Case study: How to attract visitors to your site

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I love finding great examples of how companies have thought outside the box to find ways of attracting visitors, press coverage, links and oh yes – winning more business.

The trade show marketing niche is a competitive one. We should know because we provide an innovative service to help companies with their trade show follow up and that’s how we discovered this story.

Skyline is a trade show marketing company, established in 1980 and so could typically be put into the ‘old skool’ box – your average company, stuck in the dark ages, with a sceptical view of the internet. Not so. They have embraced the power of search and have done something anyone reading this article could and should do to generate more leads.

They have decided to invest in a blog and when I say invest, I’m not talking financially – because it costs next to nothing to set one up… they’ve invested in time and energy. They’ve identified the sort of people they would like to attract and have provided a huge amount of free information to try to attract those visitors.

So – let’s take a look at what they’ve done.

  1. Back in June 2009 they decided to set up a site dedicated to giving away trade show tips  at www.skylinetradeshowtips.com
  2. They have focused on their marketplace to Tweet, post stories and provide valuable insight into the world of trade show marketing
  3. They have generated a site in under a year with great Google authority (PR5), over 1300 backlinks to their site and hundreds of comments, again, creating authority
  4. They capture email addresses by giving away (seriously) valuable information in the form of 9 free white papers, whilst at the same time taking people back to their main corporate site and exposing them to their main brand
  5. They naturally position themselves as market leaders in their niche

If you had never heard of Skyline, yet through search find an article on the Skylinetradshowtips site, what would you think? Are they generating trust by providing valuable insight to you? Are they demonstrating they know what they are talking about through action? Would you be interested in giving their email address in return for serious insight? Would you follow their Twitter stream to continue receiving advice?

Are you more likely or less likely to call them for a quote do you think?

When businesses quite rightly question the ROI on social media, that last question is the key one. You should always focus on that end result and if an activity is not directly linked to that end goal, don’t do it!

So – what could you do today to attract more visitors to your site?

Acknowledge room for improvement

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A great technique for getting your business noticed is to set yourself apart from the pack by BEING HONEST! We all write marketing blurb which stretches the truth from time to time…

How about doing things differently, acknowledge when something isn’t quite right and tell the world about it? If you have a strong brand and a loyal set of followers, they will respect your honesty. I heard a great story about this concept yesterday from the very unique Jeffrey Hollender, founder of Seventh Generation and I’m going to tell that story another time. He took things to extremes and it paid off.

I came across two other examples of this honesty this morning.

1) Andy Palmer, SEO dude extraodinaire is a long time colleague of mine and has always tried to do things differently. He posted the feedback given to him by his audience at a seminar he gave yesterday. Whilst the results are good, he acknowledges room for improvement. Look – it’s the first time he’s given this seminar – so it was never going to be perfect. But, what a bold step to publish those results.

2) Alliance software, the company behind the amazing Market Samurai tool has also been honest. We all read About Us sections on websites every day of the week. How many have you seen which write about their strengths AND weaknesses. Refreshing or what.

How could you be more honest?

Google linkbait

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With Being Smarter now having a tighter focus on how businesses and individuals get noticed, one of our ongoing themes will be around the concept of linkbait. If it’s a phrase you’ve not heard of before, then it’s worth getting your head round.

Linkbait is a piece of content which naturally attracts visitors and backlinks to your page or site. The content may not be directly related to the end result you are looking for people to do / visit / interact with, but it will get them closer to you and guess what, gets you noticed and in their mind’s eye.

Some examples of linkbait include:

  • Building something of huge value and giving it away
  • Providing a useful online tool
  • Writing something funny
  • Producing a video with wow factor, which goes viral

Which brings me on to today’s idea. Clearly Google doesn’t need to use linkbait to attract visitors to its site, however what it does, as part of its raison d’etre is to produce linkbait naturally and it does it for good reason. The video below will achieve (at least) four things.

  • It shows viewers that Google people are innovative and creative and creates trust
  • The blog post to go with it demonstrates teamwork and collaboration, the bedrock of any good business
  • It shows viewers that Google is a very cool place to work and so helps from a recruitment perspective
  • To say brand awareness is high would be an understatement, however it’s yet another way to get the brand seen by visitors

What could you do which is innovative in your business which could be turned into linkbait?

Leads and referrals are the lifeblood of a business

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I’ve come across a few interesting posts and videos lately which I thought would be interesting to bring together.

I guarantee you that you can always find a new or different way to win new customers if you think / look hard enough.

There’s some great advice in the links below:

Why you aren’t getting new business referrals – from the Marketing Profs folks – people I admire from afar

B2B lead generation video – I interview Lindsay Willott, an ex-boss and the founder of The Marketing Practice

The art of getting a business referral from Flying Solo – colleagues in Australia

Understanding business development from one of my favourite authors, Seth Godin

The lead generation handbook – a pdf I read a couple of years ago which still holds true today

Here’s a suggestion, pick something new and try it today. What’s the worst that can happen?

What I’ve learnt about Twitter after 1,000 Tweets.

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Today is quite the momentous occasion… my 1000th Tweet after a year or so of taking Twitter seriously. I felt that this particular Tweet needed to be profound (everything’s relative) – and so I’ve decided to use it to refer to this post and write a few words about what I’ve learnt from this bizarre social media application and explain why I use it and what it’s actually done for me.

Maybe my wife, parents, friends and anyone else who just ‘doesn’t get it it’ will have a little more of a clue as to what it’s all about if they get round to reading this.

  1. Like every tool ever invented – how you use Twitter will change what you get from it.
  2. Like every tool ever invented – it’s your choice as to how you use it.
  3. Some people use Twitter for talking about what they had for breakfast. That’s fine. I don’t, because it’s not going to further me or anyone else in a business sense and that’s my primary reason for using the tool. Your reason maybe different and that’s fine.
  4. I use Twitter to further myself (and I hope others) in business. Business however can be made up of many different things.
  5. Entertainment, education, friendship, humour and knowledge transfer have all been essential parts of my 1000 tweets.
  6. As of the time of writing I’ve 245 followers (thank you). I only follow 40 people. I only follow people I’m interested in understanding or hearing more from.
  7. I’ve had people complain I don’t follow them or hassle me to follow them. Guess what – that’s not the way to do it people.
  8. Part of the reason I use Twitter is for ‘legal stalking’. It’s not as sinister as it sounds. If I want to do business with someone, I follow them. If I am doing business with someone I follow them.
  9. Who wouldn’t want to get closer to a prospect or a customer to find out what they are thinking? What’s the perfect way to understand what makes them tick and to find out what they are interested in? Following them of course.
  10. I like communicating with people – I can’t help myself. If I find out something I think might be of interest to someone, I will share it with them. I used to do this using newspaper clippings (I still do). Twitter makes this a much easier process.
  11. I like the fact I have virtual colleagues in Tasmania, Australia (hi @michellef) I also like the fact I’ve met them in real life too.
  12. I like the fact I get to hear about the latest things happening in the world of WordPress (@woothemes) and get discounts off the latest themes.
  13. I like the fact that I won a signed set of books from one of my favourite business authors (@dmscott)
  14. 11,12 and 13 I did on Twitter in the last week and no point did I tell anyone what I had for breakfast, nor did they tell me.
  15. I admit I have Tweetdeck open on one of my screens for most of the day (unless I’m focusing on getting stuff done, in which case I switch it off). That’s not a good thing – it should be turned on at certain times of the day and I’m working on my addiction there.
  16. I happily paid $2.99 for Twittelator on my iPhone and use it every day (thanks @ed_dale). Why wouldn’t you absorb yourself in other people’s wisdom whilst sitting on a train/standing in a supermarket/waiting for your wife to try on clothes eh @ed?)
  17. Do I still interact with real live human beings? Yes of course I do. Do I also benefit massively most days from other people’s wisdom via Twitter? Yes definitely.
  18. Do other people benefit from my twittering? I’d hope so.
  19. Would I ever follow hundreds or thousands of people – no… following others to get followers makes very little sense in my book. I’d prefer people to follow me who are interested in what I have to bang on about.
  20. Do I recommend every person in business to at least consider using Twitter as a tool – yes I do. Is it right for everyone? No…
  21. I try to make Tweets less than 110 characters to allow easy retweeting.
  22. I like occasional random conversations with people I don’t know – it adds to the rich tapestry of life. #bbcquestiontime is a great example.
  23. Be interesting and others will be interested in you. Isn’t that right @lesleyeverett?
  24. So how will I change my use of Twitter over the next 1000 tweets? I need to turn off Tweetdeck more. It is distracting, and I need no help in that department. I want to get better at explaining the phenomenon in a simple way to people who don’t get it so that they can benefit too. I also want to find more interesting, relevant people in my niches and sphere of interest to follow to get even more tuned into my markets. That’s hard to do, so I need to listen even harder.

There. I’d like to think I’ve made the most of my 1000th tweet. But maybe you disagree…. comments are open below.

Marketing plans aren’t rocket science

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We’re delighted to welcome another guest blogger to the Being Smarter stable. Maria Sadler runs The Small Marketing Company and has set herself up (quite uniquely) as a Social Media manager for people who know they should… but don’t have the time.

Maria’s first thoughts for Being Smarter are below…

You don’t need to throw large sums of money at advertising and PR to get started you just need to be a bit savvy. So here are some tips to get you started.

1) Think about your targets first

This may sound obvious but if you start to really hone in on who your ideal customer is, you can start to identify where they ‘hang out’. For example if your business benefits mothers with school age children you could target PTAs and school newsletters. If your business or service would be of interest to local businesses, check out the local Chamber of Commerce and local networking groups.

Now you know who your targets are and where you might find them, you need to consider how to attract their attention. If you are targeting a busy professional who will no doubt receive countless emails per day you need to grab their attention fast by being brief, different and a little intriguing.

These are probably the ideal people to send an eye catching but short email – Targets to Prospects software is perfect for this – or consider approaching them via Twitter, where you get 140 characters to grab attention.

2) Now think about your message

Once you understand your customer, you can then start to craft your message to make sure you get their attention. Work out what problems and issues they face and then think how your product or service could help resolve them. You may be desperate to tell them about a great new feature of your product but guess what, your potential customer won’t care.

Try the ‘so what’ test. So what benefit does that feature give the customer, focus on the feature that gives the greatest benefits, and think about the problems your customer has that you can alleviate.

3) Differentiate yourself from the competition

Whilst price is always a factor, at the moment is isn’t always the decider. So you need to determine what is different/better about your service above the competition. Here is one of the places that being ‘visible’ and something of an authority on a subject can be of great advantage, and this is where an online presence comes in.

Think about when you are looking for a product or service – what is the first thing you do? If you are like most people, you will go to Google and do a search for the type of product or service you need. If your name or company name keeps appearing on websites, blogs, articles, Twitter and other social media, discussing that very thing – the potential customer will begin to believe in your credibility.

4) Get your customers to blow your trumpet

Once you start to sell your product or service, ask your customers if they could give you feedback – you can then start to use this on your marketing materials as proof that you deliver. This will also become a very useful source of information on how you can improve your product in the future and what new products you could add to expand your offering. Finally it shows your customers that you care about what they think, and want to provide the best customer service.

Maria Sadler runs The Small Marketing Company which specialises in online marketing using Social Media. Follow her at www.twitter.com/mfsadler

Newton’s 3rd law

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OK, I admit it, I’m obsessed with ‘taking action’… I’m not great at prevaricating… I perhaps don’t spend enough time thinking. However – it’s the best way to be.

Having worked in and with the corporate world for many years – it’s clear to see paralysis by lack of action is rife and it’s slowly killing these organisations.

A few years ago a good friend and colleague reminded me of Newton’s 3rd Law.

For every action, there’s an equal an opposite reaction.

Now, if you subscribe to this school of thought, you probably won’t get the reaction you were expecting, however you will get a reaction… maybe even not straight away, but you will.

I’m currently sitting in an appartment in Melbourne, working with a great bunch of folks for a few days and the reason I’m here is that I sent an email about 3 months ago. I didn’t think it would get answered, but I sent it anyway. I’ve sent plenty more that haven’t been answered, but this one did.

I’m about to be part of a three day conference in which 100+ people will gather for three days, watch (I know) some fabulous speakers and be given a ton of practical advice. How many of you/them will take action as a result of attending? And by that, I mean pick just 5% of the most relevant things you were taught and implement them the following week? I’m not sure? Some will, some won’t. Some actions maybe fruitful, some maybe not – but if you’re taking action, and gaining momentum, things WILL happen. Eventually.

So there we are then. What are you not going to put off today?

If at first you don’t succeed

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Monday mornings are always good for a pep talk. I’ve been talking to a few people about the concept of not giving up over the last few weeks and wanted to share a few thoughts, being someone who’s tried hard to persevere in a big way over the last couple of years.

I had to have a few words with my 6 year old son the other day about not giving up… teaching him to ride a bike has been quite an achievement for me – trying a few different tacks to keep his morale high, but judging when it was OK to let him fall off safely. My wife suggested I shouldn’t have let him fall off, however in my opinion, it was a great way to teach him the skill of perseverance.

There’s five tips I’d offer below to help with your perseverance efforts:

  1. If you listen to everyone who offers you advice, the chances are you’d be paraylsed by non-action. Take advice, sure, but also have some belief in what it is you are trying to do. This will help you to get through difficult days.
  2. Accept that some days aren’t going to go your way, dust yourself off, find that belief once again and remember that tomorrow is another day. If a trend of bad days starts to kick in – then it’s time to revist where you are heading.
  3. Think outside the box. Always. There’s always a different way to tackle a problem you may be having. Don’t limit yourself to ‘going what you know’. It’s hard to persevere when you don’t do things differently, as you will always get the same result.
  4. Ignore your gut feelings at your peril. Listen to your heart – it will really help you make decisions and decide if something is fundamentally wrong, or you just need to try a different approach.
  5. The most brilliant people have got to where they are today with a good splash of perseverance. You may be shocked at how some of them started out. Watch the video below for inspiration if you need a bit of a lift….

5 ways to keep New Year’s resolutions (you’re about to break)

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So it’s now 14th Jan. Many people have already broken all of the promises they made to themselves on the cold light of day of January 1st (which seems like a year ago already…) If you haven’t already broken yours, but are starting to teeter on the brink, here’s our favourite top 5 ways to keep New Year’s resolutions we’ve found in the ether from around the world… and we’ve looked at quite a few.

The links take you to the full article – and the best bit is summarised below…

Time Magazine

One tactic he recommends for resisting those cravings is called “urge-surfing.” It involves being mindful of the fact that craving is like a wave — it rises to a peak, then falls. This happens whether you yield to the urge or not, though most people erroneously think their craving will escalate endlessly unless they give in.

The Times of India

People who break a resolution and then blame themselves with, “This proves I have no willpower,” are likely to give up. A more productive inner dialogue would say something like, “I had one cigarette but I’ve got to make sure I tell my friends that I’m quitting so this doesn’t happen again,” Marlatt said. “Try to be a little bit more accepting of the fact that you may make a mistake.”

The Happiness Project

Consider making only pleasant resolutions. We can make our lives happier in many ways. If you’ve been trying the boot-camp approach with no success, try resolving to “Go to more movies,” “Entertain more often,” or whatever resolutions you’d find fun to keep. Often, having more fun in our lives makes it easier to do tough things. Seeing more movies might make it easier to keep going to the gym.

Newsweek

…keep your resolutions affirmative. You’ll be hobbling yourself if you say, “Don’t eat chocolate”. All you’re doing is making sure not only that you think about chocolate constantly (very true) but that you break down altogether and eat seven bars for dinner. Instead, say to yourself, “I vow to eat a salad every day”

Sydney Morning Herald

Finally, if you want to improve the odds of success, consider making a plan. For example, if your goal is to put $1,000 in the bank, how are you going to do it? Are you going to deposit $50 a week from your pay? $100 per month? Are you going to stop spending $5 per day on coffee and put the money in a jar instead? Actually think about how you plan to make your resolution happen. Then track your progress against the plan as you go along.

If you’ve a tip (which is working for you… why not share it below)…

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Business and having fun don’t mix. Or do they?

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I’ve been toying with this phrase for a while now and Chris Brogan provided the inspiration behind this post, after I saw the video below on his site today.

Some questions for you…

  • When was the last time you leapt out of bed in the morning?
  • When was the last time you had a night out with your team or your clients?
  • When was the last time you lol-ed in the office (laughed out loud ;-))
  • When were you last inspired during a day at work?
  • When did you last learn something new?

If the answer to all of those questions is something along the lines of “I can’t remember”, then I’d suggest this Monday morning you take a good look at the situation you’re in. You could be in the same situation in 5 years time or 10 years time, and you won’t thank yourself.

Business can be fun. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, then of course it won’t be. If it’s not fun, then you won’t be doing your best work. If you’re not doing your best work, then… quite frankly, what’s the point? Sure you’ve got bills to pay and sure, not every day can be a bowl of cherries, but if your trend graph is point downwards, take action today…

Some inspiration for you below… take 5 minutes out and have fun.

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