There has been a major shift in the world of marketing and public relations during the past few years.  If you are not implementing some of the new rules of marketing and PR early in your process, you will be wasting a lot of your hard earned money.  Follow these five steps to get caught up and move ahead in today's digital age.

Step 1: Strategy

No two brands, businesses, or organizations are the same. The first step is to  determine your goals and analyze the people who are or will become your buyers (or those who will donate, subscribe, participate, volunteer, or vote). Based on an in-depth audience analysis, your budget, and your goals, you can then design the best possible plan to reach your target audience in the media they prefer. 

Learn more about creating an integrated marketing strategy that engages your fans.

 

Step 2: Content

Successful companies are using the new model of publishing instead of the old (and expensive!) model of advertising to reach their audiences directly.  By developing an editorial plan with focused content, you can solve your buyer's problems, answer consumer's questions, and earn your customer's trust.

Learn more about creating compelling content that your buyers are interested in.

 

Step 3: Design

True beauty in design means more than clean lines and well placed imagery. To be truly beautiful a design has to fulfill a useful function, work well, be understandable, and above all be a pleasure to use.  Effective design turns ordinary marketing material into a resource for your target audience.

Learn more about functional design.

Step 4: Development

While developing your new marketing strategy it will become clear which technologies you need to employ to reach your target market effectively.  There are a host of free or low cost applications that help you participate in your brand's conversation and interact with your website.  A well designed website that is easy to use, loads quickly, and allows customers to interact will lead people effortlessly through the sales cycle. 

 

Step 5: Publicity

Until recently, public relations worked by planning something and hoping that traditional media outlets like newspaper or T.V. would find it interesting enough to run a story that would drive up sales.  With technology, we now have the tools to communicate directly with our audiences, and it is easy for them to share our story with their family, friends, co-workers, and on-line groups.

Learn more about using social networking for word-of-mouth marketing.

 

 

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