*Originally Posted @ Foundation Studio - May 22nd**
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Ok, so last week, I focused on traditional media - paper press releases, events, face to face networking etc. Hopefully you tried some of the ideas that my contributors gave and had some success.. please leave your comments if you did, I’d love to open this place up for some collaboration!! 
This week, I’m going to talk about some really cool tips I received regarding the “E” world.. and the ever intriguing Social/Online Marketing medium. Everyone is doing it and that should include you.. by now you should have a website, a Facebook Fan Page (preferred over a group), a Twitter profile, a blog, etc., etc., etc… If you don’t you are missing out on some SERIOUSLY cheap marketing methods! So without further ado!!
Pitch the World!
There is a superbly fantastic freebie that can be found on the web called Pitch Engine. For FREE, you can set up an online “newsroom” and submit your press releases to media contacts from across the globe! If you can’t afford a full on PR campaign and don’t have time to build and manage an online press room or distribute press releases then you NEED Pitch Engine. With Pitch Engine you can build and maintain a Newsroom that makes it easy to share digital assets like video, images, and other PR content.
http://www.pitchengine.com
Give Your Skills Away!
I created a free ebook that contains an outline of how to write a marketing plan and includes over 100 marketing strategies businesses can use to market themselves. Then, I wrote and distributed a press release announcing that I was giving away a free marketing plan outline and marketing strategy ebook.I have built a database of prospects that I market to each month with my automated marketing newsletter. I get many of my clients from my marketing newsletter. My investment of about $4000 to date to market my free ebook has generated over $100,000 in sales in the past two years.
Peter Geisheker, CEO
The Geisheker Group Marketing Firm
http://www.geisheker.com
Niche is Nice!
Go for niche targets online - Build a website specific to the target
Use a blog that has a data base that is active & participates - Put a survey on the site & approach specific associations around the country to encourage their data bases to participate in exchange they could have access to the data. Get to know the blogger and build a relationship - Comment on an industry blog/newsletter. Communities spread information by WOM - Within 2 hours we had 1000+ responses to the survey
Tricia@TheMarketingChefs.com
Get Cozy with Craig!
I have found hands down that our most valuable marketing resource has been Craigslist!
I have gotten exposure for edibleRed on Style Network “Split Ends”, The Dr. Keith Ablow Show, Maxim Radio, Discovery Channel, several radio stations and blogs. I have also gotten cameos in music videos by other signed bands.As a result of our guerilla PR efforts, we have been exposed to a few MILLION people through radio/TV/blogs and live shows.
Collette McLafferty
www.myspace.com/ediblered
How about a Swap?
My Best Tip was when I did a direct trade of my mailing list with another non competing business. The catch was that we each had to endorse each others product. He got to mail out to my list. I got to mail out to his list. No money changed hands. And we each got a direct endorsement that sold lots of product. You will NOT find any other way to make more money for so little to do.
Michael Senoff
Founder and Executive Editor
www.hardtofindseminars.com
Brag a Little
Top Ten List - Rather than leave a prospect with a business card or a sales email leave them with a paper or email listing the top ten reasons that they should select you.
David E. Johnson, CEO and Co-founder of Strategic Vision, LLC
Form Relationships
Monitor conversations in Twitter® using an automated tool such as TweetDeck®. Build filters that look for keywords that describe purchase intent. I use good 2 or 3 word phrases that indicate some sort of purchase intent such as “write socialmedia RFP.” When someone uses one of those phrases, I try to engage that person with something useful that satisifies their immediate need. “Hi, I saw you were looking for ABC. I found this . I hope this is helpful.” Most important. Never sell. Be useful. Don’t stalk. Just try to help the person on the other side of the table.
Ben Bradley
blog.benbradley.net
Turn Your Contacts into Twits!
We took our newsletter lists and imported them into Twitter® to see who in our community had an account.
We followed them, most followed us back, and we now have a direct channel where we can make suggestions, offer tips and continue customer service. I can say we’ve gotten at least one gig from this approach.
Monique Cuvelier
www.talance.com
Give Stuff Away
We gave away 25 different, viable items via social marketing. Cost :free. Success; Not only was this a feel good project, got people talking about us Internationally (one person won from Britain) but we landed a huge client that didn’t know about us.
Susan Johnston
President, Select Services Films, Inc.
Past & Present are the Future..
The most effective way to gain more revenue is to market to existing and former customers. These people already know and trust you - they just might not know what you offer. For example, I worked with an alternative health center (yoga, pilates, massage, acupuncture, etc) that had many customers, but not enough revenue. So we made posters of all of the services in the center and highlighted a different one each week in the email blast. In a matter of weeks, the revenue had gone up substantially - and we didn’t have to spend money on getting new customers.
Andi Enns
Public Relations & Marketing Campaign Strategy
Participation is Key!
I’ve written five whole books on effective guerrilla marketing. If I have to pick one, I’d say participation on Internet discussion groups. Cost is zero other than time. Return, for me, has been cumulatively in the six figures.
Shel Horowitz, Author, 7 books
Twitter: @shelhorowitz
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Facebook is on Target
Facebook ads to target very specific people.
Aidan Crawford
Marketing Director
The CLEMMER Group
Update Your Clients Regularly
Best tip is to have a monthly email newsletter to your clients and potential clients. Create subgroups to market to specific niche areas, like parents, singles, etc. The monthly email newsletter is as cheap as it gets! Not only do I get repeat clients, I also get additional new clients from having clients forward my newsletter.
Ellen R. Delap, CPO®
www.professional-organizer.com
Make Your Email Work for You!
I use email billboard signatures. They have gotten on TV as well as writing and consulting work as a result of my evolving roster of different billboard signatures! I give Social Media and New Age Marketing Workshops all over the country, and this tip is always a big hit.
A regular email signature can be anything from the person’s name, title, company name and phone number, to just an ending salutation of a person’s name and nothing else…. In other words many people do not think of the signature slug as the communications/ marketing space, or “billboard” that it can be! (Think logos, graphics and hyperlinks!)
Patti Simone
Marketing-Advantage.net
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As it was last week, these tips are really the beginning.. spend some quality time with the internet, use the search engines and look for online biz communities - there is an endless bounty of marketing mastery out there.. go get it!
Have a tip we didn’t cover? Comment and give us some feedback or Tweet® us @fdnstudio.. we LOVE to share!
Have a successful day!!
Ariane
I applied to a leading College in the Marketing field and after a lengthy application and waiting process, I have been accepted to start at the beginning of January!!
