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So You Want To Be An Industry Thought Leader….

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Kayleigh Fitch

This is a lofty goal and one many organizations aspire to achieve.  The identity of some brands as prolific or high tech product innovators may serve to naturally position them as industry thought leaders simply due to the nature of their corporate structure.  However, there are still opportunities to raise awareness and establish a leadership role for a company that is not widely known as the glitzy industry golden child.

1. Identify a specific topic or group of topics to home in on.  Even Apple is not an expert in everything.  The key is to recognize a core area of expertise in which the company excels and truly is an industry leader. If a competitor has already staked a claim, look for ways to gain traction with expertise on niche but important topics. Choose a knowledgeable spokesperson and then build an outreach strategy to focus on telling your unique story.

2.  Get visible.  Many companies attend and even exhibit at industry trade shows.  But there are myriad opportunities to apply for a speaking position at industry events.  Shows, conferences, industry panels, meetings, round tables, workshops and even milestone celebrations are all excellent venues for establishing your brand as an expert on your focused area of expertise.  Also, think beyond simply presenting at peer-to-peer shows.  Vertical market events offer an opportunity to connect with potential customers.

TIP: Secure more speaking opportunities and deliver more engaging presentations by avoiding commercial messaging.  Deliver meaningful, educational content that event attendees can use and will associate with your brand.

3.  Dust off the old typewriter.  With the current state of the publishing industry, many trade publications (and increasingly consumer publications) are constantly seeking good content from a fresh perspective.  Using your established focus as a pitch topic, reach out to leading industry and vertical trade publications to pitch a bylined feature article.  Like event presentations, think about how your article can educate a magazine’s readership about a certain topic affecting the industry.  If you can offer a new perspective to readers, editors will be excited to help tell your story.

4.  One is never enough.  Do not settle for one speaking engagement or feature article placement.  Within your focused area of expertise, consider all angles and side to the story, as well as how certain industry trends and events affect constituents and vertical markets differently.  Refocus your main topic to address multiple angles and you can still deliver exclusive content to each show or publication you work with.

5. Consider developing a corporate sponsored blog.  If you want to be a thought leader, continuous and current content is key.  A blog provides a simple channel for communicating opinions and predications as changes occur. Moreover, consider how you can use social media to further expand your blog reach.

6. Compete for professional awards.  Whether for new product launches, professional leadership or even something as simple as safety, competing in award competitions can raise a company’s profile as a thought leader.  Many competitions are actually sponsored or hosted by industry publications – resulting in built in media coverage for winners.  And for those that aren’t, publicity and media relations can be implemented to effectively raise awareness for awards.

 

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5 Ways to Maximize Your Case Studies

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Kayleigh Fitch

A case study detailing the specific results of how your company or product helped overcome a unique or difficult challenge can be a powerful marketing tool.  Since developing case studies is often time consuming, be sure to maximize their use.

 

Here are our top five tips for getting more value from your case studies.

1. Secure Media Coverage: You can achieve media coverage for your case studies one of two ways.  First, you can develop a news release detailing the situation and high-level results of the successful project, and distribute/pitch to media as a story with a spokesperson available for interview.  Or you can also offer key non-competing media the full case study to run as a bylined article; media are always looking for good content focused on real world applications.

2. Develop Engaging Blog Content: Divide your case study into several smaller segments and post a blog series on the project.  Ensure each post leaves readers with a reason to come back for the full story.

3. Secure Speaking Opportunities: Use your case study as a way to secure a speaker at an industry show.  Most industry shows/conferences are looking for good examples of how attendees can apply new/existing technology in their field.  Ask your client to present with you as a team.  The show is more likely to select presentations that include peers talking to peers and do not seem like a sales presentation.

4. Video Development: Consider documenting end results and customer testimonials on video. A video version of your success story can easily be incorporated into your website, online advertising, social media, email marketing, mobile marketing and even media relations strategies.

5. Advertising Campaign:  If you have several interesting case studies with impactful results, consider structuring your next ad campaign as a series of testimonial stories focusing on applications and results .

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6 Tips for More Impactful Blog Reviews

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Kayleigh Fitch

Earlier this year we shared 8 Ways to Determine a Blog’s Value.   Here are six tips to drive more influential blogger reviews:

1.  Set expectations. You are sending a product sample to a blogger for review.  Develop a personal letter that thanks the blogger for his or her interest and explains what you are asking them to do as part of the review process.  Be clear and reasonable, and make sure the blogger understands you are a resource if they have questions or concerns about the product or review process.

2.  Content is king. In addition to the letter, include as much information as possible about your product.  Good bloggers will share key product features and benefits with readers as part of a product review.  Make those details easily accessible and you will likely score a longer, more thorough product review.

3. Secure links to your website. Provide bloggers – in your letter and e-mails– with a specific link where readers can find more information about your product, and ask them to include that link as part of the review.  Also, think about other ways to drive blog readers to your website.  Provide a separate link for bloggers to share that leads to creative ways to use your product, or ask bloggers to direct readers to your website to search for specific information and then post a comment to the blog post about something interesting they learned.

4.  Strategize to secure multiple posts.  Think beyond the simple blog review post and consider ways to secure ongoing coverage with a particular blogger.  Offer a product giveaway to one blog reader; this will often result in a second blog post about your product when the winner is announced.  Ask the blogger to write a preview post setting up a problem and letting readers know they plan to try your product as a solution, then write a post about the product itself.

5. Use contests to secure prospect data.  Instead of – or in addition to – promoting product giveaways on individual blogs, establish a larger contest that uses blogger product reviews as a vehicle for engaging a larger Internet audience.  Ask multiple bloggers to announce a prize that requires consumers to provide contact information on your website.  This is a great way to reach potential new customers and secure information for future communication.

6.  Ask bloggers to get social.  Simply ask bloggers to post a link to their product review on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. and ask permission to post links to their reviews through your own social media accounts.  Both your product and the blog are exposed to larger audiences this way.

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What You Need to Know Before Starting a Corporate Blog

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Jim Sweeney

I have been tasked with writing our corporate blog.  What do I need to consider prior to starting my blog?  How often should I post?  What should the content include? How much do I need to write per post?

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By Jim Sweeney

A Weblog or Blog is a frequently updated online journal, organized by date and containing virtually anything the author/producer wants to communicate. Essentially, blogs are simple websites.  In the case of a business or corporate blog, it is critical to consider and keep in mind the impact of the blog on brand reputation.

Before committing to a blog, an author should consider several basic yet important questions:

What is the intent or purpose for your blog (what are your goals)?

What are you going to write about?

What style of writing will you use?

What is the theme of your blog; what will your blog site look like?

Will you include add-ons to your site?

How often will you publish/post?

Will you keep your blog as text or include images, video, music, etc.?

Why should people read your blog?

Who do you want to read your blog?

How will you monitor and handle discussions on your blog?

Will you link your site to other blog sites?

How will you promote your blog?

Blog Author

The most effective blogs involve a steady flow of information that is almost always entertaining, insightful, interesting and/or educational.  Ideally, the author already is or soon will be a recognized expert or “authority” for the subject area they are writing about. A blog author should write about what they know best and what they are most passionate about.

Blog Name & Description

Your blog name may or may not be a dedicated domain name.  Whatever it is, keep it simple and representative of your blog’s content. Like any corporate or product name or even the title of a white paper, the name should be reflective of the content, it should be catchy and it should be memorable.

Posting Frequency

The general rule of thumb is to write less more frequently. Think of your blog as a billboard that keeps changing its content every couple of days or weeks.  Ultimately, however, what you have to say and how much time you have to say will impact on your frequency.  It is far better to provide good quality, fresh content once every two weeks than weak content every day.  Ultimately, it is most important to have good content and to market your blog effectively to ensure steadily growing traffic.

Blog Content

Artificial or dispassionate voices tend not to last on the Web. And there is no better way to create fake content than to fill your blog with content that neither you nor your followers care about.  The author needs to identify a platform that both he (she) and his (her) audience care about and will connect with.  Blogs are about engaging a community by addressing subjects they are interested in discussing.

Content may be original – editorial comments on topical issues and news stories – or they may be existing materials that are reformatted and/or edited for posting purposes (e.g., new product news releases, case studies, white papers, product updates, brochures, trade show presentations, editorial Q & A backgrounders, interviews with company or industry experts, etc.).  Because less is more in the blogging world, a single article can be divided into multiple parts (1 in a series of 6), maintaining reader interest in a single article for several weeks.

Blog Style

An informal, conversational style dominates blog writing. It’s what’s expected—and corporate blogs that conform are more likely to succeed. Short, snappy sentences are popular; long-winded speeches fall flat. Concise is expected. Most bloggers use bullet points liberally.

The goal is to make reading quick and easy—enabling readers to scan content. And provide links to stories or ideas you reference. That’s the blog etiquette. Stay relevant. Keep on topic and on track. Straying from the selected subject inevitably causes followers to depart—and not return.

Starting a corporate blog and want to learn how to create a blog that your target audiences will want to read?  Contact me at jim at sweeneypr.com or 440.333.0001.

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Is Blog Ghostwriting Acceptable?

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Jim Sweeney

Our company would like to start a blog; however, we have limited internal time/resources to develop it ourselves.  Is it ethical to hire an agency to manage and write our blog?

______________________________________________________

By Jennifer Manocchio

Unlike other marketing and public relations strategies, social media (blogging, microblogging, social networks, communities, etc.) is all about transparency.

At Sweeney, we feel strongly that in order to be transparent with your audience, you or someone in your organization needs to be writing the blog posts.  It is however, completely acceptable to have an agency help manage your blog.  The agency can provide an editorial calendar of blog topics, design the blog, determine who will be writing it, provide you with keywords for SEO purposes, drive traffic to your blog and get your blog listed on blog rolls and blog directories.  But in order to participate transparently, someone within your organization needs to be blogging.

It can be acceptable to have someone else other than the designated blogger write a post if it makes sense – a vendor, client or partner for example.  However, be sure this is clearly identified in the “by line” or signature of the blog post.

While it may seem like a quick and easy answer to have an agency write your blog posts, it will go against the grain of social media and in the end, will not help your organization speak openly and transparently with your target audiences.

Need support developing your social media strategy?  Contact me at jennifer at sweeneypr.com or 910-772-1688.

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Did Ann Taylor Follow New FTC Guidelines?

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Jim Sweeney

Ann Taylor Loft recently issued an invitation to bloggers to preview the retailer’s summer collection, rewarding bloggers who posted about the new line by including them in a gift card drawing.  Was Ann Taylor Loft in compliance with the new FTC blogger regulations?

Kayleigh Fitch, blogger relations expert

The short answer is “no”, and there are several reasons why.

First, according to Jezebel, a blog that was invited to participate in the campaign but declined, almost none of the bloggers participating in the campaign disclosed to readers that they would receive the chance to win a high value gift card after submitting their review to Ann Taylor’s publicist.

Whether or not a blogger discloses a material relationship with a company when posting a review, it is ultimately the company’s responsibility to ensure that proper disclosure takes place under new FTC regulations. Ann Taylor should have included a reminder in their invitation to disclose to readers they had received a gift card after submitting their review.  Furthermore, it was Ann Taylor’s responsibility to continue to follow up with bloggers until all disclosures had been made.

Additionally, the fact that blogger reviews were submitted to a publicist before gift card values were revealed to participating bloggers could indicate that Ann Taylor rewarded bloggers according to how positive individual reviews were.

When a company commits to a campaign that invites bloggers to review its products, it automatically surrenders any right to control messaging about its product.  Marketers should not attempt to stifle or hide negative blogger feedback.  Instead, they should welcome such feedback as an opportunity to make product improvements.  If a blogger points out an issue with a product, it is likely other consumers will face the same issue.   If handled properly, a negative review can become an opportunity for a marketer to continue a public conversation with consumers, showcasing a commitment to customer satisfaction.

Ultimately, it is not illegal to provide payment or some other form of compensation to bloggers who review your products.  However, the new FTC guidelines emphasize the importance of transparency in blogger relations and particularly during product review campaigns.  And while the responsibility to disclose rests on the blogger, it is the marketer’s responsibility to ensure bloggers are doing so, regardless of how much nudging that takes.

To ensure your blogger relations efforts are in compliance with he new FTC guidelines, check out our recent post, The Impact FTC Guidelines Have on Blogger Relations, to get caught up on the changes.

Want to implement a blogger relations campaign or have questions about the FTC guidelines as they relate to social media marketing, contact me at kalyeigh@sweeneypr.com or 440.333.0001 ext. 105.

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Developing Blog Content & Increasing Blog Traffic

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Jim Sweeney

I have a blog on my company’s web site, but it hasn’t been updated in months and no one is reading it. How can I develop more interesting content and get web site visitors to read it?

Entrepreneur and Yoga Enthusiast

_________________________________________________________

By Jim Sweeney

Two primary factors contribute to building blog readership and loyalty:

1.   You must have relatively interesting things to say (funny, outrageous,          revealing, curious, insightful, etc.) about interesting topics. No one will read (or continue reading) boring stuff.

2.  You must regularly post your interesting thoughts, ideas, comments.           Once a day is good, once a week is fine, once a month is acceptable (barely), so long as your followers know your publication date and know when to check in.

Since your blog is on your web site, it can be used as a tool to both drive traffic to your web site and engage your web site visitors once they arrive at your site.  In short, as a tool in and of itself, your blog can have value.

But as you indicated, “content” is critical.  So ask yourself this:  Who is my target audience?  Once you have that answer, then ask your target audience:  What would you like me to blog about?

After you’ve conducted your audit, determine what information you can share that your target audience will be interested in.  Do you have special knowledge or unique insights?  Do you have a randy sense of humor?  Are you an expert at something?  Do you have a unique perspective?

Figure it out and get started.  And keep it brief.  Three interesting sentences are always better than four questionable paragraphs.  And don’t be afraid to experiment with photos and videos and audio files.  But again, don’t overdue it.  Substance over style usually wins out.

Finally if you are writing “interesting” stuff and you are posting it “routinely” you can then take advantage of multiple avenues to build your blog audience, including: word of mouth, links, emails, search engines, forum and email signatures, posting comments on other blogs, promoting your blog URL and joining a blog network.

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Have a marketing, public relations, social media or advertising question?  Post your question below or email exeqnation at gmail dot com.  We are committed to answering your marketing questions real time.  And if we don’t know the answer, we’ll contact one of our valued partners who will.

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