by tradesmeninsights | Oct 17, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing
If a picture is worth a million words, then what’s a video worth?
B-to-B marketers are finally coming to realize that video is an important marketing tool. What some don’t realize is that putting it on your website may not be the best place to house it. Video should be housed somewhere like YouTube. From a branding perspective, start your own channel on YouTube. I don’t know a manufacturer that couldn’t take advantage of this marketing tool.
Here are some interesting stats:
- Next to Google, YouTube is the next highest used search engine.
- YouTube has 30 million daily active users. There are 500 hours worth of video being uploaded every minute.
- Google says that an indexed video stands a 50-time greater chance of ranking on the first page of search than a textual page.
- Video rates have 400% higher engagement than a static site.
Anyone can get into the video game today. You can buy a good camera for around $300 and there is editing suite software available that almost anyone can use.
Here are just a few of the ways that video can be effectively used for B2B business challenges:
- Boost Awareness, Visibility and Reach
- Customer Education with Product/Service Demos and Training
- Build Trust with Customer Testimonials/Case Studies
- Boost Engagement (keep attention on your message)
- Lead Generation: Drive Interest and Boost Leads
- Change Management: Leverage Video to Persuade and Motivate
- Call to Action: Engage Emotion – Demonstrate Value – Create Interest – Drive Action
- Branding: Craft a Consistent Message for a 24/7 Global Audience
So if you haven’t taken advantage of video, you should give it a try to see what kind of new activity will come your way.
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 3, 2012 | Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing
By Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect at Sonnhalter.
I don’t think any manufacturer out there would argue the importance of training. What manufacturer wouldn’t want to ensure their customers are trained properly on how to use their products or informed on their latest product offerings. Plus, training offers manufacturers a way to further differentiate themselves from competitors as well as continue to build their brand with their customers.
There are many ways to approach and handle training; from how-to videos and online training courses, to traditional, printed instructional manuals and sales people demonstrating products in the field. But sometimes there is no substitute for in-person training.
One manufacturer that is leading the way for in-person training is Viega. I should note that Viega is a former client of Sonnhalter. The Viega Education Facility, located in Nashua, NH, is a stand-alone, dedicated building for training and I have to say, a pretty impressive facility. It first opened up in 2006 and since then, over 10,000 people have completed training sessions. Viega averages over 200+ days of training per year, with attendees ranging from architects, contractors and engineers to apprentices, distributors and even Viega employees. Currently there are over 13 standard courses covered in two-day, three-day or five-day sessions.
Here are some course examples: Radiant Design, Piping and Controls, NFPA 13D Fire Sprinkler, Geothermal & Solar and Commercial Radiant Heating & Cooling. Every year, Viega revamps existing courses and adds new ones to encompass the latest technological advances, industry requirements and the newest practices. You can find details for all the individual training sessions as well as register and schedule your training online at www.viega.us/en/service/training..
I’ve had the opportunity to attend a Viega training session. This 2-day training session was focused on continuing education for media partners and included editorial staff from leading trade publications and associations. The training session included classroom discussions about systems and applications within residential, commercial and industrial environments as well as hands-on time to experience several manufacturers’ products and tools.
We were exposed to many different technologies and options as the training was not exclusive to Viega’s products. I personally had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of hands-on applications, from threading pipe and installing a radiant flooring system to pressing various materials (copper, stainless steel, PEX, carbon steel pipe) with the Viega ProPress® system.
It is great to see the level of commitment Viega continues to put behind training and education. I realize not every manufacturer can have a dedicated training facility or the resources to support it, but every manufacturer should have some level of product training.
What are you doing to ensure you are keeping your customers trained?
If you liked this post, you might want to read:
Podcast: Why Online Training Gives you the Edge.
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 2, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
From a B-to-B perspective, I believe LinkedIn is probably one of the best and most under-used tools in social media.
Think about it. You normally link with people who have similar business interests. Why not let them know your thoughts on subjects using your blog content as one of those sources? I have over 800 connections and through those, I have the potential of reaching over 10 million folks that are connected to my connections. Chances are if someone likes what I have to say, they will share it with others not only on LinkedIn, but on other social platforms.
- Your profile views also drive traffic to your blog – if you put a link to your blog homepage.
- Make a conscious effort to add 2-3 new contacts each week – people you meet at networking events or business functions. LinkedIn even prompts you to invite people who are linked to others you’re already linked to.
- Join Groups – there is a search box where you can look for people, companies or groups. Type in some key words and phrases and see what kinds of groups already exist that you should join.
- Start a group – if no group exists, start one. What better way to establishing credibility in a specific market segment.
Most importantly, you need to become active! LinkedIn is one of my best sources for traffic to this blog.
You need to update your profile, post status updates, post links to blog posts, participate in group discussions and answer questions.
Don’t waste an opportunity.
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 11, 2012 | Marketing Tools
Do you read industry blogs and wonder if your company should get involved in blogging? Blogging can be a valuable marketing tool that gives your organization a way to prove its expertise.
In order to tap into the values that blogs offer, manufacturers need to ask themselves certain questions and make several decisions before their blog goes live. This webinar will help participants find out if a blog should be a part of their marketing plans and what all is involved in starting one.
Join us on September 25th at 2:00 p.m. EDT for the free one-hour webinar.
This webinar is available for viewing on our YouTube channel – click here.
by tradesmeninsights | Aug 1, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing
Guest Post
Sage Lewis is Founder and CEO of SageRock Inc., a digital marketing agency in business since 1999 and recognized as a Marketing Sherpa top ten U.S. search marketing company.
You do a search on Google for your top-selling product and there you are in spot #1. Whew. Your listing is followed by your best distributor and then after him that new startup you signed on that knows how to market online, but has a website from 1998. Then the trade publications are interspersed in there, touting your product in their article but, sure enough, your competitor’s ad is all over the landing page. The paid search is filled mostly with competitors and Ebay folk selling parts without your permission.
Face it, this is a mess.
Your brand and products are being represented by everyone with a vague interest in them online. You want to control the marketing message, but how? Ideally people would come to you and localize for the distributor, but you can’t tell partners to disengage because it’s driving revenue for everybody. You talked about cookie cutter distribution sites, but those flop in Google. You can’t fund top distributor’s marketing the same as the guy who sells every competing line indiscriminately. Besides they all talk after 3 beers and you don’t need that hassle.
So, you do your own SEO and Paid Search and keep your head down, right? Wrong. There IS a solution to this madness. Here’s what you can do to fix this:
Create a system
What’s the ideal? Step one is defining the goal. What does page one on Google realistically need to look like when you visit? Now make it happen. How? That’s the system part.
Part one of the system:
Create a portal, a first place of contact for those selling product. It should be populated with everything you wish they inherently knew and thought you didn’t have to tell them (you do).
Shareable useful content:
- Approved photos
- Press releases on product and parts
- Video tutorials on selling and running demos
- Downloadable brochures and sales PDFs
- Recommended products by industry, price and other demo targeting
Tools and Resources:
- Training in effective SEO and PPC practices
- Google Analytics basics
- Localized targeting advice for PPC
- Local Page claim instructions
- SEO phrase recommendations for product and location (help everyone understand long vs. short tail)
- Ideal Phrases for distributors vs. corporate (and why they should comply for their best interest)
- Web design consultation and improvement tips and options
- Free software for managing digital marketing
Policy:
- Link back requirements
- Duplicate content restrictions
- Spam and other deal breakers
- Blog and social media policies
Launch the System
- An onsite launch / workshop is ideal.
- Explain and build excitement about the common goal (Discuss the master plan for online dominance).
- Show everyone how working together means increased revenue for those who comply.
- Bring in experts for your event.
Give funding incentives for those who follow the system
People won’t do it. Plain and simple. Money talks. Match investment. Give marketing dollars to those who use the portal and comply with the system. The smart ones will see the benefit and jump all over it.
Monitor and follow-up
- Use the tools in the portal to do your own digital marketing work.
- Monitor who’s doing what out there and reach out to the eyesores and the high achievers.
- Combat competitors who hijack product phrases. In paid, by contacting Google about policy and inorganic by creating content strategies that smack spam landing pages down.
- Encourage those complying to share success.
- Offer additional incentives for high achievers.
Is it a lot of work? Yes. Is it free of investment? No. Is it worth it in the long run? Of course. Take back your brand.
by tradesmeninsights | Jul 11, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
For those of you who read me on a regular basis, you know I’m high on LinkedIn and what it can do to help you grow your business contact list. With over 161 million business members, there are certainly opportunities there if you know where and how to look.
That’s why I’m always trying to improve how I use this important business tool. As Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn says, “It’s better to be the best connected than the most connected.”
Jeff Korhan wrote a great post recently in social media examiner that outlines and shows examples of 10 LinkedIn Tips for Building Your Business. All the tips are free to use. Here are some highlights:
- Use appropriate key words and phrases in your heading and title – they are different and your heading gives you an opportunity to elaborate on your skills and areas of expertise.
- Make sure your online and offline business network are housed within LinkedIn – By linking in other business contacts you ensure its completeness of your entire network.
- Tag your skills and expertise – this helps reinforce your capabilities for those who come across your profile and you can use up to 50 tags.
- Personally welcome those new connections – It only takes a minute and it’s the first step in starting a relationship.
Hopefully you are using and benefiting from using LinkedIn.
If a picture is worth a million words, then what’s a video worth?
