The Gong Blog

When we celebrate wins at Hodges, we bang the gong. Our blog is home to wins and winning advice for our clients and friends.

RVA Industry Events Calendar: November 2024

Each month, we bring together a curated list of networking and educational events happening throughout the Richmond region. This November, dive into a calendar packed with coffee meetups and happy hours to fuel your networking goals! We hope to see you at an event in November soon!  November AMA Coffee Chat  Hosted by AMA Richmond  Friday, Nov. 1 from 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. at The Smoky Mug, 15 E Brookland Park Blvd. Learn more and register for this event.  HYPE Happy Hour at Cabo…

Elevating Travel and Tourism Through Storytelling

If you travel to a new city and don’t find yourself thinking, “I could totally live here one day,” was it really a successful trip? Did it live up to your 20 saved TikTok recommendations claiming, “You haven’t experienced the city until you’ve gone to this locals-only restaurant,” or “Here are the top 10 non-touristy things to do the next time you’re in [insert destination]. Make sure to like and follow for more!”? As cliché as it sounds, it truly is more about the journey…

How to Overcome a Creative Block

Everyone has experienced creative blocks, whether you’re a writer, a designer or an artist. Staring at that blank page or canvas can become so intimidating. Your mind can feel empty, and the project can feel impossible. But don’t worry. With these helpful tips, you can overcome it. Take a break Step away from your project for a moment. If you’ve been ruminating on it all day, your brain is likely fatigued and needs a break. Try switching to smaller tasks or another side project. Or…

Episode 33: Hispanic Communications with Adriana Velasquez

In this episode, Alejandro Leon and Adriana Velasquez discuss the nuances of Hispanic communications in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Adriana, born in Lima, Peru, and Alejandro, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida with roots in Colombia, share their experiences with bilingualism, cultural differences and how that all ties into marketing and communication. Episode Highlights Bilingualism and Spanglish Nuances with translations and origins of audience Matching the tactic to the audience This is a great episode for any communicator or marketer that simply translated some copy into…

The Power of Influence

Ahead of the presidential election, celebrities and influencers have made (quite possibly) a bigger political splash than ever before. Whether it includes joining the #NationalVoterRegistrationDay movement or explicitly endorsing a candidate – which, for Taylor Swift, means racking up more than 400,000 users to vote.gov from a singular Instagram post, we’re reminded that the power of influence matters and those who wield it have the power to spark action and sway opinion (according to 19% of young voters). Why It Matters Aside from playing a part…

Episode 32: The Art of Political Reporting with Ryan Nobles

In this exciting episode of Teaming Up, Sean Ryan connects with Ryan Nobles, who shares his journey through the world of journalism — detailing his career from local news in Utica, NY, to covering major political events for CNN and NBC. He reflects on the evolution of political reporting, the challenges posed by misinformation and the importance of building relationships in journalism. Nobles also recounts memorable interviews and experiences that shaped his career, emphasizing the significance of ambition and adaptability in the fast-paced media landscape….

RVA Industry Events Calendar: October 2024 

Each month, we curate networking and educational events happening across the Richmond region. October is filled with coffee chats and happy hour events to quench your thirst for networking! Plus, AMA Richmond will host a session on political marketing and LMR launches a series.    We hope to see you at an event in October soon!  DEI Power Hour: Networking with Virginia Hispanic Chamber & Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center   Hosted by ChamberRVA   Thursday, Oct. 3, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center …

Creative Isn’t an Add-On, It’s A Must Have for Content Marketing

If you’ve been writing or perusing jobs lately, you’ve probably seen that when it comes to content creation and social media positions, most requirements include bullets for writing skills and creative capabilities. To get one single person to do both of those things well, you’re asking for a unicorn. But lucky for you, we’re a collective of people which means by bringing our content marketing and creative services teams together, we can be your unicorn. Creative and content go hand and hand, and you really…

Episode 31: Professional Development with Amy Baril

In this episode of Teaming Up, Greg Surber, APR, is joined by Amy Baril to talk about their respective professional development organizations, how the two organizations collaborate in Richmond and the importance these organizations play in the personal and professional development of its members. Surber is the incoming president of PRSA Richmond and Baril is the current president of AMA Richmond. Episode Highlights Overview of Richmond’s top professional development organizations for marketing and public relations Compare and contrast between AMA Richmond and PRSA Richmond How the organizations prepare individuals for…

Google Analytics 4: What You Need to Know

If you have a website, it’s likely that you or someone on your team are already familiar with Google Analytics and are using it to analyze site traffic. If you’re new to Google Analytics, now is a great time to take advantage of this web analytics tool. As part of that analysis, you may be looking at how visitors are reaching your site (e.g. direct, organic or paid traffic), and the interactions they’re making during their time on your site (sessions). On July 1, 2023, Google sunsetted…

Bring Your Kid to Work Day with The Hodgettes

In this special bonus episode, we’ve compiled some of the soundbites from our interview sessions with the kids of Hodgers during our inaugural Bring Your Kid to Work Day. You’ll hear from kiddos between the ages of 2 and 16 talking about their favorite things and taking guesses about what exactly it is their parents do.   Episode Highlights You’ll find out Ben Ryan’s favorite snack Harper Ryan’s dream super power will melt your heart Owen Surber wins the prize for most accurate guess of…

To Jump or Not to Jump on Social Media Trend Bandwagons

Have you been asking your Gen Z coworker, “What the heck is ‘Demure Fall?’” or why the Democratic presidential nominee is embracing a “Brat Summer?” You’re not the only one. While TikTok trends have been getting grandparents to dance to the newest Doja Cat song since 2020, we’re seeing just how influential microtrends are becoming and how they’re redefining marketing for brands of every size and industry. But, does your organization need to hop on every social media trend?  Why it matters It’s not new for…

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