A Direct Marketing Agency - Helping Brands Acquire and Retain Customers

A new report from Forrester Research finds that B-to-B marketers are continuing to invest in traditional digital tactics (e-newsletters; Webinars) rather than venture into new digital applications such as social networking, blogs and online communities.

While I can see the hesitation in some companies moving marketing dollars into these tactics due to potential issues with tracking/ROI, they should at least be encouraging their sales forces to participate in online social networking.

One of the social networks that have quickly become "a must" for sales people is LinkedIn. With 30 million members (and growing), there is incredible networking power for any sales person who works (and sells) within a specific professional industry.

For example, if you are selling IT/IP services, LinkedIn has many features to help you find contacts and increase your business. You can join groups such as the CIO Forum, Telecom Professional and It Specialists (the groups list goes on and on), where IT professionals go to network, learn and refer sources to each other. These groups consist of like-minded people who count on each other to help make vital new business contacts. These groups offer forums for topics to be discussed and solutions to be discovered.

Other cool LinkedIn tools for sales people:

• Identify sales leads by browsing through companies that are in your network
• Find companies by industry and tap into their network of associates
• Recommend news to your co-workers, prospects and clients to position yourself as a thought-leader in your industry
• Become a part of your university alumni group – reach out to past acquaintances who can help you network
• Publicize your company's Web site to enhance search engine results
• And, if you are really ambitious, you can create your own group and deliver your own connections and forums

Social networking isn't just for kids and college students anymore; it's becoming a mainstream way of building business relationships.