Speaking to Groups - Tip #1

You may at some point in marketing your small business join a group that will allow you to get up in-front of tens if not hundreds of people to promote your business.  Over the next week, I'll be laying out some tips that will make you a better presenter, and hopefully help you see a return on your speaking investment.

Tip # 1.     Keep It Short & Sweet

You are given only a limited amount of time to speak for many reasons. The most important to you is your audience’s attention span.  You’ve probably got an arrangement where a good portion of the room has their back partially or totally turned toward you.  They’ve also just eaten, and are probably wondering if they can find a way to squeeze in a nap, or get in a little digital prayer (texting).  Keeping your presentation brief, to the point, and impactful will go a long way in being understood and remembered.  And that should be one of your main goals in speaking in front of groups, increasing brand awareness so that your audience thinks of you when the need arises.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Adding Video to Your Linkedin Profile

Linkedin has recently made it easier for you to add video to your Linkedin profile.  Check out this article which explains the process.

You can check out my profile and video here.

You can also add video to your companies product and service listings on Linkedin.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

BUMP - Do We Need This Kind of Social Interraction?

I'm not usually one to criticize others ideas and inventions, but is this the type of social interaction that we need.  I'd love to hear others comments and opinions.



For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Can Video Help Your Retail Business?

Curious if video can help your retail business?

Check out this recent article from emarketer.com.

How Retailers Can Make Video Efforts More Effective


For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Tastless TV Ads - How To Lose Your Market

I don't normally make a point of critiquing the work of others, but during yesterday's Super Bowl one ad stuck out that really rubbed me the wrong way.  The spot involved Timothy Hutton downplaying the plight of the people of Tibet in order to plug Groupon, an online coupon company that has been getting a local following.

You can watch the ad here:
 
 
And when I looked for more details about this blatant marketing misstep I came across the fact that the Super Bowl ad was actually one of three produced with similar themes. One mocking the distinction of whales, and another comparing Brazilian Rain Forest Deforestation to bikini waxing.

Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason doesn't seem to get the tastelessness in his blog response.

"Since we grew out of a collective action and philanthropy site (ThePoint.com) and ended up selling coupons, we loved the idea of poking fun at ourselves by talking about discounts as a noble cause," he wrote on the company's blog.

At SaveTheMoney.org, Groupon is fundraising for Rainforest Action Network, buildOn, and the Tibet Fund and plans to match up to $100,000 in donations to each charity. It's also soliciting contributions to Greenpeace.

But nowhere in the spots was there any information about these charities, or how someone might donate.

I truly find it hard to believe that these spots starring Hollywood Celebrities, and directed by Christopher Guest, made it past everyone's best judgment and onto such a national stage.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Getting the Most Out of a Networking Group

If you've been looking for a way to boost the effectiveness of your online marketing and social media efforts you should really look at joining a local networking group.  If you are not familiar with what a networking, leads, or referral group is; it's a group that usually meets weekly to build relationships with other business people and to pass leads and referrals.  These types of groups come in all shapes and sizes from corporate run groups to chamber of commerce groups to free coffee clubs.  Whether you are new to this type of marketing or have been going for years, the following tips should make your experience much more enjoyable and profitable.

1. Build Relationships First - Your first goal in joining a networking group shouldn't be to gain new business.  If you join the group with the only intention of finding a new stream of potential customers, you are missing the point.  Just like you shouldn't engage in social media just to spam others with your latest offers (another topic by itself), you shouldn't join a networking group just to snatch up business cards to add to the pile (yet another topic for another post).  By focussing on building relationships, you ensure that you are not only a trusted member of the group, you prepare yourself to do a better job with step 2.

2. Give First, Then Get - Once you've got a good feeling for who the members of your networking group are, what makes them different from others in their field, and what would make a good referral for them it's time to start actively looking for ways to get them some business.  First look within your immediate group of family and customers for opportunity to generate some business for the members of your group.  After a few successful referrals to others, you can start to look to generate referrals for the members of your group no matter where you are.  As the other members of the group start to receive referrals from you, they will start to pass them back in return.  

3. Be Ready to Refer - It's always a good idea to have a few cards from each of the members in the group with you at all times.  You never know when you might have the opportunity to pass along their card to a prospective customer.  This can also be a good way to get your card in the hands of others, as they see you as a connector, and someone beneficial to be connected with.

4. Give & Get Quality Referrals - Passing unqualified referrals, and not following up on the referrals given to you, are guaranteed ways to lose the trust of others.  If you pass a referral to another member of your group, make sure to give them as much information about the referral as possible.  Also, make sure that the person whose referral you are giving is expecting this person to contact them.  The last thing you want is a member of your group calling on the referral and having the person they are calling on be upset or caught off guard that they are calling.

Joining a referral group can be a great way to connect with people in person to strengthen relationships built online, or to create new social networks.  Just make sure to be social and respectful of the other members, and you might just have 20-30 other people selling your services for you.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

LinkedIn Now Has Company Pages

LinkedIn now has company pages similar to Facebook fan pages.



If you haven’t yet created your LinkedIn company page just click on companies in the top bar, and then just click Add Company.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Where Are Social Media Marketers Seeing the Most Success?

According to eMarketer a majority of the companies surveyed are using Facebook, but Twitter usage is also on the rise.

Check out the full article here.

Where Are Social Media Marketers Seeing the Most Success? - eMarketer

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Blog Gets New Name - Clearer Focus

As part of my 2011 New Years Resolutions for Pardiman Productions I wanted to be more consistent in my efforts to make this blog useful and engaging for customers.

Having been fairly consistent with posting in January I wanted to start off February with refocusing and re-branding the blog.

For some time now the focus of the blog has been to offer any tips I can on marketing video, social media, and networking.  "Promotional Media News" was too vague and old fashioned of a title.  (And it really did help in the whole SEO game.)  So...Welcome to "Pardiman Small Business Marketing Tips"

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.