Managing Free Publicity
There’s a great post on the Wall Street Journal ‘s Small Business site that talks about what can happen if you suddenly get some great free publicity.
A service called Bag, Borrow or Steal which rents high end designer handbags and sunglasses is getting a mention in the new Sex and the City movie. The company is doing some really great things to take advantage of the expected traffic. Things like adding bandwidth, contests, games and inventory.
You might think that there’s nothing that could be bad about this, but there is. What if they buy too much inventory or their mention gets cut out of the film? It’s a fine line to walk. A new customer might not come back if they can’t get on to your site or you don’t have what you want and too much inventory can easily put you out of business.
I think that Bag, Borrow or Steal seems to be doing things right and I look forward to finding out how this turns out. It’s an article worth reading and remember something this large might not happen to your business, but you can try to get free or paid mentions in your local media and then plan well for the results.
