And, the Oscar Goes to...Special K!

If you looked past Halle Berry's flowing Versace and all of the other fashion on the red carpet, saw beyond the 007 tribute, and could hear over Barbra Streisand heartfully singing, "The Way We Were," as a tribute to Marvin Hamlisch, you may have noticed some crafty strategic communication and marketing winners.  Maybe the small business owner in Dallas or Atlanta didn't get the $43,000 gift bag given to the Oscar presenters and winners, but he or she could take away a very valuable lesson from Hollywood's grand night.

 

From a strategic communications and marketing standpoint, context and theme were the true stars of the evening.  Brands from Special K to American Express paraded their marketing prowess to engage their audiences by basing their productions around the theme and context of the Academy Awards.

Although the stage may not be as grand, professionals in Dallas and Atlanta; and Denver and Anchorage can be winners by understanding the importance of context and themes when it comes to their strategic communications and marketing initiatives. 

 

Engaging your target audience with creative messaging that ties your products or services to events in which they are already engaged can bring them walking down the red carpet and straight to your brand.  Just as Daniel Day Lewis did not win his Oscar overnight, growing your customer and client bases will not come easily.  Like the production of Les Miserables, it will take a healthy amount of creativity, solid direction, many takes, and great deal of work.  But, in the end, if you study your lines, we think you too can be a big winner.

Concierge PA: if you ever need help with your script, our production team is always here for you.

 

www.conciergepa.com

 

Let's Get Real

Make 2013 the year you get "real" with your strategic communication efforts.  Be authentic, creative, unique and truly engaging.  Your target audience will love it and you will see real impact.

1. Engage your target audience with unique content tailored to them.  As a business owner, you know your target audience best, and all of your strategic communication and marketing material – whether in collateral pieces or on Facebook – should be tailored to the interests of your target audience.  In today’s marketing landscape, when you want to achieve high search engine rankings that brings qualified organic traffic to your website and social media pages, consistently develop unique content that will engage your target audience.  And, whenever possible develop a theme and build a campaign around it with unique but homogenized content on all of your strategic communications outlets.

 2. Use unique images and video.  Whenever possible develop and share your own unique images.  Stock images are useful for generic communication.  Like many blogs, we use them as they communicate what we need them to communicate on a general level.  When you are trying to engage and interact with your specific target audience however, develop images and video around that actual audience.  Snap photos and take video with your iPhone or Android device and share them on your Facebook page.  Share the images and video of your customers interacting with your products on Instagram and Twitter.  There is no better way to engage your audience than actually casting them consistently in your marketing material. 

3. Make all of your content “real.”  Be authentic.  When attempting to directly engage your target audience, avoid generic and overused content, and develop content that is unique and involves the audience members on a personal level.  Through all of your marketing material, you are trying to directly engage your audience and positively impact your sales.  Whether your audience is in Dallas, or Atlanta; or Dubai, or Athens, gear your strategic communications efforts to engage them at the grass roots level.  Whenever possible, speak to them directly and personally.  After all, that’s what friends are for.

Concierge PA.  If you need us, you can always rely on Concierge PA as a real business partner.

 

www.conciergepa.com

The Pitfalls of DIY Social Media Marketing

The use of social media is now a must for any business -regardless of its size.  Both Joe's Pizza Parlor on the corner of Main and Sycamore in Anytown, USA, and the franchise giant, Pizza Hut, must employ social media as part of their strategic communications and marketing strategies.  Trust me when I say that Pizza Hut has an extensive social media marketing plan based on research.  They also have dedicated resources to manage their social media marketing efforts.  Every post and tweet by Pizza Hut is calculated and follows their extensive strategic communications plan.  The posts by Joe, the owner of Joe's Pizza Parlor, are random, unplanned, and inconsistent.  And, because they are not synchronized with a carefully developed plan, they may actually harm Joe's sales.   Here are some pitfalls to avoid when employing do-it-yourself (DIY) social media to support your business:

1. Do not simply jump in.  If you cannot swim, you probably should not jump off of a ship into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  When it comes to social media marketing, the same premise holds true.  Without guidance, reliance on a comprehensive strategic communications and marketing plan, and without the requisite knowledge of social media, DIY social media operations can actually hurt your sales.  Mastering social media for professional marketing is not a simple undertaking.  Consult with experts, and always have and follow a comprehensive plan for all of your professional communication efforts.

2. Don't get personal.  One of the first things you learn in business is to keep your personal finances and business finances separate.  When it comes to personal and professional social media activities, the same holds true.  Do not post irrelevant family photos on your Facebook business page.  Better yet, do not communicate anything that is personal in nature on any social media platform you employ on behalf of your business.  Business is business.  And, when it comes to social media marketing for your business, nothing should be personal.

3. Realize your limitations. 
I doubt that you would represent yourself in a court of law should you be charged with a crime.  Your freedom is too important.  Although the situation may not be as dramatic, I assume your business is important.  Do not simply take it upon yourself to manage your social media marketing efforts without a strategic communications and marketing plan and without consultation with experts in that field.  It can become a nightmare when you do not truly know what you are doing.  You run your business for a reason.  And, one of the reasons is to succeed.  Using social media marketing for success requires expertise in the execution of a planned strategy.  If your DIY social media marketing means running it by the seat of your pants, that is definitely not a recipe for success.

When DIY becomes an SOS, you can count on Concierge PA.