Its true that social media is changing the way that we sell our products, ideas and services. Businesses who are not using social media tools like facebook and twitter are going to miss the boat, waving to the passengers as they venture off into the deep blue sea of relationship marketing. 

But social media is not a strategy unto itself. 

To dive into the vast ocean of niche markets and consumers waiting for your product, you must use social media in COMBINATION with other forms of more “traditional” marketing. 

But… I thought social media was the cost effective, non-traditional way to market your business? 

It is… but marketing still doesn’t come free. It is certainly cutting out the middle man, putting advertising back into the hands of business owners. Its CLOSER to free. 

But remember:

1. Not everyone is using social media.
2. Not everyone is using social media … effectively. 

If you use social media alone you will miss a HUGE percentage of consumers. 

Why else should I combine traditional marketing with social media?

This is nothing new! The model for any marketing campaign is called “The Marketing Mix.” Why do you think it has ALWAYS been called a MIX? Because you have to combine methods. 

“All of our campaigns involve a combination of traditional marketing, plus social media,” said IBM VP Sandy Carter. “We actually don’t believe in a solid social media campaign. We always combine it.”

Some Examples and Suggestions: 

1. Combine an in-person event with an online discussion forum so participants can connect before and after the event. This is what I call “Social Media in Real Life.”

2. Use your business cards to find potential clients on Facebook. You are already connected in person, so connect online. 

3. Use real postcards or greeting cards for your clients, in combination with social media tools. 

4. Seek news coverage for your blog. 

What are your ideas or experiences? Post them here!

If you aren’t a web designer, know nothing about HTML, or just haven’t been using WordPress very long… then it may not be a good idea for you to use a custom WordPress theme. Unless you follow some simple rules:

1. Hire an expert. Ok… I am not trying to promote myself here. But seriously, if you are going to use custom themes, plugins, bells & whistles… but don’t know how to maneuver WordPress CMS… then don’t touch it. Ask an expert to do it. Many experts will let you hire them on retainer so they can this “stuff” for you when you need it.

I get calls all the time… “Help! I broke my site!” 

A lot of you don’t have time to learn to fix it. So hire someone who can do it in a flash. 

2. Learn to use WordPress CMS. CMS means content management system. And really, its easy. You can never be prepared for every emergency that might happen – but if you know the basics, you can save a lot of money on retaining that expert. This means knowing some simple HTML, too. And knowing how to maneuver an FTP program like Dreamweaver or just SmartFTP. 

3. Check your site after every edit. EVERY. EDIT. If you make some changes to the image on your post… save it, then check it before doing any other edits. If you make some edits to a sidebar widget, check it every time you update. If you mess with the plugins, check it after each plugin update.

Some things to watch out for:

• Some plugins don’t work together and can break your site. 
• Some custom themes require a lot of FTP file editing.
• If you change from one theme to another – check all of your pages, some of the code might change. 
• Some themes have special “featured” articles on the homepage that use TimThumb and you will need to learn to use custom fields.

Marketing Communication Strategies 101

Ok, I know what you are thinking… this blog is supposed to eliminate your need to think for yourself, right? Hehe, yeah… right. I do want to provide you with good step-by-step strategies, but I cannot stress enough the benefit of your own creativity.

And don’t tell me that you are more of a “math” person, because if you are in the ministry world… I’d hope that you have some sort of passion. Not that algebra isn’t a passionate subject… but you get the idea. 

What does passion have to do with creativity? … EVERYTHING! I already know that most nonprofit leaders are entrepreneurs. But I also know that fire fuels new ideas. And guess what? New ideas fuel passion! Just thinking about the bigger picture can get you excited, motivated, and moving. You don’t have to have a specific purpose or reason for brainstorming… but it will keep you and your team from getting stuck in apathy. 

Here are some ideas to get you started on brainstorming: 

1. Plan regular brainstorming sessions with your staff. Your staff is more valuable than you may know!
2. Start by discussing problems or issues, then go into solutions. 
3. Throw out some really ridiculous, radical ideas that nobody would have thought of. This will help people be comfortable saying whatever is on their mind.
4. Talk about the people your organization helps. Tell stories and romanticize it. 
5. Create a mind map or some sort of flow chart (I am sure everyone has used these at least once in their lifetime). 

My partner and I have brainstorming sessions every day. We don’t always schedule them, and they aren’t always in a meeting… sometimes they are in the break room passing by. “Hey, Aaron… I have this idea…” Even if we don’t have time to use half of the ideas we come up with… at least they keep us energized! (And trust me, they sure help beat the 3:00 PM slumps). 

Contact me here.