Top 5 Inbound Marketing Articles to Start the Week: Social Selling

We're in the midst of a revolution: the revolution of the B2B sales process through social selling . For sales professionals, this revolution means a modernized, improved and more efficient selling process.

This week's top inbound marketing article discusses the valuable ways social technologies, tools and practices are revolutionizing the science of selling.

1. The Revolution of Social Selling for B2B Companies

Author: Umberto Milletti on Social Media B2B

With the availability of easy-to-use technologies and easy-to-implement practices, it's no wonder that social selling is experiencing a spike in popularity. So what makes social selling so revolutionary? Umberto's article expands upon the following sales transformations caused by social technologies :

1. From mass marketing to targeted/customized consumer messaging
2. From requiring “ready-to-buy” prospects to establishing and developing relationships
3. From “stranded” sales reps to unified and collaborative communities

Marketing Takeaway: Marketers shouldn't be the only ones concerned with social media. Make sure your sales team is utilizing social technologies to its advantage as well.

2. 5 Steps to Dealing With the Relentless Pace of Marketing

Author: Todd Defren of PR-Squared

It's true. The numerous responsibilities required for successful modern marketing have accelerated the pace at which marketers must do their jobs, and let's face it -- it definitely can be exhausting at times.

So how on earth do you keep up with your ever-expanding marketing to-do list while simultaneously maintaining your sanity?  Todd suggests breaking things down into the smallest parts possible to help re-focus your mind on exactly what’s important. Specifically, he recommends a five-step process: decide on your goals, ask for help, set a reasonable pace, "under-promise and over-deliver" and measure.

Marketing Takeaway: The pace of modern marketing can be overwhelming. Try breaking up tasks into small pieces and focusing on the most important parts.

3. Understanding and Implementing Social CRM

Author: Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer

With all the buzz lately about Social CRM , Jason takes a moment to step back and evaluate what exactly the term means and what a good Social CRM software platform should do.

CRM, he clarifies, means customer relationship management, and the goal of a CRM program is to increase the lifetime value of a given customer to a company by building stronger relationships with customers. True Social CRM platforms, he explains, should not only incorporate social elements to help you know where your contacts are, but also allow you and your contacts to manage how you communicate with them, how often and for what messages.

Marketing Takeaway: New social technologies are constantly emerging. Understand them fully before you think about implementing them for your business.

4. Hot or Not: E-mail Marketing vs. Social-Media Marketing

Author: Steve Rubel of SteveRubel.com

Steve Rubel's article takes a close look at the rivalry between email and social media marketing. While many perceive email to be dying in the wake of social media , the reality is that, when used effectively, social media can actually work to enhance the effectiveness of email marketing. In fact, email marketing and social media are increasingly "made for each other," says Rubel.

Rubel also highlights a few email marketing services that are successfully incorporating social media elements into their tools and reveals that marketers must shift from an emphasis on reach to an emphasis on relationships.

Marketing Takeaway: Don't drop email for social media . Instead, marry the two!

5. Market Research for Link Building – Who You Can Get Links From

Author: Paddy Moogan on SEOmozBlog

It's common knowledge in the search engine optimization world that generating inbound links is extremely beneficial for increasing your search engine rankings. The topic of this SEOmoz article focuses on helping you improve your link building conversion rate by reaching out to the right people.

Paddy's link building strategy is simple: find influencers and leaders, see what they like and link to, create the content they like and link to, and build relationships. Still, he recognizes that finding the right people to generate links from is often a struggle, so he also points out a number of tactics to help you target the appropriate people.

Marketing Takeaway: Target the right people in your link building efforts to achieve a better link building conversion rate.