As more and more of the buying cycle in B2B moves online, it surely will be soon that we’ll see more and more B2B companies not only promoting, but also selling on the web.

In today’s B2Bchat (Thursday June 9) we’ll discuss what it takes to have a successful eCommerce business for B2B companies.

We’ll cover the following questions:

• Q1. Do you currently have an eCommerce program? If not, are you researching or evaluating approaches?
• Q2. What are your goals regarding eCommerce? Will it a sizable portion of your business?
• Q3. Do you have any reservation re eCommerce? If yes, what are they?
• Q4. Are you looking at B2C for best practices? What B2C eCommerce strategies work in B2B?
• Q5. What tools, blogs, or publications have you found useful in your eCommerce planning/implementation?

Join fellow B2B marketers for #b2bchat this Thursday June 9 – 8 pm ET/5 pm PT! Follow @b2b_chat on Twitter and join the discussion using #b2bchat hash tag.

Today on B2Bchat we’ll tackle the topic of customer marketing – turning customers into spokespeople for your business. Customer testimonial remain the staple of B2B marketing – but what new and interesting developments are in this area? How can we re-energize our customer marketing programs?

Join your fellow B2B marketers as we discuss the following questions:

• Q1: Do you have a customer marketing program? Any tips for those just getting started?
• Q2: Going beyond press releases and case studies, what forms of testimonials have you tried?
• Q3: Contests (‘submit-a-video’), awards, etc – are these gimmicks or legitimate ways to get testimonials?
• Q4: How can you integrate social media into customer marketing? What works, and what doesn’t?
• Q5: What is the best way to say “thank you” for a testimonial? What’s most appreciated?

See you on the chat at 8pm Eastern on April 21! Use #b2bchat hashtag to join the conversation.

With the spring season of conferences and trade shows in full swing, #B2Bchat (a weekly conversation for B2B marketers on Twitter) tackled the best practices on how to manage them (and survive). Panels, business meetings, speaking sessions, trade show floor, dinners, parties – how do you balance them all? Below are the tips and how-to’s that #B2Bchat participants shared.

Starting with the basics – Q1. On the trade show floor – How can you be most effective, whether or not you have a booth?

• tracibrowne: Show up with quantifiable objectives so you can measure success (or failure)
• skylineexhibits: If you have a booth, promote ur presence aggressively to get right people into it. Have talented staffers who want to be there.
• donseamons: Engage, focus your message, qualify quickly, then move on.
• kseniacoffman: Pre-schedule meetings; don’t show up w/ out an agenda
• NickBianchi: It’s good to set up contacts in advance, but don’t overplan. Many valuable things can be spur of the moment.
• Brandspiration: Try to get a list of exhibitors before attending – research who you want to network with in advance & then approach.
• MaureenB2B: Staffers should have great consultative sales questions around likely pain versus info about “stuff”
• b2bento: Pre-event networking is the key! RT @vasanthgan: A1: Pre-schedule meetings, spread your key messages
• DWesterberg: So many things to accomplish at a conference.  Think: press, alliance partners, buzz @ conference, leads

There was a side conversation on ‘disinterested staffers.’ I honestly have not seen this on our booth ever, but here are a few pointers:

• tracibrowne: How do you know a staffer doesn’t want to be there? They usually make it pretty obvious…rolling eyes first clue ;-)
• skylineexhibits: They either tell you, you ask them, or their performance is so bad at a previous show.
• donseamons: I was just at HIMSS11, a large health B2B show. Many examples of disinterested staffers: http://bit.ly/epliJD

Q1 summary: objectives, preparation, key messages & questions, + enthusiastic staffers = success!

Q2. If you have a speaking gig, how to best leverage it ? Pre-, post- and during the panel

Pre-session:

• tracibrowne: If the event has an online community be active in it
• ASegar: On event community, let it be known you’ll be around pre & post your session to chat & answer questions
• skylineexhibits: Speak early in the show, then have a booth on the show floor. Attendees will talk business in your booth. Can’t mandate, but you can ask. Networking with the other speakers is awesome, too: go to the speaker room, attend speaker dinner (if there’s one)
• ASegar: Offer organizers short pieces, written or video, about your session
• donseamons: Lots of pre-show pub in mailers, emails, social media, etc. Schedule time for the speaker to be in the booth, and promote that, too.

During the panel:

• b2bento: Present agnostic, useful and good content. Don’t try to oversell. Network (online) pre and post events – answer questions
• skylineexhibits: Don’t sell your product, sell your expertise through credibility by doing a great, informative presentation. Offer to email something of value (such as a white paper) for attendees that they can get by giving you a business card.
• kseniacoffman: It’s appropriate to invite ppl to your booth after the panel (soft sell)
• vasanthgan: During the panel, focus on the future trends/solutions and not on what the audience already know about.
• itsjustjana: Post session Q&A is sooo important. Huge pet peeve when I book a speaker who talks and runs.
• DWesterberg: At events I like to have the most giveaways for largest audience – Not at $200 item/drawing but a $10 item for 20.

After your panel:

• ralaw33: Post show we’ve gotten the best response by using social media platforms to distribute slides and video. Extends use.
• phylliskhare: I like that idea of creating a short video response right after the panel — that’s something to do right away!
• ASegar: Try to get your session recorded; can use for post-conf PR

Q2 summary: Try to speak early; promote the session & booth presence; be active in online community pre-show; share your presentation socially.

Q3. If you blog or tweet from an event, what do you focus on?

Tweeting, live blogging, daily blog recaps and post-even long-form blogs are all useful, but immediacy is definitely with tweeting and live blogging:

• cuferg: Focus on content: sessions of interest to your targets/audience, key messages coming out of the sessions, show floor happenings.
• vasanthgan: Key Numbers (stats) of the business/market that is shared in events.
• kseniacoffman: Think like a reporter – but put a company PoV on it (i.e. what you wish the press woud write about you) :-)
• cuferg: I’ve noticed marketing presentations are providing easily “tweetable” content, key points in 140 or less lately. Any others doing this?
• shotgunconcepts: @cuferg Just the new reality of an old axiom. You always need to leave audience with a few memorable points. They’re now 140 characters.
• tricomb2b: Capturing the meaning behind the event and using information gained to educate and help others!
• MarchellGillis: Interesting trends and sites from the event, I may reference folks that I meet
• shotgunconcepts: Offer value in your event tweets & blog posts, don’t just be a self promoter
• B2Bento: Good example of live blogging – @asuthosh did a great job of live blogging from SMWF – http://b2ben.to/btR5i9
• asuthosh: Include relevant comments from the audience and reactions to those – that tends to be left out in conference material
• skylineexhibits: I’ve shown a speaker after the event the Tweets I sent – they are grateful

Involving the on-line, virtual audience came up as a theme:

• ralaw33: I focus on sessions so customers not attending can be part of discussion. I tweet before to find sessions they are interested in. I love soliciting questions from followers and asking during Q&A. Presenters like it since it means audience participation
• itsjustjana: Key take aways from the conversation or sharing a problem identified and asking for more feedback or the agree/disagree
• kseniacoffman: I had good feedback on live-tweeting tours – especially if a few go on simultaneously, or not all can attend. Take lots of photos – great for people following virtually

Daily recaps will be popular, both with virtual and live attendees:

• kseniacoffman: Daily recaps are very popular – I get a lot of traffic to these; takes effort though
• tricomb2b: Agreed! @itsjustjana Yes, when i can’t attend a daily recap is event gold!
• CASUDI: I really like to see daily recaps ~ from others at a show ~ with good info clipped from all the noise

There were a few contrarians who do not do much live tweeting from the event:

• tracibrowne: I have to sit this question out – I can’t tweet and pay attention to the event.  I take notes and blog later
• ASegar: Frankly, the better the event (for me, that means the more I participate) the less I tweet. But If I’m at a presentation I’ll tweet more if there’s a backchannel conversation going on

Don’t forget your manners:

• tracibrowne: If all you are tweeting is criticism you are going to look like a [not a very nice person]

And most importantly:

• b2bento: Tweet with event hashtag – immediately creates a community around the event.

Q3 summary: Blog & tweet with key takeaways, buzz or audience reactions; Lots of photos; Solicit questions from followers; Don’t forget the virtual audience.

Q4. How do you ensure effective follow up?

• MaureenB2B: Key is to define, before the event, what your follow-up goals are. Do we want names or warm leads or other?
• cuferg: Based on pre-show goals, segment booth visitors, cold/warm/hot and have plan in place to address each group.
• fearlesscomp: Agree on lead definition. Gently nurture. Score for handoff. And provide sale with content too.
• skylineexhibits: Improved follow-up starts at the show: Write down what attendees said so sales know & are motivated to follow up. Plan in advance the fulfillment, the team, and who is responsible. Blog post on this: http://bit.ly/cuSLM2
• itsjustjana: Document your conversations. Who, where, what, when, why. All of it. Remind me why I was engaged and then sell me
• kseniacoffman: Note on the back of biz cards what you talked about, what follow up is needed
• ralaw33: Never thought of using phone to scan. Awesome! @itsjustjana: With business cards i either scan with my phone or text the info
• tricomb2b: Have a desired outcome in mind and steer the conversation towards the goal
• tracibrowne: Ask the visitor how they prefer to be contacted…then honor that
• shotgunconcepts: Event hashtag is not just for the time of the conference. Continuing using in the days afterward to follow up without clutter

Q4 summary: Document everything – follow-up needed, when & where you met, photo/scan card with your phone!

Q5. Tips for staying sane and avoiding burn-out?

• shotgunconcepts: Two conference essentials that most people don’t get enough of: water and sleep
• tricomb2b: Know your limits and what you need to recuperate before getting back into the heat of things!
• tracibrowne: Stock protein bars in the booth for your staff for a quick pick-me-up
• ASegar: Yoga too! RT @KseniaCoffman: If you can, find time to exercise!
• kpainc: Hydrate well before show; limit parties; eat right; plan meetings & specific booths to see; don’t walk exhibit floor to explore
• Brandspiration: Schedule breaks, know where to find coffee & water, keep a positive attitude & have fun meeting ppl.

But all this “healthy living” and “balance” discussion was countered by the “work hard, play hard” camp:

• AitchesonS: Boring! :) RT @phylliskhare: No parties. Go back to room, drink good water, eat something healthy, blog, and sleep.
• skylineexhibits: Tough to avoid all the parties when that’s when some of the best networking happens
• Edgemon72: I would say get 7 hours sleep and keep attentive! Great data available at parties if your not drunk or tired.

I will leave you with these words of wisdom as a summary:

tracibrowne: I tell people the day starts when coffee shop opens and ends when the last attendee leaves the bar. There’s plenty of time for rest and sleep when you get home. Squeeze every second you can out of the three or four days.

Does #b2bchat sound interesting? Join us for a lively discussion on B2B topics every Thursday at 8pm Eastern. Follow @B2B_chat for updates. If you are not familiar with Twitter chats, please see my post: Primer on Twitter Chats

By Ksenia Coffman – Connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

With the spring season of conferences and trade shows in full swing, let’s tackle the best practices on how to manage them (and survive). Panels, business meetings, speaking sessions, trade show floor, dinners, parties (those I skip, I swear) – how do you balance them all?

In tonight’s #b2bchat, we’ll discuss the following questions:

• How can you be most effective on the trade show floor – whether or not you have a booth?
• How to best leverage your speaking session – pre-, post- and during?
• If you blog or tweet from an event, what do you focus on?
• How do you ensure effective follow up?
• Tips for staying sane and avoiding burn-out?
• Bonus question: how are trade shows/conferences changing with social media?

Join fellow B2B marketers for a lively discussion – see you at 8pm Eastern on March 24! Use #b2bchat hashtag to join the conversation.

Personally, I’ve never been overly concerned about receiving a perfect grade as long as I know I’ve done my best. I raised my kids to think the same way. I believe there may be a downside to every kid on the team getting trophies, or taking up an entire cub scout meeting to hand out enough awards, badges and patches to make an old general jealous.

But I understand that awards and recognition for great work can be both fulfilling and fun.

For example, and for some silly reason, I enjoy being the Foursquare mayor of Duck’s Cosmic Kitchen in Decatur, Ga. I just lost my crown today, and I want it back.

And as a partner and creative director of a B2B marketing agency, I’m well aware of the value placed on winning industry awards; it enhances an agency’s credibility among clients and prospects alike. Every award competition has its critics, but there is more at stake than large egos. Special recognition can also help grow your business.

I had never heard of a Klout score until I read about it in an article by marketing and blogging expert Mark Schaefer, entitled, “Get ready. Social scoring will change your life.”

In fact, here’s one of the predictions Mark made for 2011 in a more recent blog post:

“Social scoring takes center stage – Ask any of your friends about Klout and you’re likely to get a blank stare. That’s going to change as social influence scoring goes mainstream. Whether you like it or not, people love to rate and grade other people, and this is going to be an extremely hot trend. Think how large the market is for SEO gurus. Social scoring is basically personal SEO.  How is the world going to change when every teenager on the planet is trying to figure out how to improve the social influence score showing up next to their Facebook profile?”

My engagement with social media is primarily through Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I also blog. And though I enjoy the conversations, interactions, ideas, links and retweets, for me, it’s all about business. And when it comes to social media marketing and B2B, everyone is looking for results.

Are badges, awards, scores, high ratings and recognition by industry peers a way of demonstrating results? I think so, but I also realize it’s more important to measure inbound traffic, lead generation, conversion and sales results.

I don’t keep a personal social media scorecard.

But maybe I should. Do you?

Business-to-business marketing is all about results, and there are more ways than ever to measure the ROI of almost everything we do. Whatever you call it – social media marketing, content marketing or inbound marketing – and whatever way you engage in it – from Twitter to Foursquare – you can score that now, too. There are many services for social media monitoring, conversion analytics and lead scoring, but what about your personal and professional influence?

How are you doing? How influential are you to other B2B marketers and the business community at large? I asked myself that question today and, in the interest of full-disclosure, I will share with you my scores and ratings on Klout and TwitterGrader.

I also compared my score to the aforementioned Mark Schaefer. I respect and follow Mark through his Twitter posts and prolific blogging, and we have become good friends and collaborators on many projects. I’ve learned a lot from his lead, so I thought I’d compare our scores and see if I could glean any new insights.

Klout Score – Billy vs. Mark

Twitter Grader - Billy vs. Mark

What did I learn from these reports?

Well, I learned I have a lot more to learn from Mark Schaefer for one thing.

The Klout score tells me Mark is way ahead of me in level of influence (no surprise there), and that I may never catch up. I did match his Twitter grade, though, and that is rewarding enough for now. It’s not exactly a tie though. Of 8,428,847 twitter users, Mark is ranked 6,930 and I am a long, long way back at number 72,487.

How seriously should we take social media scores and awards? I’m not really sure, but I am interested. Are you? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

And speaking of awards, the 2010 B2B Twitterer of the Year Awards (@B2BTOTY) will be announced live at the conclusion of the #B2Bchat, which begins at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 27.

It’s hard to think of any aspect of any market sector that doesn’t involve, or revolve around, influence. Back on October 7th, we tried a novel approach to #B2Bchat by engaging in a joint chat session with #ARchat, the Analyst Relations/Influence chat hosted by Fred McClimans and Steve Loudermilk. During this chat, we focused on market influencers, specifically, what role can, or should, Analyst and Influencer Relations have in the B2B sector.

For tonight’s #B2Bchat, we are again teaming up with #ARchat to revisit influence in the B2B sector. This time, however, we are taking an inward-looking approach regarding how firms themselves influence their market, the importance of defining an “influence strategy”, working with new influencers, and measuring your firms “influence impact” on the market.

The questions that we will discuss will include:

1. How do you presently identify your own firm’s “influence” in the market?
2. How do you measure your firm’s influence against your competitors?
3. Who drives your corporate market influence strategy (both cust and outside influencers)?
4. What steps can be taken to improve your influence (How key is traditional vs SM in these efforts)?
5. How do you spread your influence to “new influencers” like bloggers who break news stories and analysis faster than traditional influencers?
6. How are you thinking about your “influencing” strategy from an in-sourcing and outsourcing approach?

We are joined today by participants of #ARchat. So use #b2bchat as your primary hash tag, but feel free to add #ARchat hash tag to your tweets.

Join fellow B2B marketers for a lively discussion – see you at 8pm Eastern!

Today we’ll focus our discussion on the planning and evaluation process as we gear up for 2011. Amidst the budget, resource and program planning, come up for air and exchange ideas with your B2B marketing peers.

We’ll discuss the following questions:

• What new things did you try in 2010?
• What worked and what turned out to be a dud or just SNO (shiny new object)?
• What promising new trends are you seeing in B2B marketing?
• What new programs will you implement in 2011?
• How will you justify the time/budget to undertake them?

Join us on Thursday Nov 4 8 pm ET/5 pm PT for a lively discussion. Don’t forget to follow http://twitter.com/b2b_chat for updates!

The line between marketing and technology are not quite as demarcated as they they were years ago. So when Mitch Joel wrote a blog post on ‘Chief Marketing Technologist’, and Christopher Penn chimed in, how could #B2BChatters be far behind?

This week’s  140-char blitzkrieg raced through ideas on the true convergence of both worlds. Here’s a summary adapted from the complete transcript. Read the full version here.

Is the trend going towards having a B2B marketing professional who is also very familiar with technology and the tools?

@kseniacoffman: agree, and also the cost of advanced tools is going down, or more tools are available in general
@Michael_Evanko: I think we are already there; gen X&Y marketers who have grown up in the age of computers are Marketing Technologists
@kimgeralds: A smart CMO will have a least one strategic thinking marketing technologist on board who recommends best practices.
@utollwi: Almost no question that tech skills & exp. are key qualities in a modern marketer. Data and analysis drive ROI improvements
@chiefmartec: important to note that being a technologist is different than just being technology savvy — everyone needs the latter today
@joellenroberts: There’s a definite need for someone who’s focused on understanding, evaluating & specifying best technologies with a marketing POV.
@b2bento: That’s why you need folks who can speak both languages – technology and marketing
@billymitchell1: A CMO without good grasp of Marketing Technology is a chief without a tribe.
@chevypham: chief marketing technologists grasps how emerging technology has shifted the paradigm of marketing and the way of doing biz.

What are the basic technologies and tools that a B2B Marketer must be familiar with?

@mikulaja: Email marketing sys (constant contact, etc.), CMS/website, social media.
@fearlesscomp: Marketing Automation, Social media, metrics, Sales force automation, and online video.
@asuthosh: Tools and technologies could perhaps fall into categories of ideation, creation and dissemination
@chevypham: cloud computing, analytics, mobile device platforms
@chiefmartec: absolutely — ad platforms, PPC, SEO — list is very long and depends a bit on scale and focus of the organization
@kimgeralds: Mobile. Mobile. Mobile.
@be3d: Tools that locate nodes of influence to business decision makers
@EngageStrat: SEO Opt tools like @hubspot + CRM+ CMS +Customer service apps+financial aps and the strategies that weave them into the overall mix
@billymitchell1: Basic technologies & tools B2B marketers need include web-centric plan, magnetic inbound system, talented content factory…
@billymitchell1: Maybe the most important tool a B2B marketer needs now is a brain that never quits learning.
@sandyhubbard: As top mgrs get busier, new CMO becomes interpreter-conduit to top. These tools all focus on downstream. Need upstream tools, too.

What are the resources, e.g. blogs, podcasts, books, etc., that are available to a “Marketing Technologist”?

@EngageStrat: @mashable @danzarrella @SmartBrief @MarketingProfs …Oh so many more!
@mikulaja: Twitter, LBS(4sq,Places,etc), blogs, podcast, video(Vimeo,YouTube), Facebook
@b2bento: Blogs : @Marketo Blog http://blog.marketo.com @Avinash Kaushik http://www.kaushik.net/avinash
@Michael_Evanko: I think tweet chats like the one we are having right now are a great resource for Marketing Technologists – thanks to #b2bchat
@billymitchell1: Include the telephone and the postage meter when taking inventory of your B2B marketing technology. Outbound + Inbound.
@be3d: @mikulaja Webinars are great as long as they’re not salesinars.
@cuferg: Hubspot has some great resources too, slideshare with some searching, linkedin groups.

What are the must-have tools, e.g., Web Apps, Mobile Apps, in the Marketing Technologists’ Toolbox?

@b2bento: Web Apps toolbox – Google Analytics, @Jamiq / @viralheat / @radian6 , Campaign Monitor
@kimgeralds: Mobile apps are waning, IMHO. More about the widgets that are ubiquitous across multiple browsers, OS’s, devices.
@asuthosh: Hootsuite too, and @JamIQ for a good Asian focus RT @shotgunconcepts: #B2Bchat q4 Google Analytics. CoTweet.
@EngageStrat: A CMS that is smart enough for SEO, intuitive, and is design-centric.
@asuthosh: Feedburner has totally revamped too with GA-style dashboards RT @shotgunconcepts big devoted fan of Google webmaster tools.
@milesaustin: @be3d Unilyzer is providing insight that I have only dreamed of-all in the format of an executive dashboard with drilldown.
@be3d: Bud.url pro with back-end metrics, white label domains, link tagging = rich data
@sandyhubbard: Analytics like social mention often deliver false & lazy results. Tool is one thing but no bot is going to interpret for me.

Where do you start? What are the steps towards achieving the perfect combination of marketing and tech savviness?

@utollwi: Steps to marketing & tech savviness – Feed the thirst for knowledge – learn, explore, test and analyze
@shotgunconcepts: step1 is analyzing customers / target market & choose tech to meet goals instead of trying to make tech fit the problem
@executiveoasis: It’s not about tools. It’s about needs of target market & your message. Strategy should drive technology
@asuthosh: Read widely, debate and experiment with tools you hear about
@chevypham: start with valuing the relationship. emerging tech tools can be a double edge sword if u ignore the end user.
@Michael_Evanko: Like everyone’s said, never stop learning, read books, blogs, jump into twitter chat, experiment, network, engage!
@chiefmartec: hmmm, maybe start with defining expectations of what a “chief marketing technologist” will do relative to CMO, IT, etc.

There you have it – an hour-long injection of actionable stuff to build upon till next week’s chat – as always, every Thursday at 8 pm EDT (5 pm PST, 8 am Friday SST). Follow @B2B_chat for updates.

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About the B2Bblogger:Anol Bhattacharya (@B2Bento) is CEO of GetIT Comms, a marketing and communications consultancy for hi-tech and telco’s, where he helps clients (Cisco Systems Inc, IBM, IDC Asia Pacific, HP, Datacraft etc) in the field of B2B marketing, demand generation, lead nurturing, social media strategy & implementation, interactive digital media for marketing initiatives and user experience design.

Anol is one of the key contributors at B2Bento.com and has had his articles published in various media in the region.

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The scope, domain and form of marketing are changing continuously and rapidly. The “preferred” skill set for today’s marketers are undergoing a paradigm shift.

That’s why when Mitch Joel wrote a blog post a couple of weeks ago regarding the concept of a ‘Chief Marketing Technologist’, many of us experienced our very own ‘ah-ha’ moment to the point where even great minds like Christopher Penn got psyched about it.

This concept translates well into B2B Marketing as well. This is because you need people who can converse in both marketing- and technology-speak so that they would be able to effectively leverage marketing tools and techniques such as lead-nurturing, marketing automation, landing page optimization, SEO, SEM, etc.

In this week’s #B2BChat, we talk about whether and why a Chief Marketing Technologist may be relevant and timely in today’s B2B marketing climate:

• Is the trend going towards having a B2B marketing professional who is also very familiar with technology and the tools involved?
• What are the basic technologies and tools that a B2B Marketer must be familiar with?
• What are the resources, e.g. blogs, podcasts, books, etc., that are available to a Marketing Technologist?
• Must-have tools, e.g., Web Apps, Mobile Apps, in the Marketing Technologists’ toolbox
• Where do you start? What are the steps towards achieving the perfect combination of marketing and tech savviness?

Join us for this week’s #B2Bchat on Thursday, October 28, at 8pm Eastern (5pm Pacific). Follow @B2B_chat for updates.

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About the B2Bblogger:Anol Bhattacharya (@B2Bento) is CEO of GetIT Comms, a marketing and communications consultancy for hi-tech and telco’s, where he helps clients (Cisco Systems Inc, IBM, IDC Asia Pacific, HP, Datacraft etc) in the field of B2B marketing, demand generation, lead nurturing, social media strategy & implementation, interactive digital media for marketing initiatives and user experience design.

Anol is one of the key contributors at B2Bento.com and has had his articles published in various media in the region.

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This post is sponsored by the B2B Twitterer Of The Year Awards (B2BTOTY). The award recognizes B2B individuals and organizations for outstanding contributions to Twitter. Vote Now!

If we imagine the story of B2B Marketing (in a social media context) as a tale of Arthurian proportions, metrics and measurement then would rightfully be the Fisher King. They would be the keys to proving Social Media ROI which, in this case, is equivalent to finding the Holy Grail.

Metrics is indeed very close to the heart of every Marketer as evidenced from our last chat which initially delved into the topic. It was such a warm subject that there were a couple of points that weren’t fleshed out as much as we’d have liked. So it is not surprising to have a sequel to the first one.
Aptly titled “Metrics Reloaded”, this week’s #B2BChat, will re-visit the realm of metrics and measurement, specifically in terms of Social Media.

Here are the questions:

• What are your main goals for SM? Is it for Brand Awareness, Lead Generation or Customer Service?
• In terms of these goals, what is the role of metrics?
• What are the things that you measure in Social Media for B2B Marketing?
• How do you track the progress and how do you report it to the management?
• What are the tools which you consider as the best in terms of measuring?
• Fill in the blank: “It would be great if we can measure ____________?”

Join us for this week’s #B2BChat on Metrics Reloaded, Thursday, October 14, at 8pm Eastern (5pm Pacific). Follow @B2B_chat for updates.

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About the B2Bblogger:Anol Bhattacharya (@B2Bento) is CEO of GetIT Comms, a marketing and communications consultancy for hi-tech and telco’s, where he helps clients (Cisco Systems Inc, IBM, IDC Asia Pacific, HP, Datacraft etc) in the field of B2B marketing, demand generation, lead nurturing, social media strategy & implementation, interactive digital media for marketing initiatives and user experience design.

Anol is one of the key contributors at B2Bento.com and has had his articles published in various media in the region.

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This post is sponsored by the B2B Twitterer Of The Year Awards (B2BTOTY). The award recognizes B2B individuals and organizations for outstanding contributions to Twitter. Vote Now!