You Are Finally Invited to the Party:

The Future of Marketing Your Business

By Coach Grape of TallahasseeGrapevine.com

 Traditionally, there were 3 ways to market your business.

1.      Call to Action: Offering Coupons, Incentives and Deadlines.

2.      Branding: Getting your name into their heads so it is the first thing they think of when a need arises.

3.      Word Of Mouth: Networking, referrals.

There has always been a 4^th way but it was not as accessible as the first three. It is called “Content Marketing” and with the internet, blogs and social media it is not a “Good Ol' Boys” club anymore.

Everyone has heard of Bob Vila, Dr. Phil, Ann Landers, Dave Ramsey, or Dr. Oz.  They are famous. They are perceived as experts in their fields. Why? Are they more knowledgeable than any other person in the same industry? Not necessarily. Then why are they considered the authority? It is because they wrote a book. They contribute articles to magazines and newspapers. Then they get invited to be on radio and television talk shows. Dr. Phil is not a better psychologist than the one at the local hospital, he is just “perceived” that way because of his notoriety. Now he gets paid a lot of money as the “leading expert.”

“But I can write articles about my area of expertise.” Yes, you can. But in the past, you were not invited to the party. You had viable way to publish them. Now, with the internet, everybody can get in. Now the question isn't can you, but will you? 

Dan S. Kennedy is an expert sales and marketing consultant who speaks alongside Zig Ziglar throughout the world.  Why is Kennedy the “expert”? For one, he has written books on the subject. Starting to get my point?

Kennedy calls this “Positioning, Not Prospecting.” You work yourself into the position of the authority on the subject and you will not have to continue prospecting for clients. When you go out on cold calls or networking, you are perceived as “just another salesman” and the potential client's guard goes up.  What you want to do, as Dan wrote is to “position yourself in client's minds as the trustworthy, respected and celebrated expert so that they seek you.”

He goes on to tell you to write an article every chance you get. Be the speaker at every event you have the chance to speak at.  But that is the tricky part – not too many business owners have been given the green light to write for the local newspaper or magazines.  Some have tried to write a blog but it ends up on their own company website with zero traffic, or out in the “blogosphere” with 133 Million other blogs from around the world.  And if you do get the chance to speak or write or appear on the radio, it is normally a onetime shot – hardly enough to be considered the local expert. What you need is a high-traffic forum and to consistently produce articles for the local readers.

Face it, your customers are in Tallahassee. More than likely, they are not in the same industry as you. (Ahem, attention blogging realtors that only post on sites that cater to realtors.)  So when you write that blog every once in a blue moon on Wordpress, the only one that reads it is you… and your mom.  Nobody in Montreal cares what a plumber in Tallahassee has to say.  It doesn't matter if you have a fan in Omaha, when they get a leak they will not call you to come fix it.

Content marketing has been around for awhile – blogs, newsletters, social media like Facebook. But as we stated blogs go unread. Newsletters are valuable and keep you in touch with current clients. Utilizing Facebook is also important because it opens up an open conversation with your audience.  A billboard is considered a 1-way communication – you talking AT your potential customer. The internet has made it a 2-way communication where you can engage your potential customer and have them answer back.

Content marketing is much more effective and affordable than traditional forms of advertising.  Plus, the public is getting more and more savvy of the blatant sales pitches they are bombarded with every day. They have learned to tune them out.  Statistics show that the average American sees 3000 to 5000 ads a day and only remembers about 10.   Statistics show that a person has to see your business name about 10 times before they even recall having heard it previously. 

What is Content Marketing?

It is any form of marketing that engages the reader by either educating or entertaining them. Be careful not to make it a sales pitch or they will stop reading or watching. Pretty soon, newspapers and magazines will be obsolete. We will all be carrying around a tablet like the iPad and we will subscribe to feeds and alerts to stay in tune.  As those feeds come in we will decide to read it, save it for later or delete it.  By being known for offering great advice or stories in an easy to read format, you will eventually create a following.

The article, column, advice, etc cannot be a sales pitch. For example, if your blog reads like this:

“Is your computer running slow? Give me a call and I will come to YOU to fix it like new! All repairs are only $75 each unless parts are needed. If you are interested please call Joe at (850) 555-5656. All repairs guaranteed.”

… Then it is not an article. It is a classified ad and should be up on Craigslist.  No one will read past the first line and no one will call. 

Another mistake people make is to try to cram all their knowledge into one article. It becomes a convoluted mess and people tend to stop reading.  You can't become the local expert with one article. It has to be consistent, choose a weekday and have it come out the same day each week.  There will be plenty of time for each aspect of your expertise to be addressed – one topic at a time.  Most people can only stay engaged for 3 to 5 short paragraphs. Pictures or videos also help the reader absorb and appreciate the information.

Let's say you are an auto repair shop – you could write an article twice a month on preventative maintenance. You are the expert on your local area's climate and driving habits.  In the spring, you could write about getting your vehicle ready for the hot months. You could even post photos or videos about how to change an air filter.  The title is “Getting Your Auto Ready For Tallahassee's Humidity” by Joe Murphy of Murphy's Auto Repair. The text is short, concise and on a layperson's level. NO INDUSTRY JARGON! There is no sales pitch at all in the article. At the end of the article in italics it says “Joe Murphy has 25 years experience as an ASE Certified mechanic. He owns Murphy's Auto Repair on Tharpe Street in Tallahassee. He has 3 kids, a lovely wife and enjoys FSU Football.”

That's it. And next week, he does it again.  Soon, the readers will know his name. Soon after, they will grow to trust him and appreciate his advice. They could also leave comments and questions under the article that he can respond to. When something big happens to their car, they will consider bringing it to Murphy's.  Or perhaps they don't want to get dirty following his instructions, they would rather just let Joe do it for them.  Might as well let him do it, he is the expert, after all.

Content marketing is affordable – everyone knows someone that is a pretty good writer. Whether it is yourself, staff or a family member. Everyone knows someone that is web savvy and can lay out the article with photos, graphics or even video.  Yet, businesses still throw their money at fleeting newspaper ads, ignored billboards or radio ads that people tune out or change the station before they air. They continue this just because they feel that is what they are “supposed to be doing.”

Why isn't everybody doing this?

There are 3 reasons why businesses are not utilizing Content Marketing.

1.      They are not educated on “content marketing” – So now you have no excuse.

2.      They are too lazy or they procrastinate – How about instead of complaining about the economy or watching reality television, you set aside some time to write? You could even knock out the next 6 weeks' articles in one swoop if you were so inclined. Just mark your calendar to remind you to copy and paste them.  Also, keep in mind the date you plan on posting each one. You would not post an article on winterizing your car in June.

3.      They feel like there is no valid place for them to be read locally.  They can't write for the newspaper or local magazines. They could post it on their own site or Wordpress, but who would come read it? They feel it would be a waste of time to write it in vain.

But now businesses have an opportunity.  TallahasseeGrapevine.com is an alternative to traditional media. It is an online magazine where the public is encouraged and allowed to write their own articles with no gatekeeper.  Best of all, it's all local – local readers, local writers, and local content.

Tallahassee is one of the first cities in the world with a website like this.  The traffic to the site has increased substantially each and every month as more people gain awareness and are educated that they can finally have a voice without asking permission to speak. 

To submit an article, all you have to do is create a free name and password. Click on BLOGS on the top of the page and then click on CREATE NEW BLOG. 

There is a space for a “Headline” – make it intriguing yet reveals the topic (so they know what the article is about – a ballerina might not care to open an article about hunting, so naming it “The Dance of the Elk” might be confusing and passed up by a true hunter.)

Under the title is the Tags box. This is where you list all the keywords someone might put into a search engine when looking for the topic you wrote about. ALWAYS put the word “Tallahassee” in the Tags box. You don't care if someone writes to you from Budapest about your article – they are Not Your Customer!

Then in the large box you can copy and paste your blog.  I say copy and paste because you have already taken the time to write it in your word processor and you proofread it and edited it. You made sure it did not ramble and clarified confusing parts. You probably even had your spouse read it, also. You did not just type the entire thing free verse into the blog box, right?

Now that it is perfect, copy and paste it to the blog box. Now go back and do the layout in the box. You can change fonts, sizes and colors of the text. You can even Hyperlink a word or phrase to another site that can go into further depth on that subject. You can upload photos or how-to graphics right to the spot where your cursor is blinking. You can even easily stream video from YouTube right to your article (try doing that with a traditional newspaper.)

It's Posted, Now What?

Now you start working on next week's article. 

People will come across your article either by browsing the site or searching through Google.

Seriously, this is YOUR magazine. You have to take ownership of it. You have to be consistent for it to be beneficial. 

-         The author, Tony Miller, launched the Tallahassee Grapevine in June 2010 as an alternative to traditional local media where most businesses, organizations and citizens are “shut out of the conversation.” 

He says, “If people truly believe they have something to say and they had the initiative to write a good article then they have every right to be published. People are so used to having to ask for permission to have a voice they don't bother speaking at all.  Our mission is to not only give everyone an outlet to speak, but localize it so they can share it with their immediate community.”

Tony took the site from no visitors in June 2010 to over 45,000 page views in January 2011. Each month sees a 30% growth from the previous month. There are over 4300 eZine Subscribers. Local organizations and businesses currently sponsoring or affiliated with the Grapevine include: AAA Auto Club, Lemoyne Arts, TCC, Tallahassee Museum, Animal Shelter Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, March of Dimes, Shula's 347 Grill, The Crepevine, Benson's Heating & Air, Jim Bennett's Plumbing, Rita's Ice, Ollie Wallies Fun Center, Boot Camps Fitness, Farm Bureau Insurance, Hope to Haiti, Springtime Tallahassee, Teen Challenge, Bagelheads, Orsillo Vision Care and Many More!

Want more exposure for your articles? Find out about applying to sponsor the site. Although the site is free to the public, it still has expenses to be able to bring this service to Tallahassee.  Remember, not only is the Grapevine helping position your business, it is giving a voice to many non-profits and otherwise silenced members of our community – such as high school sports teams: soccer, swimming, wrestling and most girls' sports do not get the publicity they deserve although they work so hard.  Call Tony Miller at (850) 445-6592 for a free consultation today.

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