3 Marketing Ideas: How to Be the Happening
Great work comes not from trying to make something happen, but by being the happening. There is a new way to do business that is alive with generosity, ideas and inspiration. We have the ability to ignite and inspire our clients, ourselves and one another. Here are 3 marketing ideas that will fan that flame and let you be the happening.
Cultivate Relationships
Relationships are at the core of being the happening. Find new ways to reach out to clients and colleagues -- be the happening with a free workshop, a dinner party in an offbeat venue or getting people together for a cause. These events also give you a reason to get in touch with outside media with an invitation to see what's new. When you invite them, be sure to point out what they will find at the event that their readers will enjoy -- the latest menu items, a new design line, or the latest in bridal fashion. And, of course, cover it in your own social media, on your company blog and on e-mail blasts with photos and information to clients.
Widen Your Circle of Influence
Forget the medium – today you are the message. We "are the happening" today more than ever thanks to social media. We can now create and deliver our own stories to an ever-widening circle of people. When we do, it's important to stay on message and not get too personal, too one-sided or too general. Try to keep in mind a couple key words that define you and what you do when you begin to write a Instagram post, a blog, or an email blast (yes, I still believe in email as a great way to connect with your audience).Once you have your “voice” in place, blogs are an effective way to drive traffic to your web site (the jewel in the crown of your marketing efforts). To complete the circle, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram drive traffic to your blog posts and your website. Be fearless here too! Social media now allows us all the opportunity to get our ideas out fast and to also pivot when need be. Don’t sit on a great idea, and don't stay there if it doesn't work. Those luxuries are not part of the new attention economy.
Rethink. Rework. Reinvent.
Take a look at your brand from an entirely fresh perspective. For example, Zappos is an online company and an expert at making things happen in that realm. But this year it too is "becoming the happening" by taking its show on the road. The campaign, called Friends with Benefits, will pop up around the country to bring the brand to life for its loyal following, and new friends. Online to off, offline to on ... it's a flip-flop world where anything goes and creativity is the name of the game! Remember the words of Yogi Berra – the future ain’t what it used to be. When it comes to marketing and public relations in a world, the future is changing fast. Be ready for anything.Photos by Marianne Lozano of a "happening" by Eddie Zaratsian -- his gorgeous book of photos and words -- Eddie Zaratsian Lifestyle and Design.
