How AutoCAD Retooled Its Marketing With Facebook
Chris Hession has been a product and marketing manager for nearly 15 years. But recently, his job completely changed.
“Just in the last year and a half, social media has become not just a component of our product marketing plan, but really the core component,” said Hession, currently senior manager of Autodesk’s AutoCAD product marketing.
“Pretty much for everything we do, we’re looking at, ‘How can we make this work for social?’”
Millions of people worldwide use AutoCAD software to design everything from sunglasses to skyscrapers. If there’s any question that a B2B software company can market effectively with Facebook, look no further than the AutoCAD team. 
How an Alaskan Mom Brings Millions to Her Carpentry Blog
Just over two years ago, Ana White wasn’t quite sure what a blog was.
Today, she runs her own rapidly growing destination, drawing nearly three million page views every month.
Successful professional bloggers aren’t hard to find, but a few things are remarkable about White’s success:
- She writes a do-it-yourself carpentry blog. With White’s help, droves of women are discovering they can build beautiful, stylish things.
- She started with dial-up Internet and does it all from her home in the Alaskan interior (where record-smashing temps recently hit -40° F).
- White succeeded accidentally. She never expected that simply sharing what she loves could support her entire family.
This self-described “homemaker” has an innate knack not only for woodworking but for business as well.
Turns out, this blog Cinderella tale is all about sharing your personal story. Oh, and relentless blogging.
Sony Combines Social and Local for Successful Product Launch
Sony Electronics makes tens of thousands of products. But the launch of its Tablet S – going head to head with Apple’s iPad – called for something special.
Adding to the pressure, Sony’s social media team had a relatively small budget for the project.
With a creative mix of social media and in-person events, Sony brought out thousands of people to locations to “Catch the Tablet” and tell their friends about it.
Most notably, the campaign created buzz that inspired 1,000 clicks from Facebook to the Tablet S pre-order page, making it the most successful social media effort yet for the company.
How LinkedIn Brought $72,000 in Sales for PostcardMania
These days, it doesn’t take long to find a Facebook or Twitter success story. Businesses that wisely use the tools see a payoff.
But LinkedIn? The stodgier cousin of the group? Not so much.
Yet for PostcardMania, a fast-growing, Florida-based postcard marketing company, unlocking LinkedIn has been a bottom-line booster. It’s not just for job searchers anymore.
Every week, the company consistently counts at least two dozen fresh leads coming directly from LinkedIn – more than Facebook and Twitter deliver.
That’s added up to more than $72,000 in revenue just from LinkedIn.
How a Scrapbooking Company Used Social Media to Beat Target as Best Brand in Minnesota
On the morning of June 10, Kristen Jacobs was monitoring the Twitterverse for mentions of her employer, Creative Memories, as she usually does. One tweet in particular stood out.
Upon closer inspection of the tweet and link, Jacobs discovered that Creative Memories was going head-to-head with one of America’s biggest retailers, Target, in a “Minnesota Brand Madness” challenge put on by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.
Creative Memories learned first on Twitter that it was included in the Minnesota Brand Madness competition.
This was news to Jacobs (the company’s web content community manager), as well as the rest of the scrapbooking company. But Jacobs knew where to turn first.
Facebook Geotargeting Draws 500,000 Fans for Small Biz
Most of us know Facebook marketing is working when more sales roll in or site traffic grows.
But for Alex Morrissey of JamaicansMusic.com, that moment came when a party in Indonesia ran out of goats.
“We invited 200 people to the launch party, but because we’re on Facebook, 1,000 people came,” he said. “We had enough rice and peas, but we had to get more goats.”
Startup Company Eliminates the Cold Call With Twitter
Many salespeople swear by cold calling. But the inherent problem with it? Interrupting people when they’re otherwise engaged. The person might be amenable – or might be turned off.
“We spent a lot of time cold calling or direct emailing,” said Craig Robertson, co-founder and CEO of ecycler.com. “We would catch people when they were busy and they didn’t want to talk to us.”
ecycler.com, founded in 2009, is an Internet-age twist on the cash-for-cans concept. Rooted in the belief that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, the site connects recycling discarders with collectors for mutual benefit.
Social Storytelling Boosts Donations for Ronald McDonald House Charities
If you’ve ever been to a McDonald’s, chances are you’ve seen the donation boxes that support Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) on the counter or at the drive-through window.
How can a little spare change possibly help fund the organization’s global network of hundreds of houses, family rooms and care mobiles (mobile care centers)?
A little change adds up – to nearly $25 million in donations last year with the help of social media. Donation boxes are the single largest ongoing fundraiser for RMHC, helping the charity serve 4.5 million children and families every year.
How Social Media Generated $300,000 in Software Sales in a Weekend
Logos Bible Software has worked hard to build its email list of 300,000. So choosing to shun that email list for its Black Friday promotion says a lot for the chosen alternative – social media.
Practically every other online retailer – and Logos is 100% online – blasted customers with their post-Thanksgiving email promotions.
But this software company solely relied on social media, from testing its ideas to launching the promotion to letting the resulting word of mouth do the work for them.
In response, Logos generated $300,000 in sales in those few days – three times what it brought in during the same period the year before. Not only did it add to the bottom line, but also Logos significantly expanded its fans, followers and customer connections to support future efforts.
How Social Media Drew 27,000 More People to the Races
In Southern California, the Del Mar Racetrack is the place to see and be seen. And now it’s the place to check into, tweet about and post via Facebook.
This Southern California institution, in business for 71 years, draws thousands every summer for horse racing, its cool bars and restaurants and a busy slate of concerts and festivals.
But like many entertainment industry venues, Del Mar attendance has dipped in recent years due to the ailing economy. But in 2010, the track added a new star to its marketing lineup – social media.
With virtually no other marketing changes, social media boosted attendance this past season by 4.2 percent.
“That’s an increase of 27,000 bodies,” said Craig Dado, senior vice president of marketing at Del Mar Racetrack. “In this economy, I’ve got to be honest, it was a little bit surprising.”
