Facebook Contests: Seven Things to Know
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facebook contestsYou’ve seen them, I’ve seen them. Those great Facebook contests that sometimes are hard to resist. If you have a competitive nature like I do, they can be fun as well as beneficial – and a bonus for business visibility.

Recently, Facebook changed its promotions and contest guidelines and it’s actually easier for businesses! Rules have been loosened and you won’t need to use third-party apps. Interested in learning how best to run a contest that will inspire contestants?

Here are even tips you can use:

  1.  What do you want the contest to accomplish? Set your goals by determining your needs, which will also help you choose the type of contest. Is it sales, more followers, drive website traffic?
  2. Determine the type of contest: coupons promote sales while sweepstakes increase Facebook followers. Asking for photos, posts or videos increases follower engagements.
  3. While Facebook has relaxed the rules, find out what they are and make sure your participants follow them. Make it as uncomplicated as possible. Contestants are required to tag themselves in photos, so relay that information and anything else Facebook requires. Read the rules and follow them so your page won’t be shut down.
  4. Keep the timeline short so contestants don’t lose interest.  A week is a good time frame and increases the chance that they will come back.  A month may not.
  5. Give prizes the contestants will value. Make sure they relate to your business such as gift cards to your store, a book you’ve written or a valuable free service. We offer a free communications audit.
  6. Promote other places as well – your blog, website, newsletter, other social media. Post deadline reminders and updates, as well as the eventual winner.
  7. When the contest is over, look at the data. Did you reach your goals? What can you find out about your customers who participated? Use the numbers to refine your next contest and make it even more successful.

While Facebook may have started out as a purely social medium, it has now evolved into a valuable business tool. If you can, take advantage of it.

The Battle Between Amazon, On-demand Publishing and Traditional Book Publishers
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on-demand book publishingI’ll admit it. I’m old school. I enjoy cuddling in a chair, couch or bed with the latest page-turner I purchased from the local book store.

But as you are well aware, (or should be), times are a-changin’. Just ask Amazon.com, the world’s largest bookseller.

While Amazon.com’s warehouses are filled with loads of “real” printed books, their aim is to move to on-demand printing. Books won’t be printed until a customer orders them.

Traditional publishers continue to rally against the on-demand world. They’ve resisted Amazon.com’s request to allow print-on-demand for slower-selling titles, believing that Amazon.com will further skew book economics in their favor and wresting control of the publishing world.

In 1997 Ingram Content Group, the largest book wholesaler in the U.S., started an on-demand publisher, Lightning Source. In 2005, Amazon.com acquired the rival BookSurge (now known as CreateSpace) and began its own on-demand service.

Large publishers, like Random House, spent decades investing in traditional publishing with their own supply chains and warehouses. On-demand disrupts this business model, one based on a range of services, from editorial assistance to distribution. On-demand reduces costs and makes it difficult for publishers to charge hefty book prices.

More pressure is coming from the company On Demand Books and its Espresso Book Machine.  It prints on-demand, on-site, at several bookstores and delivers a high-quality paperback in only five minutes. HarperCollins became the first major publisher to make some of its catalog available on the machines.

As digital printing continues to rattle the publishing industry, on-demand may win out with smaller publishers embracing the technology. And those warehouses at Amazon will look much emptier in the future.

So, as the traditional book stores slowly fade, we can look forward to more cost effective ways to read the next bestseller. Although I love my Kindle Fire HD, I cannot totally trade it for a good book.

How to Thank Your Clients at the Holidays
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Thanks

‘Tis the season for gift-giving and showing appreciation. How will you thank your clients this year?

Cards

A traditional way to thank your clients during the Holidays is to mail a card. What type of card you send takes a lot of thought and sensitivity to your client base’s culture and beliefs. Not everyone celebrates Christmas; some clients might be offended if they receive a card that references Christmas. “Holiday Greetings” is safe: it covers all holidays. Also think about the tone of the card. Not all clients have the same sense of humor, so keep that in mind when considering the tone.

 E-cards or postal?

A card sent through the mail can contain a personal note as well as your signature, leaving the recipient to appreciate that you took the extra time to acknowledge them personally. They will feel valued by your company.

E-cards are quick and inexpensive to send, and there’s no postage to pay. The drawback is that they can’t be personalized like one sent in the mail. They may get missed in their email inbox. While there is a cost savings, consider if what you save will yield the same dividends a personal message will. Decide which has more value both for your company and your clients.

Donate to your client’s designated charity or donate on their behalf
You can also consider supporting a charity. You can often find a charity they support on their website. If donating on their behalf, choose one that all your clients will appreciate. If a client is a nonprofit, consider donating to them. Put a line in your email signature that you’ve made a gift to XYZ charity and a link to the charity’s web page.

Host a client event
You don’t have to plan a large party. A thank-you lunch for treasured clients can be enough. Meeting for coffee is another cost-effective option. A client whose time is tight and has been hard to pin down during the year may welcome a one-hour lunch or coffee. Take advantage of the extra time they might not have in the New Year.

 Send a gift
Never underestimate the power of even a small token of your appreciation. Use the same tactics that are outlined above in the card section. Find something appropriate that sends the correct message. Pastries, books or gift cards to their favorite eateries are safe choices.

It’s “thank you” time. How will you show your clients that you appreciate them? Please share it with us.

Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Constitutes Content Marketing?
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content marketingWhile nearly 60 percent of businesses use at least one form of content marketing, many do not understand exactly what that can include—and its possibilities. Avenues to reach your audience grow at a rapid pace. New social media platforms are debuting almost daily. But apart from social media, content marketing includes other ways for businesses to reach out.

Content marketing is a part of a marketing strategy but can be defined more precisely as existing outside of marketing collateral, such as websites and brochures.

Here’s what it can include:

  • email marketing campaigns and newsletters
  • company blogs, which may include guest posts
  • books
  • slide presentations (Powerpoint, Google docs, Mac Keynote)
  • podcasts
  • video and micro-video (Vine)
  • social media: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, Reddit, Pinterest, to name just a few
  • webinars
  • live presentations
  • white papers

Is your business using any of the above? You don’t have to use everything listed, however a good marketing plan will pinpoint which ones will work best for you to reach out and build your audience.

If you’re not sure what will work for your company, reach out to us. We’re here to “make you more visible.”

Clothing Companies Market Sustainability Campaigns
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We hear a lot these days about “sustainability.” Often it’s misused and over-used. But it’s important that companies recognize their environmental impact during their manufacturing process. Apparel manufacturers have taken note, including Nike, Gap and Levi’s. They’ve come up with ad campaigns that showcase their sustainability efforts.

Nike has developed a “MAKING” app that clothing designers can use to design sustainable apparel with low environmental impacts. It ranks materials based on environmental impact in four environmental areas: energy, chemistry, waste and water. Nike pulls information for the app from their “Materials Sustainability Index,” a public database built from seven years of research.

View Nike’s “MAKING Matters” video below:

Technology Solutions and Services – The Smart Approach to Customer Engagement
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Fotolia_51590279_XS(1)Converging social will, environmental stewardship, and financial responsibility – or the Triple Bottom Line – requires that smart water metering technology providers adapt and deliver 21st Century sustainable solutions.

We have seen successful smart water metering deployments where a vendor deploys a fixed network and ensures that hundreds of thousands of smart water meters communicate according to engineering specifications. The utility then quantifies field labor cost reductions, and identifies various opportunities to realize operational efficiencies. In the case of a progressive utility, additional success metrics relative to leak detection and a reduction in non-revenue water loss is also applied. Thus, tangible short-term and long-term benefits were realized.

While such success factors remain true, the water management landscape is increasingly becoming scrutinized within a broader landscape. This landscape includes municipal government entities leading regional conservation initiatives, and commercial and industrial customers routinely applying environmentally responsible solutions that reduce costs.  Residential customers, now more than ever, are able to link modifications in water consumption behavior to reducing their carbon footprint.  Solution delivery must now integrate environmental, economic, and social benefits.  The end customer and external stakeholders will only become more empowered.

Continue reading Technology Solutions and Services – The Smart Approach to Customer Engagement

How to Write an Effective “Call to Action” for Your Website
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call to action copyYou’ve got a great product or service and all it needs is the “call to action” to urge customers to buy. But how can you make them do it, other than using words like “buy now”?

 

  • Start with using active verbs in the text. “Subscribe,” “go,” and “participate” are good. Keep it short: one sentence should suffice.
  • Give them a limited time to act. A special deal with an expiration date; a limited-time cost savings.
  • Make it colorful and noticeable. It should stand out from the text. Place it at the end of a post or page, or on the sidebar.
  • Make the offer enticing. Whether it’s a cost savings on a product or a freebie such as a newsletter or recipe. Perceived value will encourage them to hit the submit button.
  • The call to action should link directly to what the customer wants. It could be a newsletter signup page or a link to a purchase page. Don’t make it more complicated than hitting the button and getting where they want. More than one button can lose customers.

You’re in business to satisfy a need. You also need to have customers and clients. Creating opportunities that drive sales is what you want. If these five tips help you, please let us know.

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint with Seven Easy Practices
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company green claimsIt’s no longer debatable that climate change and carbon pollution is having a bad affect on our planet. While most people can’t stop an iceberg from melting, individuals can take steps to contribute to a cleaner planet.

  1. Unplug. Power off your devices and chargers. A charger plugged in, even without a phone attached, uses electricity. Put your computer into sleep mode overnight. You’ll not only save on electricity, you’ll extend the life of your device.
  2. Buy a water filter or pitcher. Fill a reusable water bottle from your filter rather than buying all those plastic water bottles that go directly into a landfill. You are adding to your carbon footprint with the shipping required to truck it to your local store.
  3. Switch out your light bulbs. Use compact fluorescent, halogen or LEDs, all of which use much less electricity and have a longer lifespan. Less bulbs will be on that truck, shipping to your local store, adding to the carbon footprint.
  4. Whether you read in print or online, think about how you read the news. Print newspapers cause roughly their weight in carbon emissions. Online reading uses electricity.  Try reading on a device that doesn’t use electricity, like a tablet or e-reader.
  5. Buy local. Farmers markets are just about everywhere. Buying direct from the farmer is healthier, fresher and tastier and wasn’t shipped across the country—or the world.
  6. Invest in curtains or energy-saving blinds. Keep them open in the winter to let in the sun, close them at night to keep in the heat. In summer, close them during the day to block the hot sun and cut down on your air conditioning use.
  7. Use energy-efficient appliances. A microwave saves not only time, but energy. If you must use the traditional, us the upper shelf since heat rises.

Incorporating these seven tips will not only help your pocket, but the planet. Think of ways to save during the holidays when you may use more electricity. The tree lights are on, the stove is baking more goodies and the games are plugged in longer.

Let’s all pitch in to save our planet.

Marketing Your Business During the Holiday Season
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holiday marketingToo often, businesses that are not connected to the holiday season suspend their marketing this time of year. But there’s a lot of opportunity. The holidays are prime time for building loyalty and getting a head start on the New Year. We’re offering a few things you can do:

1: Make a business connection. Don’t assume that businesses are closed or too busy to respond to your communications. Many businesses are in fact slow this time of year. It’s a good opportunity to pick up the phone and chat about what you might do for them in the New Year. Ask them how their year was and what they want to improve in the next one.

2: Send holiday greetings. Let your customers know that you’re thankful for their business over the past year. Good old snail mail cards may be more noticeable.  They’re often kept on display in their offices. That’s where we put all our cheery cards.

3: Submit story ideas. The media is always open and looking for stories. If it’s too late, submit an idea for the coming year.

4: Email a survey asking clients and customers about what you’ve done in the past year and what might be improved in the next.

5: Focus on year-end budgets as well as the budget for next year. If there’s still money left to spend, make it work to your advantage to end the year on an upswing. Plan for next year’s spending and come up with a plan to hit the ground running in January.

There is still time to incorporate a few, if not all of the five suggestions. Yes, this is often a slow time, so make it work for you.

 

Why NASA Landed on Instagram
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nasa instagram accountIn order to expand its audience, The National Aeronautics and  Space Administration (NASA) recently landed on the photo sharing site Instagram.

NASA’s image content will include Earth science, aeronautics, spaceflight, astrophysics, and historic photos as well as video.

The first day on Instagram, NASA featured the launch of its Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, a robotic research mission that will orbit the moon. Instagram is a good fit for the space agency with its rich visuals of space and the Earth. Their followers grew rapidly, to 32,000 within minutes of its first post.

NASA also uses social platforms Google+, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, Reddit and Flickr to tell their story. When Instagram tweeted to welcome NASA to its site, within one day it had been retweeted 1,000 times and 500 had given it a “favorite.” NASA had over 4.7 million Twitter followers, more than any other federal agency.

As NASA uses social media to reach a different demographic, other marketers can learn from their Instagram experience and adopt similar practices.

Can you think of ways you can use this growing social media tool? Whether you’re a construction or utility  company an academic institution or health care  agency, there are many ways to tell your story through pictures.

 

Answering Your 5 Questions About LinkedIn
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linkedinThis May, LinkedIn celebrated its tenth anniversary. There are now over 259 million users in 200 countries. Though millions are considered  connected or “linked,” there are still new people wanting to know the best way to use the social network.

LinkedIn is a good networking resource for business development. Forging business connections, joining groups and finding sales opportunities are some of its benefits.  Using it differs from other social media like Facebook. Following are answers to common LinkedIn questions. Continue reading Answering Your 5 Questions About LinkedIn

Tips for Creating an Effective Blog Editorial Calendar
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blog calendarI often hear moans and groans when I ask clients about blogging or creating an enewsletter (I’m sure someone has heard mine too). I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be stressful.

As the former Editor-In-Chief of Kaleidoscope Magazine, I know the value of an editorial calendar.

Establishing a calendar for a company or personal blog will improve your content and relieve the stress associated with meeting deadlines. Scheduling the topics in advance will help with efficiency and guarantee that you reach your audience and marketing goals. Continue reading Tips for Creating an Effective Blog Editorial Calendar