Your Marketing Sucks Because You are Afraid to Talk About Your Accomplishments
Written on August 8, 2007 by admin
5 Ways Tooting Your Own Horn Can Help Grow Awareness of Your Company
1. The media doesn’t have a radar that tells them when you do something amazing, like launch a new website. You have to TELL them! Television and radio stations, websites and newspapers are always looking for the latest story. That just might be you. Although you might not think writing a book is newsworthy, others might, and telling the world is a great way to sell books (or whatever product you sell).
2. The more places you are, the more likely you are to generate sales. Say, for example, this is your first encounter with me, Susan Payton, Marketing Blog Guru. But then you’re on ideamarketers.com and you find one of my articles on marketing and entrepreneurs. Then you search for “Orlando marketing firm” and there is my company, Egg Marketing & Public Relations. There are also articles and press releases about me and my book. People start to take notice when they see you or your company multiple times. They think, “this is someone worth paying attention to.”
3. If there is an event in the news that somehow pertains to your company, ride it. My former client, Baby’s Here, has a line of political birth announcements. With all the election coverage in the news, it would be easy to ride this related wave and promote his business. Pay attention to what’s going on so that you can take the opportunity when it comes.
4. Never underestimate the power of press releases. Sure, they go out into a sea of news, but all it takes is just one or two strategically placed articles to create a buzz. Rather than just sending out a blanket press release via PRWeb or MarketWire, also research media contacts at relevant media sources. If you have a local business, seek out reporters at local television stations, news editors at the radio stations, and the proper journalist at your local newspaper. If your product is more national, research websites and magazines in your niche. Chances are, they’re hungry for good stories.
5. If you have an email contact database (you do, right?), send your news to your list. It helps keep you in front of potential customers, who are impressed at all the accolades and achievements, and when they need your products, you will be at the top of their minds.
When You Should NOT Toot
While you don’t want to be too modest when it comes to your business’ achievements, you don’t want to falsely generate news, or pile it on. I worked for a manufacturing company that sent press releases out every week. The problem was, they weren’t newsy. They were about products the company had been selling for years. Don’t cry wolf with news, or the media will stop paying attention to you.
Here are some toot-worthy topics:
* launch of company
* launch of website
* major contract won
* you wrote a book
* new product/service
* partnership with another company
* new location opening
Stay tuned: August 13-17 is Blogging & Your Business! Get expert advice on how blogging can help you grow your business!
-Susan
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