Nice package: clearing up a misconception

One of the misconceptions about advertising agencies is that soliciting help from one requires deep pockets, big boardroom meetings on Madison Avenue and hearing campaign pitches, with lots of fancy artwork atop easels.

That does, of course, exist, but smaller agencies often offer less expensive options and will customize a campaign (fancy word for “do you need a logo, a website, bus-bench signage, radio spots?”) to fit your budget (another fancy, and sometimes intimidating, word for “what do you want to spend?”).

If the thought of even a very modest campaign still sounds too expensive and complicated, there’s another option: [insert drum roll here] The Package.

Ad packages are simply various types of basic advertising, bundled into a single fixed low cost. They’re generally comprised of the kind of advertising that typical businesses need. One package option might be, for example, a logo, business cards, a one-page website and a one-page brochure. They can become more involved with print advertising, sales kits, promotional items, maybe even a Facebook business page, depending on your needs and … gulp … budget. The point is that an ad package created by an agency will yield cost-effective creative design and professional production versus going with that place in the strip mall down the street, Floyd’s Printing, Design and Knick Knacks—We’re Not Good, But We’re Slow. You also know up front exactly what you’re getting and how much it will cost.

If you’ve never worked with an ad agency but are considering it now and want to wade in slowly, inquire about advertising packages. They’re a great, inexpensive way to get to know an agency for possible future work while fulfilling a need now that we at Ryan William’s believe is crucial to any business: advertising.

Brand you

If you’re a small business entrepreneur, you virtually are your business. So what happens when you and your business part ways? Maybe you sell it for boatloads of money or maybe things just don’t work out. Where does that leave you? The simple answer is that unless you’ve taken steps to brand yourself as an individual, if your business goes away, so might you. But a strong personal brand can be leveraged by an entrepreneur to capture attention and bounce back.

Take Donald Trump, the consummate example of branding oneself separately from a business and rebuilding after a fall. His personal branding is so strong that most folks don’t even know the name of any of his companies, and talk about getting back up on the horse—the man has filed for bankruptcy on behalf of his companies four times.

Now, granted, Trump is the uber showboat and he’s now as much a celebrity as he is a businessman. However, as an entrepreneur there are two major steps you can take to build your personal brand and help ensure a long-term career as a business owner.

1. Actively sell yourself and your skills to the media.

No matter what kind of widgets you sell or services you provide, the fact that you're in business for yourself makes you an expert on a number of subjects. Identify your areas of expertise and spread the news. Blog about your skills. Send press releases to the media. Start a Facebook page and offer "friends" advice. Tweet. Join LinkedIn. Create YouTube videos. And, of course work in information about your business as well as yourself, which gives you credibility, offers a little extra-added exposure to your company, and gives the news media a wider selection of story angles. 

2. Create a personal website. 

When people search for you online, what results come up? If you build a website—which is becoming simpler via blogging sites like WordPress and Blogger—and change it up often to maintain its search engine optimization, you can help keep the search results that you want people to see near the top of the page.

Direct people via your tweets, Facebook page and other social networks back to your website. Link your corporate website to your personal website. And keep your material informative, entertaining and fresh, generating new entries to all your social networks at least weekly and at best daily or more.  

Sound like a lot of work? It is at the outset, but soon a rhythm sets in. Whether you undertake the project yourself, however, or contract with an agency (we know a good one), in today’s economic climate, personal branding is becoming a powerful tool in the entrepreneur’s arsenal.  

A Twitter Twick

When the news of Congressman Anthony Weiner posting a less-than-congressman-like photo of himself on Twitter hit the big time, a lot of folks asked, “How in the heck do you post a picture on Twitter? I thought the medium was limited to 140 characters only.”

Well, it is. Tweeting pics really means adding a URL to your tweet that links to a posting of your photo. It’s akin to posting an image on your Facebook page and then tweeting about it and leading followers back to your post. Here’s what you do:

First, dial up www.TwitPic.com and log in using your Twitter username and password. The home page will ask you if you want to upload a photo or video (yes, you can upload video as well). Click on the link and a browser button will appear that allows you to navigate around your computer and upload the image or video you’d like to share.

TwitPic accepts images in GIF, JPG and PNG formats up to 10 megabytes each in size and videos in most formats up to 1.5 minutes in length. Once uploaded, add your Tweet message, which is limited to 114 characters to save room for the link to come, and voila—a tweet appears on Twitter with an automatically condensed link to your photo or video.

Okay, so the concept of tweeting pics is a bit of a misnomer because the process isn’t direct. But it’s not difficult to pull off, adds a twist to your tweeting routine and is a nice twick to have up your social media sleeve.

If you like learning about these kinds of tools as well as bigger-picture concepts to help you with your marketing and advertising campaigns, check back to the Ryan William’s Agency blog often. We’re always blogging about something useful, informational, entertaining or just plain funny.