by Miriam Hara | Oct 17, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Social Media
B2B social media marketing strategies are not only viable but a must in today’s market landscape.
Many B2B companies opt for traditional direct mail marketing – that’s a good strategy to have. And I don’t want to suggest for one minute that direct mail is no longer a good use of marketing dollars. But what I am saying is that alone, the ROI will be less effective. A solid B2B social media marketing strategy must work cohesively with all other traditional marketing tactics employed. Many businesses are closing themselves off from social media and as a result, selling themselves short.
Social media is not only for consumer packaged good companies. There is also a strong case to be made for B2B social media marketing strategies for B2B. Although, many B2Bs are grappling with the decision about whether to jump into the social media foray… or not.
Well here’s an assessment of why B2B social media initiatives make sense:
The first question to ask is: What accounts for social media in the B2B universe? The social media channel is a strong proponent of niche marketing. What is B2B, if not niche? Traditional marketing and advertising channels have often been very cost prohibitive. With an e-marketing strategy, you can cast your net as wide or narrow as you need for your communications. Also, any digital marketing strategy should include a strong social media component.
Okay, it’s time to get over it and admit the fact that social media isn’t just about Facebook or Twitter. There are many other social media channels that are just right for B2B. LinkedIn is one that naturally comes to mind. However, social media strategies, or more specifically, B2B digital marketing strategies, should always employ a well rounded inclusive plan.
A bit about blogging – I can feel the collective rolling of the eyes! Blogs, or forums if you prefer to call them, are a great way to perpetuate creditability and increase visibility among your niche market. Because a social media marketing plan must include content driven communications. This task may seem daunting. However, with proper planning it can become as easy as writing newsletters or sending direct mail pieces. Building an online community has positive sales implications.
Which brings me to my next point: If B2B is about building relationships then why is B2B social media not on the radar of most B2B marketing plans? Pointing out the obvious: Social media is the new network. It’s the new way to gain, build and leverage business relationships, digitally. The need for businesses to “own” their digital space is increasingly important because the main influencers and decision makers are within the more savvy digital era.
For B2B companies to compete in todays marketing landscape, it is increasingly important that they have a social media footprint. If you need some quick and easy tips on social media, I invite you to download our ebook, Social Media Understood. It’s an easy read that demonstrates that social media isn’t all that complicated. You just have to start – strategically of course!
by Miriam Hara | Oct 15, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Latest
A recently shared post written by a colleague about branding promise hit a nerve among marketing professionals. Brand identity value has been a growing cause of concern and debate among those who are in charge of managing and growing brands. Let me say this:
Branding is not dead. And brand identity value is very much alive and changing.
What is required for developing and building a brand identity has evolved. This should not come as a surprise… the market landscape that brands have to communicate effectively in has changed. In the post outlining the importance of brand promise cited above, some felt that the evolving customer journey had left brand, brand identity value and brand premise in the dust. But how accurate is that?
The popularity of social media combined with brand advocates are at the crux of the changing market environment. The customer journey has become a key factor in the implementation of any successful strategies involving brand development and increasing brand identity value. Suffice to say that the social media channel has allowed for the rise of so many niche communities within the social media arena enabling relevant brand advocates. In order to resonate with the evolving and very “vocal” consumer, brand makers and the art of branding itself have been forced to forge new ground.
The fact that consumers now have a voice and can easily “hurt” a brand is true. But the flip side to that argument is that consumers can also use their voice to propel a brand forward. Marketers and the brands who embrace that knowledge while treading cautiously within this channel can reap substantial brand identity wins.
The premise of brand identity value has become increasingly dimensional as it now encompasses brand voice and brand tone to round out its brand persona. No longer are those characteristics reserved to a few brands with hefty budgets. Today any brand, big or small, can dive in and become a dimensional brand. That doesn’t mean that adherence to the basics of building a brand and its identity should go by the wayside – quite the opposite. Due to the immediacy of social media and the often reactionary, volatile nature of the channel, the establishment of brand identity, its guidelines and adherence to character and tone play a significant role in achieving and building a relevant brand identity.
So what do you feel is necessary for a brand to do to keep up its value and relevancy in this market environment?
by Suzy Godefroy | Oct 1, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Social Media
Social Media Strategies.
If you are reading this post, odds are you are savvy with several social media platforms and know how to post on Facebook, write a Tweet, post a pin, upload a few photos, share some links, re-tweet, post onto YouTube and are connected with your business colleagues through LinkedIn and Google +.
Odds are you are also extremely busy, and time is a precious commodity for you, and you know that you likely need to spend more time on your social media strategies to better analyze the social media platforms that you are using.
Firstly, be sure to download a campaign management program such as www.campaignmonitor.com whereby you can set-up and design some great blogs, e-books, and/or a strong email marketing ad campaign. The beauty and ease of these programs is that you can share them across multiple platforms and social media applications such as Facebook, Delicious, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Pinterest, Redditt and Stumble Upon with a simple click.
Do some homework:
But before you do this be sure to do some homework with Google Ad Words, so that you can increase your SEO and also do some investigating on the products and/or topics that you are writing about. Again the purpose here is to apply your social media strategies to you blog, your web pages, your e-books, and e-campaigns. It is really important to look for Google Ad Words that have a strong searchable rankings and will optimize your campaign and overall website ranking so that you are climbing the SEO ladder! Again there are many programs out there to analyze your website url performance, and Alexa is a great tool for starters!
Google Analytics & Social Media Metrics:
Be sure to take 20 minutes to acquaint yourself with Google Analytics and set this up for your company website. Install the tracking code and set some goals for your marketing team to review in a weekly and monthly basis. Again, this will help you set some base lines, and be able to measure the effectiveness of your social media strategies and campaigns. Facebook has a great tool called Page Insights that will give you important metrics on your social media community and how engaged they are with your brand.
Word Press:
Another great blogging and web design program is Word Press, as it is helps you map out your blog or web pages with post titles, meta descriptions, robots Meta configurations – an experienced web designer can help you go through all of this but it is vital that these configurations are done properly to optimize your website ranking. Yoast offers more insight into your blogs and web pages and really is the litmus test for you!
Social Media Strategy:
Strategy…Strategy…Strategy! The most important thing we want you to take home with you today for your marketing team is to make sure you have a Social Media Strategy as a complement to your Annual Marketing & Communications Plan. Be disciplined, measure everything and make sure you take time to learn the latest technology out there to keep your brand alive!
by Miriam Hara | Sep 13, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Marketing, Miriamisms, Social Media
The proper definition of an ebook is: A publication consisting of text, images or both in a digital format. No longer is the publishing world restricted only to the print medium! In the business world, the launch of ebooks is a daily occurrence. They’re quick and easy reference tools that give a top-line view on various topics and channels, providing business managers with additional learning resources. Social media and Inbound Marketing (AB testing) opened the door to how-to ebooks for business. After all, as a business manager, if you don’t have the knowledge or understanding you need, then you can’t be expected to manage properly. Two of my favourite ebook resources are Hubspot and Optify. Both offer some good examples of ebooks that are quick, easy reads… and provide knowledge.
In today’s world, all you has to do is google “ebooks” to discover the potential for knowledge is just a click away! You’ll likely find a free ebook on exactly what you were curious about, just waiting for you to download and expand your knowledge base. From a business perspective, you can find ebooks on marketing, social media, design, sales, even human resources… they’re all out there! The proliferation of self published, free ebooks online is astounding. I get an email notification at least once every two days promoting another ebook of some sort.
Writing an ebook is no small task… so you need to ask yourself, “Why do it?”. Here are the reasons:
- Perception is reality.
Consultants, corporations and all types of businesses are out there promoting the services they offer to further establish themselves as experts in their industry. And, they’re providing the information freely. That’s a solid reason for businesses to consider writing ebooks.
- Gathering and generating leads.
It stands to reason that if that if a business is giving out knowledge and information freely, it can minimally ask for an email address, name, company name and coordinates. In cases where the business offering ebooks becomes reputable at providing good, sound information, sales questions can be added to the form that visitors need to fill out in order to download.
- Building on-site traffic.
Just creating and launching an ebook is not enough. You need to promote it. You can do that through LinkedIn by including it in your updates and in the promotions tab of the Groups you are following. Also, don’t forget to use your Twitter account or Facebook Page. Doing all of this and leading it back to your site, assists in building traffic, increasing the profile of your business and providing a good first impression to potential clients. And of course, you need to make sure that your website is up to par as well!
At the risk of sounding self promotional, we at 3H already have a complete “Understood” ebook series. And stay tuned, soon we’ll be launching the first ebook in our new series “re:design” – providing insight into the world of design. Do you have any favourite ebooks? Share them here!
by Miriam Hara | Sep 7, 2013 | Business Success, Design, Interactive, Latest
Gone are the days when having a static website was good enough – essentially showcasing an online brochure of a business. The introduction of flash animation and all the other bells and whistles have also run their course, (thankfully going by the wayside) now becoming passé. The evolution of websites and their role in the business arena has changed substantially; first playing a superficial role to one that is key in the success of any business. Business websites need to work harder to achieve differentiation and assist Marketing and PR initiatives.
A website’s relevancy in today’s business environment has become a necessity. It is no longer a nice to have to but a need to have. Here are a few elements that websites should have.
Social Media Icons: The integration of social media is key. It says a lot when you go to a site and there are no social media buttons… and at the same time that business site speaks of being innovative and cutting edge! I am not saying that businesses should include social media icons if they aren’t really doing anything on social media. But then, you must ask yourself, is this a company you want to start a relationship with?
Fresh Information: Minimally a website home page should have fresh content. That’s the only way Google will come over and visit the site.. helping the website ranking within the world-wide web. A feed from the business blog would be ideal… or a feed from a recognized industry newsletter or publication. The rotation information is also a good way to keep a site fresh, but that too needs to be updated and refreshed.
Page Naming: Website design, website navigation and website user experience are all important. However, how a site identifies and names each one of its pages is an easy way to maximize the performance of the website’s SEO (search engine optimization). Each page url on a business website should be unique and should be formulated with relevant keywords.
Build Relationships: The business website is the first step in developing some very important relationships. Websites should create valuable information for its visitors. Requesting visitors’ information through special offering such as ebooks, surveys or giveaway offers is a good way to start those relationships. Events should also be promoted, such a business milestones and contests, integrating the total digital experience for that business.
Websites are the first impression businesses make and they speak volumes about the culture and persona. As we enter the last quarter of 2013… (Bob Dylan stated so eloquently) “Times they are a-changing”. It’s time to take a good look at your business website to assess if it measures up.
by Miriam Hara | Sep 3, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Social Media
Blogging for business has exploded onto the marketing landscape. Many businesses utilize blogs to promote their services and expertise, others to engage potential and existing client base, and yet other to generate sales leads. Regardless of the objective, launching a blog in the business arena is no small feat. Many businesses have jumped on the social media bandwagon and in the last few years, many have created Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, LinkedIn Business Profile Pages, Pinterest….. and now their very own Blog.
If you’re thinking about creating a blog for your business here’s a few of the hurdles you’ll need to overcome before engaging the blogging arena:
1) Make sure your website can perform accordingly. Many business launch a blog as a separate entity not realizing it’s very beneficial to link their business blog to their website. Blogging can only help the overall traffic your site generates, especially when your posts are featured on your home page, providing Google for a reason to visit your site more frequently. Google looks for fresh and new content. And that traffic can be an opportunity to accumulate leads or at the very least provide information that enables good analysis.
2) Create a strong Blog Persona. Make sure that your blog is an extension of your business and what it represents. Just because it’s social, it doesn’t mean it can’t be branded. It’s part of your brand, so it needs to resonate with your target audience. It also needs to propel your brand forward. It’s a marketing initiative.
3) Be consistent. Be relevant. If you don’t use it, you’ll lose! Many businesses believe that they can do this in-house, and that is certainly doable, but it is a substantial time commitment. Create a social media calendar to ensure that you always have topics in the pipeline that speak to your business. We all get writer’s block or rather, blogging block… but consistency is a must.
4) Write smart. Do your homework. It’s not good enough to just write. It’s important to do your homework. Yes. Homework. Research your topic, and research it with keywords traffic analytics. Make sure your post is SEO enriched. If you write for the pleasure of writing, then you’re just posting and hoping for the best. That’s just not marketing.
5) Spread the word. What’s the point of expending all this energy and time and not sharing your post in the social media properties? You need to tweet about it, post it on Facebook, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Google+1, Digg…only to name a few.
After you do it for a while, having a blog for your business can be fun. You start developing a community and a network of like-minded people that speak their minds and provide insight on topics that are relevant to your business. Creating a blog for your business and posting relevant material can elevate your business status and provide you with a strong foundation for developing business. After all, blogging is serious business and done properly should be an integral part of your business marketing program.
What key learning have you found in launching your business blog? I’d like to hear about the different challenges you have been facing with your business blog?
