by tradesmeninsights | Jan 9, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
I know we’re all faced with many challenges in our daily grind, but if you had to name just one thing that keeps nagging at you from a marketing angle, what would it be?
One of my biggest challenges is to keep up with our social media activities. Even though I’ve been doing it now for almost 3 years, it’s labor intensive and I always seem to run out of time even after I’ve delegated some of the activities off to other associates.
Sometimes it’s better to slow down and remember some of the basics like talking face-to-face to your customers. You get so much more from a one-on-one conversation, but we normally don’t have time to do that.
So what’s keeping you up at night?
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 8, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
SlideShare is gaining traction more and more and it’s not just for slides. SlideShare is averaging over 60 million visits a month and 120 million page views. That means great traction for your SEO and you can target buyers/influencers via tags and channels (customize content).You can also use it for lead generation and there’s a great post in social media examiner,how to generate leads with slideshare that you may find interesting
It’s now owned by LinkedIn and they are doing a great job making it easy to connect with your LinkedIn contacts and groups.
So if SlideShare is becoming so important, we should start paying attention to the details on what and how things should be put up there. I recently read an article by Roger C. Parker in the Content Marketing Institute’s daily updates on a to-do check list (you can download it here) to make sure you’re getting the most out of SlideShare.
He outlines 22 tips on proofing, uploading files and even tips on working with PowerPoint. Here are a few of his points that hit home with me:
- Are slide titles and text consistently placed and aligned?
- Other than the title slide, are they numbered?
- Does your presentation title appear at the top of each page?
- Did you add your firm’s name, URL and contact info at the bottom of each page of your handouts?
- Did you convert presentation files to Adobe Acrobat to preserve text formatting?
- Did you check each link after uploading to make sure they work?
- Did you create links between SlideShare and social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter?
I guess the point is the devil is in the details and if we all take some time, we’ll get more out of our efforts on SlideShare. Roger suggested if you want to learn more you could read The Marketer’s Guide to SlideShare by Todd Wheatlan.
by tradesmeninsights | Dec 21, 2012 | Uncategorized
I’ll be taking some time off and will be back after the first of the year. Enjoy the Holidays with your Family.
by tradesmeninsights | Dec 19, 2012 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
I know there’s been lots of discussions on the pros and cons of buying groups over the years, and I’m not here to try to sway you one way or the other.
I recently came back from STAFDA, which for those who don’t know, is an association of construction distributors and the manufacturers that sell into that market. What struck me at the trade show part of the event was it was obvious which manufacturers didn’t belong to a group. You saw plenty of Evergreen, Sphere 1 and NetPlus badges there, but they were concentrating mostly on seeing the manufacturing members of their respective groups. (I’m using STAFDA as an example and I’m not trying to pick on them.)
So my question is for those who don’t belong to a group (and don’t have a unique product), how do you justify going to one of these meetings? Should the association try to incentivize distributors to stop by new member booths? I feel sorry for those folks who ponied up the cash but not very many distributors stopped by.
Another interesting issue is that most of these buying groups have their own annual meetings and some are incorporating trade shows along with these get-togethers. From a manufacturing point of view, which shows do you go to? Obviously it’s the ones where you get the most bang for your buck.
Associations/buying groups may want to look at their model as things have changed over the past several years. They need to ask about the value proposition of getting these distributors and manufacturers together. Instead of trade shows (whoever introduces a new product at one of these), maybe there should be a series of round table discussions on how to improve the supply chain for everyone involved.
There are some really smart people out there (on both sides), and I believe a lot more could come out of these kinds of meetings and they could include all members.
Any of you belong to other type groups that have changed the model? I’d like to hear from you.
by tradesmeninsights | Dec 12, 2012 | Marketing Tips
Podcasts are a very popular medium today and rightfully so. Podcasts can add another dimension to your audience as they can hear the voice behind the words.
You can also put them on iTunes which can give you access to more potential customers who are searching for info on key subjects by key words or phrases. Don’t be obsessed with the number of people who listen to your podcast but more on the quality of them.
There are several ways that you can use podcasts to get to the professional tradesmen. Here are a few to consider:
- You initiate them. You can talk about issues affecting the tradesmen and possible solutions they could consider.
- You can interview industry experts or association leaders that can talk about everything from legislative issues that might relate to your business in the future, or talk about things you can do now to improve your business.
- Be a guest on someone else’s podcast. There are bloggers out there that target the same types of audiences you do. Follow them for a while, and if you determine it would be a good fit, contact the blogger and ask if they would consider doing a podcast with you. You’ll need to lay out the reasons why you think you can contribute to their audience and propose several topics for discussions. Don’t know any bloggers? Go to iTunes and type in under podcasts some of the key words that you are associated with. You’d be surprised at the number of podcasts that already exist. Listen to a few and contact the originator.
Podcasts help set you apart and be known as not only an industry leader, but if you do your own podcasts and get guests to interview, it will also show that you are wired to the right people who can give a different view or experience that will help your listener. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Happy Podcasting!
I know we’re all faced with many challenges in our daily grind, but if you had to name just one thing that keeps nagging at you from a marketing angle, what would it be?