HubSpot has acquired PieSync, a real-time intelligent customer data synchronization platform. The acquisition aims to offer companies a more efficient way of managing multiple apps and assessing customer touchpoints.

Users can now create LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms from within HubSpot’s free ads tool. Following the addition of ads tools to the HubSpot CRM in July, the new functionality positioned marketers to collect leads from their ads on LinkedIn using pre-filled forms that can be set up within the connected HubSpot platform.

Dialpad’s new business phone system for modern sales teams, Dialpad Sell, is designed to improve calls as they happen by providing real-time coaching and conversational insights. These insights are aimed to help sales reps close more deals, make managers more efficient coaches and help sales teams be more productive.

HubSpot announced new features to its marketing and sales platform, including a duplicate management tool, drag-and-drop features for its Email and Knowledge Base offerings, as well as refined usability features for its Conversations tool. The company stated that the new features and updates aim to improve functionality, increase reliability and offer a more sophisticated user experience across the entire HubSpot platform.

Supermetrics, a reporting automation tool for PPC, SEO, social and web analytics, has partnered with HubSpot to launch the Supermetrics HubSpot Connecter, a tool designed to combine marketing data across HubSpot portals with ease.

Innovation and disruption in the technology sector are soaring, but customer experience continues to falter. Research from B2B International shows that only 14% of large B2B companies are truly customer-centric. However, progressive companies that have seen great success over the past couple of years are focusing on disrupting the customer experience to ensure buyers control the decision-making process, have as little friction as possible and build genuine relationships with their new partners.

Chili Piper’s scheduling platform is designed to boost buyer engagement by allowing qualified leads to automatically book a meeting or call after filling out a site’s contact form. The solution aims to automate complex scheduling process across teams and departments to provide buyers with the best possible experience.

One of the best resources available to marketers today is a healthy list of engaged, happy customers. Research from Demand Gen Report shows that nearly two-thirds (65%) of B2B buyers will turn to peer review sites when selecting and evaluating new technology. Customer success is paramount to both maintaining current revenue streams and attracting new business.

Progressive B2B brands are taking a note from the B2C playbook and meeting buyers on their preferred platforms, such as on podcasts, through videos and on social media. In fact, the number of buyers using social media to research potential solutions has grown from 20% in 2012 to 54% in 2018, according to the B2B Buyers Survey. Yet, research from the Content Marketing Institute shows that while 80% of B2B marketers have a social media strategy in place, only 32% have documented it.

A winning social media strategy must be documented and expansive. B2B companies should leverage a variety of social media platforms to not only promote their products, but also share relevant content, engage with customers, build brand awareness and more. Here are five B2B brands with a stellar social media presence we can all learn from:

MailChimp Mixes Eye-Catching Visuals & Humor On Instagram

MailChimp is an email marketing platform, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at their Instagram. The company’s Instagram page is a beautiful blend of bright colors, entertaining videos and a dash of humor — a winning combination that has landed MailChimp over 83,000 Instagram followers. Visit the page for yourself and see if you can resist hitting the follow button.

Slack Drives Customer Engagement, Service Via Twitter

Slack leverages Twitter as a two-way communication platform to engage with current and prospective customers. On most days, the Slack Twitter is awash with relevant videos, articles and more, and the Slack team is constantly responding to comments from other Twitter users. But on days where Slack is down, the company uses Twitter as an active platform to send out status updates and field individual questions and feedback from users. With Twitter, Slack can provide real-time customer support in an easily accessible and scalable way.

HubSpot Continues Post-Event Conversations Over Facebook 

The best brands don’t just have social media pages for their companies, but also their events. HubSpot is a shining example of Facebook use at its finest.

The company has created a separate Facebook page solely for its annual INBOUND event. Although the event takes place in early September, the company is dedicated to building a year-long, sustainable community around it. To do so, HubSpot created an INBOUND Studio page, where it posts video interviews, “dear attendee” tips, quotes and more on a regular basis. The posts help drive engagement long after the event has ended, as well as build excitement around the following year’s event.  

Oracle Humanizes B2B Marketing On LinkedIn

LinkedIn is repeatedly named the top social media platform to reach B2B buyers, and Oracle is a prime example of how to best leverage the site. The company is ranked 9^th on LinkedIn’s top companies list and has amassed more than three million LinkedIn followers. Beyond just sharing content and relevant news, Oracle makes a point to connect with its followers and showcase the people behind the brand.

Earlier this month, the company opened up about losing 11 employees on 9/11. Then, in the wake of Hurricane Florence, Oracle posted a video of two employees who are delivering supplies and providing aid to those affected by the storm and urged its followers to join them in giving back. In doing so, Oracle humanizes its brand and creates a company image that people will want to support.

Adobe Fuels Instagram Feed With Customer Content

Instagram is quickly growing in popularity and is considered the number one platform for engagement. Nevertheless, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many B2B brands using the platform, let alone posting content on a regular basis.

Adobe, which recently acquired Marketo, has a notable Instagram presence on par with MailChimp. The Adobe Instagram feed looks like something straight out of Pinterest, with breathtaking travel photos, inspirational quotes and quirky designs. But don’t be fooled by the professional-looking photos, as they are often created by Adobe users themselves. By crowdsourcing user photos, Adobe always has a steady stream of content available and can showcase the power of its products over social media.

In a quick interview at INBOUND 2018, hosted by HubSpot earlier this September in Boston, Demand Gen Report’s Brian Anderson sat down with Scott Brinker, HubSpot’s VP of Platform Ecosystem. Brinker is also notoriously known for mapping out the martech landscape on the Chief Marketing Technologist blog.

During the interview, Brinker shared how he has seen HubSpot’s partner ecosystem grow during his first year at HubSpot. He also discussed how the need for easily integrated solutions has grown evermore important over the past couple of years, as well as where he thinks partner ecosystems need to continue evolving to meet the needs of tech adopters in the space.

Listen to the full podcast to hear more of Scott's insights: