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B2B online marketing was worth $3 billion in 2009 and should grow at an annual compound rate of 12% to 2013, according to a new report from strategy consulting firm AMR International.

Social media spending is forecast to rise the most dramatically during the next three years, with a 21% compound annual growth rate. Other individual B2B marketing sectors with predicted growth rates higher than the overall rate of 12% include lead generation websites (17%) and online marketing services (15%). One sector, online directories, is expected to undergo negative compound annual growth of 2%.

amr-intl-b2b-online-mktg-forecast-feb-2010.jpg

Key findings of the report include:

* Annual growth in US B2B online marketing spending is forecast at 8% in 2010 and is set to reach 14% by 2012.
* Online accounted for 7% of the B2B marketing mix in 2008. This is set to reach 12% by 2013.
* Two-thirds of B2B marketers believe that online must be complemented by traditional marketing activities.
* Only 50% of B2B marketers formally analyze metrics to judge ROI, but those that do find online marketing more effective.

B2B Marketing Hiring May Improve

The projected growth in US online B2B marketing spending is good news for online B2B marketing professionals. The hiring market for these professionals is currently in a freeze, according to the latest Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report from Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC. Only 46% of digital and direct B2B marketing firms polled plan to hire new employees in Q1 2010. This is partly attributable to the relatively light impact of the recession on digital and direct B2B marketing.
source: http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/b2b-online-marketing-holds-strong-growth-potential-11862/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mc&utm_medium=textlink

Feb 2, 2010 8:46 PM, By Grant Johnson

Recently I logged onto Facebook and this was their self-promotional banner ad that was waiting for me to read:

“Reach over 350 million active users on Facebook. Learn how to connect your business to real customers through Facebook Ads.”

This is what was waiting for me when I clicked through on the ad:

Connect with Real People

* Reach over 350,000,000 active Facebook users.
* Attach social actions to your ads to increase relevance.
* Create demand for your product with relevant ads.

Create Your Facebook Ad

* Quickly create image and text-based ads.
* Advertise your own web page or something on Facebook like a Page or an Event.
* Choose to pay per click (CPC) or impression (CPM).

Optimize Your Ads

* Track your progress with real-time reporting.
* Gain insight about who’s clicking on your ad.
* Make modifications to maximize your results.

Think about 350 million users. That’s a bigger audience than typically watches the Super Bowl. The 2008 game in which the NY Giants won brought in 148.3 million viewers worldwide was well under half of Facebook’s number.

Then, I logged onto Twitter and noticed no ads at all …no banner ads, links or even self-promotional ads.

This exercise made me think hard about marketing, the mass media model and the segmentation strategies long employed by direct marketers.

Some questions to consider:

* Why is Facebook touting 350,000,000 users instead of their micro-targeting capabilities in their ads?
* Why is their age cutoff 45+? (That’s the oldest age demo that was presented as an option.)
* Have you seen or responded to Facebook ads – theirs or a paid placement?
* How is Twitter going to support its model long term without ads?
* How do you target and effectively segment Twitter?

Perhaps these large social media sites—Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn—are becoming the new mass media advertising channels, replacing TV and traditional mass media outlets?

A few other recent developments might make the case: Facebook and Twitter are being banned by many companies because they decrease productivity and too many employees are spending too much of their work day on them. Average use of social media has increased 82% year-over-year according to a recent Nielsen study.

MySpace recently hired a former Madison Avenue executive to help boost faltering ad sales, offering her a reported one year deal in the seven-figure range. That’s a lot of advertising revenue.

It’s true that social media outlets are more measurable, targetable and trackable than traditional media; however, it seems as if, at least the bigger players, are going for mass appeal rather than micro appeal.

Facebook started as an outlet for college students, MySpace for artistic types (musicians and painters…) and Twitter as a fast way to keep friends and interested parties up-to-date on your daily activity. All have evolved to be much more mass-appeal social media outlets. Even the business site LinkedIn has migrated to a more ubiquitous, less business-specific resource, especially with the cross-shared capabilities of Twitter.

The big social network sites have outgrown their roots and are trying to appeal to the mass general public. Based on sign-ups it appears that they are attracting many, many people, but …are prospects responding to the advertising that’s being placed?

I noticed a Chevy Malibu ad on LinkedIn the other day. I also clicked an ad for a local health plan that is NOT available in my area, a case of poorly targeting of ads when the exact opposite should be occurring.

Here are some statistics:

· 19% of everyone on the Internet uses Twitter to update status, median age of Twitter user is 31
· 35% of all adults online have social media profiles
· 83% of all adults 30-49 use Internet, 77% 50-64
· Median age of Facebook user is 33, up from 26 in 2008; 50% of users check-in daily
· 81% of CMOs plan to a lot at least 10% of marketing budget to Social Media
· 64% of CMOs plan to increase spending in social media this year

Then consider:

· The average weekday circulation at 379 U.S. newspapers fell 10.6% during the six months ending in Sept. 2009, according to published reports.

· The number of households subscribing to magazines dropped two percentage points while subscriptions for home video and smartphone services increased
· DVR households have tripled in the last three years

While measurement among most social media applications is still the exception rather than the rule, marketers continue to site the few very successful case studies that exist. These typically also have mass appeal and follow more of a mass media that segmentable model a la true direct marketing.

Yes, Dell has had success with Twitter, but note that its success, and most others who have made Twitter work, wrapped their marketing around the core of great direct marketing: “Make them an offer they can’t refuse.”

One recent study claims that 10 minutes spent on Facebook can expose the user to as many as 90 different media messages. That’s a sure fire recipe for advertising ineffectiveness at best and user abandonment/immunity at least.

Can and should social media be more niche specific? Yes and no. You can’t blame the sites for trying to drive as much revenue as possible with the least amount of effort; hence the mass media mindset seems to be prevailing in a world that is infinitely customizable. Yet, long term, this will make advertising on these portals more meaningless.

So, What Does This All Mean?

It means that the media landscape is shifting and will continue to shift at unprecedented speed. It also implies that mass marketing is not limited to traditional channels and more measurement MUST accompany all media spends, regardless of media used.

A shift to e-channels does not automatically make for good measurable marketing. As the amount of media options continues to evolve and likely expand, it will be more critical than ever for all marketers to continue to test campaign and messaging strategies before expanding their campaigns and losing big dollars. That, by the way, should also include the mediums that are not currently in favor. The optimal media mix in the future will include the right combination of traditional media with the proper use of emerging media. It will also include the use of PR, E-PR, banner ads, email and SEO/SEM.

Marketing today, more than ever, is about relevance – that of the customer, prospect, visitor or user. The more we stray away from relevance, the less likely advertisers are to see an ROMI that is justifiable. Abuse and overuse of poorly targeted media will make all marketers jobs that much more difficult. Remember, even if the majority of ad placements are highly targeted, what matters is the user’s perception and actions. Too much generic, mass advertising will dilute responses.

Have a marketing plan and break it down by segments, complete with a mass media option, if it pertains to your product/service. Next, figure out the best way to use your spend and allocate to the best media for each segment. Make sure you incorporate testing and more testing in all that you do and have established goals that your marketing must meet – by medium used. A magic marketing elixir does not exist. However, a process does: testing.

Just ask Dell, Amazon or Zappos.

Planning and testing are the keys to your success. Shortcut them at your peril.

Grant A. Johnson (grant.johnson@johnsondirect.com) is the creative direct and founder of Johnson Direct LLC

AT 120 DEGREES
IN AUSTRALIA , IT WAS SO HOT FOR A WEEK THAT KOALAS
WERE ASKING PEOPLE FOR
WATER. IT’S NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE.

120 forces animals to beg for water

ONE WENT TO A HOUSE TO
TRY TO HIDE FROM THE HEAT AND TO

GET A BIT OF SHADE AND
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE OWNER GAVE HIM SOMETHING TO
DRINK. IT’S REALLY CUTE.

“Until one has loved an animal,
part of their soul remains unawakened.”

Google Small Business Network Update - Edition #5
Issues of Concern: Jobs and Network Neutrality
________________________________________
Jobs and Innovation
Following a recent White House Summit on Jobs, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said: “The basic message today is that with small business – which is the primary source of jobs – we need to figure out the loan problem. The banks aren’t really lending to them and anything that the government can do to accelerate that, needs to happen right now.” Check out more in his video interview here.

The “Small Business Innovation to Job Creation Act of 2010″ was introduced in the House on January 27 by Rep. Paul Tonko of New York. The bill looks to authorize the Small Business Administration to make grants on a competitive basis to small business concerns to assist in the commercialization of research developed by small business owners. To read the full text, click here.
Network Neutrality
Last month, we filed our comments on the FCC’s proposed rules that would protect and promote open broadband pipes to the Internet. The Open Internet Coalition, of which Google is a member, also filed comments, including two stories from members of our Small Business Network. Here’s what they had to say:

“For the majority of our 31 year history, our small family owned business had a hard time convincing new guests it was a good idea to vacation on the ocean. If anyone had heard of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it was either windy enough to help the Wright Brothers fly the first plane or isolated enough to be a favorite haunt of Blackbeard the pirate. Since the introduction of the Internet, Twiddy & Company’s supply of vacation rental homes has increased by 41%, and the number of rented vacation weeks has grown by 69%. The number of employees at the company has grown by 33%. In a stunningly small amount of time, the Internet became the essential channel guests use to help plan and determine their vacation. It’s also become the main focus of our company’s marketing and advertising strategies. The backbone of this unprecedented growth is connectivity. Now, more than ever, the Internet influences guests’ behavior and spending decisions. It is the catalyst; without it, the market develops bottlenecks. ” - Ross Twiddy, Twiddy & Co. Realtors

“As a viable business, we employ nine individuals in a region hard-hit by layoffs across all sectors. We pay taxes and help support over 100 suppliers of furniture, lighting, and services. We participate in community programs and maintain an ‘A+’ rating with the Better Business Bureau. And yet, none of this would exist if our customers had anything less than unimpeded access to websites across the internet. We share this conviction with other retailers and our competitors, both large and small, across the country. As businesses, we expect to pay for advertising visibility across the search engine spectrum. Expecting our customers to pay for tiered access would neutralize our advertising efforts and cripple otherwise vibrant businesses like Carolina Rustica.”
- Richard Sexton, Carolina Rustica

We hope you will take some time to contact your Congressman and share your thoughts with the FCC, too. If you’re interested in placing your story on a national basis, we’d like to work with you on our campaign.

Products for your Small Business
________________________________________
Cloud Computing was recently listed as one of the Top Small Business Technology Trends for 2010. Check out our Cloud Computing solutions for business here.

With our new upload features, you can:
• Upload files up to 250MB in size to Google’s cloud in Google Docs
• Access your files from any computer or location
• Make it easier for teams to collaborate, organize, view, and share information

For example, we see architects sharing schematics with construction firms, web developers sharing Cad Cam files with clients, salespeople sharing signature pages and contracts with clients, and photographers sharing raw files with clients.

Rather than sending files as attachments in email messages that are difficult to keep organized, upload files to a shared folder. Your teammates can just open the shared folder in Google Docs to access the files.

You can access files you upload to Google Docs from any browser. Accessing shared project files no longer requires a connection to the internal office network. Rather than carrying a USB drive or emailing files to yourself, you can connect to Google Docs from any computer with access to the internet.

And you don’t need to carry around a thumb drive anymore. Files uploaded to Google Docs are backed up in the cloud and if your computer has a problem, you’ll be able to access the files you’ve stored in Google Docs.

For ideas on how you can better utilize cloud computing at your business, check out this story: “Upload feature turns Google Docs into my new hard drive.”

How You Can Get More Involved
________________________________________
Track where your Members of Congress stands on Net Neutrality by using this online tool that maps their views by state and provides a database searchable by zip code. Let them know about why preserving Network Neutrality is vital for small business growth online by sending a standardized letter through the website. And join our Network Neutrality campaign by signing up here - take action to ensure that customers can continue access your website.

Have an interesting story about how the Internet has changed your business? We want to hear it! Send us your story at smbnetwork-external@google.com. And share the tips and tricks you’ve used to make your business successful on our Moderator page.

Keep an eye out for our next series of updates!

Megastarmedia Sandy Rowley

Great job on our site!
Frank

Easy to use Twitter marketing tool. Free, simple and productive.
learn more: http://www.megastarmedia.com/twitter-marketing.html