A guest post by Maria Pergolino, Director of Marketing, Marketo.

It’s no secret that modern B2B marketing is all about the web.  B2B marketing is actively being shaped by the power of the internet as a resource and researching tool for prospects and buyers alike.

Add another layer of change when you consider the ability to share information in real-time and modern marketing can get complex, fast.  In this ever-changing environment sometimes it feels difficult to stay ahead of the game – but it’s vital.  To accomplish this, it’s pertinent you stay adaptable.

Follow these three ways to acclimate to the real-time web and the way it’s changing B2B marketing.

1. Provide Relatable Information

Your customers are no longer waiting for information to fall into their lap.  Instead, they’ve taken to the real-time web to search your company name, products and services.  They’re gathering information and forming their own opinions based upon what’s at their disposal.

Many B2B marketing websites are relatively static. You may add new product updates from time to time, or updated copy every so often, but for the most part, new content isn’t added on a regular basis.

B2B blogs and social networking sites allow marketers to add new content weekly or even several times a week. By consistently posting interesting, informative information, organizations will encourage prospects to regularly visit the blog in search of fresh content. Plus, frequently updated, optimized content can help improve a website’s visibility in the search engines.

2. Engage In Seed Nurturing

Lead nurturing campaigns used to take place after prospects landed on your site and entered your database. However, qualified prospects are now visiting your site or social media sites anonymously before you ever have their names or information.  Seed nurturing allows you to build relationships with prospects before they you have any information.  Thanks to the real-time web, you’re able to relay valuable resources to these prospects, helping shape their decision-making process.

Use social media to share educational and resourceful white papers, links and articles.  Your ability to provide facts, research, updates quickly and rapidly will help facilitate your placement as a thought leader of your industry.

3. Practice Online Reputation Management

The Internet now provides a rich arena for brand monitoring, and the marketing analytics possible to report on are robust.  But there is equal potential for the real-time web to either praise or “flame” a brand digitally.  Forums, comments, tweets and statuses can turn open-ended text boxes into a weapon or praise.  To help ensure you’re receiving the latter, there are a lot of ways to correct and respond to any negative brand mentions.  The real-time web gives us the opportunity to leverage brand ambassadors and B2B marketing tools to track our brand and increase awareness, while controlling any negative mentions.

Now that you know a few ways to adapt, it’s time to put these ideas into implementation.  If you haven’t already, develop a social media plan and find out what’s being said about your company and products.

My name is Matthew T. Grant and I am the editor/host of the official pre-game blog for SocialTech 2010.

SocialTech 2010 is a one-day conference focused exclusively on the ways that B2B marketers are actually using social media and other Web 2.0 techniques to achieve real business results. It will be held in San Jose, California on March 25 and we're all hoping to see you there. (Of course, if you can't make it in person, we do have a "virtual attendance" option that you should check out).

The goal of this blog is threefold. Firstly, I want to give folks a preview of conference content through interviews with and contributions from the many speakers.

Secondly, the blog should serve as a forum for conference attendees to share their views and pose questions prior to game day.

Finally, I aim to gather as much information as I can scrounge from the internets on the convergence of social media and B2B marketing in the so-called "high tech space."

If you are interested in contributing to this blog - either because you will be attending the conference or because the topic of social media and B2B marketing is one near and dear to your heart - please, please, please contact me and we'll conversate!