Three Easy Ways to Get Your Business Noticed
I’m not a big list maker and definitely not the only one who’s pretty sick of the “Top Three This” or the “Ten Things That” type of blog posts. However, just like ordering “Combo Meal #3″ is faster than saying “I’ll have a single cheese, chili instead of fries, medium Sprite and hold the fingertip,” I’ll break my own rule and offer three easy (once you get the hang of it) things you can do to get your business noticed.
Before I commence, I should add that these three suggestions aren’t one size fits all. Your business may not benefit from all, some or any of these three things. If that is the case, well, sorry–but at least it’s only a list of three rather than ten and I only wasted a third of your time by comparison.
1. Blog. Yep. Blog. As in Weblog. You’re reading one now. But don’t set one up and then never write in it. You need to blog everyday–okay at least every business day. I try to blog everyday (don’t always, but I try). If I do a weekend post, I try to make it a little lighter–as in more fun than a weekday post which for some reason I feel has to be more serious. Write about what you know and how it effects your business or clients/customers. If you’re a Realtor, talk about what’s going on in your sales territory. My buddy Mary Hutchison excels at this on her blog. She’s like (hell, she is) a reporter–blogging about neighborhood association meetings, school happenings, etc. She even does restaurant reviews! People know that Mary knows her stuff, and that gets her noticed. Note: if you aren’t going to blog often, don’t blog at all. Nothing worse than a blog tab on your site with precisely two entries, like it’s some abandoned car you left on the side of the information superhighway.
2. Social Media. Specifically, Twitter. I know, I know. I thought it was all bullshit myself only a short time ago. (Please spare me the “It’s people telling you what they had for lunch.” It isn’t.) If you do it right, it pays dividends in many ways. How do you do it right? First, follow people who are ethical and good at it. Like my pal Shelly Kramer or the Orange Sock King himself, Mike Brown. They don’t just broadcast or sell. They interact in a positive way. They form communities that share information and encouragement. They’re human. And kinda funny (looking.) Kidding. They are funny and informative and you should follow them and their example. As in #1, if you don’t intend to stick with it and contribute, don’t do it. It’s worse to have a Twitter account that sits idle than it is to go without. (Also instructional is Redhead Writing–she drills down deeper into whether you should be on Twitter or not here.)
3. Do Good. Do the right thing, even when nobody’s looking. I assure you that even if you don’t get caught doing the right thing. eventually somebody’s going to notice. Maybe you’ll hire a PR guy who knows how to get your good deeds front and center without being obnoxious (ahem). Or just maybe somebody will read about it in a modest, humble post on your blog (see #1). Perhaps they will Tweet about it (see #2) and you will become an international sensation. Getting noticed often comes with doing good. Ask these guys. (And okay, if nobody finds out but you and your employees or family, what have you lost?)
That’s my three. I confess that none of this stuff is “easy” right off the bat. It takes effort. But anything worthwhile does, right? Now get out there and get noticed. If you need a PR firm to help, you can find us right here, trying to do good. Or on Twitter. Whichever.
Season’s Greetings & Best Wishes for the New Year
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When Improvisation Is Not An Option
Teamwork is the only way to go.
There’s a lot of talk of “rugged individualism” these days–of making it on your own or being a “maverick” (or branding yourself as one. See: Palin, Sarah).
I’ve noticed this tendency in myself–I’m not much of a joiner. That isn’t to say I haven’t been that proverbial “good team player;” just that I trust my instincts and find solitary pursuits (writing, running a business, hiking, watching Zombi 2 every October) fulfilling and stimulating.
However, there comes a time when going it alone–or improvising– are not only not the best options–but not options at all.
The legendary first man on the Moon himself, Neil Armstrong spoke about the need for teamwork on his historic mission in a letter to NPR’s Robert Krulwich:
I talked about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s walk across the lunar surface back in 1969 and wondered, how come they walked such a modest distance? Less than a hundred yards from their lander?
Today Neil Armstrong wrote in to say, here are the reasons:
- It was really, really hot on the moon, 200 degrees Fahrenheit. We needed protection.
- We were wearing new-fangled, water-cooled uniforms and didn’t know how long the coolant would last.
- We didn’t know how far we could go in our space suits.
- NASA wanted us to conduct our experiments in front of a fixed camera.
But basically, he says, we were part of a team and we were team players on a perilous, one-of-a-kind journey. Improvisation was not really an option. (emphasis mine)
Sure, you’re probably not landing on another planet as part of your business, but you are doing things everyday that effect the profitability of your company.
Part of my hesitance to be a team guy probably stems from my early career as a journalist. Reporters aren’t team players–at least they weren’t in the newsrooms I haunted. When I moved from journalism to PR, my early jobs were at companies where I was basically a one-man shop. That changed as my career progressed, but old habits die hard. Even when I had staff and team members to work with I had a tough time letting go of some things. That may also have had something to do with my ego, too.
Though I now run a truly one-man shop, I’ve learned to call upon strategic partners who can do some things better than me. I want my clients to not only get the results of the best job I can do, but I want them to get the best results possible. Period.
Ask yourself: does your learned behavior, ego or even insecurity prevent you from being a team player when it counts? Make sure when you make that one small step for (a) man…well, you get the idea.
Framing the Issue: One Political Party Stinks At It
Framing is normal; we think in frames.
Anybody who knows anything about framing social and political issues knows the name George Lakoff. I first encountered the esteemed linguistics professor by way of his seminal book on framing Don’t Think of an Elephant! when I was involved in politics.
It’s described as “the definitive handbook for understanding what happened in the 2004 election and communicating effectively about key issues facing America today…Lakoff explains how conservatives think, and how to counter their arguments. He outlines in detail the traditional American values that progressives hold, but are often unable to articulate. Lakoff also breaks down the ways in which conservatives have framed the issues, and provides examples of how progressives can reframe the debate.”
Lakoff’s framing philosophy is right on so many levels, though it’s apparent the Democrats don’t do a lot of listening to him these days. For example, their abysmal framing of the tax issue:
Let’s start with an example, the slogan “No tax cuts for millionaires.” First, “no.” As I have repeatedly pointed out, negating a frame activates the frame in the brains of listeners, as when Christine O’Donnell said “I am not a witch” or Nixon said “I am not a crook.” Putting “no” first activates the idea “Tax cuts for millionaires.”
Next, “millionaires.” Think of the tv show, “So you want to be a millionaire” or the movies “Slumdog Millionaire” and “How to Marry a Millionaire.” To most Americans, being a millionaire is a good thing to aspire to.
Then, there is “tax.” To progressives, taxes are forms of revenue allowing the government to do what is necessary for Americans as a whole — unemployment insurance, social security, health care, education, food safety, environmental improvements, infrastructure building and maintenance, and so on.
But the conservative message machine, over the past 30 years, has come to own the word “tax.” They have changed its meaning to most Americans. They have been able to make “tax” mean “money the government takes out of the pockets of people who have earned it in order to give it to people who haven’t earned it and don’t deserve it.” Thus, “tax relief” assumes that taxation is an affliction to be cured, and a “tax cut” is a good thing in general. Hence, conservatives make the argument, “No one should have their taxes raised.”
The conservative slogan activates the conservative view of taxes. But the progressive slogan “No tax cuts for millionaires” also activates the conservative view of taxes! The progressives are helping the conservatives.
Right or wrong, the conservatives have done a masterful job of framing this issue (and many others). And here’s the kicker, donkeys: Lakoff doesn’t think Dems are wired to change this.
The conservatives have a superior message machine: Dozens of think tanks with communications facilities, framing experts, training institutes, a national roster of speakers, booking agents to books their speakers in the media and civic groups, and owned medias like Fox News and a great deal of talk radio. Their audience will hear, over and over, “No one should have their taxes raised.”
There is no comparable progressive message machine. But even if one were to be built, the Democrats might still be using messages that are either ineffective or that help the conservatives.
Lakoff further explains that everything from education to moral beliefs are to blame for the superiority of the conservative message machine. (Read the article here for his compelling thoughts on the subject.) The takeaway is that your messaging has to be well-considered, logical and created with the conventional wisdom and thinking of your audience at the forefront.
I once worked in public television. As you probably know, public TV is in a perpetual state of war with those who want it to go away. The issue has been framed by opponents that public television is no longer necessary because of the range of educational programming on cable channels. Another argument is that it should get by without government assistance and let the invisible hand of the market determine its rise or fall. I’ll overlook political motivations that are also behind some of this and take these arguments at face value.
My frame of the issue is that cable television (unlike public TV) is advertiser-driven and the educational value of the programming isn’t the top priority (besides the fact that not everyone can or wants to pay for cable). Also, in many markets, the public TV station is the only one that’s effectively responsive to the needs and issues of citizens–it’s the only “locally owned” station in town. This establishes two value propositions for public television that I think are strong rebuttals to the opponents’ frame. These reasons–among others–make public television necessary and worthy of taxpayer support.
Note I didn’t say that opponents of public TV wanted to “kill Big Bird;” that kind of cheap shot doesn’t advance your argument. Whatever your beliefs about public TV, there’s a big difference in how the issue is framed by supporters and opponents. I think my framing was successful on some levels, though obviously the “war” continues.
A warning: framing an issue isn’t the same as spin:
Learn the difference between framing and spin/propaganda. Framing is normal; we think in frames. If you want to formulate a policy that is understandable, the policy must be framed so it came be readily communicated. Framing precedes effective policy. When you use framing to express what you really believe and what the truth is, you are just being an effective communicator. Framing can also be misused for the sake of propaganda. I strongly recommend against it.
As do I.
PR Tip #345
If a public relations firm promises to get you media coverage, they’re probably doing one of two things:
1. Lying (to you and/or themselves).
2. Actually selling you an ad.
Look for another firm that tells you the truth: they will put their skills, contacts and creativity to work to give you a great shot at publicity–but they cannot guarantee anything.
A Quick Lesson in Building Customer Loyalty
Great machine, too.
Quick lesson in building customer loyalty:
I needed a new computer–my MacBook was fading after three years of constant service.
So, I bought an iMac. You may know that Apple offers a great service: they’ll clone your hard drive from the old puter and transplant it to the new machine, thus saving you hours of torture when you get home.
Okay, that alone is great service. But what’s better is they told me it would take about one business day to do this. I could come back the next day at 5 p.m. to pick up my old machine and the new one– fully-loaded with all my files, programs, music and stuff.
Well, why not? One business day is a small price to pay for the time and effort it would’ve taken for me to do it myself.
That’s not the lesson, though. Here’s the lesson: they called me less than three hours later to tell me my computers were ready for pickup. Not a day later, but a mere three hours later. Do I have to tell you how thrilled I was when they called? When I first picked up the phone I was sure they were going to tell me something was wrong. Nope. They were just finished being highly efficient. I’ve had other good experiences with Apple–and this just reinforced my brand loyalty big time.
Under-promise, over-deliver. Simple concept. Works every time.
