What things have you done in your business that will be able to become a great news story for your region? What introductions, assistance, discoveries, unique things produced or unusual services offered does your business model do that can easily capture the interest of the evening news? If your business model cannot come up with something solid in any of these categories of interest, it is not marketing itself well. Your business model is not doing the best it can do in the area of marketing. It is being left out!
Take a look around. Who is the top business model in the world? Apple. Apple has hit the number one spot. It surpassed Microsoft in top dog billing. What do these two companies do very well? They become regular evening news stories! They have strategically become part of the stream of news that fills the world with their company name. So does Nike, Google, GE and many other highly successful business models who have learned how to paint the fine art of making their business work newsworthy. Come on man, figure it out. How does your business model compare to these news giants? How well does your business model find itself on the evening news?
If you do not understand this kind of questioning, you may not fully comprehend how to market your business very well. That's O.K., you are not alone. It is of no shame to admit this. Millions upon millions of business leaders in this world have missed the value of this wonderful marketing tip. It is a subject that many business leaders have not explored, recognized nor inserted into their daily business efforts. It is often easily ignored. It carries very little strategic energy. It is left off the pages of many written business plans. Most people believe that news is created all by itself. Fortunately, that does not need to remain the truth. All business leaders can make newsworthy business moves. It is stuff that the best leaders know how to do very well. Just as it is true that it is of no shame to admit this kind of lack of understanding in marketing, it is also of no credit to remain there. Adding newsworthy work to your strategic business planning can happen quite easily. It can become a great addition to some very effective marketing efforts. Market the media! Add this effort to your business strategies.
I know a little lady who is the wife of a wheat farmer. She has convinced their farm to place in storage a small amount of grain for her to use for her own little project. She has developed an interest to take this small stock of grain and grind it down into a powder. She then mixes this grain powder into the flour that is mixed with other strategic ingredients to produce pancake mixes, cookie mixes, scone mixes, bread mixes and many other popular flour products that the public likes to eat. She pre-packages this flour with all of the proper measurements and ingredients for the baking of these popular goodies. The instructions for adding water and timing the bake are placed on every little pre-packaged bag. Just add water, mix the combination together and set the cooking temperature to its pre-determined time setting. WhaLah! Great blueberry scones! All natural, all pre-packaged, very simple and all great tasting. Straight from the farm!
She cannot get this little business off the ground. She hustles around her small community, every day, trying to keep up with the demand of the sales that are happening in the little shops that display her packaged wonders. She has the tail wagging the dog right now. Her idea has turned out to become a good little business for her family. She has described to me how she does not think her little bit of trade is big enough to do what it needs to do to go to the next level and become the business model it truly needs to become. She admits, she does not know how to do that. I said, "Use the news." She looked at me like a deer in the headlights stare. She did not understand what I was trying to suggest. To her, it was not news. However, I know, to the media...this is a great story to tell. It is newsworthy!
She needs to get this little business model on the news. It should become part of her marketing strategies. Trust me, Apple, Nike and Google would not miss this wonderful opportunity. They would be dropping out information snippets about their plans to deliver this newsworthy package to the general public. They would be rolling out the news on this new attempt. They have become masters at media marketing. So can she. As well, so can you.
The top secret today in the world of marketing is to get your business model lined up with newsworthy work. Find out how to strategically develop newsworthy stuff. Make it become part of your business plan. Once that kind of work has been secured, develop the right kind of habit for properly releasing this news to the media. You can have you own business 'WhaLah's.' Use the news. Market the media.
Let's examine some examples.
What if you were in need to paint your business building. This is a wonderful newsworthy opportunity. Select three historic color combinations that you may want to try. Purchase these three separate color combinations in small amounts. Then approach the media to see if they can help you round up the public to choose which color works the best. Paint three small sections with each of the three combination color choices. Have the media inform the public to come make their voting choice. They can select their favorite one on the social media page of the news stations you use. This way you help that news station become part of your business circle. News models are always working to increase their networking ways. Help them make that happen.
As your business hits the evening news, on its quest to find out which color the public selects...turn it into a contest. Measure which media followers are running the most choices for the colors they selected. Reveal which media is running the most number of selection choices. Turn it into a short term game. The public will notice this competitive action between the media models that are running the story. This works great in an election year! The public is already programmed to compete for favors. The public will notice your business in the news. The competition between the media models will become the source to create repeat telling. Your business model will receive routine attention on the news for this short period of time. Remember this simple truth, newsworthy stuff carries more credibility than your advertising could ever deliver. It is a business law that cannot be violated...only confirmed.
Get in the news. Find a way to get in the news. Do it without making trouble. Do it comfortably. Share the uniqueness your business model harbors. Share the stuff that helps others to discover. Use history, events, family challenges, donations, benevolence, new product discoveries, inventions, new introductions and many other wonderful ways to attract the media for news reporting that they can sell. Help the media sell what they need to sell. Give them a reason to attract more viewers. They will come.
Maybe you deliver flowers to the customers you serve. When you purchase a new delivery van, choose an electric one. However, prior to making this move have the media get involved with your choice. Have the news media help you find the best selection. This is newsworthy stuff. It helps them become part of this kind of news story. They love to be in the middle of people attractions. So do you. Work to dovetail these two 'like' desires. Make it become newsworthy stuff. Start planning to think more in this way. Make sure you have written plans that include media marketing. Get good at doing this kind of stuff. Become part of the local news.
Nike works the media well. Apple works the media well. Google works the media well. Proctor and Gamble works the media well. Watch how they do it. Learn from their ways. Dovetail some of what they do into your business marketing plans. Get very good at marketing the news.
If you cannot think of anything in your business model that is newsworthy, change that pattern. Start with one simple project to become work that will eventually become newsworthy stuff. Drive your plans to make newsworthy stuff happen on a regular basis. Your business name needs to become part of the evening news. It will work wonders on your introductions. It will work wonders on your customer attention policies. Your business model will flash into the minds of many more customers once it finds its way into the evening news on a routine basis. Add this effort to your marketing plans. It should become a part of your marketing strategies.
Think about it. You are at home watching the evening news and your business name just flashed on the screen about the colors that were finally selected to use to paint your building. The winner was announced on the evening news. They ran a couple of comments about why those colors where their 'fan' favorites. The public heard your business name become part of their evening rest. Nike, Apple and Google do this kind of stuff every single day! Why not you?
Her apple crisp coffee cake is the best, by the way! To die for!
Until next time...
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