tips for increasing visibility for your organization

[Guest guest]

Hello --

Below are some tips for generating visibility from the Wall Street Journal -- the tips are geared to small businesses, and I know there are a few people on the list who own or work in small veggie businesses like restaurants. I also thought these ideas might help the various nonprofits represented here.

 

Karen

 

There have never been more avenues to reach the public for small businesses, particularly given the Internet's rise. But with so many attention-seekers, it's critical to get the message right in any forum. Some tips:

 

• STORY WRAPPING Find a broader context or news hook for your product or service (for example, higher oil prices, elections, the war) and show how your company fits into it.

• KEEP IT SHORT AND PERSONAL When reaching out to journalists, a few quick emailed sentences absent of industry jargon explaining who you are and what your business is usually will suffice. Try to keep the first email readable without having to scroll down. Also, referring to past works by journalists shows you understand their area of coverage.

• WEB BASICS Building a Web site and getting good rankings on search engines such as and Google can help customers find you -- especially new ones. Consider blogging as a way to tell your story and interact with the public. Using sites such as technorati.com can help turn up other like-minded bloggers. Podcasting and online video-sharing sites such as youtube.com can help tell your story -- but do it creatively, avoiding pure commercial pitches.

• HOST EVENTS These don't have to be expensive, but small themed events with food and drink for customers can be a good draw, particularly on streets crowded with multiple merchants.

• BRAND AMBASSADORS Find customers willing to talk up your product to others and encourage their word-of-mouth marketing with discounts or first looks at new products and sales.

• PAPER NEWSLETTERS It sounds old-fashioned, but with so much information coming to people online these days, a mailed paper newsletter to customers can seem more personal than mass emails and help your business stand out.

 

Source: WSJ reporting