How does a brand survive and stand out in a sea full of competitors that are less than average or that aren’t targeting their audiences correctly? From personal branding to creating value, to growing a social media presence, these industry experts share their best tips on maintaining an engaged and satisfied online audience.
Trickster #1 Shep Hyken, customer service expert at Shepard Presentations
His trick: If you have engaging content, repurpose it.
“How can you be in two places (or more) at the same time? If you create content of true value, it will open the door to many opportunities. Great content can be repurposed. It’s easier than you think. Create a short video with value added content, such as “Three Ways to ____.” Then take the audio and create a podcast. Transcribe the audio and create a blog post. Break the blog into smaller chunks and create tweets for Twitter. Doing so will allow you to maximize your time.”
Trickster #2 Virginie Glaenzer, VP of marketing at LiveWorld
Her trick: Limit your project. Focus on one, and get ‘er done.
“Focus on a limited number of marketing projects that will move your business in the right direction. In the last few years, the area of marketing has expanded to include new technologies like mobile, social media, and video while still retaining traditional marketing programs such as PR, emails, and collateral. It is easy to get diluted and stay on the surface of each program, so choose a limited number of marketing areas and excel at each of them. Focus on specific programs to be the best and get ahead of competitors. ”
Trickster #3 Meagen Eisenberg, VP of demand generation at DocuSign:
Her trick: Stay on top of trends.
“Traditional lead scoring models typically cover a dozen attributes like firmographic and engagement data. Lead scoring 2.0 addresses thousands of attributes and adds predictive analytics by harnessing big data held in other services and databases as well as fields in your CRM platform. Companies like LatticeEngines and Mintigo make lead scoring a lot less tricky with next generation lead scoring models and insights.”
Trickster #4 Frans Van Hulle, CEO of ReviMedia:
His trick: First impressions count, so keep that website updated.
“You only have one chance on a first impression, so optimize the first contact points with your potential customers and make sure these contact points are all perfect. This sounds logical, but many companies forget this simple rule. Make sure your website is working well and fast (the majority of the sites are underperforming), your contact or lead form should work absolutely flawless, have your call to action clear, the layout of your FB and Twitter page and so on.”
Trickster #5. Trish Witkowski, president of Foldfactory.com
Her trick: Give them a reason to keep coming back!
“In my YouTube video series, ‘60-Second Super-Cool Fold of the Week,’ I had the idea to put a different, funny folding slogan on my shirt for each episode. Today, over 200 episodes into the series, people continue to watch for the value of the content, which demonstrates fold templates sent to us by direct mailers, among others. However, they also watch because they really want to know what my shirt is going to say. They comment on them and send me new ideas. It’s become a memorable trademark, and has led to a cult-like following of my videos.”
Trickster #6 Jeffery Hayzlett, host of “C?Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett” on Bloomberg TV
His trick: Make social activation your prestidigitation.
“Wherever you’re featured, request links back to your website and links to your social media accounts. Some places won’t do this, but if you ask nice and offer links back, and are socially active, many will. It’s important for improving your site’s SEO, making it easier for potential customers to find you, your business, and your products. It also helps grow your social media audience, which means you need to continually be active and engaging on those accounts to stay at their top-of-mind.”
Trickster #7 Kirsty Spraggon, host of Kirsty TV
Her trick: Don’t assume a crazy idea is a crazy idea.
“I wanted to challenge my marketing efforts with something different and original–something that was much more creative than your general marketing avenues. I was intrigued by fiverr.com and ordered a $5 custom rap song to market my business. This crazy idea was by far the best $5 I have ever invested. The one-minute song was clever and funny and a truly creative method of sharing the work we do at Kirsty TV with our audience and so many others through social media.
