Blog: Strategy Matters!

Social Media and Crisis Communications

(see my article on social media and crisis management pubished 6/1/09 on Human Resource Executive online)

Campus shootings and challenges faced by schools and universities in communicating immediately with students and staff have prompted these institutions to take a new look at crisis communication plans – and to incorporate social media into the mix.

At least one health care system – Innovis Health, a 21-location healthcare provider with sites in Minnesota and North Dakota – has used social media to Continue reading “Social Media and Crisis Communications”

TweetEthics: Trust and Transparency in a Web 2.0 World

As PR reps and journalists for individuals and companies learn more about the benefits of Twitter, and other forms of social media, questions are arising about how/how not to present information.

Should the writer of a post – or tweet – reveal who they are? Indicate that they’re writing “on behalf of” another individual or organization? Let the reader draw his/her own conclusions? What’s right? What’s not? Continue reading “TweetEthics: Trust and Transparency in a Web 2.0 World”

Is “Old Media” Dead? I Don’t Think So.

In an online forum, recently, a poster made the observation that “old media is dead.” Hmmm. I can understand the sentiment. After all, it seems like every day we hear about some media outlet that is either downsizing or shutting down completely and we all “know” that *nobody* reads newspapers anymore… But, I’m skeptical. In fact, I have a feeling that “old media” may eventually be reincarnated. Continue reading “Is “Old Media” Dead? I Don’t Think So.”

McDonald’s vs. Starbucks – the Coffee Wars

McDonald’s recently announced that it will be serving specialty coffees like vanilla lattes and caramel cappuccinos at outlets across the U.S., at a fraction of the cost of the same types of drinks at Starbucks.

Wow! As this plays out it will be a great economics case study. Can you compete on price? What value is there in a brand? Will consumers continue to pay more for something that they can get for less someplace else?

Continue reading “McDonald’s vs. Starbucks – the Coffee Wars”

In The Minds of Consumers – Brilliant!

On the way home from teaching a class the other day I heard what I thought was a classicly created radio commercial from OnStar.

The attention-getting premise: “Are you counting on your cell phone to be your lifeline in a crash?” Well, yeah. That’s why I don’t need OnStar, right? Continue reading “In The Minds of Consumers – Brilliant!”

Will Kindle Replace “Real” Books?

I don’t think so.

I’ve long been a stalwart supporter of paper and very much aligned with the philosophy that technology represents another option, not necessarily a replacement option for many communication tactics and tools. (Somewhat akin to the old “TV will replace radio” sentiment.) The advent of TV obviously changed the radio industry as the advent of technology will change the publishing industry – I don’t, however, think Continue reading “Will Kindle Replace “Real” Books?”

“Monetizing” Your Website Content

A few weeks ago I talked to a woman who started a blog in 2004 and, last fall, sold a minority share of that blog for $1.3 million! A minority share. The site generates about $500 thousand/year in revenue.

While results this high may be on the right-hand side of that old bell-shaped curve, in talking with others who have been generated revenue through their web sites, I’ve learned that success is not out of reach of “just plain folks.”

The keys to success, as in all marketing: Continue reading ““Monetizing” Your Website Content”

Should You Be Using Social Media? Everybody Else Is, Right?

Should you be using social media? Gee, I don’t know. While the media is new, the question is old – “should you be using TV? radio? newspaper? direct mail? billboards? or any number of communication tactics that might help you connect with your audience?”

Again, I’ll admit my strategic bias. The question, I think, shouldn’t so much be framed from the standpoint of *what* tool you should be using, but *why* you would want to, in the first place.

Yes, you should definitely should Continue reading “Should You Be Using Social Media? Everybody Else Is, Right?”

Writing Ad Copy – WIIF*T*!!

Okay – this headline is not intended to be an expletive. But, after recent experiences with a group of students in a senior-level, project-based, PR campaign class, I’m thinking that maybe the old copywriter’s acronym of WIIFM (“What’s in it for me”?) may be somewhat misleading and result in a lack of focus on the end user – THEM! The better acronym may be WIIFT- “What’s in it for *them*!”) I have been so indoctrinated into “selling” to people since my early childhood that I think I may take certain things for granted – one of which is that, if I want to “sell” or “persuade” somebody about anything – whether it’s buying a product, giving me a job, going to eat where *I* want to go eat, etc., I need to think about WIIFT – “What’s in it for *them*?” And, I need to…
Continue reading “Writing Ad Copy – WIIF*T*!!”

10 Copywriting Tips for Guaranteed Results!

Whether you’re writing a brochure, copy for a newspaper ad, a script for a radio announcement or a page or blog for your web site, there are some tried and true techniques that can help you make sure that your copy gets the results you’re looking for.

Think about writing copy as making a sales pitch to a customer. Your goal is to persuade that customer to do something – most likely to purchase your product or service. Here’s how: Continue reading “10 Copywriting Tips for Guaranteed Results!”