How To Inegrate Special Interests to Drive Traffic
Define Your Target Audience
When you begin to advertise and market one asect to consider is how do I integrate special interests to drive traffice? When I mention special interests I am not talking about your interests but the interests of the target audience you are attempting to reach. I am very surprised by the number of so called business owners that when asked who their target audience is will say everyone. Wrong answer there is no way your business be it homebased or a brick and mortar structure will reach everyone. The key is to know your business and your best customer so as to crerate a strategic marketing plan that works.
Knowing who the bullseye is the 1st step to integrating special interests to drive traffic. One can not just blindly throw things out there in hopes to reach your target audience. You must define the audience. This is done by:
How many times are you going to blame others, make excuses, and do the same thing over and over again expecting different results? It is time to wake up and Market Your Self. Think is there anything that you do that no one else can do? What is it that makes you stand out? What is it that truly makes you a leader in your marketplace.
In The Olympics the difference between a gold, silver, bronze or no medal at all is the fact that you reach down deeper inside and find something that no one else can do. In 1976 Bruce Jenner, won the decathlon and has been using that fame and his positive attitude to market himself ever since.Bruce Jenner captivated the world when he broke the world record and won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympic games, earning the title, Worlds Greatest Athlete. Jenner has become a highly respected motivational speaker, sports commentator, entrepreneur, commercial spokesperson, television personality, actor, producer, author, and charity supporter. Audiences are captivated by ‘ unique Olympic, personal and professional success story.
Using the decathlon as an example think of ten things that set you apart from your competition and capitalize on them using them in all your marketing material.
Advertisement Ideas: Brand Yourself
Whatever business you have the key is to brand yourself and market yourself. When you find out what you have that no one else has you can capitalize on that and market yourself. For example I have a unique voice and come from a spiritual perspective and I also have great experience in marketing and media relations thus my tag line is The Spiritual Emcee Maximizing Your Message. What is that you are known for and what do excel in?I ask this question of my clients so as to create a tag line for them and then help them to market accordingly. I recently met with a women who was helping people to creat a better financial position for her clients and thus gave her the moniker of The Financial Fixer, another client was helping people to find happiness and create the life they were seeking and I named her business, The Happiness Way, and gave her tips on marketing and promoting.
One of the best people at branding is Donald Trump, like him or not he has built a strong brand and you see his image everywhere. You may not have the resources that he has, however you have resources that when used effectively will build your brand. To build your brand you will want:
1: Consistency- From logo design to advertising you want to convey the same message
2: Recognizablity- When someone sees your logo or your name they should be easily able to know it is you
3: Publicity- You will want the media to take notice of you so make PR a priority
4: Reaching Your Target Audience- Know who you want to reach and use resources to reach them
5: Promotion- You want to promote creatively and effectively so as to maximize your message
How Recognizable Are You?
When I say Allstate what do you think of? When I say Nike what do you think of? When I mention McDonald’s what do you think of? You may not have the budget of these big companies but you can use their models to follow. They all share one thing in common they developed a brand that most everyone recognizes. Getting recognition can be as easy as using a 3 foot rule and talking to people that are within 3 feet of you. You can also look into print publications that are synergistic to your goals and objectives and offer them content thus creating a following. You can create a blog and publicize it with information. You can utilize social media to gain recognition.
Think of ways you can stand out and build your brand. I often look at the set up of a business and ask what they are doing to drive business. I have this uncanny ability to look at a retail establishment or a home based business and come up with plans that will attract new business. For example I was at a Pizza place that had two TV’s and the owner was telling me how slow things were. I asked him have you thought about capitalizing on events like March Madness? He asked me what that was? I explained it is what the NCAA Basketball Tournament is referred to as. I explained that many offices have office pools where people pick their teams and if that team wins they win a prize. I suggest that he put a sign in the window Watch March Madness Here. I also suggest that he run a pool where patrons would fill out a bracket give him their name and email address and the winner gets a meal for 2. By be creative and using the resources he has The TV’s he could increase traffic to his restaurant.
I chose this calendar so as to plant a seed for you to consider what can you do in your business to create a buzz and attract client/customers. take August 1 Sports Day and offer a special to anyone that wears their favorite team shirt, ball cap, or jersey. You can get shirts made up like a jersey with your company name and if someone spends a specific dollar amount or higher they receive the shirt as a token of your appreciation. You could also do a chance drawing for sports memorabilia with the proceeds being donated to a charity. The more creative you are the more recognizable you will be. You could do in-business and external promotion. Think about an ad that Says Come Celebrate Sports Day at XYZ and spend $50 or more and receive one of our collectible jerseys. We will also have a chance drawing for (Insert Charity Here). Show your team pride and receive a 10% discount. Place this ad in your local publications, around the store, place it on your social media sites, your web site, record a commercial and play it on your voice mail.
This week think of ways you can wake up and market yourself.
Advertisement Ideas: Stop Making Excuses and Do Something
Magic Johnson didn’t make excuses when in 1992 he was diagnosed with HIV, his performance in the NBA All Star Game that year was amazing. I chose Magic as my lead example because he could have said poor me, however he used the resources he had and stayed on a regiment to keep him healthy. When the economy wasn’t so good and most people were pulling money out of the community Magic was expanding his commitment to the community.
Kevin Costner hears and acts upon the voice,”Build and They Will Come,”
We all remember the scene in Field of Dreams where the voice says build it and they will come, well people did come, then again it was a movie. Due to the large promotion of the movie many people trek to the movie site in Iowa. The Convention and Visitors Bureau for the area lists in in the attraction section. They have a marketing director and a special events coordinator to keep the traffic coming. What are you doing to create your Field of Dreams? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Building Isn’t Enough!
This is probably the most recognizable logo of all companies in the market place today? What are you doing to brand yourself?
Advertising Ideas: Is Your Plan On Par With Nike
I am often asked, How do I create a plan that will get me the results that NIKE gets though I don’t have a Nike type budget? The answer is to lok at what NIKE did in the beginning. Nike was first introduced to the world by Steve Prefontaine, whose coach specially designed running shoes for him while Steve was running for The University of Oregon. The shoes were seen and people began to inquire about them and the coach found a manufacturer. The name Nike was adopted as it comes from Greek meaning goddess of Victory. The SWOOSH logo is a graphic design created by Caroline Davidson in 1971. It represents the wing of the Greek Goddess NIKE. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Is Your Plan On Par With NIKE
Advertisement Ideas:10 Lessons Learned From Superbowl
As I watched what I consider to be one of the most exciting Superbowl in recent history, I began to think what lessons did I learn?
1: The economy isn’t that bad when companies are spending $3.5 Million on a 30 second ad. Using the economy as an excuse as to not advertise just limits your chances to attract business.
2: Many people watching this game don’t have a clue about the game. I must have explained why the Brady toss from the end zone was considered grounding and thus resulted in a safety. Lack of knowledge can hurt you not only when watching The Superbowl but when it comes to advertising your business. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas:10 Lessons Learned From The Superbowl
When I do consultations with businesses I am often asked how can I pay it forward. I usually answer find a charitable cause that you are passionate about and research programs that you can participate in and then create a marketing strategy that will promote how you are paying it forward. One of the charitable causes I am involved with is The American Cancer Society Relay for Life in which I participate annually, this year my website that you can visit to make donations is http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg1. I mention this as I use my involvement in this cause to garner free publicity for my business. Last year I wrote an article JDOGG Barks to Assist Cancer Patients, this article appeared in several local newspapers, and on many radio station web sites as a result of paying it forward I was able to garner a few emcee bookings. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Pay It Forward
We hear it all the time greatness is achieved when preparation meets opportunity and always be prepared. How many of us cringe at the thought of getting up in front of a crowd and speaking? When I read the other day that the # 1 fear of people in America is Public Speaking and death ranks #2, I thought of a quote I heard that means at a funeral more people would rather be the one in the casket than the one delivering the eulogy. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Being Prepared!!!