By Karen Rosenzweig

Did you know the month of March is not only Irish American Month, but National Women’s History Month, National Nutrition Month, and National Frozen Food Month, just to name a few?

OK, those last two are a bit of a contradiction for sure (nutrition AND frozen food??), but I’d like to suggest that we all make March into “Marketing Madness” month for our businesses. When I worked in college sports public relations, this month was revered for the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s “March Madness” and the weeks of excitement and celebration.

Well now that the shopping hangover from the holidays is over, and with spring poking it’s head out just around the corner (ignore the recent snowfall!), it feels like optimism is blooming all around us.  It’s time to dust off our winter sales strategies and old 2010 tactics, and turn this month into a flurry of new activity.

For example, you could help increase your business in March by:

-Visiting a local networking group meeting or attend a networking event in-person – you never know who you might meet and the connections you could establish to enhance your business.
– Finding at least three “raving fans” who could be walking talking billboards for you and ask for their help in spreading the word about your business, and help finding you more referrals and sales.
– Starting a Facebook business page, join Twitter or create a LinkedIn profile – find out why everyone is talking about these social media tools and how they can give your business a visibility shot in the arm.
– Revisiting and reviewing your first two months of 2011 to celebrate what’s working well, adjust the parts of your marketing plan that need tweaking and make necessary adjustments to wrap up the first quarter of the year in strong fashion.

Spring cleaning is a necessary – and rewarding! – chore, even for our businesses, so let’s put some fun and excitement back into the process. Let’s make March a month packed with “marketing madness,” infused with new activities, enthusiasm and leaps of faith.

What kind of madness do you have in store for this month? I’m eager to hear your plans – let me know in the comments below!

Edmonds resident Karen Rosenzweig is a social media consultant/trainer and owner of One Smart Cookie Marketing. She writes weekly about how companies, entrepreneurs and restaurants can increase their customer base and gain visibility through Twitter, Facebook, blogging and other social media tools.