Are you throwing your money in the bin?

I go to lots of networking events and I collect lots of business cards – these are useful as it provides a means of getting in touch with people who may become suppliers.  I also get lots of leaflets about services, forthcoming events and promotions – most of these end up in the paper-recycling bin.

The problem with leaflets is that they don’t ‘fit’ anywhere and end up cluttering the place up.  Also they’re usually paper, so they’re easy to scrunch up and throw away.  Quite apart from the issues around resources and environmental conservation, that’s your hard-earned cash that’s going in the bin.

It’s not only the cost of the paper and printing, but the design cost too.  If you’re grinning now because you designed it yourself and printed it off on your office printer (or photocopied it), I have one word for you – reputation!

Unless you happen to be a graphic designer most ‘home-made’ flyers and leaflets look like what they are – home-made.  And the subliminal message is ‘amateur’ or ‘cheap’, neither word is one you want associated with your business.

We’ve all done it and produced something in a hurry at the last minute for a networking event and hoped that nobody would ‘mind’.  They don’t mind, but they don’t value it either.  So you need to aim at the other end of the spectrum and put something of substance into their hands.

I like to have things printed on card, rather than paper.  It’s harder to scrunch up and chuck in the bin. 

If you have some valuable tips printed on the reverse side, this is much more likely to be looked at than a paper document, which people tend not to turn over, you’re creating retainability (no, that’s not really a word, but you know what I mean).

Think about the size and shape of your document – how easy is it for people to carry?  A card that is one-third A4 and fits in a DL envelope, also fits easily in jacket pockets and bags or pops inside a notebook.  The tips mean it tends to stay around longer too.  It’s the next best thing to a promotional gift with your brand on it.

Do you really need to print?

If you’re trying to keep costs down without looking cheap, how about creating special web pages with the information on them and then giving out envelopes containing the links instead of using up lots of ink and paper creating leaflets?

In most cases people who are actually interested will be willing to look at a website.  Those who aren’t will take a leaflet anyway as they often think you will be offended if they don’t – and then dump it as soon as they get back to the office.

A low cost promotional item may be affordable.  In fact, when you add up the design, printing and paper costs, it may even cost less.  Talk to a promotional gifts specialist who will come up with all kinds of clever ideas – and you’ll be much more memorable than dishing out a piece of paper.

What other creative ways can you think of that will capture the people who are genuinely interested without having to distribute a tree every time you run a promotion?

LinkedIn: personal profile or company page?

So many people ask me if they should have a LinkedIn company page – and those that do complain that they find it difficult to build followers on their company profile.  That’s because most people search for YOU, not your company. 

Even if they do search for your company, the list that is presented includes all the people who are identified as working for the company.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a LinkedIn company page, but it does mean that it may not be the focus for most of the connections you make.

Personal means PERSONAL

Quite apart from the fact that the LinkedIn terms and conditions state that you must use your real name and your photo should be a recognisable likeness of yourself, complying with them makes good sense.

Think of it as the equivalent of meeting someone at a networking event.  You don’t introduce yourself “Hello, I’m Bigshot Images Ltd., what company are you?”  You introduce yourself – and others by name.

If your name is Christopher or Robert or Samantha and you’re known by Chris, Rob or Sam – how would you prefer people to address you?  Whatever that is, use that name.  The other side of that coin is that, if someone has put Christopher as their name, always start your messages with that name, until they tell you otherwise.  As someone whose shortened name (Les) I hate, it’s the fastest way to turn me off someone if they call me by that!

Similarly, you don’t introduce yourself as “Jane Bloggs, FRSA, CIPD”.  Don’t put your qualifications in your name – there is a place for that elsewhere in your profile.

When you’re out networking in the real world you don’t have a mask that has a picture of your products, a caricature, a shot of your business premises or anything else covering your face.  This is why a good headshot is essential.

The key elements of a great profile shot are that:

• You are looking directly at the camera, it’s the equivalent of making eye contact (and we all treat people who won’t make eye contact with suspicion).
• It is JUST head and shoulders.  When your profile picture appears on the site as an avatar, you become unrecognisable if you’ve put a full length shot.  Your face is just a small white smudge!
• You aim for friendly and approachable – in other words smile at the camera.  
• It’s a professional shot – not one cropped from a party you were at or a recent holiday.  That just shrieks ‘unprofessional’ and people make judgments, even if you are the most professional business person on earth!

Your company page

Do create a company page – and write an interesting introduction.  Add showcase pages for specific products or services. 

Don’t forget to link your company page with your current role in your experience so the logo appears on your personal profile.

You could include a link to your company page in the summary and ask people to visit it and follow it (if you think that’s important).  However, don’t worry too much if you only generate a handful of followers.  If your personal network is growing and you’re having useful interactions with people, you will find that your company page is a ‘nice to have’, rather than an essential.

Make an impact with your website

The look and feel of websites has changed over the years.  Gone are the days of long copy for the search engines and pages that look like articles.  Today’s websites are colourful, video-rich with short, punchy copy and informative blogs.

As a writer and someone who has studied readability (what stops people getting your message), there are some elements of modern websites that I dislike.  I still look at most sites on a desktop screen, but when you take into account how websites are viewed on a mobile device, the new designs come into their own.

These are some of things that you should consider if you’re giving your website a make-over.

• If you start with a big colourful image – make sure that it’s relevant to your business and has one compelling headline visible above the ‘fold’ (i.e. on the first screen that is presented).  No message means you’re making your visitor work too hard to find out more.  Too many messages can confuse them – resulting in them thinking ‘let’s go somewhere easier’.
• If your image is one of a series, get your web designer to make the transition from one picture to the next a slow fade in and out.  When the image changes abruptly it is distracting, especially if part of the image is still visible when you’ve scrolled down a bit to read the message below.  Effectively, you’re putting a barrier in front of your message.
• Make sure that the next item on your home page is an introduction – but don’t head it up ‘Introduction’!  Give it an interesting headline and then you need 2-3 short paragraphs focused on the benefits your visitor can experience or the problems they can get solved from exploring further.
• On the subject of headlines, every page needs one.  ‘Services’ is not a headline, it’s the page title.  Yes, the search engine needs that on the page, but the human visitor has clicked on that tab or a button that has told them that’s where they’re going, so they don’t need to be told where they are.  They do need a reason to start reading so the biggest headline on the page needs to be the hook to pull them in.
• Every page also needs images.  They give the page energy and life and encourage the reader to stay put and find out more.  However, they must be relevant to the page content, so choose carefully.  Be creative, you can use simple diagrams, models, charts or video clips.
• If you have text alongside an image the text goes to the left, the image to the right.  This ensures people read towards the image, rather than scan down and start reading underneath it.
• Use short paragraphs – 3-5 lines – and plenty of white space.  Ask your web designer to wrap paragraphs around 100 characters (at 12 point) to make reading easier.  Very long lines make reading uncomfortable as the reader has to move their head to scan the line – and finds it harder to pick up the next line.
• Don’t forget to include a call to action at the end of every piece of text.  What do you want your reader to do when they’ve read this bit?  Call you, complete an enquiry form, visit another page, read your blog, sign up to your free download?  Tell people what to do – and make it easy for them to do it (the phone number in the call to action or a link to the next place you want them to go).

These are just a few things that will make your website engage your visitor – and help to turn them into an enquiry.