by tradesmeninsights | Jan 15, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Now that the holidays are behind us and we’re all getting back to reality, I thought I’d share some thoughts on what we’re going to do to create better content this year. I was inspired by a post my friend Joe Pulizzi wrote, 42 Content Marketing Ideas for 2013. Thanks Joe for the inspiration!
Top 10 things I’m going to try to do this year to have better content:
- Less content will mean more impact – make content more meaningful.
- Find at least 3 other thought leaders in your company – build them into your plan.
- Develop a list of the top 100 questions coming from your customers – then write to them.
- Sit down with every salesperson and ask them what their customers biggest pain points are – then address them.
- Define your most targeted audience and consider doing a targeted print publication.
- Assign someone to slide share to figure out how we can get the most out of it.
- Make sure every content marketing landing page has only one call to action.
- Develop a series of stories for your industry on an aspect no one has covered before – what better way of becoming a thought leader.
- Double the number of email subscribers to your blog.
- Commission a piece of research that is important to your audience.
Those are going to be my goals for 2013; what are yours?
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 4, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Content Marketing is developing useful information to various questions a potential customer might have about your product or application. When someone goes to Google and types in a question, hopefully you already have an answer waiting on page 1 of the search results.
If not, you’ll be missing a big opportunity. If you haven’t capitalized on things like case studies, white papers, newsletters and blogging, you should consider trying some of them. They are content rich and will help you gain credibility.
So the question arises, what do I write about or how do I know what they want? Here’s a way to start. Ask your sales force, customer service, engineering and product management what are the top 10 issues you continually get asked. That should be a start.
Ask the question on some of your social media sites, like groups on LinkedIn. You might be surprised at the feedback you get. If you have the opportunity to visit customers or go to trade shows, ask the same type of questions. Then when you have all the questions, answer them!
The key to content marketing is how you present your info. Storytelling is one of the best ways.
I read a post by Heidi Cohen, How to Create B2B Content Marketing That Sells that highlights ways you get to tell your stories. Here are some highlights:
- Use show and tell – use photos or videos to show products and features.
- Become a teacher – offer training by providing them info on why to buy or use it more effectively.
- Answer questions – this will give your responses more life.
- Interview others in your organization that might not think they have valuable info to contribute, and then you write it.
- Interview existing customers – get their perspective (good and bad) and address them.
- Offer insights from senior management – on industry trends or issues.
Content is king and we need to do everything we can to make sure that we get GOOD content out. If we do, you’ll be surprised at who will find it.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 28, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
We spend money generating leads, but most of us do a poor job when it comes to leading them through the sales funnel since not all leads are ready to buy. I think we would all agree that if we had a process, chances are we would increase the number of leads that turn into new business.
According to Forrester Research, companies that excel in lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% of the cost. This is especially true when it comes to dealing with social media leads. How is your marketing department handing off leads?
What is Lead Nurturing?
Lead nurturing is how your business establishes a relationship with a prospect that is still in the early stages of buying. This type of campaign focuses on creating a beneficial, working relationship so that when it comes time to buy, that lead turns to your business instead of someone else. Lead nurturing is:
- Providing high-quality content that is relevant to where the potential is in the buying cycle
- Establishing and building trust between you and the potential customer
- Finding the most-qualified leads from your generation efforts
Does everyone within your organization understand your different stages in the selling cycle? Most sales funnels were set up for developing traditional leads. A question you must ask yourself is whether social media leads fit into your existing process and if so where? As a rule, social media leads take longer to convert because they are engaging you earlier in the process.
How are you moving social media leads into your sales funnel?
Nurturing social leads needs to be handled differently. This will include decision-making content designed to answer questions, overcome objections and provide opportunities that arise during the purchasing process.
So take some time to identify and implement a lead follow-up process that includes nurturing. You’ll be glad you did.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 20, 2012 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
According to a recent post from B2B online marketing, LinkedIn, Blogging and Facebook are the top 3. This is according to a 2012 social media study of B2B marketers that were asked to choose the most important method they use for social media outreach.
In a study conducted by Social Media Examiner of over 1,900 B2B marketers, results indicate that while B2B marketers are finding success in their social media efforts, they still see room for improvement. Whether you’re a large company or starting a small business, here are a few statistics that show why you should be using social media.
- Over 56% of B2B marketers acquired new business partnerships through social media.
- 53% of B2B marketers found social media helped them develop a loyal fan base.
- Nearly 60% of B2B marketers saw improved search rankings from their social efforts.
Each social media channel is different and should be approached that way. Here are some highlights from the post:
Facebook is more personal. Let them know what your business offers them.
- Create an online community that encourages conversations.
- Use photos and videos to make it more interesting.
- Engage by offering a strong call to action. You want them to start a conversation.
Blogging is a great SEO effort and link building.
- Become a thought leader in your area and gain credibility.
- Target each post to a specific audience for engagement and encourage folks to share your content.
- Use strong key words to improve site’s performance on search engines.
LinkedIn is a great way to connect with other businesses in your industries.
- Be active. Search and connect with individuals and groups that are relevant to you.
- Ask for recommendations from previous and current customers. These short testimonials will help prospects see why people like working with you.
Social media, if used right, can help generate leads, interact with customers and potentials and help you build your thought leadership.
