Yeah, today is that lucky St. Patrick’s Day, but I am here to tell you, luck has nothing to do with anything, especially your marketing. Your marketing is all about hard work, follow through and diligence. So I decided, on this luckiest of beer swilling, corned beef eating American holidays, I would give you a free short checklist of things to always remember. Do these things to keep your marketing luck flowing in the right direction.
Blog— Yes, blog. Even if it is just a short story about something in your business day, or a quick reminder blog or a “how to” list, like this. Just a short piece that can be picked up by search engines and help to rank you on Google, Yahoo and Bing.
Write a note—Have some creative note cards made up with your logo on them. Use them. Send hand written notes to clients you have visited, potential leads and networking friends. They mean way more than you think they do.
E-blast—Send your blog as an e-blast. Tell your subscribers all about your stuff. But do it in a fun, educational way that will make them want to read your stuff.
“Ok, maybe don’t pose with a martini glass balancing on your parts, but make sure you make the news every-once-in-a-while.”
Be Social—Interact with your fans or your circles or your Twitter peeps. Ask them a question. Respond when they answer. Better yet, post a picture of what you do. Make it a sponsored post/tweet. Social media is social. You would not stand in the middle of the room screaming, “I sell Insurance! I sell insurance!” But, you may be chatting with a group and say, “Did you know over half of homeowners insurance doesn’t cover XXX?” Yes, that is the way to be social.
Make videos—Videos are the king of the web. Don’t be shy; your iPhone will work. Make a short 15-30 second video that is entertaining and educational about your business. Post it on your blog, your website and social media. Search engines love video.
Watch your competition—Do you know what your competitors are doing? Did you know they have a new product? Or did you know that they are paying for Ad Words? You need to know these things. Check out your competition regularly and make sure you are up to speed, or ahead of the pack.
Register your business—At all of the online sites you can. Google business, Yelp, Manta, City Search, Angie’s List, LinkedIn for Business, Yahoo Business, Bing, etc. If you registered them a while ago, have you checked to see if there are updates needed?
Update your website—Is your website up-to-date? Do you have old, stale information on there? Are there really super old pictures still floating around out there that look dated? Fix it. You need to stay on top of those things. You also need to regularly update your copy. Search engines love new copy.
Network—keep in the loop with the local business community and your trade groups. Attend seminars, tradeshows and events to keep up on what your business community is doing. Networking is the number 1 way to know what is happening in your industry.
Be Like Kim Kardashian—Keep your name in the media. Ok, maybe don’t pose with a martini glass balancing on your parts, but make sure you make the news every-once-in-a-while. The best way to do that is with press releases and relationships with your local or trade reporters. Make an interesting story and let the media know. You cannot beat free publicity.
Read and respond to online reviews—Do you have any bad reviews floating out there on the interwebs? Respond. But respond CORRECTLY. The correct way to respond is to: A. Acknowledge their concern/problem. B. Apologize for that problem happening, and C. Offer to rectify the problem or offer them a solution. Never argue with a client. I don’t care how wrong they were, you always acknowledge, apologize and rectify when it is in a public forum.
So that is my St. Patties day quick list. Keep up on this list, and your luck will just keep growing!
