Social Media Success Story
I wanted to share a success story with you of a traditional trade association, the PMPA (Precision Machined Products Association) and their results from starting a social program a little over a year ago (disclosure: they are a client of ours).These types of associations aren’t very sexy and they have plenty of competition out there for members to help them run their business better.
I recently caught up with Tom Hammel from Contractor Supply magazine, and he was able to share some insights as to what STAFDA distributors were doing to get them through the 2009 downturn. Tom shares his thoughts here.
Contractor Supply magazine's editorial director shares the successful tactics that STAFDA distributors used to get through the 2009 downturn. Listen to the Podcast: [audio http://tradesmeninsights.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/tom_hammel.mp3 Download the Podcast...
Pros and Cons of Starting a Blog
Blogs can be a very important part of your social media strategy. I use it as the hub of all other activity and get more hits to it than our website. If you’re thinking about doing a blog, here are a few things to consider first.
Thought Leadership: Repurpose, Repackage, Refine Messages
If you’re a blogger, you know that it takes a lot of time to continually write posts, and once it’s on your site, you have to start on the next one. You may be overlooking ways to “re-use” the content across other medias to generate new conversations. Here are some hints:
Social Media Strategy: READY-FIRE-AIM
60% of companies using social media have no plan. Shooting from the hip does not make sense. Companies are going about social strategy backwards, by first concentrating on the tools and technologies instead of focusing on what they want to achieve
B-to-B Marketers Are Slow Adopters of Social Media
This should not be news to anyone in the Industrial or B-to-B space. We have always been lagging when it comes to new technology. When the web started in the early 90s, we were some of the last to jump on board. So it should be understandable that we lag our B-to-C counterparts.
Use Twitter to Talk Up Your Brand to Tradesmen
If you don’t talk up your brand on Twitter and other social sites you’re missing the boat.
This according to a recent post on eMarketer.com from ROI Research.A study in April of 2010 found that at least once a week 33% of active Twitter users shared opinions about companies or products ,while 32% make recommendations and 30% ask for them.
Mobile Apps to Reach Tradesmen: Are You Ready?
What’s one of the most important tools a contractor has with him? If you said his phone, you win the prize! With the advent of smart phones like the iPhone and now the Android, there are opportunities to reach your customer on a job site. Are you planning that far ahead?
Social Media: How Can Manufacturers Get the Most Out of It?
In our day-to-day marketing for manufacturers, we focus on selling the products or services they offer. We talk about the features and benefits and how we can solve their problems. A good and sometimes a one-way conversation centered around us.
Then we jump into social media and expect the same tactics to apply. Unfortunately they don’t.