Here are the first 1,100 words of the chapter on B2B social communities from my forthcoming book, co-authored with Eric Schwartzman, entitled Social Marketing to the Business Customer. Is it appropriate to a B2B setting? All comments are appreciated! Spiceworks does a very good job of managing B2B communities. The SMB market is coveted by technology firms, and many of them pay Spiceworks for the chance to interact with the audience of over one million IT professionals for activities ranging from market research to product design. MORE >>

In my work with B2B organizations, the question of how to use Facebook is invariably front and center. This Is despite the fact that numerous surveys have shown that Facebook is one of the least effective social networks for B2B marketing. In a survey of marketers conducted by BtoB magazine last year , Facebook was ranked last in usefulness among the top five social networks, trailing blogs, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, in that order. Buddy Media uses it to capture leads , as does e-mail marketing provider Infusionsoft. SAP plays inline videos. Takeaways. MORE >>

My fourth book, Social Marketing to the Business Customer ,  came out this week. While the purpose of this e-mail is ultimately to convince you to buy it, I hope to also impart some insight I gained from immersing myself in business-to-business social marketing for six months. Co-author Eric Schwartzman and I wrote the book because we felt that B2B marketers were getting inadequate advice about how to apply social media constructs to their work. Invariably, someone stands up and asks, “What does this mean to me as a B2B marketer?&#. Read it! MORE >>

Are your B2B social media efforts failing? We know the biggest reasons B2B social media efforts fail and what to do about it. Don’t write off Facebook because you don’t think it’s relevant to B2B. The fact is, 41% of B2B marketers are acquiring customers through Facebook. The course of action taken should be measured with the same scrutiny as traditional marketing efforts. Do Social Media B2B the Right Way. Need some B2B social media inspiration? What common mistakes do you see B2B marketers make with social media? MORE >>

Explode Your B2B Blog Traffic. We write a lot about ways B2B organizations can use social media to generate demand and acquire leads. B2B Blogging Communities. Here are a few B2B blogging communities to consider: B2B Marketing Zone launched in 2009. Some of the top B2B minds are there, including Michael Brenner , Sr. Director of Global Integrated Marketing as SAP, is a member. Business2Community.com brings some of the brightest minds in the B2B industry to contribute to their community. Let us know in the comments below. MORE >>