Engagement is more than just a marketing buzzword — it’s the critical component to the success of every marketing endeavor you launch. Ensure that your next campaign produces great results by downloading your free copy of 5 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers without cost or obligation.

1. Fresh thinking. Most important to a creative advertising campaign: it was actually creative. Advertising on a portable restroom hadn’t been done before, and for that reason alone it grabbed people’s attention. Palomar said it wasn’t uncommon to see tourists taking pictures with the ad-covered toilets. That snappy idea was a critical part of Palomar’s success.

2. Measuring results. Palomar didn’t just throw all its marketing dollars at a clever idea; it measured campaign results to be sure it was succeeding. A radio frequency identification device inserted in each restroom allowed the company to track the location of portable restrooms online throughout the campaign. Additionally, infrared beams on the top of the restrooms counted ad views as people walked by. Reports and performance measurement data allowed Palomar to track the campaign results.

3. Targeting the message. Palomar knew that construction workers were an elusive audience, constantly on the move from site to site. In August 2006, Palomar launched an eight-week campaign inside 2,500 portable restrooms at construction sites around San Diego. The company thought this direct targeting of an audience that normally doesn’t receive special attention might differentiate Palomar from the competition. Did the company watch its money get flushed down the toilet? Not in the least. The campaign helped Palomar secure 24 new commercial bottled water accounts for a total of $70,000 in annual revenue. Moreover, the company significantly increased its penetration in the construction industry.

“Engagement” is more than just a marketing buzzword – it’s the critical component to the success of every marketing endeavor you launch. Ensure that your next campaign produces great results by downloading your free copy of 5 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers without cost or obligation.

1. Get referred. Approach two groups about your idea for an educational presentation. By using two partners, you’ll have a greater possibility of future engagements and cross-promotions.

2. Make a deal. Let event sponsors know that you will generously waive your speaking fee if you are permitted to give away promotional materials to listeners, should they provide their contact information. Be careful not to over-promote your business because listeners will tune you out.

3. Educate away. By giving away your “secrets,” you actually prove yourself to be a credible expert. For example, if you stick to vague descriptions of what people need but not how to get it done, you’re unlikely to generate interest. Show them you have the tools to make changes.

4. Collect addresses. Offer a free whitepaper or a more detailed overview on the topic of your presentation in exchange for business cards. If you have these materials prepared, you can then move on to a personal follow-up with the people who have become your potential clients.

5. Work in a call to action. To avoid an awkward pitch at the end of your presentation, Jantsch suggests a three-step approach to introducing your services. First and foremost, present yourself as a giver of information. Halfway through your presentation, quickly mention a program or paid workshop you have coming up, and the price, then drop it and move on. After the question and answer period, mention as an afterthought that listeners are welcome to bring a friend to one of your workshops for no additional cost. In Jantsch’s words, “You’ve just made the event half price…, turned them into recruiters, and given your potential attendees a valuable tool.”

— Laura Paquette

Pam Lontos, president of PR/PR, offers these suggestions to keep your publicity efforts going strong as part of an integrated marketing communications plan:

“Engagement” is more than just a marketing buzzword — it’s the critical component to the success of every marketing endeavor you launch. Ensure that your next campaign produces great results by downloading your free copy of 5 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers without cost or obligation.

• Send out press releases. Press releases are a great way to get your product or service reviewed in publications. Be sure to stay abreast of the latest news, and if something ties to your business, send a press release offering your take as an industry expert.

• Write a short op-ed piece and submit it to newspapers. Op-ed stands for “opposite editorial,” referring to the articles facing the editorial page. Even if your view is controversial, don’t be afraid to put it out there. Controversy often sells.

• Write articles. Smart business owners know they must constantly stay in the public eye. Getting published in a magazine, trade journal, or local newspaper is an excellent way to keep your company’s name top of mind with the general public and establish yourself as a recognized expert. When prospects and current customers see your name in print, they’ll view you as an industry leader and will want to do business with you.

• Become an expert source for newspaper and magazine writers in your area. Email or call the editors to find out what stories they’re working on. Ask questions like, “What are your readers looking for?” “What are you looking for?” and “What angle do you want the story to take?” If you can provide information or insight on any of the topics, offer it freely so you can get quoted. Whenever you have an article idea, call the appropriate media outlet and present your topic.

• Use social media marketing (SMM) to promote your business online. These days, SMM is a vital and inexpensive part of any integrated marketing campaign. SMM helps you get your business’ name out to the masses quicker and easier than ever before. Create profiles for your business on sites like Facebook and Twitter and interact with potential customers.

“Engagement” is more than just a marketing buzzword — it’s the critical component to the success of every marketing endeavor you launch. Ensure that your next campaign produces great results by downloading your free copy of 5 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers without cost or obligation.

1. Let people opt in. A Ball State University study found that the vast majority of students who received unsolicited ads on their cell phones couldn’t remember what was being peddled, but they did recall being annoyed by the communication. Get subscribers to opt in to certain types of alerts, news, and advertising.

2. Make it fun. “If [your message] is not buzzworthy enough to tell or forward to friends, it will be perceived as spam, spam, spam,” says Mark Hughes, author of the book Buzzmarketing. The best mobile marketing, he points out, focuses on fun and flair. For instance, the cable network Oxygen promoted its show Mr. Romance by sending text messages to 50,000 women inviting them to send a Valentine’s Day greeting to a friend’s cell phone along with a recorded message from the show’s host, Fabio. Over the next two days, traffic on Oxygen’s Web site jumped 30 percent.

3. Be “pully,” not pushy. In Europe, Levi’s allowed teens to download its latest ad from a special Web site so they could view the ad on their mobile devices before it was shown on television. “We use mobile as a pull medium, not, as many advertisers do, to push,” Helene Venge, head of digital marketing at Levi’s Europe, told Marketing magazine. “People don’t use mobiles to receive ads; they use them to communicate with friends.”

4. Be interactive. Remember that mobile devices communicate two ways. Maxim magazine and Bud Light have run in-bar promotions where customers can send texts and images to a large screen as a way to flirt. This is the type of fun, attention-getting gimmick that plays perfectly to a young demographic.

5. Be immediate. Mobile marketing can reach people anywhere instantly. If you sell products at retail stores, make your mobile campaign effective at the checkout counter, says Michael Becker, president and COO of iLoop Mobile in San Jose, Calif. At sporting events, offer prizes on the Jumbotron at halftime if mobile users send a text message to a certain number.

6. Know when to send a message. “Unlike email, cell phone users will read the message instantly; therefore it must be at a respectful time in the day,” says Jeff Pokonosky, founder and president of WiggleWireless in San Diego. “This requires one to be very sensitive of time zones.”

7. Think integration. The mobile channel is most effective when integrated with traditional media, such as TV, radio, and print. Because of technological advances, consumers can now respond to TV programming, billboards, in-cinema ads, event marketing, and Web sites via their phones. “If you’re a consumer goods company, why not print text-messaging instructions on your product labels?” Becker suggests.

8. Make the mobile marketing message simple. There’s no time or space for sophistication or gee-whizzery. Get right to the point.

9. Use existing content — carefully. ESPN, the Weather Channel, and other companies have repurposed marketing materials from their Web sites, such as special daily offers and games, for mobile devices. When adapting content, be sure to understand the personal aspects of mobile devices and the requirements of smaller screens.

10. Don’t go overboard. “No matter how much people enjoy receiving certain information, they’ll tune out if you send too many text messages,” Pokonosky says.

“Engagement” is more than just a marketing buzzword — it’s the critical component to the success of every marketing endeavor you launch. Ensure that your next campaign produces great results by downloading your free copy of 5 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers without cost or obligation.

1. Pitching off topic. This is common sense, or so it would seem, but you’d be surprised how frequently it occurs. You have to know — inside and out — what you are pitching and who you are pitching it to. For example, don’t pitch a new line of clothing to a business journalist.

2. Including attachments. Don’t send them. Create an online press kit instead. By embedding the link to the press kit in your emailed pitch, you’ll be making it easier for the journalist to stay organized, giving them more time to focus on you and your pitch.

3. Waiting around. If, after reviewing your online press kit, the journalist contacts you, do not wait a week or even a day to respond. Get on it! They’re on a deadline and so are you. Your publicity success depends on a fast response.

4. Using your cell phone. When it’s time for your interview, make sure you call in on a landline. A dropped call or a bad connection can lead to confusion, wasted time, or worse. Good, crisp connections are key to achieving the publicity results you desire.

5. Focusing on self-promotion. Take a promotional break. When you’re being interviewed, remember that the interview is your promotion, so let it do its stuff. There’s no need to say, “In my book…” 15 times. Take a backseat to the interview’s power of promotion and enjoy the publicity results.

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

1. Pick up the phone. Identify your top 20 sources of business, referrals, and prospects, and don’t let 30 days go by without telephoning them, says Jay Lipe, president of EmergeMarketing.com in Minneapolis. That’s how Goldenwood Cabinetry of Becker, Minn., decided to follow up on trade show inquiries: “They got a much higher rate of first meetings than when they responded by email or written letters,” Lipe notes.

2. Leverage word of mouth. Who better to win over best prospects than a trusted friend? Incorporate word-of-mouth tactics whenever possible: “Use a tell-a-friend program in everything you do,” recommends James Feldman, founder of Chicago-based James Feldman Associates. “It’s the most trusted message there is.”

3. Investigate pay-per-click advertising. This popular Internet advertising technique is both focused (ads can be placed on pages related to your product) and cost-effective (you pay only if someone clicks through to your site). Enjoy Life Foods, a gluten- and allergen-free food company in Schiller Park, Ill., saw traffic to its Web site jump 80 percent after placing a pay-per-click ad.

4. Offer a guarantee. With money tight, consumers are pickier than ever. Make certain your integrated marketing message incorporates a promise or guarantee. “Whether it’s 100 percent satisfaction or guaranteed delivery, feature it prominently,” Lipe says. “It’s telling the buyer that they don’t have to take on risk.”

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

As marketers seek to capitalize on the latest technological advances to deliver their integrated marketing messages, they must develop strategies that not only grab consumers’ attention but also actively engage their interest in a significant fashion. One such way is to inject humor into your messaging. Consider these tips:

• Use humor to make a point, not just to score a laugh. That was the thinking behind the classic ad by direct mail marketer Jeff Paul, “How I Made $4,000 a Day Working in My Underwear from My Kitchen Table.” “[Paul] painted a comical word picture that got the customer’s attention and made him chuckle, while at the same time showing the consumer that he too could make money in his Jockeys,” notes humorist Peter Fogel, a copywriting expert in Richmond Hill, N.J.

• Get serious after you get a grin. “Carrying the humor throughout an entire piece could turn people off, cloud your company’s message, or, worse yet, give the impression that the company itself is a joke,” says Brian Baumley, public relations manager at Telcordia, a software provider based in New Jersey.

• Make fun of yourself, not your product. In his first TV ad, Pete Slosberg, creator of Pete’s Wicked Ale, was shown trying to peddle “photos with Pete” from a booth on a downtown street. “Who’s Pete?” a passerby wanted to know. The ad’s tagline: “Not yet world famous.” Thanks to this kind of self-effacing humor, Slosberg and his company quickly built a well-known brand.

To help companies of every size make their integrated marketing communication strategies stand out in an environment where consumers pick and choose which messages they will allow in, FuelNet has released the new Smart Paper 10 Effective Marketing Tips to Engage Your Customers. The free paper includes actionable insights on how to:

• market to a customer’s lifestyle
• target influential consumers
• capitalize on green marketing
• play into customers’ emotions
• get more sociable on the Web.

So how can marketing help drive growth in a weak economy? The following three strategies will help you allocate dollars to better-performing integrated marketing communication programs, which in turn will carry your company through the economic downturn and beyond:

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

1. Get targeted. A fundamental marketing tenet that is sometimes overlooked is to fish where the fish are. In other words, invest in media that your customers and prospects are exposed to and have the best chance of attracting their attention. Research shows that virtually all engineering, technical, and industrial professionals rely heavily on the Internet at work, and the same holds true in most business-to-business markets. But the Internet is vast, so be sure to target sites that meet to your customers’ information needs.

2. Think integration. Integrated marketing means taking advantage of multiple media, resources, and customer touch points to create a whole that’s greater and more effective than the sum of its parts. The greater the integration, the greater the impact your efforts will have in boosting visibility in your market and increasing qualified leads and sales.

3. Push and pull your way to success. Most marketing can be classified as either push or pull: companies push their message out through tactics such as direct mail, advertisements, and e-newsletters, and pull customers in via online directories, microsites, and search engines. A tailored, integrated marketing solution takes advantage of both push and pull marketing techniques to help you better reach a target audience.

— Guy Maser, senior vice president of marketing, GlobalSpec (globalspec.com)

For growing businesses, the key to success is implementing a turnkey neighborhood integrated marketing communication strategy. This approach focuses on old-fashioned basics like rewarding people on their birthdays, welcoming new neighbors, marketing to potential customers at their office, and keeping the offer relevant. The magic happens when you focus on the right customer at the right time with the right offer. It’s not as hard as it seems. Consider these five tips:

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

1. Avoid marketing outside your local trading area. Typically a 3- to 5-mile radius is where the overwhelming majority of your business comes from. And with gas prices soaring, consumers are more reluctant than ever to drive outside their local area.

2. Avoid the allure of mass media. It’s no more than wallpaper or elevator music. If it’s so critical to growing a business, how come not a single advertising agency uses this tactic to promote itself?

3. Avoid marketing until you have perfected the customer experience within your own four walls. Why waste money on advertising if your employees are underperforming, or your bathrooms are dirty. Focus your attention on any internal issues, and once those are solved, market your business to your local area.

4. Don’t follow what big companies do. Follow what they did before they got big. Starbucks has never spent a dime on mass media, and McDonald’s originally focused on the local neighborhood that surrounded each restaurant. It’s those early practices that swept these companies through America, not television and radio.

5. Focus effort and energy on your top-line sales, not cutting from the bottom. In most business models a 2 percent increase in top-line sales has the same impact as a 10 percent reduction in costs. If you are already running lean and mean, cutting from the bottom just decreases the quality of the customer experience. Focus your energy on the right side of the equation.

— Brad Kent, president and CEO, Smartleads (smartleadsusa.com)

For marketers, the challenge to remain at their creative best, in an industry that seemingly changes by the hour, is especially difficult. According to a survey by the Creative Group, 85 percent of advertising and marketing professionals say their profession is more demanding now than it was 10 years ago, pointing to the constant need to learn new integrated marketing communications tools and the pressure from finance to measure everything. Marketers may not be the face of their company, but their function is certainly among the most scrutinized. And that can be a major drain on creativity, something that’s hard to fix with a group activity.

But there are ways to keep creative people inspired. Here are four suggestions:

Learn the secrets of online advertising from the editors of FuelNet Monthly by downloading your free copy of Internet Marketing: Online Advertising Tips for Business Growth without cost or obligation.

• Give them variety. Nothing kills creativity faster than an assembly–line mentality. So avoid asking your team to take on similar assignments over and over again. Novel challenges will keep your people alert and excited.

• Make them business partners. All too often, creative teams lose sight of the big picture. A good sense of what your organization is about will keep people engaged. Offering employees opportunities to work alongside colleagues in other departments can help.

• Lavish them with praise. Let team members know you appreciate them by encouraging participation in award programs, and spread the word within the organization when their work is recognized. Creative people need to hear the applause.

• Give them a small “skunk works” budget. Since creative people like to tinker with new ideas, and unstructured tinkering can lead to innovation, give your teams a bit of playtime, a chance to flex their muscles on projects that are not directly related to specific business development plan goals.