by tradesmeninsights | Dec 8, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
I’ve always said that social media isn’t the silver bullet that will make all things right. It’s just a tool like any other tool in your marketing tool box. Whether it’s e-mail, snail mail or social media, they all work better when they are a part of a bigger picture and an integrated plan. When we talk with clients about social, they are so focused on the “how” instead of the ” why.” “How” isn’t relevant if you don’t have plan on “why” you’re going to integrate social. Marketers need to realize that by integrating social into existing programs, the net result will be better because social lets potentials identify you!
I read a post recently by Jay Baer, The big social media integration picture, that highlights ways to achieve cross-media synergy using social media that I think is worth reading. Jay is a leading authority in social and he’s on my must-read list every day.
I’d like to hear from you on ways that you’re integrating social into your current marketing plans.
by tradesmeninsights | Dec 2, 2009 | Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
With more B-to-B marketers jumping on the social media bandwagon, some are so focused on the content that they sometimes ignore the metrics to see if what they are writing is being read, and more importantly, acted upon. Analytics are a crucial component to successfully generating traffic to your blog,Web site and inbound new business leads. But for many manufacturers, best practices for using analytics isn’t understood at all.
The tools are available and be sure to use them. A good resource is the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Their IAB SmartBrief is one of the daily e-mail newsletters that I receive. It always has helpful information, “what you need to know,” about analytic practices, trends and research pertinent to your company.
Here’s a sampling of some of the latest articles from IAB Smart Brief newsletter:
Click Here to sign up for the IAB SmartBrief.
by tradesmeninsights | Dec 1, 2009 | Marketing Tools, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Whether you’re using traditional marketing tools or social media, one of your key objectives should be to become the thought leader in your market or category.
As a B-to-B marketer, Thought Leadership is one of the most valuable assets of your brand. When reaching out to the professional tradesman, you have several audiences that you need to build relationships with – Distribution, Buying Groups, Associations and ultimately, the Contractor or End User. Messaging to each of these markets while sharing common traits can and will be different. The sooner you begin building relationships in the buying cycle, the better off you’re going to be. Thought leadership and brand building should be an ongoing process.
I believe social media affords you a better means of reaching your objectives. You don’t become a thought leader overnight. It’s a process that takes time. You need to gain trust of your audience and become the “go to” resource. What better way to accomplish this than through the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook, Blogs and Twitter? Think of it as a form of “opt in” places that people go on a regular basis to read and learn. People follow blogs because the subject matter is relevant to them. People follow you on Twitter for the same reason. LinkedIn has groups you can join based on interest levels in particular issues, causes or markets. You get the picture. There are numerous ways to stay connected and build your Brand.
Jon Miller in a recent post on Marketo, outlines 4 ways to build your brand:
- Use your company’s blog to provide insights
- Be a solution to a specific problem
- Provide original research
- Join a speaking circuit
Those are my thoughts on the subject and I’d like to hear what you’re doing to build your thought leadership.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 25, 2009 | Marketing Tools, Social Marketing
Webinars are a good way to mix up the way you deliver your message to tradesmen. They allow you to set yourself apart as an expert, gives you visibility, credibility and immediate feedback on your topic. They take a lot of work, but if done right will reap you benefits for a long time. You can also repurpose them as webcasts and put them on your web site so the contractors can view them at their leisure. Here are some tips on how to make sure your Webinar is successful:
- Pick a timely subject – You want to not only be topical but timely with what you pick as a topic. Remember, one of your objectives is to be a thought leader.
- Make sure you address “what’s in it for them.” How will your new tool or process help them do their job better.
- Promote it both pre- and post-event – Make the most out of it by using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and any groups you belong to, to generate interest and sign ups. Promote it to your customer and potential lists, as well as through any trade organization or association. After the event, convert it to a Webcast and put it on your web site.
- Keep it to no more than an hour. My rule of thumb is keep your presentation to ideally 30 minutes, but no more than 40, and leave the rest of the time for questions. Also, when appropriate, add some humor. Tell a joke or show a cartoon to help illustrate your point.
- Don’t try to put 10 lbs. into a 5 lb. bag – If you have that much info, break it up into 2 Webinars. Remember, people can only retain so much info, so make your point and then deliver on it.
- Keep audience engaged by taking little surveys throughout the presentation. This not only gives them a reason to stay engaged, it gives you a moment to get ready for the next point.
- Practice, Practice, Practice – This might be the most important point of all. Remember, you’re trying to come off as the “expert” and you don’t want to stumble through the presentation. Prepare and give it to some co-workers or friends and listen to their critiques. You need to be upbeat and engaging in order to keep the audience from clicking off.
Webinars are not hard to do, but they do take time. Don’t be intimidated. You can do a simple Power Point presentation. Remember, content is the important factor here, not some slick graphics or flash presentation.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 24, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
20 Reasons Why Social Media Won’t Replace Email
Email marketing is still an important tool to your new business program.
The rise in popularity of social media only enhances email. The two can work powerfully together. Two excellent articles, Chris Crums, writer for WebPro News, “10 Reasons Social Media isn’t Replacing Email” and VerticalResponse CEO, Janine Popick, “10 More Reasons Why Social Media Wont Replace Email.” Chris always has great marketing insights. Janine also provides some insightful resources and practices what she preaches for both email marketing and social media. I recommend them both.
Here are their 20 reasons why social media won’t replace email:
- People still send hand-written letters.
- Nearly all sites on the web that require registration require an email address.
- Email notifies you of updates from all social networks.
- We haven’t seen any evidence yet that Google Wave really will catch on on a large scale.
- Email is universal, and social networks are not.
- There are plenty who have no interest in joining social networks.
- Email is still improving.
- Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email.
- More social media use means more email use.
- As far as marketing is concerned, email is doing pretty well.
- Twitter and Facebook are fantastic products and companies; but that’s what they are, companies.
- Your email recipients are still going to use business email for business purposes.
- You can’t easily segment your friends and followers to do targeted marketing (through social media).
- You can’t tell who clicked on a link with some social media outlets.
- That said, you can’t tell who didn’t click on the link so you can follow up with them with a different message.
- You cannot personalize your Facebook updates.
- You cannot size your graphics or use more than one in Facebook.
- You can’t track how many clicks you got on your links in Facebook.
- You are limited to 140 characters in Twitter.
- You almost have to have separate social media accounts for your business and your personal life.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 18, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
When we communicate with our target audiences, whether it’s through traditional methods or the use of social media, we want to inform and hopefully engage them. It’s through the engagement process that we start a dialog with them which hopefully will turn into something more (hopefully a sale). I’ve enclosed some tips on how we successfully engage tradesmen:
- Make sure you identify WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) for the contractor.
- Make sure the message is easy to skim (bullet points, bold or italicized type, photo captions).
- Make sure your message is clear and expressed (understood) quickly.
- Offer a demo – either online or in person.
- Contractor testimonials – Peer reviews are more believable and hold more influence on other contractors.
- Offer several ways for them to easily contact you and get more info.
- Offer incentives or other reasons for them to respond immediately.
- Make it easy for them to respond – email, website form or special phone number.
- Back up any claim with the proper proof (or reference where they can get it).
- Make sure offers appeal to the different stages in their buying cycle.
These are my top 10 ways. I’m sure you have some proven ways and I’d love to hear about them.
