The Byline: PR and Marketing Insights from Eiler Communications

I’ve become mildly addicted to Google Trends lately. If you’re not yet familiar, the free tool presents a list of the top Google search terms at this moment and allows you to enter your own terms to measure and compare search popularity around the world and over periods of time. Access Google Trends from your regular Google page (it’s under the “Google Labs“ option, or directly via the link above.

For example, I learned that Dr. Phil’s popularity jumped up in early January. If you’re following the Britney Spears saga (and you probably can’t help it), then you know why this is. Thanks to Google Trends, we also finally have concrete proof that chocolate is more popular than vanilla.

From a PR, marketing, and journalistic perspective, Google Trends can be helpful in a number of ways. It provides a quick pulse read about what people care about around the world (or by region) at any given time and is a great way to identify ways your company, clients or local news sources can fit into the bigger picture of cultural trends.

How could Google Trends be useful for businesses? Well, when I checked on Friday, “operation boot camp” was the #3 search term and “on fire” by Trends standards. This may or may not have been prompted by a story on CNN’s Web site about an Atlanta man who lost 128 pounds through a program called Operation Boot Camp. But people started searching for the topic of fitness boot camps in general.

If you own a gym (or better yet, run a fitness boot camp), this would be a great opportunity to contact your local newspaper or TV station and let them know you can see fitness boot camps are a hot topic on CNN right now, and if they are working on a local story on the topic, you are available as a source to talk about the advantages of boot camp programs for weight loss, and what makes a boot camp different than just hitting the gym.

Google Trends change in real time, so what’s hot today might not be tomorrow. But it’s a great and fun way to stay current.

Posted by Rebecca

I’ve had the pleasure to work with a diverse group of companies to help them become better known in their respective industries. In doing so, our firm has employed every conceivable traditional public relations tactic and some non-traditional ones.

While we’re calling and emailing media, securing speaking engagements, writing byline articles, conducting blogger relations and managing crises for our clients, it’s easy to forget about internal communications. If a company is introducing a new product, hiring a new CEO or going after a new type of customer, we advocate that public relations strategies be integrated with focused, internal communications strategies in order to maximize overall business results.

The disciplines of external vs. internal communications have been so specialized that owners of the functions all too often operate independently. Smart companies integrate the functions. They might not reside in the same department or under the same leader, but they work together to achieve exponentially larger results than either could achieve alone.

Southwest airlines’ Nuts About Southwest blog is a great example of an integrated tactic as it achieves greater online visibility while providing a forum for employees. Greater visibility and presence in cyberspace is certainly a public relations goal, and greater employee engagement is certainly an internal communications goal. Together, they help Southwest achieve the ultimate business goal of growing profits.

Posted by Linda

I came across some great blog posts the other day - some more recent than others.

The first two links are just great how-to lists when preparing for a panel discussion or product demo presentation. Both are important ways to enhance visibility for our companies and selves, but they also put us in grave danger of being really boring. Guy Kawasaki puts our concerns at ease with his two blog posts:

How to Kick Butt on a Panel, and
How to be a Demo God

I have to give a shout out to PR Insights for referring me to these posts, as well as this one, which is hilarious and sad depending on how you look at it: Hacking Cough provides great journalist perspective on how good news releases can be, and how boring they can become if they are ruined with PR/corporate speak.

On a separate note, The Byline has moved up on Brendan Cooper’s monthly list of PR Blogs, which is cool. It’s also good place to check for new/unfamiliar blogs similar to this one, which I encourage you to do.

Posted by Rebecca

It seems simple, right? We’re doing something cool, we want others to be aware of it, let’s send out a news release. While it’s true that frequent media outreach helps to build brand awareness and perceptions, it’s also true that needless news releases can annoy reporters and lessen your chance of productive media relationships.

Here are five questions to ask yourself before you hit the send button (or ask someone else to do it on your behalf):

1. Who, what, when, where and why? (well, that’s actually five different questions, but anyway…) If your release answers all of the above, you’re good to go. If not, reconsider. When one or more of these key facts are absent, it’s usually an indication your “news” is incomplete and wont be useful to journalists or others. Extra tip for success: try to answer all five briefly within your lead paragraph.

2. What’s new? As Larry always says, “three quarters of the word ‘news’ is the word ‘new.’”If you can’t explain the “new” part (product, growth milestone, client win, management team member, certification, award, etc.) clearly, easily and within the first sentence, don’t send.

3. What’s my goal? The old adage, “begin with the end in mind” helps with news releases, too. “XYZ Company is doing something cool over here” is not a very directive headline (or subhead), so it’s important to decide which specific part of the cool thing you want to emphasize. Do you want people to attend an event? Learn about a new product? Be impressed by your dramatic growth (and what it does for your industry and economy)? Note, the goal of your news release is not “to get media coverage.”

4. Why does my news matter? If your news release does not tell readers why your news is important, don’t send it. For example, a new client win means very little on its own, but when this new client win exemplifies your growth, industry expertise/specialization, etc. it’s more valuable.

5. Where does my news matter? Different aspects of your business have different levels of impact. Generally speaking, your news is regional, national, industry-specific or some combination of these. A new product launch release is best suited for your industry because it reaches your target consumers. On the other hand, noteworthy revenue or employee growth might be a regional success story about XYZ Company’s impact on the economy. For tips to leverage your national media outreach, check out my previous blog post, “National coverage for local organizations.”

Once you’ve addressed these five questions, read our “Meet the press” blog post for technical tips to maximize media relationships by meeting reporters’ needs.

Posted by Nicole

What has happened to moral values in our times? There has been lots of buzz about the lack of such. Where do we learn our code of ethics, our upbringing, our religion, education and example set by our influencers?

Each of us certainly should maintain a personal code of ethics but also a professional code of ethics. I applaud Dean David Mielke at EMU School of Business for his institution of Ethos Week. Students at EMU will have the opportunity to hear various speakers on the topics of business ethics.

What is also sad at the same time is that this subject even needs to be addressed. What has happened to moral fiber and values of our society?

One of my staff, when discussing this issue said this is “capitalism on steroids.” The pervasive thought is that you can have anything that you want and it does not matter how you achieve it.

Perhaps it is time for each of us to think about how we can turn the current direction of society and make ethical issues of high importance.

Posted by Sandy

Reading Rebecca’s blog entry of Good to Great harkened me to the busload of people that we have had on our staff throughout our 20+ years.

I has been a very interesting time observing how people work, are they a team player, leader and a good PR practitioner. Can they deliver for Eiler Communications clients the caliber of service which we strive to deliver.

Some have been able to stay on the bus and others were off.

I think that it is inherent to human nature to want to succeed personally and professionally. Some are able to achieve in both realms and some in only one. Personal satisfaction is what really counts.

We have had several members of our firm become highly successful in their careers. Larry and I have seven children and have a strong nurturing component to the culture of our business. I am sure that is part of the reason that we have always had a young staff who have blossomed from the guidance and mentoring they have received. We have had staff who have entered careers in the corporate area, one started his own PR firm in DC.

What makes these folks unique is that they maintained humility and recognized the basis of their growth. We are all products of our influencers, experiences and opportunities. These folks flourished in their careers giving credit to those who nurtured and influenced them. They will stay on any bus they chose. They acknowledge their foundation.

Sometimes and fortunately not often, individuals develop exaggerated self-pride or confidence and a sense of arrogance. Someone like this climbs the ladder of success without any acknowledgment of how that success was achieved. By doing so each of the rungs of the ladder is destroyed leaving them no way to climb down. They delude themselves into thinking that they were self-made talent. These folks do not stay on the bus for long.

Posted by Sandy

Welcome to the first Byline Book Review. Unfortunately the book is not hot-off-the-presses, but if you like concentrated doses of truth and relevance, Jim Collins’ Good to Great is a crucial read and one that may change your perspective on business for good.

I finally committed to reading it during my flights to and from NYC this weekend, and I could feel the strangers next to me peering over my shoulder to read along.

The premise: Good is the enemy of great (do you love it?). Collins and his research team set out to determine how a select few companies were able to turn themselves around from just being “good,” or even bad, and achieve greatness. In order to define “great,” the research team examined Fortune 500 lists from 1965-1995 and narrowed down a list of companies that sustained great results (profits) for at least 15 years. It also compared these “great” companies to their “good” competitors, who were never able to sustain the same level of success.

It took five years, but Collins and his team were able to cull their findings down to a few key characteristics that define a great company, as well as the key characteristics that mark certain doom. Instead of me summarizing the empirical findings, I will just quote a few words of wisdom from within, which were backed by extensive and convincing research. Hopefully they will convince you to read the whole thing:

• Focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organizaton is the only path to greatness.
• Not one of the good-to-great companies focused obsessively on growth.
• …culture of discipline. When you have disciplined people, you don’t need hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you don’t need bureaucracy.
• Everyone would like to be the best, but most organizations lack the discipline to figure out with egoless clarity what they can be the best at and the will to do whatever it takes to turn the potential into reality.
• The good-to-great leaders began the transformation by first getting the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus), and then figured out where to drive it. . . the key point is that “who” questions come before “what” decisions - before vision, before strategy, before organization structure, before tactics.
• “Level 5″ refers to a five-level hierarchy of executive capabilities. . . Level 5 leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will. They are ambitious, to be sure, but ambitious first and foremost for the company, not themselves.

* Collins believes that potential Level 5 leaders exist all around us, if we just know what to look for, and that many people have the potential to evolve into Level 5.

I will stop at seven, since Nicole and I believe that all lists should contain an odd number of items, unless of course there are 10

I encourage you to read the book and let me know what you think.

Posted by Rebecca

Since my first undergraduate course in leadership, I’ve been fascinated by the abundant scholarly and practical leadership philosophies aimed at cultivating success. Leadership is not an industry-specific phenomenon. Nor is it a subject only for upper-level executives. Leadership impacts organizations at every level.

At this month’s E2Detroit Entrepreneurship and Excellence Symposium, I had the pleasure of attending a lecture on leadership by First Gentleman Dan Mulhern.

Formerly a high school teacher, community organizer and successful attorney, Mulhern has spent the past several years consulting, speaking and writing about leadership. He shared insights from his most recent book, Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics and Life , with E2Detroit attendees. At its core, Mulhern said, leadership is about two things: where are we going? (Vision), and how do we get there? (Momentum).

Vision can bring real life results to your home, work environment and any other organizations or issues with which you’re involved. Begin your vision with the end in mind; make it clear and simple and set activities based on desired outcomes. Vision doesn’t need to be grand and it doesn’t have to come from the top down. In fact, vision is most powerful side-to-side. To cultivate your vision you must create a team and excite people.

Some questions to ask your self as you build you organization’s vision:

• Where do I think they’re going?
• How well do I tap in to what my employees think and care about?
• What are my employees’ most cherished values?
• How hard am I listening to what other people think is successful?
• What is my picture of success?

“Leadership is all about energy,” Mulhern said. That’s where momentum comes in. Once the vision is in place, how do we motivate people toward the goal? The first step is realizing the primary job of leadership is emotional; priming good feelings and releasing energy. Some other easy ways to create markedly positive momentum include encouraging the heart, setting reachable goals with clear deadlines, pitching in, making decisions and challenging people.

If you find problems generating momentum, ask yourself three things:

• Where is the energy moving?
• What do I need to do to get things moving in the right direction?
• Who am I being that the people around me aren’t lighting up and what do I need to change?

Posted by Nicole

Eiler Communications’ CEO, Larry Eiler, published an article on Internet marketing strategies in the September issue of Focus on Small Business, the Small Business Assocation of Michigan’s magazine. Below are our firm’s insights about how businesses owners can make e-marketing work for them. To order a copy of the magazine, contact the Michigan SBA.

The definition of marketing has recently expanded to include measurable, precisely-targeted Internet strategies that initiate dialogue with consumers. Since people use the Internet to make purchasing decisions, establishing a Web presence is crucial. Here are five ways your business can enlarge its e-footprint:

Search engine optimization
61 percent of people consider search engines their favorite tool for product research, according to a Yahoo! study, and Data Springs says 87 percent of them do not pass page one of their search returns. The demand for page-one visibility caused an explosion in search engine optimization (SEO), the business of increasing Web site traffic through natural search results.

“Achieving a high search ranking takes time and commitment,” said Linda Girard, co-founder of Ann Arbor Internet marketing firm Pure Visibility. “Successful sites are well-written, informative and easy to navigate. You are writing for search engine algorithms that comb the “key words” of your site for relevance by matching the search terms.”

Search engines don’t always recognize photos, graphics or music files; they care about relevant text. Are the terms “Michigan dentists” in your URL, page titles and site map text? If not, your chances of showing up in related search results are smaller.

Web site links are another important ingredient in SEO. Get listed in the top online directories in your industry and consider linking to companies in related industries on your Web site; they will return the favor. Every few months, evaluate the effectiveness of your key words, value of online referrals and which Web pages get the most visitors.

New media
Blogs, podcasts and content-sharing sites matter because people use them, sometimes more than traditional media. Hitwise finds more people visit the video-sharing juggernaut YouTube than the sites of all major TV networks combined. Journalists, too, read blogs to stay up on trends and story ideas.

Initiate conversation with customers by starting a blog on your Web site with a service like WordPress or TypePad. It will increase Web site traffic and bump up search engine returns. Blog about relevant articles, trends and products, and let readers post comments. Link to other relevant blogs and they will link back to you; join their online conversations and they will join yours. Make sure to officially claim your blog Technorati, a blog directory.

Create company podcasts, digital audio or video files, on your computer and uploaded to your Web site for viewing/listening. Pick topics you can educate others about. Virtual tours are popular with universities and builders; “how-to” demonstrations or executive interviews work for almost any business.

Post commercials on YouTube to establish an initial presence, but use the site to dialogue with others through interesting, interactive content. Blendtec, a company that sells blenders, did this with its viral video series “Will it Blend?” The series invited viewers to nominate new, ridiculous things to blend (like marbles). The initial campaign, which cost about $100, prompted high-profile media attention and increased sales.

Social networks
One in four people Americans use MySpace, a social networking site that accounts for a significant percentage of online retail referrals. Use popular social networks, like Facebook and LinkedIn, to connect with people in your local market. If you own a restaurant or boutique, invite people in your area to join your network for updates on sales and new products.

Online advertising
Paid online advertisements, or pay-per-click (PPC) listings, are purchased through major search engines and allow you to reach customers searching online for your services. PPC ads show up when a customer searches for the terms you’ve selected for your campaign. You pay when customers click on your site; ad impressions are unlimited. PPC programs allow you the freedom to set your own budget and track campaign success.

“Regardless of company size or budget, PPC is an effective marketing tool,” said Google AdWords Strategist Matthew Neagle. “Because ads are displayed alongside search results, a key benefit of Google AdWords and PPC marketing is the ability to target customers who are seeking your products or services when their need is top of mind.”

E-marketing collateral
Newsletters and marketing collateral have digital forms now, which are often more cost-effective and make it easier to measure effectiveness. Graphics and flash animation make e-collateral visually stimulating, and all traffic ultimately leads customers back to your Web site. Distributing via e-mail allows you to track who opens your mail and takes action.

The best way to maintain an e-marketing campaign? “Stay informed,” said Girard. “Research industry trends. Knowing about opportunities is the first step toward making them work for your business.”

More examples of how companies are using the Internet to reach consumers directly came in a recent New York Times article, “The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life.”

Several large companies were cited as creating new web sites to appeal directly to their consumers, chief among them Nike with its Nike+ site.

The idea is to use events, contests, internet search ads—all long-considered unmeasured, to reach consumers directly.

In Nike’s case, it increased traditional advertising with media by three percent to $220.5 million while growing non-media ad spending 33 percent to $458 million in the period 2003-2006.

This is a fundamental change in the way Nike views advertising and non-media activities such as contests, in-store ads and product placement.

Ads are no longer aimed primarily at seeking to get people’s attention while they are doing something else. Rather, they are taking the form of reaching people while they are participating in workouts, participating in online communities or active in sports competitions.

And such events, like running clubs, races and online communities, provide a home to trade information for those people interested in a specific subject.

This movement bodes well for PR because it includes using all forms of media to reach consumers—or specific audiences targets—and engender their participation directly. That is what the Internet means for PR today: new ways to reach consumers directly using the new forms of delivery it makes available.

Posted by Larry