December 7th, 2009
We recently released a post about the significant traffic builder a blog can be, and, in our December newsletter (sent only to newsletter subscribers) we talked about creating the right kind of content for your audience. This begged the question from a few of you: How do I get people to read my blog?
First, let me step back and say kudos to you for starting your blog. Keep it up! Now to get those readers… below are some tips for getting your work out and about. Give some a try and let me know how they work for you. I always like to hear real-world success stories! (or, the opposite of those stories; we all can learn from those!)
- Make it a habit to update your status on Facebook and LinkedIn and wherever else you’re posting status updates to mention your blog. You can talk about that you’re writing your blog, put a link to the latest post, mention the headline and link to the rest, etc. Just keep it out there in front of people so they KNOW one actually exists.
- Use Twitter to push your posts out on a daily basis. If you’ve been blogging for an extra long time, like us, then you have mounds of content you can push out on a regular basis. Use the archives! History has proven it’s relevance time and time again; don’t think because it’s older than a week it’s not good information to share.
- Mention your blog on your business cards. Learn to bridge the gap between the real and virtual world and talk about your work when you’re talking to someone at networking events, grocery store lines, at your kid’s actvities. If it’s helpful, it won’t seem out of place. Figure out how to work it in.
- Comment on other blogs (read: those blogs with lots of followers) and link to your post/blog as relevance to your comment. This is a proven tactic to get like-minded readers following you.
- Get a little crafty on LinkedIn and join groups that want to know your info. Post your blog there and comment on other group posts. Share, share, share.
- Be like us and post your blog front and center to your homepage. Visitor’s are sure to see your most recent posts and possibly keep coming back for more.
Get rolling on a few of these, be consistent and keep adding relevant and valuable content to your blog. You’re sure to get the readers you’re looking for.
September 3rd, 2009
They’re talking about you on Twitter. They’re talking about you on Facebook. They share an experience on a blog post. They use Flickr to post a gallery of photos from your event. It’s happening, and you need to listen.
So often marketing discussions lean toward what activity should be done next. What should be implemented? What tactics should launch next? What should we present this fall? How should we run our campaign for Q1? Sometimes, it’s simply better to listen.
As the marketing outlets available continue to grow at a remarkable pace, with albeit sometimes not as remarkable means, it gets overwhelming. I’ve noticed more often than not that our clients get caught up in what to do next. They read of the next new thing and they think and tell their marketing partner, we have to be here. Get us a plan for working this medium. Really, though, we need to put listening parallel to this push activity in order to really create value in our respective markets.
Step one in all marketing planning should include active listening. Monitor your brand, monitor your market’s activity and trends, monitor your competition, keep an ear to the ground on it all. There is so much value on understanding the needs in your market and then creating a specific plan, product or service to meeting those needs, that it rarely happens anymore. When Apple set out to create and market their iPod, they listened to the need in the market place. They knew there were people out there who wanted to have their 10,000 CDs with them to play on demand, but that they didn’t want to carry them around. They listened to the need and filled it.
We have to begin conditioning ourselves to recognize, account for an reach that need in each of our respective fields. Finding that need doesn’t happen from pushing your product and service more often or in a different way. It happens from listening.
July 3rd, 2009
Between working on client projects and writing blog posts, I’m still hard at work on the new Silver Square website. There’s an early preview of what the home page will look like over at our Get Back On the Road Blog. A business owner asked about how they should evaluate web designers when they are planning a redesign of their site. One of the final tips in the post is to look at the designer’s site, so it only seemed natural to include a peek at where our site is headed.
Head over to that site and take a look at the new direction we’re going. While you’re there, don’t forget to ask your marketing questions. You’ll get practical answers from the Silver Square team. Tell your friends.
July 1st, 2009
I recently went to a networking event in Chicago with Denise Praul from Accurate Tax Management. Many of us (many!) in the Indianapolis area know Denise is nothing short of a pro at her key message when it comes to networking. It’s brilliant – she takes the pain out of property taxes. (if you’re paying too much, you need Denise’s touch) She knows it’s brilliant because people call her and leave messages containing bits of her message, i.e. “I hear you take the pain out of property taxes…”
On the drive home, we were like 12-year-olds ready to get in the car and talk about the good and bad of the event. There were some indivdiuals with great focus, professionalism and key messages. There were also those not so fabulous. I could rattle off a few ways to get zero follow up from a networking event, but one thing really stood out as extra annoying, so I’ll share that instead. The next time you’re attending a networking event, do not do this – or I guarantee you’ll be THE MOST annoying person in the mix.
The number one way to be really annoying at a networking meeting is… talk over people. This event was pretty well organized. You had certain times to give your message, along with a few other things you were required to share (one of those things is what in the next six months will you be spending money on. I thought this was a good one for a solid way to pass a referral) and that message was given in an equally firm timeframe. Listen up… when you’re given a timeframe in which to speak at an event, you don’t abuse it. You don’t say one more thing, you don’t add one more word, and you don’t finish your thought. You stop. Your time is up. If you don’t stop, you’re taking the next person’s time and seriously wounding your credibility, professionalism and any chance of someone wanting to set up a one-on-one with you afterward. It’s so painful to witness this kind of stuff. Really.
Pretty, pretty please figure out your key message, or call us to help you, or ask just what the heck a key messages is on the Get Back on the Road site. Just make sure you figure it out and deliver it well. Anything less is killing your marketing, hurting your credibility and delivering a really annoying vibe among you meeting peers.
April 17th, 2009
So you’ve realized you need to focus some attention on marketing your business. You need to grow, but there are so many options available. You’ve heard about social media. Maybe you’ve had some limited success with traditional advertising. Should you change your brand identity? Do you need a blog? How can you know?
ASK.
The marketing wizards at Silver Square are turning our talents loose on answering your most pressing marketing questions. Here are the most recent questions we’ve answered:
We specialize in helping you create a path to your next growth milestone. Wondering how you’re going to get there? Head over to ask.silversquareinc.com and get your ask going.
