by tradesmeninsights | Sep 28, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
For those of you who have blogs, this will be of interest to you. We all (sometimes) are pressed for time and after writing and spell checking a post, we put it up there with the appropriate key words and let it fly.
I was reminded recently by a post by Heidi Cohen that we may be overlooking some ways to get that little extra out of each post. Her post, Does Your Content Marketing Contain These 12 Must-Have Components? had some good points we all should be using. Here are highlights of the top points that got my attention:
- Share this button – Makes sense to give your readers easy access to share your info. I normally add them at the end, but she suggests addding them up front. Good idea.
- Join email list – Seems like a “no brainer,” but if readers like what they see, they probably will want more. Give them a reason to sign up.
- RSS feed – Just another option for readers to follow you easily. It’s easy to install .
- Contact us functionality – If someone has the need to get a hold of you, give them an email address or phone number to call.
- Provide search on your site – Since your content may cause readers to want to find out more or may not answer all of their questions, allow them to seek more information.
- Supply links to related content – This is often not done. If you’ve written other posts that are relevant, why not have them at the bottom of the post for people to link to? Makes sense and it helps to keep them on your site while building your thought leadership.
These are just a few tips along with a good call to action that will help you get extra mileage out of each post. What are some things you’re doing to bolster readership?
If you liked this post you might like:
Is Your Brand Disconnecting on Social Media?
Manufacturers: 5 Reasons Content is King
3 Tips on How to Build Followers
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 20, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
Social media, if used correctly, can be an untapped treasure for marketers. All too often though, marketing departments treat social media just like any other channel they use to PUSH their marketing message. What they don’t seem to understand about social is that it’s about engagement and interacting with real people!
I recently read a post by Heidi Cohen, titled How Marketers Miss the Boat with Social Media Relationships that outlined 7 things not to do if you want to succeed with social media. Here are some highlights:
- Don’t talk about you – Talk with them, not to them. Be social and listen. Ask them questions and engage them in a conversation.
- Don’t speak in “marketese”– Marketing lingo is selling lingo and it turns people off big time. Talk like a human being. Pretend you’re at a cocktail party. Be funny, inquisitive, be human.
- Don’t force YOUR point of view – Listen to what people are saying through brand monitoring and respond accordingly.
- Don’t think you can buy customer trust – In the social arena, trust is earned. Pay attention to what customers are saying and if something needs fixed, fix it. There’s no better way of building credibility.
- Don’t knock your competion – It doesn’t work in the real world and it certainly isn’t going to work in this one. Focus instead on ways you can help your customer.
- Don’t think a social media relationship will result in a sale – Social prospects are not unlike a regular prospect. Not all folks you meet are ready to buy right now. You need to identify where they are in the selling cycle and give them the type of info they need to go to the next step.
- Don’t assume that social media relationships are limited to social media networks – Appreciate the fact that people have a life outside social media and have real life relationships. In those relationships, what they’ve learned in social media circles may come out in conversations. Wouldn’t you like it if they were telling their business associates about this great product they found or a solution to a problem they had and they were talking about your brand?
The bottom line is the marketing team needs to be on the same page and treat social media differently.
Do you have any other suggestions on what not to do?
by tradesmeninsights | Aug 3, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
B-to-B and manufacturing companies alike face the same challenges when it comes to developing and implementing social media programs. They’re too busy taking care of business to make adequate plans, let alone implement them.
Social media is a cost-effective addition to your marketing program and you should try to utilize it as much as possible. I recently read a post from Heidi Cohen, Social Media Strategies for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, that brought up some good points that can be applied to the manufacturing sector. Here are some highlights and thoughts:
- Give your prospects information that’s useful – how to info, troubleshooting tips, something simple that even could be tweeted.
- Solve a potential problem – people are always looking for help, and as a manufacturer, you want to build your thought leadership.
- Go where your customers are – no matter what kind of business you’re in, there are niche communities either through trade associations or industry forums that you can participate in.
- Create your own online community – start small with a group on LinkedIn ,Yahoo or Google.
- Educate and train – capitalize on your videos and other training aids already in place for your source of info.
Those are some of my suggestions. What are you doing to develop cost-effective strategies?
by tradesmeninsights | Jul 13, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
Social media gives all of us the opportunity to reach out to a wider circle of folks that share the same interests as we do. It’s up to us to decide how and when to pursue those contacts and hopefully turn them into relationships.
Heidi Cohen wrote an interesting post recently, 10 Social Media Lessons in Being Human that I think sums up very well some lessons we all can take to heart and hopefully make a difference in the real world we live in. Here are some highlights:
- Share your passion with people
- Each of us are our own brand
- We all have the power to change the world
- Persuade those that are already listening to you
- Don’t forget to say thank you
Powerful stuff! What would you add to the list?
by tradesmeninsights | Jun 15, 2011 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Most of us spend a considerable amount of time online. Did you realize that almost half that time is spent with published content?
Over 27 million pieces of content are shared everyday according to AOL/Nielsen research. Most of the content is shared with family, friends and business associates. E-mail and social networking sites are the two most popular ways of sharing.
I recently read a post by Heidi Cohen that outlines 8 Tips to Share Content via Social Media and Email that’s worth the read. She explains that when it comes to sharing information, it’s critical to establish your organization as a trusted source so you can build relationships. Here are a few tips I like:
- Create attention-getting headlines.
- Share content your target audience wants to read.
- Integrate a call to action to engage readers and hopefully they in turn will share.
- Facilitate social sharing by giving readers options of ways to share.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to share good content that’s already been published. You can enlighten the world and build credibility at the same time.
