Nehlsen Notebook

By Nancy Nehlsen - Owner  03.22.11

This column appeared in the Quad-City Business Journal.

One of the best things you can do for your business this year, if you haven’t already done so, is to have a pen-to-paper, real-live, strategy-filled marketing and public relations plan. A plan is all about building presence. Our great history makers talk about them. “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

So do the best of the personal-success writers and speakers. “Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.” – Napoleon Hill

Quad City Business Journal column where this article first appeared

Here are six fundamentals to make the most of your 2011 marketing plan:

Giddyup, it’s time for a branding.

Thankfully, this type is not nearly as painful as the hot-iron version. Figure out who you are, then make it the focus of everything you do. What does the name Biaggi’s say to you? What does McDonald’s first bring to mind? The difference is in their brand. It’s the message that everything those companies say, do, show and produce. Ensure your logo and slogan expresses your brand. If you don’t have a slogan, craft one.

Face(book) it, you need a realistic social media plan.

Sure, everybody’s doing it, but are they all doing it well? No. Done with sophistication and flair, social media can build a large audience for your product or service. First, where are your customers and those you want as customers? If they are on Facebook, have a fan page. If they are on Twitter, then tweet. Is LinkedIn where they hang out, then by all means get linked in. Second, put social media in the job description of one well-versed person in your organization.

That’s some pig.

Like Charlotte and Wilbur, the more you write, the more your audience will come and see your web. Create an insightful blog and make sure your audience knows it’s there through e-mail and social media. Post news updates. Write white papers that provide answers for the challenges your clients face. Add a photo gallery or webcam from a project.

Can’t fight this (SEO) feeling.

Who needs Kevin Cronin when you’ve got Search Engine Optimization? SEO is a content and code art form, a way to improve your visibility when search engines comb the online universe for what your audiences are looking for. Higher rankings on Google or Yahoo mean more clicks, and more clicks by customers who really are interested in what you have to offer means more business.

A prrrrrrrfect plan.

Get the PR purring by telling the world the news from your business. Target specific media outlets and trade publications you believe have audiences interested in that news. Pick up the phone or send reporters and editors a personal note with story ideas. Really, reporters are human too. They like it when interesting people call them. If it’s really big news, schedule a news conference and issue a news release. Or, offer to be an “expert” and write a column for a specific publication.

The gift that keeps giving: presence.

Join the prominent national organization for your profession. In your community, be where your customers and potential clients are. Get authentically involved in their world. Devote time and resources at least once a month to networking in a new or recurring place: a chamber meeting, a conference, a luncheon speaker. Or, join a board that touches your business in some way.

 In creating a marketing and public relations plan, you and your business should reach for the stars. Even Pablo Picasso believed that to be true. “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”

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