by tradesmeninsights | Jun 20, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
I bet for most of you it’s that you’re afraid you won’t be able to publish relevant content on a regular basis. I’m the first to admit starting a blog is a commitment, but one that’s well worth it.
Your blog can be the center of your social media plan where you can repurpose posts to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. We have found that consistent posts have helped us become the thought leader in marketing to the professional tradesman and have generated new clients from it.
Since content is usually the stumbling block to starting a blog, here are some suggestions on where and how you can get good content. You need to realize you don’t have to write everything. You need to be the “go-to” resource for your niche, so utilize other experts.
- Try to do one original post a week.
- Supplement other posts by sharing industry/association news with your insights.
- Set up a Google Reader account where you can send RSS feeds of people you want to read on a regular basis and repost their articles with commentary and insights from your point of view.
- Case studies and testimonials – Get your sales staff involved. These are great stories and it’s great when customers tell, in their own words, how you helped them solve a problem.
- Stats/surveys – folks love to get industry info or trends. Start your own survey and share the results. It’s a great way of getting a conversation going.
- Look internally – some of your best resources might just be down the hall. Talk with sales, customer service and engineering. They probably can give you more topics and issues to talk about than anyone else, and it’s relevant to your industry.
Those are some suggestions for getting great content, and don’t think you need to be the sole source of content. Make it a team effort.
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 19, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
We’ve talked a lot about mobile and what it means to both manufacturers and distributors when trying to reach the professional tradesmen. For those who are still on the fence about mobile and where it’s going, here is some useful info.
I recently read a few articles in emarketer.com on mobile that brought up several good points. emarketer.com interviewed Geoff Robertson from Grainger on how they are using mobile in their sales process.
Here are some highlights:
- Over the past 12 months, Grainger has seen a 400% increase in mobile activity.
- Beyond the location and availability issues, Grainger is trying to help companies streamline their workflow by giving those who are requesting the parts to list them, and then those responsible for purchasing can sign off all using mobile technology.
- Over 50% of their users feel comfortable ordering over mobile devices.
- Google has an entirely separate algorithm for mobile device searches.
- Google reported that 1 in 7 searches are now done on mobile devices.
If you don’t have a mobile strategy in place, it should get on your radar screen soon or you’ll be missing lots of opportunities.
If you like this post, you might want to read:
Are You Targeting Emails for Your Mobile Marketing?
Why a Mobile Strategy is so Important to Reach the Professional Tradesmen
What’s Your Mobile Media Strategy for 2012?
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 14, 2012 | Marketing Trends
Our vision architect, Matt Sonnhalter, will be presenting on CFE Media’s webcast, “Mobile Marketing: What Impression Are You Making and How Will You Measure It?”
Matt, along with Kim Dushinski author of The Mobile Marketing Handbook, will discuss how B2B marketers can make a good mobile impression. Whether you’re ready for mobile, or not, it’s here. If you have a website, you’re already being viewed on mobile devices.
Join Matt on Tuesday, June 19 at 2 PM EST for this free, informative presentation. You can register here.
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 13, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
I recently read a post by Jeffrey L. Cohen from Social Media B2B about storytelling that got me thinking on how folks in our space could be doing a better job of doing just that.
Think about if you’re at a party or other social gathering, where do you find the crowds of people (other than the bar)? It’s usually around someone who is entertaining people. Most of these folks are great storytellers and keep you engaged and interested because of the way they tell the story.
I think all of us in the business community get so involved in the day-to-day grind that all we’re worried about is “Just the Facts” and we’re losing opportunities to engage our customers or potentials in a conversation. If we’re interested in “Just the Facts” then we are not allowing for a conversation to begin, because either we’re too busy telling someone something or trying to get info out of someone.
I think we need to sometimes step back and re-evaluate how we’re talking to customers or prospects, especially if you’re using social media. No one wants to hear about your products, they want to hear how you can help solve their problems. One way to share this info is by telling them compelling stories. Most old timers struggle with this especially in the social media sector that the marketing is now customer-centric not product.
Jeff highlights 4 great ways to use storytelling in your business that will help you engage more people.
- Company History – Tell your story through the lens of the customer. Be authentic and leave out all the buzzwords. Use key events as sources for stories.
- Customer Successes – This should be an easy one. Tell how you solved a problem for a customer and even give a quote or two.
- Employee Activities – People like to do business with people they know, like and trust. Put a face with a name of those in CS or those who are writing for your social accounts. Let them tell their stories and what they are passionate about.
- Community Support – Every company does something locally. We support and do a tool drive for our local Habitat for Humanity. Let your customers see another side of you and what’s important.
Those are my thoughts on how to use storytelling. Do you have any interesting ones you’d like to share?
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 12, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
We live in a 10 second sound bite world where everything needs to be done NOW.
If we take that attitude, especially in sales, new customers are going to be hard to come by. People buy from those they know, like and trust. That’s not an overnight thing in most cases. Patience truly is a virtue when it comes to selling.
It’s usually a process, and depending on what you’re buying, it may have more stages and take longer. No matter if it’s face-to-face or online, there’s a process most of us go through when purchasing something, whether it’s at work or home.
Most companies have identified the stages customers need to go through before making a purchase. Our challenge is finding out up front where they are in that process and then start moving them through the steps at their pace, not ours.
The key is being able to help them through the process without scaring them off. Here are a few suggestions on what might help:
- Make it about them and their issues (customer centric).
- Take baby steps in asking them questions to get them to the development stage in the process.
- Get info back to them that relates to the particular request with a possible solution and ask them another question to continue to engage them.
- The more tailored the information, the better chances are of having them buy from you when the time is right.
Those are some of the things we try to do to woo new customers. What are you doing?
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 6, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
Does your company have a social media strategy for your social media efforts? Most companies have jumped on the bandwagon but appear to be shooting from the hip with no strategy or measurements in place.
Companies are going about social strategy backwards, by first concentrating on the tools and technologies instead of focusing on what they want to achieve. My understanding of social media and how to monetize it was greatly expedited because my rifled focus on applying it for new business.
A survey conducted by marketing firm Digital Brand Expressions found that 78 percent of client companies responding to their survey said they use social media, but only 41 percent said they have a strategic plan in place to direct their social media efforts.
Other key findings from this survey that should be of interest:
- Of the companies that have no plan in place, 88% agree that it is important.
- Of those companies that work from some plan, 94% said that marketing activities are included in the plan.
- 71% of those with a plan said their Marketing Department is the group with the primary responsibility for creating and maintaining the firm’s social media presence.
- Of the planners, 71% indicate they use social media for public relations communications, while 55% said that they used social media for sales-related activities. A surprisingly small percentage (16%) say their HR team is using social media for recruiting, employee retention, training and development, etc. and 26% use it for customer service.
- Social media efforts are being led primarily by Marketing (71%) and PR (29%) departments.
- Even among those with a plan, few (29%) have written policies and communications protocols in place, leaving the organization exposed to problems arising out of employees communicating in ways that inadvertently hurt, rather than help, their company brands.
“It’s fairly well established that social media is a channel that businesses must participate in, leaving CEOs with the new challenge of planning and implementing brand aligned initiatives enterprise-wide,” said Veronica Fielding, president and CEO of Digital Brand Expressions.
Click on the link to download a PDF copy of: Corporate Social Media Report
Your purpose should dictate strategy and the tactics used for reaching desired goals.
