Big Picture PR Part 2: Become a Community Institution Through Corporate Philanthropy

Text books will tell you Public Relations is the practice of doing good things and getting credit for it. Sure our mothers always told us we shouldn’t be driven by recognition for the good deeds we do, but this is business. The truth is the strategic use of philanthropy can ultimately help a corporation’s bottom line. It is a real opportunity to garner both community attention and support as corporate philanthropy is one area where a company’s interest and those of the public can intersect. By contributing to local charities, sponsoring an area little league team or hosting a fundraiser for the city’s hospital, you are building a reputation as a community institution.

So what’s the first step towards harnessing the power of philanthropy? You should work with your marketing team to establish a contributions program by doing the following:

• Determine objectives.
• Establish measurable results.
• Assure the budget is sufficient to achieve your objectives.

While press releases and media exposure can result in recognition, these results have a short range of impact. However, corporate philanthropy creates a long-lasting, positive relationship with the community and your customers.

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.