Archive for July, 2015

Crisis Communications: Be Prepared for Anything

Thursday, July 30th, 2015

by Linda Pophal

I was a public affairs director and director of corporate communications in the energy and healthcare industries; in both cases we had well-developed crisis response plans and conducted drills regularly. While helpful, the drills were really not sufficient to prepare us 100 percent for the crises that came up. These included major power outages in the energy industry, major medical incidents that brought large numbers of people to the hospital and generated widespread media attention, and employee relations issues. Surprisingly, what turned out to be our most widely covered and most contentious issue while I worked with the healthcare organization was (more…)

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How Do You Monitor Your Business Performance?

Tuesday, July 28th, 2015

by Linda Pophal

One of the most important elements of successfully implementing a strategic plan of any size (whether a business plan, an annual company plan, a marketing plan, etc.) is establishing benchmarks or objectives that are specific and quantifiable and that will be tracked throughout the planning period. The use of dashboards is a great way to visually—and simply—convey information on how the organization is doing. (more…)

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Would You Believe There are Still Businesses Without Web Sites?

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015

by Linda Pophal

 

A few years ago my husband was in the process of researching restaurants online for a trip we were planning. When he shared the results of his research he said:  “I’ve found a few good ones – there were a couple of others I wanted to check out, but they don’t have a web site, so forget it.”

I’m guessing he’s not alone in that sentiment. How often have you tried to find information about a restaurant, or some other business online, only to give up on them and select another option instead?

In the 21st century, if you’re in business and you don’t have a web site (more…)

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Community Outreach Best Practices

Thursday, July 16th, 2015

Supporting the local community can be expensive. Even large organizations have to be careful about how and where they lend their time – and money. Is there value – beyond personal satisfaction – in supporting local events and activities? Which ones? How can you say “no” graciously to the many requests that come your way? (more…)

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5 Reasons Your Pitch Isn’t Getting Picked Up by the Media and What to Do About It

Tuesday, July 14th, 2015

by Linda Pophal

 

At least once a week – maybe more often – a colleague, prospect or client will say to me: “I can’t understand why the media won’t run a story on my…” Well, there may be a number of reasons. Here are 5: (more…)

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Myths and Misconceptions About Being Your Own Boss

Friday, July 10th, 2015

by Linda Pophal

 

Ever since I was a child, I have dreamed about running my own business. I grew up in a family-owned business and have always been very interested in business issues and business management. Like many wannabe entrepreneurs, part of the lure was, of course, “being my own boss.” But, also like others, I’ve discovered that there are a lot of misconceptions about being your boss.

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An “Inside Out” Approach to Engaging Your Audience

Thursday, July 2nd, 2015
We work with companies and individuals in the business-to-business (B2B) space on content marketing planning and implementation, including the use of social media. The greatest challenge—and opportunity—for companies of any kind is generating content that is going to be valued by their audience. That often means thinking, as we like to say, “from the outside in.”

(more…)

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