This past Friday I attended Boston’s 29th Social Media Breakfast: Social for Sales and Business Growth.
First, I should mention that this month marked the fifth anniversary of the first-ever Social Media Breakfast, organized by Bryan Person. That first was simply a meetup, but was so well-attended it turned into a series with themes, speakers and a presence in dozens of cities.
Different themes get different audiences and have different takeaways- this one, for me, underlined the importance of marketing,, sales, PR and advertising to all be on the same page. While PR makes sense for engagement on content channels, ultimately we are trying to deliver business results in social media, and aligning with sales and delivering and measuring results are the areas where a lot of major victories are being scored.
The speakers at SMB 29 were:
- Ja-Naé Duane, VP-Strategy and Marketing at the Revolution Factory
- Paul Gillin, Speaker, Writer and Social Media Marketing Strategist
- Mike Lewis, VP of Sales & Marketing, Awareness Inc.
- Ryan Smith, VP Production with Raidious
For a taste of what impressed the attendees, see the content posted below- and feel free to add your impressions in comments.
http://storify.com/dough/social-media-breakfast-boston-smb29-social-for-sal
- #SMB29 @pgillin shares his thoughts on B2B social media sales… http://instagr.am/p/PRnFgEDHYo/0
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- @PGillin reports that the top rated B&B on Martha’s Vineyard was able to cut mktg budget by 60% thanks to those peer reviews. #smb290
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comments - Peer reviews as in TripAdvisor, Yelp! etc
- RT @fairminder: Engineering firm has engineers writing posts. Smart knowledgeable writing better then pr spin. #SMB290
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comments - Best social media successes come after you establish a “trust equation” with customers. @pgillen cites 1 Co w/600% sales increase #smb290
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comments - Paul Gillin cites Spiceworks in this talk
- Expertise sells by default. Create something readable authored by those that know your product or service. #SMB290
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comments - Blogging differentiates you from the masses, no matter what industry you’re in. Great content sets you apart. #smb29 (Too true)0
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comments - Eloqua engaged in a war of generosity: constantly giving away – if ppl like the cooking, they’ll think the chefs r grt via @pgillin #smb290
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comments - Domain experts should be creating content. #SMB290
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comments - @PGillin great quote from an industry peer: my job is to get our engineers w/prospects + get outta the way #smb29 http://twitpic.com/as0dp20
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comments - @TheSunQueen: it’s not about the hard sell, but sometimes the hard sell works depending on where the buyer is in cycle. #smb290
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comments - #smb29: @thesunqueen’s talk is a real marvel http://instagr.am/p/PRpgoSgrlg/0
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comments - In social, think about why the public would want to friend a corporate site or page. Why? Why? What’s in it for them. #SMB290
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comments - Social proof guides people through your sales cycle because they see that they are not alone – @TheSunQueen #smb290
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comments - social does level the playing field to push customers to switch. get better content in front of them #SMB290
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comments - @indysmitty Content drives everything on the Internet. Sales won’t happen without content. #smb290
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comments - @BostonMike: got only one hand raised to the question “who loves Klout?” #smb290
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comments - That one person was joking
- #smb29 crowd led by @bostonmike getting into why most of us (marketers) don’t like Klout: mystery algorithm, lack of topic relevance0
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comments - Social scoring; an art and a science via @bostonmike #smb290
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comments - RT @awarenessinc: @BostonMike – Social scoring allows you to find and target anyone on the social web at the right time. #SMB290
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comments - current marketing automation tools assume previous interaction #SMB29 @bostonmike saying cool stuff really fast0
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comments - Talking about targeting buyers in social with @bostonmike. Tip toeing down the line between helpful & creepy. Need to be delicate. #smb290
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comments - .@bostonmike “Identify your social prospects’ path to purchase” #SMB29 http://pic.twitter.com/udscf8At0
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comments - RT @triad_ideas: @bostonmike Great example of engaging on customer terms = @foiledcupcakes #smb290
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comments - If you want to connect SM to sales, remember how they work & think; quarter to quarter, deal/money driven, etc (@pgillin at #smb29 )0
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comments - There is a clear call here for a unified strategy and voice across all channels. No more competing silos. #SMB290
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comments - “If you sell $10 million products your best social platform is probably the golf course” @pgillin – Awesomeness #smb290
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comments - If you think biz engaging based on public sm interaction is creepy you don’t want to know the data most co’s have on you , #smb29)0
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