by tradesmeninsights | Dec 10, 2009 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
According to a recent survey by emarketer.com, B-to-B clients are going to increase their spending in the social media arena in 2010. It certainly makes sense that the ones who have tried various aspects of social must be getting some traction or they wouldn’t be spending more. It’s interesting to note that the 3 top areas they plan on increasing are web sites, e-mails and search. The three main reasons are:
- Thought leadership
- Lead generation
- Customer feedback
What are you planning for 2010?
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 8, 2009 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
If you’re just starting out with a blog, I know the scariest thing for me was wondering who in the world was going to find my blog, no less take the time to read it. If you’re passionate about a subject, market or cause, you may have more people than you think that would be interested in reading and sharing their thoughts. Ours is a passion to get to the Professional Tradesmen.
From a B-to-B perspective, here are some simple ways to get the ball rolling so you can become the super star blogger you always knew you could be. Don’t ignore the obvious. You already have a business network to tap into.
- Current customers
- Potential customers
- Suppliers
- Distributors
- Fellow employees
- Industry groups
- Associations
Here are some inexpensive ways to promote your blog:
- Add your URL to your email signature (have everyone in the company do it)
- Add your URL when printing letterhead, cards, invoices, etc.
- Make it very visible on your web site
- If you do trade ads, add to the signoff as one of the calls-to-action
- Promote through your social media pages
One of the best ways to identify readers is using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Most of my new readers come from one of these sources. Weekly I go up on my LinkedIn page and post a topic on either the discussion page or the news page that directs them to my blog. The key here is to have groups to link to, but that’s another post. Facebook is the same way — at least once a week I post something. With Twitter, I use socialoomph (formerly Tweetlater) to put out posts hourly. I have over 100 tweets a week going out automatically. The point is it’s no good having these social media pages if you don’t use them. Remember, the power of social lies in it being viral. All it takes is a few readers who have a big following to like what you’re saying and Bingo, they will introduce you to a whole new audience.
Enough about how I find readers. I’d like to know how you do it. Please share.
Other posts that might be helpful:
5 ways to improve your blog
Blogs: How to take advantage of them to reach Professional Tradesmen
by tradesmeninsights | 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 tradesmeninsights | Jun 18, 2009 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
Many manufacturers are still leery about social media in a B-to-B arena. Since we deal with the professional trades, we know most of the editors very well and recently asked many of them to participate in a survey on social media. The majority of them are responsible for end user books that serve the likes of plumbers, electricians, HVACR contractors and mechanical contractors.
Here are some highlights:
Editors are using the social tools, and if for no other reason, you should be using them to communicate about your brand.
While some editors are currently writing blogs, more are anticipating doing them in the future.
Editors are looking for success stories involving social media.
Although most editors believe their audience isn’t that social savvy today (35.2%), they think that will improve dramatically in the next year (64.7%).
Here are the results:
1. Are You Using Any of the New Social Media Tools?
LinkedIn – 88.2%
Facebook – 64.7%
Twitter – 35.2%
Blogs – 29.4%
Online Forums – 23.5%
2. Do You or Another Editor on Your Staff Write a Blog for Your Publication?
Yes – 35.2%
No – 64.7%
3. If no to Question #2, are you planning on Doing a Blog for Your Publication?
Yes – 52.9%
No – 41.1%
4. Is Social Media and its Impact on Business on Your Editorial Radar Screen?
Yes – 76.4%
N0 – 23.5%
5. Have you Written Articles on Social Media and its Impact or Future Impact on Your Readers?
Yes – 35.2%
No – 64.7%
6. Do you Think Your Readers are Aware of Social Media as it Relates to the Business Aspects of Their Lives?
Ye s- 35.2%
No – 64.7%
7. Do you Think Your Readers will Become More Involved in Social Media in the next Year?
Yes – 64.7%
No – 41.1%
8. Do You Think Your Readers are Using any of the following Social Media Tools?
LinkedIn – 47.0%
Facebook – 41.1%
Twitter – 11.7%
Blogs – 35.2%
Online Forums – 52.9%
by tradesmeninsights | May 13, 2009 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing
Micro-blogging is an effective way for people to get messages to the world.
Unlike regular blogging where your posts can go on and on and cover numerous subjects, a micro-blog communicates one event. A good comparison is thinking of it as a cross between social networking and blogging. Another way of thinking of it is it’s the new instant messaging vehicle .
If you’re a Facebook user, chances are you’re already micro-blogging to your friends using their status update. Beyond Facebook, there’s Twitter (which is the fastest growing segment of the online market) that allows you up to 140 characters to convey your message (you really have to be good about what you want to say).
Micro-blogs can be used for both personal and business use. For example, if you’re going to a trade show and are introducing a new product, why not do a tweet or a status update on your Facebook page to let people know where and when this event is happening. These can used for product launches, special promotions or new strategic alliances. You must remember that social means conversational (you can’t be putting a hard sell on someone).
Here are examples of Twitter micro-blog posts to @HomeDepot:
Home Depot is using Twitter to offer help and receive feedback.
Do you have any interesting micro-blogs you’d like to share?
