This week's teleseminar with Mary Kurek about "Low-Cost Ways You can Use the Internet to Increase the Visibility of Your Organization" was a lot of fun. Even though I've been marketing online for years, I took a ton of notes with the new ideas and Web sites Mary talked about. We should have the recording uploaded into the member area of the Web site in the next week or so.
With people tightening their budgets, it's more necessary than ever for you to continue to get the word out about what you do for the animals. The thing is that even during a recession, life goes on. Contrary to dire media reports, not everyone is broke. Marketing anything, including your organization, requires repetition. A number of studies have shown that during past recessions those companies that continued marketing actually thrived during down cycles.
Remember if you stop making the effort to raise funds and get press, the ones who lose are the animals. When times are good, it's easy to become complacent. Maybe your organization has had some great articles written about you or your events in the past. The problem is that people forget, so you need to continue to make the effort to tell people about what you are doing now.
Sometimes getting media coverage is as simple as picking up the phone and calling an animal-friendly reporter. In fact, I just read in a PR newsletter that holidays can be a great time to get extra press because so many businesses shut down.
People love human interest stories during the holiday season, so get some of your adorable critter photos in the newspaper or on TV. You can take advantage of the next few weeks to get out there and get some people talking about you. The benefits you reap can help you start off 2009 on the right paw!