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Anyone can write a script for a broadcast ad. It’s only 30 seconds of copy…how hard can it be? The truth is, the less time you have to convey a message the harder it is to be effective. Writing ad scripts that can effectively drive traffic to your website and convert ad viewers and listeners into customers is an art. It’s also a challenge for even the most seasoned copywriters and advertising creative directors. Before you send your ad script to the TV or radio production team, make sure you’ve considered these key elements to make the most of your advertising spend: A clear message. Viewers and listeners can only consume so much information in a 30 or 60 second ad. What do you want them to know after consuming this information? TV ads rely primarily on images to communicate. If you mute your ad and you can’t tell what the ad is selling, you need to rethink your strategy. Sure, the narration and visuals need to work together, but confusing or visually over-stimulating graphics combined with a weak script will add up to a losing ad. Most radio audiences are working, driving, exercising or otherwise occupied while listening. Make the message and call-to-action easy enough for them to recall later. An attention-grabbing intro. The lead of your ad is like the headline of a print ad. It’s your chance to grab their attention. Will the first 4-5 seconds of your ad hold the viewer or listener’s attention? Will it speak to them about a product or service that will solve their problems? Or is it time to change the station or take a TV break to grab another beer? Short, digestible sentences. Again, you only have 30 or 60 seconds. There is no time for extra language. Write short, concise, easy-to-understand sentences. If you’re struggling with the length of your script, type your ad in 16 point Times New Roman, all caps, double-spaced. A half-page is about 30 seconds; a full page is about 60 seconds. Benefits. Tell your audience how the product or service will benefit them. You’re not just selling an associate’s degree program. You’re selling a degree program that will: benefit A) save them time and money by accepting transfer credits from other colleges and benefit B) give them the knowledge, confidence and credentials to get a better job and earn even more money. A call to action. You want your audience to do something. That’s the point of the ad, right? Gone are the days of repeating your phone number and address over and over. Include your web address in the ad and have your contact info easily accessible online. Make sure that the web address is the company name and easy to remember. If your custom URL is hard to say and spell, it’s going to be hard for them to remember. Rethink hyphens or clever spellings. Time to get creative. Now that you have the elements of an ad script, you need a strategy for your ad campaign, and then you can start writing. The following are a few broadcast advertising red flags. Avoid these and you’re well on your way to a unique ad that converts: The ad that sounds like all other ads. If you listen to other ads for inspiration, or ask your advertising sales rep to write the script for you (most will), be on the lookout for script copy that sounds like your competitor. This is particularly risky in small markets. A message that’s off-brand. Your campaign should be consistent with your brand. What does your website or other marketing collateral communicate? Your broadcast ads may be focused on a particular promotion or the announcement of a new service, but the closing message should include some elements of your brand messaging to reinforce your unique selling proposition. The cutesy ad featuring your grandkids. Of course your grandchildren are adorable. But that doesn’t mean your audience will be ga-ga over a 4-year old narrator who can’t yet articulate simple sentences. Most viewers find this ad concept to not only be annoying, but totally confusing and often impossible to understand. If the average business owner is camera shy and isn’t ready for prime time, it’s still not worth wasting your advertising budget on ads that simply don’t make sense. If you’re selling playground equipment, that’s different. But most kid actor ads have nothing to do with the product or service. And worse, they can’t explain the benefits because they can’t talk. Be very careful about this strategy. The ad written by Captain Obvious. Don’t spend your 30 seconds telling your audience about your knowledgeable, trained and friendly staff or the fact that your company has been around since 1972. So what? Sure, it can be reassuring to a potential customer to know that you’re a reputable, honest business, but they will gather that information from other sources. Stating the obvious isn’t a compelling message and doesn’t transition into a meaningful call-to-action. Again, what are you selling? Don’t settle for filler ad copy. The low-cost leader ad strategy. “We guarantee the lowest price and nobody beats our prices.” Actually…if I had the time to scour the Internet looking for deals, I bet I can find someone cheaper. But do you really only want to compete on price? Highlighting price is tricky as prices often change, but there is always going to be someone out there ready to beat your price for the business. Think very carefully about the message you’re sending by positioning yourself as the cheapest gig in town. The mumbo-jumbo loaded with jargon ad. One of the hardest things to do when developing an advertising strategy and script is to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Check out our blog post on how to determine your target audience. Guess what? They’re almost never you! Just because you listen to one radio station or binge watch Downton Abbey on the weekends doesn’t mean your audience does. The same is true for industry jargon. Be careful about acronyms that mean something to you (my favorite: SEO or search engine optimization. It means something to me but outside of my industry, it’s confusing). The old saying K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is a tried and true lesson. A few final tips for writing your highly effective broadcast ad: Make sure background music doesn’t overpower your message and beware of the latest music licensing rules. Read the script out loud to your colleagues, family and friends. And lastly, weed out any clichés that weaken your message and credibility. Learn more about developing integrated advertising campaigns.

Branding is all about positioning. One of the most useful branding exercises is writing the positioning statement. We’re not talking about a sentence that one person within your organization can sit down and write in 5 minutes. Writing a positioning statement should be a thoughtful exercise. First things first, what is it? A positioning statement is a short description of your company’s target audience and a description of how you want that audience to view your brand. Many companies have mission statements, which are typically focused on the company’s core values. A positioning statement is different because it is intended for internal use to guide marketing and business development tactics. Larger companies might have a few positioning statements that are intended for groups, committees or industry niches. Here’s a breakdown of the formula: Positioning Statement = [Target Audience] + [Frame of Reference] + [Point of Difference] + [Reasons to Believe] Black & Decker’s positioning statement for DeWalt tools illustrates the components: “To the tradesman who uses his power tools to make a living and cannot afford downtime on the job (target), DeWalt professional power tools (frame of reference) are more dependable than other brands of professional power tools (point of difference) because they are engineered to the brand’s historic high-quality standards and are backed by Black & Decker’s extensive service network and guarantee to repair or replace any tool within 48 hours (reasons to believe).” This is not their tagline and is not used in external messaging. It’s intended to identify their main points of difference, why they’re different and the audience they’re targeting. The process of writing a positioning statement has multiple benefits: It forces you to identify your target audience. A surprising number of businesses haven’t identified their target audience. Or if they have, they might not be aligning their marketing, communications and business development efforts to reach that specific demographic. This is often because no one wants to turn away potential clients. Most companies have limited marketing budgets and must focus their efforts. Taking the time to identify your “perfect client” allows you to spend your marketing dollars most effectively. You learn a lot about your company and clients during the process of writing it. One of the key components is points of difference. To understand how you’re positioning your company to your audience, you must know how you’re different from your competitors. Pull your team together for honest conversations about your unique selling points. Gather any market research or client surveys and review the comments. Another critical aspect is reasons to believe. These are the things that back up your points of difference. Think of adjectives or reasons why a client should believe in your brand positioning. It serves as a reference as you implement other marketing initiatives. As you develop new messages and create marketing or communications materials, your language should support your positioning statement. Don’t use your positioning statement externally. Refer to it as you’re developing new strategies. Use it to remind yourself who you want to reach, what their needs and issues are, what makes you unique and why you’re different. Once your positioning statement is finalized and has the blessing of your internal stakeholders, it should be available to your marketing team or vendors as a reference point and reminder of your brand positioning. Learn more about strategies for branding here.

Marketing. Business Development. I hear these words used interchangeably all the time. If you want more business, everything you do to achieve that goal could be called “business development,” right? Maybe. That mindset is a bit confusing and can quickly lead to unmet expectations. If you think you need marketing or business development support, you should first understand how they differ and where they overlap. What is marketing? Marketing is about identifying your key differentiators, developing your message and establishing a positioning within your market(s). Think advertising, event promotion, website content and building thought leadership through public relations – these are all marketing strategies (or at least first cousins to marketing). What is Business Development? Business development is about making connections. It’s building upon the brand that you have established through marketing efforts to connect your audience to your products and services. It’s prospecting (think networking events), qualifying leads and then converting those leads into clients. Business development is all about creating relationships. Some in-house marketing directors wear both marketing and business development hats. A talented marketing generalist with some business acumen can provide strategic advice and coaching in both areas. But the truth is that the efforts are quite different and usually require a different set of skills and expertise. Marketing and public relations people tend to be creative. They’re usually good storytellers and know how to develop a message through a brand look and compelling marketing messages. They create new and interesting ways to build awareness for your brand. They’re scouting opportunities and thinking of new ideas. They also probably pitch stories to the media, write content and provide creative direction and/or design. Business development people are actually selling. They go out and develop business, sometimes without realizing that they’re even doing it. For many professionals, business development takes training, coaching and a couple of steps outside their comfort zone. Whether they like it or not, lawyers, accountants, financial advisors and other providers of professional services MUST wear a business development hat. A marketing person may be great at formulating messages, but the relationship your client is buying is not with them – it’s with the advisor they have grown to trust with their business. Where do marketing and business development overlap? The sales cycle for most professional services is longer than ever. Once you have identified a qualified lead, your marketing efforts can’t stop. Nurturing leads over a long period of time is critical for retaining top-of-mind awareness. The marketing side of lead nurturing may include sharing branded content and educational opportunities through email marketing, event marketing and social media outreach. Marketing should also provide business development with the sales tools they need to convert a warm lead into a client (proposal language, presentation training/support, slide decks, printed collateral and even branded thank you notes and gifts).  The true business development side may include personal emails, follow-up phone calls, one-on-one meetings/lunches or golfing together. Which do you need? Marketing or Business Development? When it comes to developing a business development strategy for your firm or business, marketing is an essential piece. Likewise, a branding and marketing strategy should be built with your business development goals in mind. The two not only complement each other, they depend upon each other – but that doesn’t make them the same. As you consider your marketing and business development goals, think about where your firm currently has strengths and weaknesses. You may find that you need more exposure and new marketing tactics for generating leads. Or you might find that you have warm leads, but just need sales training to help convert them into clients. Learn more about how integrated marketing and communications tools can support your business development goals. Want to schedule a free 30 minute brainstorming session with us? What is your name and organization? What is your email address? Tell us briefly about your business. Who is your audience? Are you looking for long term support or a short term campaign? What are your top objectives in working with a marketing agency? For example: brand awareness, media coverage, lead generation Do you have experience working with a marketing agency? What is your estimated annual marketing budget for hiring an outside agency? Anything else you want to share with us? Would you be interested in a free 30 minute integrated marketing brainstorm session over the phone? CAPTCHA Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Δ

You have a wealth of knowledge in your industry. Why can it be so difficult to get the press we desire? Thanks to social channels, not only can you be seen and heard all around the world, but so can everyone else. So how do you actually connect with the media to stand out amongst the crowd? It may seem simple, but it can be tricky. You need to perfect your pitch. Here are some do’s and don’ts: DO: Personalize We live in the digital age, which means journalists can receive pitches through multiple different outlets. Can you imagine how many pitches a journalist receives per day? Some receive so many, they’re forced to delete most just to save valuable space in their inbox. Make yours stand out by personalizing the pitch to the journalist. Get to know their beat and figure out why their audience would be interested in your idea. Remember, journalists are people too and clogging up their inboxes with automated emails that have no relevance to them can be a poor reflection on you and your brand. Not every interaction with journalists should be pitching an article or event. Try to develop a relationship. Be helpful. Become an actively engaged member of their audience. For example, comment on one of their stories with something as simple as “Great story. This truly is a dilemma for small businesses and I hope you’ll cover more on this topic.” Trust us, they’ll notice! DON’T: Puff up your pitch Make your pitch easy to understand by clearly stating the 5 W’s: Who, What, When, Where and Why. Ensure that your pitch is timely, relevant to the journalist and their audience, and newsworthy. Keep your pitch clear and concise. Most journalists are on a deadline. They simply won’t waste valuable time trying to sort through fluffy adjectives included in your pitch. DO: Emphasize your expertise Prove to the journalist that you and/or your company are the leading experts in your industry. Demonstrate that you’ve been following trends by including relevant statistics. Tell them about your own social following. This doesn’t mean that you should include other coverage of the same news you’re trying to pitch. But if you’ve written on a theme and have seen success in driving traffic to your own social platforms, share it. Better yet, explain how you’ll drive traffic to their platform by co-promoting the piece. Not only do they want to be the first or most informed journalist on a valuable news story, they want confidence that it will be successful online. So make sure you’re marketing your expertise on a truly newsworthy subject that has value to their readership and channels, not your popularity. DON’T: Take the Shotgun Approach Quality over quantity. The same rule applies to pitching the media. Sending out mass-quantities of the same generic pitch isn’t an effective use of your time. Taking the shotgun approach to your pitch takes away the personalization that journalists prefer. The shotgun approach can also increase your chance of making embarrassing mistakes, such as sending a pitch to a journalist that says “Dear ” or “Dear Cathy” when the journalist’s name is Sue. Spending time and genuine effort building relationships with journalists and building quality pitches will ensure that, over time, you’ll earn the coverage. It’s called earned media for a reason. Customizing your pitch will yield a higher ROI on your PR efforts over time. Even journalists recognize that pitching isn’t easy. We love these tips (a few are fairly amusing!) from Mashable. Yes, there are endless opportunities to be seen and heard in our digital age. But earning that coverage takes time, strategy and a true commitment to making a journalist’s job a little easier with a solid pitch.

A hard and fast deadline is a powerful motivator. When it comes to generating fresh content for multiple social media channels, planning in advance can mean the difference between higher search engine rankings and leads and a failed online strategy. There’s a reason why publications plan their editorial calendars well in advance of printing. Everyone involved in the success of the pub knows the topic, target audience, responsible party and deadline associated with the content. If your business is just getting started with online content, there are reasons for using a blogging or social media editorial other than organization: Get the creative juices flowing – There’s nothing more frustrating to a busy business owner or marketing manager than feeling the pressure of getting a blog post up. Many businesses have great intentions of engaging with their customers by providing informative content and boosting their SEO efforts, but fall down when it comes to frequent publishing. Search engines are looking for frequent and fresh content, so planning ahead by simply developing a month’s worth of ideas is a worthy exercise. Google Docs has templates for a social media editorial calendar or a blogging planner available by searching under Calendars & Schedules. Better yet, they’re free! Revisit your keyword ranking strategy – If your website and blog are optimized for search engines, you should have a list of keywords and keyword phrases you want your site to ranked for. Revisit that list and think about blog topics that relate. Sit down with your list of targeted keywords and the editorial calendar templates and think about topics you know your customers are searching for. Remember to write blog posting titles that include keyword phrases. Shoot for 5-6 topics with a goal of publishing weekly. Find relevant links and sources – Follow SEO and blogging best practices by including outbound links to other sources. Look at your list of topics and spend some time researching credible websites, blogs and online news sources to find content. Remember, a blog post doesn’t need to be a novel. Simply sharing informative content (an interesting article or video) with your online community with a comment from you is a great way to stay engaged and build exposure for your website and brand. Some blog posts can be longer and more informative while others are intended to share links and content. Plan your social media strategy – Decide which social media sites you’ll use to share content and how you’ll distribute the information as you publish it. Set dates and alerts to make sure that once a blog post it live, you’re also tweeting and posting a link on Facebook or LinkedIn. Remember to consider your audience. If you’re a business targeting other businesses, LinkedIn is likely the best home for your content. If you’re targeting consumers, Facebook is ideal. For most businesses, a strategic mix is the right choice. If you’re already blogging or maintaining your company’s social media presence, you’re well aware that the planning is easy to put off. Set a realistic goal to plan and follow your social media editorial calendar for 1-2 months. You’ll be surprised how a little bit of organization can lead to spikes in your web traffic! Need help generating new ideas or writing fresh content? Email me to discuss your social media strategy.

Remember the days of taking road trips with actual maps? I’ll never forget making the trip back to college from Maine to Pennsylvania with my sister with no cell phones and nothing but a stack of AAA TripTiks in the glove box to get us there. Thankfully she had a great sense of direction and the patience to actually read the maps. Me, on the other hand…I’m not very patient. And when it comes to getting where we need to go, most of us appreciate good directions and the most direct route from point A to point B. A few ways to use calls-to-action to increase engagement: Use CTAs on your website: Calls-to-action (CTAs) is a term widely used in Internet marketing. You should have a CTA on every page of your website. It depends upon the message and your target audience, but professional services firms can use graphics or text as a CTA. “Learn more about our work with non-profits”…“Start building your marketing plan now”….“Join our email list” or “Download this free Ebook” – those types of CTAs tell the web visitor what to do next. By placing them in strategic locations, you’re giving readers shortcuts and directions. And when they convert, you’re improving lead generation by having the opportunity to engage, either by giving them more information or capturing their contact information with the promise of following up via email, phone, etc. Use CTAs in print, broadcast or online ads: The concept of a call-to-action isn’t just for Internet marketing. Advertising copy should include a clear call-to-action. Sometimes this is subtle and more focused on branding…. “Learn more about us at fluentimc.wpengine.com” or maybe it’s very direct and time-sensitive…”Sign up for our design workshop by May 10th.” “Like us on Facebook” is a call-to-action! Nearly all advertising copy will direct readers or listeners to your website, so make the URLs short and easy to remember. Don’t forget about day-to-day emails: Slow down a little bit when you’re writing emails and think about a call-to-action. What is it that you’re trying to accomplish? What is the logical next step? In most cases, it’s appropriate and effective to suggest a next step…ask if you can send them information, schedule time for coffee or lunch, etc. You don’t want to be pushy, but you also don’t want to miss opportunities to engage that might be easily solved by including a polite call-to-action. Include CTAs in your email signatures: Here’s an opportunity to encourage email recipients to interact. Include your website URL, social media profile buttons or links and a link to your blog. And if you’re hosting an event, customize your e-signature for a designated period of time with a CTA that drives visitors to the event website or registration form. Spend some time thinking about how to incorporate calls-to-action into all of your marketing efforts and even your sales pitch. Give your audience the shortcuts and clear directions you want them to take.  Learn more about the power of using CTAs on your website to improve lead generation. Sources: Hub Spot, SitePoint

Event marketing is notoriously time consuming and expensive. If you’re on a shoestring budget, hosting or sponsoring events can be a risky investment. The time spent on planning, designing invitations, mailing costs, advertising and venue and catering expenses all add up fast. Many firms are turning to webinars and online meetings to minimize venue expenses. Webinars have many benefits, but they lack the ability for face-to-face introductions. Event marketing can be very effective for professional services firms — if done right. Gaining one great client can easily give you a substantial return on your investment. But it’s not always realistic to convert a room full of listeners into a handful of great clients, especially when you’re selling higher-level professional services. Don’t jump to deeming your event a failure if it didn’t generate billable work in the short-term. There are other intangible benefits to keep in mind: Exposure. Speaking on a subject reinforces that you’re the expert. Don’t forget that the advertising and related public relations around the event are great branding opportunities. Lead generation. Other forms of marketing and PR establish you as the expert, but events bring those leads together into one room. Now you have an audience of real, live breathing people who want to hear from you. This is your chance to introduce yourself, and get their contact information for follow-up. Client nurturing. Not all events are about meeting new leads. Educational and social events allow you to provide your existing clients with helpful information and a chance for some face-time. Social events let you show your appreciation for the client’s business. With these benefits in mind, events can still be risky. Their effectiveness can be difficult to measure, especially if direct business isn’t an immediate result. Here are 4 ways to improve your event ROI: Set goals. Reevaluate why you’re hosting the event in the first place. If a seminar hasn’t been effective for a few years in a row, revisit the strategy. Align your goals with your firm’s strategic objectives. Be sure that the event is designed to reach your target audience. Try to measure the results of the event in previous years. Have a “pre” and “post” strategy. Whether you’re hosting the event, or attending an industry tradeshow, develop a simple pre-event strategy. Think about who you want to meet, how you’re going to spend your time during the event, and how you’re going to follow-up after. Huddle up with your team and devise a simple plan. Coming back to the office with a stack of new business cards gives you a new list of leads for follow-up. Don’t overlook the follow-up phase. Provide value. Educational events shouldn’t be all things to all people. Be mindful of the topic. What’s keeping your client (or desired client) up at night? What’s happening – or about to happen – that affects them? Be very careful that your event title and marketing materials clearly explain who should attend and exactly what they will learn. Work on attracting qualified leads. And don’t panic if your registration numbers are a little bit lower than you expected. If you’ve marketed the event right, you’ll have quality leads outweighing quantity. Leverage. Make the most of your event marketing efforts and leverage it. Turn the topic into an article or ebook for your website (the published content is great for SEO!). Follow-up with everyone who attended on LinkedIn and Facebook. Add attendee contact information to your e-mail marketing list. Write a press release about the event and update your professional bio. Event marketing can be worth the time and energy if you plan ahead and follow through on the pre-event and post-event strategy. Learn more about integrating online lead generation with event marketing.

LAST YEAR, TWO THIRDS MORE BUYERS RELIED ON CONTENT TO MAKE BUYING DECISIONS THAN IN 2014. As a B2B marketer, my clients turn to me for guidance on how to reach their buyers. With so many different methods for reaching them, and marketing budgets that aren’t limitless, we all want to know: just how are your prospects making their important buying decisions? Sophisticated buyers do their homework before making an important buying decision. They research industry trends and seek out credible sources to help them solve their business problems. They may turn to their professional network for a referral, but they’ll also fully vet that professional through online research. So just how are they conducting their research? Demand Gen Report released a survey, 2015 Content Preferences Survey, which collected data about how professional buyers engaged with content before making buying decisions.  32% of the survey respondents held C-level or VP-level positions in their company.  Two thirds more buyers rely on content to make buying decisions than did in 2014. With these stats in hand, it’s clear that content creation is an important method for reaching clients. Content is a broad term, though, so let’s get more specific. Let’s talk about the reported preferences for content types. Then we’ll talk about how buyers reported to find their preferred content. Which Types Of Content Do Buyers Prefer? During the research process, buyers prefer white papers, E-Books, and webinars If you want to connect with buyers, then it is absolutely worth investing time in long form content types, like a case study, to communicate how your services can help them solve their problems. White papers, E-Books, and webinars are three great ways to showcase that information. Buyers prefer content that is prescriptive and introductory Instead of selling your prospect, take the time to educate them. Provide content that helps them learn what they need to know to make a good decision. Buyers like to have related content packaged together Instead of releasing a mish-mash of content that a buyer has to dig through to find what they’re looking for, make their life easier. Take the time to package related content together. You’ll save them from wasting time doing tedious research.  In other words, you’ll be a hero. How Do Buyers Find the Content They Trust? Tablet and mobile use is becoming more common 60% of the survey respondents said they occasionally or frequently used a tablet to view content, so keep in mind that your content is going to be viewed on different sized screens. Make sure your own website for hosting content is responsive. (2015 Content Preferences Survey) Most buyers start the research process with a web search, and then go to social media later in the buying cycle SEO is still important. Content creation will help you compete in the web search space, making your expertise easier to find – for both new contacts or for the prospect who already knows your name, but is vetting your expertise online. Email, LinkedIn, and Twitter are the platforms respondents of this survey said they shared content the most. (2015 Content Preferences Survey) Buyers will spend more than an hour with an analyst report or an E-Book If you want an hour of a buyer’s attention, then writing an analyst report, or an E-Book, is a great way to make that happen. These can be laborious to create, but the sections of content showcase your depth of knowledge and can be broken down and leveraged for a variety of other marketing initiatives. Most Buyers will look at three to five pieces of content before interacting with a sales person Refer back to the types of content buyers prefer so you can make those three to five pieces worthwhile! Many thanks to Demand Gen for surveying professional buyers once again in 2015 and updating us on how buyers communicate online. With this current knowledge in hand, how will you educate your buyers in 2016? Learn more about reaching your audience of buyers through smart integrated marketing communications strategies. Source: 2015 Content Preferences Survey

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA Advertising is all about top-of-mind awareness. Even though most (if not every) company wants top-of-mind awareness, B2B marketing directors and business owners sometimes shy away from broadcast advertising, usually because: They personally don’t listen to the radio or watch TV. They believe their buyers do all of their research and buying online. They believe that their audience doesn’t make buying decisions based upon what they hear on TV or radio. Their target audience is a very narrow, specific group of buyers, and they don’t believe mass media is a smart way to reach that narrow group, and… It’s expensive. Or at least more expensive than “free” marketing channels like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. As an advocate of multi-channel marketing, my advice is simple: prioritize a media mix. While we’re certainly proponents of a strong online presence, digital marketing doesn’t necessarily mean “no broadcast.” The days of hearing a message at a frequency of 3 times before acting on it is now 7 or 8 times. Digital, broadcast and even print (depending upon the demographics) all contribute to that frequency. To reach a business listener, broadcast advertising may hold some unforeseen opportunities. For example, talk radio stations draw a following of educated, affluent, white-collar listeners. Television advertising allows you to reach your target at precise times of the day, when they are likely to watch news or business-related programming. Online/social media ads have robust targeting capabilities, driving traffic to your website to capture sales leads. All of these channels allow you to completely customize your message to build brand awareness or promote specific activities like business events, recruiting efforts or the roll out of a new product/service. Here are some tricks for integrating your broadcast advertising campaign with other media: Do some research. Remember that YOU might not necessarily represent your target audience. Spend some time identifying the characteristics of your preferred clients and then align the media that are best suited to reach them. ask your station representative for station qualitative information including qualitative rankers. Most stations have access to research and are able to not only provide basic ratings, but ratings and where the station ranks in the market geared toward a specific demographic or target. Instead of asking for a full media kit with a lot of information that is not useful to you, ask for station coverage maps to make sure you are hitting your target geographic areas and station line-up information. There are many national companies that no longer want to be affiliated with “controversial” programming. Write a great script. Be smart about the length of the ad (:30 ads are not necessarily half the cost of a :60) and use those seconds to write a compelling, memorable message. Write a strong call-to-action that’s easy to remember. Integrate your on-air message with your online marketing by driving listeners to a web URL (make sure it’s short, easy to spell and easy to remember). Ask the media partner to integrate. Many stations are able to contribute to an integrated campaign by using Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc…even broadcast station websites are another place to gain extra exposure. Stations have also been using their texting lines to help with recruitment. Mention a station text number in your broadcast ad with a keyword and you receive an automated response back with more information or a link to an application. Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Most advertising sales executives are willing to get creative to support your marketing strategy. Negotiate an integrated social media marketing campaign timed around your upcoming event or launch. Ask the station to run mentions on their Twitter and Facebook pages that support your ad. Be your own publicist. If your message is compelling and timely enough, ask the station about live liners and on-air mentions within the context of their programming. If you are comfortable being interviewed, ask about getting an in-studio appearance. This is a great way to get exposure and to establish yourself as an expert, while reinforcing the message you’re advertising. It’s wise to stretch your marketing and advertising budget, so don’t be afraid to ask for more than you expect. Learn more about advertising campaigns and media buying and how an integrated approach can support your marketing goals.

It’s easy to fall behind on producing fresh, custom web content. I write and edit blogs and websites for a living and it’s tough to set aside time for my own content writing. But if you’re serious about reinforcing your brand online, engaging with online communities and making your site visible to search engines, resist the temptation to fall off the content writing wagon! Great Content is All Around You Isn’t that good news? You simply need to repackage it. PR Web describes easy ways to take a topic and reinvent the way you deploy it. Here are three tricks for quickly repurposing your content: Read your own website. You generated the content – landing pages, services descriptions, case studies, client testimonials. Ask yourself again: “What do I want to be found for online?” If you’re a housecleaner who is branching into green cleaning practices and want to be found for “green housecleaning in Portland,” create a short page of content on this very topic, optimized with supporting keyword phrases. Expand upon your original services page to generate a short page on green housecleaning. Write a blog post to support the new page (Are you using a new method or cleaning technique?) Describe it on your blog and be sure to include a link to your new page at the end of your blog post. Give a publication legs. Have you issued a press release lately? Any new team members, recently completed projects, new products or awards? Edit a press release into an authored article on a timely topic or into a case study featuring your capabilities. Case studies and news items often justify a web page of their own, or at minimum, you can write a shout-out on social media sites to drive interest to the “new” page of content. Repurpose customer feedback. Do you receive emails or questions from customers via email or social media? What are their primary concerns? Write a how-to blog post answering a popular question. If the topic is meaty enough, consider issuing an email alert to your contact list and post the content on your blog and social media pages. If your content ideas are prolific, but you need help with copywriting, SEO or on-page optimization, contact Marnie to learn more about how an Internet Marketing Plan can improve your online presence and boost sales. Source: PRWeb.com

In my next life (or maybe even in the next chapter of my life) I vow to study psychology. I am truly fascinated by how the human brain functions. My challenge as a marketer is to apply what scientists and psychologists have discovered about how we think, decide and remember into my professional work. One of my favorite resources is Neuro Web Design by Susan Weinschenk. With a Ph.D. in Psychology and a successful career in user experience consulting, Weinschenk’s book validated why I love writing and using case studies to sell products or professional services: People love hearing stories. Think about it. Children grow up hearing stories. Weinschenk explains that we naturally communicate the events of our daily life in the form of stories. You may not consider yourself to be a story-teller, but most of our communication tells a series of events in the form of a story. She also explains that we recall more of the information if the content is broken into digestible chunks. People are visual. Did you know that the visual part of your brain takes up half of its processing power? Weinschenk explains that this is why most of us remember things we see visually. This is a powerful statistic for marketers. When it’s tempting to create a text-heavy piece to get as much information in front of your audience as possible, remember that people will recall the information if it’s presented in shorter chunks with heavy use of imagery. People are attracted and respond to stories + pictures. Try incorporating a story-telling tone to your web or marketing content and add more photos. Together, the appeal of a photo coupled with an interesting story will draw your reader in and help them recall (and hopefully retell the story to others – word of mouth advertising isn’t dead!) the information for a longer period of time. Weinschenk’s book is targeted toward web designers, but the concepts can be applied to printed marketing collateral, proposals or presentations. Think about your company’s work and your successes over the past year. Can you tell a story about how your services helped your client or improved your community? Did you use a novel process to take a project from start to finish? A great first step for developing marketing concepts is to spend the time identifying potential stories and think about how the story might help solve your customer’s business challenges.

Most marketers should revisit their web copy with a big red pen. Some of the largest brands and well-respected companies make a common mistake in their website messaging: they use the word “We” far too often. “We have the largest group of certified experts”…“We won 20 awards last year for our amazing work,”…”We, We, We…” It’s the number one word that copywriters, business bloggers and marketers need to redline from your content whenever possible. And it’s so easy to fix! Instead of talking about “We,” think about editing your content into customer-focused copy. How can you edit a simple sentence into a statement that identifies your customer’s problem and addresses their needs. Web marketers need to be particularly aware of this because if your online copy doesn’t speak to your customers, potential customers will bounce right off your website and on right on to your competitor’s. Here’s how to rethink “We” focused marketing content: Evaluate your current web copy. It’s always humbling to take constructive criticism, but it’s well worth the exercise. Future Now’s “We We Text” calculator is a great resource that will score your copywriting for customer-focused content vs. sentences that are focused on you and your company. Replace “We” with “You.” Customer-focused content discusses a problem and how a product or service will fill a customer’s need. Rather than filling a web page with information on the features of what you provide, starting thinking about your customer’s problems and what benefits you can offer. Try to edit as many sentences as possible by getting rid of “we do this” and replacing it with more sentences that contain the word “you” or “your” with a message the truly speaks to the customer’s interests. Know your customer. To write truly customer-focused web content, explore the concept of buyer personas and persuasion architecture. “Waiting for Your Cat to Bark” by Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg is an excellent tutorial on understanding the various modes of behaviors your web visitors are in when they’re making buying decisions. The way you address their unique needs with online content will help move them through your sales funnel. To learn more about buying personas and customer-focused copy, check out Mahoney Internet Marketing’s blog on Internet Marketing best practices or the FutureNow Resource Center. Need help wielding that big red pen? Contact me to discuss your copyediting or online marketing best practices.