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In the modern age, the streets and avenues of marketing are not what they used to be. A lot of the old streets remain, perhaps, but the new virtual roads and byways add a new dimension. No matter what you’re marketing, you need to make sure the way you go about it suits the brand personality. If you are going to use all of the tactics below, you need to make sure each one represents the brand well and doesn’t send mixed messages. It’s more likely that you would choose a select number of those tactics, ones that meet your needs best and divide your time evenly between them, instead of overstretching yourself. Once the brand grows, no matter if it’s for a business or a person, you may need to outsource these PR needs. It could take some time finding a firm that can meet your needs but you have to find suitable professionals to carry out the proposed work. It might be that the audience you want to target is location specific, so you’ll need professionals who are experienced in that area. If you’re targeting an audience in the Philippines, you should wonder how to use pr to succeed in the Philippines, not in London, Dubai or New York. Focusing on understanding your needs and meeting the needs of your audience will improve your chances of success.
Let’s look at some things you can explore while marketing yourself, according to Deborah Shane at Marketing Tips:
First off, the oldest method — older than email — in-person networking. When you remember what you know of a business contact, you probably remember the voice and personal contacts you had, not the email messages or Facebook posts.
Then there are a host of social media:
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
And online video:
YouTube, Vimeo.
Also: Flipgram — an app, free and easy way to turn your business/personal photos into video pieces with music. You can use this to showcase events, workshops, conferences, networking, and vacations.
Emails also, including PRESS RELEASES — what is news? new certifications, awards, new hires, retirements, changes, community events, new clients, new services, and many other things. All of this should be sent from a business email address so potential customers can see the name of your company, whether they choose to read the email contents or not.
PRLog: a free press release site.
Volunteer. This is a great way to make new contacts in a setting that is unlike your regular business or personal setting.
Phone and Skype: it helps to prepare a short, specific agenda about the talk.
Open houses — an excuse for people to come together in a setting that provides for all sorts of opportunities.
Podcasting — this is internet radio. Anyone can start their own radio station (for free if you are willing to allow ads).
Guest blogging — your experts can blog on other blogs, other expert bloggers blog on yours — its a trade in many cases, builds credibility and relationships.
Research and following trends
eBooks — easy to carry around, and people really get a chance to familiarize themselves with something new through a book.
Prior correspondence — go back through your old contacts and communications, make a list, and touch base again.
Google for Business — tools and opportunities to reach new markets through Google.
Your neighborhood, they should all be familiar with “what you do” if you want them to be. NOTE: business cards
Free workshop/Webinar: this is a meeting that can be beneficial to you in expanding your reach and the attendees who should learn how to become more personally successful. It should be short and informative, and focused on one or two things. Promote this free online and through social media and email.
Fee workshops, webinars, seminars. Affordable, though. These will be a little longer and more informative, and will often require renting a space.
Branded name tags give people a memorable visual association of your connection to a company.
Email marketing — permission based. Services such as Constant Contact IConnect and Aweber do this. Organize your mailing database. You may also want to look into HubSpot Mailchimp integration too, if you are serious about this building this part of your business.
Magnetic signs. DO NOT PUT THESE ON COMPUTERS OR ELECTRONICS. You can use them on cars and refrigerators. The stick without leaving a mess, and can be transferred between people.
Sphere-ing: business casual inviting of people who matter to you and who might want to enter relationships with each other. They may come from totally different walks of life.
Meetup.com — online service that allows you to organize groups to meet face-to-face.
We learned about this neat piece of information here: Small Business Trends
