Debbie Weil is a corporate blogging and social media expert, online marketing consultant, speaker and author of The Corporate Blogging Book (Portfolio). She consults with large companies, CEOs and senior executives on how to create blogs that connect with customers and attract media attention.

Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen offers a great suggestion in a recent issue of his AlertBox.

B2B sites ARE different from consumer sites because they must support a longer, more complex buying process.

He suggests: create an “Advocacy Kit” to help your information-seeking site visitor convince the Big Boss that yours is the solution.

Specifically, give your visitor the tools he or she needs to create a persuasive internal memo or presentation. For example:

- short white papers laid out on a Web page (instead of in PDF format) so they can be cut & pasted into a Word doc

- downloadable tables in Word

- downloadable PowerPoints with a neutral background so they can be imported into the presenter’s corporate template

Nielsen’s April 26, 2004 Alertbox B2B: Help Your Fans Convince Their Bosses