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Believe it or not, the holidays are right around the corner! Before you know it, we’ll be celebrating a new year.

You may have heard the quote, “procrastination is the thief of joy,” and I couldn’t agree more when it comes to managing our B2B sales and marketing efforts.

Given the shifts we’ve seen this year, it’s essential to reassess plans. By analyzing our current strategies, we can determine if adjustments are necessary to adapt to the changing landscape. Don’t let procrastination put your long-term goals at risk!

Don’t be lazy, and give this song by Deep Purple a listen as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Psychology of Colour in B2B

And speaking of Deep Purple, I have a lot in common with them. No, it has nothing to do with my musical prowess or skill on the guitar. But our corporate colour…

According to HubSpot, up to 90% of an initial impression can come from colour – and 93% of consumers make purchasing decisions based on visuals alone. That can be a lot of pressure when it comes to picking the right colours for your brand!

This article from Kalungi talks Colour Psychology. Whether you’re working on a new startup, rebranding, or just thinking about a refresh, they offer some great tips and warn against common colour mistakes in B2B SaaS:

• Know your Colour Theory basics. Hue, tint, tone, shade, and how different colours all work together will all play into how you choose your palette.
• Limit your colours. Having too many colours will dilute your message and make it seem like you don’t have a brand at all!
• Consider your brand message. What’s your brand voice? What message are you trying to communicate?
• Get familiar with Colour Psychology. Different colours evoke different emotions and elicit different responses. Use that to your advantage!

HubSpot shares a great breakdown of Colour Psychology (suitably, it’s a great visual representation). Virtual Causeway Purple is supposed to generate a wise, sophisticated aura…

What do you think? If you don’t make no effort, your corporate colours might end up sending the wrong message! According to HubSpot’s chart, what do yours say about your brand? And more importantly, is it what you want them to say?

Recommended Music Reading for the Fall

With the holidays approaching – how about some music-related reading to tide you over? Maybe you’re in search of a great read so you can just stay in bed as the cold weather rolls in… or you’re looking for a gift for that music lover on your holiday shopping list. Well, look no further – my favourite music journalist Alan Cross has provided his recommendations…

Included in his list: Rush bass player Geddy Lee’s autobiography; memoirs from Barbra and Britney; a look at the Beatles’ fashions (which no doubt touches on colour, too); and a book of Canadian music facts – like the invention of the term “Beatlemania” and how Toronto’s airport code (YYZ) ended up on a Rush album – perfect for the lover of pub quizzes or bathroom readers.

What do you think? Be it music, marketing, or another topic entirely… are there any new or upcoming reads that you’re excited about? I’d love to hear them!

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Colour Me Surprised: Colour Psychology in Branding appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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Do you have a favourite t-shirt? Hat? Maybe it’s from your favourite team. Or that band you supported back in the day when nobody knew them. Whatever it is, we seem to instill articles of clothing with sentimentality. Part nostalgia, part bragging rights? Proof that you were at that seminal concert tour – or you knew the band before they were famous. Whatever the reason, we have this strong relationship with the brand – team, band, product – that we want to share with anyone who’ll listen!

Give this song by Foo Fighters a listen and fly along with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Tech Brands in 2023

How do your customers interact with your brand? Are they loyal and vocal? Or are you lookin’ for a sign of life every time you reach out to your clients? Net Promoter Scores (NPSs) are used to gauge the public’s perception of a brand or product. In my experience with B2Cs and franchises, I’ve seen businesses that absolutely obsess over their NPS on a daily basis.

Check out this list of PC Mag’s best tech brands for 2022. These are brands that have high NPS and strong brands – with Tesla at the top of the list.

Of course, there is a flip side – this is the corresponding list of the most despised tech brands. You’ll see some super successful companies on this list, which begs the question: do we really care? Can a product or brand be successful without being adored?

How do you think this list will change for 2023? And what’s the impact of company leadership on the brand’s reputation? Has Tesla’s brand been damaged by its leader and all the recent Twitter controversy?

The Show Must Go On

Foo Fighters have announced their return to the stage and it’s sooner than some might expect. Since Taylor Hawkins’ passing, there has been speculation about the future of the band. However, they’ve announced a slew of major concert dates for 2023.

A band is also a brand and a business entity. And some members are tightly integrated with that perception of the brand, similar to business leaders. We’ve all seen examples of bands that have decided to pack it in when a member passes (such as Led Zeppelin). But we’ve also seen examples where the band has continued and had major success (like AC/DC).

How do your customers perceive your brand? For many clients, their interaction with your brand is through their Account Manager – and that person has an unbelievable amount of influence on how your clients perceive the overall corporation. Scary, right? So hopefully you’re doing the right things to positively influence those perceptions, and not just lookin’ to the sky to save you…

And Speaking of T-shirts…

We’ve all bought cheap t-shirts at concerts and sporting events. Sure, they may have been sold out of the back of a van, but they were much cheaper than the t-shirts at the venue, right? Well – looks like there’s been a recent case where a UK woman selling unlicensed concert shirts of bands like Foo Fighters and the Rolling Stones was ordered to pay back £140,000.

Merchandise is big business, and contributes a large part to a band’s touring revenue. In the ’80s, bands like Van Halen pioneered the art of selling merchandise and turning it into its own profitable revenue stream for the band and the record label. They were also notorious for aggressively cracking down on any unlicensed merch vendors operating outside their concerts.

It’s all about the brand, right? When merch is unlicensed, the band/team loses control of their brand and trademark, and these other products could be inferior and negatively impact the brand. Bands – and brands – are lookin’ for something to help them burn out bright. And being able to control their brand and how it’s perceived might be the best way to get on that best brands list, right? Right?? What do you think?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Controlling Your Brand appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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The most recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees were celebrated this past week. Every year there seems to be debate about the relevance of these awards – and all entertainment awards shows, for that matter. If you think I’m not going to use this as an opportunity to throw in as many song titles or lyrics from the list of inductees as I can, you’ve got another thing comin’!

Give this song a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week.

Best Times for Cold Calling

Over the years and the 1000s of campaigns we’ve run, we’ve compiled reams of data around customer response rates to marketing campaigns. Since the pandemic started, however, much of this has changed – remote work, adapted workplaces and predominantly digital tactics have made prospects more difficult to reach during their 9 to 5.

UpLead recently published a report on the best times for cold calling in 2022. Aggregating multiple sources in the B2B marketing world, this is a great reference point for anyone managing teams that are involved in outreach.

Does the time you call really matter? YES! Out there is a fortune waitin’ to be had! The more ideal the time is that you call, the higher your connect or answer rate will be! And as we know, it’s all about having a conversation and moving the buyer’s journey along.

Over the years, we’ve found that ideal call times vary by industry and by title/functional role. Best time to reach an exec? Usually early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Be hungry like the wolf and track your own results so that you can adjust your technique as needed.

What about the best day of the week for making cold calls? Across all sources, hit them with your best shot on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Monday and Friday should be avoided if possible – the first day of the week is generally spent responding to emails, attending meetings, and dealing with pressing tasks. Your prospects are likely to prioritize their workflows and deliverables. And Friday is too close to the weekend – many are mentally “checked out” and their weekend mode is already coming around again.

What do you see in your organization? Is there something I should know? Or are there clouds in your coffee? I’d love to hear your feedback on this one and see how you compare!

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony

Did you watch it? Folks like Bob Lefsetz may debate the merit and relevance of the Hall of Fame – but it’s still fun to see the show! In case you missed it, here are the 2022 inductees:

• Performers: Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo; Duran Duran; Eminem; Eurythmics; Dolly Parton; Lionel Richie; Carly Simon
• Musical Excellence Award: Judas Priest; Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
• Early Influence Award: Harry Belafonte; Elizabeth Cotten
• Ahmet Ertegun Award: Allen Grubman; Jimmy Iovine; Sylvia Robinson

Sure – we can debate how many of these are actually ‘rock & roll’ – but overall an interesting list.

What happens tomorrow in B2B? I think it’s interesting to see how the artists respond to the nomination and induction, and how they ‘market’ themselves and their rockin’ years as a result. You may have followed the Dolly Parton nomination in the press – but I think for many it’s a great case study of positioning and branding. What do you think?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello!

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Hungry for Leads? Best Times to Call appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

What Do B2B Marketers Do Now? is an ongoing email. Join the mailing list to be the first to receive these weekly insights!

Do you ever start an email and just sit there waiting for the words to magically appear? Sometimes they present themselves to you in the strangest of places… while cooking dinner, while working out, or while standing in the shower thinking (which happens to be a great song by Jane’s Addiction BTW). Or sometimes you just need to kick yourself and ask, ‘What am I trying to say?’

Give this song by Lenny Kravitz a listen with me as we see what the %$# the experts are saying this week.

The Proliferation of Profanity

This article really intrigued me. Lottie, a firm that helps people find personal care homes, commissioned a study of 35,000 songs from the 1950s through 2010s to determine how lyrics have changed. There are some cool charts and some very interesting stats. What caught my eye was how explicit and sex lyrics have changed through the decades.

Take a look at the charts in the article – it’s fascinating stuff. As you can imagine, certain words are much more standard in lyrics today vs. a decade ago (or four, or seven). And we see that in all aspects of culture – TV, print, digital.

Have you noticed the proliferation of profanity in business communications? Is it now common to swear in a business meeting? In a LinkedIn post? As marketers, we’re always taught that your brand ‘voice’ is important. But if your brand is about a certain lifestyle, or caters to a certain audience, perhaps the profanity is appreciated. Has this crossed into the mainstream?

What the %$# are YOU saying to your customers? How are you saying it? And would you say it to them in person?

Making Connections IRL

How many business or personal connections have you made at an event? In spite of the forced move to virtual events over the past 2 years, we seem to be transitioning back to in-person events as soon as we can. We’re social beings overall – and nothing beats making those connections in person, right?

Our friend Gary Amaral from Breadcrumbs.io has a great take on this – our primary social instincts are just too powerful! Will we ever understand? Who knows… but Gary believes that making connections in real life leads to exponentially more value in every way. Live events provide us with opportunities for learning, relationship building, and deep business development.

Think back to the number of ‘random’ connections you’ve made at conferences. I can name many chance conversations and connections from past Dreamforce conferences that have added extreme value – either in the form of new client or vendor relationships or other important business connections. Have you been able to build those same connections virtually?

I am so excited to be hosting an event later this month with a local Senior Sales and Marketing networking group that I’ve developed over the past 2 years. It will be amazing to get a chance to hang out and network and just have some great conversations IN PERSON.

What do you think? How will we ever know if we never try?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Profanity’s Professional Proliferation appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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I saw the Rolling Stones UNZIPPED exhibit earlier this year. As a fan, it was cool to see an exhibit dedicated to the musical, business, and creative lives of one of the greatest rock bands in history. And it got me thinking – what are some of the business lessons we can learn from the Rolling Stones?

Start up this song and have a listen as we get caught up this week…

Images Matter. If you’re of a certain age, when you think about The Rolling Stones, you picture their distinctive tongue logo (that is, if you’re not thinking of one of your favourite tunes). The Rolling Stones’ icon certainly has withstood the test of time – can you imagine the band deciding to do a rebrand?

It’s not just the logo that has defined the band’s image. Besides their music and performance charisma, a collection of posters, photographs, album art, and merchandise – some with collaborators such as Andy Warhol – comprise the branding power and mystique of these legends, taking us places we’d never, never seen. Young people today taking selfies think they invented this, but it was really the Rolling Stones.

How’s your brand? Do you stand for something? Do your visuals amplify your brand?

Packaging Matters. For the Stones, the visuals go beyond graphic design to fashion and the accoutrement of their realm. One section of the exhibit walks us through their guitar stories and another through their enormous influence on fashion. They seem to have had as much fun making a mark on the world through fashion as through their musical risk-taking.

How about you? Are you leading the industry and taking risks? Do your choices in ‘packaging’ help you stand out? Or are you struggling to compete with the riders in the other heats – your co-workers and competitors?

Experience Design Matters. As rock ‘n’ roll exploded, musicians upped the ante through performance, and the Stones led the pack. As if their music wasn’t distinct enough, The Rolling Stones created dazzling experiences through their live shows. I still remember vividly the first Stones show I saw in high school! The exhibit tells us about the behind-the-scenes design process, complete with architectural drawings and 3D models. Nothing, it seemed, was left to chance.

How is the experience of your brand and that of your company? Are you designing memorable experiences for your clients?

Kick on the starter, give it all you got! Don’t lose sight of what matters to your customers, and be innovative in how you capitalize on that.

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post What Matters to your Customers appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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I can take the cold. I’ve lived in Canada all my life, and even if I don’t like it, I should be used to the winter weather. What I can’t get used to is the darkness –  dark when you wake up, dark at the end of the workday. And you don’t realize how much you miss the sunshine until you have an oh-so-rare, bright, sunny day.

Give this song by the Black Keys a listen with me as we shine a little light on what the experts are saying this week.

HubSpot Data Shines a Light

The data from HubSpot has me a little perplexed. Closed deals are up significantly over January 2021, but created deals are much lower! Sales emails and conversations are way up over last January, as is contact growth.

So why are deals created so low? All of the sales focus was on closing deals? But closed deals were down over Q4 2021 – which I would usually expect in the beginning of the year, when typically activity is all about NEW opportunities. So where are they?

How will Q1 turn out this year? No one really knows where it goes from here but I do know I’ll be looking closely at the numbers to see how activity levels change over the next few months.

Timbiebs!

Have you ever had a Timbit? For the Canadians out there, these little donut holes have been ingrained in our lives and culture. And in November of 2021, Tim Hortons rolled out some special new flavours designed with Canadian pop music star Justin Bieber. These ‘Timbiebs’ caused quite a stir and people went wild for them… and all the Timbiebs swag.

According to Tim Hortons, this co-marketing campaign was one of the most successful traffic-driving initiatives in recent memory – resulting in unprecedented social engagement, merchandise sales, and increased appeal with younger guests.

How does this apply to B2B? Is there another brand you can partner with to expand your reach or increase awareness? Sometimes teaming up with just the right brand can grow your customer base, and the most unlikely of partnerships can help you go to places you used to go to reclaim some new or past customers and see the faces that you used to know.

What are some examples you can share?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Shedding a Light on B2B Sales Numbers appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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David Bowie would have turned 75 a couple of days ago. As someone who always innovated and embraced change, how would he react to the ups and downs of a pandemic-ridden world? Is it time to turn and face the strange and continue innovating and adapting in our own B2B worlds?

Give this Bowie song a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

What are Marketing Leaders Investing in This Year?

According to HubSpot, 48% of marketers expect their budgets to increase in 2022. Here is a list of where marketers are focusing investments this year (some highlights below):

• Podcasts and other audio opportunities
• Social responsibility and diversity marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Short-form videos
• Permanent social media content
• Marketing technology

Where are you investing this year? We’ve certainly seen an increase in the amount of audio and video content that our clients are leveraging in their marketing efforts. What fascinations are fascinating you?

Live Events in 2022?

We’ve recently seen the Grammys postponed, live events cancelled, and more music tours rescheduled again. How will the landscape for live events (B2B and B2C) evolve this year? Who knows… but the world’s largest tech show was actually live and IN PERSON last week!

Did you attend? How was the experience? It will be interesting to see how things shake out this year – we’re all very optimistic, but once again finding ourselves facing the strange and trying to figure out how to conduct business in this new environment.

Albums Turning 50

Louder has shared this list of landmark albums that are turning 50 in 2022. And talk about timing – David Bowie is on the list!

The inclusion of The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars as a ‘landmark’ is no exaggeration. The creation of the glam rock character Ziggy Stardust was iconic, remaining quite possibly Bowie’s definitive work all these years later. It’s a masterclass in branding and transformation.

Nothing is constant, so we must always adapt. Don’t just watch the ripples change their size – make a splash! What other lessons can we learn from Ziggy and apply to our own branding and marketing practices in B2B?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Constant Change? Don’t just Face it – Embrace it! appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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Sometimes we need to keep it simple. It’s August. It’s summer. I bet we’re all having problems staying motivated – so I’m going to keep this email simple and rev you up!

Give this iconic punk song a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying – let’s go!

Business Lessons from the Ramones???

As you know by now, I love trying to bridge that gap between music and B2B. There’s something about the Ramones that people just love. Is it the attitude? The simplicity and raw energy of the songs? The fun of it all?

They were actually tremendous business people! I found this great post that outlines lessons from the punk rockers that apply to B2B. Let’s see what we can learn from them:

• Short & simple works. Most Ramones songs clock in at a little over 2 minutes. Short. Simple. Impactful. Use the same strategy with your sales and marketing messages; say just enough to get your prospects interested and move them through their buyer’s journey – that’s all you need!
• Clever shines through. Ramones songs were funny and smart – and not everyone got the joke. Your smarts and expertise will shine through when presented correctly to the right person – not everyone will get it, but those that do could be your best clients!
• The brand is more important than the individuals. Only two members of the Ramones (Joey & Johnny, who by all accounts hated each other) lasted from inception to dissolution – other members were swapped and changed with regularity and yet their popularity never wavered. The brand “the Ramones” mattered more to their fans than the individual members. Your lesson – work hard to build your brand so that no matter who’s representing it, it remains successful.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. The Ramones were caricatures made real and they knew it and had fun with it. Bring fun into what you do every day – people will like you better and you’ll probably live longer.

Keep these lessons in mind when dealing with potential clients. What they want, I don’t know – but these strategies can help you stay top of mind!

Too Soon for the COVID Concert?

Did you stream any of the Lollapalooza festival last week? Experts are saying that precautions were insufficient, and infections may spread among concert-goers, as thousands piled in the backseat, as it were.

The four-day festival welcomed about 100,000 guests a day to hear headliners including Megan Thee Stallion, Foo Fighters and Tyler the Creator. To attend, people had to provide either a COVID-19 vaccine card or proof of a negative COVID-19 test from the previous 72 hours. But doctors say more restrictions should have been in place as the US tries to limit the spread of the more infectious Delta variant.

And of course, many of those that attended left at the end of the weekend and crossed state borders. Not to mention there are fake vaccination cards making the rounds. Should we be worried about the future of events in general?

According to Bob Lefsetz, it’s too soon to know – “Delta is gangbusters and very transmissible. But promoters are wary of shutting the business down.”

How will this impact B2B? I think we’ll need to see how B2C events shake out over the next months – as they will indicate how the fall B2B event season will progress. We’re all revved up and ready to go… but at what cost?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Bands and Concerts: Your Unlikely Sources for Lessons in B2B appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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The countdown is on. As we approach the end of Q2, how is your pipeline shaping up? Is it growing and your team is hitting those important quarterly milestones – or are you going off the rails and simply trying to hold things together?

Give this great ’80s hard rock tune (featuring one of my favourite guitar players) a listen as we read on and see what the experts are saying this week:

What’s Working in Digital

With B2C digital experiences continuing to raise the bar and Zoom fatigue setting in, many B2B organizations are looking for new ways to offset the drop in digital engagement while reducing their reliance on video calls.

As a result, many organizations are experimenting with more intimate online experiences to engage their buyers, finding ways to personalize digital experiences with specific schedules, interests, and pain points. Marketers are also using “live” events, such as online executive seminars, cooking classes, wine tastings, etc. to create memorable buyer experiences that can also be repurposed into on-demand content.

Our friends at Vidyard outline their predictions for the top 5 video trends of 2021:

1. Video in Sales Explodes
2. User-Generated On-Demand Videos Become the Norm
3. Marketers Embrace ‘Show and Tell’ Content
4. Virtual Events and Live Video Experiences Go Mainstream
5. Video Tech Goes from Tactical to Strategic

Some organizations are focusing on ways to create newer, more engaging buying experiences quickly and efficiently. Maybe it’s not too late to learn some new strategies! What are you seeing in your industry?

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

By now you’ve probably seen this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They include hip-hop icon Jay-Z, rock/R&B legend Tina Turner, singer-songwriter Carole King, The Go-Go’s, Foo Fighters, and Todd Rundgren.

Beyond the coveted performer awards, the Rock Hall is doling out some serious hardware this year, with LL Cool J, Billy Preston, and Randy Rhoads earning Musical Excellence awards for artists whose “originality and influence… had a dramatic impact on music.”

With the Foos entering the Hall in the band’s first year of eligibility, founder Dave Grohl has become a two-time inductee (Nirvana was enshrined in 2014). I’m a big fan of the Foos and have seen them live many times. And Dave Grohl seems to be EVERYWHERE. Musical collaborations, television appearances, social media dominance – at some point, he’s become the poster child for Rock and Roll!

In B2B we spend a lot of time trying to get our message across and build our brand. But at what point does the constant exposure hurt your brand? Many would say this is a good ‘problem’ to have…

What do you think? Has he over-saturated the market? Some critics say that the public is tired of Dave Grohl. It’s been said that “Grohl is clearly the voice of our generation – if only because he never lets anyone else speak!”

Is this a case of the media selling it, and Dave Grohl is merely living the role?

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

The post Digital Media Trends appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

The experts in your life

Think about the last time you took a recommendation from a friend or colleague – where to eat lunch, a new app you should check out. You most likely acted on that referral, in part, because it came from someone you connect with and trust. Now think about the last time you received a referral and ignored it. You probably ignored it because it seemed like spam or just looked like another interruptive ad. Being in an age where picking out spam is like picking a hair out of your lunch, which you have already eaten half of, you were probably just as repulsed as the rest of us and disgusted that you had to see it.

You can put as much money behind sponsored content as you want, and post it on every social media site you can think of, but that doesn’t mean anybody is going to want to consume it. In fact, a Neilsen study suggests that 82% of North Americans trust recommendations made by people they know. And only 32% trust ads they see on mobile devices. In other words, people trust people, especially ones who they perceive to be experts.

Use your experts to your advantage

So how do we earn the trust and business of our target markets? We give them someone to trust and to connect with who can be an ambassador for the brand. We give them an expert – and that expert gives them great content.

The problem is that most organizations are often afraid to promote their experts, or they fear that the expert will dilute and take the attention away from their brand, or worry that the expert will leave them or get poached by a headhunter if they build a following. Fear not; let your experts be free. It might do you some good.

Here are 6 things you need to do in order to promote yourself or your company’s though leaders effectively as experts.

1. Be discoverable

As an expert you must ensure that you are easy to find and are easily discoverable. By having a presence on social media and by commenting on forums and current topics relating to your expertise you will establish a presence online and in the media which others will recognize. A good way to start is by using appropriate keywords when posting content and keeping your SEO in check And don’t discount professional social media platforms like LinkedIn! People see what you like and comment on (more on this as we go on).

Check out ExpertFile – it’s a service that works as a sort of dating site for when somebody is looking for an expert. Type in your criteria, and BAM! It’s a match. You’re provided with a list of experts to choose from who are most likely to suit your needs based on what topic you are looking to cover. This is where media and writers go to find contributors to feature in their content. You want to be on that list.

2. Maintain credibility

The first thing people do when they hear about you is check you out online. They look at your LinkedIn profile, your Google hits, and your social media feeds. They are trying to find out how credible you are. Credibility is not something that happens instantly. It’s a process that involves time, effort, and patience… but it’s a worthwhile investment. Ensure you keep up-to-date and educated on topics you engage with. Verify your information is accurate, credible, and current. Provide content and insight on topics of interest to publications and social media, as well as your own blog. Increase your optics by maintaining an up-to-date website with client testimonials and maintain a social following by interacting with followers.

3. Be engaging

Ensure that you deliver a more engaging experience by creating content that is worth sharing. Ask thought provoking questions, encourage discussion, and respond by offering solutions. Switch things up a little with a podcast or video instead of a written blog. Maintain a positive personality and presence by being responsive and engaging with others on social media feeds.

4. Be passionate about building and growing relationships

By building good relationships with others you are also building a positive reputation for your employer. With tools like LinkedIn, it’s easy to find and connect with others who share the same interests as you. People who know you will credit you and your business as trustworthy and experienced. Relationships lead to more relationships.

5. Be responsive and reactive

It’s important to stay informed and ahead of the curve and be able to think quickly. When something happens online you should be ready to address it in a timely manner. Whether it’s somebody tweeting at you, a comment on a social media feed, a bad review, or a news article about you or your company, you must be ready to respond and react gracefully and effectively when approached. It might be handy to have some Google Alerts keywords set up to notify you if anybody is talking about you or a subject you might be interested in. Setting yourself up on a service such as HARO (Help A Reporter Out) can increase your chances of gaining coverage in your areas of expertise. This can also help you build some positive relationships and a good rapport with the reporters you end up helping out, as well as some good karma along the way. You can use tactics such as newsjacking to essentially piggyback on trending news stories and get valuable exposure. This also helps you seem very up-to-date and reactive to current events.

6. Be mobile-friendly!

Everything you do must be mobile-friendly. With the majority of content being read from a mobile device while on the go, or even from home, if something isn’t easy to read on a mobile device, it often gets overlooked. By ensuring that any content you post is compatible with mobile devices you will increase the chances of your content being read and shared. Google has a great mobile-friendly tool – among many – to test how mobile-friendly your web pages are. You can take it a step further and check out how good your SEO is and how likely you are to show up in search engines with the help of HubSpot’s Website Grader. They provide handy advice on how you can improve your SEO practices.

In addition to your company’s brand, experts must represent their own brand. Experts, essentially, are the company. By promoting an expert for a company, you provide greater value for customers and in turn, better reward and better recognition.

Cynthia Sundberg, VP Operations and Administration | cynthias@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-sundberg-6742481

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