Reader and staff favorites from 2017

Say what you will about 2017, but on the business front, it was full steam ahead on all fronts. Across the board — in content marketing, media relations, social programs, even communications audits — we were busier than Hollywood publicists apologizing for their clients. For many of our clients, we are the champions of content — encouraging them to share their expertise with potential and existing customers.

And we couldn’t do that (be those champions) if we didn’t practice what we preach. In 2017 we cranked out some quality content, to help readers (like you) stay on top of the latest and greatest marketing trends.

In total, we published 115 blog posts last year. And if you’re wondering how we were able to create that volume of content in addition to keeping up with our day-to-day job functions, the answer is we divided and conquered, splitting up the content burden among all fourteen Hodgers. That also helped ensure that we were able to touch on a wide range of expertise.

Here are our top posts for 2017 (as determined by pageviews):

United doesn’t have a PR problem; it’s far worse than that (Josh Dare)

Why you should always give your social media videos subtitles (Greg Surber)

10 tips for mastering your television Skype interview (Cameron McPherson circa 2015!! – thanks to SEO)

Shine bright like a trophy: 70^th Virginia PR Awards (Casey Prentice)

College athletic departments are now on the social clock (Jon Newman)

Blogs gone bad: Seven signs of a bad blog (Aidan Guilfoyle)

Attention public sector communicators, are you archiving your social media content? (Greg Surber)

Ensuring your content reaches the right people (Kelsey Leavey)

Ask Jon: Is influencer marketing still relevant? (Jon Newman)

When the best strategy is to say nothing (Josh Dare)

Honorable mention (read: staff favorites)

Inbound marketing: Clicks vs. leads (Laura Elizabeth Saunders)

Making your opinion known (Sean Ryan)

Where beer and oysters meet: Introducing The Boathouse Oyster Ale (Meg Irvin)

Ringing up success with Kroger Richmond (Lindsay Grant)

Four ways to use Facebook Live for your B2B Business (Amanda Colocho)

What’s a communications audit (Paulyn Roman)

How to mic yourself (and others) for video (Tony Scida)

In addition to the blog content we published last year, we also launched several pieces of useful content that you can download and save for future use. From checklists to ebooks, these free resources are designed to help you meet your PR and marketing goals.

Downloadable content you might’ve missed

Preparing your executive for an interview (guide + worksheets and a briefing book template)

How to dress for an on-camera interview (visual guide)

Adding video subtitles to your videos (guided walkthrough)

Video creative brief (downloadable template)

How to host a Facebook live (checklist)

Earned, owned, paid playbook (eBook)