The Gong Blog

Meet a Hodger: Andrew Knight

He’s baa-aack. Faithful readers of these pages may remember Andrew Knight. He interned with Hodges back in 2020. At the time, he was simultaneously pursuing his M.A in Communication at Virginia Tech and teaching public speaking. A couple years later, we are excited to welcome him back to the team. Through his upbeat personality and optimistic perspective, Andrew brings great energy to the office. To balance the fast-paced nature of agency life, he enjoys spending time on the river. He loves to fish, and values unwinding…

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When to Hold an In-Person Press Conference

Let me start by saying that I’m not a big fan of news conferences. I can safely say that the greatest moments of anxiety in my 40-plus years in public relations have been those insufferably long minutes leading up to the beginning of press conference when, despite all the best preparations, there are no reporters around. No camera crews. No sound guys attaching microphones to the podium. No eager journalist wannabes working for the local shopping news. The good news is that today, there are…

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Episode 12: Crisis Communications and Social Media with Josh and Amanda

Episode Notes Josh and Amanda pair up in the latest episode of Teaming Up. The two will discuss five case studies of well known brands who experienced a crisis on social media. They talk about what worked, what didn’t and offer up some lessons learned for listeners. Subscribe or Follow in your favorite podcast app to get new episodes as they’re released, or visit our YouTube page to see video versions.

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Six tips for developing a higher education crisis communication plan 

Creating a communications crisis plan is like writing your will. You know you should, but the thought of willingly putting yourself in a nightmarish situation that hasn’t even happened yet isn’t exactly the best motivator. And as much as I hate to break it to you, that’s the exact reason why you need to have a plan in place, because when that crisis strikes – and it is a when not an if – you aren’t going to have the time to strategize and think because…

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Who Matters Most During a PR Crisis?

Trying to be everything to everyone is a recipe for disaster. People often have conflicting needs, and individuals—or organizations for that matter—only have so much time and attention.   Trying to appease everyone is difficult even in the best of times, but in a crisis, not knowing how to prioritize your stakeholders will compound the problems facing your team at an already stressful time. However, before you can start prioritizing stakeholders, you first need to know who they are. Identifying your organization’s stakeholders Quite simply,…

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Self-Publishing in Public Relations: Isn’t That Content Marketing?

I had lunch with an old friend not long ago who regaled me with the pleasures of retirement, one of which was an indulgence he never made time for – novel writing. By all accounts, he has made a seamless transition from journalist to novelist, a pivot that not everyone can make, but his first works display a flair for fiction – for storytelling and characters and drama – and I found myself eagerly turning page after page. When I asked him about finding an…

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Turning case studies into blog posts

One element of a productive content strategy is effectively repurposing your messaging on various platforms. After all, you only have so many stories and only so much expertise, so the trick is to find multiple ways and places where you can tell those stories. That’s what helps keep the content pipeline filled on all fronts. At Hodges, those fronts run the gamut – from our monthly e-newsletter (Press Box) to our video podcast (Teaming Up) to the Gong Blog, all of which help populate our various…

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Five things to keep in mind before launching a DEIB campaign 

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging mean different things to different people. However, when it comes to taking those values and translating them into an inclusive campaign that highlights the experiences of BIPOC individuals, it’s important to take a moment and think to yourself: How might the people and voices you are representing feel about the message your brand is attempting to convey?  Well, you might just want to ask them first.  Your BIPOC consumers are more than just metrics that need to be met. We…

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Woman shopping at a brick and mortar store

How to use digital communications to increase brick-and-mortar foot traffic

Online shopping has become increasingly popular, even before the onset of the pandemic, and social media, email and website tools have evolved to make purchasing as easy as tapping a button on your smartphone. While this can be great for increasing sales, it may not support services, enhance experiences or increase brick-and-mortar foot traffic.   Whether your motivation is to keep tenants leasing commercial property spaces or you’re hoping to increase sales and in-person experiences for your business, here are four ways to increase foot…

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A lesson in perseverance: Gil Hodges is in the Hall of Fame

By the time you are reading this, Gil Hodges – our agency namesake – will have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The old saying “good things come to those who wait” seems especially appropriate. Gil’s 18-season playing career ended on May 5, 1963 at the Polo Grounds. Gil trotted out to his familiar territory at first base, starting the second game of a Sunday doubleheader against the Giants. He would go 1-4 in his valedictory game, driving in what turned…

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Media Relations: Working smarter for placements

The Pew Research Center, which regularly tracks the ups and downs of the nation’s newspapers, recently offered some encouraging data. Americans are rediscovering their newspapers…on digital platforms. While print edition readership continues to dip, the traffic to newspapers’ websites has been growing considerably. Digital circulation is up a whopping 30% from 2019 to 2020. Since 2014, when Pew first started tracking online circulations, the average number of unique monthly visitors to local news websites is up 44%. At the same time, many online-only publications are…

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How to take your content to the next level

Is your social media content falling flat? The solution might be easier than you think. Reference this blog post next time you’re looking to add some spice to your organic content. It’ll take your social media skills to the next level – I promise. GIF or JIF? Graphic Interchange Formats (GIFs) have been a large part of internet culture for years, and in many ways, they manage to say all the things we can’t.  Feeling sad? There’s a GIF for that. Doing a happy dance?…

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