Category: Blog

It’s not even December, but doesn’t it feel like Christmas is already in full swing? And what happened to Thanksgiving?

Though the sugarplums dancing in our heads are nice, it all serves as a stark reminder that the year is almost over—and that your marketing and public relations planning for 2018 should be already be completed.

Are you ready?

Ready or not, 2018 is almost here

One reason marketers have to plan so far ahead is that competition for attention has ramped up to never-before-seen levels. And it’s not just your competitors with whom you are battling for attention.

Consumers are bombarded with more advertisements and messages than ever before.

The “white noise” that surrounds communications today means that marketing planning, and the messages that characterize your marketing effort, need to be carefully crafted to align with what you want to accomplish and what your customers want.

You need to both formulate and prioritize your objectives, narrowing them down to what is affordable, practical and realistically, possible. Once you have nailed down your objectives and envisioned the strategies that will serve as the pathways to realizing them, then (and only then), will the tactics you will employ become clear.

This approach may sound over simplified, but defining objectives, strategies, and tactics is at the heart of every sound marketing plan…and the public relations plan that supplements it.

Your marketing has to put your customer first

Your customer must be the ultimate focus your marketing plan. After all, they are who will be looking at your communications and asking “What’s in it for me?”

Asking questions about you, of course, assumes that your targets pay attention to your messages. Taken one step further, that means you need to know what your customers want and craft communications that clearly state how your product, service, or idea will benefit them.

And that’s where marketing public relations, the style of public relations we practice at Wellons Communications, enters the picture.

We believe PR exists solely to sell products, services, and ideas

We believe whatever creative ideas you develop have to arrive at the intersection of connecting with your audience while achieving your goals. But creative ideas are more than headlines, slogans, and catchy graphics.

Great creative ideas are most often based on sound research.

That doesn’t mean commissioning a costly study by a think tank…research can be informal and based on common sense, but whatever research you have that defines the wants and needs of your target audience will lead to maximizing your chances of success.

At Wellons Communications, we start with whatever research is available to contribute to strategic approaches like increasing awareness, boosting social media following, or generating press coverage—all of which are eventually aimed at sales results.

Learn more about how we practice marketing communications, not just public relations. Call me at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com and see how we can give your 2018 marketing plans a boost.

In the history of communications, there has never been so much competition for the attention of consumers.

The onset of the Internet, along with the explosion of e-mail, tweets, text messages, along with new ways to connect, like Skype and GoToMeeting, has turned basic communications into the Wild West.

There are so many messages…and so little time to listen to them, let alone contemplate what the messages mean.

The net result? Communications overload, which places a premium on getting your message right the first time, every time.

Author Jocelyn K. Glei, on 99U, an online magazine for creative types, addresses the communications overload in detail in a thoughtful article:

http://99u.com/articles/7002/stop-the-insanity-how-to-crush-communication-overload

In particular, Ms. Glei thoughtfully addresses organizing communications and establishing protocols that rank what’s important…and what’s not.

Public relations communications should help you sell

At Wellons Communications, our service is public relations, which we interpret as helping you sell your product or service.

Sales begin with clear, simple statements that identify the needs of your target audience and how you can help them resolve that need.

Because of communications overload, your target audience has less time than ever to absorb what you are saying. You owe it to them (and yourself) to present your thoughts clearly, concisely, and consistently.

Clear, simple, direct communications will cut through the clutter. They make it easy for your target to understand that you recognize their needs and why you are the best resource for resolving them.

We recognize that the only reason you want public relations assistance is to help you sell something. In that same spirit, we are knowledgeable, experienced, and well-prepared to help you create effective ways and means of cutting through the “white noise” that exists in today’s marketing environment.

Give me a call at 407-339-0879 or e-mail me at will@wellonscommunications.com and let’s talk about how we can simplify your communications and make it easier for your marketing to work harder on your behalf.