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It sounds like a simple question, but today it is a much more complex topic.
As I see it many roadblocks need to be looked at:
- Mobile Search is geared more for local – This is great if all of your clients need to come to your particular location. However, what if your customers are located in different states.
- Facebook Ads target people who may/may not buy your product. It is ideal for advocacy, but if you are in the B2B space, it is tough.
- Creating content – Quality versus quantity used to be the rule. Now, it is more about findability. Some of the best content on particular subjects never gets noticed.
- Trade shows – This area is quickly becoming expensive and stressful. The pressure is on to connect with as many of the attendees who are your current customers and getting a message out to people in a short time frame to win their business. Not to mention, show quality is quickly going down and the market is over saturated with so many shows.
I could go on about this list, but it is important to find ways to get noticed today.
Here is what you will hear in most articles on this topic this week:
- Start a blog,
- Start a podcast
- Buy a software package
- Build an app
Again, this is the same news we hear every single year. Stop wasting time reading about trends. The information never changes and I have read very few that actually go into detail on the experience and the results.
Here are the areas I am going to be looking at more closely:
Finding effective distribution channels: Certain topics perform very well on different platforms.
- Twitter still works, especially with images.
- Instagram – I am warming up to this platform too. People love pictures, and there is a good following.
- Content curators – Some sites feature great content writers. These sites are invaluable for getting content repurposed to a much bigger audience
- Linkedin Pulse – An excellent place to connect with others.
- Look for new platforms – Not sure what those are yet. PokemonGo was huge in 2016. Did anyone see that coming?
Some areas I will be experimenting with:
Capturing ways people find our company – Going to actually track this information in a spreadsheet and compare this information month to month, year to year. I ask the question, and in 2017, I am going to really look at this information for trends. I believe this information has really changed in the last 6-12 months
More video production – Not professional, more instantaneous. Short bytes about particular topics.
I am going to write more from a question and answer standpoint. This is the direction search is going. Think about Siri and Echo. If I want to be found, I need to write more like a typical dialogue.
Get noticed more at shows. Today, it is about the experience. Need to draw people by connecting more from an experience basis and less from a product knowledge basis. Need to get their attention first. Think more like Apple!
How Will Clients Find Our Company?
It is all about being in the game and creating the best experience. It is all about listening, tracking and testing. I need to do a lot of work in this area. I know some things will work and other things will not work. I don’t think anyone can answer this question for you. If you are like me, you are going to see a lot of different channels here. The good news is that I will be in a better position by actually doing some work in this area then simply reading to find the next unsupported trend.
