B2B Marketing in 2010 – Some predictions

Junta42 recently launched an e-book covering over a 100 social media and content marketing predictions for 2010 from some of the most influential marketers in the world. We found in it several nuggets of wisdom relevant to B2B marketers, several of which are relevant to social media as well. Here is a selection (emphasis and paraphrasing ours) – do read the book for the complete deal.

“B2B brand marketers have to be much better storytellers…Content has to be about customer stories…the stories that demonstrate the value of relationships always win the day. Think about it – people do business with friends, not products…You’re selling your product or service’s ability to help customers write and tell their own story.” – Evan Scott

“…live video podcasts and other video formats…can communicate a compelling message to help you get found by more prospects.”  – Mike Volpe

“(Brands will realise) that their own content is usually not as compelling as the content already produced, collected and shared by their consumers. It’s time for brands to evolve from producers and distributors, to collectors and curators.” – Chris Lake

“…marketers are going to have to work hard to distil product and service information (features and benefits, competitive positioning, value propositions, etc.) into easily consumed, and quickly digested morsels…marketers must learn to communicate to target prospects not only in a meaningful and concise way; but also using multimedia to engage more of the targets’ senses. To teach and to entertain simultaneously.” – Bob Leonard

“Content strategists – the people who can process information from all over the enterprise (and from customers) and repackage it for different audiences – will gain greater prominence. We’ll see increased demand from the C-level suite for a return on investment from social-media marketing…a consensus will start to emerge about the best ways for measuring ROI.” – Larry Kunz

“…content is only valuable if it is deeply rooted in (the brand marketers’) expertise. They will stop creating “bait and switch” content and instead empower content that is free, extraordinarily valuable and not “back to me – yakkity yak content".” – Nettie Hartsock

“2010 will be the year that content marketers will upgrade from engagement to experience. …(2010) will become the year of experiential marketing…(designing) content strategies and campaigns around bringing (the) audience into an experience will enjoy more brand loyalty and more positive actions. Brands such as Ford, Guinness, Red Bull and Google have demonstrated their ability to create content experiences that people share with other people. A content experience is one where people participate in the content (through) interaction with a brand…” – Bernie Borges

“…the very best content – the thoughtful, weighty, important material that drives conversations in an industry – is coming from brands, not publishers.” – Paul Conley

“…embrace e-nurturing and develop content messaging that can be delivered incrementally over a period of time to match the buyer’s educational needs. This approach has worked extremely well for companies marketing complex, higher price tag solutions and considered purchases…Even custom content will fail if it doesn’t speak to the educational process of the buyer.” – Andrew Gaffney

“…creating and employing content that helps prospects build momentum with each interaction. Marketers will need to better integrate, use and personalize content to gain long-term traction with prospects…it means publishing content where your buyers will find it and then seek out the company to learn more. Effective marketing (is about) motivating them to take actions greater than passively reading the content provided…(it’s about generating) more qualified opportunities that will be accepted, pursued and won by sales teams.” – Ardath Albee

“…marketers will create and distribute valuable information that gets passed along. While e-newsletters will continue playing a critical role in outbound marketing, they will feature more magazine-style articles that make no mention of the company’s offerings. And they will point readers to microsites or “content centers” organized around topics of interest that align with buyer personas and buying stages, rather than products and services. Plus, marketers will produce ebooks, blog, posts, articles, videos, and podcasts that gets syndicated using networks and tools including LinkedIn, YouTube, Scribd, and Twitter. Marketers that do this right will establish themselves as trusted advisors who remain top of mind as prospects develop their shortlists.” – Stephanie Tilton

“I think we’ll also see content marketing become more interactive. Online magazines will begin to move away from flipbooks and toward Adobe AIR and other platforms that enhance readability and interactivity. Print and digital will combine as companies with higher budgets use technology that activates online videos when a print piece is held up to a Web cam (Augmented Reality).” – Camille Torres

How do you think B2B marketing will evolve this year? Do sound off below.