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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As summer starts turning to fall, it is clear we’re heading into the long haul of the COVID-19 crisis for marketers. The summer allowed most to get used to working remotely, pivot their business models and gauge who their (new?) customers are. As we roll towards Labor Day and realize the regular touch-points (meetings, conventions, sales calls, etc.) still won’t exist for at least several months, the challenge now is how to find, gauge interest, connect and sell. Most marketers...
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A few weeks ago, we asked the Virginia PR and marketing community to participate in our survey to assess how COVID-19 has impacted our profession. We were fortunate to have 139 professionals respond – and if that includes you, thank you! At this point, it’s more than a little trite to simply say COVID-19 has impacted our profession. Not to mention the additional unrest. Months into the pandemic, that’s a well-established reality. Some of the most pressing questions we’re now...
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Without question, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned virtually every aspect of our professional and personal lives upside down. Many PR and marketing professionals have been tirelessly working for weeks now helping guide their organizations and clients through challenges usually reserved for the most severe section of a crisis communications manual. Like many of you, we at The Hodges Partnership have been wondering more and more, “How will COVID-19 impact PR and marketing in the months and years ahead?” To help...
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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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Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten the distinct impression that my health and wellbeing is the most important thing to the companies I do business with. (And by that I mean, Josh, the consumer, not Josh, part of The Hodges Partnership.) Like you, I’ve received dozens of emails from retailers and travel companies, from my bank and dry cleaner, and even my barber shop, all of whom want me to know what a high priority they place on my...
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Those who know me best know I love to cook. If you were a fly on the wall in my kitchen, you’d likely hear me narrating my dinner preparation like I was a Food Network Star. In fact, when I was little, I drafted up a pitch for Food Network because I was disappointed in its lack of children’s programming. Never followed through though. You’re welcome, Hodges. My YouTube homepage is filled with cooking videos. My Pinterest with recipes. At...
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We’re halfway through the year, making July a fitting time to revisit your goals for 2019. Here are a few tips to ensure you don’t get lost in the weeds executing your strategy, and instead, are able to home in on your big picture marketing goals. What could you eliminate? Answering this question will force you to prioritize your to do list. Are there reports you’re drafting weekly that would serve the same purpose if you delivered them monthly? Be...
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Imagine this scenario. You’re looking at shirts and a salesperson says, “You should definitely buy this shirt. It’s a really great shirt. It’ll keep you cool, and you’ll look so good in it.” Okay, thanks, you know you look good in cotton. But what if that salesperson said, “The other day I was at the Nationals game, and it was 95 degrees outside with zero shade. I wore this shirt and it was so breathable and light. It saved the...
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Social media influencer marketing has become an increasingly popular tactic, with influencer campaigns on Instagram increasing nearly 200 percent last year. If your organization is new to the world of influencer marketing, you might be wondering what kind of results you can expect, especially if you work for a B2C company. Influencer marketing is a vague term that can mean different things to different people, but for the purpose of this blog post, influencer marketing is the practice of sharing...
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