You’re off and running with your own small budget marketing program. Here is a set of 5 things to add to your marketing arsenal once you have the initial 6 things taken care of. (See previous blog post – yes, I don’t know how to link back and my webmaster is on vacation – I’m still learning!)
We’re assuming here that:
- You have your marketing roadmap developed
- Website is up and running
- You have your camera
- You have put together a beginning media list
- You are honing your writing skills or have someone on board to do this for you
- And, you are making sure your sparkling personality shines when doing any type of marketing or pr.
So now you’re ready to add 5 more things to your marketing arsenal.
1. Brochure/flyer – something to hand out to those asking you personally for information. While the best thing is to drive your inquiries to your website (best because it’s pretty much free), you can’t always do this. So you need some sort of brochure or flyer that you can hand out to those who want information on the spot. In the past brochures have cost loads of money but that isn’t the case anymore…..
You can design your own using any type of inexpensive software. I have used PrintMaster for years as it is super easy to use and has all the bells and whistles I have ever needed. (I branched out to Photoshop a couple of years ago and am now becoming certified in the program thanks to a grant that our local high school obtained funded by stimulus money! No out-of-pocket costs there!!)
As far as brochure copy goes less is better and even better yet is to use bullet points.
*Bullet points allow your key info to stand out – your readers can see easily what you are offering.
*Very few people will read long paragraphs
*3 sentences per paragraph is recommended if you want your info read and digested.
2. A contact list that is always growing. Think “free” here. You want a list that has email contacts, both for your clients and for the media. It doesn’t cost you a penny to send emails.
3. As many social media sites as you can manage – it’s all free publicity and who can beat that? TIP – I finally got an intern from a local college to set up the social media accounts for our destination. Once I did the first few, it was daunting trying to stay on top of signing up, posting, interlinking and all that goes with a well rounded social media plan. Travis got us going, set up Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Friendfeed, Posterous, Ping, etc. and now all I have to do is the posting. If you can find someone who is totally into this, grab them, put them to work and do it together!
4. Cell phone – one that you can send Tweets and post to Facebook from. You might think this is a luxury and not necessarily needed, but if you want to really dig your heels into social media, this is an absolute must. I now send updates via my Blackberry Storm and while I am not fanatical about it, I do think it is an essential tool to have. You’ll find you are connecting with your followers, friends and clients at times when you least expect it via your cell phone.
5. Variety of photos – with social media you can post photos on your sites easily and what a great way to stay connected to your followers, friends and clients. It’s so easy to say “Check out my ____” and post a photo. Quick way to garner more publicity! It’s so true that a picture is worth a thousand words, especially now that people are not spending the time to read a ton of verbiage.
I’ll say it again….Getting everything integrated into your small budget marketing, pr and social media campaign can at times seem so overwhelming. It is certainly way easier to write about it now than it was to implement. But remember, I am going through all of this with you. I have been there and am still there, so I can say that yes, you are going to get overwhelmed. Just keep chipping away, do things in small pieces and it will be much easier.
Don’t Stop Believing as you can and will get this done and your marketing, pr and social media roadmap will continue to bring you closer and closer to your destination.
My thoughts aren’t the “end all” here though. I’m wondering….
- What else do you think you need to really get going?
- What are some pitfalls you have encountered?
- What are some successes you have had?