One of my very good friends is a prominent business owner in the North East, who is just getting acclimated with using social media for business. Awesome for the company, as it obviously increases exposure. Not so awesome when he decides to have a meltdown on Facebook about the stability of the company!

Ok, ok, it wasn’t so much as a meltdown as it was a questioning of the future. Tomato. Tumato.

He uses Facebook for fun AND business, so pretty much all of his friends saw that comment. Granted, he didn’t realize that his momentary lapse in confidence would spark a 10-day whirlwind of phone calls and emails to me abotu his situation, but that’s what happened.

I can guarantee that he’ll think twice in the future, but that really could have jeopardized his credibility as a business owner. When branding is a huge aspect of your target audience’s buying style, why would you give them a reason to second guess you? Especially when there are 25 contenders waiting in the shadows for even a chance at capitalizing on reasonable doubt.

When  incorporating social media in your marketing and PR plan, it is essential you maintain the upmost positive attitude. Even if behind closed doors you’re putting out 1000 fires, don’t make public cries of despair, unless you want a handful of new issues to address. Or, if you’re at your last phase and are ready to go public with the problem.

Otherwise, you risk destroying that brand your PR and marketing team workes so hard to create.

(Image source: www.lawyermeltdown.com)

In the middle of September, I saw a Santa Clause display on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. September! This blew me away.

I love the holidays more than anyone. Just ask my family and friends, who suffer my obsessive decorating, cookie baking, and present making from the day AFTER Thanksgiving to Christmas. Right up until the day.

But, personally, I find it somewhat tacky that companies are rushing us through the other holidays; just in case you didn’t remember, we still have Halloween and Thanksgiving. As a business owner, I understand the importance of capitalizing on every opportunity,where morally appropriate. However, there is a natural progression of the holidays that is a tradition to observe. So, when I talk to my clients, and they ask, I tell them to start planning as early as they can, but wait until after Halloween, at least.

I know many others who have actually stopped doing business with certain companies specifically for their the fact that they come off as being greedy. Sure, they may initially make more money in that extra month or two, but what are they losing in the long run?

(Image source: www.greentreegazette.com)

Bob Wolf’s Green Train Project started off with a valid cause: to inspire humanity to increase their environmental awareness. But as many other organizations have found, encouraging other people to believe in an effort is not always difficult; it’s inspiring them to take action where things get can get a little tricky.

From the very beginning, Bob’s mission, as the Environmental Dummy (www.theenvironmentaldummy.com), was to educate those around him and on a massive scale about the simple techniques that the everyday Joe Shmoe could use to make a positive impact on the environment. Easy things, like using energy-saving light bulbs and watching how much water we use. Yet, talking one-on-one with individuals did not reach the desired level of change that he wanted.

Then he realized that the quickest way to propel the population is to hold an event or fundraiser in which they can participate. This gives them purpose and raises their awareness of the cause. Once they make your cause personal, then it becomes a word-of-mouth brushfire.

After much thought about how to incite change on national and global scales, Bob founded the Green Train Project, a 30-state, 10-week tour of the United States (and later Europe), that kicks off in April 2010, led through the country on a biodiesel, solar-powered train! He knew he need a large event driven by people with a voice and established followings…who better than musicians with millions of fans?

What we can learn from this example is the power of marrying entertainment and a call to action. Look at your business or organization and determine how you could involve your target audience. How can you make it fun? How can you make it so they talk about it for years to come?

For more info about Bob’s Green Train Project:
www.greentrainglobal.org
Facebook: Green Train
Twitter: GreenTrainPrjct

Time and time again, new clients will come to me in need of marketing and PR help. More often than not, it’s after spending a ridiculous amount of money on advertising, without ONE response. By shelling out so much cash for an ad in the newspaper, they think leads are guaranteed. As many of us know, this is not so, especially if your company is not branded properly.

After this happening a number of times, I think I’ve figured out the problem: they’re in a rush and feeling anxious to increase their revenue stream. So much so, that they just jump in and try out a few ideas without setting themselves up properly.

One company brought me in to assess their current situation, and after reviewing all their efforts, budget, etc. I suggested we sit down and set up a marketing plan. It didn’t even have to be very time consuming or daunting, just a simple description of their goals and a generalized plan of how to move forward. Nope. The guys just wanted to move forward with some programs as quickly as possible, not taking into account the current economic forecast and their target audience’s psychographics and demographics. Pretty key if you ask me.

I’m a pretty spontaneous person, so I’m not against throwing up a Hail Mary, and seeing what comes of it. But not repeatedly with no vision or direction. Frankly, that’s a bad choice.

As with anything, if you want to achieve a goal, you first have to know what that goal is. Then, you need to outline what tactics are involved to achieve it. Yes, this means writing out each step-by-step detail of what you’re going to do and how. This is crucial because not only does it allow you to measure your steps, but it keeps you on track without feeling overwhelmed. When you’re wearing multiple hats for your business, streamlining your life with processes and defined purpose is key!

And, really, a marketing plan doesn’t have to be all that scary. For some reason, you add the word “plan” to anything and people run, as though it’s an impossible task. Even if you did extensive research, coming up with a viable marketing plan won’t take up all that much of your time. If anything, it will save you time, AND MONEY, by preventing thoughtless actions that amount to an empty wallet and meager clientele list!

Get started today, you won’t regret it!

What do Aesop, Shakespeare, and Dr. Seuss have in common? Yes, of course, they’re writers. What’s beyond that?

In short, they command attention. Now, you may pull the covers up a little higher after the second line of iambic pentameter. Of course, this is understandable, because Shakespeare’s not for everyone. But eternal glorification and permanence in our canon obviously means he did something right. He, along with his previously mentioned colleagues, pulls us in with mesmerizing words, characters, and plots that harness minds.

Why do you care?

This should matter to you because the techniques of the sages are what you can use to etch your place in your industry. The use of storytelling has been an inherent element in every culture, not only to entertain, but to teach and retain autonomy and character of the people. Take a lesson from history.
Whether on your website and brochure, or interviews and articles, you can capture your audience’s attention with a story carefully designed to impart the chosen information. Look at your marketing and PR material at little more closely today. Where is the story in your information? What is unique about you, your product, or services? What will people remember?

Here are some things you may or may not know about Harley Davidson:

• The company provided about 15,000 machines to the military forces during World War I, the first time motorcycles had been used for military efforts

• After the Great Depression, Harley Davidson was one of only two motorcycle manufacturers left standing. Indian being the other.

• The company suffered a public relations blow in the 1950s when Hollywood movies chastised bikers and created a negative image about the hobby and lifestyle.

• To counter the explosion of Japanese-made machines in the 1980s, the company began highlighting the retro look of their older machines.

There are a million other interesting facts about Harley Davidson that have resulted in the classic, sleek designs you see riding down the highway. Literally, every part, from the throttle to the amount of CCs each engine, has a story, a track record, a history.

Such a rich background has created a unique positioning of the brand in people’s minds. Starting at just after the turn of the 20th century, Harley Davidson had developed and prospered in correlation with the United States. As such, they have become a symbol of our country’s continued growth and serve as a testament to our enduring strength and fortitude, despite being faced with difficult situations.

Ok, for some that might be an over glorified illustration of the company. But the purpose here is to show that highlighting your company’s story not only adds depth, it adds character, likability, and allows your customers to take part in something greater than themselves and your organization.

(Image Source: Bikers Blog)

Whether you’re in the PR industry, a company CEO, or just grinding out a 9 to 5, one thing is for sure: much of your success depends on the ability to communicate effectively. You can’t go into a client meeting, mumble your way through, stare at the floor, and constantly interrupt the other parties and expect to walk out the door in a better situation than when you entered. If anything, you should have just pulled up the covers and rolled over, because at least then you’ve not left the other person with a negative belief about your personal presentation.

Yes, personal presentation, the 24/7 phenomenon, which you control, that directs the different outcomes of your life. Having a degree in communications, I learned that it’s not only what you say, but how you relay this message that determines whether the other party fully receives the intended output. Myriad factors have a way of skewing our perception or diverting our attention, resulting in the true context and content of the dialogue.

Many of my clients are CEOs at prosperous companies, strong, determined men and women, who may have a stellar resume, but lack the real communication skills to lead the organization to a higher potential.

Enter Toastmasters. Or, really, any organization that provides an environment that fosters the growth of leadership and communication skills. I recently attended a meeting of a local chapter and was blown away by the way this very diverse group of people came together to offer encouragement and advice on enhancing one’s speaking abilities.

For those unaware, Toastmasters is an international organization dedicated to teaching members how to springboard their public speaking from shoddy to national speaking events (if that person so chooses to make that effort). My group leader informed me yesterday that as a result of engaging in the program, the organization has received countless messages about participants receiving promotions, winning contests, and improving self-confidence. One woman received four promotions in the span of a year!

Improve your relationships, your career, and your personal presentation by seeking out a group to challenge and assist you in, not only finding the right words, but the right avenue.

Composed of how one walks, talks, acts, and dresses, communications studies show that image, how others perceive a person, plays a major role in his or her success in life. Even the simplest or seemingly absurd details, like how many pieces of jewelry you wear to an interview, can determine which doors open and which remain triple padlocked. Because of this, we, as a society, carefully choose what we wear to work, on a date, or to church, etc., to coincide with the how we want others to see us.

In fact, our culture goes to such extremes to procure the best reputation that we spend millions of dollars every year on courses, workshops, and consultants dedicated solely to this purpose! Most times, we are prejudged based on the aforementioned traits, and the truth about our real personalities gets lost in the mix. Instead, what remains are the opinions others form based where we stand in their paradigm. Whether we like it or not, perception matters.

And the business world is no different.

Customer beliefs and views of a company and its product directly correlate to whether the finances stay in the black or fall into the red. Take the once-popular Mexican food restaurant, Chi-Chi’s, known for its signature margaritas and reasonable prices. After a hepatitis outbreak in Pittsburgh in 2003, allegedly due to a bad case of green onions, the food-chain suffered tremendous losses. Despite proactive efforts by the organization to ensure the safety of all the restaurants, patronage fell and stayed down. Where once you were guaranteed to find a Chi-Chi’s in most cities, the notoriously yellow-painted buildings closed their doors. Sadly, I’ve yet to see one open today.

The lesson to be taken from this is that the public’s perception of a company can determine how strong of a player it is in the marketplace. However, that’s not to say that business owners are at the mercy of the customer, with no control in the situation. Through strategic public relations campaigns, consisting of publicity, promotions, and crisis management (something Chi-Chi’s could have used), companies can take a proactive approach to forming a positive position in the industry.

Without constant dedication to create and maintain this identity, organizations can, and have, fallen to the wayside, letting others that understand the value of image, control the market. For Nike spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually promoting its image globally. Year after year, the athletic gear giant commands one of the highest portions of its sports-centric market. The reason is not necessarily because Nike shoes are better than all the other footwear. The reason is because we, the consumers, are led to believe in the strong, dedicated attitude of the brand. We believe in the image, and that’s what sells us.

As companies shy away from the Vegas-style Flash of the web and embrace the far more telling (no pun intended) aspect of verbiage, many times the result is mainstream template with little to no personality in the writing. The result? A fallen away website that fails to excite users and command the attention of the fishbowl that is the internet. After a brief perusing, give or take 10 to 30 seconds (let’s be honest, a minute is pushing it), possible clients move on to the next locale. Instead, the focus ought to be placed on the letters, the real driving force that switches on the synapses and sets the gears in motion. Though a site may lack the visual ornamentation, the passion of the text drives the mind to explore and become engaged.

People, this is what you want. Nay, need.

Ask yourself this: would you read it? Would you dedicate the time? If not, rethink the wording.

Look at it logically. Our brains are assaulted incessantly with text, whether required reading for the job, or the glossy pages of magazine. We are so inundated that eventually it all jumbles together and becomes indecipherable. What transcends the static noise, the potpourri of words and phrases, is the personality and attitude behind it. This does not mean that your 70-year old grandfather’s mahogany-lined law firm should cross the tracks and lose their refined sense of self. No. This would represent the company unjustly, and business might suffer. A better option would be to write content that depicts the firm’s dedication and passion for the law, not to mention years of incomparable service, reputation, and standards.

Contrarily, a younger, MoMa-inspired graphic design team, trenched in the corners of Greenwich brownstones, has the leeway to experiment with the colors of words. Dramatic arabesques of phrases that turn your head with the flow of the vowels would entice readership and demonstrate their creativity extends beyond the palette.

What’s true for both situations is the identification of self (in this case a business) with articulately chosen words unified for one sole purpose: to establish a unique niche among the endless dross with which we are faced.

(Picture from www.granitegrok.com)

You may have great products and great employees, but if your customer service leaves people less than thrilled to be doing business with you, ultimately your brand will suffer. Consumers have to trust your company to be loyal, but first, they have to feel appreciated and valued. Without this, they’ll be willing to switch to any other company who offers comparable goods and services—one that goes out of its way for each and every person.

Sound like a lot? Maybe not so much if you’re a little guy, but when you’re dealing with thousands of individuals every day, it tends to add up. For this purpose, you need to have systems in place that dictate how you will take proactive stances to ensuring your customers keep coming back time and time again. These are set methodologies you’ll use to show each and every person how you appreciate their business.

Here are three ideas to get you started:
• Pre-sale – Maybe you’ve only spoken with Bob, either in person or on the phone. Now is a great time to show them how you’ll go the extra mile. Send Bob something, nonthreatening, that you know will be of interest. If he randomly mentioned just buying a rare Swiss Mountain Dog and how there is minimal information about training that breed, find an article of relevance and send it to him! Every time Bob thinks of his training his puppy, which will be all the time with the indoor bathroom adventures, he’ll remember your kind gesture!

• During the work – My general rule is go above and beyond, in any way possible. Say a client wants to have a PR campaign, I’ll quote them a week, and then, if my schedule permits, turn around the work in only three days. The first thing I always here is, “Wow, you didn’t need to get it to me that quickly, but I really appreciate it!” While they may not think you have a life, they will know you take their patronage seriously!

• Post sale – What are you doing to re-ensure your customer that his or her purchase was a valuable decision? This is a critical time to remind her of your unique market niche and why Susan should feel good about her choice. Doing so will position you in her mind for the next time she requires similar services. I like to send my clients a gift card to a store I know they’ll like, such as Starbucks, a thank you card for their services, and a coupon for their next round. Not only will they save money by returning to you, they’ll be happy because of that Venti Mocha Frapp! Everyone wins!

(Image modified from go.pressconnect.com.au)