Reputica

Press releases and news announcements serve many different functions in addition to being source material for magazines and newspapers. Yes, it is good to have BIG news that will motivate a writer, editor or journalist to write about your company, product or service, but that is no longer the only reason to create a press release. You don't need big news just a good hook. Whether or not you use a Public Relations Agency or do it yourself, here are three good reasons why you should try to write and distribute a press release very month. 1. Good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - One of the most important components to getting top Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc., search page results - appearing high up or...

Although it seems less common these days, there are still a fair number of us public relations practitioners who enter the business by crossing over from the journalist’s side of the notebook. When you make that transition, you become something of an oracle.  Colleagues and clients expect you to be the walking, talking answer to the Rubik’s cube puzzle of how to gain the attention of the media.  If only it were that simple! Landing media placements is at least as much about art as it is science. And despite the prevalence of social media (I would argue that BECAUSE of the explosion of social media) landing the right media placements is still important. First and foremost, of course, I...

Ask a successful agent for the three most important words in real estate, and you'll get the answer: "location, location and location." Ask a successful communicator for the three most important words in public relations, and you should get the answer: "repetition, repetition and repetition." Just as the geographic landscape is littered with properties that suffer for their poor location, the communication landscape is littered with public relations efforts that fail to leverage repetition to engage important audiences successfully. Whether the goal is to sell products, mobilize employees or build a reputation, the need for repetition is constant. Yet even smart communicators who understand...

Even before primitive societies put chisel to stone and began writing, one group held a special place in these communities because of their communication skills: storytellers. By weaving compelling narratives, storytellers preserved communal history, entertained their fellows, and delivered motivation when it was needed. Over time, their words moved armies and inspired achievement. Today, storytelling may seem quaint. It’s not. Thanks to technology, some of the largest and savviest organizations in the world are discovering that storytelling is even more important today — and more powerful. Storytelling is so powerful that it should be the primary goal of all your public relations. In fact...

ent"> Managing people isn’t easy. Looking into their likes & dislikes, making them adjust with one another requires a whole lot of effort. The Indian Television has seen a vast change as far as their daily soaps or shows are concerned. The dominance of Reality Shows has really opened up other avenues where you could garner good business. A Talent Management Company looks after the welfare of people who are involved in the show business. It could be new comers, purely fresh faces with no show background or pre-existing talents. Their KRA (Key Responsibility Area) is to ensure that all talents managed by them are pushed properly into the limelight. Sponsors who run the shows pay their...

Part one in the series Radio and TV Interviews and advice Effective publicity begins before the interview. You've got a terrific product, you've hired a publicist and you've been booked to appear on radio and television. Now what? Appearing on radio and TV doesn't always mean your product will go flying off the shelf. Getting the interview is only half the battle. The other half is all YOU. What you say and how you are perceived during the interview will determine whether your product sells. So once the interview is booked, it's time for you to get to work. Preparation is the first step in creating effective publicity Find out who is conducting the interview and then gain some insight into...

Small businesses need Public Relations, possibly more than large corporations, to put them on the map. If you consider that time is money, however, you may find that handling your own public relations is a daunting task and not necessarily worth the monetary savings. Here are some ideas of how to get the best bang for your PR buck by thoughtful outsourcing: Use your business library. If you are savvy enough to identify the best media for your primary target audience, your local library or the nearest city library near your very small town has valuable informational tools to assist you at every turn. The librarian is a public resource that your tax dollars pay for anyway. Having identified your...

Last October 9, Sequoia Capital hosted a now-famous meeting in Silicon Valley, with about 100 startup CEOs in attendance. The message to the portfolio companies was this: We are in a serious economic downturn. Immediate, decisive and swift action is required, along with frugal management of expenses. Cut spending. Cut fat. Preserve capital. Among the tough words conveyed by Sequoia to their portfolio CEOs was this strong warning: "Nail your sales and marketing message. Pound your competitors' shortcomings. Take the offensive. In a downturn, aggressive PR and communications strategy is key." The down side of going dark is much greater than any short term savings experienced. In bad economic times...

The PR job market is always changing. Depending the forces of supply and demand, one type of search method may be better than another. Here is an overview of three methods used to recruit PR executives. Retainer search Exclusive to one search firm. Extensive research, interview and recruiting process to identify potential candidates. Search person will travel wherever necessary to personally meet with the candidate. Travel costs are passed on to the client. Three or four candidates are presented to the client. Presentation includes a credentials and background report for each candidate, along with samples of work, letters of recommendation and complete reference-check covering numerous past...

Ever heard the term, "Charitable Synergy?" It's the most significant innovation in charitable fundraising in this decade. Let's say I want you to contribute to my favorite charity, which happens to be the Goodness Giving Meal Pack program. I'll bet you have never heard of it. That's the challenge! How does a great charity, you've never heard of, introduce you to its program and give you the opportunity to participate if you like its cause? As is the case with many other contemporary charity programs, the meal pack program participants are not part-time players. The XanGo Goodness Foundation was formed by its Billion dollar parent to fund innovative programs that help make the earth a better place...

As a customer service consultant there is a good reason I have never focused my professional efforts on the retail sector. Generally, given the low wages and lack of investment in personnel, along with rampant employee turnover, it has never been a promising sector for me. But today, my experiences as a consumer are convincing me that the level of customer care in retail has descended to new lows. There are five reasons retail customer service is endangered and sinking fast: (1) The long-time adage, "The Customer is Always Right" has been replaced with a presumption the customer is wrong and up to no good. Try to return a defective item to a store and you'll probably face an inquisition, instead of...

The Indian education system in 21st century is a basket full of professional courses and Media is one of those specialized courses popularly growing in India. The canvas of the mass communication course is larger enough to accommodate one's imgination into it. Media is one of the most booming sectors which is expected to reach USD 1.8 trillion by 2015 globally and Asian countries are expected to contribute greatly into it. The size of Indian media and entertainment industry in 2006 was recorded approx Rs 43,700 crore. According to a recent report given by FICCI, the industry is projected to grow at an annual rate of 19 per cent and cross the estimated size of Rs 83, 740 crore of industry by 2010...

Letterhead printing is a good practice for all companies. Letterheads basically make most paperwork look more “official” and important. It also lends credibility and security to the content of the letter if a letterhead is present. This assures the reader that it came from a trusted and influential source. If you are a bit clueless in how to create a letterhead in Microsoft Word, then read on. Below are a few simple steps that you can follow to create a letterhead in Microsoft Word. 1. Go to the print layout view: Once you open a new Microsoft Word document, click on the view menu on top and look for the option “Print Layout”. This options lets you view your Word document as if it is printed...

Jay Conrad Levinson's many books about guerilla marketing have empowered entrepreneurs and small business owners alike to find creative, low-cost ways to market their products and services. Large corporations tend to favor creating and executing 3 or 5-year marketing plans. This traditional approach is better-suited to these "800 pound gorilla" corporations because they rely on more standard marketing media channels such as mass media advertising and public relations. Of course, these marketing methods can be extremely effective if you have a multi-million dollar advertising budget and a relatively well-established brand. However, they also require longer-term planning, hefty marketing budgets, and...

With the uncertainty of the economy, legal marketing agency Beyond All Reasonable Doubt Marketing is advising law firms to take a serious look at their budgets. While marketing, advertising and public relations dollars frequently are cut to reduce expenses, marketing experts agree that a down economy is actually the time when marketing efforts should remain in place, and if anything, be enhanced. “When other law firms reduce their spending and cut their marketing, they have less presence in the marketplace,” explains BARD Marketing founder and president, John Sailer. “This means the time is ripe for a savvy law firm to grab market share – to reach the audience that is still there but who is...

Smart business owners continue to market in good times and bad. It seems logical to spend money on marketing in good times, but more importantly you need to spend on marketing in bad times as well. Companies that keep their names and logos in the public eye during a slow economy are more likely to be perceived as successful, enduring and solid. Strong marketing strategies will pay off in the future. Marketing consist of market research, advertising and public relations. Experts suggest changing the marketing mix, but not the overall budget. For example, in down times a business may not know exactly who is buying and why. So market research is critical in a downturn economy. Likewise, a business...

Health insurance company earnings were released, showing billion dollar profits by the major insurance companies. Despite these earnings, all of the insurance companies continue to increase their premiums on an annual basis. I am writing as a small business owner, health care provider, and health care consumer to describe my concerns about health insurance abuses. As a small business owner, the annual 15% to 45% health insurance premium rate increases are unaffordable. Each year, as our employees age, we reduce benefits to afford minimal health coverage. As health consumers, our care is inferior and restricted by insurance company bureaucracy, and we have additional increased out of pocket costs...

There is a prevailing idea that “smaller” funeral homes face a greater challenge to succeed and grow than larger firms. How real is this issue? Is the path to success for a larger firm easier to navigate? If size really matters, what can a smaller firm do to secure its long-term success? For discussion purposes we must define what a smaller firm is. It is conceivable that a funeral home that does 500 cases annually may be comparatively small in a large metropolitan market; a 200-call firm in a highly competitive trade area may be considered the “big firm” in town, depending on its market share. We asked people who work in funeral service, or who are affiliated with funeral services firm to...

As someone who has sold, bought, created, analyzed, and agonized over advertising for many years, I've heard just about everything when it comes to ads. In selling advertising, the one phrase that just makes me cringe is "No one said they saw my ad." Why do advertisers say this? And why does it make me cringe? Advertisers mention this because they are using the incidents of customers or prospects mentioning the ad as a measure of an ad's effectiveness. This exclamation makes me cringe because of two truisms regarding advertising: 1) Response rate does not equal effectiveness; and, 2) Advertising's only true purpose is to create a top-of-mind position in the minds of your customers. Let's look at...

The current state of the economy has forced many American companies to reevaluate spending across all platforms. Cutbacks in media outreach - including advertising, public relations and marketing - have been especially significant. At the same time, companies have an obligation to conduct ongoing market research in order to gauge brand performance and remain top of mind in the media. Without this vital information, even the most successful brands run the risk of losing relevance or, even worse, market share. Surveys provide an ideal means of achieving this goal. Renowned for their effectiveness, custom surveys are created according to the dictates of a specific company, brand or sector and...

1.    Why write a business plan? You might start writing a business plan because you’ve been told that’s what you should do.  Or your motivation might be to please the bank, a potential investor or someone else. All valid reasons, but none of them is the right one.  The real reason for preparing a business plan is to develop a thorough and detailed knowledge of your business and all its idiosyncracies. Writing a winning business plan is not easy, you need to be very honest and thoughtful about all aspects of your business, how it operates and your competition. The insights you gain from this process will hold you in good stead as your business grows and matures. You will be better prepared...

Marketing Rule #1 Take charge of your marketing. No one cares about your success like you do - not an ad agency, not a marketing director. Do not leave your marketing oversight to others. Over the last 30 years or so, there has been a subtle but crucial shift in how many companies manage their advertising, public relations and marketing. Prior to the 1980s, marketing was usually a C-level activity. It was considered so important to the ongoing success of a business that the company CEO or at least an executive vice-president directly oversaw it. In recent years, the CEO's focus has shifted almost entirely to driving short-term shareholder profit. Where once a company head had perhaps five to ten...

Opportunities in a Challenging Environment The economy, unemployment and overall consumer and corporate confidence have clearly been damaging to the nonprofit industry. A new study by Giving USA Foundation shows that charitable giving fell last year by the largest percentage in five decades. While individuals and institutions gave nearly $308 billion in pledges during 2008 - a healthy commitment by any standard - it nonetheless represents a decline of over $6 billion from 2007, or 5.7% on an inflation adjusted basis. While the real decline started in the Fall of 2008, this year isn't shaping up to be much better. What can a nonprofit do to begin turning this around? The Importance of Branding Some...

The event will take place on April 15 at Asian C, 48 Whiting Street (Route 53) Hingham, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The price of admission for the event is $25 for non-members, $15 for members. Light refreshments and appetizers will be available. Copywriters, graphic designers, Web designers, ad agencies, pr agencies, photographers, printers, typesetters, corporate communications professionals, marketing professionals, printers, videographers and small businesses are welcome to attend. “It’s impossible to discuss the greats of Boston advertising without bringing Steve Cosmopulos into the conversation. We’re thrilled to have him as our featured speaker for April as we continue to provide great value...

A well-executed public relations campaign with an effective press release is the key to gaining free exposure for your business. Follow these five steps to enhance your PR efforts, and you can be on your way to generating valuable publicity.  Step 1: Write an effective press release. If properly written, a press release can capture the media's attention and result in news coverage for your business. A good press release combines all the right elements: an interesting headline, a strong and newsworthy angle, pertinent supporting information and contact details. Avoid hype, blatant sales pitches and self-serving content because this can irritate the media and get your release sent to the trash. A...

For any new business, or even any already established business that's considering going in a new direction, reinventing themselves or just launching a new product - a media kit can be an incredibly valuable tool. There are very few other ways available to promote your company and its endeavors that you can control entirely. You or representatives from your company can decide exactly what will be included in a media kit and where you will distribute it. By determining the size, the items included and the packaging, you can control the price of the media kit, and by controlling distribution, you can be sure that your media kit will get directly into the hands of the people who need it - your target...

So you are a owner and you want to know how you will be able to expand your business. One of the most important things in the world of businesses is to trigger off great relationships with other enterprises so that you earn a name. In order to establish a reputation in the trading world, you need to have a great communication strategy. Business communication can essentially be divided into internal and external communication. Things like establishing a brand, marketing your products and services, advertising, working on things like public relations, media management and even businesses dealings with customers or other firms fall in the category of external communication. As for internal...

Introduction: A review of recent literature on management, job advertisements and career advancement suggests that in today's competitive employment market employers' value communication skills more than technical competence. The ability to communicate effectively with others and get along with a variety of different types of personalities is two of the most desirable qualities in job candidates, according to employers. Employers want to discern if you have the ability to organize your thoughts and ideas effectively. The competencies employers seek are:o Communicationo Leadershipo Critical Thinkingo Negotiationso Managing Changeo Ethicso Self-Managed Learningo Motivationo Team Worko Interpersonalo...

Some companies spend millions of dollars annually on advertisement and publicitywithout knowing the return on those investments. With limited financial resources, it isimportant that the company understands whether it is getting maximum mileage out oftheir advertising dollar. Companies send out thousands of "no brainers" publicity mailings, not worth their time,energy and money. Some spend thousands of dollars in newspapers and televisionpublicity campaigns, which confuse the consumers. Others launch telemarketingprograms but instead irritate the customers with nuisance calls. Your advertisement needs to stand out and make an impression. Better still, it should bedesigned such that the reader or...

Crisis Communication - Case Study #1 - *This is a true case study and all details are correct, except the names have been changed to protect the identities. Frank* grew up on an apple and orange orchard in the riverland where his parents owned a small fruit juice manufacturing plant. Antonio* grew up in the city where his parents ran a popular small goods shop selling their own meat products such as salami and prosciutto. Both men loved their family businesses, and both men went to University to gain qualifications to grow their burgeoning empires. Frank attracted some venture capital to grow further and re-named the company 'The Nipped in the Bud Fruit Juice Company'*. Antonio relied on family...

Reports of consumer product defects and recalls are coming in fast and furious these days. The media onslaught appeared to begin with tainted Chinese products and the surrounding political uproar. Big name manufacturers have been outsourcing for decades, so why all the noise now? Much of it has to do with the sea change in editorial departments across the nation. "Help Desks" are popping up everywhere in an attempt to thwart dwindling circulation. Politically-driven blogs have become the rage, and scare tactics at Network TV and Cable news networks are always popular during sweeps weeks. There is one daily newspaper in my own hometown that reports product recalls almost everyday. It's a great public...

When teams are out in the field, either on foot or in transport the safety and monitoring of personnel is the number one priority of any organization. By using GPS Technology, combined with radio communications infrastructure, it is possible to track radio users with integrated GPS transmitters. The handset, a Motorola Mototrbo, along with a central integrated monitoring software solution allows you to monitor unsuspecting personnel out in the field and be on call to assist should a potential danger or crisis evolve. These are just two examples in a world where potential crisis is only a moment away. With GPS tracking and an alert system in place you can give your team in the field the re-assurance...

Often high profile retail companies fail to recognize when they have reached a “retail crisis situation”. Generally when a company reaches this point, the management panics and is unable to think clearly. Their failure to act quickly and seek the services of a retail crisis specialist or consultant is often the difference between restructuring and liquidation. Of course all firms would prefer not to face a negative financial situation that would throw them into the media limelight, public scrutiny, and phone calls that come in way more often from creditors than customers. But in this economy, and actually in any economy, it can happen. There are many factors that can precipitate this kind of...

A smart Internet marketing will use free ebooks to coax others into signing up for his or her email list. Everyone knows that "the money is in the list," and a good inducement can be the difference between an anemic little list and a robust collection of future customers. Let's talk about three things you need in your free ebooks if you want to really make that list grow! First, quality matters. Look, you can get sign ups with just about any free ebook. If you have a good squeeze page with strong copy, people will sign up for your list. However, if you deliver a piece of junk to them after they sign up, the odds of turning them into clients or customers isn't very strong. Instead of developing trust...

Many people write novels and memoirs. Many professionals write books to enhance their professional reputations. Should they consider self publishing? Book publishing print on demand makes self publishing easier and cheaper, but potential authors may have some questions. Q. Should I publish my book through an established publisher? If you can, sure. You'll probably need an agent who expects a piece of your advance and royalties. If there's not much chance of a lot of sales, there's not much chance of finding an agent. Your royalties are going to be maybe 5% to 10% of what the publisher receives. That means your book will need to sell a large number of copies to make it worth the time of any agent to...

You are a freelance developer at the beginning of your career and don't know exactly which way to go in order to achieve success. Your confusion is natural, because everyone knows that the success and failure are separated by a very thin line and very often, out of disinformation or misinformation, we can find ourselves taking a step on the other side of the line and putting everything we've worked hard for in jeopardy. A good way to avoid making mistakes is to know when to recognize them. Here are some of the most frequent mistakes a freelance developer tends to make: 1. Under-pricing. You are just beginning, building a reputation, and aren't exactly sure of what your professional worth is, so you...

Business negotiations are a fact of life for most professionals. But there's a world of difference between smart negotiation tactics and manipulative ploys. Many people mistakenly put too much energy into manipulating others to get what they want instead of strategizing to conduct a mutually respectful negotiation. We've all seen these manipulative ploys - behaviors designed to throw the other negotiator off-guard so he inadvertently agrees to things while emotionally unnerved. These include maneuvers such as deferring decisions to a higher authority to buy time, asking for more at the end of the negotiation, artificially raising one's voice to challenge a stated price, or pitting offers against...

Breaking loose – Research David Salter, founder and director of the boutique translation company Linguistico, talks about his journey from solicitor to business owner. Any ex-lawyer wanting to start their own business venture should easily be able to organise business essentials such as registering and protecting a trading name, buying a computer, software, printer and fax machine, organising stationery such as letterhead, business cards, invoices and balance sheets, and of course having a website with email. They might also know the growing importance of Twitter and Facebook to business enterprises. But many aspiring entrepreneurs, even ex-lawyers, often fail to properly research their relevant...