by tradesmeninsights | Apr 10, 2009 | Marketing Tips
Invite the reader to become a “FAN” so you can share more information with them
For those of us who have just recently set up a Facebook account for business purposes, we are all looking for ways to maximize our exposure and get the most out of what’s available. In my search for ways to increase my use of Facebook, I ran across a post by Steve Coulson, “5 Tips for Optimizing your Brands for Facebook” on ways to optimize your brand. His tips ranged from the right way to create a profile to developing different content to fans and non-fans.
Here are 3 takeaways I got from his post that would be very applicable for industrial and B-to-B users:
1. Optimize your web site share preview. One of Facebook’s strengths is the viral spread of shared links into new feeds using the links application. This gives you the option of presenting a number of images that can accompany the link.
2. Display different content for “fans” and “non-fans.” For a B-to-B user, this is a great way to invite the reader to become a fan by incentivizing visitors to see exclusive content. This content could be the latest new product or a special promotion.
3. Defining a publishing schedule for your content. If you manage and spread out updates, it allows you to carry on an ongoing dialog with your fans. Facebook offers different types of updates, e.g., links, notes, videos, and Steve suggests you mix them up which would help create more interaction within the first 24 hours. This is important since updates drop out of the newsfeeds after that time period. Also by using a schedule, you can monitor and track which content gets you more traction/conversations.
B-to-B marketers, by using these types of tips, can help set themselves apart and get more conversations going with fans on Facebook.
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 9, 2009 | Marketing Tips
Professional tradesmen and contractors are busy people just like the rest of us, and if we want them to read our blogs, we need to give them info that’s timely and informative.
The key objective is to not only get info out, but to engage the reader and get their thoughts and comments.
Business blogs tend to be a bit dry and it’s up to you to keep things interesting. I read a post recently from Alyssa Gregory on ways to engage readers of business blogs and here are some highlights:
- Offer advice. You’re an expert in this field, so offer the tradesman some practical advice on how he can do his job better.
- Talk to the audience. If they’re reading your blog, there’s a reason. Since they share a common interest, you need to talk to your audience, but more importantly, keep an eye on their comments and feedback as this will be good material for future posts.
- Share a personal story. Let them see the other side. This helps in building a stronger relationship.
- Go off topic. Throw in an occasional non-business related post. Everyone needs some comic relief.
- Keep it short and sweet. These contractors are busy, so get to the point and deliver (WIIFM) What’s In It For Me.
- Give up the wheel. Instead of doing all the talking, ask questions and ask for comments.
- Give readers what they want. Don’t ask the contractors for their comments if you don’t do anything with them. Acknowledge comments and answer questions. Their feedback will give you material for future posts and even surveys.
Business posts don’t have to be dry and boring. If you’d like to read Alyssa’s entire post: Ways to Engage Readers of a Business Blog
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 9, 2009 | Marketing Tips
Will blogs replace e-mail?
After Al Gore invented the Internet, everyone was saying that print magazines that served the trades would be a thing of the past. They said that this old technology would be replaced by the Web. Well since the invention of the Internet, there have been thousands of new magazines launched the old-fashioned way via the printing press.
Darren Rowse from the ProBlogger wrote an article on Hendry Lee from BlogBuildingU. Hendry makes a point that the same was said about e-mails once blogs were introduced.
E-mails lead all other channels by a wide margin in terms of performance. 80.4% of more than 3,000 surveyed choose e-mail as a strong adverting performer compared to 56.8% who chose search.
He suggests a combination of both. Here’s his rule of thumb:
Reach your readers whenever they want and via the content distribution channels and formats they prefer. That almost sounds too simple, doesn’t it. Give the customer what he wants, when he wants it. Brilliant!
He goes on to highlight some benefits to both e-mails and blogs.
Here are some highlights:
E-mail lets you deliver content on a regular basis which promotes recognition… good content creates interest … interest encourages interaction.
E-mail helps you move the prospect down the roads by nurturing a relationship and interaction.
Blogs. E-newsletters are the most popular method of driving people back to your blog… build buzz… create a series of lessons that can be delivered using a sequence autoresponder which will deliver them one at a time over a pre-determined interval.
By using both these tools, you can improve your marketing efforts .
To read his entire post: Blogs and Email How to Get the Best of Both Worlds
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 6, 2009 | Marketing Tips
I’ve been reviewing dozens of manufacturer’s blogs and have noticed that a number are committing a fatal error. They are trying to be all things to all people.
That brings up the subject of “niche marketing” and in this case, “niche blogging.”
The more general the blog, the less effective it is if you’re trying to reach a particular target audience. This is never more true when you’re trying to reach a specific group of tradesmen.
The purpose of a blog is to have an ongoing conversation with your customer or potential customer. In the case of professional tradesmen, whether they be electrician, plumbers or iron workers, they only have so much time, and when they’re looking for info, it has to be relevant to them. By focusing in on a niche, you set yourself up as an expert.
Here are six quick tips on how you can make a niche blog work in your favor:
- Engagement. If your blog is focused on an niche, you will develop a following that will be easy to engage in topics presented.
- Expertise. Because you’re focusing on a niche, you become an expert.
- Feedback. Because your focused feedback will increase significantly.
- Relationship building. Isn’t that what blogging is? What a better way to engage someone in a non-threatening way.
- Organic search. Because your topic is focused, it will certainly increase the number of hits.
- Branding. Added exposure, interaction and loyal readership translates into brand building.
Remember that casting a larger net won’t insure you’ll get more fish. You are better off fishing where the fish are.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 31, 2009 | Marketing Tips
In their marketing to tradesmen, manufacturers are always looking for cost-effective ways to reach out to both existing and potential new customers. E-mail marketing is one tool that can do both.
Manufacturers who sell through a distribution channel have the most difficult challenge in that they sell their product to a middle man, who in turns sells it to the ultimate end user. Distributors for the most part are very protective of their customer list, so the challenge for the manufacturers is to get their names.
One way is to use product warranty or registration forms to develop a database. This also helps you segment your list for addressing specific issues, either on the product or industry application.
Other ways of generating e-mail addresses is to sponsor e-newsletters from trade publications, inquiries from your web site and trade advertising, as well as trade show and distributor open houses and counter day promotions. A note: when having someone fill out a form, make sure somewhere on it you have them OK (opt-in) so you can send them stuff via e-mail.
Research from Datran Media shows e-mail is still important:
- Driving incremental sales
- Reinforcing a company’s brand position
- Improving customer relations
I read an article from GlobalSpec that outlines ways you can improve your e-mail marketing. Here are some highlights from the article:
- Manage your list. You need to segment and grow your opt-in list. We talked a little about ways above on how you can do both. The key here is to make sure we have permission to e-mail to them. The last thing you want is to be black-listed because of spam.
- Be relevant. Don’t say something for the sake of saying it. We talked above about segmenting your list. One of the reasons is so you can talk specifics about a product or process that is relevant to the reader.
- Deliver on your promises. If you say you’re going to put out a monthly newsletter, you’d better deliver. There are no right or wrong answers on frequency other than being consistent. Unless your products or services change often, I’d suggest starting them quarterly.
- Use e-mail to generate leads and sales. Even if you don’t have new products coming out, you can use white papers or case studies to generate interest.
- Look beyond your own list. Partner with respected third parties in your industry to expand your reach.
Read the entire article: Five Practical Ways to Improve E-mail Marketing
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 31, 2009 | Marketing Tips
The number one rule in marketing to tradesmen is to do more listening than talking.
Once you stop talking and start listening, they will tell you what’s on their minds and what you can do for them.
In a one-on-one meeting, an aggressive salesman can do all the talking or interrupt a customer in the middle of a thought. They can’t do that in an e-mail which helps you get good feedback.
This same rule applies to the use of e-mail when marketing to tradesmen.
Karen Bannan of BtoB Magazine interviews Loren McDonald of Silverpop who said,
“E-mail is a two-way medium. If you don’t solicit feedback or ignore it when you get it, you miss the chance to improve your programs, solve problems, expand to meet needs or retain customers.”
Here are a few of his suggestions:
- Provide plenty of ways for them to contact you. Other than your e-mail address, you can use a “contact link” and a visible link on your home page.
- Survey your readers. From asking new subscribers if they’d like to see something specific, to doing a formal survey a few times a year about how the company or its products are doing.
- Watch for responses. If you go to the trouble of asking, you should also make sure someone is in charge of getting back to them with at least an acknowledgement that you’re working on an answer.
This all seems like common sense, but sometimes we’re so busy trying to get the message out that we lose site of the big picture.
E-mail marketing gives you a unique and easy way to have your customers talk with you. What a novel idea!
To read the enire post: How to use email to get your customers talking to you.
