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	<title>Velocity Partners &#187; Twitter</title>
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	<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk</link>
	<description>B2B Marketing, Content Marketing and Technology Marketing</description>
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		<title>Five B2B marketing posts we think you&#8217;ll like</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2011/09/06/five-b2b-marketing-posts-we-think-youll-like/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=five-b2b-marketing-posts-we-think-youll-like</link>
		<comments>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2011/09/06/five-b2b-marketing-posts-we-think-youll-like/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:29:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Content Curation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B content marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing Automation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/?p=3515</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>We know you like the backs of our hands. You&#8217;re a B2B marketer who&#8217;s always looking for new ideas, strategies, tactics and technologies. (See? Nailed you in one sentence). With this persona in mind, via the magic of content curation,&#8230;</p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We know you like the backs of our hands. You&#8217;re a B2B marketer who&#8217;s always looking for new ideas, strategies, tactics and technologies. (See? Nailed you in one sentence). With this persona in mind, via the magic of content curation, here are five blog posts we&#8217;ve enjoyed recently:</p>
<p><a title="Jay Baer on the illusion of social intimacy" href="http://p.ost.im/p/eNbJku" target="_blank"><strong>Social Media, Pretend Friends, and the Lie of False Intimacy</strong> </a> via @jaybaer<br />
Jay discusses the illusion of intimacy created by social media – as exemplified by the recent tragic death of Trey Pennington, a fellow B2B marketer and (we thought) a friend.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Marketing Automation defined" href="http://venturebeat.com/2011/09/05/defining-marketing-automation/">What ‘marketing automation’ means for the well-rounded B2B marketer</a></strong> @venturebeat<br />
Bryan Brown of Silverpop gives an excellent, short outline of the essentials of marketing automation. The way Bryan sees it, it&#8217;s about Data Collection, Lead Management, Cross-Channel Campaign Management, Social Marketing, Tracking &amp; Reporting. Nice one, Bryan. Clear, simple, comprehensive.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Kinaxis B2B social case study" href="http://tellallmarketing.com/blog/?p=159" target="_blank">How Kinaxis uses Social Media</a></strong> via @tellallmarketing<br />
A nice, short case study on how Kinaxis, the supply chain software company, started using social media. Refreshingly open and with results included. Thanks Kinaxis.</p>
<p><a title="Econsultancy on link exchange requests" href="http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7961-the-bad-science-of-link-exchange-emails" target="_blank"><strong>The Bad Science of Link Exchange Emails</strong> </a>via @chrislake<br />
Chris is the head of content at Econsultancy. His &#8216;worst practice&#8217; advice on crappy, spammy link exchange requests is an excellent survey and a damning indictment to boot. We recently did a similar take on <a title="B2B and viagra spam" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/12/20/what-b2b-marketers-can-learn-from-viagra-spam/" target="_blank">Viagra Spam</a> and its irresistible charms.</p>
<p><a title="Chris unfollows everyone" href="http://bit.ly/pyS0jf" target="_blank"><strong>The Great Twitter Unfollow Experiment of 2011</strong></a> via @chrisbrogan<br />
Chris Brogan had a LOT of followers. So when he decided to unfollow all of them, we knew it would be an interesting experiment. Check out his reasoning. We look forward to the results.</p>
<p><strong>Does Content Curation work for you?<br />
</strong>This post is a rather basic example of B2B Content Curation – trawling the web for relevant content that we think our readers would appreciate. The idea is simple: not every blog post you do has to be 100% original; you can still add value just by sieving some web effluent and pointing out the choice nuggets for people. (Note to self: mix metaphors more carefully). Work for you?<strong><br />
</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2011. |
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		<title>What B2B marketers can learn from Charlie Sheen</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2011/03/04/what-b2b-marketers-can-learn-from-charlie-sheen/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-b2b-marketers-can-learn-from-charlie-sheen</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:57:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/?p=2889</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p class="wp-caption-text">Charlie Sheen on Good Morning America earlier this week</p>
<p>Charlie Sheen has shown himself to be a new class of braying moron: the braying moron who thinks that a sit-com character is the same thing as a human being.&#8230;</p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_2891" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 529px"><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/B2B_marketing_charliesheen.png" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2889];player=img;"><img class="size-full wp-image-2891" title="Charlie Sheen is a Braying Moron" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Screen-shot-2011-03-04-at-09.50.12.png" alt="Charlie Sheen is a donkey" width="519" height="424" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Charlie Sheen on Good Morning America earlier this week</p></div>
<p>Charlie Sheen has shown himself to be a new class of braying moron: the braying moron who thinks that a sit-com character is the same thing as a human being.<br />
But what can B2B marketers learn from Charlie Sheen?<br />
Nothing.<br />
Just don&#8217;t be a braying moron.<br />
And if you decide to experiment with trending topics in your blog titles, do a much better job than I just did.<br />
You might get a brief traffic spike but you&#8217;ll also get a monster bounce rate (and risk looking like a bandwagon-chasing, personal-brand-building. self-promoting pop culture addict).<br />
Experiment over.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>Charlie Sheen photo: Creative Commons: Kylie the fabulous</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2011. |
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		<title>Project Open Kimono 11: Do Twitter Auto DMs work?</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2011/02/15/project-open-kimono-11-do-twitter-auto-dms-work/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=project-open-kimono-11-do-twitter-auto-dms-work</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:23:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B content marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online PR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[web analytics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/?p=2867</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the experiments we've run as part of Project Open Kimono was to set up an automated Direct Message to everyone who follows me on Twitter.  Check out the results...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One of the experiments we&#8217;ve run as part of Project Open Kimono was to set up an automated Direct Message to everyone who follows me on Twitter.  We did this in <a title="Social Oomph for B2B auto-tweets" href="https://www.socialoomph.com/" target="_blank">Social Oomph</a> but there are lots of similar services out there. The message says, &#8220;Welcome aboard! You might like to read our B2B Marketing Manifesto&#8221; &#8212; plus a shortened URL that links to the <a title="Don't tell me you haven't read it yet. I mean, sheesh. What does a guy have to do?" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/20/b2b-marketing-manifesto-ebook/" target="_blank">B2B Marketing Manifesto</a> landing page.</p>
<p>The URL, when fully unfurled, reveals the Google Analytics tracking code:</p>
<p>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/20/b2b-marketing-manifesto-ebook<strong>/?utm_source=social&#038;utm_medium=twitterautodm&#038;utm_campaign=manifesto</strong></p>
<p>I generated this with the <a title="Google URL Builder for B2B marketing" href="http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&amp;answer=55578" target="_blank">Google URL builder</a>, a simple tool that makes tracking links really easy (especially if you have a guy like <a title="The Man" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/author/neil/" target="_blank">Neil Stoneman</a> to set up the Analytics).</p>
<p>For you closet geeks: you can decode the URL by looking at the stuff after these words:</p>
<p>?utm_source = social</p>
<p>?utm_medium = twitterautodm</p>
<p>?uth_campaign = manifesto</p>
<p>(Neil says I did it wrong &#8212; apparently the medium should have been &#8216;social&#8217; and the source &#8216;twitterautodm&#8217;, but, hey, at least I tagged it.)</p>
<p>So anyway, this is the DM tweet that people get when they follow me:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Screen-shot-2011-02-15-at-16.20.33.png" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2867];player=img;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2869" title="Auto Tweet DM" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Screen-shot-2011-02-15-at-16.20.33.png" alt="" width="317" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>I was worried it might be cheesy or crass (what do you think? comments welcome below), but thought it was worth a test. If no one came for the Manifesto, then we&#8217;d stop.  Of course, a chunk of new followers came to me from reading the Manifesto, so this offer wouldn&#8217;t be attractive to them, but anyway&#8230;</p>
<p>The idea of automating communication felt false to me at first. And I don&#8217;t always like the auto-DMs I get when I follow people: they often have that reek of false sincerity (&#8220;Hey! Thanks for the follow! I hope I can help you achieve the full potential of your personal brand!&#8221;).</p>
<p>But then the &#8216;pro&#8217; rationale won out:</p>
<p>&#8211; it&#8217;s only polite to welcome new friends<br />
&#8211; if you&#8217;re following me you really might like the Manifesto<br />
&#8211; no one is twisting your arm, it&#8217;s easy to ignore the DM</p>
<p>Well, I&#8217;m still not convinced that this isn&#8217;t a diluted species of spam (SPAM lite! Less gristle!), but the results are in and&#8230;</p>
<p>It works.</p>
<p>After about eight weeks, Google Analytics (well, Neil) tells me that 20 people came to the website from this link. Okay, small numbers, but that&#8217;s from about 75 new followers, so it&#8217;s not a bad click through rate (26%).</p>
<p>More importantly, the goal conversion rate for these people – the ones who actually filled out the form and downloaded the Manifesto – is two-and-a-half times the site average. Here&#8217;s the Analytics snippet:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Picture-17.png" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2867];player=img;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2874" title="Google Analytics for B2B: conversion rate" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Picture-17.png" alt="Conversion Rate in B2B web analytics" width="268" height="125" /></a></p>
<p>See? 15% of the visitors from this source converted versus 4.18% of traffic from all other sources. Okay, the numbers are tiny (Amazon we ain&#8217;t) but the principles hold up:</p>
<p><strong>The Principles</strong></p>
<p>&#8211; Test stuff!</p>
<p>&#8211; Tag your URLS! (so you can&#8230;)</p>
<p>&#8211; Track everything!</p>
<p>And one final conclusion: if your offer is relevant and your message not too crass or simpering and doesn&#8217;t mention the words &#8216;personal brand&#8217;, then go ahead and set up a Twitter Auto DM.  It works.</p>
<p><strong>Hungry for more Project Open Kimono? Knock yourself out:</strong></p>
<p><a href="../2010/09/22/2189/">Project Open Kimono Part 1</a> – the one where we commit ourselves in public (Planning)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 2" href="../2010/09/24/b2b-case-study-live-project-open-kimono-part-2/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 2</a> – the one where it all kicks off (Thinking)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 3" href="../2010/10/01/b2b-marketing-analytics-project-open-kimono-part-3/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 3</a> – the one where confidence starts to rise (First results)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 4" href="../2010/10/04/cross-promoting-b2b-content-project-open-kimono-part-4/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 4</a> – the one where the trick shots start (Cross-promotion)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 5" href="../2010/10/15/b2b-analytics-project-open-kimono-part-5/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 5</a> – the one where we share the first month&#8217;s results (Reviewing)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/10/19/are-b2b-marketers-wimps-project-open-kimono-part-6/">Project Open Kimono Part 6</a> – the one where we toughen up (Soul Searching)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/10/27/where-do-the-best-b2b-marketers-live/">Project Open Kimono Part 7</a> &#8211; the one where we find the world&#8217;s best marketers (Segmenting)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/11/05/b2b-email-marketing-follow-up-project-open-kimono-8/">Project Open Kimono Part 8</a> &#8211; the one where we show that design isn&#8217;t everything (Style v Substance)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/11/12/b2b-lead-nurturing-and-other-analytics/">Project Open Kimono Part 9</a> &#8211; the one where lead nurturing proves its worth (Marketo)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/12/01/b2b-analytics-and-forms-open-kimono-part-10/">Project Open Kimono Part 10</a> &#8211; the one where the form fights back (Form v No Form)</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2011. |
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Post tags: <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/tag/b2b-content-marketing/" rel="tag">B2B content marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/tag/b2b-social-media/" rel="tag">B2B social media</a>, <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/tag/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/tag/online-pr/" rel="tag">Online PR</a>, <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/tag/social-media/" rel="tag">Social Media</a>, <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/tag/twitter/" rel="tag">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/tag/web-analytics/" rel="tag">web analytics</a><br/>
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		<title>Twitter and the tyranny of the new</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/10/22/twitter-and-the-tyranny-of-the-new/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=twitter-and-the-tyranny-of-the-new</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:30:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B content marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/?p=2460</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Is it just me or have you noticed how Twitter buries the best under a blizzard of blah-blah-blah?  Feels like it's a medium that favours newness over quality and that has implications for humans and for marketers...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Picture-4.png" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2460];player=img;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2473" title="B2B dust" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Picture-4.png" alt="B2B marketing sediment" width="629" height="421" /></a></p>
<p>It takes a while to figure out how new modes of communication shape the things being communicated and the people doing the communicating. It took maybe thirty years after TV was invented before the first sighting of the couch potato. And another twenty or so before we realised that this particular box is absolutely tailor-made for braying idiots spouting nonsense at the top of their lungs (the stuff that Fox is made of).</p>
<p>Well, new media are appearing a lot faster these days so we need to speed up our understanding of how they&#8217;re shaping the debate. With that in mind:</p>
<p><strong>Ever notice how Twitter buries the very best content under layer after  layer of dreck?</strong><br />
This &#8216;hyper-sedimentation&#8217; has bothered me for a while but I&#8217;ve only recently  started to figure out why.</p>
<p>A really good tweet hits the top of your Tweetdeck or HootSuite or even (God forbid) Twitter.com feed and starts its downscreen descent almost immediately. Within seconds, the yadda-yadda of a few thousand other tweeters is landing on top of it, pushing it down, down, down until – in what, maybe a minute?– it&#8217;s off screen, out of sight and out of mind. It&#8217;s not only dead it&#8217;s well buried under stuff that may have much less merit but does possess the thing that Twitter values above all else: newness.</p>
<p>Some of the stuff landing on top of that quality tweet is also worth noting. But, let&#8217;s face it, a lot of it is the yammering of digital narcissists, bafflingly time-rich <a title="Bartlett's Familar Quotations" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bartletts-Familiar-Quotations-John-Bartlett/dp/0316084603/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1287650247&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank">Bartlett&#8217;s</a> owners and literally tireless self-promoters.</p>
<p>So, even if you filter out the &#8216;lifestyle coaches&#8217; and reserve a TweetDeck column free of &#8216;social media ninjas&#8217;; and even if a flurry of retweets keeps the original thought alive for a few moments longer, the very best of tweets is gone in a few minutes. Gone forever. (Sure, you can scroll. But you won&#8217;t. You know you won&#8217;t.)</p>
<p><strong>Gone in the time it takes to say &#8216;tweet&#8217;</strong></p>
<p>Twitter enforces the Tryanny of the New over the worthwhile.  If Shakespeare were tweeting today, his tweets (&#8220;2 #B2B or not  2#B2B&#8230;?&#8221;) would be buried under and <em>therefore almost undistinguishable from</em> the hashtag-studded blather of the cyber-boors.</p>
<p>This phenomenon doesn&#8217;t just effect what we say, it effects the sayer as well. I don&#8217;t know about you but when I spend a lot of time on Twitter, I find I develop the attention span of a tweet.  I find myself shouting, &#8220;Get the POINT man!&#8221; at 10-second TV commercials. I look for the fast-forward button on my 12-year-old daughter, Zoë.  And while the first of these sins is victimless, the second is far from it (the victim is me).</p>
<p>Social media doesn&#8217;t have to suffer from this problem. YouTube lets people rate videos so the best can float to the top instead of sinking under a sea of sub-titled cats (okay, <a title="O Don Piano" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KrfjeEqQGk" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2460];player=swf;width=640;height=385;" target="_blank">some of those</a> are good). A well-designed blog can surface the best and/or most popular posts alongside the latest.</p>
<p>So here&#8217;s a product development idea for Twitter: a thumbs-up or star-rating button on every tweet so we can make columns full of the best. Stuff that stays around while the adjacent columns spin along like slot-machine dials.</p>
<p>Till then, the lessons are simple for marketers:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Don&#8217;t assume that your tweets will live</strong> any longer (or make any more impact) than a burp</li>
<li><strong>Make sure your own best blog posts aren&#8217;t lost forever</strong> under stuff like&#8230; this (we have a Featured Post over there on the right that&#8217;s much better)</li>
<li><strong>Keep a column or two free</strong> in TweetDeck for the people you really rate</li>
<li><strong>Be generous in retweeting the best </strong>and ruthless in ignoring or unfollowing the rest  (we all need to encourage the real contributors and discourage the deluded)</li>
<li><strong>Make sure your content marketing extends beyond Twitter alone</strong> – or your campaigns won&#8217;t have legs</li>
<li><strong>Spin old content into new</strong> so it has its micro-moment in the sun  (<a title="15 minutes of fame" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_minutes_of_fame" target="_blank">Andy Warhol had the right idea</a> but was off by about 14 minutes and 45 seconds)</li>
<li><strong>Don&#8217;t be shy</strong> about tweeting about the same topic in lots of different ways (within reason). Chances are no one will see two of your redundant tweets.</li>
<li><strong>It&#8217;s okay not to tweet </strong>– if I don&#8217;t see you for a while, I&#8217;ll just assume you got a life</li>
</ul>
<p>Am I being too cynical here? Too mean to the life coaches? Does any of this ring true for you or am I dissing the best thing since WordPress?</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Photo: Brooklyn Museum.  Flickr Creative Commons.</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2010. |
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		<title>B2B Marketing Analytics &#8211; Project Open Kimono Part 3</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/10/01/b2b-marketing-analytics-project-open-kimono-part-3/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=b2b-marketing-analytics-project-open-kimono-part-3</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:19:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Neil Stoneman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B content marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B Marketing Analytics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Online PR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/?p=2249</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Two weeks in and the analytics Kimono is wide open. Take a look and see what you can learn from our B2B Marketing Manifesto campaign. ]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Analytics-Velocity-Twitter-Posts.jpg" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2249];player=img;"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2250" title="B2B Marketing Analytics Velocity Twitter Posts" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Analytics-Velocity-Twitter-Posts.jpg" alt="B2B Marketing Manifesto Tweets" width="666" height="552" /></a></p>
<p>And we’re off!</p>
<p>It’s almost two weeks since we launched the <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/20/b2b-marketing-manifesto-ebook/">B2B Marketing Manifesto</a>, and now it’s time peel back the cloth for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/22/2189/">Project Open Kimono</a> &#8211; our commitment to a transparent Manifesto campaign.</p>
<p>It’s a six month marathon, not a two week sprint, but every good B2B marketer knows the value of a good first impression.</p>
<p><strong>So where are we now? </strong><br />
Well, we’re delighted and a little relieved (you never really know what&#8217;s going to happen) to say that now the kimono is open, there’s something substantial to show off (do tell us when this metaphor gets too&#8230; graphic).</p>
<p>It’s too early to report on everything but the top level stats are pleasing:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>186 downloads</strong> from a target of 1000</li>
<li><strong>158 completed forms</strong> from a target of 200</li>
<li><strong>1 serious new business discussion</strong> from a target of 2</li>
<li><strong>2 new business contacts</strong> to be fully explored</li>
<li><strong>25 comments</strong> from a target of 50 (<a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/20/b2b-marketing-manifesto-ebook/">Join the debate and make your mark</a>)</li>
<li><strong>200 per cent rise in views</strong> of our existing content library</li>
</ul>
<p>And we haven&#8217;t even promoted the Manifesto to our database yet &#8212; this is just from a very small dose of online PR and social media.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Manifesto-Downloads.png" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2249];player=img;"><img class="size-full wp-image-2251 aligncenter" title="B2B Marketing Manifesto Downloads" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Manifesto-Downloads.png" alt="B2B Marketing Downloads from Google Analytics" width="269" height="343" /></a></p>
<p>Not too shabby and a long, long way to go, but it&#8217;s fair to say that the experiment is already turning interesting.</p>
<p><strong>Early Lessons</strong><br />
If you want a fast start then it makes sense to work with the channels that can spin on a sixpence: social media and online PR.</p>
<p>Doug’s already written about <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/24/b2b-case-study-live-project-open-kimono-part-2/">how to get the B2B marketing community working</a> and here are two analytical lessons from that work.</p>
<p><strong>Lesson One – Twitter Value</strong><br />
As you can see from our top graphic the Twitter response to the Manifesto has been phenomenal.</p>
<p>We’ve counted at least 80 tweets and retweets, from some of B2B marketing’s best known and respected faces, with literally thousands of followers (if I ever get a spare week I’ll count them all up). So you&#8217;d think that Twitter provides bulk of our visitors and downloads, right? Wrong.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Manifesto-Twitter-Report.png" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2249];player=img;"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2254" title="B2B-Marketing-Manifesto-Twitter-Report" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Manifesto-Twitter-Report.png" alt="B2B Marketing Manifesto Twitter Report From Google" width="600" height="270" /></a></p>
<p>As the Google Report shows the frenetic Twitter activity has actually delivered 55 visits (significantly below the number of tweets), and thanks to an above average abandonment rate, only 18 downloads.</p>
<p>Even if we take into consideration the preview books emailed out beforehand it’s a pretty revealing statistic. There are a couple conclusions to take away from this:</p>
<p>•    Creating a great Twitter vibe doesn’t always translate to your site<br />
•    <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/03/26/7-reasons-people-share-content-without-looking/">Getting content shared on Twitter</a> isn&#8217;t just about the quality of your content</p>
<p>Does that mean Twitter is over-valued? That depends on what you’re after, but the data (so far) shows Twitter working harder as buzz generator than a lead generator. We like a buzz though.</p>
<p><strong>2. Lesson Two – Online PR</strong><br />
We’ve also charted the impact of our online PR efforts with a number of bloggers, aggregators and media.</p>
<p>It’s harder to hear the noise, but it&#8217;s quietly (very) effective.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Manifesto-Online-PR-Report1.png" rel="shadowbox[sbpost-2249];player=img;"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2258" title="B2B Marketing Manifesto Online PR Report" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/B2B-Marketing-Manifesto-Online-PR-Report1.png" alt="B2B Marketing Manifesto Online PR Report from Google Analytics" width="602" height="241" /></a></p>
<p>Our online PR activity performs well on visits, downloads and engagement against Twitter and, importantly to our campaign metrics, compares favourably to our campaign benchmark: the <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/06/09/the-b2b-content-marketing-workbook/">B2B Content Marketing Workbook</a> launch.</p>
<p>A few respected, thoughtful bloggers can do more for your conversion rates than a multitude of Tweets. It&#8217;s important to follow measurement right down your funnel where unexpected results often appear.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong><br />
A Twitter buzz if great but don&#8217;t mistake the noise as a sign that all your campaign metrics will be flowing. Sharing great content through your community with respect and reciprocity can overcome the barriers to conversion. We call it &#8216;earned influence&#8217;. It&#8217;s harder than a 140 character tweet but well worth the effort.</p>
<p><strong>You might want to check out:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/22/2189/">Project Open Kimono Part 1 </a>– the one where we commit ourselves in public (Planning)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 2" href="../2010/09/24/b2b-case-study-live-project-open-kimono-part-2/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 2</a> – the one where it all kicks off (Thinking)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 3" href="../2010/10/01/b2b-marketing-analytics-project-open-kimono-part-3/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 3</a> – the one where confidence starts to rise (First results)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 4" href="../2010/10/04/cross-promoting-b2b-content-project-open-kimono-part-4/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 4</a> – the one where the trick shots start (Cross-promotion)</p>
<p><a title="Project Open Kimono Part 5" href="../2010/10/15/b2b-analytics-project-open-kimono-part-5/" target="_blank">Project Open Kimono Part 5</a> – the one where we share the first month&#8217;s results (Reviewing)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/10/19/are-b2b-marketers-wimps-project-open-kimono-part-6/">Project Open Kimono Part 6</a> – the one where we toughen up (Soul Searching)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/10/27/where-do-the-best-b2b-marketers-live/">Project Open Kimono Part 7</a> &#8211; the one where we find the world&#8217;s best marketers (Segmenting)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/11/05/b2b-email-marketing-follow-up-project-open-kimono-8/">Project Open Kimono Part 8</a> &#8211; the one where we show that design isn&#8217;t everything (Style v Substance)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/11/12/b2b-lead-nurturing-and-other-analytics/">Project Open Kimono Part 9</a> &#8211; the one where lead nurturing proves its worth (Marketo)</p>
<p><a href="../2010/12/01/b2b-analytics-and-forms-open-kimono-part-10/">Project Open Kimono Part 10</a> &#8211; the one where the form fights back (Form v No Form)</p>
<p>And of course, <a title="The B2B Marketing Manifesto!" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/09/20/b2b-marketing-manifesto-ebook/" target="_blank">The B2B Marketing Manifesto</a> itself.</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; neilstoneman for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2010. |
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		<title>7 reasons B2B buyers share content without looking</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2010/03/26/7-reasons-people-share-content-without-looking/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=7-reasons-people-share-content-without-looking</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:59:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Neil Stoneman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[B2B marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LinkedIn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/?p=1503</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Find out how you can get people to share your work before they've even taken a look.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes I launch TweetDeck to find a new blog sweeping through a B2B community faster than a Vancouver curling stone.</p>
<p>The micro-gasps of “awesome content” or “exhaustive summary” that accompany every re-tweet suggest something big is going down.  Sold!  I click through with a tingle of anticipation.</p>
<p>And then it hits you, hard &#8211; the stench of a content piece so rotten you expect every reader’s nose to be thrust back inside a newspaper by the morning.</p>
<p>So why is this lacklustre piece doing the rounds when other things that I’ve <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">written</span> read seem so much better?<br />
<strong><br />
Content By Association</strong><br />
It’s simple: the quality of your content is only part of what makes your, only too human audience, pass it on with a slap on the back.</p>
<p>People share content that makes them look good; stuff that proves they’re up with the trends. In fact, they’ll do it (whisper this!) without even looking at it.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s a bit sad, but entirely true. You can make people endorse your content who know almost nothing about it, if they can bask in the association.</p>
<p>Let’s look what goes through the mind of your audience:<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Does it sound great in a sentence?</strong> The video sounds fantastic but it could be longer than Ben Hur.  But a clever 140 characters proves I’m focused squarely on the right stuff.<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Is it endorsed by people I respect?</strong> I’ve not got time to read this but it comes with the authority of real content gurus.  It’s a risk free bandwagon I can join<strong>.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Does it look fantastic? </strong>I’ve opened the document and it’s got the wow factor.  Worth sharing on the production values alone.<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Can I share it with a touch of a button?</strong> I’m due in a meeting but enjoyed page one.  I’ll share it now because it’s easy and I might not get back to it when the real job takes over.<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Is the author a name I can trust?</strong> This author’s got a great CV and is a veritable LinkedIn and Twitter rock-star.  She’s got risk-shattering credentials &#8211; all these people can’t be wrong.<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Is this a social media savvy company?</strong> This company is top of the social media pops and I’d like a piece of the action.  Their reputation for social media success alone makes this piece a risk free forward.<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Would I like this company’s patronage?</strong> This company is in a position of power and I’d like to get to know them better.  I’m more likely to get on the inside if they know I love their stuff.</p>
<p>There’s an audience out there that’s ready to tap into your presentation, promotion and profile if you get it right.</p>
<p>But make sure it’s balanced by the best quality content or you’ll soon use up your hard earned goodwill. Let’s not disappoint the people they pass it to.</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; neilstoneman for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2010. |
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		<title>Diary of a Tweet: Clarity vs Twitterjunk</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/11/13/diary-of-a-tweet-clarity-vs-twitterjunk/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=diary-of-a-tweet-clarity-vs-twitterjunk</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:20:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Blog]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[B2B content marketing]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Web Marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/?p=1028</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The birth of every every new communications medium is followed by a period during which the underlying technology actually cramps the communication it&#8217;s supposed to be enabling.  When it comes to Twitter, we&#8217;re all in the middle of this period&#8230;</p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The birth of every every new communications medium is followed by a period during which the underlying technology actually cramps the communication it&#8217;s supposed to be enabling.  When it comes to Twitter, we&#8217;re all in the middle of this period – Gartner would probably call it the Trough of Technobabble – right now.</p>
<p>A Twitter tweet was meant to be a pure distillation of a thought.  After all, with only 140 characters available, there&#8217;s not a lot of room for waffle.  Even one of the world&#8217;s briefest, most elegant speeches, <a title="The best speech ever written?" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address" target="_blank">Lincoln&#8217;s Gettysburg Address</a>, would take 11 tweets to get across. I counted. (Of course, before Abe could rattle off all eleven, he&#8217;d have been interrupted by <a title="...sat on a wall..." href="http://www.rhymes.org.uk/humpty_dumpty.htm" target="_blank">umpteen numpties</a> sharing insights such as &#8220;Had coffee this morning. Good 2 B alive.&#8221; or &#8220;Anybody else find these confederate uniforms chafing?&#8221;).</p>
<p>Back to the Trough of Technobabble. Look what happens when a simple tweet gets passed through the Twitter machine:</p>
<div id="attachment_1030" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 321px"><img class="size-full wp-image-1030" title="Diary of a Tweet – step 1" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/picture-10.png" alt="The original tweet" width="311" height="89" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The original tweet</p></div>
<p>The tweet has a simple message: check out our recent blog post on <a title="B2B Buyer Alienation post" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/11/10/16-ways-to-alienate-a-b2b-buyer/" target="_blank">The 16 Ways to Alienate a B2B Buyer</a>.  Already, it&#8217;s got a fugly URL attached that will look hilariously retro in about five years.  Then there&#8217;s the arguably valuable Twitterchrome: who posted it, the photo, date, time and origination app.</p>
<p>Now the Tweet gets picked up by one of my &#8220;Followers&#8221; (I prefer &#8216;disciple&#8217; but will go with the flow on this one) and becomes:</p>
<div id="attachment_1031" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 315px"><img class="size-full wp-image-1031" title="B2B technobabble step 2" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/picture-11.png" alt="The first retweet" width="305" height="90" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The first retweet</p></div>
<p>Already, the short, simple tweet has begun its transformation into what I call Twitterjunk. No offense to &#8216;rapril&#8217; who was just doing what we all do, but look how much harder this version is to read than the original.  We&#8217;ve got two hashtags, attached like barnacles to the hull of my message.  We&#8217;ve got the RT @dougkessler prefix (a nice piece of Twitter etiquette that inhibits outright plagiarism but also kills your opener).  Then we&#8217;ve got rapril&#8217;s editoral comment (now constrained to ten characters): &#8216;Liked this&#8217;. (thanks rap).</p>
<p>Glance at this tweet and already your eye is like a hummingbird looking for a place to land in a thatch of brambles on a windy day. If your eye is like most hummingbirds faced with this problem, it will flit away in the time it takes a hummingbird heart to beat, say, a few thousands times.</p>
<p>But it gets worse:</p>
<div id="attachment_1033" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 314px"><img class="size-full wp-image-1033" title="Technobabble &amp; Twitterjunk – step 3" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/picture-12.png" alt="Step 3: thought becomes machine code" width="304" height="93" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Step 3: thought becomes machine code</p></div>
<p>Now peterww has picked up the scent (thanks, peteww, I think I&#8217;ll dub ya dubdubya). And we&#8217;ve got another RT prefix (Twitter etiquette kind of breaks down here&#8230; what the hell did CopywriterTO do to deserve top billing?); followed by the fugly URL, a hashtag and a double RT for flavour (cattily quoting both accounts I posted from, thereby exposing me as a twitter whore (twhore?). Bitch.). Plus the twitterchrome and photo (dubdubya&#8217;s nine-pixel dog. Spaniel? Schnauzer?).</p>
<p>So okay, this is only two generations into our game of Chinese Twispers and already we&#8217;ve turned a simple thought into something you&#8217;d expect to find lying around under an Enigma machine or a pillow in Bill Gates&#8217;s shag-pad.</p>
<p>I mean really.  Just look at it.</p>
<p>Now compound all this with the fact that no one is looking at a tweet like this in isolation. We&#8217;re all seeing it as one of about 120 tweets pouring through an app like TweetDeck, the multi-column mega-stream for omni-taskers with ADD.</p>
<p>So we&#8217;re now confronted with a whole frigging <em>dashboard</em> of this kind of gobbledy-gook.</p>
<p>The only tweet immune from this accretion of twitterjunk is the tweet that everyone ignores (&#8220;Hello world, have a fabtabulous Tuesday!!! #manicamericanoptimist&#8221;).  So a simple bit of shameless pimping like this:</p>
<div id="attachment_1035" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 316px"><img class="size-full wp-image-1035" title="Twitterjunk " src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/picture-13.png" alt="(Okay, I added the hashtag)" width="306" height="88" /><p class="wp-caption-text">(Okay, I added the hashtag)</p></div>
<p>Quickly turns into a wingding-tangle like this:</p>
<div id="attachment_1037" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 319px"><img class="size-full wp-image-1037" title="Twitterjunk - holy cow" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/picture-8.png" alt="Holy cow" width="309" height="93" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Holy cow</p></div>
<p>Again, no offense at all to &#8220;follow_bizo&#8221; (be honest, fb, how long did you take coming up with a twitter name?), but just LOOK at that.  It looks like what a cartoon cat says when it gets hit by a falling anvil. I mean, I really appreciate being re-tweeted. In fact it validates not only the hours pissed away (I mean invested) researching (I mean procrastinating via) social media; it also validates my very existence.  So please, reader, do not take this as a plea to leave my tweets un-retweeted.  That would be a fate worse than becoming a colonic irrigationist or &#8216;personal brand coach&#8217;.</p>
<p>All I&#8217;m pointing out here, to the curiously sad reader or two who are still with me, is that all new communications media tend to go through this phase of tech-trumps-talk and that we&#8217;re in that phase now with Twitter and that I don&#8217;t like it much but find it fascinating.  You?</p>
<p>EPILOGUE</p>
<div id="attachment_1045" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 329px"><img class="size-full wp-image-1045" title="Retweets" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/picture-15.png" alt="Case in point..." width="319" height="654" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Case in point...</p></div>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2009. |
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		<title>Quick Case: when content goes social</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/09/30/quick-case-when-content-goes-social/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=quick-case-when-content-goes-social</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[It's been about four months since we published the B2B Content Marketing Workbook and we thought we'd report back on how the campaign has worked so far. It was the first time we've used social media as a vector for our content marketing and so makes a nice case study.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_899" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 312px"><img class="size-full wp-image-899" title="Tweet endorsement" src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/tweet.png" alt="Gotta love Twitter..." width="302" height="92" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Gotta love Twitter...</p></div>
<p>It&#8217;s been about four months since we published the <a title="The B2B Content Marketing Workbook" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/06/09/the-b2b-content-marketing-workbook/" target="_blank">B2B Content Marketing Workbook</a> and we thought we&#8217;d report back on how the campaign has worked so far. It was the first time we&#8217;ve used social media as a vector for our content marketing and so makes a nice case study.</p>
<p><strong>The Campaign</strong><br />
The above tweet is Exhibit A.  We &#8216;pimped&#8217; our recent <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/06/09/the-b2b-content-marketing-workbook/">B2B Content Marketing Workbook</a> on Twitter, in LinkedIn groups and with some judicious (and always relevant) comments on blogs we like. We also <a title="The B2B Content Marketing Workbook" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/06/11/the-content-marketing-workbook/" target="_blank">blogged about it ourselves</a>, put out an <a title="Content Marketing Workbook press release" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/06/12/velocity-announces-free-b2b-content-marketing-workbook/" target="_blank">online press release</a> and featured it in an email newsletter to our own list.</p>
<p>The tweets got lots of re-tweets. One of these got us invited to <a title="Velocity on Savvy" href="http://www.savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog/entry/265531/the-e-word-in-b2b-marketing" target="_blank">guest blog on Savvy B2B Marketing</a> and to do <a title="Velocity on Connect the Dots" href="http://clickdocuments.com/connectthedocs/51/ClickLaunch-Velocitys-B2B-Content-Marketing-Workbook" target="_blank">an interview on Connect the Dots </a>by ClickDocuments.  And David Fideler, founder of the B2B Lead Nurturing group on Linked In, gave the book a rave review &#8212; (“The single best overview I’ve yet seen on strategic B2B content marketing&#8230;”).</p>
<p>All this activity then got us on the <a title="Great magazine!" href="http://www.b2bm.biz/" target="_blank">B2B Marketing Magazine</a> radar.  They invited us to do a <a title="B2B Content Marketing Webinar" href="http://www.brighttalk.com/webcasts/3689/attend" target="_blank">Webinar on Content Marketing</a> with them (with hundreds of attendees) &#8212; you can <a title="B2B Content Marketing Webinar" href="http://www.brighttalk.com/webcasts/3689/attend" target="_blank">watch it here</a> (it&#8217;s about half way down the listings).  And a followup article (out soon).</p>
<p>The eBook itself took a few days to write (but a few years to be able to write). Design took less than a week (not counting Stuart&#8217;s faffing around) (bloody Stuart) (worth it though).  Pimping took about 10-15 hours over the course of a few weeks.</p>
<p><strong>The Results: </strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Over 600 downloads to date.</strong> About 60% are from other marketing agencies or freelancers (never a bad thing). But lots are from B2B marketers we didn&#8217;t know before and are happy to be connected to.</li>
<li><strong>About seven new business conversations</strong> – that came straight off the back of the workbook. Some are rather exciting (and all are warmly welcomed).</li>
<li><strong>An invitation to design an eBook for Marketo</strong> – we&#8217;re big Marketo fans and Laura Mishima was a pleasure to work with on <a title="Marketo Lead Nurturing eBook - designed by Velocity" href="http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-resources/lead-nurturing-definitive-guide.php" target="_blank">The Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing</a>. Our work on this also generated interest from other companies.</li>
<li><strong>A tangible piece to use in new business meetings</strong> – it&#8217;s nice to leave something behind that captures our approach to what we do best.</li>
<li><strong>Proof that we take our own medicine</strong> – it&#8217;s hard to recommend content marketing to clients if you don&#8217;t practice it yourself.</li>
</ul>
<p>So, all in all, a successful campaign built on the exact principles that we discuss in the eBook itself: create something that your prospects will find useful; present it in a clear, compelling way; promote it all around the Internet, especially on relevant social media; and stand back.</p>
<p>(BTW&#8230; Got <a title="The B2B Content Marketing Workbook" href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/06/09/the-b2b-content-marketing-workbook/" target="_blank">the eBook</a> yet?)</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2009. |
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		<title>New media frenzy: the medium is just the medium</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/04/06/new-media-frenzy-the-medium-is-just-the-medium/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=new-media-frenzy-the-medium-is-just-the-medium</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:29:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[It's an exciting time to be in the communications business.  It's not just that there are so many new ways to reach people.  It's also that we get to watch as each of these new media gropes for its place in the communications ecosystem. But all this new media is still powered by the same thing...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/mediamessage-man.png" alt="Media/Mesage Man" /></p>
<p>It&#8217;s an exciting time to be in the communications business.  It&#8217;s not just that there are so many new ways to reach people.  It&#8217;s also that we get to watch as each of these new media gropes for its place in the communications ecosystem.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Text messaging</strong> started as a side channel for mobile network engineers to communicate with each other. No one &#8212; least of all the operators themselves &#8212; ever imagined that it would become the lingua franca of the teenager or a new marketing &#8216;touch point&#8217; or the perfect way to send alerts (including machine-to-machine updates).</p>
<p><strong>Blogging</strong> just seemed like a self-indulgent personal diary opened up to the world.  Some would say it still is &#8212; but it&#8217;s also become something much greater, carving a place for itself somewhere between journalism, gossip and private musing; giving companies a new, less formal way to express themselves; giving the opinionated the audiences they never could have found; creating online meeting places for ad hoc communities.</p>
<p><strong>Social media</strong> came from nowhere to claim a significant chunk of the waking hours of millions of people. My 14-year-old daughter spends far more time on Facebook than she spends in front of the TV.  Some business colleagues have thousands of contacts on LinkedIn and really know how to work the medium.  And I can now touch bases with lots of people I had lost touch with (a painfully high number since I moved to the UK 19 years ago).</p>
<p><strong>Twitter</strong> was a curiosity for geeks and people with too much time on their hands. Now it&#8217;s a juggernaut, giving millions of people the illusion of being heard; giving celebrities the constant attention they crave; giving celebrity-watchers their tiny slices of famous flesh; giving life&#8217;s natural networkers and community-builders fertile soil&#8230;</p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s fascinating to watch these new media emerge and either establish themselves or die off.  Will Twitter be bigger than Facebook or go the way of  the CB radio?  How will YouTube evolve? How will the mobile web differ from the desktop web?</p>
<p>But as interested as I am in all of this, it does remind me that the medium is still just the medium.   And that the idea and the story are still &#8212; maybe more than ever &#8212; the real engines powering all these phenomena.  That&#8217;s somehow comforting to someone who&#8217;s in the idea and story business.</p>
<hr />
<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2009. |
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		<title>Twitter in B2B – a Velocity Slideshare</title>
		<link>http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2009/03/30/twitter-in-b2b-%e2%80%93-a-velocity-slideshare/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=twitter-in-b2b-%25e2%2580%2593-a-velocity-slideshare</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:26:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Doug Kessler</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[In the last few months, Twitter has shot from being a cult web app to a full-blown global fad.  Celebrities are doing it (Stephen Fry has 361,225 followers as of today); businesses are doing it (not just techie ones either); bloggers are doing it; and, yes, lonely people are doing it. ShouldB2B marketers be doing it?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the last few months, Twitter has shot from being a cult web app to a full-blown global fad.  Celebrities are doing it (<a href="http://twitter.com/stephenfry" title="Stephen Fry's twitter feed" target="_blank">Stephen Fry</a> has 361,225 followers as of today); <a href="http://twitter.com/apple_news" title="Apple News on Twitter" target="_blank">businesses are doing it</a> (not just techie ones either); <a href="http://twitter.com/Scobleizer" title="Scobleizer's tweets" target="_blank">bloggers are doing it</a>; and, yes, lonely people are doing it. ShouldB2B marketers be doing it?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not just that we&#8217;re a bit geeky (guilty), but we are curious about all new media as it evolves &#8212; and it&#8217;s our job to know about these things.  So we jumped in fairly early to have a go.</p>
<p>At first, it felt like an exclusively personal tool for keeping up with friends and family.  But over time, we&#8217;ve started to build up a decent following of people interested in B2B marketing (and other markets for our clients) and we&#8217;re starting to see the benefits.</p>
<p>Twitter is already playing a role in our content marketing campaigns &#8212; for finding topics, inviting input and promoting the finished pieces.  It&#8217;s all about the Engagement.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/dougkessler/using-twitter-in-b2b-marketing" title="Twitter in B2B - a Velocity slideshare" target="_blank">Here&#8217;s a quick Slideshare on the seven ways we&#8217;re using Twitter for B2B marketing today</a>. It&#8217;s received over 2,000 views since we&#8217;ve posted it. Why? Because we tweeted about it.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/dougkessler/using-twitter-in-b2b-marketing" title="Velocity on Twitter in B2B" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/picture-1.png" alt="Twitter in B2B – a Velocity Slideshare" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/dougkessler/using-twitter-in-b2b-marketing"></a></p>
<p>Note: people have pointed out that links put in tweets do not generate any backlink juice as Twitter adds a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nofollow" title="Nofollow on wikipedia" target="_blank">nofollow</a> to each one (telling the search spiders to crawl elsewhere).  I still think Twitter generates link love so kept the slide in &#8212; this morning someone put a link to a presentation I tweeted about into a blog comment.There&#8217;s definitely something real going on here beyond the buzz that surrounds everything new.  Few fads stay hot (remember the<a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk/2007/11/05/a-second-life-for-marketers-tech-marketing-goes-virtual/" title="BT Global Services in Second Life" target="_blank"> Second Life</a> hype cycle?) but Twitter is here to stay.</p>
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<p><small>&copy; Doug Kessler for <a href="http://www.velocitypartners.co.uk">Velocity Partners</a>, 2009. |
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