Product launches are the stuff marketing campaign dreams are made of. There are your typical campaign tactics—advertising, media relations and maybe even a tour du jour, as we like to call it at Hodges, where you take your product on the road for a series of launch events. But for a recent product launch, our client wanted to take a more educational, behind-the-scenes approach, one that leveraged the advantage of an owned platform to push out messaging. Tridium, a B2B IoT software technology company, was…
Read MoreIt’s been over 50 years since Marshall McLuhan famously stated, “The medium is the message,” kicking off countless arguments about whether that’s true. It’s my impression that as PR people, we have a bias toward the message. But technology’s rapid evolution, especially the past few years, has dramatically impacted how we communicate, tipping the scales toward the medium. Arguably the biggest example of this – the proliferation of mobile devices. Increase of mobile devices At first, smartphones were a secondary means for accessing the internet….
Read MoreMy affinity for live, streaming videos of baby animals began in 2013. It was a big year for babies. Bao Bao the Giant Panda debuted at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Lana, a cheetah at Richmond Metro Zoo, had a litter of five cubs. These live cams helped generate an awareness for the populations of these endangered species (and the zoos that care for them). Fast-forward to 2017 and the latest live-streamed animal phenomenon is April the Giraffe, the 15-year-old leggy lady at Animal…
Read MoreMillennials apparently have the same attention span as a…ooh, look at this cute video of cats dinging bells to get a treat! Adweek talked a bit about the longevity of live video viewing, and it looks like it’s here to stay – for now. In the article, Adweek mentions that Facebook users are 10x more likely to comment on a live video than on a static one. Not only is video important, but live in-the-moment video is what people are drawn to. I’m currently waiting…
Read MoreIt’s great to get that earned media hit online, or in print, or on television. The question we’ve always had after we get that hit is, “what do we do with it?” We now have the advantage of having social platforms as a way to communicate to all our different audiences. So, of course you want to take that print hit, or the online version, or that video hit, and post it on all your social channels. You want to encourage all of the people…
Read MoreAccording to LiveStream, a video live stream platform, 80 percent of users would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog, and 82 percent prefer live video from a brand to social posts. If those numbers don’t convince you that your organization needs to be considering live video as a part of your marketing strategy, I’m not sure what will. If you haven’t read up on live streaming lately, you may be missing opportunities to engage with your online community, not to mention the chance…
Read MoreYes, Virginia, video is very much still a thing. As a matter of fact it’s probably the thing right now. But, the key thing is to balance yourself. You don’t want to go all video and blog all the time. People are used to the written word, but, by the same token, they may be too used to the written word. The reason why we’re doing this vlog is to sprinkle in a good, solid, short video snippets into our blogging. We have gotten more…
Read MoreLead scoring assigns points to a person based on their likelihood to buy your product or service. Our last blog post on lead scoring – Lead scoring 101: Lead scoring & why it’s important– also explains how lead scoring can be used to align marketing and sales, save valuable resources and increase sales close rates. Now, let’s get into the science of lead scoring: the data that indicates a lead is likely – or unlikely – to buy and how to get started developing a…
Read MoreDriving sales. It’s the No. 1 goal of any inbound marketing plan. But it takes more than big budgets, lots of time, great writers or even sheer luck to deliver quality prospects to your sales team. In fact, 80 percent of marketers report their lead-generation efforts are only slightly or somewhat effective (BrightTALK, 2015). To deliver quality prospects, you must define what a “quality, qualified lead” is. And that begins with understanding and developing a lead scoring system. What is a lead? Let’s start with…
Read MoreIf your content program is working right, the number of followers who are hanging on every word of your blog posts should be growing month in and month out. By providing expert insights, delivering tips to customers and prospects alike on ways to enhance their business and educating readers about new trends and products – and all without shamelessly promoting your own amazing self – you should be moving the needle on increasing your base of followers. (And if not, let’s talk. You may not…
Read MoreIf there were coupons for social media advertising, I’d be sharpening my scissors ready to clip away. Unfortunately, the world of online advertising doesn’t have the same perks as other sectors of commerce, so being a good steward of your organization’s ad budget is important. That means designing a plan that balances your organization’s budget and goals. To give yourself the best chance at achieving your objectives, lay your advertising plan over your editorial strategy. Doing so will ensure that you’re spending your dollars at…
Read MoreI always use the start of a new year to examine different methods to do better, more efficient work. From meetings across campus to monthly reports (and pitching subject matter experts in between), staying on top of it all can be daunting. But have no fear, here are four apps that will make your life easier as a college communicator: Texture ($9.99 per month): Keeping up with magazine journalists’ stories and columns takes time and big budgets as subscriptions add up. With a monthly subscription…
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