29. April 2010 by Frank Goad.

While I was working at Lexmark, the engineers introduced me to a great saying: “You can have it fast, good or cheap - pick two and the other one is set.” When it comes to marketing, the same rule applies. Now that there are so many “free” avenues, like social media and email, “cheap” or “free” can be a deceptive terms. Lets take them one at a time.

Fast: Do you use an advertising or PR agency? After the initial meetings, many folks “hand over the keys” and let them do the driving. It’s faster to let someone else do it because they do the thinking, creating and production, all of which are time consuming. That lets you do the things that make money. Sometimes, though, the business owner’s attention drifts from the agency’s work and don’t perk up again until there’s a problem (e.g. business lags).

Or fast as in, “Just put our logo in and say, ‘Best prices in town.’ That’s all we need.” You need more. Advertising and marketing are like anything else: Just showing up isn’t enough. Sure, it’s better than nothing, but barely. Your message deserves time, attention and creativity.

Good: Pretty self-explanatory, right? Well, there’s good, and then there’s good. In one sense, it looks and sounds fine, is attractive and contemporary, but does it give your audience a feel for who you are? You, your employees and your business have hearts and souls. Do your ads reflect this? Sometimes ugly ads do better than pretty because they touch the prospective customer, and connect with those you already have. Good is as faceted as a diamond.

Cheap: Cheap isn’t necessarily bad and lots of business were started on a shoe string. Cheap can be great IF what you’re doing is carefully considered. It can imply shoe leather vs. direct mai, phone calls vs. a display ad. Some cheap is bad because your marketing materials look, feel or sound cheap. Even things like Facebook advertising - which can be quite inexpensive - can look cheap if your message is wrong.

In the end, even though there are more avenues than ever to exploit (search engine marketing, Facebook, Twitter, email/newsletters, etc.), the key factor to it all is time. Specifically, time vs. money. Firms that hire ad agencies find their ads and marketing are much more productive if they are involved with the agency - they spend the time.

In a way, it comes down to a trade-off between time and money. You have to invest both, and the more of each you can contribute the better. So, if your budget is thin, plan on spending more time working on it yourself: Learning, producing, monitoring, testing, analyzing, and so on. There have never been more low cost ways to get the word out. If you use an agency, you will still have to go over the creative, read reports, etc., but not as much because you’re paying someone to do a lot of the grunt work for you.

Whatever you do, don’t hand the keys to anyone else. Make sure you’re along for the trip or you could get taken for a ride.

Posted in Frank Goad, FrankyGee3, Frank Communications, Frank, Advertising, Marketing | Print | 1 Comment »

28. April 2010 by Frank Goad.

“You have to start somewhere, so why not the beginning?” – Anonymous

For most folks, one blog would be enough. No, not me. This is my third (perhaps I’m a masochist?). This one is devoted to marketing, advertising (which I’ll call m/a for short) and visual communication. There are no shortage of the m/a blogs out there; there aren’t enough that deal with the tricky subject of visual communication.

Let’s say you have a beautiful website, but no click-throughs. Maybe it’s because your audience has a case of visual confusion. Their poor eyes are searching for a place to land on the page but get frustrated because nothing seems right. There are (so-called) laws of visual communication that, if violated, will run folks off like a rabid skunk. Law-abiding sites are more likely to be “sticky” and give eyeballs a good reason to hang around.

Besides the boring technical stuff, I promise to put some humor here. If you know me, you’ll know I can’t help but do that. In the end, my job is to make sure that when you visit, you leave with a bit of info that will help you make more money or live better or solve a problem or, if nothing else, feel justified in spending time here.

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27. April 2010 by Frank Goad.

Hi! If  you like this blog, send this web address to a friend. This is meant to be a conversation, not a soap box, so spread the word and let me hear what you’re thinking. Send me links to frank(at)frankcomlex.com, or post them in the comments. Retweet the posts. I’m hoping to learn from you, too, and I will if you speak up. Thanks!

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27. April 2010 by Frank Goad.

Great article for folks trying to get a stream going on Twitter. My favorite bit of advice: Don’t auto-tweet. One, you’re just polluting. Second, and most importantly, you’ll miss the opportunity to react to comments and questions. Check it out: Mashable’s 10 Twitter Dos and Don’ts

Posted in Social Media, Twitter, FrankyGee3, Frank Goad, search engines, Frank Communications, Frank | Print | No Comments »