The T-Connector Formula for Making Media Connections

Content Marketing the new king

You may have heard that adage that content is and always will be king. Well, get ready for a new king, content marketing. While content marketing has really been around since the inception of social media, I think that it is just now starting to get more attention. 

A rose by any other name is still a rose and marketing by any other name such as social media or content marketing, is still marketing. Except that with content marketing, the writing is front center. Be it writing articles, blog posts, podcasts, white papers, guidebooks, research, Web sites, newsletters, or press releases, content (technically the writing part) is what matters the most in content marketing.

The Content Marketing Institute (CM) defines content marketing as "Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action."

Relevant and valuable are two important words to describe the content in content marketing. According to CM, content marketing delivers information that makes buyers more intelligent. The premise is if you deliver consistent and ongoing valuable information to buyers, they will in turn buy from your business. 

Bottom line, content used in content marketing is good when it makes a potential customer stop, read, think and behave differently. Hopefully, that equates to more sales for the company delivering the value added content. 

The next few posts at this particular blog are going to explore content marketing as a marketing, public relations and as an employment tool for writers. Words still matter and content marketing is about delivering compelling content, i.e. words that work. 

 

Improved technology for microphones

Reviewed a recent article in Entrepreneur magazine (Feb. 2012, Mic'd up) that shared reviews of some of the newest technology in microphones. According to the article, "Thanks to a tech boost, videoconferencing is sounding better than ever."

The piece reviewed the following four microphones that can be plugged into a USB port on a computer. The user dials the call using business telephony software.

• Marshall Electronics MXL Studio 24 USB ($170) has true 24-bit recording technology with a travel friendly design.
• Blue Snowflake is a compact microphone ($33) that's described as a plug-n-play mic that is compact and easy to carry with quality audio.
• Audio-technica ATR2500-USB Cardioid Condenser ($100) offers high-fidelity audio sampling rates and low noise.
• Samson Meteor Mic ($110) is a chrome plated, retro style to earlie radio days with solid audio quality with fold-able legs for better positioning. 

Sound quality is always such an issue when video conferencing. It's good to see a few companies trying to solve the issue. 

New Marketing Trend -- Become a Best Selling Author

One of the more recent marketing trends when trying to brand oneself as an expert in a particular field is to write and publish a book. Many publishing houses offer well-known experts such as Suze Orman, Donald Trump and Martha Stewart book deals.

If you are not a celebrity expert, you still have options in the self-publishing world. Self-published books are becoming more accepted in the world today and there are many companies that will provide everything from editing services to print-on-demand to marketing services. Of course, writing the book takes a lot of time and commitment as does promoting the book after it is finished. 

It is a viable option to building your reputation. The book or books can serve many functions including promotion, training and of course the accomplished feeling of having written and published a book. 

To find and compare self-publishing options, start with googling for publishers. 

Types of Newsletters

If you are thinking of starting a newsletter at your company to use as a marketing or a public relations tool, one of the first steps is to decide the type of newsletter you'll distribute. When you hear there are multiple types of newsletters, you may be thinking print or electronic. 

It's true, you'll have to decide if you'll be distributing your newsletter as a printed document or electronically. For the purposes of this article, we'll be considering the classification types of newsletters. 

Basically, there are six classifications you'll want to consider including:

1. Professional newsletters that will be distributed to companies and businesses or consumers to promote a professional type of company such as accountants, attorneys or consultants.
2. Association newsletters are generally used by religious organizations, non-profits or civic organizations. 
3. Consumer newsletters are used to keep customers up-to-date with health care issues, retail or grocery store news or other types of companies that want their newsletter to go directly to the consumer.
4. Marketing newsletters are newsletters with the primary purpose of promoting a new product or service. It can be a business-to-business or business-to-consumer marketing and communications tool. 
5. Technical newsletters are those that relay information about technology, science, engineering or medical news.
6. Internal newsletters are those that report on news about employees and are usually only distributed to employees. 

Deciding on the classification can help keep the content of a newsletter focused and help the verbiage stay on message. 

Using Newsletters as a Marketing Tool

Newsletters have long been one of the communication tools of choice for decades. While social media has dominated the marketing world for the past few years, newsletters, printed or digital, continue to serve a vital marketing and public relations role as a preferred communications tool. Newsletters work, regardless of the size or type of company.

Just visit newsletteraccess.com to see a list of over 9,500 newsletter subscriptions for every imaginable topic. Interested in signing up for newsletters on any topic related to women’s health and other issues, visit ivillage.com for another of example of how powerful newsletters can be in promotion and public relations.

Benefits of Using ompany Newsletters

There are 8 major benefits to using newsletters to promote a business including:

1. Presenting a professional image.
2. Ramping up customer or client communications.
3. Targeting customers directly through newsletter mailings or email campaigns.
4. Growing your business through referrals.
5. Lowering marketing costs.
6. With digital newsletters, getting faster feedback from customers.
7. Also with digital, tracking clicks, opens, etc. acts as a measurement tool.
8. Using social media to distribute newsletter or open up chats about items in the
   newsletter.

Professional Image and Customer Communications

Newsletters serve as a tool to project a positive, professional image both inside and outside of the company through the use of technical articles, support tips and other industry specific news and advice. Distributing a newsletter allows the company to drop some of the promotional language and talk instead as an industry expert.

While customer communications are enhanced both through the inclusion of expert articles and through the ability to communicate professionally, the writing can be more open, friendly and
candid. Companies can include fun and exciting news about the company or the people in the company, share best practices, include statistics in a fun manner or highlight growth among a slew of other topics.

Targeting Customers and Growing through Referrals

Newsletters continue to be directly targeted to a company’s customer base and potential customers through the target market. Be it printed or digitally distributed, newsletters can be a mass communications tool that is directed at a particular audience. Sending a healthcare newsletter to several hundred or thousands of persons aged 55 or over, is a good example of a mass mailing that is directed at a specific market.

When writing as an expert and not as a promoter, newsletters garner referrals. People read the expert articles and call or stop in for more information. Keep the articles short and to the point making it them more attractive to readers.

Lower Marketing Costs with Digital Newsletters

Newsletters can be distributed through printed copies or through digital using e-mail or offering on company Web sites. Digital distribution does save printing and mailing costs. While distributing only through mail can be expensive, the best distribution plan includes a combination of digital and printed copies.

Newsletters as Measurement Tools

One distinct advantage to distributing newsletters digitally, is the ability to easily track who clicks on the newsletters, who reads them or who deletes them. Effectiveness can also be tracked through printed copies by including a coupon or an offer coded to the newsletter.

Newsletters Can Be Fun to Produce

Once a newsletter is started, those involved with the company start to help with articles, photos, topics and distribution. Once again, keep the writing accurate, and professional but also light and informative and you’ll soon see lots of people in the company having fun trying to get their own content or content about their contribution to the company in the newsletter.

Book Profiles Michele Rhee and Her Public Relations Issues

One of the more compelling and controversial figures in the school reform issues and movements across the U.S. these days is Michele Rhee. She took on the job of trying to reform and improve one of the worst districts in the country, Washington D.C. City Schools.

Richard Whitmire has writtend a new book, The Bee Eater, Michele Rhee Takes on the Nation’s Worst School District, (Jossey-Bass, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-470-90529-6). He writes a detailed account of Rhee and her attempts at improving the D.C. schools in the midst of a one of the political cities in the country.

Rhee’s story is one of determination, strength and carrying out a great mission. It is also a story of how some of the publicity that Rhee received was a deterrent to her getting the job done or even keeping her own job. 

Rhee was interviewed by some of the top magazines and newspapers and many times was portrayed as unyielding, selfish and out-of-touch with the parents and kids of the district. The author writes that much of that press is what brought down the mayor that appointed her chancellor. When the mayor lost his reelection, Rhee resigned. Proving once again that the power of public relations and public perception can beat skill, talent and tenacity.

It is a good book with a good story and a good example of how bad press can be just that, bad press.

PR Lessons to be Learned from Guitar Lessons Book

It is always a good thing when public relations and marketing professionals can take away lessons from success stories that are not directly aimed at public relations or marketing for that matter. One example is a book called Guitar Lessons by Bob Taylor (John Wiley & Sons, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-470-9387-7). 

Taylor is the co-founder of the well-known and highly respected Taylor Guitar company. His book is a historical perspective of what he and his business partners and his family members endured trying to establish a successful guitar making company. He tells us that he fell in love with making guitars at a very young age (while in taking a shop class in high school) and never looked back and never looked at any other career path for himself. 

He relates how he and his partners tried to make the business a success through selling guitars in mass through a mass-marketing type reseller. That did not work out so well. Taylor also shares his many mistakes in production, market assumptions, human resource revelations and a myriad of other business lessons he learned while on the job.

A few of his success factors throughout the early days in business was his seeking out advice and mentoring from others in the same business.  In the end, Taylor really wanted to spend his career making really good guitars (he admits that he can barely play one himself) and all of the other stuff related to business was more of a distraction, although he knew he and his partners needed the business side to find success.

His strongest message in the book is that you need to make each product or service with quality, passion and be singular in delivery. He wanted each of his guitars to be appreciated by its owner and as such looked at making each guitar one at a time. 

Taylor and his partners worked more towards creating a memorable guitar than generating millions of dollars in sales. Quality, true passion, initiative and high energy are the best public relations concepts one can have in the tool shed. 

 

Got two new social media books that anyone considering a social media marketing campaign must read.

1. Social Boom by Jeffrey Gitomer is a great, short book that is packed full of marketing tips.

 

 
2. How to make money with social media by Jamie Turner and Reshma Shah, PH.D. is a great how-to get started with social media book.

Good reading adventures to you today!

 

 

 

A look at a few new business books

Take a look at a few new book reviews on a few really great business books I've recently posted at http://www.suite101.com/ .

Rush by Todd Buchholz http://www.suite101.com/content/competition-and-some-stress-are-good-things-according-to-new-book-a372966

Full Engagement by Brian Tracy http://www.suite101.com/content/new-book-is-a-revolutionizing-management-guide-a369761

"Managers can you hear me now?" by Denny E. Strigl http://www.suite101.com/content/managers-can-you-hear-me-now--book-review-a365566

Just started reading the new book by Starbucks' CEO, Howard Schultz tilted Onward How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul(Rodale, 2011). It was an amazing public relations plan for the release of the book, on the day of the company's 40th birthday. The book was in offered in the Starbucks stores and came with a five dollar collectible coffee card tucked inside a coffee color bookmark.

Schultz has been giving interviews in print and on television for the past month in preparation of the book's release as well as the celebration of the 40th anniversary. Schultz has written a number of bestsellers and this one promises to join the list.