Posted by Gretel Going on Tue, Nov 03, 2009 @ 10:54 AM
What steps should a company take when it wants to transform its website from an informational, brochure-style one to a lead-generating marketing tool?
In the case of our client Praxis Consulting, a new website meant addressing their clients' and prospects' needs with content, content, content!
Praxis is a subrogation services company, which means they help insurance companies determine the at-fault party in auto accidents. Up until now, they've done just fine attracting business despite their very services-centric website, but that business didn't come in through their site; it came from traditional avenues such as trade shows, cold calls, etc. In essence, they realized they weren't taking advantage of this very important tool and were thus overlooking a huge source of leads by not speaking directly to their audience online.
Our solution was a content-rich site with multiple landing pages, and customer-centric language that would speak directly to insurance industry professionals. We also chose to build it on HubSpot's lead generation CMS to account for SEO and inbound marketing best practices.
Following are our objectives for this site, which should top the list for any company looking to make the transition from a navel-gazing informational site to a prospect-friendly one that attracts inbound traffic and leads:
- Position Praxis as THE expert in the subrogation industry. By placing Praxis's thought leadership content (such as benchmarking studies, eBooks, processes and industry acknowledgements) front and center, it's clear that Praxis is driving the conversation on subrogation and recovery.
- Directly address customer and prospect's needs in the context of the industry at large, rather than focus solely on Praxis's offerings.
- Enhance ability to be found by prospects in internet searches with extensive content and ability for easy and quick regular updates that will work to drastically improve Praxis's online rankng.
- Decrease bounce rate. In other words, we want people to DO something once they get to the homepage, rather than leave without clicking through and learning more. (Getting them there is only half the battle!)
- Introduce lead generation capabilities for Praxis's sales team. There are approximately 10 landing pages on the site where users are encouraged to offer their contact information in return for proprietary information. This information is then stored in a private database.
- Detailed lead details. Once someone offers their information, Praxis gets a digest of every page they've ever looked at and every page they look at going forward. This will allow for targeted messaging as it will give the sales team an indication of what problems prospects are trying to solve. We will also get email updates when a lead returns to the site.
- Compare Praxis's success to that of its earnest competitors' in terms of online rankings and top keywords.
- Make it look pretty. Hey, it's a superficial world we live in!
The only thing we're missing now is a blog, something we highly suggest, but hey, it's not for everybody. We have a feeling we'll get our way eventually, though!
Posted by Gretel Going on Thu, Sep 24, 2009 @ 09:33 AM
Social media listening and RFPs have a lot in common. Okay, maybe not, but both are topics covered in two new incredibly useful resources--one free, one not. If you're a sales or marketing professional, a hands-on entrepreneur, or if you work in business development, take note.
FREE E-BOOK:
Storylistening Through Social Media:
Using Narrative Techniques to Create, Measure and Optimize Social Media Programs That Ignite Meaningful Consumer Conversations
Social Media is the ultimate focus group but how can you apply what you learn online to your brand strategy?
This free e-book from Story Worldwide takes readers through a broad background of social media and ends with actionable steps your company can take to embrace the power of what they call the "mass amateurisation of publishing" (in a good way, of course).
The main takeaway from this e-book is the ammunition it gives you to introduce your brand's social media strategy (and to get the support you need to make it happen on a large scale). Here's a quick overview of the content for you:
- Audience: Those who were once voiceless now have the ability to shout.
- Influence: Your brand is perception is now in the hands of an army of strangers
- Traffic: Nurturing your community rather than detaining the uninterested.
- Case studies: Audience Generation, Customer Service, and Direct Sales
- The 4 Steps to Talking to All of Your Customers at Once:
- Listen Carefull
- Analyze What You Hear
- Join in and speak up
- Measure and Maintain
>> Download the e-book here: http://ebooks.storyworldwide.com.
RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business
By Tom Searcy
As someone who despises RFPs, I learned a ton while editing this book. (Yes, our publishing division Channel V Books published this, but I'm not cheesy enough to recommend it only for that reason. Give me some credit.)
While working on this book, we were simultaneously knee-deep in the RFP process for a huge account that we had absolutely no business bidding on. Our main objective was simply not to make fools of ourselves and Tom's book allowed us to impress the socks off of the large consumer brand we were after.
A few a-ha moments that stuck with me came from these particular lessons:
- Companies tend to spend a lot of time educating the prospect instead of giving them the tools they'll need to sell the proposed solution to their team. Yep, this is exactly what we were doing...for about the first half of our proposal. Do you know how silly we would have looked if we had gone in and wasted this company's time by teaching them a little lesson? I am so glad we didn't.
- By focusing primarily on your services, you're really just positioning yourself as a qualified contender, not as a standout. In other words, everyone bidding on the RFP can do X, Y and Z--that's why they were invited to respond. But those things are really the lowest common denominators among you and your competition. You want to set yourself apart as the one who can do all that but also A, B and C, which are things that you've identified as unique to your company and important to the prospect. By closely analyzing the RFP, you can gain this type of telling information.
- There are many RFPs that you should run, not walk, away from. All too often small businesses get overly excited about being asked to respond to an RFP from a big company. They waste tons of time and resources responding to something that is clearly just a source of free consulting for procurement. It's really not fair--you, the small company waste your limited resources on giving a large company with tons of resources free work. But, if you learn how to read between the lines, you can avoid this situation all together. Likewise, you can also figure out if the RFP is worthwhile and if you've really got a shot.
So, if you don't have the time, patience or desire to spend hours responding to RFPs that amount to nothing more than free consulting, this book is for you. Invest in a copy at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Posted by Genna Mazor on Mon, Aug 10, 2009 @ 10:07 AM
If you've read this blog before, you've already realized that we like telling you what to do. A lot. This serves a few purposes. First, we get to be the bosses, something we relish. Second, you learn something, which can't hurt. And third, it establishes us as the "thought leaders" we are. You know, people who know what they're talking about. That's us. We've done everything from teaching you how to write a cover letter to explaining why LinkedIn is actually a good thing for lead generation. So now, we'll tell you how to write an ebook. A not-boring ebook.
Ebooks are a great way to give your clients, prospects or customers valuable information that's relative to your business without being promotional, bland or self-serving. As an inbound marketing tool, an e-book's main purpose is to increase site traffic and act as a source of lead and audience generation. They're essentially a savvier version of the ol' fashioned white paper and serve as a vehicle for offering your expertise to your prospects, clients or other target audiences. They also differ from white papers in that they are (or should be) less pedantic and dry. In fact, they should be basic (and interesting) enough that non-experts understand and learn from them (because, hey, experts don't need your help). And with the right mix of content, language and design, they will.
Here's how:
1. Like any undertaking in life, an ebook first demands you answer the question: What is my goal? What is your goal in writing your ebook? Clearly you want to generate leads and increase your database, but you should also have an audience takeaway goal. What impression are you trying to convey for your company, brand, or product and what response do you want from your audience? Are you looking to position yourself as the expert in your industry? Are you offering tips on a niche topic in hopes that your prospects will contact you to learn even more? Are you looking for a more interesting way of sharing your story or trying to establish your profile in the business community? Or maybe you're looking to create awareness for your brand/product in a way that is helpful to your audience rather than promotional. Knowing your objective will help you set the tone for your ebook.
2. Figure out what will be of most interest to your audience and develop an understanding of how they consume information. Remember, you aren't writing a sales manual or company promotional material; instead, you are writing to capture and engage readers. With that in mind, don't write in over-complicated jargon when things can be explained simply. If you know your target audience likes lists, charts or case studies, consider including these of immediately capturing their attention. Also, address topics that will appeal to your audience now and try to anticipate those that might be of interest in the future.
3. KISS. Keep it short, stupid. No one wants to read your 300-page ebook, and keep this in mind as you decide on a topic. Identify narrow categories and subjects that will limit the scope of your writing. Fifteen to thirty pages should be more than sufficient for most ebooks.
4. Name your ebook. Done in tandem with identifying your goals and settling on a topic, choosing a title will give your ebook some structure. You won't be tempted to go too far off message if you've already figured out your very clever title. And don't be afraid of subtitles, especially if this is a business ebook. Subtitles boost your SEO and better describe what the reader is in for.
5. Be prepared to write quality content. Yes, ebooks are downloaded for free (or in exchange for your reader's email address), but people are coming to your site for a reason. Give them the goods and show them that you're as smart as they think you are (or you want them to think you are).
6. Begin writing. Well, duh. But seriously, it's easy to get so caught up in the strategy that you're nearly paralyzed when it comes to actually starting to write. Some jumpstart ideas: It's always helpful to start your ebook off with a story or anecdote that is relevant to what the reader came to read. Stories grab the reader more readily than a business-speak introduction and can serve to humanize the author or company. Another one? Start in the middle with the chapter or subsection that is clearest in your mind. It's easy to get hung up on the perfect opener, but it might make more sense to come back around to it once you have more of the book written.
7. Keep the tone light. Remember that your goal is to connect with members of your audience, so don't use a tone that distances you from them. This doesn't mean you have to be folksy or slangy, it just means writing in an accessible, open, and somewhat conversational way. For inspiration, check out some of the blogs that are most popular with your target audience. This will give you a good sense of the writing style they enjoy and help you hit the right note.
8. Hire an editor. Though an ebook may not seem as "official" as a white paper, you want to be sure to edit it thoroughly. A professional editor can check for consistency of tone, grammatical errors and anything else that might make your reader dwell more on the writing than the content.
9. Design. E-book design is just as important as--and sometimes even more so than--ebook copy. A text-heavy, badly-designed ebook is likely to turn off your online readers, who have grown accustomed to stimulating, interactive online content. In order to engage them, look to a professional designer to establish the look of your ebook. Some important tips: Put your ebook in landscape, rather than portrait, format, make good use of graphics and images in addition to the text, and don't try to pack too much text onto any given page.
10. Add a Creative Commons license to your finished ebook to let your audience know that they can share your copyrighted material.
Now your e-book is done and ready to go up on your site. But wait... One final question.... Do you want to generate leads with your new ebook?
If so, include a form on your site that readers can fill out with their hard-to-get contact information like name, email address and company. You may even want to ask a question about your readers' top concerns or interests so you can get a more complete sense of how to better serve your audience.
If you'd prefer that your work of genius go viral, eliminate all barriers to entry (like forms or large file sizes) and make the ebook as accessible as possible. Links to the ebook should be clean and simple.
Either way, you should promote your ebook anywhere and everywhere that you can. Tweet about it, post it on Facebook, share it with your LinkedIn groups, blog about, and send it out to your established network. Exchange links with bloggers in your field to access their networks.
Now pat yourself on the back for your completing (and promoting) your first ebook. Well done!
Posted by Gretel Going on Wed, Jun 17, 2009 @ 09:04 AM
There was a time—not too long ago—when I firmly believed that LinkedIn was just one big job-seeking and networking love fest. And if you've been reading this blog for a while, you know our collective feelings about business people "networking" (in the most
traditional and nauseating sense), and that this isn't something I say fondly.
But recently the tides have changed, and I've become somewhat of a LinkedIn junkie. What changed? I discovered how active the community there really is, the quality of the discussions and the incredible amount of traffic and leads it was bringing to our clients. Yep, LinkedIn is an inbound marketing machine. (Did I really just say inbound marketing machine? Oy.) I only wish it hadn't taken me three years of using it to figure it out.
But first, to clarify, I don't believe that "So and so sent me a message on LinkedIn and now we're talkin' business" qualifies as a case study on using LinkedIn for lead generation. The event must be uniquely limited to the platform at hand, whereas in that example, the same thing could have easily happened over email (or Facebook, or Twitter, or...you get it). Now, if the person got a hold of you on LinkedIn because they happened to see your contribution to a discussion in a group there, or arrived as one of your shared connections, well, that's another story altogether.
Anyway, I'll cut to the chase and tell you a few ways we've used LinkedIn to generate leads and other business opportunities for ourselves and for clients.
"Answers"
Obviously one of the great (and sometimes, not so great) things about social networks is that people can emerge (or just pose) as experts in their industries. Given a soapbox, many people will use it to spew advice or request it, and that's exactly what happens in the Answers section on LinkedIn. People in your network post questions-provocative, thought-provoking or purely inquisitive-and other users answer them. Of course, many of these questions can lead to opportunities, whether you present yourself as an expert by starting an engaging conversation, or if you provide someone with a solid answer (or point them toward another source who will offer them that answer) and start the dialogue that way.
We've used the Answers section several times to connect our clients with opportunities. For example, we were able to get Bank of America's Annual Report (produced by our client Story Worldwide) featured in the book The Writer's Guide to Annual Reports by Robert Roth. We've also used it to secure speaking engagements, radio interviews and identify business opportunities.
Still others, as pointed out in an article by Copyblogger, use Answers to identify sources for articles they're writing, which could mean media coverage for you...especially if you're in a niche industry where experts are hard for journalists to track down.
Groups
There are thousands of active groups on LinkedIn and I guarantee there are at least a handful that cater to your interests (whether work-related or personal). I currently belong to nine groups, and have elected to get a daily digest (email) of the day's activity from about five of them since I, like many people, don't have the time to hang out on LinkedIn all day to see what's being discussed. These groups and digests are not only a great way to keep up with relevant conversations; they're a great way to get your conversations out there.
I first realized this when our client at Hunt Big Sales posted a link to his e-book Landing Big Sales with an RFP into one of his active groups. Within two days, he got 300 downloads (or leads) from simply making the book known to this one group. Considering his book requires a registration (albeit a free one), this was a welcome outcome.
Needless to say, when we launched our new e-book last week, we took our audience generation campaign over to our LinkedIn groups (as well as Twitter, Facebook and other outlets). And as expected, 49% of our downloads so far have come from these groups.
The Obvious: Connecting with people you don't know
There are a few ways to use LinkedIn in the general networking sense. My favorite example of using LinkedIn to generate new business comes from our partners over at Hubspot. Hubspot allows you to collect information about your leads when they download your thought leadership content (such as e-books, research, white papers, etc.). One of their clients noticed that Bank of America* was particularly active on their site, so they headed over to LinkedIn to attempt to make a subtle and professional connect with the person at hand. As it turns out, by simply opening the floor to further conversation by making this connection, the company was able to secure Bank of America as a client. And not just any client—the biggest client in the company's history.
Of course, this doesn't mean you should just begin connecting to people who you want to work with and start pitching/stalking them. It means you should integrate LinkedIn into your overall sales strategy. After all, because of its professional nature, people are more open to talking shop here than they are on, say, Facebook. There's also something more appealing about receiving a business inquiry over LinkedIn than by email. People, including myself, tend to feel a bit violated when they get a random pitch in their inbox. Email is becoming the 21st century's cold call...and we all know how popular cold calls are.
Updates & Applications
You'll hear a lot of people telling you to stick to just one or two social media platforms. Our philosophy is to use as many (or as few) platforms as necessary to connect with the entirety of your audience. Basically, you need to be where your audience is. And if you make that commitment, whether to one platform or several, you need to do it right. On LinkedIn this means taking advantage of their newish applications, such as posting an RSS feed to your company or personal blog, and sharing presentations with slideshare, as well as posting regular updates and making sure to flesh out your profile as much as possible to show your qualifications, etc. You want to make sure that when people do find you and/or connect with you, you offer them as much ammunition as possible to start a dialogue with you. This may not be your first choice in platforms, but if this is the only place you're going to be found by a certain portion of your target audience, well then, put a little bit of effort into it.
Okay, are you still with me? If so, thanks for reading my coffee-fueled dribble and feel free to connect with me over at LinkedIn...
*This example is unrelated to the previous Bank of America example. Just a coincidence...
Posted by Gretel Going on Tue, Jun 09, 2009 @ 03:09 PM
We're just as sick of reading about social media as everyone else out there, but despite all of the available literature, we can't help but notice that people are still in need of some serious coaching in this space...
In our new (and free) e-book—GOING SOCIAL... 12 key things you must consider when developing a social media program for your business, your brand, or your clients—we set out to answer the following question once and for all:
What's so difficult about social media anyway?
The short answer? The "social" part...
Look strictly at the traditional offerings of the different types of marketing agencies out there, and it's quickly apparent that it's more than hierarchy and bureaucracy making it difficult for traditional marketing agencies (or even in-house marketing departments) to roll out their "social media programs." It's the fact that they have to reorganize and learn new skills in order to offer something they've never offered before.
In this glorious e-book, you will learn:
Why bad social media happens to good brands
What it takes to get noticed
The unique functions of social media
Where social media falls in the traditional marketing mix
The difference between a social media campaign and a social media programAnd, as promised, 12 things you must consider when creating a social media program for your brand, company or clients:
- Audience Identification
- Platform Development & Design
- Brand Campaign Integration
- Content Creation/Coordination
- Goal Mapping
- Brand Identity/Purity
- Audience Generation
- Social Media Listening
- Community & Social Responsibility
- Internal/External Community Engagement & Response
- Brand Advocacy
- Customer Service
Did we mention that it's glorious? Also, beautifully designed and accessible. Ahem.
Download Now!
Posted by Kate Fleming on Fri, Apr 03, 2009 @ 01:07 PM
You probably know lots of people who have (or at least believe they have) great stories to share, whether a triumph in overcoming cancer, a family history, or a blossoming novel. And likely many of them are struggling to find a publisher or casting about for self-publishing options. Some of them are itching to be famous authors; others just want to put their experiences in writing for family and friends.
Though these two groups might be far apart on the self-defined literary spectrum, they likely have one thing in common: they've considered publishing their own books. Why? The former group are daunted by the challenge of finding a publisher; the latter aren't much interested in finding one. The result is that publishing on one's own starts to seem like a pretty appealing option. That is, until you start to figure out the cost and the hassle.
Our client, pediatric surgeon Linda Brodsky, falls somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. While she would like to be a published author one day, she isn't quite ready for that yet. But she did want to share her experiences and story. She wanted people to know about her path to becoming a doctor, the challenges she faced along the way, and her ultimate battle with gender discrimination. So we encouraged her to try something different: an interactive ebook. Working with Linda's basic story, we fleshed out the major events of her life into manageable chapters, then our design team (thanks, Cesar!) got to work on design elements and illustrations that complemented and enhanced her narrative. We think the result is really great, Linda loves it, and people she doesn't even know have found themselves sucked into her life story. See for yourself.
Although a number of businesses have created ebooks for marketing purposes (check out our client Tom Searcy's ebooks here), the ebook really hasn't been used much by individuals, but our work with Linda convinced us that the medium really is ideally suited to the personal narrative. First, it's an unexpected and creative way to share writing in a time when people have grown more and more accustomed to reading and sharing stories online. Plus, it can easily be included as a link and the interactive nature of the work means that authors can include links to relevant albums, organizations, websites, or anything else that is relevant to their story.
Based on our work with Linda, we have some general ideas for anyone interested in writing and creating an ebook:
- Figure out who your target audience is. Are you trying to persuade? Entertain? Educate?
- Identify people in your life who can help you with the project. Find someone who can help you edit, people you can bounce ideas off of, enlist the help of an artistic friend for illustrations and design.
- Think about how you want to channel the power of the Internet to help your story. Do you want to include links to photo albums? To nonprofit organizations? Are you hoping to get people to go to your website? All of these elements can be linked to in your ebook!
- Don’t feel constrained by the look and feel of traditional books. You can play around with page size, with the way you use illustrations, and even include video. Dream big!
- Research the companies that provide ebook services. Some are more business-y while others will have a more creative feel. Identify the one that works best for you.
Or, if you decide self-publishing is the way you want to go, talk to us about CVM Publishing. We work with our clients to publish--and publicize--their books.