80% of B2B Tech Buyers are Using Podcasting... Are you?

If you're a B2B marketer of technology products and services, it's a good idea to integrate podcasts into your marketing communications mix. Here's why...

A recent MarketingSherpa 2007 Benchmark Guide suggests that nearly 80% of B2B tech buyers (decision-makers) surveyed listen to podcasts.

That same sentiment was echoed in a collaborative eMarketer & WebTrends report indicating that podcasting is "here to stay." The report suggests using podcasts to reach "highly targeted niche markets."

As if that's not enough to sway you, check out my last post, 3 Web 2.0 Technologies that Every B2B Marketer Should Consider... that references another survey of B2B marketers, which also puts podcasting in the top three of all Web 2.0 tools.

And speaking of podcasting...
I'm also getting a sense that my initial research on podcast pricing of $3,000-$5,000/podcast is a little high for many of the internally produced podcasts that many B2B marketers are using. Anyone out there have good data to share?

3 Web 2.0 Technologies that Every B2B Marketer Should Consider...

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Web 2.0. For some B2B marketers, Web 2.0 immediately conjures up thoughts of flashy videos, consumer-oriented sites that offer games and communities like MySpace- anything to hawk another can of soda or the promise of thin thighs in 2-weeks!

Thanks to a recent survey, Web 2.0 tools have as much or more to offer B2B marketers-especially B2B marketers involved with complex and lengthy selling cycles. B2B Web 2.0 pioneers, Robert Lesser of LeadGenTools .com and Paul Dunay of Buzz Marketing for Technology Blog surveyed a group of B2B marketers and here's what they found...

The top three Web 2.0 tools used by B2B marketers:

1. Blogs--a great way to create a dialog with your prospects and customers
   
2. RSS--lets you add your website or blog content to a newsreader, which does the work of visiting the sites and checking for updates so you only have to go to one place to get your updates. And since you're using a news reader, nothing is crammed into your email in-box.
   
3. Podcasts--an excellent way to add more personality to your marketing communications including white paper abstracts, presentations, interviews with subject matter experts and more. The beauty is that listeners can tune in via their computers or download to an MP3 player and listen later.

How can you integrate these popular Web 2.0 technologies into your marcom mix?

The next step is to learn what specific applications B2B marketers are using to integrate web 2.0 tools into their marcom mix. You can learn about the specific applications plus other up-and-coming Web 2.0 tools. Click here to learn more.

And while you're there, take the 5-minute survey and get your free copy of the latest results.