Say Less And You'll Market More Effectively

Say Less And You’ll Market More Effectively

Written by Joe Panettieri 1
June 9, 2009

Journalists and marketers share the same challenge: We want to write and say so much. We often use finely crafted language and lots of big words to tell our stories. But sometimes, the best way to market your company and your managed services business strategy is to bite your tongue -- and get your hands off the keyboard -- in mid-sentence.

managed-services-marketing Journalists and marketers share the same challenge: We want to write and say so much. We often use finely crafted language and lots of big words to tell our stories. But sometimes, the best way to market your company and your managed services business strategy is to bite your tongue — and get your hands off the keyboard — in mid-sentence. Let me give you an example.

Whether you’re blogging, Tweeting or chatting on Facebook: Say LESS. Keep statements vague and you’ll invite conversation. A case in point: ConnectWise’s Facebook group featured the following status update earlier this week:

“Lots of activity today with our API’s. New ones coming too.”

That two-sentence entry caught my eye. I wanted to learn more. What’s the activity? What new companies are writing to ConnectWise’s APIs (application programming interfaces)? How does the strategy differ from other software companies? And what are the implications for managed service providers? I followed up with an email to ConnectWise, and I’ll share more details about their API work later this week.

Back to the Subject At Hand

In the meantime, the point of this blog entry: As your company increasingly leverages social media to spread marketing messages, keep the messages somewhat vague. The point of social media is to engage and interact with multiple readers. Even if you have “all” the answers, don’t share them in social media.

On the one hand, press releases should continue to offer complete information:

What’s the news/what’s unique
Who benefits
Pricing and availability info
Contact info — please, no generic pr@companyname.com addresses. Share a real name, email and phone
And a clear “About Us” statement

But on the other hand, say less to generate more buzz on social media networks. Don’t offer all of the answers. Leave a few answers out, and readers — your target customers — will raise their hands with questions.

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