Here’s my second blog post on It's Your Biz, powered by SBTV.com.
I never expected the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to affect my business. Too far away from my U.S. offices.
I never expected the tornado and its devastation in Joplin, MO, to affect my business. Too far away from my offices in Washington DC and Arizona.
I never expected a volcano going off in Iceland to affect my business. Yes, I go to Iceland once or twice a year to give seminars. But the timing would have to be oh so precise....
Well, all three events DID affect my business. And in vastly different ways.
1) My client, Acura of Glendale (CA), had to suspend public relations (fortunately, only for two months) when they weren't getting any new cars or financing deals to promote. Why? Most Acuras that are sold in the U.S. are actually made in the U.S. But there are some little parts that are made in Japan. And without those parts...there are no new cars.
2) Life Cube Inc. started talking to us about doing their social media work about a month ago. Life Cube is a quickly deployable, portable shelter that can be enormously helpful in providing life-saving shelter and supporting on-the-ground operations by aid workers.
But the day after the Joplin, MO, tornado, Life Cube called us and said-start now! Here's the signed agreement and the check is in the mail (and it really was). We dropped everything and immediately set up their social media accounts, started Tweeting and obtaining significant "follows" for their accounts.
3) I was scheduled to go to Iceland to speak for the European Women Inventors & Innovators Network International Conference. But on May 21, three days before my trip, the Grimsvotn volcano started erupting and the Keflavik Airport outside of Reykjavik was closed. The conference, expecting more than 300 attendees from throughout Europe, was postponed until September.
So what's the lesson in all of this?
- Be aware of what is happening in the news-for yourself and for your clients. How can you localize and personalize a story for a client? The media loves local interest stories. How can you use this to make your social media more relevant and timely-a vital part of attracting attention on social media.
- I found out my ACURA client was "back in business" with new financing deals by calling her. She had not had time to call me and gear her PR back up. So stay in touch (without being annoying) and be there to help.
- After a day or two, I got in touch with the Icelandic conference organizers and offered to share my speech presentation and hand-outs with the people who WERE going to attend. I slightly changed the presentation, which was on Building a Brand on a Sustainable Business. I used it as an education/To Do piece that, now they had over three months to build their brand on sustainability, what steps they could take so it would be strong and powerful by the rescheduled date in September.
Yes, indeed, it's summer and the perfect season to make lemonade out of lemons!
Read the full blog.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Targeting the RIGHT Audience for Outreach
I have a new blog on It's Your Biz, powered by SBTV.com.
A good thing about the Oprah show being over, to a publicist, is we have always heard from clients "I want to be on Oprah."
Well, that was easier said than done. Yes, there would be great benefit to many clients to be on Oprah. But it wasn't always the best way to spend your money, to have your PR firm spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make this happen!
I remember when I had a client of nurse-owned home health care agencies across the state of California. They wanted to be on Oprah (that's a given) and CBS, and written up in USA Today, and Time Magazine. (I'm not sure how they came up with that list.)
But when we scheduled a half-day meeting to brainstorm a Communications Plan, we took a hard look at their TARGET audience. Their primary audience was case managers at hospitals, people who would recommend an agency when someone was discharged from the hospital and needed home health care services.
Knowing your target audience is so vital. Do hospital case managers watch Oprah? Maybe. Do they read USA Today and Time Magazine? Maybe.
But we know they read the stories in the industry publications geared towards nurses and case managers.
It may not be as exciting at the dinner table to say to your family, "I was featured in Case Manager Today magazine this month" as it is to say "I was quoted in USA Today." But it will be more effective to grow your business! And it's probably just as much fun at the dinner table to say "I got five new clients today" - even though you weren't even on Oprah.
So the basic lessons here are:
1. Develop a Communications Plan, which will include your target audiences.
2. Decide the best way to reach those audiences.
3. When you do get media coverage, leverage it through reproduction, social media, posting on websites, etc., so it has a LONG shelf life.
Read the full blog.
A good thing about the Oprah show being over, to a publicist, is we have always heard from clients "I want to be on Oprah."
Well, that was easier said than done. Yes, there would be great benefit to many clients to be on Oprah. But it wasn't always the best way to spend your money, to have your PR firm spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make this happen!
I remember when I had a client of nurse-owned home health care agencies across the state of California. They wanted to be on Oprah (that's a given) and CBS, and written up in USA Today, and Time Magazine. (I'm not sure how they came up with that list.)
But when we scheduled a half-day meeting to brainstorm a Communications Plan, we took a hard look at their TARGET audience. Their primary audience was case managers at hospitals, people who would recommend an agency when someone was discharged from the hospital and needed home health care services.
Knowing your target audience is so vital. Do hospital case managers watch Oprah? Maybe. Do they read USA Today and Time Magazine? Maybe.
But we know they read the stories in the industry publications geared towards nurses and case managers.
It may not be as exciting at the dinner table to say to your family, "I was featured in Case Manager Today magazine this month" as it is to say "I was quoted in USA Today." But it will be more effective to grow your business! And it's probably just as much fun at the dinner table to say "I got five new clients today" - even though you weren't even on Oprah.
So the basic lessons here are:
1. Develop a Communications Plan, which will include your target audiences.
2. Decide the best way to reach those audiences.
3. When you do get media coverage, leverage it through reproduction, social media, posting on websites, etc., so it has a LONG shelf life.
Read the full blog.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Ingenuity in Iceland
What do you do when the U.S. leaves a base with all its buildings? This happened in Iceland when the U.S. Military left the area after being there for 60 years. The area soon had staggering numbers of unemployment and foreclosures and threatened to turn into a ghost town.
But ingenuity is something Icelanders are never lacking. A new company, Keflavik Airport Development Company (Kadeco) was founded with the goal of putting the defense area and its facilities to civilian use. Kadeco is wholly owned by the Prime Ministry of Iceland.
The goal and purpose of Kadeco is to lead the development and transformation of the former defense area for civilian use. Part of that process is necessary preparation work, assessment of the area and facilities as well as assessment of development- and growth opportunities in cooperation with invested parties.
Keilir Atlantic Center of Excellence was founded in the spring of 2007 and the name symbolizes Iceland’s position in the globalized world; with the goals of the institute being to build up knowledge, teaching and research at a university level within the international academic community. Keilir’s main international focus is on two schools: School of Energy and Technology and an Aviation Academy.
Of course, the one that caught my eye is the Ásbrú Incubator at Ásbrú Enterprise Park which offers support and facilities for entrepreneurs, start-ups, early-growth companies, and R&D departments of established companies, in the areas of green energy, health and fitness, and aviation related businesses.
There are basically three ways for an entrepreneur to come to Ásbrú. The first is to buy or rent facilities. The second is Eldey entrepreneur centre where the Icelandic Innovation Centre provides facilities and support for entrepreneurs. The third way in is through the undergraduate diploma in entrepreneurship at Keilir School of Creative Industries. Its goal is to educate and graduate students who will use their creativity to further our society.
Their initiatives include an international centre for health and relaxation will rise at Ásbrú and health related tourist services will be marketed internationally and a cluster of companies that produce green energy, use green energy and improve energy utilization. The energy cluster at Ásbrú is unique on a global scale for its access to clean energy from the geo-thermal power plants in the area. And the Eldey entrepreneur centre, which is a joint project by Kadeco, the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Innovation Centre, specializes in green energy.
Innovation and entrepreneurs are always a good mix and in my opinion, too often ignored by our political representatives and funders. I look forward to heading back to Iceland in April and learning more about Asbru.
I’ll close with a Video Testimonial by Asbru Project Manager, Thoranna Keilir, who attended my “Be the Expert that You Are” seminar for the Iceland Trade Association that I conducted in October 2010.
But ingenuity is something Icelanders are never lacking. A new company, Keflavik Airport Development Company (Kadeco) was founded with the goal of putting the defense area and its facilities to civilian use. Kadeco is wholly owned by the Prime Ministry of Iceland.
The goal and purpose of Kadeco is to lead the development and transformation of the former defense area for civilian use. Part of that process is necessary preparation work, assessment of the area and facilities as well as assessment of development- and growth opportunities in cooperation with invested parties.
Keilir Atlantic Center of Excellence was founded in the spring of 2007 and the name symbolizes Iceland’s position in the globalized world; with the goals of the institute being to build up knowledge, teaching and research at a university level within the international academic community. Keilir’s main international focus is on two schools: School of Energy and Technology and an Aviation Academy.
Of course, the one that caught my eye is the Ásbrú Incubator at Ásbrú Enterprise Park which offers support and facilities for entrepreneurs, start-ups, early-growth companies, and R&D departments of established companies, in the areas of green energy, health and fitness, and aviation related businesses.
There are basically three ways for an entrepreneur to come to Ásbrú. The first is to buy or rent facilities. The second is Eldey entrepreneur centre where the Icelandic Innovation Centre provides facilities and support for entrepreneurs. The third way in is through the undergraduate diploma in entrepreneurship at Keilir School of Creative Industries. Its goal is to educate and graduate students who will use their creativity to further our society.
Their initiatives include an international centre for health and relaxation will rise at Ásbrú and health related tourist services will be marketed internationally and a cluster of companies that produce green energy, use green energy and improve energy utilization. The energy cluster at Ásbrú is unique on a global scale for its access to clean energy from the geo-thermal power plants in the area. And the Eldey entrepreneur centre, which is a joint project by Kadeco, the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Innovation Centre, specializes in green energy.
Innovation and entrepreneurs are always a good mix and in my opinion, too often ignored by our political representatives and funders. I look forward to heading back to Iceland in April and learning more about Asbru.
I’ll close with a Video Testimonial by Asbru Project Manager, Thoranna Keilir, who attended my “Be the Expert that You Are” seminar for the Iceland Trade Association that I conducted in October 2010.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Importance of Professional Online Video
We have seen video grow from a “frill” some businesses occasionally include on their websites, to an essential, competitive differentiator that drives SEO and increases brand identification.
Knowledgeable companies embraced this shift and made video a central part of their online offerings. Videos grab attention, engage viewers and, if executed properly, can succinctly communicate your entire value proposition in as little as two minutes.
There are many new techniques people are using to promote and increase the sales on their website. Videos are considered as one of the best methods for communicating with audiences. A fact that all of us know is that it’s much easier to consume the visual image than to read something. The visual impact created by videos can often be creatively used to reach out and capture the imagination of a wide audience. Video’s use of real people, animation and music are valuable when motivation is a key ingredient in your message.
Video is best for the communication of a simple, convincing message. We can feel an emotional connection more readily with video’s moving images and sound than other communication mediums – to an audience it is the closest medium to reality.
Streaming videos over web pages has caught on with an increase in the available bandwidth and connection speeds in the last couple of years. Often a good video can double or even triple the ’sale ability’ of the product. The impact created by the video partially depends on the quality of the created video.
Here is a video on my media training work that I did in one take, having a friend hold my Flip video camera.
And here is a video that was professionally done and edited at the BRANDit Workshop.
Do you see the quality difference? Would seeing one video versus the other one make a difference in your decision to hire me to do media training?
Now add your video into an online magazine and you have even more impact and a variety of ways to reach people.
A good video, bundled with the right support material, will definitely prove to be one of the most effective ways of reaching out to a worldwide audience 24×7.
Knowledgeable companies embraced this shift and made video a central part of their online offerings. Videos grab attention, engage viewers and, if executed properly, can succinctly communicate your entire value proposition in as little as two minutes.
There are many new techniques people are using to promote and increase the sales on their website. Videos are considered as one of the best methods for communicating with audiences. A fact that all of us know is that it’s much easier to consume the visual image than to read something. The visual impact created by videos can often be creatively used to reach out and capture the imagination of a wide audience. Video’s use of real people, animation and music are valuable when motivation is a key ingredient in your message.
Video is best for the communication of a simple, convincing message. We can feel an emotional connection more readily with video’s moving images and sound than other communication mediums – to an audience it is the closest medium to reality.
Streaming videos over web pages has caught on with an increase in the available bandwidth and connection speeds in the last couple of years. Often a good video can double or even triple the ’sale ability’ of the product. The impact created by the video partially depends on the quality of the created video.
Here is a video on my media training work that I did in one take, having a friend hold my Flip video camera.
And here is a video that was professionally done and edited at the BRANDit Workshop.
Do you see the quality difference? Would seeing one video versus the other one make a difference in your decision to hire me to do media training?
Now add your video into an online magazine and you have even more impact and a variety of ways to reach people.
A good video, bundled with the right support material, will definitely prove to be one of the most effective ways of reaching out to a worldwide audience 24×7.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Branding: Making an Emotional Connection
When talking about branding, we most often have to start with a definition—what is a brand?
A brand is a name that stands for something in the mind of the customer. Your brand is your most valuable asset. The goal, therefore, is to define a brand that creates an emotional connection between you and your customers.
What emotions do you want others to feel when then think of you?
Maya Angelou said, "At the end of the day people won't remember what you say or did, they will remember how you make them feel."
We are overwhelmed by thousands of product choices, and we’re all short of time. That’s why the emotional connection is so important. People want the facts (why is this better?) and the emotional connection (why is this right for me?).
The power of appealing to emotion is detailed in Wharton professor Deborah Small’s groundbreaking research. She shows how the use of statistics by non-profits, as opposed to a vivid “identifiable victim,” results in lower giving. People want to hear and be moved by real stories.
You want to unite an idea (your brand) with an emotion. But how do you do that? The best way is to tell a story.
You use a brand, both visually and verbally, to educate your prospective customers about who you are. You tell them both visually (with a logo) and verbally (with a short message that best describes your business and its benefits). The key to creating a strong icon or logo is to paint word pictures. Then compare the word or visual pictures with your description of your business and what sets it apart from the rest of the business world. Think unique, think independent, step outside of your marketing mindset and get creative.
Everything you do stimulates an emotional response whether you want it to or not. Even if you don't know it, you leave every encounter with someone feeling a certain way, whether you meet in person, via social media, or simply by them viewing your business card, flyer or web site. So knowing that, why not be proactive about this and work to stimulate the emotion you want others to feel instead of leaving it to chance?
To take an active role in the emotions you make people feel, start by being aware of what you want to portray and sprinkle it in here and there. Do you use inspirational quotes on social media? (I specifically make sure I do NOT do that since so many others are). Or if you want people to feel excited and alive, do you send out samples of music and music videos that you like?
I send out research, relevant articles, to friends, clients, past clients, potential clients and colleagues. Thus, an emotional connection with me is one of networking, a strong resource, and someone who stays on top of current events and trends. In the online marketplace, it can be easy to get trapped behind a monitor and keyboard.
You have to remember that business is about people, not numbers. It’s about relationships, not computers. In our rapidly evolving business environment, the entrepreneurs who are going to thrive are the ones who engage their clients and build long-term relationships. So get out there and develop your cheerleading squad, refer business to others, join groups and tell your story.
You can purchase my webinar on The Brand Called You or sign up for the BRANDit weekends coming up in Santa Barbara or Iceland. Watch this video from Harpa Georgsdottir, Manager of Rain Deer, who attended our BRANDit workshop in Iceland in October 2010. She talks about the importance of the emotional connection.
A brand is a name that stands for something in the mind of the customer. Your brand is your most valuable asset. The goal, therefore, is to define a brand that creates an emotional connection between you and your customers.
What emotions do you want others to feel when then think of you?
Maya Angelou said, "At the end of the day people won't remember what you say or did, they will remember how you make them feel."
We are overwhelmed by thousands of product choices, and we’re all short of time. That’s why the emotional connection is so important. People want the facts (why is this better?) and the emotional connection (why is this right for me?).
The power of appealing to emotion is detailed in Wharton professor Deborah Small’s groundbreaking research. She shows how the use of statistics by non-profits, as opposed to a vivid “identifiable victim,” results in lower giving. People want to hear and be moved by real stories.
You want to unite an idea (your brand) with an emotion. But how do you do that? The best way is to tell a story.
You use a brand, both visually and verbally, to educate your prospective customers about who you are. You tell them both visually (with a logo) and verbally (with a short message that best describes your business and its benefits). The key to creating a strong icon or logo is to paint word pictures. Then compare the word or visual pictures with your description of your business and what sets it apart from the rest of the business world. Think unique, think independent, step outside of your marketing mindset and get creative.
Everything you do stimulates an emotional response whether you want it to or not. Even if you don't know it, you leave every encounter with someone feeling a certain way, whether you meet in person, via social media, or simply by them viewing your business card, flyer or web site. So knowing that, why not be proactive about this and work to stimulate the emotion you want others to feel instead of leaving it to chance?
To take an active role in the emotions you make people feel, start by being aware of what you want to portray and sprinkle it in here and there. Do you use inspirational quotes on social media? (I specifically make sure I do NOT do that since so many others are). Or if you want people to feel excited and alive, do you send out samples of music and music videos that you like?
I send out research, relevant articles, to friends, clients, past clients, potential clients and colleagues. Thus, an emotional connection with me is one of networking, a strong resource, and someone who stays on top of current events and trends. In the online marketplace, it can be easy to get trapped behind a monitor and keyboard.
You have to remember that business is about people, not numbers. It’s about relationships, not computers. In our rapidly evolving business environment, the entrepreneurs who are going to thrive are the ones who engage their clients and build long-term relationships. So get out there and develop your cheerleading squad, refer business to others, join groups and tell your story.
You can purchase my webinar on The Brand Called You or sign up for the BRANDit weekends coming up in Santa Barbara or Iceland. Watch this video from Harpa Georgsdottir, Manager of Rain Deer, who attended our BRANDit workshop in Iceland in October 2010. She talks about the importance of the emotional connection.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Online Video Ads Reign over TV Ads
Since I became involved with the BRANDit program (www.maryschnack.com/brandit or www.brandit.is), I have become more and more aware of videos on the web. Besides training on re-invigorating your brand, The BRANDit program offers attendees a new marketing kit-which includes new head shots and a video for their website.
Being a trainer and speaker, I've been "trying" to get videos up on my website for three or four years--and just wasn't successful in getting it done. Now I have four on my home page--which all tell the story of what I do much better and more succinctly than all the text on my site!
I notice other articles about the power of video on the website. For example, according to Forrester Research, you are 53 times more likely to appear on page one of Google's search results with video on your website. Video raises click-through rates up to 200 percent.
The story I saw today about online video ads versus TV ads doesn't totally apply to our individual business websites but its still interesting. In a research conducted by The Nielsen Company and Microsoft it was found that video ads shown during the full episodes of TV shows shown on the Internet have deeper brand impact on the viewers than has TV ads during the same show when relayed on television, because there is greater brand recall. The over-arching reason for this, that does have influence on why we should videos on our websites? "The research showed that people are more engaged and attentive while watching on the Internet, which assists in brand recall."
I'm working with my clients to get videos on their websites. The more professional the better. The Flip cameras are great, but you can't fill your site with amateur videos. As more and more business goes online this is an important marketing step to take.
Being a trainer and speaker, I've been "trying" to get videos up on my website for three or four years--and just wasn't successful in getting it done. Now I have four on my home page--which all tell the story of what I do much better and more succinctly than all the text on my site!
I notice other articles about the power of video on the website. For example, according to Forrester Research, you are 53 times more likely to appear on page one of Google's search results with video on your website. Video raises click-through rates up to 200 percent.
The story I saw today about online video ads versus TV ads doesn't totally apply to our individual business websites but its still interesting. In a research conducted by The Nielsen Company and Microsoft it was found that video ads shown during the full episodes of TV shows shown on the Internet have deeper brand impact on the viewers than has TV ads during the same show when relayed on television, because there is greater brand recall. The over-arching reason for this, that does have influence on why we should videos on our websites? "The research showed that people are more engaged and attentive while watching on the Internet, which assists in brand recall."
I'm working with my clients to get videos on their websites. The more professional the better. The Flip cameras are great, but you can't fill your site with amateur videos. As more and more business goes online this is an important marketing step to take.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Who Are You Cheering For?
When I watch tennis, I usually cheer for the higher ranked player. I think once you get to the top, it's hard to stay there. Everyone is gunning for you and they are often playing the game of their life. One bad day and the top pros can find themselves on the losing end.
But when it comes to basketball, that rule doesn't apply. Because I am loyal. Loyal to my Los Angeles Clippers.
I lived in Los Angeles for 18 years and during most of that time, I had both Lakers and Clippers season tickets. The difference was--my Laker tickets were in the 25th row and my Clipper tickets were in the sixth row--or better.
The Clippers play the same teams the Lakers play, and I had the best seats. A real basketball enthusiast (anyone surprised--TWO sets of season tickets?), I enjoyed being closer to the action despite it being the Clippers instead of the Lakers. When I decided, for both time and financial reasons, that one of the sets of season tickets had to go, it was the Clippers tickets that I kept.
So no matter who the Clippers play, I cheer for the Clippers. When I was both a Clippers and Lakers fan, I would always cheer for the Clippers when they played for the Lakers. Once the play-offs started, it was all Lakers for my cheering (primarily because the Clippers in the playoffs is a rare event). During one Clippers/Lakers near the end of a season, when a Laker win was important for home court advantage during the playoffs, I still cheered for the Clippers, much to my date's chagrin. He thought I should be more cognizant of the long term impact of that game.
There's no other team as consistently bad as the Clippers that I cheer for. I hated it when Phoenix didn't embrace the Cardinals--until they started racking up some wins two years ago. I hated it even more that I was one of the fair weather fans!
As much as I like, and I hope, for an underdog like the Clippers (which Sports Illustrated dubbed the worst franchise in pro sports), they have been replaced in my heart. There's nothing like knowing a player personally and cheering him (or her) on. Since I personally met Channing Frye and got to know what a terrific person he is, I am for whatever team he plays for. Fortunately, he was picked up by the Phoenix Suns last year so I was able to cheer for the home state team (by then I was living in Arizona). Until Channing joined the team, I was for the Suns--unless they were playing the Clippers, Lakers--or the team Channing played for (Knicks or Blazers).
Now,only when the Clippers play the Suns do I root against the Clips. Blake Griffin is a bright spot and a leading candidate already for Rookie of the Year.
Go Blake Griffin! Go Clippers! Go underdog!
But most of all--Go Suns! Go Channing!
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