July 25, 2009
3 Seminars To Help You Grow Your Business
Amp up your company’s communication power with these lively and information-packed two-hour sessions. In today’s market, you need all the media juice you can get and these seminars will help you keep your competitive edge (and message!) sharp. Three topics and four dates to choose from. We look forward to seeing you!
Social Media - $49.00
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Learn the value of online social networking as a business tool. REGISTER NOW
Marketing - $49.00
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - 10:00 am to Noon
Make your marketing investment earn results for your business. REGISTER NOW
Social Media - $49.00
Thursday, September 3, 2009 - 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Learn the value of online social networking as a business tool. REGISTER NOW
Public Relations - $49.00
Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 10:00 am to Noon
Learn how to turn media and publicity opportunities into free advertising for your business. REGISTER NOW
July 21, 2009
Get Noticed. Not Deleted
It’s easy to forget that the people you want to reach are just as swamped by information overload as you are. This includes all sorts of media professionals who get bombarded on a daily basis with story ideas for radio, television, print and interactive outlets. What makes them notice some stories when most get blown away by the dreaded “delete” button? To make your message cut through the clutter and stand out, you need a way to help them see why your story is perfect for their next assignment.
Part of the secret to getting publicity is remembering that reporters are people too. They have editors to please and a valuable, hard-won audience that demands fresh, interesting and useful content. The more you understand what media professionals are looking for when they’re trying to beat a deadline, the more attention you’ll get for your product or service. Here are a few key points to keep in mind:
Ask yourself “so what?” People don’t buy drills because they need drills. They buy them because they need HOLES! Your offering may be the next big thing, but if you can’t explain it in terms that matter most to the end user, your message is nothing but noise. Make the story more about the audience than your product by focusing on the key feature or benefit that would matter most to them.
Say it, don’t spray it. Whether it’s a reader or a reporter, you only have seconds to grab their attention. When you get a chance to speak up, don’t blow it by reciting pages of boring specs and formulas. Use a mirror to rehearse a few short interview points that focus on what your offering does to improve the recipient’s life in some practical way.
Get socially networked. Social media isn’t just for hackers and slackers anymore. Major brands from Southwest Airlines to Starbucks use social networking tools like twitter to make personal, two-way connections with their audience. You can learn to give your business an impressive digital presence without spending a fortune.
People who master these secrets gain thousands of dollars worth of free media exposure and you can too. If you want learn how to get noticed and not deleted, Unlocking the Power of Publicity by Robin D. Cook is the guide you’ve been looking for. In a practical, step-by-step language, Robin teaches you how to find the newsworthy part of your story and get reporters interested in what you have to say. People are out there waiting for your message and Unlocking the Power of Publicity will help you reach them with great publicity. Available online today from Wheatmark Publishing, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
May 8, 2009
3 Seminars to Help You Grow Your Business
Have you ever been interested in learning how to effectively promote your business, gaining the ultimate returns for your efforts? Marketing with a Flair conducts three seminars to help you discern the best avenues for public relations, social media and marketing.
Public Relations Seminar
Think beyond advertising by learning how to gain publicity for your business. Our public relations seminar offers insight about how to get the right story to the right media representatives and the common publicity pitfalls that you should avoid. Be prepared to generate a specific publicity plan detailing the needs of your company!
Public Relations Seminars:
5/19/09: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
6/10/09: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Social Media Seminar
Not on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Learn how to make the most of these tools by learning the value of social networking as a business tool, best practices and specific strategies to attain success online. Bring your laptop and we will help you get set up!
Social Media Seminars:
5/19/09: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
5/21/09: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
6/5/09: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Marketing Seminar
Ever invested in advertising that yielded zero results? Don’t let that happen again. Discover how to define and reach your ideal target audience, increase response rate, save your company money by stretching your marketing dollars and measure your results.
Marketing Seminars:
5/15/09: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
6/2/09: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cost is $49 per seminar.
Seating is limited! Please RSVP by calling 602.374.4923, or register and pay online.
February 9, 2009
Face to Face vs. Digital
Face to Face or Digital Bits? Are you able to gain trust via social networking or are you being misrepresented?
We are inundated in the digital age—especially those affiliated with the marketing industry. Social media has recently caused me to scratch my head and wonder whether or not all these sites are interpreting our lives and motives incorrectly? Are we lost in the translation?
While doing research for a marketing project, I asked from my fellow PR colleagues and friends who know me for advice. (Know: meaning, having physically encountered my face and grabbed lunch with.) When I asked my cyber world PR colleague the same questions/advice, he/she assumed my request had an ulterior motive; I was up to no good, selfishly seeking a secret of theirs. This was 100% not the case. Unfortunately, this person, who only knew me via social media, was not willing to offer any help for fear I was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. My other colleagues, whom I meet with on a regular basis, trusted me enough to know that I was not planning on stealing their clients. Why is this?
Does the lack of personal involvement cause social media users to look at us with a wary eye? Does social media help us trust people? We as marketing professionals want to be trusted, don’t we?
I take pride in the fact that my company wholeheartedly embraces face to face relationships and our clients love us for it. How 20th century, right? Well, the age-old adage still holds true: people buy people. When we sell something, we’re really selling ourselves. Remember that one? Think about it, the reporter who you physically shook hands with and introduced yourself to, will be much more likely to respond to your email or tweet. The clients who you personally met and lunched with usually replies to you in timely manner, don’t they?
These days business is submerged in emails, social media space and countless other digital forms of communication. We keep pushing more and more internet sites to better communicate. But are we really communicating in a trustworthy way? Pokes, Becoming a Fan, Following—what are they really saying? Don’t get me wrong, social media is phenomenal. It is completely revolutionizing the way we do business, however, is it enough? I think that the elimination of the in-person factor will cause us to lose sight of what humans really respond to. Is physically getting to know someone completely dead? What would happen if more of us stepped away from the computer and connected face to face? I think we would be surprised with the results.
I think the clear answer is that we need both the tremendous reach of social media as well as face to face connections for all around success.
January 19, 2009
Just because it’s popular, doesn’t mean you should do it.
Remember when your mom used to say, “If all your friends jumped off a bridge…would you?” Well, it seems everyone is jumping off the traditional marketing and advertising bridge into the cool, refreshing, yet tumultuous waters of social media. Have you taken the plunge? Why or why not?
Being completely immersed in the social media culture may be the hip popular thing to do, but make sure you’re asking yourself, “Is being on Facebook, Twitter or one of the many numerous rapidly growing social networking sites right for my business?” Here are some things to consider.
Time: Managing your social network reputation can be a full time job. Just look at this statement by Guy Kawasaki, social media and marketing guru, “Twitter is my job–albeit a fun job–but a job nonetheless.” Guy Kawasaki and many others are social networkers full time. However, their primary audience is communication professionals, so this is the perfect medium for them. As with any marketing tool, you’ll need to evaluate where your time is best spent.
Target Market: Each social media site has a targeted demographic. Find out what demographic is using each social networking site and determine if this is the right site for you and your business. For example, we know that the 35-54 year old segment is the fastest growing group of users on Facebook and grew at a rate of 172.9% in 2008. When evaluating this information, make sure you are retrieving the most up to date statistics. Social media can and has made drastic changes in a matter of months (Facebook grew faster than any media platform in history from 2006 to 2008).
Goals: You’ll need to begin your social networking endeavor with a specific strategic plan with clearly defined goals and objectives. What are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking simply to add more people to your network? Increase your brand awareness? Increase traffic to your Web site? Or are you looking to improve sales? And more importantly, do you have a way to measure these goals?
Preparedness: Are you prepared to have a conversation with your customers and potential customers? Marketing yourself, your business and/or your product or service means that you must move from a transaction-based effort to a conversation. What will you talk about? What do they need to know about you, your business and/or your product or service?
The key to any successful marketing strategy is determining what will work best for you. As we all know, one size does not fit all. Don’t jump on the bandwagon without a comprehensive plan on what will work and how you will utilize social marketing and measure your results to best stretch your marketing dollars and build your business.