Last updated on September 19th, 2015 at 11:22 pm
It’s been a week of major tech conferences and acquisition news, so take a moment to sit back and catch up on everything that’s been buzzing in the B2B social media world.
B2B News Network has partnered with Nexalogy to help sift through the social data and find the most relevant posts and stories to keep you ahead of the curve.
This week, the most widely shared posts focused on B2B social media strategy, the purchasing habits of millennials in the B2B space, and “challenger marketing”—a new strategy that aims to challenge what your customers think they know in order to lead them to your product or service.
TRENDING TOPICS
B2B Social Media Strategy
Interesting interview about Maersk B2B social media strategy #B2B #marketing https://t.co/mGgHmMTPG7
— Patrick Coomans (@patrickcoomans) September 10, 2015
Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, has made social media an integral part of the marketing mix. Davina Rapaport manages Maersk Line’s 30+ global and local social media channels, and David Moth at Econsultancy interviewed her about their social strategy in this recent post. You’ll learn about how much autonomy the local teams have, which departments are involved in their global strategy, how they measure success, and more.
B2B Marketing to Millennials
How to woo #millennials in #B2B marketing: http://t.co/UUDlBXfrRc pic.twitter.com/VjNTjMrAAp — Amber Armstrong (@ambarmstrong) September 9, 2015
The B2C world is all too familiar with the evolving buying habits and influence of the millennial generation, but are purchasing behaviors the same for B2B millennials? In this post from Kapost’s Content Marketeer blog, Tarah Speck outlines the findings of a 2014 IBM study of millennial B2B purchasers. Some of the results may surprise you (they want to talk on the phone!) while others will confirm what you may already know (they prefer to keep vendor interactions quick and easy).
Customer-centric Marketing
#B2B marketers: Don’t plan a go-to-market strategy for 2016; create your go-to-customer plan. http://t.co/WgyCmYJqjZ
— Forrester Research (@forrester) September 14, 2015
It’s that time of year again. Summer is (unfortunately) coming to an end and many B2B businesses are devising their plans for 2016. But instead of a “go-to-market” strategy, Peter O’Neill from Forrester Research presents an argument for creating a “go-to-customer” strategy instead, planning your cycles on their needs and preferences. Forrester has declared that it is now “the age of the customer,” as they expect more from your company regardless of channel. Adapting your plans to meet these demands is the way to win in this new world.
Getting to Know Challenger Marketing
Challenger Marketing: How To Succeed In Today’s B2B Battleground http://t.co/69Bz6bAnGk
— Michael Brenner (@BrennerMichael) September 8, 2015
“Challenger marketing” is a new approach to content marketing and lead generation, coined by CEB (The Corporate Executive Board Company), that helps companies stand out by “un-teaching” customers something they already know or believe about their business or industry. This post on B2B Marketing Insider, which has been shared over 400 times on social in the past week, Michael Brenner shares insights about challenger marketing along from CEB as well as Brent Adamson, co-author of “The Challenger Sale.”
TOP MEDIA
Ah, the elusive qualified B2B lead! This infographic from Marsden Marketing illustrates how lead scoring can remove some of the mystery from prospecting, something that will be useful for both marketing and sales departments.
If you missed last week’s edition of Hashtag Team written by Brett Wilkins, head here to check it out. As always, if you have any B2B content we think we should share next week, let us know below or via @b2bnewsnetwork
Photo via Flickr, Creative Commons
