by tradespeopleinsights | 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 tradespeopleinsights | Oct 19, 2011 | Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
To listen to all the “experts” Google+ is the next best thing to come down the pike and will eventually replace Facebook in the B-to-B space. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but since they opened it up to the public a few weeks ago, there are over 50 million users and it’s growing everyday.
I have to believe that if Google is involved then it has a pretty good chance of succeeding. I’ve been on it and have started building my circles, but have yet to fully understand all the ways we can use it.
I recently read an excellent post by Debbie Hemley in Social Media Examiner, 20 Ways to Improve Your Google+ Knowledge that I thought was very helpful. She gives tips on how to get through the basics and highlights ways that you can use it in everyday B-to-B applications from setting up your circle to creating your profile, setting up notifications, plus much more. Here are some highlights that I found interesting:
- Engage and learn – go to Google+ tips on Twitter and see what others are saying and dive in.
- Watch and learn – look at Google+ help and watch videos from people who created it.
- Set up Google Sparks account– that way you can get the latest developments on what’s new.
- Create a cheat sheet – to help you format and utilize hotkeys until you become more familiar.
- Show off your Google profile – by putting it on your blog or website.
- Go mobile – make sure you get the mobile app so you can use it from your phone.
So I’d like to know if you’re on Google+ and if so, what are your thoughts?
by tradespeopleinsights | 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 tradespeopleinsights | 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.
by tradespeopleinsights | Oct 12, 2011 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
I had the chance to catch up with Mike Weil, the editorial director of Contracting Business magazine. I wanted to get his views on the recent Comfortech and HVACR Week show that just ended since I was unable to attend.
Mike gave an overview of attendance, the mood of contractors and what the show buzz was. The contractors were upbeat and were anxious to learn more about new products and hybrid systems and were looking for new business opportunities. Enjoy the conversation. Listen here.
by tradespeopleinsights | Oct 11, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
If you’re not on LinkedIn you should be, and if you are, when was the last time you updated your page?
Did you set goals when you first went on, but as time has passed you kind of let it slip a little? You and 120 million of your possible friends are on this site. How many are you connected with?
Let’s review some basics and make sure we’re all on track.
- Profile page – Great place to make a good impression. Have you updated your photo or are you using one from 10 years ago? How about your accomplishments? I’m sure if you haven’t touched it for a while, something good must have happened at work that you could highlight. Have any other things changed like you started a Twitter account, a blog or new website? Be sure to include links.
- Key words – SEO is king. When was the last time you looked at key words within your profile? The best place to do this is on the summary section.
- Adding to your network – It was easy when you just started to get a list of contacts linked in. But what about all those grandiose plans of adding so many new contacts each week? I’m sure you haven’t stopped taking phone calls or going to meetings? What ever happened to asking them to link in with you? At least then when you do a posting, you’ll be getting it in front of them. I admit I’m as guilty as everyone else, but I’m back on track now to add at least 3 contacts a week. What’s your goal?
- Status updates – So what good is 500 connections if you never connect? You need to be active and say something. It doesn’t have to be something original. It could be something as simple as a comment and link to a morning news story that might have some impact on your industry. Try to do at least one a day.
- Groups – This is the “holy grail” as far as I’m concerned. Search and join relevant groups. They allow you to join as many as 50. Talk about shooting fish in a barrel…where else can you find a group of like-minded individuals to hold a conversation with? A great place to build relationships and also build your visibility and credibility as an expert in the field.
Those are some of my thoughts on recommitting to using a great networking site. What are you doing to capitalize on LinkedIn?
