Tips & Trends for Marketing Your Business

By Dale W. Hutchings

This issue of Bay Area Business Magazine is focused on the Banking and Financial Services industries. Those who work in either of these closely-knit fields certainly know the value of keeping up with trends directly tied to the financial markets. They are always offering their customers tips on where and how best to invest their hard-earned dollars or advising their clientele on new financial products available to help businesses or individuals better manage their personal income, investments and expenses. 

But providing tips and trends isn’t strictly tied to these industries. This marketing strategy is something any kind of business should be using. Keeping up with the very latest in your profession is not only crucial to keeping you abreast of what is happening in your industry, but also provides a great marketing tool to pass on to present consumers of your product or services, as well as to potential target market audiences.

How can you use tips and trends to your advantage?  These make great subjects for:

• Newsletters

• Blogs

• Your website

• Direct Mail pieces

• Speaking engagements, seminars, workshops

• Important reference materials for articles

• Advertising opportunities

• Subject matter for TV/radio talk interviews

• Fact Sheets as handouts at trade shows, conventions, networking meetings

• Parts of your Business and/or Marketing Plans

You get the idea: they have numerous applications, being informative, at times entertaining, always brief, to the point, and in most cases, easy to comprehend quickly and remember.

They are excellent tools for attracting media attention.  The news media is all about providing “meaningful news” information to its audiences, in particular, messages that are useful and “eye-opening,” not fluff or hype.

To take this one step further, when compiling tips or trends for whatever purpose you have in mind -- be it to demonstrate your expertise, provide useful information to existing and/or potential customers, create greater awareness for your business, or all three of these intentions -- here are some further guidelines to follow:

(1) The information should be not only interesting and newsworthy, but timely, relevant and educational – and above all, in no way self-serving.  (not information designed to toot your horn!)

(2) The content should be something new, innovative, different  -- information that will cause the reader, listener or viewer who hears it to say: “What? I didn’t know that!”

(3) It should be information that fits into one of four categories, something that people care about, need to know, want to know or should know. 

If what you intend to put out to the world doesn’t meet any of these criteria, the chances are there will be absolutely no interest in what you have to say.  

Developing useful tips or finding informative trends related to your business and the industry you are in is quite easy.  There are numerous sources you can rely on for such material. Here are just a few:

(1) The Internet – Go on the Web and type into your favorite search engine various questions or terms related to your business.  There is a wealth of information regarding tips or trends for almost any kind of industry.  Also check out free articles offered online.

(2) Keep up with trade publications and professional organizations/associations with Web sites in your particular industry. These types of resources always have items pertaining to either tips or trends that you can pass on to current and potential customers of your products and/or services.

(3) Talk to peers in your profession. If you are perhaps new to your field and would like to learn more about trends in your industry or tips to help current clients or potential ones, contact other people in your business in other parts of the state or country – who are not competing with you – for their input.  You may find a wonderful mentor or resource to help keep you up-to-date on what is happening in your industry.

Tips & Trends: Items so simple to obtain, and equally simple to use as great marketing tools in your business.

About the Author
Dale W. Hutchings, APR, specializes in “out-of-the-box” marketing and has more than 30 years of Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising experience. Since 2001 he has had his own practice with a heavy focus on marketing consultation and copywriting for a wide variety of advertising mediums. For more information on his services visit www.dalewhutchings.com or contact him via e-mail at: hutch7@verizon.net.