Tag

PR firm Charlottesville

Mar 06
Love0

JAGGERS COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES 2012 COMMUNITY PARTNER: CENTER FOR NONPROFIT EXCELLENCE

By Jaggers Communications News

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (March 6, 2012) – Jaggers Communications, a strategic  communications firm with a growing presence in Charlottesville, announces that Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) will be its local pro-bono community partner for 2012. The firm will develop an integrated, strategic communications plan to support the organization’s programs, events and member resources.

“We’re honored to have been chosen as this year’s community partner. Bringing increased awareness to the tools, training sessions and resources we offer will surely help strengthen our local nonprofit community,” said Cristine Nardi, CNE’s executive director.

Jaggers Communications provides a positive impact to the communities in which it has a presence by selecting a nonprofit organization to work with on a pro-bono basis each year. “We believe it is critical to give back to the communities where we live and work,” said Marijean Jaggers, president and owner of the firm. “We’re very excited to work with CNE as this year’s community partner. CNE works with local nonprofits to build the capacity of staff, board and volunteers to effectively manage and lead and to collaborate to increase mission impact. By supporting their initiatives we can effectively support the entire nonprofit community as well as local businesses.”

The firm has added several clients to its roster in 2012 including HemoShear, a biotechnology research company, telecommunications provider Lumos Networks, headquartered in Waynesboro, Va., the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of REALTORS® (CAAR), and Rebecca’s Natural Food, a supplement and organic grocery store based in Charlottesville.

 ###

 About The Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) in Charlottesville, Va. is the area’s primary resource for nonprofit management, leadership and collaboration. CNE strengthens nonprofits to reach their potential by sharing information, providing training and professional development and encouraging collaboration to enable a healthy, vibrant community.

About Jaggers Communications
Jaggers Communications applies experience to help businesses and nonprofits reach their business goals through strategic marketing, content creation, public relations and social media. Jaggers Communications provides organizations in the health care, education,technology, travel and tourism industries with social media consulting, public relations support and reputation management strategy. The firm was founded in 2011 to serve businesses with a need for cost-effective, strategic communications with effective reach.

 

Apr 22
Love0

Agencies: You Can’t Fake it Till you Make it in Social Media – 3 Tests to Try

By Media, Public Relations, Social Media

Public relations and marketing agencies have been trying to take a slice of the social media pie for about five years now. Grow it or hire it, are the two options for incorporating new capabilities into agencies. Growing it means extensive training and support for existing team members. Firms have had limited success with this, since agencies often find it difficult to create a structure of accountability, forcing employees to get with the social program.

Forcing PR people (or old school marketers) into social media engagement just plain doesn’t work. Everyone I’ve known who is engaged in social media and who also has it as an element of their career does it because they love it. And because they love it, they do it well. They spend the time necessary to teach themselves and continue learning (which social media, by nature, necessitates).

Agencies who are claiming to “do” social media or offer digital communications as a practice area to clients think they can do this with limited personal experience in the social web. They’re trying, in my opinion, to “fake it till they make it” and in social media, that just doesn’t work. Having worked with several firms in my time, I know that immersing yourself in a client’s business, that learning on the fly and applying communications knowledge to the industry is how agencies work. It does work for PR practices, crisis work, media relations and a ton of other communications work — much of which is done behind the scenes and white-labeled with client brands and spokespeople.

As soon as a practitioner claims to offer social media counsel to clients, however, a quick look at that person’s digital footprint tells a very fast and accurate story. Do three things to test out anyone seeking work in the social media arena:

  1. Google them. What do you find? Do they have a Google profile? Is the content you find from them? Is it what you think they’d want you to find?
  2. Read their blog. What’s that you say? They don’t have a blog? Ditch them. If they “contribute” to a collaborative blog, check them out personally — how much of the content on a firm blog is theirs? 10 percent? 20? How many posts in a year?
  3. Check their Klout.com score. It’s not a perfect measurement system, but it will give you an overview of the outreach and impact your social media consultant has to offer on your business’s behalf.