10 Things I Know About … Good PR

December 29, 2011 | by Rich Suitum | No comments yet

As originally Published in Worcester Business Journal, August 17, 2009

10. Have an objective
Jumping into new trends like Facebook and Twitter does not make sense if you don’t have true content. If everything you publish is a sales pitch or “fluff speak,” you will be ignored.

9. Have a defined message
Any PR effort should have one easy to understand message. Discussing numerous new products and an upcoming event together dilutes the message of each of them.

8. Be relevant
Your message should be as important to your audience as it is to you. Make sure you connect to your audiences’ wants and needs.

7. Respect your audience
Your audience determines your tone. You don’t talk to your boss and your bar buddies the same way. Know your target and address them properly.

6. Find your audience
No media outlet reaches your entire audience. Familiarize yourself with their demographics and if your story relates to a certain sub-culture, find the publications and websites that cater to that audience.

5. Position yourself
For your company to be successful, you have to be unlike everyone else. Show that your company has a personality of its own and ensure that your sales/customer service department exemplifies it.

4. Make it easy
From editors to photographers, the media should be your friend. Being viewed as a knowledgeable resource by the media can easily translate to better coverage and a higher chance of future articles.

3. Be persistent
Sometimes it can take weeks, months, or even a year to get a story placed, so be persistent, but not pushy. Follow up regularly if your media contact continues to express interest.

2. Be ready
If a journalist does contact you about your story, you need to be ready to answer their questions and supply them with photos they can publish. Make sure to compile these items and make time for them when they call.

1. Start a conversation
Your PR efforts should not be a one-way communication, but invite your readers to join you in a dialogue. If they can relate to your company, they will be more receptive to future messages.

Customer Trust and Standing in Front of Your Brand

November 8, 2011 | by Joe Dapper | No comments yet

Listen to a stop set (commercial break) on any radio station these days. Notice how many of the commercials all sound as if it’s the same voice? We’ll… that’s because it is. Now think about what you can do to separate yourself from the masses and make your message stand out, while instilling confidence in potential customers.

Consumers like to know who they are buying from these days, and feel more comfortable doing business with someone they trust.

So what’s my advice to all business owners? Become the face of your business. Voice your radio commercials, and TV voice-overs yourself! Not only do you eliminate the “stock” in-house voice most radio stations use, you get to speak about your product or service with the passion and voice inflection that only you can convey correctly. And to top it off – there is no talent fee (the up-front or hidden within the package or rate per commercial). It’s a free production service provided by most stations using their in-house producers.

Think about it. If a customer walks into your business – would you as the owner want someone who you have never met, who probably doesn’t understand your product or service, and was just handed a sales script that morning try to sell to your customers? Well that person is the in-house “stock” voice on your commercials.

On the other hand – YOU on the sales floor of your business is the voice of product knowledge, customer service, and conveys a sense of assuredness to the customer. THIS person is YOUR voice on the radio and TV.

This exudes trust, and trust runs neck and neck with price in what matters most to consumers.

Marketing During a Down Economy – Some Interesting Stats

November 4, 2011 | by Rich Suitum | No comments yet

Over the last few years you’ve probably heard this rally cry from a number of marketers and advertisers – “Take this opportunity during a down economy to increase your market share!” Well, is it true? To what extent can you grow it? Where are the studies to back it up?

A quick search online produced the following nuggets:

- McGraw-Hill Research study of over 600 Businesses found that during 1981-1982, businesses that maintained or increased their ad spend during this time averaged higher sales growth during the recession and in the following three years!

- By 1985, sales of the businesses that maintained or increased their ad spend during that recession had risen 256% over those that had cut back on advertising.

- Likewise, in 2001, another study found that aggressive recession advertisers increased market share 2.5 times the average for all businesses in the post-recession.

- In 2002, the Strategic Planning Institute illustrated that, during economic expansion, although 80% of businesses increased their advertising spend, there was NO improvement in market share! The main reason was because everyone had increased ad spending.

As difficult as it is to find additional funds to allocate to marketing and advertising line items these days, it could be one of your most effective decisions as it relates to ROI. Economists believe we still have a few years of slow growth ahead of us. It could be your time to capture some very valuable market share!

Giving props: Much of the above stats were taken from a paper called Innovating through Recession by Professor Andrew J. Razeghi at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

I love jingles. I hate jingles.

August 10, 2011 | by Brian Ells | 1 comment

One problem I have with a lot of modern advertising is when you see an ad, but can’t remember what company it was for. Many car ads work this way. They all talk about how they stand out from the competition, but the ads don’t say anything unique.

“Wow. That was a cool car. What was it?”
“Uh … I dunno. Toyota? Ford? I don’t remember.”

You’re not going to buy that car. At least not because of the commercial. One of the goals of advertising is to increase your awareness in the marketplace, but you’ve failed if the audience doesn’t remember the company.

Ask the next person you see how much you can get a 12-inch Subway sandwich for. Ask a New Englander, “Who do you call when your windshield’s busted?” I bet they know. For the windshield, they may even be able to tell you the phone number. When someone gets a cracked windshield or wants a mediocre sandwich, something in their head clicks. Because they had jingles!

Those short little songs, and the companies they represent, have lodged themselves in your brain and refused to be shaken out.

But like standard songs, that stickiness can be annoying. I’m not sure what is worse, the music of Steve Miller or those ads that They Might Be Giants wrote for Dunkin Donuts (“Karate!”, “Fritalian”, etc.) I’m sure they didn’t hurt business, but those songs drove me crazy, and I muted the TV every time they came on.

Music is subjective and I’m not here to judge (other than that “Rock’n Me” is a terrible, terrible song). I’m just saying that music is a great way to lodge your name in someone’s head. Some are fun. Some are annoying. But I bet you remember who it’s for.

What are some of your (least) favorites?

SEO – NOT A FAD!

July 12, 2011 | by Dar Sojka | 1 comment

Okay by now you know SEO is here to stay.

It’s not a fad like leisure suits (never been a fan) or bell-bottoms (loved them!) of the 1970’s that disappear or take a long hiatus – (bell bottoms are back baby!).

So how and where do you begin your SEO journey?

I’m often asked this question and my answer is … by getting intimate. And 99.9% of the time I get the same response…’what do you mean by getting intimate?’

Get to know, in-depth, not only your company but also your:
• Customers, and
• Competitors

I cannot stress the importance of this step. And I’m not going to lie. This is a long process and you may not like some of the information uncovered. But if you do not know your company, your customers, and your competition, intimately, then how can you:
• Know what your company truly has to offer – products and services – and more importantly, what they do not offer…but should;
• Know who your customers are…and their needs; and
• Know what you do better than your competition…or do worse!

WHAT IS SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) according to Wikipedia is the process of improving the visibility of a website or web page in search engines via the ‘natural’ or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results.

So … what does that mean? It means getting a potential customer to your website via organic or unpaid means. If done correctly your website will receive a high ranking on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). A high ranking gives your company the exposure it needs to increase the amount of visitors to your website, therefore increasing your ROI.

An increase in your ROI could mean an increase in – sales, visitors to your website, visitors downloading white papers, etc. – there are many ways to measure your ROI.

For your site to receive a high ranking from search engines (major players are Google, Bing and Yahoo) it must have pertinent keywords/phrases placed throughout the website, META tags, links and other social media avenues.

How do you know which search terms/phrases to use? Ah ha…that is where ‘getting intimate’ is so important!

Next blog I’ll go into more detail on how ‘getting intimate’ leads to targeted SEO.

In the meantime what were the fads when you were growing up? Any you really miss? Any you hope never return?

I’m out to get a new pair of bell-bottoms before they go on hiatus again!

Take care, be happy and stay tuned!