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.

The Boss brand

For those who know me well, they will likely find it hard to believe that there was a time when I actually hated Bruce Springsteen.  Worse yet, I lived in New Jersey at the time, going to school at Rutgers, working at the college radio station around the time “The River” was released. I can’t remember why I hated him, probably the old “you can’t understand the words” thing.   Looking back, I missed many an opportunity to take part in what was a sport at…

How does Twitter work?

So just about everyone who knows I’m on Twitter and that we at THP are helping clients with social network, ask me the same questions….”How does Twitter work?” or “I don’t understand how it can apply to my business?” or “I tried it but all it is, is people telling other people what they ate for breakfast.” So here’s a real world example of how Twitter works.  A couple of days ago we posted a social media release about the Virginia Education Wizard, a client…

The ease factor

Over the past month or so (even longer than that) it has been occuring to me that the only way PR folks will continue to be successful is to make things as easy as possible for the media from whom they want coverage. Gone are the days where you can expect or anticipate “the usual” number of media to come to events, cover stories, respond in a timely manner.  It is not their fault, they just don’t have the time or the manpower available. Moving…

How do you turn down the social marketing volume?

So obviously when I was in Florida with my dad, I was forced to take a break from the intravenous-like connection I’ve had in recent months to all things social marketing.  I didn’t blog as much, cut back on my Tweets, I didn’t even immediately respond to emails, voice mails and texts.  How could I survive?  The horror? The truth is a survived just fine.  I even felt slightly better which leads me to believe that after throwing myself into this world full force over…

Steaks and content: a yummy combination

Pretty proud of the folks at THP and grateful for creative clients like AnnMarie Grohs of Richmond’s Morton’s The Steakhouse(@amgrohs on Twitter). In this blog I have spoken frequently about the need to generate content and the first “Evening at Morton’s” event is a perfect example of the direction in which social networking is taking us. The event is an offshoot of the Morton’s Leadership dinner idea we started last year designed to expose more people to the restaurant as a place to conduct business, have…

Thanks and how SM helps caregivers

Thanks.  To everyone.  I’m back in Richmond after spending one of the worst weeks of my life in Florida.  My dad had two surgeries (one on his leg, one open heart) and while he is still struggling with post-op issues and a lingering MRSA infection, things seem to be getting better every day. As many know, I was giving daily updates on my Facebook status and on Twitter.  For some of you, this might have seemed a little self serving, but it proved to be…

True partnerships in the world of social marketing

When you have a personal emergency, you have  to place a great deal of trust in your partners.  As I’m writing this I’m on my way to Florida as my dad’s health seems to be taking another questionable turn in what has been a serious of such turns. There’s a lot of time to think while you’re listening to sports talk and Springsteen (thank goodness for satellite radio) and I found myself thinking how important the word “partnership” is in my life.  Josh and I decided…

Who is your business spirit?

Some folks call them mentors or coaches or teachers.  They are the people that clearly influence their business style and drive.  People claim to have many, but usually there is that one person that is your “spirit,” the person who you talk to every day whether in person, on the phone or in your mind.  The person who helps you make the final decision on growth or direction based on the conversation you just has with them or the conversation you have with them over and…

Social marketing and the art of self promotion

Some may think it just a tad ironic that with my first post on a new platform that hopefully will help get this blog more readers, I am posting about social marketing and self promotion. The Hodges Partnership has been in business for almost seven years.  When Josh and I started the company we made some blanket decisions.  One of those decisions was we would not enter any award competitions.  Nothing against those who do, but we always thought they took too much time to…

Why we love Amber

If you look down the left side of this page you will see blog rolls from other writers including the new VCU Brandcenter Managing Director Kelly O’Keefe. The other blogs are from folks who I follow and have learned a great deal from on Twitter. One of those smart people is Amber Naslund, the Director of Community for Radian6.   Folks at THP can’t wait to meet Amber and lots of other smart people at Blog Potomac in a couple of months. In her latest post,…

A new home

Dear readers and subscribers, First, I want to thank you for the comments, links and advice I’ve received since I started the blog a few months ago.  The reaction has been both surprising and rewarding and I hope to continue the conversation in the coming days. Second, today I’m announcing that Jon’s PR 1.5 is moving to a new home on WordPress.  I hope this migration will be an easy process.  The truth is WP is just better for what I want to do with…

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