Next week a few thousand green industry professionals will converge in Louisville, Kentucky to hear me speak on blogging and social media marketing. O.K., they may not all be coming to hear me speak, but at the very least they will be converging and will have that opportunity. If they realized the power of blogging and social media marketing for their business, and how it works organically..something they should have a good handle on….well, they might just want to learn more.
Here's how it works. Most things that grow organically are also sustainable, too, just as long as they get the required care and feeding. In that sense, blogging is a lot like gardening. You can grow whatever you want. You just need specific goals, a little discipline for achieving them, and the right tools and know-how. That's where I come in. My speaking specialties are sales and marketing, and these days, blogging, micro-blogging and social media marketing happen to be the right marketing choices for most businesses – large or small. The reason for this is they are amazingly effective for building, strengthening and protecting a market niche — and for a very small investment of time and money. All you really need is some creativity, the tools and know-how, and the time to put it all into action.
Traditional direct marketing methods, such as postcards and email campaigns, in addition to good old face-to-face selling, are great ways to jump start your business right now. The problem is you have to get up tomorrow and do it all over again. These methods are effective and necessary, but their effects can often be short-lived. If you think about most of your marketing efforts, they don't last very long. You may place an ad in the hopes some people see it. Then you hope that a few of them will actually take action so that the both of you can realize a benefit. Oh, but you have a website that you say is your sustainable presence on the Web. Are you sure? The problem is the search engines don't like passive websites like yours and mine. They like change! People like change, too! Hmm….could this be an insight. Nicely done. You now know that the ongoing changes you make to your blog also help to optimize it for the search engines. This gets you noticed. And that can help you grow your business.
Let's face it, blogging is the future of marketing right now. Blogging is real and sustainable marketing that organically grows over time. You just need to have a purpose for your blogging that supports your company's mission or purpose. Then start planting those seeds. Of course, you'll want to fertilize those seeds. That's where Social Media Marketing comes in. Social Media Marketing is the fertilizer that connects your blog messages to the people that can benefit from the products and services your company provides. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many more Social Media Marketing and Networking sites put the face of your business on the Web. That face connects with people. It connects needs with people that have solutions for those needs. Blogging and Social Median Marketing makes you familiar. Familiarity leads to trust. All you have to do is tell your story. Be original! Tell a story about someone that benefits from a business relationship with you. Congratulations! You've just planted a seed that will make your business come alive – and continue to grow with it.
If you read my blog regularly, you know I try to keep it interesting by framing my message in the context of a popular movie that most people will recognize. This week I'm making an exception by instead using a very nice film created by PLANET – The Professional Landcare Network – to promote the Green Industry Conference (GIC) this coming week. It's a huge gathering of like-minded professionals that work every day to sustain the environment we all enjoy. I'm looking forward to helping them build sustainable marketing practices at a couple of sessions, but especially with my program Saturday morning, October 25th entitled: Get Real! Launch Your Blog Now