(Repost) Report: Complex IT purchases most influenced by peers

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130709/WEB07/307099999/report-complex-it-purchases-most-influenced-by-peers&utm_source=itm&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=itm

We've always suspected that complex IT purchases require a lot of due diligence, but this study as reported in B2B magazine shows the importance of a peer review network.  Interestingly, it also shows the influence of social media--Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter-as being supplementary avenues for information.

With the advent of the internet, we've seen influence studies that show company websites, industry articles, and other published, public domain materials as greatly influencing the buy of products and services. No longer is a face to face meeting necessary, or desired.  Consumers are taking it into their hands to research when and how they want, and it's up to us as suppliers to ensure that our products and messages are first, spot on to their needs, and secondly, available when they need it.  It's not a 'new world' as much as a new method of ensuring that the tools our customer needs are accessible and discoverable, allowing them to make the right decision.

If Content is King, What Would be Queen?

https://www.openforum.com/articles/if-content-is-king-what-would-be-queen/?extlink=of-syndication-sb-p

I was drawn to this post because first, I am the self-appointed Queen of MES, but secondly, because we all work very hard to ensure our posts are relevant, timely, and most importantly, read!
This article brings out some very fundamental issues about ensuring you get the audience you deserve for the posts you write.

7 Ways to Increase Your Social Media Mentions « Marketers.BlogNotions - Thoughts from Industry Experts

7 Ways to Increase Your Social Media Mentions « Marketers.BlogNotions - Thoughts from Industry Experts

some interesting tips on making your blog stand out in the sea of social media activities...

LinkedIn debuts feature for mentioning companies, connections

LinkedIn is now making it easier for we social media users to mention both companies and people in our posts. 

Read the article here:
http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130405/SOCIAL05/304059994/linkedin-debuts-feature-for-mentioning-companies-connections

Using Social Marketing for Thought Leadership

I'm sure you are familiar with those "spot polls" that capture instantly your vote, and display the results at that moment?  Well SmartBrief did an interesting one on "Does your company publish any "thought leadership" material."

The poll itself can be accessed below:
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/mma/poll_result.jsp?pollName=800E3242-8F25-4E16-9873-DC427DFBEB0C&issueid=D96FE4E2-6A14-4BB9-99DC-FD0FB4E9B0A4&copyid=5C6201C5-29A7-4FF2-8FBB-665F897B11F9&vote=success

What is interesting about this poll is the almost perfect split between "yes" and "no" answers.  Either a company is in it all the way, or they ignore it. There's no halfway point.

Personally, I think social marketing (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) are excellent tools for promoting your thoughts and opinions, and it is so simple to do, that I can't imagine anyone with 5 minutes to spare not taking advantage of this fabulous medium.

Repost: What on Earth is Native Advertising?

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34272/what-on-earth-is-native-advertising-infographic?source=Blog_Email_[What%20on%20Earth%20Is%20Nat]

as we continue our quest for getting more attention out of our audiences, native advertising becomes an important concept.

ARC World Forum: A Great Time for Industry, Part 3

This is the last of the three part series on the #ARC Advisory Group’s World Industry Forum. Invensys was very active, with customer presentations both in the technical tracks (Moving Historian and Production Management to the Cloud with General Mills’ use of SmartGlance, and Getting Smarter with Operator Training Simulators with Ron Cisco/Salt River Project’s use of DYNSIM) as well as in the Social Media track. 

The last panel we participated in was called Social Technologies for Industry, and featured Jon DiPietro, Internet Marketing Consultant; Gary Mintchell of AutomationDaily (previously co-founder, Automation World), Roy Krok VP Marketing, ARC and yours truly representing Invensys.

Repost: 7 Great Examples of Boring Businesses that Act Like Humans in their Marketing

We are all guilty of posting in a disassociated corporate "voice" that at times does not reflect us, our personality, or our unique perspective on the world.  This blog post points out 7 examples of companies that took a slightly different approach to being informative, yet entertaining, in their messaging. 

Of all of the examples, GE stands out, firstly because it's closest to our industry (high tech) and they've actually used pop culture successfully in bringing their point of view and messaging forward--making it relevant to all ages.

So, read on:

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34186/7-great-examples-of-boring-businesses-that-act-like-humans-in-their-marketing?source=Blog_Email_[7%20Great%20Examples%20of%20]

ARC World Forum: A Great Time for Industry

Invensys was proud to participate in the 17th Annual ARC Advisory Group World Industry Forum, February 11-14 in Orlando, FL.  I personally was involved in three sessions: a cloud in manufacturing session (along with our customer from General Mills, who spoke on their use of SmartGlance mobile reporting); a session on operator training simulation, with our customer from the Salt River Project, and a session on social media.