Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

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Headlines 101: 15 Tips for Attracting Blog Readers, Tweeters by @JeniseFryatt

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Crafting your headline may be the most important thing you do when writing a blog post.  It’s the doorway through which your readers will enter. To make them feel  welcome, interested and sure they are entering the right place, your headline needs to  be clear and enticing. This also applies to tweets. If you want people to click on your link, you need to first ask:

* What is this story about?
* Who will find it most interesting?
* What will grab their interest best?

In one sentence you need to tell the entire story in a way that invites them in. Here are some tips that will help:

1 -Write the Headline First
This usually ensures that your article is exactly what your headline says it is. As you write, the headline will also help you to keep in mind what you are using to entice them.

2 – Use an Active Verb
“Man Bites Dog” is so much more powerful than “Dog is Bitten By Man.” Don’t be passive.

3 – Appeal to Their Self Interest
“Experts Share Strategies for Saving $$ on Event Production” – Who doesn’t want to save money?

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Posted in Branding, Business Development, Contributing Bloggers, Jenise Fryatt, Social Media/Technology | 2 Comments »

Finding Your Friend Philosophy

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

You wake up and log into Facebook. Staring back at you is a friend request. You don’t recognize the face, but the name looks a little familiar. You click on the person’s name to discover you have a few mutual contacts – he must be a colleague of one of your professional contacts. What do you do?

The more our lives become integrated with social media, the harder it is to find the line between our personal and professional lives and I’ve found that we all have our personal ways of dealing with this battle. As I speak to more and more people, I realize that everyone does it differently. Some keep Facebook personal and Twitter professional. Others (like me) allow personal-professional contacts on Facebook (People I’ve met professionally and formed a relationship with) and then group them together so I can edit their privacy settings together.

How do you handle this? What do you do to keep the lines separate or do you simply blend the lines and learn to live a more transparent life?

Photo by StuSeeger

Posted in Branding, Social Media/Technology | 2 Comments »

The Thing Is – Customer Service

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

I’m sitting here in LAX ready to head home to NY after a long week in LA. It has been such a blissful week – full of fun, exploring and even some work. We did a bit of traveling around the LA/Anaheim area and there is one thing I found. I didn’t even know I was trying to find it, but it’s the same thing YOU were looking for. The key to every good and lasting business – good customer service. 

They say Disney is the happiest place on earth, in large part because of their customer service. But it wasn’t just Disneyland employees who went out of their way to offer friendly conversations and more help than we knew to ask for. Nearly everyone we met went above and beyond for us and it was so truly noticeable. I kept remarking to Ed about how wonderful all the people were and that’s when I realized how important service really is. I’ve talked about it before, but it’s been rare for me to experience it so consistently, especially being from New York. 

The next time you’re interacting with a client (or, anyone, as a matter of fact) slow down and assess how you can help. What can you do to go above and beyond? What can you do to make an impression that will last? What has been your best customer service experience?

Posted in Branding, Business Development | 3 Comments »

Branding Lessons for Event Businesses From Starbucks

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

As I write this blog, I’m sitting in my favorite work spot – Starbucks. After spending a few hours doing some work, I finally took a moment to look around.

For as much as I come here, there are a few things I’ve never noticed before. The little chalkboard has a colorful Valentine’s Day message. Though it’s handwritten, the handwriting is impeccable.

Then I notice there’s another little chalkboard with the same writing in the same color near the register. How many stores have I been in with dirty, messy chalkboards? It’s a small difference, but an important one.

Gift baskets are put together – red and pink and ready to grab. Everything behind the counter is well organized and ready-to-go as well. The atmosphere in here is predictable – people working, old friends meeting, nice music.

For most event businesses, we don’t have a store front, but there are some important takeaways for us too. The storefront is replaced by emails, proposals, phone interactions with clients. What vibe do our clients get from us? How predictable are we? What details have we noted that others forget?

Read More from Liz King at Icon Presentations

(Photo by Dimitri N)

Posted in Branding, Business Development, Event Professionals | 5 Comments »

Blogging as a Tool to Branding

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

One of the most powerful ways to brand your company and establish yourself as a credible resource on a topic is to blog. However, we are all too familiar with the work and effort it takes to maintain a blog. Over the past year, I’ve gone through seasons where I can’t imagine where my next post is going to come from and that’s a scary place to be. Being in that place too many times has really helped me to think better about how I can keep quality content that doesn’t feel like I’m pulling teeth.

Educate Yourself
If you aren’t educating yourself on a regular basis, what would you possibly have to write about? Read industry books, articles and blogs. Attend workshops, industry associations and networking events. Meet people. Explore. Learn. The more you learn, the more information you’ll have to share!

Read More from Liz King at Icon Presentations

Posted in Branding | 4 Comments »

Evaluate Your Brand

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

I’ve had the chance to write many blogs about how you can put together a good brand and market it to the masses, but today I’d like to focus on some tools you can use to test that brand and see if you are having the impact you’d like to have. If the results in these tests don’t come back as you are hoping, don’t be disappointed. Use the knowledge to empower you to make changes that will propel you to the next level.

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Posted in Branding | No Comments »

Guest Blogging on “A New Perspective on Marketing”

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Spend thousands of dollars on advertisements for the Superbowl or don’t market at all. Does that sound a bit extreme? Well, I’m an extreme kinda gal…

I was recently at the Perfect Business Summit in Las Vegas, NV – a conference designed to provide resources and inspiration to entrepreneurs and I heard a talk by Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com. Many of you probably know that he is extremely talented and has revolutionized customer service, but do you know just how revolutionary he really is? In his talk, he suggested that corporations do just what I mentioned – shift some or all of your advertising dollars into an investment in your clients. Once you make your existing clients happy, there’s very little need to market your business after all.

Here are some other ways that you can “market” without spending a dime or drafting an ad!

Care About Your Clients
Sounds simple, but a note to say hello or a thank you letter for a purchase goes a long way. I know you’re busy, but oversimplifying the Thank You process can be detrimental to your business. Don’t send cards printed by your assistant with a stamp of your signature on the bottom. Take the time to care about your clients.

Read More at InPlymouth.Com

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Posted in Branding | No Comments »

The Excuses That No Longer Work For Social Media

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

Social media is the trend that isn’t going away. In fact, I think it is changing the world and the way we communicate. Similar to the impact email has had, I think social media is going in the same direction. However, there are still so many excuses from people who have yet to understand social media. Instead of admitting that they just don’t get it, they come up with excuses that make it seem like they aren’t in need of social media. I’ve heard so many of these statements in the recent weeks, that I felt it was time to make a list of all the excuses that simply don’t hold water anymore. 

Posted in Branding, Social Media/Technology | 1 Comment »

Guest Blogger Paul Cook on “Connecting Virtually”

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Recently in my many travels to colleges and universities I have discovered that many students are using Facebook, but when it comes to Linked In and Twitter very few actually have a presence. That really needs to be put right so that you don’t miss out on all the opportunities that being connected virtually can bring.

Why You Need an Online Presence
If you are a student that is connected across all three channels that is great as you will already be creating some differentiation for yourself. You will have an edge on your class mates.

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Posted in Branding, Social Media/Technology | No Comments »

How Vendors Can Work with #Eventprofs

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

I am contacted by many vendors on a daily basis who are interested in introducing me to their products and services. However, many of them are going about it all the wrong way. I’m not one to relish in other’s tribulations so I thought it was time for a blog to help explain my way of looking at things. There are a few things that vendors can do to help create better relationships and close the deal with their target clients. Of course, as you read, you will realize that these tips can be applied to any business relationship. 

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Posted in Branding, Event Professionals | 1 Comment »

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