EDUCATION AS A MARKETING TOOL

Nehlsen Communications recently produced and aired the seventh Chicago MCA on-line seminar (Webinar), “So You Want to be a Green Contractor?”; our second Webinar instructing contractors on different aspects of green building.

These Webinars have proven to be tremendously successful as a marketing tool for the MCA, as well as an effective educational tool for their members. The construction world is enthusiastic about green building. They want to know what it means, whether it’s profitable and how they can become certified to do the work. Offering this valuable information not only to MCA members, but also to their end-users, positions MCA contractors as the experts in a field that offers growth and profitability for years to come.

Once a Webinar is produced, a date and time are set to premiere the course with a live facilitator to answer questions. Direct mail and email announcements encouraging recipients to sign up for the “live” event are sent two weeks prior to the air date. In addition, notices are posted on the Chicago MCA Website and sent to relevant publications. After the Webinar has aired, press releases are sent to publications throughout the country that might have an interest in green building – from hospital publications to construction publications to business and financial publications.

The response has been fantastic. News about the MCA’s green building education endeavors has appeared in over two dozen publications, including non-industry related publications like the Chicago Tribune, Recreation Management, U.S. Business Review and Chief Learning Officer.

While the Webinars, and other Chicago MCA education programs, offer incredible value to contractors, the PR garnered from these offerings is just as valuable. Every business editor in America is looking for information to publish about green building. When a general contractor, developer or engineer reads that the MCA offers cutting edge educational programs to their contractor members they can’t help but connect the dots and realize that those contractors have the edge in green building

Many of you have educational programs that offer important courses to your members. But do you take full advantage of your investment in those programs by using them as a marketing tool? Education is news, particularly if it involves a hot topic like green building. When you offer a course to members, send out a press release explaining what you are doing and why it’s important to the industry. Follow up after the course by sending a press release describing the speaker, the course content, and why attendees found the course valuable

When you elevate your members through education, it’s not just good business – it’s good PR!


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© Nehlsen Communications 2006-2008