Build and Refine Your Lists

A relevant and accurate database is the primary key to email marketing success.  Use every opportunity you can to build your email list including trade shows, web registrations and orders. Gather pertinent information about each contact so you can create segmented, targeted lists.  Refresh your list after each mailing to delete bounces, update addresses and correct errors.

Strive for Preview Perfection

The sender’s name and the email subject line are the two elements recipients will evaluate to determine whether to open the message. Make sure the sender’s name and address will be easily recognizable, trustworthy and familiar to the recipient. Keep your email subject short and sweet—about 50 characters or less. Avoid all the “flash” including all caps, exclamation points and other symbols. Instead, focus on quickly conveying the value of content inside.

Craft Compelling Content

Your copy should be chock full of useful, timely information that leaves the recipient enlightened and excited for more. Use targeted copy designed specifically for the group you are reaching out to. Instead of producing one general blast, send out customized versions with a narrow copy focus that speaks directly to each targeted list. Pure and shameless self promotion is quickest way to turn recipients off and send them straight to the “unsubscribe” button. Finally, consider including a special offer, promotion code or incentive available only to recipients.

Remember, Timing is Everything

Reports indicate that the best time to send B2B email is Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to maximize your open rate potential. The worst is Monday between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. This rule of thumb should only be followed for B2B email blasts. Consumer emails oftentimes get the best results when sent during “off hours” (between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m.).

Pay Attention to What Works

Study the correspondence that wins you the best open and click-through rates. Look for a pattern.  Do incentives equal clicks? Are you getting the best open rates when you include certain keywords in the subject line? Once you get to know your audience and what makes them click, you can follow a template approach for all your future blasts.

 

Have you laid down the rules on how your social media manager and/or team will handle negative comments you receive through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc? We constructed a flow chart that shows how to react to certain types of negative social media posts. Feel free to use this as your own guide to handling social media engagement, or use it as a starting point.

Link to FREE PDF: SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT FLOW CHART

But maybe your questioner is overwhelmed by the search results and can’t find exactly what they are looking for. That’s where a Google advanced search comes in (http://www.google.im/advanced_search?hl=en). When you use it to enter more search parameters, Google will narrow its results.

If you are looking for web pages via Google that have been recently updated, use the “last update” field. If you’re looking for something on a particular site and its own search engine isn’t helping, try a Google advanced search with the “site or domain” field filled in. If you know the desired information is stored in a PDF file, for example, select that as the “file type.”

If any of these applications sound useful, create a bookmark for Google Advanced Search in your browser’s toolbar where it will be easy to find.

Here are more hints for googling:

- Use quotation marks around a multiple word search to get results matching the exact phrase.

- Did some obscure error message just pop up? You aren’t the first person to wonder what it means. Copy and paste the text into Google for some links as to the cause.

- The Google home page is simple and fast. Use it to test whether you have a connection to the Internet.

- Create a bookmark for Google in your browser’s bookmarks toolbar. If you only use the search field above the
bookmarks toolbar, you’ll never see Google Doodles (www.google.com/doodles).

- Try other search engines. Bing is another general-purpose search engine. WolframAlpha.com is geared toward
scientific research.

As for the title of this blog, your instinct is right; it’s from the Bible. A Google search quickly tells us it’s from Matthew 7:7. This ancient phrase could be Google’s corporate motto but they chose “Don’t be evil.” That sounds biblical as well.

Being highly customizable with the use of widgets is one of the most appealing aspects of WordPress. Widgets such as a twitter feed, java image rotator and embedded video player are some of the most popular choices. Within the dashboard you can add these widgets to the body of the website, sidebars or footer. Repositioning of the widgets once they are installed is as easy as drag and drop, upload and test.

Now that WordPress has become so popular, different styles or “themes” (the user interface design/or front side of the website users see) are in abundance. There are many free themes available to download. If you’re looking for something a little bit different or a very specific type of design, you may have to pay for premium selections. Luckily even these are extremely affordable from most online sources.

For blogging, WordPress is very much the product of choice. The easy to use dashboard makes posting a new blog entry simple. You can easily copy and paste a pre-written article or type in something new in the editor. Pulling a video feed or placing image files within an article is simple as well. Having the additional elements within the blog article can really liven up the look and feel of the post. Being able to do it easily yourself makes it that much more fun — and downright cool!

Becoming familiar with WordPress will take some time. If you’re looking to build a website on this platform, hire a professional to do the development. Once the website is complete, spend time with the programmer and get some hands-on training. Also, be sure to watch some tutorials. There are plenty of resources for these videos online. Just ask your programmer where to find these videos. Once you choose and use this platform, you’ll never want to use anything else for your website content management.

If you’re in the market for a new PC, you’ve probably noticed that manufacturers have recently switched to Microsoft Windows 8 as an operating system. If you took Windows 8 for a test drive in the store, you might have been bewildered by its user interface. Where’s the Start button? What do you mean the whole screen is Start? What’s this Metro stuff?

Microsoft has attempted to combine the elements of our familiar keyboard/mouse environment with the touch screen environment found in tablets. The jury is still out on whether this combination will be successful. Heck, the jury is still out on the ribbon interface in Office!

We’ve seen this before, where Microsoft introduced a new Windows version and it bombed. Think back to Windows ME and Windows Vista. But Microsoft quickly turned out their successors, Windows XP and Windows 7, which turned out to be hits.

There are several approaches to take with Windows 8:

- Embrace it. Forget everything you know about previous Windows versions and learn how to use Windows 8.

- Ignore it. Put off your next PC purchase until Microsoft comes out with something better. The rumor mill has Windows 8.1 restoring the Start button and booting into desktop mode. If you can’t wait, search for PCs still shipping with Windows 7. Look at the business sections of the Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba websites.

- Meet it halfway. Lenovo and Samsung have released Start menu add-ons for Windows 8. Or purchase an add-on program that changes the user interface to something more familiar. Here’s an article about a $5 program that will save you headaches:

http://www.zdnet.com/how-to-make-windows-8-seem-normal-7000012206/?s_cid=e589

Of course, the most drastic approach is to dump Windows and get a Mac. If we all love our iPhones and iPads so much, why not take the plunge?

Oftentimes people don’t understand the value of using a hashtag in a tweet or why you would use so many hashtags in a tweet. We’ve sent out many tweets that were heavily loaded with hashtags, and we’ve been questioned as to why we include so many of them. There is a method to the “Twitter madness,” and it goes back to what I just mentioned about hashtags and Google.

Twitter is great for search engine optimization, and that is thanks to the hashtag. When you post a press release to Twitter with a few hashtags in your tweet, your release is going to pop up more often in a Google search. Furthermore, Topsy, a social insight tool used to track Twitter trends and offer analysis services, is going to show up with more of your tweets in a Google search if you use a hashtag.

Guess what? You could double or triple your reach just by remembering the #. So, if you want to reach a larger audience with that press release, use a hashtag when you tweet about it.

No matter how fantastic your product or service is, sales can languish if it’s not promoted well. A great advertising display that’s eye-catching and memorable, and successfully conveys your message at a glance, can transform dismal receipts into sales successes. Here are some quick tips on how to create a great advertising display.

Keep It Brief

Successful companies often use succinct slogans, and for good reason. You have but a moment to capture the attention of your customers; long messages won’t be read, let alone retained, by distributor location, showroom or store visitors. For maximum impact, grab their attention with a hook, keep your advertising display message short and laser in on how your product or service stands out from the others. Although you might want to highlight every positive factor about the item being marketed, that typically results in a display encumbered with input overload that the potential customer will never retain, or even finish reading.

Rather than employing tired and often ignored hooks such as, New and Improved!, use an effective hook that stops customers in their tracks, such as, Today Only! or simply name the unique or greater benefit. Include a call to action that spurs customers to buy your product or service right away. Incorporating an interactive feature into the display helps increase this likelihood. An affixed pad of coupons, attached stand of small informational brochures, even a simple QR code for a discount or other benefit are all examples of encouraging interaction with your display.

Avoid Clutter

Some companies think that putting text starbursts all over their advertising displays makes their ads stand out. Bursts, swipes and other such graphic devices are quite effective, but only when used sparingly, and only when surrounded with sufficient empty space.

Combining disharmonious graphic design and type styles can be effective when used correctly. However, mixing too many styles or juxtaposing styles that fight against each other engenders a sense of chaos, rather than one of clean contrast. Such a display communicates difficulty instead of ease, and shoppers transfer that judgment to the item advertised.

The same caution applies against using discordant color schemes. The goal is to capture people’s attention as long as possible, not cause them to look away from your display.

Don’t! Overuse! Bangs!

Advertisers love exclamation points! They think that putting a bang after every sentence will convince the customer that the product or service is exciting and essential! Like graphic icons, however, exclamation points are most effective when employed sparingly and only where truly merited! Notice how every sentence in this paragraph seems to carry the same sense of urgency! Your customers won’t know where their focus should be!

Be careful with other punctuation and indicators as well. Bullet points are meant to briefly highlight advantages of the product or service that make it stand out from the rest. Save the long laundry list of features for the package insert. Also, be sure to triple-check for spelling and punctuation errors before putting your advertising display out there for the world to see.

Put Your Display in the Best Light

Whether your advertising piece is a flat printed poster, a 3-D stand or an actual product on display, the lighting of the piece will have an impact on its effectiveness. You probably won’t have control of the environmental lighting for your finished piece, so keep that in mind when creating your display. If it’s likely to be placed in a dim corner of a store, add your own lighting to the display, perhaps incorporating inexpensive LED light effects. Remember: light draws attention and darkness escapes attention.

Negotiate for Visibility

You may have the best ad display ever created, but if it’s placed in a low traffic or low visibility area, all your design efforts will be lost. Securing a high visibility placement is paramount for a display’s success. Work with your sales channel contacts to arrange for a favorable placement of your stunning display, advocating how high visibility of your display will improve their business.

Pulling It All Together

Don’t let your valuable ad dollars go to waste. To create a great advertising display, it is imperative to draw the customer’s eye to the display, quickly and clearly convey your main points and make your message memorable with a call to action.

In essence the public relations firm is one that deals with our relationships with all of our publics.  That means our customers.  Our employees.  Our communities.  Our world.

We create messages for audiences and determine the best ways to reach that audience.  Is it advertising?  Social media?  Videos?  Media relations?

Yes, we used to have advertising agencies, public relations firms, and specialty shops.  We even had agencies of record.  Now we provide the best we have to our clients.  Timing, messaging, quality and cost are critical.  Now that we have an understanding of what a public relations firm does—just about everything in terms of communications—then how do you staff?

In the military, I was always impressed with our Special Forces.  These were teams of soldiers with more than one refined skill.  They are linguists, mechanics, snipers, medics, demolition experts.  They are people who accomplish their mission.  In fact, in the military we learned the value of being resourceful even when we weren’t green berets.   So many of us were crossed-trained to do more than our primary military specialty.  That’s how I see the public relations firm of today.

We have social media people who are great account executives.  Crisis specialists who know advertising.  Video producers who know how to write.  Engineers who can create speeches.  Art directors with audio engineering expertise.  Research executives who can handle direct marketing.  Wow.  Our guys are talented.

Survival in the business world today requires that we have many skills, stay up to date on trends, and work hard to stay ahead of the pack.  We want to do all of this while we are having a good time helping our clients succeed.

(FLASH) That is my snapshot of running a PR firm today.  It’s providing the right climate for great, talented people—so they can do great things for great clients!

– Ed Stevens, APR
President, Stevens Strategic Communications

Let’s take a few minutes to review PRSA’s Member Statement of Professional Values: Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty and Fairness.  Do these statements accurately reflect your day-to-day practices?

ADVOCACY

We serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those we represent. We provide a voice in the marketplace of ideas, facts, and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.

HONESTY

We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public.

EXPERTISE

We acquire and responsibly use specialized knowledge and experience. We advance the profession through continued professional development, research, and education. We build mutual understanding, credibility, and relationships among a wide array of institutions and audiences.

INDEPENDENCE

We provide objective counsel to those we represent. We are accountable for our actions.

LOYALTY

We are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation to serve the public interest.

FAIRNESS

We deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. We respect all opinions and support the right of free expression.

Review these statements regularly and refer to the Code whenever you are facing an ethical dilemma at work. To keep the Code at your fingertips, download The PRSA Ethics app. It’s available free in Google’s Android Market and Apple’s App Store and can be accessed from iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Use the subject line to clearly explain the query. If you are pitching a feature article on industrial safety glasses, you should write in the subject line, “Article query: Know which safety glasses are best for your workplace.”

The length of your query letter depends on the nature and scope of the article — but the bottom line is that you need to convey just the right amount of information to the editor. To pitch your article successfully, you need to find the balance between inciting the editor’s curiosity and writing too much.

Give the names, locations and credentials of the sources you’ll interview for your article. To successfully pitch your articles to magazines, don’t promise experts or sources that you can’t deliver. Then, briefly describe the scope and structure of the article. Is this a how-to article, case study (testimonial), round-up of latest equipment, or human interest?

Next, explain why the magazine’s readers would want to read the article. What benefit will the readers get? Will they learn how to minimize machinery downtime, increase productivity, create a safer workplace, or decrease product loss?

Finally, don’t forget to mention if you can provide photography or any other images. Editors today are busy trying to fill content for both print and online editions. If you can deliver what’s stated in your pitch letter, then you stand a great chance of getting published.