This time last year, our office was buzzing with Virginia General Assembly chatter. History was happening with elected officials in both chambers. It was a long session, and several important bills, including Governor Northam’s budget, were on the table. I was knee deep in media relations as part of a campaign to support VAratifyERA (now VoteEqualityUS), an organization that advocated for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Virginia. Meanwhile, my colleague Cameron was heads down doing media relations...
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Over the last couple of years, Aidan and I have given a presentation on social media advertising – the ins, the outs– it’s truly a 101 primer on the subject. The meat of our presentation is the same, but our color and delivery changes based on what’s currently happening in the social world. Looking into our crystal ball, social media advertising isn’t going away any time soon, but a lot is going to change in the coming months – from...
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When we first met Anderson Hayes during his interview to be a Hodges intern, we knew he was going to be a rockstar from day one. Come on, if he can lead a classroom of high school physics students for over three years, he can handle anything, right? And that wasn’t a typo. Anderson has his degree in physics, and he taught the subject in Chesterfield County Schools before he realized some of his greatest passions were met through his...
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One meeting with me and you know I’m a process person who looks for efficiencies to keep myself organized. I have a notebook for my daily to-do checklist. I have a notepad for time tracking, with a hand drawn time sheet that I fill in to make my real time submission easier. I have my Outlook calendar color coded by client so I can quickly see what my week looks like. And don't for a second think that doesn't apply...
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In these virtual times, do you ever feel like you’re producing dozens of pieces of content, throwing them out there but getting nothing in return? If you’re not seeing a return on the time you’re investing, it’s possible you need to refine your digital marketing strategy. Consider hitting the pause button on your inbound content marketing strategy and starting back at Step 1: revisiting your marketing personas. What are personas? Marketing or buyer personas are semi-fictional representations of your ideal...
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The other day, my colleague Amanda and I were leading an AMA Richmond small group conversation on social media. There were only six of us on the call, but half of the group actively said they were limiting social media use because it’s just too much. Some Hodgers have even quit, or greatly reduced, their social media use for the same reason. But what do you do when you’re responsible for social media management and operateing in the social media...
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Launching a social media advertising campaign is no small feat, even for those of us who do this for a living. Despite our experience, there is a good bit that is unpredictable in this space. For instance, we’ve had Hodges’ ads denied because we wrote about Black Lives Matter. Ads have been denied because the copy about career training was flagged for inappropriately promoting job opportunities. Then there were the occasions when identical ad copy was flagged one time but...
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If preparing for cancel culture isn’t part of your social media crisis planning, it should be. Cancelling is a way for an individual or a collective to publicly call out and demand accountability to everyone and everything – from individuals to big brands and organizations. When you can’t bring down the system, you can chip away at it by canceling those on top. (In case “being cancelled” is something you haven’t heard of, read this primer by Vox.) From a 1991 Wesley...
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Three months ago, I would have just assumed everyone would have thrown their hands up and gone on total hiatus when it came to their normal operations, content creation, communications and broader public relations efforts. Maybe that was naivety, or maybe a reflection of what I wanted to do in the beginning – but, as the adage goes, “the show must go on.” None of the companies below are essential, but they have found ways to keep running and relevant...
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Is it possible for a month to go by fast and slow all at the same time? April had that vibe for sure, but we were still able to collect some stellar Plays of the Month across the agency. We’re still hard at work on COVID-19 and other crisis-related work, but a few other initiatives help round out this month’s list. Content Marketing We’re long-time partners of Virginia’s Community Colleges, and as higher education has pivoted towards serving students in...
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Do you remember the good ole days when you’d sit in your car during your morning commute, listening to the podcast or two that downloaded to your queue overnight? Maybe you were more of a terrestrial radio listener, clamoring to hear Second Date on 103.7 PLAY as you navigated through downtown Richmond. Times have changed and so have our media consumption habits. Media research groups are all over how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our listening and viewing habits. We’ve...
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We do something every week here at The Hodges Partnership called Plays of the Week (POTW), which is a fun way for us to celebrate successes internally. Every Friday afternoon, an email goes out to our office highlighting some wins from the week. Sometimes it’s a big media hit, other times it’s recognizing someone who is working hard to bring a strategy to life. In the spirit of all things positive, we’re going to start sharing some of our top...
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