A Ring Side Affair

Sweat, blood and vigor awaited Rivers Agency as we took our ringside seats at the “Momma Said Knock You Out” fight night Saturday, May 8th. After several weeks of working with fight sponsors Rapid Fitness and Jawbreaker Promotions, we were able to witness the effects of our promotional campaign efforts.

Through local and social media outreach, the event, held at the Raleigh Convetion Center, had a packed house as headliner Paul “The Italian Hitman” Marinaccio fought in his hometown for the first time in two years.

We were thrilled to see clients Ed Brantley and Heba Salama, season six winners of NBC’s The Biggest Loser and Rapid Fitness Wellness Ambassadors, come out and enjoy the festivities as well.

Boost Your PR Placement by Picking Up The Phone

Success in the Public Relations field comes in getting good press. But, getting good press is not only about having a good story. Building solid relationships with the media is essential – at Rivers Agency, our relationships with our editors are a HUGE priority! In today’s fast paced environment, email has become the default mode of communication. But in PR, it’s imperative that you don’t let yourself get stuck in front of the computer screen all day. As we have found time and time again, getting on the phone with the media will yield better press coverage. Here are some points to keep in mind:

Emails Are Easy to Ignore
An email is easy to overlook, but a phone ringing on your desk is not. An editor gets tons of emails every day, and she’s often going to have particular projects in mind as she goes through them.  Plus, an emailed press release can’t showcase all of a story’s possibilities. That’s where a good phone pitch really does the trick!

Once An Editor Gets to Know You, She Puts You on Speed Dial
Taking the time to call an editor and help her develop a story will leave a lasting impression. By being responsive, respectful and resourceful, you’ll find that you become her “go to” when she’s working on her next piece.

Be Tactful
Of course, not all editors and reporters will respond favorably to your calls. And who can blame them, with all the irrelevant pitches that likely come their way! We ALWAYS take the time to research our media outlets and editors, learning about past articles and the content of the publications. Then, when picking up the phone, we are armed with relevant information. Even then, we always respect a deadline. Don’t be a pest.

Be Persistent
If you get an editor’s voicemail, leave a message, but call back after giving them some time to process your message. Don’t leave additional messages — clogging up her inbox won’t win you any points — but make an effort to catch her while she’s there (and not on deadline!). A message can be ignored just as easily as an email, but a friendly, well-informed and creative pitch is more likely to have an impact. Read more »

New Year. New Web Site.

While your New Year’s resolution to eat better or exercise more may have already fizzled, carrying through on that resolution to update your Web site is a must for boosting your business in 2010. Updating the content, design and image of your Web site is a simple and effective way to attract more visitors to your Web site. Use the following five tips to add a fresh look to your Web site:

Make your writing concise and catchy
Web site visitors may have a short attention span, so catch their eye with catchy and clever headings. Once you have their attention, be concise and avoid language that might be confusing. Organize the Web site’s content in logical ways so that visitors can easily find the information they need. Visit http://www.inclusionproject.org/ for a great example of a Web site with eye-catching content.

Employ a user-friendly design
Your site has to be easy to navigate, otherwise visitors won’t use it. Create straightforward, relevant links that will lead visitors to different sections of the Web site. The home page should be simple and accessible. Make it easy for people to explore! Visit http://www.lebolaw.com for an example of a Web site with a user-friendly design.

Present a clean, crisp image
Don’t use flashy background designs or unappealing images on your Web site. This tactic can make some text and links unreadable and may give visitors a headache. Instead, use complementary colors and sharp images so that visitors will be drawn to your Web site. It’s important to catch your visitor’s eye, but focus on using a single image or logo and stick to a consistent color palette. Visit http://www.opusphoto.com to see a Web site that makes a big impact with a simple design.

Have a clear plan
Don’t try to put all your information on the Web site’s home page. Instead, let it serve as the visitor’s guide to the rest of your site. Provide short, simple and well-organized links that will easily direct your visitors to the information they seek. Visit http://www.newgrowthlandscapes.com to see a Web site that has a well-organized plan.

Brand yourself
Your Web site needs to be consistent with your image. Everything you do defines your brand, and a good Web site design can help reinforce your visual identity. Use colors, logos, pictures and symbols that complement your brand. Also include slogans, tag lines, or a short mission statement that will tell visitors what your brand is about. Visit http://www.liveintheorchard.com to see a Web site that creates a strong brand image.

Don’t simply resolve to redo your Web site–do it! Investing a small amount of time in your Web site now can yield positive business results now and later.  Best of luck, and let us know how your redesign efforts go!

Making Sense of Social Media

Social media. It’s the buzzword we all know and love to talk about.

By now many businesses have incorporated Twitter and Facebook into their online identity. But with Twitter having recently celebrated its third birthday without an effective revenue model in place, we have to find it curious that companies are so eagerly jumping on this web 2.0 bandwagon. It’s clear that social media is here and it’s here to stay, so what’s the next step and what can social media really do for us?

In THE book on Word of Mouth Marketing, Andy Sernovitz offers his “Five T’s of Word of Mouth Marketing.” These valuable pointers apply to both B2B and B2C businesses, and are helpful in translating the opportunity that social media presents into an advantage for your company or brand. Here they are:

1)    Talkers: Who Will Tell Their Friends About You?
Social media is essentially a conversation between two people on a much broader scale and in the public forum. This makes it easy to find out who’s talking about you, and who is likely to talk about you in the future. The great thing about Twitter and Facebook is that the people interested in your company, product, or brand make an effort to listen to what you have to say by “following” or “friending” you. This takes the guesswork out of finding a target market and assessing the best way to grab their attention. Your company essentially has a captive and eager audience when an account is created.

2)    Topics: What Will They Talk About?
New clients, new products, office events, company updates, a deal or promotion, expansion into a new market – these are all examples of possible things to write about. The important thing to remember is that topics must be interesting, memorable and portable — easy to pass on.

3)    Tools: How Can You Help the Message Travel?
The power and reach of social media are what strengthens and deepens your audience’s connection with your brand or company. It allows your audience to spend more time discussing your brand and mission in a forum that encourages personal opinion and two-way conversation.

4)    Taking Part: How Can You Join the Conversation?
This step is the hardest for marketers who are accustomed to traditional one-way communication channels that are partial to their brand. It calls for a stronger sense of accountability and a more accessible public persona. Your enthusiasm reads through your post – so be sincere and encourage dialogue.

5)    Tracking: What Are People Saying About You?
Social media is easy to measure in a basic way, although quantifiable results comparable to traditional marketing are still in the works. To start with,  your company has a definitive number of “followers” or “friends” and you can witness this number increasing or decreasing in real-time as your brand gains or loses favor in the public marketplace. It also presents daily qualitative data on your brands public reputation and image through the opinions and ideas of your audience. As a marketer you can immediately react to the needs or concerns of your customers and clients, reinforcing their trust in your brand.

This is one approach to leveraging social media and there are many other ideas out there. The important thing to remember is that there is no magic answer for how to use social media.  Social media is still just a channel; your company must build and maintain a strong identity and message in order to take advantage of this channel.

For more information on THE book on Word of Mouth Marketing, visit Andy Sernowitz’s site at http://andysernovitz.com.

Who d’you think you’re talkin’ to?

Your audience shouldn't be a mystery

Audience. It’s the first thing that any company, marketing whiz or public relations professional should consider when structuring a campaign or messaging situation. As an ad agency with long-term client relationships, we’re privileged to have gotten to know our clients’ current and prospective clients in person over the years. But, if you’re a start-up or just starting to consider a broad-scale marketing strategy, it’s time to take a moment to ask yourself: who are we really talking to?

This is an easier task if you interact with your customers face to face each day. You can visually (and subjectively) assess who you’re serving as a company. While this is certainly valuable information, it may be helpful to consider more objective ways to survey your entire client base.

For those companies that don’t have the opportunity to shake hands with their customers each day, objective tactics for determining your audience demographic are crucial. There are several “touch points” in your business that can work for you in this regard. Here are some suggested ways to get to know your clients:

Ask and ye shall receive: Surveys are an excellent way to refine your understanding of who is out there in your customer base. There are several online survey building programs, such as Survey Monkey, which are free for small sampling and otherwise reasonably priced. Our agency and other professional firms can create highly customized surveys that meet very specific objectives. E-surveys are cost effective, easy to create and provide quick responses to your questions.

Web analytics: Sure, the run-of-the-mill analytics program may not tell you lots of personal data about your customers, but you can infer a lot of information about your customers from where they’re clicking (i.e. what they’re interested in) and how long visitors spend on your site.

There are even analytics programs out there that can glean very specific data, such as Omniture TouchClarity, which will automatically build visitor profiles based on their behavior on your website. This allows you to target potential customers more specifically, enhancing the effectiveness of your messaging and the probability that they’ll become a loyal customer.

What you make it: So, you have some general idea of who’s clicking where and maybe some initial survey results. What now? Audience isn’t just about who is out there, it’s also about who you choose to make it (gasp – really?!).

Yes, really. Using the data you have gathered so far, you have some great information that can be used to refine your target audience. From there, you can take things into your own hands, shaping your products or services for those you’re currently reaching and becoming stronger for the demographic you want to be reaching.

Once you have your audience in your sights, your position allows you to move forward with an exceptional, strategic marketing and communications plan.  Now you just need someone to work with you to develop your strategy – can we help?