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Welcome to my blog! I look forward to engaging you in a lively dialogue on various public relations, marketing and communications topics.
The recession has certainly made all of our jobs more interesting and challenging. But in all honesty I firmly believe that the economy has presented endless opportunity to gain more of our target market. Remarkably the key to doing well during a recession is the thing that we all should always do anyway – communicate clearly, consistently and concisely. Just cut the clutter and tell your audience what you do best or what I like to call “the why should I care factor.”
Unless you are having a media friendly holiday event or program your window of opportunity for non-holiday news is about to slam shut. My general rule of thumb is you have up until the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving to distribute your news and still have a chance to have it published. After that think January. Speaking of January keep in mind that editors are “story hungry” the first week of the new year. Many people have taken off for the holidays and content is in demand. Can you spin a New Year’s Resolution story? “Resolve to volunteer in 2010” or “10 tips to get healthy in 2010.” Whether you are a business or non-profit organization you have expertise in your area. Think about whether there is a new year’s angle to your story and you can start the new year with gaining visibility.
I know many businesses and organizations are running scared right now, leading some of them to severely reduce or eliminate their marketing efforts. Shutting down communication with your target market is a slippery slope and often makes your customers turn to your competitors who are still talking to them. This isn’t just theory there is a precedent and facts to support it.
How many times have we told someone else to “carefully check over your work?” I can remember my sister handing me a dictionary (remember those? I still have the one my sister gave me!) and saying “if you don’t know how to spell it look it up!” Sometimes I just hate it when family members are so right! Now nearly three decades into my profession and I can tell you that when I see an error I do judge the organization or business. Yes, we all make mistakes, but every piece of marketing collateral we create reflects on our brand and our sense of professionalism. If you know you are not detailed enough to proofread well give it to that persnickety person in the office who is always ready to point out other people’s mistakes. We all have good proofreaders in our mist. And if you are a one person shop you can develop the skills needed. It is well worth the time and effort. For more detailed “how tos” on proofreading check out my proofreading tip sheet.