Author: Dan O’Keeffe

Founder & CEO

PR is Changing: Here’s Why it Matters

Predicting trends is easy. But how often do those predictions come true? Let’s take a look at 2019.

These are the predictive trends for PR in 2019. Now that we’re over two thirds through the year, let’s see how accurate these predictions have been.

From an article written December 12, 2018 in PR Forward by Jenn Deering Davis:

4 Trends Changing the Future of Digital PR in 2019

Clearly, a lot is changing to bring us into this brave new world of truly digital PR. Here are the PR trends are we particularly excited about for 2019:

More and More Measurement

As our work becomes increasingly digital, we’re able to measure every step of the communications process, from output to outcomes. Using real-time data, along with the insights pulled from that data, we can understand precisely how our messages are received and by whom, so we can adjust our message and optimize its impact. We have access to comprehensive online, print, broadcast and social media monitoring and analysis. We have intelligent media contacts databases and tools to manage relationships and outreach. We have real-time alerts and notifications that tell us the moment something happens.

All that technology means we can create smarter, more targeted pitches that have a better chance of getting picked up. It also means PR and comms teams can now prove their impact through data, right alongside the marketing team. We can track views, engagement, clicks, downloads, you name it. We have the ability to know how much traffic a particular piece of earned media drives to our website. We know more about the demographic characteristics of an audience than ever before. 

All this data can be overwhelming. In fact, it can be downright distracting. But, when harnessed appropriately, we can focus in on a few specific KPIs to measure the true impact of our team’s PR efforts and how they relate to an organization’s business goals.

TRUE. Increased measurement is reality in 2019 and has become a vital tool in the PR professional’s arsenal.

Integration With Marketing and Beyond

In 2019, public relations will be seen as the powerful partner to marketing that it is. As organizations turn to a more integrated communications strategy, comms and PR pros have a unique opportunity to take a bigger seat at an organization’s leadership table. There are a number of ways to integrate with and amplify our results through the rest of the marketing team, from social media and content marketing, to lead generation and paid media.

This includes building a closer relationship with our company’s social and paid media teams by sharing the most interesting or most relevant earned media coverage, so they can post it across owned and paid channels. This provides those teams with additional credible content and further amplifies the earned media pieces to increase future brand recognition with a wider audience. 

Another way PR ties back to broader marketing efforts is through SEO and organic site and search traffic. It’s essential that PR pros understand how SEO works and what they can do to contribute to backlinks and other SEO-friendly tactics to support the marketing team. Earned media can boost credibility with search engines as well as the human audiences who read those articles. 

We can also use all these earned media insights to inform future content creation across our organizations, from blog and social posts, to ebooks, landing pages, webinars and more. Use earned media to learn what resonates with a target audience, so the entire marketing team can do more of what works (and less of what doesn’t).

TRUE. Social media teams, once independent, have been absorbed into the public relations team. PR is ultimately responsible for ALL communication between an organization and its publics. PR and social media must speak with one strategic voice and one message.

Focus on Flexibility and Experimentation 

We learned a lot of tough PR lessons in 2018, many of them related to how we use social media. Most of this centered around what turned into a pretty bad year for Facebook. There were numerous data breaches and privacy issues, constantly changing algorithms, data APIs that disappeared overnight, even widespread reports of inaccurate ad metrics. For those of us in PR and marketing, we found ourselves struggling to keep up and sometimes having to totally rethink our plans on just a few hours’ notice. 

The impact this has on our strategy moving forward is that we can’t rely on a particular distribution channel or campaign working the way it did last month, and we need to always be ready to change. That means we have to be flexible, read everything we can to stay up-to-date on the latest changes, and learn how to appropriately test out new ideas. We can’t put all our eggs in a single platform’s basket, so we need to diversify and adapt. 

TRUE. Facebook’s challenges in 2018 will be magnified in 2019 and 2020 by artificial intelligence. In a September 5th article in the MIT Technology Review, Will Knight discussed Facebook’s fear AI-generated “deepfake” videos could be the next big source of viral misinformation with potentially catastrophic consequences for individuals and organizations.

Evolution of Influencer Marketing and Influencer Relationship Management 

The job of the PR professional has always relied on good old-fashioned relationship building, which takes a great deal of time. PR pros know how important is it to establish a relationship with a journalist before sending a pitch. 

This year, interest in influencer marketing hit a fever pitch. We heard about influencers everywhere. Even the word “influencer” itself has lost a lot of its original meaning; “influencer” has become synonymous with “celebrity.” But when we talk about influencer relationship management, we’re really talking about a concept that is much broader and more sophisticated.

In 2019, PR and comms teams will develop more a nuanced understanding of influencer relationship management:

-At one end of the influencer spectrum, we have journalists—  experts in an industry, with a large and engaged audience eager to hear about a topic.

-Other media, social and micro-influencers comprise the rest of the continuum—  experts in a particular topic, with an engaged and relevant audience.

This even extends to B2B brands.

More and more of these IRM programs will live with PR and comms teams as organizations come to realize that influencer marketing is a lot more than just throwing money at celebrities for product placements; it’s a strategic process of extending the reach of your message to the audiences you care about through earned, paid and social media.2019 will be a year of change and opportunity, and it’s a year that communicators are equipped to face. We can’t wait to see what the next 12 months bring to the quickly evolving world of digital PR.

TRUE. Product placement and celebrity endorsement are becoming less important than social and micro-influencers as evidenced by brands canceling sports celebrity’s endorsements contracts overnight because of the athlete’s bad behavior. Brands made huge investments which turned to dust in a heartbeat.

What’s Next for Digital PR in 2020?

Subscribe to our blog to stay updated! We will surely be writing about exciting new trends as we enter another year.

All PR is Good PR! Unless You’re Chernobyl.

Dan discusses some important lessons for preparing and managing a crisis.

If you’ve not yet binged HBO’s miniseries, “Chernobyl,” about the Russian nuclear reactor explosion on April 26, 1986 and its tragic aftermath, that’s probably best. You’ll sleep better. It’s not exactly an uplifting or inspiring tale. It’s also a fictionalized telling of the actual disaster and the attempts the Soviet Union took to cover it up, so inaccuracies and untruths abound. But, if you appreciate stellar acting and a compelling story, and you have five and a half hours to kill, then sit down and get ready to learn how not to manage and communicate a crisis.

Can a Crisis Happen to You?

The first mistake the Soviet Union made, years before the Chernobyl disaster, was not admitting that a crisis could happen at Chernobyl…or anywhere in the Soviet Union, for that matter. Such an occurrence simply did not align with the Soviet Union’s doctrine or dogma. So, while they did conduct safety tests on the reactor, they never prepared fully for an actual crisis. And they certainly never crafted a communications plan for such an event, because crises didn’t happen in the Soviet Union. So, why would they need a communications plan? Thus, when the reactor did explode, they weren’t sure how to respond to it, they downplayed its severity, and they tried to cover it up, which ultimately put the entire European continent in peril and over the years cost nearly 200,000 lives, according to Greenpeace estimates.

Here’s the thing… It’s not a matter of if your organization will experience a crisis. It’s a matter of when. Accepting that reality allows your organization to prepare for that reality. I could talk for hours about all the possible crises that could occur and the many steps you could take in managing and communicating any one of those crises. But we don’t have time for that here. So, here are the basics you need to keep in mind in preparing for and managing a crisis.

Is It Really a Crisis? Will You Need PR Crisis Management?

Chernobyl obviously was a crisis. It was never a question. Those in charge simply would not admit it to themselves, and they and thousands of others suffered for it. So, lesson 1: If you clearly are in crisis, admit it to yourself so you can take action.

However, not every misstep, mistake or accident results in a true crisis. More times than I can count, I have received calls from clients panicking about a comment left on one of their social media channels that is critical of their business. They worry that the comment will impact their business negatively, either by spawning similar comments or by finding its way onto the evening news, and they’ll want to immediately issue a statement to the media or via their online channels. In most of those situations, though, the comment simply died on the vine. Either no one noticed it, no one was moved by it, or no one believed it. Every case is unique, but typically I’ll caution to not panic and simply monitor the comment to determine if a response is merited. By responding prematurely, you can actually create the real crisis.

Regardless of the situation at hand, the seemingly most minor of incidents can erupt into full-blown crises. Your ability to deaden or lessen the impact of a crisis may or may not be limited; you will not know the answer to that question until you’re in the midst of the event. So, act now…before the incident occurs. What’s the old saying? “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?”

Plan!

Don’t wait for a crisis to hit. Create a plan “now” for when a crisis does occur. And don’t panic about the plan itself. PR Crisis Management & Communications plans can be several pages long or one page long. It all depends on the size of your organization, the type of organization, your familiarity and experience with the media, the proprietary nature of your organization’s data, etc. and so on. The silver lining here is that there are numerous crisis plans that you can find online or through specialists who focus on helping organizations like yours plan for and manage crises. Some simple and quick online research can help you find the resources to meet your needs. Lesson 2: Plan now, not later.

Breathe (assuming the air isn’t radioactive)

When a “potential” crisis does occur, before you do anything else, breathe. Then, assess the situation and determine if you and your organization are truly in crisis. Don’t panic prematurely. Lesson 3: Take a breath, and assess.

Work Your Plan

But when that initial incident does devolve into a legitimate crisis…and the panic sets in, there are steps you can and should take to mitigate both the crisis’s impact on your business and your personal life. First and foremost… Lesson 4: Consult your plan, and work your plan.

Know Your Story

It might seem contrary to the task at hand, but some crisis communications situations can present opportunities for you to tell your story…if you’re prepared. Prior to any crises occurring, everyone in the organization should know the company’s basic story and should be able to retell it in an instant. Write down the key talking points you would want anyone (customer, employee, media, etc.) to know about your organization. Share them throughout your organization. Make them a part of your organization’s mission, vision and values. Then, when communicating a crisis to your various audiences, including the media, you’ll be able to incorporate the appropriate elements of your story into your message to help gain empathy. Lesson 5: Stay on message.

Just the Facts, Please

The deeper you dig your hole, the more difficult it will be to climb out of it. The same logic applies to your crisis situation. Many organizations will be tempted to talk around the facts, make promises they can’t keep, make statements neither they nor the media can verify, or simply duck behind closed doors until the crisis passes. In all of these cases, resist the urge. Beginning immediately, collect all the facts. Quickly, calmly and collectedly, talk with all members of your organization who might have pertinent information to shed light on the situation. Obtain as much perspective as you can without raising alarm. Then assess and determine the actual facts about the situation. From these facts, you can create your narrative that you might need to share with your respective stakeholders. And do not embellish beyond the facts. You do not want to have to walk back your statements later. Lesson 6: Stick to the facts, and only the facts.

Know Your Audience

Organizations often make assumptions about whom they need to inform of a crisis, which typically results in them neglecting important audiences who often could help their cases. Audiences can include: employees, customers/clients, investors, vendors and strategic partners, regulating bodies, the public and the media. Organizations also often fail to modify their messaging per audience, as different groups will have different concerns. This is especially true in regard to media. Keep in mind that not only must you be mindful of how to share information with the media, but you should remember that media are professionals with personal lives similar to yours and mine; they have a job, they have families, they have personal commitments, and they have beliefs and opinions. Understanding this can help you gain empathy from them. Lesson 7: Identify and target each audience.

Know Your Channels

Prior to your crisis, within your plan, you should have already identified which channels—website, social media, news releases, text, company email, etc.—you will use to disseminate your message, depending on which audiences you’re trying to reach. Each channel offers opportunities and challenges that will be critical to successful pr crisis management and communication of your crisis. If you’re unsure of the strengths and weaknesses of each channel, consult a professional who can guide you in that assessment and usage strategy. Lesson 8: Communicate the right message via the right channel.

“No Comment”

What is the absolute worst comment you can give in response to a crisis? “No comment.” Doing so implies guilt, makes you sound insincere and uncaring, and connotes that you are avoiding the subject in the hopes that it will go away. It will not, so don’t try it. You will only make the situation worse. Lesson 9: “No comment” is NOT an option.

PR Crisis Management in a Nutshell

If you follow these basic tenets for managing and communicating a crisis, you and your organization stand a much greater chance of surviving a crisis. You may not escape unscathed. In fact, most rarely do. But it is much more likely that you will avoid a meltdown.

Don’t be Chernobyl.

Is Artificial Intelligence a Threat to Authentic Public Relations?

A new era of artificial intelligence and “deepfake” videos are sure to shake up the world of PR.

The textbook definition of public relations is: The management of communications between an organization and its publics.

Public relations professionals manage an organization’s reputation, community engagement and outreach, public persona, social media strategies, all public content and media relations. We create messaging strategies, long and short form content like white papers, thought leadership articles and blogs. Very rarely we are called upon to manage crisis communication, which could be anything from a product recall, to a workplace injury or accident, to an accusation of criminal behavior. Thankfully, in my 40-year career I have engaged in crisis communication on behalf of a client just four times. Contrary to what many believe, the vast majority of public and private organizations are managed legally and ethically.

Where AI and Public Relations Meet: “Fake News”

An increasing threat to authentic public relations is viral misinformation, what the media and political sphere has named “fake news.” Cordell Hull, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Secretary of State once said, “A lie will gallop halfway round the world before the truth has time to pull its breeches on.” With the assistance of social media, this timeline has been vastly accelerated.

Fortunately, fake stories that appear in print on social media are easily debunked if the reader takes the time to do a little basic research. One can often revert to existing video to determine what the person actually said versus what others say they said.

But what if an emerging technology made it possible to create video images with voice that was completely undetectable as fake? What are the ramifications of a social media post suddenly appearing showing your company’s CEO giving a racist rant? That technology actually exists today.

AI Generated “Deepfake” Videos

On September 5th, 2019 in the MIT Technology Review, an article in the newsletter “The Algorithm” by Will Knight discusses Facebook’s fear AI-generated “deepfake” videos could be the next big source of viral misinformation—spreading among its users with potentially catastrophic consequences for private organizations, individuals and elections.

Here’s what “The Algorithm” article discussed:

“Facebook’s solution? Making lots of deepfakes of its own, to help researchers build and refine detection tools. Facebook has directed its team of AI researchers to produce a number of highly realistic fake videos featuring actors doing and saying routine things. These clips will serve as a data set for testing and benchmarking deepfake detection tools. The Facebook deepfakes will be released at a major AI conference at the end of the year.

The rise of deepfakes has been driven by recent advances in machine learning. It has long been possible for movie studios to manipulate images and video with software and computers, and algorithms capable of capturing and re-creating a person’s likeness have already been used to make point-and-click tools for pasting a person’s face onto someone else. Methods for spotting forged media exist, but they often involve painstaking expert analysis. Tools for catching deepfakes automatically are only just emerging.

Facebook’s CTO, Mike Schroepfer, says deepfakes are advancing rapidly, so devising much better ways to flag or block potential fakes is vital.

‘We have not seen this as huge problem on our platforms yet, but my assumption is if you increase access—make it cheaper, easier, faster to build these things—it clearly increases the risk that people will use this in some malicious fashion,’ Schroepfer, who is spearheading the initiative, said last night. ‘I don’t want to be in a situation where this is a massive problem and we haven’t been investing massive amounts in R&D.’

Comparing the effort to the fight against spam email, Schroepfer said Facebook may not be able to catch the most sophisticated fakes. ‘We’ll catch the obvious ones,’ he said. But he said Facebook isn’t employing any methods yet because the forgeries are improving so quickly.”

A New Era of AI and Public Relations

As is we didn’t have enough on our plate helping organizations manage their authentic communications, a new world is emerging, and public relations professionals need to stay abreast of the technologies that could be manipulated with malicious intent.

If you need help with traditional pr, or you need assistance with crisis communication, we can lend a hand.

Content Marketing Versus Copywriting

Dale shares the difference between content marketing and copywriting, and explains what to keep in mind when developing content

Simply stated, content marketing is creating and sharing valuable free content to attract customers seeking answers to questions about a product or service. Think explaining the category rather than selling.

Copywriting creates copy with a specific call to action and seeks to compel the reader to initiate a trial of a product or service. Think advertising.

If you don’t know the difference between content marketing and copywriting, chances are very high your content marketing is missing the mark, or worse, being dismissed as totally self-serving. So, what is the difference?

Big difference. Content is blogs, thought leadership whitepapers, podcasts and email autoresponders. Copywriting is sales pages, website copy, ads and direct mail.

Content Marketing does require good copywriting. This may seem contradictory to the statement above that differentiates between the two. In reality, it’s not.

Content marketing without good copywriting is a waste of words.

To write good content your copywriting skills will be invaluable. Here are some things to keep top of mind when writing good content.

Your headlines might be too dull. 

When your headlines are boring, they don’t give people any reason to click through to the rest of your writing.

Your headlines might be too cute and clever.

If this is the case, you’re simply showing how smart you are without communicating any reader benefits. If your headlines are too dull or too clever, take a step back by making great communication your primary goal. Leave the jokes for late-night talk show hosts.

You haven’t explicitly thought about how your content benefits readers.

Just like a product has to have a benefit to the buyer, your content has to be inherently rewarding to readers or they won’t come back to your blog or podcast. Always consider your audience, and make sure you have created a good content development strategy that outlines these goals and objectives.

Your content isn’t building any rapport or trust.

You can always get social media attention by espousing your political position or ranting about a social issue, but attention does not translate into followers.

You don’t have a clear, specific call to action.

“Wait! You said earlier a call to action is the domain of advertising!” Yes, I did, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you have crafted a well-written thought leadership article that clearly demonstrates industry-leading innovation, your readers are going to want to know what to do with this information. Tell them. Give them a path to the next step, not a sales pitch. Remember, copywriting is the art of convincing your reader to take a specific action. And yes, it’s still copywriting if it takes place in content marketing of a podcast or video.

Keep these principles of great content marketing in mind:

  • Be generous. When your free content is so valuable that it makes you a little uncomfortable, you know you’ve got it right.
  • Produce enjoyable content. If your content reads or sounds like an ad, it will be overlooked or thrown away. Make your content too valuable to throw away by wrapping it in wonderfully beneficial, readable content.
  • Write for people. Don’t make the mistake of writing for search engines. Always write for people first, and then make your content search-engine friendly so new readers can find you.

Need help crafting your content? Totally lost on creating a content development strategy? Let’s connect!


Meet Kaitlyn Dwenger

Meet our new intern, Kaitlyn, and get to know her a little better.

Hi there! My name is Kaitlyn Dwenger and I just began my fall internship with O’Keeffe PR. I am a fourth year student at the University of Cincinnati and I am studying Rhetoric and Professional Writing, as well as pursuing a certificate in Copyediting and Publishing. I have loved reading and writing since I was little (thanks, Harry Potter), so after stumbling as a nursing major for a semester, I found my rightful place as an English major shortly after. I have had some amazing internship opportunities to explore the world of marketing and communications, and I’m extremely excited to now add public relations to that list.

Why did you want to intern with O’Keeffe PR?

I was excited by O’Keeffe from the beginning—I am eager to learn and I can tell these folks are eager to share their knowledge. Because I have never worked directly in public relations, I thought an internship would be a great chance to get my feet wet and broaden my skill set.

If you could tell our clients one thing, what would it be?

You’re in good hands! I’ve barely been at O’Keeffe for two weeks and I truly believe our people know what they are doing and have our clients’ best interests at heart.

What was the last book you read?

I recently finished “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. You know when you finish the last page of a book and you feel a swarm of emotions and aren’t quite sure how to describe it? That’s how I felt after completing this book. I recommend you check it out if you like mystery or romance.

Favorite word?

Shenanigans. It’s just fun to say.

Least favorite word?

Opportunity—but only because I consistently misspell it and second guess myself every time.

What profession other than marketing would you like to attempt?

I am very intrigued by the world of publishing—so maybe a career somewhere in that industry.

Tell me two truths and a lie.

I have met Taylor Swift. I fractured my skull when I was little. I crashed my car the first day I got it.

A Few Thoughts for Future PR Professionals

Thinking about a career in PR? Lisa shares her four tips for future PR professionals.

With back-to-school messaging everywhere right now, I’ve been reflecting a lot about school and how I have been lucky enough to end up in a career I love. Judging by my early report cards and teacher evaluations, it was pretty clear I would one day end up in a communication role because apparently, I couldn’t seem to stop chattering in class. That got me thinking that in addition to the gift of gab, what else should current high school and college students consider when contemplating a career in PR? Here are a few attributes and skills that have proved to be particularly helpful to me and my PR roles.

1. Multitasking

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I am continually working on multiple different accounts, projects, and pieces of content simultaneously. A PR professional must be able to toggle between numerous initiatives and efforts seamlessly. Excellent time management is critical here, and so is identifying priorities. However, bottom line, you must like variety and have a little bit of a squirrel brain to keep all the balls in the air.

2. Relationship Building

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Relationships are essential in most professional roles for sure, but the sheer amount of interpersonal relationship you have as a PR professional can exceed the norm. From your internal team to client contacts, other vendors to members of the media, etc., there are many folks you interact with daily. Each relationship is unique and has its own separate requirements for effective navigation. As cliché as it sounds, being a “people person” really is imperative.

3. Resilience

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This is key. As a PR professional, I hear a lot of no’s…or a lot of crickets… Many times, you pitch what you think is a home run, and you’re super excited to share with your client all the great buzz your story is going to get but then, no one bites. Ugh, it’s the worst. It’s hard to explain to your client, and it stinks telling your boss you weren’t able to secure any coverage, it just plain stinks. Moreover, it’s ok to be disappointed; that shows you care. However, you can’t think about it for very long because you have to pick yourself up and figure out a new way to tell that story, you must have thick skin and bounce back better than ever.

4. Creativity

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Often as a PR professional, you’re looking for new and unique ways to tell your client’s story. And let’s face it, not every client or brand is exactly exciting. But that’s ok! This is where, as a professional, you get to dream and stretch your brain. You have the opportunity to think of new ways to pitch and new angles to take. As a PR pro, you also have to be a PS pro – Problem Solving. Being able to think of new ways to tell the same story, or to make a not-so-exciting announcement newsworthy goes with the territory.

A career in public relations is exciting and rewarding, but it’s also a lot of work. There are skills to hone that contribute to your success. If you’re headed back to high school or college and thinking about joining the world of PR, I encourage you to reach out to someone currently in the role to help you along the way. You’ll find most of us are receptive to helping newbies out. After all, relationship building is kinda our thing (wink, wink).

Want to work with us? Let’s connect!

Digital Marketing Taboos You Should Break

Jocelyn shares 3 digital marketing taboos you need to break.

Digital marketing is an ever-evolving and essential component of a businesses’ overall marketing and PR plan. Internet culture, search and social media algorithms, and what is considered a social custom are continuously changing, and because of this, your digital marketing approach should, too. What used to be regarded as an acceptable digital marketing approach even a few years ago may not translate in the current digital environment.

Not outlining a digital marketing ad budget

The year is 2007. The vampire fanatics are rampant, and you are super excited to post a sick new Mac Photo Booth photo as your Facebook profile pic. And speaking of Facebook, they had just launched Facebook Ads, giving your business the ability to connect to your target audience. Other social media platforms followed, MySpace offered ads around the same time and Twitter launched its Ads platform in 2010. From then on, marketers have encouraged clients and colleagues to invest money in social media.

However, some may still have a hard time understanding the value of social media ads and not setting aside a budget. Today, social media algorithms are, for the most part, a mystery and social platforms are drifting away from a chronological feed. Boosting social media posts or launching a social media ad campaign is a helpful way to break through the clutter on social media.

Forcing an inauthentic persona

Within the past three years or so, businesses have gotten attention for “roasting” users online, also known as “clapping-back” for the folks out there who need a little vocab help. And this has worked for some businesses, notably Wendy’s. Other food and beverage businesses and restaurants – who shall not be named – tried and failed to emulate this snarky attitude. But why was this approach successful for Wendy’s and not for others? One word: Authenticity.

Not everyone can be or should be Wendy’s. That seems to work for them, but it probably doesn’t work for you – and that’s okay. To build long-term success on social media, focus on the values of your business, and make sure what you post is true to those values. In other words, be authentic.

Stressing out about having new content

I’m not 100% certain how the expectation of only sharing new content came about, but I’d guess that marketers’ personal use of social media had an influence. Social media users used to share details about their lives through the day, valuing what’s happening right now over anything else. But, within the past couple of years, it is rare to see someone post everything they are doing at all times on social media. The constant flow of posts from who you follow has become unbelievably annoying to users – and will cause me to unfollow someone.

While it is important to keep your business’ social media feed updated with timely information, don’t be afraid to recycle content. Thankfully, the popularity of #ThrowBackThursday, and my personal favorite ICYMI (in case you missed it) became more popular, allowing your business to share “old” social posts and remind your audience of something cool you did.

Ready to break some digital marketing taboos with us? Let’s work together!

The O’Keeffe Writing Playlist

We’re sharing our best writing tips as well as our writing playlist. Find your new favorite writing music!

Ask any writer what they write to, and you’re more than likely to get a very specific answer. From jazz to techno to classics of the 1960’s, all of us have that specific playlist that helps us write. In honor of all of the writers out there, we’re sharing a few writing tips as well as our team writing playlist that help us create that perfect piece of content.

Writing Tips

Don’t be afraid to exercise the madness of your methods.

Whether it’s earplugs, a specific huddle room, or a coffee ritual, lean into the method that helps you write your best content. Often a change of environment can reignite your writing voice, and the O’Keeffe tribe is fond of shifting to a local coffee shop or bar with strong wifi to finish a day. Pro tip: if you’re an open office like we are, over the ear headphones paired with earplugs can be your saving grace. You may look crazy, but at least you’ll be productive.

Read it aloud to edit.

This one harks back to my writing center days (shout out to the Xavier University Writing Center!). Reading your content out loud helps you catch missing words, awkward phrasing, or other strange constructions that your brain misses when you’re just reading.

Discover your writing style.

There are two primary methods of attacking a writing project: creating an outline or diving straight in. Often in a business context, you’re going to lean into the outline method because of the depth of the topic, but sometimes the best blogs come from a keyword and some dedicated creating writing time.

Find an editor.

No writer can edit their own work. It’s nearly impossible to gain the kind of distance from a piece of content that’s needed in order to effectively edit it. Even a nonwriter is better than no editor at all, and I’ve found that often someone who isn’t close to a project is more able to spot confusing sections or incomplete information.

Writing Playlist

Our writing playlist reflects music that we all write to, but it also reflects who we are as a tribe. Dan added some jazz standards, Lisa offered techno, Jocelyn gave us a grab bag, Rob had a mix of rock classics, Dale offered the country, and I included the jazz classics. We’re a bit of a mix ourselves, but somehow it works to form a strong collective. Hopefully you’ll find some new favorites, but please don’t judge us. We make no claims about how it works as a playlist overall.

Listened to our music selections and want to learn more about the people behind the tribe? Let’s connect!

If Buzzfeed Wrote a Digital Content Guide

We all know Buzzfeed. But what if Buzzfeed wrote a digital content guide? Jocelyn digs into what makes the viral content producer so successful.

Let’s Get Engaged

I think it is safe to assume that we all know what Buzzfeed content looks like. If you have been on Facebook in the past 10 years, you have likely seen a family member, friend or distant acquaintance – who is technically your Facebook “Friend” – share a piece Buzzfeed content. But what would a digital content guide created by Buzzfeed look like?

Buzzfeed creates content to make it viral – meaning they want it to become as popular among the broadest audience possible. And whether you are a fan of its content or not, you can admit they know how to make their blogs, videos and posts sharable across a mass audience.

But how can you apply this to your business’s social media content or blogs? We’ve pulled together three tricks you can steal from Buzzfeed for this digital content guide.

Lots of visuals

Law of life: People like to look at stuff. So, make sure the content you are sharing has quality and engaging stuff to look at. When sharing a post on social media, adding a photo can increase Engagement Rate by 2.3X when compared to a post without a photo – and Engagement Rate increases even more when paired with a video.

digital content guide

What’s going on now

Buzzfeed creates topical content that relates to mass audiences. To increase engagement on your social media posts or blogs, make sure you tie your content in with a current event. The current event could be events in pop culture, in the news cycle or recent happenings in your company. If it is recent news, your audience will be excited to hear it!

Consistency is key

Say it with me now, consistency. Buzzfeed is a powerhouse of content and continuously churns out videos, blogs and images. If your business does not have the time to produce content consistently- don’t worry, that’s okay! If your business does not happen to be a digital media corporation, and only has the capacity to develop one blog every two weeks, don’t be discouraged. Start there and begin developing relationships with your audience.

By taking these three tips into account when planning your next content calendar or getting your fledgling content strategy off the ground, hopefully you too can enjoy the success and increased visibility of a piece of your content going viral.

Want some help with your digital content strategy? We can help!

Why Your Brand Identity Is Killing You

Your brand identity is your face to the world. It is your reputation and determines whether customers trust your company.

Reputation Matters

Your brand identity is your face to the world. It is your reputation and determines whether customers trust your company, products or services. Most important, your brand is your only guarantee of future revenue.

To grasp the importance of your brand identity to future revenue, I have substituted the word ‘weak’ instead of the word ‘strong’ in these sentences:

  • Our brand identity is weak.
  • Our reputation is weak.
  • Customer trust in our products and services is weak.

I would not like to go to market if my customers perceived my company, products and services this way. When you think of brands that quickly come to mind, do you feel any are weak? Probably not. If a brand comes quickly to mind, chances are virtually 100% it’s a strong brand that is uniquely tied to a product or a service. Weak branding quickly fades into the background.

How to know if your company brand identity is weak or strong?

A strong brand is synonymous with the product or service. Example, the word Tide is immediately associated with laundry detergent, and the word Progressive with insurance. This is as true at the local level as it is on the national. In the tri-state area of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, the word Frisch’s is immediately associated with fast casual dining. These are no accidents. A great deal of effort built these brands into powerhouse status. Weak brands are forgettable and unrelated to the company’s mission. If your customers or prospects don’t know what you do, then you need to aggressively rebrand.

Another key indicator of a weak brand is recognition. If your company has been in business for a while, then you should be a familiar face at networking events, conferences and business seminars. If contacts you have made in spaces key to your industry keep asking which company you’re with, this indicates you have a weak brand. The same applies to your sales process. If your sales representatives must continually explain your company and its products and services to prospects, your brand is weak.

In the digital world, business is conducted across a variety of channels. Most companies have a website and a social media presence, and engage in some form of advertising and marketing. A strong brand will harness these different channels with a consistent message, leveraging Paid Media, Owned Media and Earned Media with consistent content that tells their story in a meaningful way. Your website and marketing may be highly professional, but an ill-advised or juvenile social comment can undo years of reputation building. Inconsistent and infrequent messaging weakens the brand.

Your best new customer is an existing customer. Loyalty will always be the cornerstone of a successful brand. But customer loyalty alone does not grow your business. Growing your customer base with new customers is the goal. Failing to attract new customers can happen for a variety of reasons: competition, pricing, quality issues and delivery deadlines, among others. If, however, none of these issues are significant enough to hamper your ability to attract new customers, take a hard look at your brand. You may not be telling your story well.

What can I do to strengthen my brand?

A weak brand does not necessarily mean your business is dead, but it does mean the business needs some resuscitation. Even highly successful companies rebrand to freshen their image. There’s no need to sell the ranch. It’s better to spend a little bit of money to revamp a stale brand than continue to miss opportunities. Here are some basic rebranding opportunities.

The first thing that comes to mind when considering rebranding is a new, flashy logo and updated website. These things will contribute to rebranding success but are not the first order of business. O’Keeffe believes content is king. Telling your story is the very first step. No amount of flashy graphics or slick website design can take the place of creating a message that strikes the heart of what your customer want from you.

Does your messaging resonate with customers and prospects, and is it consistent across all channels? This is the absolute first thing to address. While a graphic designer may tell you to redesign your logo as the first step in rebranding, an award-winning logo will do nothing to tell your story to the right audience in the right channel at the right time with the right message. You can jazz up your logo and website later.

To ensure your messaging resonates, think of the story you want to share with the world about your company, products and services. What is your value proposition? Is yours a story of value, of timeliness, of quality, of price? Then unify your message across all platforms.

Know and target your audience. I once spoke with a prospect who sold fork lift equipment. I asked how he prospected for customers and he replied he advertised in a major league baseball stadium. I’m pretty sure of the 40,000 people in attendance at the game, maybe one or two might be interested in buying a forklift. Maybe not. Do not cast a wide net if your customers represent a small segment.

At the end of the day, a well-crafted message delivered with consistency and frequency to a targeted prospect offering a needed value will lead the way to branding success.

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