Can the iPad Launch a Golden Age for Magazines?

July 12, 2012Joanne Costin1 Comment

I watched an interesting webinar from FIPP (The Worldwide Magazine Media Association) about the effectiveness of printed and digital magazine content, based on some new research. The strengths of magazines are worth noting:

1) Successful magazines have a personality and interest that matches that of the consumer.

2) Consumers read with “focused attention.” There is little multi-tasking, compared to other media.

3) People make time to read magazines, and often read at more than one sitting.

In a study conducted in India by the Association of Indian Magazines, 9 0f 10 people do nothing else while reading a magazine. For 8 of 10 readers, advertisements weren’t viewed as an interruption, but part of the experience.

Studies shows a higher degree of engagement with ads in iPad apps vs. digital editions or print editions of a magazine.

FIPP’s research consultant Guy Consterdine expects “iPad apps to bring about the “Golden Age of the Magazine.”

Do you agree?

Content marketers should be striving for closer relationships with their customers. Relationships not unlike the one that a good magazine has with its readers. Is your content trusted? Does your content reflect the brand’s personality and interests? Is your content worthy of focused attention? Publishers have known for a long time that surrounding sales messages with content is an effective way to put readers in the mood for related content. Do the same.

Think about how your content engages. Do you make it easy for customers to engage? Do you make it clear what will come next? If potential buyers are interrupted by another task, do you have a way to bring them back into the sales process? Are you asking for a purchase too soon?

That’s a lot of questions, but you need to find answers if you are going to improve. Let your customer be the guide as you focus on creating the right next steps. It’s more likely to be the golden age for content, on any device.

Good Deeds Deserve Good Links

June 28, 2012Joanne CostinLeave a comment

Palatine Travelers Baseball Supports Food Pantry

People like doing business with with businesses that support their communities. Yet too often, businesses fail to capitalize on their contributions by ignoring the PR opportunities their good deeds provide. Sponsoring local charities; bringing in students to explore careers; sending a team to participate in Relay for Life; are all good deeds deserving of attention by local media.

In Chicago, media sources such as Trib Local and Patch.com offer opportunities for anyone to post community news. As a result, you can build high quality links to your site by simply posting your press release to these sources. If those aren’t available in your area, the websites of the local newspapers will usually list an editorial contact or provide instructions for submitting a press release and photo. A public relations consultant can help write your release and distribute it locally at a very reasonable cost.

Some say B2B companies shouldn’t have a focus on local media or community events. I disagree. B2B decisions are made by people too. Even if I am not in your community, I want to feel good about doing business with your company. I am comforted to see your company is made up of real people with concerns for matters other than profit. And when companies are competing for talent, little things like charity events, can set your firm apart from the competition.

A project I worked on this week for my son’s baseball team (and the Palatine Township Food Pantry) reminded me how happy charitable organizations are to have their efforts supported with public relations. Whatever your event contributes to a charity, adding in a press release to provide additional exposure provides a huge bonus. You are helping build awareness for the charity, showing recognition to participants, and giving your business a little bit of credit.

RDO Equipment, a construction equipment dealer headquartered in North Dakota, is one company who gets it right. Their website is brimming with examples of how their local branches support their community. I admire RDO and all the companies like them, who are helping those in need. Isn’t it time to take some credit?

Good deeds deserve good links. What companies in your community stand out for their community service? Tout them here in our comments. We’ll give them some well deserved recognition.

Does Your B2B Content Writer Seek Out Brand Love?

June 21, 2012Joanne CostinLeave a comment

I love Rainbow Cone. The ice cream cone establishment is an 86-year-old icon on the South Side of Chicago. As I savored their five layers of deliciousness yesterday, I thought B2B brands have more difficulty getting the same level of emotional connection with their customers. After all, business decisions are supposed to be made on facts, not emotion.

You won’t often find B2B buyers lighting up the social media boards with love for their vendors. Yet brand loyalty is very strong. What if there was a way to draw positive commentary out of customers in a natural way? As B2B content writers we know how to ask the kinds of questions that reveal emotional connections that drive brand loyalty.

In construction, when things are going good, perhaps one vendor is just as good as another. But best in class suppliers are defined by how they respond when something goes wrong (even when it isn’t their fault). To convey a contractor’s brand love, a content writer should ask if the brand or dealer ever came through for them when they needed it. For example, when a machine was down or a product needed to be expedited how did they respond. The answer should reflect appreciation for a supplier who shared the contractor’s urgent need for a solution.

In foodservice, recipes and their ingredients are often secret, if not sacred. A chef’s brand love might be revealed through a question about substituting ingredients. The answer conveys a message about quality, tradition and long term relationships, without sounding boastful.

For concert tour truck fleets, on-time arrivals are everything. A content writer might ask the tour manager how the fleet came through for them when something was inadvertently left behind, or damaged in transit. Dramatic situations turn ordinary B2B relationships into extraordinary ones.

Emotional connections between B2B buyers and sellers may not be as visible to marketers as they are in the B2C world, but they do exist. Content writers expose them with revealing questions designed to bring out all the love you need.

Equipment Dealers Slow to Adopt Inbound Marketing Best Practices

June 16, 2012Joanne Costin2 Comments

The data is in and the results should be a wake-up call for construction equipment dealers. After analyzing more than 400 construction equipment dealer marketing practices using HubSpot’s Marketing Grader, 87% of AED member companies scored less than 50 on a scale from 1-100. Just 1% scored from 75 to 100.

Here are the biggest areas of concern:

1) Few dealers have blogs or blog regularly.

2) Website pages don’t have unique page titles and descriptions.

3) Few dealer websites are viewable on mobile devices.

4) Few firms have really embraced sharing their content online through social media.

5) Communication on social networks is largely one-way.

The bright spot is that there is tremendous opportunity for dealers who want to get in the inbound marketing game and embrace best practices. Here are some great content examples from dealers who have transformed their websites from static brochure sites to hubs of social and commercial activity.

Ring Power Corp Delves into a Product Analysis:

Stand-up Narrow Aisle Reach Trucks vs. Jungheinrich’s Side-Seated—December, 2011

Birkey Puts the Spotlight on a Customer:

Dean Drainage LLC

Empire Cat Focuses on Machine Maintenance:

Undercarriage Wear Varies Between Excavators and Dozers

A complete analysis will appear in the July 2012 issue of Construction Equipment Distribution. Subscribers to our blog can receive a complete list of scores for all dealers, upon request.

Content That Says “We Know You”

June 8, 2012Joanne CostinLeave a comment

The most meaningful content connects with customers. It’s customized to meet the needs of a specific user or business. When a customer enters his own data, preferences or requirements on a website and finds an outcome specific to his or her needs, brands build loyalty.

Supplier recipes might become part of a chef’s culinary inspiration. When quantities or nutritional requirements for his operation are stored the website, it saves time and effort.

Think of ways to say, “we know you.” Just like a good salesperson saves a buyer time, so too should a website.

Content writers add value by presenting products in the right environment, in the right applications. Content creators envision website tools and mobile apps that can help guide users in the specification process. Too many choices can be overwhelming. Your goal should be to make the process of purchasing easier.

The ability of “live chat” to increase conversion rates is evidence of the power of interactive content. Here are some more great examples from across the Web.

Benjamin Moore’s Personal Color Viewer allows visitors to upload their own photo to see how various paint colors will look in their room.

Luber-Finer’s phone app is designed specifically to help installers of Luber-finer filters get access to filter information right at their fingertips so they can speed up maintenance and make more money.

Manitowoc’ s Induction app showcases the benefits of induction cooking. It includes video, an energy calculator, and a complete photo library of the various forms of Induction cooking.

What website content do you have that makes buyers feel like you know them?

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