Hey, MarCom!

Our newest team member: Gretchen Dukowitz

We've been awfully busy lately, so we're thrilled (and a little relieved) to welcome a talented new member to the Eccolo Media team. Gretchen Dukowitz joined us as a copywriter on June 22. Gretchen came to San Francisco by way of Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles; during her time as a graduate student in the journalism department at NYU, she worked as a communications manager at GLAAD. We can already tell that she's going to be a huge asset around here. Welcome, Gretchen!

"Social media doesn't drive purchases"? We're not buying it.

We're a little late to the party on this one, but we just wanted to comment on a recent study by Knowledge Networks claiming that "social media doesn't drive purchases." At first glance, the data might seem compelling: fewer than 5% of respondents "regularly turn to these sites for guidance on purchase decisions."

That might be enough to turn off marketers already skeptical about social media. But as Marketing Pilgrim points out, anyone who actually uses social media sites will immediately recognize that these findings just don't hold up.

When we're considering a purchase, do we turn to our friends on Facebook and ask for their input? No, not really (though we have some friends who do). However, if a Facebook friend posts a status update about a local sandwich shop or a new smartphone (positive or negative), we've been known to take mental note. In other words, we wouldn't say that Facebook has a direct and concrete influence on purchasing decisions, but friends' recommendations can have a much subtler and more powerful pull than other, more direct forms of marketing. 

That's because social media sites tend to work just like any other word-of-mouth. When we're out drinking with friends, it's perfectly natural for us to talk about products that we like or don't like, and those conversations can have a huge influence on purchasing decisions. But we're not in the habit of scheduling lunch with friends just to talk about products. So if asked whether we turn to friends in order to make purchasing decisions, most of us would probably say no...even if, upon closer inspection, that's not entirely true.

Another problem is how the Knowledge Networks study defines social media, asking respondents to limit themselves to "27 pre-specified social media sites." Among these sites are dubious contenders like Classmates.com and no mention of opinion sites like Yelp. Yelp might not be strictly defined as a social networking site, but if you, too, have Facebook friends who frequently update their profiles with Yelp recommendations, then it's safe to say that popular opinion sites are intimately connected to the social media phenomenon.

Anyway, all of this loops back to the problem of metrics: it's outrageously difficult to pinpoint the purchasing influence of something as amorphous as a social network. And we're sad to say that, as arresting as the Knowledge Networks study might seem, this new study just doesn't make a strong enough case against the power and potential of social media.

New service: Collateral planning workshop

It feels like we're adding a new service every week around here...but that's because we keep identifying new needs.

In the past few months, we've been challenging a growing number of our clients to put more effort into collateral planning. So we're going to start offering collateral workshops in which we walk clients through an intensive, half-day collateral audit. We'll work with you to to begin developing a hierarchical survey of all existing collateral and content, and we'll start the process of cleaning up your messaging to achieve consistency across all assets.  

Each workshop will be specially tailored to a specific client or audience; our intention is that you emerge with a sense for (a.) why you should be planning your collateral in the first place and (b.) how you should go about doing it.

If you'd like to set up a collateral workshop with us, just give us a shout.

The latest on our upcoming B2B survey

So we've already told you that we're gearing up for our second-annual survey of B2B technology decision makers. Here's a little more detail:

• Since a number of organizations have expressed interest in helping us generate really useful data, we're developing sponsorship packages. Depending on the level of sponsorship, participating organizations will have the option to add questions, sponsor particular countries, and make the data available to their own clients or customers. If you're interested in sponsoring a portion of the survey, give us a buzz.

• We'll be creating more detailed user profiles in an attempt to find statistically significant differences in how particular segments answer questions.

• Our 2008 survey had 155 respondents. This time we're aiming for 1,000.

Keep your eye on this space as we develop and execute our survey over the course of the summer!

Lorie Loe featured in "Marketing Matters with M7" podcast

It's been a kuh-RAZY week around here, so very briefly: Lorie just appeared on Lisa Orrell's "Marketing Matters with M7" podcast to discuss the results of our recent collateral survey.

Take a listen to what she has to say here...and let us know what you think! 

Using content to generate leads

In recent months, more and more of our clients have engaged us to develop and execute lead nurture programs—programs based around a series of related collateral pieces, all designed to generate and sustain interest in a product or solution.

So we've started thinking: What if we developed an offering similar to our collateral audit service—but in this case, a consultative service specifically focused on helping clients use content to nurture leads?

In our experience, clients can really transform the lead nurture process with high-value content—objective thought leadership that they can deliver at specific times throughout the sales cycle to get prospects talking one-on-one with a sales rep. We're especially big on encouraging clients to use less product-focused content and more thought-leadership pieces in their lead-gen efforts: the product information is valuable and important, obviously, but you need to give prospects a sense that you really understand emerging issues in their industry.

Anyway, it's just something we've been thinking about...unfortunately, we've been so busy executing lead nurture programs that we haven't had much of a chance to step back and look at the big picture. But hey, it'll go on our list of things to do, right?

That said, if you want to talk to us about best practices for effective lead nurturing, go ahead and give us a shout. We're always up for a chat. 

Introducing our new service: video testimonials!

We've long established our penchant for managing customer reference programs, producing everything from case studies to audio podcasts (along with all of the program and project management that those entail). Now we're happy to unveil a whole new service for our clients: video testimonials.

Check out the video case study we produced for Cisco WebEx.

In the next week or so, we're planning to update our website to include video testimonials in our online portfolio. Keep your eye on this space for updates...

We're launching our 2nd-annual survey of B2B technology purchasers!

In the summer of 2008, we conducted our first-ever survey of B2B technology purchasers, and we published the results in November. The response has been so tremendous—for instance, the Bay Area Reference Professionals went absolutely bonkers for it—that we're launching an even more ambitious follow-up for release in the fall of 2009.

More respondents, more survey topics, more best practices—that's our goal, anyway. Keep your eye on this space for updates as we identify new trends in the distribution and consumption of marketing content.

Content à la carte

In our recent white paper on white papers, we introduce a new concept that really changes how marketers should approach B2B marketing collateral. We call it "content à la carte."

Let's say you're developing a white paper. Are you making the business case for some kind of security service? Rather than go into a page-long description of the latest advancements in encryption, try linking to a deeper discussion on your website. Or link to a datasheet or a product brochure or a case study. Maybe your CTO can explain the nitty-gritty of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) in a podcast. This allows your technophile readers to get their fix while your higher-level business audience can move right on to the cost benefits of enhanced security. This individualized approach to white paper consumption serves as the basis for content à la carte.

Rather than telling your audience what to consume, let them choose cafeteria-style. Maybe divide your white paper into three separate documents, all linked together, then let your audience choose where they’d like to start exploring. This modular approach to collateral delivery acknowledges a simple fact about your audience: many of them only want to pursue just one or two aspects of whatever you’re discussing in your white paper. So instead of forcing them to interact with your collateral in a single prescribed way, make it easy for them to pursue only what they’re looking for.

In other words, stop thinking of the white paper as an airtight entity that must be consumed in a particular way. Think of it instead as a succession of value-added copy blocks—thought-leadership nuggets that can be lifted wholesale from the white paper and repurposed for maximum sales enablement.

We have a lot more to say about new strategies for adapting white papers to new and emerging audiences. To read more, pop over to our website get your free download of our white paper on white papers.

The one where we talk about what we've already done

You know those episodes of Friends where the writers basically just string a bunch of old clips together, then frame the clips with a lame storyline in which the characters reminisce about their various shenanigans? You know, the episodes where it's very clear that the writers just needed a break?

That's kind of the space we're in at the end of this very, very busy week. So we're treating you to Hey Marcom!'s Greatest Hits—because you know, we've been up to a lot over the past few weeks, and it wouldn't hurt to give you a recap.

• At the beginning of April, Lorie presented our survey results to the Bay Area Reference Professionals SIG, and they went gaga.
• On April 1, we published our very first Eccolo Media white paper all about...white papers. You can download it for free on our website.
• We recently began a short series of blog posts on the importance of merchandising your content.
• Lorie managed to pick up a lot of new ideas at the 2009 Customer Reference Forum in Berkeley.
• At the end of February, we published the last in a long series of posts highlighting some of the most exciting findings from our first-ever survey report.   

Well—those are the highlights. We'll be back next week with some fresh content for you!