by Arthur Solomon | Apr 2, 2019 | Guest
“Timing is everything” is a quote attributed to many people but is especially relevant to comedians and PR people. (And that’s not a joke.) To those readers who are too young to remember “The George Burns & Gracie Allen” TV shows of the 1950s, I suggest watching...
by William Comcowich | Apr 2, 2019 | Marketing
Nostalgia could not save legacy brands like Sears, Payless ShoeSource or Toys R Us. Those brands filed for bankruptcy and closed hundreds of stores across the county. Many people feel deeply connected to legacy brands and grieved over their demise. After reporting on...
by William Comcowich | Apr 1, 2019 | Twitter
Many public relations professionals post content, retweet and reach out to journalists on Twitter, but many may not take advantage of Twitter Lists. Twitter Lists can help find essential news, monitor Twitter for potential crises, and develop relationships with...
by William Comcowich | Mar 29, 2019 | Public Relations
PR agencies work hard to serve their current clients and find new clients. They usually dread the thought of a client firing them. PR agencies can learn how to work with difficult clients, but sometimes they must turn the tables and fire a client. Terminating a client...
by William Comcowich | Mar 28, 2019 | Facebook
Facebook Stories now offer a new way for marketers to grow brand awareness, expand their reach on the network, and strengthen relationships with audiences. The format may be particularly valuable given that Facebook organic reach has plummeted in recent years and...
by William Comcowich | Mar 27, 2019 | Crisis Management
When a public relations crisis strikes is not a question of “if.” It’s a question of “when.” Data breaches, sexual harassment complaints, product malfunctions and recalls, misbehaving CEOs, rebellious employees. The list of potential causes of PR crises...
by William Comcowich | Mar 26, 2019 | Media Measurement
Two types of plans are essential in preparing for a PR crisis: a crisis management plan and an ongoing communications measurement plan. Social media has drastically increased the speed that public relations crisis can develop and spread. News and accusations can...
by William Comcowich | Mar 25, 2019 | PR Measurement
Measurement shortcomings in PR agencies are one of the main reasons why corporate communications departments are taking more work in-house, a new survey reveals. Almost half (47%) of the public relations professionals surveyed said they’ve observed more PR work being...
by Arthur Solomon | Mar 25, 2019 | Crisis Management
In my experience, negative media coverage is what troubles clients the most during a PR crisis. Other crisis tactics are secondary, but clients embrace them because it gives the impression of limiting the crisis by using various “proven” techniques. If you think this...
by William Comcowich | Mar 22, 2019 | Media Relations
Internal editorial calendars within a PR department or agency provide a roadmap and schedule for creation of PR materials, including press releases, blog posts, and content marketing. The calendars also improve timing of media pitching. By laying out what content to...
by William Comcowich | Mar 21, 2019 | SEO
Digital marketing gurus tout topic clusters as “the next evolution of SEO,” “the new keywords” and “an earth-shattering evolution” in online marketing. In the topic-cluster model, a single “pillar” page acts as the main hub of content for an overarching topic....
by William Comcowich | Mar 20, 2019 | SEO
Many public relations professionals pay little heed to search engine optimization. That’s a mistake. Good SEO pushes websites higher in web searches, ensuring that websites attract more visitors who learn more about the company and its products or services. PR...
by William Comcowich | Mar 19, 2019 | Content Marketing
Content marketers now work with a different kind of customer. The traditional B2B customer is considered rational, interdependent and loyal. The new B2B consumer is anonymous, more emotional, fickle, and increasingly reliant on mobile devices. New research from...
by William Comcowich | Mar 19, 2019 | Content Marketing
Some content marketers and readers have grown weary of listicles. Commentators have lambasted listicles as click bait, repetitive and shallow fluff. They’ve been blamed for ruining attention spans, destroying prose and oversimplifying complex issues. Listicles,...
by William Comcowich | Mar 18, 2019 | Crisis Management
Crisis communications experts criticized Boeing’s communications response to the recent crash of its 737 Max plane in Ethiopia. All 157 people on board died when an Ethiopian Airlines flight went down after experiencing difficulties immediately after takeoff....
by William Comcowich | Mar 15, 2019 | Instagram
They may sit below the images they mention, but some might say Instagram comments now rank above images in importance due to evolving algorithm and user habits. Instagram added threaded comments in 2017, making it easier for people to have coherent conversations....
by William Comcowich | Mar 14, 2019 | Crisis Management
New allegations from a shareholder lawsuit place additional scrutiny on how Google handles sexual misconduct accusations against its executives. The entire incident threatens Google’s reputation as a desirable employer and ethical corporation. It also has...
by William Comcowich | Mar 13, 2019 | Video Marketing
Numerous research reports indicate that video is the best performing content on social media. Most recently, new research from Twitter reports that: There are about 1.2 billion video views on the network per day – twice as much as in the last 12 months. Tweets with...
by William Comcowich | Mar 12, 2019 | Influencer Marketing
Although most marketers believe influencer marketing is an effective channel, measuring and improving returns on investment (ROI) remains a leading challenge. The overwhelming majority (80%) of marketers find influencer marketing effective, and 89% say ROI from...
by William Comcowich | Mar 11, 2019 | Digital Marketing
Amazon has exploded into the largest ecommerce platform and a major sales and marketing channel for a range of businesses. One recent statistic: Amazon revenue on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving increased 74.5 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to CPC...
