Marketing Magic Issue #4 – The Media

Welcome to this month’s edition of Marketing Magic, where we will continue to discuss the 5 M’s of a successful marketing campaign. If you’ve been following this newsletter series by now you would already be familiar with this concept and well on your way to creating your very own marketing strategy.

A quick summary of the 5 M’s of marketing

1. The market – who are you targeting?
2. The message – what are you promoting?
3. The media – what resources are you using to promote your message?
4. The method – how are you delivering the message?
5. The measures – how are you measuring the effectiveness of your campaign?

Over the past 2 months we have discussed the 2 most important of the 5M’s – The Market and The Message. If you haven’t already read these 2 back issues we strongly encourage you do so now, so that you are up to speed and ready to continue. Click here for the back issues.

In this month’s issue of Marketing Magic we will help you to familiarise yourself with the 3rd of the 5M’s – The Media. Before we do, here’s a quick update from the latest exciting news from Network Marketing Business School.

Network Marketing Business School Update We recently ran an online survey to see weather our visitors would be interested in a weekly motivational email service. The response was overwhelming with more than 95% in favour of the service. “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar As a result this free service is now up and running, and the response has been nothing but positive. For more information check out our website which includes examples. Click here.

The Media
If you have been following this newsletter series you should by now have more of understand about your target market and how to create the right message (as well as get the message right). It’s now time to consider what media you are going to use to deliver your message. Like all previous issues of Marketing Magic we’ll first introduce the whole concept, such it is relevant to all business models and then make it more specific to your network marketing business.

Essentially there are 2 types of media that you can use to deliver your message.

1. Mass media
   
2. Limited reach media

Mass Media
Mass media as the name suggests is the term used to describe any form of media that has the potential to reach a very large audience. Whilst many small businesses believe they are unable to afford a marketing campaign using mass media, the internet offers one such media that almost anybody can afford.

There are 2 types of mass media. These include Hot Media (eg TV, radio etc.) and Cool Media which basically refers to print (eg Newspapers, magazines). Whilst both methods are an effective way of delivering your marketing message to a large audience, the approach needs to be somewhat different.

When using hot media (eg TV commercial) you generally have a very limited time to attract your target audience and to influence their thoughts. This is normally achieved by delivering your message in a fashion that triggers an emotional response in your target audience and provokes them to take action. With cool media (eg print) the approach is somewhat different. Given that people are sitting down to read print media they generally have a little more time. In this instance the goal is to attract the target audience’s attention through an appealing headline or graphic and then provide them with enough knowledge to influence their actions. Essentially the main difference is that hot media usually gets their target audience to respond on emotion, whereas cool media gets the target audience to respond as a result of better knowledge. There are of course exceptions to the rule.

Whilst mass media is generally considered by most small businesses as out of reach and above budget this no longer needs to be the case. The internet provides a cheap media in which almost any small business can afford. Through social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube almost anybody in the world can upload and promote a video to a large audience for free. Having said this it’s one thing to post a free video on the internet, it’s another to get people to actually watch your video. This is whole new topic in itself and will be discussed in one of our future newsletters.

Limited reach media
By and large one of the easiest ways for small businesses to deliver a marketing campaign is through limited reach media, which includes posters, pamphlets, bumper stickers etc. Whilst limited reach media only has the potential to reach a small audience the advantage is that it can be highly targeted towards influencing that small audience and therefore generally has a better conversion rate. In order for this to happen however, you need to ensure that you properly understand your target market and you have developed the right marketing message.

If we apply the ‘Hot’ and ‘Cool’ media analogies from above using limited reach media, a poster or bumper sticker would fall into the hot category as they have limited time to spark a reaction. A pamphlet on the other hand would be considered cool media similar to that of a newspaper article as it takes time to read and you have longer to influence your audience.

Which media to use?
When developing your marketing strategy, you need to quickly review the PROFILE you created for your target market and from this identify which form of media would be most appealing for them.

Let’s use the internet and social networking sites as an example. If you were trying to market ‘false teeth’ to the elderly, a video clip posted on YouTube may be inexpensive but is unlikely to be successful. This is because YouTube predominately attracts visitors under the age of 25. In this instance advertising in the local newspaper may be more successful as newspapers generally attract a more mature audience. Another important point to consider when choosing your marketing media is your marketing budget and how much you wish to spend. Just because you choose to spend more money on a marketing campaign that doesn’t mean you will receive a better return, some of the most effective campaigns are the cheapest, however they generally require a little bit of thought and planning.

Getting started in designing your own marketing media
One of the best marketing media skills we encourage all networkers to master is that of designing an effective marketing poster. As simple as it sounds, designing an effective poster is not that easy. What we can assure once you have mastered this skill, you can apply it to almost every other marketing aspect of your network marketing business.

Imagine being able to deliver a targeted, powerful, appealing message in a short period of time such that it sparks your audience to take action, this is essentially the role of a poster. More importantly this same concept is also the most effective and efficient way to prospect in general.

How to design an effective Poster?
Posters should be designed to influence people that are on the move. In this instance you have limited time to deliver your marketing message and therefore an effective poster will capture a viewer’s attention immediately and then spark them to react.

A well-designed poster is eye-catching, attractive, and communicates information effectively and economically. Additionally posters should be easy for your viewer to read and react to your poster by clearly labelling your marketing message and the desired action they need to take (eg contact you for more information).

Finally when designing a posters, the ‘less is more’ approach is a good strategy as you have limited time to influence your audience. Whilst graphics can be appealing to your audience, they should only be used if they help to deliver the message, otherwise they can be counterproductive and distract your viewers from the intended message.

Activity: Design Your Own Marketing Campaign This month your Marketing Magic activity is to combine what you have learnt so far about the 5M’s of marketing and design a poster to deliver your specific marketing message. In order to do this you will need to take into consideration the information discussed in previous newsletters, in particular who you are targeting and what is your marketing message? Things to consider Who are you targeting? What are you trying to market? (eg business opportunity meeting, product concept)? What is your marketing message? How do you want your target audience to respond? (eg contact you for more information) Go ahead and give it a try.

If you need to refresh your memory about your target market or developing the right message (Check out the Marketing Magic issues of May and June 08) click here for our back issues.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Most network marketing companies prohibit individual distributors from advertising their product line or business model using any form of media. Having said this you can market a concept (eg home based business opportunity) as long as you don’t advertise the specific company’s name. Likewise with the products, you can market your products concept (eg weight loss, insurance etc) again, as long as you don’t mention the company or product name. The exception to the rule is to use the marketing material that your company specifically creates to assist their distributors to market their products. These materials are generally created by marketing experts and therefore all the hard work has been done for you. However, the challenge lies with finding one that is appealing to your target audience and then being able to distribute it in a fashion that they will find appealing. We will review this in next month’s edition of Marketing Magic when we discuss - The Method.

If in doubt check it out. If you want to make sure you’re marketing plans are ok simply contact your company for guidance. This is definitely encouraged if your new to marketing.

In this month’s edition of marketing magic we have briefly touch on the different forms of marketing media. In the coming months we revisit this concept and look at more modern targeted campaigns, such as using email, blogs, websites, social networking sites and so on. In the short term we suggest you master the traditional methods (eg poster) such that when we introduce the other forms of media you will be much better prepared as the concepts are very much similar.

Next month we’ll finish the 5M’s of marketing and discuss the method and the measures. Following which we’ll show you how to make specifically target campaigns. Be sure to email us your posters (electronic copy or photos) such that we can provide feedback to see if you’re on the right track.

Until next month, happy prospecting.

Wishing you and your business all the best.

Troy Rocavert