V-v-v-v-video! Go Viral, Young Woman!
July 15, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Has the hot new social media element of video landed on a website near you?
If you’ve searched on social media, Google tabulates more than 186,000,000 results in less than half a second. For many entrepreneurs, it ends right there. Overwhelm takes over.
Making sense of social media means thinking through the reasons why you want to use it. What are your goals? Where do you hope to be in six months, a year? How would that look different without a social media?
Without a plan, or at least an idea of what you hope to accomplish with social media, you’ll waste a considerable amount of time, energy and precious resources. You might even turn off some of your potential customers in the process.
Speaker and author (good friend and daring enthusiast) Cynthia Morris recently introduced video to her Journey JuJu blog with Library Juju, talked about the viral social media opportunity.
On the plus side:
According to any number of “experts” video on a website is hot, not only because it attracts viewers, but because it creates a closer connection with the potential customer. (A picture is worth 1,000 words.)
Video sharing websites like YouTube, video.google.com and ustream.tv get millions of hits. Entrepreneurs dream of being the next Susan Boyle (71 million views and counting) when their video goes viral.
Today’s video is easy: use your built-in webcam, upload and go.
On the minus side:
Instead of jumping with excitement, Cynthia ran through a myriad of fear-based questions and came up with a much longer list:
What if people think I look squirrelly?
Maybe someone who was going to hire me will be turned off by the fact that I just went for it?
What if they don’t like the background?
Should I pull it down before anyone sees it? (NOTE: She’d already passed the 50 mark on YouTube.)
How can this work on an ongoing basis for me?
Is video the right tactic for my business?
Does a series of JuJu videos that might make people giggle make sense? (Cynthia is often hired as a speaker/performer.)
How will video impact your business? Have you produced a video yet? Will you do so? What do you think of Cynthia’s?
After our discussion she found and shared with me a great link from HubSpot, an inbound marketing firm that might make your video options a bit easier. Happy shooting!
Website Marketing Opportunities and NOT
June 29, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 1 Comment
“We’re going to switch our URL. I don’t like the name.” (NOTE to self on hearing this: Check the stats to see current traffic patterns and make a recommendation.)
“Nobody has really signed up for our forums; maybe we should cancel them.” (NOTE to self: review the topics and check what response they’ve had in other arenas.)
“My business is just too big for me to care about social media.” The sole proprietor said this without a trace of a smile. (NOTE to self: This sounds like wish.)
Unfortunately, on the web as in other arenas, focus can be a bit myopic:
What’s convenient for me?
How can I make my business run more smoothly?
What do I want?
What can I cross off my “to do” list today?
What sounds good now?
The norm:
Doing business on the fly
Moving fast
Over-commitment
Choosing the easy path
Following recommend of a friend
Content marketing, the art of attracting customers with quality information, means thinking about your customer, listening to your customer and planning to satisfy your customer. How will you fit that into your schedule?
Long Live the Proofers!
May 4, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 1 Comment
Get it write right.
Do errors matter? In some circles, spelling errors have become passé. The digital age and the internet makes correction somewhat easier, but incorrect publicity is just that: incorrect.
A local quarterly magazine misspelled the name of a business owner in its headline. I spoke with her to see how she felt about the problem. True to form she shrugged it off. Yet, I notice no live link to the story on the website. I suspect she dictated that because every other story opens instantly.
In my opinion, a printed publication with a misspelling loses value instantly. Another consultant claims a difference between major and minor spelling errors. Really? Can you be just a little pregnant?
Call me old fashioned, but free publicity that’s wrong is just that. A botched headline or a bungled fact reflects on the publication as well as the business highlighted. Here are the thoughts that come up for me:
- Lack of attention to detail. Who proofed this?
- Error-prone. It appears they don’t care enough to make it right.
- Inaccurate. What else is wrong?
- Embarrassment. Obviously this wasn’t important to them.
- Insult. They couldn’t be bothered because the account didn’t buy the story.
I understand how difficult it can be to orchestrate corrections particularly on deadline. It brings up another conundrum, though. When do you crater? When do you lower your standards and let it go? Or, do you disavow knowledge of the error? Does that make it okay?
Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers. I wrestle with the problem by asking questions:
A non-profit to which I belong has a directory with a key word misspelled on the cover. Someone pointed the error out to me; I’d overlooked it dozens of times. The piece was proofed by several people but not a professional proofer. There’s no budget for a re-do. Most people won’t notice. Does that make it okay?
In another instance, a publisher with known errors in a textbook ships errata sheets with every order. The company also posts errata sheets on the website. And, in a new move to transparency, this company announced it would replace incorrect texts for the cost of shipping at a customer’s request.
How do you treat errors at your company?
Stories That Sell: Add the Case Study to Your Outreach Efforts
April 4, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Case study expert Casey Hibbard teaches her craft in Stories That Sell. The book, published early in 2009, offers readers a content-rich, seven-step ‘how-to’ spiced with examples, diagrams and advice.
Casey’s expertise shines through. From industry experts who endorse her to the clients she features, one thing is clear: she’s all about helping you turn satisfied customers into your most powerful sales and marketing asset.
Here are Casey’s seven steps:
- Strategic story planning
- Uncovering customer candidates
- Securing customer permission
- Intelligence gathering
- Creating compelling stories
- Story signoff
- Leveraging customer stories
Of the seven, step #7, leveraging customer stories, is my favorite not only because it’s most familiar to me, but it’s completely and masterfully presented.
Casey touches on blogs and social media, addresses other aspects of the web including search engine optimization and the part case studies can play in it and then turns her attention to more traditional media.
“Seven Ways to Slice a Customer Story” is a mini case study in the middle of a sub-chapter, “Leveraging Stories to the Media.” In this section she takes her own advice, letting her customer Tech Image, a Chicago-area PR firm, showcase seven ways of using success story and case study content:
Complete story
Quotes
Story highlights
Prep clients for it
Help reporters craft questions and stories
Contribute articles
Awards submissions
“It’s usually a three to one ratio, with one case generating at least three pieces of media coverage,” says Bob Dirkes, account manager at Tech Image.
Sub-chapter take-aways reinforce important points here and throughout the book. Quotes inspire and tease the reader to go on.
I’ve recommended Stories That Sell to clients and fellow consultants and used my copy as a personal textbook: highlights flags and comments across margins mark the copy. Stories That Sell is an asset for any bookshelf and I recommend adding it to your business books. In addition, bookmark Casey’s Stories That Sell blog or join her LinkedIn Group, Success Story Marketing.
E-mail: A low cost solution or an annoyance and obstacle to productivity?
February 26, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 1 Comment
Policing e-mails gets to be a job, especially when the in-box exceeds 200. (My goal is to make it through the list.) As more and more businesses use e-mail communications, the need to grow our effectiveness becomes critical.
According to Forrester Research, eight out of 10 broadband users delete most commercial e-mail without reading it. Six out of 10 say most e-mail offers nothing of interest.
Sid Liebenson, Executive Vice President and director of marketing for Draftfcb, offered basic e-mail guidelines in an op-ed piece in DMNews:
To make it work effectively, use your company name and/or a real name in the “from” field. Personalize and customize content as much as possible. Segment e-mail content so that recipients get information that most interests them – if you don’t know what interests them, ask. Include interaction, like polls or quizzes. Offer reports and whitepapers. Keep messages short, simple, and focused. A text-heavy appearance is deadly. Read the complete article.
I continue to recommend e-mail to clients. In addition, I continue working to improve my own. Post your good e-mail hints (or your worst e-mail examples) here in the comments.
Customer Service, Search Engine Optimization and Public Relations Top Seminar Recommendations
February 22, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
More than fifty people from service providers to construction companies to restaurant owners got together on a Saturday to talk Small Business Survival.
The event, sponsored by WESST and SCORE included a panel discussion and breakout sessions plus networking with a number of service providers.
Panelists emphasized the importance of humor, customer service and old-fashioned relationships. John Garcia of HospiTotally talked about making remarkable experiences memorable, using El Pinto’s chile roasting efforts as one example. (The restaurant roasts chile every day so customers relive and enjoy a fall tradition – the smell of fresh chile – whenever they visit.) Garcia’s handout suggests:
Great service, consistently delivered, generates loyal customers and word-of-mouth public relations for your business or organization. In addition, service is a gift given of one’s self to others. It benefits the giver by reinforcing positive behaviors, it benefits the organization to ingrain those behaviors of service, and it has a positive effect on people who observe such actions.
Clare Zurawski of WESST pointed out search inquiries for Google increased 38% in January 2009, a sign that Internet marketing importance continues to increase. Even if you’re not selling on the Internet, you can’t ignore it. She offered as a resource an article “How SEO and Social Media Can Help Small Businesses Combat the Recession.”
I talked about public relations and used specific examples from local businesses who are members of the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance. In my book, PR is more than just traditional outreach to the media. It’s everything you do, public relations. My three-point formula to market more effectively in this economy:
- Plan. Be on budget and on message. Have strong positioning and a specific offer for your business.
- Evaluate. Use the 24-hour rule and check references.
- Act. Do one marketing thing every day.
The group responded favorably to my “24-hour rule,” a suggestion that entrepreneurs wait 24 hours before making any advertising purchase. My Tip Sheet, Do it Yourself PR 5-Day Project, a takeaway for attendees can be downloaded from my ProfitMeister website.
What struck me about the event: the sense we’re in this together.
Let’s get after it! Let me know what you’re doing to more effectively market your business today.
Three Myths of PR or, What You Always Hear About Public Relations
February 9, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Myth One: You need a big budget.
Advertising sales wisdom suggests you buy the audience. “Run more spots.” “Mail more prospects.” “Buy more display.” That’s PUSH sales. The solution for too much product and not enough traffic: buy more advertising. In traditional public relations, businesses look at clips. Every time your story gets published somewhere you add it to the clip pile. Meanwhile, the PR specialist PUSHES your pitch to dozens or hundreds of journalists. (In the email world we call this spam.)
These techniques fail more often than not today. PULL marketing means consumers select their medium and in some cases even their message. You purchase an appliance like a washer, return the warranty card, check the box to receive direct mail offers, and hear about soap from a different company. In this scenario, you choose to no longer receive washer offers. “Dear Occupant,” mail is the opposite of Pull marketing. (NOTE: Impersonal email blasts are today’s “Dear Occupant.” Emails to 10 people may save you time, but they hardly get the message across.)
My Dad, a farmer, used to make an analogy about one-quarter inch. A quarter inch on the end of a mile-long fence line is nothing he’d say. Then he’d add, “A quarter inch on the end of your nose is a LOT!” So, treat your pr as if it were your nose. It is. Make your quarter inch count. Talk specifically and emphatically with two journalists, not twenty. Spend more time in the planning stage than in the outreach stage. It will pay dividends. Remember, it’s relative.
Myth Two: You can’t reach journalists.
Blasting 700 messages out on the web doesn’t work. It’s unlikely you’ll get seven responses, let alone 70. What to do? Develop your points and then send seven targeted, specific pitches. You’ll likely get three to four responses.
Who do you know? Posting your question on a FaceBook page would be more effective than unsolicited email blasts. I’m suggesting you develop a specific strategy and it begins with thinking. Less is more in this case.
One committee chair, for example, assigned each person to contact someone they knew at media outlets. She provided a flyer with talking points. The result? Her event received widespread coverage. The power of personal relationships added an oomph she couldn’t achieve on her own. How can you think differently about contacting the media.
Do you have a favorite columnist? Is there a particular publication you follow all the time? Focus on making your message relevant for the publication’s or the column’s audience and you’re on the way to success. Do your research and make the contacts. Journalists want to hear from business people like you who have a story to tell.
Myth Three: You must have special expertise.
It doesn’t work that way. You know your product or service. With a little focus you can put together a pitch that works. Scratch expertise and replace it with passion. You must have a passion for getting the word out. In the words of Calvin Coolidge:
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Act now. Move forward in some small way and get the word out.
Do-It-Yourself PR: The One Week Project
February 4, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
“PR” – public relations – seems so BIG it can stop you cold. In the midst of running your business, doing what you do best, self-promotion can take a back seat to sales. And yet, promotion can maximize sales.
The vicious cycle of thinking about the many aspects of promoting your business leads many entrepreneurs to overwhelm, worry and finally, analysis paralysis. I worked with one artist to tackle perceptual problems and make PR a realistic part of her week. We developed this calendar:
Day One:
- Identify three print and three online targets. List your own website as #4 online. Research to discover your best contact at each target.
- Check every target’s website.
- Download editorial calendars where appropriate.
- Make a list of deadlines.
- Note the reporter covering your industry. Google them and read their work.
Day Two:
- Develop a paragraph – three to five sentences about you, your event, your reason for seeking publicity.
- Now, change this paragraph slightly for each target outlet.
- Re-write the same paragraph for your website.
Day Three:
- Prepare a background sheet about your event.
- Answer each of the five W and one H questions: who, what, when, were, why, and how.
- Edit each answer to a short bullet. Elaborate only if necessary.
Day Four:
- Contact your six targets via email.
- In a simple statement, make your request.
- Include your contact information in each email: name, phone number, email and address.
- Paste your fact sheet in below your signature line. Do NOT add an attachment to your email.
- Post your fact sheet on your website in your online media room.
Day Five:
- Evaluate your daily efforts on a scale of one to 5, with one being the strongest and five the weakest. Note where you might increase your effectiveness.
- Begin to formulate your next “story.”
- Focus on an upcoming event, product launch, anniversary or other opportunity.
- Consider why this story is of interest to each target. (HINT: Think about that target’s audience.)
Busy and overwhelm aside, get your public relations project moving with this simple, one-hour-per-day calendar plan and let me know how it works for you.
Think strategically. Your choice of words sends a message.
January 26, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Casey Hibbard, author of Stories that Sell, suggests your website can reflect strategic thinking. Post case studies describing problems solved. Showcase the type of clients you work with. As Casey explained, stories, or in-depth discussions such as these, go much further than simple testimonials. Your case study suggests, “I want more of that kind of business.”
A case study writer by trade, Casey produces dozens of case studies for clients such as Macrovision, Jobfox, USA.NET, and even small companies such as mine.
“The media wants your customer stories,” she writes.
“The story pitch
If you don’t give a customer example in a press release, still offer a customer success story to a media outlet to increase your chances of getting a journalist’s attention.
With your pitch, you might give some bullets about the customer’s success, send a video or written case study, or recommend that the journalist talks to a specific customer.
If you don’t provide it, reporters will likely ask to interview a customer anyway. It’s better to be prepared.
This takes the focus off the vendor business (which editors really like), and puts it on the successful customer – made successful with your solutions. Read more.”
As you look at content for your website, particularly for your online media room, consider case studies. Publish stories about problems you’ve solved, solutions your company provides, and customers you’ve helped. Let your success speak for itself – to potential customers, the media, and most of all, to your own stakeholders.
Awards, Recognition and Other Publicity Add to Your Credibility
January 22, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Thunderous applause. Fabulous trophies, medals and citations. Recognition for you and your company that’s difficult to buy. These are the byproducts of recognition you might earn.
Every year hundreds of honors recognize leadership, service work, outstanding achievement, sales success, women-owned businesses, professional development, community service and more. Your decision to expand your visibility might simply mean applying for awards in your local community, state or trade organization. Here are five tips to help you succeed in your quest:
- Plan ahead. The elements required for each award differ and yet, some of the background information can be gathered in advance. A good bit of the time involved in submitting an important application goes into organizing information the first time around. For example, while you may have five or six versions of a bio, it could be more difficult to list your accomplishments by year. Or, if you have testimonials, it might be important to track customers or vendors who would go into greater detail about how you worked to solve their problem.
- The Small Business Administration offers a series of awards each year during National Small Business Week, May 18 – 22, 2009. Nominations for these awards are due in November of the preceding year and winners know their status in April. (It’s not uncommon to apply six months in advance for an award.)
- Applying for an award is no guarantee of winning it, or even being acknowledged for the work involved.
- Some industries provide a listing of awards available as do a few communities. For the most part, you must research this information on your own.
- Check the criteria, review the application and study the organization before beginning. In other words, read the fine print. If possible, talk with a previous award winner. You may discover some organizations require membership in order to be considered. Others give preference to those nominated by other organizations, rather than individuals. (The National Association of Women Business Owners, NAWBO, frequently encourages its members to apply for specific awards in their community.) As you research awards, keep in mind that you may have to call on the same person more than once to nominate you. Be considerate of the time involved in producing a nomination. Whenever possible, provide complete information, making the nominator’s job smooth and hassle-free.
- The Albuquerque YWCA hosts “Women on the Move” an annual awards program; applications are due on/before January 31.
- New Mexico Business Weekly is currently searching for Women of Influence; applications are due on/before February 20.
- Customize your entry to the specific questions on the application. If the question is about community service, your strength in sales may not matter. If participants are judged on contributions to legislative concerns, someone not in the political arena could be disqualified. One word answers won’t earn recognition. The nominations that win are clear, concise and offer strong reasons in favor of the candidate.
- Proof your work and submit prior to deadline. Enough said. In a tight competition, typos and misspelled words make the difference. (Imagine a “Women on the Move” application that referenced the YMCA instead of the YWCA.) In some cases, late applications are disqualified.
- Never give up. In story after story, companies and businesses owners win awards the second or third time they apply. Why? Because you get better with practice.
So go ahead. Apply for an award. Gather your information and vow to put yourself “on the map.” Good luck! Let me know how you do.
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