Another one of my retro posts, this time from January 2017 as I discuss the use of widgets on B2B web properties.
Widget Marketing: Can Widgets Benefit B2B Sites?
There has been a lot of “buzz” about widgets and widget marketing recently as creative online marketers have discovered the use of widgets. Widgets are simply pieces of embeddable code that can be found on one site, and embedded in another that can be used to promote your own site or blog. Widgets have become popular with users of online communities as a result the business of marketing via widgets is a great way for site owners (including B2B sites) to promote their content and business.
Widget marketing is starting to catch on in the online marketing world. Today there was a great post by Nick Wilson over at Search Engine Land on link baiting for 2007. According to Nick, a major component of link baiting in 2007 will be “widget baiting”. Widget marketing has been discussed in a number of blogs over recent months. In fact, back in November, Top Rank Blog had posted a great interview with Lawrence Coburn on Marketing with Widgets. Coburn is one of the pioneers in widget marketing
How Can Widgets Help B2B Sites?
Simply put, widgets are all about providing your users with the tools to promote your B2B business or any business/online property for that matter. For B2B marketers, widgets offer the potential to be a means of acquiring new customers at a minimal cost, promotion of your site’s presence out to the rest of the Web, and can provide a traffic source to help build your external link inventory. Abhilash Patel recently discussed how “widget bait” is an incredible form of link building.
Widgets are a great way for promoting your site and your content. For B2B sites, which are looking to create streaming media channels (combining audio, video, photos, text, and RSS feeds etc) and broadcast them live across their site’s pages or blog, widgets can help accomplish this. Sites like splashcast specialize in just that.
As I result we have compiled a list of our favorite widgets and widget related sites:
Top 10 Favorite Widget Sites for B2B Search Marketing
- My Blog Log
- Mashable.com
- Widgetoko
- Snipperoo
- Reuters Widget
- Widgipedia
- Spring Widgets
- Word Press Widgets
- Poll Daddy
- Business Week Widget
My Blog Log is currently my personal favorite as it is very user friendly and is home to a number of interesting and diverse blogs
Honorable Mentions
Looking for more information on Widgets? Check out the following resources:
http://www.sexywidget.com/
http://www.cameronolthuis.com/category/widgets/
http://www.widgetgallery.com/
http://widgets.opera.com/
http://blog.snipperoo.com/marketing_widgets/index.html
http://www.widgetslab.com/
While widget baiting can be time consuming, the results can be tremendous. Can widgets benefit B2B sites? Most definitely providing that you have a strategy for widget marketing, widgets can help B2B site owners promote their sites, their solutions and their brand.