Every successful PR and marketing program has a variety of ways to routinely get insightful feedback from the stakeholders that matter most to their organizations. Online surveys are one of the most common and effective great ways to do this. We often incorporate them into our Research and Insights projects for this very reason. But there’s a lot more to them than simply typing up a list of questions and sending out a survey. Here are seven helpful tips for...
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There’s a lot that goes into content creation: writing, sourcing visuals, assembling graphics and videos and so much more. And all while keeping in mind best practices to ensure your blog posts make it to the top of a Google search and your social media posts are seen in users’ feeds. But even with best practices and an ever-flowing stream of content in play, if your content lacks accessibility, you could be excluding key audiences. The fact is, at least...
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When The New York Times announced earlier this spring that it was changing the name of op-eds to guest essays – reflecting the fact that opinion pieces no longer necessarily occupied a physical space “opposite” the editorial page – it also offered guidance on the kind of pieces that it was looking to publish. It puts a premium, for example, on high standards of “cogent argument, logical thought and compelling rhetoric.” It desires essays “have intention” and confessed to being partial...
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It’s hard to plan for virality. Yet, it is the thing that every content creator – and brand – chase. The viral moment that skyrockets them to consumer relevance, sales and success. When I was little, I staged a video for America’s Funniest Home videos, where on a snow day, my best friend, her little brother, and I stood on the same sled at the top of a hill in her backyard. Video camera rolling, we shoved ourselves down the...
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As someone who has a background in internal communications and continues to work in the space from time to time at Hodges, I can bear firsthand witness to its importance. And just as clear – how much time and effort goes into creating, implementing and maintaining an effective internal communications program. I may be wrong, but I’ve gotten the sense over the years that those of us working on the internal side of the PR coin often do not get the...
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Despite my interests and general habits reflecting that of a centenarian, I happen to be the youngest person at Hodges, which not only makes me well versed on the latest TikTok trends but also gives me an edge when it comes to knowing the way media relations works in a predominately virtual world. However, with technology changing every day, I can only begin to imagine how different the media relations landscape was 10 years ago—let alone 40. Since time machines...
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If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it’s that almost everything can be done online—this includes the staple event of media relations: the press conference. As restrictions continue to lift, we still find virtual press conferences helping to eliminate travel, freeing up reporters’ calendars during the work day and connecting speakers from all over the world. And just as you would prepare for an in-person press event, virtual press conferences require just as much planning—if not more. So, how do...
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Warning: this is not a blog post that will tell you about five ways to return to the workplace successfully. And that’s because no one has the answer to that just yet. We’re all a WIP (work in progress) when it comes to figuring that out. Even if you’ve already returned, you should still be working on it. What you will find in this blog post is a genuine attempt to idea share and bare our souls about the process...
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Earlier this month, we released the first in a monthly series of video discussions between pairs of THP staffers recorded from an online meeting. Inspired by the medium and the content of the discussions, we’re calling this new series Teaming Up with The Hodges Partnership. Since we’ll be recording and releasing a new episode each month for a few months, we decided also to release each edition as a podcast episode. While neither a recorded video call nor a podcast...
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When Josh Dare and I started The Hodges Partnership, it’s not like we said to ourselves, “Hey let’s create one of the best workplaces in America.” But 19 years later, the email came in from Inc. Magazine congratulating us for just that. We’re proud to announce that our public relations/marketing firm of 16 Hodgers is included in this year’s list of Best Workplaces from Inc., sort of the bible of small companies, start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs. We are one of...
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A couple of months ago, I wrote about what PR professionals should expect from journalists. (In short, a lot of rejection and silence, but if you’d like to read more, check it out here.) Since that piece, I’ve been thinking a little more about what journalists should expect from PR pros. Granted, some journalists don’t expect much from us, because (as mentioned in that last piece) they simply don’t want to work with PR people. And that’s OK. But most...
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On the surface, the difference between social media and social media marketing can be simplified with the qualifier of, “Is there paid dollars to support this?” You’re not wrong, but that synthesis is just scratching the surface. I recently attended a webinar with our social management platform partner Falcon.io that brought in the Toyota UK social media content team to talk about its strategy for social. Granted, they have the luxury of having a global brand with a massive number...
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