The print ad at the right, which ran in today’s Wall Street Journal, caught my eye due to its use of color and the “Boss Tweed”-like graphic.

And, I love the headline. “Don’t Know What Big ERP’s Complicated Technology Can Do For You? Don’t Worry, Neither Does Big ERP.” Ha!

I also like that the ad comes with a targeted URL that relates to the ad copy: DownWithBigERP.com.

When you click on the URL, you get taken to a landing page filled with “we, we, we” jargon. Love it! The landing page then burns away to Infor’s site — the company offering alternative CRM/ERP software.

Of course, I immediately looked for the Twitter icon so that I could follow them, and there it was, right at the top of the page. (Screen name is @infor. I’m now following the company.)

A brief glance at the corporate site shows that it includes content, such as video, designed to engage people (the way David Meerman Scott talks about in an interview with Steve Woods of Eloqua).

You often hear that social media isn’t for B2B or that traditional marketing methods no longer work. Infor is a great example of how to drive leads to a microsite through an engaging print ad, and then keep them on your site with engaging content. And, if you’re not quite ready to work with Infor, you can follow them on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Five stars!

RainToday, one of the top online sites that help companies sell their professional services, complied a list of the best online marketing and sales resources of the decade.

I’m excited to say that this blog made their Best of 2000 – 2009 list of blogs they follow and find helpful.

Whether you sell only services or products and services, check out their great list of sales and marketing Websites and blogs.

In addition to being listed as one of the best resources by RainToday, this blog also made the Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs for the first time (#37).

The Junta42 list, which is compiled by Joe Pulizzi, author of Get Content, Get Customers (next on my to-read list), highlights the best bloggers on the Web discussing content marketing.

Thank you RainToday and Joe for the honors. I am thrilled!

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Brigantine Advisors analyst Colin Gillis is quoted as saying, “LinkedIn is not really a community as much as a collection of names. [LinkedIn is] definitely in danger of losing the business-networking market.”

The article goes on to say that people spend more time on other social networking / social media sites than they do on LinkedIn — and that LinkedIn wants users to participate on its site more often.

Dear Adam Nash and the Powers that Be at LinkedIn, here are some tips for you to help you meet that objective.

1. Don’t become a Facebook wannabe.

Despite its astounding growth, Facebook isn’t for everyone. I listen to many people who admit they don’t have a Facebook account or that they have one but use it only for personal reasons — versus using it for business.

LinkedIn serves a real purpose — it’s a business networking site. Don’t lose sight of that objective. You do fill a real need in the marketplace.

2. Build more unlocked gates in your wall.

In the same way that you allow people to post public profiles with “vanity” URLs, also allow Group leaders to develop vanity URLs for their Groups. This way they can then promote their Groups on Twitter, blogs, e-newsletters, etc.

I have had many situations where I want to get people to my Group for a terrific discussion, but have to post a URL that is open to Group members only. Non-Group members should be able to read discussions and if they want to post, they then must become members.

3. Promote Groups based on high-value activity, not number of members.

Based on the feedback I hear from my own Group members, many Group owners don’t take an active role in moderating discussions or removing spam posts. Many Groups have thousands of members but little in the way of real high-value discussion activity.

Instead of promoting Groups based on sheer numbers of members (which really means nothing), promote those Groups whose owners and members actively participate. Perhaps you could feature ten well-moderated Groups every week — and those Groups who have been featured could receive a special badge.

4. Give Group Owners a special badge.

You let LinkedIn members promote their various Group affiliations on their profile pages, but you don’t give any method for Group Owners to display that they’re in charge of a Group. Help Group Owners better promote their Groups with a special badge that they can add to their LinkedIn profile page, Twitter page, and blog / Website.

And while I’m on the subject of Groups, add an Events tab to the Group function. That way people can feature the events relevant to their specific Group.

5. Use video to show LinkedIn newbies how to better use LinkedIn.

When I recommend to my clients who don’t use LinkedIn that they use the platform for business purposes (outside of job hunting), they usually ask why. Unfortunately, LinkedIn has a reputation of being that place where you “post your resume.” Of course, nothing is further from the truth.

One way you can get around this is by posting video of real LinkedIn members who are using the platform to network and conduct business. You could also post video of how to set up an effective profile — again, using real members.

6. Ask people how they’re using LinkedIn, make it easier for them to do more of it — and then promote the hell out of it.

At the last presentation I gave, I learned that many people use LinkedIn’s TripIt feature to let their network know when and where they’re traveling. Apparently, TripIt makes it easier to book appointments with people in their network. I did not know this and found it fascinating.

And, while mucking about in LinkedIn just this week, I realized that people can follow the book list I’m building. Amazing.

LinkedIn, you definitely need to better communicate the features you’re offering people. For example, I just read on your blog that the iPhone App 3.0 was just released.

However, the link to your blog is located at the footer of your Website. If you’re going to announce news this way, perhaps your blog should be more prominent?

I find your platform to be quite robust but sometimes have no clue why you offer certain things — i.e. how does the whole “following” thing work? I still have not figured that one out.

7. Allow business owners to edit their Company profiles.

Like many companies, I have a Company profile but I have no way of correcting erroneous information. Because you rely on bots to fill out Corporate profiles, mine shows that I have six employees — five more than who actually work at my one-person company.

Perhaps you could offer a “validation” notice the way Twitter does for high-profile Twitter users.

LinkedIn, I am one of your more dedicated users. Due to being a Group leader, I spend about 10 – 15 minutes on the site almost every day. I post status updates, the books I’m reading, and I check out what others in my network are doing. I moderate my Group and work to keep discussions going.

I’m also forever promoting your platform in my blog, to my clients, and in articles I write for other blogs. Quite frankly, I love LinkedIn, but I do think you could do things better to help people like me use your platform more effectively.

I really have no interest in LinkedIn becoming a Facebook wannabe, and if you polled your members, you would most likely find that many people agree with me. If someone wants the Facebook experience, they’ll join Facebook.

You have an awesome platform, so I hope you’ll take these suggestions — and others you’ve received — and continue to offer features that benefit your users.

Happy New Year.

B2B sales lead expert Mac McIntosh recently interviewed me for his Sales Lead Insights blog. He asked lots of great questions, a few of which were cut due to the length. One of these questions was:

“You mentioned more companies are asking you about social media marketing. Is it something B2B marketers need to pay attention to? Why? And what should B2B marketers be doing about it right now?”

This is a question I’m frequently asked by B2B marketers and small business owners. Many people mistakenly believe social media is for consumer companies — or for their teenage kids!

I know it can be hard to wrap your head around social media, so I give the following simple strategies for B2B marketers and business owners who want to want to get their feet wet.

1. Claim your company name on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

By this I mean, even if you don’t use Twitter, open a profile under your company name so that someone doesn’t hijack it.

If you’re a one-person business or the CEO of a small business, claim your name on the main social media platforms (i.e. LinkedIn and Facebook) and claim your Google profile as well.

2. Join a LinkedIn Group and participate regularly.

Since starting my own B2B Social Media LinkedIn Group, I have come to really appreciate the Group within LinkedIn. I’ve met people ranging from Ben Hanna (@B2BOnlineMktg) at Business.com and Steve Woods (@stevewoods) at Eloqua to all kinds of consultants and corporate marketers.

It’s been a wonderful experience and a very easy way to keep my ear on the ground of social media marketing as it relates to B2B.

I recommend that B2B marketers or business owners join one or two Groups where your customers hang out (this is key) and then answer and/or post discussion questions. It helps if you find a Group that is well moderated (for example, I do not tolerate spam posts on my Group and I try to keep the conversations moving).

3. Read blogs and leave comments.

Business owners frequently ask me if they need a blog. Actually, you don’t need a blog to take advantage of the blogosphere. Instead of starting a blog, read other people’s blogs and leave insightful comments that add to the discussion – and when you do, be sure your comment includes your real name and website URL.

When your comment goes “live,” your name is now a clickable link – which people do click on. How do I know this? When people subscribe to my newsletter, I ask how they found me. Fifty percent of my new subscribers find me via comments I leave on other people’s blogs.

(You can also read a blog post I wrote in July, “Search, Articles and Blogs Drive Traffic and E-Newsletter Subscriptions.”)

In fact, I got a speaking gig from an association manager who found me via a comment I left on a blog. She followed it back to my blog, then my Website and then started following me on Twitter. A few months down the road, she hired me. That’s how social media works.

Be sure to read my interview on Mac’s blog as well as the interviews he’s done with a number of B2B marketers. I especially like the one with B2B Marketing By Phone Expert Michael Brown.

After reading Hubspot’s post about their top inbound marketing posts for 2009, I took a look at my own blog stats for 2009.

My top ten posts include social media, which I expected, since it’s a hot topic (post anything about social media on Twitter and it’s bound to get retweeted multiple times). But I was more interested to see that one of the top five posts wasn’t a post at all, but a category: Free B2B E-books.

E-books are becoming more popular — which is one reason I started my new E-Book Central where I’ll be posting the new B2B marketing e-books and reports released each week.

Of the 70 posts I wrote in 2009, here are the top posts covering B2B Marketing and Social Media.

1. 25 Very Smart Business Women on Twitter — The original list now includes 10 new smart women, and my “smart women” Twitter list includes another 27 smart women for a total of 62 women (so far).

2. What Should be Included In a MarCom Manager’s Job Description? — I’ve noticed for a while now that this has been one of my top posts. In it I discuss why companies need to revamp their marcom job descriptions, which typically call for people who know how to juggle projects and write well — versus being held accountable for a whole lot more, including working with sales.

3. Category: Free B2B E-Books — Here you’ll find B2B marketing e-books written by myself and other marketers.

4. Leads from Website Best B2B Lead Gen Tactic — A review of Mac McIntosh’s 2009 Lead Generation Benchmark report.

5. Social Media: It’s About Engagement, Not Page Views — In this post I discuss why measuring the number of followers or page views isn’t the right way to measure social media effectiveness.

6. Big SEO Mistake #1: Using a “Plug and Play” Website Template — Why small businesses are getting hosed by companies who sell them Website templates.

7. Five B2B MarCom Strategies to Increase Sales Now — A free ebook written by me. (Glad to see it’s in the top 10! )

8. What You Can Learn from Cisco’s B2B Viral Video Campaign — This is one of my favorite posts because 1) I got to meet Brian Ellefritz; and 2) I used this case study in the first presentation I gave on social media — which was just last year!

(Hint: When an organization asks if you can address a certain topic, say “Yes.” That’s how I fell into social media.)

9. Why Facebook is Like Attending a BBQ at Your Boss’ House — I had been using the BBQ analogy for months while giving presentations and finally wrote a blog post. This is my favorite blog post of the year because I love the comments people left.

10. Building Your Online Brand: Five Basic Strategies — Five tips for building your online brand. Nothing earth shaking but stuff most people neglect to do.

Thanks for reading this blog and inspiring me to continually post content that gets read.