Many B2B websites are just a “blow-horn” for their products and services with no meaningful calls to action, or limited opportunity to engage (if any). The reality is most B2B prospects want to get to know a business before they call them or fill out a form. They want to check you out first. And, the way to allow them to check you out is through great content! In this podcast interview with Kim Albee, she discusses how she took risk to launch her business through great content.

This is the year of engagement. When I blogged my predictions for the new decade, one of the points I made is that marketers will seek to engage their target customers more interactively. While I still believe that in this decade the phrase social media will fade away, at this time it’s still here and it’s hotter than it’s ever been.

Jarad Bernstein looks forward into the coming year, making an assessment of what social media trends to watch for in 2010, including increased smartphone use, streaming video, and growing adoption of social media by B2B.

It is not easy to know where to start when it comes to social media. The stories of brands that have taken missteps with fake profiles, and become a lightning rod for negative comments are aplenty - causing more than one marketing team to take a big step back and wonder where and how best to get involved. Increased scrutiny by legal teams, the recession and a general fear of taking risks are also factors that are keeping brands from really digging deeply into using social media.

2009’s crop of top viral video advertisements show us that people are willing to embrace a host of creative approaches on the social video Web, from beguiling mini-films, to user-generated advocacy, to YouTube (YouTube) celebrity endorsers, to elaborate commercial-grade productions. That’s good news for creators.