Meet Your Consumer In 2015

Thank you Forbes for this infographic!  Click here to read the entire Forbes article which dives into the details.  How might this information change your strategy?

LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform

This morning LinkedIn sent out an email regarding their newest “test” platform, publishing. 

“We're offering our members a powerful new way to build their professional brand — publishing on LinkedIn. When a member publishes a post on LinkedIn, their original content becomes part of their professional profile, is shared with their trusted network, and has the ability to reach the world's largest group of professionals. “

From what I can gather, this is more of an archive, so that you are able to access more than just your last ten posts.  Additionally, it is long-form format so you can say even more.  The feature is still in the testing phase and LinkedIn is asking people to sign up initially.  Just for fun, I did so. However, I am reluctant and think this might be a short lived addition to the Linked In menu.  Blogs provide the same features and it is just as easy to post a link from your blog as it is to provide content directly to Linked In. 

What do you think?  Useful feature?

Learn more about the platform and how to apply for early access here.

LinkedIn Gets a Little Facebook-y

I have been monitoring my LinkedIn status views and engagement to try to establish trends.  First, we have heard it from many Social Media experts already, but posts with photos get a lot more action.

Something else I noticed was posts that are more personal and less about business have been getting a lot of traction. Granted LinkedIn is thought to be more of a B2B platform, it seems that people are still excited about content that has nothing to do with business.

Here are my most popular posts from the last couple weeks.  What are your thoughts and most popular posts?

Things to know about your business' Digital Brand and Digital Footprint

I attended a workshop yesterday that focused on digital brand and digital footprint.  The presentation started out with some good stats including:

• In 2010 consumers used 5 sources of information to make a buying decision, this increased to 10 in 2011, and estimated to increase to 15 in 2014
• 83% of buying decisions are made before entering a store
• 90% of consumers use online reviews to make buying decisions
• A user will leave a site in 8 seconds or less if they don’t find what they are looking for

Marketers have been touting for years how important digital marketing is and this was one more presentation to spread that message.

Here are some of the take-aways:

• Make sure that all of your business’ local listings are claimed and accurate
• Be sure you have consistent branding among all your digital channels
• Get on board with Google +
• Make sure to have a mobile site and ditch the Flash
• Make sure digital ads direct to relevant information like coupons, event info, surveys etc.  If you mention a product, make the landing page that product, no additional searching required.
• Get online reviews so when consumers are researching, they are finding content and make sure to respond to reviews (both positive and negative)
• Use bad reviews to train your staff or correct policy issues, never ignore them and try to take the resolution offline.  For example, “I’d like to correct please give me a call at this number to discuss.”
• If you’re trying to market to Millennials, make sure you have a presence on Social Media, it’s a necessity!

I have said it before and will continue to say it, it’s time to get digi with it!

2014 Marketing Trend

We have just entered 2014 and marketing trends are all pointing digital.  This includes a combination of Social Networks like Google +, Facebook, Linked In, Pinterest, Twitter & Instagram….just to name a few.  The use of graphics and video content.  Dynamic email campaigns that point to landing pages hosting value adds.  The establishment of credibility through blogging. And most importantly, making all content available on mobile devices.

Also, let us not forget about the, now, more traditional, digital advertising like banner ads on news, product niche, and popular local lifestyle sites.

2014 is definitely the year of digital up rise. So take a look at your budget and be sure it includes an investment in this popular trend.  Digital marketing is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

Wishing you all a prosperous New Year. Here is to happy selling and positive growth in 2014.

Published Article

Making the Most Out of Your Biz After Biz Sponsorship

Filed on 04. Nov, 2013

By Amanda Brock
Courtesy to The Whatcom Report, Special Edition to The Bellingham Business Journal

 

Click here for article.  Page 14 & 16.

Connecting with QR Codes

Recently I attended a QR Code Seminar to see what the latest and greatest usage trends are.  Although the mention was brief, the take away for me was using QR codes to direct users to your v-Card.  This is a wonderful use of the codes for networking events. 

I created a QR code for every sales person on our team which links to their v-Cards.  When scanned by an Android user, the code allows them to automatically download the v-Card to their phone.  i-Phone users will be able to email the v-Card to themselves which once emailed will download the contact information to their phone.   

It took less then 15 minutes to create the codes for an entire sales team and create stickers for them to attach to their cell phones.  They may forget their business cards but I guarantee, none of them will be caught without their phones. 

Since QR reader apps are free and there are multiple free code generators available, I don't see why every company won't start doing this.

SCAN ME!

 

Asking for Referrals

Referrals are a great way to get new business.  Word of mouth marketing might be one of the oldest forms of marketing but in my opinion, is still the most effective.  Nothing sells your product or service better than praise from a trusted source.

So how do you get more referrals?  It's simple, ask.  As my mama always says, "throw it out there, all they can do is say no."  The best time to ask for referrals is right after you've exceeded your customer's expectations.  Briefly state that you're happy they are satisfied and would love to assist any of their family and/or friends who could also use your services.  Shazam! Done.

There is no boring sales pitch leaving your customer feeling greasy, just a mere mention.  Also consider rewarding your customers for their referrals.  It really is the biggest compliment to your company that they would be your advocate, so give them a little thank you.  Gift cards work great and you can even say "thank you" on your Twitter or Facebook feeds as an extra acknowledgment.

QR Codes

By now, you've probably seen a ton of funny little graphic squares called QR (quick response) codes.  These graphics work with smart phones linking consumers to websites, promotional tid-bits, and online videos.  They are easy to create and you can make them  small enough to fit on almost any of your sales materials or web content.

An article in the June edition of the Bellingham Herald explains that this technology has been around for years but has only recently been embraced by retailers.  "The number of QR scans recorded by the industry's leading code makers has soared to 2 million a month, nearly double the rate last year, and up from 80,000 a month in 2009." 

This April, I added a QR code to an event gift item which linked to my employer's Facebook page.  Although I can't say that we gained alot of new "likes" that evening, the codes inspired alot of chatter.

If you're looking for an inexpensive marketing tool, why not try creating your own QR code to attach to your Social Media, brochures or even client gifts.  You can access a free code generator here.  Also be sure to try my QR code above and see where it takes you. :-)

How to Engage the Entire Company to Promote

I'm always looking for ways to motivate my co-workers to be involved with the promotion of our company.  Let's face it, if you can't engage your colleagues, how do you expect to excite your clients and prospects. 

One tactic I use, is emailing a "Marketing Update" once a month to the entire company.  This keeps everyone in the loop and therefore makes them automatically feel more involved.  I like to emphasize the contribution of others and how campaigns may directly affect them. 

I think it's important to introduce campaigns, briefly describe the purpose/goals of the campaign and praise individuals when they make contributions.  A marketing department is the hub of communication, so keep it open to the people who benefit the most from the success of that department, the employees.

Another tactic I use is injecting fun and excitement into every campaign.  I like to do this with funny graphics, opportunities to win prizes, and goal achieving statistics. 

Recently I've been working on a survey campaign in which as a company, we need to obtain at least 75 completes.  I decided to use a thermometer graphic like those used by non-profits to update the team each week on how we're doing.  The graphic serves as an effective way to quickly monitor progress, celebrate wins, and establish the success of a campaign to upper management.

Click here if you would like to generate a thermometer graphic for one of your own campaigns.

Creativity, innovation, and great referral sources work all around you.  I encourage you to take advantage of your available resources.  Something as simple as a "suggestions" box can work just as well for a marketer as it does for an entire company.

Adding Social Media Links to Your Outlook Signature

Your email signature is a great place to include promotions and links to your Social Media sites.  Taking a few minutes to customize your signature can help you reach a broader audience with minimum effort.

Adding Social Media logos to your signature gives you that extra flare however there are potential issues with using graphics.  While consulting with my IT lead, he brought up an issue I never thought of.  It is possible that graphics will show up as a red X to your recipient based on their network settings and filters, which looks unprofessional.

Some companies use specific settings to eliminate high usage of space on their servers or to block out potential spam.  Our solution has been to add links to our Social Media sites rather then images.  Yes, not as flashy but it gets the job done.

To do this in Outlook, follow these simple steps:

• Go to "Tools" & select "Options"
• Under the "Mail Format" Tab click on "Signatures"- This will bring up your current settings and allow you to "Edit"
• Once in "Edit" mode, add the text you would like to serve as a link (i.e. Like Us on Facebook!) 
• Then highlight your text, right click, and select "Edit Hyperlink"
• Make sure that the type is http: and then you can enter the URL, click OK
• Click OK a couple more times and you're good to go!