Public Relations is a communications function that has been grossly misunderstood throughout the centuries. PR is not just about shaking hands and smiling at events while chatting up a storm about a client. PR is the process that creates and delivers a strategic message to the media, who in turn deliver it to the public. PR falls under the umbrella of Intergated Marketing Communications, and therefore plays a vital role in traditional marketing campaigns.
From PR strategic planning, press kit development, to pitching media and follow-up, this marketing function has the power to make or break a brand.
For public relations to work, it needs to be planned thoroughly and executed carefully. Messages in press releases, media announcements, newsletters, web copy, and article placement (even your Facebook status updates) must all work in unisen to communicate strategically your business.
Consistency is key in PR practice and the results can be tremendous: if traditional media is the bread, PR is the knife that spreads the butter.
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2/17/10
You don't have to be on EVERY social network
Okay, so you have a Facebook page for your business. You're sending tweets on Twitter. You have a MySpace page. You're thinking of getting on Ning and Digg, and seriously getting into YouTube. Suddenly, you find yourself frazzled with so many networks to feed into. What's going on??
Basically, you don't have to be on every social network out there. Social media are fickle; they evolve and change through their users, so what's popular now, won't necessarily be for long. Remember what happened to MySpace a year or so ago? Instead of focusing on creating a presence on every social network, it's best to be strategic about it. It's much healthier for your business to be on two or three networks and be active on them, rather than being on six or seven networks that you end up idling.
So, research each of the social media monsters and choose the right ones for your business to engage in, and don't spread yourself thin. Be picky and stay picky with your social media presence, feed those monsters often, and feed them well. By staying constantly active in a few networks will pay dividends in exposure and feedback from your audience.
www.fuseideas.com
Basically, you don't have to be on every social network out there. Social media are fickle; they evolve and change through their users, so what's popular now, won't necessarily be for long. Remember what happened to MySpace a year or so ago? Instead of focusing on creating a presence on every social network, it's best to be strategic about it. It's much healthier for your business to be on two or three networks and be active on them, rather than being on six or seven networks that you end up idling.
So, research each of the social media monsters and choose the right ones for your business to engage in, and don't spread yourself thin. Be picky and stay picky with your social media presence, feed those monsters often, and feed them well. By staying constantly active in a few networks will pay dividends in exposure and feedback from your audience.
www.fuseideas.com
2/11/10
Can’t colleges teach grads how to write resumes?
This is the time of year where thousands of college students start to look for jobs. I have to wonder though, who is teaching them to write resumes and cover letters?
Here are some examples of resumes that I can't help but put in the ridiculous pile:
· “To Whom It May Concern: Please consider me for a position in your company. I am eager to learn the business.” – Why would I hire someone that needs me to train them. If they did their research, they would know we are a small company and you need to hit the ground running.
· “Dear Human Resources: As a recent college graduate I am extremely excited to apply my education to a company as great as yours.” – What is great about it? What opportunities do you see?
On the other hand, here are some other examples that actually get my attention:
· “Dear Mr. Franczak: I am extremely interested in sitting down and talking to you about the advertising industry. As a college graduate seeking to get into the field, I am interested in how your company works with so many well known brands and how someone like me can contribute.” - This is the kind of letter that always gets my attention. It strokes my ego (slightly), but it also gives me a chance to offer them some advice on how to break in. I almost always will take this kind of meeting.
Another promising one that I liked because it had relevant account information in it:
· “…This has allowed me to gain experience in a broad range of industries, and has provided me the opportunity to work with brands such as Citrix, HP, Cisco, Elsevier, Eastman Kodak, and Xerox as well as incredible organizations like Special Olympics, American Lung Association, University of Rochester, the Association for Retarded Citizens and more. I would love to talk with you about how I might benefit Fuseideas and invite you to take a look at my profile, found on my website (www) - I can also forward my resume for a more in-depth look at my experience.” – I liked this one because it had relevant experience and also he talked about benefiting us.
Some tips for college graduates sending resumes:
· Don’t send to “To Whom It May Concern”
· Your email is your cover letter, so make it good
· Don’t keep your cover letter and your resume separate… why would I want to open two files? As the CEO of a small business, I just don't have that kind of time.
· Make your resume file name something like Name_Fuseideas as opposed to MgtResume or MktResume, it seems too generic. And use spellcheck!
These are just a few things I’ve noticed lately and any college kid looking for a job should read this. Anyone else care to add thoughts? Comment below!
Talk about it with Fuseideas fans: www.facebook.com/fuseideas1
Here are some examples of resumes that I can't help but put in the ridiculous pile:
· “To Whom It May Concern: Please consider me for a position in your company. I am eager to learn the business.” – Why would I hire someone that needs me to train them. If they did their research, they would know we are a small company and you need to hit the ground running.
· “Dear Human Resources: As a recent college graduate I am extremely excited to apply my education to a company as great as yours.” – What is great about it? What opportunities do you see?
On the other hand, here are some other examples that actually get my attention:
· “Dear Mr. Franczak: I am extremely interested in sitting down and talking to you about the advertising industry. As a college graduate seeking to get into the field, I am interested in how your company works with so many well known brands and how someone like me can contribute.” - This is the kind of letter that always gets my attention. It strokes my ego (slightly), but it also gives me a chance to offer them some advice on how to break in. I almost always will take this kind of meeting.
Another promising one that I liked because it had relevant account information in it:
· “…This has allowed me to gain experience in a broad range of industries, and has provided me the opportunity to work with brands such as Citrix, HP, Cisco, Elsevier, Eastman Kodak, and Xerox as well as incredible organizations like Special Olympics, American Lung Association, University of Rochester, the Association for Retarded Citizens and more. I would love to talk with you about how I might benefit Fuseideas and invite you to take a look at my profile, found on my website (www) - I can also forward my resume for a more in-depth look at my experience.” – I liked this one because it had relevant experience and also he talked about benefiting us.
Some tips for college graduates sending resumes:
· Don’t send to “To Whom It May Concern”
· Your email is your cover letter, so make it good
· Don’t keep your cover letter and your resume separate… why would I want to open two files? As the CEO of a small business, I just don't have that kind of time.
· Make your resume file name something like Name_Fuseideas as opposed to MgtResume or MktResume, it seems too generic. And use spellcheck!
These are just a few things I’ve noticed lately and any college kid looking for a job should read this. Anyone else care to add thoughts? Comment below!
Talk about it with Fuseideas fans: www.facebook.com/fuseideas1
Strategically going viral with video
How many times have you watched something on YouTube and couldn’t wait to share with your friends? It could be something funny, nasty, super creative, or something just plain weird that you had to get your friends to watch. In the old days, you would email it out, but now you Twitter about it and send the link to your followers (who can RT it to theirs), you share it on Facebook and other networks. Video is great because it engages the viewer right away. Most successful viral videos are short enough to pass along quickly.
Videos with clever messages and fun visuals go viral easily, and there are analytics available through some services that allow you to see how many times the video was viewed.
Strategically, videos should be incorporated in your social media and interactive strategy. Not only will you potentially increase sales, the viral component boosts exposure, attracts fans and followers, and you have an unique opportunity to collect feedback from viewers.
Going viral with video works because it gets your message where it needs to go!
Join our interactive conversation on our new fan page: www.facebook.com/fuseideas1
Twitter@fuseideas
Videos with clever messages and fun visuals go viral easily, and there are analytics available through some services that allow you to see how many times the video was viewed.
Strategically, videos should be incorporated in your social media and interactive strategy. Not only will you potentially increase sales, the viral component boosts exposure, attracts fans and followers, and you have an unique opportunity to collect feedback from viewers.
Going viral with video works because it gets your message where it needs to go!
Join our interactive conversation on our new fan page: www.facebook.com/fuseideas1
Twitter@fuseideas
2/9/10
Why Twitter will survive the year
We’ve all come across those followers who tell us what latte they had at Starbucks that morning, or what time they cook dinner, or why they like Don Draper on Mad Men. Twitter is a popular social media platform that peaked in 2009 and has evolved into a content sharing network.
The key is to know how to use Twitter well so that it can work for your business.
Following those who relate to your message, and are interested in the content and the updates you provide takes time, patience and a lot of practice. The same goes with those who follow you. By posting frequent, good quality tweets and retweets that reinforce your message you can will attract good followers to virally send your message to others in their network, and so on. In other words, you reap what you sew. Going viral these days is a priority for business who want to flourish during the recovery.
There’s still a lot of junk to filter through on Twitter, but when used as part of a social media strategy for your business, it can be a marketer’s dream come true!
The key is to know how to use Twitter well so that it can work for your business.
Following those who relate to your message, and are interested in the content and the updates you provide takes time, patience and a lot of practice. The same goes with those who follow you. By posting frequent, good quality tweets and retweets that reinforce your message you can will attract good followers to virally send your message to others in their network, and so on. In other words, you reap what you sew. Going viral these days is a priority for business who want to flourish during the recovery.
There’s still a lot of junk to filter through on Twitter, but when used as part of a social media strategy for your business, it can be a marketer’s dream come true!
2/5/10
The great myth... Only large agencies can handle my account
Walk into a large agency and you’ll expect to see beautiful offices, large staff, fancy coffeemakers and expensive conference rooms with state-of-the-art technology. But, once the agency secures your business, how does it value it? 2010 marks an exciting new media era full on innovation and creativity. Increasingly, great talent is breaking off from big-fish agencies to start small, more specialized agencies to serve you better.
The question is, “Why is smaller better?” Aside from a less formal structure and leaner staff, smaller agencies are by far more flexible to changes when their clients request it, they are more responsive to requests, and will go far beyond to ensure your business. Service is genuine in small agencies, where big fish agencies are focused on constant billing and minimum deliverables.
You’d be surprised to find better, and more specialized talent in small agencies, who have been burned out by big ones. Successful small agencies are always on their toes, and as a result, the work produced is often award-winning. Unlike big agencies, small ones work two-three-five times as hard to earn and keep business, and their people have a stake in the results the agency delivers. Small agencies have no room for “dead weight,” or outgrown expertise.
So, the old myth remains just that. At the end of the day, there’s something special about picking up the phone and speaking directly to the CEO of an agency about a new campaign, versus leaving message after message with an intern at large agency. Who would you want handling your account??
www.fuseideas.com
Follow us on Twitter@fuseideas
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The question is, “Why is smaller better?” Aside from a less formal structure and leaner staff, smaller agencies are by far more flexible to changes when their clients request it, they are more responsive to requests, and will go far beyond to ensure your business. Service is genuine in small agencies, where big fish agencies are focused on constant billing and minimum deliverables.
You’d be surprised to find better, and more specialized talent in small agencies, who have been burned out by big ones. Successful small agencies are always on their toes, and as a result, the work produced is often award-winning. Unlike big agencies, small ones work two-three-five times as hard to earn and keep business, and their people have a stake in the results the agency delivers. Small agencies have no room for “dead weight,” or outgrown expertise.
So, the old myth remains just that. At the end of the day, there’s something special about picking up the phone and speaking directly to the CEO of an agency about a new campaign, versus leaving message after message with an intern at large agency. Who would you want handling your account??
www.fuseideas.com
Follow us on Twitter@fuseideas
Friend us on Facebook
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