LinkedIn. Twitter. Blogging. Webinars. The way that we digitally communicate with customers has changed over the past decade. New digital media have been invented and older media have either disappeared or evolved to keep up. However, one of the oldest forms of digital communication is still one of the best ways to reach your audience – email marketing.
Social media has become an integral part of the marketing mix over the past ten years. Most people are using at least one platform, and a majority of businesses have their own business pages on Facebook and other social media platforms.
As the face of your B2B advisory firm, you’re interacting with customers and partners every day. Do they consider you a go-to expert in your industry? If not, how can you position yourself – and your business – as a valuable resource?
As we work with clients to update their websites, one of the main topics of conversation is about “the blog.” Do I need one? Why should I have one? How should I do it? Blogging remains one of the important content marketing tools for businesses. You may even be thinking “Isn’t blog writing more important for B2C companies? Why should my B2B company commit to writing blogs?”
“If you’re competitor focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer focused allows you to be more pioneering.” – Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com
We’ve all experienced it at one time or another – that uncontrollable urge to spend time or money on the latest gizmo, app, online tool, trick or offer. Remember Dug, the adorable talking golden retriever from Pixar Disney’s movie, Up, who in the midst of conversation would become distracted and exclaim, “Squirrel!?” You may chuckle, but Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) occurs all the time, including in our marketing.
Many of our B-to-B clients still debate the benefits of Twitter for their businesses. Sure it makes sense for retailers, but are other businesses going to follow us? Well, many B-to-B companies are behind their B-to-C counterparts in their efforts to ramp up, but we’re seeing more and more take advantage of social media outlets to gain clients. We understand that for a small company with limited time, it can be a tough call — it takes time to tweet, blog, or create content on Facebook. This is something that has to be developed and maintained with great thought and care. However, there are plenty of potential clients who are already online searching for services and ready to follow.
