Grow Sales, Inc. - Resources

July 2010

Three Social Media Strategies for Graphic Arts Businesses

Social media has dominated our attention at Grow Sales for the better part of two years. In that time, Twitter and Facebook have evolved from curiosities to preferred communication platforms for... well, just about everybody. And almost every conversation we have had with clients and industry friends touches on a single question: "How can we use these tools to generate new business?"

At this point, we'd love to tell you we've developed a foolproof plan to turn tweets into dollars, guaranteed. The reality is that using social media as a B2B sales growth tool is still in its infancy (although we have provided some guidance on calculating ROI from these activities.) But we have learned a few key strategies to maximize the lead generation value of these tools.

Use Your Blog as a Content Hub
A blog is the Swiss army knife of the social media world. It can include video, podcasts, links, photos and visitor comments. And let's not forget all the SEO-friendly keywords. By using your blog as the hub of your social media activities, you maximize your ability to attract and capitalize on targeted traffic.

Twitter: The Fast-Response Offer Engine
Twitter is all about instant feedback. This micro-blogging tool is useful for alerting followers to time-sensitive offers. These can be giveaways of inexpensive items, or perhaps something even more strategic: holes in your production schedule. Tweeting availability of press or bindery time on a first-come, first-serve basis in exchange for preferred pricing can help boost your bottom line while offering real value to your Twitter followers.

Move Conversations to Facebook

When a customer wants to air their frustrations over a recent job, learn more about one of your services, or start a discussion with other graphic arts industry professionals, a Facebook "fan" page should be their destination. With more content flexibility than Twitter, your company’s Facebook page is an ideal venue to get the conversation started. Harness the power of polls, surveys, “questions of the week” and other activities to create a feedback loop and generate brand loyalty among your fans.

Two Ways to Grow Your Sales

Need more sales? Who doesn’t? GSI colleague Bill Farquharson runs a monthly “Sales Challenge” program for anyone who wants a quick, economical jolt to their sales. For only $97/month, you’ll be enrolled in a comprehensive program that challenges you to establish and meet daily activity goals, all with the aid of weekly webinars, small group conference calls and more.

Additional sales consulting is also available through GSI. Contact us at 301-294-9900 or email Team Leader T.J. Tedesco at tj@growsales.com to learn more.

New blog from T.J. Tedesco

Who wants to read another boring sales growth strategy blog? We’d fall asleep writing it. Instead, View from Mount Olympus takes readers on an engaging ride through marketing, social media, public relations and sales growth strategies proven to work in the rough-and-tumble graphic arts industry. Oh, and did we mention this blog happens to feature Prometheus’s grandson? Don’t say we didn’t warn you, but this may be the oddest marketing blog you’ll ever read.

A New Direction

This is the final edition of GSI’s monthly communication in the format it has existed in for more than seven years. While you’ll still receive this newsletter every month, the content will now focus on GSI’s social media activities. Features will include:

What fans are talking about on our Facebook page
Exciting new content and giveaways on our various social media channels
Marketing and sales growth tips from our blog

In the meantime, get in on the discussion early by connecting with GSI via social media:

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