Social Media Becoming Key Component of Multi-Touch, Multi-Media Marketing Campaigns
ATLANTA, GA (September 22, 2009) – Increasingly, social media tools are providing new ways to conduct sales lead generation programs and effectively nurture prospects into ready buyers. This is according to Dan McDade, president and CEO of prospect development firm PointClear, which is using social media to reach and establish dialog with its own B2B sales prospects. PointClear clients include: Microsoft, UnitedHealth Group, LXE, Ultimate Software and D&B.
“Marketers know that a series of touches consisting of quality outbound calls, email, voicemail messages and direct mail is a very effective way to reach and convert leads to revenue. What we are now seeing is that results from these more traditional touch types can be enhanced by the inclusion of integrated social media,” said McDade. “Social media tools are invaluable in reaching prospects online and establishing a rapport long before a direct meeting takes place.”
Social media activities conducted by PointClear include a blog authored by McDade, entitled ViewPoint: The Truth About Lead Generation. The blog explores methods for improving sales lead generation and prospect development strategies, including how to cultivate higher-quality sales opportunities.
PointClear is also active on Twitter, a micro-blogging service that delivers brief bursts of text known as “tweets” to others. Further, it maintains a strong presence on the LinkedIn business social networking community, including hosting a LinkedIn Group dedicated to discussing sales lead generation topics.
“It’s important to remember that social media tools aren’t just for reaching customers and prospects with news and information about ourselves – they are also very useful for listening to potential customers to find out more about them and determine their points of need,” said McDade. “For maximum advantage, social media activities require a two-way dialog. Many sales executives are realizing that social media tools offer an ideal way to acquire business intelligence about prospects and competitors simply by tuning in.”
While McDade establishes online conversation with readers who reply to his blog posts, he also monitors and responds to blogs authored by other industry influencers. This helps to build relationships online while also gaining exposure for PointClear as a thought leader on sales lead generation and prospect development subjects.
As part of its social media practices, PointClear also optimizes content for greater pick-up by Internet search engines. “We’ve seen rapid benefit from our keyword optimization practices, in terms of higher rankings on the search engines and subsequent increases in site traffic on our blog and website,” said McDade.
He added that although social media usage for sales lead generation and prospect nurturing is still in the early stages, companies should start incorporating these practices into their multi-touch, multi-media campaigns. “It’s still about multiple touches over time – we’re just adding to the media available for reaching prospects and building relationships. Social media recently surpassed email as the most popular Internet activity, illustrating the time is right to get involved. When properly executed, social media marketing strategies can open new avenues for generating leads, engaging prospects and strengthening customer bonds.”
Headquartered in Norcross, Ga., PointClear, the prospect development firm, provides solutions that fill client forecasts, not just their pipelines. PointClear’s expert sales and marketing professionals provide clients with forecastable sales opportunities, actionable market intelligence and effective market coverage. For more information about PointClear’s products and services, go to www.pointclear.com.
