• Inbound Industry Report: Jan. 30, 2012

    By Laura Pinter | Posted Jan 30, 2012 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Marketing

    Top marketing news, articles and tips from the fourth week of January 2012.

    Marketing Industry Transformation

    Last week, the CMO Council released a new report on “client/agency effectiveness,” summarized by Scott Brinker (@chiefmartec) in CMOs to Agencies: Adapt or Die. The stat that most stood out to Brinker: “only 9% of senior marketers believe that agencies are evolving to extend services and capabilities in the digital age.”

    Brinker outlines the actions marketers will take to alleviate this concern; however, many appear to be in the early planning phases. More rapid innovation may be necessary to stay relevant in the coming months and years.

    Download a summary of the report (requires registration) or find further insight about the importance of traditional agencies to adapt in Paul Roetzer’s (@paulroetzer) 5 Ways Hybrid Marketing Agencies Will Transform the Industry.

    PR

    Howell Marketing Strategies (@howellmarketing) reiterates this notion of evolving traditional PR and marketing skills in Think You Can Work in PR? What Newbies Need to Know. Coming from a non-PR background, I can attest to these quite well. Here are a few that are worth keeping top-of-mind:

    • Constantly educate yourself, whether it’s about industry news and trends, your clients or world events.
    • Whatever your current involvement is, get more involved with social media, and keep up with new technology.
    • Be a great, proactive communicator. Maintaining relationships is a core aspect of PR and marketing, and also determinant of your success.

    Analytics & Measurement

    In Metric-ocracy: Less Data, More Insight, John Quartro-vonTivadar (@qgroks) outlines a New Year’s resolution plan for marketers, focusing on improving success through smart analytics and key performance indicator (KPI) measurement. Here’s a quick recap of his five steps:

    1. Identify the Real Goal—Take a step back from the analytics you currently look at, define an end goal, and realign metrics.
    2. Lay It All Out—Literally. Write down each metric affecting your goal on a notecard, and describe how it should change en route to that goal.
    3. Pick Your Favorite Date for Saturday Night—Ask yourself, “Which metrics can I not live without?” and prioritize accordingly.
    4. Insist on Delivery—For the next 90 days, track, analyze and hold those metrics accountable for results.
    5. Vote Someone Off the Island—Keep the ones that most impacted your goal, and switch out those that didn’t, creating a “metricocracy” of proven KPIs.

    Content Marketing

    Stephanie Tilton (@StephanieTilton) shows how savvy marketers can boost B2B efforts with best-in-class content with this simple plan:

    • Invest in content. Shift marketing budgets to support targeted, high-quality content development, distribution and follow-up.
    • Understand your buyer personas, and prioritize content based on their needs at various stages of the buying cycle.
    • Gain content-marketing support from company leaders by providing case studies, clearly explaining what you plan to achieve, and assessing the content-marketing efforts of competitors.

    In the News

    What articles made your top list last week? We’d like to hear your opinions.

    Laura Pinter is an associate consultant at PR 20/20. Follow Laura on Twitter @lipinter.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • Find Time for Social Media: How To Map Out a Plan for the C-Suite

    By Jessica Donlon | Posted Jan 26, 2012 | 4 Comment(s) | Filed in: Business, Social Media

    PR2020-time-for-social-mediaExecutives can no longer ignore the power of social media. The social media policy is in place, the communications department is managing a corporate brand, employees are active, and now it’s time for the C-suite to get active! 

    The challenge for agencies and marketers has shifted from convincing your C-suite about the value of social media, to helping them find the time to make social media a natural part of the day. So many executives still “have trouble finding the time to tweet.”

    This post breaks down the time commitments needed to set up and maintain social media profiles, assuming a low-to-moderate level of activity, based on our client experience to date. Encourage the upgrade from social media lurker to active conversationalist with a strategic approach and the following roadmap.

    Present a Phased Approach

    The world of social media can seem overwhelming to someone who barely has time to squeeze in a decent lunch break, so break down entrance into the social world into more digestible pieces:

    1.  Foundational Activities: Includes the time needed to set up all accounts, monitoring tools, and alerts or notifications as needed.

    Note: For the most efficient use of everyone’s time, make sure your executive has access to needed social networks and platforms before diving in. Then, carve a good chunk of time (1-2 hours) for a meeting where the executive and your agency/marketing lead can physically run through foundational activities and account setups together.

     2.  Daily Activities: Includes checking-in for alerts and mentions, and responding as necessary; checking an RSS feed—like Netvibes or Google Reader—for a pulse on industry news; gradually building connections; and posting or scheduling a few industry-related updates and interactions with corporate accounts.

    3.  Weekly Activities: Includes posting company headlines or new content, article or blog comments, and answers to LinkedIn, Quora or Focus questions.

    Prioritize Networks & Set Expectations on Time Investment

    How active your executives would like to be, as well as the industry-fit, user base and potential return of each network, will help you focus social media activity. Offer consultation by prioritizing the following networks for your execs. Then help executives explore capabilities and opportunities of each.

    LinkedIn

    May be one of the best opportunities for professional connections, especially for B2B. Executives can take advantage of the network by responding to invitations and messages, as well as identifying and participating in related group discussions, Q&A, and keeping an updated status.

    • Set-Up Time Needed: 45-60 minutes
    • Ongoing Activity: 30-60 minutes/week (assumes answering one question per week, updating status when an article is relevant, and monitoring groups)

    Twitter

    Drive inbound traffic and create online community with this network. Make sure that executives post a few tweets before following others, gradually follow others so the ratio moves up on scale, and participate in conversations with industry influencers. 

    • Set-Up Time Needed: 15 minutes
    • Ongoing Activity: 60 minutes/week (assumes sharing articles after reading/commenting, and low levels of engagement with priority follows)

    Facebook

    If your brand has a page, make sure executives have a clean profile and are connected. Teach them how to use the network with a balanced professional and personal presence, mentioning other brands and industry articles, uploading pictures, etc.

    • Set-Up Time Needed: 15 minutes
    • Ongoing Activity: 30 minutes/week

    Google+

    Encourage executives—especially those who contribute to a corporate blog, so you can connect a rel=author tag—to set up a G+ account and take advantage of the platform’s capabilities to follow conversations, impact search, upload content without limitations and more.

    • Set-Up Time Needed: 15 minutes
    • Ongoing Activity: 30 minutes/week

    Blog Commenting

    Reading and responding to others’ blog posts is an effective strategy for connecting with target audiences, establishing thought leadership and increasing an organization’s visibility.

    • Set-Up Time Needed: Minimal
    • Ongoing Activity: 30-60 minutes/week (assumes commenting on 2-3 posts per week, and checking in on responses)

    Curated Networks (think Scoop.It or Delicious)

    Something executives may already be doing privately: saving relevant industry articles. If your executive is constantly reading the latest news, encourage him or her to go public with a stack or online magazine that can be linked to and shared with online communities.

    • Set-Up Time Needed: 15 minutes
    • Ongoing Activity: 15-30 minutes/week (install plug-ins so adding reads to curation sites becomes a natural reaction with minimal time commitment)

    Q&A Networks (think Quora or Focus)

    Connect with business experts over decision-making information via online communities geared toward Q&A, research and being a resource of information. These networks are also great for positioning executives and their organizations as thought leaders.

    • Set-Up Time Needed: 15-30 minutes
    • Ongoing Activity: 15-30 minutes/week (assumes answering one question per week)

    As Tim Gunn Says, Make It Work.

    How much time do you spend on social media each month, and how much do you think your C-suite expects to spend? Setting realistic expectations up front can help turn what may seem like a daunting task into a manageable reality.

    Share your thoughts or lessons learned in moving the C-suite to the social scene below. 

     

    Jessica Donlon is a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Jessica on Twitter: @jessicadonlon.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • Inbound Industry Report: Jan. 23, 2012

    By Laura Pinter | Posted Jan 23, 2012 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Marketing

    Top marketing news, articles and tips from the third week of January 2012. 

    Blogging for Business

    Rand Fishkin (@randfish) shares 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic, an updated version of a post that gained popularity back in 2007. Many of the specific tips offered are relative to one another, and fall into categories such as the following:

    • Visual—Add graphics, photos and illustrations; incorporate great design into your site.
    • Social—Use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to share your posts, and find new connections; participate in social media sharing communities like Reddit and StumbleUpon.
    • Analytical—Install analytics, and pay attention to the results; conduct keyword research while writing your posts.
    • Relational—Participate where your audience gathers; guest blog, and accept the guest posts of others; interact on other blogs’ comments.

    Switching to the blog reader’s point of view, Neil Patel (@neilpatel) answers, “What do you need to keep blog readers loyal?” in his post, 8 Things Your Blog Readers Want More Than Good Content. Following are a few of Patel’s tips.

    • Show personality + passion—Be yourself, show enthusiasm, and give opinions.
    • Establish authority—Be an expert on your topic, and put that expertise on display.
    • Consider design and format—Make everything easy to read, sharp and professional.
    • Be trustworthy—Be open and honest in your delivery, keep promises and provide credible information. If you make a mistake, admit it and apologize.

    For more information on blogging success, check out Men with Pens’ (@MenwithPens) How to Stop Writing Boring Blog Posts.

    Social Media for Business 

    In Can B2Bs Use Social Media to Improve Marketing Effectiveness?, Maria Pergolino (@inboundmarketer) offers a few intriguing stats on the state of social media adoption in B2B marketing.

    • In a recent Accenture study of B2B marketing executives, nearly two-thirds of respondents believe social media is important for reaching customers and other key audiences.
    • Per a Worldcom study of B2B company leaders, B2Bs are extending their social media reach, with Twitter and Facebook ranking as top channels (85% and 74%, respectively). 90% of execs surveyed believe social media is increasingly valuable to their companies.
    • While B2Cs look to social media increase sales, B2Bs tend to focus on lead generation. At PR 20/20, we believe this can and should be taken a step further, to lead nurturing.

    Media Relations

    Inc. columnist Jeff Haden (@jeff_haden) helps PR professionals pack a punch with their pitches in How to Pitch: 6 Things You Must Know.

    In short, the don’ts overpower the dos:

    • Don’t say your story is unique—If it is, you won’t have to state it.
    • Don’t beg for publicity—everybody needs it.
    • Don’t blindly pitch anyone—know his or her interests and recently published work. 

    In the News

    What stories landed in your top list for the week? Please share your opinions with us.

    Laura Pinter is an associate consultant at PR 20/20. Follow Laura on Twitter @lipinter.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • Pinterest: An Introduction for Marketers

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Jan 19, 2012 | 1 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

    roommate weddingMy infatuation with Pinterest, a social bulletin board and image-sharing site, started at my college roommate’s wedding this past September. While she’s always been crafty, she took DIY to a whole new level, creating everything from centerpieces to ceiling drapery. When I asked the secret to her ingenuity, I got a one-word answer—Pinterest.

    I was intrigued, and apparently not the only one. In joining the site, I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of my friends (more than just my techie, marketer ones) already had Pinboards—or personal online archives of things they’ve found on the web—and were actively saving and sharing everything from recipes to desired home décor.

    The site’s quick rise in popularity among people who aren’t normally early adopters—like my mom for instance—is one of the reasons I think marketers need to pay attention. In fact, TechCrunch reports that site visits grew 40-fold from June to December 2011 to 11 million. 

    This kind of adoption presents awareness, branding, sales, SEO and customer-loyalty opportunities for marketers. Interested in getting started with Pinterest? Read on for more information and tips.

    How it Works

    Pinterest lets users save and store interesting things they find on the web onto online Pinboards using a browser add-on. For easy comparison, it’s similar to clipping recipes, wedding ideas, quotes, and other items out of a magazine and posting them on a bulletin board—except it’s all done online. (Note: The great part about this for marketers is that if somebody pins something off your site, you get a followed link, helping with search rankings.)

    In addition to creating their own Pinboards, users can follow those of their friends, enabling ideas and products to spread quickly.

    Below are screenshots of my Pinboards and activity stream as examples.

    Pinboards

    tracy dimarino pinterest


    Activity Stream

    Pinterest

    Is Pinterest a Fit for Your Brand?

    Pinterest visitors are 58% female, and typically between 25-44 years old. Consumer or B2C brands targeting these demographics are likely the best fit, especially if they relate to the following popularly shared items:

    • Clothing and accessories
    • Recipes
    • Home décor and furniture
    • Arts and crafts
    • Wedding decorations, flowers, dresses, rings, etc.
    • Baby clothes
    • Activities and ideas for children
    • Hairstyles
    • Places to visit

    Top brands that have found success on Pinterest include: Whole Foods, Real Simple, Bergdorf Goodman, west elm and the Travel Channel, among others.

    That being said, participation is not limited to these types of companies or markets. For instance, nonprofits may find success by telling their story through images, as charity:: water or The National Wildlife Federation are doing. Be creative, and find a compelling way to present your brand’s products/services, values and interests visually. 

    Pinterest and Marketing

    If Pinterest seems like a fit based on your audience, products/services and company goals, then below are some tips and considerations for getting started.

    Create Pin-able Content

    • Integrate plenty of visual content onto your website and blog. Pinterest is a visual site; attractive or interesting images are usually the ones that get pinned and shared. Pins automatically link back to the image source.
    • Add ‘Pin It’ buttons to your site to make it really easy for people to share your content, like Etsy recently did.

    Get Active in the Community

    • Create a profile on the site. Include a keyword-rich description of your organization, and links to your website and social accounts. Keep your profile public so it appears in search engine results.
    • Share things relevant to your target audiences and products/services; however, don’t be overly self-promotional. Be sure to follow Pinterest etiquette.
    • When pinning, include keywords within your image descriptions to help your content get found in searches on Pinterest.
    • Create multiple Pinboards based on specific topics, rather than placing all your content in one board. Assign a Pinterest category to each Pinboard to help people find them. 
    • Follow and interact with users by liking, repinning and commenting on things they share.
    • Consider launching a contest or giveaway to get your online following excited. For example, Lands’ End Canvas held a “Pin It to Win It” promotion.

    Share Your O-pin-ion

    How are you using the site? What opportunities do you think exist for marketers? Share your comments below.

    Tracy DiMarino is a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino or Pinterest.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • Awareness to Action: Following the Success of the Anti-SOPA Movement

    By Jessica Donlon | Posted Jan 18, 2012 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

    Communications professionals, from marketers to journalists breaking headlines, work with an overarching goal in mind: make people care about you or your cause so much that they take action. 

    Action ranges from encouraging audiences to comment on and share a blog post all the way to making purchasing decisions, but what about when the stakes are higher and sharing information as we know it is at risk? A milestone in the SOPA / PIPA legislation protests hits today as tech giants—including Google, Microsoft, Wikipedia and Reddit—take action and “blackout” their sites on the web.

    How has this issue grown awareness, and encouraged people to care and take action? Let’s go through the marketing basics.

    Note: For background on SOPA and PIPA, see our earlier blog post.

    How The SOPA Protest Made Its Way Across the Internet

    1. Gather Enough People Who Care

    SOPA is polarizing because it impacts everyone that uses the web for business and in their personal lives, in a very real way. Its potential impact on entrepreneurs, business leaders, tech companies and more is too intense for people to ignore. So they decided to take a stand. 

    2. Educate and Empower Through Content

    SOPA-TrackMaking sense of complex issues, SOPA opponents created infographics to educate the public, and empower them to share the information in an easily digestible format. A few examples:

    People in many industries, and with many different viewpoints, have written on the topic and their stance, shared blog posts, commented on other posts, and therefore created community around the topic.

    To help people relate to what may have seemed like a distant piece of legislation, tools like SOPA Track were created to show where legislators stand on SOPA / PIPA. 

    3. Spread Information through Social Media Wildfire

    As content spread, more people got on board in the anti-SOPA movement.

    For example, #StopSOPA and #BlackoutSOPA hashtags drive conversations on multiple channels, and “Stop SOPA” avatar icons sported by social influencers have kept the issue top-of-mind.

    SOPA Twitter

    Marketing Land’s Greg Finn (@gregfinn) examined social media’s effect on the legislation in his article, #BlackoutSOPA: A Look at the Social Media Movement that Helped Stall the SOPA Legislation.

    4. Don’t Forget about PR

    As the conversation grew, both on- and offline media took note. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian (@kn0thing) has been a leading voice in the legislation’s opposition, pushing the issue through the tech industry and into mainstream media.

    Media who support SOPA legislation—like MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, CBS, and NBC—have also come under scrutiny for not giving the issue coverage, as found in a report by Media Matters’ Ben Dimiero (@bendimiero).

    The Culmination

    The above are tactical elements that have snowballed, cumulated, and together call for action and even mass online protest.

    A marketer’s mission is accomplished when you have communicated your stance on an issue clearly—and convinced another to take action. Whether it’s an individual’s action to spread the message or a government body shelving an issue, SOPA / PIPA invokes movement. Influencers do the same:

    SOPA Wikipedia

    So why can’t you search Wikipedia today?

    In protest, many in the #StopSOPA movement have aligned to “blackout” websites today in protest. The SOPA blackout list includes Wikipedia, Reddit, WordPress, MoveOn.org and others. Find a full list on Mashable.

    Robert Plant (@drrobertplant) calls "Black Wednesday" a wake-up call for IT executives in his Harvard Business Review article, as he notes that passed bills would leave websites vulnerable to government repression and add risk and costs for organizations that need to continually police content.

    To make sure organizations participating in Black Wednesday do it right, Google’s Pierre Far (@pierrefar) explains in a Google+ post how to code a website’s blackout protest correctly, also known as The Google-Approved Way to Take Down Your Website In Protest.

    When web users see sites down, where will they go for information? Twitter’s Dick Costolo calls Wikipedia’s SOPA Blackout “Foolish” [Updated], as many would normally go to Wikipedia for information, but that site won’t be available on a day it may be most in need. In response, Wikipedia has left SOPA-related information accessible on the site today, encouraging visitors to contact their legislators and demand action.

    Business PR Note: Assess & Communicate a Clear Position 

    College PR majors are taught an idealistic stance: PR is the backbone of an organization and is responsible for keeping that organization “right” in the eyes of audiences it cares about. To that tone, if you’re a publicly facing company, you may need to know where your company stands on major issues like SOPA, in the case that customers or prospects want to know.

    Are you moved to act? Visit americancensorship.org to contact your Senator, voice an opinion, and motivate change.

    Jessica Donlon is a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Jessica on Twitter: @jessicadonlon.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • Background Information: SOPA, PIPA and the Internet Blackout

    By Laurel Miltner | Posted Jan 18, 2012 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing

    You may have some trouble navigating the web today, and it’s all driven by a an Internet blackout protest against proposed Congressional legislation intended to stop copyright infringementand privacy. Read on for a brief introduction to SOPA and PIPA legislation, where they stand in Congress, and why they impact every business andindividual with a web presence.sopa pipa

    SOPA

    SOPA, the Stop Online Privacy Act, or House Bill 3261, was introduced to the United States House of Representatives on Oct. 26, 2011 with bipartisan support. Its intent is to more heavily enforce copyright infringement across the web, holding severe consequences for any site owner whose property is found to be in disobedience.

    • Advocates, largely those in and supporting the entertainment industry, believe the bill is needed to crack down on increasing levels of online piracy, particularly from foreign websites.
    • Dissenters believe that SOPA goes against First Amendment rights, is a form of Internet censorship and would limit information accessibility on the web.

    SOPA hearings were held in November and December 2011. On Jan. 13, 2012, a provision that would have required service providers to block access to International sites accused of piracy was dropped.

    The following day, the White House announced its opposition to SOPA, stating that it “will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cyber-security risk or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”

    Congress shelved SOPA on Jan. 14, until a strong consensus is arrived upon. On Jan. 17 it was announced that markup of SOPA will likely resume next month.

    SOPA background sources: Wikipedia | WashingtonMonthly.com

    PIPA

    PIPA, the PROTECT IP (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property) Act, or Senate Bill 968, is a similar measure in the Senate, intended to provide additional support for US government and copyright holders to restrict access to counterfeit and piracy-laded sites, again particularly targeting foreign sites.

    It was introduced on May 11, 2011, also with bipartisan support. There is a hearing scheduled today to discuss its potential impact. PIPA is scheduled for a vote in the Senate on Jan. 24. 

    Support and dissent against PIPA mirrors that of SOPA.

    PIPA Background Source: Wikipedia

    In Summary

    Both SOPA and PIPA want to eradicate online piracy and copyright infringement, but opponents believe they risk innovation, economic growth, information access and basic civil liberties. SOPA is a House bill; PIPA is a Senate bill. (And if you need some background on what this means ... Click.)

    Is there an alternative? A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives developed the OPEN Act, which “addresses many of the most glaring flaws in both SOPA and PIPA.” (Source) The group asks for community collaboration on the bill. 

    Today, in mass protest against SOPA and PIPA legislation, many web owners and tech giants tare taking a stand by blacking out their sites. A few examples:

    • Google blacked out its logo
    • Wikipedia blacked out all content (except information on SOPA)
    • Reddit and Copyblogger are going dark for 12 hours

    Read about how we’ve come to this point in the PR 20/20 blog post that follows the growth of the anti-SOPA movement. 

    Resources on SOPA & PIPA’s Potential Impact

    For additional information on what SOPA and PIPA may mean to you and your business, see the following resources:

    For details on how the SOPA movement made its way across the internet, see Jessica Donlon's (@jessicadonlon) follow-up to this post.

    Are you moved to act? Visit americancensorship.org to contact your Senator, voice an opinion, and motivate change.  

    Laurel Miltner is the assistant vice president at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Laurel on Twitter: @laurelmackenzie.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • PR, Customer Service and Social Media Walk Into a Bar ...

    By Laurel Miltner | Posted Jan 17, 2012 | 3 Comment(s) | Filed in: Crisis Communications, Public Relations, Social Media

    This is a variation of our standard Inbound Industry Report, taking a deep dive into one hot topic from the second week of 2012—the convergence of PR and customer service driven by social media. Stay tuned for an overview of last week's other big news: Google Search Plus Your World.

    cheers

    In the wake of the N-Control customer-service-turned-PR disaster, last week shined light on three more companies that faced PR issues driven by social media mishaps. Quick overviews: 

    As Gini Dietrich (@ginidietrich) pointed out, specifically in regard to the first two incidents above: “Neither one of these things are public relations issues. They both are culture, HR, and operations issues. But they both became public relations crisis because their customers now have this thing called social media at their disposal.” 

    And we can only expect to see more of this in the future.

    In fact, a recent report by customer care outsourcing provider Sitel found that:

    • Consumers—particularly those in Gen Y and beyond—demand customer service through social media. Fifteen percent of 16-24 year olds prefer the medium for customer service relations, and 7% of this demographic send social media complaints as the first step when facing a problem.
    • In addition, 57% of all consumers surveyed reported that when they have a problem, they first search for a solution online before reaching out directly to the brand for assistance.
    • Note: Data is based on a survey of more than 1,000 consumers in Great Britain, aged 16-64.

    Key Takeaway: Corporate social media savvy goes beyond marketing. Hold a social media forum, training session or workshop with key players in your organization across departments to discuss its impact on the entire business. Here are a few suggestions for your baseline corporate social media needs: 

    • Develop a social media policy with clearly defined rules, expectations and enforcement.
    • Use listening/monitoring tools to catch brand mentions, stay abreast of industry news and trends, and better understand your audience.
    • Define customer service policies and response times.
    • Develop a crisis communications/PR plan for social media.
    • Define ownership of the company voice through social media, including corporate accounts and employee representatives that can speak on the company’s behalf.
    • Don’t be robotic. While policies and procedures are necessary, remember that individual experiences are unique, and in some cases deviation from “the norm” is needed to make an impact or fix a sticky situation.

    For more on this topic:

    Remember that it’s not just about the brand or corporate accounts. In The Rise of the Profersonal, Andrew Hanelly (@hanelly) discusses responsibilities of using social media for modern professionals.

    My favorite quote: “When you use social media, you forfeit the right to truly be yourself with no holds barred. Holds are definitely barred ... If you have a job, all of your social media activity is both personal and professional. It’s profersonal. It’s the era we live in.”

    So, let us know what you think about the convergence of PR and customer service. Will it continue? Who should "own" which channels? Where does customer service stop and PR start, and vice versa? I'd love to continue this discussion in the comments below. 

    Laurel Miltner is the assistant vice president at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Laurel on Twitter: @laurelmackenzie.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • 2012 Digital Marketing Conferences [Downloadable Database]

    By Tracy DiMarino | Posted Jan 11, 2012 | 11 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Resources

    SXSWBack by popular demand, our 2012 digital marketing conferences database (download) features nearly 50 events, hand-selected based on their relevance to online marketers, speaker base, industry excitement and networking opportunities.

    Similar to last year, the database includes the following information for each conference, providing a quick and easy comparison:

    • Event name
    • Description
    • Date
    • Location
    • Attendee summary
    • Pass cost

    Download the free database here.

    While all the conferences listed provide the opportunity for networking, ongoing learning and unique experiences, we're most excited about:

    • South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive — An agency favorite that features emerging technologies, innovative digital strategies, gaming, mobile and more.
    • Content Marketing World (CMW) — Launched last year in Cleveland, CMW is one of the best-run conferences we’ve ever attended, with quality speakers to match.
    • HubSpot Inbound — This year's newbie, HubSpot Inbound is a three-day conference focused on inbound marketing that features six keynotes, 40 breakout sessions, expert-led training and certification, and hands-on product demos.

    After reviewing the event database, use our free Conference Grader worksheet to further prioritize which events are worth your time and investment. This Excel sheet helps you compare events based on five variables: buzz potential, knowledge, connections, opportunity value and historical performance.

    What Are You Attending?

    Share with us which events you’ll be attending in the comments below, as well as any events we may have missed.

    Tracy DiMarino is a consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Tracy on Twitter @TracyDiMarino.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

  • Inbound Industry Report: Jan. 10, 2012

    By Laurel Miltner | Posted Jan 10, 2012 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Marketing

    Top marketing news, articles and tips from the first week of 2012.

    Blogging Tips: How to Grow Your Reach 

    Neil Patel (@neilpatel) shared tips to grow your blog's reach, using Seth Godin's (@sethgodin) Rule of 10 (that if you find and nurture 10 people who love what you have to offer, they'll tell 10 friends, and so on). Some of my favorite suggestions from Patel include: 

    • Go beyond your blog—expand your reach through guest blog posts and comments on other blogs, and social media engagement.
    • Build relationships with your "10"—thank them for their comments/retweets, comment on their stuff, and keep your posts consistent and relevant.
    • As traffic comes in, keep it coming—make it easy for people to subscribe to updates, and quickly release follow-up content to popular resources.
    • Never forget about your "10."

    2012: The Year of Coding?

    Code Year, an initiative from Codecademy, launched on Jan. 1 with a simple mission: help people learn to code in 2012 through simple, weekly lessons. At time of writing, 304,470 people had signed up. 

    Fred Wilson (@fredwilson) shared some thoughts on its success, including: It's a great idea, well-timed, and registrants are encouraged to spread the word through social networks. (I did.) In a comment on Wilson's post, Codecademy co-founder Zach Sims (@zsims) said "programming is finally being seen as it should be - as the literacy of the 21st century." 

    Wilson also credited the simple, user-friendly design of the Code Year landing page as an element of its success. Interestingly enough, the design was completely overhauled in one hour during its "final review," just over a day before launch. Money quote from the dedicated Code Year employee, Sacha Greif (@sachagreif), who spent her New Year's Eve Eve making CodeYear.com perfect: "You don’t always need weeks –or even hours– to create something. Sometimes you just need to stop over-thinking things and trust your creative impulses."

    For more on coding's role in professional development, see Boomsri Dickinson's (@boonspoon) Someday, Writing Code Could be as Common as Farming of Factory Work.

    Google Chrome Paid Link Scandal 

    Google Chrome was caught in a link-purchasing scheme, after SEObook's Aaron Wall (@aaronwall) found more than 400 results for the keyword search "this post is sponsored by Google." Why the fuss? Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) cites two reasons in his first overview of the situation: 

    1. Purchasing links for the manipulation of search results goes against Google guidelines. 
    2. Overall, the linking articles were of poor quality—disturbing because this is the type of content Google aims to fight. 

    Within 24 hours, Google acknowledged that "Yes, it was a Google campaign. No, it’s not what Google signed-up for." (Source) The search engine had contracted digital media agency Essence Digital for a video ad campaign, but had not OKed paid links. Essence Digital passed the blame torch on to Unruly, a video promotion company it had enlisted to run the campaign. Unruly then claimed it never required links to the Chrome site from participating bloggers, and that it encouraged nofollow links for any used to adhere to Google's paid-link guidelines.

    Sidenote: The cooking/baking nerd in me can't help but hope that the video linked in all these posts did good things for King Arthur Flour. Its products are awesome. 

    In response to the ordeal, Google docked Chrome's ability to rank in search engine result pages for at least 60 days. After that time, a Chrome representative can submit a request for reconsideration, along with documentation that it has cleaned up the issues, according to Matt Cutts (@mattcutts). 

    Key Takeaway: If Google can find itself in a less-than-ethical SEO scheme, no one is impervious. When working with external partners/providers, discuss specific tactics in detail, ask questions, and if something doesn't sound right, seek additional guidance. 

    In the News... 

    What were your top marketing stories of the week? Comments are open for your opinions.

    Laurel Miltner is the assistant vice president at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Follow Laurel on Twitter: @laurelmackenzie.

    Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.

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