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Category: Marketing

New Decade, New Digital Ideas

Posted on January 21, 2010

So, where is all this digital stuff going?

Edelman’s Digital team gives us a preview of their opinion of what’s to come in their recently released white paper, Digital Visions: Ten Ideas for the New Decade.

The bigger opportunity for clients, we believe, is to identify the global societal and technological trends that are reshaping how we think, act and buy – and to pivot into them early. Trends today tend to develop more slowly and are harder to see, allowing clients to take a more thoughtful, thorough and systematic approach. Steve Rubel, Edelman

A collection of essays from thought leaders, it’s worth reading. And, Steve’s quote is really what it’s all about. While convincing businesses to invest in or even think about infusing digital into their business was almost impossible even a year ago, now it’s a conversation they not only want to start, it’s an area they want to invest in.

Why? In some cases it’s the iPhone. Apps change the way the way businesses run: quicker, in real time, customized, on demand and more accurate. In other cases, it’s search. Being where your customers can find you is no longer optional, it’s critical. For others, it’s an affordable marketing and customer service option that sets up an outpost on a popular place where clients congregate. Now, everyone is starting to get why they need to have a digital profile that wires business, branding, marketing and social.

Image: Barbara Rozgonyi from the MSI collection copyright 2009 for www.thesociallens.com

What do you think: How is digital impacting your business?

1 Comment - Posted in Marketing, PR Tagged with: , ,

Speaking of Parks, Recreation and Social Media

Posted on January 20, 2010


Next week, I’m honored to present four programs at the IAPD/IPRA [Illinois Association of Park Districts - Illinois Park and Recreation Association conference]. Thanks so much to Jessica Alexenko of the Lisle Park District for booking me to speak at two workshops and two breakout sessions. We started talking about the conference almost a year ago and just last week I met several people at two different events who told me how much fun I would have at the conference.

In preparation for my sessions, I started scrolling back to think of stories I could share about park districts and realized that communities rely on local park districts for programming and facilities to shape activities, talents, teams, events, friendships and well, a whole lot of livelihood.

Our family photo album is filled with images from park districts and their programs: Magical Morning Workshop, ballet, creative movement, art, soccer, breakfast with Santa, playing at the park, walks around the lake and black and white images I developed in my photography class. I’m really looking forward to speaking to this group, meeting up with our local park district reps and reconnecting with a college friend who’s an area park district board member.

If you’ll be there, too leave a comment, send me a text message at 630.207.7530 or get in touch with me @wiredprworks on twitter.com.

Here are my sessions.


Wired Writing Workshop: How to Write for Screens, Spiders, Networks and People!
Barbara Rozgonyi, Founder, CoryWest Media, LLC
No matter what your grades were like in English class, chances are your teachers taught you how to write for print. But, great grammar and spotless spelling aren’t what you need for success in writing online. In this workshop, you will learn how to compose, format, package, repurpose and send your message so it gets action. You can use these skills every day in every message you compose to be read online (and off).
Participants will: (1) learn to organize and create informative or persuasive content that generates results; (2) learn to use tools and strategies to package content for multiple applications from print to online applications such as Facebook and Twitter and create a workplan that will guide consistent development throughout the organization to save time and improve quality.

Real-ize Your Virtual Brand: New Age Marketing/PR
Barbara Rozgonyi, Founder, CoryWest Media, LLC
Learn how to capture attention, start a conversation and convert searchers into customers using the power of virtual public relations! With the dawn of the social media revolution, the standard press release evolved into a dynamic new format that lets you take control of the story, presentation and distribution. Discover how you can tap into the PR power of the Internet – today and tomorrow – create news releases that attract readers, robots and search engines and dramatically increase your online visibility overnight.
Participants will: (1) learn how to bypass the press and easily track search engine rankings and readership for future success; (2) learn to masterfully convert simple press releases into multimedia Web sites.

Social Media Sampler: Test Drive the Latest in Marketing and Networking!
Barbara Rozgonyi, Founder, CoryWest Media, LLC
Blurring the lines between networking, marketing, public relations and communications, social media nurtures relationships that grow your business community online. You’ll find out how social media marketing can polish your profile, enhance your professional image and present you as the industry leader you are. In this session you’ll go on a live test drive and learn how social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blogs and YouTube can benefit you and your agency. You will take away a social media owner’s manual that includes an action guide, resource directory, profile checklist and tips to grow your network.
Participants will: (1) take away a social media owner’s manual that includes an action guide, resource directory, profile checklist and tips to grow their network; (2) learn how to effectively and creatively utilize social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blogs and YouTube.

Demystifying PR: Five Ways to Become an Expert News Source
Barbara Rozgonyi, Founder, CoryWest Media, LLC
Discover five ways to become an expert news source with new media tools and techniques you can start using today. Going beyond the meaning of PR as public relations or press releases we’ll cover: page rank; platform research; professional reputation; personal relevance; and process repetition. In one hour you’ll be on your way to planning your route to expert status. Participants will: (1) discover how to find and contact media sources; (2) learn how to craft traditional and social media press releases.

Images: Barbara Rozgonyi from the www.thesociallens.com copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Your Turn: What’s your parks and rec story? How would you – or do you – share it via social media?

1 Comment - Posted in Marketing, PR, Press Releases, Social Media Tagged with: , ,

Top Twitter Tips – What’s Yours?

Posted on January 18, 2010

On the way to a client meeting this morning, I tweeted this update:
wiredprworks: Happy Monday! doing a twitter demo this morning – best tips or hellos welcome :)

Thanks to everyone who responded on twitter.
Your turn: what’s your favorite top twitter tip?

* bradshorr: @wiredprworks Tip – HootSuite is a great Twitter client. Good luck with your demo, Barbara!

* windycitysocial: @wiredprworks hey class! Here’s my tip: twitter is a two way convo. Only talk about yourself 20 percent if the time

*EZF_TopMoms: RT @wiredprworks: Happy Monday! doing a twitter demo this morning – best tips or hellos welcome :)

* GreatTwitTips: RT @wiredprworks: Happy Monday! doing a twitter demo this morning – best tips or hellos welcome :) : RT @wiredprwor… http://bit.ly/88tSc5 (expand)

* TeamScreensaver: @wiredprworks hi Barbara, how are you?

* retheauditors: Be yourself but not too too much so. :) RT @wiredprworks: Happy Monday! doing a twitter demo this morning – best tips or hellos welcome :)

* thatwoman_soho: RT @wiredprworks: Happy Monday! doing a twitter demo this morning – best tips or hellos welcome :)

* heidithorne: @wiredprworks G’morning Barbara! Great tip for building Twitter following from @lyksumlikrish is #EIR Engage-Inform-Retweet.

* sohinibaliga: @wiredprworks Best tip – start with a short handle – you only have 140 characters to work with, including all spaces and punctuation!

Search the twitter category on Wired PR Works.

2 Comments - Posted in Marketing Tagged with:

Prospect Practice: 7 Steps to Scout Out Ideal Target Companies

Posted on January 6, 2010

Back in the days when I was in sales, bc – before computers, we relied on a red bound directory to tell us who to call on. While you can get much richer and deeper information faster on the Internet, making a list of target companies focuses your efforts. And, having a set of filters lets you sift out the best matches from the millions of options out there. A site called manta.com lists over 67 million companies. Whether you need one ideal match, a few perfect fits or many good connections, this post will help you scout out idea target companies.

Inspiration credit goes to a career planning experience for professionals project I’m working on. The team asked me to put together a simple guide for how to target companies. In the workshop, my co-presenters will talk about how to match your values with the company’s values.


Question for you: How much do you think you can tell about a company’s value set from their social media interactions?

7 Ways to Scout out and Target Ideal Companies

1. Browse industries

2. Narrow preferred locations by city, state, region or country

3. Focus on optimal environment: size, culture, people, advancement and consider the aspects of each type of business organization:

Corporate
• Business to business or business to consumer
• Headquarters or branch office
Small Business
• Business to business or business to consumer
• Headquarters or branch office
Non-Profit
• Education
• Cause-related
• Association
Government
• Federal, State, Local
• Headquarters or branch

4. Select target companies that may match
Make a short list and include any prospects that sound interesting.

5. Research: www.thevault.com, LinkedIn companies and social networking profiles

6. Make connections with people from your networks, visit or join associations where they will be, comment on company blogs and interact on social networks

7. Make a presentation, get interviewed and retained, contracted or hired!

How to Research a Company Resources

Business Intelligence
CEO Express
Corporate Information
Hoovers.com
Business.com
Yahoo! Finance

Conversation Collections
Search the company name + forum or “sucks” if you want to find out what people are talking about. There are dozens of social media monitoring sites out there. Here, we’ll focus on forums and groups.
Google Groups
Yahoo! Groups
LinkedIn Groups

Industry Research
Yahoo Industry News
Marketwire Newsroom Search
PR Web Industry News
PR Newswire Industry News
Webwire News by Industry
Alltop
Business Technology Management Best Practices Research

To learn more about researching companies, check out this tutorial.

One resource, not listed below, is the company’s newsroom. How current is it? What are they announcing? Who’s quoted – customers or executives? Another is their presence on social networks. Are they there? Where? What’s going on? Do people talk to them, about them? Does the company respond?

What tools do you use to target companies for you or your business?

Image credit: Barbara Rozgonyi copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

4 Comments - Posted in Marketing Tagged with: ,

Social Media Perceptions and Budgets

Posted on January 5, 2010


SUMMARY: Social media is gaining respect at a critical time – when budgets are being formulated. And this attitude adjustment is having a major effect on marketing spending. MarketingSherpa January 5, 2010

MarketingSherpa asked this question:
Which statement best describes how social media marketing is perceived within your organization at budget time?

Answers
7% Social media produces measurable ROI – increase budgets liberally
17% Social media is basically free – let’s keep it that way
27% Social media value is unknown – why invest more?
49% Social media is a promising tactic and will eventually produce ROI. Let’s increase budget conservatively.

Our clients agree with the majority and feel that social media is a must-make investment. After designing a plan that integrates social media into their business channels, they select options based on time, responsibilities, investments and strategy routes mapped out to meet their goals.

What’s your answer?

1 Comment - Posted in Marketing Tagged with: , , ,