As a public relations professional, I would like to share with you one of our greatest resources – and I’m sure many other PR experts in the industry would agree.  That is HARO – Help A Reporter Out.  HARO was started by Peter Shankman, an expert in the industry.  For those of you familiar with Twitter, you can also find him there.  Peter started an emailing service for both reporters and public relations professionals. 

This is how it works.  Three times a day, Peter sends out a HARO email, with requests for stories and interviews from reporters.  Public relations professionals who sign up for the emails can then contact the reporters directly with detailed information.  The best part is the service is free.  The only rule is that if you do contact a reporter, it needs to be with a legitimate source – not just to get your client in front of a reporter.  Peter backs this rule up by calling out those who spam reporters and telling the entire list of reporters to block the offender from their email.  So you better follow the rules.

The Vollrath Associates team is a big fan of HARO.  This is a way to build national media attention for your client, as well as maybe get them in some more unique, or larger publications you wouldn’t necessarily think of right away.  So, if you are a reporter in search of a good resource or a public relations professional trying to get your client into some national, or more larger publications – sign up for HARO.  http://www.helpareporter.com/

Jessica Vollrath is an account executive at Vollrath Associates, a Milwaukee-based strategic communications firm specializing in investor and public relations and marketing communications.  Do you need help communicating your message?  Call us at 414-221-0210 or visit us online at www.vollrathpr.com.  Jessica can be reached at jvollrath@vollrathpr.com. 

In the classic business book, “In Search of Excellence” authors Peters and Waterman urge us to focus on the customer and also to focus on what we know as a company (stick to the knitting).  They assert these as two of the eight principles that guide excellent organizations.  While much has been made of the later successes or failures of some of the organizations they chose to profile, these two principles have a special meaning to me as a business to business marketer.

It seems that every day, if not every hour, we are assaulted by emails and other business communications that urge us to emerge from the dark media age of the last century and leverage the superiority of Web 2.0 or perhaps 3G mobile technology to get closer to our customers.  We’re told that traditional advertising has a low return on investment.  We’re told that people are abandoning print, television and radio for the Web.  What we are not told is that, in most cases, the most creative, inspired Web sites are no more capable of delivering bottom line results than old school methods unless our targeted customer first knows who we are and what we stand for.  That is the customer-knitting connection.  Focus first on educating the customer as to what we believe and how we translate those beliefs into actions.  If these are at once desirable and valuable the rest of the communications task can then be accomplished with greater emphasis on what we have to offer. 

Let’s break this down a bit.  First, who are our customers?  For most of us this is not only the end user of our product or service but also intermediaries in the sales/distribution chain, both internal and external.  While this increases our audience, it makes it more compelling to focus on a core message to the lot because we want them all to be able to understand and re-communicate the same thing. 

Then, what is it specifically that they need to know.  The belief(s) mentioned before, are most often found in our corporate vision; it is what we stand for. Our intended actions are usually part of the mission statement.  They describe what we intend to deliver or perhaps how we intend to deliver on our vision.  If the organization has no recognizable vision and mission statements perhaps some more basic knitting instructions are in order (e.g. Kotler, Cincotta…?). 

Put into real terms we can look at an example from the B to C sector, IKEA.  Their mission is clearly stated on web sites and in their stores as, “to create a better everyday life for the many people.”  And, they intend to accomplish this “by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”  Both are wrapped up in what they call the IKEA concept.

Think of the wonderful, warm marketing bliss that comes with the potential of every employee throughout the world and every good customer (yes, there are bad customers) being able to clearly communicate this information.   Envision a cocktail party where someone has asked a friend why they shop at IKEA and the answer comes naturally.  “Because they sell well-designed home furnishings that are really functional but don’t cost a lot.”  Ahhhhhhhhh.

Sometimes the message gets a bit twisted regarding the mission vs. the vision in the B to B world but the concept is the same.  Milwaukee Electric Tool puts it this way.  “Milwaukee has focused on a single vision: to produce the best heavy-duty electric power tools and accessories available to the professional user. Today, the Milwaukee name stands for the highest quality, durable and reliable professional tools money can buy.”  The key concepts of heavy-duty, professional users, quality, durability and reliability are all clearly communicated.  It would be folly to leave that strong message on the table.

Finally, can this work for non-profit movements, ideals or images?  Two centuries ago the free spirits of the Bohemian movement communicated four key principles of their lifestyle, and with a little help from the movie Moulin Rouge, we still recognize them as: Truth, Beauty, Freedom and (most of all) Love.  Do a quick Google search and see how successful they were; without the assistance of Flash or Java I might add.

So that’s a quick summary of why I believe that modern technologies and old school values like customer contact and sticking to the knitting are dependent on each other for marketing success.  State your beliefs, your principles and how you put them into action, and then you can talk about the product or service that embodies those ideals.  

Terry Hoffmann is Director, Building Automation Systems Marketing, Johnson Controls, Member, BMA

When I read the majority of marketing articles, I find myself skipping the first paragraphs. In an age when time is one of our most valuable resources, I wish that everyone would just Get. To. The. Point. That’s the ultimate beauty of twitter (www.twitter.com). Businesses can now get right to the heart of it with their consumers in 140 characters or less and not be faulted for short replies. From a consumer perspective, it’s great to pull up a business’s profile and see how they’re publicly responding to consumers’ questions, issues or compliments. From a brand’s perspective, it offers the opportunity to throw a little personality into the mix. If your brand isn’t on twitter, it’s time to get educated and make your move.

Here’s a short list of some twitter business basics:

Here’s how two businesses recently made a strong impression on me through twitter engagement:

Home Depot
I complained on twitter about a series of bad experiences with Home Depot Online. Within minutes, “@theHomeDepot” was “following” me and asking to help. I gave a brief description of my problem and my order number, to which they immediately replied that they were looking into. The next day, I received an apologetic phone call from a customer service manager, and a $100 gift card was overnighted to me. I repaid Home Depot by publicly thanking them on twitter, facebook and the website GetSatisfaction. I continue to “follow” @theHomeDepot to learn about sales and marketing efforts, and they’ve secured my business.

Bissell
One of my twitter friends, or tweeples, made a comment about carpet cleaners. I replied that “I’ve impressed a party’s worth of people by pulling out the Bissell SpotBot and cleaning a red wine spill.” Bissell’s “@wemeanclean” profile directed a message to me stating that it’s “Always nice to have party tricks.” Being a SpotBot enthusiast, I took the opportunity to sing its praises in a message directed back to @wemeanclean in front of my 150+ followers and opted to “follow” their brand. Bissell was using their twitter presence to let followers know about a “cute dog” contest on their website. I’ve entered my dog and downloaded the Bissell-branded widget so that my friends in other electronic locations know to vote for my dog too. This cross promotion is the type of electronic “word of mouth” brands long for, all of which resulted from a little “shout out” on behalf of a brand to one of their consumers.

It’s ok to use twitter for extended brand promotion too, but it helps to be “cute” about it. At a recent Milwaukee Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) event, moderator Bill Finn from Finn Digital gave away t-shirts to the first four people to “tweet” about the event from their mobile phones. As a result, MIMA garnered four+ pages of twitter activity and received the most public recognition to date. Perhaps a little party trick to keep in mind for your next sponsorship opportunity.

Twitter Lingo:

Basic Twitter Tools:

By Jill Schmidt,
Interactive Strategist,
Finn Digital LLC

Businesses today are overwhelmed by many challenges, not least of which is how to deliver their message. The onslaught of various social media options makes it clear that a multi-channel approach is critical.  But which to choose and how best to use them remain crucial questions.

Marketers have understood the power of video for well over twenty years and one recent trend in technology takes that power to a new level.  Streaming video has surged to the forefront as an economical, efficient and green solution to deliver content.

True streaming video (as opposed to simple downloading) employs a high end network of servers that can support simultaneous delivery of files of any size without compromising quality.  Users do not experience buffering of the video as with downloading and have the ability to immediately view, fast forward or rewind with near instantaneous results.

Security features such as HASH encryption and expiring URL’s preclude content from being shared without permission.  This is a key feature for applications such as internal corporate communications and content that is purchased.  In general, streaming video offers much higher levels of security than otherwise available with simply downloaded content.

Some service providers offer various forms of analytics. Depending upon the service provider, these features may provide vital information to the administrator in terms of who is watching the video, where they are located geographically, IP address, how long they watch and much more.  Some can even offer the ability to add a survey or response form at the end of the program.  These features can provide marketers invaluable demographic information about their customer base and how the programs are received.  Changes can be made immediately and inexpensively.

But the real advantage to streaming video may lie in the ability and ease of offering long play video, such as full feature length movies, without buffering and loss of quality.  As a marketer, you may not require the ability to stream a feature length movie but you may have training modules or product demonstrations that would suffer from being constricted in size.

Applications for the technology are diverse.  Live seminars and conferences are ideal scenarios for streaming video, particularly given the analytics function and the capability of providing live feedback via e-mail or chat.  General B2B and B2C uses range from HR and other internal corporate communications to sales, marketing, product demonstrations and training.  Educators employ streaming video systems to enhance the distance learning experience of their students while maintaining complete management and control of their classes as well as their student’s progress.

Streaming video is less expensive than traditional methods of content delivery.  Shipping and mailing costs disappear as do packaging and insertion costs normally associated with CD’s and DVD’s.  It is also more immediate.  Depending upon your service provider, content may be encoded and uploaded to the internet in 24-48 hours, rather than the weeks required to manufacture and distribute a traditional DVD package.  And in concert with the blooming ‘Green’ movement, streaming eliminates the need to produce plastic and paper as required by standard DVD production and distribution. 

When selecting service providers, there are several key questions to consider.  Does the provider have the capability of offering a Tier 1 CDN network, versus a regional service provider?  This means that they own their own infrastructure with banks of servers in multiple regions around the world, versus a few scattered within a region.  The importance of this feature lies in several key aspects to content delivery.  Where regional service providers may offer streaming video they may also have difficulty delivering that content without buffering or experiencing other delivery issues if there are multiple users logged in simultaneously or if users are located well outside their particular region.

Can the service provider offer a turn key solution?  Some may offer encoding but not security, or some may offer streaming but not analytics or real time reporting.  Some may be capable of streaming a live event but cannot provide live chat, feedback in the form of surveys, or analytics to the extent you may require.  Does the provider offer true streaming or just progressive downloads?  Progressive downloads require caching on the user’s server which means there will be buffering, less, if any security,  and the user can then share the content with anyone they choose.  What type of security can they offer?    Is there a limit to the size of video you can upload?  Can you monitor and control your content or does the service provider retain this option?

With NetFlix transitioning to streaming video, it seems clear streaming video on demand is the future for content delivery.  Educators, marketers, trainers, and corporate users from HR to PR will want to take advantage of the many benefits streaming video offers in terms of ease of use, ROI, immediacy to market, security, information gathering and the benefit to the environment.

By James Wolter, Vertical Streaming Midwest
AJ Media LTD
5205 N. 125th Street
Butler, WI  53007
www.verticalstreaming.com

Advertising & Public Relations

Vollrath Associates, Inc., Milwaukee, recently announced that Michaela Ross has joined the firm as an account coordinator.  She will provide a variety of media relations, public relations and marketing communications services to the firm’s clients.

Mader Communications Group, Inc., Mequon, recently added Julie Tramonte as senior copywriter to its staff. Tramonte specializes in healthcare, information technology and material handling

Consulting

Marge Combe, recently joined Vernal Management Consultants, LLC, Milwaukee as a leadership development consultant. She has more than 30 years of leadership experience in corporate strategic planning, communications and change management.

Design

Stephanie Seeby has been promoted to creative director at DSI Design, Glendale.  She brings experience in graphic we web design to the position.

Getting PR in Biztimes Milwaukee/Biztimes.com Tips #1 & #2

TIP #1 Personnel File - Don’t forget to recognize your valued employees and gain some exposure for your company at the same time.  Reference a print copy of BizTimes Milwaukee for the format of the Personnel File.  This is a regular feature in each issue of BizTimes Milwaukee. Two weeks in advance of the intended issue date, submit your new hires, promotions, and major industry certifications in that format to Alysha.Schertz@biztimes.com. Don’t forget to include a quality head-shot in JPG format.

TIP #2 Take advantage of BizTimesDaily - This daily, local, breaking-news e-mail service is requested by over 10,000 business professionals.  Published before noon each day, stories relevant to business-owners and professionals in Wisconsin are eagerly sought by our Executive Editor, Steve Jagler.  Send press releases late in the evening the day prior, or early in the morning on the day of intended publication.  Be sure to include contact information for follow up questions, and follow the other tips you find in the New PR Source newsletter to increase the chance that your release is published.  News that is relevant and impactful and also exclusive - may warrant a separate publication of BizTimesDaily at an unscheduled time.  Send releases directly to steve.jagler@biztimes.com. Many of these stories are also reported in the following print publication.  To receive BiztimesDaily, Click: www.biztimes.com/daily/subscribe.cfm