Research Outlines Marketing Best Practices Based on Consumption Patterns of Blogs, Video, RSS and Online Networks

The study, The Rise of B2B Applications-Based Media, reveals that the usage of emerging media among IT decision-makers has increased considerably over the past year, with video and blogs experiencing the most increased usage for work-related information. This latest study is part of TechWeb's ongoing Business Technology Media Engagement Research series.

Key study highlights include:

-- Increased Usage of Emerging Media Applications: business technology decision makers are utilizing emerging media applications more frequently to obtain work-related information, as compared to last year.

-- More Growth Expected: business technology decision makers currently using emerging media intend to consume even more in the coming year - even those who are not currently using emerging media applications.

-- Engagement with Emerging Media Leads to Action: when business technology decision makers interact with emerging media, they continue to look for related information.

For more information on this research, email Scott Vaughan.

One of the reasons in-text has such strong appeal among users is because it's seen more as information than marketing. Here's why.

There has been a fair amount of interest surrounding in-text advertising as of late, and Vibrant Media has taken the pole position in the space.

In-text advertising -- for those of you who aren't familiar with it -- is essentially advertising that is embedded within the text of a page of online content. This is beyond simple editorial adjacency for display advertising. It is actually having an ad unit married to a word or phrase on a page, within editorial. The way it works is this: I'm an advertiser of, say, soap. I approach an in-text advertising provider and tell them I want to own the words "soap," "shower," and "clean."

The executed buy will be these words in articles or within content on sites the in-text advertising provider has relationships with all across the web, underlined and highlighted. Every time a visitor to a page -- with these highlighted words or phrases -- mouses over the highlighted text, my soap advertisement will show, popping up in a sort of "talk bubble," like those seen in pop-up video or a comic book.

Some providers of this sort of advertising, like ContentLink, do text advertisements. Others, like Vibrant, will actually run video.

Vibrant Media is the largest provider of this kind of advertising, with more than Read the complete article on online...

Answer: When a marketing program does not work, always go back to the basics of marketing 101: right target, right message, right timing, right channel.
Despite advances in scenario-based Web design created to track customer online behavior and build profiles, or personas, for targeted marketing campaigns, your customers are still bombarded with tons of irrelevant messages—often the result of batch-and-blast campaigns sent by stove-piped e-mail applications and outsourced e-mail service providers—each day.

If you aren’t getting responses, it is quite likely that your customers view your correspondence as spam, rather than relevant or valuable information, regardless of whether or not they have opted to receive your e-mails. Relevance is key in e-mail. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Answer: I am always amazed at the still-prevailing idea that list size trumps list quality. Don’t get me wrong: Volume is good. Every record in your e-mail address list has an inherent value that can be reduced to a dollar amount. This leads us to the idea that your database should be viewed as capital and should be treated just like any other useful marketing asset. So why, then, do so many marketers mix bad data into their lists?

A bad e-mail address can have a dramatic impact on your ability to market with e-mail. Bad e-mails come in the form of addresses from third parties (list renters, etc.), complainers who have not been removed from your list and dormant addresses—e-mail addresses of people who have not opened your e-mail in more than 90 days. ISPs view all with equal disdain. While it is not illegal to send to these “bad” e-mail addresses, doing so is a sure way to increase complaints and damage your sender reputation. It’s also a good way to waste money.

So how do you build your list and maintain quality data? Consider these tips: Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Kerry Smith is president of the Event Marketing Institute, a think tank that follows trends in event marketing through research, analysis and education. BtoB asked Smith to talk about expected developments in the events industry.

BtoB: What do you see as the biggest trends this year?

Smith: There's going to be a focus on a couple of things: First, experience mapping—recognition that when you're doing an event [you] understand who you are trying to engage. Often times, it's multiple people. How are you creating an experience around your event that will allow those people to find the appropriate channels to engage with you? You're going to talk differently to a CTO than to a CFO.

Another area is portfolio analysis. At company after company, they are looking across their entire spectrum of events, and cleaning out the closet [and asking] `Which ones are working for us, which ones are not, which ones are we not sure of?' They're going to start adjusting the dials accordingly.

And then there's this whole area of measuring everything—improving performance. There are no standards for measuring events, [and there are] different objectives for every company. As one marketer told us... Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Budget forecasters are predicting that spending on large events will be down this year. But that's not an umbrella forecast for all types of events. Instead, marketers intend to increase financing for smaller, more targeted meetings such as executive breakfasts and roundtables.

According to a recent study, "B2B Marketers' 2008 Budget Trends," by Forrester Research, which surveyed 369 marketing professionals online during September and October 2007, almost 50% of those surveyed said they would increase spending on executive seminars and events. That represents the largest projected increase among all marketing and advertising budget categories, including public relations, print advertising, direct mail and sponsorships.

Assessing intangibles

"These marketers understand that business decision-makers rely on peer testimonial, face-to-face gatherings and outside authorities to help them assess intangibles like legitimacy, credibility and trustworthiness—factors difficult to convey in both online and traditional activities," according to the report.

Although 27% said they would increase spending on trade shows while 22% said they would decrease trade show spending, survey respondents did admit to spending more on large, trade-sponsored events then any other budget category.

However, according to the study, "Client conversations and other anecdotal stories show that b-to-b marketers waste money when they scurry around last minute to staff the booth and expect show-related traffic, or a favorable booth placement, to produce leads. B-to-b marketers who fail to build interactive campaigns that preview show-specific offers, invite attendees to on-site executive briefings and continue booth conversations via e-mail should look to spend their money elsewhere."

Analyst Laura Ramos, a VP at Forrester and the principal author of the report, explained that marketers are moving away from large events, but added, "they told us that one-to-one contact is still very important in the negotiated sales process that [is going on] in b-to-b marketing and selling." Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

The focus of IT decision-makers next year will gradually shift to software rollouts and virtualization, among other areas, from the current challenges of security, business continuity and compliance, according to a new study by technology publisher CMP.

The study, “Media Engagement & Activation,” is based on Web interviews conducted during August and September with 800 business technology executives. It was designed to provide a deeper understanding of which emerging media are being used by decision-makers and what they are doing as a result of engaging with the various media sources. Read the complete article on BtoBOnline. For more information on this research, email Scott Vaughan.

With audience engagement and activation essential topics for B2B technology marketers, CMP presents the study "Media Engagement & Activation." This in-depth study of nearly 1000 Business Technology decision makers (CIOs, IT Managers and Corporate and LOB Management) will help senior marketing, marketing program and media professionals:

• Gain a deeper understanding of where, when, and why IT and corporate professionals engage with various types of content and media sources
• Build an "engagement blueprint" that maps your message and marketing plan by Corp and IT pros' consumption of specific technology information -- Security, Infrastructure & Networking Hardware, Software Infrastructure, Business Applications Software, Mobile & Wireless, and Business & IT Services
• Understand usage and the roles Websites, magazines, events, search, virtual learning tools, and user controlled platforms such as blogs, wikis and RSS, and the path business technology decision makers take as they move through their personal information journey.

View this webcast featuring Scott Vaughan, VP of Marketing for InformationWeek & the TechWeb Network; Dan Yetso, Director, Global Branding & Advertising, VeriSign; and Scott Anderson, Vice President, Customer Communications Technology Solutions Group, Hewlett Packard for an engaging and insightful look behind the numbers. Moderated by Ellis Booker, Editor, BtoB Magazine and Media Business. View the webcast archive....

This webcast presents only a summary of the available research. For complete details, email Scott Vaughan.

Doing your homework can help event planning for international attendees go more smoothly

As globalization makes the world smaller, more U.S. companies find themselves creating b-to-b events for an international audience. Whether marketing at home or abroad, building an event for a crowd from abroad requires special attention to detail.

Taking an event abroad can be expensive and it is nearly impossible to plan for all the eventual pitfalls. However, doing some legwork in advance can curtail unexpected costs and issues.

"Anytime you're going overseas you have to be aware that things are going to be different," said Carol Krugman, director-client services at experience marketing company George P. Johnson. "You would be amazed at people who believe everywhere in the world everything is the way it is at home. Those are the people that run into tremendous trouble. You have different languages, customs, business practices, different hours of operation, electrical currencies, video standards, even dial tones on telephones. Be aware that everywhere you are going to be working, you must educate yourself." Read the complete article on BtoBOnline.

Rapid transformation marks CIOs' careers and their impact on companies, according to InformationWeek's 2007 Defining the CIO research survey of 575 senior business and technology professionals. CIOs are in overdrive and are finally earning recognition as indispensable business visionaries. Their role in shaping business strategy marks a notable shift in responsibilities that's literally redefining what a CIO is and counters the critics who question the value of IT.

For complete details on this 6th annual research survey, email Scott Vaughan.