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"Getting The Word Out"
This page may very well remain the most incomplete and subject to revision of the entire website, because for over 15 years the entire concept of media and advertising (invasive and passive) has been changing. In the mid-1990s, you could be assured of reaching a sizable receptive audience in your targeted demographics by simply relying on the daily newspapers (even then this was not completely true at the time, and nowadays really is questionable) - nowadays newspapers are really only a part of an outreach solution, with the remaining pieces in flux. Therefore this whole concept of advertising a singles group, and doing it inexpensively, means this page must be revised as new, workable outlets emerge, and obsolete ones fade.
As is self-evident, the basic concept of getting the word (or message) out about an event is to drawn in new attendees (who do not get the Event Newsletter) to the event, and eventually induce them to become regular members of the group. If nobody knows about the group, then it cannot grow. In the changing media world, OLBS Singles must (and does) remain open to trying new forms of advertising, the only caveats being an advertising budget of near-zero (free outlets are preferred), and the forms must be legal (no posting on light poles, for example). Below are discussed several current media outlet types that the group uses (or would like to use) on a regular basis.
Print Media: Daily Newspapers
Considering the four major dailies of the New York City area, only Newsday supports a separate singles events print section (Every Tuesday, 'Events For Singles'). Unfortunately Newsday is well aware of this, and since enlisting an outside fulfillment firm (Staffwriters of Hauppauge, NY), have implemented some strict rules in regards to publishing singles events. They prefer that any one group only submit one or two events per week, and to continue to use the same contact method (from the group to Staffwriters) for each event publication notice (meaning Fax, Mail, or email). There is also a standard form (OLBS has chosen email notification) for event submission, which I will attach here. The event email address is simple: [email protected]. Only one person's name and contact number can be submitted for any given event. And be warned that Newsday can publish the event solely on their On-Line Event Calendar, and consider that publication of your event. Not all events get listed in the 'hard-copy' print newspaper, but unfortunately that's really where the readers are looking, so make sure the submission form is fully filled out with the correct information to help ensure the chance of getting a print listing.
Print Media: Local Community Papers
As the major daily papers decrease in circulation figures, the local community papers are picking up some of this audience (particularly the free ones). Surprisingly, many of these community papers and shopper guides publish Event listings, and they are effective to reaching people.
One community paper with a large readship is the Long Island Press. The problem is that the type of events they are willing to list rarely fit anything that our group does. Still, there seems to be no harm in trying, albeit contacting the event editor directly seems fairly difficult.
Print Media: Church Bulletins
Almost all parishes in the Diocese of Brooklyn (covering Brooklyn and Queens), and the Diocese of Rockville Centre (covering Nassau and Suffolk) publish a weekly bulletin for distribution at Mass (and usually post it on-line too, if they have their own website). The preferred method is either email or a Fax, addressed to the Bulletin Editor, and the publication rate of event listings is quite high.
So what is the catch? Well, the first is you have to contact parishes separately (although the group will begin a project to create a list of parish offices and their bulletin contacts that seem good candidates for getting word of our group's events to), and the second is that the demographics of the bulletin readers tend to skew toward either seniors, or to married couples (neither our target demographic). However, since the publication ratio is fairly good, and listings are no cost, there is no reason to neglect contacting these bulletins for advertising events.
Listing of Diocese of Brooklyn Parishes
Listing of Diocese of Rockville Centre Parishes
Web: On-Line Event Calendars
There are a (large) number of on-line venues where singles event can be posted free of charge. This usually entails filling out and submitting an on-line form, and is usually fairly easy - note that a 'free' email address (from Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo, among others) may be useful as contact info for these calendars. The downside is that there seems to be limited audiences viewing these sites, and response may be rather minimal for the effort expended in posting the event.
Several such on-line event calendars sites (there are many others, including Newsday's own event calendar (see above):
Web: Social Networking Sites
Social Networking Sites are considered part of the nebulous 'Web 2.0', and so the direction they are headed is unknown (as indeed is the very definition of a Social Network). Last's years big hit, MySpace, seems to be passe to the 'younger' crowd (teens & 20s), but interesting enough is becoming more popular among the 30 and up crowd, which is our demographic age range. There are many ideas on how to use Social Networking to advertise, but unfortunately most of these concepts are both untested and often obsolete within a short period of time (consider all the talk 3 years ago concerning the now stagnant 'Friendster' and it's many knock-offs). However, if you have a personal blog, or a popular MySpace profile, we encourage you to mention our group (you can use the alternate name 'Bayside Social Singles', if you wish). To date our group has not made any use of Social Networking Sites or 'Web 2.0' sites, albeit there was briefly a wikipeida entry for Our Lady of The Blessed Sacrament Singles (it did not meet the criteria for long-term notability).
Other: Posting/Displaying Flyers
This method of advertising usually comes up in conjunction with the Spring Dance, and is a perennial favorite. While it seems to work for bands, people selling things or offering repair or cleaning services, and so on, I cannot find any statistics on the return (in increased attendee interest) from the energy expended in posting flyers.
In addition, there are some potential pitfalls:
Considering the above points, usually the design and printing of the flyers is the easiest part of the process. One thing to stress is to have a clean, minimalist flyer to prevent it from becoming 'street-noise', and to ensure enough contact information is provided so potential attendees can follow up.
Other: Word of Mouth
While supposedly the best method of advertising is 'word of mouth', there is, of course, the problem of initially creating such a buzz. It is a bit of a paradox, since if one has such a social network to start with, why bother with singles groups at all? And yet, from what we have heard from people, especially those in there 30s, is that word of mouth forms a significant impression of their view on various groups and events.
One form of 'word of mouth' advertising that's undesirable is 'bad-mouthing'. While the ratio varies, the common rule of thumb that states 'if one person is satisfied with something they will tell a friend, but if they are unhappy they will let X people know' - where X is greater than 1, often much greater - is true. Not only is that why it's important minimize problems and try to have Events that run as smooth as possible - making the best impression on attendees and the least number of disgruntled attendees - but also it's simply common sense to respond responding to a prospective attendee (via phone or email) fairly prompt (within a few days at most), courteously, and as helpful as possible.
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