On a recent “White Board Friday” Rand Fishkin from MOZ discussed marketers who are frustrated that their audiences aren’t sharing their content, making them think the only way to promote their brands is to pay for exposure. Rand wrote
“The challenge here is what influences these people is not the same thing that you’re broadcasting and amplifying to your customers. So you need to think of yourself as a whole different kind of marketer, marketing an entirely different product. The product you are marketing to these people is most of the time not your product. It is a kind of content, an expertise, an informational value, a piece of research. . .”
In the above statement and article Rand focuses on SEO principles and is speaking to SEO Professionals. This made me think about my clients and what I can do to help them influence the industry influencers in their fields.
What I want to address here is highlighting and utilizing the principals Rand discussed for non-traditional industries. For instance; SERP Sniper does a lot of Local SEO in Construction, Building and Manufacturing fields, industries that traditionally don’t use social media to advertise or promote.
I am going to use one of my clients as an example; The company is a Manufacturers Representative in the roofing industry. Their job is to represent multiple lines of roofing products and ultimately get the architects and consultants to specify those products when the roofing job goes out to the roofing companies to bid. Simple right?
This particular rep firm is a valuable resource for the industry not just because they have high quality roofing and waterproofing products but because they always go above and beyond and offer services that most Manufacturers Representatives don’t. Explaining all those services and extras isn’t important here; you get the picture, these guys know their stuff and always deliver more than promised. (expertise, and informational value)
[tweet_box design=”default”]Search Result Influence. – How to influence the industry influencers when your already an influencer?[/tweet_box]
Where the Social Media SEO problem arises for them is with their customer base; architects and consultants, property managers, industrial building owners, etc. are not going to share their info online socially? They aren’t going to post on Google+ about the wonderful job the Manufacturers’ Representatives did coordinating the $2 million project from bid to completion. They certainly aren’t going to tweet about the new roof they just got. Funny cat videos sure or maybe what they had for lunch today but not work related stuff. At the other end, the roofing company that did the job isn’t going to post on their Facebook page “hey we just finished this job, thanks to all the great product manufacturers who helped us.” No way, they may “post” but only to boast about the job they did.
Bottom line, the rep firm isn’t going to get the same social media love that a hip downtown eatery gets from patrons or the glowing reviews in Yelp that you would give your Roto Rooter man or even the kid that mows your yard. They are going to have to dig deeper to get the social exposure and search engine rankings they rightly deserve.
The second problem, the rep firm is not going to buy links or pay for exposure. They are one of the top producers in the country and could argue, by virtue of their product line, “we are an industry influencer.” Yet they also realize that things have changed and the internet and social media SEO is the way of the future. They have a nice website and Google+ page and we have started the citation & link building processes.
My question is; [tweet_dis]How do you influence the industry influencers when your product is already an industry standout? [/tweet_dis]I have listed a few of my sustainable marketing choices below but I know there are many more.
Social Media SEO Techniques – Winning the SEO Battle
1. Industry PR – Think old school tools and use them to nudge the search engines – press releases, industry events, conferences. You are the expert how about doing a seminar at a trade show? That way you are marketing information and expertise as well as touting the benefits of your actual product.
2. Content Marketing – old school would be get published in Industry Trade Publication, now most companies publish on the company news blog or offer a Free White Paper download.
Other places to get published; Any alumni magazines that would want to do a spotlight on a former student and what they’re currently doing in the world that would get a mention of your company? (not my idea, wish it was)
3. Social Outreach – This was actually harder in old school (I think it was a “drinking game” not for the faint of heart) today it’s much easier. We have Google+ & Facebook, blogs, etc.. How about hosting a Google Hangout or doing a White Board video series.
One thing is for sure, in the business to business world it’s important to build trust with someone before you expect them to write the big check. When you do that, they will lead those who follow them socially to your business or service. It’s honest, old school relationship building, real influence. Nothing beats a “face to face” handshake relationship.
Nail these three core Social Media SEO tenants to win the Social Media SEO battle in your niche industry. Industry PR, Content Marketing, Social Outreach. These are the Trifecta of Search Result Influence.
[tweet_box design=”default”]Search Result Influence – B2B – Honest Old school relationship building deliverers real social influence[/tweet_box]
Michael Klasno is SERP Sniper – Building local optimized websites for Attorneys, Law Firms and Business Professionals in Houston and Southeast Texas.
Michael Klasno is a consummate Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialist with an impressive 20-year tenure in the digital marketing landscape. Throughout two decades, Michael has been at the forefront of evolving website design & SEO strategies, seamlessly integrating the latest trends with time-tested methodologies.
His SEO expertise encompasses a vast array of skills, including keyword research, technical SEO, (both on-page and off-page) Local SEO, Google Business Profile optimization, SEO auditing, competitive analysis, and content strategy formulation.
“By building a cost effective corporate or business website that looks great and has a high conversion rate you can dominate the organic search results.”
