6 Amazingly Simple Headline Tips to Transform Your Existing Content

It’s springtime, a perfect time to review what’s in your closet and see what existing pieces can make a new outfit or a new look.

The same principles apply to Content Marketing.  With a few headline changes, you can change the appearance of your content to be brand new. Much like a wardrobe has essential components, there are six distinct components to a headline. An outstanding headline should be explicit and have at least three of the six components. And, just as some outfits work better for certain occasions, some headline words and components are more optimal on diverse social platforms.

1. Emotional

The headline should include an emotional trigger word using a superlative.  Examples are amazing, humorous, electrifying, stunning, inspiring, extraordinary, and successful.  Know your audience and speak to them, carefully choosing the words that will most appeal to your target customers. For example, the word “successful” is much stronger on LinkedIn than on Facebook or Twitter.

Creating a clever headline can also appeal to the humorous side of the reader and intrigues the audience to click into the blog. One of Zircon’s most popular blogs, “A Wall is a Wall is a Wall” tells a simple headline narrative that beckons the reader to find out more.

We used the superlative, amazingly, in our headline. We could easily change it to “6 Successful Headline Tips”, or “5 Effective Headline Tips”, depending on our target audience.

2. Content

Use a word or phrase to indicate the type of content the reader should expect. A picture or video can be useful in demonstrating to the audience how a tool works; Zircon, for example, often embeds video content into a blog via our YouTube channel. Other examples of content words within a headline include charts, quotes, facts, tips and tricks, habits, warnings and mistakes.

“Tips” works well across most networks. We used the word tips in our headline.

3. Topic

Hot topics can be trending topics found on Right Relevance, Buzzsumo, Hootsuite, Buzzfeed, Twitter, Facebook and more. Within the DIY world, hot topics include the words DIY, home remodeling, tools, kitchens, bathrooms and more. Select a topic that resonates with your audience.

Our topic is content.  (The word headline in our headline is a descriptive word. The headline would work with or without it.)

4. Format

Content Format reveals the style of your content.  Ever notice the numerous examples of a “Top 5 list of” or the viral impact of a quiz or the special interest people pay to personal stories? These examples, plus research reports and how to posts work effectively throughout social media.

The number 6 is in our headline to indicate a list post.

5. Promise

What happens if the reader clicks into your headline? What can they expect? This is what the promise should deliver to the audience. Perhaps they’ll receive a how to guide in home improvement or practical tips of how to install shelving and lighting or a way to create a larger space within a smaller dwelling.

Our promise is to transform your existing content with some simple headline changes.

6. Number

The headline length makes a difference and lengthier headlines spur increased clicks. Experiment with the number of words that are ideal for your target audience.

Our headline has 10 words, not too short, but not so long that is it is not catchy.

Did our headline live up to your expectations?

What’s in your content closet that can be refreshed with a new headline?

At Zircon, we’re continuously looking for ways to help solve end user problems and communicate our solutions in the most effective manner. We would love to hear from you about your content ideas and invite you to share your marketing experiences with us. Please visit us at zircon.com, like us, or follow us.

Please join us the 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of each month for #diytrends. Engage, learn and share. We would love to hear from you!

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics. 

I’ll be Back! Relaunch Your Business, Terminator Style

Terminator: Genisys reignites the Terminator’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s) famous tagline and reenergizes the film series. The movie sequel, along with the Avengers, Mission Impossible, and Jurassic films point to a common theme – retro, prequels, and sequels are all the rage. What once was old is new and what once was new is old, but in a cool, touch-back to the 90’s kind of way.

Many brands can use retro ideas to relaunch their own “Terminator” cycle. Make old new again with these three tips:

1)  Vault Back-and-Forth. Determine what worked before and see if it makes sense to suit up again. Can the idea be retrofitted, reformatted, or revamped? Starting from scratch takes time and may not be the best option. As past Terminator movie-goers, we’re programmed to believe that Sarah Connor must live. Will Terminator: Genisys stick to this central theme or change the paradigm completely? While we toy with the idea, the movie vaults back to a familiar time period: pre-internet, pre-smartphone, and overall, pre-technology. How, in this time period, will our heroine and Terminator survive to live in another sequel? They stick with what they know – allowing, of course, for necessary sub-plot changes and a crafty redressing of who we think the Terminator is. In marketing, the same holds true. Take past sales campaigns, promotions, and partnerships and corral them into programs that are new again.

2)  Old is not necessarily obsolete. The Terminator of 1984 is not as we remember him. His random techno-talk and outer flesh-like layer show signs of aging and are in stark contrast to his younger selfie version. 

Yet, the older Terminator, also known as “Pops” now displays finesse, confidence, and a sense of humor – he has adapted to new technology, perfected his skills and enhanced his internal communication chip. Rather, in Genisys, we see that Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) is the one who struggles with old vs. new, future vs. past, and tested vs. new relationships.

Old-time brands, likewise, are not obsolete. Continuous adaptation, a passion for reinvention, and a focus on nurturing long-term relationships are key attributes that will help thwart the competition. From an idea to patented technologies, Zircon anticipates ways to make DIYers work and lives easier, simpler, and more rewarding. Innovation began with the Original StudSensor^TM and continues today with an ever-expanding sensor and scanner line. 

3)  Determine parallel paths. Businesses can benefit from the ‘what if’ scenarios if they commit to making a decision, sometimes with limited information. To challenge the machines, Kyle Reese jumps back to 1984; this action changes the trajectory of not only his own path, but Sarah Connor’s as well. Brands, too, can propel their competitive position by brainstorming options, exploring parallel paths, and assessing risks. As with the Terminator, when the “end game” is at stake, brands need to act quickly and decisively.

See other retro business ideas from Terminator: Genisys? Please follow us @zircontools, like us on Facebook, or visit zircon.com.

Join us every 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of the month at 11 am PST for our #diytrends chat. Catch the next ones on 9/17 and 10/1. Let’s share, engage, and learn from each other.

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics. 

 

How to Host A Successful Twitter Chat

Hosting a Twitter Chat is an excellent way to build avid followers, elevate your social media engagement, and position you and your company as an expert in your field. Once you have set up your Twitter profile, established a following, and are actively tweeting, retweeting, and replying with relevant content within the Twittersphere, take your Twitter account to the next level by hosting a Twitter Chat.

Ten Steps to Twitter Chat Success

• Participate. Before you host your own chat, participate in others. Take a backseat approach, familiarize yourself with the structure and see how others are doing it in your industry. To find relevant chats, comb through your news feed or search via relevant keyword hashtags and keep a log of what chats are occurring and when. Jump in. Examine how the Twitter chat works by paying special attention to how chat participants respond to each other and how the host engages with the attendees. You may also wet your feet by co-hosting, sponsoring, or being a featured guest on another party’s Twitter chat.
• Theme. Determine your objective. Your Twitter chat theme sets the stage on how you want to be positioned in the industry and helps you identify the key components to a successful chat. Who is your target market? What days and times are most optimal to your attendees? What topics would they like to discuss versus what you want to focus on? Make sure the theme is enticing to the audience you want to attract.
• Hashtag. Develop a concise hashtag that resonates with your audience, conveys your overall chat theme, and, ideally, is not already in use. Research existing Twitter chats to determine the optimal hashtag. Then BRAND it as your own. This hashtag reinforces your brand and can minimize the instances of Twitter chat crashers who may inadvertently attend your chat thinking it’s another.
• Save the Date. Based on your ideal attendees, determine how often you’ll host your chat, and whether a specific date and time of day works best. Will it be weekly or bi-monthly? Will each chat be 30 minutes or 60 minutes? Does it coincide with other popular chats? Once a date and time has been determined, schedule your chats with consistency to better establish a loyal Twitter chat following. Other questions to ask are: What will be your format? Will you be the sole host or will you have co-hosts or guest hosts?
• Schedule. With your overall theme in mind, create and schedule topics for each session to create an overall calendar. This will better enable you to flag and piggyback off key industry events, holidays, and company news. Draw from past, present, and future experiences and trends. If you’re tackling a challenging subject, consider whether it could make for a good Twitter chat topic. Chat audiences often are grappling with similar issues and your chat could provide an opportune time for both parties to brainstorm and find new solutions. Schedule your topics with your internal team.
• Promote. Promote, promote, promote! As great as your topics are, people cannot attend your chat if they do not know about it. Promote your chat via all channels: Twitter, Facebook, and other social media networks, email, company website, blogs, and more. On Twitter, create a Twitter chat “preview” by teasing your audience with the subject theme. In addition, develop a list of top industry experts and invite them via a direct message (DM) or “@” reply. Encourage retweets of your chat invitation. To boost your promotion, create a Twitter chat invitation image that provides an overall branding for your chat with more visual appeal.
• Plan. Once your overall schedule has been defined, it’s time to delve into the details. For each topic, draft eight to ten questions that will engage the audience. Create lively questions that illicit more than a yes/no response and can spark valuable discussions. Post your hashtag, chat image, and questions on Facebook for cross promotion.
• Lead. Effectively host your chat by making sure that you and your audience use the #hashtag. Utilize a service, such as TweetChat, which automatically adds the hashtag and creates a running stream of the chat conversation. Keep attendees actively tweeting. Ask follow-up questions and comment positively. Reply, retweet, and favorite their tweets. Pay close attention to newcomers and those who are not tweeting as much as others. They may need a helping hand. Don’t let them sit on the Twitter chat sideline. Like a grand party, the host makes everyone feel welcome.
• Thank. Everyone knows the phrase “time is money.” Your participants are taking a chunk out of their day to chat with you and fellow chat participants. Make sure to recognize their time and contributions. Invite them to the next chat and tweet to them often! Consistency and two-way engagement are key in developing a loyal following.
• Assess. Analyze your chat, attendees, strength of questions and answers. TweetBinder is a handy platform that encapsulates your Twitter Chat statistics. Identify areas for improvement. Tweak your next chat as needed. Repeat these steps for each new chat.

ZirconTools hosts its own #diytrends chat every other Thursday. Catch our upcoming one on Thursday, May 21 at 11 a.m. PST. You’re invited! Learn, share and engage with us!

What do you want to read or chat about next? Leave a comment below.

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics. Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

Your Recipe to Blog Success

The holiday season is upon us. And I don’t know about you, but even with Thanksgiving over, I’m still hungry. Hungry for cookies, treats, pies, and… great content. Yes, you read right – great content.

Yet, this hunger is year-round. And blogs are just what my appetite has in mind.

Blogs are everywhere, but not all are appealing. What makes a great blog… great? Well, as with all things, there are vital elements one needs to consider and, just like any culinary dish, having a great recipe to start from is key.

So where does one begin? How does one effectively create the main content course? Is there a ‘secret sauce’ to this marketing mix?

Blogging is one way to engage your audience, especially if you utilize some of these tasty ingredients (quick hints) from these successful bloggers.

Fill Your Heart and Mind

Heartwarming, informal stories can create lasting blogosphere fans. Anticipate what your audience wants to read about, much like you would tailor your dinner party to the guests you are hosting. Then, tie the message you want to convey via an easy-to-follow story as if the reader were right there with you. Zircon in the Real World readers are entertained while also receiving how-to tips through an informative, yet light-hearted blog series. Learning while also having fun? It can’t get any more engaging than that!

What’s in a Name?

You’ve probably heard (and used) the saying, “Never judge a book by its cover,” but does that also hold true with blog titles? Titles should be captivating, relevant to the blog content, and compelling. Titles should give a quick glimpse into what the blog will be about in the two seconds it takes for a person to read it because let’s face it… we’re all short on time and nobody wants to invest time in something, only to feel misled and cheated because it was exactly not what he/she was looking for.

Preparation and Cooking Time

More modern culinary recipes note the time it will take to prepare the dish – even breaking it down to prep and cook time. And like we said before about time… it’s a luxury not all of us has. So while prep/research time for a blog can be unlimited, the actual cook/read time for a blog should follow a basic rule of thumb. If it’s not necessary to the reader, don’t include it. Less is definitely more!

Presentation – Tantalize with Key Product Attributes

A dish may taste good, but you also want it to look good! Never underestimate formatting. Make it easy to read and follow. Some prime examples are Amy Wax’s Color911 blog which focuses on color accenting, painting, and beautifying the home while seamlessly tying in the color911 mobile app. Zircon’s Pro Expert blog also shares in-depth ways to use Zircon’s stud finders in an easy-to-understand, step-by-step fashion.

Don’t Forget the Dressing – Photos of the Finished Product

Entice avid readers by including images, videos, and graphics that add interest, depth, and something to aspire to. Combining ‘before’ and ‘after’ photography and works-in-progress are some of the hallmarks of success for Riggins Construction’s blog. Likewise, Avente Tile’s blog effectively includes photos that produce a more impactful blog series while Home and Stone’s content informs and engages its audience with stylish imagery and functionality.

Variations

And as with any recipe, don’t be afraid to have fun with it and substitute ingredients to make a traditional blog your own. Giving your blog a slightly different taste of the same recipe will surely make your blog stand out from the crowd.

For hands on tips, please join our “Gifts” #diytrends Twitter Chat on Thurs, 12/18 at 11 am PST. Get insights on this gift giving season.

Please also check out these blogs from some of our #diytrends professionals:

@aecdaily, @organized82, @usspecproducts, @kitchens4living, @rangehoodsinc, @pstldesigns,

@kitchen_sync, @artofpowr, @pegasuslighting, @tradewindsimp, @ronfeir, @homeadvisor, @improvecenter

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics.  

Living Large in a Small Space

Everyone wants to make the most of their personal space, whether it is their bedroom, man-cave, or office cubicle. As temporary or permanent as your location might be, the beauty is that you can easily change the space to reflect who you really are – from a splash of color to reorganization of furniture or the swapping of pictures on your walls. Your choices are endless.

Throughout college campuses across America, students have nestled into heir dorm rooms and are customizing their study, social and meeting enclaves. Dorm room accessories, along with text books, transportation, clothing, and general school supply purchases are on the rise, according to college marketing survey Fluent.

Here are some simple and cost effective ways to redesign your dorm room or small living space to be more “You”:

Use color. You may not be able to paint your new walls because of the transitory nature of your dorm space, but that doesn’t mean you cannot have color. Bring out your style through a colorful collection of bedding, blankets and linens, or adorn your floor with a woven throw rug that adds warmth and coziness. Or step into the unknown and repurpose your furniture with simple coats of paint as Brittany Bailey of PrettyHandyGirl.com did with her vanity nightstand.

Add seating. Dorm rooms are notorious for minimal space options, so create new seating by adding pillows, bean bag chairs, poufs, chairs or ottomans for your guests.

Adorn with Wall Décor. Use the hot new décor option, removable wallpaper, in the style and color palette that you like, post a simple cork board to pin your favorite photos or momentos, or choose decals, wall hangings, pictures, or other wall art.

Get Organized. Several storage choices are ideal for small living spaces – from storage boxes to over-the-door shoe organizers, garment bags, shower caddies, shelves, and more. These organizers are not only functional, but the latest trend. Just make sure to securely hang heavy items to the wall by using a Zircon® StudSensor^TM e50 stud finder that quickly and easily locates the edges of wood and metal studs.

There are plenty of ways to personalize your living space, no matter how small, and while staying on a tight budget. Adding color, seating, wall décor, and getting organized are just a few sure-fire ways you can inject your personality and style into your new living space, time and time again.

For additional insights, please view our blog, “When a Wall is Not a Wall“.

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics. 

For more info, follow us on Facebook or tweet us @zircontools.

Flooring it! Stand out Merchandising Tips for Your Brand

Within the retail setting, companies are challenged on how to stand out among the competition. Marketers need to differentiate their brand from dozens of other products that line retailers’ shelves.

Companies only have a few seconds to grab the customer’s attention. In addition to aesthetically appealing, functional and informative packaging (please click here for our “It’s All in the Packaging” blog), what entices a customer to pick up and purchase a product? In-store merchandising is an effective vehicle to engage the customer to help make the purchase decision. As an accompaniment to packaging, merchandising works hand-in-hand at the point-of-sale (POS) to elevate a company’s brand presence and sales.

Vibrant graphics and consistent messaging on this Zircon merchandiser entice customers while reinforcing the brand.

Retail merchandising activities encompass in-store displays, shelf talkers, and product demonstrations just to name a few. A focused and engaging point-of-sale display that delivers on the key benefits of the product can increase the number of packages sold. Ever notice how the home center floors are covered with displays during the back-to-school or holiday seasons? Manufacturers and retailers alike understand that a stand-out display practically beckons you to take a closer look, pick up the product, and ultimately, make the purchase.

At Zircon, a point-of-sale display is often part of promoting their brand new stud finders and scanners into the marketplace and to distinguish their unique product advantages. Informational display graphics are integrated with colorful packaging visuals to compel the customer during the pivotal buying process. Merchandising is an effective marketing tool for Zircon and other companies. As products technologically advance, increased education from the manufacturer to the customer will be pertinent, further emphasizing merchandising’s focal role as part of the marketer’s plans.

And even after the sale is made, customers continue their quests for information, advice, and instructions on how best to use their new products. Companies have an opportunity to deepen their customer relationships by providing thorough how-to’s and stellar customer service. Excellent tips on how to meet after market service needs can be found in the blog, “Buy Today, Gone Tomorrow“.

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics.

For more info, follow us on Facebook or tweet us @zircontools.

It’s Showtime!

Summer is here!  Backyard barbecues, picnics by the lake, and outdoor concerts fill those warm, sunny days. But even with these simple outings, before the festivities begin, logistics must be in order; from purchasing supplies, to producing a guest list, to selecting the venue. Similarly, boardrooms across America are armed with logistical planning for their major year end event – the holiday shopping season.

Prep time sets the stage for success days, weeks, months and sometimes even years down the line. To successfully promote a holiday campaign or launch a new product into the marketplace, extensive details cannot be left to chance – everything needs to be intricately placed together like pieces of a Jenga puzzle that must fit just right and with the right touch. A well-thought out action plan practically leaps off the manufacturing floor into shipping and into the retailer’s footprint. Put a marketing deliverable into the schedule at the wrong time and an entire chain reaction takes place with far reaching consequences, including increased costs and missed due dates.

At Zircon, a new product launch is our “showtime”!  It’s the apex, a culmination of tightly scheduled jobs and projects with highly skilled engineers, product specialists, marketers, customer advocates, and design experts.  So, while they’re underway executing in-store details for the holidays 6 months away, Zircon still continuously researches and develops new products to raise its innovative standards and provide cutting-edge high quality tools for DIYers and professionals alike.

It is the never ending quest for fresh new ideas against a backdrop of deadline dates that fuels marketers, and Zircon, to continue to push boundaries, create new efficiencies, and deliver innovative products year after year.

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics. For more info, follow us on Facebook or tweet us @zircontools.

What is a Blog (Part II)

In Part I, we explored what a blog is versus other forms of writing.  Optimize your blog today by reading our “How to Blog” tips!

Keep it light.  Readers turn to blogs that are conversational in tone and have a humorous, airy, and entertaining tone. Successful blogs have a “voice” that resonates with readers.

Be thought provoking. It is important to hold the attention of the reader and provide tangible and useful information. Blogs should read well and offer information or a key takeway that the individual can use in his everyday work/job site environment.

Tone down the technical.  Although a blog, similar to other Zircon content, must be 100% accurate, the content should appeal to a broad audience and shouldn’t be an instruction manual, white paper, or technical paper. The objective of the blog is to engage the reader, not necessarily provide a complete how to use the product.

Make it short, but sweet.  Keep the copy simple and concise.  Content that gets to the point and isn’t bogged down in unnecessary jargon or details will obtain higher readership, better shares, and more likes if the information is not too stuffy, confusing or lengthy.  Keep it brief, but not too vague.

Bring on the visuals.  As strong as words are, think of how the blog can be enhanced with images.  It is often easier for you to get to a key point with a pictogram than many words. One strong visual, in concert with writing, creates the emphasis.

Zircon bloggers tackle everyday business challenges via the Zircon Pro Expert, Zircon in the Real World, and Zircon’s Marketing ToolBox blog sites.  Check out these blogs to get an idea of what a blog is.  What topics would you like to blog or read about?  Comment on our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and share your blog with us. We’d love to hear from you!

What is a Blog?

Is the written word still viable?  In the social media age, how important are articles? Twitter’s 140 character platform, YouTube’s visual channel, and the creative and instantaneous nature of Instagram make marketers contemplate if traditional marketing materials still compel customers to act, buy or engage with a brand.

Businesses still need written content – and lots of it – to continue to embrace the company’s brand followers and attract new customers.

At Zircon Corporation, you may know them as the maker of the original electronic stud finder, the company has an extensive library of content that it continuously produces for its domestic, as well as international, audience. Content includes videos, news releases, white papers, emails, ads, web copy, packaging, merchandising, instructions, and more. Each online and offline piece has a vital goal – to educate and promote the company’s vision and products. A favorite among communications specialists is the blog.

“What is a blog?” you may be asking. Well, you may not already realize it, but you’re actually reading one now! A blog is defined as a journal or website of posts that are arranged in chronological order. The author of the posts is called a blogger. A blogger may want to capture his or her thoughts in a casual basis and be able to refer to this information at a later date. Other blogs enable the blogger to capture real-time comments from customers which gives the company valuable marketing data.

Bloggers typically use an informal style of writing, as compared to when writing a news release, yet still are engaging and informative. Blogs can be light and airy or be more detailed and focused. Usually, the blog will have a distinct topic or theme that the blogger writes about. The blogger’s audience expands from other bloggers to customers, colleagues, friends or family.

Zircon bloggers tackle everyday business challenges via the Zircon Pro Expert, Zircon in the Real World, and Zircon’s Marketing ToolBox blog sites.  Check out these blogs to get an idea of what a blog is.  What topics would you like to blog or read about?  Comment on our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and share your blog with us. We’d love to hear from you!

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics.  

Marketing Innovation

Each time Apple makes a new product introduction, it makes me think of innovation and how new product development promotes sales growth, enhanced productivity and a corporate sense of well-being.  Product innovation sets the stage for manufacturers, retailers and service providers, enabling sales growth and foray into new markets.

Innovation breeds passion for the product and for the brand.  From concept to tooling to final production runs, the new product creates bold energy that existing products cannot compete with.

As a marketer, each time the newly minted product packaging ships from the factory to its final retail destination, I feel a wave of anticipation.  It is one thing to see 3-D renderings and quite another sensation to actually feel the tooled product in your hands.  And even before the package sits on the store shelf, I do a spot check.  How well will this new product be received?  Does the point-of-sale display highlight the products’ differentiating features and benefits enough?  Have we effectively leveraged online and offline marketing medium to successfully tell the product’s useful applications?  Is our message enticing and does it compel someone to pick up the package and buy it on the spot?

When new products roll out from Zircon Corporation, customers can try the tools for the first time, retailers increase their assortment mix, and developing markets can jump into a new product line.  Zircon recently unveiled the new HD series and L series products.

MultiScanner® HD900 OneStep® is a 4-mode wall scanner that locates AC, Metal, studs, and deep studs up to 1 ½ inches deep.

With the new product launches, the excitement was heightened with each step forward in the new product development cycle.  Engineering and product design created a one-of-a-kind tools that are remarkable in functionality, simplicity, and design.  It is the innovative spirit of the product, brand and company that reinvigorates marketing to continue to scan for new opportunities.

Making a lasting brand impression is vital within customer service and other areas of the organization. For a personal viewpoint of this idea, visit Zircon in the Real World’s blog, “Brand Recognition in the Everyday World“.

Sharpen your tools with Sharon as she shares her key insights of the tool world and her impactful marketing strategies and tactics. Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.