Archive for the ‘Public Relations’ Category
By Ben Lippert | October 20, 2011
Do you manage a Facebook page for your business? Social media is a free way to stay in contact with your customers. (Most of which probably don’t visit your website very often.)
Facebook provides a great way to get people interacting with your business from a platform they’re already using on a daily basis. There is a method to managing your Facebook business page and we have a few tips that will help build your fan base and elicit interaction on posts.
Post relevant information
Your posts should be industry specific. If you sell computers, an example post could be details on the new Apple iOS 5 operating system. Not all posts need to contain information about your business but they should be applicable.
Poll your audience
Free tools like the “Questions” application allow you to survey people who “like” your page. If the question is a good one people are more likely to contribute and share the question on their own walls for more eyes to see.
Media adds depth
Adding a photo is rather simple and increases the likelihood that people will view your post. If you have several photos from an event or a conference you attended, create an album.
Pat yourself of the back
Use your Facebook page as a PR tool. Tell your fans about accomplishments and customer success stories. Did your business just win an award? Take a picture and put it online for everyone to see. Success instills customer confidence and customer confidence equals more business.
Have a contest
These contests don’t have to be formal. It could be as simple as saying, “the first 10 people to like this post will get a coupon for $5 off their next purchase.” If people know you are prone to offer deals they will be more likely to visit your page without being prompted.
Bonus tip: Try to use proper punctuation and spelling whenever possible. You should also avoid smiley faces and excessive exclamation points. It’s great to be excited but too much schmooze could make you look like a jerk.
By Kyle McCabe | September 22, 2011
Pissed off ghostwriter
Hiring a ghostwriter can be an attractive approach to social media, if you’re a business owner or marketer with little time on your hands to devote to keeping up with social updates on multiple platforms.
There can be some pitfalls to this approach, however – not the least of which is the perceived in-authenticity of the person who has someone else speak for them.
In the case of Mark Davidson, it would appear this morning that he’s been utilizing several ghost writers for his Twitter account, and one of them was just fired. The problem is this person still has access to Davidson’s account, with amusing results. For example:
And all the funny stuff that @markdavidson wrote, that was all me. The other 2 ghostwriters are really boring. Good luck, bro…
This situation taken on first look, the feeling I get (besides the ache in my gut from laughing) is that Davidson has been a little deceptive – or is it apathetic? While I understand the reason Ghostwriters might be used, knowing it still shifts my perspective to one of caution and distrust regarding this particular person. I have to wonder if this is true for all his followers.
Now I’ll admit, this could be a stunt. It could be fake. Maybe his account was hacked and someone is lying. Maybe he’s just having fun (in that case, well played, Mark). There’s no way to know at this point, but the lesson is clear: be careful when hiring ghostwriters – it could cause more problems than it solves.
What do you think?
By Amanda Simpson | September 20, 2011
This is how we feel about your mission statement.
Let’s be frank, here: mission statements are boring. No one reads them, no one cares.
Alright, “no one” is an exaggeration. There’s got to be someone out there who cares, otherwise people would stop publishing mission statements on their websites, right? So, do you have one on your website? It probably sucks.
Look, for most organizations the mission statement is not for the customers. It’s for the employees. It’s for you. It speaks to a vision you should all have and operate from. This keeps things moving smoothly in one direction, ensuring a consistently positive customer experience.
In this case, you wouldn’t put your mission statement on your website. It’s that simple! Frame it and put it in the conference room or break room for internal staff to see.
Admittedly, though – in some cases an organization’s mission statement is relevant to its customers and the public. Maybe that’s you. In that case, follow these guidelines to craft a mission statement that doesn’t suck:
Vague, generalized mission statements suck
Yours should be specific. A mission statement must be tailored to your organization’s specific purpose and goals, otherwise it’s useless. See this example of a completely useless mission statement (hit cancel on the popup).
Puffery in a mission statement sucks
Don’t fill your mission statement with buzz words that are vague and meaningless. Just get to the point and be clear about it. Test it on your employees – if they can’t specifically relate to your mission statement, then your customers can’t be expected to back you. See the above link for an example of “vague.”
Confusing mission statements suck
How many people were in on the development of your mission statement? Too many cooks in the kitchen can make the mission statement confusing. If your organization has a clear goal, make sure that is reflected in the mission statement. Otherwise it’s probably not ready for public viewing.
Boring mission statements…that’s right, they suck
Try asking strangers if your mission statement makes sense. Do they understand what it says? Is it memorable? Does it make them care or get them excited? If not, it needs work. Make sure your mission statement tells a story and sparks an interest among your customers, or it’s useless to you and them.
What do you think mission statements are worth? How do did you craft your mission statement? Share it in the comments!
–
Photo courtesy of gonzalomerat
By Ben Lippert | August 1, 2011
Robert Sharp & Associates was fortunate to attend the first annual MarketPlace event in Huron, SD.
The event, which is scheduled to take place the next two years, was hosted by the Center for Rural Affairs and the South Dakota Farmers Union.
The purposes of MarketPlace is to unite local business owners and entrepreneurs in South Dakota and provide them with insight, education and a chance to network and learn about other resources from across the state.
We had several good conversations with people from all walks of life and all areas of the state.
One of our most unique encounters was with a woman from a small town north of Phillip; she owns a bed and breakfast called Missile Inn. As the name suggests, Missile Inn is located near an old missile silo. Sadly, however, guests do not stay in the abandoned shaft. The B & B has six different rooms, all decked with paintings, trinkets and artifacts the owner and her family have collected over time.
We also attended several breakout sessions and seminars. Through these experiences we learned helpful advice from industry leaders. One of the sessions, “20 Killer Marketing Ideas That Will Build Your Business,” was especially helpful.
From all the speakers, discussions and networking with South Dakota business owners, here are three most important things we took away.
1) Business is alive and well in South Dakota – what recession? SD business owners are fighting through the difficult financial times facing our country and most of them are coming out successful. This doesn’t just include established businesses, many small businesses are opening and finding a way to make it work.
2) The feeling of community is strong – even though we knew many of the vendors and business owners, there were still some new faces. The friendliness and love we received from total strangers was astounding. This wasn’t an event where businesses pushed their products at other people. There were no sales pitches or contracts – just an open environment to learn and grow.
3) Technology is at the forefront of business – the degree of attendees tech skills ranged from very advanced to complete novice but one thing was consistent in the minds of everyone who attended: technology is essential to marketing your business and product. Many of the session talked about social media’s influence on business. It was neat to see the openness and reception to technology that many people aren’t native to, or necessarily familiar with.
If you would like to join us at the 2012 South Dakota MarketPlace event, check the Center for Rural Affairs website or contact the South Dakota Farmers Union.
By Molly Albrecht | February 16, 2011
Analytics? Bounce rate?
What language are they speaking?
I have to admit, I thought I might need a passport and a pocket dictionary on my first day at RSA. That day I attended several meetings with the search engine marketing team, and most of the words buzzing around me sounded like a foreign language.
I’m the first to admit, I’m a search engine marketing (SEM) newbie.
I applied for the interactive marketing specialist job at RSA because writing skill was included in the job description. That sounded ideal, since I love writing and studied journalism in college. Little did I know the job encompassed so much more, and I’d be grasping to understand parts of it.
I’ll let you in on a few of the secrets I’ve learned.
Luckily for me, I’ve discovered …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | July 7, 2010
A while ago I wrote about the idea of being “transparent” or “authentic” in the social web. My theory is that full transparency is actually over-disclosure (and therefore undesirable), and authenticity just means don’t be fake (rather than meaning “show yourself without any sort of filter,” as the word might imply).
This theory applies to social business (use of social media for an organization) as well.
...
Transparency in Business
No single person is obligated to tell anyone anything (outside the legal sphere), but good communication demands a certain level of honesty. …Read more »
By Tarah Heupel | June 28, 2010
We are excited to announce the winners of our first Good Ad, Bad Ad Facebook contest! Congrats to Jackie and Gina, who posted ads deemed the best and worst of the bunch by our esteemed panel of judges (our Search Engine Marketing department, clearly).
Good Ad: Jackie won the prize with the latest commercial in the “Search Overload” campaign from Bing:
We can relate – and now our office is jamming out to Freak Nasty’s “Da Dip.”
Bad Ad: Gina caught our attention with something very, very bad to win the Bad Ad prize:
Okay, it’s not exactly an ad, but close enough. Read more about this British Airways faux pas, which appeared in an internal staff magazine with an article about mobile boarding. Whether it was a mistake or a prank gone awry, that’s one heck of a PR mess.
Congrats again to our winners, and thanks to everyone for playing. Be on the lookout for more contests in the future!
By Nancy Marshall | June 10, 2010
Gen Y can't get enough of their social media, cell phones and iPods
[This is a guest post by by Nancy Marshall of Nancy Marshall Communications in Augusta, Maine. It was originally posted on the Alliance of Marketing Communications Agencies blog.]
Recently my 17 year old son Craig attended a meeting of the Alliance of Marketing Communications Agencies with me and gave a presentation on “Marketing to Gen Y” to our group of advertising and PR agency owners from across the country. Since Craig’s generation is larger than the Baby Boomer generation (Generation Y is estimated at 77 million people—several million more than the Boomer generation), marketers need to start focusing on this generation. The consumer clout they wield is extremely powerful. In order to market to them effectively, I thought I would share some of his points with you.
First, some facts about his generation:
- Born from approximately 1982 to 2001
- Grew up in a technological revolution
- To reach them, new creative strategies will be required
- With more technology, they will be able to easily avoid advertisements …Read more »
By Vincent Tyson | June 10, 2010
Toyota, apparently one of the most popular brands in America, and indeed one of the largest car makers in the world, seems to have a little PR problem. KOTA TV recently interviewed our CEO, Robert Sharp, asking him what his opinion on the whole debacle was. Robert has been quite open with all of us here about his view of the saga which has devastated the car maker’s finances, after having to recall millions of its cars and SUVs as well as its luxury brand Lexus which shares the parts bin with its bigger brother.
So what was Robert’s take? Well let’s start with honesty – it’s clear Toyota knew there was a problem early on, and with such a stronghold in the car market they should have reacted far sooner, leaving owners and potential customers in no doubt that their interests would be protected by this giant of manufacturing. Instead, it hesitated, confusing the media with mixed messages, many being perceived as dishonest, misleading and unprofessional. It seems that even those at the top of Toyota were not sure of how to react, and after several deaths, insurance industry investigations and lawsuit filings, they finally (kind of) admitted liability. …Read more »
By Tarah Heupel | May 20, 2010
Ericka Heiser speaks to 1000+
Yesterday a few of us had the opportunity to attend the first Day of Excellence in Rapid City. Hosted by Leadership Rapid City, the one-day conference focused on fostering personal and professional growth.
We showed up to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center yesterday, coffee in hand, interested to see if the speakers would have anything to teach us (and praying they would be funny). More than 1,200 people had the same idea, and luckily, we weren’t disappointed. …Read more »
