Our next Virtual Partner Velocity event is happening soon—next week, in fact. So what’s on tap for our broadcast?

This time around, we’ll hear about lead nurturing. During the session Creating High Quality Leads Through Improved Content Creation and Data Management, which will take place on October 28 at 7:30 a.m. PST, Luanne Tierney, VP of WW Partner Marketing, will chat with Dave Green, Director of Best Practices and Applied Research with MECLABS.  Dave will talk about lead nurturing, and the content and data implications of lead nurturing and scoring.

So what is lead nuturing?

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Tags: channels, Cisco, lead generation, Luanne Tierney, marketing, partners, partnervelocity

Courage, determination and social media SUCCESS pretty much sums up the recent accomplishments of Shawn Tylka, a Field Marketing Manager for Cisco’s Service Provider group.

Shawn recently traveled to Nepal with WOGO (Women’s Orthopaedic Global Outreach)- a non-profit volunteer organization that responds to the unique needs of women who develop knee arthritis and joint disease but do not have access to treatment in developing countries around the world.   WOGO is the newest Operation Walk (www.operationwalk.com), a 16-year old, private, non-profit organization.

WOGO started back in 2009 with five female orthopaedic surgeons who came together to empower, educate and engage women in third world countries -- “moving women from pain to power.”

A toothbrush, some clothes, and a Cisco Flip camera is all Shawn needed to begin her journey.

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Tags: Flip, marketing, social media, WOGO

A major component of my job here at Cisco is to get out from behind my desk to meet with you, our partners. No matter what part of the world I’m in during these meetings, there is always one question I know will always be asked: “What are the latest trends in marketing, and how can I put them to work for my business?”

While I wish I could meet with every single one of you from around the globe, the reality is that I cannot (unless you have a DeLorean with a flux capacitor or the secret formula to human cloning).  So I’ve decided to create the Marketing Minute, an ongoing series of short videos designed to help answer the most popular questions that I hear from you.

To start of the series, I’m taking a look at Twitter, one of my favorite social media tools.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBejYFl1Quo

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Tags: Luanne Tierney, marketing, marketing minute, social media, twitter, velocity

Originally designed for tracking automotive parts for vehicle manufacturing, QR codes may very well be the next wave in B2B marketing. Funny how technology can sometimes transcend its original purpose…

Although, we, here in the US, may be a bit slower to adopt QR codes,than the rest of the world, it seems QR codes are poised to make it to the mainstream in the near future. Then, it’s only a matter a time before they become a staple in every B2B marketers arsenal.  Here’s a few points to back that up:

• According to the International Telecommunications Union, there are 2.5 times more mobile phone users than people connected to the Internet. 
• Smartphone manufacturers are pre-installing QR code readers on their phones. This already includes Android, Nokia and some Blackberry phones.
•  QR codes are already making creative appearances in music videos -- see Kylie Minogue’s “All the Lover’s” video, NHL marketing -- see the Detroit Red Wings’ interactive game program, and most notably the giant QR codes in Times Square earlier this year promoting Internet Week 2010.

So, how do we capture the power of the QR code for B2B? Here are a few thoughts on how QR codes can bridge the gap between your offline and online marketing: Read More »

Tags: b2b_marketing, Cisco_channels, Cisco_partner_marketing, marketing, mobile_marketing, QR_codes

• Want to rub shoulders with and learn from the best and brightest marketing minds?
• Interested in getting the inside scoop on the latest social media and web 2.0 marketing trends?
• Want to take your marketing efforts to the next level?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you’ll want to check out our in-person and virtual Partner Velocity events.

Our Virtual Velocity monthly marketing series covers a wide range of marketing topics, from content strategy to lead generation to social media. Be sure to register for the next session “Three Essential Principles to Help Improve Your Lead Generation,” which happens this Monday, September 27. Register for Virtual Velocity here.

What about the in-person Partner Velocity event?

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Tags: barcelona, Cisco, lead, lead generation, marketing, partner, partnervelocity, social media, velocity, video, web 2.0