Launched in March 2010, Pinterest is a site where users can create virtual “pinboards”, showcasing “pins” (images, charts, graphics, recipes, designs, etc.) that interest them. As marketers, the real critical application of Pinterest lies in the vast marketing capacity that is inherent in the company’s foundation. First and foremost, a company must set up their Pinterest account correctly. Here is a phenomenal Pinterest guide.

Pinterest’s B2B potential is immense. Breaking down each prospective marketing use helps to highlight its true power.

Marketing: the potential to use Pinterest as a marketing tool is enormous. Showcase eBooks, infographics, whitepapers, company business book covers, photos of customers, company events, etc. In fact, B2B companies often create a User-Generated Pin Board to encourage even further interaction. Regardless of the tactics, Pinterest offers an unparalleled method of visual marketing to a target audience.

Business Insight: Pinterest also has an incredible platform for business insights in the form of market research for target audience capture. Pinterest is the ultimate lead generator with the ability to showcase products/services, watch market behavior, and establish your company as a thought leader in the industry. Using lifestyle targeting, supreme consumer insight is gained.

Finally, Pinterest also has enormous capacity to harness SEO power. With increased sharing and a direct lead to your company’s website, Pinterest offers referral traffic and a phenomenal platform for increased clicks. In addition, a company identity is formulated on Pinterest, a jumping board for intellectual content. It attracts visitors who relate to your company, gives your company a visual voice, and expresses its culture.

Pinterest is a huge marketing resource. A small B2B investment will pin down some great opportunities for you.

SlideShare serves many other purposes beyond a lead generator with enormous reach. Social media integration with SlideShare gives B2B organizations an extended reach, as well as a new, creative medium to promote a product or service. In addition to social media advantages, SlideShare also presents a platform for supplementary online SEO, branding, and community development.

Even further, when it comes to SlideShare, the proof is in the numbers. Heavy users of the platform note that the price to lead ratio can be exceptional. Pointing to a variety of factors, but most notably, SlideShare as a platform where like-minded individuals go to learn. In the B2B space, this can prove to be incredibly advantageous when pushing a product/service with a heavy learning curve. This SlideShare infographic does a phenomenal job of expressing just how powerful the tool can be. Are you making the most out of online marketing’s “quiet giant”?

Brand loyalty has immense value. Nevertheless, it is often the most difficult for company executives to support these initiatives financially with no quantifiable ROI. On the contrary, there are definitely a number of measurable metrics directly related to ROI. The ability to leverage all social media platforms to augment an overall marketing strategy is imperative. In fact, studies have pointed to the immense value in cross-channel marketing, especially on the social front.

By way of illustration, Social Media Link recently announced their partnership with Incentive Targeting. Combining a sales data research company and an organization that uses analytics for brand advocacy programs further proves the value of social media in improving a company’s bottom line. As the rookie in the marketing mix, social media often plays second fiddle to traditional channels.

The ability to measure metrics is the key to enhancing social media in the marketing arsenal. Adopting a large-scale interpretation of social media value, Forbes has provided great insight into how marketers can maximize social media ROI.

As the market continues to transform to reflect modern methods of revenue streams, B2B marketers must understand the prominent change that has occurred in regard to buyer behavior. Buying behavior in 2012 has changed the B2B scope in relation to not only the buying process, but in the aftermath that follows. Understanding the change in buying behavior leads to the need to alter the way B2B organization calculate ROI. Even further, appreciating that there is no such thing as “simple B2B ROI” calculation implies the need for a shift in outcome-based accountability and revenue metrics.

As the small business sector continues to emerge, efficiency must increase in the B2B digital space. Focusing on the sales cycle and increasing operational efficiency is critical to propelling businesses to achieve successful returns. Nevertheless, organizations must ensure that they are calculating metrics with proper methods. Neglecting to use an appropriate CRM system can prove incredibly detrimental to the sales lifecycle. Overall, by focusing on market shifts and new tactics, companies will put themselves in the best position for B2B ROI.

A portion of creativity stems from the ability to move away from limited thinking. By knocking down the doors of limitation, sales pitches breathe new life. This slight spin is critical to reaching B2B prospective clients with a different, fresh angle. In addition to creativity, it is important to maintain a level of aggression in the complex sale. Combining the ability to “attack” with an innovative approach creates a winning blend.

Finally, partnering the sales team with the marketing division of your company can prove extremely advantageous. Many executives are shocked to find out the lack of communication between the sales and marketing departments. Lost leads are one of the most frustrating aspects within the sales funnel. Maintaining an open line of communication between these crucial functions of the organization is paramount to sales success. On top of an ability to take advantage of a full knowledge-base, inter-department engagement often leads to that elevated level of creativity. On the whole, some sort of spin puts B2B marketers ahead of the game in any type of sales pitch.

In fact, the majority of executives in B2B organizations prefer to stay out of the sales loop, hoping that their front-line salespeople will grow their revenues. This limits the company’s capacity for success. Proper training in complex sales is essential to guiding leads through the appropriate channels.

Getting back to the B2B basics will set the stage for a winning sales approach for selling high-ticket services.

Following an internal analysis of the complex sale, successful B2B organizations look to industry standards to guide their future initiatives. Using marketing data and tools, B2B sales teams are able to analyze current information more successfully, as well as dictate future approaches based on these discoveries. Finally, looking for expert advice is always an ideal method of improvement.

Technology has changed, and will continue to change, the way that brands connect with people. Great story-telling, however, is a mainstay of this connection. The principles of great advertising have been in existence for many years. The challenge lies in translating these principles to new platforms.

Project Re: Brief is an excellent example illustrating how the basics behind successful advertising will remain the same forever. Take a look at Google’s video explaining the power of a good message. Proper messaging has the ability to translate across media, concentrating on people and the value they receive from your message. B2B advertisers tend to forget the basic principles behind successfully reaching a target market. Project Re: Brief proves that triumphant advertising is truly timeless.

Nevertheless, we must always keep these technology shifts in mind, for they can never be ignored. The issue raised with the majority of B2B marketers today is the ability to fine-tune the central message and translate that message to digital forms. At the end of the day, communication will always lay the groundwork for successful marketing.

That song will remain the same forever.

Beyond the ability to collect this data, a critical factor is what is done with this information after it is gathered, and how quickly. All too often, companies spend thousands of dollars on tools and data collection, yet lack the talent to analyze the key findings and extract competitive benefit. As our digital ecosystem continues to evolve and develop, information will drive innovation, reduce risk within organizations, and enhance the accessibility of talent to bring onto your team.

As Big Data’s power continues to grow, elevated efficiency is inevitable. Organizations will soon begin to increase the speed of decision-making and action, thus reducing overhead costs. Further, the emergence of Big Data will allow for a vast increase in sample sizes. As a result, key insights will be derived more readily with a much more extensive backing. Eventually, the availability of Big Data will even go as far as influencing product creation and design. The era of Big Data is on the rise, so beyond the preparation for the information intake, leaders of organizations must ensure that they have the manpower and talent to leverage this critical data.

1. Where are they when they open their email? If your email list is full of fellow B2B executives, they have busy schedules. Does your email display properly across mobile devices and tablets?

2. A “creative” subject line and body content engages the reader, but what are the overarching goals of the campaign? Be sure to stay creative while executing the strategic game-plan.

3. Keep it short and sweet. As executives, you know that time is limited. Capture your audience’s attention, offer something of value, and wrap it up. Too many words and images will send your email straight to the trash.

4. Be aware of “overselling”. Too many promises, customer testimonials, etc. will overwhelm a reader who wants quick information. Think outside of the box to establish your credibility without over-wording and overwhelming your audience. Utilize trust symbols or seals to prove your legitimacy.

5. Measure successes and failures. This may seem like a no-brainer, but a shocking number of B2B organizations neglect to track their email campaigns. Lead nurturing is greatly affected by the inability to measure what is and is not working. Put your company in the best position for success by using tools to track your reach, click-through rate, and the path of the sales cycle.

Creating a filter for accurate lead generation is the biggest first hurdle to overcome. Even the most successful B2B pitches can be killed in an instant if the leads are not targeted, relevant and qualified. Time, money and an abundance of additional resources are essentially wasted if an opportunity is not the right fit.

Developing a long-term focus on how to handle your leads can have long-lasting effects. Lead generation stems from relationship-building. The best pitches are base on sound strategy and fueled by treating leads as people, not just names in a contact list.

After a qualified list of leads is created, developing the pitch with creative tactics will help to differentiate your business from the hundreds, if not thousands, of companies in your competitive set. Looking for a creative boost? Listen to this wonderful excerpt on ‘Better than Brainstorming’ by Jonah Lehrer. Exterminating some of the traditional thinking that has stifled creativity and brainstorming sessions for years, Lehrer’s take on brainstorming and how to remain creative is an eye-opening experience. By merging traditional tactics with nontraditional future norms, instilling creativity within your organization is very achievable. Are you taking the proper steps towards fueling internal creativity in your business?

The Art of the Pitch by Peter Coughter provides a fresh perspective on pitch tactics that not only work, but build upon selling skills for future revenue growth. Coughter provides a phenomenal perspective, based upon his experience and expertise, that will definitely help your future pitches and presentations.