Dec022009

Why blogging is good for your business (and can you palm this task off to someone else?)

By charlie | December 2, 2009 | Posted in Marketing, Social Media What? | Comments (4)

I’m posting this blog today at the risk of sounding like a bit of a hypocrite…however a comment on my blog recently has prompted me to add some more content to my somewhat stale website…and to explain why blogging is really awesome for businesses.

I’m no web expert but I do know a little about websites from a marketing perspective, particularly how the content on your website can improve your marketing strategy. When you think about how you find what you are looking for (i.e. services/products/information), the first port of call for most people is the Internet. Therefore, it’s important that you rank well on search engines – so that people can find you/your business quickly.

To do this, you need good content on your website. One way you can easily increase the content on your website, in a fairly organic manner is to incorporate a blog into your website.

A well written blog will be full of relevant keywords which get the robots at Google very excited in terms of your search engine ranking. A few other factors do come into play, but basically, the more relevant keywords, the higher the ranking.

Matt Kennedy from onepm.com.au who is a bit of an expert on such things said that “sending a website “live” is like giving birth to a creature. Just like any other creature, without food, water, and exercise, the website will grow weak, and be too tired to appear on Google… But with regular updates, revising of content, blogging, new images being added into the website is training for your website, keeping it fit, sharp, up to date and informed. Resulting in it being invited to attend more and more Google events”.

Blogging is just one way of feeding the beast and keeping the site fresh and ‘alive’ on search engines.

Here’s case in point. Several months ago, my colleague and I started blogging for a company in an attempt to increase the search engine ranking of their website. Originally, the company appeared on page 6 of Google for the terms they wanted to rank for – which is not a very good place to be. Actually, it was almost the same as if the company didn’t have a website at all. Have you ever clicked through six pages of results before clicking on a link? (Well I have once or twice, but that was only when I was stalking someone.)

After a few months of steady blog entries, as well as various other tweaks, the company ranked at spot 5 (of the non-paid results) on the first page for the same keywords. This means that the company is much easier to locate on Google and other search engines, and therefore people are clicking through (and hopefully making contact) much more frequently.

However writing may not be your forte and you may prefer to give the task of blogging for your company to somebody else. This is often a good solution, as maintaining a blog requires some level of commitment, and is probably best left to those who enjoy writing. They should also be good at it, and of course know how to use spell-checker. “Its impotent to pay attention to detale” is not something you ever want to see on your blog. Yes, I have seen it!

I don’t recommend getting someone to ghost-write a blog on your behalf without any supervision at all. Obviously, trust is a major issue – the content of your blog could potentially bring your company to its knees if the writer is not sensitive to your public relations and communications strategies. But also, I think it’s really important that whoever writes your blog has good knowledge of the inner workings of your company. I’ve been working with the people whose blogs I write for a couple of years now, and have had time to soak up the ‘voice’ of the individuals and the companies they represent, and the overall tone and values that they are trying to convey.

Make sure you read your own blog if you are not writing it! Or at least be kept in the loop – as it could be embarrassing if someone brings up your blog and you have no idea what you’ve been writing about. I am often asked “so what did I write about today?” by a company director I blog for. “Your penchant for cross-dressing” is my standard response.

By charlie | Posted in Marketing, Social Media What? | Comments (4)
Sep012009

A clever new marketing campaign on Wynyard station!

By charlie | September 1, 2009 | Posted in Awesomeness, Marketing | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

At around 8am this morning on Wynyard station concourse, as I was weaving my way through the suits to work, a young hippy-esque dude shoved a bag of small bag of dried green stuff at me, murmuring “want some free stuff man?”. Tuesday mornings don’t normally start this well for me (and I’m not a man either) – so I was highly suspicious. The hippy dude was perhaps a little too clean looking to be a genuine drug peddler, it was 8am…and on closer inspection, the bag actually contained rosemary – and an advertising slogan “we love lamb in spring, man”. Aha. A short investigation proceeded, and a few googleseconds later, I had deduced that this promotion was actually part of a new advertising for Meat and Livestock Australia. You can read more about it here.

I like this campaign a lot. It’s original and a bit daring, and this particular execution is, in my opinion, especially clever, as it’s sort of experiential and sort of viral and is also just really, really cool. Well, maybe not viral in the traditional cool-video-pass-it-on sense – but the amount of talk it generated amongst my colleagues today was unbelievable…and I have not I have not stopped thinking about lamb/different ways to cook lamb/the last time I ate lamb since 8am.

I’ve seen dozens of promotional campaigns positioned on Wynyard station over the past year and a half, some of them shockers. One particularly hilarious one involved embarrassed looking staff promoting a tissue brand dressed up in puffy white parachute outfits; channeling ’tissues’ one can only suppose, giving out singular tissues to passers by. Odd. So it was a nice change to see something clever like this.

Anyway, I think that this new spring lamb campaign is terrific. One of those ones I see and think “I wish I’d thought of that” and then get a bit grouchy with campaign-envy. I am going to follow this campaign, as I’m interested is to whether it will actually be effective in terms of marketing dollars, or just a short lived gimmick. I guess time (and lamb sales) will tell. Mmmm. Lammmmmb.

By charlie | Posted in Awesomeness, Marketing | Tagged , , | Comments (2)
Aug242009

No website? Seriously?

By charlie | August 24, 2009 | Posted in Marketing | Comments (4)

I recently visited my new and lovely local hairdresser (yes, I will manage to somehow relate this back to marketing and PR), and after half an hour or so of chatting, deduced that this local business DOES NOT HAVE A WEBSITE! Even in typing this, my disbelief is clear; as I just realised that even then I tried to link back to the salon in question; but that’s right – I can’t!

Anyway, back to my hair experience. My shock/horror at finding out this website business was ill-concealed; I managed to get shampoo everywhere (even some up the nose) as my marketing-mind sprang into action. Why, in this day and age, would a business open and operate with no thought as to a website? 

This is a business which only opened some six months ago, at the very peak of the big old scary ”GFC”. Given their price range, the fact that all their fittings are shiny black gloss and uber-modern and that they are located in the very centre of Newtown – student central; their target market would very clearly be young people. People who are quite commonly known to use the Internet. To find things. On websites.

Now, one might be saying, “well – that’s all fine, but maybe they don’t actually need a website?” After all, I managed to find the place. However it did cross my mind that businesses that aren’t online still exist.  So during my blowdrying session, I enquired/yelled over hair dryer as to whether they were so busy that they simply did not need a website. It seems they most definitely are not.

This led me to think about web presence, and how a good website is, in my opinion, one of the most important marketing tools a company or business can have. I could go on here and find a whole load of marketing stats and percentages about online enquiries leading to sales etc. etc…but a) it’s quite boring and b) It’s late and I’m really not in the mood for a whole load of linking. So I thought I would share my thoughts and those of my colleagues on company websites instead.

As a female in her mid-to-late twenties, part of one of the largest consumer groups society has ever seen – when I want to buy something or pay for some service, the first thing I do is Google.  So entrenched in my everyday psyche is Google that it has actually become an adjective. I look for stuff online. Not only do I look, I “hunt” - a term used by social media commentator and author Iggy Pintado. I keep looking, with different key word combinations until I find exactly what I am looking for.

If I can’t find it online, I assume that either a) I got the name wrong or b) It doesn’t exist.  Or sometimes c) that it just isn’t very good. None of these are particularly good things for a business hoping to attract customers.

A good website also allows for that ‘try before you buy’ feeling. Using the example of the hairdresser for consistency; if I can look up a salon website, see the prices, maybe some photos and some opening hours, then I’m halfway in the door. It also gives you confidence that the business is reputable.

Some websites have other features, like this one here, which incorporates a blog. It allows the reader, who may be a potential client, to get to know me a little. This may or may not be a good thing. But at least this information will go some way to deciding whether they want to contact me. Another advantage is Search Engine Optimisation – whereby my website now has more relevant key words (such as ‘marketing’) on it; so is more likely to be ranked by search engines such as Google.

There are countless other advantages. Websites can incorporate online shopping, or can be used as portals for advertising one’s own products and services – i.e. specials, to hopefully increase the spend of the potential customer. They can also offer information to make one more familiar with the product/service, and view the business as a good source of advice.

But most profoundly of all, a website is an existence. I would almost go so far as to say, that in this day and age – if your business doesn’t have a website; in many people’s minds, it doesn’t even exist. There’s something a little sad about this, that makes me long for the days when the milkman delivered those glass bottles with the shiny red tops. But we all know this is history; as are the days when a website was merely an option.

Anyway, back to the real point of this rant…my hair turned out very nicely indeed; and I would recommend the salon to anyone and everyone…but there’s no use – THEY DON’T HAVE A WEBSITE!

By charlie | Posted in Marketing | Comments (4)
Aug112009

PR for a rainy day

By charlie | August 11, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Today is a bit of a quiet day…and after the onslaught of last week, I am actually a bit grateful for this. I find that in PR and marketing, there are ebbs and tides (inextricably linked to publication deadlines), so this is most likely the calm before the inevitable storm.

This got me thinking about what PR people do on those ‘quiet’ days…and how to get oneself motivated and productive without the pressure of deadlines or impending doom.

I often think that the quiet times are the best times to make yourself busy – because you’re less distracted by phone calls and emails and deadlines, and can actually put some real thought into the work you’re doing. Quite possibly this is why so many creative types work into the wee hours of the morning.

So this led me to making a giant list (one of my favourite things to do) of productive PR activities one could do on a quiet day.

1. Update contact lists. Yes there are services you can subscribe to that do this for you, but they are never 100% accurate. Creating your own personalized contact list of media/other contacts and knowing exactly who everyone is, is far more effective in my opinion

2. Do some research on a new publication/news website/radio station etc and find out about the journalists or producers who work for it. Find out what sorts of topics they are interested in, and contact them to introduce yourself – without the pitch in mind. Let them know what sorts of clients you have, and say you’ll be in touch once you have something they might be interested in.

3. Start a blog, if you haven’t already got one. Blogs are a create way of optimizing your website for search engines, hence driving traffic to your website. Write posts that are relevant. Go and see the good people/machines at Word Press; they have very nice blogs (which can conveniently double as websites, i.e. this site).

4. Have a think about obscure angles and press release topics. Visit news sites for inspiration on what’s current. Pitch ideas to civilians (i.e. friends/family/strangers – those with no real link to your business/client/product) and see how they react. If they think it’s shit, it probably is.

5. Write some ‘rainy day’ blog posts, on topics that, unlike wet look leggings, age well. That way you can use them in a week or a month when you have a day when you really can’t think of anything to write about. I know one particularly savvy corporate blogger who does this very well, and has a highly read blog because she manages to keep it constantly updated regardless of how busy she is. Cheating? A bit. Effective? Very.

6. Get more people reading your blog. Seth Godin has some very good tips here. Blogstalk people – i.e go and visit other blogs and try to make some intelligent comments on them, and they might visit yours. I recently visited Dynamic Business Blogs which were a great read. Now some of their bloggers are reading my blog. Hah!

7. Research (i.e. google) someone bigger, better and altogether more formidable than yourself, in the same profession as you. I find this depressing and inspiring in equal measures. It’s good to know what the competition is doing if you are trying to overtake them.

8. Google someone you would like to have as your client, and their company, and find out all about them. This is an obvious step to take in making them your client. Google fancy business acronyms that you don’t know the meaning of (but try to refrain from using them excessively the next day, or you’ll sound like a dick).

9. Twitter, Tweet, Chirp etc. But not about boring day-today crap like what you had for breakfast (unless you are a celebrity; in which case it is somehow excusable). More about stuff that’s relevant to your business and that other people might actually find interesting. Find people and organizations (including potential clients) in your industry and follow them to see what they’re tweeting about.

10. Make giant lists of PR activities you could do, if you weren’t so busy making giant lists.

What do you have on your list for a ‘quiet day’? I’d love to know.

By charlie | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)
Aug072009

Some journo love

By charlie | August 7, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (6)

I have been following a very heated debate this week on Marketing/Media website Mumbrella, regarding PR and journalist relationships. It all stemmed from a post on the site by Jen Bishop, Editor of Dynamic Business Magazine, titled; ‘Can you trust a PR when they promise an exclusive?’

Shortly and sweetly, the story was that PR company Magnum had promised Dynamic Business Magazine an exclusive piece on their client Max Brenner (the baldy chocolate man who does indeed make the best hot chocolate in the infinite universe). The exclusive was conditional, i.e. the story could be featured in other publications, but not  in business publications. Some how, through some miscommunication, the piece did end up in the business section of the Age. As you can imagine, the people at Dynamic Business weren’t happy, so pulled the story from the cover. Fair enough…it just seemed like an unfortunate mistake. You can read the painful drawn out version here.

I don’t think anyone is to blame in the above…to me, it just looks like there was a bit of a leak somewhere, and no one was trying to play games. Personally, when journalists request exclusives of my clients, I think hard before giving an answer – and always consult with the client about what they want. It’s often a very tough call – exclusives are great, and really do push the quality of a publication up, however can be rather limiting. Plus, there’s always the slim chance that the exclusive falls through…and then what? That said, my job is to get the best media opportunities for my client (measured both in quality and quantity) – so it’s a matter of weighing it all up, and very importantly, not pissing anyone off too much.

The blog then changed into a discussion about PR and journalist relationships; a dynamic which I’ve always found quite intriguing. This week I’ve had some very good interactions with journalists. I’ve rekindled some old journo love - due to some particularly tasty entertainment media releases, and met a couple of new journalists so young that I suddenly remembered that I am actually an adult now. Everyone has been alarmingly nice and receptive, which led me to thinking about the way PRs and journalists generally relate to one another. I feel that PRs and journalists need each other to some degree – or at least it helps to have good relationships. It’s almost a symbiosis of species….much like the clownfish and the sea anemone, or the rhino and the oxpecker (I think we know who’s the oxpecker in this one!). You scratch each others backs. However I don’t believe it’s all about schmoozing and that constant expectation of coverage just because you know people. It’s about creating a real story angle, being creative, and

From a PR perspective, I think good relationships come down to a respect for journalists and their profession. I feel that a good journalist who takes pride in producing high quality, newsworthy editorial is far more valuable to both the media and the PR industry than one who is easily swayed to write whatever a PR/publicist wants, in the long run. As if this was what all journalists did, then their publications would be full of advertorial rubbish, and no one would read them. And then everyone really would be screwed.

By charlie | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (6)
Aug032009

Is all publicity good publicity?

By charlie | August 3, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Most people probably hear this phrase bandied around now and then…quite often by those a little unfamiliar with the inner workings of the PR machine. The gist of this annoying little phrase is that a bit of negative promotion is anything but negative in the grand scheme of things – that as long as people are talking/bitching/whatever – then you’re getting noticed, therefore being promoted. Job done? I don’t think so…

I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement that any publicity is good publicity. Negative publicity is promotion, and does get you noticed, however quite often, the point of publicity doesn’t just stop at the being noticed…it normally (except in the case of Big Brother contestants and that ridiculous Corey party boy with the huge sunglasses) goes hand in hand with something else. I.e. being noticed for something marketable – such as selling a product or a service to the public. Like musicians. Or airlines. Or pizza.

So in saying this, it may be all very well for example, that everyone knows that you make pizza. But what if everyone knows you make pizza because you’re always making the news because your pizza makes people really sick. Or they found human body parts in it. Yes, that is definitely publicity. Perhaps not good though…as it’s not going to help you sell anymore pizza.

Some may still argue at this point that it’s still good publicity….that your name is still out there…you can always leverage off this bad publicity and get out a message to combat it…and start making better pizza or whatever it is you do…but I would still disagree. Sometimes you actually can’t make a full recovery – especially if you handle the unwanted media attention badly in the first place. That’s where having a publicist can help.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot today especially, with the whole Kyle Sandilands/Jackie O saga playing out. According to various media accounts, they invited a 14 year old girl (with her mother on air too) to undertake a lie-detector test on their radio show. They asked her personal questions about her sex life – and if that’s not horrifying enough – she divulged on-air that she had been raped at 12 years of age. Then, instead of terminating the interview…and promptly referring all involved to a counseling service, Kyle continued with the question; “So is that your only experience?”. I found it (and the man in general) disgusting and insensitive.

Since this occurred, his show has been dumped from 2Day FM, and he has also been booted off from his judge post on Australian Idol. Several large companies (one of which I work with closely) have or are seriously considering terminating their advertising with the radio station. And good. What sort of company would want to be seen to be supporting that? It’s not the first time Kyle and Jackie O have pulled this sort of stunt.

Yes everyone’s talking about it…but to what end? They now have no jobs, 2Day FM could end up in a hell of a lot of trouble…I just don’t believe they are reclining back slapping their knees to the tune of ‘all publicity is good publicity’ right at this moment.

Which then led me to make a list (one of my most favourite things to do) of the top 5 Bad Publicity Moments this year. I’m sure there are many many more, so feel free to add to the list!

1. Kyle Sandilands Lie Detector Test

2. Brett Stewart’s Rugby League sex scandal (The NRL has temporarily stopped the airing of an advertising campaign featuring Stewart as he was formally charged with sexual assault)

3. The Chaser’s sick children skit (so disappointing!)

4. Gordon Ramsay abusing Tracy Grimshaw on A Current Affair (bite him Tracy, bite him! I would have)

5. Various bikie incidents earlier this year (well…being watched like hawks by every single law enforcement agency surely can’t be good for business!)

By charlie | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)
Aug022009

An experiment with viral marketing

By charlie | August 2, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (3)

Tonight marks the eve of the launch of ‘21k in 21 days’ – a special promotion I’ve been working on for a major real estate company. The company (who I am sure you will clearly identify when you watch the video) celebrate their 21st birthday this year – and are giving away a cool $21,000 over 3 weeks to those people who show the most creativity in turning something ‘gold’ – their corporate colour. 

With my balaclava-clad co-conspirator, we created this viral video to draw people to the promotional website – 21 k in 21 days – and hopefully, encourage them to enter the competition. So far it’s working. We’ve had quite a few entries trickling in prior to kick off, which is always a good sign. We’ve got bets on as to how long it will be before someone sends in a particular body part turned gold. I’m actually quite looking forward to it. Here it is:

21 k in 21 days Viral Vid

We created this video with a budget of precisely fifteen dollars. Pretty much every item you see (including various actors, including the legendary Barry) was begged, borrowed or stolen. You see, we made this video in secret – partially in order to keep our jobs, and partially as we were both keen to experiment with viral marketing.  Given the good old GFC, there wasn’t much cash to throw at this particular project.

Within just a day or two of posting this video online, we had over 250 views and 200 odd Facebook friends. This is prior to officially launching – we haven’t yet pulled out the big guns or sent this video out to anyone. We’ll do that tomorrow morning. We’re using Facebook, Twitter, and e-marketing (newsletters, banner ads) to promote this competition – and we’re relying on its viral appeal to really get it out there.

So will this competition sweep across the country like wildfire…like a virus…like swine flu perhaps? We hope. Time will tell, so more updates to come.

By charlie | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (3)
May252009

pod publicity website coming soon!

By charlie | May 25, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments off

The official website for pod publicity is due to launch on the 1st of July, 2009. Look forward to seeing you soon!

By charlie | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments off