Business of welding: Your name here

I would like to start this column by saying that Canada is a great country. There are lots of good things hap­pening here that are the direct result of our collective success, but I’m sure there are even more great things lurking in the background that, given a chance, would help propel us even further. Every company or person that has survived, grown and prospered has as a result a story to tell, and that story should be a key part of future suc­cesses. What I’m talking about here is promotion.

There are all kinds of ways to think about promotion, but from my perspective good promotion is all about telling a story, getting people interested in what you have to say and by extension what you have to offer. It’s about making yourself more “visible” to the industry, your clients or potential employers. In short – it gives people a reason to believe in you and what you have on offer.

Not to stereotype too much, we as Canadians seem to undersell ourselves, so lets take a quick look at a simple route to changing that through promotion:

Know what makes you different

Do you really know what makes you, or your company different? The easiest way to figure this out is to make a big list of your perceived strengths, then spend some time comparing it to others who are similar to you in the marketplace. Start crossing off items that you feel make you weaker until you get down to a small list. If you end up crossing off everything then don’t despair; go back to the list and pick three of four items that you think you could excel at. Don’t forget about things like certification, industry programs and testing that you have gone through, stuff that shows the industry you’re serious about what you do. Remember: From a promotions perspective there is a story in everything you do.

Strive for improvement

Now that you have your list, write down the reasons you think the items on the list truly represent you and your current (or potential) unique position in the marketplace. This is basically an exercise in charting out your history, as well as your investment in training, equipment, time and dollars spent to get you to where you are now. It is about looking for what you have done so that you can do more of it to improve your story. Be proactive and start the improvement process now with the knowledge that every improvement you make is a new promotional opportunity for you to leverage.

Do your research, have a plan

Having something to talk about and having an opportunity to talk about it are two very different things. If you want promotion you are going to need to go out and look for it. Almost any editor, publisher, web site owner, blogger or fan of services like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. is looking for stories. However, today’s world is a world of a billion stories (aka “content”) so you will need to do some research and have a plan to get results.

Research and planning are two sides of a single coin – you cannot have one without the other. By doing research you help to shape your plan by identifying opportunities to tell your story. On the flip side you need to start with some plan objectives (like what you want to promote, and to whom) to avoid waiting time. You also need to understand that the research results may take you in a direction you never thought of going before: Embrace the change if it seems right, or rethink your plan objectives if you come to dead-end. In the end what you want is a short list of people, places and publications that are a good fit for your story.

Look for opportunities- then use them

Okay, you now have a story and have identified places you want to tell it. The task at this point is to look for oppor­tunities to showcase your story. All major publication have editorial calendars that spell out what will be published each month and websites, blogs and bloggers typically have topics they like to cover. Use this information to help you get your story across. Be selective and make sure your story matches the focus of the opportunity.

Finally – think positive

It’s easier to make opportunities than wait for them to drop out of the sky, so put some time aside to run your own promotional activities. Reach out to editors, customers, employers – whoever you consider your prime promotion “targets”. If you have a good, unique and compelling story you will likely find a receptive ear now and into the future.

As always, if there is something the CWA or CWB Group can do to help you then please drop us a line or find us on Facebook. You can also find me on LinkedIn or catch up on past articles at my blog at opiniongarden.wordpress.com. I’m interested in hearing what you have to say, so feel free to leave a comment.