Social Media Portal interview with Joel Harrison, Editorial Director of B2B Marketing magazine

Profiled - Joel Harrison, Editorial Director of B2B Marketing about the forthcoming B2B Marketing Summit

Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your role at B2B Marketing?

Joel Harrison (JH): I'm the Editorial Director of B2B Marketing.

SMP: Tell us about B2B Marketing Summit, what is it, where and when is the summit scheduled?

JH: It?s a multi-stream event focused on the key issues in B2B marketing.  It allows marketers to build their own personalised agenda based on their own information needs and challenges.

SMP: Who are your target audience and why (and who should attend)?

JH: We?re targeting client-side marketers who are focused on the practical day-to-day responsibilities of delivering marketing communications, and are looking for insight and inspiration on how to focus their activities and increase success.

SMP: Why was B2B Marketing Summit started, and how long has it been going?

JH: This is our first year ? the aim was to amalgamate some of the smaller half day seminars which we?ve done over the last few years, in order to create a new event focused around key issues and giving attendees greater flexibility and choice of content.

SMP: What is B2B Marketing Summit doing that?s different?

JH: It?s giving B2B marketers more choice and flexibility to shape their own agenda around the key issues, and access to an unrivaled wealth of B2B-only case studies.

SMP: What will be the highlights at the summit?

JH: Because it?s a multi-stream event there are no keynotes, so it wouldn?t be appropriate for me to select any specific sessions? apart from my own, of course, which is the first one in the social media stream looking at the results of our Social Media Benchmarking Report, which of course will be brilliant.

SMP: How are you attracting attendees to the summit?

JH: We?re talking to them through all the regular means of communication, including B2B Marketing magazine, direct mail, telemarketing, email and social media.

SMP: What are the most important things that attendees can take away from the summit?

JH: That whatever challenges you are facing, there are solutions out there, and someone else is probably going through the same pain. There are very few hard and fast answers ? willingness to experiment, learn and try again are more critical than ever in the digital age.

SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far (and regarding the summit)?

JH: There haven?t really been any low moments? I?m sure there will be a lot of stress on the day through. It?s going to be logistically very challenging.

SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far (and regarding the conference)?

JH: Seeing the website go live and the bookings starting to come in was great. It?s a new concept which we?re very excited about.

SMP: It?s claimed that B2B marketers are notoriously slow at adopting digital channels and marketing. Is this still true and can this be said of social media?

JH: I don?t think this ever has been true. B2B brands have had less budget and their audience has been less digitally focused than FMCG, so they?ve been unable to make as big a splash online. But they are increasingly active in the digital space, and in areas like customer insight and revenue performance management are definitely leading the way.

SMP: Have you any early bird discounts (if so when does it end)?

JH: It ends today (Friday 11th May), but there are likely to be some further good deals ongoing.

SMP: Is there anything else we should know about the summit?

JH: There are networking drinks afterwards and opportunities to meet leading figures such as the infamous Scot McKee? if you?re really lucky.

SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks?

JH: The next big step for B2B in social media is figuring out how to make social interactions truly count as part of demand generation activity, and to robustly measure and justify investment in social channels.

SMP: What are your top five predictions for social media throughout 2012?

• Google Plus will not become a significant social player.
• Facebook will remain largely irrelevant in B2B.
• Business decision makers will increasingly prefer video as a means of consuming content on products and services.
• LinkedIn?s power will continue to grow, as will its use by recruiters, and consequently it will be regarded with increasing cynicism.
• Despite its growing power, social media will not replace email as the number one B2B communications device.

SMP: What are your top five social media tips?

• Agree a social policy for your company ? who can use it, how and when.
• Use listening software ? you need to have an ear on the conversations going on out there.
• Content is king ? create a compelling mix and spread it far and wide.
• Don?t get distracted ? investment of too much time and resources is hard to justify.
• Integrate ? social is an appendage to many activities, be they print, email or events. Don?t forget the social dimension of these activities.

SMP: Best way to contact you?

JH:  Email, or sees our contact form http://www.b2bmarketing.net/contact-us, @MarketingB2B and B2B Marketing Summit hash tag #B2BSummit



SMP: What did you have for breakfast and lunch?

JH: Shreddies and a grilled chicken sandwich.

SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?

JH: I took my niece to see Matilda, even though I hate musicals. She loved it.

SMP: If you weren?t running B2B Marketing, what would you be doing?

JH: If I wasn?t running B2B Marketing, I?d be working as a journalist or a content person somewhere else ? it?s great to know that business journalistic skills are in demand again.  

SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?

JH: Berlin in April.

SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?

JH: Make a cup of tea.

SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?

JH: Teleportation ? it would be a great cure for tube rage.

SMP: One of your favourite brands using social media?

JH: I like Goldheart Assembly?s stuff on Facebook. Otherwise I think Eloqua do a pretty good job.

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