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What's Your Sign?
No, this isn't 1982 and we aren't trying to pick you up at a bar. This is 2009 and there is no excuse for inadequate, poorly designed or absent signage to help guide your customers and potential customers.

This marketing rant started with a recent attempt to attend an event. The journey was plagued with an ineffective map and a striking lack of signage. We eventually reached our destination but I wonder how many people gave up at some point along the way.

Good signage begins with thinking like your audience. The signs are not for you. Obviously you already know where the event is being held. You don't need signs telling your where to turn or how many more miles.

Think about where you place your signs. For billboards on the interstate, realize that your audience is passing by at a fast speed. They won't have time to read more than just a few words. And the logos of your 14 sponsors will be so small that they won't be seen at all.

Once you get your audience off the interstate or major highway, make sure you guide them at every turn with arrowed signs. Make sure the signs clearly indicate the name of the event. A consistent design will help reinforce the message that your audience is on the right path. And placing them at the right height for easy visibility will avoiding them being overlooked.

So whether your signage challenge is for an annual event or a year-round business, take a candid look at the message your are sending your customers. Replace or repair damaged and faded signs. Check for spelling errors. And make sure your signs contain the right information for your customers.

Tapping Into Facebook Updates
Facebook pages are a great way to promote your business. You can load photos, add notes and events and interact with fans who post comments. But what about your fans who don't come to your page frequently?

To reach out to your fans, reach for the Updates feature. It works much like email. You can send to all fans or target by state, city, gender and age. Just add a subject line and message. Post a link (or record a video) and you are ready to send.

The update feature doesn't allow you to select fans by name. To get to that level you would need to click each fan individually and send them a message. That's very time consuming. Updates are much easier.

Your Space on MySpace
If you have a MySpace profile or are considering adding one to your marketing strategy, you want to make sure that it is performing to its potential. And the steps are the same tried and true ones that have guided you in other areas of marketing.

A Good product. Take a candid look at your MySpace page. Is it inviting? Easy to read? Does it contain current information? Do you frequently update the page with blogs, new photos, new copy, and calendar items?

You can adjust your page by using MySpace's profile editor to change colors and to select which modules you want to use. And with a little knowledge of html code, you can add in photos and format the copy for a more inviting look.

Taking it beyond this level means using CSS styles. If this is more than you are comfortable with and you don't have the resources in-house, you can call on a professional to help.

The Right Audience. Now that you have a great looking MySpace page, make sure that you are steadily increasing your audience by adding more friends.

Start by finding the friends that make sense for your company. A good way to do this is to visit the MySpace pages for other businesses in your area and for businesses that are similar to yours. Take a look at their list of friends. Mouse over each friend to see a brief detail or open their profile for a more involved view. Then add them to your friends.

As you add friends, use those profiles for exploration. See who is friends with your friends and start networking out.

Utilize the power of your corporate website and the other social networking sites. Provide a link on your corporation site. Cross market by inviting your Twitter followers over to MySpace and vice versa.

For all stages of your MySpace development, Global Marketing Solutions can help. We can help you create a game plan, jazz up your site, network to build your friend base and even help with the day-to-day maintenance of the site with blogging and responding to friend requests and comments.

Thank you for spending a few moments with our newsletter. We appreciate your time and encourage you to contact us to continue the conversation. At Global Marketing Solutions our goal is to offer affordable marketing advice and services. Give us a call or an email - we'd love to hear from you.

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April W. Boone             April@GMStheBest.biz
John Boone                  John@GMStheBest.biz
Laura McGill                Laura@GMStheBest.biz

Global Marketing Solutions, LLC 1916 Bay Street Foley, AL 36535

251-970-5907 251-970-5908 fax 251-233-0069 mobile