by tradesmeninsights | Jun 11, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
I know some of us write to specific audiences. Some posts may be more general in nature, but the majority will be focused at your target and should have a title that will not only stop them, but will make them want to click for more info. That’s why the title is so important. You could be giving away chances for a million dollars inside your post, but no one would know if they didn’t open it.
I know when I have an idea for a post I put a working title in my blog when starting to write, but I make sure to review it after completing the post to make sure the title adequately reflects the content. I also look at past posts to see if any of the most popular ones have common threads that might be included. I try to keep the title simple and relate it to my audience and not to search engines.
I’ve come up with some things I do when reviewing titles and I recently read a post by Darren Rowse, 15 ways to rework your next blog title, that is worth your reading. Here are my 5 top things:
- Personalize titles to your target audience. You’ll notice in this post I’m talking about Professional Tradesmen.
- Lists and numbers. This is a proven method of getting people’s attention. Using this post as an example, the title could have been, “5 ways to improve your post titles in order to reach the professional tradesman.”
- WIIFT. What’s in it for them (your target). I have found this gets my posts open more than anything else.
- Ask a question. Again using this post as an example, I’ve used a question in the title.
- Stir the pot. Create a debate or controversy on a timely topic. This will help get the blood pressure up as well as engagement. Obviously this can’t be used in every post, but is a good tactic to consider.
Those are my top lists of what I look at when doing a title. How about you…what tricks do you use?
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 10, 2009 | Marketing Tools, Social Marketing, Twitter
Twittering is truly becoming one of the most important ways to share content in the social media arena. Beyond the obvious 140 characters limitation, there was no way to share images (a picture is worth a 1000 words). Since Twitter doesn’t have an application for this, third party vendors have come up with options for us that work on Twitter.
I recently read a post by Josh Catone, 5 ways to share images on Twitter, that I thought was both interesting and insightful on his part. He outlines our options and gives an overview of each of his examples. Here are some highlights of his 5 ways:
- Via a Twitter image sharing service
- Via SMS or Email
- Via Brightkite or FriendFeed
- Via Skitch
- Via an Encoded Tweet
Obviously, image sharing is the next logical step for Twitter and will probably drive more Tweets because of it.
If you’re already into images, I’d like to hear which one you prefer.
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 9, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Twitter
Twitter is certainly the hot topic in the social media scene. Corporate executives, editors, financial analysts and community leaders, to mention a few, are all participating. From a PR standpoint, there’s great opportunity, but don’t get caught up with the thought that here’s another avenue we can use to pitch editors or analysts. Instead, think of it as a way to bring up awareness and start the process of building long-term relationships. Used correctly, Twitter can give you an advantage in the marketplace. Here are some tips on how to get involved:
- Sign up. To participate, you need to jump in. Signing up is easy.
- Identify Friends. You’ll want to find people with similar interests to follow and be followed. After you’ve found new friends, look at their lists and start following some of their followers.
- Following/Followers. With Twitter, you not only want to follow, but be followed. When someone goes to your Twitter account, they’ll look first at how many people are following you. This brings up your credibility. It’s important that if someone follows you that you should follow them back. Twitter has some automated programs that will do that for you, and also will unfollow those who quit following you.
- Listen. One of the most important aspects of all social media is listening. When you start, just watch what people are saying about you, your products or competition (use Twitter Search and put in key words).
- Jump in and start Tweeting. Once you feel comfortable, start talking. If you see an interesting post or article, link to it. When people respond or retweet your message, be sure to acknowledge them.
- Improve your writing skills. With a 140 character limit, you’re going to soon find out how to choose your words carefully, which is not a bad thing. Make your tweets clear and concise.
By using these tips, you should be off to a good start tweeting your way through life.
Here are a few more posts about Twitter that you might find interesting:
5 Tips for b-to-b marketers to get the most from Twitter
A guide to micro-blogging for the b-to-b marketers
Use Twitter to grow your b-to-b brands
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 8, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
There are over 100 million blogs – how do you identify and communicate with the right ones to get in front of the professional tradesman? The first question to answer is are your products or services applicable to your end users using social media? If the answer is “yes,” then your goal should be to identify the right communities, monitor them and jump in and get involved!
If social is to be a part of your media relations strategy, you must remember that different rules apply to social:
- Your Brand can be affected positively or negatively. Remember you don’t control the message.
- Your Brand depends on the “loyalists” who are passionate about you.
- Key Blogs or social sites are authored by thought leaders from your industry.
You need to develop the right strategies based on the importance of social media in your overall communications plan. Cision has issued a white paper, Staying afloat in a sea of social media, that gives a good overall view of how to manage and monitor social media.
All blogs are not created equal. Do comprehensive research as to the communities you might want to get involved in and then monitor them. If they seem to be talking about relevant topics, jump into the conversation. Social media demands transparency, so be honest in your engagement. Here are a few sites that may be of interest to those going after the professional tradesman:
Blog references: http://www.plantengineering.com/blog/index.php
http://www.electrician-electricalcontractor.com/
http://todaysfacilitymanager.com/facilityblog/labels/mechanical-contractors-association
http://www.contractorblabblog.com/
http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/
http://my.facilitiesnet.com/Default.aspx
Remember that just because you’re using social media, the basic rules of marketing still apply. You must identify your universe, communicate to them clearly, engage in conversations, monitor comments, evaluate and respond.
I’d like to hear from you. What interesting communities have you come across that reach the professional tradesman?
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 5, 2009 | Social Marketing
When we were thinking about getting into the social media ring, we began looking for a resource that would give us a total overview of where we’ve been and where we’re going without getting into all the details. We finally found one.
If you’re thinking about getting into the social media arena, or you want to give someone in your company a great overview, I’d recommend a book by Larry Weber called Marketing to the Social Web, published by John Wiley & Sons. He gives you a great 30,000 ft. overview as well as some practical examples of how social media can help you grow your business. He shows you how to do something with social networks instead of just talking about them. He highlights the difference between the old marketing and the new marketing models and outlines steps to building your own customer communities.
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 4, 2009 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
When you’re learning blogging 101 and if you have a good instructor, they’ll keep pounding in some basic points to make your blog more effective and ultimately read. It’s nice to see that studies substantiate some of these key findings, and what’s even more surprising are some of the other findings that I never would have thought of. One such study from Eyetrack III, Summary of their tracking new sites, reveals several findings of interest. Here are 7 that caught my eye:
- Your headline must grab attention in 1 second
- Headlines draw eyes before pictures
- People scan the first few words of a headline
- People scan the left side of a list of headlines
- Introductory paragraphs enjoy high readership
- Shorter paragraphs encourage reading
- Smaller type promotes closer reading
