Sales and Marketing

Is Your Public Relations Strategy Outdated?

In the past, public relations required a client to pay a large retainer in order to be mentioned in a sidebar or get quick features published, promoting a service or product. Today, the future of PR is online, and it includes a combination of content marketing, SEO and thought leadership. Times are changing, and there are some things you should take into consideration when you’re making decisions about your startup’s PR.

Is Podcasting the Hot New Media Trend?

Podcasting was cool when I started blogging four years ago, but as social media became fashionable, Facebook and Twitter made podcasting look a tad obsolescent and dowdy. So why is podcasting having a resurrection? It is due to two key factors.

Don’t Confuse Buying and Selling!

Buyers and sellers are different sides of the same coin. Without each other, it is difficult to achieve our goals. Effective buying and selling has to be aligned to a common goal—driven by the customer. But we can’t confuse our roles.

Are You Leveraging Your Brand Advocates?

Every organization, from small businesses to nonprofits, has brand advocates. They are the people who toot your horn, recommend your products, services, or mission, and share their passion with many others.

7 Ways Your Small Business Can Improve Its Social Media Marketing

If your small business is conducting social media marketing, it is among the 80 percent of U.S. small businesses that do. But did you know that more than half of small businesses (54 percent) say their greatest need for help is with social media marketing?

How to Make Google+ Your Favorite Social Network

If you’re in business, Google+ is rapidly developing as the premiere network. But if you aren’t using Google+, or aren’t logging in regularly, the social network may seem a bit intimidating.

Selling With Free Trials and Product Demos

One of the most popular ways to turn a prospect into a customer is offering a product demo or a limited-time free trial. What makes them such great ways to market your product or service to potential clients is that it lets them really interact with what you’re selling and experience first-hand what they would be getting. But which options are right for you?

Take Customers by the Hand with a Call to Action

Few businesses realize the importance of a strong call to action. In addition to a compelling marketing plan, you must take customers by the hand and lead them to action. What is a call to action? The call to action, simply, is telling people what to do to obtain your product or service. It’s a clear instruction of what steps to take, leaving no ambiguity about where to go.

Maximize Your Giving by Avoiding Takers

The difference between givers who climb the success ladder and those who struggle comes in who they do their giving to. The most successful givers are strategic when they give: they will give generously to fellow givers as well as to takers, but they will be very cautious about giving to takers.

Hiring the Right Public Relations Firm

Hiring a public relations firm can be a huge boost to your marketing strategy, freeing you to focus on your business while putting professionals to work at keeping you and your business in the public view. But setting out to hire a PR firm can be a daunting task. Where do you even begin, with the many different firms to choose from?

Top Articles in This Category

Stay up to date with