by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 14, 2009 | Marketing Tools
Twitter isn’t just for the 20-somethings to follow or be followed. It’s fast becoming a business tool and B-to-B companies need to understand its benefits and start using it.
A friend of mine reminded me that contractors of all kinds have been using the pre-cursor of Twitter for many years – It’s called Nextel, their way of instantly staying connected. Professional tradesmen have had the need to stay connected for years and Twitter is just one more way they can accomplish that.
Here are some highlights of 5 that would have direct applications to manufacturers who want to reach the professional tradesmen:
- Foster customer loyalty. Companies can search tweets from their customers to see what questions or critiques they may have.
- Launch viral marketing campaigns. Encourage users to join you on Twitter in order to receive exclusive updates and new product news first.
- Enhance impact at trade shows. Offer exclusive content and insights from the trade show floor.
- Network with customers. Companies that tweet on a consistent basis tend to generate a larger audience on Twitter.
- Promote product and services. By simply writing a short message, they get the point across.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 13, 2009 | Marketing Tools
Reaching tradesmen through social media is very different from your traditional methods.
A recent Forrester research report highlighted the fact that a majority of B-to-B decision makers were going online to find information, and only 25-30% of the marketers were using social media.
Here’s a simple question: Are your customers online? If so, you should be considering social media strategies.
The business world is continuously moving online. Businesses are made up of people who make business decisions and look online for information. Shouldn’t you find those people who are important to you and make sure your company info is found in all the relevant places? Will they find you online, other than your web site?
The top 3 highlights of social media:
1. Social media is easy to use and even easier to manage and measure. You’re usually dealing with a defined audience with common interests especially in a B-to-B situation. Social media’s ability to engage niche audiences should be an essential strategy in your marketing plan.
2. Social media is cost effective. There are minimal outside costs for set-ups, with most being free. The most expensive thing will be someone’s time to write and monitor it. It is a way of very quickly and inexpensively doing some primary research and establishing metrics.
3. Social media is engaging. It’s not a one-way street rather a two-way conversation. Conversations build into relationships, relationships build trust, and who would you rather buy from, someone you know and trust, or an online shopping cart?
B-to-B marketers need to remember:
The voice and manner you approach social media is different from what you’re used to. You’re not doing a hard sell with features and benefits.
Instead you’re giving out info on applications, quick tips to solve problems and asking the reader questions to engage a conversation. No trade ad or web site does that.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 10, 2009 | Marketing Tips
Invite the reader to become a “FAN” so you can share more information with them
For those of us who have just recently set up a Facebook account for business purposes, we are all looking for ways to maximize our exposure and get the most out of what’s available. In my search for ways to increase my use of Facebook, I ran across a post by Steve Coulson, “5 Tips for Optimizing your Brands for Facebook” on ways to optimize your brand. His tips ranged from the right way to create a profile to developing different content to fans and non-fans.
Here are 3 takeaways I got from his post that would be very applicable for industrial and B-to-B users:
1. Optimize your web site share preview. One of Facebook’s strengths is the viral spread of shared links into new feeds using the links application. This gives you the option of presenting a number of images that can accompany the link.
2. Display different content for “fans” and “non-fans.” For a B-to-B user, this is a great way to invite the reader to become a fan by incentivizing visitors to see exclusive content. This content could be the latest new product or a special promotion.
3. Defining a publishing schedule for your content. If you manage and spread out updates, it allows you to carry on an ongoing dialog with your fans. Facebook offers different types of updates, e.g., links, notes, videos, and Steve suggests you mix them up which would help create more interaction within the first 24 hours. This is important since updates drop out of the newsfeeds after that time period. Also by using a schedule, you can monitor and track which content gets you more traction/conversations.
B-to-B marketers, by using these types of tips, can help set themselves apart and get more conversations going with fans on Facebook.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 9, 2009 | Marketing Trends
Perception vs. Reality. Perception is Twitter is for people under 30. The reality is it’s the fastest growing segment for folks 45-54. Another reason B-to-B marketers should be using it.
Twitter continues to have incredible growth, but may surprise you where the growth is coming from. Alexei Oreskovic shared these great nuggets of information regarding Twitter in a recent post for Reuter’s MediaFile blog:
Twitter has seen its popularity explode in recent months with a number of unique visitors to its site increasing by more than 1000 percent year-over-year in February, according to comScore.
Twitter is a rare example of the older people embracing a new web technology at such an early stage, says Andrew Lipman, director of industry analysis at comScore.
Twitter may even be catching on among people who have reached a post-business phase of their lives: of the 4 million U.S twitter users in February, 5.2 percent were over 65 years old.
That shouldn’t surprise me. I’ll be 61 this year and this new technolgy stuff is interesting and not that challenging to learn. I not only use it for business, but as my grandchilden grow, I’m going to be a hip Papa.
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 9, 2009 | Marketing Trends
Twittering isn’t just for the young and hip anymore. As of February, there were 7,038,000 Twitter users (up 1,382% from last year ) according to Neilsen Netview.
Twittering is fast becoming a go-to tactic for B-to-B marketers. They are finding that brief messages to their followers are allowing them a platform to connect using tips, news alerts, events in near real time. They’re also learning that they don’t have to twitter, but can become followers and listen to what’s being said about the markets or industry in general .
B -to-B buyers are still people and that they buy from other people. Jon Miller ,VP Marketing at software developer, Marketo, says, “If you can build a relationship with a prospective buyer using Twitter before they are actively looking, you build your brand more effectively than you could with much more expensive options.”
B-to-B marketers are finally realizing that conversations are going with or without them. If you don’t believe me, type in your company name in Twitter Search and see what comes up. It may surprise you. Tweets don’t show up on Google Search yet or SEO ranking, but it’s just a matter of time.
Rick Karpinski recently had an article in BtoB Magazine that outlines how the business community can benefit from Twitter and gives examples of what some of the early adopters in B-to-B are doing with Twitter as part of their marketing programs. You can read the full post at: B-to-B Followers Flock to Twitter
by tradespeopleinsights | Apr 9, 2009 | Marketing Tips
Professional tradesmen and contractors are busy people just like the rest of us, and if we want them to read our blogs, we need to give them info that’s timely and informative.
The key objective is to not only get info out, but to engage the reader and get their thoughts and comments.
Business blogs tend to be a bit dry and it’s up to you to keep things interesting. I read a post recently from Alyssa Gregory on ways to engage readers of business blogs and here are some highlights:
- Offer advice. You’re an expert in this field, so offer the tradesman some practical advice on how he can do his job better.
- Talk to the audience. If they’re reading your blog, there’s a reason. Since they share a common interest, you need to talk to your audience, but more importantly, keep an eye on their comments and feedback as this will be good material for future posts.
- Share a personal story. Let them see the other side. This helps in building a stronger relationship.
- Go off topic. Throw in an occasional non-business related post. Everyone needs some comic relief.
- Keep it short and sweet. These contractors are busy, so get to the point and deliver (WIIFM) What’s In It For Me.
- Give up the wheel. Instead of doing all the talking, ask questions and ask for comments.
- Give readers what they want. Don’t ask the contractors for their comments if you don’t do anything with them. Acknowledge comments and answer questions. Their feedback will give you material for future posts and even surveys.
Business posts don’t have to be dry and boring. If you’d like to read Alyssa’s entire post: Ways to Engage Readers of a Business Blog
