The Fundamental Change

Currently the marketing, PR and advertising world is experiencing one of the most dramatic evolutions over the past 100 – 200 years in what traditionally were “tried and true” methods.

I am not sure too many people and professionals fully understand this. I deal with many companies, CEO’s and CMO’s on a daily basis and across the board there seems to be some level of awkwardness and discomfort with the rapid changes.

Over the past 100 to 200 years there have been very workable and fundamental ideas related to how marketing, PR and advertising basically worked and reached a specific audience. There were specific rules and methods to execute strategies that had workable formulas such as positioning, how to write ad copy, how to grab attention via posters, billboards and TV commercials etc. Basic marketing fundamentals like what the typical percent of response will be from a marketing campaign via direct mail, etc.

While all these methodologies worked extremely well all the way up to close to now, unbelievably…. they no longer do. These methods and ideas have run their course and have essentially gone through the stages of infancy from the beginning idea to maturity to dated and now obsolete. It’s incredible to even think about and seasoned professionals clearly seem uncomfortable about it. Speaking to an experienced CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) who wants to still work off of, and hang on to, these old ideas can be rather frustrating as they try to apply something that is obsolete to a new way of thinking.

So what is relevant?

With New Media (social media, etc.) the way to communicate and engage an audience is different. It’s a conversation. It’s on-going and most of how the audience wants to be reached or is receptive to is being decided by the audience – not the marketing, advertising or PR firm. This is a very authentic and transparent approach. We aren’t trying to “spin” a story, we aren’t trying to scream a message and button at the audience to get a response and we aren’t trying to have the audience see a message 7-9 times so they will “act” So what are we trying to do?

We are focused on using new media tools (social media) as a platform to communicate with a specific target audience geared toward your company and use PR to build relations (relationships) with that target audience in order to spark conversations, increase word of mouth, generate buzz and result in interest and reach for the companies’ products or services via acceptance from that target audience.

We are authentically reaching out to get involved with the audience and make a company known to them to build awareness, brand loyalty and stay on the target audiences radar to in turn increase the sales and revenue.

I am sure you would agree that people are more inclined to do business with companies they:

1. Know
2. Like
3. Feel Comfortable With
4. Trust
5. Have a Relationship

Think this through for a second; think of a company you do business with or a person you do business with and then think about why? I am betting it’s because you know them or have a relationship with them or you personally like them or trust them. These ideas are the very essence of why new media (social media) is so powerful. It aligns with the basic way people buy and how sales typically occur.

Now I am not at all talking about spamming people on social media sites or being the “salesperson” that annoys everyone on Facebook! The idea here is to make it natural and in a PR way encompasses engagement, conversations, building new connections, making yourself known and ultimately building real relationships from a given target audience that is desirable to your company that will result in interest in reach for the company and therefore sales and revenue.

It’s not easy. It takes time and knowhow, but, when done correctly, it’s the most effective strategy you, or your company, could possibly apply in today’s market – just ask the audience!

Relations Sales

This week I was interviewed for a press release that is going out about our agency and while I was being interviewed I thought of the fundamental difference between successful use of a new media PR strategy using social media and every other approach such as traditional media, web marketing, banner ads and on and on which I will go over in a second.

First I wanted to discuss sales. I deal with companies both large and small every single day and have found uniformly that sales is a weak area for those companies. Many companies have been trying to create sales using tricky marketing, smartly targeted advertisements, funny or witty campaigns to hopefully grab attention etc. However, sales is and always has been and will always be about relationships. You have to reach out to the target public (audience) that you want to sell to, make yourself and company known to them and build a relationship somehow to then develop into a sale once you have authentically discovered what that person or company truly needs.

I see time and time again that companies and people are being sold on widgets, marketing ploys etc to hopefully stay fresh in their prospective clients minds and then hopefully that will do the trick and they will magically buy from them. While some of these methods may work to grab attention, there is no avoiding the fact that if you want to sell any person or company, you must 1. truly understand that company or person to understand how revenue flows, what the problems are and how to solve them and 2. you must build a relationship with the person or company that is authentic and built around trust.

Sales happens to be one of our strong suits as a company and I can attest that I follow these actions:

1. Seek the target market I am going after to make a connection somehow

2. Make some kind of introduction to work toward creating a relationship and starting a conversation

3. Really address the prospects needs and wants and work to learn about the prospects company to understand how they make income, what works, what doesn’t etc. Typically by the time I am done this step I feel the prospects company could hire me for sales the next day and I would smoothly start selling for them. Know them that well and you will close them.

4. Build the relationship – be authentic (in other words, be yourself) and work to maintain a very open communication with the prospect. Don’t just jam your ideas down their throat, listen and engage in a lot of back and forth conversation.

5. Address the problems accurately and propose the solution to work toward agreement both ways. Once you can come to an agreement based on what is being proposed, you can then comfortably ask for the sale.

Our agency works on these points everyday and because of this we can deliver our services to our clients far better than most creative agencies due to the fundamental difference that we don’t just create smart campaigns or pretty graphics for our clients, we intimately understand their companies, how the revenue flows, how they make sales and what the key problems are. From there we can cater entirely to them using new media as a platform to attain their goals and objectives with a clearly laid out strategy that is built around real world practicality – sales. We know that the reason any company invests in any PR, marketing or advertising strategy is to boost sales and revenue which would be impossible to attain unless their was a crystal clear understanding of how they sell and how revenue is created for that company.

But the secret behind sales is relationships. You can’t make a sale if you haven’t first made relations with a target public. It’s not an overnight thing, building relations is authentic, it’s transparent and it takes time. Go and try this out to fine tune your sales strategy and you will see for yourself that if you 1. identify a target public you would like to go after and 2. make relations with them and build your pipeline making relations with people and companies developing these relationships into sales one by one, you will see your income dramatically improve.

If you have any questions about how to build relations with a target public, feel welcome to contact me directly http://whywebpr.com/robertcornish

A Simple Guide to Social Media in Business

As you may have already figured out, I am a strong believer of social media in business. I use Twitter and Facebook and blogs every day in my job, and you can too. Here are a few tips and tools to getting yourself started in the social media world.

Social Media for Business Resources

http://courtspencer.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/twitter-is-time-well-spent-not-money-well-spent/ <– Twitter is time well spent, not money.

http://enovapr2.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/its-the-law-2-0/<–Web 2 .0, social media guide.

http://blog.neoco.com/2009/07/22/a-z-of-social-media-this-is-actually-pretty-good/ <– the A-Z of Social Media

http://jeffbullas.com/2009/07/22/5-steps-to-optimize-your-email-for-social-media/ <– 5 steps to Optimize your email with Social Media

http://www.richter10point2.com/buildyourown <– Build your own WebPR campaign!

http://www.whywebpr.com/alimagnano <– My Social Media Press Kit

Ali Magnano
Director of PR
Richter10.2 Media Group
Visit Our Site

The Good Samaritan

I recently visited my hometown, Chicago, for a family wedding. While en route back to Tampa, I did the inexcusably, unbelievably silly thing of leaving my laptop on the plane.

Of course I had a sleepless night when I returned home and discovered that I didn’t have my laptop. Of course I called the Lost and Found departments of all three airports I had been to that day, only to discover they were all closed and I would need to call back in the morning.

The next morning I woke up dreading how I was going to tastefully inform my bosses that I wouldn’t be able to go into the office that day (no laptop = no work to do). After many internal debates, I decided to say it – plain and simple. My bosses were very understanding and wished me the best of luck on my laptop hunt.

However the stars aligned when I received a voicemail message at home from an American Airlines flight attendant named John Stewart letting me know that he had my laptop and would be keeping it safe until he heard from me. I immediately called him back and thanked him profusely! I asked what he wanted in return and he adamantly told me that he didn’t want anything, maybe just for me to something nice for someone else if the opportunity arose. I had my laptop shipped overnight, thanks to Mr. Stewart calling me when he had arrived to the UPS store to ask which shipping method I preferred. My computer arrived the next day and all was golden.

When all of the dust settled from this ordeal, I realized that there are a lot of WONDERFUL people out there in the world we live in. Despite the bad news we constantly hear about the failing economy, crime and terrorism, there is still much more good in people than bad.

I then asked myself, “What can I do to pay it forward?” Of course, I will be on the lookout next time I travel for stray laptops in need of their owners, but there is a bigger thing that I can offer: SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTISE. The company I work for, Richter10.2 Media Group, specializes in helping businesses expand using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. If your business could use some help getting up and running in this new day and age of Web technology, then we’re your people.

We have lots of free tools, articles, blogs and links on the subject that can help demystify social media and how you can use it to expand your business.

To learn more click here.

Julia Jaquillard

Richter10.2 Media Group

Visit our Site

Manners and Professionalism

This is a slightly different blog than I typically write, I own a Web PR firm so the norm for me to write about typically relates to social media, PR etc

I wanted to make a comment on how to operate in business as I see it. People these days seem to have lost some feeling or personal discipline, I observe it almost everyday. Telephone calls with rude people, airplane check in people who argue with their clients/customers, obnoxious clients and on and on….

I can’t figure out what changed in these now adults I watch act this way along the path from being a kid to arriving at who they are today? Are people bitter, frustrated, impatient, maybe all of the above but let me be clear about what is needed and how people must act and operate if we are to make strong progress as a country.

1. First, people like to be treated well, like they are respected and if done, they will in turn treat you the same. Make an active point to treat people nicely.

2. Manners are an absolute must, remember what you parents tried to teach you, please and thank you’s, hello goodmornings etc. It takes very little effort but I have found that using manners in all aspects of business and life will take you a long way and you are shooting yourself in the foot to bypass this. Treat people well, respect them, use manners and watch the results.. You will do well with this

3. Professionalism- who are you? What is your title and role in your company? Be the part FULLY! If you are the manager, be the manager to the absolute best of your ability, push all of your strengths to become the best. Be a true professional. Don’t take advantage of your position ever, just do your job like a pro and represent your company fully. If you do this, you will succeed and be greatly appreciated in any company whether your own or another. Don’t be pompous or use positional altitude on others, just BE a pro at what you do.

4. Notice good work and commend others for it. I see people to fabulous work daily and very rarely ever get commended for it. Thank people for doing a great job and let them know that they are valuable to you and the company. Push them as much as you want to hit targets etc but don’t forget to commend them and thank them. This will go a long way, people are the most valuable asset any company anywhere has to offer.

So my point of this blog is to simply get you to think about how you communicate with others, how you treat others as well as yourself and use manners, be courteous, thank people and just simply be a friendly human being and this alone will take you far in life.

I hope you read this and it helps you to improve your life as well as give you a better chance of getting ahead because people like other people who are pleasant to be around.

Warm regards

-Robert

New Media and Social Media

I was watching CNN live the other day at a restaurant and noticed that the Twitter username of the anchor went across the bottom of the screen with the words “talk to …” and then followed by read the blog of … With the blog URL.

It’s becoming more and more evident that social media is quickly becoming intertwined into our daily lives just as newspapers and television. This makes it a true media which has monetized value to any company large or small.

The examples of Barack Obama and now Mike Bloomberg using social media to forward their campaigns speaks volumes. In addition you can now go to websites and commonly find “follow us on Twitter” or “fan us on Facebook” on more and more corporate sites. Here are a few to see as examples

Borders.com

Wallaceandgromit.com

Cpxinteractive.com

Stonebrewing.com

So I suppose my point in this, if you have budgets for print media like magazines, newspapers etc and billboards and tv etc, then shouldn’t you also start seriously considering what your social media budget is and what strategy you want to take in order to monetize these tools for your conpany?

The proof of the success of these sites is clear, the buzz, word of mouth and referral factor is enormous and the ability to reach your audience is simple. My recommendation is to treat it as part of your marketing, advertising and PR budget starting now to allocate a certain amount of finances to it. As these tools grow in demand and more traditional methods fade away, this will become a key element of your promotional campaign to get the word out so I say get in now and make it a habit.

-Robert Cornish

Richter10.2 Media Group

Twitter PR

The buzz around Twitter is spectacular!! Everywhere I turn I hear about it….

What have they done to accomplish this? Well here is what has not been done:

-No marketing campaign

-No advertising campaign

Twitter has one of the best PR campaigns I have ever seen…. word of mouth and buzz which has rapidly build interest, reach and users!! The real estate value of Twitter must be going through the roof by the day!

This shows how you can use social media communications and tools like Twitter to get people talking and create buzz that can be targeted to an audience and result in huge amounts of demand, interest and reach.

If used effectively, any company can benefit from this exact strategy t0 generate reach, sales and revenue. PR is what does it.

Best

-Robert Cornish

Mike Bloomberg and Social Media Strategies

Mike Bloomberg and Social Media Strategies

I recently noticed that Mike Bloomberg is using a strong social media strategy much like what Barack Obama applies to run again for Mayor of New York.

If you take a look at his new website http://mikebloomberg.com you will see that he has a very aesthetic look to it, clean and simple. There is nice use of video front and center which most people will gravitate to. Then if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube links. If you click on the links you will see they all have the same looks and feel and branding done. This is a great example of how to promote in this day and age.

It comes down to viewership and users, for example, how many people watch the superbowl each year? and how much does it cost to have a TV commercial during those hours? The value of viewership is incredible and social media is doing the same thing. There are 175 million users on Facebook alone today with 300,000 plus joining per day. That is a lot of people to get in front of making the value of viewership go up by the day.

If one were to effectively use these tools to find their target audience, make themselves known to that audience and get in front of that audience to create interest and reach, that becomes incredibly useful to any business large and small. Why do companies pay for huge billboards? or TV commercials? or full page magazine ads? Eyes on the screen or page….viewership….attention….interest….reach….sales and finally….revenue! Barack Obama realized this and look at the results, the movie industry has realized this and now all movie trailers come neatly packaged with “follow us on Twitter” “Friend us on MySpace” “Become a Fan on Facebook” “Share on Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon” etc. and now Mike Bloomberg is doing the same to forward his message, reach his target audience and stay in front of the crowd to interest and get reach as well as ignite conversation….smart.

A facebook page or any other social media page is useless…. unless you USE it fully and strategically to capture your target audience and draw them in to create interest and generate reach.

Best Robert Cornish http://whywebpr.com/robertcornish http://richter10point2.com

Recessions were scary in 1929…. but 2009?

So there has been a lot of buzz about this “recession” lately…. now if it were 1929…I might be seriously scared….but it’s not, it’s 2009 and we are a technology world. Speed is everything, communication is everything and we now have blogs, Blackberry’s to conduct business at rapid speeds, cell phones, smart phones, email, Twitter and on and on. 

Things are moving at such a pace that even a “recessionary” period will be short. What might have taken 3 years in 1929 now only takes 3 months and in the case of this “recession” I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it was completely over in a year with the market bustling.

We are in an emerging technology market right now, social media, web 2.0 etc. Only good things lie ahead and if you are anything like me… you probably don’t have a lot of patience which means we will invent some way to quickly rebound from the “recession” and get the show on the road. 

I don’t know about you but for me, it’s business as usual and the greatest opportunity in a lifetime is happening now so I plan on expanding and taking advantage of it.

I welcome your thoughts about how you truly feel about this “recession”, has it really affected you or your business in any way? Technology has created wonders for us in which we can communicate instantaneously, do business globally and expand rapidly as well as change markets on a whim. Feel free to send me your thought on this to my email, robert@richter10point2.com

Do well in 2009…..the marketplace is wide open for you to prosper!

Best regards

Robert Cornish

whywebpr.com/robertcornish

Online Crisis Management

With the world moving in herds online to research companies and use the internet for every aspect of their lives, the importance of managing what the internet says about your company has escalated to an all new level.

Should anything negative happen regarding your company, client complaint, upset shareholders, lawsuits etc, a strong crisis management campaign executed online can control what is said about your company and furthermore reduce damage and lost profit. 

Online crisis management is a series of actions taken to build a campaign that positively promotes your company in sufficient quantity that negative information ends up being buried in the Google search. The best strategy is a proactive one which means that a campaign put in place before anything ever happens is the absolute best method to control your companies online PR and defend from any possible negative attacks.

No company regardless of size or reputation is above taking the necessary actions to see that they are in control of their online PR and they remain in control of it. 

Some of the most trusted companies in history have recently been attacked due to this financial crisis which puts them in a situation of trying to reduce the damage and re-gain their investors confidence. Many will be searching online for information about them and when one see’s results along the lines of “fraud” “lawsuit” “class action” etc these words scare the average investors which results in lost confidence and lost revenue to that company.

So the solution is to have a very strong online presence, well executed Web PR campaign and excellent management of that campaign on an on-going basis to see that companies reputation is stellar online that positively promotes that company as well as provides information that represents what you would want your target public to see.

For more information about Web PR visit www.richter10point2.com

Robert Cornish