5 things to consider – how social media is replacing traditional marketing

I’ve been speaking to a number of people on Twitter, including Ged Fegan (@profega) an Oxford based IT support company, about how social media is replacing traditional marketing, and how businesses really need to be evaluating their current marketing strategy and updating their tactics.

Here’s a summary of options to explore based on the changes we’ve adapted to for our clients

1. The good old Yellow Pages.  We had to start with this one.  When we started working with one client last May they were spending over £4000 per year on one ad.  It was only small, and they had no idea how much, if any business it was generating.  Yes, you need to consider your target audience, but to reach the masses you really need to look at free listings such as Google Local Business, and how your website ranks in Google search.  All social media activities will help with this  and GLB means that you come up top above all search results (just below the sponsored listings).

2. Email newsletters.  I’m not a fan, but that’s just my personal opinion.  Done well they can work, but only the odd one out of the large number I receive catches my eye.  If you’re looking for an alternative, start a blog if you haven’t already.  Great for search engines again, and the perfect way to get across news from your business as well as prove that you’re an expert in your field, mixed together with a little personality.  If you’re going all out, feed your blog to Twitter and LinkedIn to achieve maximum exposure (ask us about our social media toolkit if you’re stuck!)

3. Print advertising.  For many small businesses this is a huge expense, and again is often not measured.  For some clients who we’ve launched an online presence for via their own website, Facebook, Twitter and so on, online advertising is a good area to explore.  Twitter isn’t a place to pitch, but use areas such as the Q&A forum on LinkedIn to demonstrate your expertise, and consider areas such as Facebook ads.

4. Networking.  This still has a firm place in any marketing strategy for a small business in my mind, but support it by building on those relationships by using LinkedIn and Twitter.

5. I read somewhere that the more predictable your marketing is, the less credible it is.  So think outside the box.  We talk a lot about social media because we truly believe it has a place in business, but there are lots of offline opportunities too.  Instead of handing out leaflets in the town centre, commission some artists to draw pavement art guiding passers by to your door (with council permission please).  Be a little quirky and diverse with your marketing budget.  The good thing is, you’ll find it goes further if you’re creative.

What other old marketing techniques have found new replacements, these are just a few.  Leave a comment with your thoughts.

Finally, don’t forget if you’re based in or near Oxford, The Building a Better Business Event takes place at Milton Park on March 31st, and we’ll be doing a session on Twitter for business.

Publicity Oxford Continues the Name and Fame Top 20 Public Relations People Meme

One of my trusted PR contacts Andy at 10 Yetis has named us in his top 20, and kindly tagged us too!  What a nice treat for a Wednesday lunchtime!

It’s funny, because I really respect Andy and love the work 10 Yetis do….but we’ve never actually met!

I happened across his website when I first started my business and we’ve chatted by phone/email/Twitter ever since.

One day we’ll meet in person I’m sure, I’ll lure him with yum-yums.

You’ll see that from my top 20, there are a number I’ve never met, which really demonstrates the power of Twitter and other online resources for connecting like-minded or industry related people.

My list includes those I respect, those I admire, think are creative, hardworking, and some new connections who I’m excited about getting to know.

On with the list.  In no particular order.  And I haven’t listed Andy, because hopefully my intro shows that I think he’s damn good at what he does.

1. Eveleen Hatch at BuzzWord PR – we met on Twitter and we’re currently working jointly on some really exciting campaigns and pitches @BuzzwordPR.

2. Louise Cox at Cocktail PR – never met in person, we met on UK Business Forums, and share contacts and ideas regularly.  She’s works extremely hard – @cocktailpr

3. Steve at Sponge – @spongenb for the Haribo and sharing of ideas on Twitter

4.Gemma at Red Cube Marketing – @gemmawent for really useful and informative tweets

5. Paula Gardner at Do Your Own PR for her mentoring when I first set up my business @Doyourownpr

6. Sam Boniface at Azaria PR for knowing how to send out a press release and make a clients life easy! @AZARIAPR

7. Bottle PR as a local agency I really admire

8. Melissa at Peekaboo Communications as a new connection and a PR who specialises in preschool and nursery, an area I love working in – @melissatalago

9. Nic Jones of Jammy Rascals, fantastic children’s marketing pro and somewhat of a mentor when I started in the toy industry – @jammyrascals

10. Vicki Potter of Biss Lancaster, amazingly on the ball and lovely to deal with – @VickiCPotter

11. James Ashe at Stormin Ideas – very, very creative and nice guys too – @storminideas

12. Ingrid Semanikova, a fantastic work experience help before she landed a fantastic job! – @isemanikova

13. Nigel Morgan, local PR and social media expert, met in person for first time a few weeks ago at OxTweetUp – @Nigel_Morgan looking forward to getting to know better

14. The Fishes Oxford do a fantastic job of their PR with offers and seasonal menus, just starting to use social media – FishesOxford

15. Tracey Jefferies – freelance writer, just met via LinkedIn, looking forward to meeting in person in April – @traceyjefferies

16. Frank PR for their fantastic branding

17. Freelance writer Colin Gentry, just because I like his style

18. Sally at Who’s The Mummy for introducing me to the Tots 100 Index of Mummy Blogs (my hobby is writing a parenting blog)

19. Suzi at Cloverleaf Marketing, really thoughtful and up for a good creative PR approach!

20. Ok so I couldn’t leave Andy out after all – @10Yetis, you’re on the list!

So, there it is.  And seeing as it’s a meme, I’d like to pass it on to Louise at Cocktail PR for a rainy day!

What resources does your business need, and where are they?

We recently started working jointly on some PR campaigns with the very experienced BuzzWord PR based in Henley, a relationship which began through conversations on Twitter.  It’s fantastic to have additional creative PR resource and as a result allows us to further increase the brainstorming time we spend on developing concepts for our clients.

Over the years, we’ve built up fantastic resources which we’re able to offer to clients as part of our service, including website design, SEO, marketing, graphic design and photography.

It takes time to find the right people – those that share your dedication and are passionate about delivering an above and beyond service.

Image courtesy of All About You

I attended a great event today; the She Means Business Conference in Oxford, which was a great opportunity to network with other like-minded women in business.  On talking about the services we offer, someone asked me how I’d built contacts and relationships with the suppliers I use:

- Networking

- Twitter

- Word of mouth recommendations

Where do you look when you need additional resource for your business?  And are there other opportunities that you haven’t explored?

I had a call from a company looking to launch a new product yesterday who came across my details and some advice I’d given on a business forum which has a specific ‘chatroom’ for PR and marketing.  Are there places where you can see people demonstrate their expertise and give real examples of what they can do?

The point of this post is that the quality of the service or product you offer is critical.  As are the support services you use.  If you outsource part of your offering, you are still accountable for what you deliver to your client or customer.

Invest time in finding the right people – you can almost interview them for the role.  I’m not suggesting you invite people to sit at the other side of your desk while you put them through your paces, but you can draw up a list of potential suppliers, review their portfolios, case studies and testimonials, and collect everything you need in order to make a confident decision.

The results we get for our clients are based on our time and passion for good writing and media relations.  That is complemented by the support services we employ when it comes to things like offering video content, redesigning a website, or having profile photographs done for clients who are going to appear in the press.

Networking is a great opportunity to find these people and ask for recommendations.  Remember that you’re there to grow your business by improving your offering as well as selling your services.

Word of mouth is the strongest recommendation there is.  But be wary of some networking groups who require a certain number of referrals to be made during each meeting, as these sometimes fill a requirement more than aiming to match people with the right providers.

Finally, trust your instincts.  Even if someone comes highly recommended, if you don’t get the feel that they’re right for your business, don’t ignore that feeling.  You know what type of attitude and approach is right, and will support you in delivering to your customers needs.

This may well be something you’re already doing, but could just be the prompt you need to really evaluate the suppliers you currently use.  Are you getting first class service?  At the right price?