Archive for category Sales/Marketing
Handshake Networking
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Content, Sales/Marketing on July 21st, 2009
I’d like to toss out a few definitions, if you don’t mind.
When it comes to networking, I have personal definitions of three different kinds:
- Social Networking: Using social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter for mainly social (read: personal) reasons
- Professional Networking: Using either social-networking sites that have more of a professional bent (I’m thinking LinkedIn and others of its kind here; Twitter counts here, too), as well as professional networks (like Sibdu, one of my clients, that does commercial real-estate professional networking)
- Handshake Networking: Getting out to events (whether they be local meetings or chamber gatherings, mixers at conventions, etc.) and “pressing the flesh,” as it were
I’m building my business on the first two points. After a BNI meeting I had today, though, I realize that there’s still a lot of value in this kind of networking — even with the rush to use the online varieties. Since I’m an old salt at the handshake variety, I’m hoping I can convince you that the third can be just as important as the first two.
Twitter and Compliance/Policy Issues
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing, Twitter on July 15th, 2009
Twitter is a fantastic tool for not only getting marketing, sales and advertising messages out, it’s also great for keeping in touch with a community formed around a brand, company, association or even governmental entity. I’d go into proof about this, but most everyone who reads this blog already knows this. If you need an example, just ask Oprah.
When it comes to enterprise use — as opposed to individual use — of social-media tools like Twitter, there’s issues surrounding compliance and security, as well as overall policy. To put it simply, your company may not want you to tweet (140 character posts to the Twitter site) because of whatever internal or external policies or laws to which it must adhere.
But what if your company had a way to enable employees to tweet, which in turn helps your company to better communicate with its client base and … yes … even make money? No toolset currently exists that can help out those organizations, right? Well, that’s about to change.
Quick and Effective Videos
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Blogging, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing, Twitter, Video, social media on July 13th, 2009
Who says you need to have a Web video that would be the envy of George Lucas or Steven Spielberg? I sure don’t.
If you have the budget, then … sure, go for a big, glitzy production. But even the spots that have high-quality graphics, audio, music and so on in them can fail miserably, because they don’t have the right kind of actual content. It’s that idea that is very easy to bring to video, and it can be done inexpensively as well.
I recently found a video that exemplifies this concept. This gentleman has picked up on how to very effectively use video to build his brand and his status as an expert in his market. You can see what I’m talking about after the jump.
Blog-Building Basics
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Blogging, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing on July 7th, 2009
When it comes to social media, there’s an awful lot of buzz surrounding topics like video, audio podcasts, Twitter, Facebook and so on. Yet the form of multi-way communication that started it all — yes, I’m talking about the blog — is getting a bit of a short shrift nowadays.
Frankly, I’m not sure why. In my recommendations for a sound social-media strategy, I always evangelize about blogging. Why? It’s pretty simple. You almost always have to point people to something when you’re using most of these other technologies. If you tweet on Twitter, you should be pushing your readers to a blog post. You should also be posting your audio and video material to your blog … even if you distribute via channels like YouTube and iTunes.
So … let’s say you’re just starting a blog, and your head is swimming over all of the things you think you should do to make it successful. What if I were to tell you there’s just 10 things you need to do to make your blog successful?
What Makes a Guru? What Doesn’t?
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Blogging, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing, social media on July 1st, 2009
This is one of those posts that can help you no matter what you do for a living. If you’re a businessperson, work for an organization, or collect a government paycheck, this post is for you.
Many people think that being an expert in whatever it is they do will help them succeed. And they’re right. After all, who would you hire, work with, or take advice from … just someone you know. or a person who is an expert?
If you want to be considered a true “guru” in whatever your little corner is of our planet, there’s two things you should do … and two you shouldn’t … that can help you be the expert everyone will flock to when they need help. Or when they want to hire someone for whatever it is they are looking for.
Want to be the gal or the guy? Read on.
The Best Banner Ad … Ever?
Posted by Bob Woods in Content, Sales/Marketing, Web on June 29th, 2009
This is seriously good stuff. It’s a banner ad that once you click … you can’t stop. Just like their slogan**. Which is the point.
Pringle’s banner ad (opens in a new window)
Also, keep an eye on the Pringle’s guy in the bottom right corner. He’ll comment on what’s going on in the ad.
It’s an absolutely brilliant ad, especially because it takes the format of the banner ad into territory I’ve never seen before. Does it very successfully, too.
… and yes, I do (and did) remember that this is a Pringle’s ad. Want to know why? The darn can on her hand. Pringle’s used its rather unique selling point (USP) — the can — as the initial focal point of the ad. And it works, too.
While this is a B2C (business-to-consumer) ad — usually out of the purview of this blog, which deals with B2B (business-to-business)-related communication — we can learn from it. Do something unexpected. Take a current, accepted format in advertising and marketing (banner ad, video, white paper, case study, etc.) and take it in a fresh, interesting direction. And if it is appropriate for your business, be funny.
Talk about the ad in the Comments section below. I definitely want to hear what you think of it. Is this the best banner ad … ever?
**Although I can’t tell if they’re still using the “once you pop, you can’t stop” tagline. I hope they are, because it definitely works here.
Contact Bob Woods at Infonitum.
To Blog (Daily) or Not to Blog (Daily) – Part III
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Blogging, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing, Web, social media on June 24th, 2009
On this last day of our three-part series [Part I | Part II], the inevitable question is:
What happens when I just don’t have anything to write about?
Ahhh, the dreaded writer’s block — and if you’re a blogger, you’re a writer too. No matter what those true writing snobs say.
Writer’s block affects us all, believe me. Sometimes you feel like you’ve written so much, you can’t write another thing. Then there’s days when you feel like a deer looking into headlights when you realize you have a blog post to write. Other times, that “Add New Post” page just looks too intimidating to fill.
Then I remembered a post on the subject of being “dry” when it comes to specifically writing blog posts. It’s another one of those “wish I’d thought of that” kinds of things. This can be used when you’re in a situation like mine, or when you just have proverbial writer’s block, when it comes to subjects for your blog. Or if you are a beginning blogger and need a slight kick in the pants to get going. For any and all of those situations, help is on the way.
To Blog (Daily) or Not to Blog (Daily) – Part II
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Blogging, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing, Twitter, Web on June 18th, 2009
This is Part II of a three-part series.
If you’ve read Part I of this series (and gosh, I hope you have), you know that I don’t necessarily advocate that a businessperson or other working professional post an entry (or multiple entries) every day. It’s one thing if you’re trying to make a living from just blogging. When you have that kind of time, you’d better either be blogging or ordering your third latte at the Starbucks or whatever coffee shop you’re at. (And yes, I’d kill to have a life like that).
It’s another, though, if you’re the audience that this blog (and Infonitum) wants to attract: Businesspeople, association executives and government officials who want to use social media and blogging — and know they really should make the effort to blog — but don’t want to treat their blog like a second job.
Believe me, as a small business owner who has projects going at various stages, I feel the latter group’s pain. But I know that I have to make the effort to write some feature content twice a week, with “breaking news” content filling the rest, when appropriate (see Part I of this series for an explanation).
Now, I want to give you another opinion on this subject. It’s from a guy who feels kind of like me, but takes his feelings to the next degree.
When NOT to Use Social Media
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Blogging, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing, social media on June 17th, 2009
I’ve touched on this in the past. But I now have the quintessential blog post on when companies, organizations and the like should not even think about using social media.
Unfortunately, I didn’t write it. It’s brilliant, believe me. I really wish I would have written it.
But I have no problem pointing you to it, because not only do I think it is brilliantly written, I agree with 99% of it. Here it is, at the ever-excellent ReadWriteWeb. Go read it (don’t worry – that link opens in a new window so you won’t lose this post), then come back here.
To Blog (Daily) or Not to Blog (Daily) – Part I
Posted by Bob Woods in Associations, Blogging, Content, Government, Sales/Marketing, Twitter, Web on June 16th, 2009
This is Part I of a three-part series.
One of the biggest questions you see a lot when it comes to the subjet of blogging — be it for personal or professional reasons — is, “Geez, do I hafta blog every day? And if not, how often should I blog?”
Of course, the quick answer to that question is, “no.” You can blog as little or as much as you want. Of course, you may not be as successful at whatever goals you want to achieve if you don’t blog a lot. Or even too much.
So now you’re saying, “Well, Bob, now you’re acting like a politician. You haven’t really answered all of my questions. So I don’t hafta blog every day. So how often should I blog?”
At the risk of sounding like a politician, I can only answer that question with, “It depends.”
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