Cogitations, Ruminations & Recommendations . . .
From GroupLevinson Advertising, Branding, Websites, Social Media & Public Relations
Two terrific books to read on marketing strategy: “Marketing Warfare” by Al Reis & Jack Trout, and “Guerrilla Marketing” by Jay Levinson (no relation) are two classic books providing some valuable insight & perspective on strategic planning, whether you have a large or small company. Let me know how you liked them.
For best public relations results, it is important to think like the editor or assignment desk of the media in which you wish to be published, and to write your press releases according to their style. What kind of articles & topics do they publish? Is it only news? Or do they publish opinion or …
National news can affect you. Monitor it in order to be proactive regarding your own organization. For example, how much business did Philadelphia’s Republic Bank lose due to confusion with NY’s Republic Bank that went under? How wary were financial services customers of the industry after the Bernie Madoff incident? Be proactive to reassure customers/prospects …
How is your logo? It should communicate leadership. Is it a bold graphic that stands out among you competitors and boldly states you are the leader? Or is it a weak graphic & type font that gets lost among your competition?
How does your brand image look from the outside in? In other words, what image do you think people receive about your company’s brand-small, big, local, national, average, exceptional, cutting edge, stable, thought leader? How do you want to appear to maximize your opportunities for growth?
Retailers know that the use of urgency is a strong motivator leading to closing the sale. What if you’re not in retail? Manufacturing, professional services & non-profits can learn & be creative in harnessing timing, price change, interest increases and other factors to create marketing urgency.
Corporate culture: connect your people with a monthly internal newsletter where you let them post edited posts about their pets, kids, hobbies and other interests, together with some news about the company. It will help them feel more connected and part of your community.
A slogan or tag line communicates a quick marketing message, often connected to your logo. It should communicate a uniquely differentiating or defining feature about your company, product or service in two to five words. What does yours say about your company?
Question: What do you think of podcasts? I’d like your feedback regarding podcasts and whether you think people listen to them. Do you? Are they national figures with million people audiences. How about business podcasts? How much time do you spend daily? Thanks for responding in comments.
When news stories break that are related to your industry, work to get you & your name quoted as part of a TV piece or print story. The media relies on experts to round out their story. It might as well be you. Help them remember that you are the thought leader in your field …