Archive for the ‘PR/Marketing’ Category
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Flattery Will Get you Everywhere
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Video As A Marketing Tool
I can feel some of you cringing as you read this, but I think you should at least consider incorporating video into your marketing plan. Video can be used in a lot of ways, and it’s very effective. That’s one of the reasons HSN and QVC are so successful. They are constantly connecting with their customers with conversation and demonstrations. Video can do the same for you.
I love fresh pineapple but never bought it because it’s such a mess to slice up. Then I came across a video of the Vacu Vin pineapple slicer. The 2 minute demonstration showed how easy it was to use, so I purchased one. It worked as promised, and now I would try other products from this company. So, if you have a product that has a function you can demonstrate, video is a great way to go.
If your products that don’t lend to an instructional video, you can still show your products in motion, whether you sell apparel, makeup or jewelry. This also gives your potential customers a chance to get to know you. And if your company offers a service, video is a great way to build trust. People will start to develop a relationship with you before even meeting you.
Getting started is easier than you may think. You don’t have to spend a lot to get a decent camera, and they all come with software so you can do some basic editing. Then you can set up a YouTube channel and link from your blog, or you can put your videos on Vimeo and imbed the videos in your website, which is what I do. Here’s a list of other video sites, if you’re interested in doing a little research on your own.
If you’ve never done anything like this before, practice. You will definitely get more comfortable with each try. In the beginning you may feel embarrassed watching yourself, but keep practicing. Sometimes I still cringe a little, especially if my lighting is bad, but I re-do it if I have time. (You can find a few examples where I ran out of time – not good, but, oh well.) Like anything else, the best way to get started is to jump in with both feet. Let me know if you have any questions.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
AwardSync Will Help You Get The Attention You Deserve
As we all know, PR and marketing plays an essential role in the growth of your business. One thing that surely brings attention is a special honor for your company. Awardsync is an online resource that lists awards programs. Whether you are posting and promoting awards programs, or looking for award programs for your company, registering is free.
As you market your company, it definitely helps if you have something that sets you apart in your field. An award as one of the top new eco-friendly companies, for example, adds to your company’s positive reputation and builds your customers’ confidence is what you have to offer.
Make sure you only submit for award programs that are appropriate for your company. This will enhance your chance of winning. Also, make sure the award program reflects the values of your company. Winning just to win is not the point. The potential award should strengthen your brand identity. You can read more at AwardSync.com
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Lessons From Dominos Pizza’s Ad Campaign
I know almost everyone has seen Dominos Pizza’s new ad campaign. The company is painfully honest about people’s comments about their pizza, which include comparing the crust to cardboard and the sauce to ketchup. They are offering a 100% money-back guarantee on their new and improved pizzas. They also have a website with a live feed of Twitter comments about their new pizzas.
The internet is filled with people’s opinions about this approach and its potential success or failure. This may or may not help the company overcome its many recent PR nightmares. But it has been reported in The Brandweek Buzz Report by YouGov that Dominos’ positive buzz score has increased from 2.3 to 35.3 (out of 100), since the campaign began. Whether this leads to a permanent shift in perception for the brand is yet to be seen.
What is interesting, though, is that Dominos is taking this risky approach. I think they realized they had to. Since the dawn of man, bad news has always traveled a million times faster than good news. Dominos experienced this with the unfortunate YouTube experience last year. Maybe that social media lesson is what led to their current campaign.
Beyond the stark honesty, they are actively incorporating social networking sites into their ad campaign. While many large corporations have a presence on Facebook and Twitter, the communication is frequently one-way – toward the customer. Dominos is encouraging communication from the customer, and they are acting upon what they are being told. As things continue to evolve, companies are going to have to interact this way. If a customer feels screwed over, trust me, everyone that follows them and has friended them, will hear about it.
By going on the offensive, Dominos is giving the customer (or potential customer) the chance to support them with positive comments. If that’s what happens, it will should help Dominos, because a third-party endorsement carries a lot of weight. If it goes the other direction the damage will be huge.
The world is continuing to change. Keep this in mind when making decisions or reacting to problems. If your company does everything right, people may tell their online community, but if you do something wrong, they will tell them.
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
Honor Your Customers
I can not emphasize strongly enough how important it is to honor your customers. There are many ways to do this, but they all boil down to respect and “doing unto others”.
Consider what it means when someone buys your product or service. We all earn our money by expending our time and effort. There is a personal aspect to the money we earn, and that frequently gets overlooked. When we buy something it is actually an exchange of our time and effort for someone else’s time and effort. Keep in mind that it is a privilege to have someone as a customer, and honor them.
I will be addressing different “must do’s” over the next few months, but for today:
Keep Your Word
If you promise shipping within 48 hours, ship within 48 hours. If you are inundated with orders (congratulations) and you have to work until 4:00am to ship everything within 48 hours, do it. If you say you will finish a project by a certain date, do it, even if you have to hire help and work around the clock. It may cost you, but the next time your bid will be more accurate.
And if you have a contest, treat the winner with the same amount of respect as a paying customer. The purpose of the contest was to bring attention to your business, and whether it brought the results you expected or not, the winner is entitled to what you promised.
I know there can be circumstances beyond your control. A shipment gets hung up in customs, or your mobile dog washing van breaks down. If something comes up, try your hardest to figure something out. In the words of Tim Gunn, “Make it work.”
If there are no immediate solutions, get on the phone to your clients or customers right away. Do not put them in a position of having to ask you what’s going on. It is your responsibility to come through for them. And whatever you promise on that “I’m so sorry” phone call, whether it’s a new delivery date or a ½ off coupon for their next purchase, make sure you can come through. Your reputation might not recover from two let downs in a row.
I’m writing about this because I had a couple of frustrating experiences during December; one with a huge company and the other with a small company. On one occasion I cancelled my order and will not go back there. On the other, I let the order stand because I need this product and it would take too long to go somewhere else. But I will never do business with this company again.
Don’t risk losing your customers. They’re hard to get, but easy to keep, as long as you treat them with respect.
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
The Benefits Of Trade Shows & Conventions
It’s time to start planning for 2010 and I believe attending tradeshows and conventions should be part of your plan. I’ve written about this before, but I think people sometimes avoid attending shows because they believe it’s too costly. It does cost a lot of money to have a booth at a tradeshow, but you can register and attend as a buyer or regular attendee. There’s a lot to be gained from walking the floor. It’s often free, but if you do have to pay an entry fee, it will usually be well under $100.
One of the benefits of going to these events is staying in touch with the changes in your industry. You don’t want to be left in the dust, while everyone else is taking advantage of new equipment or resources that you don’t even know about. Also, you need to get a sense of the trends. Are people going organic? (chances are, yes) Are they scaling back and offering product lines that are more consumer friendly, during our economic recovery? You need to know the predominant direction your industry is taking. This doesn’t mean that you must, or even should, do what everyone else is doing. You want to stand out. But you need to be aware if something is becoming outmoded.
Also, you should talk to some of the other business owners. They might be your competition, but they can also be your best source for information.
Finally, you need to take advantage of the marketing opportunity. Along with business cards, you can bring printed marketing material and a few samples. You should be prepared to pitch your product if the opportunity arises. Identify any buyers that are checking out products similar to yours, and if it feels appropriate, approach them – gently.
Do a Google search for "trade shows", and enter your industry (cosmetics, apparel, etc…) and your city or state. And if you've never attended a show before, you can click on the images above to familiarize yourself with tradeshows and what they have to offer, in general. To avoid disappointment, make a note of the deadlines for ticket purchases, and any other attendance requirements.
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Use Pitch For PR To Get Your Story Out There
Pitch For PR ™ is a site that helps to get your pitch in front of reporters, bloggers and website managers. It is completely opposite of HARO (a service I love), because you submit your pitch to Pitch For PR and they send emails of the pitches to the reporters, instead of sending reporters’ requests to you.
Here’s how it works:
1 Submit your pitch (max 350 characters) using Pitch For PR’s form.
2 Submit a least one story topic, and no more than three, along with your pitch. Make sure these topics relate to your pitch and will showcase you as an expert.
3 Pitch For PR ™ emails 10-15 new pitches each weekday to their subscribers - legitimate media and website outlets.
4 You will be contacted by anyone who is interested in your story.
It is costs nothing to submit your pitch and it’s free to subscribe to their emails. If you are looking for content, sign up for their emails. And if you want some PR (who doesn’t?) polish up your pitch and send it in. Pitch For PR
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Why You Should Get To Know Your Competition
Identifying and researching your competitors is an important step in building your marketing strategy. You can see what customers of your industry expect, and determine in what areas you are unique, or can become unique.
Below are some questions to keep in mind when doing your research. The list is by no means comprehensive, and some may not pertain to your business.
*Are your competitors using social media? If so, how are they using it? And which sites are they on? Twitter? Facebook? Both?
*What is the focus of their website? What’s on their “about us” page? Are they selling online? If so, do they offer free shipping or other benefits? If they don’t have a website, that says a lot about them, and you can definitely beat them in that area. (Yes, there are companies with no online presence - unbelievable!)
*What are their price points? Their sales pitch? Their inventory/service selection?
*Do they switch up their inventory a lot? Do you see a lot of items featured on the sale rack/page?
*Do any press reviews come up when you Google the names of your competition?
*What are their customers saying about them? What are they complaining about? What are they raving about?
*What equipment or processes do they use? Is it better than what you use? How important is it to the customer’s overall experience?
*Are your competitors considered experts in the industry? Can you get up to speed and compete with this expertise?
When going through these questions, evaluate the information honestly. If they offer a great product or service, give them the credit they deserve. And then figure out if you need to improve your product, or excel in another area (price? efficiency?) in order to stand out.
The more information you gather, the better your marketing plan will be. Embrace your competition. The fact that they exist is proof that people want what you’re selling. You just have to make them want your product more.
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Get Some Attention With Yak About It and Daily Grommet
No matter how fantastic your product is, getting noticed is frequently an uphill climb. Here are two free sites that can help put a spotlight your product.
The first is Daily Grommet. The people at Daily Grommet are looking for products that have great utility, style, or invention, from companies that are passionate about what they’re doing. If this is you, and you have yet to be discovered, get ready to tell your story, because they love a good story. FYI… you may not submit your own product, but I’m sure you have many loyal customers that love your product enough to help you out. Read more about them here: Daily Grommet
The second site is Yak About It. They spotlight products that are creations of inventors and independent entrepreneurs. Products from larger companies are never carried on the site. Yak About It provides a central online location that showcases exciting new products, giving a leg up to those companies that aren’t yet established in the marketplace. Customers can purchase from the site, and leave comments, thus increasing the product’s recognition.
Yak About It also has a competition. Every week two featured products compete for the title of Most Yakable. The winner is featured for an extra day and the Most Yakable trophy remains on the product image. This makes a huge difference if people search by “most yakable”. If you are interested, and have product in stock, check out Yak About It. And yes, you can submit your own product. Check them out here: Yak About It
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
What Is SEO And Why Is It So Important?
Today’s topic is SEO (search engine optimization). I know very little about this subject, except for the fact that it is vital for your company website and blog. If you sell cupcakes, and want to be found when someone does a Google search for cupcakes, this is where SEO comes into play.
First, this is a good reason to have a blog even if you have a company website. You will update your blog more frequently than your website. And search engines like more content and frequently updated content. More information for search engines to index leads to more hits on your site. Plus you can link between your blog and website, and search engines love links.
There is an element of mystery surrounding how search engines order sites in search results. But there are some things that you can do to improve your search engine optimization (SEO).
Know the keywords for your site - Keywords are just words or phrases that people will use when searching for sites/products like yours. Make a list of about 15 words and phrases that naturally come to mind, and use them in place of more general terminology you may be using. Make sure you use these words and phrases in a way that sounds natural. The key words shouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
Post Titles - The post titles supply important information to search engines. If you are writing a blog for personal use, and aren’t interested in showing up in related Google searches, you can be as creative and off-the-wall as you want. But for business purposes, use straightforward phrases that incorporate keywords for your business. The titles of my posts are, for the most part, a clear statement of what’s in the post. And if I’m writing about a movie, book, or another site, I include that in my post title.
Links – As I said before, search engines love links! Both incoming and outgoing links provide valuable information about your site for search engines. In your posts, your outgoing links should be attached to keywords in the text, for example "World’s Best Cupcakes" instead of "click here."
ALT - Within the HTML code for each image you use, there is something called "ALT." This determines the text that appears while the image loads or if the image is unavailable. It has two functions; it lets the reader know what's coming and tells a search engine what is in the image. I know HTML can be intimidating, but here’s an example:
You have uploaded a picture of your new Halloween cupcakes. Use ALT text like this: alt="Halloween cupcakes with pumpkin". This gives the search engine that much more information.
These are a few of the most basic basics. I highly suggest reading more about this. There are a ton of articles and blogs on the subject. And you can start with this post on Lucky Marketing Firm's site. And when you can afford it, definitely hire a professional, at least to take a look at where you’re at and so they can give your sites an overhaul.
