Posts Tagged ‘Public Relations’

Bright House Networks will launch two new services designed to bring even greater value to its customers’ TV and Internet viewing experience beginning next week.

Customers will now have more control of their TV schedules with the introduction of “Start Over,” a popular and exclusive enhanced TV feature that allows viewers to restart a live program from the beginning at any time during its scheduled broadcast. Bright House Networks will also increase the speed of Road Runner Turbo High Speed Internet service by up to 33 percent next week. http://tinyurl.com/yhpm233

As part of our ongoing professional development here at Coles Marketing Communications, we subscribe to a host of industry publications and share highlights from stories — relevant either to our clients’ industries or the improved practice of our craft — at our weekly staff meetings.

One of those publications is “Public Relations Tactics,” a monthly publication sent to members of the Public Relations Society of America.

As you can imagine, the conversation this past year has often turned to the world of social media: why it’s so important, what works, what doesn’t, what to do, what not to do, etc.  Here is a partial “don’ts list” aimed at those in the PR world, but I think everyone could take a lesson from it. These points come courtesy of PRSA and Twitter expert Sandra Fathi with some of my own thoughts intertwined:

• Hashtag hijacking: Taking advantage of popular trending topics (those words in Twitter posts with a “#” in front of them that make conversation topics easier to search) such as, say, the Indianapolis Colts,  to interrupt the conversation with your unrelated agenda such as, say, advertising your band’s gig on Friday night, is kind of like going to a dinner party and summarily inviting everyone to leave and come to your house … for a softball game. Not cool.

• False mentions: Including someone’s username in your tweet with an “@” in front of it will make that tweet show up in the person’s “mentions” tab in an attempt to grab their interest. PRSA calls this an “Ah! Made you look!” approach to marketing that makes people feel tricked. Also not cool.

• Misleading links: In the offline world, this goes by the name of “false advertising.” If you get people to click your link, look at a photo or watch a video by giving them false information (think of the subject lines in your e-mail’s spam folder … and then think about what’s actually in some of those e-mails!), you will anger your followers pretty quickly. Coolness factor: none.

• Mass follow: I’m reminded of  a line from Adam Sandler’s movie, “Funny People,” which I saw last weekend. I’m paraphrasing: In general, the more friends you have online, the fewer friends you have in real life. People use this tactic to try to amass a lot of followers in a short period of time. It’s not a good idea, in general, Fathi writes, to follow or be followed by a person advocating illegal activities or, if you’re a brand, controversial topics.

• Twitterns: Just because someone is a teenager/early 20s and knows how to tweet doesn’t usually qualify them to speak on behalf of a professional organization! Tweeting for a professional organization requires good judgment, understanding of company messaging and strategy, and representing the organization to the public in an appropriate manner consistent with those strategies.

Having a verb named after your company may be the first step.  Building Android, Google Maps, Google Calendar, Google Search, steps 2,3,4 and 5….and on and on and on. But establishing good will with airline travels may seal the deal.

I recently flew into the Indianapolis International Airport and noticed a sign “Happy Holidays: Free WiFi from Google.” Interested, I “googled” google to find out the scoop. Not only is Google giving away free WiFi at 47 airports across the country, but the company is matching donations to 3 charities along with the promotion. Good free service. Good PR.  Good cause. Great company.

Want to find out more about Google or this promotion.  Do what I did. “Google” Google or visit this shortcut…..http://www.freeholidaywifi.com.

As a creative designer, I am always thinking of different ways to produce marketing collateral. Depending on the end use of the piece, additional techniques may be implemented to create a “wow factor.” Printing on gloss paper as opposed to paper with a matte finish has traditionally been the standard way to make colors pop more. To take visual techniques a step further, think of printing on a matte finish paper then adding a spot gloss varnish or spot UV coating to make a specific graphic element stand out. Maybe a foil stamp or an emboss treatment is just what the doctor ordered. Additionally, a custom die-cut can be applied to really make a statement.

Utilizing enhanced visual printing techniques may add to the cost of the project, but keep in mind the end result from the consumers point of view: the more attractive the visual is, the more likely the response will be higher. That being said, not all projects need “wow factor” elements. Simplicity can, at times, be the perfect statement.

Listen to the designer. Often times they can visualize the end product during the concept phase and can explain their ideas as to why they think certain techniques should or should not be used. The goal of a designer is to deliver a great end result.

Just less than two weeks shy of my wedding day, I found something that translates from pre-wedding “goof ups” by vendors to public relations, marketing — and the world at large. And that is customer service.

Just as each vendor should bend over backwards to fix their mistakes and make my order correct, so should we in the public relations/marketing industry do so for our clients. Courtesy of About.com, here are a few ideas to keep in mind:

1. Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them. Not plan to keep them. Will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. Think before you give any promise – because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one.
2. Listen to your customers. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.
3. Deal with complaints. No one likes hearing complaints, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time – and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service.
4. Take the extra step. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people.
5. Throw in something extra. Whether it’s a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting.

So the next time, remember customer service with a smile — and hopefully the rewards will follow. [I wrote a thank-you e-mail after a company promptly corrected their mistake and rushed my order — they said how appreciative they were to get the good news!]

From time to time, the staff at Coles Marketing Communications dresses down and shows the personal side of our firm.  As public relations and marketing professionals, we spend our time in the background promoting and sharing great news about our clients. 

What you may not know is Coles Marketing consists of twelve staff members from different backgrounds and areas (like Greenwood, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and Greenfield to name a few). We all have our strengths inside the company from creativity to planning to community networking. 

That being said, we would like you — the reader — to see really who does sit in the red chair. So along with news from our clients, readers will now get to know each of our staff members.  It’s called the lighter side of PR and we think you’ll love it. Stay tuned….