It’s 5 am.
A deep, distant growl crawls into your ear, jolting you awake from your previously peaceful slumber. You clutch your blanket and open your eyes – now startled and wide-awake. You’ve become consciously aware of your own heavy breathing, and you can feel your heart fluttering anxiously.
What was that noise?
You sit up slowly, and your eyes scan the room for any signs of a stranger. There are none to be found. Relieved, you decide it’s time to calm yourself down and eat some breakfast. Surely there must be a rational explanation for the growl. You had probably just been imagining things – after all, it’s early and you’re still pretty tired.
Your feet hit the floor and you tiptoe quietly down the long, dark hallway toward your kitchen, still a little spooked from your rude awakening. Every muscle in your body is tense.
You hear that noise again in the distance. But this time, you hear a chorus of growls – not just one. Could it be some type of animal? A pack of wolves, maybe?
You remember that you’ve got an aluminum baseball bat in the hall closet, so you grab it quickly, fumbling a bit out of nervousness. Your hands lose grip of the bat, and it falls to the floor, clanging loudly.
A single crackled roar erupts from the dark end of the hallway, sending chills throughout your body. Your limbs go numb. You try to pick up the bat, but your body is completely paralyzed with fear. There’s nothing you can do now.
What appears to be a groaning, possessed shell of a human being suddenly emerges from the darkness, completely covered in blood. You don’t think it sees you yet, but its rotting body is moving closer, slowly and deliberately. The scent of decomposing flesh is more than enough to severely nauseate you, but you try to suppress your own gagging, knowing that the noise might attract whatever this thing is….
Let’s step outside of the story for a minute and think.
What are you going to do now?
Clearly, you aren’t the kind of person who prepares for this sort of thing to happen – otherwise, you’d probably be well-armed by now and already have about 20 different home evacuation routes in mind “in the case of a zombie attack.”
Which brings me to my first point:
Have a plan.
You wouldn’t want to face the bloodthirsty undead without a plan, so why should you face your potential clients without one?
In the story, you just got lucky remembering that you had a baseball bat in your closet. Well, in business, you can’t rely on luck. You’ve got to figure out ahead of time what you need to do.
Prepare by making sure you have all of the tools you need to reach the goals you have set for your company. Prepare by creating a persona for your target audience and planning your IT marketing materials accordingly. Prepare by making sure that you’re equipped with the best technology possible so you can easily reach your goals.
Whatever you do, prepare.
Cut out the “noise”
Remember in the story, when you dropped the bat? Well, way to go – that noise almost got you killed. Noise attracts zombies like crazy.
Noise = death.
The same can be said for your IT marketing. Cut out all of the extra “noise” in your web content – the unnecessary stuff that readers don’t really care about. Believe me, no one wants to read a bunch of hard-to-understand technical stuff. Cut through the noise and focus on the benefits instead of the features. Use an emotional appeal instead of trying to impress with your technical knowledge.
That’s the only way you’ll truly grab the attention of your target audience. Otherwise, your business will suffer.
Adapt to stay alive
When zombies attack, you’ve got to be resourceful and adapt to the best of your ability. Otherwise – you’re dead meat!
In an ever-changing market, you must adapt to for your business to stay alive. It’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing only on your business, but you’ve got to also pay attention to what’s going on in your market, what’s changing, and what’s likely to change in the future.
Fads change all of the time. Technology advances and changes quickly. Make sure that your company’s IT marketing grows accordingly, or your competitors will destroy you!
Now, it’s up to you to finish the story. What are you going to do – get eaten alive, or use these IT marketing tips to secure your survival? The choice is yours.
Even though people seem to spend more time than ever on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, email marketing remains 40% more effective for acquiring customers than Facebook and Twitter combined (Mckinsey.com). Here’s the secret to getting some new customers from your IT marketing emails: avoid doing the stuff that lead your subscribers directly to the unsubscribe button. Sounds simple, right? It is – but you’d be surprised how many companies are making all five of these mistakes. Here are 5 ways to lose email subscribers fast (and you should avoid them if you hope to use email marketing to grow your business!)
Forget Mobile Users
Almost 45% of all emails are opened on a mobile device. If you fail to make your emails mobile responsive, you’re just asking for your mobile users to unsubscribe from your email list. Don’t expect your subscribers to zoom and pinch and scroll all over their tiny smartphones or tablet screens in order to read your email – they won’t. Are you prepared to lose almost half of your email list? No? Better make sure your email marketing campaigns are mobile responsive.
Create Deceptive Subject Lines
We know it’s difficult to get people to open your emails, but using deceptive subject lines to encourage email opens will only lead to angry unsubscribes once the person realizes your subject line has nothing to do with the actual content of your email. Not only is it deceptive and in poor taste – but it’s actually a CAN-SPAM violation. Go ahead and get creative with your email subject lines but make sure you focus on getting someone to open the email with a subject line that actually relates to the content in your email.
Constant Advertising or Talking About Yourself Too Much
Would you watch a television station if it only had commercials? Of course not! Your subscribers will stop opening your emails or will unsubscribe if they find your email content is nothing but advertising or talking about yourself or your company nonstop. Your email campaigns can, and should, include offers or descriptions of your services or products – but you have to provide information and value to your readers if you expect them to remain on your email list and keep opening your emails. The goal is to find a good balance between conversational, informative, and promotional.
Create Generic Newsletters
The worst thing you can do with email marketing is to attempt to create a newsletter generic enough to work for anyone and everyone. What ends up happening is your super-generic email doesn’t appeal to anyone, and people will start unsubscribing. Figure out who your target customer is and learn as much about them as you can. How old are they? Is your target market made up of mostly male or mostly female customers? What are their interests or passions? The more you know about the people you are targeting, the better you can tailor your email messages to that group of people.
Send Too Many Emails
I get it – you want to keep your company name, brand, services, and product offering on the minds of your potential customers at all times. But I promise if you send too many emails you’re only going to annoy your subscribers and send them searching for the unsubscribe button. There is no exact science for figuring out how many emails are “too many” as it differs from one industry to the next; but keep track of the number of unsubscribes you get if you increase your email marketing frequency; and when people are unsubscribing, ask them their reason. If you start to see an increase in the number of people unsubscribing because they get too many emails, you’ll know you came across too eager, and you need to cut back the frequency of your email marketing.
If you need help with your IT Marketing and email marketing strategy, check out howTridigital Marketing has generated over 30,000 MSP leads with their customized marketing plans: TridigitalMarketing.com.
Imagine: how awesome would it be if you could harness the powers of your favorite superheroes?
Well, I have some good news for you.
You can.
Not sure what I mean? While I can’t teach you how to fight crime, shoot webs from your wrists, or effortlessly woo women, I can teach you how to use some IT marketing superpowers learned straight from your most beloved guardians. Here are 5 of my favorites.
Show off your personality – like Iron Man!
Okay, so your marketing shouldn’t necessarily come across as arrogant and snarky as Iron Man does. But don’t be afraid to inject some personality into it!
After all, if I had simply named this article “5 IT Marketing Tips” instead, would you have been as interested in reading it? Probably not, because that’s boring and generic.
Boring, generic content doesn’t draw in readers, and a boring website won’t compel people to choose you over competitors. I know you’re excited about your years of experience and the technical details of the services you offer – but clients aren’t.
Think about it. Iron Man is a technical genius, but if he had a personal portfolio website, do you think he’d simply list his accomplishments and technical skills? Nope. He’d probably include lots of sarcasm and humor, because that’s the kind of person he is. And people love it.
Now, I’m definitely not telling you to edit your website content to sound arrogant or vulgar. You’ve just got to show off some personality to get people to like you and want to do business with you.
It’s all about making a connection with your clients, and you can’t do that with bland content that lacks personality.
Be relatable – like Spider-Man!
Let’s face it – Spider-Man isn’t the most alluring superhero. He has girl problems, struggles to make ends meet, and is a bit of a misfit.
But guess what? That’s why so many people love him. He’s extremely relatable. He’s the kind of guy you could hang out with without feeling intimidated.
You see, your customers want to know that you’re human too. They don’t want to see you as just another intimidating, out-of-touch company. They want to see you as a partner in their success. Someone they can trust and relate to. It’s easy to fall into the trap of putting technical content all over your website. But, if you do that, you’ll end up sounding like a robot.
Don’t be a robot – make clients feel like you’re an actual human being who wants to build a relationship with them. At the end of the day, you’ve got to make sure you’ve let people know that you’re within reach, and connect with them on an emotional level. With your newfound IT marketing skills, you’ll be scaling the wall to success in no time!
Be a mind reader – like Professor X!
How cool would it be to read the minds of your potential clients and figure out exactly what they want? Unfortunately, you can’t literally become a mind reader, but you can definitely get inside their heads a little bit!
When you’re first devising your IT marketing plan, you may have the tendency to focus on what you think is best. Stop right there – you’ve got to shift your focus to the minds of your clients. What do they want? What impression do they have of your company?
Successful IT marketing is not about you, how great your company is, or how much your company has accomplished. It’s about understanding the way that your potential clients think and taking action accordingly. Get to know your target market and consider what they need from your company. The more you know about how their minds work, the easier it will be to market to them.
Be a Rebel – like Wolverine!
Wolverine is the ultimate rebel – he rides a motorcycle, drinks and smokes, and is generally a loner. He has no problem taking risks to get things done.
Your marketing should be rebellious. No – I don’t mean you should plaster your website with pictures of you drinking and riding a motorcycle. What I mean is, you’ve got to look at what everyone else is doing, and then do something different. Don’t be afraid to take risks – otherwise, your website will end up looking like everyone else’s.
Try this: Google “IT Support” in your city. What do you notice about pretty much every company’s website that pops up in the search results? They’re all the same. And, frankly, they’re probably all pretty boring. Imagine how many customers you could attract by being unique and rebelling against the norm. If you can stand out, you’ll get the attention that you want from clients and slash through the competition with ease.
Defeat Enemies With The Weapon That Only YOU Can Use – Like Thor!
Let’s face it – Thor is a pretty tough adversary, even without his weapon. He’s strong, AND he has the skills and experience necessary to win battles.
However, his legendary hammer is what truly sets him apart and gives him an edge over his enemies. No one else can use the hammer. Just him.
Your business is just like Thor. You’ve got skills and expertise, and you may already be a strong competitor in your market. However, what will truly set you apart is finding something unique about your company – your “weapon” – that you can use to attract potential clients.
Think about it. What sets you apart? What do you do differently than everyone else? It might be tempting to throw around a generic answer like “customer service,” but you’ve got to dig deeper. You can bet that every other company out there brags about how they have the best customer service, so you’ve got to get a little more creative than that. It might take some time for you to figure out what unique quality you can use strategically to draw in clients, but if you can, it’ll be well worth it. When you uncover the marketing weapon that only you can use, clients won’t be able to resist its power.
…So, can you see yourself as an IT marketing marvel yet? You’ve got the superpowers that you need to gain loyal clients. Now get out there and put those powers to work.
Email marketing is one of the most valuable online marketing tools you can carry in your marketing tool belt. A large subscriber list made up of the right demographic for your products can be an enormous boost to your brand recognition, sales, service requests, and client referrals.
Give Your Email Subscribers Incentives
The secret to building a large email list is to offer something in exchange for signing up. If all you’re doing is sending out marketing messages, few people will want to voluntarily receive them. To get subscribers, offer them something they won’t receive elsewhere. A free ebook or report is often offered to subscribers in exchange for that email address.
Another incentive is special deals that only subscribers get. Coupons codes sent in the marketing email are an easy way to provide an incentive. To personalize the incentive, send subscribers special coupon codes on their birthdays. Offer more specials for certain holidays throughout the year.
Keep Your Emails Short And Topical
With so many people subscribed to your email messages, you may be tempted to throw a lot of information at them. You may even see it as an opportunity to promote two or more businesses and to advertise several products. Emails like this are seen as spammy and annoying by readers. Remember what your readers signed up to receive, and never deliver unwelcome messages that are off topic.
Keep the emails short enough to help your subscribers read them no matter where they are. Remember that many of your subscribers access their emails on their phones and need something that is easy to read on the small screen. Checking email is now the most common activity that smartphone users do with their Internet connection. A short email will load in its entirety on a smartphone. If there is too much scrolling involved, or the message is cut off because of its length, many of your potential customers won’t read your message.
Use Social Networking to Promote Your List
A common practice of marketing-savvy companies is to use sites like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to promote their opt-in lists. This often includes tweeting when a new newsletter is imminent, putting a newsletter schedule on Facebook and placing an opt-in page URL on Pinterest. These social networking sites are also used to tell potential subscribers what they stand to gain by opting into the list.
Marketing Email Basics
The email itself must grab attention immediately. Smartphone customers in particular want the pertinent information up front. In the first sentence of the email, offer your subscribers something that makes it worth their time to read the rest of the email.
Open the email with an immediate hook that calls the reader to action. An effective, succinct message will tell readers how they will benefit by acting immediately to take advantage of what you have to offer. With this call to action, you can expect a percentage of your readers to become customers.
In order for marketing content to be effective, the message needs to reach your target audience. The message should tell a prospective client what you do and why they should do business with you. The most effective marketing content will keep the readers engaged and prompt them to take action.
Define your Marketing Goals
Knowing what the results are that you expect from the message being delivered is the first step in how to write effective marketing content. Perhaps your goal is to obtain new customers, maybe it’s to retain current clients, or it might be to get current clients to switch to a different product or service. Whatever the case, be clear what your purpose is before you create your marketing content.
Jot down some key points that you want your message to cover. Consider perhaps how your business stands out from the competition. If you aren’t sure, do some research into other companies that offer similar products or services to figure out how you are different from your competitors. Find out as much as you can about the industry and the trends that could affect your sales.
Think about what you would want to know if you were reading your content. What questions would you have? If you don’t know what your customers want to know, visit some forums that center on topics your demographic will be concerned with. Find out about the complaints they have about products like yours, and consider how to turn that into a positive message.
Remember Your Readers
Effective marketing content isn’t about the person who writes it- it’s about the person who reads it. Even if you’ve said everything you want people to know about your business, readers won’t stick around to read it if the experience isn’t a positive one.
In today’s society, the expectation of instant information and an immediate response has changed how companies use content marketing. Mobile phones are owned by about 87 percent of the world’s population, and many people use them for multiple forms of communication. Consider how to market to this fast paced, short attention span generation. Remember that your marketing might be seen across multiple platforms, but most probably on a mobile device, keep the message and the font mobile-friendly – with a text size of 15 points.
Be Creative
Besides the wide reach of the marketing content you publish online, perhaps its best aspect is how many different types there are. Landing pages that will bring in search engine traffic are just the beginning. You can blog about your business, making every post a customer-focused piece of marketing. You can create guest posts on other blogs, write press releases to generate excitement and write articles that will build links to your business site.
To reach a wide audience, consider creating many different types of content. You can even create a free ebook or report that will give your readers in-depth information about many aspects of your business. An email newsletter is a particularly valuable form of marketing.
When you’ve written your content, give it a final read and see if there are any spots where your attention wavers. If you find that there are parts of the piece that are less than dynamic, trim the content. A shorter piece that grabs and holds attention is always better than a longer one that gets ignored.
Using Technology to Generate Marketing Leads for Your Business
If you aren’t using the advances in technology to help you market your business, you’re ignoring a very important resource. There is a variety of affordable, technology-based techniques that you can use to help your business reach a broader audience and that can be leveraged to better reach your target clientele. These include automated marketing services, search engine optimization, blogs and electronic newsletter distribution.
Automated Marketing
Automated marketing covers a broad array of functions with a common theme: it’s all about turning labor-intensive manual tasks into something that is done automatically, increasing efficiency in the process. Implementing automated marketing strategies cuts costs, improves accuracy by eliminating the human error inherent in repetitive work and can materially improve your rate of success by developing marketing approaches that would be effectively impossible through any other means.
Marketing automation can be used to better identify business leads through a process of prospect scoring—easily and quickly detecting and classifying likely targets for your business. It can also be used as a means of creating nuanced points of direct and indirect contact to help turn prospective customers into realized ones. In short, automated marketing can be used as a fully developed marketing schematic, from plan development and management through execution.
Search Engine Optimization
In short, search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the technique of driving Internet search traffic to your site through an understanding of the algorithms that guide results for the major Web search engines (Google in particular). While the search engine providers don’t release specifics about how their services work, consultants that specialize in search engine optimization have developed a variety of tactics that can help your websites and blogs to raise to the top of the search engine rankings. Strategies involving specific types of content, links, and keywords, among other things, can all help ensure that you have a competitive edge in driving potential customers to your online vehicles.
Electronic Newsletters and Blogs
A form of direct e-mail marketing, electronic newsletters are sent, automatically, to an entire list of subscribers. They will often contain news items of interest to your base of existing and prospective customers as well as information about your products and services. Properly executed, a newsletter can inform clients of promotions and sales and will encourage a response through the inclusion of direct links to allow purchases and further contact with company representatives. This can be a very effective way to stay engaged with your clientele on a regular basis without resorting to more traditional—and more costly—forms of indirect advertising.
A business blog is frequently used as a kind of electronic newsletter, minus the direct e-mail component. A blog ordinarily includes targeted, “newsy” information of interest and, combined with SEO tactics, can be effectively utilized to drive traffic to your commercial website and to harvest leads for a direct mailing list.
The End Result
If you’re ignoring technology related strategies and techniques to market your business and better pursue customer leads, you’re not using all of the tools at your disposal to make your enterprise profitable. Contact an IT consultant to see how you can optimize the use of technology for the benefit of your business.