Re-invention strategies to transform your business and boost profits

Brush Off Your Old Way of Thinking

Re-invention strategies to transform your business and boost profits

It's no secret that given the economy, it is imperative to market your best self when seeking clients, employment opportunities, and growing a business. In an unsettled economy, everyone must develop a new attitude to stand out from the competition, and the time to start is today as we welcome a new season of renewal.

I have put together a PR Re-Invention Plan to help business owners and individuals secure the opportunity they desire using PR as an empowerment tool. (Just so we're all on the same page, I define re-invention as a transformation into the life you've always craved.) Keep in mind these tips have worked for my past clients, including Citibank, Sony Music, recording artists D'Angelo and Jill Scott, and the NBA's Ray Allen and Chris Webber.

Re-invention will not be easy; however, if you come up with a plan, stick with it, and, you can have truly substantial returns.

Here are some sure-fire ways to spring forward your brand, market your business, and stand out-all on a budget.

Think linearly. Act with a plan. Identify where you want to work, what salary you want to make, and how you can be of value to a corporation on your terms. Create a strategy to achieve those goals.

Use social media. The Internet is a force and you must participate. For companies and clients to find you, participate in social networking. Blog, create a podcast, send e-newsletters, and star in your own viral video. It is imperative to have a Web presence with a functional, smart, attractive Website.

Be prepared for opportunity. Let people know what you have to offer. Be your own publicist and bring the hype. Create an electronic media kit listing your skills, accomplishments, and awards. Make certain your presentation is creative and appropriate for your industry.

Polish your image. Make sure that you're you projecting the message you want people to see? Ask your friends, family members, and colleagues of their impressions of you.

Self-promotion isn't a bad thing. You are an authority in your field so begin to visualize and execute your plan as if you were a rock star. Write an Op-Ed for your favorite newspaper, contribute to a blog, or secure a byline (this means that you get credit for writing the story). Service the byline to the companies you want to work for and stay on their radar.

 
For more please read: http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/2010/03/25/brush-off-your-old-way-of-thinking/

Karen Taylor Bass, The PR Expert, provides entrepreneurs, corporations, and mompreneurs with essential branding, marketing, and public relations coaching; www.karentaylorbass.com and www.taylormademediapr.com. 

 Follow Karen's tips and Caviar & Chitlins moments at Twitter, twitter.com/prexpert.

PR Pros Pam Perry  & Karen Taylor Bass

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Pam & Karen

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Social Media Marketing: PR and a social media webcast

http://www.socialmediapr.eventbrite.com
and http://www.bit.ly/socialmediapr2010

The webcast highlights some key benefits of social media for any business organization; local or international.

1) Social media is cost effective and offers unlimited space, unlike the traditional newspapers, radio and television.

2) It is easy to recognize the potential market and segregate your niche which further helps in customizing the message accordingly.

3) Social media gives the audiences an equal chance to voice their opinion and help organizations deliver exactly what is in demand. Thus; saving their time, energy and resources.

4) New Public Relations strategies like viral campaigns, webcasts, blogs etc have the capacity to change public opinion towards an organization or a brand from negative to neutral and from neutral to positive.

5) Increasing Revenue On Investment is the most important goal social media helps to achieve for organisations.

Online Public Relations: Virtual PR 2.0

Check out http://www.brandingsuperstar.com - and http://www.pamperry.posterous.com for social media marketing programs

Online Public Relations: Virtual PR By Barbara Rozgonyi

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Introduction to Social Media

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IS PR Dead? Or in A Coma? Public Relations in 2010

WHERE IS PR IN 2010? PR 2.0-10!

Michael asks if PR is dead? I say NO...but it has changed. And if PR Pros don't realize it - they'll be left out in the cold. PR Pros ...I put you on notice...please learn SEO!  Get Michael Fleischner's book!
guest blog post from http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com/

That's right, today we're talking about public relations. It's amazing to me how little marketing professionals and small business owners know about PR. In fact, PR is largely becoming one of the most ignored marketing disciplines. When speaking about PR to one of my marketing buddies he said, "no one reads anymore.. so PR is basically dead!"



Honestly, I pretty much laughed in his face. "Dead! PR? You've got to be kidding!" I said. The reality is that today's news, social media, and email are all a form of PR. Sure, I agree that the traditional practice of "getting ink" is old school, but the concept of pushing out a message or creating interest in what you have to offer is just GOOD MARKETING.



Using PR Today


I recently listened to a talk from Tim Ferris, the author of the popular book "The 4-Hour Work Week". Tim went from being unknown to one of today's most recognized authors in a very short time. How did he do it? You guessed it, PR. However, Tim's public relations approach was slightly different than the norm.



He contacted influencers within his area of expertise and let them know about his book. Even a slight mention from market leaders like, ".. taking a trip. Picked up a copy of 'The 4-hour Work Week'.." had a ripple effect that has grown into a phenomenon. In about a week, Tim's book went form nowhere to the New York Times best seller list.


If You Think PR Is Dead, Think Again


So if you're not Tim Ferris and you're not well connected, can PR still work for you? My answer is still yes, you just need to think about it differently. Whether your are targeting bloggers, Tweeters with a huge Twitter list, or other social media, public relations is about distributing your message for others to hear.


If you've done a Google search lately you'll notice the press releases are gaining exposure in search results. This is one of the ways that a well distributed message can appear before prospects and buyers. The next time you do a search check out your results list. You'll notice quite a few listing from PR and other media outlets.


Don't Lose Sight Of Public Relations

Whether you have a robust PR program or are just starting out, learn what you can about public relations. Anytime you want others talking about your product, services, or brand, think PR. Begin with media releases, talking to bloggers, and even reaching out to traditional media outlets.


Think new media too. Video and image are integrated into more and more PR efforts than ever before. Use everything at your disposal to communicate effectively with your audience. PR is far from dead!!!

About the Author (guest blog post)


Michael H. Fleischner is an Internet marketing and Search Engine Optimization expert. For more than a decade, Michael has been working with companies across numerous industries to improve their Web site marketing and search engine optimization tactics to and produce tangible results.
 
Michael has appeared on the TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. He is the founder of MarketingScoop.com and more than a dozen Web sites and blogs related to marketing, search engine optimization, and Internet marketing. As an avid speaker and consultant, Michael continues to communicate the benefits of SEO and educate others on proven techniques for achieving the #1 position on Google - the world's largest search engine.  
 
ABOUT THE BOOK ---
SEO Made Simple: Strategies for Dominating the World's Leading Search Engine is a tell-all guide for anyone trying to reach the highly coveted #1 ranking on Google for their Web site or Blog.



Learn from a leading Webmaster the specific SEO techniques that deliver top rankings in less than 30 days. Whether you're a search engine optimization expert or new to Web site rankings, the techniques revealed in SEO Made Simple will give you everything you need to dominate the leading search engines.


Generate tons of traffic to your website absolutely FREE with top search engine placement on Google, Yahoo! and MSN. SEO Made Simple is the only resource on search engine optimization that you'll ever need.


ALSO SEE http://www.newministrymarketing.eventbrite.com/

10 Ways Blogging Will Simplify Your Marketing Program (Guest Post)

This is a post from one of my favorite blog: HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog! All PR Professionals should listen up!!! Here's the post:

When marketers and small business owners consider blogging, they typically worry about added complexity. For a small team already managing many different channels and campaigns, content development can be a daunting undertaking.




It shouldn't be. A great business blog will actually help simplify your marketing program. Blogging is like elegant architecture -- it accomplishes multiple functional goals with minimal structural elements.




Consider an elegant building like the Hearst Tower in New York City. It manages to address various goals -- excellent workspace, environmentally sensitive construction and design, historic preservation and aesthetics -- with one simple, creative structure.



A business blog achieves elegance in the same way. It helps accomplish all of the goals listed below with a single thoughtful stream of content. A traditional marketing team would have to address each of these goals with a separate campaign:

1. Search Engine Optimization -- The best way to improve your SEO is to get more sites to link to your site. The best way to do that is to give people something remarkable to link to -- that means content, which means a blog.



2. Social Media Optimization -- If you're an active listener and contributor,it's not hard to build relationships on social media sites. But to get value out of these relationships as a business, you need to drive traffic back to your site from these sites. Your blog is the best way to do that.



3. Lead Generation -- This blog is one of HubSpot's most important sources of high-quality leads. People find this site because of the useful content, then they discover that we sell a related product. Many of those people request a product demo, and many of those people become customers.



4. Educational Value -- As part of the sales process, our sales team often needs to explain the inbound marketing vision. Fortunately, they don't spend too much time on that because the people who our sales team speaks with have read a lot about HubSpot and inbound marketing and understand its value based on what we've explained in webinars and blog articles like this one.



5. Thought Leadership -- Every business wants to be a thought leader. It's a cornerstone of an effective marketing program. If people know you're leading the development of your industry, they'll gravitate to your business. Today you can't be a thought leader if you don't have a blog. The blog is where thought leadership happens.



6. Nurturing -- Nurturing is a critical part of any sales cycle. It's the process of educating your prospects and building trust with them until they're ready to buy. There are a lot of complex, expensive software applications that focus on lead nurturing, but few are more powerful than a simple RSS feed or email subscription to a high quality blog.


7. PR -- If you're writing arduous, multi-page pitches for news organizations, you're wasting your time. You should put your time and energy into blog posts that share new data, break news or offer unique new advice, then share that post in a quick email with your contacts at news organizations.



8. Brand Building -- Today great brands are built by a company's product and content. For example, at HubSpot, content and marketing education is a big part of our brand. These values are communicated almost entirely through the advice, data and media we publish on this blog.



9. Recruiting -- To recruit top talent, you need to be able to communicate your company's values and vision clearly. You can do that in an interview, but you can do it with far more depth and nuance in a blog. As a prospective employee, I'd feel a lot closer to a company that I can understand through 300 high-quality blog posts than through a single About Us page.



10. Company Communication -- Many marketers overlook the internal value of a blog. If you want to make sure your entire company is up-to-date on domain knowledge and the current issues facing your industry, you should blog about them publicly. It's an elegant way of sharing information across your company.


Yesterday New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote about a Great Inflection in the U.S. economy. He described it as a "mass diffusion of low-cost, high-powered innovation technologies ...transforming how business is done."



Blogging is a powerful, elegant technology at the core of this Great Inflection Friedman describes -- and one of the techniques that will help your business get through the Great Recession we're in the midst of.

Guest blogger: Rick Burnes, http://www.hubspot.com/

 

For social media marketing teleseminar, visit: http://www.pamperry.eventbrite.com/