Presentation to the Atlanta Customs Brokers and International Forwarders Association on March 12, 2013. The topic was the use of social media, digital marketing and branding for logistics companies.

1. Everyone’s Looking at YOU
(and why and how you should look at them)
(and why and how you should look at them)
(and why and how you should look at them)
Scott Case
Founder, Chief Storyteller
scott@positionglobal.com
@scottcase

2. Today’s Topics
• Branding - What is it, why is it important, is yours
current and relevant and do you use it correctly?
• Digital communication:
• Newsletters
• Audio / video
• CRM
• Your website
• Social media for businesses (focus: logistics industry)

3. Branding
Simply, it’s how you look.
Everywhere. To everyone.
Relevance and quality
aside, it has to be executed
consistently.
Do you let other people use
your brand mark?
Best practice is to have a
style guide.

4. Brand Considerations
Geographic consumption.
Audience - B2B or B2C? Or both?
Name, logo execution, tagline or some combination of
all three?
Equity and market reputation.
Level of penetration.
Overt or nuanced messaging of your company’s
mission?

5. Right and Wrong Style Execution

6. Overt or Subtle?

7. The Arrow
Henny Youngman, the comedian, had this whole
signature to his act around ‘Take my wife. Please.’
What the PR folks wanted to do was the equivalent of
changing his shtick to ‘Please, take my wife.’ If you
have to call attention to your punch line, to explain it,
it’s no longer a punch line. It doesn’t work, it isn’t funny,
and no one will remember it.”
- Lindon Leader, Creator of FedEx Logo
Excerpted from Matthew May’s book The Laws of Subtraction
Appearing online in Fast Company Co.Design October 23, 2012

8. Another use of subtle

9. When You’re Copied, You’ve Made It
1939 British
government
propaganda
poster to boost
wartime morale.

10. When You’re Copied, You’ve Made It

11. Digital Communication
Survey
Tools of the trade
CRM
Email campaign
Surveys
Newsletters
Webinars/Seminars
Podcasts

12. CRM (Contact Relationship Managers)
• Do I need one? YES
• Choose wisely.
• Considerations:
Features
Interoperability
Cost
Interface with current
operations software?
• Buy or subscribe?

13. Email campaign programs
Stamps are great if you’re a
collector.
Like CRM’s, you’ve got choices.
Make specialized templates for
different messages.
Top features:
– Segmenting your lists
– Checking your clicks

14. List Segmentation
World Market is a GREAT
bad example.
Respect the inbox.
Rule of thumb is the rule
of threes.
Newsletter
Targeted issue
General marketing topic

15. Checking your clicks

16. Newsletters

17. Newsletters
Determine the frequency.
What’s in your company’s
DNA? Industry news,
product offerings, project
news, employee content?
Should be timely, highlight
your company and link
back to your site and the
source content.

18. Your Website
• Your website is your always-open door to current and
future clients, agents, employees and vendors.
• The site must put forth the most professional and
complete digital identity that is pitch-perfect with your
real world identity.
• The site must be responsive to render across multiple
devices and platforms (computers, tablets, phones).
• The site must incorporate a prominent call to action.
• Don’t think when it’s up that it’s done.

19. Not-the-greatest practice web example

20. And how’s that look on my iPhone?

21. Pictures tell stories on your site
• Meta-tagging
• Words + pictures = find
in Google Images =
direct traffic to your site
• We’re BROKERS AND
FORWARDERS. We
move and clear stuff.
And we should take
pictures!
Credit: jifnet.com

22. Search Engine Ranking and Optimization
Credit: sparkwiz.com

23. Two Ways To Get Listed
ORGANIC
Site design
Meta-tagging
Content
marketing
INORGANIC
PPC
Advertising
Remarketing

24. Other digital outreach
Webinars and Seminars
Podcasting
Audio / Video Content
Remember, it’s about presenting your company a great
light and done in a contemporary fashion.

25. Social Media for Business

26. 1.2 BILLION

27. Twitter Fact(oids)
Make it count: 140 characters or less.
Has become the communication vehicle of choice in:
–Disasters
–Revolutions
–Television and film marketing
#HASHTAGS for topics.
Lots of people weigh popularity based on “followers”.

28. Logistics Companies On Twitter
Companies and their followers as of March 10, 2013:
FedEx:129,516
Maersk Line: 39,500
UPS: 38.456
K&N: 2,464
Tigers Ltd: 1,409
AA Cargo: 1,286

29. Twitter Relevance for YOU
• If you promote you’re on Twitter, somebody has to pay
attention all the time.
• Use it to advertise (newsletters, projects, services or
jobs).
• Use it for emergencies (power outage, weather
closure, zombie apocalypse).
• It’s the fastest real-time means at your disposal to get
the word out repeatedly.

30. • Launched on May 5, 2003, LinkedIn in January reported
200 million users in 200 countries and territories.
• The networking is a little more personal.

31. • LinkedIn is the place to be for companies and individuals
who want to network professionally.
• Don’t fall into the trap of making your “social” friends your
LinkedIn connections; keep it work focused.
• Join groups that are relevant for you and your company.
• As an employer, you can see somebody’s history.
• As an employee, you can look for a new gig.
• As a salesperson, you can keep people on your radar.

32. • Pew Research in 2012 showed that women were five
times as likely to be on the site as men.
• “Boards”, which highlight content, are usually pictures.
• Mostly for travel, fashion and cooking at this point.
• But believe it or not, logistics companies are there with
infographics.
• Infographics are expensive to produce, print and
distribute, but help stuff “stick” better in people’s
memories.

33. Infographic Example

34. Maersk on Pinterest

35. • Created in 2010 and
acquired by Facebook
for $1 billion (with 13
employees) in 2012.
• First on iOS, then
Android.
• #share #with
#hashtags.
• 100 million users.

36. Hashtags used here:
#logistics
#lgi
#heavyhaul
#transportation
#broker
#logisticsgroupinternation
al
#huge
#otr

37. Manage those accounts!
Pick a service and post centrally.
Repurpose content.
Respond and thank people for follows / retweets /
repostings.

38. Takeaways
Evaluate your digital presence.
How many clients, prospects and agents can you talk
to simultaneously?
Is your site relevant and built properly for all visitors?
A multi-pronged strategy that focuses on
communicating with clients, remaining in front of
prospects and putting forth an image to both as well
as future employees and decision makers is key.
Have a policy for managing your social networks.

39. Scott Case | (630) 410-2059 | scott@positionglobal.com