Category

Public Relations

Jul 28
Love0

My Love for Charlottesville Reaches 4 Million Readers

By Communications, Jaggers Communications News, Media, Public Relations, Social Media

In September’s issue of Woman’s Day magazine (2011) you’re going to see a familiar face. In the feature, A Woman’s Day . . .  in Charlottesville, Virginia I contributed some of my favorite things to do and places to go in this beloved city I call home.

In a town like this, a feature in a major national women’s magazine is news . . . so last night I was on the local affiliates of both CBS and NBC, talking about the experience and how I chose what to share with the magazine’s readers, in case they plan on visiting.

I love the flow of this process: I blogged about 32 small things we like about Charlottesville –> that attracted a reporter to my blog when she was looking for a “woman in Charlottesville.” She said, while Googling, “I just kept running into you.” –> Interview completed, article developed, family portrait taken by local photographer Chris Scott (thank you, again Chris!) –> Article appears –> television coverage on two stations –> I’m blogging about the experience. Full circle!

Fun!

Here’s the TV news clip from CBS-19:

 

Jul 26
Love0

Burgers and Fries Don’t Lie, and Neither Do Poor Communications

By Communications, Public Relations

I’m borrowing from a conversation I had with my friend Drew yesterday. He said, “I can be your personal trainer, but if you stop at McDonald’s after every workout, I can’t help you.”

Let me clarify: Drew is not my personal trainer. And I don’t go to McDonald’s.

We were talking about business counsel, marketing plans, social strategy and the advice we provide to businesses trying to be successful. Drew is right; our firm can provide good counsel, a solid marketing plan and sound advice but if our clients have a bad product, or get distracted from their mission and the purpose of their business, we’re not going to be successful. How frustrating it must be for personal trainers who realize their clients are loading up on burgers and fries as soon as they step off the treadmill. Fortunately, the burgers and fries don’t lie; you can’t hide the lack of commitment to your business and its communications efforts any more than you can hide extra pounds.

It astounds me that businesses (or people hiring personal trainers, for that matter) are willing to spend money on counsel they ignore . . . but then I look at all the industries that are based on helping people who refuse to help themselves and I think, baby steps are sometimes all businesses can take. If we can make a difference in your internal understanding and communications and that helps your business learn to focus enough on the inside, it will affect your external communications for the better. If we can help you get your messaging solidified, nailed down and agreed upon, then consistency of your brand will be created. If we can tackle just 30 minutes on that treadmill and you ordering a salad at McDonald’s once in awhile, we’ll call it success in progress.

Businesses, like people, don’t change overnight.

Jul 25
Love0

Social Media Fatigue: Why Communications Professionals Should Pay Attention to the Overwhelmed

By Communications, Public Relations, Social Media

Rusty SpeidelToday’s post is from Rusty Speidel, vice president of marketing at Encell Technologies. Rusty is a 20-year veteran of the internet/online marketing space, specializing in alternative energy marketing and user experiences.

I’m a one-man Marketing department for an alternative energy startup. As such, I rely on a lot of consulting assistance to set and execute against my company’s marketing objectives. We use services from all types of vendors; IT consultants, software developers, web design firms, PR firms, even procurement and manufacturing firms. It’s part of being a startup and I actually relish the freedom it gives us to act quickly on ideas. I come from a user-experience background, so I like staying connected to the latest trends in marketing from the customer’s point of view, including social media tools, customer-controlled communication and transparency. In a former life I actually built an entire social network about auto racing, so I appreciate the philosophies and processes of connection and sharing.

But lately, I’ve been feeling a little fatigued. OK, a LOT fatigued. Suddenly everywhere I go there are “opportunities to connect.” Whether it’s loyalty programs like the CVS Card, Cardagin, and Groupon, location –based social tools like Foursquare or Places, any one of thousands of social media “experts” that claim to have all the answers for this new marketing paradigm (like Google+), or the hair-trigger salesmen that react to any request for online information with four phone calls and seven emails within 30 minutes, it’s all just getting exhausting. It feels like if I don’t react to all these “opportunities” it’s me that’s missing out, not plugged in, not up to speed. I can’t even order lunch or buy a quart of oil without being asked if I’ve joined this or that rewards program, or if I’ll go online to take a survey. I’m actually starting to get angry with these poor cashiers.

At work, it’s not a lot better. We make batteries. Large batteries. We are not a consumer brand, we are a large-scale energy wholesaler. While I agree that using the social platforms to create thought leadership in the alternative energy space online is appropriate, I am not particularly worried about reaching fans on Facebook. I don’t need a Twitter-based customer service department yet. And yet every PR and marketing assistance proposal I receive suggests I need just that. Everyone’s climbing on the social media bandwagon so aggressively that I just shut down.

Everyone just STOP. Stop now.

I don’t WANT to find my service station on Facebook. I don’t NEED a rewards program for toothpaste. I don’t feel particularly stressed over the fact that our company is not completely plugged in to every social network available RIGHT NOW. I do not need to share every little detail of my personal or professional life on YouTube. I DEFINITELY don’t need another lecture on “how to create a social presence online.” What I NEED is expertise in mapping my company’s needs to strategies that reach my customers where they are, not where the expertise is headed. None of our competitors rely much on social platforms and 70% of our customers still make buying decisions at trade shows. Why doesn’t that matter?

It feels like the old snake oil days, when gypsies roamed the west on covered wagons hawking the latest solution to whatever ailed folks back then. Today’s sarsparilla is SEO, social media monitoring, blogging advice, video production services, reputation management, letting the customer tell you what he wants, etc. It’s totally, completely overwhelming. Sometimes I think the industry likes to keep it that way so they can make a living explaining it.

I am sure I am not alone. Communications professionals take note: there are other disciplines out there besides communications. They don’t all see the world the same way you do, and the overload is starting to hurt the head. Soon it will start to hurt your bottom line.

Jul 23
Love0

Resetting the Boundaries Between Professional and Personal Lives

By Public Relations

I contributed Four Ways to Spark Blogging Inspiration on the Spin Sucks blog recently.  If you read it, then you know that one of my tips for refreshing your blog spirit is to talk to a kid.

I didn’t start out wanting to talk to the kid in question (my daughter, almost 15 — that’s her on the left in a typical pose) on this topic. Rather, I was talking to others about it on the phone and she overheard. I had a situation in which a business contact took a bit of liberty, crossing over into personal territory in what should have been a very business-focused relationship. It was nothing serious, but it gave me pause and was the reason for a few conversations that took place within earshot of my daughter.

She brought it up while we were in the car (and if you’re a parent of a teenager, you may have learned that those car trip conversations are sometimes the most meaningful you’re going to get). “Sounds like you need to reset your business boundaries,” she said with the wisdom of someone far older. She’s right, of course, and I’m making efforts to redefine those parameters and to be very clear about where they lie. Some people just need to be told these things flat out, apparently.

Since the overstepping incident, I’ve been very conscious of the separation between business and personal. It’s not always possible to keep them completely apart. I am good friends with some people with whom I also have a business relationship. I get uncomfortable, however, when a client prospect or new contact assumes a familiarity far too early in the relationship.

Has this ever happened to you? How have you handled it?

 

Jul 13
Love0

MJ is Here: Ready to Answer Your Questions about Social Media, PR and Communications

By Public Relations, Social Media

It’s so hot I think my brain is boiling. So today I’m going to leave this post to you, the people sitting in air-conditioned offices, complaining about how cold it is.

What would you like to know about social media, communications or public relations that, perhaps, you’ve always wanted to know, but been too afraid to ask.

* photo courtesy of Kelsey Sparkle Rakes