“Twitter was home to a staggering 77% of total online conversations about and during the debate.” Mashable noted according to a social media analytic report by Attention. So while like it or not, the candidates have to deal with Twitter’s 140 character soundbite-centric world, what can we B2B social media marketers learn from the #debate?

1.Both candidates have a five point plan to fix the economy

Five points to fix the economy. FIVE. If it only takes five points to fix our economy, then you never need a B2B social media blog post, marketing plan, or white paper with more than five points. I mean, sure there are exceptions to every rule, but the candidates seem to understand that we’ve come to a point as a society where if information isn’t short, sweet and easily digestible- your audience will up and leave for another source providing them with what they want.

2. Body language counts for almost as much as what was coming out of the candidates’ mouths.

I keep hearing and seeing the comparison of the two candidate’s body language. Mitt, head up, smirking smartly. Obama, head down, writing, thinking or as Saturday Night Live parodied, being distracted by forgetting Michelle’s anniversary present. What is “body language” to a B2B company with 1:1 social media marketers? I’d say it equates to company culture. Your company culture infiltrates the emails sales people are sending to clients, the tone marketers use to write copy that goes on the website, blog as well as social media marketing. It’s not just what you’re saying, it’s how you’re saying it.

3. No matter how big the gaffe, the news will go on.

Sure Twitter was abuzz about the debate in a way never before seen, and it was talked about a LOT, and is still being talked about. However, once the Jobs Report was released the very next day announcing that the unemployment rate is now 7.8%, the lowest level since almost four years ago in January 2009, did you notice what the Democrats did? They focused most if not all energy on highlighting this key indicator of Obama’s abilities, drawing focus away from his failed performance at the debate.

Life goes on, the world keeps turning, and there’s always new news. If your B2B social media team find itself caught between and a miss-tweet and a social media snafu- say your apologies, to be sure- but change the subject! Attention spans are short and if the debate can show us anything, it’s that no matter how big or bad you think something has gone, take a deep breath and change the conversation, because people will be talking about something else… tomorrow, if they aren’t already.

Did you follow the #debate on Twitter? Did you enjoy it for it’s “comedy gold” like @EricBoggs? Did you join in the debate chatter yourself? Did you find yourself on a Storify account of the debate the following day, as I did? I hope you’re looking forward to the Vice Presidential debate as much as I am! Should be a doozy, and at the least, there will most likely be more B2B social media marketing lessons to learn! Feel free to follow my (warning: highly partisan) tweets @CMBlog and let me know what you think!

Images via Digital Trends, Rollins College Facebook

I’m taking the stage to talk about marketing on niche social networks and Danny will holding down the fort at the Argyle booth. And we’re both looking forward to great talks from Tom Webster, Mark Schaefer, and – of course – Mr. Falls himself.

You can register for the conference at http://ar.gy/explorenashvegas. There are a few spots remaining and we’ve got a $250 discount code – so act fast and you might get a great deal on a great conference. Ping us in the comments and we’ll follow up with the discount code.

Gratuitous country music video for your pleasure:

Well, maybe. But maybe not. Join Eric and social media guru DJ Waldow in next week’s webinar as they discuss The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media Marketing–our findings on the biggest mistakes made by companies today.

Want to know what they are? You’ll need to register to find out. We promise the one hour you spend with DJ and Eric will be the best hour of your day.

See you there.

Our friends at Statsheet and Netsertive hosted the event. 30+ people played in the tournament representing several start-up companies in the area, plus a few local investors. Lots of great networking, hanging out, and NCAA basketball in between matches.

Danny returning the heat from Appia’s Slawek Pruchnik in the final match.

Danny accepting the championship trophy from event host Robbie Allen, CEO of Statsheet.

He explained how important it is to look at research in context. A pile of numbers doesn’t mean much if you don’t dig deeper into questions of how and why. And just because two patterns are correlated doesn’t mean one causes the other; we should always look for a third reason that causes them both.

He also talked about the gap between people on social media and those “who just don’t get it.” There isn’t a “right” and “wrong” view social media; it simply holds value for some people and not for others. A lack of interest in social media is not a disease that we, as ambassadors for the noble cause of social media, need to cure. But I can’t say it better than he already has on his blog, BrandSavant.com.

Big thanks to Tom for coming to hang out with us! Photo of Tom with Argylers below.

Just in case you missed it, eMail Radio, a podcast series that focuses on email marketing, featured an episode dedicated to social media. And who better to talk social media than Jay Baer from Convince & Convert and DJ Waldow, Director of Community from Blue Sky Factory (and an Argyle customer).

It was fun to hear the actual voices of Jay and DJ, as familiar as we are with their smiling avatars. More so, it was very cool to hear what they had to say. Some highlights of the conversation:

• Jay discussed how he sets up goals and his sales funnel through his various communications.
• DJ talked about how Blue Sky Factory is revamping their communication stream.
• “There is a right way and a wrong way to ask people to Follow, Friend or Fan you.”
• At one point, a gigantic dog burst in and attacked DJ. (Well, not really, but it sure sounded that way.)
• Jay felt that an email opt-in is more valuable than an Follower or a Like and therefore social media should enforce the email channel, and not vice versa. Hmmmm…..intriguing.

The conversation does last over an hour, but you can listen while you do other stuff. Like work. Or tweet about it.

What were your favorite talking points? Use the comments!

Well, that’s about how Adam and Eric felt after the Internet Summit 2010 and why it took a few days for them recover and write about it.

First, Eric participated in the pre-conference intensive, where he gave a talk called “What Social Media Tools Do You Need?”  Then the guys proceeded to meet, talk, shake hands with, share business cards with, exchange war stories with and give demonstrations to what seemed like hundreds over the course of the two day event.

The Argyle Social booth was right by the front door of the Demo Showcase room, so we were first stop for many folks.  (Props to Alan and Addy from MailVU for splitting the booth power costs.  Leave it to the entrepreneurs to figure out a way costs by sticking it to the Raleigh Convention Center.)

Of all the Demo Showcase presentations, an Argyle favorite was Doug Kaufman’s from Spring Metrics. In 30 short seconds, he compared Google Analytics to the Matrix and promised to revolutionize online marketing analytics. How cool is that?

To top it all off, there was the TIMA After Party. With barbeque and beer. And fire dancers. Now do you understand why there was a blog delay?

Fire. Dancers.

Were you there? Tell us your favorite moments.

The third annual Internet Summit will be happening around the corner in Raleigh from November 17-18, 2010. This event brings together thought leaders and showcases revolutionary ideas in technology, the Internet and new media. Folks are coming from across the country from big name companies such as StumbleUpon, IBM, Google, Red Hat…oh, and a little company called Argyle Social.

On Wednesday November 17, our very own CEO Eric Boggs will take the stage during the pre-conference intensive on social media. He’ll be discussing which social networks are most effective for your brand and how to manage them for the greatest returns.

Eric will be in good company. Raleigh social media experts Jim Tobin and Jeffrey Cohen will also present, along with representatives from Buddy Media and Microsoft.

And for some more Argyle goodness, check us out at the Demo Showcase , also on November 17. We are honored to be presenting at the showcase alongside other emerging, forward-thinking companies like JobKatch and KnowledgeTree.

If you can’t make it to the Internet Summit, you can still keep up! Just follow the hashtag #isum10 on Twitter.

Post a comment if you’re going, too. We’ll keep an eye out for ya.

Adam will sit on the closing keynote panel of the conference to talk about social media in higher education. Privacy issues, location-based social networks and social media measurement are all up for discussion.

Why is social media so important for higher education? Nearly the entire student population of a university is on Facebook or Twitter. It’s never been more valuable for a college to be on social networks – reaching current students, potential applicants and alumni. And with school budgets getting tighter, being able to measure the ROI on social media efforts is invaluable.

(Too bad there aren’t any social media marketing platforms that will help out with that. Oh, wait…).  

Joining Adam on the panel will be Wayne Sutton, social media mastermind for TriOut and OurHashtag, and Leslie Dare, director of student affairs technology services at NC State. The panel starts at 12:15 p.m. Don’t miss it!

Also, make sure you find Argyle in the Cape Fear Ballroom at Booth 18 Tuesday, Nov. 9. Talk to Adam, demo Argyle, see how useful it is in higher education, be part of the awesomeness. We want to see you there.

Can’t make it to Wilmington? Follow the hashtag #unccause to see what everyone is saying from the conference.

Hope to see you there!