Preparing for a Media Interview

At some point in your career the phone will ring or you will get an email from a reporter requesting an interview for an upcoming article. Don't panic! This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your company.  Just remember to gather some information and this should be a positive experience.

Be sure to ask some questions of your own first. Find out who the reporter is and the topic and objective of the article. This will help you determine if this is a good fit for you.

Next, find out the type of story. Is this a product piece, an industry wrap-up or trend article. Try to think about how you can add value.  Does your company have the best product in the market to showcase in this article? Be objective here and use this time to help promote it and show how it relates to the market and trends.

This can be accomplished by developing some message points. In order to successfully deliver your message in the interview you need to determine what the message is. Think about what your product brings to the market and what you want people to know or remember of it. Condense this into two or three concise one to two sentence statements. These are your message points.

During the interview, weave these message points into your interview answers. You can use a technique called bridging. This is where you answer the given question and segue into your message point. An example is "yes that is true, but you should know..." This will help you to take control of the interview and make it worthwhile for you and the reporter. Be sure to support your message points with an interesting story or fact and you will have a terrific interview experience.

Last but not least, find out when the interview will air or appear. You will want to watch or see a copy of the article.

Case Studies - An Added Benefit to Marketing and Sales

Case studies are a wonderful way to help new clients and prospects see that you have worked on projects similar to their needs. It also demonstrates your knowledge of your client/prospect's business and establishes your reputation as a problem solver.

Case studies are made up of three parts:

1.  A situation or problem
2. Solution
3. Outcome and Results

They establish your reputation as a problem solver, are a powerful advertisement and are extremely cost-effective. Another added benefit is that it establishes your company as a thought-leader and can help increase your mailing list when shared through various social media outlets.

Here is a sample of a case study that I have done.

If you need help creating case studies for your business contact me today at mschemetow@gmail.com.

Effective Email Marketing is Easy

Email is the distribution system of the Internet and it is easy and inexpensive to use.  Whether it is utilized to find new clients or communicate with your current clients; if done effectively it can help grow your bottom line. 

When creating an email keep in mind the importance of creating value for your reader. Steer clear of over-selling your services otherwise your email will be relegated to the spam file. Give your reader relevant information that strikes an emotional accord with them. Also make your headlines powerful to draw your potential reader into your email. Once again relevancy is important, as well as a headline that is news worthy and stokes the reader's curiosity. Remember to keep the headline short, personable and actionable.

Be sure to use a targeted list that is segmented. This way your relevant and engaging message will go to the people who want to read it. If not, you will have many people searching for the unsubscribe link.

One last item is frequency; once a month, once a week? It depends on your audience. You don't want to over send communication to your list because it can be construed as spam.

A third party supplier can help you with customizing an email that will get results. Just remember to target, segment and make it relevant. Happy emailing!

Strategic Marketing Communications Professional with experience in B2B and B2C

Overview: 

 

I am a marketing communications professional that has experience in the B2B and B2C space. Within B2B, I have worked in Direct Marketing and Multi-Channel Digital Marketing. This includes browser and cart abandonment, marketing automation, lifecycle marketing (customer acquisition, conversion, relationship development, customer retention and reactivating the disengaged). Within B2C, I have worked in the banking and credit union industries and also hospitality and travel. Throughout my career, I have been able to transition between industries with ease and look forward to my next challenge.

 

What can I do for you?

·         Develop and execute a marketing plan that increases profits and market share

·         Develop external and social media marketing strategies to build brand awareness that includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

·         Create integrated lead generation and cross promotional marketing activities to achieve revenue targets

·         Set the marketing priorities and create and manage the budget

·         Drive brand awareness and increase brand equity through innovative and strategic marketing and public relations programs that include blog posts, news releases, tradeshows, and media placement

 

Why you should work with me?

·        Strategic and creative thinker that can construct and preserve excellent relationships with clients

·         Excellent written and oral communication skills

·         Motivated, energetic and detail oriented

·         Can work individually or in collaboration with a team with great results

 

About Maria Alves-Schemetow

I have over two decades of experience in the marketing field. I pride myself on my ability to make order out of chaos with my excellent organizational and interpersonal skills. I am an award-winning professional, a strong writer and project manager that only delivers the best to my clients. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from The William Paterson University of New Jersey and am a proud member of the American Marketing Association and eMarketing Association. If you choose to work with me you will get excellent service and turnaround time and a cost-effective solution to your needs.

 

Contact:

 

Maria Alves-Schemetow

Marketing Consultant

(P) 973-256-9009

Email: MSchemetow@gmail.com