Devoted to women of color in business

"Appropriateness" is the theme for today's posting.

How appropriate are your media for your potential and active customers?

How appropriate is the language, the look-and-feel, the font size and style, for your website visitors?

How appropriate are the print ads you've bought in your newspapers, magazines, and trade journals?

How appropriate are the community partners for the next charity event that your company is sponsoring?

How appropriate is your radio ad or public access spot?

How appropriate is your spokesperson's behavior, dress, and speech?

How appropriate is your internet video?

Do you know?

Here are five items to be on the lookout for when evaluating your media piece against the appropriateness of its widespread broadcast:

1) Is the media piece consistent with the other pieces you've had before? If not, is it part of a new campaign that's designed to expand your market? Check your logo, colors, fonts. Everything should "fit" unless you are a gaming, arts, or entertainment company that needs to keep things changing.

2) Font size. With today's baby boomers, a big chunk of your potential market might not even see your text. If you're targeting anyone born before the 1970s, make sure your designers uses 14 point font so your Boomers will even read your message. 

3) Technologispecificity: (new word) Are you broadcasting video? Make it slick so your Millenial market of younger folks even sees the video. Include multiracial people in your materials. If your piece doesn't look like your audience, they won't even see it. Are you using handheld devices for your media? Offer high visibility and clear rendering. Are you displaying images in your website? Make sure they're web-ready and optimized. Keep the technological avenue towards your company appropriate so your customers feel comfortable walking in your direction.

4) Show, don't tell. Use a video for maximum "stickiness." A short promotional video or an "on-site tour" tells a customer so much about your business, and they'll watch it at home in their pajamas instead of on call or via appointment. Give them the option to see you before they talk to you!

5) Avoid "fauxments" that pass by like the breeze. A fauxment, coined by Hal Halladay, is when something artificial, fake or imitation (faux) is passed off by the media as a "moment." Strive for genuine moments where you truly have something to share.

Run your media pieces by these filters of consistency, font size, technological appropriateness, interactive demonstration, and genuineness, and every time you do, you'll reach more and more of the most appropriate customers for your products and services.