Stuck on your marketing? You might have 'Blank Piece of Paper Syndrome'

You've a beautiful piece of blank paper: smooth, clean and ready to record your marketing ideas. It is a moment of opportunity to bring your important messages to potential clients and existing customers.

Should you use a sales letter, phone calls, social media, exhibitions or something else...?

It needs to have impact. 
It needs to generate a return on the time and money you put in to it.
What will work? 
What should you say? 
What will have the most impact? 
You want it to be interesting. 
You want people to notice it.


Suddenly that blank piece of paper stops being enticing and instead everything seems daunting so its pushed away for another day... This is what I call 'Blank Piece of Paper Syndrome'.

I often start working with clients when they've become stuck on their marketing. By talking through their aspirations and needs for the business, we work together to develop an effective - and practical - plan to follow. Sometimes it's a on-off consultancy session. More often we then follow progress through monthly mentoring and/or providing the marketing services needed.  Can we help you?

Develop effective and successful marketing that generates the enquiries and leads you need to achieve your business objectives and generate a return on investment. Through consultancy, mentoring, training and services, Sookias Media enables small and medium organisations to understand their market place, identify ideal customers and implement marketing activities to engage them. 

For a no-obligation, impartial chat about how marketing mentoring can help you overcome Blank Paper Syndrome, call Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com. 

Finding your ideal customers

I'm a firm believer in people buy from people. I enjoy meeting prospective clients but how I make the initial contact varies: it's often through social media, exhibitions, conferences and carefully selected networking events. 

It's easy to waste time, money and energy looking for your ideal customers in the wrong place. 

Let me give you an example. I enjoy networking but the groups I belonged to when I first set up 10+ years ago are no longer appropriate.  This is because I have a clear understanding of who is my ideal customer. This includes the types of company they work in, the positions they hold as well as where they go for help, what they read, how they like to engage as well plus an in-depth insight into their marketing needs.

So these days, I do a little networking, but go where I meet the decision makers from SMEs.  I use social media to engage with prospective clients, influencers and referrers.  

Top Tip: Review your marketing activities. Are they finding you your ideal clients? If not, take an in-depth view of who you want as customers and how best to reach them.

Need help? Contact me today to discuss how we can help you find your ideal customers through marketing mentoring, training and services. Tel:  +44 1283 808460 | Twitter: @HannahSookias | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahsookias

What makes good PR?

PR – start by becoming your company’s roving reporter When asked what makes good PR (public relations), I usually give a simple answer – good stories. The media love them, so my tip for this month is to put on a journalist’s hat and discover what’s happening in your organisation. Find an angle and hook ‘em in Think up, down and around a story to find a unique angle. I use an NLP technique called ‘chunking’ to help me do this. For example, a story about new packaging is unlikely to get coverage. A celebrity-designed box or a process using NASA technology will probably have more interest. Make them interesting It sounds obvious to ensure your stories are interesting, but it is so often overlooked. Ask your trusted friends and colleagues for their honest opinion. If you are still not sure, give me a ring on +44 (0)1283 808460 to see what I think! The best media stories have one or more of the following elements: Is the story are topical and timely Is the story relevant to the readers /viewers/listeners of your target media? Is the angle unusual, or better still, unique? Is there an element of controversy? Journalists like – need – tension to make an interesting news story Is there plenty of human interest with people who can tell their story like it is and with impact? Stories to look out for Look out for awards, charity events, celebrity visits and anniversaries. Find triumph over adversity stories; good versus evil; major milestones or issues linked to something in the news. Stories about the first, last, biggest, smallest, most, least and best of all, unique always go down well.  Mix business with pleasure Feel free to mix business with pleasure. If someone in your organisation is trying to raise £1,000 for a charity, consider making it your corporate charity of the year and raise £10k. Hold events to support them, and help to issue photos to the press afterwards with a write up: ‘Mrs Smith, a worker at XYZ company has been astonished at the generosity of her co-workers to help raise this fantastic amount’. Happy reporting! Sookias Media helps businesses increase awareness, leads and sales. Through consulting, training and marketing we help them understand and use a range of marketing techniques including press releases, public relations (PR), digital PR, social media as well as more traditional marketing tools such as newsletters, eshots and direct mail.  For a no-obligation, impartial chat about how marketing and PR can improve your sales pipeline, call Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com.

Buddy (Coalition) Marketing

If you'd like a cost-effective way of targeting new people, talk to your customers and suppliers about buddy marketing (also known as coalition marketing). 

Buddy marketing is when complementary firms work together to promote their businesses. The aim is to reach a new group of potential customers who already have a relationship with the other organisation(s). 

One example I tweeted about is a recruitment firm advertising for drivers on the takeaway paper bags used at a local transport cafe. 

Others I know locally include:

• Car valet, tyre replacement and MOT companies advertising in each other's premises
• A printer including carefully selected fliers of other companies with their orders. This showcases other products in the printer's portfolio whilst promoting companies they feel their customer would benefit from knowing
• A pensions advice company running seminars with HR and law firms. 

The greatest benefit of buddy marketing is that you reach new potential customers through a partner company who already has a relationship with them. It's a third party recommendation and inferred testimonial all in one!

There are many ways you can structure your buddy marketing. These include:

• Links to each other on your websites
• Displaying adverts for each other in your premises
• Retweeting / Sharing / Reposting / Liking social media updates 
• Co-sponsoring or running events together
• Including their leaflets in your mailings
• Running a competition with prizes from each firm
• Offering your buddy's clients discounts and special offers

Sookias Media helps businesses gain the most from their marketing. Through consultancy, training and marketing mentoring we can help you identify potential buddy marketing and coalition marketing partners . Contact us to find out more and arrange a no-obligation chat with Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com. 

The right pictures speak a thousand words

Do you like having your picture taken? I must admit that it is not my favourite thing.

However, having organised new PR shots for a client recently has reminded me the power of having and using the right pictures.

The right pictures can capture your message. They can describe your product or service in a simple snapshot and even convey the professional-but-approachable image that is increasingly important.

Forgive me for getting on my high horse for a minute, but news stories are more likely to be used when they have accompanying, professionally-taken photos that are of sufficient quality to be used in the media… snap shots taken by the office junior on their digital camera phone just won’t work!

Sookias Media helps businesses gain the most from their marketing through consultancy, training and marketing mentoring. We'll help you give the right image to your customers; on websites, press releases, brochures, eshots and other campaigns.

For a no-obligation, impartial chat about the picture your company is presenting to its customers, call Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com. 

Joined Up Marketing

This recent tweet of mine got lots of attention:

#MarketingTip: 'Join up' your social media with your other marketing for greater effect (we can help if you're not sure how)

Certainly, from my own experience social media is often seen as an addition to rather than an integral part of people's campaigns.

However, linking in your social media with your other marketing can have a massive effect.

One example is when you are going to events. You obviously want to meet potential buyers and have meetings with them. 

Using social media can help you find out:

• who's going
• who's exhibiting
• speaker topics

You can use this information to help you find potential buyers who are going, get to know them a little online and establish a rapport. You are then able to prearrange a meeting before the event to maximise the return on your time and investment.

Sookias Media helps businesses gain the most from their marketing through consultancy, training and marketing mentoring. We'll help you market your products and services effectively and  integrate social media into those campaigns.  

Start "joining up" your marketing by arranging an informal, no-obligation chat with Hannah on +44 (0)1283 808460 or email hello@sookiasmedia.com.