Sponsorship of B2B Marketing Knowledge Bank

The Think Tank is proud to be the sponsor of the PR channel on the B2B Marketing Knowledge Bank, the UK’s premium resource for B2B marketing advice and best practice.

As part of our sponsorship we will be issuing a range of articles, white papers and web casts over the coming months, focussing on Public, Press and Media Relations.

To kick off this sponsorship we have issued the following ‘How To’ guides, case studies and white papers (click on the titles to view):

HOW TO: Survive a press interview

HOW TO: Manage your brand online

CASE STUDY: Permasense turn to The Think Tank to launch new company in risk-averse sector

Whitepaper: PR in a changing media landscape

We hope that you find these interesting and if you would like to discuss any of them in detail please contact Samantha Dawe, Director of PR, The Think Tank at samanthad@thinktank.org.uk or by calling 020 7831 2225.

Get the most out of your LinkedIn Company Page

Professional networking site LinkedIn has produced a useful little slideshare which gives the top ten tips for Company Pages.

They asked for tips from some of the 2012 Best Company Page winners, which included Adobe and Hubspot.

At the end of the presentation LinkedIn summarise their 3 main tips for better engagement;
1. Add an image
2. Post status updates
3. Add products or services

The reasoning for these three? Imagery speaks more to people, hence why Pinterest and Instagram grew so quickly. Status updates keep you in the mind of your followers and of course having your products and services allows people to see what you do without having to click through to your website.

Other comments to take away from this would be:
'Before posting an update, ask yourself - "Would I want to read this story? Would I want to share this with my connections?"'

'Listen to your audience. Look at the Company Page Insights, read comments, make connections'

Take a look at the full list here and let us know which tips you like the most.

B2B Marketing issues Best Practice Pinterest Report

B2B Marketing has issued a new report on Best Practice use of Pinterest.

It looks at one of the fastest growing social media platforms, Pinterest, and examines the potential benefits for B2B companies looking for another marketing channel to target their customers.

This best practice guide looks at the first principles of using Pinterest, through to creating a content strategy to build up brand loyalty, develop better customer service and gain customers’ trust. They say, 'The platform enables businesses to share visual messages with their audience, which, in turn, develops the brand, drives engagement and can strengthen their thought leadership position.'

Details of the report:

Understand the fundamentals of using Pinterest – the origins of Pinterest and how to leverage it to achieve marketing objectives.

Use Pinterest for brand development – create a brand personality to communicate your brand message responsibly.

Measure audience engagement – look for users repinning your brand regularly and use this information to improve your targeting and branding strategies.

Interact with your customers and prospects – if you notice fans taking an interest in your brand (positive or negative) there are various ways you can strike up a conversation.

The guide covers:
Strategy – integrating Pinterest into your social media and content marketing strategy.
Metrics – measure the effectiveness of your social media activity to build better customer service and advance brand development.
Content and timing – deliver a constant stream of relevant, qualified and valuable content.

You can order the report here for £99.

Entering the world of Wikipedia

The UK’s Chartered Institute for Public Relations (CIPR), the professional body for public relations practitioners, has announced special guidance for Wikipedia entries.

The guidance for public relations professionals using the site includes a number of recommendations and has gleaned global support in recognition of its potential for building mutual understanding between Wikipedians and public relations practitioners, the CIPR says.

The most significant of these is that public relations professionals should not directly edit Wikipedia pages relating to their organisation or brand but should instead suggest amendments to Wikipedians – the community of regular Wikipedia editors.

The consultation period for the guidance was hosted on Wikimedia UK, and the CIPR advises it will continue to be reviewed and refreshed as the relationship between the Wikipedia and public relations communities continues to progress.

See the best practice guidance here.

Salesforce launches Social Media best practice website

Salesforce has recently launched a Best Practice website called 'Social Success', covering Cloud Computing and Social Media.

There are some great case studies here as well as a free 25-page book looking at how Social Media is affecting Sales, Marketing and Customer Service.

Click here to see more