1. February 2012 by Frank Goad.

Video is about the most powerful tool on the web. YouTube has upgraded its looks and layout and has added more business-friendly features. Your YouTube or Vimeo channel can be your best marketing and advertising tool. In another post, I’ll talk about do-it-yourself video (cameras, mics, etc.), but today’s post (and a couple more in the future) is about the very basics of content.

First, remember to talk with your customers and prospects, not “at” them. Offer them information they can use in their everyday lives. If all you do is throw sales pitches out on the Web, you’ll soon be avoided, and then forgotten. Every business today must learn to help people understand why your product or service is important. If you help them understand that without resorting to a hard sell, they’ll respect you and be interested. Be an adviser, a purveyor of useful info, not a sales person.

Let’s say you sell fire extinguishers - the need for one in the home or office is obvious. What folks should also know is how to prevent fires or when to abandon that nice extinguisher and head for the door. Talk about advances in alarms and new fire-retardant fabrics. Do stories on new government regulations that might impact how they do their business, or force them to replace things to meet new fire safety codes. If you love your business, you’ll have much information to pass along in a video.

While you might be good at “winging it,” script what you want to say. Don’t get flowery or try to be profound, tell them what they should know simply and pleasantly. Put a computer monitor directly under the camera’s lens and put your script in PowerPoint. Use only the top third of the screen for your PowerPoint and have someone change the slides for you. Be sure to stand back about fifteen feet so that your script reading is less noticeable. If you’re close they’ll see your eyes looking under the lens, but standing back farther reduces that effect. Keep your shot from the waist up because close-ups can be dangerous unless you’re Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie.

Who should be on camera? You might be a great talent on video, or you might be bad, but at least give it a shot. If someone says, “Gee, you really ought to think about getting some help with that,” take it graciously. Not everyone is suited for doing video. Park your ego at the door because the last thing you want is a poor delivery distracting people from the message. The same goes for your family - just because little Sally or Johnny are really cute and smart, that doesn’t mean they or any other family member should be on the video. The main thing is to get folks to take you seriously and listen to the message, not be distracted by the person delivering it.

Keep the message to three minutes or less. Just about anyone will watch a three-minute video IF it’s interesting. If you can say it in two minutes, all the better. Add a short intro with your logo and a little music; at the end put contact info, your website and so on. Buy some royalty-free music online because using a popular song will get you a call from a lawyer and maybe more than that. You can buy nice music for as little as $5 for a song to use as your theme music; maybe less. Use the music at the open and close of the video.

This is barely the tip of the iceberg. Remember that the purpose is to let folks know you know what you’re doing, and to build rapport with them.  In part II of this series, we’ll talk about how to let folks know you have something for them to watch. I’ve put a link to one of the videos I’ve done so that you can see what I’m talking about. These were done in a small space with a decent camera and a couple of lights - very inexpensive, but still effective enough that Capella University picked it up for their online marketing classes. Cheers!

Positioning: A Core Element of Your Brand  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VmCx8Ic7qw&list=UUxvxQU1n03Fh301TbAzgxRQ&index=16&feature=plcp

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Posted in YouTube, Video, Sales, Video Production, Google, Social Media, Advertising, Public relations, business, relationships, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

2. November 2011 by Frank Goad.

Dumping some customers is good for business. For instance, there’s a drafthouse movie theatre out west that routinely kicks out customers. Why? For talking or texting during the movies - strictly verboten during the shows and evidently well documented on the walls and during the pre-movie trailers. One customer got escorted out for texting for which she sent an email brimming with profanityto the management. The theatre does some of its own ads and read the email in a spot aired before the movies. They closed it by saying they’re glad she’s not coming back. It’s a rather pointed warning for those in their seats, too.

A bad customer can cause good ones to leave simply because they don’t want to be around them. Yes, yes, yes — it is very tough to tell someone to hit the road and not come back. That goes against everything we have learned as business people. The number one thing we’re taught is, “The customer is always right,” and no, they’re not … well, I don’t think so. Sometimes they’re abusive, chiseling creeps who do their best to get one over, or get you to work for free and, well, you get the idea.

Generally, though, customers are right and if one customer is causing others to leave or complain, then the only reason to keep the troublesome customer is because they are giving you tons of money. If that’s the case, think creatively about how to work with them so that they’re isolated from other customers. Maybe you set up a Skype connection so that they can order without leaving their office. Maybe you visit them on their premises, or assign one person to deal with them in an office somewhere else at your place of business.

The other thing to question is, are they driving off customers and you don’t see it? Many folks just stop showing up and don’t voice their dissatisfaction or discomfort. The solution for this is to talk one-on-one with random customers as often as possible. Most won’t say anything unless it’s a fairly direct set of questions, so create a standard list that you ask all customers. You get a better sense of what’s working or not when your questions are standardized.

Don’t be afraid to cull the herd, thin the ranks, take the trash to the curb, and whatever saying you use. Sometimes, that’s all you can do, so don’t feel badly if it happens.

Posted in Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, Customers, Frank Communications, retail, business, business relationships, building business, Public relations | Print | No Comments »

21. January 2011 by Frank Goad.

While talking with a client recently, he was bemoaning the diminished traffic during the winter snows. When asked what he did with the down time, he replied, “Oh, you know, the usual. I cleaned, organized and took care of some loose ends.” When asked if he couldn’t have an employee do that, he said, “Well, I suppose, but I know exactly how i want things.”

This is a perfect example of working in the business, not on it. We talked about how he might have made that time more profitable and here’s part of the list:

• Call customers and say, “Thanks for your business - what can I do for you?”
• Look over his Facebook page and add posts to it
• Look over his Facebook page’s friends and see what they’re talking about; knowing that can help you know what they’re likely to want or need so that you can advertise to their comments
• Look for local happenings on the different calendars and see if there’s an event that would offer people and a theme that resonates with his business
• Call his vendors and see if they have any marketing ideas or have any examples of some other customer’s promotions

As you can see, the list is as long as your imagination. If you have employees, let them do the busy work. It’s easy to fall into doing menial tasks when you’re stressed because, as Dennis Waitley says, “They are tension relieving, not goal achieving.”

So, don’t fret the snow. Use that time to build customer relationships and boost your business.

Posted in creativity, Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, retail, writing, Frank, Public relations, business, building business, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

14. December 2010 by Frank Goad.

 For anyone who says Facebook is evil, or that LinkedIn is nothing but a time-suck, you might want to think again. “Trend spotter” Marian Salzman, in her latest work, “11 Trends for 2011,” points out something about social media you might want to consider when making your advertising and marketing plans for next year.

“People around the world are losing faith. Many Americans, for example, have lost trust in their politicians, their institutions, heir media and the direction of the nation. To compensate because they haven’t lost trust in self-reliance and faith in echnology), they are looking to their networks, turbocharged by omputers and the Internet.The Network Effect is making good n its promise. …

“With almost 2 billion Internet users worldwide (including 239 million in the U.S., 51 million in the U.K., 45 million in France, 81 million in India and a whopping 420 million in China), there’s a virtually unlimited supply of people out there who can meet anyone’s networking needs—whether it’s old friends, new buddies, lovers, advocates, employers, partners, suppliers, fellow enthusiasts, fellow sufferers, co-religionists or people to just
hang out with. There’s a new sense of unlimited possible partners for anything from recovery to marriage.

“As world citizens continue to embrace social media—from Facebook,Twitter and LinkedIn to Orkut, QQ and Copains ’avant—they are realizing that keyboards and mobile devices can also facilitate real conversations and mediate real human connections. (Although, in a related aside, we’ve been witnessing an interesting decline in people’s personas on social media— from an authentic expression of self to a measured, calculated
projection of values—with attendant societal implications both online and off.*) The more niche the passion, the more social the match experience. And as time goes by, the interactions will build into rich, detailed connections and an ongoing sense of ambient awareness—true connectedness to a wider network of
people. ”

*I believe it’s because people are smarter and realize that, once you post something online, it’s there forever, like it or not.

Posted in Web development, Branding, building business, writing, retail, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, Frank Communications, business relationships, relationships, PR, Frank, Advertising, Public relations, The Long Tail, business, self-employment, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

8. December 2010 by Frank Goad.

I am absolutely furious and know there’s not one damn thing I can do about it. A person close to me - one of the sweetest, most gentle people on earth - was humiliated in an airport recently. It was uncalled for and showed how dangerous our government is getting. Why dangerous? Because we’re putting systems in place that have inadequate quality measures. Put another way, we’re putting incompetent, untrained people in positions of authority without proper guidance and oversight, then wonder why there are so many stories of abuse and humiliation in public places.

The person was going to board a plane, hence had to go through TSA security, and opted out of being irradiated in the x-ray machines (not the real device name, I know, but the effect is the same). They chose the manual search instead because this person has an ostomy bag – a huge burden unto itself – and didn’t want that displayed on a screen for all to see. The TSA agent feels the bag and takes them into a room for a search. But wait, it gets much worse.

In their infinite paranoia, the TSA agent orders them to put their clothes around their ankles and under their arm pits with everything inbetween exposed. They decide to swab for gunpowder - yes, gunpowder on an ostomy bag - get in the middle of the procedure, leave the room for another swab and leave the door wide open exposing my friend to everyone passing by. That is unforgivable and humiliating. If the agent were working for a private company, they’d have recourse. Since they’re a government agent, all the aggrieved can do is file a complaint, and that has all the impact of a paper fan in a hurricane. Even if the complaint is filed, it’s quite likely the employee will hear nothing whatsoever, meaning their incompetence will be perpetuated.

Now, imagine if that was you or someone you love. Who deserves that sort of rank humiliation? How totally incompetent or stupid can someone be? What’s worse is that, if you raise hell, then they lock you up and further humiliate you for hours to spite you for daring to show anything but ultimate patience in the face of unreasonable or incompetent behavior. We are at the mercy of employees who are often not suited for dealing with the public, much less security issues. To be sure, the TSA has some good employees, but what recourse do we have when dealing with those like this person had to deal with?

What’s worse is that, now that I’ve dared to speak up about this, it’s not unlikely that I’ll be put on some sort of watch list. I could well be the next person humiliated by a TSA agent and subjected to harassment. To be honest, I sort of expect it now. Why? There are myriad stories of folks who speak up and find themselves in the situation they protest about. As an American, this galls me.

This is bad, folks, and we’re the cattle they’re herding. Please spread this post because our liberties and right to dignity are going down the tubes. Perhaps George Orwell was right.

Posted in strip search, airport security, watch list, Frank Communications, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, TSA, training, Frank, backlash, damage, PR, Public relations, responsibilities | Print | No Comments »

7. December 2010 by Frank Goad.

Watch this video and see if you don’t feel blessed, fortified and stronger.

Posted in leadership, relationships, Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, "The Frankifesto", Public relations, Marketing, blessings, Frank, PR, general | Print | No Comments »

2. December 2010 by Frank Goad.

Lexington, Kentucky, is truly blessed to have Ronnie Bastin as our police chief. I’ve know him for around twenty years and he has always been an outstanding man. We met not long after he was promoted to sergeant and, even then, you could tell that he was going to have a great career. Bastin is intelligent, thoughtful and a born leader.

He graciously agreed to be my subject for the Business Lexington “Quick Biz Bites” videos that I do. During the interview, he said something that I think crystallizes the attitude a true leader has. He said, “It kind of gets under my skin when I hear someone say that they ‘… have thirty people working for them.’ When people ask me how many I have working for me, I say that ‘I work for over four hundred people.’” He recognizes the responsibility he has to his staff, his managers and the city of Lexington and is quite humble about it.

He is working hard to train his squads to know what great leadership looks like and leads by example. The department’s progress is outstanding. We should all be grateful to have a man with such sterling character leading the people who guard our town. Thank you, chief.

Posted in leadership, Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, balance, business relationships, Frank, Public relations, business, blessings | Print | No Comments »

19. August 2010 by Frank Goad.

A friend of mine admitted today that he needs help with his advertising copy. It took courage to admit that. The sad thing is, there are so many people who won’t admit it (or their ego says that they’re good), and then they wonder why their ad doesn’t “pull” or their brochures are met with jaw-breaking yawns. I’m amazed at how many people are convinced that they can write good ad copy despite having no experience or training. Getting A’s in college English is not a good measure of your ability nor is having a neighbor say, “Wow, you oughta be a writer.”

For instance (and I’ve seen similar examples dozens of times), someone writes, “and best of all, it’s free!” If being free (or low cost or inexpensive or … ) is the best thing about your product, then you don’t have much to offer. The sentence degrades the product or service and psychologically pushes them away from you.

A local direct mail piece came to me the other day with this sentence:”You will have more enjoyment from this (product) than you will expect to have!” That is one of the weakest sentences ever written, besides being a mish-mash. Despite sounding like the text on many foreign websites, it was sent by a Lexington company. That’s an extreme example, but lesser offenses push people away from you, too.

Local P.R. guru Douglas Alexander and I have often discussed the differences in our writing styles. We have somewhat settled on this difference (and this is not hard and fast): P.R. is more reactive in nature and marketing is more proactive. He often writes in response to something (like a pending piece of legislation), and I often write to cause something (like getting someone to be my client’s customer). My writing often carries more “force” because it has a CTA (call to action) that is designed to compel the reader to do something.

Neither is better than the other and our discussions center on why one style fits a situation better than another. We have different roles and have shaped our writing skills over decades of experience to adopt the best tone and style based on the target audience, publication it’s published in and the product/service/issue/etc.

If you need a video, you don’t hire the neighbor’s fourteen-year-old son … well, I hope you don’t. Likewise, if you want to tell the world why they should come see you, get someone who knows best how to do that. So, unless you write for publication or advertising for outside interests, get some help. Whether you hire me or someone else, work with a professional writer.

Posted in Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, writing, training, Frank, PR, Public relations, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

19. August 2010 by Frank Goad.

This week’s webisode features Barry Bronson, part II. Barry is a career veteran of public relations, marketing and journalism. Much of his work has centered on the automotive industry and its suppliers. He was P.R. director at Valvoline and ran their racing sponsorship program for NASCAR, drag racing and other racing segments. He’s colorful and knowledgeable. See him here: “Avoid P.R. pitfalls – think it through.” Once you’ve seen it, please leave a comment.

Posted in Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, Branding, Public relations, Advertising, Frank, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

25. May 2010 by Frank Goad.

This post is about your 80/20 and something much more valuable in your life. Most of you know the old saw about 80% of your business coming from 20% of your customers or clients. This is about your having a larger, more loyal 20% and getting benefits worth far more than the coins they give you.

A Lexington millionaire I knew (who, despite being twenty years my senior, often kicked my butt on the racquetball court) said he became rich by spending an hour a day doing one thing: Calling his best customers regularly just to say “Hi.” He explained that, “People do business with folks they know, like and trust. Without building a relationship, they can’t know, like or trust you. It’s up to you to reach out to them. After all, the most popular people are the ones who go out of their way to be friendly. That’s why they’re popular - they make everyone else feel genuinely important.”

He said to avoid long calls to show respect for their time, and that leaving a message just to say “Hello” was often just as beneficial. After you’ve called a few times, they’ll welcome your call because they’ll know you only want to check in. Some will look forward to the call the way we look forward to a birthday card (and you can collect birth dates, too, as you call).

Creating friendships is a natural part of business that is often overlooked. Regularly reaching out as a friend to the people who are your best customers benefits both sides of the equation; it’s about win-win, so show the 20% some love. You don’t have to send gifts, just call to say “Hi,” ask about their family and so on. The more you do this the better you know them, and you’ll become familiar with folks you never expected to become friends with. For those folks who aren’t in your 20%, maybe it’s because they have no reason to think of you; call and give them one.

To be effective and to show folks you are genuinely interested in them requires consistency. One method to keep on track with this year-after-year is to take your address book (physical or electronic) and create a spreadsheet with everyone on it. Then divide them up into twelve groups to call in twelve months. Call them some time that month, but don’t wait ’til month’s end because most folks are busy then. Better still, call at least twice a year.

What to say when you call? Tell them about something cool that’s coming up before anyone else knows. Ask how you can help without asking for a sale, or call about an event they might be interested in (a charity fun run/walk, a bake sale, a Big Lebowski bowling event, etc.). Maybe asking for an opinion (vs. professional advice) on something you’re involved with outside their specialty; this avoids looking like you’re trying to poach free service. Maybe you meet for coffee or rendezvous at a meeting or event. Whatever works for you.

You can keep it strictly to business, too. Check on their account or orders or whatever as a pretense to call. Or, call and explain that you do this occasionally just to see how your business is doing in their eyes (you should do that in any case). If they haven’t ordered in awhile, calling just to say “Hi” is even more important. Sure, Facebook is cool and easy, but one-to-one contact between two humans is much more powerful than a poke or a wall post. Do this in addition to social media to multiply its effect and bridge the time between calls.

If you do this year-in and year-out, you’ll get a lot more than sales. You’ll get the satisfaction of helping someone else and the one thing that makes life its richest: Friends.

Posted in business relationships, relationships, business, building business, Frank Communications, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, business plan, "The Frankifesto", blessings, Advertising, Frank, PR, The Long Tail, Public relations, welcome | Print | No Comments »

24. May 2010 by Frank Goad.

If you are in business for yourself or own a business, you have to be promoting yourself all the time. There is increasing competition for an ever-shrinking pool of business. It’s tougher today than a decade ago if for no other reason than advertising and marketing is so fractured. As I’ve written before, these days, it comes down to time or money. That is, if you don’t have the money to do a big, sustained advertising campaign, then you have to invest the time to do it yourself.

Advertising today is a lot like megaphones:
• If you have a lot of money, you can buy a PA system and hire someone to run it for you. You can even hire someone to do the talking.
• If you have some money you can buy a large electronic megaphone that even has a horn or siren to get folks attention.
• If you don’t have any budget, you pick up the nearest thing that looks like a cheerleader’s megaphone and start running around and yelling. Hello Facebook, blogs, meetings, etc.

Most of us fall into category two or three. That means we have to find publicity wherever we can. Want to get some attention from the media and burnish your reputation? Do something for the community. Don’t just run out and have a bake sale - have a cause you believe in first. In this day and time, many agencies are going wanting due to thin budgets and thinner staffs and will welcome any help they can get.

No, this isn’t some cynical operation that you do because it’s good for business – you do it because people need help. Still, the glow from a charitable act will net you good will and you’ll make some new friends. Friends are about the most important asset for any business. Beyond that, will it make a lasting difference in one person’s life? Yes? Then that’s all you need to know.

Pick something you feel strongly about like cancer, autism, the environment, education, the arts, women’s rights, animal welfare, inner-city programs, youth in music (one of my favorites) or whatever pulls strongly at your heart. Write a mission statement that says what you want from the event, why you’re doing it, who it will help and how much you think it might help and how. Update the mission statement often as you’ll find new things as you go along – the ending will likely be different and better than you planned.

From this planning, you’ll have an idea of what you can raise or do for the event. Is the goal to raise money? Raise awareness? Get material or goods (e.g., pet food for the Humane Society)? The sponsoring agency will give you guidance as to what is most helpful. Plug this into your mission statement.

Once you’ve written down your goals and plans, then go to an organization who is usually attached to these causes (if there is one), share what you’ve written and see what kind of help they’ll give you. Try to find a co-sponsor who’ll help, too, before you go; many hands make for light(er) work.

Next, plan your event and pick a theme. Get help and figure what it’s going to cost, where to have it, etc. This is where an event planner comes in handy. You’ll have to think about everything from sanitation to seltzer water. Whatever the event, you’ll likely need at least a few months to plan and execute.

What event should you plan? That’s up to you and your planner. Stage a fishing or golf tournament, a picnic or barbecue, a pool party, cookware event, a gourmet hors d’oeuvres party, a wine tasting - something that helps folks walk away happy (and not just because of the wine). Since it will likely start with friends, you know what they like, so plan something you’re familiar with and it will be easier for you.

Then, build your list of people to invite and determine how many you realistically think will come. If you’re not sure, call a bunch of friends and ask them to see if they’d be interested. You might get a volunteer or two calling their friends. Check with the organization you’re doing it for as they’ll likely have an idea, too. If all your friends invite their friends, and their friends invite only half their friends, that could be a good number.

Then go back to your mission statement and use that to create your publicity plans and your press releases. It will inform everything and everyone about why you’re embarking on this madness. Try to find one person in the media (reporter, DJ, public relations agent, etc.) and get their advice and names of helpful folks. The agency you spoke with can usually help you with that.

After that, when you’re about three months out, send press releases out to all the media you can think of and follow up regularly with with new items (don’t rehash the old - make it new). Again, work with the sponsoring agency (if there is one involved) and get help on publicity from them - they might be able to  accomplish many times what you can. Keep calling and get help arranging for any publicity you can find. There’s no shame in attaching your company’s name and your co-sponsor’s to this whole thing. (Alltech has their name all over WEG, and rightfully so, thank you Dr. Lyons.)

This is just a snapshot and, realistically, doing any public event is tough. It doesn’t have to be something with thousands of folks. Sometimes small events with a unique or outrageous flavor get more attention - be creative.

If you handle it well the rewards you’ll feel as an individual will be huge (food for the soul), the benefit to the community will be greater and, who knows, you could start an annual event that becomes legendary. You’ve heard of the Kentucky Derby, right?

Want some more ideas? Need help with marketing or advertising? Call me or use the contact form at the bottom of the page at the Frank Communications website.

Posted in delight, Success, Character, Branding, creativity, Frank Communications, Social Media, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, building business, business relationships, PR, Frank, blessings, responsibilities, Public relations, "The Frankifesto", relationships, business, business plan, Marketing | Print | 1 Comment »

6. May 2010 by Frank Goad.

Public relations has changed - no revelation there - but it’s still important. The truly effective PR agent these days still courts the press and other “large” media, but they also court new media even more. PR has moved closer to marketing because of these changes, too. Chris Anderson wrote a great book called, “The Long Tail” that talks about the changes in marketing. Its premise is:

“The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly targeted goods and services can be economically attractive as mainstream fare.”

What this means (as if you can’t figure it out) is that marketing and PR are no longer totally dependent on a narrow group of outlets, those being TV, radio and newspapers. (Make no mistake though: Consistent appearances in traditional media needs to be a part of any marketing plan. You still need to cover all the bases.) PR agents used to send press releases to reporters whom they hoped and prayed liked what they sent so that they would make a story out of it. The experts developed relationships with reporters and writers at the “bigs” and got a book of newspaper clippings with their work.

For the rest of us, unless it’s a truly revolutionary or far-reaching story, reporters often ignore these releases. Who can blame them? They get hundreds of press releases, most of which are not suitable for what they write about, and are sent by folks who try to cover the earth believing the odds are in their favor if they send it to anyone they can. So, what to do?

With the proliferation of platforms (i.e., new media, podcasts, etc.), you can now talk directly to the folks who care about what you have to say. Let’s pretend you’ve invented a revolutionary left-handed cow milking speeder-upper. The folks at the LHSCMA (Left-Handed Speed Cow Milkers of Albania) will get all atwitter about it, so that’s whom you talk to. If there’s a left-handed cow milker’s trade organization and they have a magazine or website, they’ll like your press release, too. It’s not just a press release, though, it’s talking to people and organizations using their mediums. Your goal is to have a marketing conversation with these groups.

What you have to do is find LHSCMA members and others who care about this and will put it in their blogs - Albanian blogs, of course - and who have websites and e-newsletters and so on. THEY are the ones who’ll care and spread the word. Find secondary organizations who read their items (the RHSCMA of course - you know who they are) and let them know. Putting an ad in Newsweek or on TV’s “Meet the Press” would be horribly expensive and useless. There was a time when that was the only way to do it - sell it to the whole world. Now you can work the long tail.

You can now be your own press agent IF you learn to cultivate the tiny grottoes of the Web, meaning, get in contact with the blogs and websites of organizations, clubs, forums, etc., who have an interest in your message. Cultivate followers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other new media. Get a website up that has real content (and, yes, a blog) and continually update it in order to continually build value. Get their feedback and post it. Get them to link their blogs and websites to yours. Whatever you do, put up information, and not constant blather, or you’ll get tuned out. It doesn’t have to be about your specialty - just make sure it’s interesting and useful.

Most of all, don’t expect a broad-based relationship to happen overnight, or over-month for that matter (over-month: a new word, and you saw it here first, you trendsetter you). It takes time, constant effort and the cultivation of a two-way, long-distance relationship with lots of different folks. Put up new information whenever you can and then let folks know it’s there. Marketing is now a conversation directly with your audience. If you don’t have time to carry on the conversation, hire someone (and, yes, I’m available), but make sure you are talking with them or you’ll be tuned out.

Posted in Left-handed cow milkers, Chris Anderson, Frank Communications, Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, The Long Tail, Public relations, Advertising, Marketing, advertisers, Frank, PR, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »