This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. This application of conversation mining is quite different from the other techniques.  It’s based on the premise that if you create interesting content, the leads will come to you rather than you having to go to the lead.  So where does conversation mining fit in?  Answer: use conversation mining to produce the interesting content.  Think of a topic relevant to your customers and chances are, [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. Once you’ve got a lead you can use this next technique to build a profile based on what they talk about in social media.  It could be a lead you’ve gotten from one of the previous lead gen techniques or it could be a long-term client whom you just want to get to know better.  With NetBase, you can set up a topic on a [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. What if your customers have an online forum where they discuss topics related to their profession, hobby, disease, or interest area?  If so, you can analyze the conversation to reveal the most influential targets and establish a beachhead in their community. There are two ways NetBase can help with this technique.  First, you can use NetBase to identify the relevant forums.  Second, you can mine [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. The debate raging out there today is whether or not social media is an effective lead gen source for B2B, and for good reason.  How many mining industry executives, for instance, tweet about needing cheaper industrial equipment?  In my opinion, not many.  But there is one time of year when B2B professionals get a bit more social, and that is at their annual conference.  Name [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. Here is another way to find leads who desire the benefit your product or services offers.  Think about the benefit in terms of the problem it addresses.  A gluten-free benefit’s corresponding problem is gluten or wheat allergy.  This technique is very straightforward for health products because medicine has given us well-defined terms for the diseases and ailments they cure.  For other product categories it can [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. For this next technique consider what activities your products are associated with.  Then set up a topic about that activity and build a dashboard which reveals people who enjoy doing that activity. In the example below we’re looking at influential Coloradans who love skiing.  Note that we’re looking over the past year.  It’s not necessary to target recent posts because a skier who posted in [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. In certain industries, there are already companies mining social media for sales leads.  If so, then their sales people have probably left digital breadcrumbs to the prospective customers.  Identify the sales people by identifying their sales language.  For instance look for someone offering to set up a time to talk or to send a free sample by mail.  Who did they tweet or comment to?  [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. Most products and services owe their success to the fact that they provide some kind of benefit.  It could be a functional benefit or an emotional one.  Either way, if there are people out their saying they want that benefit then they could be a sales opportunity.  Set up a topic on that benefit and then find people who say they want it, buy it, [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. People who are shopping have a particular way of speaking.  These are potentially the best leads because they not only have a need but also show a desire to buy.  To pinpoint these leads, set up a topic on your brand, your competitor’s brand and the names of your category.  Then set up a “Comparison Shopper” theme to filter the conversation down to words pertaining [...]

This is one technique among a series I’m covering on conversation mining for lead generation. The techniques described above assume you’re looking at a topic that is a brand.  However, if you use the category as the topic, you expand your options to a whole other set of leads.  For example, suppose you’re an ice cream maker.  As we learned from What Women Want, the number one thing women want, when talking in social media, is ice cream. Knowing this [...]