Henry Stimpson’s PR and Marketing Tips
December 2005

Marketing Communications Resolutions for 2006

Communicate regularly. Painfully obvious? Maybe—but most organizations don’t. They’re sporadic, and during lulls guess who’s getting attention and mindshare from your market? Your competition. Today, there are more ways to communicate with your audience than ever, from traditional print materials to electronic media. No excuse not to use the arsenal regularly.

Get published. Every business, from solo consultants to Fortune 500 companies, has many opportunities to publish bylined articles that highlight its leaders as thoughtleaders. Trade publications are the biggest outlet for articles, but newspapers and Web sites look for contributed articles too. No time to write? Use a ghostwriter.

Boost your Web presence by using an electronic news distribution service regularly. News-release-distribution services like PR Newswire, Business Wire and MarketWire (my favorite) give your releases terrific distribution to news-oriented Web sites, from biggies like Yahoo! to specialized industry sites. Tip: never use the national circuit, an expensive waste of money. A city or state circuit gives you just as much exposure, at a fraction of the price. None of these services is sufficient alone. You should also maintain an up-to-date proprietary media list. But the electronic services are an invaluable supplement.

Establish good relationships with reporters who cover your industry and stay in contact. Reporters are always looking for credible sources—experts who will meet their needs and give them lively quotes.


copyright Stimpson Communications

Henry@StimpsonCommunications.com
508-647-0705


~ If you'd like to add a colleague to our list or if you don't want to receive "Tips" anymore, please reply ~