MAD Perspectives Blog

161 Million members in over 200 countries, with 2 new members joining per second.  Wow!  This represents over 4.2 billion professionally-oriented searches in 2011.  So, this begs the question - how do you use LinkedIn? My friends and colleagues all know that I am a big fan (and for complete disclosure, i do own a few shares of LNKD). The common perception is that LinkedIn is a career networking site. It provides individuals with a mechanism to display their professional talents and find a new job. It helps recruiters find the best talent. It helps sales teams uncover network links to key decision makers.  These are all fantastic uses of LinkedIn.

But, have you thought about using LinkedIn to do market analysis? Or, to empower your employees? Here at MAD Perspectives, we use LinkedIn to pursue new business, learn about market trends, share thoughts and stay connected to colleagues. We have posted questions in groups to learn about new technologies.  We have answered questions posted in LinkedIn Answers. We have also leveraged LinkedIn to fulfill client projects, some directly tied to LinkedIn, others using the power of the network.

Check out our case studies:

     - LinkedIn for Competitive Analysis

     - LinkedIn for Accelerating Sales

     - LinkedIn for Solution Consulting Services

Social media has changed the way we share and obtain information at the the personal and business levels. Each of the social networks adds value to how we communicate and stay in contact with friends, companies and colleagues. It's up to each of us to determine how these platforms can best serve us. Don't be afraid to be creative!

What's your perspective?

As part of our ongoing committment to sharing fresh content about B2B use of social media, today we are releasing a new case study!  We enjoyed a 6 week blog series with Taylor O'Brien, discussing the unique and necessary alignment of brand and social media.  

Taylor O’Brien (TO’B) is a creative consultancy providing brand and business inspiration to a wide variety of clients across multiple industry sectors and geographies.  Headquartered in Manchester, England, TO’B is uniquely focused on strategically developing brand messaging that is directly aligned with business strategy.  Projects have ranged from expanding brands into global markets, evolving the business conversation to drive increased sales, invigorating a heritage brand for future markets and creating brand inspiration.

Taylor O’Brien has recently added clarity to its brand and positioning.  With an updated website and initial foray into social media, TO’B is expanding its online reach and sharing best practices with current and future clients.  TO'B has been gracious to share their thoughts on their use of social media.

Learn more about Taylor O'Brien's use of social media, by signing up for MAD Content, here.

What's your perspective?

As part of goal to share social media experiences at B2B companies, we are releasing a new case study this week.  Compuware has been providing software, experts and best practices to make your applications work and delivery business value for 25 years.  Compuware also embraces employee empowerment. 

Compuware's approach to integrating social media into their overall marketing strategy reflects this commitment.  Some key takeaways include:

     - Empowerment - Trust your employees.  You hired them because they possessed certain qualities which includes their ability to represent your company.

     - Collaboration - The ability to interact with fellow employees is as important as the ability to interact with business partners and customers.  Great solutions come from great conversations.

     - Culture - The culture of a company is a key element for prospective employees.  Social media allows companies to showcase all sides of their corporate culture.

Learn more about Compuware's use of social media by requesting the case study at:  http://www.madperspectives.com/contact .

What's your perspective?

MAD Perspectives is releasing its first B2B social media case study today.  As we've talked to and worked with clients, we've realized that there is a a lot of confusion and concern at B2B companies about how to integrate social media into their overall marketing strategy.  While social media can be leveraged for more than marketing, this is often the starting point for most companies.  Given the growth of social media consumer centric origins, the concerns of B2B companies are valid.

We have reached out to colleagues in different industries to understand how they have pursued their social media strategies.  The companies reflected in the case studies are not necessarily MAD Perspective clients.  They are companies are who experimenting with social tools such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs and wikis.  My thanks to the subject of our first case study, North Plains Systems.

Some key learnings at North Plains include:

- "committment and intention" are critical to social media success

- promoting webinars across social platforms, particularly LinkedIn Groups, will increase webinar attendance

- a small marketing team can benefit from a cross platform tool to manage posting simultaneously to multiple social sites

To request the entire case study, please click here: http://www.madperspectives.com/contact to fill out the form and a copy of the case study will be emailed to you.

What's your perspective?