Posts Tagged ‘communications Indianapolis’

I recently read a story about the demise of PR firms in our local Sunday paper. The article discussed how PR firms need to keep up with times and are slowly closing shop, due in large part because they can’t keep up with new technology and the ever changing marketing world.

We get the “has YOUR business changed?” question a lot and the obvious answer is “yes.”

In fact, to showcase how our business has changed since we started back in 1985 as a PR firm, (and I should note that we are now a marketing communication firm) below are ten marketing tools I have discussed with various clients in various industries in the past 24 hours.

1) SMS Marketing — Remember when you wouldn’t give out your email to any company wishing to sign up for their service? Fast forward ten years and welcome to the world of SMS marketing. Giving out your cell number to any company, giving that company permission to text your phone is a tough call.  Companies engaging in SMS marketing need to make sure your content is relevant, timely and usable to the end user.

2) QR Codes — Are we really that lazy? Yes! When it comes to marketing, automating “calls to action” and saving your potential or existing target audience time can be the difference between gaining and losing a long-term customer.

3) Blogs — SEO. That’s really all there is to say. If you aren’t blogging, start. Content is still king.

4) Video on websites — Yes, the world has changed. We no longer have the time to read 1999 websites with loads of text. Sure content is still king for SEO, but video can be dual- effect of telling your story visually and enhancing SEO.

5) Media Relations  — The Indianapolis Home Show will be kicking off their 90th edition at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2012. The show will be bigger and better than before. Stay tuned for more details.

6) Printed Brochures — Printed brochures still can have a powerful effect on potential customers. Sure we live in a digital world, but the sense of touch is still alive and kicking.

7) Customized Demographic Online Banner Advertising — No longer do you have to place a banner on a specific site, hoping the ad will have some impact on your target audience. Are you targeting mothers with babies, making over 75k and living in Zip Code 46220? The solution is customized demographic online banner advertising.

Word of Mouth Marketing — It happens everyday, but how should companies track it.? And what are evangelists and how do companies identify this group? Coles Marketing is one of the only firms in Indiana trained in effective Word of Mouth Marketing. It’s a proven method that yields results for our clients and companies around the world.

9) An On-Hold Greeting — Call it old fashion, but a recorded phone greeting can be the first impression of your company. Whether your recording your message or answering the phone; be polite, informative and enthusiastic.

10) Billboard Advertising — A proven method of branding your company. Be short and grab their attention. Remember the average driver has 3 seconds to take in your message. There is nothing worse than driving by a billboard crammed with information. Save it for a print ad!

As a marketing firm, we have more tools in our toolbox than ever before. I wouldn’t call that “demise,” I  call it “opportunity.” And we certainly couldn’t keep up with these changing times without having a dedicated and talented staff ,working together to keep our clients top of mind.

I am blogging right now, so what more appropriate topic is there to blog about than … blogging?! I’m a big fan of the PR-Squared blog from Todd Defren @tdefren, and in his post, 6 Rants About Blogging & Sharing Practices, there are some definite points to take away.

If you have a blog, make sure each post is easy to share across MULTIPLE social outposts.

If you’ve made each blog post easy to share across multiple social outposts, make sure that each share is automagically assigning you credit, e.g., when a post is shared via Twitter, the (editable) post ought to include “via @username.”

Defren says, “It’s shocking to me how often this is overlooked by bloggers. Don’t annoy your generous readers by forcing them to figure out how to give you credit for your own work! Besides, as much as you may want credit for the post, they want some karmic kickback too; they want you to notice their generosity. (I can tell you, as a blogger, that I tend to pay much more attention to people whom I recognize as consistent boosters of my work on Twitter, FB, etc.)”

NOTE the use of “via @username,” NOT “via (blog name).”  The author deserves credit and wants to know when/how content is shared, and this makes it easier for them to do so, plus helps their personal branding/credibility. It also tends to leave more character-spaces for the reader to add their own commentary. If you automagically add “(LONG POST TITLE) ǁ (BLOG NAME) ǁ (VIA @USERNAME)” you’ve killed your reader’s chance to praise you. You sucked all the oxygen out of their tweet. You’re making them work harder!

If you’ve made each blog post easy to share, and credit the author appropriately (and automagically), you must also account for multi-author blogs, which are increasingly prevalent. When a blog is authored by multiple writers, you should still ensure the credit goes to “@username” vs. “(blog name)” … The author of the post deserves the personal branding boost, as in any case anyone clicking the link will be brought to the blog.

If you’ve linked to another blogger’s work in your post, you should consider calling that out to them on Twitter (etc.) Many bloggers are interested/excited to learn that they’ve been cited, even though fewer of them check to see if that’s happening with the regularity of their early days. And (*ahem*) it nearly guarantees a RT.

Promote your own work. Share it on Twitter, on Facebook, on Google Plus. Think of this as “THE OUTPOST ECHO” — if your post is hanging out across multiple owned and third-party sites, it will be that much easier to discover by readers and search engines. Just don’t be obnoxious.

“These are basic and simple guidelines,” Defren says. “Yet I daresay I’d call this post a ‘rant’ because I still come across scads of blogs that bollox the works.”

Happy Blogging!

What is Google+? Sure, you’ve heard about it. You’ve read articles about it. But do you really understand it yet? I sure don’t. That’s why I really enjoyed reading this post from Mary C. Long and Melanie Trudeau at Jaffe PR.

According to Long and Trudeau, stop thinking of Google+ as just another social networking platform – it’s not. It’s the largest, most trafficked online search option out there, which now offers a powerful self-promotion platform that could potentially knock the socks off of your SEO strategy – assuming you have one (if you don’t, now would be a good time to start!).

They offer three key points to keep in mind:

• Google+ is connected to your Google profile.
• Your Google profile allows you to +1 items around the Web.
• Your +1s can be displayed on Google+.

Okay, now see if you understand the following from Long and Trudeau:

“Each +1 you make is a vote for that content, visible to others online and rumored to affect page rank. And even if it doesn’t affect page rank, it’s powerful word of mouth and free PR for that content. Each time you +1 a colleague’s blog post or the latest biz-dev piece from Mashable, it’s recorded for posterity. And when folks connected to you happen upon that page, they’ll see ‘Jane Public along with 25 others +1’d this link.’ Awesome. Great reciprocal PR potential there, right? You +1 me, I +1 you – as long as we’re both posting killer content (which we are, of course) we both benefit. Yay for +1!

“But here’s where it gets sticky: You can +1 content publicly (where others can see what you have +1’d) or privately (where you ‘anonymously’ +1 content). You can’t +1 some items publicly and some privately – it’s all or nothing. So, in addition to your colleague’s blog posts and that piece from Mashable, folks connected to you will also see that you +1’d that pithy blog your friend posted on his personal website where he’s hilariously telling someone off (they’ll probably also note your strongly-worded comment supporting his post). They’ll also see all those Grateful Dead videos you +1’d on YouTube, and that cute little lacy piece you recently purchased from Victoria’s Secret and just love, love, love. And they’ll start to get a better sense of who you are . . . personally. Oh no.

“So you’ll just delete your Google profile right now, avoid +1s, avoid Google+ and avoid this potential PR crisis, right? Not if you call yourself a PR professional, you won’t. You can’t. Your clients will be facing the same scenario and advising them to ‘set everything to private’ will only result in limiting their impact online – not to mention cause headaches for you down the line if/when they want to use this functionality (and they will). Now is not the time to stick your head in the sand and wish it all away. You need to be ready to proactively advise your clients and your employees on best practices. Figuring out how to use +1s and Google+ to your advantage is key.”

So, here’s what you need to do:

• Create a separate and distinct Gmail address and corresponding Google profile, and train yourself to use it only for professional purposes.
• Use this new profile to set up your Google+ account.
• If you don’t already have one, create a social media policy for your firm and your clients’ firms now.
• Provide social media training for all employees. They’re on social networks whether or not you approve – and they may be viewed as unofficial brand ambassadors. Make sure they are clear about online expectations – better safe than sorry.
• Explore Google+ now so that you’re familiar with the platform and it’s distinct features (circles, hangouts and sparks), and when they release the business page functionality, which is coming soon, you’ll be ahead of the curve.

Learn the platform now or play catch-up later.

Have you ever sent an email you didn’t mean to send? Have you ever written an email with no intention of sending it and then actually doing so? Have you ever accidentally sent an email to the wrong person? If you are a fan of The Office — do you remember the episode Michael returns from his Jamaican vacation with Jan and accidentally sends a racy photograph to the entire shipping warehouse? [If not, it's the "Back from Vacation" episode in Season 3. A highlight of that episode can be seen here. ]

Megan Casserly penned an article, 5 Emails That Could Cost You Your Job, and it in she notes email makes up the majority of our daily communication — especially in business. According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of employed adults (62%) use the Internet or email in the workplace. And yet social cues and etiquette are often overlooked.

Casserly quotes Cherie Kerr, the founder of EvecuProv, saying, “People do or say things via email that they would never do in person. They’d never upstage a higher up in a meeting, but in email there’s this disconnected feeling of not having to look anyone in the eye that emboldens people to act in competitive or even arrogant ways.”

Check out these serious email faux pas:

The Crime: When you’re having an email exchange with a coworker, and s/he escalates the conflict by sneakily cc’ing a higher-up.
Author Marsha Egan says it’s about respect: “What happened here is that she didn’t respect her coworker enough to give her the heads up about letting the boss in on the email.” Kerr agrees wholeheartedly. “If she’s going to cc anyone, she should be upfront about it because it might come back to bite her.”

The Crime: Preemptive auto-responses a la “Thank you for your email. I get an overwhelming amount of email, but I care about each one of them! I will respond as soon as it’s convenient.”
Kerr and Egan both recognize this as a no-no. “An auto response all the time can be seen as officious and arrogant even though the good intention is there,” says Egan. The offender may be thinking they are being polite in warning you that their response may be slow, but it comes across as condescending.

The Crime: The instant follow up
You want to make sure a coworker or client has received and read your email — calling or emailing seems like the logical way to find out. Right? Wrong, again. “Oh, the Double-Checking Billy,” sighs Egan. “They send an email and 10 minutes later call to make sure you’ve got it.” She describes this as entrapment, or a “gotcha” move. “And gotcha is not effective in business. It’s akin to sending a direct mail and calling to follow up.” The etiquette, she says, is to call prior to sending the email. “Let them know what you’ll be sending them and when.” Not only are they more likely to respond, she says, but more likely to read it in the first place.

Bottom line, Cutrone and Egan concur, is respect. And the golden rule. Stop and think about how you’d react if you were on the receiving end of your email. Would you be pleased? Motivated? Or would you feel affronted and wronged? If the latter, check yourself. For no matter how distanced or protected from the dreaded face-to-face interaction email can make us feel, there’s one certain design flaw that can make arrogant, selfish or even nefarious behavior come back to haunt you. It’s all in writing.

5 Email Habits That Send the Wrong Message:

Abusive Subject Line Behavior
Intention: By typing the word “URGENT,” “ACTION ITEM” or “READ ME” in the subject line, she is hoping to stress the actionable items of her email. Her message is clear. Perception: Her subject line implies that she presumes her message is more important than any other correspondence you might have received. The perception is that she is over-confident and thinks very little of your time.

Answering The Wrong Question
Intention: When a colleague on a group email answers questions that are under your purview before you have a chance to. He’s saving his colleague the hassle of answering — hey, he knows the answer too! Perception: It’s the online version of shouting out the answer without raising your hand. His colleague might think that he is undermining their authority or worse — out to get their job.

Copyediting a Coworker
Intention: He wants to ensure that the higher ups see a clean, well-spoken document. By editing his coworker’s email and resending it, he ensures that the grammatically correct email is higher in the supervisor’s inbox. Perception: Public shaming of a colleague is never going to get him anywhere. Both the colleague and the supervisor are made aware of this one-upsmanship. And neither of them like it.

CC’ing Up
Intention: When you’re having an email exchange with a co-worker, and s/he escalates the conflict by sneakily CCing a higher-up. She’s resolving the issue efficiently by letting a higher-up in on the conflict. Perception: She’s sneaky, conniving and out to make them look bad. Even more nefarious: the BCC.

Instant Follow Up
Intention: He wants to make sure you’ve received and read his email — calling or emailing right away seems like the logical way to find out. Perception: Give me a break! If you expect an instant response to a query, the more efficient route is to pick up the phone. Following up shortly after sending an email makes you seem impatient and self-righteous.

Next time, make sure you read, read, read your email — and look before you hit the send button!

Still don’t think video is an essential part of the world of PR and marketing? Check out these statistics:

• More than 50% of all Internet bandwidth is used for video.
• Two billion videos are watched on YouTube every day.
• Thirty-three percent of mobile data is watching online videos.
• More video content is uploaded to YouTube in a 60-day period than the three major U.S. television networks created in 60 years.

And as public relations departments continue to take on more social media responsibilities, the creation and distribution of videos will become even more important. In his article, 10 reasons PR pros should use video, David Murdico discusses 10 key ways that video is being used by PR professionals to help brands, businesses,organizations and individuals tell their stories.

1. Pitches and press releases. Videos make pitches and press releases infinitely more interesting and engaging. Video gives journalists, bloggers and publications more content to share with their visitors.

2. Building trust and credibility with targeted groups. Video builds trust. Instead of reading a text quote from a company spokesperson, viewers are able to actually see that spokesperson speaking.

3. Raising brand awareness. Videos that offer something of value—such as cash, prizes or 15 minutes of fame — can spread like crazy and highlight a product’s involvement in a contest or promotion, raising awareness of the product and, by extension, the brand.

4. Product launches. Viral videos and branded entertainment are high-profile ways to announce new products or refresh old ones. Video gives PR teams a visual, entertaining and engaging tool around which to center campaigns.

5. Crisis management, shifting public opinion, corporate and CEO reputation management. In 2009, when two Domino’s Pizza employees made a video of themselves sticking cheese in their noses and messing around with customers’ sandwiches, the company was quick to respond with a video apology from Domino’s USA President, Patrick Doyle. Videos help reach large audiences and supply talking points for the media — both social and mainstream — to propel the video messages further.

6. Content development. Company newsletters, blogs, speeches and annual reports are being sprinkled with videos. PR teams don’t need to produce a viral video hit for every newsletter, but they can encourage key employees to create video content at events and parties.

7. Social media marketing. If social media is UPS, video is the package. If social media is the rocket launcher, video is the rocket. Video can be branded as heavily or as lightly as the creative and messaging dictate, and the larger story can be shared and developed via social media. Having a PR message go viral across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other video sites and social outlets creates a new story that can then be pitched to, or organically picked up by, mainstream media outlets — enabling the message to reach TV, radio and print audiences as well.

8. Social and environmental responsibility. For brands, businesses and organizations, being socially and environmentally responsible can be a key way of differentiating themselves from their competitors. Video can bring the faces of individuals and positive actions of these companies to the forefront and help move brands closer to new and existing fans and customers.

9. Events. Although a single live event reaches only the people attending, social video enables PR teams to share the event with everyone. This increases the exposure of the event and of the brand, product, organization or personality.

10. Political campaigns. Politics is about persuading people to trust a candidate, motivating them to convince others that they should trust the candidate and getting everyone to vote for that candidate. Politicians are often recorded publicly for videos that can take on lives of their own — but funny, emotional or serious original video content can be produced and launched in order to manage the direction and spread of both positive and negative conversation.

It’s time to pick up your video camera, press record — and start exploring the possibilities!

Every now and then I see something that really “entertains” me. Sometimes it’s the little things that I just happen to witness, other times it’s the more standard movie, TV show, book, concert, joke, friend, etc. It’s rare that a TV show impresses me …mostly because they can’t like a good film because of the huge difference in budgets.

I enjoy Vince Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” on AMC. Vince worked on dozens of “X-Files” episodes and has since created, written, directed and produced all the episodes of “Breaking Bad,” which is in it’s 4th season on AMC.

The show is funny and dark at the same time – usually hard to pull off.

Click on the thumbnail to watch a karaoke video of one of the sub-characters on the show. The karaoke video surfaced during a homicide investigation – yes, Gale was murdered.

Watch the video – caution you may find the video: funny, werid, disturbing, puzzling, etc. Just remember it’s part of really “entertaining” TV.

It’s all about the story.

Kevin Kennedy Associates, an expert consulting service located in Indianapolis, unveiled the firm’s new campaign ad at the Indianapolis Bar Foundation Golf Tournament at the Hillcrest Country Club. According to Director of Business Development and Legal Affairs Tanya Stohler, who attended the tournament, “Our Experts Got An Early Start,” showcases the Kevin Kennedy Associates’ (KKA) highly qualified scientific and technical experts who have the depth of experience attorneys need in the courtroom or in researching a case.

“Expertise is about more than diplomas, credentials and pedigrees,” said Chief Executive Officer Sharon Kennedy who leads the Indianapolis-based global consulting firm. “It’s about people. It’s about their integrity, their knowledge, and their experience.”

Consultants at KKA are leaders in their industries and disciplines. This valuable combination of knowledge and experience makes them more effective as expert witnesses and enables them to address real-world challenges in process development, failure analysis, forensic investigation, patent infringement, and manufacturing.

“We understand that attorneys prefer to work with experts whom they know or are known to their colleagues. Because we share that preference, we don’t just blindly forward resumes. Our approach is to carefully select the right expert from our proprietary 600-plus network to best match the needs of our clients. Kevin Kennedy put his name and reputation on his business, so we ensure that our experts meet his standards for integrity, quality and excellence for our clients – in advance,” CEO Kennedy added.

Indianapolis-based Coles Marketing Communications was selected to develop the new campaign. Business owner and President Barbara Coles leads a team of professionals who provide expertise in public relations, creative, word of mouth and videography for clients who come from a diverse array of industries from real estate to technology to legal.

I was aghast to learn your Hotmail account can actually sabotage your job hunt or career connections!

Over dinner with some tech execs, DailyWorth’s CEO Amanda Steinberg got the word: “If an applicant applies for a job with us and is still using Hotmail or Yahoo for email, they’re immediately eliminated,” one successful CEO said.

So an uncool email domain can kill your job prospects or career opportunities. DailyWorth’s reader responses to Amanda’s Facebook post ranged from, “Never heard that before!” to an office manager who said she doles out “unofficial demerits” to AOL, Yahoo and Hotmail users.

Bottom line: Employers and business executives are looking for any reason to cull through reams of job applications, says career coach Cynthia Shapiro, author of What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here.

A Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL email address could signal that you’re not exactly tech-savvy — or not comfortable with change. Gmail (or a personal domain) is considered leading edge.

Maybe you need a digital image upgrade. Gee, mail.

When it comes to hiring a PR agency, there are plenty of reasons to do so — including brand awareness, increased executive visibility and crisis communications preparations, among others. However, according to Aaron Kwittken, there are some common pitfalls to avoid to ensure success.

Here are seven reasons why you should NOT hire a PR agency (interesting!):

1. You want(ed) to be on Oprah: Don’t request, demand, ask or even suggest to your PR agency that they get you on Oprah (or a similar show). The odds of getting on the show are against you. The agency’s time–and your money–would be better spent on activities that yield results via other media. This also sends a huge red flag to the agency that you have no idea what PR is all about.
 
2. You want to spend less time on PR: Many executives think hiring a PR firm means they’ll spend less time on PR. Not true. The company spokesperson should expect to spend up to 20% of time speaking on behalf of the company through a variety of traditional, social and unmediated (conference) channels.
 
3. The agency is willing to take equity in lieu of cash: I’m all for “growing” with and investing extra time in clients, but PR agencies also have hard costs that they need to cover. Many companies assume that agencies that accept equity in lieu of cash will be more incented because they will have “skin in the game.” This is not accurate. If you really want to go the equity route, consider offering a mix of cash and equity. That way the agency will maintain its focus on you as a real client and you won’t play second fiddle to paying clients.
 
4. It’s the least expensive agency you could find: The old adage “you get what you pay for” is absolutely true. Go with the least expensive agency and you can expect little–if any–attention from the agency’s principals. In addition, the lowest-cost option means you should be prepared to chase down your account rep for ideas, activities and updates, and your account representative is likely to be the least experienced. Keep in mind you will be just one of a dozen or so clients she is working on. So, take a number and good luck. ‘Nuff said.
 
5. Agency fees are on a per media placement basis: If a “smile and dial” factory is what you want, and you subscribe to the notion that all PR is good PR, then go ahead and hire a shop that bills by placement. Be warned, however, that you will likely have to make sacrifices, including the quality of the pitch and the quality and relevance of the outlets being targeted. If that’s what you’re looking for, then what you really need is an ad agency, not a PR agency.

6. The agency is guaranteeing a minimum number of media placements: Similar to my point above, if clips is all you want–at any cost and placed anywhere–then go for it. But strategic PR agencies aim for quality over quantity, always. Volume follows great stories.
 
7. You want media placements in the next 30 days: Any agency that promises hits within 30 days is full of you-know-what. Sure, many agencies have strong starts at the beginning of a client engagement and can hit the ground running, but the agencies that make this promise typically have a list of media that they target over and over and it may not be the kind of outlets that help you move your business forward. Smart, sustainable, credibly-earned campaigns take time to develop and cultivate. You should expect to start seeing media momentum within 60 to 90 days depending on news cycles and story angles.

And if you ARE looking for a capable, experienced agency, you’ve come to the right place! Coles Marketing Communications is an Indianapolis firm serving the marketing, advertising and public relations needs of Indiana companies and government entities for more than 25 years. Check us out!

Whether you’re in marketing, public relations or communications, you have probably heard about mobile. There are lots of different areas when it comes to going mobile, including SMS, web browsing, email, location services and more!

George Bilbrey’s company is in the email business and is focused on the impact mobile has on email marketing and deliverability. They even released the results of a study they did on mobile email habits (“Email on the Move: The Future of Mobile Messaging“), and there were several takeaways and actionable items for mobile and email marketers.

Here are a few things that jumped out, according to Bilbrey’s article:

• You may need a strategy for tablets. The study revealed a 15% growth in email viewership on an iPad in just six months.  iPads (and, presumably other tablets) are rapidly growing in usage. It’s time to pay attention and experiment with the best practices and tactics to reach your market in this environment. If your subscriber base is in line with this trend, how are you going to adjust and react?
• Mobile readership goes up over the weekend. Relevance is about so much more than just content. The time of day, day of the week or hour in the day you send something can greatly impact users’ behavior and their relationship with your email. With the increase in mobile email readership, people are constantly accessing and reading email. We learned that mobile readership goes way up over the weekend. This is something to keep in mind when planning your email marketing campaigns and when designing your email for rendering optimization. The same email address is more and more likely to have multiple viewing environments.
• Image is everything. The key to your Sender Score reputation is relevance. And I can think of no quicker way to become irrelevant than by sending email that your audience can’t read. Even the smartest of smartphones can be dumb about how it handles images and layout, so test the various configurations and optimize for the devices most often used by your audience. Of course, even in cases where images are enabled by default, travel and dead zones can mean that your email won’t be image-enabled. If your subscribers can’t read the email, they aren’t getting the message. Be mindful of sending email that is so image-heavy that it is useless if images are turned off.
• Ignoring mobile may have real consequences.  If your subscribers are mobile-savvy, and your email isn’t optimized for these environments, you run more than just the risk of missing out on communication. By not reaching customers the way they prefer, your emails will go unread, marked as spam and your messages will be ignored – all greatly impacting your reputation and deliverability. Take a careful look at your subscribers and see how many of them are viewing your email on a mobile device. If your base’s usage is consistent with our reported trends, consider making some changes to incorporate this mobile segment now, to protect both your engagement and your deliverability.
• What about complaints? Most “native” mobile email clients don’t have a “report spam” button.  If you’re seeing an improving complaint rate, is that because more subscribers are reading in mobile clients — or is that because you’ve improved your relevancy?

What changes are you considering to your email program to take advantage of mobile technology? What risks do you see emerging as smartphones and tablets continue to proliferate?