While last year’s blog mentioned the importance of planning for the unexpected (like a snowstorm or a power outage), I don’t think any of us were preparing for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the ramifications it could potentially have on our communities and small businesses. 

We encourage you to communicate openly and honestly with your customers. Additionally, you should develop messaging centered around the following areas (that are applicable to you):

What has changed for your business?

• Is your entire operation temporarily suspended?
• Have you modified your hours or days that you’re open
• Have you modified the ways you’re providing goods and services to your customers?

What measures and procedures are you taking to ensure the health of your staff and customers?

• Are you limiting the number of customers at any given time?
• Are you performing additional disinfecting practices
• Do you have any special requests for when customers visit your establishment?

How is the customer affected?

• Do customers have to make special arrangements to partake in your business
• Are there a limited number of products available
• Will the delivery/shipments of their products/services be delayed

Provide any insight you may have toward the next steps.

• Are you a restaurant closing for dine-in, but you’re open Monday-Friday for dinner take out
• Is your business offering gift cards during this down period
• If it’s business as usual, let them know.
• If you are taking the time to strategize, and you aren’t really sure of any timelines or next steps, that’s totally okay to communicate that. 

I first mentioned building out a checklist of channels for your messaging. To learn more about the best ways of building a social media, website, phone greeting message checklist, visit “Communications Planning for Unexpected Schedule Changes.”

We think this is a helpful outline for your communications with customers and staff members. At the end of the day, we’re all facing similar challenges and are acutely aware of the world’s issues around us right now. Therefore, it’s completely appropriate to communicate openly and honestly with your following.

PS – If you know a small business (like a restaurant, book store, clothing store, etc.) that you love that might be facing difficult times in the next few weeks, please feel free to give them a call or shoot them an email, and ask you how you can support them. Chances are, they’ll offer takeout or allow you to purchase gift cards for future purchases, etc. Above all, we’ve seen a ton of small businesses receiving support from their communities. We’re all in this together!

The post Communications Strategies Around The Coronavirus appeared first on 232 Creative.

232 Creative’s new office space allows us to better serve our customers needs, everything from having the proper space to strategize marketing campaigns, set-up video and photo shoot locations and almost most importantly, a welcoming space that provides ourselves and our customers the opportunity to unleash our creativity. 

Since moving its offices to 800 Mt. Royal Boulevard, 232 Creative has launched several initiatives, including building new websites for Benjamin Marcus Homes, SunnySide Supply, National Center for Arts and Technology, HomeWaters Fly Fishing Club, Best of the Batch Foundation, Charlie Batch, Karla’s Jewelry Showcase and the Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HECSE). 

232 Creative’s video capabilities have grown significantly over that time as well, while producing significant video marketing efforts Benjamin Marcus Homes, Terra Design Studios, Glenshaw Auto Service, and the Watchful Shepherd. 

Additionally, 232 Creative has continued or launched its marketing, graphic design and social media efforts for many of the businesses previously listed as well as the following: Stoke’s Grill, Eighth & Hays, Plant Five for Live, A+ Schools, Coy Capital Management, The Leadership Bridge and the Advantage Resource Group.

Our goal at 232 Creative is to become Pittsburgh’s leader in creating the most memorable brands, producing the most inspiring videos and photography, developing websites that motivate others to act, and driving social media campaigns and marketing strategies that help businesses reach their full growth potential. 

The new 232 Creative office in Shaler allows us to take one step closer in reaching that goal. 

We’d love to have you stop by our new office.  Drop by any time at 800 Mt. Royal Boulevard, Suite 5, Pittsburgh, PA 15223.

Give us a call at 814-937-1105 or email us at info@232creative.com. 

The post Our Answer To “What Have Yinz Been Up To#8221; appeared first on 232 Creative.

Let’s face it, some people have a difficult time focusing on social media and blogging. I’ll admit it, I’m a little hypocritical. I don’t post as much as I should — until now! But first, let’s look at the excuses and hurdles for this. First, there are the common reasons:

• “I’m busy today, so I’ll post something tomorrow.”
• “I’m just too busy.”
• Asking, “What good will this one post do?”

When it comes to social media and blogging, it’s important to look at the ongoing and long-term benefits. Sure, we want every blog post to generate three new leads, 50 website visits, etc., However, the end of the day, it’s the continuous expertise and front-of-mind exposure that will lead to longer term and higher lifetime values per customer.

Secondly, for many people there is a fear factor (remember that show with Joe Rogan?) that plays a role in the lack of their social media activity.

• The paralyzing anxiety that comes right before clicking “send” or “post”
• The fear that people won’t like the work you’ve done and/or won’t like your posts because you’ve allowed yourself to become overcritical of your own work

But, let’s flip those fears upside down.  What if the post idea that you have never makes it to the internet?

• Is there a chance that post might’ve resonated with current customers?
• Is there a chance that post might’ve generated 1, 3, 25 new leads?
• Is there a chance that post might’ve been the post that totally quashed your social media/blogging anxiety?

The answers to all of these questions are, “If you don’t post… we’ll never know because you never gave it an opportunity.” Instead of having these fears around making a mistake or posting something that results only in a few likes, develop a fear that “this could’ve been the post that moved the needle.”

A lot of marketers like to use refrigerators as an example.  99 times out of 100, you’ll skip over the refrigerator commercial, digital ad or the insert in the newspaper.  However, the day that your unit malfunctions without any notice, you’re going to either recall the company who was posting regularly about refrigerators… or, quite frankly, the next refrigerator ad will win the day, or at least be the starting point for your research.

I have another confession to make… sometimes I have pre-post anxiety.  Will the way I write something not make sense Will I have an attempt at humor that no one else gets (that wouldn’t be a surprise, #amiright).

PS – Re: Post Anxiety: I remember the first email marketing blast I’d ever sent. I was working at ASSET Inc., an education nonprofit in 2006. After crafting a program update to be sent to 3,500 contacts, I sat at my desk for two hours in fear of hitting “Send.” This was even after the entire communications team signed off on it. It wasn’t until a more seasoned team member laughed (because we all go through this at one point) and said, “Send it, and walk away.” — Thank you, Sarah Toulouse — I thought she was crazy at the time, but to this day, if I’m sending out a fairly important communication or use a program for a first time, I’ll still say out loud, “Send it, and walk away.”  If you experience anxiety when hitting the “send” button, you should try this.

The post Social Media + Blogging: Approach it With “FEAR” appeared first on 232 Creative.

When planning an event (or manage day-to-day operations for a business), take some time to draw up a cancellation/postponement communications plan. Here are some items and procedures we outlined:

Plan a time to decide “Go” or “No Go”

You’ll want to decide a time that will allow enough of a window for your customers to cancel or modify their plans. For instance, this recent event began at noon, so we wanted to make the final call by 10AM.

Create Communications Checklist

You’ll want to create a checklist of all the platforms in which you’ve invited guests.  This will ensure they can receive the information on various platforms – and takes out the guess work for hitting all your communications mechanisms.  Here is a brief checklist that we created:

• Email
  • Send email blast to all individuals who we sent to invitations
• Social Media
  • Post social media updates across all utilized platforms
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Google My Business
  • Modify the Facebook Event Page to “Cancelled”
• Website
  • Upload a quick blog regarding the cancellation of the event.
• Phone System Message
  • Set the office telephone greeting to include a brief message regarding the cancellation of the event.

While it turns out we received only three inches of snow and the event went on as originally scheduled, it provided a good opportunity to develop a communications plan.  In addition, you’ll find that once you create one of these, the next one will take only 10% of the time for tweaking specific details.

COMMUNICATIONS PLANS AREN’T JUST FOR BIG EVENTS

While the recent communications plan originated because of an invitation-driven event, it’s important to have procedures and checklists put in place for any unforeseen circumstances (snow storms, power outage, water mane break, etc.). Whether you own a pizza shop, jewelry store or you’re running a volunteer effort, create a brief checklist of tasks that will help inform potential customers of your schedule changes.

For instance, your checklist may include only one or two of these:

• Post an update on Facebook
• Create a special answering machine message
• Change your ours to “CLOSED” on your Google My Business account.

A sure fire way to lose a customer (or at least get them really upset) is to have them drive to your establishment and they arrive to locked doors and shut off lights.

In addition to the Open House, this post is timely right now, as I swung by a local pizza shop Saturday evening only to find out they were closed (while everything online claimed they were open).  As I previously mentioned, that left a sour taste in my mouth regarding that business, and it allowed Spak Brothers Pizza to climb near the top of the list!

The post Communication Planning for Unexpected Schedule Changes appeared first on 232 Creative.

I know what you’re thinking… another personal trainer with in-your-face motivation or intimidation tactics…  nope. In fact, that’s actually what inspired me to write this. In a recent post, she was explaining that since transitioning to her own company. Obviously one of her main responsibilities was building her entire client base on her own.

Passively watching Tera’s videos for months, I knew through her daily videos and messages that she was setting out to do the following:

• Shift people’s own perceptions about their minds and bodies
• Build trust with her audience

Tera went on to explain that she isn’t one of these high-pressure, in-your-face sales people. She would rather continuously provide valuable content, show her knowledge and positivity, and allow people to perform their own mental shifts when they are most comfortable and personally ready.

________

FROM TERA:

“Everyone wants a business where word of mouth is their primary mode of advertising, right Well, social media is basically our brand new best friend and biggest WOM advocate IF used correctly and you stay authentic to your personality and mission. Why does this matter, you ask Great question, young grasshopper. Here is an example of how showing up on social and staying true to your style can actually snag the sale.

I have had a newsletter for a few years now. It allows me to have an instant reach to people that actually WANT to consume my content because they voluntarily signed up to receive it. About a month ago, I posted on my social networks about one of my clients that hit a huge milestone in her training program and saw some huge results. I also took to my newsletter, aka my true SQUAD, and explained this story in my own personal, written voice which, if you’re signed up, you know it’s like I’m writing to my bestie — yes, I’ve been known to slip a curse word in every now and then and improperly use grammar from time to time… whoopsie).

Well, one of my readers had seen my IG story about this and also read my newsletter and forwarded this email to her mother. She also called her mother and explained to her WHY she thinks we would be a perfect fit for working together (hence, the authenticity in the way I choose to show up on social). AND…. her mother signed up to work with me the next day! BOOM. Mic drop. Word of mouth, social media, and being true to myself is what landed this sale. It was NOT from a tacky sales pitch or badgering anyone to death… that’s just not my thing.

It may take a little more time and TLC to land these sales. But what I can promise you is that by fostering true relationships instead of seeing everyone with a dollar sign over their head, you will not only keep that customer for the long-haul, but you will gain their trust. They will talk to their friends about you. You will get organic leads. And the best part….. You get to truly impact the life of another person by bringing a little extra light, good vibes, health and sure, a whole lot of laughs along the way. Now THAT is something you can sign me up for.”

________

Following Tera and her daily videos, it’s easy to develop a relationship with her through her authenticity (trust me, you feel like she’s your best friend). It’s natural to easily build trust and lower the walls you might’ve built up for other trainers, wellness advocates, etc.

All of this got me thinking about a phrase…  Jab, Jab, Jab – Right Hook.

It’s one of the biggest business mantras and title of a book written by Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and CEO of a top agency building the biggest brands in the world. But, what does boxing have to do with business?

Let’s break it down…

• Jab is the value that you or your company provide for its followers.  It could be the content you put out, sending a hand-written note after meeting someone or any other ways you might display an appreciation for someone or something.
• Right Hook is the ask.  For instance, it might be asking someone to purchase a product, subscribe or follow a social media channel, volunteer their time, solicit a donation, etc.

The point is… it’s a very noisy world out there, and with people trying to infiltrate inboxes, social media feeds or even voicemails with “Buy Now” messages, providing genuine value to someone is more important now than ever.

So, let’s dissect this a little more. Is “Jab, Jab, Jab… Right Hook” a formula  Does it mean that you can put out three blogs and then automatically ask someone to purchase something Absolutely not. You’ve got to understand the rhythms, the actions and the intent behind where your relationship is. For some, it might be appropriate to give ‘em the right hook after three jabs.  However, for some audiences, they may be passively following your content and appreciate the lack of in-your-face sales tactics. Everyone can have a product to sell, but not everyone can set themselves apart from their competitors with valuable content.

So, what should you do?

• Think about your business and its boxing rhythm.
• Do you throw too many right hooks?
• Should you be throwing more jabs?

Think about this over the next week, month or year.  We’d love to hear your thoughts on this strategy and how you utilize it in your own world.

As a marketing company in Pittsburgh, 232 Creative is trying to provide you and your organization different ways to think about business.

PS – I’d like to personally thank Tera for providing valuable reminders on the value of creating valuable content your network.  You don’t have to be some health nut to find Tera helpful. At least once a week, she’ll challenge you think about an aspect of life or the world around you in a way you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Plus if you know me, I always say, “Hey, if we can’t make fun of ourselves, then what are we doing here?” It’s safe to say she follows the same belief.

Give Tera a follow on the following platforms:

Instgram: @terageishauser

Facebook: /VagabondHealthClub

Website: Vagabondhealthclub.com

The post 232SDAY – Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook appeared first on 232 Creative.

However, there was one email that Ryan and I both received (and oddly enough both decided to open) that definitely caught out eyes and stuck out to us (and hundreds of others). Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with a compelling design or the alledged benefits of the product. Here’s the story…

An individual reached out to us selling marketing/digital services to 232 Creative. First, as a company that offers the same services as he’s trying to sell, we shouldn’t belong on that email list.  But, in a world of “Spray and Pray” email marketing, this simply happens from time to time.

The email started with, “Dear {Name}.”

YIKES!

So, it’s obvious there was a misstep/misconnection somewhere, because it should’ve read, “Dear Mike” or “Dear Ryan.” This looks unprofessional, but hey, if you’ve ever managed an email marketing program, you’ve no doubt experienced the crippling anxiety that sets in when it’s time to hit, “SEND.” Something like this is bound to happen at some point, but knowing that it will doesn’t make it any easier. We’re all humans (insert AI quip here).

Knowing the ways something like that could happen, it wasn’t even that which turned out heads…

The entire distribution list (hundreds of emails) was in the “CC” field.

SHEESH!

Well, instead of humiliating this person in a public setting (a forum in which he ironically created for himself) like many of the other recipients of the email, we wanted to turn this into a learning experience for anyone who’s starting new email marketing programs.

So, in conclusion:

1. Come to the realization that mistakes will happen. We’re human, and often times, people won’t even notice them or think they’re mistakes.
2. Approach every communication as if it could be the one that moves the needle. Don’t become complacent and allow (bad) lazy mistakes to occur.
3. Take an extra five minutes and send yourself a test email.
4. Request a colleague review it with a fresh set of eyes before you send.
5. Take one last deep breath before hitting “SEND”
6. Hit “SEND” and walk away.

PS – I wanted to email back, “BDBR.” It was something my PR professor Randy Jesick would write on an assignment when a student submitted an assignment that wasn’t their best effort. It stood for “Bad Day at Black Rock,” a reference to a movie made in 1955. What does that mean I never asked or looked into it, but I still use it to this day.  

For more marketing tips from 232 Creative, click here.

The post When Email Marketing Goes Wrong appeared first on 232 Creative.

You can have the coolest product, the most inspiring design, but if you’re not getting the message into the correct people’s hands (eyes, ears, mouth), then it truly doesn’t matter.

One of the most important practices your organization can perform is outlining an answer to the question, “Draw your ideal customer.” Let’s face it, sometimes we’re all a little naïve and think, “Hey… everyone can benefit from my product or service.” But, in reality, if you’re selling to all, you’re selling to no one. Ask yourself or your team the following questions of your most ideal client:

• Age:
  • Narrowing down the potential age of your market allows you to understand what methods are best to reach them. For instance, if your market is 14-21 year old females, a newspaper ad probably isn’t your best option.
• Gender:
  • Based on the gender of your customer, the messaging may shift based on the benefits and needs of the person.
• Location:
  • Be realistic with your location. You may think that everyone in the world needs your product/service, but if the likelihood of closing a sale to someone within a 10-mile radius is easier than 400 miles away, recognize that.
• Income Level:
  • Knowing the lifestyle of your customers and the type of quality and price point they expect is key to helping you sell your product.
• What are some characteristics of your ideal client?
  • Will they react to story telling or quantitative data?

With answers to these questions, your team will have the ability to map out a marketing plan knowing the mediums and campaigns you can use.

What’s the best way to reach this group of people:

• Facebook and/or Instagram targeting?
• Ad in a local newspaper?
• Postcard mailing?
• Speaking seminar?

The days of, “Spraying and praying” your marketing efforts are behind us.  Businesses have tighter budgets more now than ever, but the beautiful thing is that there are systems that now exist that allow you to not only reach your targeted audience, but also do it more cost effectively and have the ability to analyze their results.

So, first things first… “Draw your ideal customer.”

The post 232SDAYS: Knowing Your Audience appeared first on 232 Creative.

It’s July, folks! That means it’s the perfect time for two things:

• Planning your 4^thof July celebrations
• Review your business’ first half performance

Throughout the week, we’ll be providing you some simple tips, tactics and strategies to review your KPIs. Let’s face it, everyone is off work Wednesday, and there will be a lot of down time in the office. We’re hoping you’ll take a few minutes each day to stop back for the following:

• Tuesday – Are you reaching the right people?
• Thursday – How is your website performing?

PS – If you need a quick break on a Monday, click here to listen to Jon Bon Jovi.

Image Credit: The Positive Change Co.

The post “Woah….. We’re Half Way There….” appeared first on 232 Creative.

We’ve had the privilege of working with Charlie and Tasha-Wilson Batch from the Best of the Batch Foundation on various initiatives throughout the past year, and we’re always inspired with the impact they have on children and families in Western PA.

The post 232SDAYS – “In The Pocket” with Charlie Batch appeared first on 232 Creative.

We’re starting a weekly vlog, and we’re cleverly calling it, “The 232sday Vlog.” It’s pretty exciting, right?

Our goal is to provide valuable marketing and creative content while developing authentic engagement with you all on a variety of topics and issues.

In any given week, we may discuss a new marketing trend, new social media strategies, graphic design theories, updates on our current projects, something that inspired us, worldly events, random musings, etc.

The post INTRODUCING…232SDAYS! appeared first on 232 Creative.