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Suggest You - 8 Ways to Use Local Publicity to Drive Your Business
Like showman P.T. Barnum, my grandpa used to say, “a sucker is born every minute.” Today, as we grope our way through cyberspace, there’s one born every second. And the hucksters are so brilliant at what they do.Subtlety went out the window with Windows. Even with your trusty iPod earplugs in place, you can’t read a magazine, go on line, pick up a telephone, walk down a street, ride a public conveyance without being accosted, shouted at; invaded by screaming aliens from the planet Madison Avenue. Like a bombardment of artillery rockets coming at you from every direction, so are the flashing signs, blinking neon, talking heads, blabbering blogs, news releases that aren’t news, how-to ads that serve the server when you buy the book.Every earthling has something to say about everything, and everything to say about nothing. Experts appear from nowhere with scholarly judgments on how you should l
explained and simplified"
* Stockbroker: "How to retire rich"
Promote your seminar by sending releases to the local media.
Keep your release entirely non-promotional. Highlight your
seminar as a public service, not as a commercial event. (Tip:
have someone videotape your seminar and offer the tape as a free
gift for future potential customers!)
5) Connect with Kids.
Local media outlets always enjoy stories that involve schoolkids.
Offer to visit a local school and talk to the students about an
important topic connected with your business or, better yet,
invite a class to come and visit your place of business. (If you
choose the latter, make sure that your business is somewhat
visual. Kids seeing how sheep get sheared or books get printed
makes for a good visual. A bunch of children standing in an
office looking at accounting tab
"Small firms often make the mistake of thinking matters such as corporate identity and branding are only for large companies," said George Kiely, head of EI's design unit. "But every company must project an identity if it is to succeed.""How companies see themselves is unimportant, how their market sees them is what matters. That's where design and branding and corporate identity come in."When a company is describing itself, whether in a brochure or on a website, it needs to do so in terms not of the givens, which customers take for granted, but the added value. Branding is the company's way of indicating those extras.""Smaller companies generally value design less than bigger companies," Meehan said. "They don't see it as an investment in the business.It is discretionary spend, something they will only undertake if they feel they have a layer of fat."The reason is simpl
nice story in BusinessWeek or USA Today is something to
celebrate, there are times when you need to grab attention a bit
closer to home.
If your business draws its clientele from a specific town, city
or region, focusing your energy on getting an elusive national
publicity hit may be overkill, especially when getting publicity
where you need it -- in your home town -- is often so much
easier.
Let's look at some techniques you can use to reach potential
customers right where you live, through your local papers, radio
and TV stations.
1) Get to Know Your Business Editor.
Unless you live in a very large city, it should be fairly easy to
get in touch with the business editor at the main newspaper
covering your region. A simple call to introduce yourself and
let the editor know that you have some news to share is a good
start. Remember some of the golden rules of calling a
journalist, though: be respectful of his or her deadline (don’t
call an editor in the late afternoon as deadlines approach) and
always start with "is this a good time to talk?" before kicking
into your pitch. In smaller markets, it may even be possible to
develop a personal relationship with a business editor, by
visiting the office or taking the editor to lunch. The bottom
line is this: keeping abreast of local businesses and finding
interesting stories to tell about people in the community is the
essential part of any business editor’s job. He’ll be thrilled
to hear from you if you can provide something new and fresh in
those areas.
2) Keep the Releases Flowing.
Once you’ve built a relationship with a business editor, keep it
growing by providing a regular dose of fresh news about your
company. Won an award? Hired a new executive? Investing in some
interesting new equipment? Scored a big new contract? Let the
editor know with a well-written, hype-free release. Don’t feel
the need to pump out a release for every little thing but, if
it’s something really newsworthy, keeping the editor in the loop
will help spur coverage on a regular basis.
3) Write a Letter to the Editor or an Op-Ed Piece.
If something occurs locally (or even nationally) that relates to
your business, let your voice be heard with a letter to the
editor or a longer "op-ed" opinion piece.
As a businessperson, your opinion matters when the subject
relates to your field of expertise.
Write a Regular Column. Many smaller publications (such as weekly
newspapers) are on the lookout for ongoing, well-crafted content.
You can fill their needs - and promote your business -- by
offering a regular column. Chances are, you’ve seen features
along the lines of "Ask the Handyman" or perhaps a health column
from a local doctor. Can you create a similar feature that taps
your knowledge or expertise? If so, craft a few sample columns
and present them to the editor of a publication in your area. You
might even suggest that you don’t wish to be paid if your contact
information (your web URL, number, etc.) is included with each
column. You’ll be providing great no-cost content for the paper
and generating strong local exposure -- and credibility -- for
your business.
4) Conduct a No-Cost Seminar.
Financial planners and real estate pros have known for years that
free seminars are a great way to drum up business and get local
publicity. Try developing a one or two hour seminar in your
field of expertise and offer it to the public. Make it meaty --
it can’t simply be a promo pitch. Here's some ideas to get your
creative juices flowing:
* Remodeling company: "Remodeling projects that do the most to
increase your home’s value"
* Doctor: "The latest research on extending your life-span --
explained and simplified"
* Stockbroker: "How to retire rich"
Promote your seminar by sending releases to the local media.
Keep your release entirely non-promotional. Highlight your
seminar as a public service, not as a commercial event. (Tip:
have someone videotape your seminar and offer the tape as a free
gift for future potential customers!)
5) Connect with Kids.
Local media outlets always enjoy stories that involve schoolkids.
Offer to visit a local school and talk to the students about an
important topic connected with your business or, better yet,
invite a class to come and visit your place of business. (If you
choose the latter, make sure that your business is somewhat
visual. Kids seeing how sheep get sheared or books get printed
makes for a good visual. A bunch of children standing in an
office looking at accounting tabl
Many people believe that first world nations need to think more globally and that does make sense. Of course the bumper sticker that says think globally and act locally is probably also a good idea.Why not take it one step further; think globally and act locally and then take what you learn and franchise it to the rest of the world in system modules to help Third World countries become first world countries and help them solve their own problems using your systems, plans and methods.They keep their culture and country and franchise your system, which is a proven and viable system that works. Of course you are correct in that people should think Globally, but too looking in the mirror and acting locally never hurt anyone either.What about nationalism? Would that be in the way? Nationalism problems as you infer is an issue, just like religion is a brick wall sized speed bump, however;
call an editor in the late afternoon as deadlines approach) and
always start with "is this a good time to talk?" before kicking
into your pitch. In smaller markets, it may even be possible to
develop a personal relationship with a business editor, by
visiting the office or taking the editor to lunch. The bottom
line is this: keeping abreast of local businesses and finding
interesting stories to tell about people in the community is the
essential part of any business editor’s job. He’ll be thrilled
to hear from you if you can provide something new and fresh in
those areas.
2) Keep the Releases Flowing.
Once you’ve built a relationship with a business editor, keep it
growing by providing a regular dose of fresh news about your
company. Won an award? Hired a new executive? Investing in some
interesting new equipment? Scored a big new contract? Let the
editor know with a well-written, hype-free release. Don’t feel
the need to pump out a release for every little thing but, if
it’s something really newsworthy, keeping the editor in the loop
will help spur coverage on a regular basis.
3) Write a Letter to the Editor or an Op-Ed Piece.
If something occurs locally (or even nationally) that relates to
your business, let your voice be heard with a letter to the
editor or a longer "op-ed" opinion piece.
As a businessperson, your opinion matters when the subject
relates to your field of expertise.
Write a Regular Column. Many smaller publications (such as weekly
newspapers) are on the lookout for ongoing, well-crafted content.
You can fill their needs - and promote your business -- by
offering a regular column. Chances are, you’ve seen features
along the lines of "Ask the Handyman" or perhaps a health column
from a local doctor. Can you create a similar feature that taps
your knowledge or expertise? If so, craft a few sample columns
and present them to the editor of a publication in your area. You
might even suggest that you don’t wish to be paid if your contact
information (your web URL, number, etc.) is included with each
column. You’ll be providing great no-cost content for the paper
and generating strong local exposure -- and credibility -- for
your business.
4) Conduct a No-Cost Seminar.
Financial planners and real estate pros have known for years that
free seminars are a great way to drum up business and get local
publicity. Try developing a one or two hour seminar in your
field of expertise and offer it to the public. Make it meaty --
it can’t simply be a promo pitch. Here's some ideas to get your
creative juices flowing:
* Remodeling company: "Remodeling projects that do the most to
increase your home’s value"
* Doctor: "The latest research on extending your life-span --
explained and simplified"
* Stockbroker: "How to retire rich"
Promote your seminar by sending releases to the local media.
Keep your release entirely non-promotional. Highlight your
seminar as a public service, not as a commercial event. (Tip:
have someone videotape your seminar and offer the tape as a free
gift for future potential customers!)
5) Connect with Kids.
Local media outlets always enjoy stories that involve schoolkids.
Offer to visit a local school and talk to the students about an
important topic connected with your business or, better yet,
invite a class to come and visit your place of business. (If you
choose the latter, make sure that your business is somewhat
visual. Kids seeing how sheep get sheared or books get printed
makes for a good visual. A bunch of children standing in an
office looking at accounting tab
When doing medical billing, you'd think with all the payer records being sent, second only to service line records, there wouldn't be as many problems with denied claims because of missing information. Such is not the case. In this article, we're going to review the third and last payer record, which is the DA2 record.DA2 field 1, positions 1 - 3, is the record type which needs to be filled in with DA2 or the claim will not be paid.DA2 field 2, positions 4 - 5, is the sequence number. Because there can be up to three DA2 records, each one has to have a sequence number for primary, secondary and tertiary, designated DA2-01, DA2-02 and DA2-03.DA2 field 3, positions 6 - 22, is the patient ID. This number must match the patient ID numbers transmitted in the CA0 and all the other D records in this claims file for that patient.DA2 fields 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, positions 23 - 113, is t
editor know with a well-written, hype-free release. Don’t feel
the need to pump out a release for every little thing but, if
it’s something really newsworthy, keeping the editor in the loop
will help spur coverage on a regular basis.
3) Write a Letter to the Editor or an Op-Ed Piece.
If something occurs locally (or even nationally) that relates to
your business, let your voice be heard with a letter to the
editor or a longer "op-ed" opinion piece.
As a businessperson, your opinion matters when the subject
relates to your field of expertise.
Write a Regular Column. Many smaller publications (such as weekly
newspapers) are on the lookout for ongoing, well-crafted content.
You can fill their needs - and promote your business -- by
offering a regular column. Chances are, you’ve seen features
along the lines of "Ask the Handyman" or perhaps a health column
from a local doctor. Can you create a similar feature that taps
your knowledge or expertise? If so, craft a few sample columns
and present them to the editor of a publication in your area. You
might even suggest that you don’t wish to be paid if your contact
information (your web URL, number, etc.) is included with each
column. You’ll be providing great no-cost content for the paper
and generating strong local exposure -- and credibility -- for
your business.
4) Conduct a No-Cost Seminar.
Financial planners and real estate pros have known for years that
free seminars are a great way to drum up business and get local
publicity. Try developing a one or two hour seminar in your
field of expertise and offer it to the public. Make it meaty --
it can’t simply be a promo pitch. Here's some ideas to get your
creative juices flowing:
* Remodeling company: "Remodeling projects that do the most to
increase your home’s value"
* Doctor: "The latest research on extending your life-span --
explained and simplified"
* Stockbroker: "How to retire rich"
Promote your seminar by sending releases to the local media.
Keep your release entirely non-promotional. Highlight your
seminar as a public service, not as a commercial event. (Tip:
have someone videotape your seminar and offer the tape as a free
gift for future potential customers!)
5) Connect with Kids.
Local media outlets always enjoy stories that involve schoolkids.
Offer to visit a local school and talk to the students about an
important topic connected with your business or, better yet,
invite a class to come and visit your place of business. (If you
choose the latter, make sure that your business is somewhat
visual. Kids seeing how sheep get sheared or books get printed
makes for a good visual. A bunch of children standing in an
office looking at accounting tab
Do you have a great idea for a product? Are you thinking of launching a new product or service in the market place? Below is the first part of 12 questions you definitely want to answer and prepare for before you "go live".1) Who is the target market?You'd be surprised how many folks create a product before targeting a specific market. Targeting a market is the first step. If you do it the other way around, you just might find that a market for your product or service may not even exist.2) What is the product/service?Define it. Does it fall under a category? Is it a single product or a multiple line of products? A single product can be "one size fits all" if practical. WD-40 is a perfect example of a single product with multiple uses. When the WD-40 company first started out, they only had that one product. Tod
your knowledge or expertise? If so, craft a few sample columns
and present them to the editor of a publication in your area. You
might even suggest that you don’t wish to be paid if your contact
information (your web URL, number, etc.) is included with each
column. You’ll be providing great no-cost content for the paper
and generating strong local exposure -- and credibility -- for
your business.
4) Conduct a No-Cost Seminar.
Financial planners and real estate pros have known for years that
free seminars are a great way to drum up business and get local
publicity. Try developing a one or two hour seminar in your
field of expertise and offer it to the public. Make it meaty --
it can’t simply be a promo pitch. Here's some ideas to get your
creative juices flowing:
* Remodeling company: "Remodeling projects that do the most to
increase your home’s value"
* Doctor: "The latest research on extending your life-span --
explained and simplified"
* Stockbroker: "How to retire rich"
Promote your seminar by sending releases to the local media.
Keep your release entirely non-promotional. Highlight your
seminar as a public service, not as a commercial event. (Tip:
have someone videotape your seminar and offer the tape as a free
gift for future potential customers!)
5) Connect with Kids.
Local media outlets always enjoy stories that involve schoolkids.
Offer to visit a local school and talk to the students about an
important topic connected with your business or, better yet,
invite a class to come and visit your place of business. (If you
choose the latter, make sure that your business is somewhat
visual. Kids seeing how sheep get sheared or books get printed
makes for a good visual. A bunch of children standing in an
office looking at accounting tab
Deploy the methodologyThis phase is always crucial for obtaining the return on all the resources invested in the process improvement initiative. The last objective of process deployment is that processes are executed in the real world as close as possible to how they have been designed.One critical issue is to obtain the buy-in of people executing the processes. Be sure to make clear all the advantages of working with a methodology during deployment. Some arguments could be the following: The new methodology is based on a widely accepted standard framework. Knowledge of a standard framework adds professional value to workers in the marketplace, so it is interesting for them to learn it. Processes are based on industry best practices that will make their work more productive. In the medium term productivity improvements lead to higher wages.An adequate deployment should include prov
explained and simplified"
* Stockbroker: "How to retire rich"
Promote your seminar by sending releases to the local media.
Keep your release entirely non-promotional. Highlight your
seminar as a public service, not as a commercial event. (Tip:
have someone videotape your seminar and offer the tape as a free
gift for future potential customers!)
5) Connect with Kids.
Local media outlets always enjoy stories that involve schoolkids.
Offer to visit a local school and talk to the students about an
important topic connected with your business or, better yet,
invite a class to come and visit your place of business. (If you
choose the latter, make sure that your business is somewhat
visual. Kids seeing how sheep get sheared or books get printed
makes for a good visual. A bunch of children standing in an
office looking at accounting tables doesn’t.) Craft a release
beforehand -- this one probably works best with features and
lifestyle editors. Suggest that they send a photographer down to
cover the event. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to get in touch with the
person at your local school district who handles media relations,
as they may prove very useful in drawing attention.
6) Partner with a Politician.
No matter how hungry you are for good press, I can guarantee
there’s someone even hungrier -- an elected official. If you can
team up with a local politician for a charity, educational or
public service program, chances are you won’t have to lift a
finger to get coverage. Your friendly representative, state
senator, mayor or council member will gladly work the press to
generate attention. A caveat: if you’re going to hook up with a
politician, it’s probably best to do it with someone who’s not
considered a highly ideological or divisive figure, and try to
keep the topic as noncontroversial as possible. Let common sense
be your guide.
7) Get on the Air.
Radio stations are an underappreciated avenue for publicity.
Spend a few days listening to all the stations that serve your
area and seek opportunities to get on the air. Look for general
interest talk shows, locally-produced news programs and community
affairs programs. When you find something that seems
appropriate, contact the station and ask for the name of the
producer for that particular show or segment. Then, give that
person a call. Tell the producer what you have to offer and why
you’d make a great guest. And here’s a bonus radio tip: offer
your products or services as on-air contest prizes for commercial
stations, or as pledge-drive premiums for public radio stations.
8) Make your Website a Local Resource.
Chances are, you’ve already got a website. Why not devote part
of it to your community? Set up a local message board to
discuss topics relating to your field. Have a local "Ask the
Expert" section where community members can get advice. Provide
local news, sports or weather. Donate part of your site to a
local organization (e.g. offer to post youth soccer scores and
news), donate part of a given day’s web-based sales to local
charity. The possibilities are endless, so be creative and, oh
yeah, be sure to tell the local media about what you’re doing!
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