Vision Boards for Business

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Tis the season…to complete your vision board! Now, we know what you are thinking. How can a board filled with random pictures and words be good for your business? Well, if this collage encompasses where you want to go and where you want your business to be, it can keep your goals and visions at the forefront of your mind. A vision board can be a powerful tool utilized to help you stay focused. However, throwing photos on a board and hoping for the best is not all it takes.

What is a Business Vision Board?

Simply put, a vision board is a display of images or words that act as motivation by representing aspirations and goals you want to achieve. Creating one can help you see the big picture of what you are trying to accomplish in a visual way.

Why Create One?

We have all heard that when developing a business, you should have a business plan including goals, objectives, and a general idea of where you want to go and what you want to do. Part of that business plan of course includes your marketing efforts. When we start out, we have a vision for our businesses. However, when we’ve been in the business for some time it is easy to get inundated with the inner workings of the business and we can easily lose sight of some of our major goals.

By chance, did your original vision change? To ensure your business is not stagnant, it is best to develop a vision board and refresh it annually. This will allow you to focus on your goals and see the progression in your business. It will help you get creative and think of what new and innovative marketing tactics you can use. If you see it, you can manifest it. Not only can you manifest it but having something you can view regularly and evaluate, provides an avenue for accountability. Hone in on what you want by placing your goals in an easily digestible format, helping to increase your focus and clarity.

What to include?

You have heard it before. Pictures are worth a thousand words. When structured it can help organize the many thoughts that continue to live in your head and provide clear intentions. First, you have to have goals. Conduct a small activity to discover where you want your business to be. Ask yourself:

  • What do I want to accomplish this year?
  • What tools will I use?
  • Are there people or companies I would like to meet with that can help me achieve my goals?
  • What is my theme for the year?
  • What percentage would I like to grow my client base or revenue?

Then once you have your answers, it’s time to strategize! Find images or quotes that align with your responses.

Let’s Get Your Board Started!

Vision boards can come in many formats. You may want a physical one you can hang on your wall. If this is the case look for magazines, grab some glue, poster board, scissors; take it back to Elementary school and get to work! Cork Boards and thumbtacks work well too. Interested in a digital option? Start a board on Pinterest or develop a digital graphic using platforms such as Canva. Once you have the format in mind, go to work. Begin the creation phase by assembling your board in a collage format and be creative. Your business’ vision board is for your business and does not need to match any others. It is solely for you and your team. From here, all you need is a little free time. Sorry, we can’t help with that part. While this may be difficult, remember one thing, people find time for what’s important to them, business included.  

Once complete, hang it where you can view it often. If it is digital, think about making it your computer, tablet, or phone screen saver.

Creative Goal Setting that Works

Remember to make goals realistic and achievable. Long-term vision goals may encompass the BIG picture. But yearly boards should be focused on what you can achieve this year. Once you have your vision and board established, work on a strategy that will help you achieve your goals. Do you need support with strategy development? We are here to help guide the way! Email info@bekozmarketing.com. We are eager to see you win!

5 Things to Consider When Hiring Marketing Support

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We find that many times when there is a need for additional services to keep a business moving, there is usually a decision between creating a brand-new position or using funds to outsource support. In line with our 5-year anniversary, we are taking a moment to discuss the pros of outsourcing your marketing services by providing you with a few items to consider – FIVE items to be exact. 

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Many small to midsize companies have been there. You recognize the gaps and immediately you, as a business leader, realize, “I need help!” But rather than spending a large portion of your budget on a highly trained employee, consider the diverse skill set and cost savings associated with outsourcing. 

  1. Get support from a group of highly skilled professionals 

There are a variety of marketing areas to address, each with specific subject matter experts. Consider the vast scope the position must focus on; marketing strategy, digital communications, research, analytics, and more. The list goes on and on. Finding an employee that would be effective in all these areas can be difficult and costly. Not to mention recruitment, training, benefits, equipment, and software needed for success. Oh my! The cost of programs and tools alone may make you reconsider. Are you shaking your head yet? 

Why not consider utilizing your budget in a way that could be more cost-effective? Hiring a team of marketing professionals working together to achieve success in all these areas, that may be comparable to what you would end up spending on just one employee. 

  1. Assign duties that may be complicated to administer or control

Sometimes it isn’t conducting the work that your staff may consider the most enjoyable. It could be the more complicated items that become overwhelming. Consider the follow-up, pulling reports, analyzing, or testing concepts. Who has the time amid everyday duties? It is one thing to schedule social media posts but don’t forget the overall strategy, engaging with and responding to followers, and analyzing data. A team of professionals can save your staff time, while consistently working on the items that may regularly be avoided, or forgotten.

  1. Lack of Time and Resources

Let’s face it. Your job is to manage and lead, whether you are the CEO and are running the business or you are part of the two-person marketing team trying to balance all the departments’ activities, it can be a struggle. Bandwidth is definitely something to ponder. While you can try to wear all the hats, the end result becomes the inability to truly evaluate efforts and gauge success. In addition to driving up operational costs with overtime payments and days out due to overworked staff. Consider the effort it takes to complete all the marketing activities to drive your organization’s lead generation, as well as evaluate the findings and adjust accordingly. Save the trouble and stress, and work with a team to develop strategically coordinated efforts that will bring success to your company. 

Thinking about it? Contact us to set up a free 30-minute consultation. 

  1. Gain An Outside Perspective

Staring at a computer screen hoping new ideas will come is not going to get you where you need to go. An outside perspective can be seen as helpful and a sounding board that can provide a different way to look at things. A different perspective can provide out-of-the-box concepts, or help to expand new ideas. Even if you do have an individual focused on driving your marketing goals forward, we are sure they will appreciate the extra support.

  1. Leverage proven workflows and procedures

When outsourcing support you not only get the use of additional assistance or an extra set of skills, you get an opportunity to leverage workflows and processes proven successful. Rather than spending time building your structure or trying to adapt it to fit your needs, allow a team of professionals to implement industry best practices. Why should you have to try to keep up with the latest tactics to keep your marketing running, consider utilizing communication, outreach, and well-defined methods that boost efficiency? 

Evaluate the benefits

Some may argue that it is good to have an employee on hand when needed. While this may be true, let’s think about the following:

  • A team of skilled professionals at your disposal that can provide an array of quality services, ready to hit the ground running versus one employee. 
  • Your return on investment, including money, time, and resources. 
  • An expanded mindset to explore ideas and concepts from all angles. 

When you think about it, why wouldn’t you want to invest in a team of professionals that can focus on your various needs and come in ready to get started? Outsourcing allows you as a business leader to focus on what’s important in keeping your department and business running.

Building Blocks for Your Brand

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Consistency is key! The “Rule of Seven” states that an individual needs to see or hear something a total of seven times before it becomes memorable. Viewed items could include elements associated with a brand such as images, symbols, colors, text, and more. All elements that help your brand be recognizable. Think about it…if you saw a name or a design that was associated with one product or service, but that name was spelled differently every time or the design kept changing, would you recognize it if you were to come across it multiple times?

Now, imagine seeing these changes in a world that moves as rapidly as ours. You may possibly notice small similarities in the brands elements, but it will likely take longer for you to grasp the concept of what that particular business is trying to convey. Business leaders should not only work on building the foundational blocks of their organization, but building their brand elements!  

Regularly, the Bekôz team focuses on providing strategies that help organizations achieve the results associated with specific goals. We usually start by establishing a foundational marketing base that caters to the organization’s S.M.A.R.T. Goals. From there, a strategy can be born. However, before you jump into developing brand elements  there has to be a solid ground to build on. It’s almost like building a house! Your Marketing Strategy is your foundation, and the brand elements are the windows.

So, let’s start building with the following in mind:

  • Once your business plan or marketing strategy is developed, you should focus on establishing a brand strategy with guidelines your staff or volunteers will be able to follow. Many times, organizations have various individuals messaging on behalf of the company.
  • A brand strategy will help clarify messaging and assets and provide consistency across departments as content is released. Branding guidelines should include key features around graphic brand elements, a color palette, as well as typography and imagery requirements.

Brand Elements

When you think of brand elements what comes to mind? Some often consider only graphics. Everyone discusses a noticeable logo or recognizable symbols that will stand out. While these elements are indeed important, there are other areas that need to be included when considering a brand’s personality. Not only consider the logo’s look and feel but general rules of usage such as instances regarding a dark and light background, size and space when placed next to other elements. Should the logo be tilted, placed in a different color, etc.?

Along with this consider the brand’s voice. What is your organization conveying across social media channels, blogs, eblasts and other types of content? The brand voice is in the tone of language used and key messaging. Does it sound insightful, reliable, informative, or relatable? Take for example a brand that would like to be known as reliable. Within their messaging, an organization may take on characteristics such as ensuring they follow through, own up to any issues or mistakes, and go beyond their expectations. They have to be sure in their content they do not overpromise or oversell. They may also consider using words such as dependable, responsible, secure, safe, solid, steady, trustworthy, steadfast, and more terminology that infers devotion to customers. Simply select how you would like your brand to sound and consider symbols, a logo, and words that fall in line with the image you want to depict.

Color Palette

Did you know there is psychology behind colors and how they can lend themselves to promoting various feelings? This is why you may recognize many banks (Bank of America, PNC, Citibank, Capital One, SunTrust, and more) utilizing the color blue which ignites feelings of stability, reliability, and trust. Or consider the color red which encourages appetite, hence brands such as Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and others. Without slogans or symbols, colors can convey so much. So, consider wisely when selecting yours. Take a moment to contemplate what the colors of your organization represent. 

Typography and Imagery 

Typography focuses on fonts and can help visually communicate a message. Just like the brand voice, typography can express a brand’s tone. It can be just as significant and impactful as your brand’s logo or symbol. It can provide balance to images it is surrounded with and can add to the  tone, similar to how the color palette can provide feelings about the brand. In any case, your typography should be easily legible and visually appealing.

Imagery should have certain characteristics as well. Are there specific filters your team should use regularly? Should the images focus on people, landscaping, or architecture? Should they be shown in black and white or with vivid colors? Will pictures be seen up close or will they be shown using a wide-angle or zoomed-out? All of these items can draw up various thoughts and emotions in different ways. Consider what you want others to think of or feel first when viewing items that are connected to your brand.

Focusing on these three important areas alone will help your organization put the pieces in place to build successful brand elements. You will be in position to share your brand with others and ultimately improve brand perception and awareness. Yes, it may seem like a lot, but we can help get you started! It may take some time to think through, but we have to admit, this is one of the more fun processes of developing your business’s foundation. Remember, if any guidance is needed, the Bekôz Team is always here to help. 

A Clean Sweep of Your Plan

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It’s surprising how many organizations are so eager to get results, that they jump into action and completely miss out on the key aspects needed to make their marketing work for them. While we understand the enthusiasm, the consequences of not having a strategic plan in place can severely impact your organization; specifically, when it comes to collecting data and evaluating your efforts.

Think about this:

  • Without proper objectives, goals or benchmarks, you don’t get the data needed to evaluate whether you’ve reached your mark.
  • You overextend your business’ resources because you are on every platform instead of being strategic about using the proper channels.
  • You try to evaluate progress but get multiple streams of data and then have difficulty sorting through results.
  • Or you are completely successful and have a good amount of data, but you have not taken the time to review and evaluate it , therefore you’re not sure what exactly worked well for you.

If you have limited resources, you have to make a plan. Without a plan, you may start to feel overwhelmed, However, with a good plan in place, you can avoid the misfortunes highlighted above. This doesn’t need to be your outcome. As Stephen Covey mentioned in “7 habits of Highly Effective People,” begin with the end in mind. By just taking a moment to develop a plan that will act as a road map these issues can be avoided. When strategizing there are a number of items you should consider.

  1. Look at the Big Picture

Review what is already established. Your plan doesn’t have to start from scratch. Many times, organizations have a business or strategic plan in place that outlines the organization’s overall goals. Revisit that plan and line up your marketing actions with the company’s goals and objectives.

  • Be S.M.A.R.T!

Next, consider what you want to achieve through your marketing efforts and establish your S.M.A.R.T Goals; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Remember to work smarter, not harder.

  • Consider Who You are Trying to Reach

Establish your target market with the help of a buyer persona. Determining your buyer persona allows you to picture who you want to reach and how you want to reach them.  Visualize your target so you can reach the right audience in the right spaces with the right content. Consider the following questions;

  • Who are the people you are trying to reach?
  • What type of platforms do they utilize?
  • What are they interested in?
  • What type of content would attract their attention and provide engagement?
  • How do they use particular platforms?
  • What are they talking about? Interview some of those that are close to your organization?

Get on the phone with an ideal sponsor or volunteer and ask questions. This will help focus your outreach strategy and provide you with the answers you need. Not only looking at demographics but psychographics as well, which are things like attitude and concerns about topics. Once you realize who it is you are talking to, you can determine what information will be most pertinent to them and begin to develop your strategy.

  • Map It Out

With an eye on the organization’s overall objectives and S.M.A.R.T. goals established, a timeline for completion accompanied by a budget andmetrics for evaluations, you can now complete your strategy for success. Prioritize your plan in a one-to-three-year roadmap and work to obtain buy-in from stakeholders. Consider your resources such as who is on your team that can help provide content. Think about the size of your team and if outsourcing will be necessary. If so, make sure to incorporate these costs in your budget.  Within the budget also consider whether there will be a focus on organic content or paid ads. Make note of any roadblocks such as a lack of time, people, or money, and consider how these items may affect your goal, timeline, and budget.

  • Create and Evaluate

Now, we come to the portion everyone seems to jump into first, content creation. However, this time we have taken essential steps to ensure a successful journey. This strategy can also be used to establish the development of your content, no matter what format it may be in. It doesn’t have to be daunting. Here is a quick structure to help put together your strategy.

  • Review your persona and the content that would be most appealing to the people you are trying to reach.
  • Think about what will make it valuable or useful to them.
  • Look at what channel resonates with your demographic the best and go there.
  • Then think about the information we just went over.
  • Consider posting times for best traction and when your audience may be online.
  • Get team buy-in? Who on your team or in your organization has the information you need and establish a funnel for that information to get to you.

Content releases should help reach the organization’s objectives and meet S.M.A.R.T. Goals. However, to determine success, you must evaluate your metrics.Keep an eye on your content and engagement to identify where change is happening and then decide where you need to adapt. What better way to do that than set up metrics that will provide you with the answers you are looking for so you can make data-driven decisions.

According to Hubspot, “Bad data is costing businesses an astonishing 15% – 25% of revenue a year.”

Bad data is costing you money and you don’t need that because you need all of the resources to support your services, programs, and business.

Let’s Review

  1. Start with the big picture! Review established plans.
  2. Put the pieces in place:
    1. Establish your S.M.A.R.T. goals
    1. Evaluate your target market and develop your Buyer Personas
  1. Construct your roadmap to help guide the way by developing a strategic plan
  2. Create and evaluate
  3. Repeat these actions, over and over again, making adjustments that will help you succeed along the way.

Once you have what you need, you can make strategic decisions instead of using intuition to help drive and reach your goals. So, let’s get, checkout some additional tips that can help prepare your strategy and keep an eye out for additional information on strategic planning concepts. Need additional resources or support getting started? Contact the Bekoz Team for a brief discussion regarding your next steps.

Flexing on Flexibility

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It seems we never know what we are going to wake up to these days. The year 2020 was a whirlwind forcing us as business owners, family members, friends, and more to become flexible in ways we may have never imagined. Our original plans were crumpled up like a paper ball and then smoothed out in new creative ways that have us moving forward now, at whatever pace it may be. Even at the forefront of a New Year with promise in mind, we have seen how we must remain flexible. So, let’s just say it.

If your original plan isn’t in shambles by now, then you aren’t living your best life!

Quite frankly, if you have not adapted to the changes presented before us, or reevaluated your plan several times in the past year, you and your business could be in shambles. Adjustments are deemed necessary in this ever-changing environment. But, don’t fret.  If you are not living your best life, then we simply have some work to do.

Pivoting Your Plan

In a recent series of “Back Stage with Bekoz,” we encountered two businesses that have had to completely pivot the way they conducted business to meet the requirements that would continue to push their business goals in the right direction. Like many businesses, both Sankofa Yoga Center and GLOSS Sisterhood have had to shift their marketing plans and initiatives to meet the demand of a consistently changing society, and become familiar with video and online avenues that create engagement and interaction for their consumers and members. Even here at Bekoz, we have had to adjust to utilizing creative platforms for messaging and consider how to make our content for visual. We’ve brainstormed around developing more:

  • Catchy gifs
  • Video interviews and updates
  • Virtual events vs. in-person
  • Expanding reach through different platforms (e.g. Tic Tok)

Regardless of the shift, here are a few considerations as you work on sustaining and maximizing your new plan in the New Year. It’s time to reach out, even though you may be locked in.

  1. Strategize

No matter where you are in your planning process, if you don’t have a strategy, stop! Back up and create one. Need some support? Contact us! You may need to develop one from scratch or you may need to re-evaluate and re-define what you already have. Many times, we set goals for ourselves and our businesses that sit in the corner and collect dust. Well, dust it off and work your plan.

Take a moment to look at the goals you have set and see how they can be expanded. Be flexible! Make adjustments as needed. We have mentioned several times about the importance of making SMART Goals. A New Year equals new beginnings and a fresh start to what we may have been, old dreams. Ask yourself – “What didn’t work in the past, and why”? Then make the necessary adjustments to achieve your planned outcome.

2. Identify Your Target Market

First things first, establish a user persona so you can entice and engage.
Results will not come if you just throw money at the wall and hope someone sees what you are putting out there. User personas are a character you can create that resemble different groups of people who may use or purchase your services and products in a similar way. Developing these descriptions will help familiarize yourself with who you are trying to reach and the best ways to reach them.

3. Take Action!

The scene is set! You have goals in place and you’re reaching the people. It’s time to create, package and distribute! Time to pull out those Branding Guidelines and put them to use. Take what you have created for the look and feel of your company and dive in.

  • Looking at increasing your social media reach? Develop a social media content calendar to structure and organize posts.
  • Looking to increase your lead generation? Create campaigns that will gain the attention of your target market and provide ways for you to interact with them often.

4. Evaluate

Take a moment to review your SMART Goals and make notes along the way. Look at items such as reach, general engagement and other measurable activities. See what benchmark adjustments should be made to accomplish your goals and make modifications where needed.

This is where you get into a repetitious cycle that may seem a bit tedious but will benefit you in the long run. We promise. It goes something like this.

  1. Strategize
  2. Take Action
  3. Evaluate
  4. Repeat.

Remember, things change so you have to remain flexible in order to adapt to the customer’s needs and wants. In this way you have the ability to maximize and sustain your new plan.

In future post, we will be sure to address how to start or revamp your strategy, define your target market, build campaigns and more. So be sure to sign up for notifications so you will get the latest information on this year’s focus; Building Your Marketing Foundation with everything you need to get started on the right track.

#AllThingsTrending

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Have you ever wondered how bloggers with the best content come up with those mouth watering topics? It’s the kind of information everyone wants to know and will search to get it! It’s the kind of content that starts to trend and helps generate traffic to their website, social media, and more. Don’t just sit back and envy others for the content they are posting. Instead, learn the tricks of the trade, and begin to provide engaging content that will leave people wanting more. With a good strategy and additional items to add to your content marketing tool box, you’ll be delivering content that will lure your target audience right through your virtual door.

Develop a Keyword Strategy

Let’s start by developing a keyword strategy. Identifying a few key words that align with your organization and industry can help bring attention to your content and lead people who are searching for specific services or products right to you. We need to consider the dos and don’ts of keyword usage in content development.

Do…Don’t…
Consider your CLIENT first. Think about search terms used by your target market to search for specific items.Search engines are smart. Don’t OVERLOAD your content with keywords. Instead use synonyms or similar terms as well.
Keep content keywords, topics and the overall message VALUE-DRIVEN.Do not post IRRELEVANT topics or items that will take away from your focus.
Develop a list of words that can be placed into CLUSTERS and act as subtopics for your main subject. Avoid SPORADICALLY spreading topics across your site. Develop a strategy that will add to the user’s experience. 
Use KEYWORDS in the post/page url and topic titles.Do not GIVE UP on your existing SEO strategy.

https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2020/07/23/how-to-use-trending-keywords-from-current-events-in-content-marketing/

Identify trending topics 

Now that we have an idea of what to do and what not to do, how do you find trending topics and incorporate keywords into your content creation? By now you should have thought of several industry, product or service related keywords to utilize. If not, here’s an example to give you an idea. Let’s take a healthcare organization focused on providing educational awareness regarding the latest with COVID-19. Keywords may include the obvious:

  • Coronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Pandemic

But what about also including:

  • Vaccine 
  • Symptoms 
  • Quarantine 

These keywords can be placed into groups and incorporated within main topics helping to guide the direction of your content. Keywords can also be utilized to bring attention to topic titles. Back to our healthcare organization example…

  • Top 5 things to know about the Coronavirus.
  • COVID-19 Resources, what to do if infected?

However, the question still remains, are these topics people want to know about and will they draw traffic to your website? There are a number of tools and resources (free and paid), that can help you determine what may be trending or what popular topics are within a specific industry. 

Quara

See what people are discussing on Quara.com. Quara is a place anyone can go to share knowledge and ask questions. Visit the site and take a look at the most popular posts. Using this site, you can gain ideas about what people are thinking about topics and develop content surrounding those ideas.

Google

Plug terms into the Google search engine and scroll down to the bottom to look up related search suggestions. Utilize the “Autocomplete” tool. When putting a term into Google’s search box, a number of terms will drop down appearing below the term you have listed. These terms, questions or phases are the most searched items related to what you have placed in the search console. Another Google function great for finding related content and popular trends is Google Trends. Visit the site and see what great information you can obtain by listing a simple word or phrase.

Another way to determine how well your topic is trending is to utilize Buzzsumo, which will allow you to see how well topics are doing across social media or articles.

By doing a quick search and  utilizing these sites we found some popular topics across the U.S. 

The most interesting ‘top searched for’ results from across the globe:

US

  • Most popular news resources: Fox News, CNN, ESPN
  • Most popular retailers: Amazon, Walmart, Ebay
  • Most popular streaming platforms: Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu
  • Most popular food chains: Domino’s, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s

Globally

‘Dalgona coffee’ – the homemade coffee prepared from instant coffee, sugar, water and milk, which looks like the coffee from the best coffee house which quickly became a hit on Instagram, – is the most trending keyword globally. 

US

When President Donald Trump signed the CARES act, Google searches for the keyword ‘Stimulus check’ exceeded 20 million searches per month, and became the most trending keyword in the U.S. in 2020 and still is so far. 

Top Google Searches

Everyone wants to have a trending brand or topic, but with so many trying to achieve the same goals, how do you separate yourself? Take into consideration featured articles based on content topics that match your target market personas.

Build Topic Clusters

Topic Clusters help with content organization by connecting subtopics to main themes and keywords. They are a great addition to your SEO or content marketing strategy. Content clusters help both the person searching for information,  as well as the search engine itself. Search engines are looking for information and content they feel will be beneficial to the searcher. Think of clusters as subtopics of similar information which can be linked to a broad core topic and provide insight of a main topic at a deeper level. Adding trending topics into the cluster to provide information about a core topic will help search engines find your content helpful as it fulfills the need of what your market is searching for. 

Use subtopics for blog posts, downloadables, and more.  Be sure to link subtopics to core pages where applicable. Be sure these topics support at least one of your products or services. Use your content to educate, entertain and engage, then watch them keep coming back. 

If we go back to our health care example we can develop core

  • Core Topic: Healthcare
    • Beat the Coronavirus by building your immune system.
    • Signs and systems of Coronavirus.
    • Preexisting conditions that can worsen the effects of the Coronavirus.
  • Core Topic: Education 
    • Where to get tested for COVID-19.
    • What happens when testing for the Coronavirus.
    • 6 things to do while in Quarantine.
    • Telehealth options when you can’t leave the house.

Determine what’s trending and implement these few steps for your SEO strategy to enhance traffic your website! Interested in gaining more  helpful ways to see what’s trending? Download a checklist of items to consider and utilize when developing your content.

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CHECKLIST TODAY!

3 Hot Tips to Create a Buzz

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Word of Mouth marketing (WOM) is a tried and true tactic for building a brand culture that will be loyal and in return support your brand, share information, help you generate buzz and be an advocate for your brand. 

By leveraging your existing membership base, key stakeholders, partners, consumers and constituents you can employ WOM marketing tactics to build brand awareness.

TIP 1: Engage partners and establish ways to highlight them and equip them with tools and resources to help them spread the word about your initiatives. Identify at least three local/national partners that align with your mission, brand and culture; you can expand this list as needed, but start with a few that are manageable. Conduct outreach to these prospective partners and schedule initial discussions. Discuss opportunities for collaboration. Make sure you are offering a win-win opportunity; sharing your resources will help spread the word about your organization, but also consider how you can cross-collaborate and share their resources as well. Your partnerships need to be mutually beneficial.

TIP 2: Depending on your organization or initiative, gather a list of friends and family that could contribute to your WOM efforts. Prepare targeted communications (e.g. email campaign) to ask for their support and to share information about your initiative and/or organization. You should also provide them with resources to spread the word (hint: repurpose what you shared with your partners – see TIP 1). To assist with engagement, consider at least three touch points  to ensure repetition for recognition.

TIP 3: Who is in your target market? Identify individuals from those groups. Get them on board as brand ambassadors, and they can serve as an extension of your brand through event attendance, social media support and outreach/education. Make sure you have an “onboarding” process, so your ambassadors understand more about your mission and purpose. Learn more about building a Brand Ambassador team.

Do you remember playing the game “telephone” as a kid…well think of WOM efforts as an enhanced version of telephone. WOM is a powerful way to disseminate information, generate buzz and ensure there is a steady drumbeat of your messaging.

Interested in chatting more about how WOM can work for your organization – connect with us today.

Change Starts with You – Stand Up!

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Looking to make a difference but not quite sure where to start? Our passions draw us to certain causes and sometimes we are compelled to act as a result of a strong feeling to particular activities. Maybe it is something in the past that pushes us to move in a certain direction or area. Maybe it is something we witness that pulls out inner thoughts and emotions. Could it be, that we just want to give back in some way? Regardless of what it may be, nothing happens by remaining silent and sitting on the sidelines. For change to occur, you must stand up and show up.

Although we are eager to act, there are times when we may not know how to get involved or who to contact. Here are some key points to consider when starting your activism or volunteer journey.

Research:

Become educated about the topic. Start by seeking out content regarding the cause, by using keywords that are associated with the topic. Google is your friend, the internet is full of information that is at the tips of our fingers. One word can open a door to an overflow of resources. Spend time researching the topic you have an interest in and desire to learn more about. While the internet is a great source for information, you may need to verify its validity by identifying additional resources, people and organizations.

Reach Out:

After the research is done and you feel comfortable with your knowledge base of the cause you want to get involved in, reach out. Recently, many who had an interest in coming together on behalf of racial injustice, participated in protests to seek answers and incite change. Flyers circulated, word of mouth spread, and social media was a critical communication channel to mobilize meetings. Consider a different kind of cause (koz), how about those who felt compelled to work on behalf of businesses after they were forced to shut down during a global pandemic. Many came together to provide support to these businesses in various ways. They worked to ensure that although there may be a struggle, our economy could thrive again once the nation moved forward. Some business owners connected through social media groups and helped connect those who had the same interest. Others, have facilitated discussions and supported interest by conducting webcasts or lively chats via podcasts. Regardless of where you may get your information, there is an avenue to connect with others to help further your cause and get involved.

Stand Up:

Make a move! You’re armed with information and you’ve made connections. Everything is in place for you to make a move and get involved. Show up and be relevant. Your voice and actions could bring about the momentum needed to implement change. 

These are three simple steps to get you going. Do your research, make some connections and Reach Out, then do your part and Stand Up! Change can happen today starting with us. #StandUp #SpeakOut. The Bekôz team is dedicated to social improvement and we hope you will join us, Bekôz your voice matters and you can make the difference.

Prepare a Crisis Communication Plan

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In every business a crisis may be viewed differently. For instance, what may be defined as a crisis and its impact for some businesses may be completely different for other businesses in a separate industry. However, what every business should have at their disposal is a clear and concise Crisis Communication Plan. When we get our day started, we are never really sure how it may unfold. We go to work or run our businesses just as the day before; setting goals and establishing a plan to move forward. However, there may come a time when having a Crisis Communication Plan can save your business’s reputation. 

A Crisis Communication Plan is a plan that clearly indicates how communication will be handled should a crisis occur. It is not something that you may think about on a day-to-day basis but it is something you should definitely take time to consider. Start today with the few fundamentals below and expand as needed to ensure your business is prepared for the unexpected. You can be better prepared, by jotting down a couple of items you may consider during a crisis and then discussing them with your team. 

To some the current state of events with COVID-19 may not be considered a severe crisis to their business. There are companies that have continued to conduct business as usual. However, there are others who have had to change their entire outlook and business structure as a result of what they consider a crisis for their business. There are others that may not see an increase in sales as a crisis, however, the tremendous demand for products from Amazon and general grocery stores left the businesses unable to supply as they were initially unprepared for the tremendous increase in demand. Other companies have completely changed their operational statuses affecting their income, employees, and customers. Who saw this coming in 2020? While no one knew the extreme impact a virus could have on business around the world, having a communication plan in place can help with quickly responding to stakeholder concerns, decreasing panic, and managing your brands reputation. 

Simply start by outlining your plan with these fundamental considerations in mind.

Identify Crisis Scenarios. What type of events could lead you to activate your communications plan?

  • Develop a list of every crisis you think could impact your business; consider what could go wrong. 
  • Group these ideas by levels of impact the crisis would have on the business, employees, staff, and stakeholders. (i.e. Red – Emergency, Yellow – Caution)

Establish your Crisis Team. Who is on your crisis communication team and how would they be notified if a crisis occurs?

  • Make a list of their contact information (email and phone numbers).
  • Consider how soon they should be notified and what next steps may be.
  • Determine the company spokesperson.
  • Determine who will respond to phone calls regarding the matter and how communication will be handled with staff.

Determine your level of response.

  • Refer to your crisis list and how they were grouped. A smaller crisis may only require you to contact those involved to rectify the situation before it escalates, while a larger crisis may entail contacting local news sources, a legal advisor and others. 

Prepare key messages. Pre-established messaging will allow you to act quickly should something happen. Developing messages in advance will give you an opportunity to clearly think through each situation without the stresses or pressure presented during a crisis.

  • Release a timely statement. No statement or a late one could have a huge impact on how stakeholders and others view your company. A timely response will stop others from writing your narrative for you.
  • Consider your social media and if scheduled posts should be put on hold or exchanged with new messaging.
  • Provide frequent updates.

Develop an Emergency Contact list. Who should be contacted immediately if a crisis occurs? Consider the fastest way to contact them such as establishing a phone tree. It will help lead important decisions quickly in order to generate a timely response. Individuals to consider:

  • Legal advisor
  • Financials advisor
  • Media associates and personnel
  • Key employees

Follow-up and clean up. List questions that will help you assess the crisis and your response once things have calmed down a bit. This will also prepare you for future incidents and allow you to tweak your plan where needed to become more efficient and effective.

While there is so much more to consider, starting with these key areas will get you on the right track to dealing with any unexpected event and could possibly save your companies future. Do you need help with preparing your Crisis Communication plan? Contact us today – we’re here for you.

Stay Connected to the Community During the COVID19 Crisis

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Have you checked your inbox lately?

In the past week, inboxes have been inundated with multiple emails regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how companies and organizations are assuring their customers and constituents that they are here and available to them.  COVID-19 has turned the lives of many upside down. We have begun practicing social distancing, schools have closed or moved to relying heavily on online learning, more people are working from remote locations and in some areas entertainment facilities, restaurants, gyms and more have shut down. However, this separation doesn’t mean you have to be disconnected from your constituents and audience. There are many options to engage with your community virtually. Although we may not see each other, our communication doesn’t need to stop. Instead we may have to think of more innovative ways to connect. 

Email is only one way to communicate with customers or your teams, but consider some of these other options to engage with your community virtually and ways to promote general communication among your colleagues, customers, families and friends while separated. 

  • Hold a Tele-Town Hall: The NAACP hosted an Emergency Tele-Town Hall a few weeks ago to address COVID-19 and its potential impact on communities of color. They offered a call-in number as well as a registration form for members of the media. Invited panelist, including the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, were on board to share updates and answer questions. After the town hall session – NAACP provided an audio recording of the session for individuals that couldn’t attend or those that wanted to review the discussion again.
  • Conduct Facebook Live: Consider a live broadcast using Facebook Live to keep your members, partners and constituents informed about the organization and your current initiatives. Last week Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Facebook conducted a Facebook Live with Dr. Anthony Fauci who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Zuckerberg and Dr. Fauci had a 30+ minute discussion around the wide-spread of COVID-19. A great way to reach audiences that may look to get their news from social media channels like Facebook rather than traditional news outlets.
  • Schedule Virtual Office hours sessions: Let your community know you are still listening and you hear them by conducting virtual office hour sessions. Invite your audience to submit questions in advance, let them know the date and time that you will address the questions virtually. You can conduct the sessions every Friday at noon to address questions your organization received throughout the week.

A few additional tips to consider when planning your virtual sessions:

  • Make time for dry-runs and testing: While some of your communication efforts may need to be rapid-response, please try and make time for dry-runs and/or testing of the platform. We may have used these platforms before, but have we expected the amount of participants that may dial in or join? Do we have them all muted-upon-entry? Is the chat mechanism set up properly to accept questions? Last but not least, is your camera set up properly so that folks can see you and your team. That is one important aspect of connection, being able to see the person that is delivering the message.
  • Stay positive through all of this: You may want to even consider a virtual lunch bunch or virtual happy hour with your team to keep everyone connected, and positive. Although these are crazy times it doesn’t mean we have to lose the good in what we do. It has just forced us all to re-evaluate how we are offering support and services. If you’re feeling really fun and funky – throw a dance party like D-Nice’s “Club Quarantine” – a fun way to bring everyone together (virtually) during a crisis!

Bekoz Marketing is still open and available to you. We practice what we preach and we use Zoom and Google Hangouts to connect with you. Undoubtedly your organization and business is working through how to properly communicate with your constituents and focusing on how to reassure them during this time. Let’s work together on this!