The holidays are quickly approaching, bringing a fresh start in the New Year. But before you check out of the office, why not take this opportunity to take stock of your marketing efforts in 2016. These three exercises will help you come back in January with a fresh perspective and poised for success in 2017. Look way back. Take a look at what you set out to do last January. What were your goals and did you achieve them? If you set SMART goals (Specific,…
Read MoreWe’re a couple weeks out from Hodges’ first-ever Facebook live event and still I find it hard to watch the archived video. Don’t get me wrong, the event exceeded our expectations and the feedback from viewers was amazing. In fact, someone even recognized Jon at a downtown restaurant and asked him if he was the guy from the Facebook live event…in our minds, we’re stars! The reality, however, is that it’s hard to watch and listen to recorded versions of ourselves – we’re our own worst…
Read MoreMeasurement and public relations haven’t always been the best bedfellows. Advertising value equivalency was long heralded as the go-to metric for media relations, only to be debunked later by PR scholars. Even when the impact of a positive news story could be measured, in terms of reputation building, for example, it always was difficult not to be outshone by marketing, who could more clearly make the connection between their efforts and sales – the ultimate objective for many executives and managers. We knew our work…
Read MoreAs we’ve preached here, here, here and likely a dozen other times, understanding your audience, their goals and the obstacles that stand in their way is essential intelligence that organizations need in order to create relevant content. Not only will this exercise help you create better content, which most marketers believe is the key element to a successful content marketing program, it also has the potential to drive revenue and conversions. But how do you ensure that your audience intelligence — the prospect and customer insights…
Read MoreOur work for Hilldrup has transformed over the years, and recently we’ve been able to fully implement an Earned, Owned, Paid strategy which includes pitching local and trade media, writing web content, managing social media profiles (Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook) and promoting content using social advertising. Gathering content for clients with operations in multiple cities often can be a challenge, and today, users on social media expect to see engaging content (video/photos) all the time. So when the opportunity to visit Charlottesville and Chapel Hill…
Read MoreIn my world having three unrelated conversations about the same thing is the signal of a trend. Within the last week I’ve had three unrelated and unsolicited conversations about content. More specifically the conversations were about who owns the content in an organization. In each case, it was clear to me that silos still exist that are stopping these organizations from communicating effectively with their audiences. As a PR person by trade, I’m biased. In our recently released eBook (shameless plug: you can download the…
Read MoreA potential new client was referred to us recently, and after an initial phone call, we agreed to a meeting. He was a thoughtful guy with terrific credentials – an MBA, some Wall Street experience and a track record of success in following his dream: creating new manufacturing opportunities in communities where plants had been shuttered and ghosts of bygone days lingered. He was likeable and inquisitive, curious to learn as much about public relations as he could, measuring against what he thought he needed…
Read MoreWe zoomed through the inaugural year of Who’s Your Driver, a racing season-long driver education program sponsored by DRIVE SMART Virginia. Let’s take a pit stop to reflect on where we’ve been and, like all good drivers, take a look at where we’re heading. According to recent statistics, there is one group in particular that makes up most of the DUI convictions in the Commonwealth – 21-35 year-old men. To better educate this demographic about the dangers of drinking and driving, as well as the…
Read MoreToday’s a pretty big day here at THP. We actually just celebrated with cheap champagne and Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches (OMG, they are so good). Today we launched our first eBook, the EOP (earned, owned and paid) Playbook. It’s a culmination of two years of trial and error as we changed the main focus of our agency from “traditional PR” to one based on the evolution of media relations, social media and content marketing. If any or all of those practices interests you then you should download…
Read MoreIn the world of marketing we’re always focused on “what’s next?” What’s the next big technology platform? How can we measure better? What comes after B2C and B2B? One of the reasons I haven’t blogged for a while is I’ve been spending my time talking to clients and other in the industry to get a sense of “what’s next?” In a couple of weeks THP will be making its first e-book available. Its focus is on the EOP (earned, owned and paid) approach of PR…
Read MoreWhile there is, and likely will always be, a place for media relations and traditional news delivery, the audience for this type of information is shrinking. According to Pew Research Center’s State of the News Media Report, 2015 circulation numbers in the newspaper industry alone were down 7 percent from the prior year. Compounding that, advertising – in both print and digital – was down 8 percent. The implications for individual publications is staggering with staff being slashed, the elimination of entire sections, and in…
Read MoreBuilding community online is one thing–most organizations have spent years amassing followers and fans on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with communities amounting into the tens or hundreds of thousands. And those communities can spur hundreds of likes, comments and shares a day on these platforms. But translating all that online activity into real-life excitement and engagement is a different story…and an important one. For many marketers, hosting tradeshows, conferences and events are ubiquitous elements of their annual marketing strategies, and yet while planning those events,…
Read More
