Posted by: Erin Wilson, Marketing Coordinator

Although social media is an extremely popular marketing tool for B2C companies, many B2B companies have been hesitant to jump on board. Recently, however, more and more B2B companies are adding social media tactics to their marketing plans. In fact, spending forecasts predict that they will continue to increase their marketing budgets to include social media.

Some B2B companies may still doubt the efficacy of social media, but a recent study featured in eMarketer found that “at least once a week, 33% of active Twitter users share opinions about companies or products, while 32% make recommendations and 30% ask for them.”  In other words, companies are being talked about whether or not they have a social media presence.  By joining and guiding the conversation, B2B companies can more effectively position their brands and generate leads.

Posted by: Kristi Jackson, Marketing Coordinator

As Social media continues to grow and become an important factor within the B2B industry, companies are beginning to realize the importance of claiming their space through tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in order to reach their consumers. However, most companies are not utilizing these tools to their full potential.

Companies often forget the lead generating opportunities that social media tools like Facebook have to offer. One things that B2B companies should keep in mind to increase lead generation on Facebook is to be sure to have links to the company resources that they already have such as email subscriptions, newsletters, white papers, brochures, etc. on their fan page. By placing registration behind these links, companies can start generating leads from their Facebook consumers. Additionally, tracking URL’s can be placed on these links to easily measure leads generated from Facebook.

Because we know that consumers who are coming to a company’s Facebook fan page are typically already interested in the company’s offerings and are looking for more information, it is important to include content that is unique to Facebook and will give these users a reason to continue to come back. One way that this can be done is by providing a special offer to these consumers that they cannot get by going to your corporate website.

Utilizing these ideas for a B2B Facebook page will not only benefit companies by creating another channel for lead generation, but it will also continue to enhance their users experience on Facebook.

Posted by: Gloria Dutton, Marketing Coordinator

It’s no secret that times are tough. But mandatory spending freezes and budget cuts are not insurmountable. Your customers’ current spending trends will eventually turn around. Now is the time to put your company in a position of strength as a thought leader and partner, so that when the good times return, your company’s products and services come to the top of your prospect’s mind.

Lead nurturing is one of the top ways to prevent an overall downturn in customer acquisition during times of recession and to ensure more business when the economy improves.  By continually keeping your prospects in touch and informed while they are unable to buy, your company is looked at as more of a long-term partner and smart long-term business choice.  It also will help customers to see that you are there in support of their interests and will most likely not end the relationship once the sale is final if you did not drop interest in them when they were not even making a purchase.

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Posted by: Kelly Hall, Account Manager

Mobile connections recently passed the 4 billion mark around the world according to industry association GSMA. Those connections are predicted to increase to 6 billion by 2013. With increasingly innovative mobile technology, and equally innovative advertising platforms geared specifically to mobile, many marketers are jumping on the mobile bandwagon. From text message campaigns, to mobile websites, to advergames, mobile marketing is upon us. What can you do to mobilize and stay ahead of the trend?

Here are 3 tips:

1) Identify if, and how, mobile marketing is an ideal fit for your target audience.

To date mobile marketing has been largely a B2C endeavor. That said, there are many different ways to leverage mobile marketing for a B2B audience as well. For instance, mobile websites have risen in popularity amongst B2B audiences, possibly because this audience is utilizing their mobile devices to find information online, on-the-go.

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90octane is included in the newly released Marketers Resource Guide ‘09 by BtoB Magazine. The firm is listed under the Top B-to-B Agencies, Interactive Agencies and SEM Vendors sections.

The Guide directs its audience of business-to-business marketers in creating partnerships with vendors. BtoB’s VP-publisher Bob Felsenthal notes, “If you are in the b-to-b marketing world, you need partners who are familiar with b-to-b markets, who know your needs and how your customers react. These partners will also know what messages engage these audiences, what media they use and what language they speak.”

90octane strategizes and implements search engine marketing and online demand generation programs for nonprofits, consumer companies and business-to-business organizations. The agency’s business-to-business clients include Gates Corporation, ProLogis, Charter Business^®, Atlas Copco, Symetix and ITT Visual Information Solutions.

Download the complete Marketers Resource Guide ‘09 from BtoB Magazine.

Posted by: Meg Archer, Marketing Coordinator

When it comes to B2B marketing, it’s easy to forget that even though your customers are from another business, they still go through the same buying cycle as B2C prospects. However, there are differences in how to reach the B2B consumer. The key differences include:  more than one decision maker, who obtains purchase information and how, and the best language for communicating with the audience.

In this blog I am going to focus on the Technical B2B buyer. Let’s look at some of the current trends in B2B search: read more »

Posted by: Gloria Dutton, Marketing Coordinator

On my recent post about social media, someone asked a great question about how a traditional B2B company might venture into the social media space, so I thought I’d dig in a little deeper.

The difference between how B2C companies and B2B companies engage in social media comes down to target audiences and the online avenues they’re likely to explore. It’s important to understand, however, that social media is just as valuable a resource for B2B companies as B2C… if not more.

One of the great misconceptions about social media relates to what’s actually out there. When you first hear “social media,” you might think of trendy social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Since Facebook was originally designed for a college audience, it might not be the best match for your business goals right now. (That’s not to say that you should write it off entirely. With some knowledge growth and increases in use, it might just evolve into a worthwhile outlet for you.) read more »

Posted by: Kayla Wagner, Account Manager

Like many industries, technology is under pressure in this downturned economy. Though tech marketing spending will increase this year, it will do so at a slower rate than last year due to financial concerns, according to IDC’s 2008 Tech Marketing Barometer. With 2009 just around the corner, that’s all the more reason to focus your lead generation and nurturing strategies.

As always, it’s important to tie your marketing efforts to analytical, measureable results. First, focus on the quality of your leads. Whether you choose to nurture them through a lead scoring system or an action-based system, cull out all spam and unqualified prospects. Send the sales team only those leads that are the best candidates for follow up. read more »

Posted by: Christy Roth, Project Manager

If only about a quarter of new leads are “sales-ready,” then the obvious main objective of lead nurturing for the manufacturing industry is ensuring that they’re qualified and mature enough to be handed off to sales. In other words, after pushing each lead through an offer flow and engaging them in higher level offers as they go, we are then able to push them to sales at their most ready. The benefit? Saving the sales team’s time and money and ultimately closing more sales.

A key to the process flow is thinking about the target audience. In the case of industrial manufacturing, we focus on the needs of design engineers (on the OEM side) and plant managers and operators (on the MRO side). That’s why we carefully select educational offers that will interest them on the right level without sending them so much information that they’re overwhelmed or so little that they become cold. It’s all about finding the right balance. read more »