Katrina Olson

Strategic Communications

Market Boldly 014 – Digital Transformation with Michael Evanko of Fromm Electric Supply, Part 2

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Market Boldly
Market Boldly
Market Boldly 014 - Digital Transformation with Michael Evanko of Fromm Electric Supply, Part 2
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Join me with guest Michael Evanko, VP of Reading, Pennsylvania-based Fromm Electric Supply in this second installment of this discussion about the digital transformation in electrical distribution. If you’re still figuring out how to get started, tune in to learn:

  • What to think about when adopting a new technology like CRM
  • Why marketing must take a strategic leadership role in the digital transformation
  • What to consider when deciding between outsourcing or adding marketing staff
  • How (or if) one person can manage a distributor’s entire marketing function
  • Why you can never stop learning

Michael discusses his experience and offers suggestions for those just beginning their digital journey. It’s not as difficult as you think if you have the right approach and the right people on your team.

7 Common Social Media Mistakes and How To Correct Them

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By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared on tedmag.com on April 22, 2016.

At last year’s NAED AdVenture marketing conference, a whopping 60 percent of attendees were female, and approximately 43 percent were under age 36.

Contrast that with the demographics of electrical contractors.

The average age of the electrical contractor is 56.2, according to Electrical Contractor magazine’s 2014 Profile of the Electrical Contractor. And you probably won’t be surprised to learn that women hold only one percent of all electrician jobs, according to 2009 Census data.

“How do I market to people who are very different from me?”

A good marketer gets to know their customers, inside and out—who they are, what keeps them up at night, and how they make decisions. By understanding customers’ concerns, buying habits, attitudes, preferences and behaviors, you’ll get a feel for what kinds of media and messages they’ll respond to. Along the way, you’ll also learn about trends in their businesses and industry.

“How do I learn more about my customers?”

Following are seven ways you can find out what makes your customers tick. Some are pretty easy; others are more involved. But all should yield valuable insights..

1. Read your customers’ trade publications.

Most industries have trade association and publications. Health Facilities Management, Facilities Manger, Facility Management Decisions, Electrical Contractor, and Buildings and Electrical Contractor are just a few.

2. Join online groups.

Is there a LinkedIn group or social media platform where your customers and prospects hang out? Observe without participating or commenting to learn what’s important to them.

3. Ask your salespeople.

If you can’t talk directly to customers, talk to those who do. Counter staff, inside sales, outside sales, and customer service representatives can give you insight into what your customers care about.

4. Attend company events.

Get out from behind your desk or computer and attend counter days, workshops, training sessions, and other opportunities to get to know your customers. Try to uncover your customers’ hot buttons and pain points.

5. Contact customers directly.

Call or email some of your key customers and ask specific questions—like how they want to learn about new products and services. Or take them out to lunch. Explain that you want to better understand their business so you can better serve them.

6. Conduct a short survey.

Curious about what media your customers are consuming? Want to know what social media platforms they’re using? Wondering how much they use their smartphones? Ask them!

7. Host a focus group or customer advisory council.

To get honest feedback about what your customers think, conduct a focus group or establish a customer advisory council that meets every year. Rotate members out every few years to get fresh perspectives. (To make sure you get candid comments, hire an outside facilitator and leave the room.)

How can I apply this knowledge to be a better marketer?

Here’s an example. The electrical contractor’s role is evolving as they become more heavily involved in design and specification. Also, building systems are becoming more integrated and interdependent, using data hubs that communicate with each other. All systems are tied together; so all the products must be compatible with each other.

As a result, electrical contractors may look to you for comprehensive solutions, not just individual products. Electrical contractors will also rely more heavily on the electrical distributor’s expertise to help them choose the right products for both new and existing systems.

This knowledge should change the way you position and brand your company, and the way your salespeople are trained, too. Instead of just selling and marketing products, you’re marketing your staff’s expertise and product knowledge.

The trick is putting yourself in your customer’s and prospect’s shoes. That means not just understanding their wants and needs—but speaking their language. That takes a little more practice. But the more research you do, the easier it gets.

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Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. She can be reached at Katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com

It’s not enough to just be “on” social media. These days, almost every business is “on.” (And if you’re not, why not?) The challenge is to fully use the power of the medium to reinforce your brand, build loyalty, showcase your expertise, strengthen your presence in the marketplace, generate leads…this list goes on.

But too often, we have little or no strategy for our social media content. Or we approach it like our personal social media, posting funny memes and holiday greetings. While that’s nice and perhaps even entertaining, how does it help you achieve your business goals?

Following are seven common social media mistakes businesses make:

1. Using the wrong medium for the message.

I’ve seen large, multiple-location, established business-to-business companies posting happy holidays messages on LinkedIn. People go to LinkedIn for valuable content to help them better perform their jobs, advance their careers, or grow their businesses. Save the touchy-feely stuff for Facebook, if you post it at all.

2. Being too self-promotional.

If more than 20% of your posts are self-promotional, you risk offending your readers and losing followers. Instead, can you offer a template, guide, white paper or technical support.

3. Not considering your reader’s point of view.

Facebook followers, LinkedIn contacts, YouTube subscribers…they all want to be rewarded for reading and watching your content. What topics are you qualified to write about or comment on? What can you share about trends and issues? Can you serve as an outlet for industry news? Also, it’s okay to talk about your services, as long as you’re offering ways to help your audience save time, money or labor, for example.

4. Not fully utilizing the features of the medium.

LinkedIn makes it so easy to share updates, publish posts and find contacts. What would happen if you spent just 15 minutes a day making new connections? Or one or two hours a week publishing a post offering advice related to your area of expertise?

Back in December 2014, Facebook added pre-made call-to-action buttons including “Sign Up,” “Shop Now,” “Contact Us,” “Book Now,” “Use App,” “Watch Video,” and “Play Game.” You can even customize the button with a destination URL you choose. You can also customize your Facebook Page with apps that display as tabs under the cover photo. Use these apps to promote your blog, register attendees for an event, or share case studies and testimonials.

5. Not including visuals.

Even when I’m just posting on my personal Facebook page, I almost always include visuals. Although numerous studies show that people prefer visual content, and that it’s as much as four times more memorable than text, almost two thirds of professional service companies’ Twitter posts do not have visuals. Did you know you can even share video on Twitter? In fact, there are three ways: you can record, import or upload. Here’s how: https://support.twitter.com/articles/20172128?lang=en

6. Not encouraging engagement.

A study conducted by Bianchi Public Relations, Social Media Use by Professional Services (SMUPS), analyzed social media usage by 25 of the top metro Detroit professional service organizations on four social platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

The study revealed that only a little over six percent of the firms’ social media are interactive-type posts that encourage engagement—even though most firms cited engagement as an immediate goal of their social media strategy.

Try generating content that prompts discussion, asks questions, or solicits feedback.

7. Not asking for shares, likes or whatever action you want your reader to take.

I’ll admit; I’m guilty of this one. I love sharing information, teaching and encouraging my friends, associates and clients through social media. But I rarely ask that they share, like or refer. So this is something I’m committing to improve on this year.

What can you commit to improve on this year? What social media mistakes have you seen? If you know someone who could use help with their social media strategy and content, send them a link to this article!

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Katrina Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, freelance writer, training/coach, former college professor, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She can be reached at katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com.

Give Them What They Want

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By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 5/26/2015 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

In the April 14 Marketing Momentum, we discussed 10 ways to create content that gets attention. This column will address number seven on that list, “Communicate often,” and number eight, “Give Them What They Want.”

Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are great places to build your brand, communicate with customers, build relationships and directly engage with customers. They’re also useful for sharing information.

Reasons to Share On Facebook
But too often, a big gap exists between what we want to tell our customers and prospects, and what they want to know. For example, do your Facebook and Twitter followers really care how many years you’ve been in business or how many items you stock? Probably not.

If you’re not sure what they want to know, read the comments on the social media platforms they are using and answer these questions:

  • What are people most excited about?
  • What topics keep coming up?
  • What problems are they discussing?
  • What problems are they having trouble solving (and how can you help)?
  • What frustrates them?
  • What are they saying about your products or services — and about your competition’s?

Rather than sharing content that serves your own purposes when it is only convenient for you—start by addressing the topics already being discussed and answer those questions.

Communicate often… or when they want.

Between the 121 emails each of us sends and receives per day and the 200-300 Facebook friends we’re each tracking, plus texts, Snapchats, Twitter, Facebook and more —your message can easily get overlooked.

Business emails sent/received daily

 

Facebook friend counts

This message clutter, compounded by our short attention spans and compulsion to multitask, means we need to communicate and interact with our customers often…or at least on a regular basis. Here are a few tips:

  • Invite them to join the conversation by asking for feedback or opinions
  • Don’t send the same message over and over (i.e. vary the content and approach)
  • Let customers choose how often they receive emails (e.g. once a week or month)

Also, use multiple platforms, leveraging the strengths of each. For example, use Twitter for announcements and links to articles, and LinkedIn for company news. Your followers will know what to expect from each platform and can choose which they want to receive.

Give them what they want.

Number eight on our list of ways to create attention-getting marketing is “Give them what they want.” This means appealing to your followers’ interests, sharing information useful to them, and giving them a reason to communicate with you.

Your followers need and deserve an incentive, reward or benefit for reading your content. Here are some suggestions for developing engaging content:

  • teach them something new by sharing your expertise
  • educate them about trends in your industry
  • tell customer stories (with permission, of course)
  • offer discounts, private sales or gifts (occasionally)
  • tell them about new products and services that will solve their problem
  • invite them to an event (virtual or real)
  • share an entertaining video, picture or meme that relates to your industry
  • hold a contest just for your followers (with a valuable prize)
  • play games; it’s okay to just have fun

Negative Comment

As you’re interacting and engaging with customers digitally, you’ll likely get both positive and negative feedback. Try to respond to both promptly. When you see a positive comment about your products, services or company, it’s appropriate to say “thank you.”

If you see a negative comment, respond briefly and politely, then contact the person directly to resolve the situation. If they comment anonymously, invite them to contact you directly so you can address their concerns.

NEXT WEEK: We’ll wrap up this series on creating content that gets attention by discussing how to make it easy for readers to respond.

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Olson is a veteran marketing and public relations consultant. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. Reach her at katrina@katrinaolson.com.

 

The Power Of Pictures

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By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 5/18/15 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

Visual content is becoming increasingly important for reaching and engaging people in social media. Marketers harnessing the power of visuals are increasing blog traffic, converting visitors to leads and acquiring more customers.

Almost every social network has seen an increase in video, photos, memes, charts and infographics.

  • In 2014, use of video content increased by 8% to 58%, while infographic usage increased by 9% to 52%, according to Demand Gen Report’s 2014 Content Preferences Survey of B2B buyers.
  • Tweets with images receive 18% more clicks, 89% more favorites and 150% more retweets, according to a recent study by software application designer Buffer. In late 2013, Twitter enabled users to add inline photos and Vine videos in tweets, available simply by updating the app. (Note: the graphic at right was created using https://infogr.am.)
  • In Social Media Examiner’s 2014 Social Media Industry Report, 82 percent of businesses that responded cited images as crucial elements of social media content optimization, ranking images as “important” or “very important.”

Of course, you want to post, share or tweet relevant images to strategically targeted audiences, or you’ll be creating content that only your mom will see.

Why is visual content so important?

Video adapts your messages to our increasingly short attention spans. Visual content instantly engages viewers and creates impressions that last longer than words. Why?

1. Visual content is instantly and easily sharable on social media. And it’s more likely to be shared if it’s attractive, entertaining or easy to digest.

2. Visuals can communicate messages very quickly. For example, rather than explaining how a new product, tool or app works, you can demonstrate it in a short video.

3. Visuals can persuasively show instead of tell, allowing viewers to decide for themselves without feeling pressured.

4. Visuals communicate quickly, breaking through the online clutter.

How to find visuals

If you have the budget and need high-end, professional images or photos, hire a photographer, illustrator or graphic designer to create custom graphics. But if custom graphics are not in the cards, you have many other options.

1.  Buy stock photography and images.
Online sources like istockphoto.com, shutterstock.com, and gettyimages.com (plus tons more) sell royalty-free images, illustrations, videos and music clips at prices lower than custom visual content.

2. Use open (and free) content.
Creative Commons (creativecommons.org) is a nonprofit organization that offers free creative content to the public for free and legal sharing, use, repurposing and remixing through a variety of licenses for commercial and noncommercial use. It’s network consists of affiliates in over 70 jurisdictions around the world.

3. Take/find and edit your own photos.
Enhance and edit your own photos with online image editors like Pixlr, BeFunky and Fotor.  Most offer filters, frames, effects, text, borders, collages, cropping and more. Find more tools here and here.

I found the free photo below at www.pptbackgrounds.net and added the type, border and effects in pixlr.com (using the basic Pixlr Express option).

4. Create your own infographics.
Infographics can present complex information in an engaging and informative way.  Use them to explain a process, explain how something works, present survey data, make comparisons or present otherwise uninteresting facts.

Infographics are especially useful for building brand awareness or educating customers about an issue. Find 10 easy tools for creating infographics here.

Check out this infographic by MGD Advertising which illustrates how images influence a company’s business, branding, search, and social media efforts.

5. Tell your story in video.
You don’t need to hire a film crew and production company, or even buy fancy video editing software (unless you want to). If you’ve never created a video, start small with easy-to-use, web-based programs like Animoto or Wideo. Both provide templates for creating simple videos with animation for announcements, training, recruiting or even holiday greetings.

Once you’ve mastered the animated video, use your own footage and pictures with a “starter” video editor like iMovie for Mac or Windows Movie Maker. Both provide simple templates for making movies using still photos, graphics and your own images. Next thing you know, you’ll be frustrated with how little you can do with these “beginner” programs.

Now you’re ready for more sophisticated editing software like Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro, CyberLink PowerDirector (PC) or Corel VideoStudio Pro. These range in price from about $80 to $300.

No matter what you’re trying to find, use or create, there’s probably an easy way to do it. A simple Google search will yield hundreds (if not thousands) of results. Or you can just ask your kids. They’re probably already using them on their phones.

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Olson is a veteran marketing and public relations consultant. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. Reach her at katrina@katrinaolson.com.

Capitalize on Opportunities in Real Time

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By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 5/11/15 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

No matter what media you’re using to promote your company, you can capitalize on opportunities like current events, controversies and even weather-related incidents.


Pepsi
McDonalds

Olive Garden
Guinness

 

Although winter 2015 is now a distant memory, we can still learn from how smart brands capitalized on the Snowpocalypse (or Snowmageddon).

How can you capitalize on current events?

Social media serves up new opportunities almost daily. Remember #TheDress? At 6:14 p.m. on Thursday, February 26, a 21-year-old Tumblr user asked for help resolving an argument over the color of her friend’s mother’s dress. “Is this dress white and gold, or blue and black?” asked Caitlin McNeill on swiked.tumblr.com.

At 8 p.m., Jon Passantino of Buzzfeed tweeted, “More than half of all traffic on BuzzFeed dot com is on one post right now. I’ll let you guess which.” The post was seen nearly 30 million times and the hashtag had more than 1.4 million tweets in less than 24 hours.

Brands took notice and jumped on the bandwagon, much to the chagrin of loyal Twitter users. Read more here.

Whether or not you like these brands’ “rapid response social media marketing,” they did get attention. Here are a few brands that put a little extra effort into hijacking #TheDress controversy.


M&M’s


Tide


Ford

Of the three previous examples, the Tide tweet seems the least forced. Tide has more to do with clothing than cars or M&M’s. And although Oreos didn’t have a lot to do with Super Bowl LXVII, the brand’s “You can dunk in the dark” tweet succeeded because of its novelty.

So, what are the rules?

There are no rules; but following these guidelines will help you effectively tie in with current events and opportunities.

1. Be timely. Monitor the media—social and traditional—to see what’s trending. If you’re going to hop on the bandwagon, do it before everyone else does.

2. Be engaging. Use tasteful humor or link to related stories or funny videos. Remember, we’re an increasingly visual society with very short attention spans and a constant need to be entertained. Use that to your advantage.

3. Be customer-focused. If a video of a dog opening a soda (for example) goes viral, ask your customers to share videos of their pet’s special talent.

4. Be relevant. The example in #3 is most appropriate if you own a pet supplies store. What’s happening in your business or industry?

5. Be genuine. Being overly clever or forcing a connection may offend your followers or customers. Be sincere and real in your strategy and communication.

6. Lend your expertise. For example, say the local media reports that fluorescent lights shattered at a school, injuring children. You can suggest safer lighting options to prevent such accidents in the future—in a helpful and informative tone. Also, consider donating lighting to the school to add PR value.

7. Milk it. Or “banana” it, as Groupon did. In March 2015, the online retailer posted the Banana Bunker on their Facebook page. When the predictable jokes started pouring in about this hard plastic tube with a ribbed, collapsible midsection, Groupon could have deleted the item, shut down the page or gone into hiding. Instead, they responded with innocuous remarks about the virtues of the Banana Bunker. (Groupon actually anticipated the response and prepared creative teams to address comments.) The humor was questionable at times, but the response was overwhelmingly positive—with Groupon’s young trendy customers and with the media. Read more here and here.

8. Be true to your brand. Groupon is a relatively new company with a young and loyal customer base who enjoy taking risks, don’t mind standing out in a crowd and enjoy life. Groupon can get away with sexual innuendo; you probably can’t.

9. Be nimble and responsive. When an opportunity arises, be flexible enough to exploit it and responsive enough to do so immediately (as in minutes).

10. Consider the consequences. Did the people at American Apparel think about the consequences of its Hurricane Sandy Sale, or did they just not care? Based on comments by now-fired CEO Dov Charney, the latter seems more likely. Read more here.

The previous guidelines should help you determine how to and how not to capitalize on opportunities. But remember, social media is about building long-term relationships­­­. Communicate with your audiences regularly, in a consistent tone and in a trusting and respectful manner…not just when you want something.

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Olson is a veteran marketing and public relations consultant. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. Reach her at katrina@olsonmarketing.net.