As social networking channels gain more and more momentum, there's a good chance you've seen a serious uptick in new inbound leads. "[W]hat happens once you get them?" asks Sammy James at MarketingProfs. "Do your lead-response efforts take advantage of your lead flow? Could your lead-conversion rates use a boost?" ... more

There's more to social networking than just chatting online. Sometimes, you'll want to actively promote your great work live—all while courting new clients and making useful new contacts! Andy Lopata provides tips for launching a successful social business event without breaking the bank or encountering unpleasant surprises along the way. Get ... more

"You guys are a bunch of clowns who just do arts and crafts all day!" Is that what your sales team says about the marketing folks? Ever wonder how you might get those two hearts to beat as one? more

Though 88% of B2B companies say they understand their target audiences at least moderately well, they still struggle to translate that understanding into new business leads via their corporate websites, according to a new study by Demandbase and Focus. more

Though overall global marketing budgets in the tech sector are increasing 3.5% in 2011, they are not keeping pace with annual revenues in the sector, which are expected to grow 6.5% over 2010 levels, according to a report by IDC. more

"Many have pronounced tradeshow marketing dead," writes Bob Hebeisen at MarketingProfs. "But with the right strategy, hard work, and flawless execution, tradeshows can still be a productive part of your marketing plan." To make the most of your lead-generating budget, he suggests a twelve-step process that takes you from pre-show ... more

"Some people would say that nurturing is based on a marketer's goal such as building brand awareness or your company's reputation for thought leadership," writes Ardath Albee at Marketing Interactions. "I say those are integral parts of lead nurturing but that neither is valid as a standalone goal." In other words, ... more

B2B marketers who describe their organizations as "highly effective and efficient" are more likely than other marketers to measure the ROI of their marketing campaigns and report stronger growth than their competitors, according to a study by The Lenskold Group and The Pedowitz Group. more

We all know it: Content rules in today's digital marketplace. Prospects expect to find information about any product or service that strikes their fancy—in a matter of seconds. As a result, the function of the salesperson in this "content-driven environment" has "changed dramatically," John Jatsch writes in an article at ... more

Though word-of-mouth recommendations still have the greatest influence on purchasing decisions among small and medium-sized businesses, online forums and blogs play a huge role in the process, too—and a more influential one than advertisements or consultations with salespeople, according to a new survey from Ivy Worldwide. more

"Every time you try to do web research, it seems like you are immediately bombarded by salespeople looking to close a deal," writes Mark Price at B2Bbloggers. "It does not matter if you are investigating an accounting package, marketing automation, health insurance or just a copier, you get the same ... more

Marketing budgets are on the rise again: 57% of senior-level marketers say they are increasing their overall marketing spend in 2011; among them, most (26%) plan to increase budgets between 1% and 5%, according to the CMO Council's State of Marketing Report. more

There's a good chance your typical B2B customer works in a state of constant overload: too many emails, too many meetings and too much buzzing in her ears. It doesn't matter if your product or service would instantly improve her business and lower her costs—she doesn't have the time or ... more

Marketing automation facilitates real-time, one-to-one conversations with prospects based on their actions. But before you automate, be sure to tackle these four elements to maximize your lead-nurturing efforts. more

"You may be frustrated with unopened emails and low clickthroughs, but be reassured that even if your subscribers don't open your email, its presence in their inbox leads to a tangible impact on brand awareness and sales via online and other channels," writes Dela Quist in a classic issue of ... more

More brands are using social networking to win new business: 43% of US companies say they are successfully using social networks to find new customers, up 8 percentage points from the 35% that reported doing so a year earlier, according to a survey from Regus. more

"We have found that a large number of companies allow unfulfilled leads to fall into a great abyss, never to be contacted again," writes Mike Neumeier at the Arketi Group blog. He suggests that companies take another approach—and apply the principles of nurture marketing to lost leads and "recapture unfulfilled sales ... more

A successful search strategy relies on strong content marketing—and that means recruiting your company's experts to write articles, blog posts and white papers."For some of us writerly types, content comes easy," writes Ari McKee-Sexton in an article at Marketingprofs. "For other types of folks, extracting copy is like pulling bad ... more

One aspect of being social is relaying information as efficiently as possible. But data is dense, and we have more of it to sift through than ever before. To help you get your data across in an eye-catching way that resonates, Fast Company offers a list of five tools businesses can ... more

In a post at Marketing Interactions, Ardath Albee recalls a B2B client who thought her proposed lead-nurturing messages might be too brief. Albee begged to differ. "[I]nundating prospects with more links and choices rather than improving the personalization, value and contagiousness of your email message is not the right answer," she ... more

This February, copywriting coach Chris Marlow sent out an email promoting a free webinar. At the webinar signup page, recipients encountered a form that required more than the usual amount of information. Soon, Marlow's Facebook page was receiving complaints about the signup form. One irate responder even refused to attend her ... more

More than three-quarters of US microbusiness owners say they are very (42%) or extremely (35%) happy to work for themselves, according to Vistaprint's newly launched Small Business Happiness Index, which tracks the pulse of US microbusinesses. Moreover, 35% say they wouldn't even consider working for someone else. more

Though the use of social media among the nation's smallest businesses surged in 2010—a trend likely to continue in 2011—email and brand websites are still the two most effective marketing tools for small businesses, according to a survey from Constant Contact. more

Fully six in ten marketers (60%) say they plan to increase spending on virtual events and environments in 2011, while 42% plan to decrease spending on physical conferences and tradeshows during the year, according to a survey from Unisfair. more

After several years of making cuts, B2B marketing leaders are increasing their budgets 6.7% in 2011 over 2010 levels, with tech-services companies driving much of the expansion, according to a report by Forrester Research. more