Oracle is offering more training and support to channel partners who want to expand their use of social media for marketing and demand generation.
The launch of the Modern Marketing Resource Center through the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) offers a range of resources, including a Webcast series and a library of how-to materials, to help channel partners get into the social media game.
Oracle also said it is allowing OPN members to use the Oracle name and trademark in Google AdWords advertisements to help boost sales.
[Related: Facebook Launches New Social Search Engine]
While social media is quickly gaining importance as a marketing tool, many solution providers are not social-media-savvy.
"These social media enablement capabilities add to the resources we offer our partners," said Lydia Smyers, Oracle group vice president of worldwide alliances and channels, in an interview. She said Oracle recognizes that principals at many solution providers "are technologists first and marketing and demand generation aren't generally top-of-mind."
But the interest is there. At Oracle OpenWorld in October the vendor offered partners social media "help stations" in the OPN lounge, providing partners with free, 20-minute consultations on how to make use of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to raise their market profiles and generate sales leads. Smyers said partners eagerly booked all the available slots for the consultations.
The resource center is specifically providing a three-track Webcast series on how to build an online community including developing detailed company profiles, creating an online brand, and leveraging analytics to help measure the effectiveness of a company's online efforts. Oracle, Redwood Shores, Calif., is also developing a library of materials such as social media best-practices guides.
Smyers said the plan is to continue expanding the OPN social media offerings, such as by adding presentations by Oracle social media experts.
PUBLISHED JAN. 30, 2013
