Telain Ware – President/CEO, Marketing Consultants of Atlanta, Inc.

I recently spoke to a group of professionals who are in the planning stages of launching new ventures. It was immediately clear the “M” word marketing struck fear in some, while others were totally convinced that placing flyers on cars and passing out business cards is a strategic approach to marketing. It can all be very overwhelming for start ups and small organizations. Even those with a good understanding of how to proceed find the time commitment and follow up all consuming.

Some nonprofits and small businesses have modest marketing departments that may include a single individual wearing far too many hats. Responsibilities could range from internal communications, event promotions and writing web content to media outreach, creating marketing materials and improving website ranking.

Tip #1: If your organization does not have a person fully dedicated to optimizing code and content on your website, then outsourcing may be the answer. An expert company, totally focused in this area, will keep you on the forefront of constantly emerging search developments and SEO. You can certainly educate yourself and dive into selecting keywords but bad experimentations can result in your site being filtered or banned from search engines.

One of the questions that came up was…What’s wrong with just jumping into social networking and just going for it? You can always throw caution to the wind and run full steam ahead. The question to ask yourself is…Can I afford to run down the wrong road?

Tip #2: A social networking strategy is invaluable. Strategize and plan around the following items:

Strategic Plan (You must target your specific audience, provide relevant info and interaction opportunities)

  • Budget (Ads and promotions)
  • Calendar (Dates, topics, offers)
  • Process & Procedures (Internal and External Vendors)
  • Review & Revise

What about sending out a Press Release? Of course my first, second and third tip would be to use a PR expert. If your current budget does not allow for outsourcing this function, do not miss out on publishing your news to the world. Use one of the free sites for distributing press releases online.

Tip #3: The best comprehensive free PR list I’ve ever seen appears on the following BLOG: http://socialrealist.com/digital-pr/big-list-of-free-press-release-distribution-sites/.

Hope these tips help!