Dec
26
Case Study: Building Maximum Marketing Buzz
On Wednesday, December 7, 2011, I delivered a speaking presentation to the Women In Business Network. Since I’m a marketing man who wants to demonstrate the power of marketing, I set out to build maximum buzz for the event.
When all was said and done, the event drew a full-capacity crowd, received no less than eight mentions in the press, earned me two immediate new clients, several hot prospects, and a dozen new names on the mailing list. Not to mention, it spread the Nikolas Allen/BAM! brand to a whole new section of our business community.
The best part is, I didn’t spend a dime on advertising, only a small investment of time and effort. In order to give you some ideas of how to build maximum marketing buzz for your business, I decided to detail the steps I used to market this successful event.
BEFORE THE EVENT
I knew the Women In Business Network featured guest speakers at their monthly meetings, so I contacted them in early October with a speaking proposal. They accepted my proposal and scheduled me to speak at their December meeting, which gave me over two months to promote the event.
My contact told me that the monthly meetings usually draw between 15-20 members. My goal was to double that number and aim for 40 attendees. Did I reach my goal? Read on…
Step 1: Utilize the Power of Video
My first marketing step was to round up my WIB contact, Kelly Samuelson, and shoot a promotional video of us talking about the event. While we were creating the video, we also took a couple promotional stills (photographs) to submit along with all the PR materials.
I posted the promo video in several places:
• The BAM! Website
• The Women In Business Website
• My Personal Facebook Page
• The WIB Facebook Page
• A Facebook Event Page that I created to promote the meeting
Step 2: Write Press Release
In order to get the attention of the press, I had to write a compelling “story” about the event that would pique the interest of the public. I wrote up a press release, and edited it into two versions: A long version for the paper and the website/blog posts, and a short version for the Calendar-style listings and email promotions I would employ. Of course, I included the promotional photo with every submission.
Step 3: Submit, Submit, Submit
I made a list of the local media outlets I could hit with the promotion.
My list included the following:
• Mt. Shasta Herald – Newspaper
• Mt. Shasta Herald – Calendar of Events
• MS Mag Email List – Subscription-based Community-Wide Email List
• Mt. Shasta Connect – Online Community Calendar
• JEDI Email List – Jefferson Economic Development Institute sent to their list.
• BAM! Mailing List – Included in my monthly Enewsletter
• Plus, the BAM! and WIB Websites and Facebook pages mentioned above
All of the above outlets ran the promotion, and in the case of the Mt. Shasta Herald (weekly) newspaper, they mentioned it three weeks in a row leading up to the event, in both the Area News section (see article above) and the Calendar of Events section. Plus, they ran a full follow-up article online and in print after the event.
As the event drew nearer and the marketing machine was in motion, I also used word-of-mouth, and Twitter to promote the event. As for Twitter, it most likely did not directly affect the attendance (like the other platforms did), but it earned me some new #WomenInBusiness followers and helped promote my community activity and thought leadership.
Step 4: Practice Makes…Pretty Darn Good
All the buzz in the world is worthless if I get up in front of a crowd and bomb. Therefore, once I had the final edit of my speech, I ran through it continually. On the bus, on the street, in my living room, in the shower, whenever I had an extra 20 minutes, I was working the speech.
I even went to the venue two days before the event and videotaped myself giving a speech to the empty room. This helped a couple things: It got me comfortable with the room, and it allowed me to watch and see what I needed to improve or change.
DURING THE EVENT
The multi-channel marketing strategy worked! We drew a full-house, standing-room only crowd of close to 50 female business leaders (3 men even managed to sneak in under the radar – which kinda goes against that whole “Women” in business thing). Remember, getting people to the event is half the battle. The other half is making sure you deliver on your promise once they are there.
Step 5: Know Your Objectives
Speaking engagements are excellent marketing platforms because you are able to reach a large segment of your target audience at once. However, it must be clear that your primary goal is to provide valuable, applicable information to your audience. Your secondary goal is to rustle up some new clients! Therefore, you need to have a lead-capture system in place to grow your list of contacts and hot prospects.
I placed a BAM! Mailing List Signup Sheet at the front desk, plus business cards and postcards for people to take. I also placed a small box for people to leave their business cards in if they didn’t want to take the time to fill out the mailing list.
Step 6: Be Awesome!
As I mingled with attendees before my presentation, I heard several comments like, “whoever promoted this did a great job!” Other people said they, “heard about this event all over the place,” and I even got some light-hearted teasing from a business owner who said, “you better live up to the hype!”
After the presentation, there was positive feedback, rave reviews, an increased mailing list, several hot prospects, and two immediate new clients, which indicates that things went pretty awesome indeed.
Step 7: Capture Your Media
In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to forget about capturing the event with various forms of media, but for promotional purposes, it’s essential to do so. My philosophy is, “Shoot first, ask questions later.” That means you record your EVERY event with either audio, photography, video, or all of the above, then figure out how you’re going to use the content later. Some options could be podcasts, training programs, photos and videos for your website, social media channels, and follow-up press releases and other promotional vehicles.
Step 8: Work The Room
I like to network and mingle before the event, so I can connect with people who will make up the audience. It’s always nice to have familiar, friendly faces out in the crowd and, if you can work the names, stories or comments of people you know into your speech, it adds a personal touch. It’s also essential to mingle after the event, because that’s when the hot prospects emerge. Be sure you’re ready to engage them, determine their needs and desires, and schedule an appropriate time to follow up with them.
AFTER THE EVENT
The work is not over just because your event is. Now is the time to maximize the longevity of your message, act on your new contacts and implement your new media.
Step 9: Follow Up
If members of the press were there, contact them to express gratitude for their presence, and offer to answer any questions or clarify any points (The article below, by Skye Kinkade of the Mt. Shasta Herald, ran online the day after my presentation. A longer article with quotes from audience members – and a slightly less awesome headline – ran in the print version a few days later.)
If the press wasn’t there, write and submit a follow-up press release, including images from your event (See Step 7). If you spoke with any new prospects, follow up to see how you can help them with their needs (i.e move them into the sales cycle). As for your new mailing list contacts, start sending them valuable content on a regular basis with your email marketing program.
Step 10: Keep Your Message Alive on the Web
I immediately posted the photo I took of the crowd on Facebook and Twitter and got tons of engagement from people commenting, offering feedback and testimonials and tagging themselves and their friends. I posted the four-minute “highlight” video (see above) on Facebook, the BAM! Website and You Tube Channel, and submitted a written recap of my speech to the Women In Business Website.
Whew! Okay, maybe it takes more than a “small” investment of time and effort that I mentioned earlier, but the truth is, too many small businesses simply send out a press release and call it a day. Then they wonder why their promotions aren’t successful. It takes more effort than that to build a maximum marketing buzz for your small business, but it IS very possible to achieve.
In fact, I heard a comment recently confirming that all my efforts have not been in vain. It was from my mom, no less, who said, “Nikolas, I’m getting sick and tired of seeing you in the paper every week.”
To which I replied, “Maximum marketing mission accomplished!”
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Heavyweight Marketing Champion, Nikolas Allen, runs BAM! Small Biz Consulting, where he helps small business owners attract more loyal customers and grow their business through creative branding and marketing strategies.
If you’re ready to step in the ring with BAM!, contact Nikolas Allen for your FREE 30-Minute Needs Assessment. Phone: (530) 859-5454 • Email: bamsbc@gmail.com
