Public relations is, to some degree, always changing. There’s always some new tool or technique to stay ahead of the curve. But every so often, these changes are so severe, or culminate in a way, that they force us to alter the strategy and counsel we provide to clients, bosses and even each other. The rise of social and digital media, and concurrently, the changing nature of the traditional media landscape, is one such example. As Josh discussed in his previous post, public relations used…
Read MoreWith apologies to librarians, travel agents and Blockbuster, there are few industries over the past few decades that have changed as dramatically as public relations. Communications, in general, has been transformed, of course—digitized in a way that has meant greater speed, enhanced creativity and improved efficiency—so much so that for old timers like me, it can be a challenge just to keep up. Digital Marketing is More Credible Marketing (to Clients) No one could have predicted what this transformation would have brought us over the…
Read MoreLooking at the most successful projects I’ve worked on to date, two common threads emerge: a focused goal and a clear definition for what success looks like. Whether it’s driving web traffic among a target demographic or increasing a client’s Facebook community, a clearly defined objective makes all the difference. But that’s often easier said than done. Figuring out where to start and understanding how to get there typically require some upfront strategizing that can make or break your ultimate success. Know Your End Goal…
Read MoreVideo is an increasingly important part of breaking through the cacophony that is social media in 2016—in fact, 87% of online marketers use video. But just stringing together some moving pictures isn’t quite enough to reach the right audience. Your video has to have a goal. Are you looking to generate leads? Educate existing customers? Drive webinar signups? Whatever it is, once you’ve established the goal, you may be tempted to switch on the lights and start filming. But… let me stop you there. Before…
Read MoreThere’s an irony to many public relations professionals’ work. While this is a generalized definition of our industry, so much of what we do is promoting an organization’s message and expertise to its audiences. But just as the cobbler’s children have no shoes, often we don’t take the time to do the same for our own work. One way to demonstrate your PR know-how is by winning PR awards! If you’ve never gone after awards before, or haven’t had success with them in the past,…
Read MoreAt the most recent American Marketing Association Speaker Series luncheon, we had the privilege of learning a thing or two about content marketing the open source way from Jason Hibbets, senior community evangelist in corporate marketing at Red Hat. Creating content this open source way is a strategy that focuses on collaboration and community building: a concept that helped opensource.com surpass 1 million views in March 2016 alone. Readers find the site primarily though organic search and although it’s sponsored by Red Hat, there are…
Read MoreWhile tweets may be a mere 140 characters long, the majority of corporate leaders say they’re far too busy running their organizations to spend their time posting to Twitter. What’s more, many see it as a fruitless exercise that doesn’t increase revenue, they don’t like the idea of ceding control, and they’re leery of sharing too much – or not enough. The result is that fewer than 6% of Fortune 500® CEOs use Twitter and of those, only 60% tweet on a regular basis. But the benefits…
Read MoreThe buyer’s journey – the research process potential buyers go through before making a purchase – is critical to understanding how to develop effective inbound marketing campaigns. Inbound content should be written to potential buyers at each phase of the buyer’s journey: awareness, consideration and decision. The consideration stage Consideration stage content provides in-depth, solution-oriented information. This is the phase where a prospect has clearly defined their problem or opportunity and is committed to researching and understanding all available approaches to solving it. That’s where…
Read MoreOh, the news release (also known as a press release). Is it dead? Is it alive? Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, we believe the news release is still an effective and efficient tool for communicating news. In fact, according to our account rep, BusinessWire publishes about 500 releases every business day. But there’s more to the news release than sending it to a handful of targeted journalists. Make sure you keep these tips in mind the next time you announce news: Develop an…
Read MoreA strong inbound marketing campaign produces content that attracts site visitors and email contacts, converts them into leads and, ultimately customers (read: generates ROI). Writing content for each stage of the buyer’s journey (awareness, consideration, decision) is easy in theory, but not always in practice. The Awareness Stage Also referred to as “top of the funnel,” the awareness stage begins when your audience (potential buyers) realize they have a problem. They’re online looking for solutions. This is your opportunity to position your brand as an…
Read MoreUnderstanding your audience is a central piece of the marketing puzzle. It’s the legend for your marketing strategy, guiding what you say to whom and where. But how do you begin unlocking those answers and building a meaningful program that truly benefits your customers and earns their business? Identify your perfect match We start by asking senior leadership to help us define the attributes of an ideal customer. There are many definitions of “ideal,” but in most cases, we define an audience as desirable because…
Read MoreIf you’ve been on the fence about bringing your brand’s blog to the forefront of your inbound marketing strategy, there are plenty of good reasons to jump in and harness this powerful tool to both position your brand and turn hesitant leads into loyal customers. Let’s begin with some statistics: Brands that blog 15 or more times per month see five times more traffic than those that don’t. B2B marketers who use blogs receive nearly 70% more leads than those who choose not to. Marketers…
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