As a business trying to evaluate and make the most of your public relations and marketing efforts, you can increase your exposure my making sure your marketing materials and information have a longer shelf life.
How?
By creating public relations that can be passed on and have the potential to reach more than one potential customer with each piece.
Here are some suggestions for creating marketing materials that can travel:
When putting together your package of marketing and public relations information and materials, think beyond the ordinary "per piece" mentality. A newspaper ad may reach one or two people per issue, but an e-mail newsletter, pamphlet or magazine can have an even wider span of influence.
Creating materials that can be used, kept and passed on greatly expands the effectiveness of your efforts. This is the thinking behind classic advertising items such as pens, key chains, folders, business cards, and brochures. The idea is that for the initial expense of producing the materials, you have the opportunity to reach more than one individual per item.
With the age of the internet upon us, there are relatively inexpensive ways to create marketing pieces that can be passed on. E-mails are one such mass method of distribution. A special advertisement, article or newsletter sent to an e-mail address can then be easily forwarded to several others--creating a domino effect and spreading your message beyond the initial contact list. The trick is to create marketing that inspires distribution and successfully encourages individuals to "share the news."
Your company website is a great tool for creating "pass it on" marketing. By making coupons, printable articles, fact sheets, and activities available on your site (quizzes and checklists are also good items that encourage sharing) and encouraging visitors to access, print, e-mail, and share, you're prompting them to pass it on.
A classic technique is to use the "do you have a friend who'd like to receive our materials?" question to your existing customer and contact database. But, you can also provide information and materials with the urge to "please share this with a friend who might be interested" message.
You can greatly expand your marketing outreach by thinking of ways to generate multiple-use and multiple-contact advertising and public relations pieces--whether through traditional (print) or internet marketing. Brainstorm around how to increase shelf-life and reach as many individuals as possible without actually creating additional materials and let creativity be your guide.
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