Blog

Open the kimono already

Wed, November 11, 2009

Well - that's it then. We launched the new website, and the new blog (still not sure about blogging, but we'll see). More importantly, we've started social marketing in earnest with several of our clients: a non-profit, an international consulting firm, and a SaaS company, among others. As with marketing in general, the intensely rewarding parts are dispersed along a long journey of hard work. Generating momentum for any thought leadership is challenging, and knowing when, how much, and why to release information is key.

Pensante received MUCH feedback on the new website and blog...but almost nobody felt comfortable (except and thanks Bev and Amanda!) with posting an actual blog entry. What's up with that? I guess many of us aren't used to sharing our thoughts on such a public basis? What are the risks in commenting on a blog? Losing anonymity? In any case, Pensante is going to start blogging...and tweeting. Seriously. We're also getting into LinkedIn and Facebook. Although, I have to admit, I seriously considered the alternative: Retirement!

Moving on...I've had some lengthy discussions with senior marketing folks, very well respected in the tech marketing industry. Here is where we're at: Methodology - check. Experience - check. Success - check. Secret sauce (not going to share it online with you) - check.

While we all want to keep some proprietary information and mystery around our services and success, we're bombarded daily with countless offers of webinars and white papers on social marketing tools. Is there anything out there worth listening to? Who has the time to sift through the chaff to get to the wheat?

In talking to my contacts - the biggest sticking point is sharing experiences on social marketing. We need some real-time case studies. How are you going to learn about social marketing? You guessed it: Do it. I am a firm believer that experience will teach us the value of these [new fangled] tools for our clients.

So let this be a forum for exchanging case studies and some "how did that work out for you" information. Something from behind the kimono...if you know what I mean.

Thoughts?