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Are you creating favorable conditions for a crisis?

June 17, 2013 in Branding, Crisis Communications, Reputation management with 0 Comments

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. If you park your car under a tree with the windows down, a bird may just poop in it. In other words, if you do the things that set your organization up for a crisis, a crisis is probably what you’ll get.

Crisis prevention

Many people are caught off guard when crises blindside their organizations. The interesting element is that crisis researchers have found the majority of non-natural disaster crises had been percolating for some amount of time before they escalated to “a breaking crisis.” That means something eventually disruptive to the organization’s operation and potentially threatening to its reputation took root and grew as part of the organization’s DNA until it erupted. Continue Reading…

Brand journalism: A proper definition

June 6, 2013 in Branding, Content Marketing with 0 Comments

With one button, everything changed. Before it was a noisy world – and getting noisier. So many advertisers with so many messages, and they just kept coming…growing louder so you could hear their messages from the other room. They knew you’d gotten up during commercial breaks to run to the refrigerator, or use the bathroom, or let the dog out, so they increased the volume to make sure you could hear them from afar.

Brand Journalism

But that all changed when Eugene Polley of the Zenith Radio Corporation did humanity a great service and created the first wireless TV remote that could turn off the sound. In other words, he gave us the mute button. Continue Reading…

Writing: If you can’t do it find someone who can

April 24, 2013 in Branding, Writing with 0 Comments

Years ago I led a workshop for adult learners all wanting to more clearly communicate their work. I flippantly made possibly the most profound statement of my 20-plus years as a professional communicator: If you can’t write, don’t; find somebody who can.

successFailure

Photo courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

I am more convinced of the profundity of that statement 13 years later. Weak writing is the Achilles Heel of most communications efforts. In this age of brand journalism and content marketing, good writing is the backbone that should give organizations a lift over their competition, but poor writing torpedoes good strategy. Plainly stated, how well you write could mean the difference between success or failure. Continue Reading…

How to successfully launch a crisis in three easy steps

April 19, 2013 in Branding, Crisis Communications, Reputation management with 0 Comments

There are thousands of for-profit and non-profit organizations in America and I am confident none of them list “create a crisis” among their business objectives. However, many of them manage it without much effort. And to their chagrin, they find they’re quite good at it.

Crisis communications management

Photo courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

You read that correctly. Everyday organizations – more specifically executive leaders – make decisions that take their organizations from normal operations to headline news at the speed of a Tweet (and leave corporate communicators in shocked disbelief!). It isn’t as difficult as you might think. Here are three ways to successfully launch a crisis. Continue Reading…

Content marketing strategy: shifting from urgent to strategic

March 12, 2013 in Branding with 0 Comments

The first step to solving a content marketing problem is admitting you have one. Unfortunately, what organizational leaders often think is the cause may actually be an effect.

marketing thumb

Content marketing and brand journalism are increasingly recognized as important elements of an organization’s branding and marketing effort. However, some organizations crank out copy like it is being fired from a Gatling Gun thinking quantity is the key to success. Leaders become frustrated with a lack of return on the effort and miss the point that quantity doesn’t necessarily equate to quality. They fail to accurately identify the tyranny of the urgent as the root problem. Continue Reading…

Learning Crisis Communications from the Boy Scouts of America

February 8, 2013 in Branding, Communications Strategy, Crisis Communications with 3 Comments

The Boy Scouts of America finds itself in a kerfuffle with its proposed membership standards document. In a nutshell, the BSA is wrestling with dropping its ban on gay membership and in the process has created for itself an organizational communications nightmare that is bludgeoning a century of branding equity. It will take more than a compass for the BSA to navigate this crisis communications firestorm.

Photo courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Photo courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The BSA is in a five-alarm crisis communications nightmare. Very little is coming from its national headquarters in Irving, Texas, that positively positions the BSA. In fact, the organization’s leadership finds itself with few – if any – friends on either side of the debate, and has landed itself in a crossfire. Make no mistake; this is a self-inflicted crisis. Continue Reading…

Use case studies to support content marketing strategies

January 7, 2013 in Branding, Corporate Communications with 3 Comments

If you are looking for a way to improve your content marketing strategy this year, consider case studies. Case studies are obviously not new. Organizations have used them for years as a way to provide a systematic examination of cause and effect over a period of time. True, some case studies are about as cheesy (and creepy) as a cheap pick-up line. However, today’s savvy organizations tie well-written case studies to a larger content marketing strategy and overall integrated communications strategy.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you’re unsure on the meaning of content marketing and its role in organizational branding, here is a great summary by Shelly Kramer at V3 Integrated Marketing titled, “Content Marketing: A beginner’s checklist.” Case studies fall within an overall content marketing strategy. Writing case studies requires a marketer’s entrepreneurial mentality and a journalist’s “nose for news” approach. Report legitimate information that establishes a favorable outcome for your clients and supports your organization. Continue Reading…

Websites and branding: Three principles to keep in mind

September 12, 2012 in Branding with 0 Comments

First impressions do matter, especially for small businesses (and every organization), and often the first opportunity to make a first impression is your organization’s website. Question: how is your website branding you?

Photo Courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Malcolm Gladwell describes the idea of “thin slicing” in his book, Blink. His point is that we have the ability to gauge what is important from a limited experience. Gladwell has received criticism for his thesis, but his ideas are valid. You do form an immediate impression when you first encounter others – and they do the same to you. That’s why it is important that your website…fit. Continue Reading…

Content marketing done the “right” way

August 10, 2012 in Branding, Social Media with 0 Comments

I found it humorous the other day when my brother-in-law was reminiscing about the early days of the Internet. He was just 12 years old when, “Welcome, you’ve got mail,” introduced itself to American culture. His point, however, was how everything has changed because of the Internet, most notably the way we do business.

 

Fast forward to 2006 when blogging was all the rage and Twitter was a newborn in diapers. A few people like Brian Solis were rightly prognosticating the future of social media and its impact on business, but it has really only been in the past three years that businesses are catching up. Unbelievably, some businesses haven’t yet left the social media marketing station while others simply don’t know there is a train to board. Continue Reading…

Public Relations for the little guy: Branding without shouting

July 26, 2012 in Branding with 0 Comments

There were 27.5 million small businesses with fewer than 500 employees in America in 2009 according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Most of those businesses lack a public relations initiative or corporate communications office yet most need to raise their brand awareness to survive. What do you do if you fall into that category?

Photo courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For most small business owners or non-profit organizations, the thought of doing one more thing is about as welcome as hearing there is an increase in self-employment tax or loss of tax status. However, most also recognize the importance of branding to increase business or advance the organization’s cause. They may even do some form of promotion, or public relations. Continue Reading…

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