Ways to get word out

It seems like everyone uses Public Relations these days. From politicians to rock stars, the press covers them all and the social media world amplifies the message. The question is, can you get that same coverage and “buzz” about your business? The answer is “yes” if you use Public Relations wisely.

At its core, Public Relations is the act of getting someone else to communicate your message. That means the press, word of mouth, or social media are all great ways to get the word out about your business. The good news about PR is that you don’t have to pay for it and you get the implied endorsement of an objective third party because someone else is spreading your message. The bad news about PR is that you don’t have control over the message or the timing of the message. The old adage of any PR is good PR is just not true (just ask Tiger Woods or the leadership at Penn State).

Here are 5 ways to use PR prudently to get the word out about your business.

1. Ask for Testimonials. Let’s face it, your best customers are your best PR. Personally ask your top 12 customers to write a testimonial letter for your company. Feature one letter every month in all of your company’s communications, both internally and externally. This showcases your best customers and makes them the center of attention in your organization. Do you think they will tell their colleagues and other prospects? The answer is most likely yes.

2. Ask for Referrals. Your company probably gets a good number of referrals from your satisfied customers. That’s great, but can there be more? What if you personally ask your top customers to refer your company to someone. Ask each member of your sales force to do the same thing…every month. Happy customers usually want to share their experiences. You might be surprised how many new prospects you will get just based on this simple request. This is PR at its best.

3. Made Your Company a Resource. Every company wants to be a partner to its customers or clients. The best way to cement the partnership is to share relevant information.  Does your company have a blog that is updated regularly and includes valuable information? For example, if your company is in the food distribution business, your blog can include information such as food safety tips, sales training tips, routing tips, etc. Blogs are a great way to engage your prospects and customers and position your company as a subject matter expert without putting on the hard sell.

In addition to writing a blog, your company can conduct online seminars or webinars. Tools such as “Go To Meeting” make it easy and inexpensive to communicate with people that are in remote locations or don’t have the time to go to a specific location. You most likely have several people in your organization that would be excellent subject matter experts and could conduct regular webinars. This could also be an effective way to highlight customer success stories. Webinars a great way to get people involved and talking about how your company adds value to its customers.

4. Use Social Media.  With the rising use of social media for personal and business purposes, chances are your company can use it to help spread the word about what your company does. Find out what social networks your customers use and get involved in the conversation. If you are in business-to-business, your conversation might be better suited for LinkedIn than Facebook. If your company doesn’t have a company page on LinkedIn, you should consider starting one. Then, post status updates regularly so that those that are following your company can hear about new products, webinars, blog posts, and other news.

YouTube can also be an excellent way to share product demonstrations, hear customer testimonials, or showcase your best employees. And, you can link your YouTube videos to your blog and your company’s LinkedIn page.

Social media will help you expand your reach and engage prospects and customers in the conversation about the things they wrestle with in their businesses.

5. Use Press Releases. Identify the top business publications and websites that your prospects and customers read. Make a list of the editorial contact people at each one. When you have news you want to get out to the industry, send out a press release to the people on your list. A press release is appropriate to send for new employee appointments or promotions, new product launches, new strategic partnerships, webinars, and other events. This is the perfect way to get your company’s name in the news.

Want to be the company that everyone is talking about? Use these PR tools regularly and you may be surprised how the word spreads.

In this blog, I would like to share my views and experiences concerning how those things in business that may well seem slight can have a sizeable effect on profitability. I hope you’ll share your opinions and ideas. Ask any questions you may have.

If you are launching a new business one of your biggest goals should be getting the word out on your new venture. There are many ways to do this, from using the internet to getting out to talk to people in person.

If you don’t promote and market your business, there is no way for people to find out about it. Start with the internet, then moves to some more traditional ways of marketing. Here are a few things you should be doing.

Get On Social Media

The first step to telling people about your new business is to get on social media and share things with them. Start with the social media site that is all about business, LinkedIN. Businesses large and small, even ones like Park West Gallery, know the importance of social media.

You want to make sure that you are using the big sites as well, including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Pinterest. Each of them offers something unique and important to businesses when it comes to marketing.

Create A Website

Social media can sometimes substitute for a website, but if you have a lot going on with your business having an individual website can give you the space you need. Have pages for products or services, depending on what your business is all about.

Your website should also have a page that tells people about your business. Why did you get started and what are you there to do. Include contact info as well, whether it’s an address for your brick and mortar location or how people can reach your virtual business.

Blog About It

Blogging is an important aspect of marketing a new business. It gives you a place to show your expertise to potential clients and customers by writing posts about the things they want to know. Talk about how they can use your products in their lives, and then finish off with the next step they need to take in order to do that.

Attend Trade Shows And Business Expos

The internet is not the only place to market your new business and let people know that you are a new business on the rise. Get to trade shows and business expos where you can set up a booth. You’ll meet new people that are looking for your services or products.

You will want to have some items with you to let people take along to remember you. Business cards are important and offer the best way to remind people how to contact you. However, at these types of events people also want something more, like pens or coffee mugs that they can take home with them.

Advertise

It’s important to pay for some advertising as well. Locally, if you have a brick and mortar business, advertising in the local paper can be worth it. Online you also have options like Google AdWords, and with any businesses or trade journals online that offer ad space.

Everybody knows that if you want to build a successful business, you have to market that business well. You need to advertise and network and get the word out there about you and what you have to offer. On the one hand, knowing what to do and having tested and true methods that you know will work is good. It helps you create a solid marketing plan. On the other, if everybody’s doing all of the same things, how are you supposed to separate yourself so that people pay attention to you?

One of the best ways to do this is, instead of trying to be bigger or more popular than everybody else, you spend your time trying to personally connect with your network. For example, let’s say you’re at a convention or conference. The rule of thumb at these events is to give out and collect as many business cards as possible. If you have any cards left at the end of the event that is typically seen as a bad sign, right?

The problem with this is that, when you sit down to look at all of the cards you’ve collected and you start to put their information into your contact list, how many of those people do you actually remember? Can you remember that person’s face? Even if you’re bad at faces, can you remember what you talked about? And if you can’t remember all of those details, what are the chances that all of those people who took your cards can remember you?

Your Giveaways

If you’re still interested in playing the volume game—which, especially if you are tabling or presenting at a networking event, is probably a good idea—the easiest way to make the connections seem more personal is to give out something you know that your audience can actually use. For example, you can buy wholesale flash drives and hand those out instead. Brand them with your logo and contact information the same way you would a business card. This way, every time someone uses the drive, they’ll remember you.

Cater the “thing” to your audience. You’ll be surprised at how many more contacts “stick” when you give out something different.

Two Ways to Take the Time

After talking to someone new and accepting their card, make a few notes about the person and the conversation. This doesn’t mean that you have to find a table and write things down in a notebook (unless that’s your style). You can simply type a few notes into your phone—there are lots of apps that you can use to keep track of the notes you make. Then, after the event, as you’re going through your cards and swag, look up the name in your notes and refresh your memory about the conversation you had.

Then, when your memory is refreshed, send an email to the contact address you’ve been given. Tell the person what a great time you had meeting them, include a line or two about the conversation you had (this is the other reason you took those notes!), thank the person for his or her time and ask if you can connect with them in the future. Do not try to sell anything at this point. You’re just refreshing and reinforcing the connection. Send a few of these emails each day until you’ve sent them to everyone you met. Trust us when we tell you the returns you get for those few minutes will be huge.

Promote Someone Else

Seriously! Why would you work to take eyes away from yourself and put them on someone else? Because that makes you just as memorable as whoever it is that you are promoting. Think about it: when you think about a favorite brand or product, don’t you also think about the person who told you about it? It’s a great way to endear yourself to someone almost subconsciously. Even better, it makes you look much better than if you were just promoting yourself.

The point is this: you don’t have to go big or go home. A lot of the times, going smaller and really focusing your efforts works just as if not better than going big. And don’t be afraid to have fun and get creative! Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn’t mean it has to be done that way all the time forever. How do you want to promote your brand?