Sally's take on...

...the social media swirl

In the last six months, I’ve started Twittering, recommitted to our blog, set up a Facebook page and played actively with its various features, and started fooling around with LinkedIn, too.

Whew, you’re asking. Doesn’t she ever work?

Indeed, a lot of this activity represents a huge time suck. (Hint: Stay away from the Lexulous and Scrabble applications on Facebook!) But balancing that out is the fact that it’s also an investment on my part. The more I dive in, the more I learn and am prepared to apply to our clients’ situations. (Okay, maybe not so much with the word games.)

While I’m participating, I’m exposed to a community, many of whose members have a much keener and deeper grasp of how social media can be used for fun and profit than I. But even though it seems as though everyone is talking about social media and Web 2.0, the reality is that far more people are outside this community and know far less than I. They are intrigued and excited at learning the practical applications (communicated in plain English, if you please) of these evolving channels.

Here are two big appeals from a business perspective. First, it doesn’t require a huge investment of cash. It doesn’t “cost” – like advertising – to do any of this. The investment is time, yours or a consultancy’s like ours to devise the strategy and test it out. Second, there’s the “viral” factor that builds the network of people who are aware of (and poised to interact with) your brand. Let's say John Smith joins your fan or group page on Facebook. He “shares” the news with his friends. Some of them will investigate and join. Next thing you know, you have 500 new fans, all thanks to the viral influence of John Smith. The challenge is in figuring out how to keep them coming back, growing the fan base to, at the very least, help create positive perceptions of your brand.

PR and marketing strategies and tools are undergoing dramatic changes. Keeping up with them and figuring out the practical applications is hugely challenging. But it sure keeps life interesting!

Happy springtime (finally!).

Join my LinkedIn network!

Now’s the Time to Position Your Business for Recovery

By Judi Schindler

In every recession, some companies will actually prosper by reaching new markets, selling new products or services to existing customer, exploring new ways to reach customers and gaining market share from competitors that are weakened by the downturn.

Research by Pennsylvania State and the University of Texas at Austin shows that organizations entering a recession with a pre–established strategic emphasis on marketing can come out ahead when the economy turns around.

Big businesses have set some standards worthy of broader emulation with their successful commitment to marketing despite tough times. Walmart’s “Every Day Low Prices” campaign rolled out during the 2000–01 recession. The great co–branding “Intel Inside” strategy launched in the 1990–91 downturn. Procter & Gamble’s Ivory Soap got a major marketing emphasis in the 1930s.

You may not have the same base to work from as these giants, but can still emerge from the recession strong, with your commitment to marketing your business intact. Some questions to guide your evaluation:

Have you negotiated the best deal? Are you still using traditional, high–cost advertising channels such as print or broadcast ads? If so, you should know that nobody is buying off of rate cards any more. Bargains can be had for media as well as other marketing expenses. This is especially true if your business can offer services that make bartering or partial bartering an attractive option for both parties. Remember that everyone is looking to reduce their cash outlays in these tough times.

Can you take better advantage of electronic marketing? E–newsletters and e–blasts cost a fraction of their printed, mailed counterparts. They also have the benefit of linking the recipient directly to your Web site. Our client, The GO Group, which provides airport ground transportation, has been particularly successful with this strategy, enjoying a 200 percent increase in Web–based business at a time when the overall travel industry is down 20 percent.

Is “social marketing” a fit for your business? Tapping into the word-of-mouth power of social networking sites and tools – think Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and Twitter – can help build awareness of your brand with “citizen endorsers.” Another client, Alternative Reproductive Resources, which matches egg donors and gestational surrogates with prospective parents, has done a great job building a following in the fertility community with its blog, Facebook page and reciprocal links with like–minded blogs and Web sites.

How effectively do you build third-party credibility? Public relations practitioners have always recommended seeking the value of third–party endorsements that come with editorial coverage. This strategy has never been more important than in today’s networked world. Today’s customer has instant access to information from a wide variety of sources, and is more likely to believe what is said about you by other sources than what you say yourself.

No one would argue that the current economic climate is not challenging, but it does represent an opportunity. Being prepared to adjust to circumstances in ways that reduce your costs and allow for more effective strategies will help you to not only survive the recession but to jump into recovery mode that much faster as the economy improves.

Judi Schindler is a principal at Hodge Schindler Integrated Communications. She can be reached at jschindler@hodgeschindler.com.

The Press Release Regains Its Relevance

By Sally Saville Hodge

Public Relations = Press Releases.

Despite this popular perception, press releases are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to an effective public relations program. In fact, for many years, when we had largely a b–to–b client base, we pretty much eschewed press releases. We had such better success with one–on–one media positioning.

Then came Web 2.0, and with it a variety of new technological capabilities that renewed its relevance. It still is not the end all and be all to a successful PR program. But it adds a lot more value to a comprehensive program. Here are some of the reasons I’ve learned to appreciate the press release again.

First, when sent out over one of the distribution services, they tend to get picked up fairly extensively by content–hungry news Web sites – of daily newspapers, the business and trade press, radio and television, and search engines like Yahoo and Google.

Next, releases today can (and should) be optimized – meaning active links are embedded in the body that, at the very least, can take the reader to a Web site’s main page or a specific landing page, or a related video on YouTube or photo on Flickr. It makes for a far more dynamic tool than was the case in the old days.

And that’s important because it measurably boosts the release’s effectiveness at driving Web site traffic – another great development. On one hand, you can see the number of unique visitors each Web site that picks up the release gets on a daily basis, depending on the distribution service you use. (Not all give reports.) It’s nice to know that your release gets exposure to all those visitors. But how many really click through to find out more? Web analytics (through Google and other tools) enable you to draw a direct correlation between the release’s distribution and the number of people interested enough to find out more. (Moving them to action once they get there presents a whole different set of challenges, however!)

Some examples: For one client, Alternative Reproductive Resources, a firm that recruits egg donors and gestational surrogates, a release distributed in late November was picked up by 123 online news sites and created a 441 percent increase in traffic. For another, GO Group, an international consortium of airport ground transportation companies, press releases are picked up by an average 80 to 120 online news outlets. And the last one increased Web traffic by 50 percent.

The press release is not the final word in an effective and strategic public relations program. It still must be well–written, on–point and timely. And it takes some work to research which distribution services render the best, most tangible results in terms of pickup and Web traffic. Done right, however, it’s taken on expanded relevance, giving it a position of greater prominence in the larger PR toolkit.

Sally Saville Hodge is president of Hodge Schindler Integrated Communications. She can be reached at shodge@hodgeschindler.com. An expanded take on this topic can be found here.

Short Takes

We’re moving into interesting knowledge space with the signing of Chicago-based C&R Research as our newest client. One of the largest independent research firms, it does both qualitative and quantitative custom research for business and consumer clients. C&R also has specialized divisions – from KidzEyes® to LatinoEyes® to BoomerEyes® and more – which provide affordable expert insights into specific demographics. We see many opportunities to build awareness of C&R as a go–to, third–party resource on consumer trends and issues, and are excited at the possibilities.

Speaking of interesting space, we’re changing ours. Two–and–a–half years, three floods from frozen pipes, and what should constitute a sizable ownership stake in Commonwealth Edison, we’re moving from our current digs to a less lofty loft space on the fifth floor. Suite 505 promises to be above the flood plain at 900 N. Franklin St. and features a less antiquated heating/cooling system.

Sally Hodge’s recent articles and blog commentary on the rebirth of the press release came to the attention of PR Newswire, our favored distribution service. They’re including a testimonial by her in their next round of promotional materials – nice exposure. Too bad it doesn’t come with a discount we could pass on to our clients!

The Chicago Crusader ran a four-page special section on the Heroes in the 'Hood program we manage for GO Airport Express. Now in its 16th year, the program annually honors Chicago teens who provide service to their communities as well as adults who serve as role models for youth.

How to contact us

Hodge Schindler Integrated Communications is located at 900 N. Franklin St., Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60610. Our phone is 312.666.6662; fax is 312.666.1670.

To contact any of our team members via e–mail, please use their first initial–last name–at–hodgeschindler–dot–com.

Copyright © 2009 Hodge Schindler Integrated Communications