Archive for October, 2016

Crisis Management in a Digital World

Thursday, October 27th, 2016

Public Relations word cloudAt Strategic Communications, we are firm believers in the value of social media and online publicity for any. It’s a huge part of what we do and what we advise our clients to do. While the impact of social media can be overwhelmingly positive, there are occasionally situations that can be extremely damaging to the reputation and livelihood of an organization. We’re talking, of course, about the dreaded social media crisis. (more…)

Building Your Digital Marketing Team

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016

MentorDigital marketing is a key aspect of any organization’s marketing mix. As digital marketing grows to represent a greater proportion of your marketing mix, at some point you’ll need to start thinking about splitting up the digital marketing responsibilities among multiple employees. Below we look at some tips and strategies for putting together an effective digital marketing team for your organization. (more…)

Networking in the Digital Age

Sunday, October 23rd, 2016

It simply can’t be overstated just how important networking is for business professionals. But, in an increasingly online world, the game has changed significantly from the days of handing out business cards at cocktail parties. Here we explore the concept of online business marketing. (more…)

Get These Two Things Right For Effective Content Marketing

Thursday, October 20th, 2016

content marketing, writing content, writing, copywriting, Content Marketing Institute, CMI, Joe PulizziContent marketing has been a hot topic in recent years, and it’s an area Strategic Communications has been engaged in for some time. We have written about and given presentations on content marketing frequently, most frequently for EContent Magazine.  This June, we gave a presentation on strategic content marketing at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) annual international conference in New Orleans.

As we talk with others about content marketing, we’re often surprised that many mistakenly think of content marketing as a business-to-consumer strategy; however, it’s also an important tool for business-to-business (B2B) strategy as well.

So, what exactly is content marketing? (more…)

Driving Results Through High-Value Content

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016

 Recently, we did a presentation on strategic content marketing for the 2016 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) International Conference, and we thought the continued and growing interest in the subject bears further discussion, especially for entrepreneurs.

Many entrepreneurs may have heard the term content marketing without much context or elaboration. The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” (more…)

Harnessing the Power of Your Authentic Brand Identity

Thursday, October 13th, 2016

branding, brand management, managing your brand, brand identity, brand audit, brand managementWe spend so much of our time helping companies develop and strengthen their brands that we almost take it for granted that a brand is one of the most important elements of any organization, product or individual. However, we realize that many companies don’t understand or appreciate the importance of a brand, especially when it comes to spending decisions. So, every once in a while, we like to take a step back to remind our audience why a brand is important in the first place. (more…)

Thinking of Rebranding: First, Ask Yourself “Why?”

Tuesday, October 11th, 2016

At Strategic Communications, we have worked with companies, large and small, in a variety of industries on branding and rebranding initiatives. One of the biggest areas of misunderstanding that we encounter is that a rebranding initiative means updating the company logo and marketing materials. That’s potentially part of the process, certainly, but rebranding involves a lot more than that. Rebranding is a significant undertaking and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. As we note in a related blog post, “Exercise caution before you attempt to rebrand,” a brand takes a great deal of time to develop, and businesses should think twice before throwing that effort away.

Having gotten that disclaimer out of the way, there are some legitimate reasons companies may need to overhaul their image. So how do you know when it’s time to rebrand? There are a few things that might justifiably point to the need: (more…)

Content Marketing: Developing Your Brand With Consistency and Regularity

Thursday, October 6th, 2016

content marketing, building thought leadership, becoming a though leader, strategic communications, brand managementFor a small business or a new startup, marketing can be a real challenge. It’s not just the financial aspect; it’s also finding the right channels to get your brand in front of the potential customers you’re after. While some businesses have found success in outlandish publicity stunts, we don’t recommend such a dramatic approach. (more…)

Planning is Overrated: Execution is Where It’s At

Tuesday, October 4th, 2016

executing your strategic plan, strategic planning, strategic communicationWhat’s more important: a great idea or great execution? There’s certainly an argument to be made for the importance of ideas for entrepreneurs, and it’s easy to point to famous examples of huge fortunes and successful businesses that sprung from a great idea — Facebook, the automobile, the PC, etc.; but the idea is just the beginning. (more…)