1. Issue a press release

Take some time to identify new or exciting developments within your business or organization. Whether its a new product/service, or an accomplishment, announce yourself to media and let them know about what you’re offering/celebrating!

2. Collab with other local businesses

Believe it or not, working with like-minded businesses that align well with your mission/service/product can produce very fruitful results. Think Doritos and Taco Bell (a large scale example, but still)– a tasty collab that resulted in a fabulous pairing, bringing both brands to higher heights. Once you find your mate, hold an event together, or find a way to promote each other’s offerings. It’s always more fun to rise to the top with a friend by your side.

3. Actually USE Social Media

Yes, we all know social media is important, but what is more important is how you use it. Need to find more customers, or expose your product to more people? Get crafty and instigate conversation — and don’t forget the power of a good DM once and awhile.

4. Hold a Lunch and Learn

That’s right! Invite local businesses and media to come in to your space (this would be a great time to use Twitter *wink wink*). Provide them with a hearty lunch (cocktails optional) and explain to them exactly what it is you or your products do. Nothing replaces good ol’ fashion networking.

5. Enlist a PR Pro

We could go on for hours with other savvy ways to enhance your PR efforts. There are hundreds of amazing tactics PR professionals employ to get you the attention you deserve. If you’re looking for some assistance with your PR goals, shoot us an email and we’ll help you make them happen!

Happy 2016, we’re wishing you massive success in the New Year!

Based on the infographic from ContentVerse the environmental and economical benefits of going paperless are clear, so why are some companies so hesitant to make the switch?

Here are our Top 10 PR Pro Tips for this week, selected from Twitter. Remember to submit your own PR pro tip using the hashtag #PRTip or #PRTips. Your tweet could be featured here next week!

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1. All employees involved in the social media component of the crisis communication plan must be trained to handle the technology (social media apps on smartphones, tablets, etc.) and manage messages relevant to the audience and situation.

2. Interaction between the organization and audience might be limited during a crisis because of the immediacy in posting messages, however, having an employee monitor comments posted by the public to gauge concerns is important.

3. If your business has nothing to do with the crisis at hand, be quiet. Is anyone really paying attention, anyway?

4. Consider taking a few days off from your normal editorial calendar. You want to be empathetic and stop promoting your product during a crisis.

5. Be alert and up to date on current news.

The power of Twitter was evident a year ago with many tweeting real-time, up-to-date information on the Boston Marathon Bombings and is active this week for the anniversary of the event. With the hashtag #BostonStrong which has been mentioned more than 2.3 million times since the event, the crisis has been overcome but is not forgotten.

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Twitter has proven to be a leader in real-time news generation with information being posted by professionals, organizations and individuals alike. It is important to remember that although technology has enabled us to act quickly on information sharing, we must still act with heart and compassion.

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Last week we wrote about different ways your business or brand can get the most use out of Instagram. This week we’re tackling one that is sometimes slightly more difficult for a brand, as it depends highly on the product and type of business you are promoting.

Many businesses create a Pinterest account because it is one of the many widely used social media platforms. It seems to have become a belief that as long as your account is present, you have a presence in the social media world. This is not true. Many businesses either do not use Pinterest correctly (as well as other social media platforms that we will cover in the next few weeks) or they do not use it at all because they do not see any or enough feedback. Here are ways to use Pinterest in order to get the most for you brand, product or business.

1. Determine your audience: While Instagram is devoted to just images (which can cover a wider scope of businesses and brands), Pinterest is a combination of images and content. It’s also important to remember that Pinterest is a social media platform that caters to DIY crafts, recipes, design tips, fashion, etc. Determine the type of product you are promoting or the nature of your business and whether or not your audience would benefit from your boards/pins. For example, a furniture designer could boost their popularity by pinning images of their past, current or future design projects. One board could be devoted to furniture they have designed, while another board could be devoted to simple, low-cost design ideas for interior spaces. By doing this, they are simultaneously promoting their brand and giving design tips to their followers without appearing to be pushing sales on a specific product.

2. Pinterest takes time: Just like most social media networks, you need to devote a lot of time and patience in order to create meaningful and quality content that will draw attention and get re-pinned. There is no quick and easy way to get thousands of followers and re-pins, so it’s important to be realistic and manage your time accordingly.

3. Stick with a familiar username: If you have a specific username that you have used for your Instagram or Twitter accounts, make sure your Pinterest (and other social media accounts) are the same. If the username is unavailable, alter it (for example a number at the end or a dash in the middle) but keep the name the same. By using your business or brand name for your username, it will be much easier for your customers to find and follow you. When your content gets re-pinned, then your brand or business name becomes visible to a much larger audience.

4. Link  accounts: If you already have established Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts, be sure to link those accounts to your Pinterest. Your followers that are already on Pinterest can now follow you and have access to more of your content.

5. Give your pin boards descriptive names: Boards function as a virtual pinboard where your business or brand can share their latest ideas, designs, etc. Using descriptive names makes it easier to organize your pins and, consequently, your ideas as well. Cluttered boards with mismatched or irrelevant pins are an eye-sore, which could hurt your brand’s reputation by driving away potential customers. Narrowing your boards even further (for example, to specific colours of a certain product) can make it easier for your followers to find a design in that specific colour.

6. Re-pin and follow: Possibly the most important part of Pinterest (we just love alliterations), re-pinning and following businesses or brands similar to your own helps to promote your own business. Re-pinning also helps to get your business’ name out to customers as well as potential clients. If you own a textile company, you could use Pinterest to target a specific designer you would like to work with and re-pin their images. This helps you to network and open up communication between businesses with which you could potentially collaborate.

7. Curating content beyond your brand: This blurb goes hand in hand with the one above in regards to re-pinning. You can devote one specific day a week where you select a unique idea, product or design beyond your brand and re-pin it onto your specific board. You can choose something simple and catchy, such as “Friday Fashion Find.” By curating these unique designs and products, your business is viewed as knowledgeable and up-to-date in the field.

8. Be creative: We’ll keep this one short and sweet. Pinterest is all about creativity! If your pins come off as too serious or are blatantly trying to drive sales, you will lose your followers and your customers’ interest. Pinterest users want to see real people behind the business or brand. By portraying this aspect of reality, or real people behind a business, it enables your costumers to relate more to your product.

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Whether you’re a business that’s just starting out or a well-established brand releasing a new product, having an active social media presence is vital for today’s market. Recognizing the importance of social media and having an executable social media plan is necessary in order to have a successful social media campaign/presence. Simply having an account that’s there but is idle most of the time is not enough. Here are seven ways your brand or product can effectively use Instagram.

Determine whether or not your type of business is visual: Instagram is all about visuals and telling a story through images. If you think your brand or product is not at all associated with images, keep brainstorming and get creative. We once saw a car wash company like every image that had the hashtag #haboob during one of Arizona’s severe dust storms last summer (by the way,  A haboob (Arabic: هَبوب‎ “blasting/drafting”) is a type of intense dust storm carried on an atmospheric gravity current. Haboobs occur regularly in arid regions throughout the world. Wikipedia). They also posted before and after pictures of dust-covered cars coming out squeaky clean after the wash. Although, sometimes you must come to terms with the fact that your business is not (or should not) be visual and that Instagram may not be the right outlet. For example, if you own a funeral home, it would be fairly inappropriate to have an Instagram account to promote your services.

#Hashtag: Using relevant hashtags in the caption of your photo helps to spread your message even further. It enables your product to become visible to a much larger audience beyond just your followers. We have to note that the keyword there is ‘relevant.’ Viewers/Followers will know you’re spamming them if you use too many hashtags and irrelevant hashtags. It would be in poor taste to post a photo of your restaurant’s new dish (yes, pun intended) using hashtags about a recent tragic event. Make sure they are targeted to your specific audience.

Photo Contests: Creating a photo contest on Instagram is the perfect way to engage your followers and potential customers. Make sure the prize is relevant and will entice your audience. Create a hashtag specific to your brand’s contest, for example #’X’companyPhotoContest, and remember to engage with your followers who entered the contest. A good way to do this is to post their image on your brand’s Instagram account and mention them in the caption. You can also comment on their photo thanking them for the entry and wishing them good luck. People love contests and they love to be rewarded – it’s important to show your customers you love them!

Follow me, Follow you: The title of this is fairly self-defining. When you get a follower, follow him/her back. Be cautious, however. Don’t bother following back the spam accounts that promise you thousands of followers within minutes. Similar to our previous post about effectively gaining followers on Twitter, you want quality followers who will be genuinely interested in your story and your product or brand.

Track image analytics: There are tools available for you to track likes, comments, followers, etc. on your Instagram account. Try BlitzMetrics or Curalate.

Be creative and fun: Instagram is a great tool for a business’ marketing campaign, but for the public, it’s a fun outlet used during downtime. If you appear too serious and dull, you won’t engage your followers. You can post fun photos of your employees at a company function (just make sure they’re sober and you have their consent, of course) or of a typical day in the office. This gives your business personality and makes the customers see that there’s real people and real life behind the scenes.

Sneak-peeks: If you’re designing a new product, take a short video or a photo associated with the product and post it as a teaser for your customers. If your Spring 2014 Fashion Line includes pieces that all incorporate a specific fabric, give your audience of hint of what’s to come by uploading a photo of that fabric.

Stay tuned for next Tuesday when we cover how to get the most out of Pinterest for your brand or business.

Our favourites?

• Work more ….like, a lot more!
• Avoid the crowds and avoid the herd. (ie. you won’t find innovation by doing what everyone else is doing)
• Learn to sell, and sell WELL!
• Never (EVER) be too proud.

Check out all eight in the image below:

We recently uncovered an updated INFOGRAPHIC from 123Print with some new insights that are sure to spark your interest!

Did you know:

• 33% of all companies use blue in their logo.
• 95% only use one or two colours in their logo.
• 41% of logos use only text.
• Blue symbolizes trust and dependability.
• Red evokes action and energy.
• Brown is seen as dependable and simple.

Check out the meaning of other colours, and a handy font guide below!

DEVELOP YOUR SOCIAL PROFILES

Yes, we all know it’s important to have a Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ profile (maybe even Pinterest and Instagram)– but the real important part is updating them regularly! This is a non-negotiable. If you want to expose your business to mass audiences – tweeting, making facebook posts, and contributing to Google+ regularly will help with both your SEO (search engine optimization) and with humanizing your brand. Don’t wait on this – start TODAY!

RELEASE A RELEASE

Get a press release formulated and distributed that features your business. The trick with this is really making sure you have a good story. If you can afford a small amount of money to set aside for this, it’s worth it. Get a PR firm to put together the release, and distribute it to media. PR pros have established relationships with media, and can help you get in the limelight. As a side note, Embrace Disruption PR offers these services at really reasonable rates, contact us for more info.

COLLABORATE

Work with other businesses in your industry– offer your assistance/services/products to help them out. This is a great way to network, and also help out your fellow peers. You’ll be surprised how many people will be open to partnering up and in turn, providing some fantastic advice.

GIVE THE MILK FOR FREE (ONCE)

Ok, ok, we’ve all heard the expression: “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” This is true, but it’s important to offer up some free services/product in the beginning stages. Don’t kill yourself by offering up a lot, but definitely give a little. If you do an outstanding job, or have a great product (which you SHOULD, if you really want to succeed in this venture) – these freebies can easily turn into advocates, consumers and clients. Start hawking yourself today.

GET ON THE STREET

This is a no-brainer, but just incase you forgot: NETWORK. You should be going to every single relevant event in your industry. Get some swanky business cards made (don’t spend a fortune on printing – but definitely get them designed), and start making new friends. The more people you meet, the more potential for sales. It’s a numbers game – if you know you can meet 5 people and convert 1 into a buyer or consumer, then you know how many people you need to meet next time to get a new client.

These 5 tips are a great starting point for promotion. Remember that the beginning is all about the hustle. The more you put in now, the bigger the pay off in the future!