B2B Marketing Blog

Launching a B2B online community, where to start?

Great, you’re convinced. You realise that at some point you’re going to have to come around to the idea of an online community for your event(s) and what better time to start than right now? So how exactly do you do that?

Start Blogging! Start your own, blog on LinkedIn, blog wherever you want, but do it consistently.

Well we’ve shown you the shape an online event community can take, so think about which areas you’d like to focus on. We have some advice of our own on that topic but ultimately it’s down to you to fit the forum to your ideal customer, or the place you know your prospects and customers can be found.

However, we can’t stress this point enough – if you don’t have a blog you’re missing a major opportunity to generate leads and build a captive audience. This is the most effective first step you can take in creating YOUR community, though you might not think it’s the easiest.

Here are our 5 steps to blog success, take them one step at a time.

Topics: B2B Content Marketing Content Marketing Event Marketing Conference Marketing B2B communities

Cool event technology: CatchTalk.tv

Video for B2B events is a must, and any organiser who doesn’t think to budget for it and prioritise its importance will likely regret it when the sales and marketing teams come to sourcing or generating new leads next time around.

But how exactly do you make the most of that conference footage? And how can you tell its effectiveness as a lead generation tool? Well, I’ve been keeping an eye on one company in this arena that is driving the industry forward in a very innovative and cool way. CatchTalk.tv has built its own platform for event companies to showcase conference video on, and not only that, but it can demonstrate the ROI behind it too. 

Topics: Marketing Tools Content Marketing Event Marketing Conference Marketing

Are B2B marketers drowning in content? Top 3 takeaways from B2B Marketing's Content Benchmarking Infographic

B2B Marketing recently published its 2014 Content Benchmarking report, and summarised the key points in an infographic which sparked our imagination, so we put together our top takeaways as digestible, actionable insights.

Topics: B2B Marketing Marketing Trends B2B Content Marketing Content Marketing Lead Generation

Focus on inbound marketing to generate leads for events

As event marketers we all know that B2B lead generation is an expensive and time-consuming business. Those ye olde ‘push’ tactics simply don’t yield the volume of quality leads we’re all desperately hunting.

That's why, these days, it's all about 'pulling' those prospects in. Successful inbound marketing should connect your potential customers with you and your event via engaging content that can be easily accessed on the device of their choice. 

Topics: B2B Content Marketing Content Marketing Event Marketing Conference Marketing Inbound Marketing Lead Generation

Three major trends affecting the future of event companies

The events and conference industry has kicked off to a nice buoyant start this year and we're seeing lots of enthusiasm and commitment for change. We set out to identify the most talked about key trends, predictions and insights that have the conference and events industry buzzing and will most likely impact your business in the not too distant future (if not already!). 

Topics: B2B Marketing Marketing Trends Content Marketing Conference Marketing

Seven things you really must do when conducting b2b surveys

How many times have you filled in a survey and never received the "promised report"?

Some organisations don't ever seem to follow up and make the end user (me and you) feel used and abused. All smiles, bells and whistles when they need me but once they get what they want, then they forget me.

Last week I received a couple of requests to fill in a questionnaire from two well known organisations. The surveys in question were actually very interesting and just before I was disposing myself to answer the questionnaires, I came to realise that "I have filled in questionnaires for these guys before and have never received anything!". Never got the discount, never got told who actually won the free ticket to their conference, not even a thank you message. But worst of all... I never got to see the results of the report! Did it actually materialise? Or was it just a cover for internal intelligence gathering with no intention of sharing?

Before you embark on surveying your customers, followers, leads and your own prospect databases be sure to consider these 7 things you must really do when conducting b2b online surveys.

Topics: B2B Marketing Content Marketing

Facebook for B2B marketing: How to create highly shareable posts

Earlier this week, in Part 1: Facebook for B2B Marketing we looked at some key statistics from research conducted by Marketo that indicated that many businesses don’t get exposure to most of the people who’ve liked their page.

Topics: B2B Marketing B2B Content Marketing Content Marketing B2B Social Media

Using Facebook for B2B marketing: Our views on Marketo's research

Most people using Facebook for B2B don’t realise that 80% or more of their fans never see their posts. This shocking statistic has been around for just over a year now but when we read the new Facebook research produced by Marketo, published this month, "Contagious Content for Facebook: What people share on facebook and why they share it" we decided the time was ripe to do an article on how to beat it.

Topics: B2B Marketing B2B Content Marketing Content Marketing B2B Social Media

How to recycle your B2B Marketing Content

Everybody's talking about it but unfortunately not everyone is doing it. B2B content marketing needn’t be scary! Besides, how does the saying go? "Feel the fear and do it anyway!"

Topics: B2B Content Marketing Content Marketing

Most Talked About B2B Marketing Resolutions for 2013

It's hard to believe that another year has gone and we're kicking off 2013. With mince pies and mulled wine season out of the way, there's a real sense of excitement, optimism and change in the crisp winter air.

Topics: B2B Marketing Content Marketing Inbound Marketing