Make Your Booth Stand Out at a Trade Show

I was recently asked to add a tip for an a blog on trade shows. The article offers some great advice on ways to really stand out and catch attention when you are competing against so many others for the conference attendees' time. I thought you might find these tips useful. My tip is #47: "Woo the Senses". Enjoy!

Should Video Be Part of Your Firm's Marketing Efforts?

The marketing channels available to you to market your firm continue to expand. From blogs to social media websites to e-marketing to old fashioned direct mail or television ads, you have many options. Video offers a flexible option to reach and educate prospective clients. While you can spend a large portion of your budget on professional videos, they are not always necessary. A January 2010 Nielsen survey showed that YouTube had over 100 million visitors who viewed over 6 billion videos. Google Places (formerly Google Local Business Center) links YouTube video to your Google listing so that web visitors can learn more about you through video.

But isn’t video pricey? I’ll give you my favorite answer: “It depends.” Done properly, video can position you and your firm as the subject matter expert in the eyes of the viewer. Done poorly, you can position yourself as untrustworthy just by not having fine attention to detail. Proper planning, knowledge and doing it right the first time will help your return on investment. As an example, if you are an estate planning/elder law firm in a highly competitive market and are looking to be noticed, you might choose to professionally produce an educational video in a news program format. This video could also be made available to interested groups, giving them permission to run the program at a group meeting or event. On the other hand, many subjects lend themselves to a less formal video format. You might choose to create a short video (1-4 minutes) in your office with home equipment on a tripod that presents one of your attorneys offering “need to know” points on workers’ compensation in your state. Any video could be posted on YouTube (make sure to include appropriate keywords) and on the appropriate practice area page on your website. It should also be promoted through your other marketing channels.

Who’s using video? Many businesses and organizations are utilizing video to promote their messages. YouTube is a favorite place to post these videos. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has posted a number of boating safety videos on YouTube and promotes these videos on their website. The National Transportation Safety Board has also used YouTube to post informative video clips on such topics as how to choose a motorcycle helmet. That particular video was used as an integrated part of the May 2010 Share the Road motorcycle safety campaign. The campaign included a press kit with free photos, resources and links that supporting organizations could use on their own websites at no charge. And don’t forget—you may want to have your video set up in a loop on a screen in your waiting area for visitors to watch.

CNN’s Twitter posts recently showed that for the first time ever more viewers get their news online than from radio or newspapers . As peoples’ use of online media continues to increase, providing information in a video format will become even more commonplace. If your firm has not yet considered how video will play into your marketing mix, it’s time to do so.

When you’re ready to add video to the mix, here are some things you need to know:

• Videos must be educational – consumers can spot a sales pitch a mile away. View some sample videos done for law firms.
• The style, message and “look” of your video should support your brand
• Determine your audience before you begin – audience should determine the presentation style, language and the content
• Choose your presenter with your audience in mind – you want to find a good “match”, so that the viewer feels a comfort level with the presenter but still views your presenter as the subject matter expert
• The length is not as important as content – when you watch the video, does it provide value to the audience? Keep in mind though, attention spans tend to be short, so lead with the important information.
• Choose one topic for each video (or segment of a show) and provide a mid-range of data – you want to educate and add value but not so much that the viewer feels they don’t need you!
• Make the video part of a multi-step marketing plan – if you do a monthly e-newsletter, add a link to the video and promote it; if you print your newsletter, provide the URL so interested viewers can watch it. Promote the video on your blog. And make it easy for readers to forward the link to their friends!
• There are options to promote your video via paid advertising. The effectiveness will depend upon your market and the subject matter. You may wish to try a short test to see if it is effective.
• Consider also using a dedicated phone number or website landing page to track business coming from the video.

Using video to market your company can be a great option to reach and educate potential new clients and to position yourself and your firm as the experts. It should be a part of your firm’s long-term marketing strategy.

Jeanne Frazer is a well-known marketing speaker and author. She is the President of vitalink® (http://www.vitalinkweb.com/), a creative and strategic marketing think-tank, and partner with Lawyers Marketing Agency (http://www.lawyersmarketingagency.com/). Jeanne has many years of marketing experience marketing in a variety of industries and has just launched a new innovative educational television news program to market law firms, Spotlight on the Law. She can be reached at jfrazer@marketingspeakerauthor.com or at 919.850.0605.

How Sneakers Lead to Free Publicity

Did you know that September 17, 2010 is annual Sneakers at Work day? Seriously! I hadn’t heard of it either, but after doing some research I discovered that this “event” really does exist. Sneakers@Work is a fund-raiser sponsored by the American Prostate Cancer Initiative that runs each year during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

And why am I telling you this? Because there are tons of events that are recognized each year on a national basis that you can use as a tie-in to promote your company. Some of these events are charity-focused, while others promote an interest or lifestyle. The type of business you run and the interests of you and your staff will help you decide which events to support. As an example:

Your Business Type/Options:
If you are an Injury Law Firm, search for National Safety Awareness (June)
If you are a Garden Center, search Perennial Gardening Month (June)
If you are a Conservation Group, search National Rivers Month (June)
If you are an Optometrist, search Eye Injury Prevention Month (July)
If you are a Flag Center, search Flag Day (June)

Let’s use National Safety Awareness Month and our PI Attorneys as an example and come up with a plan:

• Get new content ready ahead of time to post on your website. Include links to any sites (include useful videos) you find valuable.
• Write and publish (downloadable PDF or printed versions) safety tips – you might have a couple of versions: one for parents with small children; one for parents with new teen drivers; and maybe a safety around the home version. Make these available on your website.
• Plan a seminar to talk about safety or set up a booth at an existing event. Give out copies of your tips.
• Involve your employees by allowing them to “buy” a casual Friday dress down day for a contribution to a local burn center or similar.

Finally, you’ll want to make sure to let everyone know what your firm and employees are doing to support the event—put out a press release and add it to the news section of your website. And don’t forget to talk it up to everyone you meet! Make it fun and meaningful to all who participate. If all goes well, it can become an annual event that can generate buzz about your business!

Recharge Your Passion

Many business professionals and entrepreneurs get so busy with the day-to-day details of running their businesses that they don’t recognize the drain this constant running can cause both personally (i.e., on their health) and to the business. I am guilty of doing the same thing!

It’s important to step back and ask yourself a few questions:
1. Have I looked at the long term goals of the business lately?
2. Generated any new ideas?
3. Is my passion for my work at least as high as it was when I joined or started the firm?
4. Are business-related tasks or stress keeping me from sleeping, making time to exercise, eating right, or otherwise taking care of my health?

Sometimes it’s better for you AND your business to take that vacation! A real vacation (not one where you are working in your hotel room overlooking the beach!) can open your eyes to new ideas and recharge the passion you had for your work.

I just returned from a trip to the Cotswolds in England and must say that I AM recharged and ready to go! Looking at things from a wider perspective and taking time away from the office does matter—I returned to the office today ready to take on the world!

So get out there and plan a real vacation—it can recharge your passion for your job and for life.

Google Tips #3: Google Places (Bing and Yahoo, Too)

There are so many online tools that sometimes it’s hard to know where to add your business. One step you DO want to take is to add your business information to the three primary search sites’ business directories. These are:

• Google Places (formerly Local Business Center)
• Yahoo! Local Listings
• Bing Local Listing Center

Adding your business information in these sites allows you to not only add your business name, address and phone number(s), but also to include your website, a description of your business, and business classifications/keywords to make it easier for web searchers to find you. The "maps" features are also driven off data in the local business directories.

All three sites work in a similar fashion, but let’s use Google as an example. Let’s say your business is an Italian Restaurant in Huntersville, NC. When I search Google using this terminology, the first listings that appear on the page show “Local Business results for Italian restaurants near Huntersville NC”, complete with a map for the first several listings.

Note that you are limited to the number of classifications you use, so you must choose wisely. Your competition will likely be there, too. These local directories sometimes offer related features you can find useful. As an example, Google allows you to post status messages with your listing, so you might post a message about an Italian festival your restaurant is hosting. Google also offers online coupons you can link to your account for web visitors to download.

So, go check it out! Two cautions for you: (1) all three require validation of the listing before it appears, which can take a couple of weeks; and (2) keep a list of all the places you have added information, including your user ID’s and passwords (sorry, they can’t always be the same!) so it will be easier to make changes at a later date, if needed. Good luck!

Google Tips #2: Alerts

Among the tools that Google offers its users are Google Alerts. The Alerts feature allows you to set up one or more automated content "searches" for specific words or phrases. You choose the frequency (as it happens, daily or weekly) and emails will be generated when your alert is triggered. You can set up the search to just cover one type of update or all updates.

Why use Google Alerts? You can use it to monitor a specific news story or topic, your company or even yourself! The tool is designed to pick up changes/additions to website content, blogs, news stories, etc. Do note that this feature is still in beta at this time, so it's possible you'll see some unexpected results.

To set up an alert:

• Go to http://www.google.com/alerts.
• Enter the search terms following these rules:
  a. Use quotes for a specific phrase, for example, “jeanne frazer”
  b. Separate words or phrases with spaces
  c. Use plus and minus signs to include or exclude words, +vitalink –cable
• Choose the alert type and frequency
• Enter email address to receive the email. NOTE: the user does NOT need to have a Google account to create alerts. You DO have to have an account if you want to manage your alerts OR if you don’t want to have to verify each alert via email. If you DO have an account, you can set the alert up to go into an RSS feed instead of email.

It's that easy! Do note that if the keywords used are common, you may need to edit the alert and add more keywords (or negative keywords) later. As an example, I have several alerts and had to edit my vitalink alert a number of times when I found several other companies and products using this name.

Google Profile Tips

Google offers a profile feature to make it easier for folks to find you on the Web. Here’s how:

Go to www.google.com/profiles and click on Create My Profile. Login using your current Google user login info. If you don’t have a Google login, create one by clicking on Create an Account Now on the right side of the page.

There are three tabs to complete: About Me – Photos – Contact Information. You can enter as much or as little information as you want. You also have the option of controlling how much information others can see within your profile. You might include your current and past company information, education and places you've lived. Include a photo if you choose.

Add a short bio about yourself in the personality section, then add links to the site. You can also add custom links, including any blogs you have, your Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter information, etc.

One of the most important things you can do is add a customized profile URL. If you’re using this to promote your own business, you might include specifics about the work you do. The name must be 6-30 characters and use letters, numbers or periods. As an example:
http://www.google.com/profiles/marketingspeakerauthor

You can add photos to your Profile using Picasa, Flickr, or another photo service. You may also include contact information if you want. You can input only business numbers or you can limit who sees your info.

It's that simple! Once you are finished, publish your profile and Google yourself!!