Not that long ago, PR pros made their name on their ability to get a client in the newspaper or on TV – The Hodges Partnership especially. Heck, most people thought media relations and public relations were synonymous. But then newsroom attrition started making pitching significantly more difficult, all the while social and digital media rose in favor, giving PR practitioners a new sandbox to play in. As a result, many have decried media relations to be dead (it’s not), and to instead focus on…
Read MoreCreating a marketing plan for next year can be difficult due to the fact that trends change so much from year to year. Once heralded strategies such as link building are now generally frowned upon. As 2015 comes to a close, what should you focus on in the year ahead? Here are four content marketing trends we expect to take off in 2016 that you should keep in mind when developing your online marketing strategies: Valuable content will become more effective: This might seem more…
Read MoreDoes this sound familiar? Your department spends thousands of dollars and months of work developing a sophisticated marketing plan that leverages your company’s strengths for the year ahead. But when you check in with your sales staff six months in, you find out your plan was quickly abandoned for their “tried and true” methods, usually including one-off marketing pieces that in no way reflect your brand standards. We don’t mean to disparage sales professionals. They are a valued and necessary resource for virtually all for-profit…
Read MoreIf you’re doing any kind of online marketing, then odds are that you understand the importance of a strong content marketing strategy. Good content is key to increasing awareness of your company and boosting traffic to your website. However, a lot of resources go into making just a single piece of content. Simply posting it to your website and moving onto the next assignment isn’t doing you or your company any favors. Instead of recreating the wheel every time, you should take a look at…
Read MoreWe are now living in a time that takes place after the future date presented in Back to the Future Part II 1989. My six-year-old self can’t even. Where is Your Retirement Going? What is 2-4% of your 401K over 40 years? A whole heckuva lot. [Insert impossibly wittier headline than that of this story] (No really, I tried!) Long read on how maps have been used in persuasion (read: propaganda). Pick your poison This pains me to write, but tea drinkers may be right…
Read MoreThe bike race might be almost over, but this is the BIG weekend. Get excited. RVA! RVA! RVA! Not to shortchange the amazing local coverage of Richmond 2015, but the Washingtonian has put together a fantastic guide of riders to watch, places to eat and sightsee for those venturing in from out of town. An American in Richmond If you haven’t chosen a favorite rider to cheer for, allow us to introduce you to Taylor Phinney. Take your mark Have you found yourself saying about…
Read MoreTomorrow kicks off the UCI Road World Championships. Before we all get wrapped up in cycling fever, here’s a roundup of non-bicycle stories to cap off your week. #istandwithahmed Ahmed Mohamed isn’t the only young teenager who’s engineering while Muslim. (Thank God.) Here are some fantastic programs helping fuel underrepresented students’ passion for science and technology. What’s that sound? Soul music, retro-soul music and neo-soul music: A critique. Holdin’ it down The Federal Reserve has decided to keep interest rates near zero. So exactly what…
Read MoreSo I was browsing through Mobility Magazine the other day, and there was this interesting article on how companies can help employees facing an international move get better acclimated to their new country. Great stuff. You may have missed it. And that’s okay. But when one of your main clients is in the moving and storage business, it’s a good idea to stay abreast of things happening in that industry, and Mobility is one of the regular sites I check in with to get smarter…
Read MoreConfession time. My first AOL screen name in middle school was MisterEMan83. Because…well I have no idea really. I lived a life of awkwardness then (and debatably now), not mystery. Regardless, my sweet (read: embarrassing) handle and I would spend hours hogging the phone line chatting with my friends. Now at 32, I’m well on my way to being a kids-these-days… adult, so it’s tempting to look at instant messaging apps like Snapchat as just another young adult obsession. But then I look at the…
Read MoreU-S-A! The U.S. Women’s National Team! Amirite? To all the countries wanting a better women’s soccer team, here’s your first step: start treating women equally. Summer reading After a 55-year hiatus, Harper Lee delivers her follow up to To Kill a Mockingbird. Read the first chapter (or have Reese Witherspoon narrate it to you) here. In the red Greece may be flirting with bankruptcy, but Fortune has three reasons why the average U.S. citizen may actually be in a worse debt situation. Personal space be…
Read MoreIf you’ve received an email from Lindsay, Cam or me in the last few months, you might have noticed a new addition to our email signature, specifically three letters—APR. For those familiar with PRSA parlance, you know exactly what I’m talking about. For all others, let me elaborate. APR stands for Accreditation in Public Relations, which is a distinction the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) developed “as a way to recognize practitioners who have mastered the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to develop and…
Read MoreTony’s on vacation this week, so I’m filling in on the HodgePodge. Cover up Speaking of vacation, do you know what kind of sunscreen you should buy? Help wanted Giving its increasing popularity and rising shipping costs, it’s no surprise that Amazon is getting creative with its courier options. In the groove Whether or not you think vinyl records sound better (they do, by the way), this is how such a tiny needle makes such a big sound. Move over Hamilton The U.S. Treasury announced…
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