This is the second part of my conversation with Lois and our client Ed Brice of Lumension Security. In part one, we discussed the impact that social media is having on B2B marketing. Our conversation started with a look at short-term vs. long-term thinking, then explored how marketers should start thinking about social media as a way to enhance the identity of a company.
In this podcast, we discussed the importance of creating content that is personal and conversational in order to connect with the buying community. In particular, Ed spoke about how he has gotten resources committed to creating memorable and high-value content on a sustained basis to drive a content marketing effort. He said that the Internet has fundamentally changed the traditional approach B2B companies have taken to marketing where they have controlled its message with an iron hand. Instead of being focused on a sales process, B2B companies need to be focused on and understand a customers' buying process. Once they understand that, then they can create content that is value-added to the customer at each stage of the process. He feels that combining this content marketing combined with social media tools as a delivery mechanism will allow marketers to take advantage of word-of-mouth and search engine optimization in a much better way.
Lois added to this that the opportunity for companies to be self-publishers is particularly important because of the shift and consolidation in traditional media. Part of this opportunity is for a company to create more of a persona, which allows the buying community to connect with them easier.
Ed illustrated how effective content marketing can be by talking about Kogi, a small food business serving a fusion of Korean and Mexican food via roving vans around LA. Kogi uses Twitter to communicate with its followers and let them know where the trucks will be. It has been extremely effective for them as a basis for word-of-mouth and is growing a passionate following.
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this podcast. We'd love to continue the conversation on this subject with you here, as well as on Ed's blog.
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