A B2B Marketing Idea Takes Flight On Twitter

I like to see a good idea keep getting better, and The B2B Twitterer of the Year Awards are a great example.

First of all, the award is not about Twitter alone; it’s about how Twitter is being utilized by B2B professionals as a channel for sharing B-to-B marketing and communications ideas, research, case studies, forecasts, product and service insights, strategies, questions and answers, invitations, reminders, referrals and more; and all in messages that are 140 characters or less in length.

The B2BTOTY Awards Program, now in it’s third year, is the brainchild of Joe Zuccaro, who says, It’s not just about how many followers someone has, or how often a person tweets in a given time; its about creating a community, and the value a B2B entity brings to it.

With so many worthy contenders, the marketing professionals who will be judging these awards have a big challenge ahead of them. This year, it is easier to nominate and vote for your favorites. Those receiving the highest number of votes will advance as finalists, whom the judges will review to determine the winners. I’m nominating and voting for many of the B2B marketing braniacs & maniacs I follow, and I think its a great way to say,”Thanks for the helpful tweets.”

If you’re in B2B marketing and new to Twitter, there are many industry experts for you to follow and, because most of them follow back, everyone gets smarter as a result. Twitter is an open exchange of information that flows non-stop, with, or without, you and me. That’s why I check my Twitter feed several times a day; it’s a great way to keep up with new ideas and information, add my own thoughts and pass along the best content in the form of retweets.

So what makes one B2B Twitterer the best? Great question. Just to give you an idea, here are some of the B2B Twitterers I follow, and will be voting for. Follow them yourself for few weeks, and youll be voting for them too.

@jeremyvictor
Jeremy is a B2B marketing genius and creator of B2Bbloggers.com.

@Michelelinn
Michele is part of the SavvyB2Bmarketing.com sisterhood, and is also a freelance writer.

@rebelbrown
A rebel. Oh, and a damn-good B2B strategist, spin-doctor and rainmaker thats Rebel Brown.

@B2B_MarketingPR
Kim Cornwall Malseed is a good seed. And a great B2B tech marketing expert

@ckburgess
Cheryl is managing partner and marketing technologist at Blue Focus Marketing, and winner of a 2010 Shorty Award.

@diannahuff
If youre in B2B marketing and havent been asleep for the past two years, you probably already know of Diana Huff.

@basebot
John Bottom is tops as a B2B marketing and social media specialist (20,000 followers can’t be wrong).

@ardath421
Surely you know Ardath Albee. If not, heres your chance. Shes a leading expert and author on B2B marketing.

@MaryFlaherty
Massachusetts-based Mary Flaherty provides a creative perspective on B2B marketing, and shes a talented writer and PR expert.

@dgtlpapercuts
Jeffrey Cohen bleeds B2B, and I learn a lot from his tweets and his blog on B2B social media.

@MichaelGass
Michael Gass is a gas, and his tweets and blog provide new-business fuel for agencies. He shares an amazing amount of helpful content.

@KentHuffman
CMO at BearCom Wireless and co-publisher of Social Media Marketing Magazine (@SMMmagazine).

@Dougkessler
London-based Doug Kessler is part of Velocity Partners, and is off-the-chart smart.

@elizabethsosnow
I really like Elizabeths last name: Sosnow. And I really like her B2B marketing ideas. She always has great things to contribute.

@b2bspecialist
His name says it all. Great tweeter and all-around B2B braniac.

@B2B_Sales_Leads
Hello, Im a Mac. Mr. McIntosh is from Rhode Island, a B2B sales and leads leader

@GalenDY
I met Galen in person at a B2B MarketingProfs conference in Boston. Weve since met many times as fellow members of the agency group, MCAN. I follow his lead.

@markwschaefer
Mark W. Schaefer is truly a marketing braniac, maniac, humorist, futurist and friend. His tweets are often links to lively debates, discussions and amusement. Hes also a CMO to go.

@StephanieTilton
One of the first B2B braniacs and maniacs I ever followed, and I still cant keep up. Also another member of the @Savvy_B2B sisterhood.

@CopywriterTO
Rachel Foster, from Toronto, is great B2B writer and thinker with the tweets to prove it. She also contributes to @TheSocialCMO blog.

@copywriter4u
Joan Damico is further proof that twitter is a great place for great B2B writers to express themselves (and a great place for us to learn).

@BrennerMichael
This savvy senior director of Global Integrated Marketing at SAP also writes a blog at B2Bmarketinginsider.com.

@JoeZuc
The idea man behind @B2BTOTY, Joe Zuccaro is a B2B marketing automation maestro.

@TreyPennington
Author of Spitball Marketing, and one of the best brand storytellers in the game.

@tompick
A blogger, B2B marketing consultant and social media pro.