Your Communications Audit: Are They Plugged In?

A strategically essential business exercise, the continual evaluation of your communications programs by way of an audit, can prove priceless in managing your organization-public relationships. This simple task can make or break the two-way communication between your business or company and it's clients and or customers. Make sure your publics are "online" and "plugged in" with your intentions. Taking a basic approach, ask yourself these three questions:


1. What do I say/think/believe about my business/organization?

2. What do my employees or shareholders say/think/believe about my business/organization?

3. What do my current and/or potential customers or clients say/think/believe about my business/organization?


The answers to these questions may require some digging. Get a quick survey made at Survey Monkey or schedule a focus group with your top five suppliers or opinion leaders and GET FEEDBACK! Your messages must be correctly perceived by your targets for your business to make a profit and sustain itself. Communications can be underestimated in the bottom line of a company, but it's nothing to take so lightly when the right messages can sell and promote your product or service.

Find out what your constituencies are saying, thinking, or believing about your business and make sure it's right on the mark!

Done a recent communications audit? Any interesting findings? Questions about communications audits?

What We Know About Denim

What we know about Denim is compiled from years of this iconic fashion piece's continual revolution and reinvention throughout the 20th and 21st century.

Here's what we know about Denim:

It seems to be always changing-yet fundamentally stays the same. The styles, colors, designs, and trends constantly evolve while the fact remains; jeans are the staple of American style. While skinny jeans, bell bottoms, bedazzled and patched, ripped and faded, dark dyed and cut offs represent very specific elements of style and the populations that don them, the uniting principle is that everyone wears jeans!

Where am I going with this? I want to point out that while everyone prefers some kinds of jeans over others whether it be cut, style, or brand-they have this wardrobe necessity in their closet! Jeans are a must-have, the other half of wearing a t-shirt.

Marketing and promoting your business is like reinventing blue jeans. The jeans represent your business and it's individual style, statements, and personality. In these economic down turns, standing out and starting a trend could really help you see the black (more than red!). Everyone has jeans-everyone markets or advertises. But-does everyone see it like you do? What spin or new twist can you put on your business to create the next big thing? What can you do to make your business' product or service a must-have? Read what Levi's, the first jeans maker, does to continue it's market domination.

Think creatively-no idea is too big or too small in brainstorming. Think reinvention. Think opportunity from challenge.

Here's an example. Your coffee shop has done open mic night, an art show, customer appreciation day, etc. You still need to boost sales now that some customers have opted for their coffee pots at home. What's gonna get people in the door? Let's talk about a free event. Free events bring thirsty attendees. Your guests are usually younger, modern, computer savvy...how about a weekly BYOB day. Not beer, Blogs! Promote a certain day each week dedicated to writing and sharing your blog while at the coffee shop. What blogger doesn't love good comments, more participation, and readers! Get the word out about your big day with updates on your website, flyers in your window, and a sign-up newsletter for customers. Now you've added value to your cafe, increased profits, and connected with your target group and their community. You've successfully branded your business' signature jeans.

I want to know! What have you come up with to promote or reinvent your product or service?

It worked for them! Client Case Study #1

What better way to 'test the waters' of Marketing and PR for your own business, than by reading about the success that others have had? I'll be blogging my own client's success stories now and then so that you can get a better idea of what Renown can do for your communication needs. The first Client Case Study in this series is one about lead generation and database development for an Atlanta-based specialty television production company, Agora TV.

Summary-

Agora TV needed new leads to expand on their specialty videography business. The market for special segment taping existed around the Atlanta area but was not tapped to its full potential. They needed a way to cultivate potential leads for new categories of business to pursue partnerships such as student cooking shows and religious special events while maintaining a growing database of contacts.

Strategy-

Working from each category, Renown implemented a customized method to generate a broader network by making contact with potential clients and maintaining the general responses and relationships established. A weekly progress report was sent to inform Agora TV of hot leads, general interest perceived in each category, and progress made towards our goal.

Results-

Agora TV pursued the contacts identified as hot leads and turned those interests into new business. Agora TV now has more clients and a broad database of active contacts on which to expand future marketing efforts.

"Rebekah of Renown Promotions produced all that I expected in a very efficient fashion. [She was] a quick learner of my very specialized business needs and delivered the contact list that I sought."

-Joe Gora, Agora TV

Everyone Has Something To Say: Part 2

I'll go ahead and admit it now. I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to communications and public relations research. I enjoy finding new insights and understanding and applying that to the industry's practice. That's how I found a backbone article of new PR theory, "Building Relationships Between Organizations and Publics: Examining The Linkage Between Organization-Public Relationships, Evaluations of Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intent" from Communication Studies.

The past several years in public relations have brought change that you might say was both necessary, and natural in our modern society. What use to be the norm of "Press Coverage" measuring a campaign's effectiveness in clippings from several newspapers is now understood to be only part of the story (See this entry from BuzzNetworker).

Two-way communication, or the Dialogic Approach, embraces the normal context of relationships and applies them to the organization-public scene, "...Relationship management involves effectively managing organization-public relationships around common interests and shared goals, over time, resulting in mutual understanding and benefit for interacting organizations and publics" (Ledingham, 2003).

Many factors have caused us to arrive at this point, such as digital communications, consumer advocates, and corporate social responsibility. I believe that the outcome of public relations practictioners actually managing relationships (not press clippings) has been a big stride ahead for the validity and transparency of the field.

Relationships are what sells a product or service today; not infomercials, marketing ploys, or full-page newspaper ads. Organizations and 'publics' communicating for mutual benefit is what has caused such a stir. CEOs on Twitter? Ford taking on the Breast Cancer cause? Brilliant and honest attempts at two-way communication. This would have been unthinkable a decade ago, that "practitioners develop initiatives centered on the notion of mutual benefit..." Check out the latest effort of a CBS show at the BuzzNetworker blog.

What some would have once regarded as dangerous to partake in, is actually now dangerous not to. Still sending out your message and pounding your ads in people's faces probably won't sell many widgets. When your company or business doesn't take the time to listen to and interact with its' target market and consumers, costly mistakes can be made that effect "...the economic, social, cultural, or political well-being of the other." Building, developing, and maintaining beneficial relationships can promote success and longevity. The success of such a strategy could be measured in how the organization "...positively influences respondent attitudes about, evaluations of, and behaviors toward..." their brand.

While exchanging resources in the mutual relationship, listening and customization or tailoring is important to cultivating meaningful and lasting relationships. The general idea is to "develop strategies to 'personalize' the organization for the public...communicating both content and relational messages when interacting..." resulting in an overall 'user-friendly' strategy.

Relationships instead of messages creates value for both consumer and company and paves the way for a more celebrated approach to public relations strategy.

Thoughts? Horrays? What are some examples you've encountered of business holding on to the traditional, or forging ahead to the new era of relationship-PR?

Everyone Has Something to Say

The game has changed, so play differently. The need for adapting and adopting new strategies in your Marketing & PR techniques has never been greater. Traditional media is not out, digital and social media are simply "in." One blog entry of PR Squared's sums up the effectiveness of this evolution.

Here's the 411: Traditional media revolved around "Press" releases, gearing all news and events toward press coverage as to be filtered by reporters. This array of information would then end up in local newspapers, magazines, and the like. Now, the do-it-yourself age has taken media coverage by storm.

"News" releases are written for customers and consumers, and the chance is still there for them to be picked up by traditional media. The target is different though-they are written and aimed at the people who are actively looking for information about your product or service.

In a recent webinar by Hubspot's Mike Volpe, he comments on this transition, "News releases help us get found in search engines by our prospects. That's who we want to reach. We don't need media outreach for every news release."

Everyone has something to say. Need some direction? Browse around ChrisBrogan's site. You will be overwhelmed with helpful information and tools to get started.

The focus has changed-we now have the ability to skip the "middle man" of press that decides what viewers hear and filters their view into the coverage (However, this by no means reduces their validity). Social and Digital media allow direct messages to be spread across a customer base, even become viral, and create communities of positive, interactive relationships between company and consumer. What better way to communicate? What better way to be informed?

If you're a do-it-yourselfer, read up on the Social Media phenomenon and give this digital networking a try. If you delegate your Marketing & PR, ask your agency or expert about incorporating these new technologies into your current strategy.

Questions? Let me know what you think about this transformation of media and new technology.

Creating A Bottom Line Media Kit

Want a better way to operate the media vehicle that your business needs to be riding? Media kits are easy, but killer ones take a little bit of time invested. You can create a media kit that not only correctly represents you, but one that adds to your bottom line. We're talking dollars and cents in the form of media relations. A standard kit contains several topics of information that summarize the business and give general contact info.

The process is simple, the time invested may not be. Simply review the checklist below and assemble your best and most current information to highlight your business appropriately. If you'd like a review, I'd be glad to take a look at it for you. Don't dismiss the importance of having a media kit available and at your fingertips for everyday business. Not only useful for reporters and media, but also great for networking and new clients.

1. The Fact Sheet-Bullet-point type information that "hits the highlights" of your business. This can include your products, your services, years in business, markets covered, etc.

2. The Press Release-This news source tells the story of newsworthy happenings in your business. Someone get a promotion? A new branch opening? Did you recently attend a national conference? You get the idea. See examples here.

3. Tip Sheet-This is your chance to highlight your business' industry expertise. Got a Hardware store? Make a Tip Sheet of "10 Easy Home Projects." Promote what you know and you'll create value with your experience.

Extras: Your Bio and photo, a Backgrounder/History, Awards and Honors, You or Your employee's areas of expertise for a speaker's bureau, or a promo item like a magnet preprinted with your logo and contact information.

The bottom line aspect of your new media kit is that if you don't represent your company correctly, no one will. And getting the facts straight is priceless. Your business will have these kits on hand from now on, so be ready to promote yourself shamelessly. With your business constantly on the buzz scene, consumers will be listening to what you have to say. This means sales are going up because your mouth is no longer shut. A little fame never hurt anyone.

If you'd like to see an example of a basic media kit, visit my website's portfolio page at www.renownpromotions.com.

To Scan or Not to Scan…Document Management

Digital “filing cabinets” can be an amazing alternative to their paper counterparts when used in a streamlined process. However, this technology requires careful execution of scanning and organizing to pay off when searching for that report you need last-minute. Here’s a simple four-step outline for you and your staff to manage your digital documentation system:

• First, decide WHO will scan the documents. You may have in mind to install desktop scanners for each of your staff so that the ability is widely available and the task is equally shared. Or, it could fall under a specific employee’s job title or assistant’s duties in order to save the training and installation time of implementing the new system company-wide.

• Second, decide WHAT will be scanned. This important step will eliminate unnecessary documents clogging your server and overflowing your digital filing cabinet. Once a basic concept has been established of what a complete client file includes, there will be no need to store any additional information unless specifically designated for another folder such as forms, etc. Be sure to prevent redundancy by not scanning an Adobe PDF document you printed that can easily be converted to a digital file straight from its online copy. Note: The less paper you receive, the less you are obligated to scan. Ask your clients and suppliers to use email whenever possible instead of regular mail.

• Third, decide WHEN documents will be scanned. When to scan inevitably corresponds with Who scans. A centralized scanning system where one or two people are responsible for the task of mass scanning may prove to be a hassle when encountering deadlines or time constraints on certain accounts. This may lend itself to several key employees having the ability to scan these critical documents as they are received or as soon as they have been processed.

• And finally, decide WHERE documents will be scanned to. The storage server will need to be organized according to your general workflow. Quotes or proposals and other works in progress may be stored in separate folders from client accounts and then moved later on. Establish guidelines for the timely flow of information between these internal folders and their content. Remember, knowing exactly where something is exactly when you need it is why digital documentation is such a plus. Don’t forget to have your IT consultant or coordinator plan for the necessary storage upgrades to successfully house your growing data.

Once you’ve covered the basics, laying down a few more details will lay the foundation for your new system. Security will become a concern on your digital highway of information because of confidentiality and access concerns. Make sure appropriate areas are password protected and secure, allowing only the necessary staff to gain access to its content.

Policy and Procedure surrounding your new digital documentation management will need to be continually reinforced and even updated as you are able to tweak and refine your process. While resistance to change is normal and the temptation to return to the old way may be present, remind yourself and staff that you no longer have a paper chase ahead of you as long as everyone sticks to the program.