It's Not Bragging if Someone Else Says it

by Annie Card

We all learned as children that bragging isn’t nice. It’s just not attractive and frankly not believable, when someone says they’re the best at something. We are more impressed when we hear from a customer how great Jack the mechanic is, or Randy the handyman. That’s the power of a testimonial.

So let’s bump it up exponentially. Rather than one person telling one other how great your service is, how valuable is it to have thousands of people getting that information from a third party?  One of my clients is in the newspaper regularly because he partners with dozens of nonprofits to raise money for their causes.  Lots of businesses help out nonprofits but keep it a secret. Honorable, modest? Maybe, but it’s a missed opportunity too.

A recent newspaper story I wrote about a chef’s volunteer work with a local nonprofit has brought him increased visibility and new accounts.
 http://www.ledgertranscript.com/article/carrying-on-food-tradition
The story focused on Dave Brann's generosity and place in the community-- a very busy, talented chef helping parents learn to cook healthy meals for less. Readers responded within days wanting to hire him for private parties. This kind of exposure should be part of every marketing plan, in addition to paid advertising, tradeshows, networking, event sponsorships, etc.

Find ways for your target audience to get to know you. Did you just join a Board of Directors? Ask them to send out a press release and post it to their Face Book page.  Press releases and Face Book are free marketing tools. Use them to spread the news ....brag.  Other bragging rights include: promotions, new locations, new products or services, volunteer work, anniversaries.

How have you’ve used local media and social media to increase exposure via bragging rights? Want to know how you can do this for your business or nonprofit?
 

-Annie