The Benefits of Content Marketing and Personal Branding

Content marketing and brand visibility can help get your business known to your target clients. In fact, almost 90% of consumers want brands to share valuable content on the Internet, based on Edelman’s consumer marketing study.

“Consumer preferences have indeed shifted from traditional to digital marketing. Dominating the digital marketing world, in particular, are storytelling, personalization, and content strategy”, according to Gary Viray, founder of Propelrr, a digital marketing agency in the Philippines. All these boil down to content marketing and personal branding.

For your painting business, this means attracting new clients and retaining existing ones by sharing high-quality, relevant content online—without asking them outright to purchase from you.

Promoting your business is all about shaping consumers’ perception of your brand. Even if your service is excellent, people won’t do business with you if they don’t see it as something that will make their lives better.

Here’s how you can tap content marketing to build your business brand and drive its growth.

Expanding your online presence

Content marketing helps people to easily find your company on Google, making it one of the effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies for your business. Regularly update your business website or blog with relevant content to raise its chance of showing up on the first page of Google search results.

 

Positioning yourself as an expert in the industry

Position yourself as an authority in the painting industry with content marketing strategies. If people see you as a subject matter expert, you’ll quickly become their trusted source of information and advice. People will turn to you for answers and, ultimately, to avail of your services.

To start off, think of the usual questions asked about your industry. Then share your expertise by creating informative blog posts, videos, infographics or podcasts that answer those questions.

Building solid relationships

If you prefer building long-term relationships with your online audience over making short-term sales, you need to step up your content marketing efforts. Your personal branding strategies should include replying to comments on your blog and social media channels. Extend your brand’s reach by commenting on the blog posts of influencers in the painting industry.

Gaining customer trust and loyalty

Consumers buy only from brands they trust. Earn their trust and loyalty by implementing content marketing and personal branding strategies that will establish yourself as someone who can solve their problems. Get to know their pain points and frustrations—like how to deal with peeling paint or what can be done with leftover paint at home. Then provide actionable solutions through how-to articles, tips and tricks, hacks, and DIY tutorials. If people see you as helpful and caring to their needs, they’ll be enticed to do business with you.

Making your brand easily relatable

What makes your brand real and unique? Your content marketing tactics must reflect that by engaging people instead of just giving out information.

How to make your brand feel more human, relatable, and real? Add authenticity to the personal branding of your business with user-generated content. On your Facebook fan page, you can ask people to share before-and-after photos of their home remodeling project. Better yet, turn it into a photo contest on Facebook and Instagram!

Content marketing strategies work together with personal branding to help you reach out to your target audience. So make them work to your painting business’ advantage.

When you connect and engage with your clients, you’ll earn their trust, loyalty, and patronage.

Aby Nicole League, is a qualitative researcher and a passionate writer. She writes mostly about health, psychology, technology, and marketing. You can follow her on twitter via @abyleague

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How Can Painting Contractors Use Google Posts?

What Are Google Posts?

Anytime there is an opportunity to occupy more real estate on Google, it is a good idea to take advantage. The latest way to capture more of this coveted real estate are Google Posts. A new feature rolled out to every business in June, Google Posts are snippets of information businesses can add to Google that show up in organic search results. They appear under your Google My Business listing when someone specifically searches for your painting business:

How do I use Google Posts?

Google Posts are accessed through your Google My Business account. Just login, then click on Posts from the left hand column menu. This will launch the create post window. In many Google My Business accounts, it will carry a blue “NEW” label.

There are four main types of Google Posts: Events, Offers/Specials, Product Updates, and Announcements. Every post can include a relevant photo, a 100 to 300 word description, and a call to action button that directs traffic to your website or landing page.

How can a painting contractor use Google Posts?

Of the four types of posts, Offers make the most sense for painting contractors. They are a great opportunity to post special offers (essentially coupons) that will help any painter capture more real estate on Google, drive website traffic, and generate leads. Here’s an example offer any painter could post:

Each post remains live in the search results for 7 days, so it is important to come up with a variety of offers that can be posted week over week. Here are a few ideas:

• $500 Off Any Exterior House Repainting Project
• 10% Off Paint & Materials
• Paint 3 Rooms Get 1 Room Free
• $500 For a Full Day of Painting

For more on Google Posts and how your painting business can start using them, checkout the Google Help Tutorial or contact the marketing experts at AltaVista Strategic Partners. They can be reached by email or by calling 443-960-4004. They will gladly answer any follow up questions at no cost and you can mention this post for a free marketing consultation!

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Aaron

Vice President of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners

Aaron Hockel is a partner and the vice president of digital marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners, a full service marketing agency working exclusively with commercial and residential contractors. AltaVista specializes in marketing campaigns designed to generate top of funnel sales leads. Their services include email marketing, direct marketing, search engine marketing, and social media marketing. As a proud PDCA member, Aaron and the team at AltaVista currently work with more than 40 painting contractors around the country.

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Now Available: Titan™ ControlMax™ Series High Efficiency Airless Paint Sprayers

MINNEAPOLIS — June 29, 2017 — Titan™ ControlMax™ Series High Efficiency Airless (HEA) paint sprayers are easy to use and deliver maximum control when spraying at production speed. For homeowners, handymen, and paint contractors, Titan’s new ControlMax sprayers are designed to spray coatings with up to 55 percent less overspray than conventional airless paint sprayers, while delivering the same productivity. Less overspray reduces masking and clean-up time, wastes less paint, and increases the number of painting applications that can be completed with a sprayer.

ControlMax Series sprayers have a softer, more forgiving spray pattern and produce a consistent finish from start to finish when spraying unthinned coatings.  They spray efficiently at lower pressure and are built Titan tough with best-in-class durability. ControlMax sprayers last up to three times longer than comparable airless sprayers in their class, and tips last two times longer than standard high pressure airless systems. Featuring high impact polymers and thick gauge metal tubing, these sprayers will stand up to the toughest ongoing use, and they are covered by an unmatched two-year limited warranty.

“Our new ControlMax Series sprayers are precise, easy to control, and produce minimal overspray,” said Chris Noto, director of products for Titan. “Simply put, they take the intimidation out of spraying with a professional airless sprayer, making it easy to spray like a pro.”

There are four ControlMax sprayer models: ControlMax 1500, ControlMax 1700, ControlMax 1700 Pro, and ControlMax 1900 Pro. They are available in the U.S. and Canada at big box home improvement retailers, select hardware stores, and professional paint retailers. MSRP ranges from $329.99 to $579.99. Watch a video and get more information at www.controlmaxhea.com.

 

 

About Titan

As a leader in spraying technology, Titan manufactures and markets a full line of professional-grade sprayers for applying a variety of coatings. Titan products include airless and air powered paint sprayers, fine finishing sprayers, sprayers for applying texture, roofing and corrosion control and protective coatings, and line stripers for sports fields and asphalt. For nearly half a century, contractors and maintenance professionals have relied on Titan products for world-class, end-to-end solutions that are dependable and easy to use. Visit titantool.com.

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2018 COLORMIX® FORECAST PREDICTS COLORS THAT WILL DRIVE FUTURE DESIGN INNOVATION

Sherwin-Williams Annual Color Trend Report Reveals Three Distinct Palettes Representing A Global Collision of Influences

 

CLEVELAND (June 12, 2017) — From vivid blue and digital green, to high-def yellow and rusty auburn, the Sherwin-Williams 2018 Colormix^® Color Forecast exhibits three unique color palettes that draw from emerging  global trends. The collection predicts the colors that will drive conversation and inspiration for the coming year, offering new perspectives on societal influences and their impact on color and design trends.

The Sherwin-Williams Color Forecast team, led by Sue Wadden, director of color marketing, identified 36 colors drawing from fashion, nature, pop culture and global design, to create the Colormix palettes Sincerity, Affinity and Connectivity.

“Like blue meeting yellow to make green, every color in the Color Forecast is a collision of influences with every palette bringing a new chance at community,” said Wadden. “The connection to experiences, thoughts or moments in time is an important facet to life which deeply influenced the color trends that are primed to take hold next year. We eagerly await to see how these trends will unfold in the creation of unique new spaces.”

Sincerity

There is a growing need for minimalism, daily meditation and the concept of lagom – “just enough.” The hushed tones of Sincerity play out in sand, complex grays and hazy botanicals. There are no harsh lines, but rather, blending and fluid movements that create peace and space.

“Less is more as we declutter and move possessions into the cloud. With the Sincerity palette, silence is no longer empty, but instead is rare and rich with possibility,” said Wadden. “Sincerity is about mindful living and creating an environment to disconnect and recharge.  Soft, washed neutrals, greens and sanctuary pinks work together to create harmony.”

Affinity

The Affinity palette reflects our need for roaming as we seek to make connections with new places and cultures, and the celebration of indigenous patterns and artisan crafts we find along the way. The bright folklore of this story is told in memorable pops of peacock color, animated fuchsia and grounded browns.

“We’re remapping our sense of community, landlocked cities are becoming global hubs of crafts and gastronomy,” said Wadden. “Home and car sharing, as well as e-learning, have created a culture of everyday nomadism and the wanderlust-obsessed.” 

 Connectivity

Inspired by the progressive movement of virtual reality, productivity and youth culture, the high-tech Connectivity palette serves up colors we crave: pixelated in orange, violets, digital greens and high-def yellow.

“In Silicon Valley, Austin, Berlin and Beijing, techies are the new hippies, full of breakthrough ideas and utopian ideals,” said Wadden. “Connectivity is modern and playful, bringing in dark watery tones of blue that are balanced with neutrals, warm yellow and energetic purples.”

Color Exploration and Selection

Explore the Color Forecast and beyond with ColorSnap, an integrated system of colors and tools designed to help consumers and professionals make confident and efficient paint color selections. Download the ColorSnap Visualizer app to view the forecast on your iPad.

Discover more about Sherwin-Williams 2018 Colormix Color Forecast and other color selection resources at www.swcolormix.com.

The Sherwin-Williams 2018 Colormix Forecast

Serenity	Affinity	Connectivity
Less Brown SW 6040	Tamarind SW 7538	Hunt Club SW 6468
Sashay Sand SW 6051	Borscht SW 7578	Overjoy SW 6689
Wheat Penny SW 7705	In The Navy SW 9178	Jay Blue SW 6797
Alluring White SW 6343	Tatami Tan SW 6116	Cavern Clay SW 7701
Rojo Dust SW 9006	Adrift SW 7608	Black Swan SW 6279
Shell White SW 8917	Aged White SW 9180	Ibis White SW 7000
Acacia Haze SW 9132	Rockweed SW 2735	Wisteria SW 6822
Homburg Gray SW 7622	Honey Bees SW 9018	Reflecting Pool SW 6486
Functional Gray SW 7024	Exuberant Pink SW 6840	Organic Green SW 6732
Malabar SW 9110	Indigo SW 6531	Billowy Breeze SW 9055
Song Thrush SW 9112	Heartthrob SW 6866	Grape Harvest SW 6285
Pearl Gray SW 0052	Oceanside SW 6496	Queen Anne Lilac SW 0021

Ask Sherwin-Williams^TM

For more than 150 years, Sherwin-Williams has been an industry leader in the development of technologically advanced paint and coatings. As the nation’s largest specialty retailer of paint and painting supplies, Sherwin-Williams is dedicated to supporting both do-it-yourselfers and painting professionals with exceptional and exclusive products, resources to make confident color selections and expert, personalized service at its more than 4,200 neighborhood stores across North America. For more information, visit sherwin-williams.com. Join Sherwin-Williams on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

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Vip Clip

Sal Mangeri from Valley Pro Products has been a long time friend of Blogging Painters, he shared his bucket liners years ago and has now offered samples of his Vip Clip to members. We love to see painters that are inventing items to help others and increase efficiency!

See what our readers think about them!

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PEP’s New Features Focus on Process and Productivity

The folks at PEP Cloud have been busy adding new features to the program to streamline the estimating process. It’s easier than ever to build detailed estimates, follow up with clients, and track jobs from start to finish.

Here are some highlights

Estimating Forms

Populating the estimate with all the tasks that you’re going to do is tedious if you have to go one item at a time. But what if you could call up all the items related to a specific task at once? And what if the items were already set to your preferences, including materials? And what if the standard notes you want to include are already there? Well that’s what happens with PEP’s Estimating Forms. Provide some basic measurements and let the program calculate quantities for you. These are completely customizable – estimate using production rates, by the hour, by the square foot.

Automated Customer Follow-up with eBids

Don’t let customers fall through the cracks. And don’t lose sleep worrying about whether you forgot to follow up with someone. Automate your customer follow-up process and relax!

• Use an automated customer follow-up campaign to solve the problem of remembering to touch base with clients after you send them an eBid. Just set it and forget it. Your customer will receive the emails in the campaign sequence automatically.
• You can set up a “Thank You” message when you send the eBid. Down the road, when your client accepts, she’ll automatically receive an email from you saying Thanks (and whatever else you want to include in the message). She knows her project is important to you because you responded right away, even on a weekend. Way to go!
• Some customers love to play What If. What if you don’t paint the trim? What if I strip the wallpaper myself? Well guess what: you can put your client in the driver’s seat with the Pick & Choose automation. It gives customers the ability to manipulate the bid and answer their own questions rather than having to wait for you to make updates.

Pipeline & Calendar

Track jobs from start to finish with PEP’s Pipelines. Pipelines make it quick and easy to see where jobs are in the sales process. When the job is won, schedule it on the calendar right in PEP, assign the work to a specific crew, sync with Google, and monitor work on the Work Pipeline.

Customer Service and Video Tutorials

If you have a question, PEP’s great about responding to emails (even on weekends). You can fire off a question right from the Help section of the software. But if you’re the kind of person who wants to see how something is done, to walk through it step-by-step, PEP’s Video Tutorials are for you. Videos are organized by topic and before you even click on one, you know in advance what the time commitment is.

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Marge Parkhurst

Marge Parkhurst, owner of Painting By Marge and PEP Estimating Solutions, is a prominent painting contractor in the high-end residential market of Litchfield County, Connecticut. She has presented seminars at various PDCA conventions and Sherwin Williams pro shows. She has been featured in many industry magazines including Professional Painting Contractor, American Painting Contractor, PWC, and Rental Products News.

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Digital PR: Effective Ways to Get the Word out There

  Nowadays, people spend most of their time online and the Internet became their main source of information. However, for businesses and marketers, spreading the word online is quite difficult. This is mostly because the Internet is a crowded place and tons of news and information are pushing their way to the top every day.

Whether you’re promoting a business or trying to inform people about some news or topic, spreading the word will demand a lot of effort and you must cover the most, if not all channels, in order to spread the news you want. Be that as it may, marketers never seem to run out of ways or ideas to effectively promote something. As daunting as the process may seem, all the effort placed in promotions, is worth it at the end.

Here are a few ways to get the word out there.

Start a blog

Blogging is one of the most effective ways for any news to spread over the Internet and many people use this method to inform the public about various topics or industry related news. Not only that, but people often look for blogs, in order to inform themselves about something that interests them. With that in mind, if you want an effective way of getting the word out there, then blogging is the way to go.

However, for blogging to be as effective as possible, you must first put some effort into it and build a solid online reputation. To achieve this, you must supply your viewers with relevant, informative and entertaining content, which will help you build a community of followers. Also, make sure you collaborate with popular bloggers in your niche and score some guest posts on different blogs or websites. After you have built your reputation, you can leverage your blog to spread the word more easily.

Email outreach

Email is still one of the best ways of spreading the word and establishing relations with various people online that can help you do the same. In order to successfully endorse an email outreach you must know how to compose an effective email that will generate the desired result.

For instance, make sure you research the person you want to contact, by checking out their social network profiles or by researching them online. You should do your best to familiarize yourself with your contacts, as much as possible before actually contacting them. That will help you personalize an email and start a conversation that will benefit your agenda. Make appropriate email strategy

Moreover, you should make yourself known to your contact as well, by at least following them on social media, because no one likes an email from an unknown person. Also, make sure you are on point with your intentions and that you don’t overwhelm your contact with senseless information.

Composing the right email will help you expand your network of associates and establish relationships with influential people in your industry, who will help you promote your news or get the right message out there.

Leverage social media

Social media is the hub of information and various marketers use these platforms to promote businesses, marketing campaigns, sales etc. If you want to spread the news fast or increase your visibility, then social media can be of a great assistance in that matter. You can leverage social media to promote your products, services or to increase your brand’s visibility and recognition.

However, running an effective social media marketing campaign can be costly and you may have to pour additional funds in order for it to succeed.

Social networks allow you to build a relationship with your audience and communicate with them more personally. Also, you can use different social media channels to promote your business, but the most effective way is to focus on the channels inhabited by your target audience.

Use the power of the video

Video marketing is on the rise, in both popularity and efficiency, as marketers focus more on using the video in their campaigns. Not only that, but consumers prefer watching video content to reading texts. This is mostly because video enables marketers to deliver a message quickly and effectively, while reading texts or browsing images can take more time.

Moreover, most of the consumers browse the web using their mobile devices and video format is convenient for them to stay updated. If you want to promote you business or send a clear message out to your audience, then you should start leveraging video in your promotional campaigns.

Getting the word out there is difficult and time-consuming work. However, there are plenty of ways to leverage new technologies and online features to effectively promote almost anything. All that’s required is for you to find the solution that suits you the best.

Raul Harman’s is a IT consultant and a writer who has a lot of experience about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. IoT and the world of mobile devices have been his focus in the previous years. Raul is a passionate runner and adventure seeker. Every spare moment he loves to spend in nature. He is a regular contributor on Technivorz blog.

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