Ways To Grow Any Online Marketing

Tips and Ideas for a Corporate Identity Makeover

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:59:14 +0000

Corporate identities are very important in this competitive world of ours. It is through the corporate identity that the core values of an organization are identified. It is not only the big companies that need corporate identity; the small business owner too needs to build a corporate identity standard. This is because it is through the corporate identity package that your suppliers, and the general public identify the company. The best way of getting a corporate identity makeover is through a corporate identity package that includes your business name, your logotype, your motto, your small business logo and all associated printed material.

To help in your corporate identity brand building, write to a few big corporations, asking some question, whose answer has to be sent with a business card. In reply, they would send the answer on their letterhead, in their company envelopes while including their business cards. Now study these corporate’s identity package to get ideas for your corporate image identity.

All corporate identity’s standard is the professional one. However, one thing common in all packages is the simplicity. Usually, all large corporations have a simple symbol like Coca-Cola or Toyota. In corporate identity brand building, quality printing services and paper has to be used for all stationery of the corporate. This signifies quality in the corporate. Quality paper may cost more, but the effects it produces in getting a better corporate image identity covers this cost! Of course, in the makeover of the corporate identity standard, you may consider printing your corporate identity package using your home printer. However, with this, will you be helping in corporate identity brand building? No, as the results will not be as professional as it can be!

The corporate identity standard of big businesses is always consistent. This has to be remembered in the makeover of the corporate identity. The same color is usually used by big businesses in both their logo and their background. Even the usage of the fonts will be constant. These points have to be remembered while building your corporate identity brand.

It is always better to enlist the help of a design professional to improve the corporate image identity of your business. If budget is a concern, you could consider getting a good student graphic designer, who will gladly improve your corporate identity standard in exchange for letting them add this corporate identity in their portfolio. If they do charge a fee for the betterment of your corporate identity standard, it will definitely be less than the services of a professional!

Corporate identity brand building is in fact the bottom line job of marketing. This is because for a makeover of your corporate image identity, different strategies and tactics are used to strengthen the brand name. The corporate identity standard can be very much increased through advertising, public relations, promotions and research and development. Make sure that your name itself is different and unique, to help in your corporate identity brand building!

Tips to Attain Unique Corporate Identity

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:58:24 +0000

Corporate identity had vaguely complied in helping business to create good brand recognition in the market. It is within this means that businesses are able to mark a good name to their targeted audience. Mainly when you are starting to compete with other business it is vital that you stand out and have your own identity to help your customers to visually identify you from your competitors.

Although there may be a little competition within your area, once you engage to the net, you are competing globally meaning you should make a web site of your own that will be visually impressive and professional to customers who are in need of your service.

In order to attain to have unique branding image for your company here are some tips to attain a unique corporate identity.

For your logo application you have to come up with a design that will uniquely stand out. The following tips will be of great help.

Scalability – the designs of your logos must be well balanced so that it can be applied to different mediums ranging from business cards to huge billboards. With this means you will never find it hard to shift your logos from small prints ads to large prints.

Simplicity – it is often quoted that the simpler your logo design is the more powerful it is. For simplicity beholds a beautiful design out of it. Your logo design must encompass fine details and should not be too complex.

Colors – color tend to be a vital element for your logos. This is because the more colorful your designs the more chances of grabbing your customers attention.

Typefaces – the fonts you used should be appropriate with the look of you logo designs. Primarily you have to make sure that they are readable.

Mainly considering all of the above mentioned will dutifully work out to make an effective corporate identity that will make your company stand out among the others.

Moreover in rendering services for your corporate branding service you also need to seek for a professional help. Having the right branding company at your service will help you out to come up with your desired logo design prints.

Summing it up corporate identity can gladly improve to make a recognizable identity for your company and as well as gladly improve to create a name that will definitely pave the market. With your knowledge on the processes you can completely makeover your corporate identity and as well as strengthen your companies’ brand name. With a unique and excellent name will surely aid in establishing a good corporate identity brand building.

Three Traffic Tactics That Won’t Cost You A Cent

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:57:53 +0000

Are you constantly banging your head in frustration on not receiving all the internet traffic you would like to get to your web site? Are you tormented from information overload listening to all the latest free website traffic tactics and not being able to understand any of it? Are you dejected of people trying day and night to harassing you to max out your credit card and get loans for Google clicks, and in the process loose your credit score? Are you stupefied by the way yo…

You can employ website traffic tactics without spending dime. However, knowing how is the real deal. Here’s the score:

1. Link it

Of all the effective website traffic tactics that can get you best results, linking to and from other websites is the one of the most widely-used method. Just make sure that the Internet business you are exchanging links with is relatively if not utterly related to your own business. And of course, don’t overkill as this might ban you from search engines.

2. Meet Meta Tags

Another way of to acquire your desired traffic for your website is through having your Meta tags contain usually used keywords that target your business. Meta tags help search engines in describing your web page. If you’re quite adept with the HTML aspect of your web pages, manipulating your meta tags would be a breeze.

3. Keyword-rich AND sensible content

Writing or acquiring articles that provide solid information regarding your business is one of the best ways. Making use of free keyword suggestion tools such as Overture will help you on which keyword or phrases to work on to better lead more traffic to your website. Making these write-ups very readable and genuinely informative will make you many repeat visitors to subsequently become repeat clients.

Submitting these articles to various article directory listings will provide more visibility for your business as long as you keep your resource box in tact to create for yourself numerous back links.

These methods, if employed properly, will not only make your web site popular but will make you achieve your most desirable result – higher conversion rate.

Three Ways To Create A Trade Show Booth Backdrop

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:57:21 +0000

So you’ve rented a 10′ space at a trade show, and now you want to create an interesting and professional looking graphic backdrop. At this point most people who know anything at all about trade show displays will opt for a “popup display”. But in spite of the popularity of “standard” popup displays, there are other alternatives you might consider.

Here is a very brief introduction to 3 different methods of creating a graphic backdrop for your trade show display area.

1….

Here is a very brief introduction to 3 different methods of creating a graphic backdrop for your trade show display area.

1. Standard PopUp Display

Standard popup displays are very popular. They usually come in 8′ or 10′ widths and are approximately 8′ high. You are likely to see a standard graphic popup display behind the podium at most conventions, special events, or announcements. Especially if it is a short term event, or a series of announcements that moves around from location to location.

The folding frame of a popup display is normally made of either fibreglass or alumnimum tubes. The frame is covered with display panels — either velcro-ready fabric panels, or printed graphics. Graphic panels are made of a material like Duralex which are specially printed lexan panels that are then laminated or coated for protection.

Before the frame is made to “popup” it comes folded down to a unit approximately 8″ square by 30″ wide. When it is unfolded, the frame “pops up” to a skeleton approximately 8′ (or 10′) wide by usually) about 8′ high. This frame normally weighs about 15 lbs. and is stable enough to just sit on the floor without any anchoring or external support.

The panels that cover the frame are about 30″ wide by 8′ high. They are normally adhered to the frame by means of magentic strips applied to their back surface. Once the panels are applied to the frame the display gains even greater stability. When they are taken off the frame, the panels are flexible enough to be rolled up so they fit in the lightweight carrying case. The carrying case also serves as a shipping case.

2. Fabric Wall Displays

The fabric display represents an evolution of the popup. It uses the same kind of folding frame as the standard popup display. But it does not need additional graphic panels, or a mechanism to attach them to the frame.

Instead, the fabric display comes with a specially-printed fabric graphic that is already attached to the frame. So all you have to do is take the unit out of the carrying case and pull it up so it is fully unfolded. The brightly-printed durable fabric stretches smooth as it unfolds.

This is about as easy as it gets.

Like standard popup displays, fabric displays are available in 8′ and 10′ widths. But you can also buy narrower ones in 4′ widths that can be used instead of banner stands.

This super-portable billboard-in-a-bag knocks down into a nylon duffel for easy transport. Perfect for new product intros, event marketing, lobby signs, virtually anywhere you need to make a big statement. They are normally printed with a process called dye-sublimation where the color is transferred right into the fabric. That makes them very stain and scuff resistant and guarantees that they will retain their striking appearance for several years.

3. Vinyl Banner Backdrop

The Vinyl Banner Backdrop is a low cost solution for creating a graphic wall for the back of your trade show space. It consists of an adjustable tubular frame that telescopes from between 3′ and 8′ wide and between 4′ and 8′ high. Larger frames can be purchased as well, but the 8′ x 8′ (fully extended) model is the most popular.

A full color vinyl banner is mounted on the frame by using pole pockets at the top and bottom, and the frame sits on the floor. For easier handling and shipping, the large vinyl banner is produced in 4′ widths and held together when assembled with a product called “mag-edge”. In other words, the two edges in the middle are held together by magnets — a solution that works surprisingly well.

Although this system is a bit more difficult to assemble than a fabric popup, it is only about half the cost.

Tips to Add Credibility to Your Web Directory Listings

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:56:44 +0000

Quality backlinks add value to search engine rankings; however each website directory has rules that you need to follow to avoid having your efforts backfire.Natural linking to add related one-way links to your website is an accepted method for boosting search engine ranking. Done properly, the results will be worthwhile. If you are determined to take shortcuts, consider the consequences. There are valid services who will hand submit your URL to directories, and the best will provide evidence of value for money paid.

Quick and low cost solutions may backfire because others may broadcast your site to 500-1000 or more sites for $19.95, or some similar number up to $99, with varying results. You may see ads for one million sites for some ridiculously low amount. You need to think twice about where your www domain will end up listed. A low price may not be a good price.

None of the services can guarantee you will be approved and listed to all that receive your submission. Each directory has rules, and although some will automatically add your URL, most are reviewed by a human editor prior to approval.

My advice is doing it yourself. Unless you hand submit your www domain to website directories, the quality backlinks you expect from a service company could leave you wondering if your efforts were in vain. By physically visiting each site and reviewing their guidelines, you improve your chances of being approved. More importantly, the rules change.

For example, I developed a list of 150 well established directories that accept free listing of your URL. For natural listing, I choose to submit 5 per day to avoid a spike in backlinks that may be perceived as spam by the search engines.

In the course of submitting over several months, I discovered some directories change policy due to the large number of sites submitted and then they do one of three things. They charge a fee, require a reciprocal link, or temporarily discontinue accepting free submissions. Broadcast submissions will fail without picking up this valuable information, so many will not be approved.

The first step is making sure your website is ready to submit. Be prepared with quality content and then do search engine optimization review prior to submitting to website directories. Use these guidelines to determine if your site is worthy. Keep in mind these are general rules, and may vary from one directory to another. Each listing structure may be organized with variable categories, so an automated system may not properly evaluate the rules.

Do not submit:
1. websites under construction
2. more pages other than your home page
3. to unrelated categories
4. porn, vulgar, hate, or illegal content sites
5. sites in languages other than English
6. pages with plug-ins, pop-ups, or flash only design
7. any graphic only sites with unreasonable load time
8. just your sitemap, a pdf, or catalog only page
9. a site designed primarily with ads or affiliate links
10. a mirror site with duplicate content to another URL
11. the same URL disguised to try to get multiple listings
12. to unique niche directories if your site is unrelated

Some website directories will tolerate minor violations of the above rules. For example, some may allow you to submit multiple pages of your www domain. Most will not list subdomains from free hosting services. If you have built high quality unique content on a free hosting service, some directories may make an exception. By physically visiting each directory, you have the opportunity to evaluate each based on first impression, other sites listed, and any special rules that may affect your approval.

Bonus Tip: Do not use a free service email address when submitting to directories. Most require that you provide a working email address to qualify for submitting your URL. Some may not tell you, however, most expect that the email address provided includes the same ending as your www domain. The editors are often too busy to respond to each site submitted, so if you are not approved, they won’t tell you.

Finally, if all this seems like a lot of work, it is. The preparation and time to submit requires long hours. Fortunately, you may spread out the task over time to make the job easier. Once you’re ready, do 5 a day for natural linking, and your listing in 100-150 directories should be accomplished in less than 2 hours a day over 30 days.

Three Ways to Outsell Your Brick and Mortar Competition

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:56:05 +0000

The Internet offers the flexibility to offer things to your customers that your brick and mortar competitors can’t.When you run a brick and mortar business, you can’t be all things to all people. You’re confined by geography, time, space, and labor. Until the age of the Internet, it was rare to find a competent one-stop shop. Even then, most of those were run by retail giants with millions of dollars and thousands of employees backing it up.

Then, along came the Internet, and with it the World Wide Web, and eventually e-commerce. This made it possible to provide a customer with more services, since goods could be shipped from nearly anywhere. It negated the need for hands-on inventory, and any basic storefront could be the middleman for any number of suppliers.

What does this mean for the average small Internet business owner? You have an expansive power over your local retail and service providers in that you have the ability to connect customers with goods that you’ve never seen, don’t supply, and aren’t near you.

How can you leverage this? Online there are three major ways you can accomplish this.

1. Outsourcing
If you do web design or copywriting, or another related service, you can outsource some of your work by finding someone to do a portion for you. This could be a service you don’t usually offer or don’t wish to offer. You can add the charge right to your clients’ bills as per your billing policy. This is a simple way to complete a project and wow your client without creating a long-term commitment or adding a service to your list.

2. Partnerships
Many small Internet-business owners create an agreement through which they serve each others’ clients. One will provide coaching services, for example, and if their clients need any goal achievement training, the other person will automatically be contracted to provide it. Likewise, if one has goal achievement class clients that want to expand their training, they will automatically be referred to the coach. Partnerships allow you to provide an additional service AND receive qualified prospects.

3. Affiliates
Affiliate programs are the least seamless for your client, and there aren’t any guarantees that they will follow through with the sale, but the good news is that by now, most Internet users are used to purchasing items through affiliate programs, so they at least understand the concept. Affiliate programs are an entire beast of their own, and you can find a plethora of information online that will teach you how to set them up, how to track traffic and sales, and how to effectively promote them.

Basically, you refer your clients to another business or website and they make their purchase independently of their order and relationship with you. The business they purchase from then pays you a commission – either a percentage of sales or flat rate per sale. Affiliate programs have the potential to be highly profitable with the right quantity and quality of traffic. They do often require a lot of work to set up and maintain.

While as an independent small business owner you will still be somewhat limited as to how many services you can actually offer, the Internet opens up numerous possibilities that allow you to expand well beyond the capacities of a brick and mortar business. Take advantage of those opportunities, and maintain them wisely, and you’ll “build” a successful, profitable business.

Tip To Increase Sales By Word Of Mouth Publicity With Promotional Toll Free Prepaid Phone Card Giveaway Online

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:55:32 +0000

What keeps you up at night?

It’s a good question for you to ask yourself once in a while. For most eCommerce entrepreneurs one of the answers is the thought of revenue lost as potential customers abandon your web site without buying. That’s 97.4% or so of your visitors, according to the accepted industry average conversion rate. Are you confident that your site converts visitors into customers at the best rate possible? If so, you’re probably getting a better night’s sleep…

What keeps you up at night?

If not, you’re probably tossing and turning, thinking about ways to increase web site sales. You might think you have already tried every little conversion rate optimization tip or trick. Do you have a strong “Call to Action” benefit? Have you ever tested different messaging with tools such as split A/B landing page optimization? The web is always changing. Unless you are sure that there is no room for improvement, its clearly time to consider how you can take your website to the next level to increase online sales with a value added promotional benefit.

1. Bait your prospects with the right cheese.

Online shoppers are more sophisticated today. You should assume that your prospects will evaluate three to four competitors before deciding to purchase. You need to stand out and provide the right bait to get your prospects to stop and buy at your site, rather than move on to a competitor.. In some cases, merchants need to find a special kind of cheese that will get the mouse to click on certain shipping options or up-sells. Getting creative in what bait you use is what will increase conversion rates if you know what type of cheese will make that mouse click.

2. Create a value-added offer.

Sometimes you need to go beyond your product line to find a potential partner that could benefit from a cross promotion. Some gift items can be presented as bonus offerings that would bring a high perceived added value, such as. Free prepaid phone card giveaway with a volume discount. Such an item could even be co-branded as a special value-added thank you gift.

3. Offer free gifts that creates buzz with word of mouth publicity

Think of a gift or promotional item that prospects will keep on them at all times such as inside their purse or wallet. Giving this item away is what creates the word of mouth publicity buzz for increased “buzz”, brand awareness, and ultimately more Internet sales. The example of a free co-branded phone card giveaway is a great way to get your customers to carry your brand at all times and increase repeat orders and referrals. Gifts like free prepaid phone cards are especially effective because they are designed for repeated use. As a result, the customer will be exposed to your brand for the seven plus times experts say are necessary before a prospect is ready to convert to a sale or reorder. It’s also likely to more than carry its weight in word of mouth publicity for referrals.

5. Create a personalized benefit

Always look for ways to personalize your offer. Instead of “we” or” I”. talk to the customer individually as “you”. Make your prospects feel special, elite and make it personal in any way possible when giving away a value added benefit. Personalize your gift when possible and find a partner with whom you could cross promote a co-branded personalized items.

6. Give away a high perceived value item:

Offering something for FREE is always nice. But the word “free” can carry negative connotations. You always want to keep the perceived value of any gift or offer high.

Example:

Get a free prepaid phone card online with your order today

Vs.

Receive a complimentary prepaid phone card worth more than 1 hour of free calling to the U.S. and many other countries as a personal thank you gift for your order today.

Grab your prospects today, and give them an incentive to buy on your site. Now its time for you to find your special “cheese” that will get your prospect’s mouse to click on your personalized high perceived-value benefit.

Tipical Mistakes in Marketing

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:54:46 +0000

To prevent the risks of a promotion campaign for our products or services, I’m talking about email campaigns, it is recommended to study some of the most common mistakes that can be made in this situation

1. The desire of immediate success

Launching a promotion campaign through email can be compared the situation in which we want to reach the top of a hill with our car, starting from the base. It is obvious that we won’t succeed on the first try and it requires a little more time until we reach the proper speed. In some cases we get to wonder if our car is capable of such a task. It takes patience!

On the other hand, experts say that the only variable that influences the success of any marketing campaign is “the force of the message”. That’s why a campaign needs to be focused, faithful to the promoted message and you need to arm yourself with A LOT of patience.

2. Trying to reach a bigger audience then your budget allows.

Which would be the right option? To have your message reach the whole target group and to influence only 10% or to have your message reach only 10% of the targeted group but to influence all the members?

To understand better how marketing efforts can get more efficient take a look at this analogy: your message is the “nail”, repeating action is the “hammer” and the client is a “chuck of wood”. If the “nail” is sharp and the hammer is used efficiently you can pierce through the chuck of wood and catch the client.

Oh well maybe it wasn’t the right analogy but I’m sure you got the message?
Let’s move on…

3. The assumption that the business owner is always right or “knows best”. There are situations in life ( like family environment, profession, hobbies), when are are all emotional implicated and we risk to lose objectivity. The excess of information related to our company, the services and products we offer, makes us answer questions that are never asked.

“When you are closed in a bottle it’s hard to read your own label”. In this case, the opinion of a “outsider” can help.. big time!

4. Unfonded complaints

A lot of service providers are complaining that they don’t identify correctly the request of their clients and they end up by losing them. In this situation, it’s best to be specific in your presentation, offers, in the way you conduct your business because it’s better to be specific then to generalize.

5. Sending single emails instead of email campaigns

Just like Rome wasn’t built in a single day, or like friendship doesn’t mean just one date, a single advertising ad doesn’t provide the impact of an entire advertising campaign. While developing a advertising campaign there needs to be a connection, a link, a logic fluidity. All emails you send can be compared to pieces of a puzzle game that represents your company’s image.

6. Obedience to the unwritten rules.

You certainly want to be unique, different from the others. If you act like it, you certainly will be noticed.

7. Ignoring the adequate moment for sending emails.

8. Selecting the target audience.

The fact that the advertising message needs to reach the decision factors ( people that make decisions ) of a company doesn’t mean that your campaign is successful. The truth is that, the big majority of the decisions are presented to the people within the company: coworkers, employees, and so on. They make the decisions together.

9. Ignoring the words with impact.

Words like: agile, smart, cute, creative, are just surrogates for words like: informative, credible, memorable and persuasive. The name of the e-commerce game is “persuasiveness”, influencing potential buyers to really buy your merchandise. This is what really brings you money and success.

Three Ways To Start A Conversation And Finish With A Sale

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:54:06 +0000

Ditch your elevator pitch. Zap your infomercial. And whatever you do, keep your carefully worded, painstakingly developed, positioning statement to yourself.

They may make you sound clever, but your elevator pitch, infomercial or positioning statement don’t exactly make for good conversations. Which is a shame, because last I checked, even a sales conversation is just that – a conversation.

So what can you say to a prospect sitting across the boardroom table, or someone…

Ditch your elevator pitch. Zap your infomercial. And whatever you do, keep your carefully worded, painstakingly developed, positioning statement to yourself.

So what can you say to a prospect sitting across the boardroom table, or someone you meet at a networking event or the beach bum in the next chaise longue? How can you start a conversation in a totally natural, familiar way that doesn’t sound like a sales pitch to the other person, doesn’t feel like a sales pitch to you, and yet increases your chance of getting your next referral or making your next sale?

Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a magical phrase or headline that will make the other person want to buy your product or services – it just doesn’t exist.

What does exist, however, is an approach that will elicit interest from the other person so that he or she will want to engage you in a conversation. As a copywriter, I have adapted several copywriting styles and approaches for use in verbal conversations.

Here are three of my favorites.

#1 The Provocative Question

Chances are, you’ve seen this technique on websites, flyers and direct mail. It’s Copywriting for Direct Marketers 101, and it works just as powerfully in verbal conversations. In fact, it works so well that I’m surprised people don’t use it more often!

The best way to come up with a Provocative Question is to ask yourself the following:

“What question can I ask, such that the response from the other person allows me to say, ‘That’s what I do…’?”

The best Provocative Question pinpoints a problem or a symptom of a problem that the other person has. However, don’t get trapped into thinking that the problem has to be a big, generic problem that the category as a whole solves. It can be a small but nagging problem, or even a one that people have when they deal with your competitors.

Many people have a hard time coming up with Provocative Questions because, ironically, the most compelling ones are also the simplest and most obvious. Another thing that people have trouble with is answering a question with a question — when someone asks us a question, we’re wired to answer. What I am suggesting here is that you use that wiring to your advantage.

Here’s an example. When someone asks me what I do, I often answer back with a Provocative Question like this:

“Well let me ask you a question. When you go to a networking event or when you have to introduce yourself in public, how confident are you with the way you describe your business?

Almost every time, the person acknowledges that he or she doesn’t feel confident with the way they describe their business. In that moment, I have engaged the other person’s interest by presenting what I do in a way that’s personally meaningful to him or her. Then, what generally ensues is a conversation about the sales and marketing challenges they have and how I can help.

If, on the other hand, the person responds by saying that they‘re totally confident with the way they describe their business, that’s cool too. I have two choices; I can either move on to another provocative question, (such as, ‘That’s great, do you get the response you want or would you like more people to ask for your business card, even in social situations?’), or I can talk about how being confident about the way you describe your business shows you have exceptional clarity the true value you offer to your clients — and how that’s the absolute most fundamental plank of your sales and marketing.

It’s all good — it’s all about having a conversation around an issue that’s both A) important to the other person, and B) related to a core challenge that you help your best clients solve.

#2 The Level-Setting Statement

If you’re a financial advisor, consultant, or in any other crowded profession where your prospects are very familiar with — perhaps even jaded about — the kind of work you do, this one’s for you.

The ‘level-setting statement’ is a universal statement that gets the other person nodding in agreement and then, WHAMMO! your point of difference hits them like a ton of bricks!
Here’s why it’s such a powerful technique. You can only be different in comparison to something else. That’s what the level-setting statement does — it establishes what that something else is.

Here’s just one example from an event planner I worked with:

“There are five specific areas of expertise that are absolutely critical in major event planning. (Pause – and wait to see if the other person wants to know what they are.) While there are a lot of excellent event planners who can do a good job in one or two of them, it’s extremely unlikely that any one event planner would be an expert in all of them. Because I’ve been in the business for 15 years — on both the corporate as well as on the vendor side — I’ve developed a detailed planning process around each and every one. That’s what enables me to track and manage the myriad of details to guarantee a successful event.”

By stating the level-setting statement up front, you educate the other person about the industry you operate in, and establish a frame of reference that gives meaning to the differentiation you want to communicate.

You can use this approach to challenge an underlying assumption that people have about the industry, to illustrate a small but significant problem that generally annoys customers when dealing with your competitors, or anything else that allows you to highlight your solution.

Take a look at your own point of difference. Can you come up with a level-setting statement that will help you stand out even more?

#3 Address The Stereotype Head-on

You know how as soon as people discover you’re a _________________(insert your title here), they immediately form an impression about you that’s based on a stereotype?
Unfortunately, that stereotype is often negative.

For professions such as life insurance agents or used car salespeople, where the negative stereotypes run strong and deep, I recommend you address the stereotype head-on:

“If I tell you I’m a used car salesman, you’d probably think ‘plaid jacket guy who sells lemons to unsuspecting customers’, right?”

Pausing here is important here, because you want to give the listener time to move the image of the stereotype from the unconscious part of their brain to the conscious part. They might even want to chime in and give you their negative experience about dealing with ‘people like you’.

Perfect – now their guard is down. Now you can continue on to explain how your business, service or approach ‘fixes’ the problem that everyone else in your industry has created.
That’s your most compelling differentiator!

Stop selling! And start having real conversations!

Simple as it may seem, everything truly does start with a conversation. You’re not trying to tell your entire story, nor are you even trying to get the most important points out of your mouth first. All you want to accomplish is elicit interest from the other person; to have that person say, ‘tell me more’.

So don’t think of these as sales techniques – think of them as conversation starters.

The rest is up to you. If you are genuinely interested in helping the person you’re chatting with, chances are better than excellent you’ll finish with a referral or a sale.
Now go out and have some conversations!

Three Ways to Invest Time + Money In PR

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:53:12 +0000

In my recent interview with Buzz Media’s Elizabeth Pereira and Fritz Chaleff, we discussed the basics of these not-so-basic approaches. Read on for how to get lots of attention for your story, using these wise investments of your time and money.Elizabeth: PR should be included in every marketing plan you develop…from the very beginning of a new product being launched or a policy coming out. Use it heavily in the beginning to establish a brand, then level out over time. It’s also a good tool for handling crisis down the road.

For consumer-related messages, PR really builds credibility quickly – 40-50% of your budget isn’t unreasonable.

Fritz: The traditional view is that product marketing should go with ads, not PR…and that issues and position-related launches should use op-eds and PR. But I see it as actually the opposite…for example a good story on NPR will do more than, say, ads. Think of PR to launch a brand, and advertising to maintain it.

Kelly: What advice to you have for someone just learning about PR for their business or organization?

Fritz: PR is a process – it’s not a one-time hit or magic bullet. Just like networking or in social experiences, it takes time to develop trust and credibility. So just one press release in a vacuum won’t do it. This is really a cornerstone. One thing that really helps is planning – even if it’s a year out…you need to be thinking about it now.

Actually, you really need to be thinking and talking internally about it all the time. All of your employees are diplomats and ambassadors of your company. So all the internal communications need to be aligned, with policies on if or how to talk with the press, the general public…talking points are key, as is training. Protect your brand by getting everyone on the same page.

Kelly: So what’s the one thing you wish your clients would do that would make it easier for you to help them in their publicity efforts?

Elizabeth: Bring us into the planning process early on. Often, clients will sit down at the beginning of the year when they get their budget and plan, but don’t include their PR team until much later. You need to think through angles and pitches early on – and be thinking strategically…not just about tactics.

Fritz: Then there’s the media schedule – if you want to do big pushes in February, realize that you’re competing with the Super Bowl, Grammy’s and Oscars. Even if you’re local and on a smaller scale, there’s an annual cycle that you need to take into consideration.

Elizabeth: There are things you should plan around, unless you can relate your topic to these things.

Fritz: The other thing is for clients to understand the difference between the story and how it’s pitched. We had a client who shot themselves in the foot by not allowing us to let the media ask them about a particularly hot topic – it’s got to be about what the public wants, not what you necessarily want to say.

Kelly: So what should a small company budget for PR if they want to build a regional presence?

Fritz: That’s a great question…and again, it depends on whom you’re trying to reach. You need to look at the scope of what you want to do. What’s your dream list, and then scale it back and budget realistically. Come up with smart PR dollars, and don’t waste your investment. So television interviews may not be needed, when radio will be more effective.

Kelly: Let’s talk about radio in a minute. But first, what are SMTs and VNRs…and why are they beneficial to PR campaigns?

Fritz: A Video News Release (VNR) is a pre-packaged news segment. It looks like anything you’d see on local news – with a reporter in the field, a voiceover, and it’s edited just like news. You then send that to any newsroom and they can pop it in, just like any news piece. So instead of the station having to come out and cover your story, you’re saving them the expense and time. News production has become so much more expensive and producer workload has tripled…so this really makes sense because you’re making their life easier, as long as it’s a balanced piece. You can even do a specific style for a specific network.

The SMT is a Satellite Media Tour. This is doing a series of interviews in a studio, with a satellite uplink that connects to any affiliate in the country, with a reporter doing 2-3 minute interviews. You’ll hit one- to two-dozen markets in a couple of hours, which would have cost you far more in travel, lodging, downtime, etc. Smaller companies don’t tend to go this way (there’s a cost of entry starting at about $12k), but once you figure out what it can do for you on a national scope, the dollars make sense. You can also use it for local and regional markets, targeting only those audiences you want to reach.

Elizabeth: Yes, if you want to launch something within a state (for example, a new mass transit system in a region), it’s much more efficient. Local elected officials may not have time to run around to every station in their market, but will have time to go to one studio for an hour or two, and talk to eight different local or regional stations.

Kelly: Okay – back to radio. How can radio boost awareness about PR campaigns?

Elizabeth: Radio is a great option for clients with smaller budgets. It’s also good to mix in with SMTs. Radio is a different audience – they tend to be captive and in the car. There are many different types of programs that are very targeted, so it’s easier to reach a specific audience.

Radio is also a lot cheaper – costs about 50% of SMTs – and has a lot of credibility…it’s really a big up and coming tool.

Again, you need plenty of lead-time for radio, although it’s less complicated than TV. We recommend 4-6 weeks of lead-time, to help with targeting and messaging. And sometimes radio is better because it’s not a visual story.

Fritz: With radio, you can get so specific on your demographic target…so the more you know about your target audience, you can really focus how to spend your dollars.

Kelly: Do you have an opinion on the difference in effectiveness between a straight radio interview vs. an editorial-based audio news release?

Elizabeth: I prefer radio media tours better, because you can attach a person’s name to a story and interact with the anchor…and connect better with the audience to build trust.

Kelly: Do you have a specific PR success story you’d like to share?

Elizabeth: We did a satellite media tour for the National Museum of the American Indian. The launch was a huge success…we had 21 interviews lined up for the Museum Director that turned into 91 airings nationwide. One place where we really helped was in targeting the radio stations – many we found were on Native American reservations.

Kelly: So how should people think about “success” – what are the metrics we should consider for PR?

Elizabeth: It really depends on what your goal is: to increase public awareness? to increase museum visits? to sell more books? So we provide statistics on airtime…and encode our broadcasts to see how long they last…and then compare that to ad dollars. Advertisement usually ends up being far more expensive that what they invested for the tour, not to mention the difference in credibility you get from PR vs. ads.

Kelly: So where can people go to learn more?

Fritz: We recommend a couple of websites:

http://www.satellitemediatour.net/

http://www.videonewsrelease.info/

http://www.radiomediatour.com/

http://www.brollproduction.com/

And if you’re in the Washington, DC area, please join Fritz and Elizabeth at PR Nation, Buzz Media’s monthly networking event. For more information visit http://www.buzzmediapr.com or http://www.prnation.org.