Red Zone Marketing's Blog

Create a Searchable and Simple Brand Presentation

Without spending any money, firms can create a simple brand presentation and place it where it can be found by prospects. In addition to your website and your online presence, a simple brand presentation is a very viable way to have your services found by qualified prospects online.

To get the most out of a brand presentation, uploading it to a document-sharing website such as SlideShare is a great idea. SlideShare enables viewers to download your presentation, giving the opportunity for many more people to find and see it. And, SlideShare documents often appear at the top of searches for a firm or an individual advisor. So, the next time someone is searching for you on Google, it’s likely they will find your uploaded presentation.

If you’ve ever done a seminar or presentation, you probably have a few PowerPoint slides describing your firm that you could use for your SlideShare presentation. Or you could simply create a company qualifications presentation with of 4 or 5 simple slides. Slides could consist of qualifications of your firm personnel, solutions you offer...

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7 Steps for Releasing Valuable Content through Social Media

Valuable content is the key to getting and keeping people interested in your social media sites. You can put endless amounts of time and effort into creating your social media profiles, but if your content is lacking, so will your following. And, your social media is an extension of your brand so it needs to be representative of who you believe your firm is. Here are 7 steps to prepare for the development of consistent and valuable content:

1. Take 1 hour and go through pre-approved or pre-written content available to you (or have a staff member do this) and create a list of potential topics for inclusion into your social media.

2. From your list, determine priorities based on the timeliness of the topics and the potential interest level of your target markets.

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Your Money Matters - Networking Tips from Maribeth Kuzmeski

Learn how to network like it's your job, and create powerful connections in a virtual world.

 

Why Some are Fearful of Social Media

In the financial services industry, compliance departments are up in arms because of industry rules requiring firms to retain records of all the social media conversations that their advisors are having. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been reported to be conducting a sweep of registered investment advisers' use of social media and social networking (Investment News 2/14/2011). What’s the big fear?

The regulatory agencies like the SEC and FINRA want to make sure that advisors are not promising investors returns or engaging in promotion of unregistered funds, such as private-equity funds or hedge funds through social media or social networking sites.

But many advisors that understand their limitations using social media and their compliance departments’ challenges in retaining online messages, have found using social media to be a very valuable tool. Within their firms’ guidelines, they are using social media sites to push (not push and pull) out much needed brand exposure, credibility and a searchable online presence – not as a way to conduct illicit activities. So ultimately, the biggest fear with social media shouldn’t be the regulatory agencies or compliance but something else entirely.

Once you have established an online presence, the most important task is in front of you - protecting your reputation! Much as you would protect your credit, regularly check for activity connected to your name and your business. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all rank highly in Google searches. Be careful what you post, anything you say could permanently show up at the top of search engine searches. Think of yourself as a public figure that may have your every word scrutinized.

One of the easiest ways to monitor your reputation is by setting up Google Alerts that will inform you of anything that has appeared about you online. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Go to www.Google.com/Alerts and set up a free alert of your name and your firm’s name. Whenever anything appears online that you or someone else has posted about you, an email will be sent to you with a link to the online occurrence. 

Ultimately, the best way to manage your online reputation is by generating positive search results through your online posts and profiles that will rank as highly as possible on any list of search results. Protect your most important assets – your brand and online reputation.

Successful Marketing Strategies for The Job Seekers

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

I have several friends who recently found themselves in the market for a new job – and, fortunately, have successfully landed another job. Watching them through the process, I’ve concluded that finding a job in today’s job market can be like conquering a new frontier – and not just because the job market is flooded with stiff competition. The days of mailing in your resume and receiving a phone call to set up an interview are over. It’s actually very similar to the changes that have been happening in marketing your business. If you want someone to notice you, your business, or your product or service, you can’t do things the same old way. Today, searching for most everything from a new job to a new refrigerator begins - and sometimes ends - online.

Now you need much more than just an experience-filled resume, a cover letter and crossed fingers to land a great job. In order to get noticed, you need to think like a marketer. It requires looking at yourself as a brand that needs to literally grab attention.

Here are 3 quick tips I learned from my friends who went from under-employed to gainfully employed.

1.    Networking and connecting is clearly the number one way to get the best job. People hire people they know. So, get to know more people. And, great networkers are capable of leaving something behind with everyone they encounter—a thought, a memory, or a connection. The key is to get face to face with a potential employer before, during and after the interview. They have to see for themselves why they NEED to hire you. Attend everything!

2.    Forget the Traditional Resume. Try bucking the traditional resume format to include eye catching (but informative) headlines. This is one headline I saw used: “Responsible for a 20% Increase in Sales Over Past 5 Years.” Also make sure you speak in benefits and results. Put your picture on your resume. Turn your resume into your personal brochure filled with interesting reading for your prospective employer. Give them what they want to see, but stand out from the rest. What’s the downside?

3.    Use video. If you really want to capture the attention of a potential employer, record a quick video. Use it to get an interview or as a follow-up after an interview. Instead of just emailing a resume or a post-interview thank-you note, include a link to a video of you. Carefully script your response and record the quick message using a Flip video camera or even a web cam. Post it on YouTube or some other service and send a link for the video to your potential employer.

 Standing out is the way to be heard above the competition – in marketing and in your job search. Good luck! 

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Rallying a Revolution: What We Can Learn From The Chicago Blackhawks

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Whether you’re a hockey fan, cheering on the Flyers or the Blackhawks – what the Chicago Blackhawks have done to turn around their franchise in 18 short months is nothing short of staggering. Just think if your business had faltering success… since 1961. Your clients no longer show up, having lost all enthusiasm for you and your brand. It sounds like the perfect opportunity to throw in the towel, call it a day, and cut your losses.

But what if you decided that instead of giving up, it was time to reignite the passion that your clients and supporters once had for your business, and reclaim the success you once had? Could you take the lessons taken from the Chicago Blackhawks franchise and rally a revolution around your business?
 
The owner of the Blackhawks is Rocky Wirtz. Rocky took over the team after his father, Bill Wirtz passed away after battling cancer. Bill Wirtz, known for being a frugal owner (Dollar Bill was the nickname many Chicago sports fans called him) didn’t spend industry-standard money on players or the franchise.

When Rocky assumed the team the Blackhawks had only 3,500 season-ticket holders (the second lowest in the league). Their home games were not televised (a decision made by his father), and the team itself was no better than 5th in their division.
 
What Rocky Wirtz did in a matter of a few weeks was to literally change everything. One of his first decisions after his father passed away was to put the team on TV. He then negotiated a new radio contract and hired former Chicago Cubs president John McDonough. He made lots of big decisions in rapid succession to improve the team, improve the franchise, and bring the fans back. They even held a baseball-inspired offseason fan fest.
 
Throughout this season, an average of nearly 22,000 fans attended each game – a figure that lead the entire NHL. The team is currently in the Stanley Cup Final and chances are, may win tonight – the first time since 1961. The city of Chicago and surrounding area is now wild about their hockey team in a way not ever seen.
 
There are many businesses, just like teams in professional sports that just can’t bring winning to (or back to) their franchises (Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Clippers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Buffalo Bills, etc). But the Blackhawks did it in 18 months. The difference: not being afraid to make big decisions, hire new people, and change from old school to new school overnight. In 2008 the Blackhawks had to borrow 34 million dollars to make payroll. Today they are on the road to winning the Stanley Cup. It gives hope to the hopeless and energy to those with a dream. But risks, and big ones, are required.

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Messaging is Critical – How’s Yours?

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

When someone asks, “What do you do?” how valuable is your answer? A run of the mill, “I am a financial advisor” or “I run a consulting firm” response has the person who asked knowing almost less about you than before they asked. You gave them a phone book response.  You were about as personable and memorable as a business directory.  AND you’ve forced them to jump to a conclusion about what you said and what it means to them because you have given them so little valuable information about what you actually do.

Try this – ask people what they do over the next week and record the insightful or less than valuable answers you get. I find that most people can’t answer in a sentence what they really do.  They often share the company they work for, or the job title they hold, but rarely share what they actually do.  And it’s not because they don’t know. They just haven’t spent any time messaging the best answer. A prepared 1 or 2 sentence answer that is filled with BENEFITS, not “I’ve been in business for 20 years” features that really don’t mean anything, can have enormous positive effects.

Here is one I heard this week that is awesome! “I work for XYZ Company. We provide planning, advice and proper investment selection for people’s serious money.”

What’s yours? Do you think it matters? Would you get more or less business, more or less referrals, more or less viral benefits of people talking about you – if you had a great message that let people know what it is you really do – for them.

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What Kind of Brand Do You Have?

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

If you were to act with conduct that causes extensive negative public relations, would your entire company disintegrate? How closely tied are your individual actions to your company’s brand and well-being? In general, if an individual at a corporation caused trouble, that position in the company would be replaced, the company would manage the bad PR, and everyone would move on. The United States doesn’t cease to exist if a president has a scandal. The CEO of a company can rarely bring down an entire firm.

Tiger Woods, Donald Trump and Martha Stewart all have corporations based on their own fame, expertise and business ventures. They rely on their personal brand. Martha Stewart’s corporation did continue on while she was in jail for lying to government agencies during the course of an investigation. But she claimed to have lost “billions” because she was not an active participant in her company.  Billions!

If your company is based on your personal brand then you need to manage that brand every moment of every day. If your company has a corporate brand, you, of course, need to manage the brand as well, but the risks are less because one person does not have the same dramatic effect on a corporate brand as they do on a personal brand.

If you are your company (as in most small businesses) have you considered how you are protecting your brand? Are you protecting your brand during your public interactions with others? Do you act in accordance to how you run your business? For instance, flying off the handle during business interactions not only damages your reputation, but has the potential to damage the heart of your business. Doing things like trying to negotiate price with other businesses yet never reducing yours shows contradictions in your values.

In today’s online world where someone can post a complaint or review in seconds after a bad, or good, interaction – you have to be increasingly serious about managing your very valuable brand.

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