by tradesmeninsights | Apr 9, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
We all work hard developing content and sometimes forget to spend as much time promoting it. Repackaging and republishing in different ways to drive traffic to your website – these are the driving forces on the internet. Our content is relevant around the world and we need to re-share.
I was reminded recently by an article from ASM, The Association of Strategic Marketing, that there are easy ways to share content. Among them:
- Syndication – RSS feeds are the most common way to re-share content. That little button that you put on your site or blog makes it so easy for people to share your content with their group of contacts.
- Summarized reports – Group previously published articles to create a report that can be shared by PDF or other downloadable formats.
- Social Media – Share on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+
- E-mail – Don’t forget about the old standby. Your contacts, both customers and prospects, will welcome good content.
- Multi-media – Repurpose into a podcast or video. This media has its own benefits in that we all like to listen and look as opposed to read all the time. Not to mention that YouTube is the second most search engine behind Google.
What are you doing to make sure your content is shared?
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 4, 2013 | Public Relations
Google announced that it will discontinue Google Reader as of July 1st. Here are some of the details.
I’ve asked Rachel Kerstetter, our PR Engineer, to share some recommendations for moving on without Reader.
If you’re currently using Google Reader to keep your blog and news organized, you’ll need to find another way by July 1st. There are many RSS reader options out there, but here are some options that we recommend.
The built-in WordPress Reader is a pretty good option if you follow only WordPress blogs, which is a popular choice for company blogs. But if you follow nonWordpress blogs or don’t blog using WordPress, this is not a good option.
Feedly is our top pick that offers a quick and easy transition of your feeds from Google Reader right to its service. Feedly has an app for both Apple and Android. Their blog has instructions on seamless transitioning here.
BlogLovin’ is pretty popular among lifestyle and fashion blogs, but might start growing due to Google shutting down Reader. There is a bloglovin’ app in the Apple App store and they offer a way to import directly from Google Reader before it’s shut down.
Since importing your Reader contacts is really easy on both of these services, you can always test them both out and see what works best for you.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 27, 2013 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
With an 800 lb. gorilla like Amazon, once they come into your playground, things will certainly have to change. Big online giants are not new to this market. We’re used to the Grainger, McMaster Carr and MSC’s of the world. The difference in my mind is that while price is important to them, they are selling more of a convenience. The Amazon model is a bit different and price points are more critical.
AmazonSupply has been up and running for about a year now. I wrote a post last summer and asked how they might be influencing your business. Back then it might have been too early to tell. (I sure would like your input now.) I assume many manufacturers are using them as another outlet for their products. The trends are indicating that the traditional distribution models are declining.
I recently read an article by Scott Benfield in Industrial Supply, Trials and Tribulations of Sales Growth in an AmazonSupply World that outlined the difference and suggested ways traditional distribution can effectively deal with them. According to Scott, it comes down to the way traditional distribution goes to market. He calls it the bundle approach (full service) as opposed to a transactional model with a much lower cost base.
He also recommends strategies moving forward for the “new normal.” In my mind, I’d hate to see the traditional distribution model go away. There’s lots of value in their expertise, but if they are not willing to change, then the future might be dim for some of them.
Manufacturers, what are your thoughts on the different distribution models and where is your sales staff spending their time and efforts? Better yet, what can Associations like ISA do to help their members?
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 20, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
There are several sites out there that help the homeowner find qualified tradesmen. We have a guest post today from LocalTraders and although their focus is on the local trades, some of their ideas are not bad ones for manufacturers to consider as well. Enjoy.
Having an insight into how your competitors work is the key to gaining an advantage in the trade industry, after all with the economy struggling, every advantage counts. Using your competitor may seem like a devious way to boost business but trust me you have to beat your competition in order to reap the rewards. Beating your competition however doesn’t necessarily mean being ruthless, instead making friends and gaining common ground could be your key to success…
Embrace the Competition
Firstly identify your competitors and get to know more about them. Focus on understanding your competitor’s strategy and their target customer; during the analysis, look for similarities and differences between your strategy and theirs. Not only will understanding, embracing and almost making friends (or at least becoming acquainted) with your main competitors mean you can take advantage of parts of their strategy that you may have overlooked but it will also give you an insight and a base to build upwards, developing their principles to take the lead.
The Joint Venture
For many it takes a strong stomach to team up with competitors and purposely share your customer base but partnering up with competitors can mean a mutually beneficial end. A joint venture may mean worrying less about sales but it will serve your customer base with ultimate value and give them the firm impression that they are getting the best possible service meaning a higher chance of future business as well as a very happy customer. An example of a joint venture that is particularly prevalent in the trade industry is the sharing of related services. Your competitor may just offer a slightly different service or the missing link for finishing a job for a client so use each other to profit in the long run and gain customer support.
Learn from Their Mistakes
This is another way to make the right decisions for your company based on your competitor’s experiences so follow them closely and learn from them. One of the main ways you can learn from your competitor is by watching out for price changes and looking out for your ‘window of opportunity’. Many customers will want a more cost-effective deal, especially in these difficult economic times, so be on hand to profit from competitor price increases with the right communication and marketing materials, you may just gain a few more customers!
This article was written by LocalTraders, the market leaders in home improvement solutions. Their easy-to-use enquiry system connects customers looking for high quality services with the local trade professionals who can provide them.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 19, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing, Uncategorized
If you’re a manufacturer that either doesn’t use or think social media should be a part of your overall marketing plan, this webinar is for you.
We will discuss why social media is not only relevant but crucial to your overall marketing initiatives. I will be joined by Greg Habermann, COO of SageRock, a digital marketing agency and a strategic partner of ours. We will show you real examples of what manufacturers are doing right and give you tips on how you can too. We’ll focus on YouTube, Slideshare, LinkedIn and Blogs.
When: Tuesday, April 9th at 2PM EST
This webinar is available for viewing on our YouTube channel – click here.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 6, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
You can’t turn around today and not hear the words “content marketing.” You would have thought that someone had discovered the holy grail! Content marketing isn’t anything new, it’s just called something else. There can be arguments for both I suppose, but I feel the primary role of content marketing is to position yourself to have an advantage and sell something!
Why do people do business with you? It probably has something to do with your having something they find useful and need. It also probably has something to do with them finding you helpful, informative and an all-around good guy. They can count on you for troubleshooting or advice on best practices. Now I haven’t mentioned the term content marketing, but don’t you think that’s what you’ve been doing all along? Now they call it something different.
Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and known as the Godfather of Content Marketing, describes it “as a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience with the objective of driving profitable actions.”
Content Marketing should be helping you in some way to move a prospect down a sales funnel. I’m not saying they need to be hard selling but you need to able to satisfy a need of a prospect in order for them to take the next step. Always answer the question – WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? If a prospect can’t easily answer that question, there will be no next steps.
Chris Brogan, in a guest post on Copyblogger, Why content marketing is not branding, highlights why the end game in any content marketing efforts have to be helping someone make a decision of some kind. He goes on to say that marketing and sales are not evil and that content marketing, if done correctly, will give the advantage in the long run.
What do you think content marketing is and how are you using it?
