Does Social Media Make Sense for B2B Companies? [Marketing Cast]
December 6, 2010
Does Social Media Make Sense for B2B Companies? [Marketing Cast]
Does social media make sense for B2B companies? Though this is a question that we have started encountering recently, it originates from a much broader conversation about the marketing differences between B2B and B2C companies.
B2B marketers, David Meerman Scott suggests, have this idea that something is different about what they do compared to what B2C marketers do. But, you know, you are just marketing to people, he adds.
Despite the differences in product price and length of sales cycles, both environments share a goal for successfully engaging with a target market. So how would a B2B company go about social media then?
Dont Think You Are Different
Dont create excuses why you are not engaging in certain marketing behaviors because you are a B2B company. Be open-minded and willing to experiment with new techniques. There are tons of lessons B2B marketers can learn from B2C marketing situations and you should take advantage of these opportunities.
Examine Broader Group of Marketing Successes
Expand your thinking to include a broader selection of inbound marketing case studies. For example, take a look at what musicians are doing and emulate that. As Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Deadby Brian Halligan and David Meerman Scott suggests, the music industry can teach us a lot about business innovation. Educational institutions are another B2C group that can offer valuable lessons for B2B marketers.
While there are some differences between B2B and B2C marketing, they shouldnt be exaggerated or created artificially. Companies such as Cisco, with their videos, social media engagement and blogging, have already proven that B2B marketers have a thing or two to learn from B2C environments. And yes, social media makes sense for B2B companies.
Watch the On-Demand Social Media Marketing Webinar!
CommentsPosted by Magdalena Georgieva on Mon, Dec 06, 2010 @ 01:00 PM
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HubSpot/~3/tHt0i3cN65s/Does-Social-Media-Make-Sense-for-B2B-Companies-Marketing-Cast.aspx
A Marketer’s Guide to Tracking Online Campaigns
December 6, 2010
A Marketer’s Guide to Tracking Online Campaigns
Tracking URLs are one of the most complicated concepts I’ve ever had to explain duringmy time as an inbound marketing consultant here at HubSpot. That said, they are also one of the most useful tools for online marketing. Below, I’ll explain how to use tracking URLs to create targeted campaign reporting.
The Basics
A tracking URL is just a normal page URL from your website with what’s called a tracking token added to the end of it. Below, I’ve posted an example landing page URL by itself and with a tracking token.
Landing Page URL:
http://www.yourwebsite.com/your-landing-page/
Landing Page URL with a Tracking Token:
http://www.yourwebsite.com/your-landing-page/?utm_campaign=test-campaignutm_source=email
As you can see, the page URL is the same in both cases, but in the second case, there’s some extra stuff added to the end. This extra stuff is your tracking token.
Why Someone Would Use a Tracking URL
The simple answer is, because you’d want to track something. If you’re running a PPC campaign, sending an email, or putting an advertisement on another website, tracking URLs are essential for calculating the number of visits, leads and customers you’ve generated from your hard work.
The example below is a screenshot from HubSpot’s sources report. Each “campaign” represents a separate tracking URL that we’ve created for different PPC campaigns. Because we’ve taken the extra time to create and use tracking URLs, we’re able to tracking the exact number of visits, leads and even customers that each campaign has generated.
How to Use Tracking URLs
1) Create a Landing Page
Once you create a landing page around an offer (download our free white paper, etc), You’ll want to create a tracking URL. If you’re a HubSpot customer, you can use HubSpots tracking URL builder to create your tracking token. Otherwise, you can use Google’s free URL builder.
(Note: The HubSpot and Google URL builders both use the same method for tracking URLs, which means URLs you generate with Google will be tracked in HubSpot analytics and URLs that you generate with HubSpot will be tracked in GoogleAnalytic)
2) Generate your Tracking URL
When you create your tracking URL, make sure to include a Marketing Event Name (this will help you keep track of your marketing initiatives), a Campaign Name (this is what you will track in your analytics) and a Source (this let’s sources know where to allocate this traffic, email, PPC, etc)
(Note: the example above is the HubSpot Tracking URL builder)
3) Use the Tracking URL in your Campaign
Here’s the important part. Once you create your landing page and your tracking URL, you’ll need to actually use your tracking URL in your campaign.
If you’re running an email marketing campaign, you’ll want to use your new tracking URL in your links, behind your calls-to-action.
If you have a call-to-action in your email like, “Download Our Free White Paper,” you’ll want to make sure you use your tracking URL as your hyperlink.In this example I’m using “http://www.yourwebsite.com/your-landing-page/?utm_campaign=test-campaignutm_source=email.”
If you’re running a PPC campaign, you’ll want to make sure to use your tracking URL in the “Destination URL” (see the example from Google AdWords below).
4) Check your Analytics
Here’s the good part. Now that you’ve done the hard work of creating a landing page and a Tracking URL for that landing page, you can check your analytics platform for visits from that specific URL. If you’re using HubSpot’s marketinganalytics, the system will sort Tracking URLs based on source and automatically trackvisitor, lead and customer conversions.
If you’re using another system, like Google Analytics, you can track campaign visits by going to “Traffic Sources” “Campaigns.”
Share your Experience
Those are the basics. For those of you out there who are already using tracking URLs, please feel free to share your experience and best practices below.
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CommentsPosted by Andrew Pitre on Mon, Dec 06, 2010 @ 03:30 PM
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HubSpot/~3/yo7eDLELU50/A-Marketer-s-Guide-to-Tracking-Online-Campaigns.aspx
Google Wave Is Now an Apache Project
December 6, 2010
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Google Launches Long-Awaited E-Bookstore
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New Data: Gender Differences in Blog Reading Behavior
December 6, 2010
New Data: Gender Differences in Blog Reading Behavior
I’ve been doing a ton of research for my upcoming Science of Blogging webinar on December 9th and I’ve found a bunch of really interesting things, including some differences in the way men and women read blogs.
This data comes from a survey conducted with over 1400 social-media using American adults.
More Men Read Blogs More than Once a Day
The first difference I noticed was that while 51% of men report reading blogs “more than once a day,” only 43% of women say the same.
Women are More Likely to Subscribe to a Blog via Email
When I asked survey takers how they read blogs, I found that 55% of women subscribed to blogs via email, while only 43% of men did.
More Men Read Blogs at Night
I also asked survey takers when they read blogs and I found that56% of men report reading blogs in the “evening” and45% at “night.” On the other hand, only 49% of women say they read in the evening and only35% read them at night.
How do your own habits compare to these results?
Free Webinar: The Science of Blogging
CommentsPosted by Dan Zarrella on Mon, Dec 06, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HubSpot/~3/JXlDcrFc8t0/New-Data-Gender-Differences-in-Blog-Reading-Behavior.aspx
Amazon Moves DNS Into The Cloud With Route 53
December 6, 2010
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Nike Targets Women With New Workout App
December 6, 2010
Is one of your goals for the new year to get in shape? As the saying goes, theres an app for that or at least there will be. Nike is prepping a new fitness app for the iPhone and iPod touch.
The app, Nike Training Club, will be available for free on January 1, 2011. Nike Training Club is targeted at women and designed to be a full-body training app. It includes workouts and drills in areas focusing on strength, cardio and core-training.
In 2009, Nike released the first version of NikeWomen Training Club as a supplement to its NikeWomen.com website.
The new version of Nike Training Club has a lot of new features and does not carry over from the old version. From the preview Nike provided us, it looks like the new app has a stronger focus on guided, customized workouts and a better hands-free audio experience. It also has a new user interface, which we think is a big step up from the cartoonish nature of the old app.
Some of the features of the app include:
- The ability to work out to music from your own library
- 15-, 30- and 45-minute workouts in beginner, intermediate and advanced levels
- Milestone rewards that can unlock different badges (a la Foursquare) and earn inspiration from Nike athletes and trainers
- Detailed videos showing how to do certain drills
Although the app can be used in a single-user setting, Nike will be rolling out the overall program at health clubs, gyms, studios and universities.
One of the more interesting aspects of the app, to me, is that it isnt U.S.-centric. For the January 1 launch date, the app will be available in English (with UK and American accents), Mandarin, Taiwanese and Japanese. Nike says there is potential for other languages in the future.
This video offers a bit of an overview of the app in action:
Although Nike Training Club is designed for women, the company also has workout apps tailored for men. If youre a guy looking for a workout app, you can check out Nike BOOM [iTunes link] for iPhone, iPod touch and in the Android Market.
We hope to get a hands-on with the app later this month and well be sure to put it through its paces.
Are there any mobile apps you use to aid your workouts? Let us know in the comments.
Article source: http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/SYD8_dEF4Iw/
