Archive for the ‘Strategic Communications’ Category
Thursday, May 7th, 2015
MadMen is a popular television program, now in its final season. It’s served to highlight one of our favorite professions—advertising. The program is instructive, both from a societal standpoint (the 50’s and 60’s are, thankfully, behind us…) and from a marketing standpoint. Despite the fact that we now have a wide range of new communication options to choose from as we attempt to connect with our audiences, the fact of the matter is that (more…)
Tags: 21st century marketing, content management, content marketing, strategic marketing
Posted in Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 14th, 2015
Small businesses, I think, have an edge when it comes to social media engagement, and Facebook is a very good example of this. Effective social media requires a relationship between the business/business owner and their followers. This is much easier for small businesses to attain than it is for large businesses, particularly because small businesses tend to be closer to their customers offline–the online environment simply becomes another forum for engagement.
Despite the fact that social media channels like Facebook can provide a global audience, small businesses don’t need to extend their reach globally–in fact, they can (and should) focus on their local markets.
In attempting to do this, we believe there are some important keys to effective engagement: (more…)
Tags: content marketing, Customer Communication, facebook, online marketing, Social Media, social media marketing
Posted in Business Development, Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Sunday, January 4th, 2015
As of July 1, Jeff Haden’s June 8, 2015, LinkedIn post, “7 Things Employees Wish They Could Tell Their Bosses,” had grown to about 481,000 views, more than 1,800 likes, and 307 comments. Haden, a ghostwriter and speaker, is a LinkedIn Influencer. Similar to other Influencers, his posts often go viral. Most of those who are attempting to engage with an audience online, though, struggle to generate even 100 views. What can the masses learn from online influencers, whether they are the capital “I” LinkedIn variety or from a wider array of content outlets? (more…)
Tags: Brand Management, content management, content marketing, LinkedIn influencers, LinkedIn Pulse, marketing online, online influencers, PR and media relations, SEO, Social Media, thought leadership
Posted in Blogging, Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, PR and Media Relations, Publishing, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Friday, December 26th, 2014
How many times throughout the week do you see a company logo slapped onto a billboard, incorporated into the name of a sporting event, or even plastered on the back of a boxer? These are classic examples of brand awareness strategy. With brand awareness, companies are simply making the consumer aware that they exist—that’s about it.
While brand awareness is generally of little use on its own, it’s an important first step in a process known in marketing as the purchase funnel. (more…)
Tags: brand awareness, Brand Management, branding, consumer decision-making, marketing process, purchase funnel, Strategy
Posted in Marketing and Branding, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, October 9th, 2014
Every MBA student or undergraduate in an introductory business strategy course has encountered Porter’s Five Forces. The concept, outlined by Harvard economist and professor Michael E. Porter in 1979, has been a foundation of business strategy in both academia and the business world for decades.
Professor Porter revisited the topic in a recent article in Harvard Business Review, appropriately titled “The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy.”
For those unfamiliar with the five forces, they are: (more…)
Tags: Alternative to SWOT, Michael Porter, Porter's 5 Forces, Strategic Planning, Strategy, SWOT analysis
Posted in Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, September 4th, 2014
It seems like just about every week I see a question on social media, or coming through various media feeds that I monitor, asking something like: “What’s the best way to market to millennials?” or “What’s the best way to market to Baby Boomers?” or “What’s the best way to market to mothers?” or…insert any group you can think of.
While I do believe that any question is a valid question, and this one obviously must resonate with many, the question itself points to what would be my key recommendation: (more…)
Tags: Advertising, audiences, Customer Communication, Marketing, marketing communication, segmentation, strategic communication, target audience, targeting
Posted in Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Monday, August 11th, 2014
I worked in a healthcare organization for about 10 years from 1996-2007. Back at that time the transition between referring to patients as “customers” was just emerging and it was fairly controversial. Marketing and administration favored the approach and logically it seemed to make some sense. But I can recall the debates, conflicts and consternation from clinical staff — physicians and nurses — about the use of this terminology.
At the time, I was firmly on the side of using the term “customer.” After all, I had come from the marketing world with a background in the investor-owned utility industry and a private educational firm, in addition to experience growing up in a family-owned business, so the concept of “customer” was one I firmly identified with.
In hindsight, though, (more…)
Tags: Business development, client, customer, Customer Service, identifying customers, Marketing, Strategic Planning, Strategy, target market
Posted in Business Development, Strategic Communications | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, August 5th, 2014
The older I get, the more I recognize the inevitable cycles that occur all around me, from fashion trends to areas of marketing focus. It’s the yin and yang of life I suppose; we naturally shift back and forth between preferences for one thing or another. And, it is likely true that there is nothing really “new” under the sun, just recycled or updated twists on things that have gone before.
Except, perhaps, in the world of online marketing. One of the latest trends–contextualized advertising–offers marketers the ability to almost “get inside the heads” of potential consumers to deliver messages to them based not only on places they’ve visited online, but for things that might be geographically or contextually relevant to them.
For instance. You’re walking down the street on a hot summer day and you get a text message telling you about a great deal on ice cream at a shop that is now literally 10 steps away from you. Or, you’re driving to a vacation destination and a special deal on a hotel at the next exit pops up. That’s contextual advertising and it’s all the rage right now. Although, of course, nobody quite knows yet (more…)
Tags: Advertising, anaytics, contextualized advertising, Marketing, SEO, Social Media
Posted in Analytics, Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Measurement, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 1st, 2014
Nielsen recently released a report, commissioned by inPowered which indicated that content marketing (the current, go-to communication tool for many B2B and B2C marketers) is actually 88 percent less effective than public relations (PR).
The news has the communication community abuzz online with conversations taking place in many of the social media groups I follow. Many are expressing shock, some disagreement, over the results.
But, when you think about it, it’s really just common sense.
(more…)
Tags: Advertising, content marketing, influencing the media, Journalism, Marketing, media, media relations, pr
Posted in Content Marketing, Internet Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Communication, Media Relations/PR, PR and Media Relations, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, June 26th, 2014
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?
Research from the Council on Foundations, indicates that over a 10-year period, companies with good corporate citizenship images and programs enjoyed a 33 percent lead in growth of profits over competitors without such programs.
These efforts, though, need to be done strategically! The factors that go into determining whether you will support specific goodwill advertising requests are the same factors that go into virtually every business decision you make: your market, your business objectives and the resources you have available (your budget).
As you work to develop your own “goodwill policy,” follow these steps: (more…)
Tags: Community Relations, corporate giving, corporate philanthropy, CSR, Customer Communication, goodwill giving, philanthropy
Posted in Business Development, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
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