Tag Archives: lead generation

social media

What Women Really Want

July 20, 2012 – 10:55 pm

I spent part of this week at a conference for women entrepreneurs. We talked a lot about the most effective ways to reach out to customers, and regardless of industry, the most popular and effective lead-generation techniques always came down to two things: Networking and social media.

Now when you think about networking, what do you think about? Back in the day, it was a bunch of guys in suits shaking hands, chowing on steak, and slapping each other on the back—but not quite hard enough to spill the whiskey.

Today, networking is social media. In a study done back in January, LinkedIn was found to generate the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%—almost 3 times higher than both Twitter (.69%) and Facebook (.77%).

Whoa. That’s enough to make your ice cubes rattle a little bit. So my question to you, regardless of whether you’re male or female, is:

How spiffy is YOUR company LinkedIn page?

If you page either sucks or doesn’t exist, don’t feel bad. I’m as guilty as anyone of putting my corporate LinkedIn presence on the back burner while I do my “real” work.

Because growing your business can wait. . .can’t it? Uhh. . .

If you want some quick tips on nailing the low-hanging fruit that can really make a difference in your company’s LinkedIn page, go here now.

If you want to look at the world’s grossest candy bar instead, go here.

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content marketing marketing

Sacrificing the content marketing virgin

May 31, 2012 – 3:10 am

I feel sort of like I’m getting hammered with data about content marketing lately. Honestly, it used to give off a really cheesy “get-rich-quick” vibe to me, and I pretty much wrote it off as the cyber version of Amway or Herbalife.

But lately it’s been getting a bit more sophisticated. All business-y and legit-like.  So I had to take a second look to see if our little boy had actually grown up—and even more important, figure out if content marketing can be a relevant, viable element of a technology marketing campaign.

And this is what I found out.

Has the content marketing niche matured to the point where it can really add value to a tech marketing effort? The short answer is yes. The caveat is, however, that you need to know what you’re doing, because it’s also pretty easy to screw up. Here’s how not to:

  1. Use proven content – You know that white paper series that got raves from the folks at the seminar you hosted? Grab it and re-purpose it into an e-book that can drive lead generation.
  2. Hit them with a sexy headline – Nobody’s going to click your link if the headline is the written equivalent of stale bread.
  3. Gove them something they need – Make sure that all the content you’re developing (or re-purposing) provides actual value for your audience—something that will solve a problem or make their lives easier.
  4. Don’t leave them hanging – With content marketing, a clear call to action is critical. If you don’t tell them what do to after reading your amazing content, they’re just gonna click over to Facebook to look at pictures of their neighbor’s cat. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
  5. Be patient – Content marketing isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon. Don’t expect all your sparkly unicorn dreams to come true after just one foray into content marketing. It’s like dating: Take it slowly, establish trust, respect, and rapport. . .and then make your move.

So if you’re in tech and have been wondering whether content marketing is right for you, your time has come. Just be smart about it, and you too can use great content to find, engage, and retain customers.

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