Leeza Hoyt, Author at The Hoyt Organization

Announcing a $300-Million Tower in Koreatown

How does a developer maximize the visibility of the opening of a $300 million residential tower during a pandemic? The developers of Kurve on Wilshire, an iconic complex located at the apex of downtown Los Angeles and Koreatown, turned to THO to navigate the complexities. While construction continued during the pandemic, public gatherings were not permitted despite its planned opening for residents.

Using Strategy to our Advantage

The building was planned as a 23-story tower with a one-acre amenity deck and retail planned for the ground floor. Strategically, THO designed a two-phased outreach campaign that centered on private walk-throughs with key media sources to provide sneak peeks of the complex. Designed as one-on-one opportunities with the development team, this allowed media dedicated time for their specific needs and storylines. Following the sneak peeks, THO then crafted the story into a news release announcement focusing on the project’s milestone of being 30% leased just weeks after the certificate of occupancy was received. THO reached out to the LA Times, touting the success of moving ahead with the construction – and the wealth of amenities which played into the COVID news cycle and how real estate was impacted.

Making an Impact

As a result, the client was featured in a full-page story in the LA Times. Following the story, THO distributed the news release to local media outlets. Using this strategy, along with the creative thinking to insert this client into the news cycle, THO generated more than 20 placements for the Kurve on Wilshire within a three-week period – all within the client’s budget.

Leeza Hoyt

Purpose-driven Marketing And Corporate Social Responsibility

Purpose-driven marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR ) have been buzzwords for decades. However, despite these terms being around for a long time, companies still need clarification on the two to avoid missing meaningful opportunities.

So, let’s delve deeper into purpose-driven marketing and CSR to understand how these concepts work together.

What Is Purpose-driven Marketing And Corporate Social Responsibility?

The purpose of a company refers to ‘why’ it exists. It encompasses why a business operates and how it provides services in totality.

Purpose-driven marketing is an organizational strategy involving regular communication with target audiences about the missions or societal issues that affect them.

A purpose-driven campaign focuses on what a company stands for rather than what they sell. It may involve sharing your brand’s history, mission, and core values and explaining how they align with social causes or universal issues.

Purpose-driven marketing can take a holistic approach. This means your whole purpose is aligned to a given cause or a timely one whereby you respond to social and political situations as they arise.

On the other hand, CSR is a form of business regulation aimed at bettering a company’s social, economic, ethical, and environmental impact. It is based on the idea that companies have a responsibility to society and their shareholders.

CSR typically involves initiatives like:

Volunteering
Philanthropy
Reducing emissions and waste
Creating partnerships with local organizations in the community

Why Are They Important For Your Business?

Here are the reasons why purpose-driven marketing and CSR are a must for your business.

Unique Value Proposition

Customers are aligning themselves with businesses that adopt a purpose-driven approach focused on their needs and values. Purpose-driven marketing differentiates such businesses from others that innovate their products, services, or business models during times of turmoil like COVID-19. It allows you to create a holistic value proposition that resonates with customers in times of certainty and uncertainty.

A strong Corporate Social Responsibility strategy also creates a unique value proposition that helps your brand stand out. It helps to build a positive reputation and enhance customer loyalty and trust. CSR initiatives such as sustainability practices, community partnerships, and donations also bring attention to your business’s purpose-driven message.

Optimize Brand Image

Purpose-driven marketing engages customers on an emotional level. It speaks to their core values and beliefs. Contributing to universal and societal issues enhances public perception and improves brand image.

Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of the impact their shopping choices have on the world. And they want to align with brands that match their own ideology. Demonstrating corporate social responsibility through purpose-driven marketing initiatives is a great way to create a deep emotional connection with consumers.

Aligns Your Mission And Vision

A good CSR initiative aligns your mission with your vision. It encourages you to look beyond the bottom line and consider the long-term impact of your decisions.

Additionally, it can bring purpose to the workplace, creating a sense of meaning that makes employees feel proud to work for your organization.

Examples Of Purpose-driven Marketing And CSR

For those considering starting their own purpose-driven or CSR efforts, here are some examples of what this could look like.

Humanitarian Efforts

Your company can engage in humanitarian efforts as part of purpose-driven marketing or CSR strategy. Humanitarian efforts include giving aid during local and national disasters or donating money to help poor or orphaned children.

You can create your own humanitarian initiatives or join existing ones like Bringing Hope To The Family, for example. This is a nonprofit organization that provides education, care, and support to orphans and displaced families.

Your business can become a corporate partner, fundraise, volunteer, and provide awareness for a nonprofit of your choosing.

Environmental Causes

Climate change is a hot topic the world over. Customers are increasingly willing to buy sustainable products, and employees are choosing to work with organizations that prioritize their environmental impact.

Through purpose-driven marketing, you can communicate your commitment and efforts in:

Building responsibly. Strict quality control and environmental compliance.
Sourcing responsibly. Using recyclable, organic, or sustainable materials for manufacturing.

As part of your CSR efforts, you can:

reduce harmful practices
regulate energy consumption
plant trees
fund research
donate to related causes

However, beware of donating to greenwashing causes and do your due diligence before choosing a cause to support.

Community-based Causes

The community in which your business operates plays a pivotal role in its success. Community-based initiatives can strengthen your bond with the local demographic and build loyalty. At the same time, it can bring meaningful change to local communities.

One of the best ways to show that you care is by giving back. Investing in a community project like opening a free library or helping fund an educational initiative could be just what it takes for locals to realize the positive impact of your business.

Final Thoughts

Although purpose-driven marketing and CSR are not the same things, they contribute immensely to your company’s overall purpose. In addition, they promote positive public perception.

At The Hoyt Organization, we help companies build holistic purpose-driven marketing and CSR strategies that help them stand even during uncertain times.

Leeza Hoyt

How Predictive Analytics Can Be Used In PR Campaigns

Have you spent time on PR campaigns only for them to fizzle? You could benefit from using predictive models that tell you how a campaign will fare before it even happens.

If you spend time online, you may notice you’re getting more targeted ads. For instance, you had to scroll through hundreds of movies on Netflix to find a suitable one to watch. But today, there’s a “because you watched” section that shows movies you like based on what you’ve watched before.

Such predictive analytics of customer behavior can help you fine-tune campaigns and maximize campaign effectiveness. It does so by determining the right messages, target audiences, and channels in advance. Additionally, you can be better prepared to identify potential risks and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Read on to find out how to use predictive analytics in your PR campaigns.

What Is Predictive Analytics?

Predictive analytics refers to AI that uses historical data to identify and predict future trends. While past data analysis models analyze and give you insights after a campaign has ended, predictive models use data from past campaigns (such as demographics, customer behavior, and purchase history) in order to forecast outcomes.

For example, predictive analytics can tell you what kind of customers are more likely to buy a product or how they will respond to a particular message.

How To Use Predictive Analytics In Your PR Campaigns

66% of businesses that have implemented predictive analytic models report that they bring “very high” or “high” business value. Predictive analytic models have a median ROI of 145%, much higher than non-predictive models (89%).

Let’s look at how your PR campaigns can benefit from predictive analytics:

Understanding Customer Behavior

Customer behavior has a significant effect on the success of your PR campaign. Since each customer segment is unique, the response to a PR campaign can vary significantly.

Naturally, it’s difficult to tell how different customer segments will respond to your PR campaigns. That’s why you need predictive analytics. This analytics looks at past customer behavior and tells you what each customer segment is likely to do in the future.

For instance, it can predict:

The type of content they’re likely to interact with
The type of language they respond to
Channels they’re likely to use
Where they’re most likely to churn

You can use this valuable information to create PR campaigns that are designed specifically for each customer segment. As a result, you can reach the right audience, increase your ROI, and get better results from your PR campaigns.

Finding Your Audience

Not all campaigns are suited for all customer segments. Sometimes, you get excellent results by targeting a subset of your customers. Predictive AI makes the process of identifying the right audience for each campaign much easier.

One of the biggest mistakes that PR professionals make is finding one audience and sticking to it. The reason is that just as audience tastes and preferences change; your ideal audience changes too.

For example, between the 60s and the 90s, McDonald’s target audience was kids. Today, their target audience is low to middle-income families.

Predictive analytics can help you identify shifts in your ideal audience. This allows you to adjust your campaigns and reach the people you need to.

Maintaining A Sharp Competitive Edge

PR helps businesses maintain a competitive advantage by increasing awareness, credibility, and sales. Predictive analytics can help you increase this competitive advantage by acting as a proprietary source of market intelligence, such as how to increase customer retention.

Predictive AI is trained to look at key performance indicators (KPIs), such as how customer microsegments respond to your messages and those of your competitors. Its modeling process allows it to distinguish between micro-segments of customers who interact with your messages vs. those who interact with your competitors’ messages.

With this data, you can tell where your messages fall short. You can also identify your competitors’ weaknesses based on the microsegments’ behavioral trends. Then, you can leverage this knowledge to adjust your messaging strategy and differentiate yourself from competitors.

Adjusting Messaging To Meet Today’s Escalating Customer Expectations

The customer experience has been referred to as the next competitive battleground for decades. Predictive analytics can help you hold a strong place in the war by giving you insight into what your customers want.

Today, customers are aligning themselves with brands that reflect their personal values. By using predictive analytics, PR firms can create targeted messaging and campaigns that engage people on a deeper, more personal level. For example, a campaign highlighting sustainability and green initiatives might resonate better with a customer base that is eco-friendly.

Final Thoughts

Predictive analytics has grown exponentially and has improved online customer experience. By leveraging predictive analytics, you can craft effective messages that are tailored to the target customer base. This leads to better engagement and improved customer relations.

With the help of a reputable PR organization, your business can leverage predictive analytics to get the most out of its public relations efforts.

Leeza Hoyt

Architectural and PR Collaborate For Non-Profit Center

Are you ready to launch a new project or program for your non-profit organization? Maybe there is a milestone event that needs media attention? Partnering with an experienced and proven public relations firm who can design an effective public relations (PR) strategy.

Based on years of public relations exeperience, we share six expert tips for building an engaging and effective non-profit PR strategy. From defining your goals to building relationships with the media, these tips will help you connect with your audience and make a real impact.

Why Is PR Important For Nonprofits?

Non-Profit Public Relations (PR) is an important asset for non-profit organizations. It’s a surefire way to spread your message about your non-profit. With a great strategy in place, you can make others aware of what your organization stands for.

PR can also help you to build and maintain relationships. These connections will help your non-profit to grow in support and trust from the public. In return, this can turn into donations, volunteerism, and other forms of support.

Here is an example. We worked with Retail Design Collaborative to help the non-profit organization WISEPlace launch and promote their new housing facility in Santa Ana.

With a great PR strategy, we managed to obtain 4.7 million in editorial value and 77 million media impressions for their cause.

This just goes to show that an excellent PR strategy can play a vital role in your success. It’ll help you to make a positive impact and get your message in front of more people.

Building An Effective Nonprofit PR Strategy

Building a PR strategy can seem complicated and very time-consuming. However, it’s actually rather simple. Below are some tips to help you get started in getting your non-profit noticed.

Start By Defining Your Goals

Putting down your PR goals is the first step to building a PR strategy for your non-profit. By knowing what you want, you can create a great PR plan that’s focused and measurable.

Setting a goal for your nonprofit is simple. Perhaps, you want to increase awareness? Maybe you want to increase your reputation and gain more donors. Take some time to think about what you want to gain from having a PR strategy. Then, you can outline goals that are realistic and measurable.

Keep a record of these goals and measure their progress over time to see if your strategies are working or not.

Get To Know Your Target Audience

Knowing your audience is crucial to building an effective PR strategy for your non-profit. After all, they’re your driving force for your digital marketing material.

Understanding who your target audience is can help you to create messages and choose communication channels they frequently visit. It’ll make it easier to reach out to them directly.

Before jumping in, research is essential. The data you gather, such as their ages, interests, and more, will drive your PR strategy. It’ll also help you to build stronger relationships with them.

Use A Variety Of Communication Channels

Communication platforms can help you to spread your message to a larger target audience. These channels can include social media, email, press releases, events, and more.

When choosing channels or platforms, find out which ones your target audience enjoys. For example, if you’re targeting young generations, then Instagram and TikTok are great social media platforms to focus your efforts on. If you’re targeting certain professionals, try LinkedIn.

As a little tip, tailor your message to the specific platform. What can work for some may not work for all channels.

Build Relationships With Media Outlets

Building relationships with the media can have amazing benefits! They’re a powerful ally to have. That’s why 93% of PR professionals follow journalists on social media. They can help you gain more coverage and visibility for your non-profit.

To start building relationships with the media, start by researching journalists and media outlets that cover topics related to your nonprofit’s mission. Write a friendly email or give them a call to start building that friendship.

Remember that building relationships will take time and effort, so be patient and persistent.

Measure Your Success

As with any project, you’ll need to measure its success. When you measure, you’re ensuring that you’re making progress toward your goals. It’ll also help you to identify areas that need improvement.

To measure the success of your PR strategy, compare your results with the goals and objectives you set in the beginning. Metrics that you can use include social media engagement, donations, and more.

Remember that quantifying public relations is an ongoing process. By regularly tracking your progress and making adjustments, you’ll reach PR goals and build a stronger reputation for your non-profit.

Final Thoughts

It’s no secret that public relations can greatly impact your non-profit. However, we know that running a non-profit is no simple task. Hiring a professional PR company will provide strategy and direction so you can manage and measure your goals and objectives.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Successfully Launch And Execute PR For The Hospitality & Travel Industry

The hospitality and travel industries are quite competitive. New businesses and destinations constantly enter the market, making it harder for existing businesses to stand out.

If you want to make sure your business stands out from its competitors, it’s time to consider public relations. A successful PR strategy and campaign can help your business gain exposure and establish credibility in the market.

How To Launch And Execute A PR Strategy For Hospitality And Travel Industries

Here are a few steps to get you started on launching and executing a successful PR plan for the hospitality and travel industry.

Develop A Strong PR Strategy

A solid strategy will help cut through the noise and make your message stand out. The trick is to get people all excited and eager to use your new products or services for their upcoming trip.

Create goals: Concrete goals are based on research of what has worked and hasn’t worked for you and your competitors before.
Identify your target audience: Doing so will help you craft the right messages for them and determine the best channels to use for communication.
Set realistic timelines: Having a timeline in place helps ensure you finish all tasks in time.
Create compelling content: Content is king when it comes to PR, so make sure that you come up with content that is both informative and engaging.

Have A Strong Online Presence

In 2021, two-thirds of the revenue in the travel and hospitality industry came from online sources.

For your travel and hospitality business to have a strong presence online to grab the attention of new customers:

Ensure your website is up-to-date and presentable. This will be the first impression potential customers have of your business. Make sure that all content on the website is relevant and informative, as this will help bolster your credibility. Also ensure that your site is mobile-friendly.
Invest in search engine optimization and social media marketing to improve your visibility online.
Send out different kinds of content including videos, blog posts, and infographics.
Have a consistent brand message across all online channels.

Build Relationships With Media Outlets

Media outreach is an essential part of any PR strategy for the hospitality and travel industries. Building relationships with local, national, and international media outlets will help you gain exposure for your business.

Don’t wait till the last minute to start reaching out to the media. Most media outlets are booked months in advance, so start connecting with the media way before you launch your PR campaign.

Research and identify the key media outlets that are relevant to your industry and target audience. Establish concrete relationships with reporters, editors, and producers at these media outlets, then create press releases for major announcements or initiatives that you’re launching to create “buzz” and get your message out there.

Showcase Your Unique Selling Points

A unique selling point (USP) is a feature or benefit of your business that differentiates it from the competition. It’s important to identify and showcase your USP when launching PR campaigns so you can stand out from the competition.

Ask yourself, what can you offer that other businesses do not offer? Is what you’re offering the most important thing to your target audience? Use your USPs to craft compelling stories and as a hook to engage with potential customers.

Leverage Influencers And Advocates

Influencers make it easy to communicate your USPs to target audiences and show them how they benefit from your offerings. Reach out to popular influencers that align with your brand values, so that they can help you reach a wider audience.

Having influencers who vouch for you will help to gain the trust of potential customers and improve your brand image.

Offer Promotions

Promotional offers are effective in creating a “buzz” around your business, as well as driving sales. Offer discounts or special deals on certain travel and hospitality packages to get the attention of potential customers.

Promote your offers on social media and other online platforms to reach more people.

Execute Your PR Strategy

The launch of your hospitality and travel industry PR campaign is the most important part of your efforts. It should be unforgettable.

Here’s how to make a great first impression and grab people’s attention right away:

Address the media and unveil any new initiatives or products.
Give media and influencers free real-life experiences and tours of the property.
Invite industry experts and thought leaders to speak at launch events.
Post stories, photos, and videos about your property on social media channels.
Organize a launch event with celebrity guests or influencers to draw attention.
Include an interactive element in your launch, such as contests or giveaways.
Create a unique hashtag that you can use in all your social media and PR campaigns.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for the right expertise to help you, consider hiring a PR agency that specializes in the hospitality and travel industry.

At The Hoyt Organization, we can provide you with valuable insight into the most effective strategies to use for your business based on the type of product or service you offer.

Leeza Hoyt

Public Relations Marketing Tips For Medical Spa Companies

Exposure and success go hand in hand, especially in our media-dominated age. For your medical spa to succeed, you have to master public relations and establish your brand. Without professional public and media relations help, getting your foot in the door can be difficult.

Fortunately, these public relations marketing tips for medical spa companies will guide you toward smarter PR, more exposure, and more clients.

7 Top PR Marketing Tips For Medical Spas

Use these top PR marketing tips for your medical spa to broaden your reach, improve your content, and increase revenue.

Figure Out What Makes You Different

In a highly competitive market like medical spas, it’s important to differentiate yourself from your competition. Do an overview of your spa and your competitors and narrow down what makes yours different from everyone else.

If you have nothing that differentiates your spa from others, create a difference and make it part of your brand. This can be anything from using only sustainably sourced products to having a specific theme in your spa.

This will increase brand awareness and retention, and help you establish your online and offline presence.

Reward Reviews

Reviews are a great way to increase your spa’s trustworthiness and gain new clients. It’s especially important to rank higher on Google spa results when people search for medical spas near them.

When clients leave your spa, reward them with a discount or a membership for an honest review of your services. If you don’t want to bother clients at your spa, you can also send emails after their visit.

Positive reviews will optimize your PR with local SEO and negative reviews, as harsh as they can be, are a valuable resource for improving your services. Make time to politely reply to negative reviews and research the complaint.

Take Advantage Of Social Media

Just because you have a physical location to sell doesn’t mean you should ignore social media. It’s a great way to build a brand and bring in new clients.

It’s also an easy way to advertise any products your spa sells. Targeted ads and micro-influencers have made selling products accessible for smaller brands. You no longer have to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a sponsored post.

Create Quality Content

Quality content remains one of the most important factors for any successful brand and it’s no different for a medical spa. Whether you’re writing about your product’s efficacy or how-to guides on skin care, well-researched and informative writing is essential to great SEO and success.

Quality content isn’t just important for the algorithm. It’s also important to the people. This applies to both social media and web content. If the content is informative and engaging, users will spend more time browsing. This, in turn, aids your SEO to help boost your social and SERP ranking and organic reach.

Invest in good content writing, high-quality web copy, and social media content.

Use Analytics To Learn About Your Audience

Information is king and nowhere is that more true than in public relations. Your medical spa has a demographic. And the more you know about this demographic, the more you can provide them with the services, products, and content they would find valuable.

Your goal should be to tailor your content to the people that use your services.

Use services like Google Analytics to learn about your website visitors. Convert your social media to business accounts to access insights into your audience. Finally, make use of public relations professionals to help create audience-specific strategies.

Be Smart With Targeted Ad Campaigns

Targeted ads have never been easier. From Google to Instagram, you can now easily use the above analytics to target the groups who would have a direct interest in your medical spa.

However, it’s important to use targeted ads and your budget smartly. A lot of companies pour their budget into one source like Google without doing research.

Create small ad campaigns on each of your social media profiles and search engines like Google. Then ask your clients where they heard from you when they visit your spa. Determine which campaigns had the most impact and work on perfecting your campaigns on them.

Back Services With Evidence

As a medical spa, it’s important to back your services with evidence. The easiest ways to do this are to gather testimonials and before and after images of your services. Remember to always get consent from clients before taking any footage.

You can also find research or fund research to provide empirical evidence behind the efficacy of key ingredients or services your spa offers.

Final Thoughts

The above tips and mastering the art of persuasion in PR will help you establish your online and offline presence

Differentiate yourself, gain valuable insight into your audience, join the social media sphere, and create engaging content. All of these steps will get you closer to becoming an established and trusted medical spa brand.

Leeza Hoyt

How do you LAUNCH a new medical spa and its services during a pandemic?

In support of Aesthetica Medical Spa (AMS) and Hydription IV Therapy (Hydription) new location, AMS and Hydription called upon THO to help launch their new location – during the COVID-19 pandemic. AMS and Hydration needed to reach the local community and boost its overall brand awareness.

What We Did

THO DEVELOPED the launch plan for the company’s new location in Torrance, California, creating a news release and media advisory alerting media to the grand opening event. Additionally, the team developed a community outreach campaign on the benefits of the Hydription IV Therapy’s immune boosting benefits in light of COVID-19, offering first responders free Vita-C shots distributed to first responders including the Redondo Beach Police and fire stations as well as Palos Verdes police and fire stations in the community to spread the word.

THO CURATED a comprehensive social campaign including oversight of the company’s Facebook and Instagram platforms and development of its key content to drive awareness and engagement on both platforms through a sponsored post program.

RESULT

Despite the Aesthetica Medical Spa launch during the pandemic, as a result of THO’s carefully planned efforts, we were able to secure more than 1 million media impressions including in several regional placements and a a national news placement in Parade Magazine. Additionally we drove a considerable amount of social engagement result of our organic and sponsored including 46K impressions alone for the brand’s launch event and immunity-posting benefits for the short duration of the program.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Market A Cannabis Business

The global legal cannabis market will reach $57 billion by 2026. So, to stand out from the growing competition, you need a strong marketing strategy for your cannabis business.

Marketing or improving your cannabis business can be challenging due to the complex legal environment and stigma surrounding the industry. However, you can effectively promote your business and attract more customers with the right approach.

So, let’s show you how to effectively market a cannabis business.

How To Effectively Market Your Cannabis Business

Brand Awareness

One of the crucial aspects of marketing a cannabis business is improving brand awareness. How do you make sure people know your product or service exists? How do you get them to remember your brand and keep coming back?

First, create a website and an eye-catching logo to represent your company digitally.

Then, attend cannabis-related events and conferences to network with industry professionals. This can help get your brand in front of a larger audience. In addition, partner with influencers in the cannabis space to reach a new audience and build credibility for your brand. Ensure these influencers align with your values and brand message.

You can also host events like product launches or educational seminars to build more relationships and generate buzz around your brand.

Finally, offer promotions and discounts to attract new customers and keep existing ones returning.

Media Relations

Media relations can increase your brand’s visibility and build your brand’s reputation. Start by researching journalists who cover the cannabis industry. Then, contact them with personalized pitches about your brand.

Share your unique story about how you got started in the industry and why you’re passionate about cannabis. Doing so will humanize your brand and make it more relatable to journalists and followers.

In addition, develop a media kit that includes your company’s:

Background
Mission statement
Product information
Relevant statistics or data

You can also offer expert commentary on cannabis-related topics in the news. Doing so will position you as a thought leader and authority in the industry, which will build your credibility.

Social Media Presence

More than 4.26 billion people worldwide use social media. So, social media marketing will help you connect with your target audience and build brand awareness.

Start by identifying the social media platforms your target audience uses the most. Then, develop a content strategy that aligns with your brand’s messaging and goals. This could include:

sharing educational content about cannabis
showcasing your products or services
sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business

Use relevant hashtags on your posts to increase their visibility and reach a wider audience.

Pitching

Pitching is the opportunity to communicate your business’s value proposition to potential customers, investors, and partners.

Knowing your target audience is key. Research and tailor your pitch to their needs and interests to build rapport. Instead of listing the features of your products or services, focus on the benefits they offer. In short, explain how your business will solve your audience’s problems, meet their needs, or improve their lives.

It is also best to use data to support your claims and prove your business’s success. This can include statistics on industry trends, customer satisfaction rates, or revenue growth.

After your pitch, follow up with your audience, answer their questions, and continue the conversation.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a powerful marketing strategy for your cannabis business. It includes optimizing your website and content to improve your ranking on search engine results pages, including Google and Bing.

Research keywords related to your business and create content that focuses on these keywords. In return, your website will rank higher in SERPs and convert more traffic into customers.

If you have a physical location for your cannabis business, optimize your website for local SEO by including your address, phone number, and hours of operation. Include local phrases in your content and create a Google My Business profile to improve your local visibility.

Finally, track the performance of your SEO efforts over time with tools like Google Analytics.

Emphasize Credibility

This industry is still in its infancy, making it important to emphasize your brand’s credibility. So, how can customers trust that your products are safe and your business credible?

Continuously highlight your experience and expertise. Share customer testimonials. Showcase awards and certifications. These efforts will prove your business is legitimate, thus instilling more trust in your audience.

Final Thoughts

When you leverage these proven marketing strategies, you will successfully promote your business, attract customers, and drive sales. However, stay up-to-date with the ever-evolving legal cannabis landscape to comply with all laws.

Remember building a strong brand and establishing credibility in this industry takes time and effort. So, focus on providing high-quality products or services first, then cater to the needs and preferences of your target audience. By doing so, you will build a loyal customer base for long-term success.

Leeza Hoyt

Mastering The Art Of Persuasion For PR

PR is about persuasion. Mastering the art of persuasion is essential for successful public relations professionals.

For successful PR campaigns, you need to have the ability to genuinely connect with people in a way that expresses your purpose and how that will help them and their organizations. Maya Angelou famasouly once said, ‘People may forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel’. Your ideas, services, or products are irrelevant until you deeply connect with your audience.

The art of persuasion is not something that can be learned overnight. It takes practice and dedication to master the techniques necessary for success in PR. You must have the confidence and learn the skills to create compelling stories that will leave a lasting impression and help you achieve your goals.

How To Hone Your Persuasive Skills For PR

Honing your persuasive skills is an integral part of creating effective PR campaigns. Here are some tips to help you become a master at the art of persuasion:

Establish Relationships With Your Audience

One of the biggest keys to becoming an effective persuader is establishing a relationship with your audience. When presenting your ideas, make sure that they are presented in a way that engages the listener. Show that you’re listening to their needs and concerns, and tailor your message accordingly. This will help build trust and create a strong connection between you and the listener.

When building relationships:

Understand your audience. Don’t just dive into a conversation with an audience without understanding their needs and wants. Take the time to ask questions and get to know them before presenting your ideas.
Be enthusiastic. People are more likely to listen when you bring enthusiasm and positivity to the table. Show that you genuinely believe in what you’re saying, and be sure to express your excitement for the idea.
Be genuine. People often can tell when someone is trying too hard to be persuasive. Be authentic, and let your passion for the topic shine through in your message.
Be personable and friendly. Seek to understand your prospects’ needs and be empathetic. Don’t be afraid to show your personality and engage in conversation.
Stay away from aggressive tactics. Respect the listener’s boundaries and don’t use pressure tactics in order to persuade them.
Be patient. Don’t rush the conversation. Give your prospect time to consider your ideas and make their own decisions.

Observe And Listen

Even though persuasion is about getting your message across, you can’t do it without first understanding the other person’s perspective. Take the time to observe and listen to what they are saying.

Pay attention to their body language and tone of voice, so you can better understand how they’re feeling about your message. By being attentive and aware of the context, you’ll be able to tailor your argument accordingly.

Present A Win-Win Idea

Persuasion isn’t about convincing someone to do something they don’t want to. It’s about presenting a win-win idea that will benefit both parties involved.

Focus on the benefits of your proposition and make sure that it is mutually beneficial for both you and your audience. Show them how your proposal can help them achieve their goals, while also helping you reach yours.

For instance, if you are proposing a collaboration between your organization and another one, explain how both organizations can benefit from working together. If you are selling a product, explain how it can help the customer achieve their desired outcome.

Use Emotion

The worst thing you can do when trying to persuade someone is to use dry facts and figures. Instead, focus on the emotional side of your argument by telling stories or showing examples that evoke emotion from the listener.

When people connect with an emotional story, they are more likely to remember it – and be persuaded by it. This will help create a strong connection between you and the listener, and make it easier to get your message across.

Demonstrate Authority, Trust and Expertise

People will believe you if they trust you. Make sure to demonstrate your expertise and authority on the topic by citing relevant sources, providing statistical evidence, or offering your first-hand experiences. If you show your audience you deeply understand a topic or discussion, then they’ll be more inclined to accept your line of thought.

Authority can also be shown by being knowledgeable about the other person’s needs and interests. Showing them you’ve taken time to understand their pain points will help build strong, lasting relationships.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the art of persuasion is essential for successful public relations. You need to be able to express the ‘Why’ of what you do. There is a great Ted Talk video from 2009 with Simon Sinek who explains this in very clear terms.

By following these tips, you can become a more effective communicator and influencer. In today’s digital age, you need to understand how people think, why they behave the way they do, and how best to appeal to them in order to succeed.

Leeza Hoyt

Thought Leadership: An Interview with ChatGPT

Do you use Alexis to find out about the weather? How about ordering your Starbucks before you get to the store? Now, artificial intelligence (AI) tools are permeating PR and marketing efforts, as a way of furthering campaign efforts. It can influence content development, generate pitching concepts and provide the ability to be more efficient and effective.

But how far can these tools be stretched? We decided to take it out for a test run and ‘interview’ ChatGPT. Here’s the results.

When were you born?

As an AI language model, I don’t have a physical birthdate like a human being. I was developed and trained by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research laboratory, and I continue to learn and improve over time as I interact with users and receive updates from my creators. My knowledge cutoff date is September 2021, which means that any information or events that have occurred after that date may not be reflected in my responses.

THO Comment: We asked this question to establish some of the limitations of AI, and that any information, content or response from AI tools like ChatGPT are constrained by the time of the last data update and come from ‘updates from my creators’. AI only knows what it has been given by human sources. Any chance that AI might have some inaccurate, incomplete or biased information? Judge for yourself.

Where do you get your information?

As an AI language model, I am trained on a large dataset of text from the internet and other sources. This dataset is used to teach me how to understand and generate human-like language.

The text in my dataset comes from a variety of sources, including:

Web pages: I am trained on a large corpus of web pages from the internet, including news articles, blogs, and other publicly available text.
Books: I have been trained on a large number of books from various genres and topics. This allows me to provide information on a wide range of subjects.
Scientific papers: I have been trained on a large number of scientific papers, allowing me to provide information on scientific topics.
Social media: I have also been trained on a large number of social media posts from various platforms, including Twitter and Reddit.

It’s important to note that while I have been trained on a vast amount of information, I may not always have the most up-to-date or accurate information available. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to double-check information and sources to ensure accuracy and reliability.

THO Comment: Which web pages? Which books? What scientific papers? Which social media platforms and accounts? ChatGPT then admits ‘I may not always have the most up-to-date or accurate information available’. Do tell…

Will Google penalize my website for using content produced by you?

As an AI language model, I am designed to produce high-quality and unique content that is not duplicated from other sources. However, it is important to note that using content generated by an AI language model, like myself, may not be viewed positively by search engines like Google.

Search engines generally prioritize unique and valuable content, and if your website is found to have a large amount of duplicated or low-quality content, it may be penalized in search results. This is because search engines want to ensure that users are provided with the most relevant and useful content possible.

You should avoid over-relying on AI-generated content and instead supplement it with high-quality content produced by human writers.

In short, using content generated by an AI language model like myself can be beneficial for saving time and resources, but it should be used strategically and in conjunction with other high-quality content to ensure that your website remains relevant and valuable to your visitors.

THO Comment: We recommend avoiding ChatGPT generated content. To illustrate why, see the next 2 questions specifically about Public Relations. Notice the over simplified and frequently used explanations and examples offered.

What Suggestions do you have for PR professionals to differentiate themselves from competition?

As an AI language model, I can provide some general recommendations for public relations professionals to differentiate themselves from their competition:

Develop a unique value proposition: Determine what sets your PR services apart from others in the industry, and communicate this value proposition clearly to potential clients. For example, you might specialize in a particular industry or have unique expertise in a certain area of PR.
Build a strong brand: A strong and consistent brand identity can help differentiate your PR services from others. This includes developing a unique logo, website, and social media presence that effectively communicates your value proposition and expertise.

Cultivate a strong network: Networking is a critical aspect of the PR industry, and building relationships with journalists, editors, and other industry professionals can help set you apart from your competition. Attend industry events, participate in online forums, and actively seek out opportunities to connect with others in the industry.

Offer specialized services: Consider offering specialized services or packages that are tailored to the unique needs of your clients. This could include crisis management, media training, or social media management.

Focus on results: Ultimately, clients want to see results from their PR efforts. Communicate your ability to deliver measurable results, and be prepared to provide case studies or examples of successful campaigns that demonstrate your expertise and effectiveness.

These are just a few general recommendations for differentiating yourself as a PR professional. It’s important to continuously evaluate and adapt your approach to meet the changing needs of the industry and your clients.

THO Comment: ChatGPT offers a very basic outline in response, that could have been written for a high school essay on PR. How many articles have you read with similar, if not identical information? Dozens? Maybe more?

How do you measure the results of a PR campaign?

Measuring the results of a PR campaign is essential to understanding its impact and identifying areas for improvement. Here are some common metrics that can be used to measure the results of a PR campaign:

Media coverage: One of the most common metrics for measuring the results of a PR campaign is the number of media placements the campaign received. This can include print, online, and broadcast media. You can track the number of placements, the tone of the coverage (positive, negative, or neutral), and the reach of each placement (e.g., circulation, viewership, or website traffic).

Social media engagement: social media is an increasingly important part of PR campaigns, and you can measure its impact through metrics like the number of followers, likes, shares, and comments. You can also track website traffic from social media channels and the sentiment of social media conversations about your brand or campaign.

Website traffic: You can measure the impact of a PR campaign on website traffic by tracking the number of visitors, the length of time they spend on your site, and the pages they visit. You can also track conversions, such as the number of people who fill out a contact form or sign up for a newsletter.

Sales: The ultimate goal of many PR campaigns is to drive sales, so you can measure the impact of a campaign on sales by tracking the number of purchases, revenue, and customer retention.

Brand awareness: PR campaigns can also be used to increase brand awareness, and you can measure this through metrics like brand recognition, customer loyalty, and the number of brand mentions in the media and online.

By tracking these metrics, you can assess the success of your PR campaign and make data-driven decisions to improve future campaigns.

Conclusion

Clearly ChatGPT and other AI language tools have significant limitations and ‘robotic’ like responses in some instances. With that said, there are many important and very useful purposes for engaging with AI.

Solving complex math problems
Generating code in seconds that would take a developer hours, if not longer to create
Composing music
Translate foreign language
Debug code
Play games
Extract data from text
Lead generation
Email marketing
Market research

Let’s Give ChatGPT the last word

As an AI language model, my primary function is to assist with natural language processing tasks such as answering questions, providing information, and generating text. Here are some suggestions for how to use my services effectively:

Be clear and specific in your questions: The more specific your question, the more likely I am to provide you with a relevant and accurate response.

Provide context: Providing context can help me better understand the nature of your inquiry and provide a more accurate and useful response.

Break down complex questions into smaller parts: If you have a complex question, it may be helpful to break it down into smaller parts so that I can provide you with more focused and targeted responses.

Ask follow-up questions: If my response does not fully address your question, feel free to ask follow-up questions to clarify or expand upon my previous response.

Be patient: While I strive to provide accurate and timely responses, some questions may require more time to research and generate a complete response.

Overall, the key to using my services effectively is to be clear, specific, and patient in your inquiries.

The Final Last Word from THO

ChatGPT is an amazing tool. It can be used for many things including finding and creating inspiration and intel on almost anything. Can it replace the ability to analyze and create truly original content? No, of course not. But it can be a valuable tool that will make life much easier. And, who wouldn’t want that?

Leeza Hoyt

Actionable KPIs That Can Help Grow Your Business

Tracking and establishing the right business goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) is an essential first step to measure business growth.

According to Zippia, there are an estimated 12 to 24 million e-commerce sites worldwide. Knowing and tracking crucial metrics will help guide your decisions to help your business stand out. KPIs enable you to make measurable progress toward success for your company.

We’ve got you covered if you want to get ahead of the competition. With our list of powerful KPIs, you’ll ensure all those marketing efforts translate into profit growth.

6 Proven KPIs To Help You Grow Your Business

For any business, setting and tracking progress toward its goals is essential for growth and success. Understanding and utilizing these KPIs can help you take your business to the next level.

Web Traffic

Measuring web traffic is an essential indicator of your company’s success. This KPI measures the number of visitors to your website. It’s typically measured according to page views and visits and can you understand how well your online presence is performing.

This KPI will provide valuable insights into how well your audiences engage with your content and your PR campaigns. You can also determine which content resonates best with your target audience. As such, you can make real-time adjustments to PR and marketing strategies to help increase engagement and website visits.

Ultimately, by measuring web traffic, your team can understand your target audience better and see what content they resonate with.

Impressions

Impressions are the number of times content, such as an ad or video, is seen by viewers. This metric allows you to determine the reach of your campaigns.

With the help of the KPI impressions metric, your PR team can make informed decisions about when to post content. It’ll also give you a good sign of which topics gain the most attention.

Measuring impressions helps businesses understand how successful their campaigns are. It also shows how much people have been exposed to them by clicking on ads or viewing videos. With these insights, your company can refine strategies to ensure you meet your desired goals.

Social Engagement

As a business, it’s crucial to engage with and involve your clients regularly. Social engagement is a KPI used for measuring how well your business communicates with people online. It refers to the number of likes, comments, and shares on your social media posts.

By keeping track of this metric, your team can identify what content fits best with your target audience. You can also see where you can improve or adjust your content strategy.

With the help of this KPI, you’ll have the potential to scale up your online presence. You’ll also attract new customers and maximize their reach in the digital landscape.

Media Placements

Media placement is an important KPI that businesses can use to measure the success of their marketing campaigns. It involves tracking the number of times your brand’s messages appear in different media outlets. These outlets include television, radio, print, and social media.

Your team can use the data gathered to check how well messages are resonating with customers. They can also tell which outlets are providing the highest reach and engagement. Lastly, you can see which placements have been most successful in driving sales and return on investment.

Using this data, you can ensure your business stays ahead of the competition and maximize your return on investment.

Share of Voice

Using Share of Voice (SOV) as a metric provides essential insights to benefit your business. Share of Voice helps measure online chatter about your business compared to your competitors. It’ll help you to identify where your business stands within the industry.

Utilizing this metric lets your team assess whether they’re achieving more than your competitors. You can also identify the strengths and weaknesses of your online presence and how your customers feel about your brand.

Key Message Penetration

Key message penetration helps measure how well your company’s message is communicated and if it is affecting your target audience.

Tracking key message penetration over time is necessary to follow what PR strategies work. It’ll also give you a great sign of which areas need improvement. Paying attention to this KPI can help your team make better digital marketing campaign decisions.

Final Thoughts

You can gain powerful insights by taking the time to track and analyze KPIs. You can use these findings to create more effective digital marketing campaigns. As a result, you will be able to build stronger relationships with your target audience and customers.

These KPIs will help you refine your business’s PR and marketing strategies to ensure your brand is reaching the right people in the right way. Over time, this enables you to grow and scale your business for continued success.

Leeza Hoyt

Launching the first-class experience for a global airline

One of the largest international airlines was preparing to announce its plans of a $30 million, 18-month-long project to enhance the premium ground facilities at JFK International Airport’s Terminal 7 in New York City. The company wanted to drive broader awareness around its fleet and recent upgrades for the terminal redevelopment. As a result of the investment for the project, our team carefully planned a strategic set of media activities to ensure maximum media engagement around the airline redevelopment.

Making the initial impact

To kick off the announcement, we hosted a news conference at JFK with the CEO at the time who addressed media, customers and executives of JFK retail and concession outlets to unveil the new terminal plans. This included creating a new premium check-in pavilion, building enhanced and dedicated check-in areas, renovation of terraces, and airline lounges. The announcement was followed by breakout sessions for the media including a real-life First-Class experience aboard one of the jets, a first look at the new retail outlets and concessions, and complimentary treatments at Elemis Spa. All media ended their breakouts by enjoying a gourmet lunch, courtesy of Todd English at his new Bonfire restaurant.

Reaching the Top Tier Media

As a result, our team secured media attendance to the event from 20 print, broadcast and wire reporters and photographers representing top-tier business, travel and local news outlets. We generated media coverage from both the event held at JFK as well as the overall announcement in more than 50 publications garnering more than 17 million media impressions including the Associated Press, CNBC, Crain’s New York Business, Dow Jones, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! Finance, among others.

Leeza Hoyt

Quantifying Public Relations For Your Business

Setting quantifiable PR goals makes it easy to measure your PR initiatives’ progress and track your campaigns’ effectiveness.

Improvements in analytic tools and innovative tracking methods, helps make quantifying your business’ PR initiatives easier and more precise. That said, the availability of analytical tools doesn’t mean that business managers are measuring the right KPI’s or analyzing them correctly.

Evaluating outcomes requires more than just checking earned media metrics, such as how many people saw or read a piece of content. To truly measure the success of your PR campaigns, you need to look beyond impressions and clicks. You need to focus on measurable results that clearly connects a campaign to your business goals and ROI.

5 Methods For Quantifying PR Results

Using a combination of these methods, your business will be better positioned to measure the impact of your PR efforts. As a result, you’ll be able to make informed decisions regarding the direction of future campaigns.

Social Media Engagement

Social media metrics are a powerful way of measuring your PR efforts. From social media metrics, your business can get real-time data on the total engagement of your campaigns. You can track social media engagement from the number of followers, impressions, likes, comments, and shares of your content across different platforms.

High social media impressions indicate brand awareness. Increasing followers, likes, comments, and shares indicate growth and interest in your content.

Ensure you calculate your social media engagement rate when measuring PR efforts. This will tell you how your content performs independent of your number of followers.

To calculate your engagement rate, divide the total engagement by the number of followers, then multiply by 100.

Press Mentions

Press clippings are a traditional but effective way to measure PR success. A press clipping refers to a published piece of content that mentions or features your business in some form. To effectively measure press clips, it’s essential to look beyond the number of articles and focus on the quality of coverage instead.

For instance, consider the reach and credibility of the publication where your press clip appeared and its relevance to your target audiences.

To track how many clips you’ve secured, it’s important to maintain a central repository where all the articles are stored and easily accessible.

Some of the indicators of success from press coverage include:

Further coverage by other media outlets
Increased brand recognition
Increased shares of the article on social media
Improved website traffic and leads

Media Impressions

Media impressions refer to the total number of times your business is seen and heard through different media channels. Impressions differ from reach in that they account for the number of people exposed to your content as opposed to the number of people who clicked it.

To get the number of impressions on your campaign, multiply your number of press clips by the circulation of each outlet. This will help you determine the impact of your strategy. That said, don’t rely on impressions alone to quantify PR. They don’t necessarily translate to clicks or conversions.

Traffic And Backlinks

How many unique visitors and page views did your website or blog receive every month of your PR campaign? Evaluating website traffic helps measure PR ROI, particularly if you can link the traffic to a particular campaign or content.

With tracking tools, such as Google Analytics, that track both organic and referral traffic, you can measure the number of visitors that come from a specific source, such as a press release or article.

One important metric you shouldn’t forget to check when analyzing traffic is bounce rates. These are the number of visitors who land on a page and leave without engaging with the content.

A high bounce rate may indicate that you’re targeting the wrong audience or that the audience feels that your content is not useful. Cushion your site against high bounce rates by sharing useful content and linking to relevant pages.

You can also track backlinks to your website or blog. This will help you determine how many websites link to your site and share its content on their platforms. A high number of backlinks indicates increased visibility and potential leads for your business.

Market Surveys

Another effective way of quantifying PR is conducting market surveys. Before beginning your campaign, research how many people have heard about your product or service. After your campaign, do the same kind of research. Then you can compare the results to measure how successful the campaign was in increasing brand awareness and recognition.

Surveys are also great for measuring customer sentiment, engagement, and satisfaction. All these metrics can give you an accurate snapshot of the success of your PR efforts.

Final Thoughts

Quantifying public relations helps you gauge the ROI and success of your PR campaigns. Hire a professional PR agency to help you set measurable goals and develop effective strategies to ensure your PR campaigns are successful.

Leeza Hoyt

Building Consumer Affinity For Four Seasons Luxury Residences

What’s the best way to build affinity for a new luxury condominium residential complex before construction begins? Developers of the Four Seasons Private Residences in Los Angeles turned to THO to create intrigue, build interest and set the stage for a truly exclusive enclave.

At the time, these were the highest priced condos to enter the LA market. Located across the street from the legendary Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles, FSLA is situated in the sophisticated North Robertson district, home to some of LA’s most stylish boutiques, galleries and restaurants. The development team had trips planned for potential buyers at the time in Asia and other locations around the world. Key to the effort was creating high-level press coverage quickly to ignite intrigue.

THO did just that.

Setting the Stage: Garnering the right kind of press coverage quickly

Even though the project site was nothing more than a weed-infested patch of dirt at the time, THO launched a media relations campaign focused on the building’s forthcoming $50-million penthouse. The team positioned the 12-story structure as “paparazzi-proof” with 58 luxury condos and a top-floor penthouse which provided necessary privacy and a variety of luxe, hotel-inspired amenities. This angle gave the story just the right appeal as well to buyers seeking seclusion in the heart of Los Angeles.

Success that Set the Stage for Sales

By positioning the complex as paparazzi-proof, along with excellent renderings and other visual assets, the THO team was able to garner interest – and stories — in top-tier media including The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Forbes, New York Post and dozens of other high-end publications that target wealthy readers. This put the project squarely on the map and provided the third-party endorsement credibility needed not only for the launch of the project, but to set the stage for the tours in Asia and other locations around the globe where FSLA was targeting buyers.

Leeza Hoyt

How Economic Changes Are A Unique And Powerful Opportunity

Economic downturns and growth both provide opportunities for growing your business. With economic growth comes an increase in demand resulting in more sales. On the other hand, as most businesses retreat during a downturn, new ones that keep scaling become trusted household names.

To succeed in an ever-changing economic environment, you must position yourself correctly by looking at the big picture and recognizing opportunities as they arise. Doing so helps in making decisions that maintain good financial health, securing the future of your business.

Here’s how economic changes can be a unique and powerful opportunity for you.

How Do Economic Changes Affect Businesses?

Changes in the economic climate have a huge impact on factors such as economic growth, unemployment rates, interest and exchange rates, tax rates, and consumer income levels.

Businesses rely heavily on the economic environment in which they exist. As such, changes in economic factors directly affect them.

During a recession, businesses enjoy:

Less competition: Most businesses fold, leaving fewer competitors.
Lower overhead costs: Companies can reduce costs in wages, rent, and other expenses to stay competitive.
Increased customer loyalty: People tend to stick with what they know when times are tough and turn to businesses they trust.
Better deals: Vendors readily offer better long-term deals to the few businesses that remain afloat.

On the downside, less consumer spending and increased government regulation can make it challenging for businesses to survive a recession.

During an economic boom, businesses experience:

Increased demand: More customers and higher spending result in more business revenue.
Higher profits: Increased sales lead to increased profits when expenses like wages and rent stay low.
More opportunities: Businesses can expand into new markets or invest in new technologies.
New partners: Companies can form new partnerships and collaborations that benefit their businesses.

However, during an economic boom, your business must be careful when choosing investment opportunities. You can only succeed long-term if you invest in an opportunity that won’t sink your business should another recession occur.

Leveraging Economic Changes To Strengthen Your Brand Through Public Relations

It’s never too late – or too early – to invest in a strong PR strategy as part of an overall recession-proof business plan.

Here’s how PR can help you build a resilient brand that will stand the test of time and capitalize on any economic changes.

Providing Valuable Information

One surefire way to stay ahead of the competition during times of economic uncertainty is by providing valuable information.

You can do this by:

Telling brand stories. Brand stories are often referred to as your “why” as they help consumers understand why you exist.
Engaging customers on social media. By actively engaging current and potential customers in conversation, you can establish a strong relationship with them.
Publishing useful content. Helpful content such as blog posts and videos shows your customers that you are knowledgeable about the industry and their needs.

Valuable information brands you an authority in your industry. It shows consumers that they can trust your business.

Ensure that your messages are consistent across all platforms. This will help create a cohesive narrative that resonates with your target audience.

Managing Reputation

Managing a brand’s reputation in today’s changing economic environment is more challenging than ever due to a shifting media landscape.

There are many bloggers, vloggers, and social media influencers that can have a huge impact on how consumers perceive your business.

As a result, PR has evolved to more than just telling compelling stories. PR agencies are now more proactive and anticipate trends before they happen.

PR can help you stay ahead of the curve by analyzing data related to customer needs, market trends, and industry shifts.

Analyzing this data provides real-time media insights about how you and your competition are being mentioned in various media. With such data, you can adjust your PR strategy accordingly and be better prepared to capitalize on economic changes.

Consistency Builds Trust Through Times Of Change

The importance of PR consistency cannot be understated, especially during economic change. When the market is volatile and uncertain, delivering a consistent message across all channels ensures your values and mission remain clear and recognizable. This helps create an environment of trust and reliability, which is essential for long-term success.

Consistency also helps build brand recognition. Customers are more likely to remember your company if they have seen the same message over time.

Moreover, it creates a sense of loyalty among customers who feel connected to your brand’s core values. This connection can lead to increased customer engagement, which is key in times of economic uncertainty.

Conclusion

Economic changes are inevitable. What you do during these changes determines how your business will weather the storm.

Invest in PR as a smart way to protect and grow your brand during times of economic upheaval. Through proactiveness, providing valuable information, and consistent messaging, PR can set your business up for success no matter what the future holds.

Leeza Hoyt

What You Need To Know About Public Relations and Emerging Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is here, and it’s already ushering new changes to the internet. As businesses evolve to take advantage of the opportunities presented by Web 3.0, one key area to consider is public relations (PR).

This latest iteration of the internet has the potential to revolutionize how public relations professionals engage with their audiences. Therefore, public relations professionals need to stay up-to-date with the latest developments. This article explores what you need to know about public relations and emerging Web 3.0.

What Is Web 3.0?

Web 3.0 is the third and latest iteration of the internet. It is a decentralized, peer-to-peer network that allows for more secure and faster data transmission. It also introduces new opportunities for entrepreneurs to enter the e-commerce space. Additionally, it gives users more control over their privacy, security, and data ownership.

Its predecessor, Web 2.0, focused on user-generated content. Web 3.0 is based on intelligent agents, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

Web 3.0 is a semantic web. This means it uses AI to understand consumer meanings and intentions. It understands the meaning of the words in consumer searches and does not rely on keywords or numbers. Thus, it gives more accurate results and a better experience.

How Web 3.0 Will Impact Public Relations

With the emergence of Web 3.0, public relations professionals need to rethink their strategies to accommodate this new technology. Here’s how Web 3.0 will impact public relations.

Personalization

Past web versions relied on users’ location to give them personalized content and promotional campaigns. However, Web 3.0 is revolutionizing the personalization of PR messages.

Instead of showing users information based on their location, Web 3.0 focuses on:

the previous digital interactions of a customer
other customers they’ve interacted with
and customer preferences and purchase history

For instance, if a customer gives your product a 5-star rating on Google but posts how they dislike your company on Facebook, the web will know that your target messages are of no interest to this customer.

This calls for PR professionals to re-evaluate their understanding of their audiences to help them create content that each consumer will want to interact with willingly.

With the help of AI, businesses can accurately predict what kind of information and communication a user would like to receive. This goes beyond just emails and newsletters. It includes social media campaigns, digital advertising, and webinars tailored for each customer segment.

Media Prioritization

Web 3.0 delivers information that appeals to consumers on demand. This means that PR tactics, such as prioritizing the media your audience uses to increase reach and influence, will become more difficult.

PR professionals must craft to get their audiences to search for their messages to increase their reach. They also must be able to quickly assess the kind of content that audiences are demanding and tailor their strategies accordingly.

PR And Customer Service

As the importance of every individual’s needs rises, the value of mass-produced PR messages and journalists will continue to diminish. This is because one can now approach the customer with the same messages that they would have approached a journalist with but in a more personalized manner.

PR professionals must strive to provide a personal experience to each customer based on individual needs. They need to provide information tailored to each customer’s searches. PR agencies can use customer service strategies to give their users a hybrid experience that meets personal needs.

For instance, with the help of AI-driven chatbots, businesses can provide a more personalized customer journey. Customers can ask questions, get accurate answers, and make orders with convenient customer support.

Blockchain-powered PR Campaigns

Blockchain is a huge component of Web 3.0. Businesses are increasingly using it to give consumers incentives and on-demand information about their brands.

PR professionals can now use NFTs to narrate brand stories differently. For instance, Louis Vuitton has Android and iOS games that allow users to collect 200 candles and access different stories about the brand.

Such blockchain-powered campaigns allow customers to own unique digital assets on demand, access exclusive content, and get rewards linked to the brand.

Final Thoughts

The emergence of Web 3.0 is revolutionizing the public relations industry and forcing PR professionals to re-evaluate their strategies. Despite this, Web 3.0 is an asset for PR as it removes geographical barriers, allowing brands to reach a wider audience.

Although brands must adapt to this new web quickly, it’s equally vital that they take their time to understand it better and craft effective PR strategies.

With the help of our PR professionals, your PR campaigns can successfully evolve with the times and reach your target audiences.

Leeza Hoyt

Raising Brand Awareness in the Cannabis Industry

Introducing a new product in the cannabis industry requires a strategy that laser focuses on the right audience. What’s the best way to ensure that its launched appropriately to the right audience? Key to this program was launching an in-depth media relations campaign to set the stage in the correct manager, and create a supporting influencer campaign to build product awareness thus moving it into the fitness community, which was one of the key markets for this product.

The Launch Plan

Because this product was designed for the active lifestyle community, an educational campaign to drive brand awareness was developed. As a result, the target market – fitness enthusiasts and those involved in the active lifestyle community – were the first to embrace this. Key steps included:

A targeted outreach identifying the key audience including HIIT athletes (WHAT IS THIS?), including endurance athletes and those who were active in the Yoga community.
A robust media relations outreach program which identified specific reporters as well as gauging story opportunities about the cannabis industry in an already crowded space.
Identifying key influencers which whom the product would resonate which allowed us to offer product in exchange for posts. Additionally, partnership opportunities with key retailers to brand layer the product with included well recognized fitness brands such as SoulCycle, Y7 and Lululemon.

Unparalleled Results As a result, more than 500,000 earned media impressions in the key national and regional HIIT, endurance, yoga publications and regional news were secured. On the social side, the program generated more than 122k engagements with leading fitness influencers.

Leeza Hoyt

FinTech Public Relations Strategies

Financial technology has revolutionized the financial services sector with solutions that make it easy for users to access financial services and make transactions quickly and securely. As a result, the fintech industry has seen immense growth with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 17%.

So how can your fintech business keep in touch with its customer base in this ever-changing landscape?

Public relations can play an important role in helping fintech companies connect with their customers. It can set the narrative and ensure your messages are heard. Let’s look at some practical PR strategies your fintech business should consider.

5 Top FinTech Public Relations Strategies

Clear Communications

Clear communication helps fintech firms to shape the perception of their brands in the eyes of the public. For communication to be clear, it has to be two-way. This means that you send out messages to your target audience and receive feedback. You can then act on this feedback to improve your services.

An important element of clear communication is strong and consistent messaging. Ensure that all the messages you put on all platforms have the same tone and voice. They should portray the same image of your brand. Doing so makes your brand more recognizable. It increases its reliability and trustworthiness in the eyes of the public.

For your fintech business to communicate clearly, you must understand who your target audience is. This way, you can create a value proposition that appeals to them.

High-quality Content

Do you want to stay ahead of the curve? Give your consumers something that they’re not getting anywhere else. You can achieve this by publishing quality content on all platforms.

High-quality content is content that’s useful, comprehensive, educational, actionable, accurate, and answers readers’ queries.

Here’s how to create good content:

Humanize your messages: Ensure every message has a personal touch.
Use visuals: A right mix of images and videos to make your content more engaging.
Be concise: Keep your messages short and to the point for easy understanding.
Back it up with research: This will make your content more authoritative.
Answer common questions or issues: Let the audience know that they can rely on you for information.

The Right Channels

If you want to increase your brand’s visibility, you must make use of the right channels. Choose the platforms where your target audience is most active and engage with them there.

How do you know which channel is the right one for your fintech firm? Analyze the behaviors of your target audience. Which channels do they use/listen to most? If you’re targeting millennials or Gen Zers, look at social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, etc. On the other hand, if you’re looking to reach professionals and business owners, LinkedIn could be the right platform.

Don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach when choosing the best channels for your PR messages. Use paid, earned, social, and owned media to maximize your reach.

The Perfect Pitch

You need to consistently work with influencers and journalists to get your story covered. With so many fintech firms competing for the same space, what kind of pitch should you send to grab their attention?

First, ensure that your pitch is concise and interesting. Also make sure it’s not over-promotional or spammy. Your pitch must clearly explain why the journalist should cover something related to your fintech business.

Assume that anyone you pitch to is swarmed with hundreds of pitches that they must filter through to find one that’s worth their time. So make sure your pitch grabs attention within the first sentence.

Other things that make a perfect pitch include:

Focus on the benefits of your services: Why should your audience care about your brand? What will they gain from using your services?
Provide relevant data: Journalists love hard facts and figures. Provide them with the research you’ve conducted to back up your claims.

Contact Influencers and Journalists

Once you have the perfect pitch, it is time to contact an influencer or journalist who can help widen your reach. Make sure you research who they are and what kind of content they create before you reach out to them.

Personalize your messages as much as possible so that the person you’re contacting can see you have taken the time to understand their interests and preferences. Also, don’t forget to include all your contact information in case they want to follow up with you.

Build a rapport with the said journalists or influencers long before you contact them to make it easy for them to identify your pitch. You can do this by sharing or interacting with their posts regularly.

Final Thoughts

Having a fintech PR strategy positions your brand for success in the long run.

Do your research, use relevant channels and influencers who are familiar with the fintech space, create an interesting pitch, and you will be one step closer to achieving your desired results.

Lastly, work with PR experts. At the Hoyt Organization, we understand the best strategies to put your name out there.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Craft A Value Proposition For A Brand

As industries become increasingly competitive, it is important to differentiate your brand from competitors in order to attract and retain customers. Differentiation helps to create brand authenticity. And this makes it easy to gain the attention of your target audience.

One of the most effective ways to differentiate your brand is by creating a unique value proposition. Let’s explore how to craft the right message for your brand.

What Is A Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a statement that summarizes the benefits and economic value of a product or service for a customer. It explains why customers should choose your brand over competitors and why they should buy from you.

When creating your value proposition, you need to identify a pain point felt by your customers. Then tell potential customers why your brand is better positioned to address it than competitors.

Some of the elements of a great value proposition include:

Relevance: Captures how your product can solve your customers’ problems.
Specific value: Answers the question of why customers need to choose your brand over others.
Customer connection: Explains how your brand meets the individual needs of every customer.
Measurable: You can gauge the effectiveness of your value proposition using metrics like customer retention or conversion rates.

4 Steps To Create A Value Proposition

Wondering how to create a value proposition that will bring great results? Here are four key steps to follow:

Research Your Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is the key to delivering the right message that resonates with customers and one that doesn’t.

Before creating your value proposition, ask yourself the following questions:

Who is the target of this value proposition?
What do they care about?
What are their needs and wants?

Answering these questions will help you better understand your target audience.

Make sure that you segment your target audience based on their demographics. This includes age, gender, location, interests, and specific needs.

To determine your target audience:

Use Google Analytics. This is an excellent tool that can give you valuable demographic details of your target audience.
Analyze competitor data. Researching what your competitors are doing and who is buying from them will help you have a better understanding of the industry.

Identify Customer Benefits Of Your Products

Take some time to explore what makes your brand unique and how its products or services can better meet your customers’ needs than competitors. Think about things like customer service, quality of product, convenience, and price.

Brainstorm the strength of your products or services and how they can solve the unique challenges that customers face. Make sure that you capture your products’ strengths in your value proposition in a way that does not limit the chances of product growth or change.

A good customer experience is one of the things that customers look for before deciding whether to buy from a brand. Therefore, you must factor it into your benefits. Most importantly, center your unique selling points around your business values. This ensures that your value proposition is consistent with other brand messages that you send out.

Differentiate Your Brand From Competitors

It’s important to understand who your competitors are and their key differientiators. Begin by auditing their strengths and weaknesses, so you can create a value proposition that offers something unique that your competitors don’t have.

If you’re unsure who your competitors are, here’s how to identify them:

Market research. Look at the market and identify the companies that sell the same products or services as you.
Online search. Use keyword research tools to find out who is competing with you on the web.
Social media listening. Follow conversations related to your industry on social networks and see which companies are mentioned frequently.
Review websites. Search review sites such as Yelp or Google Reviews to get an idea of customer sentiment about competitor brands.
Search engine results: Do a simple search on Google to find out who’s offering the same product/service as you.

Create An Attention-Grabbing Value Proposition Statement

It should summarize your brand’s unique offer and succinctly explain how it will benefit customers.

This should be a clear and concise statement that captures the essence of what differintiates your brand from competitors.

Final Thoughts

Once you have crafted your value proposition, it is time to communicate it. Get all stakeholders on board so that there’s consistent PR messaging across all platforms. Use different platforms to get your message out there such as your website, social media, emails, and newsletters.

Crafting a value proposition for your brand is essential for growth and success. By following the steps outlined in this article, you will be able to create an engaging value proposition that resonates with your target customers.

Leeza Hoyt

Reputation Management Thought Leadership

If you want to transform your brand, then you must embrace reputation management. What is reputation management? It is the practice of monitoring, safeguarding and improving a company’s image or standing. It involves strategically managing how you communicate online, ensuring your brand is seen in the best possible light.

To be successful at reputation management, it is important to become a thought leader in your field. Let’s take a look at how the interplay between reputation management and thought leadership can improve your brand’s standing.

What Is Thought Leadership?

Thought leadership refers to demonstrating expertise in an area by delivering authentic and insightful content. This content can come in the form of articles, podcasts, videos, or webinars.

The goal of thought leadership is to provide a unique perspective on something that helps others understand it better.

How Thought Leadership Impacts Reputation Management

Today, thought leadership has been trivialized with everyone branding themselves a brand leader after sharing thoughts and opinions online.

If you truly want to become a thought leader, you must tell your audience something they do not already know. You need to demonstrate that you are a reliable source of insight and are an authority in your field by writing your own posts and engaging in discussions. When you position yourself as an expert in a field, other people will turn to you for advice and knowledge.

Here’s how thought leadership impacts reputation management:

Demonstrates Your Expertise

Can any member of your target audience get valuable information from your business even if they aren’t a customer at the moment? If your answer is no, you need to start sharing valuable information such as actionable tips and the latest industry news.

Your products or services can only go so far in providing solutions. By engaging in thought leadership, you can back up your offerings with expertise and professionalism.

Showing your deep knowledge of the subject matter is a great way to demonstrate why customers should trust you. It also brands you as the go-to expert who can answer the biggest questions on any topic in your field.

Differentiates Your Company From Competitors

Setting your company apart from the competition is necessary to win customers. That’s where thought leadership can help. You can stand out from the crowd by providing something that your competitors don’t: Original insights and perspectives on a certain topic.

This demonstrates why your brand is unique, different from the rest, and better positioned to solve customer problems.

Builds Trust In Your Brand

When you share opinion pieces and other content through thought leadership, it helps build trust with your audience. Customers see that you are knowledgeable about your field and willing to help them out. This builds their confidence in you as a brand.

4 Tips For Strengthening Reputation Through Thought Leadership

Wondering how to strengthen your reputation management efforts through thought leadership? Here are our top tips:

Be Authentic

Make sure that you create an original strategy that will allow you to share and convey ideas in a manner that is different from competitors. On top of that, ensure that the messages you relay are consistent with your brand messaging.

Keep in mind that you’re trying to build your brand through thought leadership. Therefore, the content you produce must be synonymous with your brand values.

Be Consistent

If you want to strengthen your reputation through thought leadership, it’s important to stay consistent with your efforts. You should be sharing content on a regular basis so that people know what to expect from you and can rely upon you for valuable insights.

A lack of regularity makes it harder for your target audience to perceive you as a reliable source of knowledge.

Think About Your Audience

When creating thought leadership content, keep your target audience in mind. What are their emotional motivators? What are they looking to learn? What topics will benefit them the most?

Make sure that you’re providing helpful information and insights that people are looking for and can use to better understand a topic or solve a problem.

Research

Don’t just give your opinion. Use research to strengthen your points. It will help your readers to trust you.

Doing research shows that you have taken your time to understand the issue and to provide the best solution.

Take the time to read up on more than one perspective before making a statement. It will help make sure that you’re providing accurate information to your audience.

Final Thoughts

Thought leadership can be an incredibly powerful tool for reputation management. By demonstrating your expertise, setting yourself apart from competitors, and building trust with your audience, thought leadership can help create a positive reputation for your brand.

Just remember to be authentic, consistent, and research-based when creating content. Also keep in mind that thought leadership is about creating long-term influence, not short-term attention.

Leeza Hoyt

Retail Design Collaborative

Launching and promoting a new housing facility in Santa Ana that promotes the quality of life for women in transition

Breathing New Life Into a Space To Help Women Get Back On Their Feet

On behalf of Retail Design Collaborative (RDC), an award winning leader in retail design and a full service architectural and interior design firm dedicated to making everyday places extraordinary, The Hoyt Organization helped launch and promote the Retail Design Collaborative design of WISEPlace, a new housing facility in Santa Ana that promotes the quality of life for women in transition

The goal of the project was to design both a beautiful and functional community haven for the women who reside there, as well as create an event venue for the local community to help further encourage sustainable funding for the nonprofit. Out of six firms that competed, RDC and CDG Builders were chosen for their winning design concept that they ultimately executed, breathing new life into the space, and helping women get back on their feet.

By the end of the year including with this project, The Hoyt Organization helped deliver more than 4.7 million in editorial value and more than 77 million media impressions for the firm.

Leeza Hoyt

Public Relations Trends For 2023

Technologies and methods of communication are constantly emerging as we move further into the 21st century.

The public relations industry has seen many changes in recent years, and these trends are only expected to continue in the years ahead.

7 Public Relations Trends For 2023

Here are the newest PR trends that will shape the industry in 2023:

Simplified Brand Messaging

Gone are the days when people were willing to read long brand messages. Today, the human attention span is only 8 seconds. This attention span has shrunk by nearly 25% in the past few years. So, it is important to tailor your brand messaging for the uber distracted target audience.

One trend to keep an eye on is concise and punchy brand messaging that does not skimp on value-based content. Shorter social media messages receive more engagement and are easy to publish across multiple platforms. Coupled with images and videos, these messages could be the key to engaging your target audience on a deeper level.

Multimedia Content Creation

Consumers spend most of their time on their phones. Despite the fact that there are platforms where your target audience is predominantly active, there’s a growing need to capitalize on the preferred interests of each member of your target audience. That’s where multimedia content creation comes in.

PR experts must be keener to implement their brand messaging in written, audio, and video formats to reach the target audience in a way they enjoy. This can be achieved through YouTube vlogs, podcasts, infographics, and blog posts. Ensure you keep an eye on this trend and identify the different channels your target audience enjoys.

Artificial Intelligence And Technology

The PR landscape is quickly becoming a digital landscape. Technologies like AI, VR/AR, and Chatbots are now being used by PR experts to better monitor brand sentiment and measure the effectiveness of their PR strategies.

New technologies help to:

make internal processes more efficient
create and optimize content
and even interact with customers on behalf of the company

As a result, PR experts must be well-versed in technology and its applications to maximize their effectiveness. This increases flexibility as more strategies can be implemented in less time.

Focus On Mission And Value

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the center stage of every brand message today. This trend will continue into 2023.

Aside from customers wanting to know what value your products or services offer them, they want to know how your brand aligns with their personal values. Therefore, businesses must be more vocal about their mission, values, and commitments. Be careful not to cross the line into ‘political speech’. As seen recently with Disney and other major brands having to walk back their messaging, there is a fine line between honoring value systems and acceptable political theatre for brands.

In 2023, expect to see more socially-aware storytelling as brands try to tap into audiences’ value systems and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Also, look out for increased highlighting of behind-the-scenes actions as PR experts show that their brands can walk the talk.

Personalized Content For Stakeholders

Your stakeholders include employees, customers, and investors. It is important to tailor your messages to each of these audiences in order to communicate with them effectively. For example, employees need more frequent updates about their shifts or changes in the company structure, while customers may want promotions or discounts.

Using data analytics, brands can now figure out how to create personalized PR pitches that strongly engage audiences and are more likely to be promoted by influencers, journalists, and media outlets. These will be major PR trends in 2023 as experts seek to demonstrate credibility and increase trust in their clients’ brands.

Empathy Is Key

Empathy humanizes your brand and demonstrates that you care about your customers. No one wants to do business with a brand that does nothing during a crisis. Through empathetic PR, businesses can showcase their values and create a sense of loyalty among customers.

In 2023, PR experts will be on top of every global news story to help brands identify the areas where they can demonstrate empathy.

Look out for PR campaigns that focus on creating meaningful connections with audiences and show that the brand genuinely cares about their well-being. This could involve launching charitable initiatives, sponsoring events or programs, or simply offering discounts to people in a crisis.

Staying Authentic

Audiences want to identify with a brand that stays true to its course and values. Now more than ever, PR experts must demonstrate that their clients believe in what they claim to stand for.

Due to increased fake news, audiences want brands to be more authentic. Consumers quickly notice changes to a brand’s authentic voice, which reduces credibility.

PR pros must stay aware of this trend, examine the authenticity of their brand’s voice, fact-check everything, and prepare to back-up statements with evidence.

Final Thoughts

It is important to keep up with the ever-evolving PR landscape to ensure that your brand does not fall behind. By following these trends for 2023, you can stay on top of your game. Make good use of owned media to control your brand messaging and give your brand an authentic voice that audiences can trust.

Leeza Hoyt

How Branding And SEO Work Together

Branding and SEO have a symbiotic relationship that markets must take advantage of to experience the full benefit of each.

When used together, branding and SEO create an effective marketing strategy. This can drive organic growth, increase visibility, and strengthen customer loyalty and trust. Ultimately, using these two strategies together leads to tremendous success in business.

When considering how branding and SEO work together, it is important to first understand their individual roles. Read on to learn the basics of branding and SEO and how you can use them together to achieve maximum results.

Branding And SEO

Branding is the process of making your business, products, and services known to the public. It’s also about differentiating yourself from your competitors. Branding entails creating a positive image/perception of your company and its products or services by using marketing communication channels. These include emails, social media, and advertising.

SEO (search engine optimization), on the other hand, is a set of strategies used to optimize content and web pages for search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal is to get your pages to rank higher in the SERPs for relevant search queries.

So, when done right, it increases traffic to your site and boosts brand visibility as you become more visible to more potential customers. This is accomplished through keyword research, local SEO, content optimization, link building, and site architecture.

Branding builds awareness, trust, and authority for your company and its products and allows you to build customer relationships.

SEO helps your business reach your target audience quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. It aligns with branding by ensuring your content is seen by more customers and engaging them to take action.

How SEO And Branding Work Together

Branding and SEO can create a powerful combination to reach more potential customers, stay ahead of the competition, and increase profits. They allow marketing to be useful to target audiences by providing them with your brand’s solutions when they’re looking for answers from search engines.

Here is how they work together to boost your business:

Quality Content That Reflects Your Brand

Branding gives you complete control over your business’s public image and perception. Therefore, you can use it to position your brand as an authority in your industry by publishing quality content.

Coupled with SEO, branding can significantly increase your brand’s visibility. SEO helps ensure that your content is visible when people search for information relating to the solutions that your products or services provide.

Quality content created with SEO best practices that also reflects your brand provides value and a great user experience to customers. As a result, it builds trust and is favored by search engine algorithms.

Make sure that the search intent of your content is clear in order to ensure higher rankings. Use keywords to help search engines understand what your content is about. It’s also a good idea to regularly update your content to keep it relevant and accurate.

Moreover, share new content frequently to keep your content fresh. The more you share new content, the more your site ranks for hundreds or thousands of keyword topics. This signals to Google that you’re an expert or authority in your niche. Thus, it sees that your brand is valuable to customers and will rank your site higher. The end result is more visibility and traffic to your website.

Boosting Brand Image Through Improved Rankings

Google and other search engines rank their results from the most to the least relevant. If your brand appears on the first page of Google, it will be seen as a reliable source of information. In fact, the first page results on search engines get 71% percent of all clicks.

Ranking high on Google boosts your brand image as a large number of people on the internet use your information for decision-making. Also, you get more qualified visitors on your website, leading to more leads and conversions.

Building Backlinks

A backlink is any link to your website from an external source. Part of SEO is gaining quality backlinks from high-authority websites. This shows search engines understand that your website is providing quality content as other sources are linking to it. In turn, this boosts your credibility and authority, resulting in higher rankings.

With higher search engine rankings and more traffic being directed toward your site, you can boost brand awareness and enhance the reputation of your brand.

Conclusion

SEO and branding go hand in hand when it comes to growing your business and achieving success. They both play an important role in gaining visibility and credibility, ultimately leading to more sales.

With the right strategy in place, you can build a strong online presence without compromising on quality content or neglecting either of the disciplines.

Leeza Hoyt

What Is The PESO Model For Public Relations?

Public relations is a key tool that can help your business manage its reputation and accomplish goals. It can help with establishing trust, building relationships, and creating a favorable public image.

Due to its ever-evolving nature, there are many models of PR. Your business might find it difficult to know which one to adopt. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to public relations, the PESO model is an effective framework to follow. PR professionals can use it to plan and execute effective campaigns while covering all bases.

What Is The PESO Model?

The PESO model is an abbreviation for Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media. It is a modern public relations model that integrates different media forms to create more effective and holistic campaigns.

For a long time, PR has relied solely on earned media to reach its goals. Over the past decade, the business world has been introduced to social media and owned media as effective ways of reaching their audiences. The PESO model helps PR practitioners adopt and realize the full advantages of these new media forms.

Aside from integrating paid, shared, and owned media in public relations efforts, this model aligns each media with different outcomes and objectives.

Your business will reap maximum benefits from optimizing the overlapping outcomes of different media. Essentially, you utilize all media in a coordinated way to achieve your company’s objectives.

Let’s take a look at each medium and what they entail for PR purposes.

Paid Media

Paid media is when you pay to place your messages or content on certain channels. It includes sponsored content as well as advertising.

Advertising

Of course, paid media also refers to advertising like PPC (Pay-per-click) campaigns, social media ads, and native ads. This places your business in front of your target audience and is one of the most traditional ways to boost brand awareness and reach.

Now, brands are leaning more towards native ads, which blend in better with surrounding content. They take on the form and function of the platform they’re placed on. Native ads can help your business boost your brand, increase purchase intent by 53%, extend the shelf life of earned media, and bring measurable results.

Earned Media

Earned media refers to the organic promotion of your brand or products. Unlike paid media, earned media is more trusted by consumers. This is because it was not created by your business or paid for by it.

Some examples of earned media include reviews, influencer mentions, media coverage, and social media shoutouts.

Earned media can help your business raise brand awareness, offer social proof, increase credibility, and reach a wider audience.

Shared Media

Shared media mainly refers to social media. However, it also includes all content shared on third-party platforms such as partner networks.

Shared media offers you some levels of control over the posts that you share. However, you cannot control what other users share about your brand or how they interact with your content once it’s been shared.

You can use shared media to start conversations, listen to what others are saying, and build relationships. If user engagement with your brand is below your expectations, shared media allows you to start and participate in conversations that can help increase engagement.

Additionally, you can use these media to generate awareness for your brand, product, or service. It can help amplify your message by sharing it with a larger audience.

Owned Media

Owned media is any form of media that you own. This includes apps, emails, websites, blogs, podcasts, and e-books.

Organizations have full control over owned media. So, use it to ensure that all communication aligns with your business goals and objectives. Owned media should reflect your business values. It should show your target audience who you are and what you stand for so that they can connect with you.

Managing your own media allows you to create a more personal relationship with your audience. Owned media platforms are great for sharing company updates, announcements, and insights to communicate your messages to your target audience directly.

Final Thoughts

The PESO model is a valuable tool for businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve and make the most of their public relations efforts. Integrating all four media types in your PR plan will help you tap into various audiences and achieve your desired results.

At its best, this model will help you get quantifiable results, and establish yourself as an authority and thought leader in your industry.

Leeza Hoyt

How Public Relations Builds Relationships When Market Conditions Change

What does economic change mean for your business? It means that you must be more strategic than ever in your marketing and communications. This is when a qualified and experienced public relations firm can build relationships, help you focus on what is important, craft the right message with the right tone, what media channels to use and when to deliver the right message.

When there are fears in the market, naturally people are more conservative. They become more risk-averse and are more likely to be careful about budgets and expenses.

So, it’s essential to keep your existing customers and clients happy. Keep them updated on what’s going on with your company, and ensure they know that you’re still there for them.

In terms of marketing, you need to be more strategic and focused. You can’t afford to spend money on ads that don’t reach your target audience. And you need to find ways to get focused with your messaging and specific about your target audience. PR professionals know exactly how to do that.

Reasons Why PR Is Important During An Economic Downturn

Here are some reasons why PR is essential for your business as market conditions soften.

Keeps Your Company Relevant & Top Of Mind

PR is the best way to keep advancing your message to key stakeholders in these uncertain communication environments. These stakeholders include:

investors who want to know that their investment is secure
customers who want to know that your company is still around and delivering on its promises
employees who need reassurance about job security

Cutting your PR budget when business slows down could prove to be an expensive mistake that could lead to customers forgetting your brand and discovering new brands.

In the early 90’s, McDonalds made one such mistake, and the result was a 28% decrease in sales. In contrast, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell saw this as an opportunity to promote new additions to their menus. In turn, they realized a 61% and 40% increase in sales, respectively.

While ad campaigns come and go, earned media placements stay on the internet forever. Your top-tier placements in The New York Times or Wall Street Journal will be there long after your campaign has ended.

A simple press release or blog post can show that you’re still active and relevant even if you don’t have any news to share.

Staying Connected With Your Audience

PR allows you to tell your brand story and shape the image of your company. Customers want to know that the brands they’re doing business with are healthy and trustworthy. The best way to show that is through consistent and honest communication.

Create an excellent PR strategy that focuses on staying connected with your audience and building relationships of trust during these chaotic times.

Connecting with your audience does not have to be expensive. You can use social media to tell your brand story and get an actual reaction from your target audience. Remember to respond to all comments, both positive and negative.

Another great way to stay connected with your audience is through thought leadership. Position yourself and your company as an expert in your industry by writing articles, blog posts, or whitepapers. This will show that you’re still active and knowledgeable, despite an economic downturn.

Finally, participate in relevant groups and forums to show that you’re still interested in your industry and want to help others. You can build a positive reputation for yourself and your company by engaging in relevant conversations.

Shows Reliability & Stability

It is essential to show that your company is reliable and stable. The best way to do that is through consistent communication and a focus on your core values.

Your PR strategy should include a plan for how you’re going to stay in touch with your target audience. You need to be regularly sharing information about your company and its products or services. Also share company news, such as new hires, promotions, or expansion plans.

In addition, it’s important to focus on your core values. What makes your company different from the competition? Why should customers trust you? By focusing on your core values, you can show that your company is stable and trustworthy, even in an uncertain economy.

Conclusion

People are bombarded with advertising everywhere they go. As a result, they’ve become immune to most traditional advertising methods. In fact, studies have shown that people are more likely to believe earned media placements, such as press releases, than they are to believe advertising.

Focus on earned media placements to get your message across. These placements are more credible and trustworthy, so your target audience is more likely to pay attention to them.

Hire a reliable Los Angeles PR agency to earn the best media placements and build relationships while you focus on growing your company.

Leeza Hoyt

Public Relations And Healthcare Work Together For Better Health Outcomes

Public relations has changed in the 21st century and it’s likely to continue evolving in the foreseeable future. For healthcare to work together with PR for better health outcomes, it’s important to mix traditional PR with modern PR.

To do that, it’s necessary to understand the importance of PR and how to navigate the new online and offline marketing spheres. Let’s cover how you can create a healthcare PR campaign that is up-to-date and actually produces better health outcomes.

The Importance Of PR In Healthcare

Unfortunately, even though healthcare public relations is essential, it is often overlooked when developing marketing and company growth strategies.

Here are four of the most prominent reasons you need a healthcare PR team.

Competitive Marketing. PR will help your organization stay ahead with competitive marketing.
Digestible Information. PR campaigns are important for conveying easy-to-understand information to the public.
Build A Brand. PR is essential in the healthcare industry, where being a trustworthy brand is vital as people are trusting you with their health.
Crisis Management. PR professionals know how to handle crises and will have crisis management measures in place.

Whether you are doing it yourself or using a reputable PR agency, PR should be a foundational process for any healthcare organization.

How To Create An Effective Healthcare PR Campaign

Determine Your Goal

To create an effective healthcare PR campaign, you first need to determine your healthcare organization’s goal. This can be anything from increasing brand awareness to getting more followers on social media.

Having a clear goal will help focus PR efforts and make it much easier to track growth and strategies that do the opposite.

Establishing a clear goal also means establishing a timeline and creating a way to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. For example, say your goal is to increase your social media presence. You’ll be able to track this through metrics like impressions, reach, followers, and engagement.

Keep track of the metrics you are trying to improve and make sure your goal is achievable within your chosen time frame.

Create Quality Content

Whether you are using traditional channels or social media, the content you create needs to be of a high quality. It must be engaging and valuable to your audience.

According to the Economist Group, the content that had an impact on their brands was the content that had unique information and the content that helped easily explain difficult concepts.

For a healthcare organization, this is a unique opportunity to create content that is engaging and educational. Create content that builds brand awareness and trust with the people at the same time.

Choose Your PR Channel

Public relations in the 21st century takes two major forms: traditional and modern. An effective PR campaign will contain both and match them according to your goal.

Traditional PR channels are newspapers, tv channels, industry-specific publications, etc.

Traditional PR can be expensive and time-consuming. Printing flyers, buying advertising space, and creating ads for television can cost a pretty penny. It’s also hard to track any growth metrics.

However, it is a great way to increase brand awareness. Most people still put a lot of trust in traditional media and the organizations that are featured on these marketing channels.

Modern channels cover social media content and influencer marketing. This means growing an audience on social media by posting images and videos. This includes creative content, educational content, promotional content, collaborations with brands or influencers relevant to the healthcare space, etc.

You don’t need to be on every social media platform or publication, though. Focus your efforts and build an engaged audience on a few chosen platforms. Then you can expand to more channels later on as your audience grows.

Personalized Outreach

Online marketing is all about fostering relationships. As you reach out to other publications, creators, or websites, you will need to establish a personal relationship before asking for exposure. You can do this by engaging with content and doing small content callouts.

It’s also important to offer something in return. Online exposure between brands is a collaborative effort and your PR team should know what strengths can be offered in return for collaboration.

Evaluate

Lastly, routinely evaluate your PR campaign. You should care about what your customers feel. Listen to their feedback and opinions. See what content they interact with the most.

This enables you to establish which strategies are working and which aren’t so that you can constantly work on improving your PR campaigns.

The only way for healthcare organizations to be in the know of these things is to evaluate PR strategies and their outcomes with a clear, objective mind.

Conclusion

Public relations for healthcare organizations can create strategic ways to get information to the public, boost brand awareness, and achieve improved health outcomes. It is essential for business growth and staying ahead in the highly competitive healthcare market to work with a deeply experienced and highly qualified los angeles public relations agency. Contact The Hoyt Organization today to discuss how we can help you.

Leeza Hoyt

PR + Digital: How the power of digital is driving today’s public relations campaigns

There will always be value in tried-and-true traditional public relations practices, however, in an increasingly digital landscape, evolving into new channels and expanding into the digital landscape is not only necessary, it’s required. With more clients looking to build their sales funnels, PR today is no longer press only, and digital is the name of the game.

While the concept of digital is not new, as communications professionals — and ultimately marketers — we must ask what is the most effective way to utilize the power of digital in our campaigns. We must think now about both traditional and digital tactics to successfully deliver a compelling campaign tied to our client’s objectives. Therefore, we must remember the key facets of designing a program effectively. Here are three tips on how to maximize your efforts and put digital marketing to work for you as part of your communications arsenal:

Remember that PR is a Natural Lead Generator

When many think of PR, they begin thinking about press releases and stories in major outlets such as The New York Times or the Wall St. Journal. While it’s true that PR is a major needle-mover for significant press opportunities, it should also be considered a lead generation magnet. Why? As valuable as placements in mainstream publications can be, a more targeted focus on getting your company’s story published in specific vertical publications that cover your customers’ markets can be much more effective. After all, they are targeted specifically to your market and should not be ignored.

As a result, this content can be repurposed into a lead generation LinkedIn campaign, a targeted conference outreach, and more. Don’t overlook how to maximize this content.

Digital Resources Pack a Punch

Embracing an integrated communications approach that aligns with your business goals will ultimately add value to your brand narrative and fortify existing lead generation tools.

By deploying an arsenal of digital tools such as video content, blogs and podcasts to support traditional media relations and social tactics, businesses are able to cast a wider net and effectively engage with target audiences in a timely and widespread manner.

Remember, public relations strategies drive forward the messaging, providing the narrative and thus, the impact. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of digital platforms and tools that will not only expand your reach, but optimize your budget as well.

Remember to Build a Presence Where It Counts

Building a digital footprint doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does have to be strategic. Whether your business needs to reach the Yelp audience or a select group of industry influencers, a thoughtfully executed social media program can be what separates you from the rest of the market.

In an era where data is king, digital content is also beneficial in a PR program because it provides near-immediate metrics and feedback loops that help identify whether your current outreach strategy is effective or where you may have blind spots. By adopting a results-driven strategy, your company’s story will be able to reach audiences in a way that other resources such as company collateral and websites just can’t.

Companies that offer meaningful and engaging digital content that connects with target audiences will be able to promote engagement and position themselves as industry thought leaders and drive their lead generation capabilities to the next level.

Want to know how? Just give us a call. We specialize in creating customized programs that take a holistic approach to your overall program. You’ll also have the confidence of knowing that there is an expert on your team that comes with the full knowledge of the latest techniques, both traditional and digital. This not only ensures you’ll get the right message out to the right audience in the right way, but it will also provide measurable results. Isn’t that what you’re looking for?

Leeza Hoyt

Crisis Management: Building Success into Your Plan

In today’s business environment, everyone is acutely aware of the damage that any crises can cause. Certainly, the clean-up begins as soon as the incident is over. However, today’s crises have a much different twist than those of the past.

Today, companies face not only operational challenges that create havoc not only within their customer base, but they must contend with a wide variety of issues that less than ten years ago, would not have fallen into their domain. For example, today a company that closes a division may force management to answer questions about future plans. An isolated shooting incident will cause the scrutiny of safety and security procedures. Or, redevelopment plans may bring community outrage about renovation efforts.

Because of this, more and more companies are taking proactive steps, and developing a crisis management response plan for each part of their operations.

But, what should go in this type of plan? How can it be most effectively pulled together? What’s the best way to implement it?

Remember, even when there is someone on staff that can handling an emergency, all too often, others may not be unaccustomed to working with the press. Naturally, reporters are usually not too far behind the crisis, itself. As a result, communications are handled poorly, leaving reporters, clients and employees with an unfavorable impression.

The most effective plan includes guidelines and suggestions for internal operations, as well as external communications. The key, however, is to provide enough information and corporate guidelines to allow the on-site personnel to be extremely effective, but the directives must be general enough to provide latitude to do what they think is best under the specific circumstances at the time. The result will be consistent responses within the corporate guidelines, with proper and immediate reactions to the crisis at hand.

What follows are some basics to consider.

MAKING THE PLAN WORK

As always, crisis management planning should begin ‘at home.’ The first step we recommend is to review basic parameters for your company. What crises are likely to happen? Who is responsible for arranging for clean up? What role will security officers have for what type of crises? What about contacting employees, clients and others that may be impacted? Here’s how to get started.

1. Do your homework. Are there any back-up procedures already in place that need to be updated? Don’t forget about in-house computer systems back-up and records storage.

Then, find out what can be done to prevent disasters. Does a construction site need to be cleaned up? What about security procedures, how long has it been since they were reviewed and updated? Are there any other potential problem areas that need to be taken care of? Remember, take off the rose-colored glasses and get to work — before something happens.

2. Make a list of the five most likely crises that may happen. This may range from a small fire, to a full-scale natural disaster such as an earthquake or tornado.

If there are no formal procedures in place to handle issues, begin outlining who is responsible for general procedures such as contacting employees, clients, working with the fire department, etc.

3. Walk specific company locations with everyone on your management staff. While this may seem simple, it’s surprising how often (and how easy) it’s overlooked. Remember, when an emergency happens, management may not even be in the office, given many employees are now remote. Make sure the person who will be handling the phones knows what to say, who to contact and where things are.

4. Contact your local fire department, hazardous waste company, and any other emergency personnel and ask what their procedures are. Local fire department officials are usually happy to complete a walk-through of properties, as well as review plans and procedures, if they haven’t already. And remember, it certainly helps to have these relationships in place, BEFORE you need them!

5. Create your crisis management team. Make sure to include not only on-site and corporate personnel, but any vendor contacts or outside specialists that you may need. These may include attorneys, environmental specialists for toxic waste issues, various clean up contractors, and even the local chapter of the Red Cross.

6. Make sure the entire team have an up-to-date list of phone numbers for everyone involved. Include office, mobile, home, and any other pertinent phone numbers that will be helpful.

7. Identify your media spokesperson and have a designated back-up person available. Depending on the management structure and the issues at hand, on–site personnel as well as corporate spokespersons should be included.

8. Delineate specific areas of responsibilities for each member of the team, and write it down. Remember, in the middle of a crisis this advance planning will not only save time, it may save lives.

9. Begin preparing information for external use. This may include facility information sheets that detail factual items about the company, any specific properties such as when it was built, renovated, square footage, type of tenants, etc. Photos should be included, if at all possible.

10. Determine your best method of communication. Remember, in the middle of a major disaster you may not have power or communications systems. Are there cellular phones in place with pre-assigned numbers that can be given to specific team members? What about an 800-message system or an emergency website that is pre-designed and ready to launch? In today’s world of technology, there is no reason for communications to fail.

Once the internal operations have been reviewed, and the appropriate suggestions have been completed, a written plan must be developed. This written plan provides the road-map that is the basis for an in-place and functioning crisis management plan.

The written plan, coupled with a crisis management response program, will allow every team member to handle any crisis quickly and efficiently. Then, everyone can get back to business!

Leeza Hoyt

Rich Media And Social Media Are Essential For Hospitality Industry Marketing

Communication has changed tremendously in the last decade and it will continue to grow in the future. In 2021, over 4 billion people used social media and this number is projected to rise to 6 billion by 2027.

Social media has become an integral part of daily life for both people and businesses. The hospitality industry is no different. For marketing strategies to be effective, rich media and social media need to be integrated into your business plans. Keep reading to find out why.

The State Of Rich Media And Social Media

Everybody knows what social media is. But what is rich media? Rich media refers to advertisements that are interactive. Unlike traditional adverts that only aim to inform, these ads are built to boost engagement like clicks, comments, and sharing.

It builds a genuine relationship between you and your audience. Moreover, it helps you figure out how your customers feel about your brand and the industry.

The Interactive Effect report found that interactive social media ads boosted brand favorability by 19%, purchase intent by 24%, and search intent by 27%. They also lead to an increase in brand recall. These statistics prove the effectiveness of rich media and social media for the hospitality industry.

Why Rich Media And Social Media Are Key For Hospitality Marketing

Boosts Brand Awareness

Rich media increase brand recall by 8 % when compared with traditional video advertisements.

Because these ads are interactive, they hold the attention of social media goers for longer. It draws their attention in a way a traditional ad never could and improves long-term recall. For hospitality, this means everything.

If anyone has seen or engaged with your ad and finds themselves in need of hospitality services, chances are they will recall your brand.

Because these individuals are interacting with your content, social media platforms will also recommend it to people with similar algorithmic profiles. Your content will be shown to others who are likely to explore it further. In turn, this will increase brand awareness.

Improves Buying Process

Utilizing rich media on social media platforms streamlines the buying process. From the moment a customer interacts with an ad to the checkout point, they have easy and immediate access to the services or products they are trying to purchase.

Rich media also allows brands to effectively communicate and connect with customers. Through social media platforms, customers have an easy way to contact management or other staff.

They can ask questions and get almost immediate replies about options or packages they saw in an interactive ad. This might seem small but an interactive ad that leads to immediate communication can turn into a booking or a future booking.

Increase Web Traffic

One of the best things about social media is targeted ads. With promotions and targeted ads, you can show ads to users that fit a specific profile or have a specific interest. It brings their interests – and your brand – right to their doorstep.

Combine this with rich media and watch as website clicks increase! These ads can lead straight to your website where customers can make a booking.

Not only will this improve your social media standing but it can also improve your search engine rankings. If your website is seeing more clicks and traffic, you may start to show up higher and higher on search engine results pages.

Enhances Engagement

More than likes and followers, engagement and social interaction are what really determine success on social media. High engagement usually translates into a high click-through rate and more bookings.

That is why rich media, which is all about being interactive, is so effective. Ads can be videos, games, etc. These types of ads increase engagement and therefore help to build your brand.

Engagement also improves customer relations. If ads and posts are doing well, customers are likely to comment or contact support about their stay, future visits, or other questions. This helps to build stronger and more positive customer relationships.

Gain Insights

Most social media platforms have business profiles. These business profiles offer insights or analytics that let businesses keep track of impressions, clicks, followers, engagement, and so on.

With increased engagement, interaction, and brand awareness, you can see which rich media ads are working and why. You’ll be able to gain a better view of your audience and develop ways to expand into other niche groups.

Insights will also encourage brand improvement. Management will be able to see which campaigns performed best and which ones didn’t. This way, you can constantly work at adjusting your rich media ad campaigns to get the most out of them.

Conclusion

Rich media on social media can help raise brand awareness, improve the buying process and increase web traffic. It also enhances engagement and helps you gain valuable insights into your target audience.

With social media becoming an everyday staple for more than half the globe, the hospitality industry can’t risk falling behind. Instead, leverage social media to boost your hospitality industry marketing through smart interactive advertisements.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Leverage Public Relations During The Holiday Season

The holiday season is a time of cheer and gift-giving. And while many people spend this time trying to rest after a busy year, it proves to be one of the busiest times of the year for public relations and consumers both.

When done right, the holiday season presents a time of unprecedented growth. With these tips, you’ll be able to leverage public relations during the holiday season to grow your business and stand out during the holiday frenzy.

6 Ways To Leverage PR Over The Holidays

Start Early

The best way to leverage the holiday season is to start early. Do this by planning ahead and making crucial connections with media outlets and other companies for possible collaborations.

Finetune release plans and be ready to announce promotions early on. Your preparation will be visible in media campaigns. It will be a surefire way to stand out from other companies with hurried and lackluster holiday promotions.

Holiday Exclusive Sales And Promotions

The holiday season is all about offering more for less. People are buying gifts and services for themselves and others. Consumers will also be taking advantage of sales that could be beneficial to their future needs.

Tap into that energy by having exclusive holiday sales and promotions. Have store promotions that run for a specific time frame or offer discounts on common holiday gifts. Offer online coupons or host holiday raffles with amazing prices.

And while sales and promotions are most often used to get physical products out during the holiday season, they can also work wonders for online services.

Everyone will have holiday sales and promotions. But when you do it, make sure to outline the benefits of buying your products or services. For example, if you offer virtual services, offer a discounted price that can be used for a few months, even when the holiday season has passed.

Use Social Media

Every PR strategy needs digital marketing and social media is one of the best ways to get started. It’s an easy way to promote holiday sales and promotions without spending tons of money and it can have a massive payoff.

Share sales and promotions, engage with your audience, and encourage and reward sharing your content.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to only post about your sales and promotions during the holiday season.

Before the holiday season, drop hints and tidbits on future sales. Build anticipation with your audience and increase engagement to boost your posts and encourage sharing with contests or smaller promotions.

By the time the sales and promotions launch, you will have a line of customers waiting to do their holiday shopping.

Look The Part

Whether you have brick-and-mortar stores or are based online, it’s vital that you prepare for the holiday season with decorations.

If you own a physical store, decorate your storefront with festive decorations and your promotions and sales. If you are based online, give your website or social media a temporary holiday look.

And it doesn’t need to be the usual stuff. A lot of holiday decorations are worn out and it presents a unique opportunity for you to showcase creativity. Combine your brand and the festive season in online and physical displays that are eye-catching and stand out from other festive decorations.

Share More Than The Usual Holiday Cheer

The holiday season bombards consumers with bright lights and all the usual news. It can be overwhelming and annoying, especially deeper into the holiday season.

And while your main points and promotions should be on brand for the holidays, you can also share other news with the media. News that will act as a breath of fresh air to an oversaturated market.

If your company has any newsworthy things happening that don’t have to do with the holiday season, share them on social media platforms and media outlets.

Provide a break from the holiday cheer and put your company in the mind of shoppers without directly promoting your products or services to them.

Give Back

You should always care about how your customers feel and build an emotional connection with them to ensure business success. One of the best ways to do this is by giving back during the holiday season.

By giving back, you can showcase your company’s culture, build goodwill in the community, and increase your brand awareness by doing good and giving back to the community.

Build positive associations with your company and let people know that supporting your business also supports a good cause.

Goodwill can take many forms. You can give out food and care packages, host a food drive, raise money for a charity, or donate some holiday proceeds. The possibilities are endless.

Conclusion

Gain traction, promote sales, increase brand awareness, and give back to the community this holiday season. Use the above methods to leverage public relations during the holidays and watch as festive cheers sweep up your sales and services.

Leeza Hoyt

The 4 P’s Of Marketing For The Travel And Tourism Industry

The travel and tourism industry is highly competitive. Differintiating yourself is key to rising above the marketing clutter and noise. Often times keeping things simple is the best way to gain focus and clarity about your marketing strategy. The 4 P’s of marketing in the travel and tourism industry is good start.

These four factors are part of a tried-and-trusted method for addressing your branding, promotions, social media, and digital marketing. To find out what they are and why you need them, read our short guide below.

The 4 P’s Of Marketing In The Travel & Tourism Industry

Product, Price, Place, and Promotion are the four key points in any tourism business’ marketing strategy.

Product

Unlike other businesses, where the product is a material item or tangible thing, the products in a travel company are not. But the basic aim is the same: Providing a product that people want. In other words, is there a market for the product that you are offering?

The tourism industry is extremely competitive. You need to set yourself apart from the rest while providing a relevant product. Examples are women’s solo travel or LGBT tours. It helps to target specific categories and niche markets, although this also narrows your target market considerably.

In smaller and localized businesses, this requires careful and in-depth research of the needs of the community where you are based. Is the community that you are aiming this product at able to afford it? Have they expressed a desire for such a travel service or tour?

If you are a larger business with a national or even international customer base, the same principles apply. Are there travel trends that other travel companies or tour organizers are not effectively tapping into?

The more unique your product, the more careful you must be to establish its relevance.

Place

Where do customers go to interact with your brand and order your services or purchase tour packages? For many of you, this may be a combination of physical offices and an online presence.

Whether you have a physical office or not, you more than likely have a website, and possibly one or more social media platforms. Social media marketing is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing.

More and more businesses in the tourism industry are realizing the benefits of social media marketing. But the most important thing to remember is to be consistent. Update your social media pages and web content regularly, with engaging and relevant posts.

Keep your target market in mind when choosing a platform. They appeal to different audiences and choosing the wrong one could be a costly mistake.

Price

Price is a major factor in your marketing success and the success of your business as a whole. Competitive pricing is essential if you want to attract new customers.

So do the groundwork and discover what other tour companies are charging. Read their customer reviews and find out what people think of their pricing. This can give you an indication of what customers would be happy to pay.

But don’t fall into the trap of undercutting your competitors by too much. This may seem like a good idea, but many consumers are wary of what seems like “too good a deal”. Too low a price can actually make new customers reluctant to try your product/service.

Aim for the same price range or just slightly lower than your rivals charge for similar tours and travel packages. A special price for first-time customers or a discount for groups of a certain size may be better ways to have the edge.

Promotion

The final P of our 4 P’s is promotion, and it ties in with the other three. You can have the right product, the best price, and the relevant place to market your offerings yet l not make a big impression. Want to know why? It’s because, in such a highly competitive market, you need to go one step beyond.

The best way to do that is through promotion.

Promotions entail more than just advertising a great deal. It’s about getting your brand out there and attracting new customers.

Introductory offers and limited-time-only value-added tours will all attract new users to your platform and create interest in your brand. Partnering with social influencers can also make a big impact on a younger audience.

With an effective multi-pronged marketing campaign that includes digital marketing, social media, and mainstream traditional media, you can’t go wrong.

Emphasize what is unique about your company. A catchphrase that resonates with the travelers’ goals will add extra punch.

Final Thoughts

With these 4 P’s of marketing, you can make a success of any marketing campaign for your travel company or tour business. They will help you to put your customer first while increasing brand recognition and industry relevance.

Leeza Hoyt

Public Relations For Construction Management Companies

The construction industry can be highly competitive. For most newly established construction management companies, it can be tough to stand out from the competition.

If you’d like your company to establish itself as a market leader in record time, then you need an experienced PR company to light the way.

Why Does Your Construction Management Company Need PR?

Below, we’ve highlighted the top three reasons why expert PR services are one of the keys to success in the construction industry.

PR Lets Clients Know What You Can Bring To The Table

Are you aware that some of your most loyal clients may not be up to speed on all of the services your construction company offers?

A lot of the time, clients will phone in and ask for a specific service. Because these clients already know what they want, they won’t be inclined to ask about any of your other services.

You have to tell them.

Luckily, there are multiple ways to do this. With an expert public relations company by your side, you can showcase your scope of work on various platforms.

Industry trade magazines, newspapers, leaflets, brochures, white papers, and thought leadership articles are all excellent ways of publicizing your work. Social media content, digital advertorials, and guest blogs can help you to reach more potential clients online. Every new client should get a free brochure that showcases your construction portfolio.

A great PR company can help to keep all your marketing collateral updated, attend launch events, arrange professional photography of new buildings, and keep your client base updated on social media.

When working as hard as you do, it’s essential that each client knows what you can bring to the table. A PR professional can help to get the word out about your company and give your company the recognition it deserves.

PR Can Help You To Build Your Brand

When someone mentions your company, everyone within earshot should know who you are and what you do. Specificity is crucial here.

It’s not enough for everyone to simply know that you are a construction company. Is your brand best known for civil construction, commercial construction, industrial construction, or residential construction management?

It’s really important that you establish what your company should be known for and then build your brand around your core focus.

Easier said than done? Absolutely – which is why investing in PR for brand growth is essential.

An experienced PR professional can be likened to a brand advocate. They will continuously promote your construction projects and achievements.

Apart from shining a light on your best work, PR professionals can also show you how to prepare your company for a crisis should disaster strike.

Establishing and growing your brand can be time-consuming. But, if done right, it’s well worth the effort as it will help you attract more clients in the long run.

PR Can Provide You With An Effective Marketing Strategy

One of the top reasons why construction companies need public relations is because of a lack of strategy when it comes to marketing initiatives.

It’s not enough to simply post something on social media every now and then, or sponsor an industry-related event to get your company’s name out there. For your marketing efforts to be effective, you have to implement a well-thought-out strategy.

An experienced construction PR agency will know exactly what you should do, how often you should do it, and how you can one-up your competition.

Experience in the construction industry plays a crucial role in knowing what marketing tactics work and what strategies will count as wasted effort.

Secondly, it can be quite a challenge to get coverage from your media house of choice. However, the right PR agency will have solid media connections that will enable you to get coverage for important company events or activities. This will play a crucial role in your overall marketing strategy.

These media connections will also help your company content to travel further online. An experienced PR agency will be able to arrange for your content to be shared on various social media channels. Guest articles written by a PR professional can also help you with your SEO efforts and increase your organic reach.

All of these efforts tie into a greater whole that will help to grow your brand awareness. This will allow you to be top of mind when clients are in need of construction services.

In Summary

If you are serious about growing your construction management company, you need a professional PR agency. There’s no need to do it all on your own.

An experienced PR professional can let potential clients know what services you offer, and provide you with a solid marketing strategy. This can help you establish and grow your company brand.

Leeza Hoyt

The Different Types of Public Relations

Public relations is fundamental in today’s business world for companies and brands seeking strategic communication.

Good PR promotes brand awareness and garners media attention. It also aids in the development of trust between businesses and society.

Public relations enables businesses to maintain positive relationships with stakeholders, their target audience, and the public. It also helps companies manage unfavorable views and safeguard their societal image. Because of this, it’s a crucial tool for any organization to help navigate the modern working world.

7 Different Types Of Public Relations

Depending on what information your business would like to convey, there are several different types of public relations to choose from. Let’s look at seven of the most common types of Public Relations.

Media Relations

A key component of PR is media relations. This involves establishing and preserving connections with media professionals. For example, journalists, editors, and broadcasters.

To ensure your business receives the media coverage it wants, you need to find an enticing perspective for your story. You want to make it interesting so that a reporter will want to pursue it.

A smart PR planner will be skilled at crafting exceptional press releases, securing interviews with well-known presenters at opportune times, and planning press conferences.

The aim of media relations is to get favorable press for your business or brand. It also helps get the word out about what you’re trying to advertise to the broader public.

In essence, you want to use the media to promote your company, product, or breaking news at no financial cost.

The media is an effective tool to gain exposure and reach a big audience. So, it’s crucial to establish and keep up positive ties with the press.

Strategic Communications

Strategic communications aim to develop, control, and disseminate information to accomplish defined objectives.

This type of PR is employed to advance a cause, a service, or a product.

What differentiates strategic communications from more general public relations is that it goes beyond the conventional techniques of media relations, events, and crisis communications.

Strategic communications are effective in swaying public opinion and forging bonds with important audiences and key industry players.

Community PR

In community PR, the goal is to improve interactions between your company and the immediate public you serve.

Through community outreach and engagement initiatives, community public relations aims to increase understanding and confidence in your organization.

Organizational transparency and sensitivity to community demands are more crucial than ever before. Through community connections, businesses can forge close bonds with their customers. At the same time, they contribute to the creation of a better-functioning world.

Crisis Communications

In times of disaster, crisis communications defend and safeguard a person, brand, or organization.

Any situation that could endanger the reputation of a person or company is considered a crisis.

Through effective crisis communications, organizations are able to manage the narrative surrounding a crisis. The goal is to communicate reliable and up-to-date information to the public to show what actions are being taken to remedy the crisis.

Situations that may require crisis communications include:

Catastrophic events
Cyber attacks
Company controversies
Defective products
Any other incident that has the potential to harm a reputation

Internal PR

Communication within a company is the main emphasis of internal public relations.

Internal PR is necessary to ensure that each individual within an organization is clued into the company messaging. It keeps everyone up to date on internal affairs or new product launches, not yet known to the public.

Internal public relations can also help ensure a cohesive front when there is an external crisis being publicized. Internal PR communication must be clear and succinct for every stakeholder to understand the situation and the effects thereof.

Public Affairs

Public affairs are the planned handling of a company’s relationships with persons in positions of influence who can affect consumer opinion or government policy. It can refer to community relations, media relations, or even government lobbying.

This type of PR is crucial for large industries whose work affects the public. It assists an organization in gaining influence with the government or other important large public structures to advance a particular industry’s power.

Public affairs enable businesses to not only control and shape how they are perceived but also increase support for their policy goals.

Social Media PR

Social media PR is great for promoting new products and company news around the globe within minutes of posting.

Businesses can increase their brand recognition, legitimacy, and customer engagement by interacting with their target audience on social media.

Social media platforms are useful tools for PR professionals to:

Sway public opinion
Interact with influencers
Communicate with journalists
Comment on breaking news stories
Connect with customers directly

Conclusion

A company’s or brand’s reputation can be successfully enhanced by good use of PR. Effective public relations increase a company’s visibility and enhance its reputation. It also fosters trust and understanding between a company and the general public.

Leeza Hoyt

Tips To Help Leaders Train Remote Employees

The Covid-19 pandemic spurred numerous companies to implement work-from-home policies. Today, these policies are still extremely popular, with lots of employees preferring more flexible work arrangements.

However, remote work does come with certain challenges. Training remote employees so they are set up for success can seem daunting at first. To help with this, we’ve listed tried and tested training tips below that will help to equip employees in record time.

5 Tips For Leaders Training Remote Employees

Create A Customized Training System

Every company is unique. So your remote onboarding process should cater to your personal company requirements.

No one knows what needs to be taught and communicated to new employees better than you do. With this knowledge in hand, structure your training program so that it covers all of the company’s bases in one swoop.

Custom videos or worksheets that explain the inner workings of each department are ideal. After the training material has been worked through, you can quiz new employees on what they’ve learned.

By doing this, you can ensure that each new employee knows who is responsible for what, how each department functions, and how they will be contributing to the team.

This is not to say that one-on-one remote training sessions should be entirely discarded. You can always schedule further training sessions depending on how technical or detailed your onboarding requirements are.

Set Up A Fixed Training Schedule And Budget

If you’d like your training process to be more extensive, then it’s best to set up a fixed training schedule. Frequent communication and consistency are essential to ensure that your onboarding process is truly effective and adhered to.

This might mean that you allocate one day each week to training new employees. Alternatively, you can schedule regular check-in sessions where you answer any questions that your trainees may have.

Keep in mind that your training process doesn’t have to come to an end once new employees are settled in. Many companies have an allocated training budget that encourages employees to undertake external courses.

Lifelong learning not only ensures higher quality work but also allows each employee to invest in their own career. By empowering your employees to take charge of their own professional growth, you can create a more robust team that’s up to date with the latest industry trends.

Schedule Regular Follow Up Sessions

When implementing any new training regime in your company, it’s important to schedule regular feedback sessions. This not only encourages your team to communicate any problems they may have but will also help to keep you up to date with their progress.

Establishing a set structure for these sessions is best. It will give everyone the opportunity to voice their concerns, tips, or advice regarding new training.

Be sure to practice active listening and prompt your employees to share what they’ve learned, as it will benefit the entire team.

Try to keep follow-up sessions to the point and productive. When it comes to feedback, be mindful of your team’s workflow and be adaptable to your staff’s needs.

Follow-up sessions can be extremely beneficial if everyone commits to understanding and bettering the training material at hand.

Set Clear Training Deadlines

Whether you have a hybrid setup or are fully remote, there are certain times of the year when your team will be busier than usual.

By having clear training deadlines set in place, everyone will know what’s expected of them. This will also empower your employees to take accountability for their schedules and not push their training aside.

To help your team meet their training deadlines, it may be beneficial to allocate a certain number of hours per week solely to training. This way, each employee will have the time he or she needs to make the most of the courses or training material at hand.

Be sure to celebrate every training milestone your employees achieve. You can gift dedicated employees with a coupon or arrange a small online celebration. Whatever you decide to do, make sure your team feels seen and rewarded for their hard work.

Make Training Fun

Training may be hard work, but it can also be loads of fun, too. To motivate your team to take new learning material seriously, you can incentivize employees through competitions or gift cards.

For example, you can give a day off to the first employee that completes his or her training and passes the training exam with flying colors. Alternatively, split your employees into two groups and let the winning team decide your next team-building exercise.

By injecting your training program with a little bit of fun, you can encourage team bonding while working remotely. In addition, it incentivizes everyone to take their learning seriously.

In Summary

Training employees in a remote working environment doesn’t have to be hard. Set clear training deadlines and schedule regular feedback sessions to monitor progress and keep employees on track. Also make training fun by adding in competitive elements or small incentives. This can help keep your remote employees engaged and motivated!

Leeza Hoyt

Why Architectural Firms Need Public Relations

5 Ways PR Benefits Architectural Firms

Below, we’ve outlined why architectural firms need PR.

Increase Awareness For New Projects

Each project that your firm takes on is truly unique in its own right. By simply driving by a new building, potential clients won’t truly get to see how much effort you’ve put into the designing process. Moreover, they won’t understand the challenges you had to overcome or the lofty goals you had to set for your team to get the job done.

Each project has a story behind it that is just waiting to be told. An experienced PR company will know exactly how to inform, entertain, and educate potential clients through storytelling.

By capturing the attention of both industry leaders and potential clients, your firm will gain more visibility and credibility. With all the effort you put into each project, it’s vital that your firm gets the full recognition it deserves.

Creation Of Useful Marketing Collateral

You offer a professional service, but do your digital and print presence speak to your achievements and your reputation in the industry? If not, you may want to solicit the help of a reliable PR firm for all your marketing collateral needs.

A great PR firm will be able to help you with printed brochures, posters, videos, e-books, newsletters, graphics, white papers, blogs, articles, advertorials, press releases, speeches, photography, and much more.

Not only will it free up your hands to leave marketing matters up to the experts, but it also means that you’ll be able to build up a marketing library that’s neat, orderly, and easily accessible.

This means that if the opportunity comes by for you to speak at a convention or event, you will already have all you need to impress attendees.

Lead Generation

The goal of any business is to grow. The best way to do that is to keep existing clients happy and attract new clients on a regular basis. Keeping clients happy will be solely up to you and your architecture team. However, when it comes to acquiring new clients, PR can help you out.

PR experts are masters when it comes to growing brand awareness, positioning companies as thought leaders, holding the interest of potential clients, creating desire, and stimulating action. As such, PR can help with lead generation via various print and online channels. A great PR firm will also help to facilitate communication between new clients and your firm.

By having all marketing collateral point back to your firm’s website, PR experts can even retarget potential clients with tailored advertisements. This is sure to guarantee a high return on investment.

Put A Company Crisis To Bed

Although it’s not fun to think about, company crises do happen. When a crisis is not handled correctly, it could tarnish your company’s reputation. But don’t fret. With an experienced PR firm at your side, you can handle any company crisis smoothly and swiftly.

The key is always to be prepared should the worst come to pass. Remember, the crisis in question doesn’t have to be huge to cause damage to a brand. So, it should be taken seriously no matter how minor. You’ll be ready to hit the ground running by having an action plan in place.

A great PR firm will be able to supply you with a trained spokesperson and meticulously crafted statements that will help you to recover from a public relations crisis.

Expert Media Coverage

New building projects have various development stages, all of which deserve media attention. Whether you have just finalized the planning of your new project or you are getting ready to launch a new site, the community, industry experts, and potential clients need to be kept in the loop.

An expert PR firm can arrange for various media coverage throughout all stages of new project developments. This can include things like:

Magazine articles
Guest blogs
Social media updates
Event organization
Photography sessions
Video content
Interviews with your team and project manager

The important thing is to keep the lines of communication open and to stick to a well-thought-out communications plan. This will help you to navigate the requirements of each communication opportunity with ease.

Conclusion

Architectural firms are experts at designing new buildings. Your expertise should be made known to all interested parties if you want your business to flourish.

An experienced PR firm can help to put your firm on the map and shine some media spotlight on any current or future projects you have in the pipeline.

Leeza Hoyt

Perfecting The Art of Consumer Public Relations

Happy, engaged, and repeat customers can help you to grow your business. In an age where consumers want to authentically connect with your brand, auto-response messaging won’t do the trick. If lasting, meaningful consumer relationships are your brand’s end goal, then you’ll have to invest in consumer public relations.

In this article, we’ll explore what consumer PR is and how you can use it to benefit your company.

What Is Consumer PR?

Consumer PR refers to how a company interacts and communicates with the general public.

This includes customers, employees, the media, and key company stakeholders.

Where marketing solely focuses on increasing company revenue, consumer PR increases brand awareness. It facilitates authentic connections between a brand and its target audience.

Essentially, consumer PR can help you to mold your company’s reputation in a way that truly reflects the company’s ideals, vision, and principles.

How To Perfect Your Consumer Public Relations

When applied correctly, consumer PR can help you to attract more customers, grow existing relationships, and learn from each customer interaction. So, here’s how to master your consumer PR.

Understand Your Audience

It may sound simple, but really getting to know your target audience takes time and some sound strategy. A deep understanding of your customers will serve as the foundation for your communication style going forward and will ensure that your messaging resonates with its intended audience.

The best way to understand your target audience is to delve into market research. However, you can also learn a lot by experimenting and challenging common assumptions that you may unwittingly harbor.

If you’re targeting a number of different audiences, it’s best to develop multiple customer personas for each messaging goal you have. These personas should guide your communication tone and style and can help you position each message in such a way that it keeps your target audience engaged.

Choose The Right Content

After you have a solid grip on who your customers are, how they liked to be addressed, and what piques their interests, you’ll have a much easier time developing your consumer PR content strategy.

A key part of formulating and executing a content strategy will be knowing what your target audience deems as newsworthy.

Posting random content on your company’s social media platforms simply won’t suffice. Blogging about evergreen topics that have been written about a hundred times before also won’t do. You’ve got to sink your teeth into the gritty details of a story that will make your intended audience feel something.

More often than not, it’s not the story itself that sparks interest, but rather how you tell it that will intrigue your reader.

If you have to report on boring corporate news, put a personal spin on it. If there’s a new product launch in the pipeline, turn it into an eye-catching campaign that will both dazzle and awe.

Whatever you choose to report on, just remember to serve your target audience content that they will find interesting.

Make Things Personal

Consumers want to feel valued and heard. It is your job to make sure that your messaging reflects your company’s attentiveness to each customer’s query.

Whether it’s a customer service response, an email, a reply on social media, or a handwritten note accompanying a product delivery, you can make each consumer feel valued by personalizing your messaging.

Why is this important? These days, every customer has a thousand different vendors to choose from. Yet, they chose to support your business. So, you need to show them that they’re making the right choice and don’t just see them as some nameless paying customer.

Personal messaging shows each customer that you value their purchase. It will also create an opportunity for you to connect with that customer.

Be An Industry Leader

Consumers want to support and work with companies that are well-known, respected leaders in their industry.

Because there is so much online noise, the demand for trusted expertise is growing. Want to prove that your walk can match your talk? Then you’ll have to come up with content strategies that will help to establish your company as a thought leader.

This means you’ll have to publish interesting articles, commentary, and opinions concerning the latest trends and events that are taking your industry by storm. This will require you to practice active listening and be aware of all of the pertinent questions being asked on a certain topic. Then you can be the first to provide the answers.

Company presentations, editorials, and Q&As are all excellent ways to establish yourself as an expert within your industry.

In Summary

Although it can be a time-consuming task, perfecting your consumer public relations strategy is well worth it in the end. Not only will it help you to connect with each customer in a more authentic way, but it will also make your customers feel valued.

By understanding how to communicate with your target audience, you will make it much more enjoyable and rewarding for your intended audience to keep up with your brand.

Leeza Hoyt

Essential Skills For Crisis Communications

Crisis communication skills play an important role in helping organizations to relay crucial information during an emergency situation.

With access to tried-and-tested communication strategies, experienced communicators can actually help to de-escalate crises.

If you want to become an articulate and practiced spokesperson who exudes confidence in stressful situations, then work on developing the following essential skills.

6 Key Skills For Communicating During A Crisis

Decisiveness

Just like planning ahead for unforeseen circumstances in your own life, one should also have contingency plans in place for any company emergency.

A lot of important decisions will have to be made in a short span of time in the midst of a crisis. However, by planning ahead, you can put well-thought-out communication strategies in place. These will help you to be more decisive under pressure.

Adaptability

Planning for and during a crisis situation is important, but so is a little improvisation.

After all, no emergency situation stays static. For this reason, it’s important for communication experts to read the situation, react accordingly, and be flexible when it comes to adjusting their strategies.

If your first strategic approach is falling flat, don’t hesitate to organize a brainstorming session with your team to devise another plan.

Yes, being prepared will always be important, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay committed to your original strategy.

Each emergency situation is unique which is why it’s important to gather new information, consult with the people on the ground who are clued up with what’s happening, and if needed, adjust your communication strategy.

This means you have to be creative, adaptable, and think out of the box as the situation unfolds in order to remain in control of the emergency situation.

Self-Control

Crises can lead to knee-jerk reactions no matter the amount of expertise a communications expert may have. Thinking clearly in high-stress situations may not come naturally to all of us.

However, by taking the time to think through any big decisions that one has to make, you will lower the chances of worsening a crisis situation.

Practicing self-control means taking any emotion out of the decision-making process. You have to consider the facts dispassionately and thoroughly consider the consequences of each outcome.

Also, remember to run your ideas by your team so you can bounce your thought process off other people.

Empathy

Apart from keeping all of the concerning parties up to date with what is going on throughout a crisis situation, you should also remember to convey empathy.

Whether your company is in the wrong or not, conveying empathy shows that you are willing to take responsibility to help get things back on track.

Not only does it show what company values your organization upholds, but it will also earn you more trust and credibility. People want to know that someone cares.

By letting everyone know that you are willing to do whatever it takes to rectify the situation, you are giving people the hope they need to get through any crisis.

Perseverance

Some crises can be complicated and may take longer to sort out. This means that your crisis communication strategy may become an ongoing project. As the situation plays itself out, you may need to adjust your strategy in order to ensure that accurate, reliable information is being filtered through the right channels.

Sometimes, an emergency situation may become worse before it gets better. This is where perseverance plays an important role. You’ve got to stay on top of your game until the situation is resolved.

This may require getting external help, growing your communications team, or simply reworking your communications strategy if the situation calls for it.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to provide open, honest, and accurate information to the public and all stakeholders involved until the emergency has blown over.

Self-confidence

Self-confidence is the most essential public relations skill, especially in an emergency situation.

If this is the first crisis that you’ve got to stay on top of, then you might not be feeling your most confident. If this is the case, don’t fret. A company emergency is just like any other tough situation that you’ve had to deal with in your own life.

To make things easier for you, remember to rely on the five C’s of communication:

Be clear
Remain cohesive
Give the complete account
Be concise
Remain concrete

By doing this, you will seem more confident (even if you’re not.) Nothing builds confidence like going through a tough situation and realizing that you can handle it!

In Summary

By being prepared, practicing self-control, showing you care, being decisive, and incorporating some creative flair, you’ll be able to handle any company emergency.

You can help your company recover from a public relations crisis by following these simple communication tips and getting through the crisis.

Leeza Hoyt

Is ESG moving the Needle for your Company?

Boardrooms around the country are filled with conversations about ESG initiatives. What they are; how to implement them; and whether or not they are effective. If they haven’t yet, they’d better start now. According to a PWC study, 88% of investors believe companies that prioritize ESG initiatives represent better opportunities for long-term returns than companies that don’t.

ESG – or environmental, social and governance criteria– is a natural evolution of what is more commonly called corporate social responsibility. In fact, it is another mainstay of a business strategy that measures a business’s positive impact on society. ESG takes it a step further by embedding these values in the heart of an organization’s business agenda with supporting policies, sustainability performance targets, and other KPIs. In essence, it takes what should be happening in every company and makes management and other personnel accountable for their actions.

However, the key to integrating ESG into the company culture — and connecting the dots to constituents — is how the company is communicating the chosen ESG path. That’s where public relations comes in.

Why It Matters

While ten years ago ESG was barely discussed, today, consumers will go out of their way to work with companies that are actively supporting sustainable products, services and ideals. As a result, ESG metrics have quickly become the norm.

These initiatives hold companies accountable to driving change and providing evidence that the business is living up to its declared values. With a robust ESG strategy in place, businesses can boost company growth, attract talented employees, reduce company costs and facilitate a sense of trust among consumers and other stakeholders.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that new business prospects and potential employees seek out companies that demonstrate value systems that align with their own. Bolstered by an effective communications campaign, ESG compliance helps to solidify trust and maintains a sense of transparency between the brand and its consumers.

Given this increase in conscious consumerism. ESG has just as much—if not more—of an impact on a business’s financial bottom line than ever before and, this is where communications becomes the key.

Where PR Comes In

The meteoric rise of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement over the past decade provides PR practitioners with a significant opportunity to emphasize the value of public relations as a critical business strategy. Communication is vital to the success of an ESG effort. Today, companies need effective practitioners who are well-versed in the movement that can clearly communicate effectively to multiple audiences. Naturally, this will drive attitude and behavior change.

As rapidly as ESG is growing in popularity, there is still much debate on how to quantify its value– after all, how does one officially measure “corporate good?” As more PR firms begin to tout ESG as a specialty, professionals should be able to translate the value of each component of ESG into tangible KPIs, complete with standardized methodologies to track them. For example:

Environmental impact can be determined by how many resources your business needs on an annual basis and determines the impact your company has on the environment. This can include things like your business’s carbon footprint, water usage, and energy consumption.
Social criteria can be measured by looking at how your company interacts with local communities. It also assesses your company’s internal policies in relation to diversity, including labor policies.
Governance is measured by your company’s internal practices that determine your decision-making processes and legal compliance.

How ESG Impacts the Bottom Line

The ESG movement has evolved significantly over the past decade. It will no doubt continue to grow as consumers and stakeholders embrace the ESG mindset. As a result, a company’s ESG score will become a defining factor for many as we move forward. For those firms that want to remain on the cutting edge of their market, integrating ESG into the fabric of the company – and prioritizing it as a valuable component of the overall business strategy — will set the stage for success.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Use QR Codes in Public Relations Campaigns

The QR code system was invented in 1994, and its original purpose was to track vehicles during manufacturing. But it has come a long way since then. QR codes are now used across industries and are a convenient way for potential customers to access information about products and services.

People are using their mobile devices more and more to interact with the world around them. As virtually every mobile phone can scan these codes, they are a useful tool for communication and marketing. So take advantage of the QR marketing trend and you will reach more of these mobile users.

If you are considering the use of QR codes for your PR campaigns, check out our short guide below. We look at what a QR code is, how it works, and what QR codes have to offer in public relations campaigns.

What Is A QR Code?

A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that uses four encoding modes for storing data. These coding modes are:

Numeric
Alpha-numeric
Byte/Binary (two-symbol data system)
Kanji (Japanese symbols that represent whole words)

Together, these allow a QR code to store any text as well as an image. The “QR” stands for Quick Response.

There are different types of QR codes, used for specific functions. These include product or contact information, links to social media platforms and websites, and many other uses.

How Does A QR Code Work?

A modern QR code consists of seven different elements, each with a unique purpose. Collectively, they form a “pattern” that is scanned with a QR code reader or the camera on a smartphone.

Simply aiming a camera or QR code reader towards this code allows instant access to embedded information.

Who Can Use QR Codes?

The beauty of QR codes is that they are so simple to use. Anyone can use them and there is no need for any technical know-how.

Most modern mobile devices can scan QR codes. And with the download of a QR scanner app, older smartphones can be used to enjoy this feature, too.

How To Use QR Codes In Your PR Campaigns

There are many benefits to using QR codes for your business. And one of these is the simplification of your PR campaigns. Let’s examine the top four reasons you should be using QR codes for your business’ marketing and PR.

Direct People To Your Website

Even small and micro businesses usually have a website. Make it easy for your customers to find yours by turning your URL into a QR code. They will simply need to scan the code and it will take them to your site immediately!

You can direct people to your website straight from your product packaging, informational leaflet, or print media. This will significantly increase your web traffic and is an effective method for promoting your business. You can choose to lead them to your home page, sign-up page, or anywhere you think most effective.

Access To Your Contact Information

There is no longer a need for printed business cards with a long list of contact details on them. Use a QR code as a business card. This will allow new users access to your contact details, without having to go online to look for this information.

It can include your phone numbers, email addresses, and social media handles. Some QR codes can even allow users to dial the number directly once they have scanned it with their mobile phone.

Lead Customers To Your Social Media

Social media has become a very powerful digital marketing tool for businesses across every industry. You more than likely have at least one social media account where you engage with your target market. But don’t leave this to chance.

Lead interested customers right to your social media pages from any other platform. Whether you are on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or Twitter, you can use QR codes to lead users to your socials where they can follow you.

Sending Messages

Enable people with product and service-related queries to send you messages. You can introduce a QR code to your business premises, email campaigns, newsletters, or product packaging. A quick scan of this code will enable customers and prospects to contact you. This is a highly efficient way to encourage any feedback and questions that people may have.

But you can also send messages highlighting promotions and new product lines or value-added services, in this way. Once the user scans the QR code, the message becomes available to them. This will take your existing SMS and email marketing to new heights.

Conclusion

QR codes can be used in many ways to streamline your public relations needs. From product information on packaging to directing traffic to your online platforms, QR codes offer great value to any business and provide more opportunities to connect with your target audience.

Leeza Hoyt

Self Confidence Is The Most Essential Public Relations Skill

If you want to be hailed as knowledgeable and authoritative in your public communications, then you have to exude self confidence. In fact, most people in the PR industry would argue that self-confidence, or a lack thereof, could make or break your career.

In your PR communications, you have to be able to convey your expertise in your industry and niche, instill confidence and respect in your brand, and build trust with your audience. To do all this, self-confidence is key.

Below, we’ve outlined why self-confidence matters and how you can become more confident in your public relations strategies.

Why Self-Confidence Is The Most Essential Public Relations Skill

A lot of people may mistakenly believe that confidence is a soft skill that they’ll only need later on in their careers. This is not the case.

Irrespective of your title, experience, or your position, your confidence levels will have a direct impact on every facet of your career. For your clients or customers to trust you, they have to view you as a leader in your industry.

You have to use your voice and skillset in an authoritative and assertive way so you can deliver on the expectations of your clients and co-workers.

6 Ways To Be More Confident In Your Public Relations

Dress The Part

One of the best ways to feel and look more professional is to dress the part. If dressed appropriately, your appearance can play a big part in people’s first impression of you.

When you look and feel ready, you will also appear more comfortable in your skin. This will allow you to convey your strategies and ideas in a confident manner.

Take Note Of Your Strengths

Everyone has things they excel at and things they still need to work on. It’s important to take note of your strengths and weaknesses so you can accentuate the things you are great at when needed.

For example, if you know you don’t convey things well on paper but you are good at verbally explaining your ideas, then you should do just that.

Of course, you should still work on those areas that you think you could approve in. However, by relying on the traits or skills that you already excel at, you will automatically feel more confident.

Find A Mentor

When getting started in your PR communications, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of new things you have to learn. By finding a mentor, whether it’s a colleague, someone that’s been working in your industry for a long time, a PR agency, or a business coach, you will find your feet much sooner.

This will enable you to ask questions and come to grips with PR best practices. The more you can learn, the more confident you will be.

Invest In Your Own Professional Development

By investing time and energy into educating yourself in terms of listening, leadership, and marketing skills, you will feel more confident.

Professional development is important for furthering your career and expanding your skillset. It will naturally help you feel more confident in your knowledge and skills.

If you want to enroll in an online course that you feel will help you to better do your job, then now is the time to do it.

Communicate Clearly

It can be tempting to become a wallflower, scout out the scene, and listen to others before taking your own stance. Although there is nothing wrong with this approach, you shouldn’t forget to practice how to communicate clearly when you finally feel comfortable enough to do so.

When speaking about a project, incident, or new idea, you should do it in a way that instills confidence and conveys credibility. This means you should focus on your tone of voice, word choices, the speed of your speech, and how you organize everything you want to say. The key lies in being assertive yet transparent.

Be Okay With Having Respect Over Being Liked

People often prefer to be liked rather than respected. Although it’s not always the best feeling if you are not liked, being respected is much more important if you want to be taken seriously.

Being confident in who you are, what you want, and what you need may require you to be firm at times. There is a fine line between being respected and being liked. The goal is to balance the two so you don’t alienate people, but rather get them to trust you and look to you in time of need.

In Summary

Self-confidence is one of the most important skills in PR because it allows you to accurately convey your expertise and skillset to clients, co-workers, and other people in the industry.

Luckily, it’s a soft skill that you can work on and perfect as you grow in your career. By becoming more confident, it will be easier for you to conduct your day-to-day tasks in a more impactful and efficient way, and allow you to thoroughly prepare your company for a crisis should you ever have to.

Leeza Hoyt

An Overlooked and Undervalued PR Tip

Originally published by Anne Buchanan on PRGN: https://prgn.com/author/annebuchanan/

The strongest PR tip I have to offer is neither glamorous nor original – but it has stood the test of time. Become a regular consumer of news.

consuming news — Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Make it a practice to read at least one daily newspaper every day. Regularly listen to news on the radio. I am an ardent fan of NPR. Watch the evening news.

You don’t have to give up Google alerts; they certainly have their purpose. But do not let alerts replace regular consumption of the news.

PR now encompasses a variety of story-sharing tactics ranging from TikTok videos to speeches. But the Holy Grail of PR remains earned media coverage. It is difficult to trump a timely placement in a respected media outlet. Earned media is viewed with higher credibility and has the added benefit of enhancing SEO.

That’s why becoming a regular student of the media is so valuable.

If you make news consumption a regular habit, I guarantee you will enjoy the following:

Your mind will begin to churn with ideas for your organization or your clients. When I finish reading a paper, I often have multiple story ideas for clients.
This is one of the best ways to find stories to “news hijack” your company or clients into.
You will become a better writer.
You will learn what constitutes a good story.
You’ll gain an appreciation for “news hierarchy,” especially if you hold a paper in your hands and notice where stories are slotted in the paper.
You will develop a deeper sense of which reporters like which stories. This goes beyond the beat information you will find in a media database.
You’ll be able to counsel your leadership or clients better because you understand the media better.
You will be able to converse easily on a wide range of topics.
You’ll stand out from the competition. Few take the time these days to truly consume the news.

Yes, it’s a pretty basic PR tip suggestion. But it’s one you can implement today and start seeing immediate dividends.

Leeza Hoyt

16 Precautions For Companies Using Social Media To Handle A PR Crisis

Originally posted by Forbes Agency Council: shorturl.at/BIMS8

When a PR crisis hits, it’s not uncommon for a business to approach it as it would other messaging challenges by reaching out to consumers via social media. Speaking to as many consumers as possible at once might seem expedient, but there are potential hazards to be aware of when attempting to minimize the fallout of a narrative that has grown beyond the company’s control via these channels.

To ensure any possible damage to the brand and its reputation is mitigated properly and effectively, the agency partners or in-house team members in charge of handling a crisis situation should craft a careful crisis communications strategy. Here, 16 members of Forbes Agency Council share important precautions to keep in mind when making a plan to address any issues that the crisis has presented over social media platforms.

Featured members share precautions for companies using social media to handle a PR crisis. — Forbes Agency Council share precautions for companies using social media to handle a PR crisis.Photos courtesy of the individual members.

1. Understand The Situation Fully Before Responding

Certainly, acknowledgement of public information about the issue is probably needed, but it is most important to learn what the issue is and how it came about. Often, more information comes out and your team can investigate to determine the cause and potential remedies or responses. – Jim Caruso, M1PR, Inc. d/b/a MediaFirst PR – Atlanta

PROMOTED

2. Be Truthful, Ethical And Positive Across All Platforms

If you are planning to use social media, then be ready to respond on time and appropriately. Create a bank of frequently asked questions. Be the driver of the conversation so that you can set the tone you want. Look for public support. Always use ethical and positive language and have the expertise to distinguish bots from real people. Ensure that the communication is uniform across all platforms. – Aman Swetta, id8 Media Solutions

3. Monitor All Of The Coverage Everywhere First

Monitor all the coverage of the crisis everywhere before diving into social media. That said, we’ve often used social media to dispel something that’s been distributed that is factually incorrect. It is, after all, the fastest way to communicate with certain stakeholders. – Leeza Hoyt, The Hoyt Organization, Inc. MORE FROMFORBES ADVISORBest Travel Insurance Companies ByAmy DaniseEditor Best Covid-19 Travel Insurance Plans ByAmy DaniseEditor

4. Don’t Try To ‘Manage’ The Conversation On Social Media

It is important to remember that the most conversation during a crisis happens on social media, and an attempt to come in and “manage” that conversation will almost always backfire. Instead, we work with our clients to create a holistic communications approach that incorporates social media in a strategic way, rather than giving in to impulse posting or the urge to “set the record straight.” – David Harrison, EVINS

Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?

5. Ensure All Messaging Is Consistent

Social media is just one way to communicate with consumers, and there are multiple options within social media. Consistency in messaging is critical across all channels, as consumers are exposed to all of them. – Lori Paikin, NaviStone®

6. Don’t Feel Obligated To Engage With Every Commenter

This may be controversial, but you don’t have to engage with everyone. Some interactions can be constructive and helpful, but other commenters may have negative feelings and won’t be able to be convinced otherwise. It’s often better to pick your spot to comment than to engage when you can’t actually solve the issue at hand with a social media response. – Stefan Pollack, The Pollack Group

7. Choose Your Words Carefully And Intentionally

Be very careful and intentional about the words you choose when responding to a PR crisis on social media. United Airlines found that out the hard way in 2017 when its CEO used the word “reaccommodated” to describe its forcible removal of a passenger. Although he was apologizing when he used it, the word quickly drove people into the arms of United’s competitors. – Mary Ann O’Brien, OBI Creative

8. Own The Issue Without Being Defensive

Completely own the issue at hand, and be cautious to avoid any sign of defensiveness in the tone of your response. Many times, customers will make lifetime determinations about the trust and empathy of your brand based on how well you deal with putting out fires. – Patrick Haddad, Oopgo, Inc.

9. Be As Transparent And Open As Possible

In a PR crisis, users will be looking to share their opinions and feel heard. Arguing with commenters, deleting negative comments or responding with the same canned message will draw the ire of internet warriors and make matters worse. Instead, be as transparent and open as possible, share your brand’s side of the story with those asking to hear it and allow for discourse in the comments. – Donna Robinson, Collective Measures

10. Find Another Way To Allow People To Vent

A crisis can show up in different packages. Are you managing a real danger to the public? Or are you dealing with a public outrage? If it is a real danger, you need people to act, so post but don’t allow comments. With outrage, you need to allow people to vent, and I’m not sure that is productive on social media. Personally, I would use digital ads to reach out and drive people to a dedicated website. – John Davies, Davies Public Affairs

11. Post In Real Time Instead Of Pre-Scheduling

Be careful about using pre-scheduled posts during a crisis. Situations can evolve quickly. A post that strikes the right tone one minute can be seen as inflammatory or insensitive the next, making real-time posts a safer bet as you navigate the crisis. – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc.

12. Know Who Is Most Impacted And What Your Objective Is

First, evaluate the situation from the position of those who have been impacted most by the crisis. They will be the harshest critics of how you react. Next, decide what your objective is and stick to it. You will never make everyone happy, but by waffling, you will lose all support. Always be thoughtful, concise, consistent and empathetic with your response. – Justin Buckley, ATTN Agency

13. Keep Calm And Never Retaliate

Do not retaliate! No matter how unjust the allegations may be, keep your calm. Reach out to the person in question and see if you can provide a solution or a compensation. If that doesn’t work, compile the facts that work in your favor and circulate them among your audiences in the form of a diplomatically drafted press release and a case study. You may use paid promotions to maximize the reach. – Ajay Prasad, GMR Web Team

14. Be Genuine To Avoid Deepening The Crisis

Handling a PR crisis over social media platforms can be a double-edged sword, as it can further deepen the crisis and cause even greater social media outcry. Remember that people will scrutinize your every word and move, so maintain transparency and be genuine in your “crisis-handling” social media posts. You don’t want your followers uncovering plot holes in your narrative and denouncing your brand even more. – Dejan Popovic, PopArt Studio

15. Be Consistent And Responsive

If you’re going to use social media to respond, you have to ensure that the audience knows when you won’t be active for a period of time so that you don’t appear dismissive. You should also have a response grid ready to go for any and all questions related to the topic, as well as rebuttal points for key arguments. – Vix Reitano, Agency 6B

16. Drive Social Media Followers To PR Content On Your Site

Situations change so quickly on social media that companies should consider releasing PR content on their websites and then using social media to drive followers to that content. Social algorithms also make it confusing for followers to determine messaging timelines because views are based on engagement, not date. Much later, the company can use social media to reinforce or explain that message to followers. – Marc Hardgrove, The HOTH

Leeza Hoyt

What Is ESG And Why Is It Important?

Consumers are no longer satisfied with superficial marketing messages that try to motivate the purchase of high-quality products and services.

Since the pandemic, the criteria for acceptable business practices have changed for the better. In other words, if you want to be successful, you have to take your company’s environmental and social impact into account.

Conscious consumerism is on the rise. So adopting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) measures are now more important than ever to ensure longevity in the business world.

Below, we discuss what ESG is and why it’s important for your business.

What Is ESG?

ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance criteria. These are used to measure or assess a company’s overall impact on the world.

The ‘E’ in ESG looks at how many resources your business needs on an annual basis and determines the impact your company has on the environment. This can include things like your business’s carbon footprint, water usage, and energy consumption.

The social criteria, or ‘S’ in ESG, look at how your company interacts with local communities. It also assesses your company’s internal policies in relation to diversity, including labor policies.

Governance (G) has to do with your company’s internal practices that determine your decision-making processes and legal compliance.

When ESG is really prioritized it can help to:

boost company growth
attract talented employees
reduce company costs
facilitate a sense of trust amongst consumers

Why Is It Important For All Businesses?

Smaller businesses are more prone to thinking that ESG may not apply to them. However, this isn’t the case. You don’t have to run a large business for people to pay attention to how you are conducting your affairs.

In fact, small businesses that are mindful of ESG from an early stage may grow quicker compared to companies that aren’t.

You can bolster company integrity, employee wellbeing, and customer relations while reducing company costs by adopting ESG measures, no matter the size of your business.

Company Integrity

Company integrity is all about delivering on what you promised and holding true to what your company stands for.

Nowadays, people are more interested in the story behind your brand and your company ideals. Buyers want to know that they are spending their money on companies that are aligned with their values.

No product or service is truly unique. What truly sets a company apart is the ideals or values that it’s grounded in. By caring about more than your monthly profits and actually contributing to environmental or social causes, you are giving buyers even more reasons to support you.

Employee Wellbeing

Ensuring the well-being of your employees starts with practicing active listening. By being in tune with your employees’ needs, you will not only retain top talent but will also have a more productive team.

As the company owner, social responsibility should start with you. It will then slowly filter down to every department so that it is truly ingrained in the company culture.

Yes, social responsibility is all about benefiting society. But, without ensuring employee wellbeing, you can’t expect to make a lasting, genuine impact on customers, stakeholders, or your local community.

Customer Relations

As a business owner, you may be wondering why you should care about what your customers feel. However, if done right, positive customer relations could be your brand’s greatest ally.

When you make your customers feel valued and appreciated they are more likely to support you on a regular basis. They can also act as brand ambassadors.

It’s all about using special moments to connect with your customer. Whether you send a memorable e-card to a customer on his or her birthday, or whether it’s providing more autonomy throughout the customer journey, there are numerous ways to forge a connection with both old and new customers.

Reduces Costs

A recent study revealed that the cost of ignoring ESG initiatives may be too high.

Companies that scored high when it comes to implementing ESG protocols reported lower capital costs, lower equity costs, and lower overall debt compared to companies with poor ESG scores.

These decreased costs are due, in part, to lower litigation, regulatory, and environmental risks, which are commonly associated with companies with high ESG scores.

In short, ESG is not just nice to have but is strategically imperative if you want to boost company profits. Without it, you run the risk of putting out fires that you never intended to create with money you never intended to spend.

Conclusion

If you want to truly stand out in the sea of companies that offer similar products or services to yours, then now is the time to invest in ESG measures.

Not only does it tell potential stakeholders and customers what your company is all about, but it also gives you the opportunity to make a bigger positive impact on both the environment and local communities.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Optimize Your PR Strategy With Local SEO

When thinking of the ideal PR strategy, a people-centric marketing approach, thought leadership articles, and promo events may come to mind.

It may not be outright obvious at first, but for these PR tactics to be truly effective, every single one of them should be localized.

Search engine optimization can do exactly that, which is why it should be used in conjunction with your PR strategy. When implemented correctly, local SEO can make your business more discoverable online in for consumers in your area.

Below, we’ve outlined four tips on how you can optimize your PR strategy with local SEO.

4 Tips For Optimizing Your PR With Local SEO

Invest in On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is one of the most important ways that you can optimize your content and become more discoverable online. Although you need a bit of technical knowledge to get going, it’s not as difficult to implement as you might think.

On-page SEO can power your business strategy and also support your PR efforts. It can help you to broadcast your company’s local events to more people in your immediate area. When used together, local SEO acts like a megaphone that magnifies all of your marketing and PR efforts.

There are two main ways that you can optimize your website with local SEO in mind.

Setting Up Your Website

Your website should give visitors all the information they could possibly want regarding your products and services. Designing and building a website takes time. So, if your website is still a work in progress, be sure to at least include the most crucial information from the get-go.

Your company’s name, address, and contact information should always be readily available on your website. This not only allows people to get into contact with you but also gives Google what it needs to consider you for local search results.

Use The Right Keywords

Do some keyword research before writing the copy for your website. Thorough research will enable you to identify what people are searching for when looking for the products and services that you offer.

To simplify this process, you can use free keyword tools, like Google’s Keyword Finder. Your keywords should be strategically placed throughout your website. Page titles, meta descriptions, and the first sentence of each page should always include your keywords.

When wanting to boost local SEO, it’s best to combine your keywords with your location on your website as often as you can.

Establishing and implementing your on-page SEO strategy can take a while, but it’s so worth it because it will help to boost your domain authority.

Set Up Google My Business

The first thing people do when they want to know more about your business is to look you up on Google. For this reason, it is critical that you list your company on Google My Business (GMB). Your GMB listing should include your company’s name, address, and up-to-date contact information.

A GMB listing will not only appear when people search for your company. It will also pop up when someone searches for the products or services that your company provides. This means it offers free local advertising for your business and can also refer people to your website should they want more information about your company.

Don’t forget to include keywords in your Google My Business title and to choose a primary category that most accurately explains what your company offers. Lastly, try to incite people to leave reviews on your listing. This will also help you to rank higher on search engines.

Encourage Local Publications To Link Back To Your Website

For your website’s domain to gain more authority over time, Google needs to recognize that your website provides valuable content in your area of expertise. To prove your authority, you need to have other reputable sites linking to your website.

The more quality backlinks your site has, the more Google will prioritize your website’s ranking on its results pages.

This is a great PR opportunity! If other reputable websites use the right keywords and location mentions when linking back to your site, the better you will rank on Google.

Be sure to focus heavily on media relations when revisiting your annual PR strategy. By publishing content in local quality publications that link back to your website, you could boost brand awareness and up your local SEO ranking all in one go.

List Your Business On Multiple Local Directories

When listing your business on various local directories, you create more backlinks to your website. As previously mentioned, this is essential if you want to rank higher on Google’s search engine for local searches.

You can opt for popular directories, like Facebook and Yelp, but don’t completely discount more niche directories.

In Summary

Your local SEO efforts and PR strategy should go hand in hand when it comes to promoting your business.

When your website ranks high on Google, your PR and digital marketing efforts will be much more effective and reach a wider network of people in your area.

Leeza Hoyt

DE&I Writing Tips For B2B Communications

If your company is serious about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), then your B2B writing style and overall marketing strategy should reflect it.

DEI shouldn’t be viewed as the latest fad. Instead, industry leaders should recognize how inclusivity and diversity of voice can benefit company growth.

Research shows that more diverse businesses boast above-average profitability. Why is this? Because inclusivity, diversity, and equity have been shown to promote innovation, and creativity and attract talented individuals.

If you are ready to show your clients that you value inclusion, equity, and diversity in the workplace, you’ve come to the right place. Here are four writing tips on how to style your DE&I-focused B2B communications.

4 Writing Tips For DE&I-Focused B2B Communications

Engage Your ENTIRE Audience

To grab the attention of your brand’s entire audience, you should first know who you are writing to. Invest time and effort into establishing your brand’s customer personas.

After you have that finalized, further divide each customer persona into subgroups that take the underrepresented and marginalized into consideration.

Yes, you can use AI to sift through large amounts of customer data to help you with this. Just know that your AI system may not be free of bias and discriminatory decisions. Your learning strategy shouldn’t be wholly dependent on AI. Instead, do some of the heavy digging yourself.

This can be a brilliant exercise for your entire marketing team to unravel which underrepresented groups of people are not currently being catered to. The more time you invest in uncovering more sensitive ways to approach these types of clients, the more compelling, thoughtful, and useful your company’s content will be.

Cover The Right Topics

At the beginning of each month, it’s important to plan a content calendar that reflects how important diversity, equity, and inclusion are to your company.

What you write about should speak to more than only one ethnicity, gender, and age group. It’s also a great idea to write about special company events that celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This is best done in a team setting where various people can give their opinion and help shape your company’s monthly content ideas. If more than three pairs of eyes look your content calendar over, there’ll be fewer chances of excluding minority people groups.

To point you in the right direction, here are a couple of things that will help you create effective business content for a wide spectrum of clients:

Employ a diverse writing team.
Create language guidelines that promote inclusivity, equity, and diversity for your writing team.
Create content that is accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Cover a wide variety of topics that incorporates stories about a diverse range of people.
Create a company culture where everyone feels comfortable speaking their mind.

Choose Diverse Images

By knowing exactly who your clients are, and who you’re trying to reach through your content, you can better connect with future clients through the correct use of imagery.

Stock photo websites are a gem when it comes to sourcing diverse depictions of people in everyday situations. To show your readers that you really understand them and their needs on a personal level, you should represent them in your marketing material whenever you can.

If your clients can relate to what they’re seeing, they will be more inclined to read your newsletters, white papers, blogs, or case studies.

However, keep in mind that visually impaired individuals also want to know what each photo portrays on your website. Be sure to implement web accessibility best practices when describing images with the Alt Text tag to accommodate them.

Build DE&I Into Your Brand And Team

Yes, DE&I should be reflected in the content you put out into the world. However, if your bid to support diversity, inclusion, and equity stops there, do you really mean it? These values can’t just be sprinkled about here and there. They need to be built into your brand.

Any B2B content you send to clients should reflect the brand values that your team already lives and breathes. DE&I shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be woven into everything your brand does.

For a company that serves other companies, this means you will need to practice active listening to really understand your clients’ needs. You should also invest in potential stakeholders that have different backgrounds, beliefs, religions, values, and ethnicities.

By hiring a diverse group of employees, you can also gain priceless perspectives on your brand and business initiatives. This will help build DE&I into your brand, team, and company culture.

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, everybody wants to feel seen and heard – even in the business world. By making it clear that every single one of your clients matter, your brand will always be one step ahead of the competition.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion should be top of mind in regard to all business and marketing decisions, especially when it comes to brand content.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Achieve Earned Media Success

Achieving earned media success can be tricky! Earned media refers to brand promotion through organic means which can be in the form of a news article, blog, review, or a mention on social media.

The reason why there’s so much hype surrounding earned media is because of its effectiveness in forging connections between a brand and its customers.

Earned media success indicates that you have a relatable, authentic brand that people are genuinely interested in.

6 Tips For Earned Media Success

Below, we’ve outlined 6 tips to ensure earned media success.

Take A Stance

For your brand to be successful in generating earned media, you have to know what your brand is all about. What does your brand stand for? Can you define your brand’s personality and your brand values?

By defining what your brand is all about, you will be better equipped to decide what content your brand should put out there.

Remember, you can’t please everyone and you shouldn’t want to. The more authentic your brand is, the more attention it will garner for all the right reasons.

The key is to know what your brand is all about and to stick to your guns. Don’t be scared to have opinions and don’t be scared to take a stance on important topics.

Create Pillar Content

Now that you know what your brand stands for, it’s time to target your brand’s target audience. How do you do that? By creating pillar content that speaks directly to them.

Pillar content centers around writing an informative and substantive piece of content on a specific topic. The key is to take a big idea or topic and cover it in its entirety. Then, you can create other content explaining the different subtopics in more detail and link it all together.

The initial creation of original content can be time-intensive, but it’s so worth it because it can be used over and over again in different formats. If done right, this will allow you to reach your intended audience and forge a connection with potential buyers.

Search Engine Optimization

Now that you’ve invested in great content that resonates with your readers, it’s time to get your content in front of as many eyes as possible. Implementing search engine optimization is crucial if you want to target the right reader.

By using priority keywords, anchor text, and linking to and from high-ranking websites, you can make your content more discoverable for the masses.

Invest In Thought Leadership

As previously mentioned, you should not be afraid to have an opinion. In fact, your brand should act as a guiding light that people can look to. You want to be heard and seen so you can stay top-of-mind when people are in need of the products and services you offer.

By being a thought leader, people are also more likely to trust in what you are selling. Customers will more easily respect you and listen to you if they trust you.

Thought leadership allows you to speak your mind on everything that is going on in your industry. This is both a great responsibility and a fantastic opportunity to earn your customer’s loyalty through your unique expertise.

Nurture Your Customer Relationships

Be sure to create a safe space where people can comment on your content. This not only fosters more engagement but helps to build your brand’s online community.

If your fans spend hours reading, commenting, and engaging in conversations, then show them some appreciation by replying.

If you are wondering why you should care about what customers feel, then consider the following: It’s not about faking a connection, it’s about saying thank you. Yes, replying online takes up time, but it makes your followers feel seen and heard. That connection cannot be bought.

Don’t bombard your audience with your own thoughts and leave no space for discussions. By hearing what your audience has to say and practicing active listening, you will also be much more in tune with what type of content they want.

Be Patient

Seeing a return on earned media investment can take time. In fact, it could take years. But the payoff is so worth it. If you are an impatient person, then you might want to hand over the reins to someone else in this department. But whatever you do, don’t give up.

Being consistent, keeping an eye on online trends, and understanding search intent will get you very far, especially if you are willing to speak up about what you believe in.

You have to understand that earned media can take your brand places that no paid method can reach. Organic buzz is authentic and helps to turn ordinary people into brand advocates – free of charge.

Conclusion

Earned media success may seem like a gigantic mountain that feels too steep to climb. This needn’t be the case. By implementing these six tips, you will soon be on your way to reaching more people, while earning brand engagement and increased sales.

Leeza Hoyt

How Empowering Your Team Makes You A Better Leader

If you are in the race to build a successful company, then empowering your team should be a top priority. In fact, this is essential if you want to be a more engaging leader.

This means you should respect each employee enough to entrust them with more autonomy, responsibility, and accountability. In other words, after you’ve given your team the tools they need to thrive in the workplace, you should loosen the reins so they can take ownership of their accomplishments.

Below, we’ve outlined how you can empower your team and how your entire company can benefit from this practice.

The Importance Of Empowering Your Team

Empowerment opens the lines of communication within any organization. If you make it clear from the get-go that your office door is always open, then your team will know that they can come to you for help.

This means that when a task gets assigned, your team will have the opportunity to figure out the ins and outs of the entire process for themselves. However, if they see that something isn’t working optimally, they can always report back to you for guidance.

This setup will not only help you to practice active listening and be a more approachable leader, but will also help to solve any major problems in its initial stages.

Secondly, it can be empowering for your team to have a go at solving problems themselves before they ask for help. If your team manages on their own, they will gain self-confidence. This will help them learn to trust their own instincts and skillset.

As a result, you can build a work-force of confident, capable, and satisfied employees, which benefits your company.

How Empowering Your Team Makes You A Better Leader

There are numerous ways that you can become a better leader by empowering your team. Firstly, leaders who empower their teams create a closely knitted team. This can fuel the long-term success of your business.

Secondly, by involving your team and seeing them as equals, you can prevent micromanaging. As a result, you will create a more confident team structure. This will also allow for the consideration of more opinions and can open your company up to new, out-of-the-box ideas.

Thirdly, if you want to encourage problem-solving, and have a high-performing team then you will have to reward critical thinking and innovation. However, your team will only feel inspired to be innovative if they are given the opportunity to see their ideas come to life.

If you are committed to empowering your team, then you will be viewed as the gatekeeper that always opens the door to new opportunities. Instead of tiptoeing around you, your employees will have the freedom to share their success and greatest ideas with you.

If your team fails, they will feel safe knowing that they have your understanding and support which will give them the courage to try again. In essence, this is the golden standard that all leaders should be aiming for if they want their company to be successful.

4 Tips To Empower Your Team

Give Your Employees a Well-Defined End Goal

The aim should always be to paint a clear picture of the end destination. However, do not dictate how your team should get there.

Give your employees what they need to do their work, but be sure to also give them free rein when it comes to brainstorming and problem-solving.

A simple project management tool can help your employees to stay organized at work.

Define Employee Roles and Responsibilities

For everyone to work harmoniously, there should be no confusion regarding job roles or responsibilities. Everyone should know who makes the decisions, who delegates tasks, and who is responsible for what.

By not assigning clear task roles, important decisions could end up being delayed.

Upskill Your Team Before Tasks Are Assigned

You can save a lot of time and prevent frustration within your team by giving your employees the skills and tools they need before you ask them to tackle difficult tasks.

Whether your team needs to sharpen up their problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, or technical skills, be sure to fully equip each employee for the tasks at hand.

Lead by Example

Sometimes, a company has to undergo a culture shift for employees to truly feel empowered. The best way to show your team that you are serious about empowering them is to model the mindsets and behaviors that you are trying to instill.

For this to happen, leaders should rework performance management, company structures, or training processes where needed.

In Summary

These four steps may not seem like extraordinary measures to empower your employees. But, when implemented correctly, they could change the entire way your team operates.

The goal should always be to award highly capable employees who have earned your trust with more opportunities to shine.

Leeza Hoyt

How To Recover From A Public Relations Crisis

A public relations crisis is often one of the most feared incidents that could befall just about any company. When not handled appropriately, such a crisis could result in a snowball effect leaving negative publicity, canceled contracts, and a decline in business revenue in its wake.

5 Steps To Recover From A PR Crisis

Below, we’ve outlined some of the top steps a company should implement to mitigate and recover from a PR crisis.

Analyze The Damage

If your company has fallen victim to a PR disaster, the first thing on your agenda should be to ascertain the damage done to your company.

Take a step back and objectively analyze the damage your corporate reputation has taken. To do this, first determine if there is a public attitude that reflects negatively towards the company or to stakeholders, employees, and customers.

This should be done using digital metrics available to you from your social media platforms, looking at online reviews, as well as benchmarked search results. Focus groups can also provide insights about public perception. You will be able to determine whether there’s been a noticeable shift in perception towards your brand.

Be sure to capture non-media metrics as well, like your company’s share prices, sales performance, and overall profitability. This data will provide you with detailed factual insights into the repercussions of the public relations crisis in question.

After you have analyzed all the data available to you, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to communicate with investors, stakeholders, and customers, and how to respond to media inquiries.

Communicate With Stakeholders & Investors

After combing through all the data, the next step would be to get the word out regarding the impact of the crisis. The most important group of people that you should talk to first would be your company’s stakeholders. This usually includes investors and business partners.

Start off by explaining what events led to the crisis and what measures are being implemented to put a stop to the crisis. Next, mention what future measures will be upheld to ensure that this specific scenario won’t happen again.

The goal should be to get everyone on the same page. You’ve got to prove to each stakeholder that you’ve got a game plan and that you won’t rest until you’ve contained the situation. Remember, timely engagement with key stakeholders is key.

Plan Your Media Communications Campaign Strategy

After getting your shareholders in the loop, the next step is to shape public perception. This part of the process can be viewed as the end goal of all crisis management strategies because it will ultimately determine the success of all your efforts.

Firstly, you will have to leverage the media by carefully selecting brand leaders to issue a public statement. If your company is at fault, you will need to take ownership of all the mistakes you have made.

By not addressing who is to blame or by deflecting blame onto a third party, you could blacken your company’s reputation even more. So, be sure to apologize where and when needed and let the public know that you are resolute in your commitment to resolving the problem.

If your company is not at fault, you’ve got to do the exact opposite. Instead of apologizing, remain steadfast and state your company’s position on the matter.

If the crisis unfolded due to mistruths published by the media, you could seek out a retraction. However, it may be more beneficial to ask the media house in question to publicly apologize for their misprint and to publish the correct version of the story.

Be Transparent

Whether your company is at fault or not, it is extremely important to be forthcoming.

By only apologizing after being caught in the crossfire, people could think that your company knew about the mistake all along. This could render any apology you give insincere and ineffective. It could also give the public reason to believe that you’ll deceive your customers again. In essence, this is exactly what you don’t want.

Instead, by immediately owning your part in the crisis directly after discovering the issue, you could reinforce trust in your company.

It will also enable you to construct the narrative before the media gets hold of the story. This changes everything and allows you to prove that this is an honest mistake rather than a periodic occurrence.

Adjust Your PR Strategy

Lastly, you should take charge online. Although social media could actually contribute to a PR crisis, you can also prohibit this from happening by taking control of all your communication platforms.

Be sure to fully prep your online team so they are equipped to monitor and take charge of conversations on social media platforms, blog commentary sections, Google review sections, and other online platforms.

To take control of the online narrative, you should publish a formal apology on all your online platforms. Make it factual and remember to list all of the ways that you plan on remedying the situation.

Conclusion

A public relations crisis can be scary no matter how long you’ve been in business. But, if handled correctly it can actually showcase your company’s values.

By letting customers know that you are sorry in a timely manner and that you are resolute in resolving the matter, you can effectively mitigate the crisis in question.

Leeza Hoyt

Why You Should Care About What Customers Feel

Long gone are the days when a company could simply open its doors on a busy street and expect tons of sales.

For a business to be successful in 2022, one truly has to connect with your customers on a deeper level in order for them to choose and support your brand.

But how exactly do you do this? And why should you care about your customers’ feelings and thoughts? We discuss all you need to know regarding a brand’s emotional connection to its customer base below.

Why You Need To Form An Emotional Identity With Your Customers

Before we jump into the best ways to form an emotional connection with your customers, it is important to understand why emotional connections are vital to being successful.

With so many different products and services to choose from, customers are constantly weighing one brand against another. When considering purchasing your products, customers are asking themselves why they should choose you.

And why should they? This is, in fact, a very valid question. Out of all the brands that are constantly bombarding them with offers, deals, and sales, why should they settle on what your brand promises?

To stand out from the crowd, your brand has to go the extra mile. Customers may not recall what exactly they bought from your store a year from now. However, they will never forget how your brand made them feel.

Emotional branding is critical if you want to develop brand loyalty. Brand loyalty can be defined as a long-term commitment that a customer has towards a brand. When brand loyalty is high, higher sales numbers usually follow.

Emotional branding can help to refine your brand’s personality and highlights common interests or values that are shared by a brand and its customers. When done right, emotional branding can render your brand irreplaceable and make your buyers feel both seen and heard.

3 Tips For Establishing Your Brand’s Emotional Identity

Be Original

There are probably a million other companies that also offer what you sell, but none of them should look or sound like you. This is how you maintain your brand’s originality and truly stand out from the crowd.

If your brand was a real person, who would he or she be? What would the characteristics be of your brand and why would people want to hang out with your business? What does your brand care about and why? These are just some of the questions that you’ll need to consider when first creating your brand personality.

However, the most important step is to define how your brand communicates with your audience. In order to be original and to stay true to your brand personality, what you say and how you say it should line up with who you say you are.

Remember, you want to authentically connect with each customer in an intuitively human way that stays true to your unique brand personality. If there is a disconnect between what your brand silently promises and how you communicate with your customers, it will lead to confusion.

Identify Your Customers’ Emotional Motivators

After establishing an original brand personality, it’s time to look at what motivates your buyers. By understanding what motivates your target audience on an emotional level, it will be easier to nurture an emotional connection.

Each target group may have different emotional motivators, which means you will have to adapt your communication angle depending on who you are trying to connect with.

For example, some customers are more concerned with being perceived as special or unique. Knowing this, your marketing efforts should be highly personalized, and your team should be ready to immediately assist these types of customers whenever they need it.

Just don’t forget to always stay true to your brand’s image. The goal is to establish where your buyer’s emotional needs line up with what you can authentically offer. It won’t be sustainable for your brand to cater to the emotional motivators of a customer if meeting those needs doesn’t align with your brand personality.

Tell Great Stories

Storytelling is in every person’s DNA and has helped humans to communicate, connect, educate, share experiences and unite since the dawn of time. From a marketing standpoint, storytelling can help you to forge a deeper connection with your target audience.

In fact, lots of big brands use storytelling to construct brand traditions, build trust, make their brand more memorable, and communicate what their brand is all about.

In Summary

By establishing your brand personality, you’ll be able to connect with your target audience in a meaningful way. This will enable you to show every customer that you truly care about each interaction they have with your brand.

By embracing your brand’s value proposition, identifying what your customers care about, and crafting great branding stories, you can make each buyer feel special.

Leeza Hoyt

Words to live by: Why Communications is Critical

While the world will continue to evolve, there is one constant that will stay the same: the need to communicate — effectively. Remember, the way we communicate may change, but the need to do so will not. How did The Hoyt Organization, Inc., (THO) manage to stay at the top of its game for 30 years? Here’s a few pointers that may help you do the same.

Embrace change. It will forever be your guiding star. Each generation has a different history, which leads to a different perspective, and an evolving lifestyle. This, in itself will help agencies with their diversity and inclusion initiatives. Realize now, that your history and background belongs uniquely to you. Applaud the similarities of your team, and respect the differences. It will lead to a positive synergy that will make your team stronger and more effective.

Become a ‘technologist.’ — I personally find the evolution of technology a fascinating science. If anyone has watched ‘Mad Men’ the sitcom with Don Draper that takes place in the 60s, it easy to understand how far we’ve come. They were using typewriters (one episode features the excitement of getting a copy machine) and rotary dials. Today, cell phones are on everyone’s hips, and we’re embracing virtual reality technology, that is being used to do everything from showing properties, to navigating roadways, and much more. Now, we’re even discussing the impact of interactive holograms that will be the next evolution.

Master social + digital (and whatever comes next). Myspace was a leading communications tool of its time; until it was overtaken by Facebook. Then we added Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, and more. Gone are the days of relying on print newspapers. While they still exist, its only a matter of time before they go fully digital. It’s critical to stay on top of those channels that champion your brands. Be active on the key channels, and make sure you understand the rest. No doubt there will be more added to the mix as the calendar moves forward.

Trust your gut. Ever had a new business meeting and walk out with an uneasy feeling? Pay attention to it. Whether that be on a new hire, a new client, or anything else. As my grandma said, there is another bus that comes along in 10 minutes. Be selective about how you plan your business, and your life.

Live with integrity.

Lead by example.

Learn every day.

…and laugh. After all, life is short. Enjoy it!

Using Strategy to our Advantage

Making an Impact

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

What Is Purpose-driven Marketing And Corporate Social Responsibility?

Why Are They Important For Your Business?

Unique Value Proposition

Optimize Brand Image

Aligns Your Mission And Vision

Examples Of Purpose-driven Marketing And CSR

Humanitarian Efforts

Environmental Causes

Community-based Causes

Final Thoughts

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

What Is Predictive Analytics?

How To Use Predictive Analytics In Your PR Campaigns

Understanding Customer Behavior

Finding Your Audience

Maintaining A Sharp Competitive Edge

Adjusting Messaging To Meet Today’s Escalating Customer Expectations

Final Thoughts

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

Why Is PR Important For Nonprofits?

Building An Effective Nonprofit PR Strategy

Start By Defining Your Goals

Get To Know Your Target Audience

Use A Variety Of Communication Channels

Build Relationships With Media Outlets

Measure Your Success

Final Thoughts

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

How To Launch And Execute A PR Strategy For Hospitality And Travel Industries

Develop A Strong PR Strategy

Have A Strong Online Presence

Build Relationships With Media Outlets

Showcase Your Unique Selling Points

Leverage Influencers And Advocates

Offer Promotions

Execute Your PR Strategy

Final Thoughts

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

7 Top PR Marketing Tips For Medical Spas

Figure Out What Makes You Different

Reward Reviews

Take Advantage Of Social Media

Create Quality Content

Use Analytics To Learn About Your Audience

Be Smart With Targeted Ad Campaigns

Back Services With Evidence

Final Thoughts

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

What We Did

RESULT

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

How To Effectively Market Your Cannabis Business

Brand Awareness

Media Relations

Social Media Presence

Pitching

SEO

Emphasize Credibility

Final Thoughts

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts

How To Hone Your Persuasive Skills For PR

Establish Relationships With Your Audience

Observe And Listen

Present A Win-Win Idea

Use Emotion

Demonstrate Authority, Trust and Expertise

Final Thoughts

Leeza Hoyt

Related Posts