However, show choir was a competitive and selective group; my love of singing and dancing wouldn’t be enough to guarantee acceptance. I knew I needed a plan to reach my goal, so I took voice instruction, continued my dance lessons, and participated in choir. After two years of dedication and sticking to my plan, I was invited to be a part of the show choir.

Now, this is just a simple example of setting a goal and then following tactics needed to accomplish it. However, these same principles apply to PR and marketing goals. Whether your goal is for increased attendance at an event or earning more product sales, establishing effective means for reaching your goal is important. I want to share five communication tactics that you can use to attain your PR and marketing goals.

Press Releases

A press release is a great way to make an announcement and using a distribution service like Business Wire can help spread your message far and wide. For optimal press release pickup, you’ll want to make sure you have a clear, catchy headline and that your content is actually newsworthy. By providing valuable information through a press release you can command the attention of journalists, which can lead to stories, interviews, and more coverage for your brand.

Articles

One great thought leadership tactic is to write contributed articles. A contributed piece gives you plenty of space to share an idea, show off your expertise, or converse with the industry. From your company’s blog, to an industry or business publication, to LinkedIn Pulse, there are many different outlets where you can publish your content. I recently wrote an article for Marketing Profs titled The Right Words at the Right Time in the Right Place: 3 Platforms to Publish Your Content On that provides a deeper dive into this subject.

Videos

Did you know almost 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every day? People enjoy seeking out information from videos, so it makes perfect sense to share your message through this method. A video can serve many purposes. For example, if you are trying to up membership in your organization, you could produce a video featuring interviews with current members on why they find membership valuable. This is powerful because it gives personal testimony to the membership benefits most likely listed on your website already. Another great use of a video is to do a product overview, allowing customers to see the product in action before they purchase it. Think of it as “try before you buy”.

Graphics

With so much content available today, eye-catching design helps you stand out among the crowd. From including an image with your tweet or press release, to a full-blown infographic, there are many ways big and small to utilize graphics in your communication plan. For example, if you are trying the beef up attendance at a conference you could create a website banner that clicks straight to registration. Using a graphic instead of just website copy is far more engaging and will have a better chance of gaining clicks, which is one step closer to registration.

Social Media

Whether it’s a press release, article, video, graphic, or all of the above, social media is a great avenue to amplifying your efforts. You’ve already spent the time creating your assets for your campaign and social media is one platform that can help you spread them further. Additionally, social media gives you a chance to interact and engage with your audience. You can also use it as a research tool to listen and observe your audience for trends in likes and dislikes.

This was just a quick snapshot of five communication tactics to use to help you achieve your PR and marketing goals. But remember that before you jump into these, take some time to define your goals. Knowing what you want to achieve will help you understand what tactics to use and not to use. Define your goals, choose your tactics, and start seeing results.

Setting #PR and #Marketing goals is critical but so are the tactics you use to achieve them:
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Writing contributed pieces is one of the most fundamental tactics in a content strategy plan. Articles provide you an opportunity to demonstrate expertise, and engage with the industry by starting conversations or sharing opinions. However, there are many platforms to consider when deciding where to publish your next contribution.

Three major platforms to consider include your company’s blog, a trade or business publication or LinkedIn Pulse. Each has unique benefits and it’s important to know what you want to accomplish before choosing a platform.

Recently, I wrote an article for MarketingProfs titled The Right Words at the Right Time in the Right Place: Three Platforms to Publish Your Content On that provides a deeper dive into this subject. So, if you are looking for some advice on where to publish your articles, go check it out.

Countdowns allow you to build momentum towards your event or news, which keeps your brand in the spotlight longer. You might have an amazing event planned, but if there is little promotion beforehand, then you’re left relying only on the splash the event makes during the scheduled dates. A countdown campaign is a smart way to keep your target audience focused on you for a longer period of time. Doesn’t that sound great? If not, you could always hire these guys instead.

Probably not the countdown you had in mind

Here are four basic steps to help you get started in creating an impactful countdown campaign for your big news or event:

1. Create a countdown calendar.

Where do you begin? Well, at the end actually. Start by nailing down the date for the event and working backwards. You have a few decisions you have to make about the duration and frequency of your countdown – is it going to last 10 days, weeks, or months? Are you going to post daily, weekly, or monthly? You might have a webinar scheduled and decide to post daily for the 10 days leading up to it, or you might have a big conference and decide to post weekly for the preceding10 weeks. Once you decide your duration and frequency, create a calendar to plan the content for your posts. Pick a topic or general theme for each post in your countdown. Planning ahead ensures that you have enough content to last through your whole countdown. You don’t want to start posting only to realize you have run out of content right in the middle!

2. Prepare your content.

Image courtesy of IEEE Technology Time Machine

Now that you’ve created your countdown calendar and have picked the general themes and ideas for each countdown post, it’s time to get creative. There are lots of directions you can go in with countdown posts. For example, you might decide to write blogs on the top five reasons why people should attend your webinar. Or, you could gather quotes from your event attendees or speakers on why they are excited to be part of your event. These quotes can be turned into handy graphics that are great to share on social media.

One more tip for content creation: create it early. Be sure to leave enough time for the review process, so you’re not scrambling to get your posts out on time.

3. Post your content.

The time has come to kick off your countdown and post all that wonderful content you’ve prepared. Stick to your calendar and post at your chosen frequency and duration. Whatever route you go with content, remember to intertwine your media efforts when it comes time to post. If you write a blog, make sure you share it via your social channels. If you create eye-catching graphics, make sure they get posted on your website. Use your content in multiple places to make the most of your countdown.

4. Listen and evaluate.

You are sailing through your countdown and it’s going well…you think? You need to take time to listen and evaluate each post. Don’t just post your countdown content mindlessly. Are people commenting on the blog, retweeting your tweets, or liking your Facebook posts? If you are seeing traction, great! Capitalize on this by interacting with your audience, making sure to answer their questions, address their comments, or engage with their tweets. Are you not seeing the movement you were hoping for? Take some time to re-evaluate the post and decide if there are any tweaks you can make to your remaining countdown posts to make them more effective.

By following these simple steps of creating a countdown calendar, preparing content, posting, and listening and evaluating along the way, you are ready to create a strategic countdown for your next webinar, event, or announcement.

As you begin to look at your PR and marketing plans for 2017, consider using countdowns for some extra attention. If you need any help in creating a countdown plan or content, such as blogs, social media posts, or graphics, the Interprose team would be happy to help. Contact us today!

3…2…1…GO! How to spice up your #marketing and #PR campaigns with an effective countdown:
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But I digress – this blog isn’t about why I love Disney World. It’s about a very important lesson we can learn from Disney’s ability to execute a plan.

Disney World’s parking process is a gold standard when it comes to efficient and effective parking. Cars are ushered in and fill every spot in a seamless, smooth process. It almost seems easy, but with the Magic Kingdom alone averaging more than 56,000 visitors per day, you suddenly realize there is nothing easy about parking that many cars.

Disney has a well-oiled plan to make the process as quick as possible. However, the key is not merely the plan, but also its execution. When executed correctly, guests experience a seamless process that seems so easy and effortless, but one cone or parking attendant out of place and all chaos breaks loose – you’ll have people driving around the parking lot, parking here and there, leaving tons of spots open, yet hard to find.

Unfortunately, my family experienced this lapse in execution personally. Having visited Disney World numerous times, I know their parking process is great; the plan was not at fault for the chaos that we saw unfold on that hot summer day. And this brings me to a very important lesson about execution: you can have the best plan ever, but if it is not executed properly, it won’t work.

As communication and business professionals, we’re constantly making plans for that new product launch or our next big conference or event. But when was the last time you spent time actually reviewing the execution of those plans? I want to give you three very important tips that will help you better execute your plans.

1. Assign Tasks

Gather your team, make sure tasks are assigned to specific individuals, and assess whether they clearly know what their job is within the plan. It’s also worthwhile to explain why their role is important, which will promote buy-in from your team.

Think about Disney World’s parking plan – they assign each parking attendant a very specific, seemingly small role; but when they all execute their individual tasks, it creates great synergy and the huge challenge of ushering thousands of guests into the theme park becomes far more manageable.

2. No Sleeping at the Wheel

Beware; a great plan can tempt you to hit autopilot, but you need to be engaged with your plan at all stages. You need to double-check that each part of your plan is moving forward. That way, if there’s a hiccup you can catch it early, recover, and move on. Remember, it’s when you shift into autopilot that plans start to unravel. You don’t want an unorganized Disney World parking situation on your hands!

3. Evaluate

Evaluation is the true key to improvement, so if you want to become better at executing your plans, you’ll need to evaluate yourself. Be your toughest critic, because this is a time to learn from both the good and bad. Here are a few questions to consider at all stages from plan development to completion:

• Did you assign tasks to your team correctly?
• Did all team members execute the assigned tasks properly? If not, why not?
• Were your tasks specific?
• Was your team equipped with the right skills, tools, and resources needed to complete their assigned tasks?
• Did you have a good timeline, with clearly defined milestones?
• Did you stay engaged with your plan from start to finish?

I’m glad that Disney World takes the time to self-evaluate and correct. If they didn’t, I’m sure I’d have seen way more disorganized parking lots over the years.

A great plan is nothing without execution. Therefore, don’t forget to assign tasks, take inventory, and evaluate, so that you can get the most out of your well-thought-out plans. But, if you need professional help…well, you know who to call.

Ideas are a commodity; execution of them is not ~ Michael Dell. How to better execute your plans:
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For those of you (and my guess would be that’s a very few) who don’t know, Pokémon Go is a free-to-play, location-based augmented reality (AR) mobile game developed by Niantic and published by The Pokémon Company as part of the franchise. The game uses your smartphone’s GPS and camera, creating an AR experience allowing you to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures called Pokémon in the real world. And you don’t even have to be a Pokémon fan to enjoy this experience; the technology behind it is just plain cool. Peering through your smartphone screen, it’s as if the Pokémon are really there – walking down the street, chilling in your living room, or putting in an appearance at the office.

With 21 million users and rising, Pokémon Go has surpassed popular apps like Twitter, and seen more engagement than Facebook (and let’s remember this game only made its debut on July 6, 2016). Putting it in plain English: this is huge! I think it would be easy to stop here and just get caught up in the popularity, fun, and gaming aspects of Pokémon Go. But, I think what is even cooler is that this game is making AR mainstream.

This widespread use of AR is changing the conversation. It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote a blog about AR impacting storytelling. The message then was to be prepared because AR is coming; now I’d have to say the message has changed to: AR is here for good. The widespread adoption of AR is underway and there are a few things your business can learn about messaging from its characteristics and Pokémon Go’s unbridled success:

1. Engagement

AR technology is the cream of the crop when it comes to engagement. It makes things feel real, allowing users to be more fully engaged in the task or game. Your business can take a cue from AR when you’re crafting and trying to get your message out. Ask yourself this: Is it engaging? Does it feel real? Is it interactive? If the answer is “no”, then you might want to go back to the drawing board.

2. Excitement

AR technology is undeniably compelling – you can’t help but share it. This enthusiasm creates a viral effect, impacting and reaching people far and wide. So, when developing and sharing your message with customers, you need to give them something exciting that they just can’t wait to share. Would you want to talk about this outside of work or with friends and family? If you can say yes to these questions, your news is more likely to spread.

3. Edification

AR technology is helpful; a lot of existing and emerging applications involve using AR to teach skills. People constantly seek out those technologies, products, and services that can help them complete even the simplest of tasks faster and more effectively. So, think about how your business helps meet a need or want and capitalize on that message.

The next time you’re building your business messaging, take a page from AR’s playbook by making sure it’s engaging, exciting, and edifying. And, if you need help crafting that perfect message, I know a pretty awesome team that can help.

AR technology is pretty amazing and I’m excited to see what the future holds, but it’s time for me to go – there’s a Pokestop down the street that I need to get to. Gotta catch ‘em all!

I choose you, Pikachu! Unexpected lessons in #messaging from #PokémonGo:
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Here are some quick tips for before, during, and after to maximize your conference experience.

Before

Even before you pack your bag, make sure you have checked out the conference program. Read through the session abstracts and identify the must-see sessions and speakers. You want to optimize your time by only going to sessions that are relevant to you. Doing this ahead of time allows you to schedule meetings in confidence knowing you are not going to miss out on important sessions.

Also, take some time to develop questions you might have about the sessions; if there is a Q&A opportunity, you’ll be ready with well thought out questions. Consider whether there are certain media or analysts you would like to connect with. (I know a great PR team that can help with that!)

Lastly, don’t forget to follow the conference and speakers on Twitter, and find out the official conference hashtag – this is a great way to join the conversation about the conference on social media.

During

With your schedule in-hand, you are ready for a valuable conference experience. Apart from attending the sessions, taking notes, and asking thought-provoking questions, conferences are also about networking. You’ll want to engage both in person and on social media.

You know those speakers you followed on Twitter before you arrived? Well, you are now listening to them give their presentations live and in person. Share session highlights and mention the speakers in your tweets. Don’t forget to use the conference hashtag to ensure the broadest exposure for your tweets, as well as taking the opportunity to engage with others by liking and retweeting other tweets – you’ll be surprised the extra interactions you can have during the conference on social media.

Now, engaging on social media is great during the conference, but don’t forsake the traditional meet-and-greet. Introduce yourself, share business cards, and engage in a little networking, because there is nothing quite like meeting and making a connection in person.

After

The conference has come to an end; you are back to your daily grind. But, there are still a few things you’ll want to do related to the conference. Make sure to connect with your new contacts on social media and shoot them a quick follow-up email to continue the conversations you were having at the conference.

Summarize your key takeaways – what did you learn, who did you meet. Taking a few minutes to process and gather these takeaways will allow you to create more value by identifying key applications and taking action on them – whether it be adopting a new process for your business or closing a sale.

You may even choose to write a blog – this is a great way to share comments about what you learned at the show with a broader audience. And now with LinkedIn Pulse, you don’t have to have an established company or personal blog to share your thoughts with your network.

A few days out of the office, cool destinations, opportunities to learn and socialize…conferences can be a lot of fun. However, you don’t want to lose sight of your end goal – bringing value to your business or organization. So remember: check out the agenda beforehand, join the social media conversation, follow up with your new contacts, and identify and apply key takeaways. With these quick tips, you can make the most of your conference.

Are you a conference rockstar? If not, check these tips on becoming a conference pro:
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Now what are you going to do about it? Answer: sharing your experiences in a blog post.

But how, you might ask? Your company doesn’t have a blog already set up and you don’t have the time to invest in creating your own blog – plus, how would you even get people to read it?

LinkedIn Pulse is your solution. LinkedIn’s publishing platform allows you to post blogs that will then be shared with the LinkedIn community. Most professionals have already invested a lot of time and energy into their LinkedIn profile and have an established network of contacts. Therefore, posting your blog on LinkedIn Pulse is a great way to leverage the professional network you’ve already built versus starting from scratch – developing a separate blog site and trying to drive people to it. Your audience is already gathered for you on LinkedIn Pulse.

So, you’ve done much of the hard work already by building your network. Once you have written your blog (and if you need some help in that area, check out Ready for Liftoff: How to Successfully Launch Your Blog), the next step is to publish it on LinkedIn Pulse.

You can navigate to publishing a post on LinkedIn Pulse in two ways. First, you can select Pulse from the Interests dropdown on the main navigation.

This takes you to the homepage for LinkedIn Pulse, where you can peruse the latest posts. You will also see the publish  button in the top right-hand corner.

You can also click “Publish a post” right on the homepage.

Now, whether you click on “Publish a post” straight from the homepage or you navigate to it from clicking Pulse on the Interests dropdown, you are now ready to post your blog.

There are three components to your LinkedIn Pulse post – an image, a headline, and the main body of the blog. You will first see an opportunity to add an image in (and you definitely want to do this to better capture your audience’s attention and improve overall engagement); images that are at least 700 x 400 pixels look the best.

Next, the LinkedIn Pulse editor will walk you through the rest. Where it says “Write Your Headline”, go ahead and enter your blog title. In the section where it says “Start Writing”, copy and paste your blog text. I suggest you go ahead and write your blog in a separate document and save it; that way, you won’t lose it or accidentally post a half-written blog, because no one wants that.

Now that you’ve copied your blog text, check the formatting; sometimes the LinkedIn Pulse editor will not play nicely from your copied text – especially numbered lists. LinkedIn Pulse also gives you the option to add tags, so it’s easier for people to find your posts. Pulse already has a predetermined list of tags, so just start typing them into the “Add tags” section and select the tags that best fit your keywords.

As you are working through uploading your image, adding your headline, and entering your blog text, don’t forget to SAVE! At the top you will see a “Save” button, which will save your work, but won’t make it public. My advice? Save early, save often. Once you are ready for the world to see your work, it’s time to hit the “Publish” button.

Hitting the Publish button means you now have a completed, shareable blog. Don’t forget to grab the link and share it as an update on your LinkedIn profile. Be sure to post to other social media platforms such as Twitter, too. Also, another cool feature of LinkedIn Pulse is now your posts will show up on your LinkedIn profile, so when people peruse your profile they can easily see what you’ve written.

Wasn’t that easy? Now go out, write, and share it with the world…well, at least your professional network on LinkedIn. If you’re interested in learning more about how to utilize social media in your career, check back here soon – we’ll have a helpful presentation for you. Lastly, here at Interprose we know a thing or two about social media, so if you need help, please contact us.

Unsure how to get started with #LinkedInPulse? Try this handy how-to guide:
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But how do we show movement on these goals? This is where PR measurement comes in. It is the tool to show how communication efforts bring value and help achieve the goals of the business or organization.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend PR News’ PR Measurement Conference in Chicago. Dedicating a whole day to discussing PR measurement, the conference was a great refresher on several solid, time-tested measurement insights.

Here are my top four tips and tricks for PR measurement.

1. Goal setting, Goal Setting, Goal Setting

I can’t say it enough! It is foundational to set goals. Without a goal, it is very hard to know what’s working and not working in your PR plan. Setting goals for your business or organization should be the number one priority. Then, leave it to the communication professionals at Interprose to show you how communication efforts can help achieve your overall business goals.

Often, organizations get wrapped up in trying to select the best data collection or measurement tools before they have established their goals. But the goals should determine the tools. Focus on selecting solid goals first and then we can help guide you in tool selection.

2. So What?

Once your goals are established and action is taken, it’s now time to look at the progress. Every time data or metrics are presented, you should be asking, “So what?” What does this metric mean? What does it tell us? How does it add value or show movement on the business goals? “How” and “where” the data came from is not enough. It is the “what” and “why” that brings the real insight. Thinking about the “so what” will help you determine if your efforts are successful.

Sometimes metrics can be tricky – don’t be afraid to ask your PR team to provide definitions for metrics, so you can understand the value it brings. Ultimately, the metrics should deliver something of importance.

3. Dashing Dashboards

Dashboards are becoming a desirable reporting tool, but what should they show?

A dashboard is an opportunity to take data and let it tell a story. It’s not just a collection of numbers and metrics thrown together, but a display of how we are reaching the organization’s goals. Something to point out – a dashboard is not a catchall; it should have a clear, unified message.

4. The Future of PR Measurement

I’m going to take this last point in a bit of a different direction. During the PR Measurement Conference, one session solely focused on the future of PR measurement.

A hot topic in the tech industry is big data, and it is impacting PR too. With so much data becoming available, it’s becoming important for PR professionals to understand the technology and tools we use at a deeper level. A movement towards a more tech-savvy communications professional is on the way. Here at Interprose we are not afraid of embracing change. As a seasoned company, we will continue to explore new tools and expand our offerings to help serve our clients better.

It was valuable to take a day and just focus on PR measurement because at the end of the day, it’s all about showing movement on goals.

If you are a business or organization in need of some help in achieving your goals, Interprose offers a wide variety of PR and marketing services to assist you in just that. Check out our website to learn a little more about what we do and contact us today!

How do YOU measure your PR successes? Here are four tips and tricks to help you get it right.
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We gravitate to stories from a young age and it never really ends; everyone likes a good story. It’s how we connect, share, and proliferate ideas. A story is impactful.

It is a well-known fact that storytelling is at the heart of public relations and marketing. We always want to make our messages relatable, memorable, and purposeful – all things that characterize a good story.

Recently, I came across an interesting Engadget article about how virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) is impacting the world of storytelling. Longtime animator for Disney, Glen Keane has ventured into the world of VR illustrating. Keane is able to draw in VR, creating life-sized versions of beloved Disney characters. Rather than being constrained to a static page, he’s now able to engage with his art, walking around his characters as if they were standing right in front of him. That’s just straight up cool.

So, this got me thinking – if VR or AR can have this much of an impact on illustration, what other ways can it impact storytelling? AR has the potential to make our messages more realistic and present, giving us a chance to really engage our audiences at a level never done before through traditional media. As the technology continues to advance, we would be foolish to think it will not impact how we as PR and marketing professionals deliver our messages and content.

Now is the time to do some research and learn about the current and upcoming AR technologies that can help spread your message. Beyond storytelling and animation, we’re now starting to see AR and VR pop up in unexpected places like healthcare. For example, Vipaar, a video support solution takes telemedicine to the next level by allowing a remote surgeon to project his hands into the display of a surgeon wearing Google Glass to point and guide.

And healthcare is not the only place seeing AR. The Natural History Museum has an app that allows visitors to run it over the dinosaur exhibits to see what it would have looked like when the dinosaur was alive. Even magic tricks and practical jokes utilize AR to bring their stunts to life tricking friends and entertaining audiences. So, as you can see AR is making a splash in many different industries. We’re also seeing AR and VR being addressed on a larger scale, with proposed standards from global standards development organizations, evangelism organizations, and events committed to making the world of AR and VR a reality.

I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know something is starting right now. So, get ready! It won’t be long before we see AR and VR as a part of our world, impacting our daily jobs as PR and marketing professionals.

#AR is writing the next chapter in the art of storytelling. Will #PR and #marketing be ready?
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Technology is changing the way we do business, extending working hours around the clock. However, we still have the same 24 hours we’ve always had. I’m sure you’ve all said or at least heard someone say they wish there was more time in the day to get things done. With the evolving business scene, it is more important than ever to improve your time management skills, allowing you to balance meeting client demands with maintaining a healthy, happy personal life.

Facing large projects and short deadlines, Interprose is not immune to the changing business world and around-the-clock demands. It’s a challenge our team tackles on a daily basis. However, with good time management discipline, it’s also one we’ve been able to overcome. Here are some of our best time management tips to help you stay on top of your work, while still maintaining a good work-life balance:

1. Know your priorities.

It is easy to become a reactor to life, living in the moment, responding to whatever comes up and giving it your attention until something else pops up. This allows for no future planning…which is a recipe for craziness, always running from one thing to the next, eating away at your time. By identifying your priorities, decision-making will become simpler when many tasks or opportunities arise at the same time. Don’t know where to start? Check out Back to Basics: Setting Priorities, an article that shares three different approaches to setting priorities.

2. Get organized.

Do you want to be optimistic, goal-oriented, and relaxed? Well, according to an article in the Huffington Post, these are just a few characteristics of organized people. And the good news is that according to the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), organization can absolutely be learned. One way to get started as an organizer is by making a to-do list − I’m a sucker for crossing things off my to-do list. Take a few minutes in the morning to write down all the tasks you want or need to accomplish that day, helping you to focus instead of becoming distracted by the bombardment of daily emails and calls.

3. Give yourself some wiggle room.

Meeting deadlines can be stressful, especially if some of the elements of the project are outside of your control. Things come up and people misjudge how long a project will take. Account for these things as you build a schedule of deadlines for a project. If your absolute deadline is Friday, tell your team you need it by Wednesday (or sooner). Building in the wiggle room up front will help you meet your deadlines with more ease. This philosophy can also work for solo projects. Shoot for getting things done early to avoid last-minute pressure and free up your time for other things.

4. Reward yourself.

Make time for yourself, unplug from work, and really spend some time relaxing. According to an article on Psychology Today, taking some alone time gives your brain a chance to reboot, improves concentration, increases productivity, helps you discover your own voice, gives you a chance to think deeply, and helps you problem solve more effectively. So, whether it’s going out to dinner with friends, or binge-watching Netflix, or fitting in that daily jog, make sure you take some time to unwind.

Time management is so helpful to productivity and you too can have good time management! So, as work and life piles on remember these four tips: know your priorities, get organized, give yourself some wiggle room, and reward yourself. Now go out there and take control of your day!

Manage your time before it manages you. #Timemanagement tips:
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