ModumUp - Social Selling for B2B, Cheyenne, WY (2026)

08/31/2026

The key to effective ABM? Prioritization

In this episode of the B2B Marketing Leaders podcast, Viviane Ross, Senior Marketing Campaign Manager at Octave, explains how to prioritize accounts and choose the right ABM approach for each segment.

Viviane highlights why starting with a large list of accounts is not enough, and why teams need to identify the accounts with the highest intent, strongest opportunities, and greatest potential. Viviane explains how prioritization helps marketing and sales allocate resources effectively and decide which accounts deserve a highly personalized one-to-one approach.

08/28/2026

ABM is really a sales strategy, not just marketing

In this episode of the B2B Marketing Leaders podcast, Irina Chernova, Demand Marketing Manager EMEA & LATAM at NetApp, explains why ABM should be treated as a shared customer experience rather than a marketing-only initiative.

Irina highlights how marketing primarily orchestrates the process while sales remains deeply involved in customer engagement. Irina also explains why lack of sales commitment and engagement is one of the most common reasons ABM initiatives fail, even when marketing has the right strategy and resources.

08/27/2026

ModumUp spent two years running a LinkedIn Social Selling project for an AI-powered platform used by FMCG teams. It generated 387 B2B leads, including 89 SQLs, through the CEO’s profile.

The app helps merchandisers capture shelf layouts and price tags and provides managers with reports on in-store ex*****on and sales.

The target audience included directors and senior managers responsible for trade marketing, category management, digital transformation, and operations at FMCG companies with 5,000+ employees.

The goals were to generate SQLs and build product and CEO awareness.

At the start, the profile had around 800 connections, no consistent engagement process, and no content.

What we did

1. Built a targeted network and tested regions

We positioned the CEO’s profile as an expert resource.

We started with MENA and South Africa, followed by Southeast Asia and India. Direct lead generation in Latin America did not deliver the desired outcomes, so we returned to stronger markets. Later, we focused on the US and Europe.

Over two years, we added 5,578 target contacts. The connection acceptance rate reached 33%. MENA produced the strongest response, while some Southeast Asian segments showed lower rates.

2. Showed the CEO’s expertise through content

Content covered FMCG and retail trends, AI and the digitization of field operations, and product case studies. Industry insight and practical value came first.

We promoted high-performing posts through direct messages and tagged industry influencers. Within two months, the View Rate tripled. Some posts received thousands of views.

3. Launched a monthly newsletter

It covered FMCG and retail trends, analysis, and market news without direct product pitches. The subscription rate remained between 20% and 23%. Over two years, 1,236 target contacts subscribed.

4. Shifted to advisor partnerships

Some contacts did not want to buy the platform but were open to introducing it to companies in their networks for a commission and acting as local representatives.

We created outreach sequences for advisors, managed conversations for the CEO, and handled initial qualification calls.

MENA and South Africa generated 38 SQLs. Another 23 SQLs followed, mainly through advisors in Latin America.

In the US and Europe, we first focused on industry networking without a sales offer. We then offered a presentation, demo, or call.

Brief, useful follow-ups helped generate MQLs and SQLs.

Results after two years
• 298 MQLs - target contacts who expressed interest and shared their contact details
• 89 SQLs - target contacts who had a call or meeting with the client
• 387 B2B leads in total
• 5,578 decision-makers added to the CEO’s network
• 1,236 newsletter subscribers
• 33% connection acceptance rate

The results came from an expert-led profile, relevant content, a regular newsletter, and one-on-one outreach.

Read the full case study:
https://modumup.com/case-studies/fmcg_platform_387_b2b_leads_through_social_selling

08/25/2026

ABM fails when sales and marketing expect different things

In this episode of the B2B Marketing Leaders podcast, Elena Simkina, Senior Digital Marketing Director at Acronis, shares a lesson from an ABM initiative that did not go as planned.

Elena explains how different interpretations of ABM created a gap between sales and marketing, with sales expecting hot leads while marketing viewed ABM as a joint effort focused on specific accounts. Elena highlights why agreeing on goals, expectations, and responsibilities is critical before launching an ABM program.

08/06/2026

How we organized a meetup in New York with top guests and speakers from major companies using Social Selling on LinkedIn

For the past two years, ModumUp - Innovative B2B Marketing Agency has been building B2B Marketing Leaders - сommunity and podcast, an international community for B2B marketers.

We organize community meetups every month, but until recently, they had all been online. When Olga Bondareva, Founder of ModumUp, planned a vacation in New York, we decided to combine it with the community’s first in-person meetup

We used Social Selling to achieve three goals:

• Find a free venue
• Bring in 4–5 expert speakers
• Attract 10–15 relevant attendees

1. Finding the venue

This was the hardest part, but we eventually found two strong venue options in Manhattan.

The most effective approaches were:

• Warm introductions
• Outreach to potential speakers, with an offer to host the meetup at their company’s office

Channels: LinkedIn and email

2. Finding the speakers

We already had a well-tested process. ModumUp regularly recruits speakers for podcasts, webinars, and community meetups.

For this event, the criteria were strict: experienced B2B marketers from major companies who were ready to share practical AI use cases for B2B marketing, supported by examples and numbers.

Two approaches worked:

• Warm outreach to members of our community
• Cold outreach supported by ModumUp’s track record of webinars, podcast episodes, and events with respected industry experts

The communication path was: LinkedIn -> meeting -> email

The final lineup included speakers from Lenovo, Globant, Kyndryl, and other companies.

3. Attracting the right attendees

Quality mattered more than the number of registrations. We were looking for B2B marketing directors and experienced managers from medium-sized and large technology companies.

We already had a proven process for attracting attendees, which we regularly use for our own webinars and client projects.

We invited selected people through LinkedIn. Registration was managed through Luma, with every application reviewed before approval to make sure the audience remained relevant.

The result was 30 relevant registrations - exactly the limit we had set.

12 people attended. The audience was highly relevant, and the discussion focused on practical AI use cases and the challenges of applying AI in B2B marketing.

Several attendees demonstrated such strong expertise that we now plan to invite them as speakers at future community events.

The meetup achieved everything we had planned. The atmosphere was open and welcoming, the discussion was highly practical, and ModumUp also generated new business leads - although lead generation was never an event goal.

Organizing the meetup alongside a planned trip required additional coordination, but the results confirmed the value of the format and created a strong foundation for future in-person community events.

07/30/2026

Recently, Irina Chernova, Demand Marketing Manager EMEA & LATAM at NetApp, and Olga Bondareva, Founder of ModumUp - Innovative B2B Marketing Agency, shared a year-long ABM and Social Selling case study: 10 strategic accounts, around $20 million in deals, and 3x lead growth compared with the previous approach.

The session attracted 407 registrations from 44 countries and showed how the program worked step by step.

NetApp sells to enterprise accounts with long sales cycles and large buying committees. AI, DevOps, and cloud teams now influence deals alongside traditional IT roles.

For NetApp, ABM was not a standalone marketing program. It connected customer experience and sales alignment around the same accounts. The goal was to identify everyone who could influence a deal and reach them through NetApp employees, not only through marketing campaigns.

The pilot covered 10 accounts in finance, oil and gas, and telecom across EMEA. The account list was already defined. Social Selling helped the team find executives, engineering leaders, and users, match them with the right NetApp profiles, and use content, research, and events to start conversations.

The program began with Irina’s profile and later expanded to gated content, an executive profile, and BDR profiles tied to account goals. ModumUp supported profile strategy, content, coaching, and lead generation.

Phase 1: NetApp Insight

The team engaged relevant contacts before the event, posted during it, and continued conversations afterward. Attendance grew from around 600 to about 1,000. Social Selling helped widen the audience, although the result also reflected the wider event campaign.

Phase 2: Research-led outreach

People could receive IDC and NetApp research by commenting or sending a direct message. The campaign generated 79 responses, including 44 from target companies and eight SQLs. That means 18% of targeted responses moved into the sales pipeline.

Phase 3: Executive-led communication

An executive profile helped the team reach senior decision-makers directly. Relevant connections grew from 800 to 5,000. Average reactions per post rose from 34 to 85, while comments increased from 10 to 31. Many C-level contacts preferred direct messages.

Phase 4: BDR participation

This is where many Social Selling programs lose momentum: maintaining sales consistency is difficult.

ModumUp coached the BDRs and supported their content and outreach. One team member said LinkedIn helped him reach people he could not contact through cold calls because they already recognized his profile and understood why he was writing.

By the end of the project, NetApp had built at least one relationship at every buying-committee level across all 10 accounts.

The takeaway: start with ABM strategy before LinkedIn tactics, test the model on one profile, give each role its own goals and KPIs, and expand only when sales and executives remain involved.

Thank you to Irina for sharing the project and its results so openly 😊

07/23/2026

Join us for TRUST, ModumUp’s sixth annual online conference.

For the past five years, the event was held as Social Selling Con, bringing together experts to explore how B2B marketing and sales teams can work together to drive business growth through social media.

Across those five conferences, 49 speakers shared their experience with more than 10,100 registered attendees from over 50 countries, and the sessions generated more than 12,900 views.

This year, the conference returns with a broader focus and a new name: TRUST.

TRUST will explore how B2B companies can earn credibility, build meaningful relationships, and become trusted voices in their markets. The name reflects five elements that shape trust in modern B2B:

Thought leadership
Relationships
Unique perspective
Strategy
Technology

As AI makes it easier to create and distribute content, visibility alone is no longer enough. B2B companies need real relationships, a clear point of view, strong market authority, and a strategy that connects human expertise with technology.

The conference will explore three ways to build trust: through relationships, through your own authority, and through trusted brands, analysts, partners, and industry experts.

Program

10:00–10:30 AM CT
Olga Bondareva, Founder of ModumUp and organizer of the B2B Marketing Leaders community
The TRUST framework: how B2B brands build credibility in the age of AI

Part 1. Build relationships

10:30–10:45 AM CT
Dmitry Suvorov, Senior Marketing Manager at Harbinger
From outreach to revenue: 215 B2B leads and 2 deals via Social Selling

10:45–11:00 AM CT
Irina Chernova, Demand Marketing Manager EMEA & LATAM at NetApp
NetApp’s approach to Social Selling and ABM

Part 2. Build your own authority

11:00–11:15 AM CT
Speaker to be announced
How category design helps companies define and lead new markets

11:15–11:30 AM CT
Speaker to be announced
Building multichannel thought leadership through company content and personal brands

Part 3. Borrow trust

11:30–11:45 AM CT
Speaker to be announced
Analyst relations as a channel for trust and market influence

11:45 AM–12:00 PM CT
Speaker to be announced
Building credibility through strategic partnerships and industry experts

Our speakers are members of an invite-only Slack community of 220+ senior B2B marketers from enterprise tech companies. Members come from companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, and other leading tech companies. Learn more about the community here: https://modumup.com/b2b-marketing-leaders

You can register for the conference and watch the event here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7485697383134093312

Join us on September 23 at 10:00 AM CT, and feel free to invite your colleagues, friends, and peers!

07/16/2026

How do you build trust in strategic accounts before the first sales conversation?

Irina Chernova, Demand Marketing Manager EMEA & LATAM at NetApp, and Olga Bondareva, Founder of ModumUp, walked through a year-long case study at our online event on July 8.

Below is a recap of the session.

NetApp sells into enterprise accounts with long sales cycles and large buying committees. New roles keep showing up on those committees too: AI, DevOps, and cloud leaders. For NetApp, ABM came down to figuring out who actually influences a deal and connecting with them through people already inside the company. They treated it as customer experience and sales alignment, not a standalone marketing program. The pilot ran across 10 strategic accounts in finance, oil and gas, services, and telco.

Olga walked through how Social Selling fit into that. The team already had a target account list, so the next steps were finding buying committee members on LinkedIn, picking the right internal profiles to represent the company, and using content and events as a natural excuse to open a private conversation. The rollout started with Irina's own profile, then moved to exclusive content, an executive profile, and eventually BDRs.

They tested the approach around NetApp Insight, warming people up before, during, and after the event. Irina then shared gated research where people had to comment or message to get it. That soft mechanic, paired with an already-warmed audience, brought in people from target companies who could be handed to sales as SQLs. Seeing that human layer between marketing and sales work is what convinced the team to scale it. From there they added an executive profile for peer-to-peer outreach with decision-makers, and a lot of C-level prospects went straight to DMs. BDRs joined last. One of them said social media gave him access to people he never could have cold-called, because they already recognized his profile.

The result: around $20M in deals tied to large AI deployments, and roughly 3x growth in leads.

Watch the full session: https://youtu.be/AX51HlQ5c3E
Read the detailed recap: https://modumup.com/blog/netapps-approach-to-social-selling-and-abm

06/25/2026

Recently, our team reviewed LinkedIn outreach messages and discussed the copy mistakes that lower conversion into leads.

LinkedIn outreach rarely fails because of one major mistake. More often, small copy decisions make a message feel generic, pushy, or too demanding.

Here are the patterns we discussed - and what we are changing.

1. The first message explains instead of creating curiosity

Some messages try to answer every possible question before the recipient has shown interest. The result is a small product brochure in the inbox.

A better approach: give enough context to show why the message is relevant, but leave room for a question. A reply such as “Can you tell me more?” means the conversation has started.

2. The message sounds judgmental

Questions such as “Are you still doing this manually?” can make the recipient feel criticized or behind the market.

A better approach: ask neutral questions such as “What do you use for this today?” or “How much time does your team spend on this step?” You get the same information without putting the person on the defensive.

3. Follow-ups make the person feel guilty

“In case you missed my last message” may sound harmless, but it can feel like blame.

A better approach: make each follow-up useful on its own. Add one relevant detail, a short example, or a new reason to reply.

4. The copy relies on mass-outreach phrases

“Quick question,” “Just following up,” and overly polished paragraphs are easy to recognize. Once recipients spot the pattern, they are less likely to consider the offer.

A better approach: write like a person in a real conversation. Keep the message short, specific, and natural.

5. The next step asks for too much too early

When someone asks for an example and receives “Let’s book a call,” the conversation often stops. A calendar slot requires more commitment than another reply.

A better approach: share the example, ask for an email only when needed, provide demo access in the thread, and suggest a call once the person has enough context.

6. The same messages go to different roles

A message based on one pain point is often reused across industries and job titles. Even a strong offer can feel irrelevant when it does not reflect the recipient’s responsibilities.

A better approach: connect the message to the role. Talk about risk with risk leaders, hiring time with hiring leaders, and processes and workload with operations professionals.

LinkedIn outreach still works when the message respects the reader, gives them a reason to respond, and does not ask for too much too soon.

Wishing you success with your Social Selling efforts!

06/18/2026

In a recent episode of the B2B Marketing Leaders Podcast, Olga Bondareva, founder of ModumUp, talks about demand generation in B2B with experts from enterprise companies:

• Irina Chernova, Demand Marketing Manager EMEA & LATAM at NetApp
• Aleksandra Savina, Demand Generation Manager, Global Marketing at Thermo Fisher Scientific

The experts shared how demand generation works in practice at two large B2B companies. Irina Chernova at NetApp described targeted demand as the last mile between strategic programs and sales conversations, with pipeline created and won pipeline as core KPIs.

Aleksandra Savina at Thermo Fisher Scientific runs global demand gen programs in the proteomics division, building campaigns around buyer questions rather than product features.

On what works, Irina Chernova shared how monthly engineering webinars became one of NetApp's strongest ongoing campaigns after the team expanded the audience, added follow-up, and repurposed recordings for lead acquisition. Aleksandra Savina described a 3-4 month proteomics program built around one educational topic across a webinar, white paper, blog, and social channels.

The speakers were also open about less successful initiatives. At NetApp, appointment-setting with external vendors did not deliver the expected pipeline - nurture through content worked better for their model. Aleksandra Savina noted that promoting a single asset without a full customer journey rarely delivers results, and that educational landing pages with too many CTAs often underperform compared with permanent site pages.

Both experts said a large share of the role is orchestration across field marketing, events, communications, digital, and sales. On AI, they start with goals, not tools: Copilot for planning and scheduling, HubSpot for analytics and AI search visibility, with FAQ content and llms.txt as early steps for LLM presence.

A big thanks to Irina and Aleksandra for a great and insightful conversation!

You can check out the full episode on the B2B Marketing Leaders Podcast:

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UldbYypT4_I
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wY46WfJSb3QV1OwqJS2nh
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demand-generation-in-b2b-insights-from-netapp-and/id1852582740?i=1000773161818
Also, read the full article summary of the episode here: https://modumup.com/blog/9g9i7eooi1-thermo-fisher-scientific-and-netapp-on-d

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