Unisfair "powers" virtual trade shows, expos, conferences and job fairs for companies looking to market to a business audience. Their shows are quite similar to physical events, for example, you can have a sponsor-branded entranceway, a hall for keynote speakers or rooms for panels and conferences. Of course, there's technology to house the requisite exhibition hall and networking lounge as well. Participants interact using a combination of text, audio and video technology. The real bonus to this type of technology is the sophisticated analytics gained by the event host and also by the participants, who are able to virtually collect leads, qualify and rank them and follow up with a number of post-event marketing programs. We do wish that Unisfair had a calendar of upcoming events for business professionals at their site rather than just a showcase of their technology. Clients include PR Week, Penton Media, IBM and McGraw-Hill.
This site is a one-stop resource for everything you ever wanted to know about white papers. Visit the Writing section for articles on how to pick the perfect title, conduct an interview, create a technical brief or dozens of other tasks. In the Marketing category you can explore various white paper distribution services and buyers guide aggregators, read interviews with key personnel from companies like KnowledgeStorm or TechTarget, or explore the growing world of PPC (Pay Per Click) white paper syndication and advertising services. There's a news section, and email newsletter and a forum devoted exclusively to the discussion of using white papers as sales lead generators. Bookmark this one.
XING is an international B2B networking site with (at the time of writing) 2+ million members. Basic membership is complimentary and offers the opportunity to market yourself, find deals and jobs, expand your network and find contacts in thousands of companies around the world. Paid membership adds a host of other features, such as the ability to search for people by current or former company and by expertise, to network with members who have recently looked at your profile or visited your home page, etc.
Registration takes about a minute, and once you are "in" you can upload detailed information about yourself. Or you can jump right into the fray by requesting to join virtual groups organized by industry vertical. At the time of writing, Internet/Technology had 312 different groups organized by industry such as podcasting, e-marketing and e-commerce. Those groups had 825, 390 and 115 members respectively. A moderator must approve your application (he or she reviews your credentials) but you can immediately see a list of members in the group and the companies they work for. The e-marketing category had members from companies such as Google UK, Expedia.com, Doubleclick and Silverpop. Because Xing wants to extend its reach to the "real world", you can also search hundreds of local industry events or host one of your own. The company has been called "Friendster for Grownups" by Smart Money and has been written about in the International Herald Tribune, Red Herring and the like.
zapdata, an Internet service from D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions, provides online access to business data and analysis for the B2B market. The company's products include prospect lists, industry reports and company lookups. Using zapdata's database, a company can build prospect lists by location, industry or demographics. A premium subscription adds job function and specialty data options. If you're looking for industry stats, you can choose specific industry segments by SIC code.
No-cost registration gives you a taste of the available information. Sort lists by company name, size, industry or location. A List Builder subscription, which runs $450(US) annually, allows you to preview, sort and analyze your list. Compare a suppression list against your list for an additional $350(US). More advanced services naturally cost more money.