Share This!

By Kim Deppe
With all of the changes to search engine optimization that have taken place in 2013, it is still abundantly clear that good content is the MVP of SEO. Good content drives more clicks to your website or blog by interested readers, which boosts your SEO. But just writing great content is not enough - you have to share it and encourage others to spread it around the internet. It is true that very few posts or videos really go viral in a big way, but that doesn't mean that you can't take a few steps to increase the number of people who see your website or blog.

First, make sure that you are adding social sharing buttons to your website or posts. Ideally, those should be located in or near the actual article. Make it easy for your readers to share the article with their friends or followers by adding icons or links to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. Don't confuse these with the social media icons that you have on your site to direct readers to your own Facebook or Twitter pages. It is best to move these down to the footer or along the side of the page to distinguish them from social sharing buttons.

Next, promote your posts on your own social media pages. Grab the URL to your new article, copy it, then paste it into your Twitter feed, LinkedIn post or Facebook page. Add a few words that describe what your readers will learn in the article. And, it never hurts to ask your followers to share the post.

Finally, make an effort to read and share the posts of others either in your field or among your friends and followers. Engaging with others is a great way to encourage them to do the same. Reciprocal sharing is common when the content is good and the source is trusted.

Taking these steps will increase the number of people exposed to your blog or website, which in turn can improve your SEO due to increased clicks to the article. Now, please share this post!

About Kim Deppe

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Write right! Lose the jargon and communicate more effectively

By Kim Deppe

It may just harken back to our days in high school or college when we had an essay to write and were having a little trouble. Maybe we didn't know enough about the topic or we didn't do the reading, but there we were having to b.s. our way through a test answer or a paper. It's happened to most of us. That's when we start stringing together the largest, four-syllable words we can conjure in hopes of sounding as if we know what we're writing about. Over time, I think we keep writing in that high-fallutin' style when we are doing our resumes, trying to impress a boss, or just feel that we need to throw as much high-tech sounding content as possible into something we are writing. The end result is usually a bunch of convoluted, professorial writing that few people really understand.

Here's an example: I heard an ad on the radio this week for a local physician group. I'm paraphrasing here, but it's pretty close to truth. The copy went something like this: "we provide a full continuum of care with state-of-the-art medical equipment and board-certified specialty physicians who are committed to providing the very best possible quality of care."

Now, I confess here that in my 21 years of healthcare marketing I, too, have written garbage like this. It populated print ads and annual reports and the medical professionals I reported to just loved it. The only problem is that "Joe Sixpack" didn't get most of that. Not because Joe is stupid, but because Joe does not speak "medicine." He speaks colloquial American English. Or, in my case, Southern. Joe probably doesn't care that we have a "full continuum of care" (whatever that means) or that the doctors are board-certified (whatever that means). And one would hope that every practicing physician is providing "the very best possible quality of care." That's a weasel phrase designed to keep them out of court, anyway.

What I really wish the physician group had told me is why I should choose them over someone else. Do they have extended office hours? Do they set aside time for daily walk-in patients? Do they use Twitter to respond to patient questions? You see where I am going with this. In the medical industry, but also in other high-tech fields, it is easy to slip into a lot of jargon when you are writing letters, brochures, or even advertising copy. Everyone thinks it sounds sexier to say bi-modal doppler 4-D imaging (I made that up) than to say "we have the latest diagnostic tools to help us figure out what is wrong with you."

The next time you visit your company web page or read your own brochure, see if you can spot any jargon that should be removed. Pay attention to the reading level, too. Journalists are taught to write at about an 8th grade reading level. Most word processing programs have a tool that will tell you what grade level you are writing at - try to keep it below 10th grade if you can. Keep sentences short. Use jargon sparingly, if at all. Pretend that you are explaining what you do or sell to someone from another planet. By not assuming that they know anything about your business, you can be sure to tell your story in a way they will understand and appreciate.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to businesses. Visit www.DeppeCommunications.com or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com to schedule a free consultation.

Marketing Your Small Business: TGIF!

By Kim Deppe
It is Friday, and a good time to look back over the week and cherish your accomplishments, figure out where you could have improved, and then set your sights on the week to come. How many of us really do that, though? Do you do it once a month, or once a quarter? How about once a year?

It might seem an odd way to "do marketing" but reflection and thinking are an important part of your marketing efforts. We have fancier marketing jargon for the process - we call it research, analysis and planning - but the truth is that small business owners can just stop and do some thinking and accomplish the same thing. And it does not have to be a long, involved process. In fact, a few minutes each week can help you stay ahead of your marketing and stay on track with your plan.

Here are a few things to think about:

1. Did you get new customers this week (month, quarter)? If so, where did they come from and how did they find you? You may have some people to thank for making referrals. You may need to look at your advertising budget and put more money into things that are working, less money into things that are not working. If you did not get more customers, try to think about why that happened. Look at everything from your sign out front to the design of your website. If you have a store front, make sure your hours are a match to your customers. I cannot tell you how many small businesses I see that close up shop just as all their customers are getting home from work and could do a little shopping or run their errands.

2. How many people visited your website and how does that compare with last week/month/quarter? If you don't have Google Analytics or some other website tracking method, I encourage you to take care of that right away. Google Analytics is free and it will give you great information about traffic to your website. If your traffic is dropping off, consider some pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and make sure your content is fresh, interesting and relevant to your customers. Your website is often the first time a customer encounters your business - make sure it really represents your business well.

3. Did sales improve? If you have e-commerce on your website you can analyze sales quickly and see what products are selling and which are struggling. Use that information to guide you in future promotions and product choices. If you only sell from a physical location, look for trends in traffic flow to the store, days and time of day when things sell, etc.

4. Ask yourself what you did well and what you need to improve upon. This is especially tough for businesses like mine that are a one-person show because it means we have to analyze our own behavior. But an honest appraisal can help you spot little issues before they become big problems. It is also a great way to acknowledge what you did well - when you are your own boss, you need to give yourself a pat on the back once in a while, too!

5. What needs to happen next week/month/quarter? Think about the changes you want to make in your marketing efforts - blog more often, tweet more, start a new PPC campaign, etc. Write them down somewhere and put some deadlines on them. You don't have to have a fancy marketing plan but if you want some guidance on creating a basic plan, there is a free download on my website that will help you. Look for the big red button that says "Free Download."

Happy Friday!

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Ciao Barilla? Social Media Can Damage Your Brand

By Kim Deppe

In a stunning lack of sensitivity, the CEO of Barilla pasta told an Italian interviewer that the company would not feature homosexual couples in its advertising because that didn't fit the company's idea of family. When the CEO's interview was published, the social media world exploded with condemnation and calls for boycotting the brand. The hapless CEO then compounded his problems with a strange "apology" that demeaned women by implying that the only family he pictured is one with the woman in the kitchen doing the cooking. One supposes he means only a heterosexual woman.

And so begins the brand's crisis and probable decline in sales. A few sentences that spread like wildfire across social media by a CEO will have, I predict, a tremendous impact on sales of their pasta in the U.S., if not worldwide. Within hours #boycott barilla was trending on Twitter and it was all over the national news that night.

My point is this: if you think social media is not important to your business, please re-read the first two paragraphs of this post. The Barilla CEO is just the latest casualty in a series of brand-damaging remarks made by company leaders - think Chick-Fil-A, the Boy Scouts, Papa John's Pizza, etc. All of them suffered some damage to their brands after remarks that were picked up across social media and condemned by large numbers of people. In some cases, this damage is short-term and it will be interesting to see if Barilla will face a lasting problem.

If you are not engaging in social media right now, then you should at least be monitoring it. Do you even know if people are out there talking about your company on social media? Your brand is extremely important to the success of your company, so listening to social media is the bare minimum that you should be doing. After all, if you do not manage your brand, I assure you it will be managed for you by someone else!

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Blogging and Article Writing for Marketing

Content is the word of the day in marketing circles, but understanding what to do with your content once you create it can be challenging. Whether it is Email, blogging or submitting articles to other websites, your content is a crucial part of your overall marketing effort.

You need to provide great content to those you email. People hate spam, so be sure you do not give readers the impression you are trying to spam them. People will unsubscribe if they aren't getting valuable information.

Building a blog is a great way to emphasize your credibility and leadership within your industry. The articles that you post on your site should demonstrate positive qualities like honesty, professionalism and good humor. Talking about current trends in your industry will help customers and potential customers see that you are on top of things.

One of the most creative and interesting ways for businesses to attract attention on the Internet is to blog. Blogging is a great way to interact with your website visitors and it is often free to add a blog page. Even without any experience, most people can create a blog and get it off the ground.

After some time writing and gaining experience, you should have a lot of articles. Make an eBook that contains your most popular articles on one topic and give it away or sell it. If the eBook is well written, others will share it and it can generate even more customers for you.

You might want to outsource article writing. If time is an issue or you do not think you are skilled enough to write your own articles, consider hiring writers to generate content. The expense will likely balance out when you have the high quality content that you need to post regularly.

Submit your articles to directories and blog networks too. Blogging is very popular nowadays; if you can work your way into a niche, you can build your website's traffic. Be sure to include a link to your own site with every article so that people can find it easily.

If you are trying to promote a product or service and see that someone famous is using it, try to get a testimonial from them or permission to mention their use of it in your marketing efforts. This is the type of endorsement that can create unlimited demand for this type of item. However, never claim that a celebrity uses your product whenever they actually don't because this can cause all kinds of legal problems.

Prior to marketing an article, it is vital to research the area it is going and see what has already been published. This way, it is easy to identify and customize topics and approaches that will be successful.

Having an exceptional product that already attracts a lot of customers makes article marketing much easier. By doing this you will attract users with ease when you write your articles.

Exercise creativity and uniqueness when writing articles. You want this content to show your personality, so people can learn more about you. Developing your own tone will make your readers feel you are being honest and writing articles based on your own experience.

Try to set up time-bound goals to achieve when you start to write your articles. Not only will this strategy keep you on track, but it will also improve your bottom line. The more articles that you can produce, the higher your view counts will improve.

You should be aware that it is up to you to implement these tips into your article marketing strategy. You need to know what to do to succeed and what to change when things go awry. Remember what you've learned here, and you'll be successful.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

What Do I Do With My Marketing Data?

By Kim Deppe
So, you have done your homework and now you know a little more about your customers. The question is, what do you do with all of that marketing data? Data is only useful to us if we can understand it and put it to use to help our businesses grow. Just knowing that 10% of your customers are blonde doesn't help much - unless you are selling hair color.

 The first thing to do is organize the information. Separate your customers by zip code, for example, so that you can see where your opportunities are. You may want to get a local zip code map and color code each zip code by how many customers come from that area. The color coding is a good way to get a visual guide to customers locations. Some questions to ask:
- do I need another location closer to my customers?
- why are some people close to me not using my business while others come from farther away?
- do my customer locations have anything to do with natural boundaries (rivers or lakes, for example) or roads and bridges? Are these barriers I can address?
- if my customers are clustered in certain areas, are there opportunities for me to target my marketing to those areas and try to get more customers? Remember, birds of a feather flock together!

You can also use geographic data like this to determine what kind of advertising you need to do. Can you do targeted mailings or do you need something broader like print, TV or radio advertising?

Be sure to ask lots of questions about your data. For example, when you look at information about how your customers found out about you, it can tell you whether you need a stronger online presence, better signage, or simply a good customer referral program. Ask the "why" questions - Why are 60% of my customers men? Why are most of my clients under age 40? And then think about whether this is what you intended - is it your target audience? And if not, should it be?

Digging into your data can be an interesting, time consuming, and sometimes lengthy process. But it is worth the time you take to understand what the data is telling you. If analytics isn't your thing, then by all means, find someone in your circle to help you, or hire a professional marketer or analyst to assist.

Lastly, don't make the mistake of doing this just once. Your customer base will be constantly changing and you should be collecting data regularly to keep on top of changes. For example, if you suddenly start seeing teenagers coming into your restaurant, you may want to figure out why - did a new skateboard park open nearby? is there a new school in the area? That will tell you if this is a fad or a permanent situation that you can capitalize on.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Know Thy Customers

By Kim Deppe

It's probably the first and most "commandment" of good marketing for your business - Know Thy Customers. Understanding who your business serves and who would be interested in buying your product or service is the first step toward building a targeted marketing plan.

But it isn't always easy to know a lot about your customers. You might be too busy to chat with them or, in the case of some businesses, you may never see or talk to them at all. So how can you learn more about them? Here are a few ideas you can use to gather information.

1. Do a survey. Online or on paper, a survey is a great way to get information from your clients or customers. Ask just a few questions that can be answered quickly - about 2 or 3 minutes is plenty of time to ask people to invest. There are some online survey tools that are free (Survey Monkey, for example) if you are only asking a few questions. Some companies send a survey out to every customer following an interaction, while others print an 800 number on the receipt with an inducement to take the survey. Whichever direction you go, make sure you are collecting the demographic data you will need to understand the results.

2. Gather information at point of sale. Ask for address, phone and email the first time you make a sale to every customer. Periodically ask if they have made any changes to that information. Note whether they are male or female. If you can add information about their general age group, that can help as well. Think in terms of groups such as Under 18, 19 - 35, 36 - 55, 55 and Above so that you can note that information in your files without having to ask the customer his or her age.

3. Do research. Look at the population data from the US Census for your area. This is available for free online and it can tell you about the population as a whole. This is useful for knowing how your customers are alike or different from the general population. Often your local Chamber of Commerce can provide you with this information, too.

4. Add demographic questions to forms on your website. These can be order forms, entry forms for a drawing, etc. Forms are a great way to collect data.

5. Encourage customers to sign up for your newsletter or notice of sales and specials. This connects your customer to you and gives you permission to market to them. That can make it easier in the future to collect information, send surveys, and request feedback.

After you have collected the data, the analysis begins. If this is not your strength, find someone who is good at interpreting this kind of data. Often, though, just reading through the answers and tracking the frequency of them can give you tremendous insight into your customer base.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Resources on Deppe Communications Website

Just a quick note to remind readers that there is resource material on my website around small business marketing, social media marketing, SEO and more. For example, there is a free download on the Small Business Marketing that will help you write your own Marketing Plan, plus ideas on low cost ways to market your business.

There is also a blog on the site that covers marketing issues, trends and observations. I hope you will visit www.DeppeCommunications.com and learn more about our company and how you can improve your marketing. We welcome your feedback!

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

3 Things You Can Do To Market Your Business Today

By Kim Deppe

Marketing does not have to involve a lot of money, time and effort. In fact, just about everyone knows that word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind. So today, I'm offering suggestions for 3 things you can do to market your business that cost little or nothing, but will help build your brand and your reputation.

1. Say Thank You. Seems simple, right? But do you really stop and thank your customers for choosing you? Instead of just saying "thank you" to everyone today, take an extra moment and really thank them. Say "I really appreciate you choosing us to do business with. I enjoy helping you and I hope you will come back again soon. Please let your friends and family know about us, too."

2. Make a Good First Impression. If you have a retail location, spend time walking through it and around it. Pick up trash, wipe fingerprints off the door, remove dead plants from the parking lot, make sure the shelves are tidy. Check the restrooms - often a place that gets forgotten but where your customers will make real judgments about your dedication to the business. Speak to people when they come in the door or call on the phone and make an effort to be friendly, upbeat and pleasant. Saying "hello, it's nice to see you today" is a lot better than "hi there."

3. Do Something Extra. Go above and beyond today and do something unexpected for your customers. Offer them coffee or cookies, put chocolates on your reception desk, give out coupons for their next visit or hand out trinkets to children who come in with their parents. Customers remember the extra special touches they experience and it will set you apart from your competition.

There you have it - 3 things you can do today to market your business without spending a fortune or taking a lot of time. Here's hoping you have a prosperous day! And, if you want more marketing ideas, please visit my website at www.DeppeCommunications.com.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

PR Mistakes

By Kim Deppe

I have been watching with interest as Subway tries to climb out of the "Footlong" public relations disaster. Clearly, they are in crisis mode now trying to mop up a mess they made when they first responded to the posting of photos on the internet showing their "footlong" sub was only about 11 inches long. The company's initial missteps are causing them to spend a lot of time, and money, trying to repair their brand. There are a few lessons here that any company can learn from.

1. Bad PR can happen to anyone. Yes, even organizations like the Red Cross have had their share of bad PR. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the company itself but rather one person in the organization. A VP can get arrested for DUI, or worse, and suddenly the entire company is under scrutiny.

2. Bad PR is temporary usually. Treat it that way. There is a good reason people refer to newspapers as fish wrappers - they are here today and gone tomorrow. Yes, things on the internet have a much longer life. But the public, especially the American public, has a short memory and they move on to the next bad news story quickly. There is usually only one reason for a bad story to grow legs - a dumb response from the company.

3. For goodness' sake, think through your first response. Subway's first response was something like (and I paraphrase here) "Footlong is a marketing term and doesn't really have anything to do with the size of the sub." Dumb, dumb, dumb. Who believes that? They named it the "footlong" for the precise reason that it was 12-inches long. They advertised it that way. But somewhere along the way during the midst of their crisis communications, some dumb cluck was allowed to put that statement out to the press. The company has been spending great effort to walk that back ever since. The most reasonable, and genuinely believable answer should have been a discussion about the variation in size due to baking.

3. Bad PR can be repaired, but it can take a long time and it can be difficult in the interim. Speaking as someone who had to put out statements that were in serious conflict with what I knew to be best, somedays you just have to suck it up. PR professionals are required to give their best advice, and it is not unusual for CEOs and lawyers to ignore that advice. Ultimately, though, the CEO must make the call and some days that will not line up with what the PR staff has advised.

4. Bad PR can almost always be overcome. While there are certainly examples of companies that never overcame the crisis, certainly some do.The Red Cross did a good job of making changes in the wake of allegations it was paying top executives too much. Subway, too, will get past this as long as they don't do anything else dumb.

5. Turn bad PR around. Subway has an opportunity here to make fun of the company by holding "is it 12 inches? campaigns. Think how much fun it would be to have scores of third graders come into the store, waving their rulers, and letting them do some measuring. Bring in al kinds of things the kids could measure that day. Fun for the kids, a chance for Subway staff to do some community volunteering, and a way to build real good will.

6. Have a crisis communications plan. If Subway had one, then it needs to be fixed because clearly a response went out to the media that was not well thought through. A crisis team must include not only the CEO and legal folks, but the head of PR, HR, Security, and operations. They will all have important issues to contribute as you craft a response.  Without a concrete plan, you may miss critical issues. Practice your crisis communications plan at least annually. And with any major PR issue, the CEO needs to be the spokesperson.  If he/she is pushing it down to PR, then there is a problem and you need to understand why immediately.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Not A Social Media Believer? Read on!

I still run into small business owners who tell me they don’t have any interest in being on social media. They don’t see any use for it, and they see it as something that either their kids or their wives use for talking to their friends. Because they are not participating in any kind of social media, they just don’t see a value to it. That’s kind of like saying “I don’t listen to the radio, so I don’t think it is a good way to advertise my business.”

I want to share some fresh statistics with you about social media that might influence your decision whether to start using it for your business:

Read More 

Why "We Care" is the Wrong Advertising Message

I spent more than 20 years in the healthcare marketing world and if there is one tenet I learned, it is that running ads that say "we care" is a tremendous waste of money. Why? Because when it comes to hospitals, doctors, surgical centers or other healthcare providers, "caring" is something that patients assume you will do or be. Really, do anyone ever expect their healthcare provider to NOT be caring? It is such an assumed part of what you provide to your customers, that it is silly to waste your money talking about it. So why do so many do it?

But I would extend that tenet beyond the healthcare industry and say that "we care" - or similar expressions of basic service - is a waste of your money. Here are some examples:

- Quality or High Quality
- Excellent Service
- Treat You Like Family
- We're the Best
- Lowest Price


There are many more, but the point here is that these are all things that your customers probably assume about you before they even decide to do business with you. Why would they ever do business with a retailer who didn't provide great service, or low prices, or good quality? Besides, a lot of customers don't really believe those claims, anyway - especially the younger Gen Y customers who are tremendously cynical about this sort of thing.

Yet, when it comes time to create advertising and marketing messages, many companies zero in on these phrases and want to pack in as many as they can into their ads. The problem is that when you do that, your ad becomes generic, and you begin to blend in with all of your competitors who are claiming the same thing.

So, what should you do? Find your UVP - Unique Value Proposition - and exploit it. Figure out what IS different about your company that customers will actually believe. Create a message that communicates that difference loud and clear. Make sure your employees know it, believe it, and can articulate it to your customers. Then put it in your advertising. And leave the "we care" stuff to the amateurs.

Marketing Small Business in Tight Times

I'm a small business, and while I have gratefully passed that magical one-year mark, I am still a start-up in many ways. Each day, I function as the CEO, the administrative assistant, the worker bee, the janitor, the CFO and the dog sitter (don't ask). Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE being in business for myself and it is crazy fun to work with other small business owners and help them grow their own businesses. I finally feel like what I am doing really matters - my work really is my mission.

So when I work with other business owners, I have a very good idea of the restraints they have not just financially, but with their time, attention and priorities. It is a gift to me that I can help them sort through their marketing priorities and put together a plan that won't cost them an arm and a leg.

I see so many business owners who are, frankly, at a loss about how to do their marketing. One sales person told them they should be buying newspaper ads, another sold them on the magic of online marketing. Their best friend told them to go on TV and their kids are pushing them to get involved with social media. But the truth is, they are so busy running their business, that they don't have much time to consider these options let alone learn about each one.

That's where I get to come in. When I work with a new client, the first thing we do is sit down and figure out what their goals are. Because what you are trying to accomplish will drive the steps you take to get there. After all, you wouldn't take a bus if you are trying to get from New York to London, would you? So why would you buy newspaper ads if you are trying to reach teenagers?

The old adage of "the medium is the message" is still true, and helping clients understand which medium to trust their message to is just part of what I do. Helping them see how extraordinary service is their best marketing tool sounds easy, but often business people don't see that connection, even though they understand that word-of-mouth is their best marketing tool. Unfortunately, TV is sexier and social media is the hottest thing right now and it can easily drown out the usefulness of the basics: good product, good service, good price at the right time, the right place, for the right person.

What's Your Oreo Idea?

You've surely seen this now-famous tweet sent out by the smart folks at Nabisco during the Super Bowl black out. It was a quick and brilliant stroke, in my opinion, that helped Oreo capture a great deal of attention without spending millions for TV commercials. Of course, Nabisco does spend millions on TV, but their social media team reacted quickly to an evolving and newsworthy situation and garnered some 15,000 retweets within hours. Plus, the marketing industry spent days discussing it and with more than a little jealousy, praising it.

So what's your Oreo idea? How can you take advantage of what is going on in your industry or your market? Knowing what is going on is an important start. That means you have to listen for cues in your community whether that is online or off; but listening is critical. Understanding what your competitors are doing and saying and how customers respond will help you craft a responsive message when the opportunity presents itself.

I am still waiting for my Oreo moment, but I won't forget the chatter and admiration of the Twitterverse on Super Bowl Sunday. So, here's a tip of my hat to the smart cookies over at Nabisco....well played.