Ep. 010: Social listening & pipeline signals

As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation, the role of social media in sales strategies has become increasingly importance. However, recent research by ReadyForSocial has shown that less than 10% of sales professionals worldwide actively engage in regular content posting on LinkedIn.

This raises a critical question: with the growing investment in social selling programs and tools, why are salespeople not leveraging these platforms more effectively to drive business outcomes? 

In this episode, we discuss with B2B expert and ReadyForSocial Co-Founder and COO Milan Ruzicka about: 

• Why it is so important to have a platform that supports your social selling program?
• What are the key success factors of a social selling platform - from ease of use to features to analytics
• What role does AI play in the context of social selling platforms?
• How does ReadyForSocial leverage AI to make social selling more effective - from a marketing and a sales perspective

Whether you already have a social selling program or are considering launching one, this episode will give you valuable insights to make your program more successful. Listen in!

About Milan:

Milan is the Co-Founder, COO Global, and CEO Europe of ReadyForSocial. He has over 20 years of B2B enterprise marketing experience, focusing on turnarounds and business growth, telco, and tech. Milan considers the B2B sector "his world" because it's the place where he can make an impact. 

In his past position as VP of B2B Marketing at T-Mobile US, Milan successfully piloted a B2B social selling program in 2013. This positive experience and seeing the business results of social selling firsthand ultimately led him to co-found his social selling SaaS company in 2014.

Originally from the Czech Republic, Milan currently lives in Seattle with his wife and son. He has lived and worked in four different countries throughout his career and is a start-up investor and advisor – both in Europe and the US. 

Connect with Milan or follow him on LinkedIn.

About ReadyForSocial:

ReadyForSocial is a leading social selling company and sponsor of this podcast. Since 2014, ReadyForSocial has supported large companies in the DACH region, Europe, and the USA by introducing, managing, and expanding their social selling programs.

Learn more about their solution and services here.

In this episode, we take a closer look at sales and marketing alignment, an essential factor in making any social selling program successful. 
 
Together with our guest speaker, Josh Sweeney, we discuss these questions:

• Should Sales and Marketing be one department or two? And why?
• Goal alignment: how to make sure Sales and Marketing really work together in the same direction? How do you balance the long-term goals (brand-building and market-presence, marketing agenda) vs. filling the quota this quarter (sales agenda)
• Leads: Quality of leads, how to make sure what marketing hands over to sales is actually sales-ready; from a marketing perspective: how to make sure the leads produced and handed over to sales are valued and followed-up upon
• Technology stack: What are the tools that should be used in common
• What can established companies learn from businesses that are just scaling up, having a chance to design their processes from scratch?

Listen in!

About Josh:
Josh Sweeney is a seasoned entrepreneur whose mission is to help founders go from founder revenue to scalable revenue. He is also the founder of software consulting firm Atcore, which was acquired in 2016 by a leading partner in the CRM industry.

Having experienced the impact of various sales and marketing challenges over his career, Josh has channeled his passion for sales and marketing into the creation of educational content. He has recorded over 100 content pieces about B2B sales and marketing.

Josh lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. 

Follow Josh or connect with him on:
LinkedIn or Instagram
To learn more about his company, FounderScale, visit their website

We talk with B2B marketing expert Sarah Noel Block about improving your content marketing ROI. Sarah's current focus is on maximizing the impact of marketing budgets. She also has introduced a complete digital marketing program including social selling and tech stack for a US-based manufacturing company.

Drawing on her rich experience, we discuss with her:

• Why content marketing is so important in B2B
• Challenges of today’s marketing teams with content marketing - from  execution, system & processes for content marketing, content ideation to the need of a clear content & messaging strategy 
• How to 10X your content marketing (without adding to your headcount) 
• Repurposing strategies, best practices and tools for smart, time- and money-saving content repurposing across channels 
• Why repurposing should be part of your distribution strategy and address different ways of learning 
• New content marketing trends we should be watching out for
• How social selling helps get more reach for your content, and  why and how to involve your sales team into your content strategy and content creation 
•  How to involve people from your target accounts in your content creation; marrying ABM and content marketing

 About Sarah:

Sarah Noel Block is CEO & Founder of Tiny Marketing, a company that helps marketers scale their impact. She is a writer, editor, and a content marketing strategist for facilities services, construction, medical and real estate products, and SaaS companies. She works with time-strapped marketers in mid-sized B2B industries to build high-impact marketing without increasing headcount.  

Before starting her own business, she was the first Digital Marketing Manager at The Chicago Faucet Company, America’s leading manufacturer of commercial faucets, where she implemented the marketing tech stack, grew the companies following and impact on social media and built a successful blog. She grew the media balance from 10% digital to 80% digital. 

Sarah lives and works in Hoffmann Estates, Illinois, which is in the Greater Chicago area. Next to content marketing, Sarah has a passion for indie folk music.

Follow Sarah or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Learn more about Sarah's company Tiny Marketing.

In this episode, we look into what social selling can learn from the performing arts. That might sound like an unusual and unique way for many social sellers, but the insights and answers our expert has to give will truly amaze you. 

If you have ever visited a show or performance, you will understand that art connects people and delivers a feeling of community. Almost everyone has a deep curiosity to create or consume art. Depending on your preference, this can include music, dance, visuals, or the written word. 

While social media certainly helps deliver art and behind-the-scene looks to an audience, it can also be seen as art itself. Yet, it's not always easy to manage the art of social media, even less so in our daily social selling routine.

Connecting some key components and specific aspects of art and social selling can give you an immense advantage in your field.  We discuss with performer and content specialist Kimberly Van Laningham:

• Top 3 things that social selling can learn from the performing arts
• The entertainment factor: do you need to entertain to be heard?
• How to add entertainment to your business content
• Humor: what place does it have in social selling, and how to do it without offending
• Voice confidence: How to find and get comfortable with your own voice in written content and videos
• How can you connect improv with everyday business life?

About Kimberly:

Kimberly Van Laningham is a writer, performer, and professionally funny person. She combines these skills into her work as Entertainment Writer at Screen Rant, a leading movie and TV news site established in 2003, and as a Copywriter at digital media and internet company Ziff Davis. 

With nearly a decade of professional experience, her work has generated high-level ROI in the business, theatre, television, and film worlds. 

After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, Kimberly has held various entertainment industry positions. She has focused on written content since 2020.

Kimberly lives and works in Chicago and enjoys performing and entertaining in her free time. Recently, she has also focused on comedy writing and improv. She is about to graduate from the Second City’s Conservatory program, which trains performers to create sketch comedy through improvisational techniques. 

Follow Kimberly or connect with her on LinkedIn.

This episode is an enlightening exploration of a new book about social selling. Author Gunnar Habitz, talks about the importance of Social Selling in helping buyers make the right choice. 

Social selling is used  in the business-to-business context to leverage social media and digital tools for more effective sales. It involves targeted prospecting, engaging with potential clients, sharing valuable content, personalizing interactions, maintaining consistent communication, analyzing data, and integrating these efforts into the overall sales process. By systematically using social platforms, sales professionals can build relationships, establish credibility, and nurture leads, ultimately driving conversions and business growth.

We discuss with Gunnar and give you insights into:

o   How can social selling enhance business conversations? 
o   Today's buyers only invite providers into their buying journey when they are already 80% done with their decision-process. How can social selling help you be relevant?
o   What is the "bricks" approach of social selling and how does it compare to building with legos? 
o   What is the “Density approach” of social selling?
o   What are some of the biggest challenges for marketing managers running a social selling program
o   Top 3 tips for marketing managers implementing or scaling a social selling program?

About Gunnar:

Gunnar Habitz is working as Senior Partner Manager in the Australian Software-as-a-Service industry in companies such as GoTo (formerly LogMeIn), Hootsuite (social media management) or Noggin (risk management software).

Born in Germany with a Swedish name and married to his wife from Czech Republic, he moved after graduation to Zürich which he declared his hometown after fully emigrating to Switzerland. After spending 16 years at HP in senior marketing and sales roles, he moved to Sydney in 2016 enjoying the South Pacific lifestyle and growth opportunities.

 Over his career, Gunnar has developed his own approach to Social Selling which he shares in his recent book "Connect and Act", and in his social media content. Next to Social Selling, Gunnar is also passionate about travel, theatre and opera and has published multiple books, blogs, and articles on these topics.

Follow Gunnar or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Interested in Gunnar's book "Connect & Act: Systematic Social Selling" - get it here on amazon! 

Standing out with your content - this is one of the biggest challenges marketers are facing today. Generative AI helps many marketers by more efficient in content production. But that doesn't solve the problem: how do you get noticed and how do you create content that gets your audience to take action? 

We've had a conversation with psychology-driven content writer and creative consultant Jill Pavlov to shed some light on these questions. Specifically, we discuss: 

• How to stand out with content in B2B in today’s world of abundance – top tips
• Difference between B2B and B2C content / Making B2B content engaging
• Content formats in B2B
• Paid vs. organic content 
• Role of content along the sales funnel – content that converts

Listen in now!

About Jill:

Jill Pavlov is a creative copywriter and content specialist, dividing her time between her own business “Creative Concierge” and the social selling company ReadyForSocial.

With in-depth experience in the marketing, public relations and communications industry, Jill’s ambition is to use her words to help businesses tell their story to further sales and business.

Jill’s skillset includes Marketing Strategy, Content Developement, Copywriting, Social Media, Advertising, and Creative Writing. Out-of-the-box ideas are her specialty, and her extensive background in theater ensures that everything she brings to the table has a bit of flair.

Next to her writing career, Jill has a passion for comedy and just landed an engagement with The Second City, one of the most influential comedy theatres in the English-speaking world. Jill lives and works in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Follow Jill or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Visit Jill's website Creative Concierge.
Visit social selling management company ReadyForSocial.

In this episode we talk about social selling across different countries and regions of the world. Any business operating internationally faces this challenge: How do you leverage social media platforms and digital communication channels in a global context? 

We discuss with our guest speaker Sebastian Förster from Henkel. In this episode you will learn:
- How to create an international social selling strategy for your company
-  How to navigate cultural differences between difference social media platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, WeChat, Threads, TikTok etc.) and between countries, and keep your presence authentic
- Why it is important to maintain the 'red thread' of your overall brand and marketing communication and how to make the necessarily local, regional and cultural adjustments
-  What are possible strategies for language adaption across various regions or countries and why simply translating content might not be the best way to go
- What appeal TikTok might have for B2B 

About Sebastian:

Sebastian is a Customer Experience Manager and marketing expert with over ten years of experience. Throughout his career, he has advised all levels of companies on social media, branding, marketing strategies, social selling, and active sourcing at the senior management level, successfully implementing these strategies with the assistance of global teams.

Sebastian is also passionate about technology, consumer electronics, and digital art forms.

Follow Sebastian or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Learn more about Henkel's Inspiration Center.

In this episode, we're diving deep into some of the unique challenges that especially large companies face when scaling their social selling program across their sales organization and beyond.

You all know that social selling has become a powerful force in the B2B world, revolutionizing how organizations connect with their target audience and drive meaningful engagement. But when we talk about rolling out and scaling a program across multiple divisions and / or geographies, what strategies and techniques can you use? How do you steer and control your program? Or is the actual art to learn how to control less?  

Join us as we explore these crucial topics with our fascinating expert and guest speaker Nader Ali-Hassan and uncover the secrets to creating a thriving social selling culture. 

We cover:
- How do you scale from individual evangelists to social selling across an entire organization?
- Is motivation of salespeople enough? What’s the journey from an organization perspective?
- Role of social selling in an overall B2B Marketing Communications strategy and how can you measure the results?
- How do you balance authenticity with a given communication framework and strategy?

About Nader:
Nader Ali-Hassan is a digital, social and experiential marketing leader who has most recently held the position of Executive Director, Marketing Communications at Comcast Business. Comcast is the largest American multinational telecommunications and media company. Comcast Business is their B2B brand, offering technology solutions – from connectivity and security to unified communications - to businesses of all sizes.

In his recent role, Nader directed the overall communications strategies across all above and below the line marketing tactics. As part of this role, he led the initiative to centralize social selling across the entire organization and thousands of sales people.

Nader is a true transformational leader in the marketing and digital space and has won multiple awards including the Webby Awards, D&AD Awards, Cannes Lions and OMMA Awards.

He lives in Philadelphia with his family and next to his work, he is also a passionate musician.

Connect with him or follow him on LinkedIn.

Social selling can provide your business with incremental revenue - or, more broadly speaking - an incremental value opportunity and help you increase the ROI of your marketing activities.

But how do you tackle social selling? Where do you start? In this 2nd part of our ROI special, we help you decide what kind of program your organization needs, based on your objectives, and how to put such a program together:

- How do you decide what kind of program your organization needs?
- Depending on what kind of program makes sense for you, what do you need to make it successful?

If you want social selling to contribute to your marketing & sales success, listen in!

If you have any questions, contact Monika Ruzicka or Lisa Davidson on LinkedIn.

There is a LOT of content out there these days. Just look at your LinkedIn feed alone. It’s tough for everyone to stay on top. The same is true for your target audience. They are OVERWHELMED with content. So, how do you get their attention? How do you get through to them and move them to take action toward you and what you have to offer, step by step? 

This is what we're discussing in this episode with content expert Shondell Varcianna.

These are our topics:

• How to writing compelling content for a particular group of people (niche)
• How to manage more than one target audience / niche
• The importance of having a strategy on how you’ll promote your content
• How to be consistent with publishing content
• Making sure that your content speaks to your customers and your target audience
• LinkedIn strategy for finding your target audience and getting business from them
• Facebook strategy for finding your target audience and getting business from them
  
  

BONUS: Shondell's LinkedIn messaging strategy that drives conversion

Listen in!

About Shondell:

Shondell Varcianna has turned her 16 years of experience in the financial services industry and her passion for writing into a successful own business that helps financial institutions make an impact with their content.

Shondell started working in banking in 1998, right out of high school. Over the next 8 years she  worked in several positions, including being a mortgage loan originator, where she underwrote million dollar mortgages per week and exceeded weekly targets by 130%.

In 2006, she joined Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC), an insurance company that insures mortgages for banks. While at CMHC, she managed an account of over 150 bank branches, 80 mortgage specialists and 25 underwriters by developing and improving relationships with banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, and real estate agents.

Today, she owns and operates Varci Media, a content writing company that helps financial institutions save time by writing content that speaks to their target customers. With her help, her clients have transformed their blog into a solution provider for their customers.

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Shondell now lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband and 2 children.

Connect with Shondell or follow her on LinkedIn or visit her company website Varci Media.