by tradespeopleinsights | Aug 5, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Twitter, Uncategorized
There are many traditional ways of generating leads, i.e. pay for click, list rentals, etc. But social lets you go beyond some of these typical methods and lets people find you. In my mind, one of the biggest benefits to social media is the ability to identify and start conversations in a low-key manner with potential contractors. The two top tools I use are LinkedIn and Twitter.
LinkedIn – I find that this is a very useful and friendly site for B-to-B users. The group section is a great way to join groups with common interests and start participating.
- I’ve joined groups like E-marketing Association Network and The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute. Both are targeted and are great ways to see what the hot topic of the day is and how people are reacting to it. You can even start your own group and invite people to join.
- It’s a great spot to throw out a question to the group or put your two cents in on an area where you are an expert.
- I’ve also used these groups to do short surveys and I post at least once a week and sometimes twice a recent relevant post from my blog under the news section. This helps drive folks to my blog and hopefully position me as an expert.
- You also need to update your status regularly and make sure your co-workers do the same. We’re in the process of organizing a webinar and will not only post it on my page for folks to register, but also put it as a news item on my group pages.
Twitter – I use Twitter to communicate to my followers many times a day to promote my most recent posts.
- I use Tweetlater to schedule and manage my daily tweets. There are several other applications out there that do the same thing.
- If you want to reach people who don’t follow you, include relevant hashtags. Experienced users will search for those terms.
- Encourage re-tweets. In order to do so you need to keep your message shorter than the 140 characters so the person who is doing the re-tweet has room for their name and message.
These are some things I do to use social to generate leads. I’d like to hear from you on how you utilize social.
Here’s an article that might prove to be of interest, 5 Ways to Find Prospects on Twitter.
by tradespeopleinsights | Aug 4, 2009 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
According to an article on www.mashable.com by Adam Ostrow, a new report from Forrester Research shows the number of social networking users have doubled since 2007. There are 55.6 million adults (about 1/3rd of the U.S. population) that visit a social networking site at least once a month (up 15% from 2007 to 18% in 2009).
In the B-to-B community, a new report being unveiled this week at The B-to-B and ANA Conference in Chicago shows significant increases by B-to-B marketers in using social media. Marketers are using social as a marketing tactic for generating demand. Here are some highlights:
- 66% of marketers are now using social media up 20% from 2007.
- 57% are now using social media channels up from just 15% in the earlier survey.
- Among the newer media tactics, blogs top the list.
- 81% of B-to-B marketers are currently using LinkedIn compared to 25% in B-to-C.
- Twitter ranked highest among B-to-B (70%).
- Facebook is the most used overall site (74%) and among the B-to-B marketers (60%).
- Social media objectives have changed – brand building has decreased in favor of demand generation.
This is good news that the B-to-B community is getting their arms around social.
What are you doing?
by tradespeopleinsights | Jul 30, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
Before you answer that question, you first have to have something to measure it against. Set expectations and goals, then make a plan, execute it and then monitor it. Why are you even playing with social if you’re not looking to reach new prospects. You first need to identify your audience, make them aware of who you are and then engage them. Use metrics to keep you on track but don’t get obsessed with them.
Use measuring devices first of all to help you monitor what you’re doing and secondly to fend off the bean counters as to what are we getting out of this. Are you reaching the people? Are you engaging them and building a relationship? If you have a blog, how is your audience embracing your message? With social you have numerous tools that will help you monitor your progress from Google Analytics to Twitter Search, Technorati or BoardReader.com. With my blog, I know immediately if I’ve hit a home run with a post. With Twitter, you can monitor what people are saying about you or your competitors. LinkedIn lets you participate in groups that gives you the opportunity to gain visibility and credibility and hopefully start engaging new potentials.
Several folks have got their own processes in place. Bill Seaver has a L.A.C.E. method which stands for – Leads, Awareness, Customer Service and Engagement. Tarla Cumming’s method is called M.O.M. – Monitor, Outreach and Measure. The point is everyone’s circumstances are different. Try something and if it doesn’t work or it needs to be revised, then do it.
I’d like to hear what others are doing to measure their effectiveness and whether you’re doing it as a quality control issue for your content, or if you’re doing a numbers thing for management.
by tradespeopleinsights | Jul 29, 2009 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
I’ve used Global Spec online marketing for several of our clients who target engineering, technical manufacturing and industrial professionals. They are well respected and a great source for qualified leads. During the 1st quarter of ’09, they surveyed marketing executives on trends and challenges facing them for the balance of year. 555 surveys were completed. There are really no big surprises here–marketers are going to have to do more with less and online is going to be used because of accountability. Here are some of the highlights:
- 73% stated that customer acquisition and lead generation is their primary goal.
- Top 3 challenges: 1-too few resources. 2-not enough qualified leads. 3-improve ROI
- Top 3 marketing channels: 1-online directories/websites. 2-e-mail marketing to house lists. 3-SEO
- 29% spend more than 50% of their budget online
- 48% will spend more of their budget online
You can read the entire white paper here.
by tradespeopleinsights | Jul 28, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing
The answer is both depending on how you’re developing and nurturing prospects. Today both Drip Marketing and Closed Loop marketing are seen to be online strategies. Truth be known, these have been going on long before we had the use of the Internet tools. Effective marketing programs today should utilize both. We are fortunate to have these tools that help us monitor and measure our activities in infinite ways. Here are some suggestions on how to reach the Professional Tradesman using both Techniques:
Drip Marketing – I define this as an ongoing way to communicate and deliver product info and thought leadership to contractors and tradesmen who have identified themselves to us. It can use traditional methods like direct mail with things as simple as a series of postcards or other mailers to touch folks on a regular basis (monthly, weekly or daily). With the advent of the Internet we can add links to our e-mails to landing pages that can expand on content, offer incentives and interact with tradesmen.I’d suggest that to be effective, run and monitor these campaigns using an automated system.These automated systems will help you create and deliver messages and gives you the metrics to monitor open rates,click throughs and opt outs.They will also help reduce spam complaints and increase delivery.
Closed Loop Marketing – I define this as a more complex system that involves marketing working closely with sales to work a contractor through the sales process. It utilizes many if not most elements that are in a Drip program but goes beyond just delivering information based on a previous actions and their place in the buying cycle. Marketers literally “close the loop” by working with sales to provide the right info at the right time based on contractors responses. “Close the Loop” marketing provides feedback through reporting on each step and can adjust both timing and content based on feedback.
Both Drip and Closed Loop are great tools for B-to-B marketers. Deciding on which use or in what combination will be dependent on your own circumstances. If you’re trying to decide where to get started you might want to read a free white paper from DemandGen – calculating the return on lead nurturing.
by tradespeopleinsights | Jul 23, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
With all the “noise” around you in the sea of posts, how do you stand out in the crowd? In a crowded marketplace, your “Brand” is what will make you stand apart from the other fish. Your brand involves the look and feel of your blog, the style in which it is written, the emotion and tone all are part of your Brand. Here are 5 tips that might help you differentiate yourself:
- Find a niche – Most successful blog including this one identifies a specific market or expertise that they build upon.
- Design page to be unique – Have a consistent look and feel and make the site easy to navigate.
- Define and refine a writing style – Be yourself. Make your comments conversational and consistent.
- Take a fresh approach – Look at the issue possibly through another angle or perspective.
- Quality over quantity – Make sure you post good stuff, not a lot of stuff. Remember, your brand is about your expertise.
These are some of the ways I try to stand out. What kinds of things do you do?
Here are some other posts that might be of interest:
5 Tips on How to Improve Your Blog
Blogging Has Come Too Far To Be Ignored By B-to-B Marketers
Blogs: How to Take Advantage of Them to Reach the Professional Tradesmen
