Broad Reach Marketing Services, LLC
Broad Reach Marketing Services, LLC
  • Practical Marketing
  • About
  • Businesses We Serve
    • Healthcare >
      • Direct Primary Care Practices
      • Patient Satisfaction
    • Professional Services >
      • Client Satisfaction Surveys
    • Local Small Businesses >
      • Marketing Your New Business
      • Coaching
      • Customer Satisfaction
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Website Review
    • Name your new business eBook
    • Starting a new healthcare practice
    • Marketing your Business For Growth
    • Small Business Networking Groups
  • Client Listing and Recommendations
  • Practical Marketing
  • About
  • Businesses We Serve
    • Healthcare >
      • Direct Primary Care Practices
      • Patient Satisfaction
    • Professional Services >
      • Client Satisfaction Surveys
    • Local Small Businesses >
      • Marketing Your New Business
      • Coaching
      • Customer Satisfaction
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Website Review
    • Name your new business eBook
    • Starting a new healthcare practice
    • Marketing your Business For Growth
    • Small Business Networking Groups
  • Client Listing and Recommendations

Marketing Tips for growing businesses

​Ready … Set …. Poke’mon Go!!!!

7/26/2016

0 Comments

 
marketing and augmented reality
​
Augmented Reality (AR) is an exciting frontier with great possibilities for incorporation into your Marketing Strategy. 

The first most wide-spread application of this new technology has been recently offered by Niantic and their augmented reality game – Pokemon Go.
I’ve tried it – have you?  I've seen kid and adults all over pursuing the virtual creatures.  It can be a good way to get out, get moving and even play as family activity.  
​
​But what does this mean for small business marketing?  
It could be the start of a new trend.  According to Larry Kim, Founder of  WordStream:
“What this means for marketers is that the next time those adults are asked to interact with an augmented-reality interface on their mobile device, it's no longer a foreign concept to them.  They're growing comfortable with it. They even enjoy it. That's super important, because pushing new marketing technology on consumers before they're ready typically spells instant rejection of the concept.
Virtual and augmented-reality devices are expected to become a $4 billion market by 2018. Pokémon Go just ramped up adoption in a massive way, helping pave the way for businesses that will use this technology in the future to connect with consumers.
”

This technology as a new marketing tool could be growing exponentially over the next few years and even months, so now is the time to learn, experiment and analyze how it might or might not fit in with your organization’s marketing efforts. 


If you are a consumer-oriented business that relies on foot traffic, Pokémon Go might be a great way for your business to “Lure” in potential customers. You could take advantage of being close to Pokemon “Stops” and “Gyms” by enhancing your advertising and signage with a Pokemon theme.  
​
​7 possible ways to use Pokemon Go in your local marketing campaign: 
  1. Play the game -- Give game tips and show your participation
  2. Reward players  -- For example, message on your social media channels that customers that have achieved level 5 or over get 10% off their lunch or a coupon good on a return visit.
  3. Lure ‘em in - Purchase Lures (within the app), but plan ahead -- they are good for 30 minutes.  Post on social media when the lure is active to attract people when it would be most favorable to your business.
  4. Host Gym Battles
  5. Offer Charging Stations
  6. Advertise which rare pokemon can be found in your area
  7. Combine several of the above and ask for social shares. Reward players attracted by your other efforts who share their experience and mention or check in at your location.
But while you’re having fun with Pickachu and friends, keep your branding in mind and develop your messages accordingly. For example, if you were a home security firm, you could focus on safety -- remind Pokemon players to keep their eyes on the road when driving or to not venture into dark areas alone. 

Not for everyone?
But Pokémon Go isn’t an opportunity for everyone.  While a family resturant or new business might enjoy the extra traffic and exposure, business and insitutions that have secured areas or security policies might want to opt out of having any of the virtual creatures on their premises.
For example, hospitals, like the Carolinas HealthCare System, are beginning to see new visitors in unlikely places.  Game players may emulate suspicious behaviors, like walking around randomly taking pictures or looking at ways to enter facilities or get in the way of emergency entrances. 

The Academic Medical Centre (AMC) in Amsterdam voiced their request in a clever way on social media:
"There is indeed a sick Pokémon at AMC, but we'll look after him well. Please don't visit him," the Dutch medical center stated in a Tweet that included a picture of Pokémon character Pikachu surrounded by tissues.

To request removal of a PokéStop from the app, organizations can contact Niantic, the developer, and complete a form.  (Select “submit a request,” in the upper right corner and “report an issue with a Gym or PokéStop” in the menu.)

 
But for the majority of organizations, there are opportunites in the growing area of AR. So jump in to learn, experiment and apply augmented reality opportunities like Pokémon Go, keeping your target market and security in mind.   
For example, if you use Google Drive/gmail, as many smaller businesses do, and register to participate in Pokemon Go, you give Niantic access to your entire Google account.  What we did at Broad Reach Marketing Services is use a separate Gmail account for experimenting with Pokémon Go.  Easy solution, but you must be cognizant of safety implications of signing onto Apps and games with your business addresses.

As augmented reality interface options become available for your marketing efforts, remember they are just another tactic – and as with any tactic, consider how the offering aligns with your customer base, branding and service offerings. 
Have fun while you learn about this exciting new marketing development! 

Thanks for reading, 

​Nancy MacCreery

Pokemon and your marketing
0 Comments

Are You Leveraging The “Super Six” Tools to Create Engaging Social Media Posts?

7/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Marketing Tools
Are you getting frustrated with your organization’s social media efforts? ….  Perhaps you’re just not getting the followers or engagement you expected ?
 
Try these super six tips:
 
1.  First of all, insert questions and quizzes where you can.  There is definitely something intriguing about taking a quiz or voicing an opinion. Make it short and to the point. Incorporating an instant feedback mechanism for the participants will also engage readers.  
 
​A great way to generate questions is to take a few minutes and think about:
  • What comments or feedback have customers have mentioned recently
  • Customer perceptions you are curious about
  • What customers may value most
  • Big news items related to your business
  • Or something that’s just amusing related to the services or products you offer
 
 Examples:
  • "Do you have any problems scheduling appointments?”  and follow up with something like: “Which would make it more convenient for you to visit us?
                A)  Expanding our hours to late once or twice a week
                B)  Remaining open between noon and one
                C)  Offering hours on the weekends
 
  • “What would you most likely use a personal drone for?”                
                A)  Spying on your neighbor
                B)  Chasing squirrels out of your yard
                C)  Checking out the drive thru line at your favorite fast food joint
               D)  Monitoring your son / daughter when they are sitting outside on the drive after a date


2. Post FAQs, facts and educational tips.  Leverage any frequently asked questions, tips or facts about your products or services by sharing them in short, ‘snackable’ posts.
To make this easier, keep a running list of facts or questions as they come up so you can reference them easily.  Educational tips are engaging to current and potential customers and can show your expertise or concern for the customer. Offer informational insights specific to your industry, business products or services with links to more detailed information.
 
Examples:
  • Educational Tip - “This new toothbrush will help your kids brush the right way from the start.”           Check out our weekly newsletter for more tips on getting your kids to brush. (You can link this to your newsletter sign up)
  • Health Fact –  In hot hot weather, your body needs more water.  Be sure to drink plenty of water during the day, especially if you are outdoors.
 
3.  Just like in the theaters, people enjoy behind the scenes glimpses, vignettes and outtakes. 
​It feels like your getting a sneak peak at privileged information while also learning a little about how things are done.  This is a great opportunity to use live video  -- add a little humor and you can’t miss!
 
Example:
Do you have a big event coming up? Either trade show, company picnic or public service project - share behind the scenes pictures / videos that tell the story about your preparations while creating interest in the event.  (Remember to link to the event landing page, hashtag and/or website description for more information.)

4. Quotes, GIFs and Memes can be fun and are likely to be shared over and over. GIFs are bits of visual content that can add humor or help convey thoughts and feelings. (I couldn't resist this one with both puppies and babies!)
Picture
If you're technically oriented, you can make your own GIF, but you can also find ones you can download on the web.  This HubSpot blog has a great list of sites where you can find GIFs to use.  
Memes are a virally-transmitted cultural symbol or social idea. The majority of modern memes are captioned photos that are intended to be funny. The world of memes (which rhymes with 'teams') is noteworthy for two reasons: it is a worldwide social phenomenon, and memes behave like an infectious cold virus, traveling from person to person quickly through social media.  Often, they are parodies of popular sayings or ads. If you want to create one yourself, start with a photo and use the Google+ image edit feature or a photo-editing app like Canva. 
Picture
Content Marketing Meme

​Since memes can be copied and shared without their original content, you can get additional visibility by including your website in one of the lower corners.

Social Media and Customer appeciation

5. Fan or Customer shout-outs and recognition!  Recognize and reward loyal customers and fans who are active on your social media pages. Brief shout-outs of thanks, appreciation or recognition every now and then can increase customer and fan involvement - it shows your appreciation.  
Use this technique with care -- if you are not sure if your customer would like to be identified, ask first.  

​
Examples:
  • Thanks to Tim for posting pics from his cookout this weekend where he had us cater our specialty bar-be-que!
  • Special Thanks to Reta and Bob – our new customers that we worked with on their home painting project!
  •  Special Thanks to Georgette for her referrals – stop by and get your thank-you gift, Georgette!!
 
 
6. Host or share a holiday!  Are there holidays that relate to your business? Search holiday listings (example – www. holidayinsights.com) and then figure out a creative angle to tie it in to your business.  Create your own custom holiday twelve month listing and then include it on your content calendar to share with your community.  
 
Examples:
           It's National Classic Rock Week!  What are you doing to celebrate? Have a beer with us!
           March is National Crafts month - check out this bluebird house you can make in two hours.
           How sweet it is -- June is National Candy month, stop in for a treat.
           Other months of note: November is National Novel Writing and Aviation History month.
 
​
For the best results, start by defining your marketing objectives before developing your social media content strategy.  Outline the social media channels and general topics which best fit your target market -- then build your content plan.  Doing this up-front work will help you efficiently push out your messaging in a timely, consistent and effective manner. 
 
Leverage the “Super Six” and have fun with it!  If you enjoy developing your messaging then there is a better chance at catching your customers, potential customers, and fans interest to build an engaged community!!
 
For help with social media strategy, please contact us. 

0 Comments

 My small business story   #ProFinderContest

7/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Broad Reach Marketing Services vision is to improve the viability, growth and success of small and growing organizations. The name , Broad Reach, comes from a sailing term. When a boat is on a broad reach, it moves swiftly and efficiently. That’s how we work with our clients, listening to their goals and helping them to achieve then quickly and effectively. 
Our partners and associates can leverage experience gained from building small business as well as working for larger business. Since marketing is changing quickly, we are continually learning and sharpening the tools in our marketing toolbox.
Since founding the company, I’ve been privileged to meet so many genuine, helpful people. Some of these people are very visionary, leveraging their retirement savings to start their businesses, so we keep value and ROI in mind when offering solutions.   
In the small business world, relationships and service is key. While a giant company may be able to get away with less than excellent customer response, a small business that acts that way won’t last long. LinkedIn is a great way to keep in contact and augment those relationships. It also is a great database for contacts that updates when connections update their profiles. In addition, I recommend that my clients have a LinkedIn page to increase awareness and credibility.
LinkedIn ProFinder can also help – on one side, it helps new and growing firms find the services it needs, and on the other, it provides a way for small firms and freelancer find leads.

0 Comments

    About our Blog:

    Marketing Tips is dedicated to providing busy professionals and local businesses with information on marketing trends, strategy and tactics in a way that is both accurate and easy to read.

    Don't miss a post! subscribe using the RSS feed below or request our newsletter.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    B2B
    Branding
    Business Owner
    Business Plan
    Communication
    Content Marketing
    Customer Satisfaction
    Customer Success
    Entrepreneur
    Follow Up
    Idea Generation
    Local Marketing
    Marketing
    Medical Marketing
    Networking
    New Products
    Patient Satisfaction
    Positioning
    Quote
    Small Business
    Social Media
    Start Up Marketing
    Surveys
    Trends
    Value Proposition

    Contact Us for More Information
    We respect your privacy. For information about our privacy policy, please click here.

    Archives

    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    View my profile on LinkedIn

Home

About

Expertise

Contact


​Copyright © 2020 Broad Reach Marketing Services, LLC
Photo used under Creative Commons from ProFlowers.com