07
Aug

The best social media marketing and professional development tool you’re not using

August 7, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy No comments  

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Even if you think you understand how to use social media for professional development, you probably aren’t taking advantage of Twitter chats. I know, you’re probably picturing an AOL chat room circa 1999, but Twitter chats really are the hidden gem of social media for professionals. From staying on top of new developments in your industry to landing a job interview, Twitter chats are a largely untapped networking resource.

What is a Twitter chat?

Generally speaking, a Twitter chat is a planned event with a pre-determined hashtag (such as #AIAchat for the American Institute of Architects) in every tweet so that you can follow the hashtag in order to view and participate in the chat. Most chats are recurring, many on a weekly or monthly basis at a set day and time. There is usually a moderator who leads the discussion, often specifying the questions/issues to be discussed.

The AIA has a monthly chat that provides a great example. Each month AIA chooses a specific topic to tackle and a moderator offers up several questions over the course of an hour to stimulate discussion on the topic.

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22
Jul

Content marketing dos and don’ts: 7 tips for creating better content

July 22, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy , Content marketing No comments  

ContentWith all the talk about content marketing lately, it’s surprising how many companies tend to skip right over the “content” part and focus all of their efforts on the “marketing” end.

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18
Jul

That’s a Wrap! LinkedIn acquires Newsle, Tide may have crossed a line, a Seattle utility’s failed attempt to scrub negative search results and a Comcast customer service call goes viral

July 18, 2014
by: in Public relations No comments  

Another week is almost in the books! We hope you had a great week. Some brands had better luck than others this week when it came to PR, content marketing and social media. We’ve rounded up the good, the bad and the ugly….

THE GOOD

LinkedIn’s acquisition of Newsle gives you the power to stay in touch

It’s easy to send that first email to a new contact saying it was nice to meet them, but how do you find excuses to stay in contact? Newsle makes it easy by allowing you to receive alerts when the person is mentioned in the news or in articles around the web. With LinkedIn’s acquisition of Newsle this week, you can automatically start following alerts for all of your LinkedIn contacts. A similar capability exists for Facebook and your email contacts in Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook and more. You can also add contacts manually.

Newsle is like Google Alerts on steroids. Not only does it have the capability of integrating your current connections automatically, but instead of delivering email-only alerts you can view updates in a user interface that looks and feels like a social media dashboard.

THE BAD

The fine line between “trendjacking” in social media and breaking the law

A couple of years ago, Tide missed out on a great social media opportunity during the Daytona 500 to capitalize on its product being used to clean up jet fuel that leaked on the track after a crash. The Proctor & Gamble brand has upped its social media game since then, but has it crossed a line?

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15
Jul

Developing your marketing strategy: why an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach is more important than ever

July 15, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy , Content marketing , Public relations No comments  
Reputation Ink INKsights Developing your marketing strategy why an all-of-the-above strategy is more important than ever

Don’t put all your marketing eggs in one basket

Remember when traditional marketing was dead?

It was only a couple of years ago that everyone from the Harvard Business Review to Forbes magazine was trumpeting the demise of traditional marketing and public relations strategies. In a world of social media and online marketing, they contended, old-school tactics for connecting with customers just wouldn’t cut it.

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11
Jul

That’s a Wrap! American Apparel’s Challenger tweet, retailers under fire for Nazi ‘home decor,’ Time magazine’s winning Facebook strategy, Frontier’s pizza pilot and Kickstarter’s kicka$$ potato salad

July 11, 2014
by: in Public relations No comments  

Congratulations! You made it to Friday. As Germany and Argentina prepare to face each other once again in the World Cup finals, it’s time for INKsights’ look back at the week’s winners and losers in the world of PR, content marketing and social media.

First, the losers: “Insensitive” was the word of the week, as major retailers got raked over the media coals for using images of historic tragedies in their sales and marketing efforts.

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10
Jul

8 common mistakes lawyers make on their blogs

July 10, 2014
by: in B2B , Content marketing No comments  

187551774I’m an attorney, and I’ve been blogging for more than 10 years. I’ve started several blogs over the years, including ones on law school, the Atlanta Braves, the business of baseball, career advice for aspiring sports professionals and the business of college sports. Now I work with attorneys and law firms on blogging and social media strategy as part of my job as a content marketer, and I find many legal blogs have the same common mistakes.

You aren’t writing for a specific audience

I have a law degree, and I practiced law for four years, yet I still don’t understand many of the law blogs I read. For most of you, your audience is clients and potential clients. No matter how sophisticated you think your clients are, if they’re not attorneys they aren’t going to understand legalese. In fact, even if they are attorneys, if they don’t practice in your area they likely still won’t understand you.

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01
Jul

Working with PR agencies: hold the fluff!

July 1, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy , Content marketing , Public relations No comments  
Reputation Ink PR agency Jacksonville

Fluff belongs on your dessert – not in your press release!

Working with a professional public relations agency can offer significant benefits for both large and small companies alike. So much so, in fact, that USC’s Annenberg Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center reports that 95 percent of all large public companies and nearly half of all small private companies rely on outside PR/marketing counsel.

In selecting a public relations firm with which to work, however, companies would do well to remember three words: Hold the fluff.

In media parlance, “fluff” is the term for the flowery language and effusive frippery in which some publicists drown their copy. Rather than simply stating the facts and letting their client’s product or project speak for itself, some PR reps seem to believe that applying a thick coating of hyperbole to their prose will catch the eye of that jaded reporter and score their client a primo placement.

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26
Jun

How to hook a journalist on your press release from your email subject line

June 26, 2014
by: in B2B , Public relations No comments  

156705768I recently participated as a panelist in a webinar by BusinessWire for public relations professionals who pitch to journalists covering sports. I was asked to be a panelist because of my experience as a sports business analyst and reporter for outlets such as ESPN, Forbes, and Comcast Sports Southeast. However, I also brought something to the table the other journalists on the panel did not: I’m also a public relations professional.

Before the webinar, each panelist was asked to think of three things public relations professionals should know before pitching to journalists. I think all three of us on the panel immediately went to some version of advising people to only pitch us content relevant to our reporting and our platform. I would conservatively estimate 60 percent of the pitches I receive are on topics or story angles I would never cover for any of the outlets where I report.

A larger problem I discussed, however, is that I miss pitches that are perfect for my reporting because I simply can’t read every email I receive. That’s why it’s imperative to hook journalists from the subject line of your email.

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17
Jun

Beyond the press release: 5 tactics to add to your PR toolbox

June 17, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy , Public relations No comments  

INKsights 5 tactics for your PR ToolboxIt’s one of the most overused sentences in the communications industry:

“Let’s do a press release!”

The press release is perhaps the best-known public relations tool. As a result, it tends to be the first option that comes to mind when a client or company wants to get the word out about their latest project or initiative. But there are a lot of other tools in the PR toolbox that may be more appropriate – and effective – depending upon your situation, your topic and your communications objectives.

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12
Jun

Even an introvert can learn to create conversation

June 12, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy No comments  

491994991Some people are blessed with the gift of gab. If you’re not one of those people who can walk into a room full of strangers and strike up a conversation, however, you need to master the art of the icebreaker. You can use some visual as an icebreaker – a company logo or perhaps a lapel pin – or you can put in a little time and research your way into an icebreaker.

Some icebreakers are visual

Some icebreakers are visual. Lou Imbriano, President and CEO of TrinityOne, a marketing strategy and business advisory consultancy, has it easy when it comes to icebreakers: he has three Super Bowl rings from his time spent as chief marketing officer of the New England Patriots. They’re big, they easily draw people’s attention, and everyone wants to hold one. He doesn’t have to look for conversation, it finds him.

I lucked into my own visual icebreaker when I created a logo for my work as a sports business reporter and analyst. It was a real photograph taken of me for my book on Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement that a friend with graphic design capabilities turned into my now signature logo.

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