by tradesmeninsights | Oct 27, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
In today’s market, everyone seems to be focusing on social media as the thing to do. Both social and traditional tactics have a place in your marketing plan. Inbound and outbound marketing must work together to get the most bang for your buck today. Social media or email can’t be isolated tactics, but should be used together.
I recently read an article by Kipp Bodnar in Social Media B2B, 7 Awesome Email and B2B Social Media Integrations that I thought hit the nail right on the head. Here are some highlights:
- Use social media links in your emails – pretty simple but you’d be surprised how many folks miss this opportunity.
- Use social media to grow your email list – you have a better chance of getting a lead if you can convince them to sign up, for example, for your monthly newsletter.
- Test email efforts on social – before sending out a communication to your list, test it on social to see what kind of reaction you’ll get.
- Use social media for future email content – follow and listen to what the hot issues are on social and craft future messages around those issues.
- Source leads correctly – use tracking URLs to better understand where your interest is coming from.
Those are some highlights; what are you doing to integrate social into your traditional marketing efforts?
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 26, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
For those of us who are doing blogs, we sometimes get so focused on the social media side of things that we forget to use traditional methods of promotion to promote it.
I recently read a post by Heidi Cohen, 34 Ways to Raise Blog Readership Without Using Social Media. Although all her suggestions aren’t relevant to the manufacturing segment that’s trying to reach the professional tradesman, I’ve highlighted some of the points that hit home to me.
- SEO – using keywords maximizes your reach.
- Promote on your website – we even have the three most current posts on our home page to draw attention to the blog.
- Do an email – to the appropriate audience with link.
- Packaging – promote on outside of box.
- Press release – not for every post, but certainly for important ones that have to do with industry research.
- Include your blog on your business card and on your email signature.
If you’re doing a blog, what ways are you promoting it other than by social?
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 25, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
Product landing pages have distinct advantages — they help focus the user on the offer by directing them to a page that has relevant info, presented in a compelling way that hopefully will get them to engage and interact with your brand.
To that point, we need to make sure that the user stays on the page, gets what they want and hopefully converts to whatever your call-to-action is.
I recently read a good article in Mashable where they interviewed Zach Morrison, VP of Strategy, from Elite SEM on his thoughts on how to improve your landing pages. Here are some highlights:
- Optimize pages for web reading – from layout to look and feel. Also make sure you have a mobile friendly version.
- Write copy with search in mind – while it’s important to write for the user and answer the question of “what’s in it for me,” the more copy related to key words, the better as it helps in search.
- Use images carefully – while it’s important to use photos or videos, make sure that you’re just not putting them in for the sake of it. You want a clean, well-thought-out page that’s not too cluttered.
- Highlight a call-to-action – tell the customer what they need to know, what they need to do and where they need to go. Make it clear and obvious. If you use a call-to-action button, explain to them what you want them to do.
The key to any activity is to keep things simple, focused on a message and have a clear call-to-action.
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 20, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
Blogging greatly improves search engine optimization, which has proven to be a key lead generating factor for new business. Following are some highlights from a post from my social media mentor, Michael Gass.
How new business is being acquired for companies is currently undergoing a paradigm shift; instead of pursuing clients, it’s now more important for your prospective clients to find your company.
Blogs make their search easier.
2011 HubSpot ROI Study
In a recent 2011 HubSpot ROI Study, 69% of businesses surveyed said that blogging attributed to their lead generation success. The study also found that 75% of businesses believed SEO was a primary factor. The study shows companies that blog attract 55% more website visitors than non-blogging companies.
Blogs generate far more visitors by:
o Search visibility – blogs are organized to be search engine friendly. Plus the more content you have (well-linked), the more chances there are of attracting search traffic.
o Click-through traffic – through posting interesting articles a blog gives a reason for other people to link to you.
o Repeat traffic – regularly updated content and comments bring visitors back… and back… and back. Most company websites are not conducive to repeat traffic, particularly if your website hasn’t been updated in 5 years.
o Personality – create a blog around your company’s culture and let your personality shine through. People will be attracted to you. People like to associate with people they like. It’s hard to make friends with a business, but easy to warm to an individual with a welcoming personality.
o Viral effects – you create something cool and visitors tell their friends, who tell their friends… and so on.
o Authority/credibility – blogging allows you to become an expert in the minds of your prospective clients.
Company Website | Blog
Your company’s website functions well as an online brochure, a place for your credentials and credibility. A website doesn’t have the potential that a company blog has for significant online traffic and to provide prospects a reason to visit often. A blog can be the gateway to your company. Through content marketing, focused toward a specific target audience, a company’s blog can become a great lead generation tool for new business.
Your company’s website is about YOU, but your blog should be about THEM. Blogging keeps you focused on what is important to your prospective clients. It forces you to speak to their benefit instead of your company’s products and capabilities. Blog content, if developed correctly, will have more appeal to your prospective client audience because it is focused on their marketing needs and challenges.
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 18, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
I recently spoke with Scott Chapin from Circle 44 Mobile, a division of DigiKnow who is a strategic partner of ours, on how and why manufacturers should be using QR codes in their everyday marketing efforts.
Scott covers not only why they should use them, but gives some practical advice and best practices for those thinking of using them. If your end users are mobile, and most professional tradesmen are, then you need to listen to this informative interview.
Click here to listen.
If you like this post you may like:
What are you Doing to Insure a Successful QR Code Campaign?
Manufacturers: Are you Taking Advantage of QR Codes?
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 13, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing
Alternative energy is a growth market and we decided to do an overview of what’s available for those thinking of getting into this market.
The market overview gives a quick snapshot of the industry, the industry players and industry trends. Driven by the agency’s existing knowledge and additional research, content was compiled into a basic overview of the growing alternative energy market.
This market overview highlights a vast amount of information on the alternative energy industry, from industry trends and issues to information on various types of renewable energy. The overview also features information on training firms and certification organizations, codes and standards, and offers online resources, websites, trade shows and trade publications in each individual market.
To sign up to receive a copy of the Alternative Energy market overview, or any of our other market overviews, click here.
