Some predict 2011 will see the merging of Twitter and Facebook and the death of Foursquare. Michael Brenner shares his thoughts on what 2011 holds for B2B marketing in various areas and especially social media.

What do you think 2011 holds for B2B marketers?

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How many times have you heard that a business uses social media to build its brand? (Yawn.) That’s a given. This article shows how nonprofits like hospitals can use social media to build a community while respecting strict privacy rules. The interview also contains advice on getting started with social media.

How does your business use social media?

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Some B2Bs have found success in using Facebook to interact with customers and prospects. So it is possible. Just look at Cisco. This article offers a variety of ideas on how to use Facebook pages for B2Bs.

How do you use Facebook for business? Or if you don’t, why not?

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Content Marketing Institute has released a report that 8 out of 10 marketers use social media, but only three believe it’s working for them. Turn that around with these seven ways to make your social media work smarter for your business.

What has worked for you in social media?

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Beware Peter Shankman uses strong words to make his point, but they’re important points marketers and executives need to hear. Asking how to get more followers, fans or likes isn’t the right question to ask. It’s about engaging and be there for your customers. Yes, engagement can bring in revenue. Just make sure your customer facing employees have flexibility to help.

How do you engage in social media?

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Often, companies cite brand awareness as the reason they use social media. Yes, it helps, but is it the most important goal? What about lead generation? Customer retention?

What’s your organization’s main goal for social media and why?

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We’re not going to tell you to just jump in. However, we know that social media is scary and overwhelming for b2bs trying to get into it for the first time. Learn how one organization helped its employees enter the social media realm.

What fears, if any, do you have about social media for business? Or how did you jump in?

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Business and Social Media

The article reports that Forbes and Google conducted a survey of 354 executives and found that over 50 percent of the under 40 have a work-related blog, show on up Twitter and visit social networks often.

Valeria connected with experts to ask them for their thoughts on why and how B2B companies benefit from including social media in their marketing strategies.

What’s your experience with B2B social media?

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Social Media Resources

This great list sorts the resources into categories including how-to, case studies, networking and presentations. What are your favorite go to resources for B2B social media?

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Top One Percent

Your LinkedIn account is not the same thing as having your company on LinkedIn. Take a look at Publisher Hank Stroll’s Linkedin account (http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankstroll). Now here’s his company’s page (http://www.linkedin.com/companies/internetviz). The article shares how you can make the most of your company’s LinkedIn page.

How do you use LinkedIn?

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10 Mistakes

Here are 10 common mistakes that businesses, organizations and others make when starting social media. If you read our features, you know that the b2b companies that are successful in social media begin with strategy not creating an account.

What do you think is the most important factor for a b2b company’s success in social media?

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B2B Mistake

Naturally, when thinking about our target market, we think of our customers’ problems and try to solve them. But what if you changed your thinking to focusing on solving your customer’s customer’s problems? No, that’s not a typo.

Let’s say Jim sells XYZ services. Jim is your customer. Imagine the impact you have on Jim if you help him solve HIS customers’ problems. Read Liz Strauss’ article to see how this impacts social media.

What do you use social media for in your B2B business?

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Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

The best person to do social media for a business is the people who work for the business. Social media is about connecting with people and putting a face on a company. However, outsourcing some tasks can help you and your staff learn from experienced users. After all, you need a strategy for social media before getting into it.

How do you feel about outsourcing social media marketing activities?

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Getting Execs on Board

Not engaging is riskier than diving in
by Jennifer Van Grove – Mashable

You have plenty of success stories you can use to show that social media really works for b2b. You may need more to convince the upper echelons to move into social media. The article provides suggestions from five people of varying backgrounds to help you get to “YES!”

What other ways can you get buy in from the top? [ Read original article ]

Shifts in Social Media Marketing

Capitalize on these shifts to boost sales
by Tom Pick – Webbiquity

Some marketers think using social media means simply repackaging the company’s brochure-type content as thought leadership. This won’t work. Smart marketers have taken notice of the five shifts and applied them to increase sales. They all revolve around giving the buyer more power and control. Furthermore, social media is an integrated effort. A new client that connected with you on Twitter didn’t necessarily find you on Twitter — it’s about mixing up how you engage with others.

What do you think of the five shifts? [ Read original article ]

Room for New Growth

Social media marketing grew massively in a short time. Where else can you directly engage with customers and colleagues? The infographic in this article will show you the gaps that you can fill now and get ahead of your competitors. Forrester says that social media marketing is growing at double the rate of all other forms of online marketing. Should marketers ignore social media with these kind of numbers?

What does your business plan to do in terms of marketing in the next four years? [ Read more ... ]

Top 5 Questions for B2B Campaigns

This article discusses five questions that many b2bs will ask when looking into social media. The questions cover who should manage social media, whether social media is personal or business, social media’s ROI, finding time to do social media and whether b2b customers really use social media. Even if very few of your customers use it, social media is worth exploring, discovering and understanding. Don’t wait until something happens that pushes you into it. Be ready.

What are your biggest social media questions? [ Read more ... ]

Marketing Budget Spirals

According to “The CMO Survey” by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association (AMA), B2B companies are upping their social media marketing budgets in both products and services. The next five years shows that marketers will devote almost a fifth of their marketing budget to social media. These results support that B2B marketers are working to improve building relationships and boosting brands.

How will social media affect your marketing strategy? [ Read more ... ]

Media Benefits of B2B Social Media

Do you know the difference between paid and earned media? B2B marketers need to understand the difference between a paid search ad and a Twitter retweet. Or else, the decision could be costly to a company. Earned media using the web has a whole different set of benefits than traditional PR.

What are your experiences with earned and paid media? [ Read more ... ]

by Kipp Bodnar – Social Media B2B

The power of social media

For some people, video is a better way to learn about something new to them. Videos can offer more depth than an article and express emotion. Those in B2B who want to better understand how to use social media from a B2B perspective can get all they need in these 10 diverse videos.

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Social Media

Plenty of reports including those from Pew Internet show a massive increase in adult use of social networking sites. So why would small businesses not use social media? Some worry about security, some say they don’t have time, some don’t think they need it to succeed. But is it worth ignoring social media when businesses rely on social media sites for business information?

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Many executives want ROI numbers for social media. But the fact is … “The value of having brands use Social Media to engage with their customers, build relationships, connect with communities, and participate in open dialogue is immeasurable. Let’s just say it outright. You simply can’t put a dollar value on friendship, and this is the same thing.”

Watch the Video for more and comment below

Comment on your thoughts regarding social media and ROI? You could win an iPOD

Does your company stop Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? Well, you might want to revisit this after reading Shel Holtz’ arguments against blocking social media sites and give us your comments below.

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Comment below on how social media helps or hurts a business.
(You could win an iPOD)