Marketing Communications. Write Right Tip #3: Who's Whose Who?

by Cathey Tarleton

I remember years ago, when my boss would get those well-crafted direct mail pieces inviting him to join "Who's Who of the American Hotel Industry" for the low low price of only $599. It looked like nonsense, but their hook was good.  Doesn't everyone want to be in the "Who's Who" of their industry? Especially a man who's known by a lot of people whose respect is important to his business.

Respect is important in marketing communications because it builds trust. Blogging, engaging leads with social media, email marketing, even writing letters, are all about building trust as an individual or a brand. When you write right, your content--and thus your brand--looks intelligent, well-designed and otherwise trustworthy.

Today's tip is about the "Who's Who" of writing right. Remember, whenever that gnarly, annoying apostrophe hooks your reader's eye, it had better be in the right place, doing what it's supposed to be doing.

WHO+Apostrophe = Who is. It can be a question or a statement, i.e. "Who's the one who is going to the tweet up with me?" or "She is the one who's bringing coffee to the tweet up."

WHOSE = Belonging to Who. Here we have another crazy-making possessive pronoun that somebody obviously made up after his older brother stuck the apostrophe on "who's" and he had no other choice. "This is the man whose older brother stole our apostrophe." Or "This is the man who's responsible for losing our apostrophe to his older brother."  

Both of them are probably in the Who's Who of ancient grammar.

Regardless of whose fault it is, or whose brother did what to whom (don't get me started on that one), using "who's" and "whose" correctly makes you look like a more intelligent, respected and ultimately trustworthy marketer. So, write right.

Marketing Communications: "Busting the Social Media Marketing Myth"

by Cathey Tarleton

I just "met" Jonathan Fields through social media,Twitter I think. From his bio I'm afraid he's someone I'd love to hate. Not only is he a master fitness guru runing upscale yoga studios, he's a dynamite copywriter, author and a happy dad to boot. 

That, plus I'm really excited about the ever-expanding social media universe, and I love Twitter. I don't want anybody to bust its myth or my bubble. But, be that as it may, what he says in "Busting the Social Media Marketing Myth" is something that rings true.  

Social media, used for sales and marketing, is still sales and marketing. Conversations, relationships, building trust, nurturing a community...why do we do that? To get leads, to drive traffic to websites, to convert visitors to leads and leads to sales.

Integrating social media into a good direct-response program and/or ad campaign is a great way to deploy the best of both worlds.

Check it out:

"More and more small businesses have moved chunks of their services and marketing online in the last few years. Some are blogging, facebooking or straight-up advertising, but a more recent phenomenon is tweeting. Of those businesses tweeting, a smallish handful are starting to realize the revenue-generating power of twitter. But, they are doing so largely by turning twitter into a 2.0 version of direct-response.

And, if you’ve never done list-driven direct response, and done it well, this may open your eyes a bit.

Here’s how really good direct response works. You set up a funnel...

Read the full article here. 

Inbound marketing with a Blog. How to write right.

by Cathey Tarleton

Every business needs a blog now, right? It's key to integrating inbound marketing with your overall marketing strategy, the next rung up the evolution ladder for good old-fashioned Word-of-Mouth. And, whether you're Fortune 500 or fortunate enough to have 500 bucks, if your blog is well-written, remarkable content, it will help your business get found and generate leads.

A few boot-camp basics of "writing right" will help you look more like the expert you already are. And, isn't that why you are blogging in the first place?

You can be a brilliant blogger, a miracle-working e-marketer and a sales superhero, but if you don't write better than a fifth grader, grammar-wise, your content is worth the paper it's printed on.  (That's a joke.)

What difference does it make? Any writer will tell you they use good grammar for ONE reason: to keep the reader reading. 

We do whatever it takes to make a reader/potential customer turn the page, click through, scroll down and read on. We don't want their eye to get caught on a dumb error and screech to a halt...

You know what I'm talking about: the misspelled word, the exclamation point overload, bad comma, missing periods and wrong quotation marks.

"Wait a minute," a flashback from English Class says, "Wait a minute. Isn't that supposed to be...?"

Let us help you be just as impressive and inspiring on the page as you are in person. Hafner Creative Communications presents a series of posts about some of the most common grammatical errors - and how to avoid them.

Look smart online. Sound like you know what you're talking about.  Write right.

Why your small business needs integrated marketing communications.

by Cristine Hafner  

The purpose of integrated marketing communications is to ensure that your message is consistent in the variety of media you use to reach your customers. This includes both online and offline promotions and advertising with the intent to create maximum impact at a lower cost.

Why is integrating your marketing media and tools important today?

• There are so many more choices in the delivery of your message and the form it takes that it makes it more imperative to be consistent.
• Customers have 24/7 access to services and products so you need to include 24/7 marketing tools in your mix.
• Today’s ability to target audiences allows you to maximize your marketing dollars by being selective.
• Global competition has leveled the playing field meaning you are competing with many more vendors with bigger budgets.

How will integrating your marketing communication pieces make a difference in your business? Often small businesses use the newspaper, magazine or radio station they are advertising with to create their ads. Then they have the quick print company put together a brochure or sales sheet for them. Each one develops a different look and message and does something different with the logo, the colors and fonts. The result may cost you fewer dollars but nothing looks related. There is no synergy. So is money really being saved or is an opportunity for branding your company being squandered?

Suppose every day you went to do business in the community wearing your nametag, but you disguised yourself as someone different. One day you had neat black hair, and looked sharp in a brand new outfit. The next day you had curly gray hair down to your shoulders, heavy rimmed outdated glasses and had a very casual outfit. And then the next day, gelled hair looking like a rock star. Would anyone recognize you? Would they associate you with your business if they didn’t read your nametag? I doubt it. If you are consistent with how you present yourself people will recognize you even without reading your nametag. They will automatically know you by how you dress and act.

It’s no different with your advertising and communications pieces. Take a look at all of your marketing materials and do an assessment. Are the quality, message, coloring, imagery, and overall tone consistent? Remember with consistency comes recognition. And with recognition comes trust. And with trust comes sales.

Next look at the media you are using to deliver your message both online and offline. Do you go with the least expensive or do you really look at what media would have the most impact to reach YOUR customer. Do you make decisions based on who knocks on your door instead of following your plan? Do you use print advertising because it’s the only thing you are familiar with? Maybe it’s time to mix it up and try new ways of communicating with your target audience. Integrate your media by trying alternatives to your previous marketing methods. For example a direct mail campaign that is supported by an online landing page with calls-to-action and follow-up emails might produce more results than an on-going print ad in the local newspaper. Or consider a special promotion to encourage your store customers to sign up for online offers using your print ad that directs people to your web site. It’s time to think of ways to use social media to nurture client relationships.

Keeping your marketing communications consistent and the mediums varied becomes easier over time because you are clear about your message and how you present yourself and how to effectively reach your audience. This will save you money and attract many more customers.

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