New and Existing Businesses Must Keep the Buzz Going
Written by PR Etc., Inc.
Published by Rockford Register Star
Monday, November 19, 2007

Whether your company is brand new or firmly established, getting the word out about your products and services still takes considerable time and effort and should always be a priority for both management and staff.

Recently, on my BusinessRockford.com blog, I was asked what were some of the best avenues to create a buzz or awareness about a new business. The response is the same for new and existing organizations and below I share some of those initial outbound ideas.

• Networking. If your business is local, get to as many events as you can, meet people, learn about their businesses and talk about yours. Whether your business is local, regional or national, find the audience you want to be in front of, determine if they have any monthly meetings or networking events and attend.
• Media Relations. Develop newsworthy releases about your business and provide to the appropriate media and follow up with them. Most media will cover a new business if there is something new or unique about it. Then, on an ongoing basis, provide relevant information to provide to the media. For example, if your company makes cookies, the holidays provide a time to talk about them.
• Marketing Campaign. Create a creative campaign to tout your organization and/or its products and services. The campaign is meant to continually hit your audiences to keep visibility and interest high, and may include speaking engagements, advertising, public relations and marketing materials, among other ideas. Ensure your web site is updated as well as it is usually the first place individuals look for more information.

These are just a few ideas, but whether new or established, organizations should not rest in the status quo and continually think of ways to ensure their message is conveyed.