Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/280096
March 2014 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 7 BY KIM PHELAN Raise your hand if you'd like some more e-mail in your Inbox today. Ah, not too many hands. We're swimming in e-mail, aren't we. It's a fast and free way to market, so naturally e-mail became the preferred mode of mass-mailing to promote everything from product specials to events, and e-mail newsletters are quite convenient, too – but we all know it's gotten out of hand. The tide is turning with Social Media, and no doubt you've received a boat- load of persuasive information about that rammed down your e-mail throat, as well. There's no denying, however, that Social has permeated society and must be embraced. People love Facebook for obvious reasons; possibly No. 1 is that people like to talk about themselves and what's important to them – it's part of what makes us human, I guess. No. 2, we like to know what other people are doing and thinking about – and from this basic truth you could probably build a case for all other subreasons that drive Facebook popularity. It's very simple reasoning when friends and family are sharing together. It's more dicey and challenging when you're a business or association trying to be "friends" with people you maybe know professionally, superficially, or not at all. If your company is among the for- ward-thinking leaders that are proac- tively utilizing Social, you probably have heard buzz about content marketing, which means you're not just execut- ing on Reason No. 1 above and talking exclusively about yourself – works among actual friends; not so much in the business world. Someone who follows a business on Facebook (who isn't your spouse, sibling, offspring, employee, or nextdoor neighbor) has got to be getting something out of it for themselves. So content matters. It's just possible that AED has, on occasion, leaned a tad heavily upon e-mail to communicate with you. We admit it. But we are reforming (A) by carefully monitoring, prioritizing, tar- geting, and disciplining e-mail volume, and (B) by stepping up our use of Social so that AED's valuable resources are presented in light, condensed "sound bytes." We'd also like to turn the spotlight on you, our members, so that dealers and their suppliers can benefit from the sharing of best practices – and even bragging on their employees, too. Send me your ideas! If you are an AED member reading this March edition of CED magazine, I'd like to ask for your action this week, or how about today even? Please take two minutes and start following AED on Twitter (twitter.com/aednet) and on Facebook (facebook.com/aednet). And please encourage your managers to follow suit. There's going to be some- thing new on a regular basis – but good stuff. We're tweeting and post- ing updates on all kinds of resources and news to fortify the dealership. You are the reason we exist, and we want to give you and your team access to all the tangible benefits your member- ship provides. In closing, here are 10 tips for smart social marketing, authored by Nathan Allen on MulitView Blogs|True Stories From a Life in Digital Media, edited down for space. I'm using them already as benchmarks for AED's revamped Social endeavors, and maybe they'll be useful to you, as well. 1. Be concise. If your message is too long, it won't be read. 2. Use interesting headlines. 3. Visuals are better than text. People love pictures. 4. Stay positive. Social media users don't hop on Facebook or Twitter to get depressed. 5. Take a chance. There's not much worse than having social media accounts out there that are exactly the same as all of the others. 6. Follow the trends. If something is hot right now, post about it. I know it's an obvious example, but Oreo's "You can still dunk in the dark" post on Twitter during the power outage at the 2013 Super Bowl was up less than 4 minutes from the power going out. [Result:] more than 15,000 retweets and more than 6,000 favorites for being trendy. I'd take that. 7. Include user-generated content. If you're constantly the one posting, your page will be quite boring. [Risky, but something to consider.] 8. Don't always talk about your- self. Boring. 9. Continue conversations. If one of your followers posts on your page or tweets at you, don't be afraid (or too lazy) to write back. 10. Measure your results. Go back through your pages every once in a while and figure out what has engaged your audience and what hasn't. If posting specials on your product isn't drawing any likes or com- ments, maybe you should keep that to your e-mail campaigns. Thanks for reading. Let's Be More Social Start following AED – we're changing up our approach in ways I think you will Like. Editor's Note KIM PHELAN (kphelan@aednet.org) is the executive editor of Construction Equipment Distribution and director of programs for AED.