Yada Yada Communications

1. Put yourself in the reporters’ place and ask: what would grab my attention?
2. Strategize when to post the release. The rule of thumb is: early in the day, early in the week. Be conscious of all national and religious holidays and avoid posting on Friday or the weekend.
3. Craft a compelling headline that’s no more than 67 characters. Also, avoid numbers and punctuation (search engines don’t like them)
4. Use active voice, meaning make your verbs STRONG
5. Reinforce your key words
6. Include a photograph with caption and/or video
7. Hyperlink to a supporting article or favorable review. Afraid the reader will navigate away? Sometimes it’s worth it, especially if you are providing an extra layer of information.
8. Tweet a link to the release.

Before I get close to a deal in an international country, I contact a local law firm.  They

• Are in command of the language, laws and customs 
• Know people in government and the major businesses 
• Grasp the logistics of getting things done and how long it will take
• Understand how to read the local tea leaves of negotiating

And it doesn’t cost you anything to knock on their door, say hello, and tell them what you plan to do.  One good resource is Baker & McKenzie. 

A few years ago I went into their Paris office cold and asked to speak with a lawyer.  I had a potential deal brewing and asked Wallace Baker, managing partner, if he could meet with both sides and advise me if a deal was possible. He was cordial, gave us a conference room on the following day, and served us coffee.  It turned out the transaction did not move forward, but Mr. Baker didn’t charge me anything. In fact, he left the door open in case I needed his help again. 

In Spain the scenario was different.  I negotiated a deal in Madrid and was given a draft agreement in Spanish, which I do not speak.  I called Baker & McKenzie’s Madrid office and made an appointment.  James Baker, the managing partner and brother of the partner in Paris, met with me the same day, gave me an espresso, and read the contract.  He reported, somewhat to my dismay, that it read exactly 180 degrees opposite to the terms that had been agreed on so I decided the people could not be trusted.  He was very nice about it and said I could come back any time.  I got a bill some month’s later for a half hour of his time, a huge bargain in my book.

On a third occasion I was going on a sales prospecting trip to Thailand.  I called the Baker & McKenzie partner in Bangkok and asked if he would just come to lunch with my prospective clients and get involved if the  deal went through.  Not only did he agree to attend, he had his secretary reconfirm my guests and make the arrangements.  Some of the attendees came because of his phone call.  The meeting was a great success and he turned out to be the star of my show.  He introduced himself as my lawyer in Thailand.  Again there was no bill, though I did buy him lunch.  

Recently I started doing business in Italy and Spain.  I e-mailed the managing partners of Baker & McKenzie in Rome and Barcelona (closer to my clients than their Madrid office) and explained my situation.

• We are a small, private company
• We need cost-effective local advice
• We have nothing for them to do immediately
• We want to line up a local lawyer to be ready if we are offered a contract
• I wanted our sales reps in Rome and Barcelona to come in and meet them just to get acquainted
• I suggested that if we were too small for Baker & McKenzie they could make a local referral

Aurelio Giovannelli, the managing partner in Rome, replied to my e-mail the same day.  He said they can be cost-effective for a small company and would be happy to help.  He cc’d a local law partner specializing in small business and lined up resources ready to help me at short notice. He was delighted to meet our local rep.  Esteban Raventós, the Baker & McKenzie managing partner in Barcelona, replied from out-of-town, offering to have a colleague meet with us immediately if the need was urgent.

Having a world-class law firm in your corner doesn’t guarantee that you will win a huge international deal, but why try without some powerful support behind you?

Would you like to learn how to make your foreign sales meet and exceed your expectations?  

Would you like to make them more profitable?

Let the science of marketing drive your sales. Why? Because:

• Guesswork is too expensive
• You need to measure each aspect of your sales campaign
• You can drive customers to your distributors and dealers
• It’s the best way to optimize your trade shows performance

Can you afford to wait a year to try again? Make every marketing Euro count.

At Yada Yada we are result and customer driven.   We don’t sell a bundle of commodity services.  We craft a sales/marketing plan and help you execute it to achieve your goals.

The customer we care about is your customer.   When people hear your brand name, do they know why you are different from competitors?

Can you justify repeating the same old slogans?

Re-launch your brand with Yada Yada.  In five years, two out of three of your competitors will be gone. We want to make certain you will still be here.  We speak your language and we live in your neighborhood.

In Belgium, France, and Italy contact vanda@yadayadcommunications.com or skype vandainfrancia

In Spain contact mark@yadayadacommunications.com or skype mark.r08

In the U.S. contact  david@yadayadacommunications.com or skype dabbdc

Attending or exhibiting at a trade show without planning is money wasted.  With proper strategy, planning, and execution, you can turn the next event into an opportunity to gain lifelong customers.

1.    Create a trade show project timeline
2.    Establish a realistic budget
3.    To save money, find a booth-sharing partner
4.    Write a show marketing plan: how will you drive traffic to your booth?
5.    Create a list of critical sales goals for the show and a plan to meet them
6.    The show is a major research tool for you and your industry.  Have a plan to  gather critical data. 
7.    Have a realistic booth staffing schedule – the booth must never be unmanned 
8.    Leave plenty of room for a senior staffer to visit other booths
9.    Have a booth dress rehearsal on opening day before the doors open

It’s a short list, but for busy people a tall order. By letting a PR pro experienced in trade show planning and execution do the work for you, you will reap even more rewards from the opportunity.

If you think you’ve got the social media landscape covered simply because an intern or office assistant is tweeting and Facebooking the company  news, that’s a huge FAIL. According to a study from Digital Brand Expressions, most companies stumble into social media with no clear strategy or metrics in place. Worse, they are putting the wrong people behind the wheel – and exposing the organization to problems that arise from employees saying “the wrong things in the wrong ways to the wrong people at the wrong time.“ Damage control in Web 2.0 can be close to impossible.

If this is your company, you need to seriously consider hiring a PR pro to handle your social media and integrate it with an overall media strategy. Why? Because they have the communication background and understand both the traditional and – if they’re any good – non-traditional channels of marketing communications. Social media is still about getting the message across. PR pros speak the language, and they know how to get the conversation started, whether they are writing a traditional press release or reaching out to a powerful blogger. It still comes down to relationships and experience.

FOR DETAILS ABOUT YOUR FREE REPORT, READ TO THE END…

The Internet is a fad. 

Facebook is for kids. 

We need to take out an ad in the yellow pages. 

If you’ve heard phrases like these recently, my condolences. Your boss is living in a time warp. So it’s up to you to gently guide him or her into the 21st Century. Or your competitors will eat you for lunch.  

We want to give you the tools to help you change your boss’s mindset. Start by demonstrating that your prospective clients have changed their search-and-purchase habits:

• nobody has the budget for trips to tradeshows
• direct mail response rates are on the decline
• e-mail marketing has lost traction
• cold calling — are you kidding me?

Your prospective customers are devoted Blockers of spam, calls from enthusiastic strangers, and any form of “in your face” marketing. The National Do Not Call list? Even your boss rushed to get on that. 

You’ve also got to explain that SEO is not a 70′s rock band. Search Engine Optimization is what happens when your competitor’s website pops up on Google’s first page — and yours lands on page 23, at the bottom.  

93% of buying decisions start with an online Google search

Tell your boss — nicely – about Pay Per Click, an Internet advertising model where advertisers pay their host only when the ad is clicked.

And the blogosphere. Why? Because a company blog:

• Makes you appear real and transparent
• Positions you as a “thought leader” in different sectors
• Attracts attention with helpful or unique content, including video 

And, yes, social media.  Some Facebook facts:

• More than 200 million active users
• More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day
• More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college

As for Twitter? Think of it as the new community center where everybody gets together for pancakes or pinochle and talks about anything but business even though that’s why they came — to build relationships and raise their profile.

Since the way people search and buy has changed, marketing must change. (You know those little birds that live inside a hippo’s nose and ears? Well, those bird’s have to go where the hippo goes to survive.) 

The quality prospects are out there, but now it’s about them finding you and not about you going out to find them. The only way to convert them into paying customers is to be there when they Google.  

Need more help to get started? Contact David Bershtein, Principal, at david@yadayadacommunications.com or call 201-403-5645. He’ll send you a FREE Powerpoint tailored to your company and industry.  Your customized report will include a current analysis of your company’s Internet marketing effectiveness, including data about your company’s position for getting found in (a) search engines, (b) the blogosphere, and (c) social media.

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Got Blog?

A recent study shows that the fastest-growing private U.S. companies in the country are implementing blogs at an increasing rate. In fact, there’s been a 23% increase in the past few years — with 41% intending to implement a blog soon. 

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You want to leverage your position in the marketplace, but you’re feeling overwhelmed. Are press releases more effective than bylined articles? Am I ready to present myself as a thought leader in my niche? How can I transform Facebook into a marketing tool?

If you take your time now and hire the agency that feels right for you, you will reap the rewards later. So here’s some things to keep in mind…

1) Know your budget!!! That’s not a rude question. It’s a reality check for you. If your company is too small to afford a social media manager, you may not need it. But don’t expect your company to grow either.

2) Keep in mind that you don’t have to buy the whole ball of wax. Most PR firms will offer you a menu of services and an estimate of monthly costs based on your needs.

3) Don’t go with the first agency you talk to. The more choice, the better the outcome.

4) Ask for writing samples. Find out what kind of coverage they’ve obtained for their clients. Can they give you estimates of turn-around time on various projects?

5) As with any relationship, after the first meeting (be it a phone call, Skype, or in-person) ask yourself if you like the PR team. Do the people involved seem like a good fit? Or will you dread taking their calls?

6) Be prepared to communicate where you want your company to go. This isn’t always easy – that’s why you’re hiring a PR agency in the first place! But even a rough outline will give them something to work with and enable them to help you move forward. (Don’t expect much feedback, however, until you’ve written a check. These people have to work for a living, too!)

7) Question them about how well they know your market. Some agents are quick studies, but it will be easier for everyone involved if they have a grasp of the basics, if not expertise, in your field. Also ask about their media contacts and success stories. 

8) Finally, make sure they understand crisis management. Hopefully, you’ll never need it, but, just in case, you want the right people in your corner sooner rather than later.p>

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