B2B Pros: Six must-dos to strengthen your brand

Thanks to the internet, many sales practices that worked ten years ago, really don’t work as well today. A combination of some traditional styled effort mixed with social media marketing is really the best way to build credibility and your bottom line. Here is a list of a few essential practices to help consultants and other B2B professionals strengthen their brand.

1. Get comfortable with social media: This is extremely important and if you are a consultant who is not maximizing social media, then I suspect that you have noticed a sharp decline in your business over last few years. Did you know that search rankings for your website depend on your website being verified through Google and on you having a presence on Google+? So, which social media sites are the most influential? The important thing is to make sure you have a web presence in the places where your customers and prospects spend time. Learn which audiences social media sites deliver to, and publish there frequently.

2. Publish educational content: I always tell people how important this is. The only way to have an impact with your content marketing is to make sure it is valuable. The more helpful you are in your posts, the more people will believe in your ability to help them. I published a little e-booklet called 20 Content Marketing Tips That Will Supercharge Your Sales. You can download it for free from my website to learn more about how to make your content marketing more effective.

3. Write articles for trade journals: Editors are always looking for free content that hasn't been previously published. Connect with some editors and offer your services. If you are not a good writer, then get someone like me to write an article for you and publish it under your name. PR professionals have connections and usually talent in that regard, so if you are not up to the task, there are other convenient options.

4. Be a guest speaker: Which organizations have potential buyers among their members? Come up with an interesting, educational and relevant subject and ask if you can be a guest speaker at one of their meetings. Otherwise, submit proposals to speak at conferences. These are huge credibility boosters. Make sure you create an opportunity to collect business cards by offering a copy of your free book, or some other form of a prize. Do the traditional sales thing and follow up afterward to start a dialogue.

5. Hold events: In addition to being a guest speaker, consider holding your own marketing events. Don’t make it a heavy sales pitch. It will turn people off.Webinars are less costly than conference room rentals and no one can tell how many people are in attendance, so you can master the art of perception much more effectively. You can also record them, post them on your site and make them shareable through social media. The broader your reach, the better.

6. Be consistent with the look of your web and print marketing material:A big part of branding is being consistent with the look and feel of everything you show to people, whether it is a business card, brochure, website or blog post. Your brand needs to become recognizable visually. My friend, Val Sanna from Ignition Design does excellent work.

Tell me what you think of this branding check list. I limited it to just six, but I know there are many more things B2B professionals can do to boost their brand. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Renée Cormier is a Public Relations and Communications Professional in Burlington, Ontario. Need help with your marketing communications or public relations efforts? Visit www.reneecormier.com

Seven Ways to Turn Your Dry Case Study into a Compelling Read

Case studies can be tedious to write and even more tedious to read. Even the term “Case Study” is off putting. It sounds like exam prep. These days, few people want to spend a long time reading intricate details about a business case. People want quick tips that are easy to read. So how can you make your case study more readable and compelling? Read on and I will tell you!

1. Divide and conquer: If you look at all the information in your case study, you will realize that you can probably divide the information into smaller components with separate key messages. You can create more interesting subject matter simply by avoiding information overload.

2. Create a How-to:  Within your case study there are probably several elements that can be repurposed into a How- to article. Your blog post can be turned into something like: “Five Ways to …” or “Three Things to Watch Out for When…” Yes, for some reason people like reading numbered lists, so seize the opportunity to create a blog post around one.

3. Describe a process: If one of the purposes of your case study is to let people know the full extent of the services you provide your customers, then take the opportunity to describe a process you use. This can be another form of a How-to, or it can simply be positioned as a form of advice such as, “What Every Business Owner Needs to Know...”

4. Pay attention to your format: You will notice a lot of my blog postings look very similar. I like to build a tip sheet with bold points for easy reading. I want people to learn as much as possible without necessarily having to read every minute detail of my post. That is because I know that most people will only skim an article. The format I like to use is very “skim friendly”.

5. Keep it short: Bearing in mind that most people won’t take the time to read anything long and wordy, keep your postings short and pointed.

6. Educate your reader: Content marketing is all about educating people. Avoid talking about yourself and try engaging people’s minds. Teaching people useful things gives you the opportunity to get people thinking about what you’ve said and the value you provide. Don’t be like the guy at a party who talks incessantly about himself. People will not respect your work.

7. Include a blurb about yourself: Naturally, content marketing needs to be in part about driving business toward you, so make sure there is a small spot at the end that tells people who you are, what you do and where to find you. Notice my blurb below.

Here's one final piece of advice. If what you are writing feels painful to you, it is probably going to be even more painful to your reader. If you can't figure out how to make it feel light, then get a pro to help you, or scrap the idea entirely. 

Renée Cormier is a Public Relations & Communications professional located in Burlington, Ontario. She is passionate about business and the power of content marketing. Her other specialties include strategic planning, branding & positioning, reputation management, media relations, social media, presentations & speeches, copy writing, and media training. Need help with your PR or Marketing? Visit www.reneecormier.com or contactrenee@reneecormier.com .

Nine ways to wonderful: How to create an engaging newsletter

Company newsletters are often a missed opportunity to build employee engagement. A boring, ugly, tedious read will never positively impact your culture. Here are a few tips to help make your company newsletter more interesting!

1. Be inclusive. Dedicate a page from each department, including HR and ask for submissions from employees at all levels; not just people who are in sales or management positions. The content doesn't always need to be company stats. You can include helpful tips, interesting articles from subject matter experts (most will give permission to reprint a blog posting), fund raising initiatives, lunch & learn events, etc.
2. Don’t write in too much detail! Keep articles between 75-125 words max.
3. Don’t post poor quality photos. Photographs should be from a minimum 10 megapixel camera.
4. Use the newsletter to create cohesion in your company by picking a charity to raise money for. Ask for volunteers and post updates.
5. Show your employees you are interested in their development. Include news about upcoming training programs the company may sponsor.
6. Keep the tone of your articles up beat. Used properly, the newsletter can be a bit of a positive propaganda tool. Use it to influence the energy in your company, rather than letting the energy at your company influence the newsletter. Your messaging can have an amazing impact on people's perception of the company and their team mates. What messages do your employees need to hear?
7. Use the newsletter to reinforce company values. Most companies really fall down on this. The newsletter is a perfect opportunity to remind everyone of the values that are supposed to guide their decisions at work.
8. Create a theme for each newsletter and have each submission reflect the theme. For example, if the theme for April is "Spring into Action", then focus on new initiatives. You can also pick a company value and use it as a theme. This requires a little bit of planning, but if you scribble a theme out for each month in advance, then you will have an idea of how to direct submissions. Of course, you want employees to participate (see Tip # 1).
9. Make your newsletter accessible to everyone. There are many ways to do this. You can email it, post it on the intranet, print up copies for the lunchroom and shop floor. You can even build your own app for your newsletter! Make sure the font is large enough for everyone to read. If you have office locations where the dominant language is not English, then translate it!

Renée Cormier is a Public Relations & Communications professional, published author, employee engagement specialist, sales & marketing sage and constant producer of quality content. Need help with your communications? Visit www.reneecormier.com

12 Tips for Engagement Marketing