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Mixing marketing and PR with social media can be time-consuming, confusing, and not very effective – unless you have an organized system that mixes search, marketing, social, community, and planning. That’s why I developed the WIRED Marketing and PR System Framework for my clients and am now ready to share it with the world.
Let’s start at the very beginning. Communication is based on language. So is search. Sure, pictures are worth thousands of words – and that’s why I take thousands of them every year. But, words are how we convey messages and as importantly, how people find what they’re looking for online. Try searching by drawing a picture. You can’t. What kinds of words do you need? Check out Google’s keyword suggestion tool for ideas. Type in your website address and compare it with your competition. Who’s more on the mark?
One of the biggest mistakes most companies and organizations make is not being intentional enough about what they’re doing. It’s business as usual, whatever usual is. What if the approach became business as unusual? Wouldn’t that get more attention and better results? Borrowing a tip from journalism classes, think about who, what, when, where, how and most importantly, why you’re in business or why you’re working where you are. If you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing – and for money or to fund programs is not a good answer – then maybe it’s time to be the why you want to be. Then, how can you stretch your business out to reach your most profitable customer segments?
Communications, like water, flows through many channels. The internet is a sea, twitter is a stream, Facebook is a great lake and LinkedIn is a well-stocked pond. Instagram and TikTok? Depending on the content, they’re like gentle showers or downpours. Internal communications are like backyard pools and PR rains stories. One of the biggest objections we hear about modern digital marketing is the sense of overwhelm and confusion that all of these options cause for not only the companies, but their people and customers. It’s true. There is too much information out there. So, how do you keep track of it and stand out so people can find you? Social media is resolving this problem with algorithms, search, groups, and feeds. Strategize your content marketing so you can find your people and they can find you.
Stories are everywhere: do you tell them? Asking people to tell their stories, both good and bad, gives you insights into your company you can’t get anywhere else. Capturing and conveying emotions in your marketing brings people closer. And, how people feel when they interact with your organization everywhere builds your brand. Inviting people to share their stories improves relationships and gets others talking and sharing your good news.