19
Aug

Still using newswires as part of your public relations strategy? It’s time to reconsider that

August 19, 2014
by: in B2B , Public relations No comments  

News_iconRemember the good old days when you would publish a press release to a newswire like PR Newswire or BusinessWire and suddenly your news flooded the Internet? Well, no longer.

I’ve personally never been a big fan of newswires, as I believe a targeted public relations strategy (tailored media pitches sent to specific journalists) is more effective. However, over the years, I often relented and posted stories to newswires due to their search engine optimization (SEO) benefits. A press release posted to a newswire meant high online visibility, and for many clients, that was worth the often $1,000-plus cost per press release distribution (note that I’m not addressing newswires’ role in financial disclosure laws, as that’s another subject).

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15
Aug

That’s a Wrap! Capitalizing on Shark Week, PR mistakes surrounding the death of Robin Williams, the growing pay gap between public relations and journalism and why women are taking over PR

August 15, 2014
by: in Public relations Comment (1)  

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If you haven’t gotten your Shark Week fix, it’s time to act fast. Shark Week ends on Saturday, and plenty of savvy marketers have already capitalized on Discovery Channel’s most popular week of the year. However, while those marketers were cooking with gasoline, others seemed intent on only burning themselves and their clients with ill-conceived public relations pitches surrounding the death of comedic legend Robin Williams. Capitalizing on shark week? Great idea. Capitalizing on a tragic celebrity suicide? Terrible idea.

Here’s the best and worst from the world of public relations this week, along with some new research showing public relations is not only a growing field but also an industry full of women.

Marketers cash in on Shark Week

Cue the Jaws theme…it’s Shark Week! Along with Discovery Channel’s own Shark Week promotions, this week we’ve seen several marketers creatively piggyback on Shark Week. Our very own Heather Kingry tweeted about Shark Week and received a fun and unexpected response. Here was Heather’s tweet:

Season Sardines decided to get in on the Shark Week action and respond to Heather:

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14
Aug

Blog checklist: content marketing tips for staying on point

August 14, 2014
by: in B2B , Content marketing No comments  

candy on hook; hooking readers with optimized blog posts

Let’s face it. Even the most well thought out strategy still requires a lot of time in the execution phase to ensure your posts will attract the right readers. Here’s a quick blogging checklist for crossing and dotting all necessary letters before hitting publish:

Topic:

  • Is created with a target persona in mind – unless yours is a personal blog, it really shouldn’t be a place to freestyle and write about any topics that come to mind. What matters to your buyer personas?
  • Helps solve a problem – by doing your homework up front and creating a persona, you know what your prospects’ pain points are. How can you help alleviate them through relevant blog posts?

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12
Aug

This isn’t your mama’s public relations anymore

August 12, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy , Public relations Comment (1)  

MediaI’ve worked in marketing and public relations for nearly two decades now, and the only constant in this field throughout those two decades? Change. And while the speed with which this industry changes has greatly accelerated over the past few years, I’m still surprised at how slow many companies are in adapting their marketing and PR strategies to the rapidly changing environment.

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08
Aug

That’s a Wrap! Google’s autocomplete headache, PR firms freeze out climate change skeptics, John Oliver skewers native advertising, Nine West steps in it, B&B’s bad bridal policy

August 8, 2014
by: in Content marketing , Public relations No comments  

As wild weather bombards parts of the nation, it’s time for Reputation Ink’s round-up of the week’s wildest stories in PR, marketing and social media. Which companies and tactics weathered the storm? You be the judge:

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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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01
Aug

That’s a Wrap! Air New Zealand’s response to delay, Jesse Ventura’s reputation battle, Facebook integrates Instagram into ad strategy, and TSA crowdsources

August 1, 2014
by: in Public relations No comments  


AirportThank goodness it’s Friday! We’ve had an exciting week here at Reputation Ink and are about to have even more fun as we move to a new office this weekend (more details to come). Here is what you might have missed in the world of marketing, public relations and social media this week:

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31
Jul

Content marketing and the plain language movement: what you need to know

July 31, 2014
by: in B2B , Content marketing Comment (1)  

Plain_languageIn 1970, Citibank set in motion a series of events that eventually gave birth to a movement dedicated to simple, clear writing. Now called the plain language movement, Citibank’s efforts resulted in legislatures across the country passing laws requiring documents like insurance policies and consumer contracts to be written simply.

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29
Jul

Corporate website redesign: 7 tips for starting off right

July 29, 2014
by: in B2B , Marketing strategy Comment (1)  

blueprint, web strategy

Redesigning a large corporate or law firm website is no simple task. Between multiple department heads, vendors and extensive service or practice listings, it’s difficult to keep things moving in the right direction. In an attempt to make your project run as smoothly as possible, here are a few lessons I’ve learned along the (hard) way:

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25
Jul

That’s a Wrap! Southwest’s overreaction to a tweet, getting paid for social media posts and “Mandatory Fun”

July 25, 2014
by: in Marketing strategy No comments  

Friday is finally here! Is it just me, or was this a long week? Rep Ink is here to help you usher in the weekend with a look back at some of this week’s noteworthy stories you may have missed.

Southwest backpedals after punishing passenger for tweet

On Monday, Duff Watson, a Southwest Airlines A-List Member, tried to board a plane flying from Denver to Minneapolis early, which is a perk of being a A-Lister, but was told his two children couldn’t join him. Watson then tweeted a negative comment about the Southwest agent that included her first name, last initial and gate number.

When all three finally arrived at their seats, they were asked to deplane because the agent, Kimberly S., felt threatened by the tweet. Watson was forced to delete the tweet in order to get back on the plane and head to Minneapolis.

He did so, then tweeted again later about his experience. Although Southwest apologized and gave Watson and his children each $50 vouchers, the bad press is sure to cost them much more than that.

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