White Paper, A Blanco Business Term

by mikemonty on April 3, 2013

Have you heard the term “white paper” or “white papers”? This term is generally used in two arenas, the government and business to business marketing. A strange combination, but it’s true. The government version was coined in the late 1930’s, but my version or our version for business was coined in the 90’s! The term basically just means communication. It can mean marketing communication of a companies products or services, but primarily I see it now as sort of the INFO page on large corporate websites. It is not the blog, it really is important info a company wants you to know about it’s products and services. At least that is what it has trended to. Wikipedia says: While some[who?] list dozens of different types of B2B white papers, there are essentially three main types: Backgrounder: Describes the technical and/or business benefits of a certain offering from a vendor, either a product, service, or methodology. This type of white paper is best used to supplement a product launch, argue a business case, or support a technical evaluation at the bottom of the sales funnel. Numbered list: Presents a set of tips, questions, or points about a certain business issue. This type is best used to get attention with new or provocative views, or cast aspersions on competitors, especially by using FUD. Problem/solution: Recommends a new, improved solution to a nagging business problem. This type is best used to generate leads at the top of the sales funnel, build thought leadership, or inform and persuade stakeholders.[7] I like their new fun term “thought leadership” what? more terms to learn, so here I go. Anyway, if you hear the term White Papers you know really it just means we are communicating with you, this is marketing, this is us, we are awesome, here is some info. so it really sounds like it is the actual company, if it were a person, it would have a blog and it would be white papers. More from your Marketing Nerd later.

{ 0 comments }

Step 1: Determine Your Company’s Goals and Objectives – Without clear goals, the effectiveness of your social media campaign will not be measurable, and your company will not be able to identify changes that need to occur in order to increase effectiveness. If you aren’t sure about what goals to establish here is a list of possibilities.

  • Improve brand presence: This measurable goal aims to increase the amount of followers on Twitter, the number of fans on Facebook, the number of likes and comments your posts receive, and the number of times your company is mentioned in online forums.
  • Increase positive exposure about your business: The goal here is to increase the number of positive mentions your company receives, while addressing the negative comments. Is the ratio of negative comments decreasing? The objective here is to identify what the consumers are saying and use this information to address positive and negative comments relating to your business.
  • Develop relationships: The goal here is to keep track of the people that you have connected with. If a follower takes the time to comment or like your statuses routinely take the time to put their name and contact information into your digital contact book.
  • Increase traffic to your social networking pages or website: The objective here is to keep track of the users that frequent your social networking pages and then track whether or not they use your website. This will allow you to increase exposure of your website if the numbers are low at the beginning of the campaign.

Step 2: Research, Research, and even more Research – Rather than jumping into the social media scene try researching the sites you would like to use and research your industry.

  • In order to use social networking sites effectively, try making a list of the sites you would like to use and then research whether or not those sites match up with the results you would like to achieve.
  • Research your industry, your competitors, and the key words you should use in your content. By reading what is out there already, you can identify and understand the audience you are trying to target.

Step 3: Create a Digital Contact Book – If you use social networking correctly, relationships will build naturally. You can begin to make connections by following the conversation. This can be done by subscribing to blogs in your industry and then creating a list of the relevant vendors or customers you would like to contact. Keep track of this contact information by recording it in a digital contact book for future use.

Step 4: Join the Conversation, related to your Industry – Now is the time to utilize all of the research you have done. Joining the conversation is easy, all you have to do is comment on forums and blogs, answer questions on Yahoo! and LinkedIn, and join groups related to your industry. Begin developing relationships by following other people in your industry, and by communicating with your followers.

Step 5: Strengthen Relationships – Don’t hide behind your profile picture, get out in the real world and be seen. It’s not enough to just market through social media, in order to have an effective campaign you need to meet the people you communicate with online, in-person. This can be done by attending leads groups related to your industry. Keep track of the people you meet at these events, and then find them online, in order to keep the interaction moving.

Step 6: Measure your Results – Remember creating those goals and objectives? Now it’s time to measure your success and identify the areas that still need improvement. This should be done monthly or quarterly in order for your campaign to run as effectively as possible.

Step 7: Analyze, Adapt, and Strengthen – Your social media campaign doesn’t end with measuring the results. You need to analyze all of the aspects of your social media campaign, adapt your campaign with new findings, and improve your effort. Remember your social media campaign is a continuous effort that needs routine time and effort to be successful.

Ultimately, social networking needs to be viewed as a strategic marketing campaign in order for you to achieve successful results. Without a carefully calculated plan, you will soon be overwhelmed with the enormity of the process. Just remember, you don’t have to form your social media strategy alone. Let the Marketing Goddess help you establish a personalized campaign, with measurable goals, that will allow your business to grow and develop naturally.

{ 0 comments }

Boise Chamber Mega Marketing Recap 02/22/2013

February 22, 2013
Boise Chamber put on a great event today, it’s called Mega Marketing. Have you ever been to a Mega Marketing event? Well the history of this event in IDAHO actually comes from the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce leader, Theresa Hardin. She came to Idaho from a TEXAS chamber of commerce and brought the event with […]
Read the full article →

Are Business Cards Outdated?

February 6, 2013
Technology is moving fast, and by fast I mean what was relevant at the beginning of this sentence may have changed already. Well. okay, that may be an exaggeration but you know all of us are holding on with both hands to keep up with today’s changing technology. Let’s think about business cards. Are they […]
Read the full article →

Integrated Marketing – Connecting the Pieces of your marketing plan

January 29, 2013
Integrated marketing is the tactical implementation of the marketing strategy of your marketing plan, which reinforces your organization’s core message. It connects the various pieces that comprise your marketing plan to achieve your organization’s marketing and business goals. The purpose of integrated marketing is to bring together all forms of your marketing communications to achieve […]
Read the full article →

How to Remove and Ban Someone From a Facebook Fan Page

January 18, 2013
I was recently asked by a friend of mine who was having issues with her Facebook Fan Page, how to delete or ban someone from it. I recorded the video below to help them with their question; if you have any Facebook related questions please leave them in the comments!
Read the full article →

Data Driven Marketing is HOT!

January 17, 2013
With the rise in recent years of social media, data driven marketing has exploded on the business scene. But the truth is, it is not a new concept. Although, the data driven marketing tools have been available for decades, most brands have not adopted a data driven mindset yet. Now consumers are in the driver’s […]
Read the full article →

How to Change Your Password on Facebook

January 15, 2013
Hey there! My name is Mike Montgomery, I’m the website developer here at The Marketing Goddess. Well, that’s my main title, I do a lot of different things for TMG, including SEO, WordPress Customization and Training, Social Media strategizing and even more. As the all around internet savvy guy here at the Marketing Goddess, I […]
Read the full article →

Social Media Strategy #1 Multimedia User

January 15, 2013
Based on the success of social media marketing, the basics of running a campaign is now understood by the majority of business owners. In the beginning the measure of a successful campaign was seen by an increase in fans following a business page, but now that social media marketing is the basis for almost all […]
Read the full article →