Marketing, Advertising & PR on a Tight Budget

New England Xpo for Business


May 18, 2010
3 basic truths:

                  2
1
 People prefer doing business
 with people/companies that
 they know and like.




                                3
2
 We are constantly
 bombarded by
 marketing messages
 —and we’re getting
 pretty damn good
 at tuning
 them out.




                      4
3
 “Hope” is not a good marketing strategy.

                                      5
3 basic questions:

                     6
1
 Does your product/service
 market itself?




 We don’t recommend this.!


                             7
2
 Are you making
 it insanely easy
 for your
 fans to
 tell the
 world
 how
 awesome
 you are?




                    8
3
 What are you doing to build
 and maintain momentum?




                               9
A few great examples:

                        10
Case
Study





Before 451 Marketing:
  Website was simply an “online
   brochure”
  Leads received from website = ZERO
  Minimal positive press
  Web traffic = 4,500 visitors/month




                                   11
451 Marketing Approach:

•    Search (paid and natural) marketing
•    Public relations
•    Search-leveraged public relations
•    Social media marketing
•    Content development




                                           12
451 Marketing Approach (continued):
•  Setup (in)efficient frontiers Blog
  •  http://inefficientfrontiers.wordpress.com/
•  Created LinkedIn Group “New England CFO’s”
  •  setup Facebook recruiting page
•  Pitched firm’s thought leaders to targeted media
   outlets
•  Began paid online campaign
•  Distributed search-optimized press releases
•  Distributed content through social media channels


                                                   13
Results:

•  Blog receives almost 2,000 visitors/month
•  Website traffic almost doubled
•  Tremendous media coverage!
  •  The Boston Globe, BusinessWeek, Boston
     Business Journal, New York Times, Forbes
     & many others
•  1st page search results for their top 20+
   keywords.
                                                14
Results (continued):

•  2008 Q4 was one of their best for new
   business engagements
•  Over $2 Million in business during
   December and January
•  15-30 leads/mo. through website




                                           15
Consultec Moving Notice




                     Attention-worthy & fun!
                     A “keepsake” vs. a throw-away
                     Rave reviews & lots of buzz




                                                    16
Samsung Telus Campaign




                           “Experience” vs. advertising
                           Activated both traditional media
                            & word-of-mouth buzz



                                                               17
More low/no cost ideas:

                          18
Website/blog
•  Encourage/facilitate sharing with social bookmark links
   (Digg, Tweet, Buzz, etc.)

•  Start blogging!

•  Create & share content (posterous.com is a great, easy tool
   for this!)

•  Is your customer base always on the road? Make sure your
   website/blog is optimized for mobile devices.

•  Offer >1 way to connect (RSS, social profiles, mobile alerts,
   etc.)

                                                                  19
Video, audio & other media
•  Experiment with video press releases (don’t replace text,
   just add video).

•  Create shareable, shareworthy content—not just about your
   product/service (that’s just an ad!), but about relevant topics your
   customers care about.

•  Make great decks? Share them on Slideshare and/or Scribd.com.

•  Experiment with live video via sites like uStream.tv or Qik on a cell
   phone.

•  Make sure all your videos and media are embeddable and
   shareable.


                                                                           20
Social Networks
•  Identify existing communities, social networks, and forums that will
   be interested in your product / service—and build relationships on
   their turf.

•  Start a community group on Facebook, Ning, MySpace or LinkedIn.

•  Use Twitter as a way to show your company’s personality, find and
   connect with potential and existing customers and fans, and
   engage them in conversation.

•  Experiment with Flickr and/or YouTube groups to build media for
   specific events.

•  Find bloggers and podcasters whose work you admire, and engage
   them in an authentic, relevant way.

                                                                          21
Monitoring (aka “listening”)
•  Use conversation monitoring tools to glean how people are talking
   about your product/service/brand.

•  Search Twitter for customer insights on your product, competitors,
   and industry.

•  Look beyond traffic volume. Where are people are coming from
   and what are they responding to?

•  Track your inbound links and when they come from blogs, be sure
   to comment on a few posts and build a relationship with the
   blogger.

•  Turn complaints and negative posts into victories by genuinely
   addressing the issues and grievances in a public forum.

                                                                        22
Foursquare & Location-Based Services

•  Is your business on Foursquare? It should be.

•  Engage with the people who “check in.” Reward them
   with special offers, coupons, badges, “shout outs”
   etc.

•  Consider running a campaign via Gowalla or SCVNGR.




                                                    23
Infiltrate Now!
www.brandinfiltration.com

Marketing, Advertising & PR on a Tight Budget

  • 1.
    Marketing, Advertising &PR on a Tight Budget New England Xpo for Business May 18, 2010
  • 2.
  • 3.
    1 People preferdoing business with people/companies that they know and like. 3
  • 4.
    2 We areconstantly bombarded by marketing messages —and we’re getting pretty damn good at tuning them out. 4
  • 5.
    3 “Hope” isnot a good marketing strategy. 5
  • 6.
  • 7.
    1 Does yourproduct/service market itself? We don’t recommend this.! 7
  • 8.
    2 Are youmaking it insanely easy for your fans to tell the world how awesome you are? 8
  • 9.
    3 What areyou doing to build and maintain momentum? 9
  • 10.
    A few greatexamples: 10
  • 11.
    Case
Study
 Before 451 Marketing:  Website was simply an “online brochure”   Leads received from website = ZERO   Minimal positive press   Web traffic = 4,500 visitors/month 11
  • 12.
    451 Marketing Approach: •  Search (paid and natural) marketing •  Public relations •  Search-leveraged public relations •  Social media marketing •  Content development 12
  • 13.
    451 Marketing Approach(continued): •  Setup (in)efficient frontiers Blog •  http://inefficientfrontiers.wordpress.com/ •  Created LinkedIn Group “New England CFO’s” •  setup Facebook recruiting page •  Pitched firm’s thought leaders to targeted media outlets •  Began paid online campaign •  Distributed search-optimized press releases •  Distributed content through social media channels 13
  • 14.
    Results: •  Blog receivesalmost 2,000 visitors/month •  Website traffic almost doubled •  Tremendous media coverage! •  The Boston Globe, BusinessWeek, Boston Business Journal, New York Times, Forbes & many others •  1st page search results for their top 20+ keywords. 14
  • 15.
    Results (continued): •  2008Q4 was one of their best for new business engagements •  Over $2 Million in business during December and January •  15-30 leads/mo. through website 15
  • 16.
    Consultec Moving Notice   Attention-worthy & fun!   A “keepsake” vs. a throw-away   Rave reviews & lots of buzz 16
  • 17.
    Samsung Telus Campaign   “Experience” vs. advertising   Activated both traditional media & word-of-mouth buzz 17
  • 18.
  • 19.
    Website/blog •  Encourage/facilitate sharingwith social bookmark links (Digg, Tweet, Buzz, etc.) •  Start blogging! •  Create & share content (posterous.com is a great, easy tool for this!) •  Is your customer base always on the road? Make sure your website/blog is optimized for mobile devices. •  Offer >1 way to connect (RSS, social profiles, mobile alerts, etc.) 19
  • 20.
    Video, audio &other media •  Experiment with video press releases (don’t replace text, just add video). •  Create shareable, shareworthy content—not just about your product/service (that’s just an ad!), but about relevant topics your customers care about. •  Make great decks? Share them on Slideshare and/or Scribd.com. •  Experiment with live video via sites like uStream.tv or Qik on a cell phone. •  Make sure all your videos and media are embeddable and shareable. 20
  • 21.
    Social Networks •  Identifyexisting communities, social networks, and forums that will be interested in your product / service—and build relationships on their turf. •  Start a community group on Facebook, Ning, MySpace or LinkedIn. •  Use Twitter as a way to show your company’s personality, find and connect with potential and existing customers and fans, and engage them in conversation. •  Experiment with Flickr and/or YouTube groups to build media for specific events. •  Find bloggers and podcasters whose work you admire, and engage them in an authentic, relevant way. 21
  • 22.
    Monitoring (aka “listening”) • Use conversation monitoring tools to glean how people are talking about your product/service/brand. •  Search Twitter for customer insights on your product, competitors, and industry. •  Look beyond traffic volume. Where are people are coming from and what are they responding to? •  Track your inbound links and when they come from blogs, be sure to comment on a few posts and build a relationship with the blogger. •  Turn complaints and negative posts into victories by genuinely addressing the issues and grievances in a public forum. 22
  • 23.
    Foursquare & Location-BasedServices •  Is your business on Foursquare? It should be. •  Engage with the people who “check in.” Reward them with special offers, coupons, badges, “shout outs” etc. •  Consider running a campaign via Gowalla or SCVNGR. 23
  • 24.