Marketing to the professional tradesman in the Construction, Industrial and MRO markets Home About Me Contact Market Overviews Newsletter Podcasts Services White Paper: Overview of Plumbing Market Sonnhalter is deeply involved with the professional tradesmen. Also included are association and buying group contacts, trade shows/meetings, industry trends and media publications. LinkedIn: 5 Ways to Make the Most out of Your Connections Made in America: It Still Matters! How Do You Measure Social Media Success? free copy for download is available. MORE >>

It also requires an active presence and network of relationships in social media, coverage in industry press, and carefully targeted online advertising to be where your prospective buyers are looking, when they are looking. Optimizing online visibility then requires the coordination of public relations (PR), content development, social networking, SEO, digital advertising and marketing communications efforts. But it may also be sent to specific journalists and bloggers, who need to be followed up with, shared socially, and have any questions or comments responded to. MORE >>

For social media architects and community designers, this confusion has a somewhat different tilt.  Ironically, such concepts and practices reinforce the status quo that treats the use of social media as a marginal, token gesture.  Purpose is what differentiates engagement from experience and strategic vs. social use of communities. If social media-enabled mechanisms are to be used as core pieces of an organization’s strategy and operations and mechanisms for re-orienting it toward customers, they cannot be ends unto themselves. They do. MORE >>

Consider this: A trade show can offer valuable opportunities to meet decision makers face-to-face, scope out your competition, scope out  what’s new and trending in the industry , connect with trade media, build new relationships, generate leads, and build brand awareness. Add social media and digital tools to the mix and you can turbo charge your efforts. Use social media before the event to promote your company’s involvement and generate buzz. Use Facebook and Linkedin ads to promote the event and your booth number. Have tradeshows become obsolete? MORE >>

We all know it – social engagement gives meaning and value to social media marketing efforts, boosting brand affinity and growing revenue and profit. More than half of people who have engaged with a brand or company in social channels say they are more likely to buy (51 percent of Facebook fans and 67 percent of Twitter followers) and recommend (60 percent of Facebook fans and 79 percent of Twitter followers) than they were before they became a fan/follower, according to Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research. The effect on revenue and profit is profound. MORE >>