Awareness

Definition: knowledge
Antonyms: ignorance, insensitivity, obliviousness, unawareness, unconsciousness
(Answers.com)

A marketing strategy is designed to outline a strategic process that allows businesses to concentrate their limited resources on the best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. From the numerous potential opportunities that exist, a marketing plan can then be developed to provide a roadmap for the tactical initiatives that will be implemented.

At a high level, marketing opportunities can be compiled into three main categories:

• Awareness activities
• Offline marketing and advertising campaigns
• Online marketing activities

Today, we cover the first of the three:
Awareness activities

Awareness activities are just that – activities that build awareness of your product or service. They are most effective when targeted at a vertical market, an industry segment, or with advocates and influencers. The key here is exhibiting specialized or subject matter expertise within a defined area.

White papers: White papers are a powerful tool in establishing brand recognition and marketplace credibility. The most successful white papers are not sales brochures and do not mention the writer’s specific product or solution – they inform the reader of a specific trend or issue and identify potential new innovations or alternative ways to solve the problem.

Trade publications: Trade publications catering to identified verticals can be a great prospect for interviews and article submissions. This works especially well if used in conjunction with trade support – purchasing an ad for the purpose of building name awareness, while also requesting to be introduced to a writer to pitch the article idea.

Speaking engagements: Similar to trade publications, speaking engagements are a good opportunity to establish a presence within a vertical market. A call for speakers is normally listed on a conference website by the promoter about 9 months prior to the conference. Information is generally listed on desired presentation length, types of opportunities preferred, etc.

Press releases: Well-written press releases are a great marketing and search engine optimization/link building opportunity. Once the release is written, edited and ready to be published, it should be distributed to maximize awareness and create inbound links to the website, which should include social media sites like docstoc, posting to web sites, and using a PR distribution service such as PRWeb.

Advocates & influencers: As key industry contacts are established, utilization of these resources as influencers can provide one of the fastest ways to achieve recognition and credibility in the marketplace. Build a contact database , even if it is a spreadsheet, an regularly contact these important influencers.  Networking opportunities and speaking engagements at conferences and trade shows provide a great opportunity to meet and establish relationships.

Customer testimonials: Authentic customer testimonials that have specific and quantifiable information and data points can be one of the most effective marketing methods available. Don’t wait for your customers to volunteer their testimonial – most don’t. Ask them for it or, even better, write it for them and have them approve it.

Bloggers: Bloggers are industry experts (well, sometimes) with an easy method of access – their blog. Find bloggers in your industry or market, then subscribe and read the blog consistently before jumping in with comments. Once you have an idea of the types of discussions that occur, begin providing meaningful, relevant comments on posts. Be authentic and don’t add comments filled with links to your website or promoting your product.

Next-> Opportunities: Offline Marketing