Ever contemplated using the newest widget or software program because it seemed simply outside of your comfort zone to use?

I was a skeptic when Reid Hoffman, founder of PayPal, launched LinkedIn and a group of Harvard University college students, including Mark Zuckerberg, created Facemash, the precursor to Facebook, in 2003. I thought few people would allow others to have as much access to their personal and even professional backgrounds as these sites permitted. For years, I observed how people adapted to this new form of communication called social media.

Maybe you have done the same, either as a business professional or marketer, and stood by the wayside to see how the adoption of social media would add value to your business. Finally after years of skepticism and aversion to hop on the social media bandwagon, I started testing the waters. To my surprise, the choice to leverage social media has been nothing but advantageous in generating new business opportunities. I’ve gone from stranger to pals within a few clicks of the mouse, thanks to these easy-to-use networking launch pads.

In business-to-business marketing, developing new business boils down to creating a relationship, then fostering that relationship so that your prospective customers like and trust you. What better way to do this than connecting with them not just face-to-face over dinner or a meeting, but also through nurturing relationships by sharing information about you and your business. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many other social media websites give businesses a space to get to know prospective customers and vice versa by sharing information about their businesses, thus deepening the relationship and creating trust.

Before you open up that browser to dabble in a new Twitter account that represents you as a professional or your company, here are a few keys to keep in mind to maximize your social media lead generation:

1. Keep it professional, yet don’t be afraid to make it personal and add a fresh down-to-earth touch to your posts and tweets.
2. Generate buzz by keeping relevant with your prospective clients’ needs and trends in the marketplace. By doing this, your customers and prospective customers alike will begin to recognize your organization as a thought leader and a go-to resource in your industry.
3. For your business, seek guidance from a marketing agency – at Canyon Communications, we can help create a strategy to drive traffic to your company’s social media site that can be tracked and monitored, as well as directed to the appropriate sales representative.

As business professionals, we communicate with people who were early adopters of smartphones, chats, blogs, podcasts and social media; and others, such as myself, who may have been reluctant to play in the sandbox until now. Either way, there’s no doubt that a rising number of people are open to connecting with you via one virtual form or another. It’s to your advantage to take the opportunity to connect with them and build a relationship that will help you grow your business faster than ever before.

With that said, what’s holding you back? Get out there and get connected!

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Positioning the use of “live events” in the lead or client nurturing process is one of the harder tools to master in B2B marketers’ toolbox.  Most marketers struggle with determining the real ROI – and even full cost – of an event versus other tools like digital interactions that are more easily measured.

Image courtesy of HowStuffWorks.com

However, the best way to forge real business relationships is eyeball-to-eyeball, not click-to-click. Event marketing is alive and well and, by some accounts, at all-time highs. Here is how savvy marketers think about their events:

• Level One: Relationship Builders – These events are geared around social activities such as a corporate suite at a sporting event, a corporate sponsorship at a conference, or special trips or experiences designed to forge client relationships outside the office.
• Level Two: Seminars and Training Events – These events are typically designed as education-based events on a subject that clients and potential clients might find interesting. Some companies now use webinars in place of the live event.
• Level Three: Exhibits and Tradeshows – Lead generation is the focus of these events. Most exhibits and trade-show undertakings are all about generating multiple leads at the top of the sales funnel.
• Level Four: Sales Force Meetings – These events and meetings are all about internal education, motivation and “internal branding” of a company’s sales force. They try to foster teamwork throughout the company and are typically internally focused.
• Level Five: Distributor Events – Educational and relationship-building events for a company’s distributor base can pay off with increased sales and distributor loyalty. These events are typically only open to a company’s current distributors.
• Level Six: CEO/Executive Forums –These events are typically geared to current clients and designed to help clients and their service providers connect at the most senior levels.

Savvy marketers diversify their risk and ROI by cross-purposing each event. A distributor meeting may involve both current distributors and potential new ones. Exhibits and trade shows might target new leads, but current clients are invited to experience the show and enjoy special events designed just for them.

One of the best companies that I’ve worked with that effectively cross-purposed events was a publicly-traded telecommunications company. They designed two-day quarterly meetings at high-end destinations for about 50 people and their spouses. The mix was 50-percent current clients and 50-percent prospects that were a good way down the pipeline.

The conference contained the typical exclusive high-end dinners, spa, golf and destination-based events, plus four hours of speeches from the CEO, CIO and usually an outside celebrity or expert. The group also was able to see and play with future technology and solutions. The company spent about $1 million per year on the event but closed from $140 million-$260 million of new or incremental business each year.

Rubbing elbows with CEO who cares is a powerful closing tool!

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