A panel of social media experts will discuss how business-to-business organizations can effectively use social media strategy to help achieve business goals MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Minnesota chapter of the Business Marketing Association (BMA-Minnesota) will host a panel discussion on how business-to-business (B2B) marketers can use social media to boost their performance metrics and support a customer-centric business model. The session will be held on March 11, 2009 at the Metropolitan Ballroom & Clubroom in St. Louis Park, Minn. from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Featuring local social media experts, the session will provide an overview of social networking sites, search engine optimization and emerging new media to watch for as well as discuss what’s working, what’s not and what’s here to stay within the social media universe. Moderated by Beth Fischer, market research advisor from The TCI Group , panelists include: Mark Palony, marketing manager of SAP Soluti...

Note: this is a guest post from Cece Salomon-Lee , social media relations expert and author of the PR Meets Marketing blog. Cece has previously guest-posted here on best practices in PR and blogging outreach . Virtual events have received a lot of attention recently as an effective way to communicate with your audiences without the costs associated with an in-person event. One argument against virtual events is that you would lose the intimacy that face-to-face interactions provide. Proponents state that social networking technology can help promote similar interactions in a virtual environment. I recently wrote that virtual events aren't necessarily the answer to replacing physical events. The same goes for social media technology. In this case, social media isn't only for virtual events. For example, the TED and South by Southwest (SXSW) events are known for their innovative use of technology to engage audiences—both in person and online—with the events themselves. ...

Note: this is the first of two guest-posts from customer loyalty expert Nisha Prasad at IQPC. Read on to find out how you can get special pricing for IPQC's upcoming customer engagement and loyalty event. You’re a marketing star. You have more creativity than Jeff Koons , your plans are impeccable and your campaigns are the stuff of marketing Hall of Fame. But are you hitting the mark where it counts? That is, are you engaging and retaining your customers, as well as marketing to them? We all know the positive business impact of keeping our customers loyal but its often difficult to implement and execute a customer-oriented marketing plan that a) wins C Level Support b) is compatible with current business processes and c) uses financial resources wisely. IQPC has put together the Customer Engagement and Loyalty Summit (November 17-19, 2008, Hilton Miami, FL) to address these real marketing issues. The two-day conference brings together successful business oriented leaders to shar...

Being the most informed and sophisticated marketing and PR executives on the planet, readers of this blog know that WebMarketCentral is the place to find a comprehensive calendar of live and online marketing events. However, in that wealth of content, it's easy to overlook something. Here are two events that deserve special attention. For brand marketers, the L.A. Office RoadShow runs September 16-18 in Hollywood. There's no other event like this one for meeting the "players" and making connections in the entertainment industry. RoadShow is a global event that brings brand marketers together with 100 marketing execs from 40 top entertainment companies. Brands of all sizes can discover and capitalize on entertainment tie-in opportunities. It's a unique annual event where brand marketers can meet the right people and develop valuable industry partnerships for brand promotion. The people behind RoadShow are offering WebMarketCentral readers extended special pricing ...

The Blogging for Business (B4B) Conference coming up in Salt Lake City on June 6 will feature an intriguing lineup of speakers , including: Brian Critchfield of Navel Marketing on how the consumer revolution is driving transparency in marketing; Charlie Craine , Director of Interactive Media for the Deseret News; Christopher Barger , GM's Director of Global Communications Technology (who recently did a great podcast with Albert Maruggi); Cyndi Tetro , VP of Products and Marketing at NextPage and co-founder of the Marketing Executive Forum; Dave Bascom of SEO.com ; Jake McKee , Principal and Chief Ant Wrangler at Ant's Eye View , a Dallas-based customer collaboration strategy practice, and former Global Community Relations Specialist for the LEGO Company ; Jason Brown, blogger and co-founder of Brown Lures ; Intellectual property attorney and blogger Rand Bateman ; A panel discussion on "Pitching to Bloggers: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What Will Get You in Trouble...

More crowd-pleasing than a premium trinket give-away, more alluring than booth babes, even more powerful than free beer—Danish advertising film agency viZoo has teamed with engineering firm Ramboll developed what may be, thus far, the ultimate tradeshow gadget: a giant 3-D holographic projector. Check out the movie here: http://vizoo.com/showreel_wmvs/EPK_Cheoptics360_XL.wmv Scott at the MediaPost blog said it gave him a "nerdgasm," a term I find deeply disturbing, but nonetheless, you've got to see this. The 3-D projector is available in various sizes from a relatively compact 5x5x5 foot unit up to a massive 30x30 behemoth, with prices ranging from 85,000 Euros (about $100K) to 575,000 Euros (close to $800,000). Both indoor and outdoor models are available. You can more about the Cheoptics 360 XL her e . ***** technorati tags: Ramboll, viZoo, Cheoptics 360 XL, trade show marketing, 3D holographic projector, 3-D, MediaPost del.icio.us tags: Ramb...

Curious about what podcasting can do for your business? Check this out. The experts at Twin Cities marketing agency Provident Partners are offering a hands-on presentation and workshop on video and podcasting. This session will save you time and help you understand how new-media formats such as audio podcasts and digital video are being used as powerful tools in the marketing mix. The seminar will be led by Albert Maruggi , who's been recognized by ClickZ and many other sources for his expertise in new media. He is among the first marketers in the country to actively host a regular podcast, the Marketing Edge, and he advises dozens of organizations on new-media strategies. The seminar will cover topics such as how podcasting works, how to develop podcast content, how to measure podcasting results, using podcasting in your marketing mix, and the PR opportunities of podcasting. Details of the seminar: Thursday, November 30, 2006 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 790 Cleveland Ave. S., S...

The experts in professional services marketing at RainToday are conducting a survey among professional services firms regarding lead generation. All survey participants will receive a complimentary executive summary of the final report (due out around January), as well as 50% off the group's current research report, “How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report on Professional Services Buying and Selling from the Client Perspective” in the RainToday store. Click here to participate in the study. The current report addresses services selling challenges in a variety of vertical segments (e.g. accounting, legal services, information technology consulting, marketing) and answers questions such as: - What can you do during the business development process that will have the most influence on the decision maker? - Which methods are buyers most likely to use to identify professional service providers? - Do buyers attend seminars, conferences, and webinars (and, if so, how do they find o...

The experts in professional services marketing at RainToday.com recently released a *free* report entitled " The One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without ." But given that the report was written by 11 experts in Web marketing and sales, each of whom (natch) has distinct opinions on the topic, it should have been titled "The 11 Pieces of Advice You Can't Sell (or Market) Without." Regardless, this report is well worth the read. Among the 11 authors are Seth Godin (his blog beat this one for the top spot Readers Choice Award from Marketing Sherpa; but, considering that he's written -- how many now? 6? 8? Best-selling marketing books, while I'm, well, just me , I was dang honored to come in with an honorable mention to Seth), Jill Konrath (author of Selling to Big Companies , and an all-around cool person), and the often-imitated-but-never-duplicated Mike Schultz . With 11 different authors, there are, as one would expect, 11 different opinions abo...

Mike Schultz , a principal at the Wellesley Hills Group , and his team of professional services marketing experts at RainToday.com have released a follow-up report to The Business Impact of Writing a Book , published earlier this year. Their new report, The Ultimate Guide to Publishing and Marketing a Business Book , lives up its name. The new report not only revisits the research findings presented in their earlier report -- how writing a successful business book positively impacts both business volume and fees -- but provides step-by-step instructions on how to publish and market your book. Topics covered include: - How to research and approach literary agents - How to write a proposal and pitch your book - Tips to make the writing process easier - How to market your book (through PR, book tours, speaking opportunities, and the Internet) - Interviews with a number of publishing professionals At $180, the report is a bargain if you are serious about writing a business book to promot...

Voting is open until midnight tomorrow, Friday June 23rd, for Marketing Sherpa's 2006 Reader's Choice Blog and Podcasting awards . Of the more than 1,000 blogs nominated, the WebMarketCentral blog was among the hundred or so across 11 different categories that made it onto the ballot. I'm not sure whether to be honored by this inclusion, or disturbed that Marketing Sherpa's standards have declined so low. :-) ***UPDATE FROM MARKETING SHERPA: An Apology from MarketingSherpa: Many of you who've been trying to cast your Vote for Best Blog & Podcast have been bounced off our server. Here's a new link for folks who could not get in: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=803032287919 We're *extending* the deadline to Monday, June 26th, at midnight ET because so many of you could not get in when you wanted to. ***END OF UPDATE So go vote for your favorite blogs and podcasts! You know what my favorites are. ( Just for reference purposes , the WebMarketCentral bl...

If you've ever thought about writing a book and wondered if the effort would be worthwhile, a new study suggests the answer is a strong "yes." Mike Schultz of RainToday.com interviewed 200 authors of business books to find out how they did it and how it impacted their ability to do business. RainToday offers articles, case studies, and research designed to help service business rainmakers and marketers work more effectively. The results: - 53% of authors reported a "strong" or "very strong" influence on their ability to charge higher fees - 76% indicated publishing a book had at least some influence on their ability to close deals - 83% reported at least some improvement on business with current clients as a result of publishing a book In short, consultants and agency execs seem to agree that publishing a book helps them to be seen as gurus whose services are in demand. Mike has published his findings in a report for those who are intereste...

It’s not the most elegant of acronyms, but it is a solid approach to new marketing campaigns or roles. I was recently pointed to a report from Spencer Stuart titled “A Blueprint for Top Marketers’ First 100 Days.” It’s short and worth a read, but I was expecting more of a detailed roadmap. What their advice comes down to is: talk to lots of people in your new company, establish relationships, and get them on board with your plans. That advice is solid and useful, but hardly profound. So, here’s the roadmap I would propose, based on the acronym RAPIMMR: R: Research. Jumping in right away with a “master plan” based on your past experience, but with no input or buy-in from your new co-workers, is a recipe for disaster. Ask lots of questions, of lots of people. What’s been done in the past? What’s worked, and what hasn’t? What’s been considered, but not tried? Ask about marketing programs, key messages, competition, and objectives. Do this both to gain knowledge as well as establish r...

A group at MIT is conducting a survey of bloggers. I just completed it, takes about 10 minutes. It's an intriguing set of questions, and it will be interesting to see the results when posted in early July. The larger the sample they receive, the better their results will be, so if you've got a few minutes to devote to the study of blogging, click the image. I also submitted this blog to Popdex, the Web site popularity index (probably dangerous in my case), as well as to Bloguniverse and Blogarama . I hope to make the Top 1 Billion list someday. Search Popdex :