Blog

How Tone and Voice Shape Public Relations Writing

2021-09-22T17:20:29+00:00 September 22nd, 2021|Tags: , , |

Everyone has their own tone and way of writing and speaking, that’s what makes us all so unique.  But how exactly do you capture or describe someone else’s voice? Do you focus on their phrasing? The way that they might pronounce certain words? It might be difficult to fully encapsulate someone else’s identity through writing, but public relations requires this skill. Learning and understanding the ways in which your client might write and present themselves to their public is an absolute necessity in our field. How to Capture Your Client’s Voice We’ve compiled a “how-to” list to zero in on what makes your client’s voice unique and distinctive -- whomever they might be! Research We cannot stress this enough and it is number one on this list for a reason. Researching is the key to better understanding your clients. Whether [...]

What You Need to Know About Facebook Groups

2021-10-08T17:51:43+00:00 January 6th, 2021|Tags: , , , , |

Facebook Groups can have a substantial impact on Facebook users and your business. Businesses and brands can all benefit from creating and moderating groups for their customers and their target audiences. So Why Create a Facebook Group? The value of groups is undeniable, as they can have a positive impact on your marketing strategy. Any business that wants to cultivate a brand can then build a community around that brand. Groups give the chance to express dedication to your customers. They also give your brand an outlet to engage with customers in a meaningful way, while these customers also engage with one another. They can also be a valuable way for brands to seek feedback and gain customer insights. Facebook Groups can be highly active, and users can post and share content that relates to the brand, truly creating a [...]

3 Social Media Trends to Watch in 2021

2021-10-08T17:50:20+00:00 December 27th, 2020|Tags: , , , , , , |

Traditionally, social media has been a place to connect with one another by sharing posts, photos, and videos. But today, social media is being utilized in a much wider scope. Now it’s increasingly a vehicle for customer service, customer advocacy, and community building. Consider these top three social media trends to watch in 2021 and how you can put them to work for you: Social Media for Customer Service No longer is social media a platform for just retail and product promotion, it is now a growing vehicle for customer service. Customers are increasingly using social media to get in touch with a brand for a direct way of communication. Brands have taken notice and social media is now fast becoming a significant customer service channel. But social media practitioners beware: customers must be dealt with in an appropriate manner, [...]

7 Ways to Better Content Marketing

2021-10-08T17:48:39+00:00 November 6th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

We all know content is “king” and every digital marketing strategy needs to center around great marketing content. Vendor-driven content dominates the media, drives SEO, is integral to community building and ultimately – when done effectively – drives leads. But ask just about anyone and they’ll say that content creation is hard. Teams get easily caught up in heavy processes, endless topic analysis and while they’re navel gazing, the timeliness of a topic has flown right past them. How can you up your content marketing game?  Without a blueprint for success any content marketing strategy will surely fail. To supercharge your content plan, and get the creative juices flowing take a look at, and use this seven-step checklist to break through barriers holding you back from being more effective. 1. Think Outside-In. It’s no secret that it’s important to know [...]

Event Marketing 101: 6 Things You Simply Can’t Forget

2021-10-08T17:44:57+00:00 October 9th, 2020|Tags: , , , , |

What is event marketing? Event Marketing is the activity of designing or developing a themed activity, occasion, display, or exhibit (such as a sporting event, music festival, fair, or concert) to promote a product, cause, or organization.* Besides watching a creative and unique idea come into fruition, and of course the excuse of a short workday, why would a company organize such an event? Simple.  Here are a few good reasons: To generate leads To engage customers and upsell To build brand (company, product or service) To educate and train To introduce a new product, service or team member Benefits Properly planning an event for your company or organization has many benefits.  These, typical yet sometimes unconventional events, are the perfect way to get the attention of your customers/clients and prospects through a nonthreatening and entertaining manner.  Who wouldn’t want [...]

Key Steps To Creating A Winning Press List

2021-10-08T17:42:36+00:00 September 12th, 2020|Tags: , , , , |

Know your audience.  How many times have you heard that? It’s a rule followed by politicians, public speakers, stand-up comedians and of course expert marketers. The same rule applies to creating your press list. Your primary list should consist only of outlets and people who would be legitimately interested in writing about your organization and/or its products and services. If your company makes computer chips, there’s no point in bothering Newsweek magazine every time you announce a firmware update. You’re only going to be reaching out to general-interest publications when you have “real” news that might matter to a broad audience. So how do you find your “go-to” contacts for your primary list? Subscription-based PR database services There are a lot of wonderful web-based media database tools available to PR professionals, such as Cision, IT Database, Meltwater and Nasdaq’s MyMediaInfo to name [...]

Rising To The Next Level Of Content Marketing

2021-10-08T17:40:17+00:00 August 7th, 2020|Tags: , , |

Content marketing is no longer an enigma. We know its importance with respect to lead generation, customer engagement and SEO.  In fact, we’ve discussed the 7 Ways to Better Content Marketing. Seems simple enough.  So why do a whopping 50% of marketers believe they’re only somewhat successful on a competitive basis with their content marketing efforts? Perhaps this has to do with the different types of content marketing vehicles used, and how they’re used in relation to your audience? When surveyed 219 marketing influencers from around the world, 84% are engaged in some aspect of B2B marketing.  Even though you may be strictly a B2C marketer, this information is most certainly pertinent to all efforts and should be adopted into your practices. According to a recent Ascend2 survey and Regalix research, both agree these are the most effective types of content marketing: 46% - Research reports 45% - Blog [...]

5 Ways To Be Pitch Perfect

2021-10-08T17:37:00+00:00 July 10th, 2020|Tags: , , , |

As a veteran of wire services and newspapers I have received countless pitches from well-intentioned media relations and marketing professionals who believe they have a story worth pursuing and covering.  The pitches range from customized or personal notes to pro forma press release emails to the cute and funny ones. Personal notes have impact because they speak to a prior relationship and journalists will respond usually more often, even if only to say they have to pass on the story at that time.  Customized notes show the media relations person gave it a little more elbow grease and perhaps will get a bit more viewing time as a result. As for pro forma press release emails the assumption would be they have little effect, but in truth, if it’s a hot story, with significant impact – the official launch statement of [...]

5 Social Media Sins of Tech Companies

2021-10-08T17:34:13+00:00 June 20th, 2020|Tags: , , , , , , |

Technology B2B companies are finally stepping up to the social media plate, but many of them are still striking out when it comes to measurable, profitable interactions with their target audience.   While working with a variety of enterprise technology vendors, we’ve identified the most common social media sins that stand in the way of social media success. 1. Ignoring the SEO/Social Relationship Lines of communication between the Social Media Managers and the SEO team should be open. There is a goldmine of information to be shared when it comes to keyword targets and high-converting landing pages. For example, a Social Media Manager may check BuzzSumo for trending industry news and topics. To capitalize on that topic to drive traffic and interactions, the social media team scrambles to create content and get it posted to the website. In theory, that [...]