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Ever since Howdy Doody showed up in the 1950′s, PR and marketing folks have wanted to know how many people are watching a particular TV show. This sets advertising rates, actor salaries, and a million other things. Most of this is based on the Nielsen ratings, which is possibly the most laughable measurement tool in the history of everything. Nielsen selects a certain amount of people to wire a box to their TV that sends data OVER A PHONE LINE or to keep a journal about what they’ve been watching. Seriously. Starting to understand why CBS cleans up in the ratings? They target older demographics since older demographics are the ones most likely to use a systems like Nielsen. Enter Viggle. Read the rest of this entry »

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Content creation in the form of curating content, your own and that of others, is the hot new trend  in the digital world. Notable platforms have emerged which cater specifically to this form – YouTube playlists, Tumblr blogs, and, of course, Pinterest.

Tuning the content you’ve created is a bit of a different beast than doing the same thing to content you’re curating.  When actually creating new content there’s a built in system to avoid creating too much irrelevant content (at least for good writers and self-editors).  You’ll know if you’ve done something before, and if so from what perspective and tone. Read the rest of this entry »

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I’m old enough to remember the days of bringing a Walkman into my bed at night to try and listen to baseball. On the clearest of nights, I could hear the radio home of the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals, and sometimes, the Boston Red Sox from my New Jersey bedroom. However, most times, I’d have to deal with plenty of static and interference.In our social media world today, we have the same issues. While we can “hear” some of the most influential PR/social media/marketing folks, we still need to get through the “static” to actually listen. Why? Our Facebook and Twitter streams are clouded with too much noise and clutter that affects what we take in.

So, how can we better listen and engage our followers? Here are five tips to fine tune your focus on social networks. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this month, Ragu spaghetti sauce launched a video Facebook campaign called “Ragu Asks” aimed at uncovering the mystery of how parents motivate their finicky kids to eat. The short, 30 second video content that followed was created based on responses from their community and the result was a string of hilarious videos depicting parents going to bizarre lengths to get their kids to eat, which as most parents know can often times be a monumental struggle. Although the content was extremely exaggerated and a bit absurd it seemed to strike a chord with parents through its deft blend of comedy and desperation to speak at what can often be a daily struggle that parents fight to keep kids nourished and healthy. Read the rest of this entry »

This year is off to a roaring start for independent communications/public relations firms, according to a new study by Worldcom Public Relations Group. The partner agencies of Worldcom forecast the hiring of new staff and are experiencing an increase in business and budgets.Worldcom Public Relations Group surveyed CEO’s from national and international partner agencies servicing clients ranging from small to mid-sized businesses to Fortune 50 companies. The survey indicates a high percentage of new business growth in the technology, consumer, healthcare, professional and financial service sectors. Read the rest of this entry »

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You know that scene in Beauty and the Beast where the village people break down the castle door? No? Here’s a refresher, it starts at 1:59.

That scene represents marketing of yester-year. Think of the giant tree stump as your brand message and the poor wooden door as the senses of the unsuspecting marketplace. For years marketers mercilessly participated in a full-on assault on all of our senses. It was effective, we think. But, dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of marketing, well at least as we know it and in its place, a new atmosphere that is in desperate need of some T-P-R-L-C (Tender Public Relations Love & Care).  Read the rest of this entry »

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Much has been made of Google’s unified privacy policy that went into effect last week. In my Twitter feed, I saw the usual suspects; threats of dumping all Google products, enraged people shouting about how Google is out to take over the world, you know, a whole lot of this. Perhaps these people are unaware of how commerce on the Internet works. This is always a good reminder for us as PR pros, and for our clients. The number of companies that collect your data for their own marketing purposes or for their partners is astronomical. However, let’s rundown a few of the major names to put this in perspective: Read the rest of this entry »

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While the economy attempts to get some legs under it, many companies, be they just starting a business or around for some time now, are looking at and reviewing their marketing efforts.

If your business is trying to wrap its arms around the all-important return on investment (ROI), your online marketing and social media efforts are great places to give a second look. In essence, are you getting the bang for your dollar when it comes to properly marketing your company online?

Marketing in 2012 is even more challenging for many companies given most experts cannot pinpoint with certainty where the economy is going.  Read the rest of this entry »

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How many times have you heard it: You need to grow your followers and fans on social platforms to foster trust and growth of your brand.

Maybe you are sick of hearing this, but it’s very true. Someone who I have enjoyed following on Twitter and her blog for a while now is Mari Smith. She recently published the book, “The New Relationship Marketing.” If you didn’t believe the italicized sentence above, you will by the time you finish Mari’s book. Read the rest of this entry »

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A series of opinion pieces last week by Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire business mogul Mark Cuban asserting that startups “should never hire a PR firm” got the PR world buzzing with outrage. But does he have a point or is it too general a brushstroke to paint that PR can “never” benefit a startup? Let’s look at the tape.

But, before doing so, it’s instructive to take a deeper look at what, exactly, Mr. Cuban said. In an op-ed for Entrepreneur.com, excerpted from his latest book, “How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It,” he lays out his “12 rules for startups.” Rule No. 11 states:

Never hire a PR firm. Read the rest of this entry »