This “Help This Hound” question is from John Easton of Charlotte, North Carolina asks:
“My new web video portal, Broadcast Charlotte, features local small business events, and I would like some help from your Hounds on how to generate my own publicity for it.
“Broadcast Charlotte provides on-demand video coverage of a variety of small-business events, from grand openings trade seminars. We want to attract not only small business owners, but anyone whose busy schedule keeps them from missing important local business news.”
Hi John,
Being from the Charlotte area, I know that there are a lot of areas that can be marketed too. One of the main ones is all the events that go on uptown.
One way that I suggest is to attend the events, interview the main person or someone who is directly involved with that certain event, record some of the events if allowed and publish them, hand out your business card, fliers, write articles on each event and have it submitted to the Charlotte Observer, I am not quiet sure if this is what your looking for as far as suggestions, but at this time it’s all i can think of. Hope this helps you with ideas.
You’ve probably already done this…have an event at a new restaurant and invite other businesses to participate in the video coverage of your gathering. Joan can tell you how to craft the invite 🙂
Don’t leave out announcements about your portal to the many business networks, women’s associations, university business schools, Chamber of Commerce and myriad local business-oriented organizations.
Having said that, offer your readers an interview with one of these professionals each month in writing online or better yet on mp3 to help you advertise.
Make the orgs part of your publicity plan and have a never-ending supply of people to interview, write about or share ideas. The organizations will publicize your events and FREE product for you, getting you more publicity.
Hi John,
Have you considered speaking pro bono at a local Chamber or your SBA’s Local Small Business Development Centers about a topic such as “5 Ways For Time Strapped Small Businesses to Put More Time in a Day?” and then you can introduce your video web portal as a tie in or one of the 5 ways. You can play with the words in the title and change ‘small business’ to: ‘non profits, solopreneurs/home based businesses or big businesses’ to attract your niche market and do other tie in products or services. Record yourself speaking at the seminars and make it into a series :). Double the video of yourself as a media resource for local newspapers and community based programs on your local news channels and to pitch other places i.e. Franklin Covey. With that same topic you might be able to present a paid workshop at your local Franklin Covey (they sell the time management organizers).
Best of luck with your new service.
Love and Laughter,
Shonika
These are all excellent ideas.
John, how about submitting the video to your local cable TV company’s public access channel on a regular basis? Since you shoot video frequently, you could probably create an entire series of shows.
Also, how about pitching the local TV news/talk shows in your community? They’re always looking for interesting features, and your story is very visual—exactly what TV is looking for.
All:
To Joan, thank you for posting my request for ideas. To the field, thank you so much for taking the time to provide your creative ideas.
I really like the idea of leveraging public speaking opportunities. I have been thinking about a seminar to teach business owners how to leverage the opportunity of video coverage. I see too many entrepreneurs run when the camera shows up (reasons given: my hair is not done, I need to lose weight and on…). I called detailed such behavior in a recent blog post, the broke zone (http://tinyurl.com/2y5yx8).
Shonika Proctor, you are so correct about reaching out to affinity groups, trade assocations and chambers. We actually have a partnership with the local Chamber. We have a rolling link from their website and our guide is featured in their print publications. I did not think about some of the other groups, thanks.
Joan, I did not consider cable access. To be honest, I saw broadcast TV as an enemy of sorts thinking they might consider us competition (which we are not).
John
John, here’s yet another idea.
Why not extend this offer to the local TV stations, business magazines and newspapers:
When someone calls them asking for coverage of a grand opening, ribbon-cutting, whatever, and if they choose to not cover that event for whatever reason, they simply refer these people to you. It’s a great way to refer small business people to somebody who can help them. It also lets the media get these people off their backs while also being helpful.
You get more leads. You shoot the video, upload it to your website. And you turn around and offer your best stuff to the newspapers, TV stations and other media that wouldn’t cover it in the first place. You already did this when you filmed that special event at your son’s school, so you know very well that even though the media will say “no” the first time because they just aren’t interested in covering it themselves, they will jump at the chance to air good video that somebody hands to them on a silver platter.
The other huge advantage to making the media your “partners” is that once they know that you can help them, they will be more inclined to cover you.
Who knows? They might even write a story about you as their new “partner” and let their readers know that “if we can’t cover it, John can.”
John hire Joan (smile). Guy’s I’m moving to Charlotte asap and John the first thing U sound like U need is an assistant. What U are doing can be done alone but U would be more effective with a team. Now, maybe I’m assuming wrong. However, I am doing the same thing and would love to join forces with U. Plz email me so we can talk..And Joan I need to put U on my board.