6773726628_d821d5a8f3

Five B2B Marketing and Social Media Infographics

New studies and statistics are thrown at us every day, and after a while, it can get a little overwhelming to keep track of the information they present. Infographics, however, are a helpful way to visualize and understand these numbers and ideas.

Below are five infographics – representing a number of statistics and ideas about B2B marketing and social media – which are helpful when shaping and evaluating marketing plans:

How Social is B2B? – Still need convincing that social media can drive sales? This infographic compares lead generation between companies that participate in social media and companies that don’t, and you can’t ignore these numbers.

B2B Marketing Guide – Google surveyed more than 600 marketing professionals on the overall effectiveness of their marketing programs. The key results demonstrated in this guide including the companies’ most effective marketing channels, budget allocations (and anticipated increases), biggest challenges and predictions for the future.

B2B Marketing Infographic – This infographic highlights top strategies and tactics for generating demand and creating content … plus critical B2B marketing metrics, the average cost of upcoming leads and more.

B2B Social Media Landscape – According to this infographic’s description, “If it was possible to simply open the window of the CEO’s office on the 18th floor and look out onto the B2B social media landscape, this is what you would see. Thousands upon thousands of buyers, influencers and users in the business social media space, moving between various online sites.”

The Content Marketing Explosion – A recent study deemed content marketing a top growing field, with an increasing number of marketers relying on content strategy for overall success. This infographic highlights what content marketing tactics B2B marketers are focusing on, plus new technologies available and potential outcomes.

What other infographics (and statistics) have you found helpful? I’d love to hear about them!

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

Photo credit: Blikini

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Infographics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
VAN_side

All Aboard the Innovation Express: New products and ideas coming to a city near you

It’s a tried and true philosophy here at Madison that the most important tools in an electrician’s toolkit are the ones that can get the job done without the hassle.

We want to show you first-hand how our products can help you work smarter and faster than ever before … and what better way to do so than bring them directly to you?

We’re taking our commitment to innovation on the road with the 2012 Innovation Express. Packed with new products and innovations designed to make your job easier, the Innovation Express will travel to various distributors, contractors and electricians to demonstrate these products, many of which are Madison exclusives. Better yet, you can try them out for yourselves and see what the buzz is about.

Our schedule has expanded this year to include all of Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky, plus a few stops at trade shows in Ohio and Pennsylvania (check out photos below from our first stop: the 2012 Electro Expo in Cleveland!).

If you are located in one of the areas mentioned above, we want to bring the Innovation Express to you. Call Ron at 440-429-0175 to see when he can come to your office or jobsite.

In the meantime, follow the Innovation Express on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.


  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Innovation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
Photo 9

Follow Friday: Innovation Roundtable Participants

Earlier this week, we hosted our first-ever “Innovation Roundtable” at the 2012 Electro Expo. The roundtable provided a platform to collaborate with contractors, distributors, electricians and manufacturers to identify the most pressing issues facing the industry and determine how to work together to overcome these obstacles and better the industry as a whole.

It was a great discussion … one that we plan to continue in the future. Here’s how you can connect with the companies and industries who participated to keep the discussion going:

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Follow Friday | Leave a comment
6261624840_815e98c04b

Cleveland Rocks!

It’s almost time for the Electro Expo!

As is tradition when getting ready for trade shows and conferences, we’ve compiled a list of fun things to do and see for those of you joining us in Cleveland next week.

If you’ve got time to squeeze in some non-conference sight-seeing, keep this list handy:

  • East Coast CustardA staple in any Clevelander’s diet, East Coast Custard offers a variety of delicious, old-fashioned custards.
  • House of Blues – A trip to Cleveland wouldn’t be complete without a trip to House of Blues, even if just to grab a quick drink or browse through the store. Note: If you plan to eat at Crossroads, we recommend making advance reservations.
  • Melt Bar and GrilledThis ain’t your momma’s grilled cheese! It’s gooey gourmet that Clevelanders can’t get enough of – and you must try it.
  • Old ArcadeCheck out one of Cleveland’s best-known landmarks, plus the oldest in-door shopping mall in the United States. Even if you’re not into shopping, this relic of Cleveland’s past is quite the sight.
  • Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe new Beatles exhibit is a must-see. If you’re missing the opening night reception, make sure you come back to check it out.

If you’ll be in Cleveland next week, let me know where else you’re headed. Or, connect with us on Twitter at @meproducts or @rfisher1228 – we’ll be live-tweeting updates and photos throughout the week!

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

Photo credit: Skyline Scenes

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Trade Shows | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
Electrical Expo

Follow Friday: Electro Expo 2012

Conferences and trade shows are always exciting, but especially so when they’re in our own backyard. That’s why today’s Follow Friday goes to The 2012 Electro Expo, coming up later this month at Cleveland’s I-X Center.

Here’s a few of the features to expect at this year’s conference:

  • Exhibit hall with over 350 manufacturers displaying cutting-edge products and services
  • In-depth seminars led by industry experts
  • Free educational seminars*
  • Hands-on demos of the newest products in the industry
  • Networking with over 5,000 industry professionals

If you’re headed to the expo later this month, be sure to follow @ElectricalLeague and #eexpo12 for updates on classes, exhibits and conference information. In addition, keep an eye on Facebook and electroexpo.org for more updates.

As always, I’ll be live-updating from @rfisher1228 and @meproducts. If you’d like to connect, just shoot me an email and we can set up a time and place.

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

Photo credit: Electro Expo

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Follow Friday | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
Diona Perry

Meet Madison: Diona Perry

Last year, we began introducing you to a few Madison employees (Remember James Williams and Ron Brengartner?) in hopes of helping you get to know our company better. We’re kicking off the 2012 series with a true jack-of-all-trades, Diona Perry.

In six years with Madison, Diona has moved up the ranks – “Billing, customer service, receptionist … I’ve done it all!” she says – to accounting specialist, where she now helps with credits & debits memos, processing freight, returned good authorizations, and accounts receivable/payable. Get to know Diona a little better:

Q: What’s the first thing you do every day when you get to work?
A: When everything is updated in the system, it still has to be manually logged into a report. So I start my day filing the morning report, where I track the previous day’s activity – everything billed or shipped, any credits made, financials, etc. The (previous) day closes once the morning update is finished.

Q: What’s your proudest accomplishment at Madison?
A: A lot of people have been here for a long time, but only know one thing. The thing I’m most proud about is my knowledge – I have experience in some of the other roles here at Madison and that enables to me to help out in other areas as needed.

Q: Do you have any hidden talents? If so, what is it?
A:Some people say I can sing, some people say I can’t. I’m also a comedian – always saying something funny or quirky. I can bring a smile to everyone’s faces.

Q: What’s something people are surprised to learn about you?
A: I love to read anything I can get my hands on. At one point, I would even go out to eat with my friends and bring a book. I’ve always loved it, ever since I was a kid. I used to think I would be a writer one day, so I tend to proof books, or notice typos, as I read them too.

Q: What’s the best part of living and working in the Cleveland area?
A: I love the fall: the colors, the temperatures. It’s the greatest thing. To me, the fall makes up for the winters here.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever given or received?
A: I went through a tough time in 2009 when my 17-year-old son died. I took a few months off, and when I came back Brad Wiandt said, “After everything you’ve gone through, you still come to work with a smile. You put a smile on everybody else’s faces.” … Life is short. You have to live every day like it’s your last, because you never know when it really is.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about working at Madison?
A: Madison is really growing, really turning into an industry leader. It’s exciting to watch the transformation, see things go from one way to another. There’s a renewed energy so it’s always good to work someplace where you’re happy to come in and wondering what’s happening next.

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Employee Spotlight | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment
Logos

Follow Friday: Learning Tools for B2B Marketers

Where do you turn for B2B marketing and social media tips, tricks and advice? Here are a are a few of our go-to resources:

  • Social Media B2B: Social Media B2B explores the impact of social media on B2B companies, featuring news, advice, discussions and commentary from industry experts. Subscribe to Social Media B2B’s newsletter, or follow them on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

What other websites, podcasts or communities do you recommend? Shoot me an email at rfisher@meproducts.net and let me know!

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Follow Friday | Leave a comment
6498640623_fc5c19a06d

Must-Have Apps for Businesses

Today’s guest post is from the National Association of Electrical Distributors’ Linda Thurman, marketing manager, and Afton Spriggs, electronic media content specialist. You can connect with NAED on Facebook and Twitter.

Today, we’d like to present you with a few apps that have helped us in the marketing and technology world to not only move our companies forward, but to also help to assure that our personal lives run just as smoothly as our jobs.

COLLABORATION & PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

Evernote: Of course, a “Favorite App” list would not be complete without first mentioning Evernote. The company was recently awarded the title of Company of the Year by the prestigious Inc. magazine, for “reinventing the way we remember.” Features of Evernote include the ability to take notes, save interesting web pages, create to-dos and shopping lists, attach images and PDFs, to name a few.

Fuze Meeting: Have you ever been mid-transit or in a tough situation where you need to connect with your team? This app is your perfect solution by giving you instant access to everything you need – start web conferences, view multimedia content presentations in real time, chat with co-workers and friends – with guaranteed security features.

Dropbox: Are you in love with Cloud Servicing? The Dropbox app extends its ease of accessibility to your own phone.  Dropbox is an amazing online file storage, backup synching and sharing service and will sync up with all of your computers and handheld devices so that you can stay in perfect harmony FREE. The built-in reader is an added bonus for developing PDF, image files and Microsoft office files on the go.

Bump: No business cards on hand? Import and share your contact information with fellow smartphone users just by holding your phones close.

HootSuite: Stay on top of all of your social networking sites in one place with HootSuite. This app allows you to control Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare and more in a one-stop-shop setting. You can send one message to multiple platforms or pick one social network at a time for a customized message for each outlet. HootSuite also allows you to schedule tweets and posts ahead of time—so even if you’re stuck in meetings all day, your social networking sites are still buzzing with activity. If you spring for the HootSuite Pro account ($5.99/month), you can also assign messages and tasks to team members.

STAYING PRODUCTIVE ON THE GO

Tripit: This app is a must-have for the traveling marketer! All you have to do is forward your confirmation emails for your flights, hotels, rental cars, and more to Tripit, which automatically organizes them into trips with all your details and confirmation numbers.

Lemon: Lemon is an app that helps keep your receipts organized—especially helpful for all of those business travel expenses. With Lemon, you can e-mail any online receipts to your account and when you get a paper receipt, just snap a photo of it with your phone’s camera and Lemon will store it for you. Once your receipts are stored, you can use Lemon to create reports of how, when and where your money (or the company’s money) was spent. With Lemon’s new export feature, you can turn your receipts into a spreadsheet and other useful formats.

AroundMe: Another helpful app when you’re on the road is AroundMe. This app pinpoints your location and then tells you what’s around. AroundMe will tell you how far to the nearest restaurant, gas station, hotel, ATM and so much more. You can choose to see the locations on a map or you can have AroundMe give you a route from where you are to where you want to go. Perfect for finding a great dinner spot in an unfamiliar city.

MapQuest: Forget lugging your GPS along on the road—all you need is your smartphone and the MapQuest 4 Mobile app. With the MapQuest app, you can get directions to your destination complete with voice-guided turn-by-turn instructions. MapQuest will also recalculate your route if you make a mistake and will give you live traffic information as you drive.

Taxi Magic: In a new city and need a cab super-fast at the touch of a button? Taxi Magic coordinates with local taxi dispatch services to find one that’s close to you, and then lets you book it without ever having to make a phone call.

What do you think? Any particularly impressive apps that we might have missed?

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

Photo credit: Facebook apps

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Business | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
BICSI

Follow Friday: BICSI

In honor of their upcoming winter conference and exhibition, today’s Follow Friday goes out to BICSI. Starting Sunday, BICSI will bring together designers, installers, technicians and ITS professionals for educational presentations, state-of-the-art exhibits, networking and more.

What else can attendees expect? According to BICSI’s website:

  • Cutting-edge information to boost your education and career
  • Industry-leading exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services
  • Networking opportunities with ITS experts from around the world
  • Hot topic discussions and technical sessions that will keep you on top of your field

You can connect with BISCI on their website, Facebook and Twitter. Keep track of #BICSI for updates too.

(If you’re attending BICSI, look for updates from @rfisher1228 and @meproducts. Or, shoot me an email if you’d like to connect!)

•••

Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

Photo credit: BICSI

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
2478751458_d52a57f19d

January Round-up: Policy, PIPA and Best Practices

It seems impossible that so much has already happened in 2012. Good thing we’ve been keeping an eye out for can’t-miss topics and articles to share in our first monthly round-up of the new year. Happy reading!

SOPA: A Mega, Meta Mashup of News – In case you missed January’s ongoing SOPA and PIPA debate (or the January 18th blackout that spread to more than 10,000 websites), Fast Company compiled a must-read roundup of articles and quotes that covered, and commented on, the news.

5 Best Practices for Digital Marketers in 2012 – Drawing inspiration from “winners from the past,” Mashable shares five digital resolutions to implement in the new year.

ABB to Buy Thomas & Betts for $3.9 Billion – Released on Sunday, Switzerland’s ABB agreed to buy Thomas & Betts, an American maker of electrical connectors, for $3.9 billion, making it one of the largest takeovers announced so far in 2012.

Obama urges businesses to bring jobs back to US from abroad – Straight from the capital, Obama spent some time this month encouraging businesses to begin “in-sourcing” jobs to boost domestic investment. Read all about his roundtable discussion with industry leaders.

Have anything else worth sharing? Send them my way!

•••
Like what you’re reading? Please subscribe to our blog or sign up for our enewsletter.

Photo credit: tapasparida

  • Delicious
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • RSS Feed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Posted in Reading | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment