Big Picture PR Part 1: Harness the Power of Brand Ambassadors

When thinking about a long-term public relations plan, it is important to think “big picture.” How can you keep your company’s name and/or brand top of mind with your key audiences even when there is no “news” to announce? Part 1 in this series will focus on leveraging the power of brand ambassadors within your company.

Public relations can be a complex tool involving research, campaigns, analytics, etc. Used effectively it projects a positive image of your company and/or brand to the public. It can require much time, effort and dollars to produce the right results. However, there often lies a large, untapped resource within many companies that can potentially become your most effective company mouth piece – employees. By creating brand ambassadors from your employee roster, you create positive, personal touch points between your company and its customers. Think about it. No matter how much press coverage you garner in a particular month or the amount of dollars you donate to a local charity, a customer’s most revealing impression comes from their interactions with employees. If it is positive, they are likely to think the same of your company. However, if it is not, the reverse is often true. So how do you turn employees into effective brand ambassadors?

Some ways include:
Internal Marketing Efforts
Ask yourself these questions and honestly answer them. Do your employees know the mission of your company? Do they actively strive to follow it while on the job? Do your employees know what your brand stands for and promote this brand? If you answered “no” to the above questions, it is time to think about ways to educate your staff about your company. Hold monthly staff meetings, develop an in-house newsletter or make use of intraweb services. Your first PR priority is to start making stronger connections with your employees.

Promote a Positive Employee Culture
Internal marketing efforts will not only will help your business in the long-run, but it will allow you to cultivate a positive employee culture. When employees feel they are part of something bigger, they have a shift in attitude and work performance often improves. So how do you go about creating a positive employee culture? I’ve already mentioned some ways including in-house newsletters. Use these newsletters to highlight employee anniversaries, after hour accomplishments and other company news. Encouraging your employees to learn more about each other will lend to cohesion within your offices.

Tap Individuals with Strong Personal Brands
Face it – with the dawning of the many social networks your employees have created their own online brand. Sometimes employees are able to keep that brand separate from their professional brand – in most cases they are not. Recognize those individuals with a strong personal brand and use it to your advantage by asking them to promote your company through their networks.

Coming soon: Corporate Community Outreach

Social Media Etiquette Part 1: Is it OK to Reuse Old Content?

This entry marks my 30th post to ProMoter Inc.’s Smart Marketing blog since December of 2008 when we jumped on the blogging bandwagon (around the same time social media came charging down the information super highway.) I’ve covered a broad spectrum of topics aimed at helping you market your business smarter. And, behind every keystroke was the thought that I had fallen upon the latest trend, hot topic and buzz word of the moment. But, what comes of these old blog entries? Would they spend the rest of their Internet days archived amongst the other lonely and dated Internet information?

In an ever changing industry, the basics to smart marketing remain the same. So, is it ok to reuse old content for future posts? Surely there is some type of social media etiquette one should follow while traversing and participating in the online world. According to Rob Birgfeld, there are highly effective ways to give old content new life.

1. Update the post with a forward explaining its relevance today or how times have changed.
2. Reference the post in a new blog regarding a similar subject matter.
3. Add a new comment to the post. This may spark a new conversation.
4. Check the tags to ensure your blog entry is categorized correctly for organic Web searches.
5. Refresh! Perhaps you were off target when drafting your post the first time or even ahead of the curve. Take the entry and revise to fit with today’s social media environment.

By using these guidelines provided by Rob, you can dust the cobwebs off your old blog entries and keystroke new life into them!

Be sure to check back soon for part two in our social media etiquette series.

A New Year Means Resolutions. Make the Most of It!

It’s a new year and that means resolutions. I’ve never been a fan of the tradition myself as I am in the opinion that there is no time like now to change for the better. However, it could be said that there is something almost romantic about starting fresh once the clock strikes midnight and a new year (rather decade) clicks over. Perhaps the resolve to improve is stronger with the idea of a clean slate.

That being said, ProMoter Inc. is very excited about the many opportunities abounding in 2010. But, we aren’t leaving it to chance. We’ve made specific plans (a much better word than resolutions) to ensure our success. How are we plotting our year ahead? You may want to take note.
1. Established measureable goals with start and finish dates
2. Made note of obstacles that may stand in our way
3. Identified key resources and people to help in achieving our goals
4. Drafted an action plan
5. Set up monthly meetings directed at measuring our progress

Our goals for this year include ways to nurture new collaborations, discover innovative ways to help all our clients and partner with our suppliers. Now get your goals on paper and start this new decade off with a great start!