Author: Chris Herbert, B2B Specialist & Founder of Mi6
Audience: Content Creators, Marketing Professionals

Attribution: Sjhill

I’m confused right now as I read and listen to content marketing gurus and strategists who tell you that it’s important to know what people want to read and learn.

They talk about having a key message and sub-messages that support the overriding objectives of the business. Voice and tone is important as well. Should my posts focus around the key objectives and competencies of Mi6? Should they be formal or informal? Should they be controversial (see: What Was Linkedin Thinking?) or funny? Maybe both!

This post for example is about content creation which is part of the Mi6 service offering. I want my posts to be informative. First, they need to focus on education and insights while encouraging readers to voice their opinion. Second, if relevant, they should inform prospective buyers (tactfully) about what Mi6 offers. My voice and tone is meant to be conversational, a bit challenging and open. I wonder if it came across that way to you!

Content strategists and gurus also say that you need to ensure that you write about things that interest your readers and that it’s important to get input and ideas from them. By the way, you can provide input here now in case you’d like to shape the editorial schedule of the Mi6 blog.

I get the need to stay focused on objectives, use messaging and supportive sub-messaging “hierarchies” to guide you in your content development. I also feel that getting input from your readers is very valuable. But, this is only part of the content creating process.

This is Where J.K. Rowling Comes In

Attribution: Wikipedia

The Harry Potter series of books came mostly from Ms. Rowling’s imagination and less from reader input. She created a fantasy and series of stories that captivated her readers. Readers that became fans of Harry Potter and the characters she created. These readers will storm theatres in November when “The Deathly Hallows” hits the big screen. I can feel the money leaving my wallet already!

What does this have to do with writing blog posts for B2B companies? I think it’s important that we use our imagination and produce content that surprises our readers. Content that readers never thought would interest them. Content that makes them think a bit differently about a topic, a problem or a situation.

Sometimes it’s good not to know what your readers want and pleasantly surprise them with a story, a post and ideas that come from your imagination and not a survey. Use your imagination and take some risks in creating your content. Hope it is well received and adjust accordingly. But, do ask for input so your readers have the option to provide you with their thoughts and aspirations about what they’d like to learn and read.

About the Author

Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing agency and network dedicated to helping companies build their brands and develop commercial relationships. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the new Hi-tech “unassociation” Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist

Photo Attributions:
JK Rowling from Sjhill
Harry Potter Books from Wikipedia

Below are selected tweets that were sent out by Chris Herbert, Founder of Mi6 through his @B2Bspecialist twitter account. Our goal is to provide you with a weekly overview of tweets that feature information you can use and act on.

Monday

• No tweets

Tuesday

• Chart: Want to Improve Customer Satisfaction? Think SPOC! (Source: JD Power & Associates via/@MarketingCharts)
• Show, Don’t Tell: The CEO Perspective on Social Media #ROI #socialmedia <-need to measure traditional mktg too
• Chart: 10 Most Popular Sites for the 46-64 vs 18-34 Demographics (Source:Neilsen via/@MarketingCharts)
• RT @MarySicard: Small biz w/ blogs receive 55% more traffic than small businesses that don’t blog. Some tips.
• #Linkedin Product Mgr has responded to my concerns re: @Linkedin groups. I suggested she comment on my blog/start a discussion on Linkedin

Wednesday

• Where Social Media Meets Strategy. <-Forbes article about using social media internally 2 develop & execute strategy
• Chart: Use of Rich Media by US Retailers (Source: Multichannel Merchant via/@eMarketer
• Chart: Use of Video and Podcasting on Fortune 500 Blogs Increases 2008 vs 2009 (Source: SNCR via/@eMarketer)

Thursday

• Measuring ROI for #B2B Marketing and Biz Dev: <-branding vs leadgen covered
• Results of my auto tweeting experiment <--I've stopped and this post explains why
• Chart: # of U.S. Companies That Ban Social Media (source: nCircle via/@eMarketer) <-Wonder what 2011 stat will be?
• Old but still so relevant: “Do U Make This Mktg Mistake?” via/@PatriciaJHarris <-MLM focused but relevant to #B2B
• Chart: Over 50% of Worldwide Facebook Users Use Facebook at Work (Source: F-Secure via @/eMarketer)

Friday

• Chart: Over 47% of Web Traffic to B2B Sites Is Direct (Source: @LeadForce1)
• Gartner’s “Hype Cycle” Due Soon, But Mine’s Better (created by: @twailgum, thx to @CherylMcKinnon for sharing)
• Chart: Linkedin, Wikipedia & Twitter Top Social Sites Generating B2B Leads (source: @Leadforce1)
• Another post about auto tweeting: http://diigo.com/0byvb Here’s my most recent one too:

Author: Chris Herbert, B2B Specialist & Founder of mi6
Audience: Business Executives and Marketing Leaders

For the past few days I’ve been conducting a Twitter experiment. I do these in order to test theories and satisfy my curiosity. I pass on what I learn to clients, my followers and readers so they can benefit from my successes and failures. It can be a bit risky but better me than Mi6 clients.

The Experiment

I jury rigged an automated tweet to be sent out every four hours that featured an article that had the keyword search term “b2B marketing” in it. Here’s the tweet I sent out giving my followers a heads up.

What Happened

Two things happened: 1) I lost followers and, 2) the tweets sucked.

When I asked my followers if they minded my sending auto tweets out; six of them did and they unfollowed me. Nine unfollowed me when they read my first automated tweet. (I used TweetEffect to find this out).

Ok, I lost some followers, this happens regularly. What about the quality of the content being auto tweeted? Was it any good? Did it provide value? Let’s take a look at some of the beauts that went out.

This tweet below has nothing to do with B2B marketing. In fact it’s not an article but a press release regarding a mobile B2B application that allows traders to get insights on the “health of their trading community transactions” using a mobile device. My followers would not be impressed, I sure wasn’t!

Take a look at this tweet! I would never send a tweet worded this way. I’d rephrase it. A great example where you need to be careful when putting your tweets in the hands of the automatons.

And finally, does this tweet make any sense to you? It’s a partial sentence! It’s not brief, to the point and doesn’t convey any value. It’s pretty much a dumb tweet.

Experiment Conclusion

• After 24 hours I learned enough and shut it down
• My tweets are carefully written, selected, shared and tightly focused around B2B marketing and social media. I try to act as an intelligent filter and reporter. Automation cannot replace the intelligence I put in selecting and sending tweets
• I must protect my followers from noise and provide quality content. Content that I’ve created or curated. Content that helps my followers be successful
• I can’t remove myself from the tweeting process which includes finding/creating content and sharing it. I need to act as an editor to ensure what I tweet is something that meets my standards and provides value to my followers

Do you have any ideas where automated tweeting makes sense and provides value? Share your ideas below.

Other Posts That May Be Interesting

• How Do I know if Someone is Following Me on Twitter?
• Should You Bulk Follow On Twitter?
• How To Put Together a Great Tweet
• How To Track Tweeted Links Using Bitly

About the Author

Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing agency and network dedicated to helping companies build their brands and develop commercial relationships. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the new Hi-tech “unassociation” Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist

Below are selected tweets that were sent out by Chris Herbert, Founder of Mi6 through his @B2Bspecialist twitter account. Our goal is to provide you with a weekly overview of tweets that feature information you can use and act on.

Monday

• Chart: 80% of B2B Marketers, in survey, are doing some form of leadgen measurement. (Source: @eMarketer) #b2b #marketing
• Chart: Will Social Relations Get Better Using the Internet? (Source: Marketing Charts/Pew Research)

Tuesday

• Infographic: Google’s Long History of Social Media Attempts <--they are/will learn from their success & failures
• Email Is The First Thing We Check Daily (Consumer and Business)
• Chart: Interesting Study On How We Share Information Found via Email or Facebook (Source: ExactTarget via @eMarketer)
• Chart: What We Do First Online Each Morning (Source: ExactTarget via @eMarketer)
• Interesting Presentation by @Padday from Google: The Real Life Social Network: <--Real Life Professional Social Network?
• RT @mi6agency: Blog Post: Groundswell Blook Report, Chapter Four: Strategies for Tapping the Groundswell

Wednesday

• RT @ASB_Community: What is the Buzz from Google all about? http://cot.ag/aNiNAU @b2bspecialist
• Good concise post on top 5 social media trends for #B2B marketers by @BrennerMichael
• Chart: Companies to Spend More on Social Media to Recruit (Source: Jobvite via/@eMarketer)
• Chart: Global Spending on Online Advertising 2009 to 2014 (source:@eMarketer)

Thursday

• Chart: Global Ad Spend Comparison, Online vs Offline 2009 vs 2010 (source:@eMarketer)
• What was @Linkedin Thinking? My concerns regarding the changes made to #Linkedin groups #in
• Chart: % of WW Businesses Getting Customers Through Social Networks Based on Size (Source: Regas via/@eMarketer) #b2b
• The Challenges Tracking Leads to Touchpoints <--can/should it be measured by touchpoint?
• RT @schachin: Got email frm someone inside @LinkedIn informing me ALL users w neg opinions on the changes aren’t as informed as they are <-!
• @schachin My assessment of @Linkedin Groups .. not positive unfortunately
• .@schachin @linkedin also have removed ppl search by function. A 2nd disappointment. Is @google listening? #linkedin

Friday

• Welcome to @SMMmagazine Top Authors Twitter List: @shotgunconcepts, @johngerzema #FF
• RT @HolgerSchulze: Metrics for B2B Social Media Measurement?
• Chart: What %age of Businesses Using Social Networks to Generate New Customers by Country (source: Regus via/@eMarketer)
• RT @SMediaSource: Good slide presentation on the benefits of social media

Author: Chris Herbert
Audience: Senior Executives, Marketing and Sales Professionals, Social Scientists.

Groundswell is broken down into three parts. Part two (chapters 4-9) focus on tapping the groundswell. The authors provide advice and a strategic framework on how to do this.

Chapter 5: Listening to the groundswell

• Market research vs. groundswell insights
• CASE: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center listens to cancer patients in a private community
• CASE: MINI USA uses brand monitoring, then markets to owners

FriendFeed Room: Chapter Five reference links and case studies from the book. Join the room and start a conversation.

Feature Presentation: The Conversation-An Introduction to Social Media, Tactica Interactive Communications

Slides 1-16: Social media defined, some Canadian Demographics (these folks are from wintery Winnipeg)
Slides 17-28: Ten keys to Social Media Success
Slides 29-60: Social Media Tools and Do’s and Don’ts for each (great content)
Slides 61-76: Social Media Myths
Slides 77-78: Three take away messages (not sure I agree with this them, do you?)
Slides 79-81: Useful resources and credits

Feature Video: Groundswell Business Objectives-Listening, Josh Beroff
More Groundswell videos here.


:14 What is listening in the Groundswell and how do you do this?
2:30 What Cancer Treatment Centers learned from patient community. Not something they expected to hear…family doctors matter when it comes to referrals.

What I learned:
1) This may sound repetitive, but know where there are potential and existing groundswells for your industry and company.
Don’t rush into things until you’ve got a handle on where and how people are talking about your industry and your company. Determine what the Social Technographics Profile is for your product, company and industry (This is covered in Chapter Three of the book and here).

2) Listening is a new and maybe better way to conduct market research
This could be controversial! For those companies spending money on traditional market research (focus groups, qualitative and quantitative surveys and interviews, polls etc.) social media may be a viable alternative. For those small to medium sized businesses that conduct little to no research (there are many), social media can be a cost effective (no, not free) way to listen and learn from your market.

3) Listening is about insight and learning
Listening is not about collecting data! It is about gaining an in-depth understanding and knowledge about your market, your customers and whoever else chooses to use and talk (or not talk) about your brand. People may not be directly talking about you or your brand, but it is probable they are talking about things that are relevant to your market.

4) Listening is the first step to change
The group that champions listening and social media in your organization should be listened to and supported by the leaders (at the very least) within it. Take them seriously! This team of listeners will bring insight, ideas and recommendations that will likely influence strategic direction and decisions. If the leadership team is not prepared to listen and take this seriously then don’t bother starting. Tell them to put their heads in the sand and pretend that everything will go away.

5) Monitoring and Communities are the two primary ways to listen
The social media demographics for your industry, geography and the age of your buyers will help determine where and how you should listen. Monitoring is one option where you use tools and/or services to collect and rank conversations that matter. Communities of special interest can help you understand and converse with key people with similar interests, problems and needs. This can be useful where there is some void or barrier for people to connect.

Author: Chris Herbert, B2B Specialist & Founder of Mi6
Audience: Linkedin Group Managers, Linkedin Product Managers, Community Managers

In October 2009, Rick Stomphorst and I founded Silicon Halton a grassroots “unassociation” for Hitech entrepreneurs, companies and professionals in the Halton Region in Ontario, Canada. The primary tool and channel for our launch and to build the community was our Linkedin Group.

We were able to establish an online presence in the biggest social network for professionals on the web in under 30 minutes. We used it to build our membership, make connections, engage in conversation, promote and organize our monthly meetup events.

In under 9 months the membership has grown to over 150 members, we’ve held eight meetups with an overall attendance record exceeding 250, launched a new website, gotten attention from government officials and publicity from the media. More importantly our members are connecting, creating opportunities and generating business together.

Since the beginning we’ve used the Linkedin group for new member welcomes and introductions, for discussions, conversations and to make connections. These discussions have helped us refine ideas for our upcoming meetups, provide value add services such as building a Silcon Halton Twitter list and share thought leadership ideas and information.

There are hundreds of comments and many discussions in our Linkedin group. Things were going great! Then Linkedin changed the way groups worked! My question is why? I like innovation and the desire to improve but I think Linkedin has ruined groups.

What makes a Linkedin Group a success are the discussions that take place. While discussions are still the core feature of a Linkedin group a radical change has literally gagged most of them! Many discussions are simply impossible to find and more importantly impossible to discover. Let me show you what I mean.

Before Groups Were Changed

Here is a screenshot I’ve used in my social media workshops to show how you could easily see all discussions in a group. As you can see you could sort the discussion by: recent activity, recent discussions and most comments.

These three methods of sorting discussions allowed you to see what discussions had fresh comments, what discussions had the most comments and which discussions had recently been added. As a group member and community manager you knew what discussions were more popular regardless of when they were posted.

After Groups Were Changed

Here’s a screenshot of what the discussions tab looks like now. Real different. You can click on the screenshot to enlarge it so you can see my notes.

Here’s a screenshot of the newest discussions stream. There are no discussions taking place here. Instead it consists of RSS news feeds from members blog posts. A news feed is not a discussion. I can’t sort by most comments, recent activity. All we see are “new discussions”. There is no way to find discussions with most comments and recent activity. Yes, I can see my own but I’m more interested in what other people are saying!

So What Should Linkedin Do?

I think Linkedin should give group managers the option to use the old version. If not, make sure that the features that use to exist, like sorting discussions based on most comments and recent activity, are brought back. For future enhancements I suggest they do what Google does. They give you the chance to view AND use an updated version of one of their apps before they disable the older version.

Silicon Halton continue to use Linkedin to build our membership, make connections, and for event registration for our monthly meetups. But, the changes recently made, won’t help us build our community. I think they will hinder us. We may have to move to another platform and build our community elsewhere.

About the Author

Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing agency and network dedicated to helping companies build their brands and develop commercial relationships. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the new Hi-tech “unassociation” Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist

Below are selected tweets that were sent out by Chris Herbert, Founder of Mi6 through his @B2Bspecialist twitter account. Our goal is to provide you with a weekly overview of tweets that feature information you can use and act on.

Monday

• Soft Launching B2B marketing services package via where I hang my hat: @mi6agency
• 70% of Industrial Marketers expect to see sales increase in 2010 via (Source: @marketcharts) #b2b #marketing
• Chart: Trust Level Raises When Companies Use Twitter. Seven country comparison (Source:@eMarketer) #socialmedia #b2b
• An overview of Chptr 2 of Groundswell. Must have book on #socialmedia <-includes links to case examples #groundswell #b2b
• Chart: More People Glad U R Monitoring Your Brand. 7 country comparison (Source: @eMarketer) #socialmedia #b2b #branding

Tuesday

• The Mi6 Chart Toppers, June 2010 #b2b #marketing #socialmedia
• Chart: What Metrics Do You Use for Measuring Social Media Effectiveness? via @HolgerSchulze #socialmedia
• RT @bwdumars: Unilever Will Increase Digital Investment: Mktg Chief Explains How He’s Keeping Up w/2 B Consumers Online
• Video: Corporate and Personal Branding & SocialMedia <-interesting video about personal branding #socialmedia
• Video: Startup Advice from Jason Friedman of 37 Signals via Andrew Warner from @Mixergy
  

Wednesday

• Presentation: Social Media is Dead, Long Live Common Sense by @armano
  
• Chart: What Percent of Total US Retails Influences By Online Research 2009-2014 @eMarketer #mobile #retail
• Infographic: Learn How Google Works: Search Engine + AdWords
  
• Chart:What US Retailers Are Doing w/Mobile Commerce and How Many (source:@eMarketer)
• @MarciSEOer the first thing to ask is “what is a lead?” and how and who qualifes it and what mktg does to help advance and close it w/sales

Thursday

• No Tweets

Friday

• Chart: More B2B Marketers Are Measuring Financial Impact of Marketing Programs (Source: @eMarketer) #B2B #marketing
• What Are Your Podcast Listening Preferences? Your Customers? Help Your Peers & We’ll Learn Together: cc:@DonnaPapacosta
• Where Do You and Your Customers Fit on the Social Technographics Profile? A chapter summary of book Groundswell

Author: Chris Herbert
Audience: Senior Executives, Marketing and Sales Professionals, Social Scientists.

Groundswell is broken down into three parts. Part two (chapters 4-9) focus on tapping the groundswell. The authors provide advice and a strategic framework on how to do this.

Chapter 4: Strategies for tapping the groundswell

• The POST method: people, objectives, strategy, technologies
• The five objectives: listening, talking, energizing, supporting, embracing

FriendFeed Room: Chapter Four reference links and case studies from the book. Join the room and start a conversation.

Feature Presentation: Presentation on Groundswell POST Process, Barbara Nixon

Slide 2: Corporate adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, 2008
Slide 3: Web 2.0 Approach-Avoidance syndrome symptons
Slide 10: The POST framework or four step approach to the groundswell
Slide 12: Functional roles in your company and how they align with five groundswell objectives
Slides 13-23: Case studies
Slide 24: ROI of an Executive Blog
Slide 25: Keys to success

Feature Video: Groundswell Business Strategies, Josh Beroff
More Groundswell videos here.

:25 It is time for companies to get involved in the groundswell
:55 Four step approach to getting involved. Key is to do these steps in the right order. Don’t start with technology.
2:00 Josh sounds a bit like a pirate (argh)
2:15 A long moment of silence. Not knowing objectives is a sign you’re not ready
2:40 Five objectives. Josh covers the “Listening” objective with a real world case study about MD Anderson

What I learned:
1) Follow the four step planning process
Don’t rush into things because your competition has started a blog, a Facebook fan page or a product ratings site. Follow the POST process and stay curious about what customers are ready to do online and what objectives you want to accomplish for your company. On page 67 the authors walk you through the POST process in detail providing you with key questions to ask yourself to help you shape your groundswell initiative.
2) Your Groundswell objectives must align with your corporate objectives
Review the five primary groundswell objectives currently being used by companies. Understand what each objective can do for your company and consider the following. You’ll need executive sponsorhip and buyin from the key business leader(s) within the company. They’ll need to see that the groundswell objective align with the broader company objectives and most likely its culture (mission and values). Create integration points with key business functional areas (sales, marketing, admin, operations etc) and processes.
3) Start small, do it fast, listen, learn and be prepared to adjust…but stay committed
Wow! Once objectives have been established try something that is simple, that can be measured and be patient. Be prepared to make mistakes, listen, learn and adjust. Remain committed to the groundswell process and recognize that it is hard to predict what will happen. Remain open minded and see where the groundswell will take you. Remain authentic, honest and involved in the groundswell.

Author: Chris Herbert
Audience: Senior Executives, Marketing and Sales Professionals, Social Scientists.

Groundswell is broken down into three parts. Part one (chapters 1-3) focuses on understanding the groundswell.
Chapter 3. The Social Technographics® Profile

• Defines a data tool for analyzing social behavior of any group of customers
• CASE: A community for alpha moms
• Data and analysis for six examples: Gen Y, Japan/PC, politics, retail, seniors, health care

FriendFeed Room: Chapter Three reference links and case studies from the book. Join the room and start a conversation.

Feature Presentation: Social Technographics Explained, Josh Bernoff

Feature Video: Social Technologies-Your Customers Are Revolting, Charlene Li

1:10 – People move up and down the ladder and assume various roles in the Groundswell. They perform multiple roles depending on things like topic, interest and industry.
1:45 – Roles in the Groundswell: Creators, Critics, Collectors, Joiners, Spectators and Inactives.
3:25 – Why classifications?
3:50 – Case study: Alpha Moms. Using POST strategy to determine how best to engage with Alpha Moms. The key is to look to see where they over index. Target Critics, Collectors and Spectators.
7:15 – Embracing customers when they are revolting against your brand. What you can do. The “GM Insiders” example.
8:42 – Customers ignoring your messages. The GoDaddy example.

What I learned:
1) Know what your customers do online.
Find out how your customers are participating in the groundswell. Understand the roles they play in groundswell. Where are they on the Social Technographics ladder? What percentage are creators vs. critics? Joiners vs. spectators? Understand this because it tells you where to play in the groundswell.

2) Look for the “Over Index”
The Social Technographic Profile ladder consists of six different types of groups. Once you find out where your customers are (or aren’t) playing in the groundswell focus on where the “swell” is in your market. This is done by looking for the groups that “over index”. If more people in your market are joiners then the national average then focus on them… don’t create a community where joiners can blog and upload content…because the won’t.

3) The Groundswell is about human psychology & sociology
People want to connect with others who have similar problems, goals and ideas. They want to reach and relate with like minded people. Some want to lead, some want to help, some want to share and some want to watch.

About the Author

Chris Herbert is the founder of Mi6. Mi6 is a B2B (Business to Business) marketing agency and network dedicated to helping companies build relationships, build reputations and generate revenue. He is the founder of ProductCamp Toronto and the new Hi-tech “unassociation” Silicon Halton. He tweets under the handle @B2Bspecialist

Author: Teresa Herbert
Audience: Senior Executives, Marketing and Sales Professionals.

Each month Chris Herbert, founder and CMO of Mi6 shares charts from various sources with his network. These charts have been sourced and shared with the intent of helping inform and educate marketers with useful and actionable information.

The Mi6 Chart Toppers List is a top 10 list of the most popular charts based on # of views during a specific month. In June 2010, 35 charts were shared which were viewed 6,758 times. The top 10 charts below were the most viewed charts in June accounting for 2,692 views.

No 10: 219 Views

No 9: 224 Views

No 8: 229 Views

No 7: 234 Views

No 6: 247 Views

No 5: 263 Views

No 4: 275 Views

No 3: 296 Views

No 2: 319 Views

No 1: 386 Views