Graph Expo 2012 is just around the corner.  And with it comes the crazy, hectic tradeshow frenzy that every exhibitor lives through. The nightmares, the middle of the night “we should do this” brainstorms, coupled with “the no sleep at all” nights worrying about what you’ve forgotten. I’ve been managing tradeshows for more years than I will ever admit.  And every year, I complain, rant, carry on and generally drive all my co-workers insane (and for that, I am truly sorry) … but underneath it all, I secretly love it. I love the chaos, the last minute-ness of it all, the excitement. I love the anticipation I always feel on opening day.

Now, granted, some years are much more fun than others are, and with the tight marketing budgets that most of us have these days, the really creative ideas sometimes take a backseat. But this year, Komori is doing some pretty cool things in our booth, if I do say so myself! I hope those of you who are attending Graph Expo find the time to stop by Booth 1255 and learn about our latest technology that fully supports an efficient print environment. It’s exciting stuff … some might say it’s a revolution …

The Komori Booth at Graph Expo 2011

SRO for the demonstration on Komori’s new inkjet presses, the Impremia IS28 and the Impremia IW20

We can close the book on drupa 2012—all that’s left is the tearing down and the moving out. The pundits will debate the success, the highs and lows, over the course of the next several weeks and it will be interesting to read their varying perspectives. Yes, attendance was lower than last drupa, but what was apparent to me was the amount of time visitors were willing to invest in conversation—and with over 1800 exhibitors spread over 17 different halls, time was a valuable commodity.

Print providers, just like industry suppliers, have one major thing in common—the need to listen to their customers and adapt to the changing communication landscape, and drupa was the perfect venue to share and learn. Everyone wants to label drupa—to name the key technology that stole the show—but I would classify this as the “thoughtful” drupa. Print providers, more than ever, are weighing their equipment buying decisions carefully, looking for efficiency, productivity and the best equipment mix to make their businesses thrive. For me, this drupa was full of energy and the numerous new technologies made me see for the first time in a long time, the exciting future for our industry. Print, although changing, is alive and well—I can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon.

Komori "family photo" taken the first day of drupa 2012

I hope if you’re attending, you’ll stop by the Komori stand in hall 15 and see all of our new innovations. And, if you’d like to take a look at some of our new drupa technology, or schedule an appointment for a walk through of our exhibit, visit www.komoriatdrupa2012.com and check it out.

And don’t forget—it’s “spargle” season in Düsseldorf—that great white asparagus…and then of course, there are those two German words all drupa attendees need to know—“pils” or “alt.”

Where do you go from here?

Here are a few of the best practices we’ve found to help ensure that your social media marketing program is a success:

• Look around—and listen. Get on the various platforms and look at what others are doing and where relevant conversations are taking place. Look for your customers, competitors and others in
  the print industry. Listening first will help you
  get a feel for where and how to get involved.
• Align your strategy. Like any business investment, participation in social media will only create the desired return on investment if it furthers your larger business objectives. Make sure whatever you do makes sense in terms of your overall business goals.
• Plan to invest time and maybe a little money. While most social media platforms are free, it is critical to take into account the time commitment needed to have an ongoing presence and plan for it. With all of social media, being an active part of the community is one of the keys to your success—and that takes time.
• Remember that content is what drives the success of your program. Original, engaging content is critical for a successful social media strategy. Social media marketing, unlike other marketing avenues, is not the place to provide content that is only promotional in nature. Rather, give your audience content that meets their needs and they will begin to turn to you as a trusted resource.
• Don’t be afraid of feedback. The beauty of social media marketing is that it provides an opportunity to learn (in real-time) from interested customers what they really think and to offer your company’s take on the matter. Many companies have found that quick and responsive replies to complaints posted on social media platforms can turn unhappy customers into raving fans.
• Adopt a social media policy. Similar to an employee manual, developing a social media use policy is a valuable way to set and communicate the company’s expectations regarding online involvement by employees. It’s important to be clear right at the beginning about who is permitted to post content on behalf of the company and what type of content can be posted.
• Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Once you have had your social media presence in place for a while, evaluate each platform. Is your Facebook Page grabbing your customers’ interest? If not, maybe you need to try some different content. Is Twitter helping to drive traffic to your webpage? Are readers commenting on your blog posts? The great thing about social media is your community tells you if what you are doing is effective—by their interaction with you or lack thereof—so you don’t have to guess. Evaluate your results and adjust your tactics as needed in order to get the results you are looking for.

Social media has truly changed the way we communicate with our customers and prospects. Your customers and colleagues are out there, sharing ideas and information. They are also looking for your print business, but the question is, are you there to be found? Developing a social media presence will open up a whole new set of tools for driving your customers to print.

Whether your company has an established social media program or you are just starting to explore, we’d like to hear how this new media has made an impact on your business. Leave us a comment below!

While a basic LinkedIn profile is an effective tool for keeping track of people, finding people that you are looking for, and being found by them, you can expand your networking options beyond a basic profile.

LinkedIn also provides the option to upgrade to a Premium account with a monthly subscription.

What sets a Premium account apart from a basic account?

• Greater access to the LinkedIn community. When searching for potential connections, Premium account holders have the ability to view expanded search results and profile information for users outside your network. You can also see who has viewed your profile, including an expanded list of the titles, regions, and companies of those viewing your information.
• Additional ways to communicate with members outside your network. Upgrading to a Premium account opens up new lines of communication on LinkedIn. The InMail feature allows you to send a message to any LinkedIn member, without an introduction. Premium account holders can also join the OpenLink network to extend their reach. This allows anyone to send you a message for free, even if they are outside of your network.
• Relationship management tools. Premium account holders have exclusive access to the Profile Organizer feature on LinkedIn. This allows you to organize your contacts into folders, where notes and contact information can be attached to any profile as a way to help you remember relevant information for future correspondence.

What can LinkedIn do for me besides find connections?

Whether you have a basic or a Premium account, LinkedIn is more just than a virtual contact list. Here are just a few other ways you can leverage the power of this professional social network:

• Create a LinkedIn Company Page for your print business. Having an official presence on LinkedIn is another opportunity to build awareness for your brand.
• Join a LinkedIn Group. Here you can network with other print professionals to discuss news, trends and issues related to the print industry. Check out the Printing Industries of America Networking Group and Print Industry Network Group for starters.
• Get involved with LinkedIn Answers to share your expertise. The Answers feature allows people in need of a solution to post business-related questions to the members of their network. In turn, other users can provide relevant answers and resources.

By building your profile and your company’s presence on LinkedIn, you have the opportunity to connect with prospects, customers and partners that you may not have connected with offline.

How are you leveraging LinkedIn for your print business? Share your thoughts with us! Leave us a comment below and let us know how LinkedIn is helping you build and expand your professional network.

Did you know that more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies have a YouTube Channel? These channels have received an average of 49,000 views and half of them have comments posted by viewers. This alone demonstrates the popularity and effectiveness of video content in a business setting.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth much more. YouTube provides another platform for your business to tell its story and share its unique personality, opening the door for your prospects and customers to make a personal connection with your company.

What can my print business share on YouTube?

Here are just a few ideas to help you get the cameras rolling:

• Tour your facilities and give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at your print operations.
• Give a live demonstration of your print capabilities and outputs. This is a great opportunity to showcase your work.
• Hold interviews with your employees, customers and partners. Give them an opportunity to help tell your company’s story and endorse your business.
• Create a highlight reel featuring coverage of trade shows and industry events you attend.
• Provide informative how-to’s and tutorials to demonstrate your expertise in the industry.
• Upload television commercials both past and present.

Don’t forget that video content can be integrated with your business’ other social media platforms and activities. For example, new videos can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, highlighted in a blog post and included in your company’s email newsletter.

Will I need to hire a production company to create my videos?

With today’s readily available and cost-effective video and video editing technology, it’s not necessary to hire a professional videographer to produce YouTube videos. In fact, YouTube offers an online handbook containing the technical instruction needed to produce and upload your company videos.

Ready to get started?

To create your YouTube Channel, you will first need to set up an account at http://YouTube.com and select a name for your print business’ YouTube Channel. From there you can change the branding options to match your company’s color scheme, add a custom background image with your company logo and upload your first video.

Is your print business on YouTube? We’d like to check out your videos! Leave us a comment below with your Channel name or on our YouTube Channel. Don’t forget to check out our latest videos and subscribe to KomoriTV!

A blog gives your print business a unique voice and the opportunity to publish its own online publication. Here you can post about anything you think your readers would be interested in or that would help them with their business – share thought leadership, highlight company initiatives, provide tips for print buyers, comment on articles in the trade press and more.

How is a blog different from my business’ newsletter?

Blogs are essentially online journals. What separates a blog from an online newsletter or byline is the readers’ ability to interact with the author by commenting. The conversation following a blog post can be as engaging as the post itself.

Looking for reasons why you should include blogging in your social media strategy?

Blogging for your print business will help you:

• Support your other social media activities by cross-promoting content. For example, you can tweet a link to your latest blog post and post it on your company Facebook Page. You could also introduce a new company YouTube video with your blog.
• Provide an easy means to share up-to-date company information with your prospects, customers, employees and partners.
• Humanize your company and give it a unique voice in the industry.
• Share helpful information, resources and industry thought leadership
• Support your brand messaging through blog posts that are aligned with your key marketing themes.

Ready to get started?

Before you begin blogging, take some time to explore the “blogosphere” and read a number of blog posts by others within the print industry. Get a feel for how they approach their posts and respond to comments. Take note of how each blog looks and feels so you can map out the way you want to present your blog.

There is a wide variety of both free and subscription-based blogging software available, including WordPress, Blogger, and Typepad. Once you choose and download the blogging software, you can customize the look of your blog and choose a blog name. Then you’re ready to write your first post!

Has your print business already joined the blogosphere? Share your experience with us and leave a comment below. Be sure to subscribe to Komori Community by email or RSS feed while you’re here!

A Facebook Page can be considered an extension of your website. One of the main business uses of Facebook is to promote and provide information about your company, products and services. You can share articles, videos, photos and more on your company Page to not only promote your business, but to stay “top of mind” with your customers, prospects and employees. Facebook can also act as a forum for customer relations and convey the “human” side of your company, ultimately building a community around your business.

Still wondering why your print business should be on Facebook?

While your customers might not be stopping into your business on a daily basis, it’s likely that they are checking their Facebook frequently. Here are just a few ways you can promote your business on Facebook and build relationships with your customers:

• Interact with your customers directly by responding to their posts and comments. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions either. Think of your Facebook fans as a mini-focus group.
• Share company news and updates to keep your customers informed. Appearing in their newsfeed will help your print business stay at the forefront of their mind.
• Showcase recent print jobs, company events and your involvement in the community by uploading photos into Facebook photo albums.
• Create videos that feature your print capabilities, product demonstrations, even commercials.

Ready to get started?

To create a Facebook Page for your print business, you first need to create a personal profile with by visiting http://Facebook.com and signing up. Once your personal profile is set up, you can then access the Page section of Facebook and create your company Page. Begin with your basic company information and from there you can incorporate feeds from your other social media accounts.

Once your company Page is published, tell your employees and customers where they can find you! Add a link to your Page from your company website and include the Facebook URL in your marketing materials to further promote your Page. After you hit the 25 fan milestone, be sure to secure your Page’s “vanity” URL that uses your company name (www.Facebook.com/yourcompanyname).

Just like your company’s website, the core of your Facebook page is your company’s basic information but the beauty of your Facebook Page is the ability to display your company in a more personal way.

How are you using Facebook for your print business? We’d like to hear from you! Let us know by leaving a comment below or on Facebook. Be sure to “like” us while you’re there!

As a business person you might be thinking “Can I really benefit from social media? Are you sure this isn’t just a fad?” With over 750 million users on Facebook and 200 million on Twitter, it’s safe to say that social media is here to stay. For the next five weeks, we’re going to share ways you (yes, you) can get involved on the five different major social media platforms and drive your customers to ordering more print. So let’s get started with Twitter.

Think of Twitter as the social media equivalent of a Post-It note. On this platform you can send and receive messages, called “tweets”, of up to 140 characters. “Following” other Twitter users allows you to quickly receive their tweets and when others choose to follow you, they will automatically begin receiving your tweets in real time. Twitter allows you to have direct interaction with your audience and share knowledge, resources and services.

So who exactly can you interact with? Your customers, prospects, print buyers – the sky is the limit! Start by listening to the print conversation on Twitter by searching for the hashtags #print and #printing in the Twitter search box. You’ll begin to see how active the print community is and find Twitter users to follow and interact with.

To sign up, first you need to secure your Twitter handle and create an account at http://Twitter.com. In the sign up box you’ll be asked to first enter your name and email address as well as create a password. From there you will be able to create a Twitter handle, or username, of your choice. Keep in mind that your Twitter handle must be 15 characters or less. A good rule of thumb is the shorter and more memorable you can make your Twitter handle, the better.

Then the key is to share content and information that your followers–your customers and your prospects–will find valuable. Let’s look at just a few of the possibilities on how to get the conversation started. You can:

• Share helpful third-party resources relating to the print industry. Read a great article in an industry or trade magazine? Tweet it!
• Inform prospects about your company. Highlight your capabilities by sharing photos of your latest outputs. You can even offer referral discounts or “Twitter specials” to your followers.
• Identify important issues in the print industry and how your company has gotten involved. Has your company started a new recycling program or received a sustainability certification? Tell your followers.
• Point to thought leadership from your company. If a company executive has been interviewed or written an article for an industry magazine, share it.
• Acknowledge mentions of your company, products or services by third-parties. Did a customer tweet about the great service they received from your company? Tweet a “thank you” to them.

The moral of the story here is to put your best tweet forward. Twitter is a powerful tool to stay top of mind with your customers and position your print business as a trusted resource that they’ll want to do business with.  So what are you waiting for? Your customers are already looking for you. I encourage you to join the conversation.

We’d like to hear from you and how you’re using Twitter for your print business. Let us know by leaving a comment below or on Twitter, @KomoriAmerica. And be sure to follow us!