It’s easy to be overwhelmed when you think about all the ways to market your company, organization or cause.
Websites. Social media. E-mail marketing. Direct mail. Public relations. Community relations. Advertising. Sponsorships. Exhibits/events.
There are plenty of good ways to reach an audience with your key messages: “Join us!” “Buy this!” “Sign up!” “Consider this!” “Care about this!” “Share this!”
The challenge is to choose the best communications options to “meet your audience where they are.”
So, start small.
First, take 30-60 minutes to list all the things you know:
· What products and services do you provide?
· Who are your customers, members, clients, donors, employees, the media—the people you want to reach?
· What marketing do you use today?
· What differentiates you from your competition?
· What are your business objectives for 2016?
Second, make a communications plan. Because you want to start small, pick one of the tactics that promises the greatest return with the smallest investment of time and money. Make sure to include at least one legitimate measurement to determine the effectiveness of the Facebook ad, the email marketing, or the trade show booth.
Go BIG when it comes to being authentic.
Make sure what you say and how you say it (and how it looks!) truly reflects your brand—your reputation—your promise. Building and keeping stakeholder trust is the BIG goal of marketing communications even when you start small.
