebook can give your company visibility to a plethora of target markets and help you to become a savvy professional.

To Begin
Create a company profile on Facebook. This will give your company an opportunity to stay competitive and deliver daily messages to your target markets to increase business to business leads.

Engage Your Fans.
Facebook allows your company to post videos, pictures, lets fans participate in discussions and can include all of the company’s viable information. Once they’ve visited a page, make them interested in learning more about your company.

Promote Your Company’s Interests.
Establish yourself – join groups and comment on topics. The more visible you are in online communities, the more familiar potential clients will become with your name, thus driving them to inquire more about your company.

Move Your Blog Through Various Social Media Outlets.
While using a blog is effective , it’s now time to ensure your company has maxim exposure. Before starting your blog, do a little research. Set up a Google Reader account; this will give you an opportunity to see what other people in your field are writing about, and what might work best for your company. Once you’ve become comfortable with your writing style, start your blog- but don’t stop there. Have it linked to your Facebook page – traffic from the blog will drive readers to your page, and traffic from your page will drive them to your blog increasing your company’s visibility.

Utilize Your Cellphone.
Once you’ve established a fan base on your Facebook page, encourage your readers to access your page from their mobile phones. Accessing your page through a mobile device will give you an opportunity to update your company’s information on-the-go, and will give you an opportunity to network with your fans while they’re away from their computer.

Outsource Your Social Media Marketing.
Diving head-first into the social media world can be time-consuming and confusing for some. Outsourcing your social media marketing gives you the opportunity to focus on your projects at hand while Gateway Business Development takes an in-depth look at your social media marketing / B2B lead generation needs.