I recently read something that truly shocked me. And I am not easily shocked. Four words nearly guaranteed to get your email opened are “You Are Not Alone.” It’s known to bring an average open rate of 90%, often stretching to even 100%, and for a wide range of audience groups and subject areas.
Just under a year ago in November 2011 LinkedIn updated the capabilities of their company pages, enabling company pages to have followers and enabling company admins to share status updates with their followers. This enabled companies, and especially small companies, to become more engaged with their LinkedIn networks.
Company ABC is a tech consulting firm in the secure government contracting space that promotes a fundraising event for a highly respected, well run charity for rehabilitating soldiers injured abroad. The veteran owners and many of their clients care passionately about the cause, and the thousands of dollars they contribute directly impact those in need of immediate assistance. Their contribution fills a vast funding deficit and gives the charity a much needed financial boost. And, it serves as an expression of Company ABC’s brand. They pride themselves on their integrity, reputation and transparency, and their commitment to their clients, country and community is evident in their brand from the way they provide services to the way they demonstrate giving back.
I often come across articles titled something like, “10 things you didn’t know about Facebook.” Each time I get excited that I am about to learn new intricacies related to the Facebook platform, but that rarely happens! So, after scanning a recent article about 10 things I did know about Facebook, I decided to put together my own list of tips and tools that I have not seen written about, things that you may not know about, but could be very useful for your Facebook business page. If there are others to add to the list, please add it in the comment section.
Sounds like cartoon commentary, doesn’t it? Picture a guy at a desk with a marketing sign above him, feet up talking on the phone. But branding and marketing is not fluffy, “designy” stuff. Branding and marketing is what makes the difference between a full pipeline of leads and an empty one.
Brand Identity: Decorium Logo and Print Mailers
Our logo design and print mailer designs for Decorium
I’ve been reading some great books on entrepreneurship, business consulting, and the new rules of PR, marketing and social media in this incredibly connected world we’re in. Business is different. The climate has shifted. One really can start a business on a shoe string, or invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to help it grow. Both are viable. Some of the smaller companies are even doing it better than their larger, more established counterparts within the same space.
We recently met with a potential client and had an interesting conversation about how marketing and branding work and differ from one another. He was a very smart guy who had a good handle on what he was trying to do with his website and overall brand, but as is nearly always the case, he was too close to it to be able to articulate it clearly, and uniquely, and needed a little help with how to make it look and sound the best it could.
No, I am not talking about wearing a freshly pressed suit and a tie, although sometimes that is entirely appropriate. I am referring to looking professional across your social media channels.
I recently conducted a workshop on how important your brand is within the social media arena, particularly when your business focuses on selling a concept, service or other intangible. This particular workshop happened to be for churches, but they are not unlike many of the businesses we advise, who sell consulting, advice, conceptual services or ideas. Let’s face it, churches are probably among the most conceptual of all, promoting not only events and services, but an ideology.
There’s so much buzz and competition these days to try to make content go viral, that it has, by nature, become more difficult to do. But it is still possible. Going “viral” only means that a piece of content has enough appeal, either broadly or narrowly, that people take the time and effort to spread it to their friends and colleagues with their endorsements or commentary.
Trust me when I tell you, the excuses abound. Let’s see, “we don’t have time,” “don’t know what to say,” “can’t write,” “lack a good email list,” “don’t know what software to use,” “have no ideas,” “won’t be able to keep up with it,” “don’t know how to make it look professional.” Breathe. “Don’t have enough expertise,” “don’t see the point,” “don’t want to turn off our customers”, “don’t want to give away our secrets”, “think emailers get blocked anyway”, “aren’t creative enough,” and our favorite of all time, “I don’t want to bore people.”
