A 2013 Strategic Communications Wish List

A wish list is just a that, but when it comes to strategic communications, marketing and brand management, here are some things you should not only wish for, but look for when you evaluate firms to help with your brand management:

1. Make sure they stand for something other than communication, content and design.  Huh?  Make sure they are pros, but also make sure they are on the same page that you are, that they display a true interest in your business, that they have your best interest at heart, and that they have integrity and ethics.

2. Make sure they can condense and communicate your brand in very succinct terms.

3. Make sure they can turn on a dime while producing collateral that is top-tier, yet cost-contained and complements your budget.

In as little time as it took to write this blog, one of our designers turned out this new piece.  In a few words, it says who Concierge PA is, what Concierge PA stands for, communicates our brand clearly and invites the viewer into our homes, whether in Dallas or Atlanta (by the way, we make housecalls...after all it is almost 2013).  Now, that's top-tier, cost-contained strategic communication if I have ever seen it.

Concierge PA.  It's who we are!   

2013: A New Year and Time to Turn Over a New Page

Whether you are in Dallas or Atlanta, our newest corporate office, or any city on this big planet, when it comes to strategic communications and marketing, 2013 will prove to be as fast-paced and challenging as this past year.  One way to get a jump on the new year is to make sure your Linkedin Company Page is up and running.  Here are the reasons why:

1. Linkedin is critical to engaging your professional audience.  Trust me, your employees and your competitor's employees are constantly on Linkedin.  And, trust me again, they are constantly updating their profiles.  Why would your company not do the same?  Without a Linkedin Company Page, you have no "landing page" within Linkedin for engagement.  And, your employees and supporters will not be able to promote the business.  If you do not have a Linkedin Company Page, and an engaging one at that, make sure that building it is your first resolution of the new year.

2. Linkedin is a great platform to drive business to your website.  Consistent Company Page updates help bring people to your dot com home, and, in many cases, can turn into professional leads and possible sales.  But, you have to work at Linkedin like you do your social media channels.  Considering your Linkedin Company Page as a static online billboard is a big mistake.  As the saying goes, "It works when you work it."

3. Think of Linkedin as a search engine microcosm.  Again, trust me when I say that your employees and your competitor's employees are using Linkedin.  And, they are constantly searching Linkedin.  Make sure your business is there when they do search.  And, make sure when they find you, your Company Page is up-to-date and engaging.

Concierge PA...from Dallas to Atlanta,

 we will always try to keep you linked in.

In 2013 Content Will Still Be King

No matter how you look at strategic communications and marketing, from Dallas to Denmark, content will reign king in 2013 and beyond.  When it comes to marketing and especially the advertising platform, images still hold significant roles in terms of brand strategy.  When someone thinks of Coca Cola, the logo image is forefront in many consumers' minds.  And, we all know that video is an extremely compelling marketing tool.  But, graphics and video standing alone cannot have a significant impact on a brand.  Content is the component that drives engagement and consumer spend.
According to MarketingProfs (an outfit for which I have written) and the Content Marketing Association,

• 79% of businesses use content marketing as part of their branding strategy,
• 91% of B2B operations employ content marketing to impact sales, and
• 54% of marketers plan to increase their content marketing budgets in 2013.

Those numbers are significant and are indicative that marketing is becoming even more intricate than ever.

With the social media revolution, many consumers and marketing professionals alike thought that marketing was going to be "dumbed down."  In many ways, the opposite has happened.  Just think of the term, engagement.  To engage you have to have a dialogue.  And, dialogue is much more than images and video.  Content drives engagement.  And, there is no way around it.  Even tweets and short posts on Facebook or Google+ rely on content to engage the audience.  Even when we may engage consumers in "short bursts" of communication, that micro-marketing material is developed through structured content management.

With the decentralization of strategic communications and the social media frenzy, many marketing professionals thought that the marketing process was becoming less structured, less focused and less involved.  How wrong they were.  Today's decentralized marketing channels and platforms call for greater expertise in terms of strategic communications.  And, it means that creativity is alive and content is king.  The game continues to change, but one thing is evident; we all have our work cut out for us as creativity and content demand discipline and shear hard work.  Gone are the days where a tweet was just a tweet, and post was just a post.

Concierge PA...we know how to craft a message made for a king.

The Main Thing You Need to Know about Strategic Communications and SEO Today is That it's a Zoo

Some say SEO is dead.  And, in the traditional sense of what SEO originally entailed, that is true.  But, search engine optimization is still a relevant strategic communication pursuit - just not in terms of the mechanics of days past.  SEO of the past was a game.  Plain and simple.  You paid some outfit to game the system with backlink structuring operation that relied heavily on "static content" directory submissions and similar antics.  Today the game has changed significantly and will never be the same.  In fact it's a zoo.

We use the term zoo to refer to Google's Panda and Penguin algorithms.  Panda refers to Google's algorithm that favors sites that deliver high caliber, original and context-rich content.  The Penguin algorith slays sites that try and "game the system" with fake backlink tricks.  In other words, Google, and even Facebook, have been forced to clean house.  Reputable organizations with marketing clout have demanded that reputable tactics which produce reputable search results be the only game in town.  So what does that mean to the small Dallas business owner?  It means a lot of work.

In today's strategic communications ecosystem, you cannot pay a "firm" for 1,000 backlinks and some crazy directory submission operation and win the SEO game.  In fact, you will be punished and sent to the lion's den as Google, through their indexing and search formulas, will see the antics for what they are...fake.  Today, building a liked, followed, patronized, and engaged brand is all about cross-channel marketing.  It not only means writing great content, but pushing that great content one story, one post, one campaign, one link at a time.  And, in many ways it is like going back to the future.

20 years ago, if you wanted to build a brand, you had a relatively straight-forward path.  You advertised on radio, television and in print.  You may have used direct mail for a more targeted campaign.  And, you hired a public relations firm to pitch your stories to writers, editors and producers.   Although the strategic communications and marketing landscape has forever changed with new marketing channels which have a heavy focus on mobile and social communication, the tactics are basically the same.   Like the old AD man of yesteryear who developed story boards, wrote copy, developed a 1975 Procter and Gamble AD campaign, and then pushed it to every available medium he could, today's business owner or their firms must do the same.  We just have different media (and a complex inter-connectivity) to write and produce for.

The SEO of yesterday is dead on arrival.  Today, backroom backlink trickery is dead.  We are back to the future in this stategic communications zoo.  We actually have to work at marketing communication.  Creativy is alive again.  And, that's a good thing. 

Concierge PA.  We're here if you need us.  After all...it's no fun going to the zoo alone.

For Your Brand Strategy...You May Just Have to Lawyer Up

I was struck by a conversation I had with a new client.  She indicated that she was approached recently by a firm that offered her an "$899.00 PR Package."  This "wonderful" package included 4 press releases and at least a dozen radio podcasts.  And, they offered  her the wonderful deal without asking her the first question about her business.  For a better understanding of her as a client, I asked her why she did not take "the firm" up on their offer.  She said, "It just did not sound right."  Right she was!

Everyone supposedly hates lawyers.  They think attorneys are a necessary evil in times of need, but in most cases, many people try to avoid them like the plague.  Regardless of what you think about our legal eagle friends, there are some indicators and comparisons that any business seeking a firm to assist them with developing their brand and their strategic communications should be aware of.  Here are some tips:

1. Run like Michael Myers was chasing you on the set of Halloween 4 if you come in contact with someone that offers you a PR or marketing "package."  They  are what we call marketing sharks.  A reputable firm that is advising you on your strategic communications and marketing initiatives will never offer you a package deal.  Like an attorney (a good one), a reputable firm will have to engage you considerably to even begin to offer you advice and counsel regarding your brand messaging and strategic communications.  A reputable firm will invest a great deal of time learning your business and researching the market before they offer you anything in terms of guidance.  And, it won't be a package deal.

2. Only deal with firms that present you a comprehensive plan that is full of research on your business, as well as your competition and your market.  Would you retain a lawyer that did not thoroughly research your case and present you with a sound offense or defense for your case?  Like a law firm, for a reputable strategic communications firm, it is all in the details.  It is not a whim or a one-size-fits-all deal with an associated, arbitrary retail dollar figure.

3. And, speaking of money...reputable firms offer detailed plans based on actual budgets and tie billing to actual performance.  Again, whether or not you like lawyers, there is sound reason to their billing and fees.  Make sure any strategic communications firm you consider offers you a plan which incorporates justifiable billing such as a monthly retainer or billiable hours for projects that incorporates a budget and is based on actual performed services.

Concierge PA.  Whatever your case, we provide excellent counsel and we build great reputations!