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5 things that the Contract Flooring Association did with their ‘Join Us’ leaflet

March 14th, 2012 | Posted by Abby in Membership | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

I recently went to see the Contract Flooring Association about marketing. They shared their new ‘Join leaflet’ with me. The CFA produced it in conjunction with their design agency The Hive. The leaflet has gone down well with prospective members and the CFA are starting to see an increase in companies joining.

It got me thinking about what makes a good piece of join literature. Here are my top 5 essential elements, all of which were used by the CFA:

  1. Be clear about the purpose of the material. It should be obvious that this leaflet is about joining.
  2. Have an attractive design with compelling and relevant imagery. The CFA use pictures from their member so  it is clear that it is aimed at contract flooring professionals.
  3. List the benefits of membership and the value that it delivers to members. An example from the CFA: ‘A website directory listing. Many companies enjoy significantly increased business as a direct result of their entry on the CFA website’.
  4. Use “you” language – this shouldn’t just be about the services you deliver but the benefits members receive as a result of these. Another example from the CFA: Becoming a CFA member gives you  more access to these sometimes hard to reach contracts”.
  5. Have a direct call to action about joining; provide all the details about how and when etc.

Have a look at your join us literature and website content, does it offer the above?

CFA Join Us flyer

Did you know you can create a personalised URL for your LinkedIn profile?

March 10th, 2012 | Posted by Abby in Marketing | Networking | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

LinkedIn is known as the Facebook for business. It is has 150 million + users. It’s a good platform to connect with like-minded business people as well as being an effective online shop window for your work and your experience. What makes it even easier did you know you could create your own URL for your LinkedIn profile? Mine is http://uk.linkedin.com/in/abbywrightparkes

There are a few reasons why this is a good idea. You can add it as a link on your email signature so people can browse your experience straight away when you send them a message. If you’re still in the process of setting up your own website it’s a great way of directing someone to a website all about you. It can help with SEO, making it easier to find someone with your skills through search engines. Pop it on your business cards and it makes it simpler for an interested client or professional to connect with you.

So how do you do it?

  • Just log on to LinkedIn.
  • Hover your mouse over the Profile tab and select Edit Profile.
  • Your Public Profile page will pop up.
  • Scroll to where it says Your Public Profile URL and click Edit, just on the right.
  • A box will appear saying Update this Address.
  • You’ll see the base URL www.linkedin.com/in with an empty box to the right of it.
  • This is where you can type in your individual URL. It can be no more than 30 characters and be at least 5. It might be your name and your skills, or just the name of your business.
  • A green tick will appear if it’s free and then you can save it.

Make sure you have all your skills and experience up to date on the site and there you have it, a quick and easy way to direct people to your online presence.

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The BHF’s campaign – 5 things membership bodies can learn

February 17th, 2012 | Posted by Abby in Marketing | Membership | Social media | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Last night I attended #nfptweetup. A tweet up is basically an in-person meet up organised via twitter. It was the 14th #nfptweetup. They are organised by Rachel Beer of Beautiful World. The events are focused on marketing (particulary online/social media) for the charity sector.

Nearly 200 charity marketing and PR professionals gathered to listen to two case studies; one from Beat Bullying about their The Big March campaign and then speakers from The British Heart Foundation talked about their ‘Hard and Fast - hands only CPR’ campaign.

The Hard and Fast case study was particularly inspiring. You might have seen the advert; Vinnie Jones performs hands only CPR to the tune of Staying Alive by the Bee Gees. The results were jaw dropping; natural trending on Twitter, over 1,700,000 million views of  the advert on youtube, mainstream media mentions and features. The Sun alone has featured the story 7 times in print as well as online.

 

What can membership bodies learn for their own campaigns/marketing?
The BHF is a large charity (with some budget) and their audience is basically the whole population, so there are differences from membership bodies. However, I do think, there are things we can take from it:

  1. Be clear what you want to achieve – the BHF team want to increase the survival rate of out of hospital cardiac arrest, currently it is only 10%.
  2. Have a simple single message – the campaign was simply asking that you carry out hands-only cpr if you find yourself in the position of needing to.
  3. Intergrate your communications – the team ensured that all platforms were supporting the campaign.
  4. Be open to looking at new techniques – they suggested that a sponsored tweet was £000s not £0000′s, yet you might assume that things like sponsored tweets aren’t something a non-profit can afford.
  5. Be prepared to take a risk and try something new – it sounds like the BHF are open to trying new things, they won’t all work but they want to try. Some membership bodies are very traditional, but maybe it is time to try something new.

It was a really great evening. If you want to find out about the next one, visit the #nfptweetup site.

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Introducing Pinterest – what does it offer businesses for marketing?

February 8th, 2012 | Posted by Abby in Marketing | Social media | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

With thousands of new apps being uploaded to the App Store or Android Market every month, new social networks being promoted and getting lots of buzz, it can be difficult to know where to focus your attention. How do you know if one platform works, but another doesn’t?

Pinterest is one social sharing website that is currently gaining as many followers as it is column inches. It makes it easier for people to share photos and collections based on their interest; it can be food, cooking, music, fitness, books, beauty and even pets. Pinterest describes itself as an online pinboard.

So how could this help your business? Imagine you’ve got a product you want to sell? Do you go for the splatter-gun approach, throwing it at everyone and hoping it sticks somewhere, or do you opt for the more targeted approach? If you have something to sell or promote and it fits in with one of Pinterest’s subcategories you can reach a whole audience of potential buyers, all based on the fact you know they already have an interest. Using pictures means it’s much easier for any potential consumer to get an idea of what it looks like and how it might fit in their home or business.

You never know whether a new app or platform is going to suit you until your try it. Why not sign up to Pinterest and see if you like it?

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“National Freelancers Day” – what can membership bodies learn?

January 22nd, 2012 | Posted by Abby in Membership | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

freelance worker at homeWhat is National Freelancers Day? ‘National Freelancers Day’ is a day to celebrate the value of freelancing to the UK economy, last year it took place on 23 November 2011.

As a freelancer I already knew about the 20,000 strong PCG – the membership body for freelancers. I was really impressed by their recent 3rd National Freelancers Day campaign, so I wanted to reflect on what other membership bodies could learn from it, should they decided to hold a “day” too.
The PCG said the aims of the day were:

  • To help freelancers talk knowledgeably about the value they bring to British industry
  • To help British industry tap into that value
  • To secure the support of ministers who can help stimulate the sector
  • To create a useful flow of information and a more sophisticated talent market

What did they offer?
PCG offered a range of activities to celebrate the day including:

  • A lecture in London (£20 entrance)
  • Free webinars which were available online on the day and since (for members and non-members)
  • A competition to win a free web short (eg online video)
  • A freelance focused quiz
  • 3 regional events outside the lecture in London

They also launched some research which highlighted the role and importance of the UK’s 1.58million freelancers. The research helped gain them press coverage.

What promotional activities did they carry out?
I think what was most impressive was the integration of their activity. They used their campaign specific website, emails, facebook, Twitter and PR to promote the day. They were particularly good at promoting the day on Twitter and their members also helped spread the message. They also sought endorsements from key people, including the Prime Minister.

It was also interesting to note that third parties joined in, and this insurance company offered a NFD competition which helped them collect data and produce a nice infographic about the freelance market.

Was it a success?
The PCG seem to think so. They achieved lots of press and social media coverage. 1800 people took part in the quiz. And importantly they have used the opportunity to create an online forum in their online members’ only area for members to discuss the issues the day raised.

What can other membership bodies learn from this?
I think the key reasons for their success were:

  • They offered a good range of activities and content as the basis of the campaign – there was lots to engage people
  • They offered benefits to members (both on the day and afterwards) as well as reaching out to non-members and the public
  • They intergrated their marketing communications and used all channels
  • They created a specific brand and website
  • As this was their 3rd National Freelancer Day it is obvious that they are building up a profile for the day

It is clear that the organisation had the resource to organise the Day, but I thought it was a really good all encompassing campaign.  I’ll be watching with interest to see what their 4th National Freelancers Day brings!

So, could your organisation benefit from a ‘Day’?

 

 

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