BtoB: What's the most common mistake b-to-b marketers make when applying social media?
Jeff Cohen and Kipp Bodnar: They ignore the lead-generation possibilities. A good, solid engagement and content strategy drives traffic to a company's website, and marketers need to make sure they provide a call to action to capture sales leads.
BtoB: What's the best tip you can offer for breaking down resistance from recalcitrant executives?
Cohen and Bodnar: Conduct a 90-day pilot program with very specific, measurable goals. Once you can show success with this short pilot, it's easier to get approval to move forward with a larger plan. Another option is to present an audit of top competitors' social media profiles.
BtoB: What one example of social media b-to-b excellence stands out in your mind from the past year?
Cohen and Bodnar: Cisco launched a social media portal at http://socialmedia.cisco.com/. This single page provides feeds from Cisco's blogs, communities, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook outposts. The page also includes links to Cisco's social media policy and social media playbook.