Word on the street is we’re supposed to start being eco-friendly, and one easy way to do your part is by using less paper. Hard copy newsletters, brochures, and snail mail are serious paper wasters. I think the time has come for marketing to go green.

Environment aside, who reads hard copy brochures and newsletters anymore? How often is the information actually beneficial, and how much are you spending on making these ignored pamphlets? Almost everything people get in the mail that isn’t a Christmas card or a bill gets thrown away. Things need to be short, concise, convenient and useful for people to be willing to take the time to look at them. We are in a fast paced age of multi-tasking frenzy. Don’t hold people back with your wordy glossy handouts.

Email marketing is far more beneficial. People can skim it, keep it, reference it, and send it to their friends. Email marketing allows hyper links, and one click commenting abilities. Plus, if someone doesn’t want the information you’ve sent him or her, there is no paper wasted when the delete button is clicked.

It’s a simple message. There is no point to hard copies anymore, especially brochures. Besides the doctor’s office, nobody is going to take the time to read what you have to say. Stop spending your money and go green.

(Photo Go Green or Go Home by Little Miss Sunshine)

EMarketer put out an article Tuesday about what Americans want from brands. Their results give businesses some great knowledge points to think about when creating marketing campaigns. Stuff to keep in mind.

Two things that Americans want from brands:

1. Constant information and brand updates
2. Discounts!

When it comes to buying, Americans look more positively on word of mouth than any other advertising strategy. The data even showed that Americans will be more likely to buy when they are told face to face about a brand than in an online community, which is fascinating considering the amount of time we all spend on our social networks and online personas.

But, in the same realm, people are also far more likely to trust bloggers and social media contacts who they read or follow regularly about brands, than celebrities or news reps (keep that in mind when looking for people to pitch a product).

So how do you implement new strategies knowing this information? Does this information change who you are going to connect with in the future, and the strategy you will use to implement brand announcements?

Connecting with customers is getting harder. Marketing and sales has been making dramatic shifts in the past few years as traditional ad strategies become more and more obsolete, and those changes are going to have to continue in the months and years to come.

(Photo With a Little Help From My Friends by Herodoto)

Blog Tips for Business

• Consistency is key: A blog is updated 2-3 times a week, usually.  Different bloggers have different styles.  Why is consistency important?  Once you establish reader following, they will expect you to post every week on that date.

• Value, value value: “You can’t be something to everyone…you must provide great value to a niche market” Develop a well thought out blog strategy with posts a month in advance.  Prioritize and have objectives and goals to hit

• Objectives and goals are key and can easily be measured via Google Analytics or any other service you already use.  Meaning, how many blog visits in the first month, third, six etc…If they are not hitting the expected numbers then something should change.

• Involve your customers: They’ll be inclined to add/share information if they are the content creators.

Social Media Objectives

• Innovate 
• Enhance customer service
• Create industry buzz
• Generate new business
• Build community
• Track ROI of initiatives
• Build relationships with clients and colleagues
• Reach new markets through alternative avenues
• Hire & recruiting
• Prospecting and lead generation
• Create internal company buzz

This week I was asked by someone if I thought the management of social media should fall under the Marketing group or the Sales group.  The debate being that most companies use social media to build their brand online (marketing) with the goal of connecting with prospects that then contact said social media accounts wanting to learn more about the product or service (sales). There were concerns that while the majority of what they wanted to do via social media fell under the standard marketing umbrella; they wanted a sales person involved when a prospect reached out.

Long story short, the answer is your social media presence is a combination of both.

For small businesses, this really never seems to be much of an issue because there are few people wearing many hats and usually all sitting right next to each other.

For larger businesses, a strong relationship between Marketing and Sales with a lead generation plan in place is just as important online as it is offline.  Social media doesn’t really change that.  However it does make it publicly and blatantly obvious when the teams are siloed and disjointed.  Mismanaging a customer or prospect on Twitter can lead to a huge public black eye that thousands of people can share and talk about whereas not contacting a lead that filled out your Contact Us form is a much more private mistake.  That’s why having a social media strategy in place is crucial for companies regardless of what group it falls under.

Figure out what your goals are for using social media and how you will measure your success first.  Then plan the tactics that will allow you to reach those goals.  The last and easiest part will be determining who handles it.

Contests are a great way to promote your B2B brand. If you are willing to look around, contests of all genres and sizes are on the web, with typically little to no annoying requirements for entry. Entering contests is a great business venture. It gives you the opportunity to try your company out against competitors. You can see who your competition is and what they are doing. You’ll learn how to improve your product against competitors, and you will get pain free company promotion.

Winning a contest, or placing in one, make great bragging rights. Every customer wants to hear that their company of choice is the best, and these simple web entry contests can help you get that. Sometimes these contests will also give you the opportunity to include you customers by asking them to vote for you. It’s marketing, PR, branding and customer relationship building all rolled into one.  If nothing else, look for contest that provide financial incentive for the purpose of helping your company grow.

We recommend keeping track of contests, even if your company isn’t ready to enter them. Start a spreadsheet and spend a little time each week researching what contests are going on. Keep track of the information and sign up for emails, maybe next year your company will be ready for it.

Only enter contests that are relevant to your business, and be careful not to overdo it. Analyze the contests before entering them. You don’t need to be in every single one. Of course, as Mom and Dad always told you, if you don’t win its not the end of the world. Take losing as a business learning experience. Make improvements based on the companies you saw rank in the top, then come back and try again.

(Photo fly (relay race anchormen part 3) by Shenghung Lin)