(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) I recently had the privilege of returning to Penn State’s College of Communications, to share experiences and insights as an alumnus from the field of public relations. As part of the college’s Hearst Visiting Professional program, I gave presentations in four classroom sessions, discussing PR research, […]
How Bad Infographics “Bury” PR Campaigns
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) When I’m in a charitable mood, I like to say that I have a “love/hate” relationship with the infographic. When I’m being less than charitable, I describe the infographic as the “Emperor’s New Clothes” of the 21st Century, a frustratingly contrived and counter-utilitarian device which has […]
New Brand … Same Client Commitment
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) What’s in a name? For our firm, a rebranding/name change that’s launching this week amounts to much more than a website makeover and new business cards. As we approached our tenth anniversary this year, we realized we were overdue for the rebranding. After all, we started […]
Why PR Teams Need In-House Training
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) How much money do organizations invest in external trainers and educational seminars a year? Actually, U.S. companies will spend $156 billion a year on employee training alone, according to the American Society for Training and Development. But recently at W2 Communications, it only cost the price […]
Fed Shutdown Can’t Kill a “Geek” Fest
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Talk about overcoming challenges: Our high-tech PR firm was determined to keep our sixth annual Run! Geek! Run! 8K going – even when the government shutdown forced us to postpone the original Oct. 5 date. (We’ve always held the event in West Potomac Park, a U.S. […]
Content Director Featured in Top B2B Pub
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) What are the rewards – and pitfalls – of hiring ex-journalists as content marketers? Dennis McCafferty, W2 Communications Director of Content, was recently featured in an article in a prominent website, The B2B Marketing Mentor, to share his thoughts on this topic. B2B Marketing Mentor is […]
Avoiding the ‘7 Sins’ of Content Marketing
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Despite all of the ‘science’ that gets tossed out there about content marketing – such as proven techniques to get optimal SEO, ROI on content spend, etc. – we’re still talking about a pretty subjective practice here. Which means different perspectives will shape the final effort. […]
“Pin” Your Way to Customer Engagement
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Most organizations recognize the value of establishing a presence on at least one social-media platform today for marketing purposes. However, sites such as Pinterest and Instagram remain somewhat of a mystery. They’re occasionally dismissed as the domain of teens and other social-media junkies. But it would be a […]
When News Breaks: 5 Tips for Rapid Response
In a recent blog, W2Comm’s Tony Welz wrote about how an effective rapid response strategy plays a key role for many of our clients. At our high-tech PR agency, we stay on top of news which breaks early and often. In positioning our client executives as Thought Leaders, it’s important to get them out in […]
Key Journalism Skills for Content Marketing
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) As posted here previously, I recently contributed this Content Marketing Institute piece about the growing trend of recruiting former journalists to help execute brand-content promotion. Many of these ex-reporters are hired on a contractual, freelance basis, and others – like me – do it fulltime. Either […]