"Good plans shape good decisions."
--Lester R. Bittel
By now I'm sure you've noticed what an amazing habit planning is. It's hard to accomplish things when we aren't exactly sure what we're doing or what success is going to look like. We are all much faster and efficient at doing tasks when we've set aside some time at the outset to think about the exact outcome we want.
Even if you've never worked with a marketing or PR plan, or even if you've never seen one, the same principle applies. Taking some time at the outset to decide what your business goals will be this year and how marketing can help you achieve them can be a very wise investment in your success.
In fact, after over 15 years of doing marketing work I'd say the number one mistake I see business people making with their marketing is failing to have a plan of any kind. I see people putting attention on their sales, on their team, on their facilities and on their customers, but not envisioning their marketing as an engine that drives it all. As a result they constantly make important decisions on the fly. This can be a huge time waster because as you have probably experienced, business owners receive a lot of unsolicited phone calls and emails related to marketing and advertising.
If you have no plan and an advertising representative calls you with an opportunity, you have no way to judge whether this opportunity will serve your business. Then tomorrow another rep calls with a different opportunity. Which one should you choose? The absence of a plan can create a lot of busy work and distraction in your day when really, if you were to sit down and write up even a basic description of your target customer, you'd be easily able to hold that up to the demographics of each opportunity and see right away if it is a fit for you.
That's why I always recommend my clients start with a strategic plan. It will save you time, money and effort as well as get you to your goal more seamlessly and more enjoyably.
Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
©2010 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Sunday, November 15, 2009
What Can Businesses Do on Facebook?
“Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.”
--Putt’s Law
It’s here: the new age of social media. By now you probably know that you can use Facebook to reconnect with old friends from high school, post photos and catch up on what your friends are doing, but did you know there are a lot of business goals you can accomplish on Facebook as well?
Here are my top four things businesses can do on Facebook:
1. Prospect for clients – People can be searched and segmented by narrow topic areas on social media, making it efficient to prospect for clients who may already have an interest in your product or service. Because in social media people opt in to join your group or become a fan of your company, you also have the benefit of a more motivated, interested audience than you might have in the offline world.
2. Listen to what people are saying/thinking about your company, industry and brand – You can use that information to develop new products and services that will appeal to your customers or to refine the products and services you currently have.
3. Develop better customer relations – By engaging more frequently with your customers in a way they enjoy and prefer, you strengthen the bonds between you.
4. Build your credibility and expertise – By being visible and active on social media, you increase the likelihood that when people think of your industry they think of you first.
Notice one thing I didn’t say was SELL, SELL, SELL. Social media has the potential to reach a huge potential market, but that doesn’t mean you immediately should sell to everyone in your network. That can be a real turn off and lead to people disconnecting from you online because it is so self-serving.
It’s like if you went to a party or networking event and you met some new people. You wouldn’t immediately whip out your product and ask them to buy it, right? Instead you might chat with them to get a better idea of their areas of interest and their needs, and if there seemed to be an overlap with what you were offering, you might give them your card and suggest they visit your company. It’s the same thing online. You need to build the relationships before people want to buy from you.
Facebook is great for building the know, like and trust factor that is so important for long-term success. Because since social media is so new there are people out there pushing their products in a very aggressive way, and it might make you think that’s an appropriate strategy. It’s not.
That doesn’t mean social media won’t help you sell your services, you just need to think of it with a longer timeline and in a more subtle way, compared to, “Okay I’ve set up my Facebook page so now I expect to see a 20% boost in sales this month.”
Facebook can be an important marketing tool for businesses when it is used effectively with reasonable goals.
Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
©2009 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.
--Putt’s Law
It’s here: the new age of social media. By now you probably know that you can use Facebook to reconnect with old friends from high school, post photos and catch up on what your friends are doing, but did you know there are a lot of business goals you can accomplish on Facebook as well?
Here are my top four things businesses can do on Facebook:
1. Prospect for clients – People can be searched and segmented by narrow topic areas on social media, making it efficient to prospect for clients who may already have an interest in your product or service. Because in social media people opt in to join your group or become a fan of your company, you also have the benefit of a more motivated, interested audience than you might have in the offline world.
2. Listen to what people are saying/thinking about your company, industry and brand – You can use that information to develop new products and services that will appeal to your customers or to refine the products and services you currently have.
3. Develop better customer relations – By engaging more frequently with your customers in a way they enjoy and prefer, you strengthen the bonds between you.
4. Build your credibility and expertise – By being visible and active on social media, you increase the likelihood that when people think of your industry they think of you first.
Notice one thing I didn’t say was SELL, SELL, SELL. Social media has the potential to reach a huge potential market, but that doesn’t mean you immediately should sell to everyone in your network. That can be a real turn off and lead to people disconnecting from you online because it is so self-serving.
It’s like if you went to a party or networking event and you met some new people. You wouldn’t immediately whip out your product and ask them to buy it, right? Instead you might chat with them to get a better idea of their areas of interest and their needs, and if there seemed to be an overlap with what you were offering, you might give them your card and suggest they visit your company. It’s the same thing online. You need to build the relationships before people want to buy from you.
Facebook is great for building the know, like and trust factor that is so important for long-term success. Because since social media is so new there are people out there pushing their products in a very aggressive way, and it might make you think that’s an appropriate strategy. It’s not.
That doesn’t mean social media won’t help you sell your services, you just need to think of it with a longer timeline and in a more subtle way, compared to, “Okay I’ve set up my Facebook page so now I expect to see a 20% boost in sales this month.”
Facebook can be an important marketing tool for businesses when it is used effectively with reasonable goals.
Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
©2009 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Smartest Thing I Did Last Year
“The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.” --John Ruskin
The rugged individualist, bravely doing it all by himself – it’s a familiar theme from Hollywood but not the best way to run a business. The smartest thing I did last year was make a commitment to get help and support in many different forms.
In addition to a crack team of web designers and programmers, a graphic artist, accountant, IT specialist, lawyer, assistant and virtual assistant, Team BlueTree also includes mentors and a board of advisors. You may be surprised to learn that some of my advisors I have never met. Some are not even living.
This is an idea I picked up from self-help author Napoleon Hill. He created an imaginary board of personal advisors made from great figures of history. He chose people like Napoleon, Lincoln, Jesus and Alexander the Great and held imaginary conversations with them whenever he had an important decision to make. Because he had studied their lives, he gained new viewpoints into the insights, observations and advice his advisors would give.
This is habit that anyone can do – identify and learn from the best in your industry, your hobby, in politics, culture or the arts. My imaginary board of advisors includes many successful women entrepreneurs who have blazed a trail for me to follow. Just because I don’t happen to personally know them doesn’t stop me from following in their footsteps and being inspired by them every day.
• TIP: Make a list of people you especially admire. The next time you have a decision to make or you’re just ruminating on some initial thoughts, ask yourself, what would so-and-so say about this situation? Note what new insights and observations come to your mind.
Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
©2009 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.
The rugged individualist, bravely doing it all by himself – it’s a familiar theme from Hollywood but not the best way to run a business. The smartest thing I did last year was make a commitment to get help and support in many different forms.
In addition to a crack team of web designers and programmers, a graphic artist, accountant, IT specialist, lawyer, assistant and virtual assistant, Team BlueTree also includes mentors and a board of advisors. You may be surprised to learn that some of my advisors I have never met. Some are not even living.
This is an idea I picked up from self-help author Napoleon Hill. He created an imaginary board of personal advisors made from great figures of history. He chose people like Napoleon, Lincoln, Jesus and Alexander the Great and held imaginary conversations with them whenever he had an important decision to make. Because he had studied their lives, he gained new viewpoints into the insights, observations and advice his advisors would give.
This is habit that anyone can do – identify and learn from the best in your industry, your hobby, in politics, culture or the arts. My imaginary board of advisors includes many successful women entrepreneurs who have blazed a trail for me to follow. Just because I don’t happen to personally know them doesn’t stop me from following in their footsteps and being inspired by them every day.
• TIP: Make a list of people you especially admire. The next time you have a decision to make or you’re just ruminating on some initial thoughts, ask yourself, what would so-and-so say about this situation? Note what new insights and observations come to your mind.
Barbara Wayman, president of BlueTree Media, LLC, publishes The Stand Out Newsletter, an award-winning ezine for people who want to know how to leverage the power of marketing and public relations. Get your free subscription today at www.bluetreemedia.com/ezine.html
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included.
©2009 Barbara Wayman, BlueTree Media, LLC.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Two Reasons To Be On Twitter
By now I'm sure you're hearing about Twitter every time you turn around. My second "Two For Tuesday" video shares my top two reasons why you might want to participate in this new social media trend.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Mission (Not Impossible) Statements
I'm working on mission statements for a client today and it has me thinking about how we summarize our company's mission. Can you state why your company exists in just one sentence? The best mission statements are short, clear and powerful. Nelson Mandela's is "End Apartheid." Abraham Lincoln's was "Preserve the Union." A great mission statement has a certain energy to it - it draws you in and makes you almost want to be a part of what the company is trying to do. I can say I sit at a desk and write about PR, but that doesn't exactly fire anyone up. But if I focus on the outcome of what I do, I might say something like "my mission is to empower entrepreneurs to share their companies' stories with power and grace." Better.
If your mission statement is too lengthy to be memorable, or if you don't have a mission statement, consider scheduling some time to play around with it. When you hit the right combination of words that makes you feel excited, you're on to something.
If your mission statement is too lengthy to be memorable, or if you don't have a mission statement, consider scheduling some time to play around with it. When you hit the right combination of words that makes you feel excited, you're on to something.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Oprah Called
“What I know for sure is what you give comes back to you.”
--Oprah Winfrey
I guess it’s inevitable when working in PR to find yourself in a room with clients who ask you to get them or their products on Oprah. Nationally, 7.4 million people watch Oprah every day. Her support of a product, service or even political candidate can translate into huge results. Naturally people are interested in getting onto that set, sitting beside Oprah on that leather couch, and basking in her seemingly Midas touch.
Now, in addition to getting on Oprah, you could also win the lottery, take a rocket to the moon and lose 30 pounds in 30 days without doing a lick of exercise. I’m not saying these things can’t happen. I’m just saying they are extreme long shots. Oprah’s staff does not sit and wait for people to call them and pitch story ideas. They actively search for hot trends or ideas and then research the top findings that fit their areas of interest.
The energy entrepreneurs hold captive in the vague goal of “get on Oprah” can detract them from doing things that can help them build their brand awareness in a more practical way, such as “send out at least six newsworthy press releases a year,” “invite my local business editor to lunch,” or “review a year’s worth of my industry trade journals and come up with at least three story ideas to suggest to them that relate to my product or service.”
If you want to get on Oprah, perhaps the best way to go about it is to focus on becoming so spectacular in your niche, and do something that impacts people so deeply or helps their lives so much that you become a magnet for not only Oprah, but many national media outlets. In the meantime, consider other potential outlets you may be overlooking, that could be a perfect way to tell your unique story.
--Oprah Winfrey
I guess it’s inevitable when working in PR to find yourself in a room with clients who ask you to get them or their products on Oprah. Nationally, 7.4 million people watch Oprah every day. Her support of a product, service or even political candidate can translate into huge results. Naturally people are interested in getting onto that set, sitting beside Oprah on that leather couch, and basking in her seemingly Midas touch.
Now, in addition to getting on Oprah, you could also win the lottery, take a rocket to the moon and lose 30 pounds in 30 days without doing a lick of exercise. I’m not saying these things can’t happen. I’m just saying they are extreme long shots. Oprah’s staff does not sit and wait for people to call them and pitch story ideas. They actively search for hot trends or ideas and then research the top findings that fit their areas of interest.
The energy entrepreneurs hold captive in the vague goal of “get on Oprah” can detract them from doing things that can help them build their brand awareness in a more practical way, such as “send out at least six newsworthy press releases a year,” “invite my local business editor to lunch,” or “review a year’s worth of my industry trade journals and come up with at least three story ideas to suggest to them that relate to my product or service.”
If you want to get on Oprah, perhaps the best way to go about it is to focus on becoming so spectacular in your niche, and do something that impacts people so deeply or helps their lives so much that you become a magnet for not only Oprah, but many national media outlets. In the meantime, consider other potential outlets you may be overlooking, that could be a perfect way to tell your unique story.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Business Card Tips
To increase the value for my readers (and now viewers), I am creating a "Two for Tuesday" marketing/PR program. This will be a 2 minute video that will give concise and easily executable tips to impact your business. My first in this series is Two Tips for Better Business Cards:
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