marketing Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Wellons Communications

Why you need to include PR in your marketing plan

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Wellons team

Let’s face it.

When you put pencil to paper in developing your marketing program, the first question usually is “How much do we have to budget for advertising?”

The answer, inevitably leads to spending an inordinate amount of time (and money) on advertising, which, in turn, often leads to results that are inconclusive or, at best, difficult to quantify.

Often overlooked in the marketing equation is public relations. But PR, if properly employed and conducted on a consistent basis can give you the most bang for your buck.

PR doesn’t cost much and can deliver huge payback

Public relations, usually in the form of publicity, has enormous potential. Positive publicity can amplify your brand name, distinguish your service or product from everyone else’s, and validate what you say about yourself.

The good news is that PR costs considerably less than advertising. The challenge is that PR is not totally predictable. Getting your name in the news depends on what is happening in the news and requires that your product or service has information of news value to share.

And in order to remain in the news, your company has to keep making news. That is where having a qualified PR firm can help. Any qualified firm has strong relationships with the media. They know how to reach the right people and find the angle that maximizes the chance of coverage.

That is another way PR professional can make a big difference– by identifying and clarifying what your product or service does for your target audience. It’s a message that needs to be told many different ways and tailored to fit the particular audience that is reached by a specific media (e.g. transportation company execs gravitate toward business and transportation news outlets).

Further, you have to tell your story again and again. PR professionals are experts at finding new ways to tell your story and keep your name in the news.

How much should I be spending on PR?

No two budgets are exactly alike, just as no two companies are exactly alike. A precise budget for PR is difficult to pin down. A review of basic costs, however, will give you some idea of what’s involved and what you pay for when you use a qualified public relations firm.

Generally speaking, there are two primary costs you will incur when hiring a PR firm:

Monthly fee: A modest number of account service hours times an hourly rate that falls within your budget capabilities.

Out-of-pocket expenses (billed at net): Basic costs like travel, mileage, copying, postage, graphic design costs, etc.

So what does that translate to in terms of a monthly budget? Start with something affordable, say, $750-1,000 per month for a combination of fees and out-of-pocket expenses and revise the budget accordingly as your relationship and results develop.

What should you expect in terms of results?

Unless you have a blockbuster story to tell, results usually do not manifest themselves for about 90 days.

It takes that long to get information prepared, distributed, absorbed by media, and followed up upon.

Why 90 days? For print media, it takes that long to get ahead of print deadlines. For online media, the deadline is much shorter, but it requires some time to break through the messy, competitive clutter of information that online news outlets receive and must consider. For broadcast media, results require video or audio that lends itself to TV, radio or online broadcast.

The point is that PR, if given an adequate budget and sufficient time, can serve as a marketing tool that can equal, exceed, or at a minimum, complement your entire marketing program. In terms of cost-effectiveness, PR is often the best bet for ROI.

Call me (407-339-0879) or email me and allow me to pass along some vivid examples of how (and why) PR must be a key element of your marketing mix.

Competing for attention in the Age of Distraction

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Wellons team

Think for a moment about all the distractions that compete for attention in your work life.

Phone calls, texts, emails, meetings. Questions from employees. Questions from clients. Unanticipated interruptions. Add to this your personal life, which has the same ongoing level of activity.

WC#1-18, Jan 25, 2018 The result? Very little time to stop and ask “Where are we, where are we going, how are we going to get there, and what are we going to say about ourselves that will help us achieve our goals?”

Now, put yourself in the mindset of your target audience and your clients. They suffer from the same busy professional and personal challenges you experience.

The point? Offices – and the people who manage and work in them – are enormously busy. In short, offices are centers of multi-tasking that offer little or no time to pause and contemplate the next steps.

Working in the Age of Distraction

Cal Newport, a computer scientist at Georgetown University, is the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

Newport points out that constant distractions that challenge our work life tend to dominate our work life. They take away from what Newport calls Deep Work, which is the ability to focus without distraction on a demanding task.

According to Newport, Shallow Work (the opposite of Deep Work) fragments and pre-empts one’s ability to come up with one of those benchmark “A-ha” solutions that can make your unique selling proposition stand apart.

Apply Deep Work to communications and you get a sense of how important it is to think differently and clearly, without distraction, and how it can transform how you go about your business and what you say about it.

You can get learn more about Deep Work in a fascinating report that recently was broadcast on National Public Radio.

Getting your message past the distractions

So, how does Wellons Communications help you succeed in the Age of Distraction?

We adhere to the notion of keeping it simple. We develop strategies, approaches, and messages aimed at battling through the communications clutter.

When possible, we use simple, declarative sentences. And we project the same message over and over again, using consistency to ensure that once we have captured attention, our message is reinforced until our audience has absorbed and agreed with it.

What does simplicity do for your marketing?

Our “keep it simple” approach delivers three key benefits to your overall marketing approach:

1. Simple messages are easy to understand.

2. Simple messages answer “What’s in it for me?”

3. Simple messages attract attention.

The most visual example of great message-making in its simplest form is a billboard. They are quick to read, present a single thought, and tell you what they think you need to learn.

Let us simplify your public relations and communications.

If you have read this far, you’ve been distracted enough. If our message has worked, we hope you will want to learn more about how Wellons Communications can assist you in marketing your product or service. You can reach me at 407-339-0879 or by email at will@wellonscommunications.com.

Believe me, I will be happy for the distraction.

UCF Knights: Marketing and Football Champions

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Wellons team

While people across the country held their breath watching Alabama’s last-second defeat of Georgia in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, some in Orlando slept soundly.

UCF Marketing Champions We can only assume the athletic department staff at the University of Central Florida was among them. Why? They weren’t concerned with who would be named the national champion—because they had already declared themselves the true champions.

The Knights were the only undefeated team in college football this year. They took down the Auburn Tigers (who had previously beaten Alabama and Georgia) in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Without a chance to compete in the playoff, they did everything they could do.

While it’s true many have laughed UCF’s claims off, that’s not the point. Whether UCF deserves the title isn’t the point, either.

The point is that this is one of the best marketing moves of 2018 so far, and someone at UCF knows what they’re doing. With controversy comes discussion. So far, the announcement has given the school free publicity in top national publications, such as The Washington Post, Yahoo Sports, USA Today, and ESPN.

Now, the best season UCF has ever had—and might ever have—will result in obtaining top recruits, national recognition and better fan support.

What UCF does with that depends on what the Knights do next season—but they are certainly setting themselves up to have a better chance by making the most of their momentum now.

Building on momentum is something we do a lot here at Wellons, so if you have marketing questions of your own, let us help you take a page from UCF’s playbook. Don’t hesitate to reach out at 407-339-0879 or at will@wellonscommunications.com.

Five predictions for marketing in 2018

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Wellons team

Now is the time when prognosticators pull out the crystal ball and give their best shot at predicting the future—and we at Wellons Communications are no different. Blog

We enjoy looking ahead, but what’s more, we feel it is our duty to visualize what changes in public relations are coming so our clients can prepare for how these changes may impact their businesses.

Of course, no forecast of the future is ever perfect. Nevertheless, here’s what we see for public relations in 2018:

Content marketing will begin to “shape shift”

Consumers are reeling from the amount of information they are receiving. Because of that, in 2018, marketers will start to make adjustments to both the amount of content they throw at their customers and how they deliver content. Be prepared to see more short videos and billboard-like messages that focus on brand names and benefits.

Simplicity will make a comeback

The avalanche of content aimed at consumers, combined with the onset of new products and services technology is spawning, will be confusing to many consumers, particularly older Americans (i.e. the Baby Boomers and Generation X).

Products and services that clearly and simply explain what they do and how they benefit consumers will succeed. Marketers whose “pitch” is rooted in techno-babble will become lost a fog of uncertainty, creating an opportunity for those who understand the confusion of customers overloaded by a mountain of information that multiplies daily.

The accuracy of content on social media will attract some skepticism

Social media will continue to be a powerful influencer of how people respond to society and how they view what is happening. With the rise of inaccurate information (“fake news”) on social media, however, consumers might think twice about the accuracy of content that floats across their screens.

Generation Z will begin to overtake Millennials as a prime marketing target

Generation Z, those young adults who were 9 years old when Facebook was introduced, are now 22. They will be entering the workforce in significant numbers. Marketers, of course, will flock to Generation Z to influence their brand preferences and buying habits.

This creates another opportunity. Marketers whose products and services remain appropriate for Baby Boomers and Generation X, who may be overlooked in the rush to capture Generation Z, can retain and grow their relationships with these established, less technically savvy cohorts.

Continued economic growth will hit some bumps in the road

The extraordinary rise in the Dow Jones averages during 2017 cannot last forever. But, like past market rises, no one wants to think about a “correction” or even a decline in the market. Some of the steam will eventually run out of the extraordinary market run-up we have all enjoyed, but this leveling out may create an over-reaction in the opposite direction. That means companies need to make hay while the sun shines—and that your reputation is more important than ever.

So why are these predictions important to you?

We visualize what we think is going to happen for two reasons:

To capitalize on opportunities for our customers.
To protect the financial welfare of our clients.

That’s why we try to accurately peer into and predict the future of the industry—so we can put it to work for you.

Let me know what kinds of predictions you have for 2018. Better yet, contact us at 407-339-0879, will@wellonscommunications.com and see how we can help you capitalize on what you believe will be happening.

Happy New Year!

Communication is all about consistency

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Wellons team

It’s fun to have a new toy for your business, and it can definitely feel like a win to finish a big project, like a website redesign. Knowing how you’re going to use a new tool – and how it’s going to work with your overall communications program – is half the battle. After all, what good is a new website if customers can’t find you or if your content is stagnant and stale? Communication is all about consistency, and that’s where we come in.

Want to reach your customers? You gotta run.

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Wellons team

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are the lion or the gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.

African proverb

Getting your message out to your target audiences must be an important priority in your business. If you drag your heels reaching out to your clients and potential clients, you can bet your competitors are working to fill the void.

Why the urgency?

Because no one is holding their breath waiting to hear from you.

Important ideas have to be repeated — often

At Wellons Communications, we believe in the Rule of Seven: Seven impressions are required to effectively communicate an important thought or concept. Lion gazelle

The core message can be the same, but it needs to be conveyed at least seven times to break through the “white noise” of communications.

So how do you know when you have achieved the Rule of Seven?

Results.

Whatever metrics are important to you should either change (or remain the same) when your target audiences have absorbed your message.

What kinds of results? Sales should show positive results. Awareness should increase. Perception of your service or product should be aligned with how you want your product or service to be recognized. Customers and clients should be more attuned to what you are can do – and are doing – and why you are important to their welfare.

We get those results

Our organization conducts communications programs that strive for positive marketing results, not simply publicity or news coverage that puts you in front of your audience on a one-time basis.

The only reason you are in business, after all, is to sell something. And our job is to help you sell it.

We go about it from two vantage points:

1) Creating opportunities for you to tell your story and create awareness of the benefits of your product or service
2) Removing any barriers from your ability to reach your key audiences

We aggressively seek and capitalize on communications opportunities that can benefit you and obliterate any barriers (e.g. misconceptions, underutilization of available resources, competitive claims) that can stand in the way of your business.

So what’s stopping you?

One of the most common barriers to marketing success is getting timely approvals to launch messaging programs.

Plans can reside inboxes for weeks before reviewed and Okay-ed. Decisions on strategies and tactical programs can be pushed off until “we get it just right.”

Meanwhile, your competitors are running circles around you. They are getting closer to reaching seven points of contact with your target audiences before you.

Like the gazelle and the lion, you have to run fast

Today’s hyper-speed communications environment demands that you work fast.

Our team at Wellons Communications recognizes how important that is.

Like the gazelle and the lion, we run as fast as we can every single day and craft programs that our clients may have not yet considered.

Find out just how fast we can move. Give me a call at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com to learn more about what we can do to help boost your marketing communications.

Say it again…and again…and again…

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Wellons team

When you step back and examine what you say to potential customers, how consistent is your message?

Does your message say the same thing every time?

Or does it introduce a new thought to an audience that requires some time to absorb?

The wisdom of The Rule of Seven

One of the tenants to which we adhere at Wellons Communication is The Rule of Seven.

The Rule of Seven says you need seven points of contact with your audience to convey your message.

Why does it take seven times to get your message across?

Because in today’s communications-centric world, people are overloaded with information. Emails, tweets, cable TV, apps, newspapers, and magazines…the list of the different media that impact consumers is long. The list of information they project on a daily basis is even longer.

Because there are so many messages impacting us daily, saying the same thing over and over again is critical to get one’s point across.

Fighting message fatigue

One of the characteristics aggressive marketers exhibit is that they are often the first to grow weary of message consistency. The general feeling often is “We’ve already told ‘em that,” followed by the launch of a new and different message.

The reality is that potential customers, as well as current customers, may not have seen your original communication — or are so busy dealing with their own business that your message has not had time to sink in.

We believe that consistency is key to effectively conveying whatever it is you want your audience to know about you. And that means sticking with a sound strategy and message without growing weary of saying it over and over again.

What’s the one thing you want your audience to know about you?

One of the benefits of stating — and repeating — your core message is that you take ownership of your communications.

That notion is comparable to the oft used “elevator speech” concept: if you have 30 seconds to tell your story, what would you say?

Drilling down to your core message, and re-stating it at every opportunity, helps you meet the Rule of Seven and reinforce the key principle that makes your business unique and even more importantly, valuable to your potential clients.

Fight the urge to keep changing the message

Marketers are smart people who have a lot of ideas and are eager to try them out to see if they can improve marketing results. That intelligence, however, can be a detriment if messages keep changing constantly.

Customers and potential customers don’t require a hit on the head to understand what you are saying. What they do require is seeing and hearing the same thing on a regular, consistent basis. It’s a philosophy that effective advertisers have used for more than a century and one that is adaptable, albeit in a different fashion, in publicity and public relations.

We encourage staying the course and communicating in a regular, organized, and consistent manner. It’s easier on your audiences to remember what you are saying and when they need you, easier to remember who to call.

If you are in need of well-crafted, effective communications that are results-oriented, call me at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com.

Like the communications programs we advocate, we will consistently answer the call, always in the same fashion, and then look for new and innovative approaches that will help stretch your marketing dollar and improve results.

Say it with a smile: When humor works in communications

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Wellons team

Take a look at almost every headline in today’s news. Terrorist attacks, investigations, tweetstorm responses – bad news (or the threat of bad news) is the subject of almost every headline.

In the midst of negativity, we at Wellons Communications have adopted an approach that positions our clients in a positive light and allows their message to battle its way though the clutter.

If you have already looked at the accompanying cartoon before you started reading, then you have personally experienced a strategic approach that is working wonders for our clients. WCCommunications

Our approach is humor. It’s an approach that gives your audience a time out – a reason to smile or laugh and break away from all the gloomy news that currently dominates the headlines.

Combine humor with visuals

Our use of humor is centered on a totally serious objective: conveying our client’s message in a way that allows that message to be noticed.

We strengthen our use of humor with eye-catching visuals.

We don’t always rely on the usual visuals like photos. Instead, we are frequently use cartoons to provide a unique point of view for our clients.

Each of the cartoons we produce is original and carefully prepared to serve as a platform for our client’s message.

The approach is affordable and in today’s grim-faced news environment, it is effective because humor contrasts to the negativity that seemingly dominates media attention.

Respect the power of cartoons to project a thought or message

Once you’ve looked at a well-crafted cartoon backed up by a clever caption, you can’t un-ring the bell. Your message has been projected in memorable fashion.

In an overloaded world of e-mails, Facebook postings and tweets, cartoons stand out. And that’s precisely why the cartoons we frequently use for our clients succeed.

Cartoons exemplify the creative approach we use for clients

The use of cartoon visuals and captions is not necessarily a new approach. However, in today’s overheated communications environment, it’s an approach that is, by its nature, different.

It’s a creative use of an old technique. And it is a technique that, when properly employed, stands apart from everything else.

If you are looking for affordable, creative, and effective communications programs that deliver results, give me a call at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com.

I’ll respond at once (although not with a cartoon) with some preliminary thoughts that can kick-start or re-invigorate your marketing program. And that’s no laughing matter.

Social media delivers results

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Wellons team

More than 80 percent of Americans have a social media presence. If you’re not using social media as part of your marketing strategy, you’re missing out.

Social media marketing can be extremely effective, and it doesn’t have to be confusing or expensive.

There are two main ways for you to use social media marketing effectively. First, there’s the organic reach.

Organic social media marketing is content you don’t pay for. If you’re in business, chances are you already do this or have at least thought about it. These posts are generally content-driven and help keep your customers up to date with company news. They can also further your company’s brand.

But because these posts are organic, they can easily get lost in the flood of things available on the internet to the point where your followers might not even see them.

Because of that, if you choose to go the organic route, it’s essential to develop a long-term plan for your posting. It’s also important to keep your audience in mind and create shareable content so you can reach new people.

Paid social media posts, however, can help you meet your goals faster. Through paid ads and boosted posts, you can target specific audiences and have a flexible budget. Money can go a long way on social media, because, according to Moz, the average cost is about $0.25 per 1,000 impressions.

To create a strong social media campaign, it’s important to take a few things into consideration.

Target the right audience. Paying for posts that are going to the wrong audience can deplete your budget quickly and deliver few results. Write your posts for the specific audience you want to reach and put some thought into who your ideal target is to create an effective audience.
Budget your campaigns. Learn from experience which posts generate more engagement and reach. See which posts have a higher relevancy in Facebook and which ones convert into paying customers. Tracking conversions over social media can be difficult, but, over time, trends may emerge.
Choose the right platform. Although 18- to 29-year-olds dominate social media sites, there’s a more even spread of generations on Facebook, according to Pew Research Center. Use the platform to your advantage. For example, if you have a visual product or experience you want to promote, Instagram may be the way to go.

At Wellons Communications, we have experience creating both organic and paid social media campaigns. From the beginning, we’ll customize a plan which can help your company gain new customers and grow the relationship with your current customers. Give us a call today at 407-339-0879 to see how we can help your business grow to its fullest potential.

Let’s be clear: Why clarity is essential in your communications

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Wellons team

With a multitude of changes unfolding as 2017 moves forward, we are increasingly seeing what kind of turmoil can transpire if communications are not perfectly clear. Clarity Image

Ask yourself “How clear are the messages I am conveying to my clients, my associates, and my potential clients?”

Are your communications immediately understandable — or is your core message lost in a sea of techno-babble that few can understand?

Are your messages consistent? Are you saying the same thing, in the same way, every time you communicate your message?

Do your communications talk to your audiences…or at them?

Communications go well beyond what you may think

In business, communications start with the usual letters, memos and emails. But it also includes informative brochures, marketing and advertising materials, publicity and public relations information, websites, logos, and anything that represents or defines your product or service.

And that’s just a part of the communications process.

Business communication also includes tone and language and nonverbal behaviors. Timing, and the context that surrounds your message, can influence whether or not your audience will even see your message, let alone understand it. How you convey your message affects clarity.

Combine the complexities of communicating simply with the number of ways messages can launched — from Twitter to texting – and the importance of communicating clearly becomes even more magnified.

The seven C’s: an old idea that remains surprisingly up-to-date

At Wellons Communications, we adhere to the seven C’s, a notion originated by respected University of Wisconsin public relations academics Scott Cutlip and Allen Center in 1952. The seven C’s include:

Correct: From spelling and grammar to information, is it totally accurate?
Clear: Do you present one thought at a time?
Concrete: Do you say precisely what you mean?
Concise: Do you get to the point quickly?
Complete: Do you provide a means so your audience can reach you?
Consideration: Can everyone understand your messages?
Courteous: What is the tonality of your message?

Reminder: Communications are the bedrock of marketing

At Wellons Communications, we offer only one service: effective communications aimed at helping you sell products and services.

Yes, we dutifully subscribe to all the other esoteric qualities of public relations like brand reputation management, social and corporate responsibility, and organizational leadership.

But overarching those hard-to-measure intangibles is the need to generate sales. That’s where we aim 99 percent of our efforts.

We are either trying to increase sales or remove any barriers from making sales.

And that’s about as clear a message as we can impart.

If you want to learn more about how we can help you communicate – with an eye on positively impacting your marketing program, call me at 407-339-0879 or email me at will@wellonscommunications.com.