Category: Blog

Sometimes… You Just Need a Little Help
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Being in business for 13 years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many people who have started businesses. What I found is there are many who have great products and services, but lack the “know-how” to get their business to the right level.

No one can do it all. Businesses are multi-tiered. Not only are there functions that include accounting, marketing, human resources, sales, etc., there are also functions/responsibilities within those areas.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are creative professionals who can assist you with ways to help your business succeed. The following is a short list in the area of public relations and marketing communications.

  • Public Relations Professional – The Public Relations Society of America defines public relations as “A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” The public relations practitioner can help with identifying your target market (demographics), strategy, social media, developing “stories,” special events (product launches), and media relations.
  • Marketing Consultant – The marketing consultant can assist you with developing your sales and marketing strategies, pricing, product placement, lead generation, branding, Internet and SEO, developing print and online marketing campaigns.
  • Professional Copywriter – We can all have great ideas, but describing those ideas, services and products in a way that persuades potential customers can be daunting. Copywriters write content for websites, marketing and sales materials, brochures and direct mail. They also assist in advertising by writing taglines, jingles and ad copy. Copywriters can be independent or employed by ad agencies, public relations and marketing firms.
  • Event Planner – Planning a professional event is not the same as throwing a birthday party, although there are similar elements. The logistics include identifying the purpose, theme, audience, venue, program/activities, time and dates.
  • Graphic Designer – It never gets old because it’s true: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A creative graphic designer is the bedrock of publications. Yes, the copywriter helps with words, but the graphic designer determines the look, feel , tone and personality of any printed piece.
  • Photographer – Not everyone with a camera can take relevant photos. The trained photographer understands positioning, lighting, moods, rhythm and purpose so that the image “speaks” without words.

Business owners may be the best at what they do, however no one is the best at everything. In business, it’s best not to be the jack-of-all-trades but the “master of one” great skill. Using professionals who are the best at what they do can help your business make a big impact.

MeetUp With Others to Help Your Business
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Thinking back to my teen years, the best times were when I’d get on my bike, or car after learning to drive, and meet with friends. That same concept is useful in helping to grow businesses.

MeetUp.com is the world’s largest network of local groups. It’s where anyone can organize a group or attend others in their communities geared toward many topics. As stated on their website, “MeetUp’s mission is to revitalize the local community and help people around the world self-organize. MeetUp believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.”

If you are looking to start or expand your business, using MeetUp to research your demographics can be a way to gather information. Are you thinking about relocating your business to another city? Attend a MeetUp in that city. This could make moving a bit easier. Is a new product launch in the plans? Use MeetUp to create a focus group to discuss your new product, gain feedback, and much more.

It’s not just the community MeetUps that are proving beneficial. People are forging friendships across the country. It is a great way to meet and fellowship with new people with similar interests.

Check it out. Who knows, we just might meet up!

Brand Journalism: What’s Next? Part Three
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I once worked at one of Ohio’s largest newspapers. Though I was on the advertising side (at our paper, the advertising and journalism departments did not mix), I still understood the journalists and how they thought.

When moving your company toward brand journalism, you have to build a newsroom mentality among your employees. You have to write differently and perform differently in order to create a news website.

Mark Ragan and Jim Ylisela talk about how traditional media has changed. However, brand journalism is really going back to the “old school” newspaper model.

Click here to hear more.

Host Your Own Show! Guess What? You Don’t Even Need a TV
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With today’s online technology, you don’t need a television to produce a show. Many people have started their own talk shows, reality shows, sports shows, and even online radio programs, by using several free online resources. Five are listed here:

  • Youtube.com
  • Google Hangout
  • UStream
  • LiveStream
  • Spreecast

All of these platforms offer ways to broadcast your online show to millions around the world. They are open and online 24/7.

Why stop at a talk show? You can create your own commercials and sell advertising. All of these platforms allow you to share what you’ve produced on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and any other social media platform. If you provide great content, then people will share it for you.

Last December, I had the opportunity to appear as a guest on Audrey Wiggins’ “Make Something Happen TV.” The topic was, Do You Need to “Be More Visible? On the show, I commented on the importance of good public relations. I also shared personal reflections on my love of fitness and competitions. Take a look. Maybe it might inspire you to start your own show!

Brand Journalism: Convince Them! Part Two
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A few blogs ago, we introduced you to the concept of Brand Journalism, which is creating a news site around your brand.

Luckily Mark Ragan of Ragan Communications and Jim Ylisela Managing Partner of Ragan Consulting, have taken the time to create informative videos around this new way to communicate to your audiences. As mentioned in Part One, brand journalism is important because its news that you create. No more sending out press releases. Now you are the press.

Now that you have decided to make the case for Brand Journalism, how are you going to convince those that make the final decision?

First create the business case for it and figure out how you will answer the question:  Why do we need it?

Click here to find out more about how Ragan Communications and Ragan Consulting helped a health company embrace brand journalism.

 

Be More Visible – Join Patch.com
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We’re always sharing ways for you to “be more visible.” In our booklet, Be More Visible! Create More Interest in You, Your Product or Service we shared 60 ways to get attention for you, your product or service. Of course, there are much more than 60. Here’s another way: Patch.com.

What is Patch.com? Well, as they describe it… it’s “an innovative way to find out about, and participate in, what’s going on near you.”

As a business owner, Patch.com offers a way for you to add a free business listing. Are you conducting a seminar or webinar? You can add it to Patch.com’s free calendar. Do you like to write? Join Patch.com and become one of their many bloggers, or review writers.

If you are looking for potential customers, read your local Patch.com. You may discover an entirely new demographic of potential customers that you may not have known existed. Now you know how to reach them, and possibly other “hard to reach” potential customers… through Patch.com.

What better way to, “be more visible” than in your community and on its the Patch.com portal?

Check it out – http://patch.com. Select your State, then your city. And…if you start your own blog – I’d love to read it.

What Your Home Page Says About You
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Your website may be one of the most important tools in your business’ marketing arsenal. When a potential client reaches your site, the home page is the first point of contact. What does it say about you? And…what does it say about how you can help them? That’s the reason they were looking for you, right?

If you want to make their job easy, then limit the keystrokes and clicks to locate information. There should be an area that describes you, and the services you provide. There should also be an area where visitors can see how you can help them. It’s all about how you write the content.

Sit back and put yourself in your visitor’s shoes. If you were going to hire you and you came to your website – what are the key things you would look for? There are three I’d like to offer:

  1. Well placed contact information is a must. Most people who come to your site may already know about you, but the first thing they want to know is where you are. People need to see immediately how to reach you. Having the contact page is great, but people on the move – using smart phones and tablets, want to see something on the home page…if not on every page. Try placing your contact information into a header or footer area. These locations are on every page.
  2. Next, they want to see your services. Adding your most popular services on the home page gives them the information to target right away without having to click to find it. Having a “read more” link attached will push them to see the full scope of services you have to offer.
  3.  How can you help me? Having a well placed area for the kudos and “shout-outs” of how you helped others is another attention grabber. Using a snippet of a testimonial, the client’s name and their business name will also grab attention. The “read more” will take them to see how you helped others and will show them how you can help them.

You can dress up your website’s home page in these few ways. It may get the attention from your visitors and eventually that telephone call for your next meeting.
So, take a look at your home page… see how these simple changes will cause people to “read more.”

After you do, please tell me what happened.

One Size Never Fits All
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When reaching your audience, one size never fits all.

Here’s a good example. One client needs to communicate to about 1.27 million people. In doing so, they decide to send a letter. Let’s think about this…how many different demographics can come from 1.27 million different people?

Well…let’s see. There are differences in:

  1. Income
  2. Education
  3. Age
  4. Ethnicity
  5. Culture
  6. Gender
  7. Sexual Orientation
  8. Learning Styles
  9. How One Chooses to Receive Information
  10. Tech Savvy
  11. Differing Abilities
  12. Region

I’ve only included 12. However, these 12 can be broken down further. For instance, a person with a college degree may only read business journals whereas another person with a college degree enjoys entertainment magazines. So, how will one letter reach all 1.27 million. It won’t.

Even though you may think your budget won’t allow multiple streams of communication, you have to at least consider reaching your audience many different ways.

Some may like to read. Others to listen to the radio. Then there are those who will only pay attention to text messages.

Don’t lose out on reaching your audience by not paying attention to who they are and how they receive information. Think about the clothes we buy…one size never fits all.

Be More Visible: The Art of Self-Promotion
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Somewhere someone’s Mom is saying, “I thought I taught you that it just isn’t right to boast and brag about how great and wonderful you are. You won’t have any friends.” Some of us remember our “talking to” after we were heard saying, “I can do that better than you!”

Well, Mom was only half right. These days it is not only “right” to let others know about what you have accomplished, it is essential.

The rules have changed. Anyone who has something to contribute, (that should be all of us), should tell others. Who best to talk about you… but you?

In its Key Facts about Women-Owned Businesses, the Center for Women’s Research states that 10.1 million firms are owned by women. These firms employed more than 13 million people, and generated $1.9 trillion in sales (as of 2008). Self-promotion is not only for business owners, it’s for people seeking careers, opportunity, experiences and most importantly, a chance to give of themselves.

“Well, I’m not comfortable bragging about myself.” If this is you, stop! Today, with social media and small businesses skyrocketing, the new mantra is self-promote, which is different from bragging. Here’s the difference, according to Nathan Hangan in his blog The Art of Shameless Self-Promotion:

“…self-promotion is the art of spreading ideas, concepts, and a greater vision. Self-adulation is just the promotion of accomplishments, deeds that have already been done.”

To begin, ask:

What do I want to accomplish? Do you want career advancement? Do you have a product or service? Do you need more clients, patients, students? Think first about the results you want.

What do I have to offer? What are your experiences, accomplishments? What can you do well?

How do I want to get my message across? There are numerous ways to let others know about you. The most compelling and fastest growing is social media. Why? Because people do business with people and blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter are all about connecting with people. However, be careful. Though you may “friend” many, how may friends do you really have? Really. Just be careful what you say. It may come back to haunt you.

Now that’s done. Next, we have to:

Share. We learned this in pre-school. Share your knowledge. Help others. Take “I’m better than you,” and now tell them how you can make them better.

Be authentic. People want to know that you are reliable and trustworthy. No fakers or phonies please.

Be consistent. When using social media, you have to stay visible. This means you are writing often and often writing. Post comments, send messages and respond to others. People will begin to notice you.

Reciprocate. When someone comments or sends a message, do not ignore them. Acknowledge their time and efforts. It’s common courtesy.

Lastly, Stick with it. As social media grows, self-promotion becomes more necessary. Begin where you are and don’t forget to tell Mom about all your new “friends.”

Smart Grid Best Practices – We Need to Understand Worst Practices
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Integrating digital technology by various electric utilities represents the most significant change to the U.S. electric grid in over a century. As these Smart Grid deployments mature, business process transformation has become an absolute necessity for benefits realization relative to the unprecedented capital investment by such utilities. The pioneer utilities are blazing a trail within a landscape where best practices are still emerging. After all, the early adopters have to essentially assume risks that will likely be minimized for later adopters.

Strategic organizational change strategies will continue to be of significant importance when a utility enters the post Smart Grid era. The convergence of energy delivery challenges, diversity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability in our society are game changers for utilities. Social and political will along with the overhaul of an antiquated transmission and distribution infrastructure are redefining the energy landscape for generations to come. The failure by a utility to position the organization today to deliver 21st century energy solutions will facilitate a variety of worst practices in the future.

Consequently adopting an entirely new cultural mindset is a prerequisite for utilities seeking to add value to their stakeholders in the future. Many commercial and industrial customers are seriously assessing options for distributed generation (on site generation of electricity) and energy efficiency solutions for its buildings. Walmart already outlined its plans to generate and manage its own electricity. If this approach gains momentum, utilities will no longer “hold the cards”. Every utility should develop viable and competitive alternatives for the commercial and industrial customer of the future.

The Smart Grid will also continue to empower the residential customer. The “rate payer” has to give way to the “valued customer.” The digitization of the electric grid (Smart Grid) will also enable a plethora of home energy management options for customers. Customized energy management leveraged by mobile applications will become more commonplace. There is now a growing expectation that technology will expedite power restoration during a major storm. Messaging has to be accurate and well-managed. Reputation management is the social capital of the future for utilities.

Refusing to embrace strategic change management will also prove to be a future worst practice. Residential customer analytics will help utilities to better address the unique customer needs of diverse market segments. Language, race, income level, and environmental values will matter more than ever. Strategic communication planning and customer engagement has to be inherent to a utility just as it is to major retail giants today. The building blocks are already in place. The energy demands of tomorrow will clearly be delivered by those utilities that today already have the vision.

Damage Control: Mamma Said Never Tell a Lie
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How do you know the appropriate time to tell the truth, keep quiet or lie? I remember as a child my mother saying, “Now tell the truth and you won’t get into any trouble.” I always thought that was a trick statement. I also remember my mother telling me that, “Not telling something is almost as good as a lie.”

Paula Deen is a great example of this. I’ve been watching Paula Deen for years. I would just salivate watching her make all that fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, cakes, cookies, pies – heavily saturated with sugar and fat. All the while, she would proclaim, “This is just delicious Y’all!”

So…what is so wrong with that? Well, she had diabetes. She never told anyone until one of the drug manufacturers wanted her to be a spokesperson. Only then did she disclose her disease. Was she being honest with her audience? I don’t think so. Should she have disclosed the fact that she had diabetes and encouraged others to eat healthy? Absolutely.

Fast forward to the most recent news. Deen is sued for derogatory, racist statements. When she got on the witness stand, she answered truthfully this time. She didn’t tell a lie. She stated that yes, indeed, she had used that language. The statement, “tell the truth and it will set you free” didn’t exactly work in her favor. It opened up a whirlwind of gossip, ill will, threats, hatred, pulled endorsements and much more. All of the companies that had backed her suddenly dropped her like one of the boiling potatoes she was once seen cooking.

Paula Deen is a person… but Paula Deen is also a brand. What she said personally has just about destroyed her brand. How will she recover from this? Only time will tell. The one thing I do know is that before you decide to be honest and tell the truth – you’d better be aware of the consequences that may follow. If not, you will be boiling in the pot with a bunch of potatoes just like Paula Deen.