Establishing Your Online Brand

So, last time we learned:

1. Social networking is all about developing effective relationships.
2. The Internet is a great way to engage conversation about your business and manage these relationships.

But where do we begin to learn how to control our media message and online presence? Keep reading for tips on how to be a more effective online communicator.

1. Before the design stage, establish a clear purpose for your website.

Writing without establishing the point of why you are writing is pointless. It doesn’t provide value to your customers and it won’t provide value to you.  When establishing your website purpose statement, Harvard Business Review recommends asking yourself these questions:

-          Why will my customers come here?

-          What do I want them to do on my site?

-          Why should they come back?

-          What do I want them to get from my site?

By answering these questions, you will discover what your customers want from you, and then you can design your site to deliver your customers’ wants (i.e., providing VALUE to your customers).

1. Focus on consumer behavior—not consumer demographic.

When people come to your site, you have no way of knowing their age, race, or sex, so why use demographics as your main factor in communicating to them? Appeal to the behaviors and motivations that bring people to your site, and you will have more success at reaching your audience.

-          What are the reasons and ways people would be directed to your site? Tailor your site to meet their needs.

-          What information would they want to glean from you? Make that information prominent.

1. Navigation is key.

People need to be able to get the information they need and FIND it quickly and easily. If the info your customers need is there, but it’s not in a format that is easy to understand, people will go somewhere else.

-          Keep your navigation bars consistent.

-          At minimum, people need to know how to get forward, back, home, what the main sections of information are, and how to browse through it.

-          Write how your typical customer would talk. Use the same conversational tone and language that your customers would use and understand.

-          Make things easier to read. Consider using bigger print, less text, and breaking up text into smaller sections of information, putting different sections of information onto different pages, and separating blocks of text with video, audio, or pictures.

1. Make sure customers will have the same online experience as they do in other aspects of your company. The same experience customers get when they call your business, visit your store, or attend your events should be simulated in your online brand. People like consistency, and providing the same visual or sensual cues online as well as in person gives your customers a trusting, comfortable environment and online experience.

1. Build Credibility. In human interactions, we build rapport with people so they will trust us, interact with us, and create a mutual relationship where each party gives and receives value. The same rules apply for online.

-          Use other people’s comments on your site to establish trust. If other people comment on how fabulous your event was or how good your tips are, more people are likely to trust that information and use you again.

-          Provide an online resource for customers to interact with the brand (e.g., online chat, comment features, e-mail, phone, or webcast). This can build credibility to show that you are a reputable company, that you care about developing relationships with consumers, and you care about meeting consumers’ needs and being accountable for your writings.

7. Don’t Become Overzealous. Especially when it comes to social media sites, think quality not quantity. If you become the company that sends a million messages and floods people’s inboxes, your media message is less likely to get read, more likely to get deleted, and people are more likely to drop you as a ‘friend’ or ‘contact’ on the site.

Always tailor your online media message to your audience. Think about how your e-mail, e-blast, message, or tweet fits in to their day, and make sure you craft your words so that they bring value (i.e., importance or helpfulness) to your main consumer.

8. Tailor the type and quantity of message to the purpose of each site. Blogs, informational websites, retail websites, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have different purposes or reasons as to why people go on there. Keep that in mind for the types of writing you want to send out.

For example, Twitter is used to instantaneously communicate and transfer information to a selected group of people. If your organization has continuous information that you need to inform your public about, consider those types of sites.

Facebook and LinkedIn are sites primarily used to learn about and connect with organizations/people who have similar interests. Consider this type of site if your organization is building a following, needs to gain contacts, and/or wants to inform the public about long-term interests, the goals of your organization, or allow the public to view a more interactive side to your business.

9. Stay mindful of your online brand. Monitor what is being posted on all sites affiliated with your company. Be especially cognizant of any harmful or untrue information out there about your company. If there is negative information, contact a PR representative to issue a neutralizing statement addressing these issues, personally respond to any complaints, and take necessary action within your company to correct the underlying issues or effects these media messages had on your other consumers.

The New Social Scene

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Friendster, BeBo, Hi5, FlickR—this list doesn’t even include blog sites. With hundreds of sites to choose from, it’s easy as a business owner to get lost in the hype of social networking.

As daunting as choosing and—here’s the real challenge—mastering how each social networking site works, hopping on the Twitter wagon could provide a huge benefit to your business. While print, TV, and radio have not completely lost their value to consumers, an Advertising Age March 2009 article stated that people are watching TV less and staying online more. Consider these reasons to put in more work socializing online.

Great Minds Think Alike

Social networking is all about developing relationships! The beauty of sites like Facebook and LinkedIn is that they allow you to target many niche groups that can be used to expand your business. Posting on a Facebook wall, updating your Twitter status, or creating a fan page can all allow you to both express and receive information with a large number of people who all have similar interests, opinions, contacts, networks, and ideas as you.

Free Marketing Research

The chat or messaging features on most social networking sites allow you to post ideas and to receive instantaneous feedback on products, services, and events. By posting new information on these sites, you can reach out to and listen to a large number of customers without the hassle of putting together focus groups or polls to gather information.

Keep ‘Em Talking

Creating your own group or page on these sites also allows your consumers a tangible resource to express their opinions and generate conversations about your business. These conversations (whether in person or online) generate word of mouth “press” for your company and help your company’s credibility. For example, positive reviews and recommendations from bloggers can generate the same positive (or negative) press as a review from a newspaper critic can generate.

It’s Networking Without Your Business Suit

Certain social networking sites have taken over the traditional networking scene (e.g., after- work happy hour) and allows you to meet clients, journalists, etc. all from the comfort of your PC screen. One journalist blogged about using the search function on Twitter to locate interviewees, businesses, and people related to the story topic he is assigned to cover. Once he finds interesting conversations on that topic on Twitter, he researches PR people who are talking about that topic and are in that specific industry. He then uses LinkedIn to get contact information, establish formal communication, get information, and write his story.

Sources:

1. How to Use Social Networking Sites for Marketing and PR, By AllBusiness.com, New York Times, December 24, 2008

2. http://www.dailyblogtips.com/how-journalists-stay-connected-bloggers-take-note/

3. SHOPS SEEK CONTROL IN SOCIAL-MEDIA SPACE. Abbey Klaassen. Advertising Age. 3/09.

The Facts: High-Level Content Writing for the “Average Joe”

1. Identify your writing audience. Use simple words to talk to them.

Always write to the audience you are trying to attract. Before starting a complex assignment, identify the profile of a typical reader. What is his/her education level, career, interests, ethnicity, residence, economic status, etc.?

Use jargon and technical terminology sparingly. Complex phrases should only be used if it adds to the quality of the sentence, and if you’re certain the majority of your audience is already familiar with those terms.

If you target your writing to the things your audience finds familiar, you will speak to them more clearly.  A short, simple sentence is easy to understand. Complex, verbose writing takes longer to read and digest.

2. Write in the active voice.

Not sure what active voice is? Every day we perform actions. When writing in active voice, the subject directly performs the action. The true meaning of the sentence is clear, and your writing is more concise.

Active Voice: Upon entering the conference, the greeter handed you the paperwork.

Passive Voice: Upon entering the conference, the paperwork was handed to you by the greeter.

How to check for active or passive voice:

• Identify the subject and verb of the sentence. Is the intended subject performing the action? If so, you are writing directly. See the above example. If an inanimate object is performing the action, chances are the sentence is in passive tense.
• Are there any linking verbs (am, is, are, was, were, etc.) in front of the action verb?

Most passive voice sentences contain some variation of these verbs.

3. Delete words that do not add to the meaning of each sentence.

Before you submit that next proposal, have a friend read your writing. Then ask your friend to explain in fifteen seconds the purpose of your writing. If s/he can’t do this accurately, you need to delete the “extra” phrases that are complicating your text.

To edit thoroughly:

-Isolate each paragraph in your text, and identify what that paragraph is trying to convey.

-Use your first sentence to transition “in” from the previous paragraph and to identify the topic of the paragraph.

-Use the last sentence to transition “out” and sum up main point of the paragraph.

-Remove additional prepositional phrases, extra verbs, and unnecessary descriptions that are in between the subject and predicate of each sentence.

And very importantly, try to say the most with the fewest words possible.

4. Break up your writing into short sections.

Break down complex subjects from one main idea into several sub sections that elaborate on the main idea.

-Use bold and underlining headlines to designate the sub sections in your work.

-Each sub section should only focus on one topic and have a beginning, middle, and end.

-Within each sub section, break each paragraph into small, simple to understand bites.

5. Save the past tense to describe things that actually happened in the past.

Write conversationally.

Past research, experiments, results, etc. should be written in past tense. Avoid using  “would” or “could.”  Most of the time, these words are unnecessary, and they add an uncertainty and “future” aspect to your writing. Just change your sentence around to be direct.

6. When detailing information, use specific terms–not generalities.

Often we use adjectives (good, excellent, fast, well) to describe findings or to “prove” our point. Yet, when writing technically, tell how something happened, instead of stating a generality. Use facts, figures, data, and conclusions to communicate and prove your point when appropriate.

Works Referenced: The Elements of Technical Writing by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly

More Than a Press Release: Benefit of Long-Term Relationships with PR Consultants

With the national unemployment rate close to 10%, it’s a safe bet that businesses are rolling back their budgets to preserve their bottom line. When companies aren’t even investing in their employees—they most certainly aren’t interested in plumping their corporate budgets to invest in Public Relations services.

However, a June 2009 Forbes Magazine insight study suggests that forging long-term relationships with PR firms can deliver the most value for a company. The study found that the majority of CEOs and industry strategists felt communication professionals should play a more active role in developing and implementing the company’s business strategy.

In these tough times, it might be more cost-efficient to hire a PR firm to handle small projects. (e.g.,. promote events, write press releases, write marketing materials). Yet in the long-run, a better media message can be communicated when businesses merge a partnership with their PR firm.

When businesses form long-term relationships with PR firms, both companies develop vested interest each other’s successes and failures. You do you best work for someone when you actually care about them, right? Developing this interest starts when companies engage the PR firm in the strategic planning, goals, and objectives of their business. Businesses should include PR professionals in strategic meetings, the strategy implementation process, and more importantly in evaluating the successes/failures of their actions.

When the PR firm fully understands clients’ strategy, goals, and objectives, the message can be effectively crafted to meet client needs. In this collaborative relationship, the PR firm now provides value—instead of just providing simple copy services for a retainer fee.

Where the disconnect may lie in the debate on hiring PR agencies for the short term v. long term, is that in this study, CEOs were less likely to view communication services as a business resource. Yet the resources many PR firms supply are endless. Most importantly, PR firms:

1. Provide an outside, objective viewpoint.

PR firms can provide fresh, unprejudiced views of a client’s strengths, weaknesses, and public perception. This viewpoint is extremely helpful in anticipating business obstacles when developing business goals and objectives.

PR Firms often contract from a variety of companies across industry lines, so they can furnish outside knowledge from a multitude of sources. As a business owner, what better way to attract new clients, than to meet with the PR Firms than handle their message and know their trade?

Forging this knowledge base and relationship in the long-term can only be beneficial for the client.  A long-term relationship allows the PR firm to fully understand the client’s needs and challenges, which is lost when a business hires many PR firms to provide different, individual services.

2. Save YOU Money.

PR Firms often provide an assortment of services. Contracting out your communication needs saves you the expense of hiring and training staff in all areas of communications expertise.

For your benefit, Inspired PR & Strategic Writing provides strategic planning, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, translation editing, copywriting, , editing, and proofreading for clients.

So while using PR companies for small services may increase your net cash flow through this recession, taking the time to form meaningful communications relationships can enhance your public reputation, brand perception, and client list for years to come.

Sources:

http://www.firmvoice.com

http://www.prarticlelibrary.com/PRBasics/MoreThanInk.htm

http://www.aboutpublicrelations.net/blglossary.htm

Public Relations vs. Publicity

All too often people mistake public relations and publicity as one in the same. From a business standpoint, it is crucial that the ability to identify appropriate media markets is well known in order to achieve success.   

Public relations is defined as the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc.,  in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc. Publicity is formally defined as information, articles, or advertisements issued to secure public notice or attention.

The number one objective within public relations is getting the “right message” to the “right people”. In a society filled with more than two hundred nationalities and billions of different individual needs and wants, public relations is used to influence perception, enhance an image, build reputation, establish credibility, and influence behavior. The term public relations and publicity are often misconstrued as one in the same. Close enough; publicity is indeed one of the many aspects of public relations but the two play completely different roles in effective communication. While public relations focuses on the big picture, publicity is a small piece of the puzzle that is used to get attention through traditional media outlets. In a sense, publicity lives through public relations. On the other hand, public relations without publicity is like a pen with no ink—it’s useless. The two go hand in hand.