Why We Love B2B Social Media: Cocktails and So Much More

By Lee Frederiksen

“Why should we bother with social media?” We frequently hear professional services firms repeating some version of this question, but neglecting social media for B2B is a mistake. For B2B, social media is a professional workhorse that can play a wide variety of roles.

The 5 Roles of B2B Social Media

1)    The Cocktail Party

Social media’s original intended role, as an online networking system, is still important for professional marketing firms. Treat Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook as an online cocktail party—a way to meet new people and develop important business and client relationships—but without the hangover. And, just like a cocktail party, social media is highly reciprocal. People expect replies to their tweets, comments, and questions, and there is an expectation that you will share other people’s content as well as your own.

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The Role of Social Media in a Lead Generating Website

By Sean McVey

Valuable content written? Check. 

Content optimized for search engines? Check.

Now it’s time to sit back and let the traffic roll in. Right? No!  Just because you have a worthy site doesn’t mean people are going to find it right away.  It’s your job to proactively connect your site to the rest of the world. 

Your website right now lives on a quiet country road.  You are in the middle of nowhere and besides your own employees, nobody knows your site exists.  Living in the country is great if you’re looking for peace and quiet, but that’s not what you want.  You are looking to turn that country road into a super highway with constant traffic.  It’s time to open your website up to the rest of the world. 

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Filed under: Social Media, Websites

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The Power of Google+ Features for Social Media Marketing

By James Bierbower

When Google+ first launched as a social network, those who were brave enough to venture beyond LinkedIn were virtually overwhelmed by amazing features that Google+ had to offer – all in one social networking site.

As of March 2013, the awesome Google+ features are even more attractive to the professional community through Google+ Pages. Google+ Pages is something that businesses and professionals should get excited about. The tools and features that Google+ offers are not only engaging and easy to use, but they are powerful marketing and lead generation tools as well.

Circles

The first exciting feature that Google+ users interact with are Circles. Circles give you the ability to segment your connections and audiences. For everyone involved in marketing a business, this tool is incredibly powerful. Google+ has given everyone the ability to tailor messages to a specific audience with incredible ease.

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Hinge’s Fab Five: April 2013

By Mia Rommel

Top Professional Services Marketing Content from April 2013

Each month, an enormous amount of content is published on marketing. This monthly column will help you keep up with the best marketing articles on the web. Enjoy!

The Best Tools to Manage Your Next Social Media Campaign

By Jamie Turner, 60 Second Communications via V3

There are nearly as many tools to manage your social media campaigns as there are social media channels! Check out this comprehensive list of 32 of the most important tools out there.

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The Benefits of Google Plus for Business

By James Bierbower

When you think about the number of benefits from Google+ for business, you may wonder why the social network has not caught on more quickly. Google+ is here to stay and it is time for professionals and businesses to start using Google+ as the powerful social networking and marketing tool that it is.

I’ve heard people say that Google+ would fade away, but more than 500 million members are active on Google+. While that number is less than Facebook, it is a significant number that continues to grow. It is also important to remember that Google+ is Google’s social network and they are undoubtedly determined for it to be a success. One way Google is ensuring that it will be successful is by providing so many benefits in Google+ for businesses, in addition to easily connecting with customers and clients.

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Be Your Own Social Media Marketing Consultant

By Lee Frederiksen

Even if you aren't the world’s greatest social media expert, you can still serve as your own social media consultant. In other words, you can begin to shape a social media plan that will have an impact on your firm.

The Impact of Social Media Marketing

Social media definitely has a role to play in professional services marketing. Our research on online marketing for professional services shows that high growth firms are more likely than average growth firms to use social media and consider it an important part of their marketing strategy.

But a new study on professional services buyers offers even more insights into the marketing strategies of the most successful firms. Use these ideas to help you channel your inner social media marketing consultant:

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