If we as buyers do not have a personal experience with a brand, or know someone who has, we generally defer to (and trust) the “wisdom of crowds” and their conversations about a particular brand or product to inform our purchasing decisions.  In the modern marketing world, in which social media and social CRM are moving at break-neck pace, the crowd-sourcing mechanism will be a primary influencer of how, when and where B2B consumers decide to make a purchase. The once-isolated customer is now an active consumer of expert opinions, product comparisons and peer reviews, using the Internet and massive social networking to gather the necessary information for making an informed purchase decision.

The new participatory role of the consumer has fundamentally changed B2B marketing by presenting companies with the opportunity to excite and engage prospective customers in their prevailing platform for conversation. Now that the consumer has control (as discussed in our recent whitepaper, Forget the Funnel – a New Look at the Stealth Buyer), companies who wish to have a voice in the conversation must develop integrated marketing strategies that deliver consumers offers and experiences in an authentic and relevant way.

So how do you generate inbound leads with a social media strategy?  Develop an integrated marketing communications program that strengthens your brand within the conversation, builds referrals, communities and influencers and makes sense of your social footprint – a strategy that will pave the way for attracting highly qualified inbound leads.  Miller rightfully asserts that companies thinking strategically about demand generation must commit a significant portion of their efforts to using social media as a means for tapping the wisdom of crowds and conversations and building trust for their brands and products.  Just as it was in the traditional sales cycle, trust is a critical component to building a customer relationship, and companies can leverage social media to grow their consumer relationships, enhance B2B lead generation efforts and ultimately, convert qualified prospects into revenue for their brand.

Many companies in today’s market might be struggling with the costs of increasing their physical footprint. But with the right strategic approach, companies can afford to increase their digital footprint to reach more prospects, increase engagement and generate highly qualified inbound leads.

Learn how to integrate, manage and maximize your company’s total social marketing universe. Request your Zeitgeist & Coffee demo now.

First, I’d like to introduce you to our xTeam, which is an internal team that is responsible for staying plugged in to what’s happening across the entire media landscape, including owned, earned and paid channels. The team evaluates all emerging media to determine if and when they might have a place in our marketing toolkit. This provides a lot of peace of mind for our clients who don’t need to try and keep up with everything that’s going on.

The team drives Media Logic’s commitment to media neutrality, which we’ve practiced since our inception and is a concept that is more important today than ever before. The xTeam was formed many years ago and includes our exec CD, director of media integration, director of interactive marketing, marketing director, a member of our IT team (who is an über user of mobile and social media) and me, the agency president.

Another important role of the xTeam is to “share the wealth,” which leads me to our second piece of ML jargon, xBOTs. xBOTs are forums in which we help everyone at Media Logic “Expand Our Bag Of Tricks.” Simply put, we share what’s happening so we’re all on the same page. Whether part of a staff meeting or done as a “brown bagger,” the goal is to get everyone connected so we can collaborate as creatively and effectively as possible.

Clients are always welcome. If you want to participate, just let us know.

Media Logic’s work with Penn Mutual on the development and launch of its Accumulation Builder Indexed Universal Life product (IUL) gives us a great example of how Brand Amp can be used in exactly this type of situation.

Now, when most people think of insurance, “exciting” probably isn’t the first word that springs to mind. But things around Penn Mutual have been exciting lately, as the company has been revving up its product development engines to address the unique challenges of our current economy.

John Hayes, Global CMO of American Express, summed it up nicely at a recent marketing conference when he said:

“The marketer that stops innovating in tough times is ‘carving their brand’s own tombstone.’ Companies that build the infrastructure to respond to changing customer behavior quickly will reap the rewards from customers who will be looking to award their hard-earned dollars to those brands which provide them with the greatest value and understand their needs.”

Harnessing the power of Brand Amp, Media Logic and Penn Mutual looked at the shifts in the marketplace and identified key opportunities. This, in turn, led to development of a compelling value proposition and product messaging for “Accumulation Builder IUL” – an innovative new insurance product designed to unlock the potential of Penn agents’ current customer base.

To build engagement and increase product momentum, Media Logic also built proprietary tools that allowed Penn’s agents to get up to speed on the new product quickly and get ready to sell it confidently.

By taking advantage of BrandAmp, Penn Mutual was able to keep its offering in step with the evolution of its customers’ needs – helping ignite conversation and re-excite a target population.