CK's Blog

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New to my blog? An official "red carpet" welcome message for you is right here. Otherwise, marketing posts begin below and tons of nifty marketing stuff is available via the nav bar above...

Now Contributing To B2B Marketing Online...

I'm pleased to announce that, in addition to publishing over here, I'm now contributing to B2B Marketing Online, the U.K's leading B2B media outlet. Being the Web is world-wide, it's fitting that I am now contributing to a media outlet located "across the pond", eh?

In my first post, titled "Step Aside B2Cs: Social Media is BUSINESS Media", I address the frequently asked question of “How does social media apply to business professionals, and help B2B companies achieve their revenue goals?” by examining the prime motivations of business professionals using social-media tools and platforms and tying those back to the B2B benefits.

The post is located here.

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• B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • Services • Contact •

B2B Mobile Marketing: Why Mobile For B2Bs? (A Slideshow)

Along with my recent discussion around the central question of 'Why do business professionals use social media?' (that slideshow is located here), I was also asked to hold a discussion around the topic of 'Why Mobile for B2Bs?" 

It's a great question given that, unlike B2Cs, many most B2Bs, haven't fully recognized how mobile media poses a robust, ROI-generating channel for their marketing efforts—and they're also not aware of the myriad reasons and sound rationale for integrating mobile into their plans and programs.

To ensure I hit on all the key points and benefits, I used this slideshow as support and want to share it with readers... as the information may be helpful in the discussions you're holding with B2Bs around the exact same topic!

Please view the slideshow below, which is best viewed in FULL-screen format as several slides are text-heavy to ensure an adequate level of explanation for B2Bs who are striving to understand the benefits of mobile marketing.

B2B Mobile Marketing: Why Mobile For B2Bs?

View more presentations from Christina "CK" Kerley.

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• B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • Services • Contact •

B2B Social Media: Why Do Business Professionals Use Social Media? (Slideshow)

I was recently asked to hold a discussion around the central question of 'Why do business professionals use social media?', and how B2Bs can leverage those reasons to build their brands.

To hit on the key points, I used this slideshow as support and want to share it with readers—as the information may be helpful in the discussions you're holding with B2Bs around the exact same topic!

Please view the slideshow below, which is best viewed in FULL-screen format as several slides are text-heavy to ensure an adequate level of explanation for B2Bs who are just starting out in social media—or download the PDF version here.

B2B Social Media: Why Do Business Professionals Use Social Media?

View more presentations from Christina "CK" Kerley.

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• B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • Services • Contact •

Full-Day Workshop: Integrating B2B Social Media (and B2B Mobile) To Improve ROI: Register Today & Learn How to Save $300 Off The Event!

Along with moderating the Social-Media Case Study Swap Meet Session at the upcoming MarketingProfs B2B Forum (May 4th- 5th/Boston, MA), I'll be conducting a full-day, pre-event workshop on May 3rd focused on:

"Integrating Social Media into Your Marketing Plan To Improve ROI."

And what a productive, packed day we're planning for workshop attendees! Here's the workshop description, key learning points and agenda:

Too many businesses are jumping into social media feet first and ending up with some initiatives working and others not nearly as successful. This in-depth workshop—perfect for B2Bs who are looking to improve their social media success as well as marketers who are brand new to these new media—will help you take a step back and plan a solid strategy and set of programs for integrating social media into your marketing plan to achieve better ROI.

Through instruction, examples, and exercises you’ll learn how to set goals, develop a social media strategy, implement appropriate tactics and measure your social media successes. As an added *bonus*, workshop attendees will also learn about B2B mobile marketing—why to consider implementing it and how it can add value to your business audiences and the bottom line.

*Key Learning Points*

• Setting goals your social media implementation needs to achieve
• Determining a social media strategy that supports business and marketing goals
• How to integrate social media into existing programs
• Social media tools you may not have previously considered
• Metrics to assess your social media ROI
• Why and how to add mobile marketing to your marketing strategy

B2B Mobile Marketing: Why Mobile For *B2B* Companies?

With 4.6 billion current mobile subscriptions projected to surge to 6.5 billion mobile connections by 2014, there's no denying it, marketers: Mobile has arrived—and it's changing how (and where) business professionals communicate with each other, and how (and why) business audiences interact with B2B brands.

But while B2C marketers are tapping mobile tools and technologies in earnest, B2B marketers have not yet fully recognized *WHY* mobile poses a robust, revenue-generating channel for their efforts. After all, with a new set of media comes a brand new learning curve.

As with all emerging technologies (like B2B social media), building the the business case begins with answering the fundamental questions of: "Why Mobile for B2B companies? How do business professionals benefit from mobile marketing programs? And what types of value do B2Bs stand to gain from integrating mobile tools, technologies and approaches into their marketing activities?"

Since there are many answers to those questions (and many reasons to integrate mobile!), it warranted an entire page... which is located here.

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• B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • Services • Contact •

B2B Social-Media Case Study "Swap Meet": Join In The Challenge!

I'm happy to announce that I'll be participating in the MarketingProfs Business-To-Business Forum 2010 this May 4th-5th in Boston. And I'm even happier to announce the subject matter I'll be presenting on, being it's a subject that every single B2B marketer—and every single one of their bosses!—is interested in learning a ton more about: Social Media ROI.

We're even coining the session a "Case-Study Swap Meet". That means I'll be moderating a panel covering several case studies from several companies covering several points of ROI. We're not shying away from the ROI discussion. Not a chance, marketers. We're tackling it head-on and spotlighting 4 companies in the process... and YOURS could be one of them!

Dear B2Bs: I. TOLD. YA. SO. (In fact, I've told ya many times over.)

IDC just released The State of Social Business: 2009 Survey Results, a study that surveyed 4,700+ U.S. workers which outlines the use of social media for BUSINESS purposes.

And while the shared findings from the study have produced a whole lotta happy for my world, the implications should definitely be taken to heart by all marketers in the B2B world.

Why? Several reasons that we'll get to in short order. But first, let me provide IDC's explanation of the study for some background:

Broad in scope, The State of Social Business: 2009 Survey Results represents the current state of SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE FOR BUSINESSES in the United States, providing a profile of BUSINESS WORKERS leveraging these newer tools, and an understanding of the use cases for each social tool, including blogs, microblogs, discussion forums, photo/video sharing sites, social bookmarking tools, social networks, Web chats/instant messages, wikis, and virtual worlds.

According to IDC's Michael Fauscette, group vice president, Software Business Strategies: "If you look deep into the social business movement you will see that we are on the brink of a fundamental change in the way businesses interact with customers, partners, suppliers, and employees. Businesses today fall into three camps – the social 'denyer', the accidental socialite, and the socially aware. Regardless of where a company falls in these categories, customers expectations of technologies and the way they interact with suppliers have changed, driven greatly by the social Web."

As for the study's findings, let's begin on this gem...

*Finding* 57% of U.S. workers use social media for business purposes at least once per week.

57% of U.S. workers, that's a significant number—given that's more than half and at a highly engaged rate of at least once weekly. Let's put that in perspective, shall we? Think of any business that holds over 50% market share in any given sector and what do we call them?

Behemoths. Best-In-Class. Captains of Industry. Leaders. The 800-Pound Gorilla. And so on. The point is, we take those businesses VERY seriously. We don't label them fads, fly-by-nights or even trends. Nope. They're permanent and they permanently change the (business) world. Same too with social media's effect on the B2B world, both internally to organizations from process and productivity standpoints, and externally from a profit standpoint on attracting and maintaining customers.

Here's another epiphany...

B2B Mobile Marketing: 5 Reasons Why Mobile Is Prime For B2Bs, And 5 Questions B2B Marketers Should Be Asking.

In the B2C space there's a lot of buzz around mobile marketing, but in the B2B sector it's more likened to a whisper.

Yet amid the low level of mobile chatter, B2Bs are missing out on SUPER-sized opportunities for integrating a valuable new brand touch point for their customers and establishing a dynamic new communications channel with professional audiences.

Make no mistake about it, mobile has arrived—and it's changing how (and where) business professionals communicate with one another and how (and why) they interact with B2B brands. 

On that imperative, in my most recent piece for MarketingProfs I'm highlighting 5 reasons *Why* mobile marketing is PRIME for B2Bs and 5 *Questions* that every B2B marketer should be asking.

The content, insights and ideas are free to all... and if you're a B2B Marketer you best be getting on over there as new ways to increase ROI await you: The article is located here.

(Oh, and if you missed my 10-Step Starter Guide for Integrating Mobile Into The Marketing Mix then just go here.)

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• B2B Social Media • B2B Mobile • About CK • Services • Contact •

B2B Mobile Marketing Best Practices: Marketers, Your (Mobile) Audiences Need "More Show, Less Tell."

There are many best practices that have already been established in the mobile marketing sector... and many more that B2B marketers, in particular, will still need to learn and adopt.

Why?

Because mobile is an emerging new space with entirely new constraints on SPACE. And for complex B2B offerings requiring a lot of explanation for buyers, this is a BIG learning curve for B2B marketers who will need to start thinking "small".

Take a look at that mobile device up there. Pretty snazzy, eh? To be sure, it's visually stunning and all sorts of cool. It's also very small. After all, it's designed for mobility. But what our B2B target audience of business executives really need—due to now having to manage larger amounts of information on smaller screens—is for their content to be delivered in ‘bite-sized chunks’ and to be optimized for mobile environments. Whether that content is delivered through text, audio or video formats.

Why?

In Both Social Media and Mobile Media, Your *Goal* Is Exactly The Same: To Get YOUR Brands Into THEIR Worlds.

In my previous post I discussed how we marketers fight different battles in Social Media and Mobile Media, but the *mission* for which we’re fighting is exactly the same, namely: Integration of these Disruptive Media into the Marketing Mix.

That post focused on the battles (and obstacles!) we face as they pertain to acceptance from the corporate community and standards from the industry's players. It was more internally based vs. outwardly, market based. So in this post I want to turn my attention away from captains of industry to focus squarely on CUSTOMERS.

I want to look at marketing goals, not marketers' missions. And while B2B marketing is my preferred focus, I should point out that this advice wholly applies to B2C marketing as well. That said, my advice is this:

In Social Media and Mobile Media, your *Goal* with your target audiences is exactly the same: To Get YOUR Brands Into THEIR Worlds.

And the way into their worlds—whether as part of their online communities (social media) or securing a presence on their Web-enabled handheld devices (mobile media)—is through the value your brands provide them. High levels of value will get your brands into their worlds, lack thereof will get your brands ignored.