B2B Digital Marketing: Using the Web to Market Directly to Businesses

• Copyright 2012
• Dimensions: 6" x 9"
• Pages: 368
• Edition: 1st

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-7897-4887-8
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4887-4

The only 100% B2B-focused guide to high-profit, low-cost digital marketing!

 

Finally, there’s a comprehensive guide to digital marketing specifically for B2B companies. In B2B Digital Marketing, Michael Miller thoroughly explains how to use each leading digital marketing vehicle to successfully market any product or service to your target companies. You’ll start with planning, discovering how to choose your best platforms and strategies for customer acquisition, sales conversion, and retention. Next, master crucial execution skills for web, search, social, and mobile marketing, online advertising, email, blogs, YouTube, online PR, and more. Finally, discover exactly how to measure your effectiveness, refocus based on what you learn, and prepare for the newest developments in B2B digital marketing. Whether you’re a B2B marketer, product manager, sales professional, PR specialist, manager, or entrepreneur, this book will help you use new low-cost techniques to build stronger relationships, close more sales, and earn higher profits—starting today!

 

You’ll Learn How To:

•   Define realistic, measurable goals for your B2B digital marketing initiative

•   Segment your audience and identify the best digital platforms and vehicles for connecting with them

•   Systematically address the entire B2B buying continuum: reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, and loyalty

•   Create a flexible, actionable B2B digital marketing plan

•   Design a website that helps B2B buyers quickly find exactly what they need

•   Optimize your site for today’s search engines and today’s customers

•   Use tailored, targeted email to reach more customers and prospects at lower cost

•   Craft online advertising to reinforce organic search, support promotions, and attract web seminar participants

•   Drive real value from Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter

•   Effectively utilize blogs, podcasts, and streaming media

 

MICHAEL MILLER has written more than 100 nonfiction books, including The Ultimate Web Marketing Guide; Using Google® AdWords and AdSense; Using Google® Search; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization; Sams Teach Yourself Google Analytics in 10 Minutes; and Facebook for Grown-Ups. Miller’s books have sold more than one million copies worldwide. He has established a reputation for clearly explaining technical subjects to non-technical readers, and offering exceptionally useful real-world advice on complex topics. More information can be found at his website, www.molehillgroup.com.

Online Sample Chapter

Creating a B2B Digital Marketing Plan

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

 

I PLANNING

1 Understanding Digital Marketing 5

What Is Digital Marketing? .............................................................................6

Why Digital Marketing Matters for B2B ................................................6

    Digital Marketing Keeps You Competitive ...................................7

    Digital Marketing Is Becoming More Prevalent.........................8

    Digital Marketing Improves Customer Relationships .....................................9

    Digital Marketing: A 21st Century Imperative ...........................9

Getting to Know the Components of Digital Marketing ............................10

    Website Marketing .....................................................................................10

    Search Engine Marketing .......................................................................11

    Online Advertising .....................................................................................12

    Email Marketing ..........................................................................................13

    Blog Marketing .............................................................................................14

    Social Media Marketing ..........................................................................15

    Audio, Video, and Interactive Marketing....................................16

    Public Relations............................................................................................17

    Mobile Marketing .......................................................................................18

    Migrating from Traditional Channels to Digital Channels .............................19

    Migrating from Cold Calling to Search Engine Marketing ...................................19

    Migrating from Literature to Websites .........................................20

    Migrating from Trade Advertising to Web Advertising ..........................20

    Migrating from Direct Mail to Email .............................................20

    Migrating from Newsletters and Phone Calls to Social Media ................21

    Migrating from Trade Magazine PR to Blog PR .....................21

    Migrating from Live Events to Webinars ....................................21

How B2B Companies Can Use Digital Marketing ........................22

    Precision, Scale, and Marketability ..................................................22

    Understanding the Digital Marketing Process Flow .....................................22

    Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Tools ............................23

 

2 Segmenting Your Audience 27

Why Audience Segmentation Is Important .......................................28

How to Segment Your Audience ..............................................................30

    Breakdown and Build-Up Segmentation .....................................30

    A Priori and Post Hoc Segmentation .............................................31

Common B2B Market Segments ..............................................................32

    Hierarchy of Characteristics ................................................................32

    Organizational Characteristics ...........................................................33

    Purchasing Characteristics ....................................................................34

How Different Segments Use Digital Media .....................................35

    Digital Media by Organizational Characteristics ..........................35

    Digital Media by Purchasing Characteristics ............................36

 

3 Planning for Reach 39

Understanding the B2B Buying Continuum .....................................40

Reaching Out to New Customers .............................................................41

    How Do You Reach New Customers? ...........................................41

    Marketing for Reach .................................................................................43

Using Digital Media to Reach New Customers ...............................43

    Search Engine Marketing .......................................................................44

    PPC Advertising ..........................................................................................45

    Display Advertising ...................................................................................46

    Blog Marketing .............................................................................................46

    Online PR.........................................................................................................47

    Mobile Marketing .......................................................................................47

Which Digital Media Are Less Suited for Reach? .........................48

    Email Marketing ..........................................................................................48

    Multimedia Marketing.............................................................................49

    Social Media Marketing ..........................................................................50

    Website Marketing .....................................................................................51

 

4 Planning for Customer Acquisition 53

Understanding the Customer Acquisition Process .......................54

Traditional Marketing for Customer Acquisition .........................55

Using Digital Media to Acquire New Customers ..........................55

    Website Marketing .....................................................................................56

    Blog Marketing .............................................................................................59

    Multimedia Marketing.............................................................................59

    Email Marketing ..........................................................................................60

    Mobile Marketing .......................................................................................61

Which Digital Media Are Less Suited for Acquisition? .........................................61

    Search Engine Marketing .......................................................................62

    PPC and Display Advertising ..............................................................62

    Online PR.........................................................................................................62

    Social Media Marketing ..........................................................................62

 

5 Planning for Sales Conversion 63

Understanding Conversion ..................................64

Converting Customers, the Traditional Way ...................................66

Using Digital Media to Convert Customers ......................................66

    Converting from Your Website .........................................................67

    Converting via Email ................................................................................69

Which Digital Media Are Less Suited for Conversion? ............................70

 

6 Planning for Customer Retention 73

Understanding Customer Retention ......................................................74

Retaining Customers, the Old-Fashioned Way ...............................75

Using Digital Media to Retain Your Customers .............................76

    Providing Ongoing Customer Service and Support .........................76

    Encouraging Repeat Orders .................................................................77

    Announcing New Products and Services .....................................77

    Reinforcing the Customer Relationship .......................................78

Choosing the Right Digital Media for Customer Retention ...................................79

    Website Marketing .....................................................................................80

    Blog Marketing .............................................................................................81

    Email Marketing ..........................................................................................81

    Multimedia Marketing.............................................................................82

    Social Media Marketing ..........................................................................82

    Mobile Marketing .......................................................................................83

Which Digital Media Are Less Likely for Customer Retention? ...................83

 

7 Planning for Customer Loyalty 85

Understanding Customer Loyalty............................................................86

Encouraging Customer Loyalty, the Old School Way .....................................87

Using Digital Media to Encourage Customer Loyalty ...............................87

    Social Media Marketing ..........................................................................88

    Email Marketing ..........................................................................................89

What Digital Media Are Less Likely for Loyalty Referrals? ..........................90

 

8 Creating a B2B Digital Marketing Plan 91

Why You Need a Digital Marketing Plan ...........................................92

Understanding the Elements of a Digital Marketing Plan ..................................93

    Executive Summary ...................................................................................93

    Mission ..............................................................................................................94

    Situational Analysis ...................................................................................94

    Opportunities and Issues .......................................................................95

    Goals and Objectives ................................................................................95

    Marketing Strategy .....................................................................................96

    Action Plan .....................................................................................................97

    Budget ................................................................................................................98

Writing Your Marketing Plan ....................................................................98

Putting the Plan into Practice .....................................................................99

 

II EXECUTION

 

9 B2B Website Marketing 101

Why Your Website Is Important ........................................................... 102

Designing Your Website for B2B .......................................................... 103

    Keeping It Simple..................................................................................... 103

    Minimizing Technology—and Design ....................................... 104

    Providing the Right Content ............................................................ 105

    Keeping the Content Simple—and Accessible ...................... 106

    Putting Content on the Page ............................................................ 106

    Providing Content for Search Engines ....................................... 107

    Providing Easy Navigation ................................................................. 108

    Considering the Look and Feel of Your Site ........................... 110

    Creating Unique Landing Pages ..................................................... 111

    Choosing the Right Content and Features ............................... 112

Designing Your Website for Acquisition ......................................... 113

    Organization and Navigation ........................................................... 113

    Content and Collateral ......................................................................... 114

    Access for Everyone? ............................................................................. 116

    Asking for More ....................................................................................... 117

Designing Your Website for Conversion ......................................... 117

    Is Online Conversion for You? ....................................................... 118

    Designing for E-Commerce .............................................................. 118

    Providing Customer Service ............................................................. 119

Designing Your Website for Retention ............................................. 119

    Providing Support ................................................................................... 120

    Providing Additional Information ................................................ 121

    Providing Community .......................................................................... 121

 

10 B2B Search Engine Marketing 123

Why Search Engine Marketing Is Important ................................. 124

Understanding Search Engine Optimization ................................. 125

Understanding Web Search ...................................................................... 126

    How a Typical Search Works ........................................................... 126

    How a Search Site Builds Its Database—And Assembles Its Index ................... 127

Examining the Major Search Engines ................................................ 128

What Search Engines Look For .............................................................. 130

    Keywords ....................................................................................................... 131

    HTML Tags ................................................................................................. 132

    Inbound Links ............................................................................................ 133

Optimizing Your Site’s Content ............................................................. 133

    What Is Quality Content? ................................................................... 133

    Why Does Quality Content Matter? ............................................ 134

    Writing Engaging Copy ....................................................................... 134

    Crafting SEO-Friendly Content ...................................................... 135

Optimizing Your Site’s Keywords ......................................................... 136

    Performing Keyword Research ....................................................... 136

    Fine-Tuning Keywords for B2B ...................................................... 137

    Determining the Right Keyword Density ................................. 138

    Writing Keyword-Oriented Copy ................................................. 138

Optimizing Your Site’s HTML Tags ................................................... 140

    <TITLE> Tags ................................................................................................... 140

    <META> Tags ........................................................................................... 141

    Header Tags ................................................................................................. 143

    Anchor Text ................................................................................................ 144

Optimizing Your Site’s Design and Organization .............................................. 144

    Put the Most Important Stuff First on the Page ..................................... 145

    Use Headings and Subheadings ...................................................... 145

    Use Text, Not Pictures (or Videos or Flash...) ....................... 145

Optimizing Inbound Links ........................................................................ 146

    Creating Linkworthy Content .......................................................... 146

    Getting the Word Out........................................................................... 146

    Making Link Requests........................................................................... 147

    Engaging in Link Trading................................................................... 147

    Purchasing Links ...................................................................................... 148

    Optimizing Links Between Pages on Your Site ........................................... 148

Optimizing Images ......................................................................................... 149

    Using the ALT Attribute ..................................................................... 149

    Using the TITLE Attribute ................................................................ 150

 

11 B2B Online Advertising 151

How Effective Is B2B Online Advertising? ..................................... 152

How Online Advertising Differs from Traditional Advertising ........................... 153

    Targeted Placement ................................................................................ 154

    Improved Tracking ................................................................................. 155

    Efficiency of Investment ...................................................................... 155

Different Payment Models......................................................................... 156

    CPM—Cost-Per-Thousand ............................................................... 156

    CPC—Cost-Per-Click ........................................................................... 157

Using PPC Ads.................................................................................................. 158

    How PPC Advertising Works .......................................................... 158

    Understanding Context-Sensitive Ad Placement ................ 159

    Paying by the Click ................................................................................. 160

    Bidding for Keywords ........................................................................... 161

    Choosing a Bidding Strategy ............................................................ 162

    Writing Effective Ad Copy ................................................................ 164

    Creating PPC Image Ads .................................................................... 166

Using Display Ads ........................................................................... 167

    Understanding Display Ads .............................................................. 167

    Examining Rich Media Ads ............................................................... 168

    Choosing a Display Ad Format ....................................................... 169

    Creating Effective Display Ads ........................................................ 171

Getting to Know the Big Ad Networks .............................................. 172

Maximizing Effectiveness with a Custom Landing Page .................. 174

    Why Landing Pages Are Important ............................................. 174

    Why You Need a Separate Landing Page ................................. 174

    Creating an Effective Landing Page ............................................. 175

    Asking for the Lead ................................................................................ 176

 

12 B2B Email Marketing 179

Understanding B2B Email Marketing ................................................ 180

    Email Marketing Is Direct Marketing ......................................... 180

    Email Marketing Is Database Marketing .................................. 180

    Email Marketing Is Targeted Marketing ................................... 181

    Email Marketing Is Proactive Marketing .................................. 181

    Email Marketing Is Inexpensive Marketing ............................ 182

    Email Marketing Is Permission Marketing .............................. 183

Using Email to Reach New Prospects ................................................. 185

    Sharing Names ........................................................................................... 186

    Best Practices for Email Lead Solicitation ................................ 187

Using Email for Customer Acquisition ............................................. 187

Using Email for Conversion ..................................................................... 188

Using Email for Customer Retention ................................................. 189

    Getting Permission ................................................................................. 189

    Different Types of Mailings ............................................................... 189

    Best Practices for Customer Retention Emails ...................... 191

Using Email to Encourage Customer Loyalty ............................... 192

Creating an Effective Email Preference Center ............................ 192

 

13 B2B Blog Marketing 197

Why Create a Company Blog? ................................................................ 198

    Why Corporate Blogging Works ................................................... 198

    Blogging for Reach .................................................................................. 201

    Blogging for Acquisition ..................................................................... 202

    Blogging for Retention ......................................................................... 202

Running Your Blog ........................................................................................ 203

    Putting Together a Plan ....................................................................... 203

    Determining Who Contributes to the Blog ............................. 204

    Deciding What to Write About ...................................................... 205

    Creating Powerful Titles ...................................................................... 206

    Writing Blog Posts .................................................................................. 207

    Determining the Right Frequency ................................................. 207

Marketing to Other Blogs........................................................................... 209

    Why Other Blogs Are Important ................................................... 209

    How to Get Bloggers to Notice—and Mention—You ........................ 210

    Giving Bloggers Everything They Need ..................................... 212

 

14 B2B Social Media Marketing 213

Understanding Social Media .................................................................... 214

    Social Networking with Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn ........................ 214

    Blogging as a Social Medium ............................................................ 215

    Microblogging with Twitter .............................................................. 216

    Social Bookmarking with Digg, Delicious, and StumbleUpon ................... 216

    Social Sharing with YouTube and Flickr .................................. 217

    Social Location Sharing with Foursquare, Gowalla, and MyTown ............... 218

How Important Is Social Media Marketing for B2B? ............... 218

Which Social Media Should You Target? ........................................ 221

Developing a Social Media Marketing Strategy............................ 222

    Participating in Social Conversations ......................................... 223

    Responding to Online Comments ................................................. 223

Using Social Media for Customer Reach and Acquisition .... 225

Using Social Media for Customer Retention and Loyalty .............................. 226

Using Specific Social Media ...................................................................... 227

    Using Facebook ......................................................................................... 227

    Using Google+ ........................................................................................... 229

    Using LinkedIn .......................................................................................... 231

    Using Twitter .............................................................................................. 233

 

15 B2B Audio, Video, and Interactive Marketing 237

Using Podcasts for B2B Marketing ...................................................... 238

    Understanding Podcasts ...................................................................... 238

    Creating a Podcast: The Technical Details .............................. 239

    Developing a Podcast Strategy ......................................................... 240

    Distributing Your Podcast ................................................................. 241

Using Video for B2B Marketing ............................................................ 242

    What Kinds of Videos Are Most Effective? ............................. 242

    Producing an Online Video .............................................................. 245

    Tips for More Effective Online Videos ...................................... 246

Using Interactive Media for B2B Marketing .................................. 251

    Understanding Interactive Media.................................................. 251

    Do Webinars Make Sense for You? .............................................. 252

    Tips for More Effective Interactive Marketing ...................... 253

 

16 B2B Public Relations 257

What Is Online PR—and How Does It Differ from Traditional PR? ..................... 258

    Who You Influence ................................................................................ 258

    How You Influence Them .................................................................. 259

Using the New Technology ....................................................................... 260

    Online PR Databases ............................................................................. 260

    Social Media Search ................................................................................ 261

    Press Release Distribution .................................................................. 262

The Benefits of Online PR ......................................................................... 263

Developing New Online Sources ........................................................... 264

    Targeting Websites and Online Publications ......................... 265

    Targeting Online Writers and Reviewers ................................. 265

    Targeting Bloggers .................................................................................. 266

    Targeting Online Message Forums ............................................... 267

    Targeting Social Media ......................................................................... 267

Creating an Online Press Room ............................................................. 268

    Why Do You Need a Press Room on Your Website? ....... 268

    Stocking Your Online Press Room ............................................... 269

 

17 B2B Mobile Marketing 275

Why Mobile Is Important .......................................................................... 276

    Mobile Marketing in the B2B World........................................... 276

    Mobile Marketing: Big and Getting Bigger ............................. 277

How Mobile B2B Marketing Differs from Traditional B2B Marketing .............. 278

    Marketing for a Smaller Screen ....................................................... 278

    Targeted Marketing ................................................................................ 279

Adapting Your Website for Mobile ..................................................... 280

Adapting Email Marketing for Mobile .............................................. 285

Adapting Other Digital Media for Mobile ....................................... 287

    Mobile Search Engine Marketing .................................................. 287

    Mobile Advertising ................................................................................. 288

    Mobile Social Marketing ..................................................................... 288

    Mobile Audio/Video Marketing ..................................................... 289

    Mobile Interactive Marketing .......................................................... 289

Using SMS Marketing .................................................................................. 289

 

III MEASUREMENT AND REFOCUS

 

18 Quantifying Results 291

Analyzing Digital Media Performance .............................................. 292

    Analyzing Website Performance .................................................... 292

    Analyzing Search Engine Marketing Performance ............. 295

    Analyzing Advertising Performance ............................................ 297

    Analyzing Email Performance ......................................................... 300

    Analyzing Blog Performance ............................................................ 301

    Analyzing Social Media Performance ......................................... 304

    Analyzing Podcast Performance..................................................... 304

    Analyzing Online Video Performance ....................................... 305

    Analyzing Interactive Marketing Performance ..................... 306

    Analyzing Online PR Performance .............................................. 306

    Analyzing Mobile Marketing Performance ............................. 307

    Analyzing Performance by Buying Stage ......................................... 308

    Analyzing Reach ....................................................................................... 308

    Analyzing Acquisition .......................................................................... 309

    Analyzing Conversion .......................................................................... 309

    Analyzing Retention............................................................................... 310

    Analyzing Loyalty .................................................................................... 311

 

19 Qualifying Results 313

Analyzing Social Media ............................................................................... 314

Analyzing Engagement ................................................................................ 315

Analyzing Comments ................................................................................... 317

Analyzing Sentiment ..................................................................................... 319

 

20 Looking Forward 321

Evaluating—and Modifying—Your B2B Digital Marketing Strategy .................. 322

    Evaluating Results .................................................................................... 322

    Adjusting Your Budget ......................................................................... 323

    Adjusting Your Plan .............................................................................. 324

Looking to the Future ................................................................................... 325

    Email Is Fading .......................................................................................... 325

    Blogs Are Fading ...................................................................................... 327

    Social Networking Is Taking Over ................................................ 327

    Mobility Matters ....................................................................................... 328

 

Index

 

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