by IMC | Mar 23, 2013 | Blog, Branding, Celebrations, Digital Communications, Marketing Mix, Media Relations, Online Video, Partnership, Short Form, Tactics
Even though here along the Northeast Corridor the weather for Easter probably will be chilly, those we at Image Marketing Consultants talk with plan to do something special outdoors. Yes, it has been a harsh fall and winter, Sandy followed by Nemo.
Your customers or, if you are a professional services firm, your clients want a fresh start. This is an opportunity for you to resonate with them emotionally by highlighting messaging, providing promotions, and sponsoring special events that assure them that the world is a good place to be and full of joy and opportunity.
The most simple way to do that, of course, is through your decorations. The impact of that could be profound if you invite the community to participate through volunteer work for fundraising or a contest. For example, a bakery in Central Connecticut can donate its window for those in the neighborhood to showcase their renditions of renewal and those enjoying the display can make contributions to the United Way.
More complex is to design promotions which help clients not only save on their fee with you but also improve their business operations. For example, the graphics firm will not only create a logo with a spring discount but also give a complimentary tutorial on the most effective designs for communicating your unique branding.
This season also aligns with your passing on your own good news. Send out a press release on how much your boutique has grown since the recession ended or the 10 new products you have launched. Create a video of a walk-through of your facility, explaining what the equipment does. Then you can place that in your Media Center on your website, Facebook, and as a link on your blog and Twitter account.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, invites you to a complimentary consultation for your marketing, public relations, partnership, special events, and social media needs kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.
by IMC | Sep 6, 2012 | Blog, Marketing Mix, Media Relations, Short Form, Tactics
Your special event might be as simple as a meatloaf dinner to raise funds for your church or your nonprofit which provides tutoring to at-risk children. The odds are that you can enhance the outcomes of that event by tweeting the activity. Those tweets would chronicle what goes on from the time folks are parking their cars to when volunteers are cleaning up in the kitchen. Regarding the latter, there are few bonding experiences more central to sharing and healing than being in the kitchen together. Call that “sink therapy.”
At the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama’s speech was judged as a homerun, partly on the basis of how many tweets-per-minute. Because there were way more tweets for her address than for Ann Romney’s the media and political watchers gave her the higher grade.
The beauty of tweeting is that it can be done right from a smartphone. Simultaneously, of course, you can also live-blog the event. Because blogging is long form versus the short form of tweets, you probably want to do that from a laptop or tablet.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations for Social Media, Marketing including Advertising, Partnerships, Public Relations, and Special Events kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.
by IMC | Aug 8, 2012 | Blog, Short Form
Short = Sweet Spot in Communications
You are your message. If your message is wordy, Millennials and Generation X, who are your prospective customers or clients, are bound to roll their eyes. All too quickly they could decide to go somewhere else to buy. That’s because this is the era of Twitter or short form. Millennials and Gen Xers are wary of organizations which take too long to get their message out there. We live in Fast Time.
Here are 3 tips on how to downsize your messages:
Think More. Too many words usually reflect hurried thinking. Not enough time was invested into boiling down the core message to a phrase or one sentence. LinkedIn’s core message is helping careers. Long form just doesn’t “stick.”
Wait. Since messages aren’t changed easily, do it right the first time. That means playing with the ideas until they can be transmitted in a concise manner. THE NEW YORK TIMES’ message is short: All the news that’s fit to print. That message has endured through decades, unchanged.
Observe. Please read and listen to others’ communications. You will understand why customers flee verbosity. It might be said that the late Steve Jobs invented short form at Apple. His message to the world, ranging from customers to employees, was to be different. Differentiation is the core of branding.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations for Marketing, Partnering, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, and Special events, 203-404-4068, Kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com
Even though here along the Northeast Corridor the weather for Easter probably will be chilly, those we at Image Marketing Consultants talk with plan to do something special outdoors. Yes, it has been a harsh fall and winter, Sandy followed by Nemo.
