It's not about me & it's not about you.

I have a confession to make. I hate Facebook. Not a smart thing to admit for anyone who claims to be a member of the media/advertising/marketing world today. Facebook is a juggernaut, an uber-site, a King Kong of social media. You have to be on Facebook. Have to!!! And I am, but it's painful. 

Our Pennysavers, our Today's CNY Woman Magazine and everything else we do have a presence on Facebook. That's a very good thing, and your business needs a presence there, too. But for me, as a consumer, to follow any of these sites, I have to register as a user and it's only a matter of time before people I know find me. They want to be friends. So, okay, let's be friends. I don't want to offend anyone I really know by saying nyet to their request. But then it starts..."going to lunch now"..."chilling on the porch with my dog Snuggles"..."help me grow Brussels sprouts on my pretend farm". Your friends, your relatives, your spouse's friends and relatives, co-workers and more all bombard you with the minutiae of their lives.  I'm sorry, but it makes me crazy. Thus, I stay away from checking and updating my Facebook info and am out of the social media loop. That's not a very good thing.

Where's this going? I must practice what I preach. I've got to learn to love new things. I can't decide what's good for our business based on what I like or don't like. Neither should you. I've been on any number of client calls through the years where the marketing decision maker says "I don't read your paper." So they don't advertise with us even though we reach 99% of the marketplace with weekly readership in better than 8 out of 10 homes, all independently audited information. Doesn't matter what you do. Decision makers have to be in touch with what their customers (and prospective customers) are doing/reading/surfing and make marketing decisions on the facts, not their own personal habits. There are so many options today for spending the ad dollar that research and knowledge are critical to making sound advertising decisions, more than ever before. And it's only going to get more complex as more options come to the table.

Our job at the Scotsman is to sell advertising, yes...but our success is based on your success, your long term success. We win when you do. And believe me, we want to win. Let's talk sometime about how we can help you make good decisions for your business and make us both more successful. Drop us a line at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com.

Thanks very much for your time!

Think big to be big(ger)!

Scared? Some experts say we should be. Our national fiscal outlook isn't good, they say, given the debt ceiling carnival and the resulting stock market fluctuations. Down 600 points yesterday, up 500 today, down 400 tomorrow. Like many folks, the personal impact of the market on me comes via my 401k and one could go nuts trying to chase results by changing your options every day. Historically, you've got to ride it out to be successful long term. I just read a blog on the Observations website that quotes a study showing average annual stock growth, including dividends, to be about 9% per year when you look at 25 year blocks of time. Not a bad record and it's trackable.

Marketing your business with effective advertising works the same way. You've heard it before, but it merits mentioning again. Studies show that consistent advertising results in sales growth, especially when things are tough. The most famous study, one by McGraw Hill, shows that companies that maintain advertising when things tighten up improve their sales by 250%-plus as compared to those who cut back. Not a bad record and it's trackable.

When our local account managers explain this concept to local advertisers, we hear things like "I'm not a big player...those things are for the big companies, the national companies." Yes they are. But just like my little 401k, small companies need to follow the same advice that has made the big companies big. Make sense? Large, successful operations don't follow these marketing trends because they're big; they're big because they follow them. They understand that when things are tight, you build market share (AKA: stealing loyal customers from your competition) when you advertise consistently. When you get even more aggressive, the results multiply even more.

It's not as simple as just advertising, though, just spending money on print, electronic or other media. Ads today have to be creative, effective and really speak about value to targeted audiences. We can't give you stock market advice, but we can help you get the most value for your ad dollar and help you capture customers. E-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com if you'd like to explore the possibilities. Thanks very much!

Jim is the man...you wanna be the man, too?

I'd like you to meet my friend Jim. He's from Pittsburgh, working as the sales training guru for a large group of papers, free and paid dailies and weeklies. I have the privilege of working with Jim in our national free paper association's training arm, the Leadership Institute. I fancy myself to be a pretty good trainer and presenter but the fact is that I'm not worthy to carry Jim's smartphone. That's because Jim is a true expert.

To say that Jim is well-read is akin to saying that fish swim a lot. This guy reads everything, and remembers everything he reads. He is adept at taking his acquired knowledge and applying it to everyday business situations to arrive at simple solutions that help people grow. How cool is that? He blogs, sends out e-mail "quotes of the week" to a growing list of followers, makes guest speaker appearances all over the country and does other things to spread his reputation. Best of all, he is just a regular guy with a genuine desire to help people. Everybody in our business knows Jim -- and everyone likes and respects him. He's our expert.

In a world that gets more choked with messages and media, Jim has found a way to separate himself from the crowd. My job, and the job of my colleagues here at the Scotsman, is to help you find a way to separate yourself from your competition. To build top of mind awareness among your target audience. To help you become recognized as an expert in your field and as a source of value to your friends and customers. It doesn't require anything more than a desire to grow your business, one neighborhood at a time. We'll help you develop your "USP" (see next week's blog on that topic) and then help you map out a plan to share it with the market. Drop us a note at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com for assistance. Thanks again!

Traditional methods still have a place in the high tech world

I have a good friend who has an in at Google. This person has a close relative that works for the internet giant and it's always interesting to hear about the cool, innovative things they do there. Google is everywhere; things must be great for them, or at least I'm guessing they are. Everyone I know uses "Google" to describe search activities like we use "Kleenex" to describe tissues. Everybody googles.

Upon my arrival at work yesterday, I had a voicemail on my desk phone from...yes, Google! They had a deal going on "front page (I thought that was a print term?) availabilities for internet searches in our category in our area." We've never done business with Google before and I'm not sure how they found us, but they did. They're doing the same thing our sales and marketing people do each day -- trying to find solutions with new customers for the products they sell, especially when those products aren't selling as well as they'd like. So, please consider the following:

1. Giants like Google still have to be pro-active in their marketing approach. What about your business? The "I don't need to advertise" or "everybody knows me" routine some small businesses take is a fading myth they're selling themselves on, no one else. The market is full of messages -- you'd better shout yours out, too.

2. Traditional approaches -- getting on the phone and calling people you've never talked to before (you know, cold calls) still are necessary and still work when you do enough of it consistently. Advertising consistently makes those efforts a little less cold, and a lot more successful.

3. Turn over new rocks to find new business. Times are still challenging for most businesses. We've never considered Google advertising, but we are now. Take a different tack to try to stir the pot: consider a medium you haven't tried before or do something a little unusual with your message. Advertise in new areas or to new demographics that might spark new sales for you.

Sitting still and doing nothing leaves your market share exposed to those who are making the cold calls and spreading their word. Take a lesson from the big guys, the Googles, WalMarts, Fords and others of this world. Keep your message out there and make it easy for people to find you. We can help with that, by the way. Call us at 315-472-7825, e-mail us at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com  or visit us online at www.scotsmanonline.com . Thanks very much!

A World Cup lesson for your business

For most Americans it was a disappointing finish to the Women's World Cup; it's never easy when the "hometown team" loses in the finals of anything. But it is hard not to feel good for Japan. In a year of earthquakes, a tsunami and a nuclear catastrophe, having something like a World Cup soccer championship to cheer about must be a welcome respite for the Japanese. And our girls were very gracious in a narrow defeat -- makes you proud.

Twitter seemed to capture a lot of attention during the tournament. Barack Obama offered some pre-game encouragement via the social media platform (signs his tweets as "BO" -- a PR quandary). Notables like Lebron James and many others also tweeted their excitement and encouragement to our team during the event. I opened a Twitter account in its early days. I had one follower, a great lesson in humility. I don't do enough interesting, exciting things to make anyone want to follow me. But maybe you do.

When people are in the midst of a transaction with you or your business, make them aware of your Twitter account and your Facebook page...use the logos in your ads like the old days when print ads included the little Visa and MasterCard logos. Link the social media pages to your web presence (if your business doesn't have a web presence yet, Facebook offers a cheap and easy starting point). Sending messages about specials and coupons using these platforms is certainly easy, inexpensive and a vital part of today's media mix. A World Cup happens once every four years -- you can tweet your business excitement daily. But be careful about overdoing it -- sending a lot of messages -- especially ones that may not offer honest, exciting value -- can turn your followers and customers off in a hurry.

Need help with your social media and other marketing needs? Give us a holler at 315-472-7825, e-mail at mailto:info@scotsmanmediagroup.com  or online at www.scotsmanonline.com . Thanks!

Are we or aren't we?

I was just online looking at a chart showing the rise and fall of the national unemployment rate over the past two years. In April 2011 we hit a two year low but we've been inching back up monthly since then, just when we thought a turnaround was here. Many local business people we speak with each week believe it's just one sign that we're not out of the woods yet. Are we or aren't we still in a recession? It’s debated daily.

How about this question instead: does it really matter? Utility bill is due, kids need shoes, the family likes to eat every day...what economists and talking media heads tell us doesn’t change our facts of life. So, if you have a business that needs to grow ask your staff this question: are we or aren't we going to ignore what we can't control and make something happen?

There are a million "hot ideas" out there every day, but consistent growth comes from being very, very good at the basics of marketing your business:
1. Knowing what customers like and don't like (just ask them).
2. As a result, offering a product or service that's timely and competitive.
3. Providing something extra -- something that truly makes you unique.
4. Telling the market your story in a reliable way and consistent manner.
5. Measuring the results and fine tuning.
6. Starting back at number 1 again (and again and again and again -- it's a never ending cycle).

This is a very simple outline of what can be an intricate process. My colleagues here at the Scotsman can lend you a hand, especially with items 4 & 5. We'll ask some questions, listen to your comments and offer suggestions for making things happen. No charge. We're here to help you make good decisions for your business, not just to sell products from our business. Let us know if you'd like to chat, and thanks!

It's all about you.

I will apologize up front for where this is going.

You had to go out of your way this week to miss the Casey Anthony hoopla. A beautiful little girl is gone and no one outside a small circle of sad people likely knows what really happened to her. That's another story or blog topic, though -- this one is about business. People (yeah, me too) were shocked when Casey was found not guilty of the most serious charges. It occurred to me, though, that twelve people who sat through every minute of the trial first-hand took less than twelve hours to arrive at their verdict. That's fast. What I knew about this case I knew through media coverage, and my first thought was "could the coverage have been that tainted that we all thought 'guilty' when those close by thought not?"

I don't know if we'll ever have that answer; this is a case where perception and reality could be very far apart. It's not the best comparison to start with, I'll admit to that, but think about the perception that you and/or your business carry in your marketplace. Do you know how customers and prospects really feel about what you do or provide? Does the word of mouth advertising you have going really tell the story you want to tell? We are all victims of perception. The world we communicate in is full of noise, confusion and interference. Our job here is to help you give a strong, consistent message to your market areas with a goal of building the consumer top-of-mind-awareness that you want built.

When dealing with your media partners, it always should be about you.

Questions or comments? Drop us a line at info@scotsmanmediagroup.com  or call us at 315-472-7825 for assistance. Thanks for stopping by!