I found some information from an ExactTarget study that examines which digital outlet people check first when they wake up in the morning. I think this information can benefit B2B marketers. Knowing where online consumers begin their daily online activities reveals a lot about their priorities. This information can also help B2B marketers effectively pinpoint where to deliver marketing messages. Some highlights of the study include:

• 58 percent of online consumers check e-mail first
• 11 percent of online consumers check Facebook or Twitter first

This tells me that when messages are being delivered in the morning, B2B marketers should focus on delivering those messages through e-mail, more so than Facebook and Twitter. But with the rise of social media, Facebook and Twitter have their places too so I think it’s important to keep them on the list.

What do you think? Do you think the ExactTarget study can benefit B2B marketers? Why or why not?

The release of products like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the NewTek Tricaster allow video to be produced at a fraction of the price that it used to be. For example, the Tricaster provides you with the opportunity to go live with a web broadcast for your next customer experience or sales training event. Because the editing is done live you save the money and the time you would have otherwise spent in an edit bay. You still need to be prepared to do the work on the front end with preproduction, but by taking advantage of new technology in the marketplace you can now afford to deliver your message through video.

How have you used video in your B2B communications?

This week, while implementing a new social media plan for a client, I wondered, when it comes to Facebook, is there a way to determine how much a Facebook fan is actually worth? Of course, I have other success metrics in the plan including measuring the velocity of fans within the first 30 days, visits to the fan page and number of comments or “likes” each week, but I was still curious about the value of a fan.

Through research, I found an article titled “How Much Is a Facebook Fan Really Worth?” It outlines a strategy from a firm called Syncapse that puts an actual dollar value on a Facebook fan. According to them, an average Facebook fan is worth $136.38. This was determined by asking fans of top brands on Facebook why they were fans of those particular companies and about their past and future buying habits.

I’m not completely sure that this conclusion is entirely accurate but, it’s interesting to see that companies are trying to put a value on a fan.

Have you ever put a value on your Facebook fans? What methods have you used to do this?

As PR professionals, it’s our job to educate our clients and bosses about the importance of social media and online reputations. Much like great print coverage, social media conversations deliver valuable information about a company or brand directly to current and prospective customers and influence opinions.

In my opinion, the best part about social media is that you can participate in the conversations about your company or brand that are already happening and you can engage with your customers on a more personal level.

Instead of sharing your daily thoughts 140 characters at a time, Dribble gives you 400 x 300 pixels of space to share visual creativity. Another great feature is that, like Twitter, Dribbble allows you to “follow” your favorite designer, illustrator or developer and keep up with what they are working on.

As Twitter can be helpful to trend what’s happening in this great b2b world of ours, I believe that Dribble can also help us keep up with all things design related and keep things fresh!

Are there any other b2b resources you use to keep at the top of your game?

What inspires me lately are new ways to manage social media and get more people involved. I came across the idea of assigning team ambassadors to each social media outlet and working together to ensure the brand experience is consistent and the messaging streamlined. By allowing more than one person to have their hand in social media, they’re given the freedom to learn and improve their skills, track results and be a lead on driving sales and awareness.

Try this for your next campaign:

• Assign a team ambassador to each social media channel.
• Meet initially to discuss the points of focus, topics, sites and messaging for consistency throughout the campaign. Work together to ensure posts are consistent.
• Set goals per social media channel and establish how each ambassador plans to manage and track them.
• At the end of the campaign, each ambassador will present their results and share feedback on how they increased traffic/usage. Compare results!

If you have the internal resources to support a team effort for your social media, this may be extremely beneficial for employee morale and productivity! What are some other ways you get your employees to work as a team?

1. Marketing Automation is the tool or technology. Lead nurturing and lead management are what you use marketing automation for.
2. Social Media, or New Media, is the technology (or medium). Content distribution, promotion or two-way communication is what you use social media for.
3. CRM is the technology. Documenting and tracking customer interactions are what you use the tool for.
4. RSS is the tool. Online publishing and syndication are what you use RSS feeds for.

Do you know anyone who claims to ‘do’ social media? Are there any other B2B marketing terminology distinctions you want to clear up?

With social media trending all over the Web these days, social media links have become a part of just about every Web site and blog. And from this, designers are finding various, unique ways to customize these buttons. To cater to the ever-growing demand for such tools, unique Web sites offering freebie icons have been hunted and gathered.

There is a handy new list of 40 New and Trendy Free Social Bookmark Icon Sets available by YouTheDesigner. Take time to check out the list and download your favorites or browse and get inspired to come up with your own.

It’s evolving, mysterious and a blank canvas for marketing creativity and strategy. I think it’s safe to say that everyone involved in social media is learning as they go. And, while there are some nay-sayers about ROI for social media, there is one point that can’t be argued. Social media can help improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO), when done effectively, of course.

So, HOW can social media improve your SEO?

1. Direct Links. Social media sites provide links. Lots of links. Google likes links. Google ranks sites with lots of links to them higher than those with very few links. Add links to your Web content on sites like Twitter or leave comments on blogs with relevant links to your site.
2. Keyword-optimized content. Have you noticed Tweets showing up in Google search results? Google and Yahoo index Tweets, so keep adding content to social media platforms for added visibility. The more valuable your content, the more likely someone else is to share it with their network.

How are you optimizing your social media content? Here are some helpful tools for Social Media Optimization.

First, you can’t just set up these accounts, post a few things and let them sit. To maximize your efforts, you must constantly update, tweet, friend, connect, write and reply. It’s about developing and distributing fresh content that your audience will be interested in and carrying on conversations, which takes a tremendous amount of time—and, time is money.

Also, social media is about listening and reacting quickly if your brand comes up in conversations. This takes planning and diligence in monitoring, which takes time, time you pay your employees and agency partners for. At Canyon, we developed guidelines for social media participation that our employees must abide by—this document wasn’t free to develop.

Oh, and technically, since social media tools are web-based, internet connections, mobile devices and bandwidth is all paid for through your ISPs and wireless providers.

Have you been able to spend the time to maximize your social media efforts? Has your social media involvement resulted in enough return to justify the investment? Still think social media is free?

photo courtesy: www.flickr.com/photos/Sean_McColgan