Automatic Merchandiser

NOV-DEC 2015

Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.

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igital and social media marketing was a topic of high interest at this year's NAMA CTW Show. There I was able to discuss a variety of B2B (business to business) social media platforms while placing a primary focus on the value of creating a strong and business-building LinkedIn profle. In case you missed the event, this article features the basics of dedicating your resources to create the best online marketing program for your company. As I told the OCS operators in attendance at CTW, my premise in counseling any B2B marketer is that potential clients and customers typically do two things when they receive a sales pitch or a business card: they go back to their offces and check the company's Website frst, and then the LinkedIn profles. Why? Because a business's Website and its executives' LinkedIn profles have become the primary and necessary online marketing credentials of the 21 st century. As Figure 1 shows, you don't have to "dive into the deep end of the pool" to be successful in the digi- tal/social world; you can wade into the shallow end at your own pace. The linchpin is a robust database of online contacts built using three primary tools: your Website, Linke- dIn and Twitter. Once built, you can use a customer relationship manage- ment (CRM) tool such as Salesforce or Infusionsoft (which offers lead capture, CRM and email market- ing). It is critical to keep your frm top-of-mind by using outbound email marketing to feature your products/ services, to make special offers, a free consultation, or other actions that convert contacts into active prospects. Websites need to be clean, useful The most important elements of your Website are a clean and easily navi- gable homepage and a prominent, value-added Call-to-Action (CTA). They are essential for collecting infor- mation on new contacts that can ultimately become viable sales leads. To create an effective CTA, you should offer something of value in exchange for the Website visitor's name and email address. (Note: It's best not to ask for any other informa- tion, such as a phone number, because you don't need it at this stage and you'll see lower click-through rates on your CTA.) Examples of valuable CTA offers include: • "Grab this discount now by…." • "Our popular newsletter can be yours today if you.…" • "This limited time offer begins now; simply fll out…." • "We have a special deal for you today if you…." And by making your CTA dynamic — fying in from the right side of the homepage, the left side, the top or the bottom — you will instantly capture attention. But make it easy for Website visitors to opt out by ensuring that there's a visible "X" for them to close the CTA if they're not interested. Two other important aspects of maximizing your Website as a lead generation tool are search engine optimization (SEO) and Google+. Both can drive more visitors to your homepage, where they will fnd your CTA and ideally opt into your valuable offer. SEO should require little explana- tion since it's so ubiquitous in online marketing today, but, simply stated, SEO is focused on growing a busi- ness's online visibility through paid or organic (non-paid) search engine results. For a great (free) online tuto- rial on SEO, go to: https://moz.com/ beginners-guide-to-seo. Another option to boost your Website traffc is Google+, which just relaunched on November 17. D Digital And Social Marketing: It's Time To Make Your Debut By John Healy, Contributing Editor John Healy is CEO of Healy Consulting & Communications Inc., a traditional, digital and social media marketing frm that strives to ensure its clients' relevance while fueling their growth and success. He can be reached at jhealy@ healyco.com. '' The linchpin is a robust database of online contacts built using three primary tools: your Website, LinkedIn and Twitter. '' 34 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com December 2015 O N L I N E O P P O R T U N I T I E S

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