Articles Written by the Edge Marketing Team


by Megan Miller

You’d have to be living under a rock to have missed hearing about ChatGPT – the relatively new AI tool that has brought artificial intelligence out of the lab and into the hands of consumers, students, poets and now lawyers and accountants.

ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows you to have humanlike conversations and much more with a chatbot. The language model can answer questions and assist users with tasks such as composing emails, writing blog posts and generating code. Is this the new cool thing or a threat to business, professional services and marketing?

Recent headlines about AI are full of emotion. Some are bullishly optimistic:

“Best Ways to Use Generative AI in your Law Practice”

“How ChatGPT Can Improve Education, Not Threaten It”

Some sound worried:

“What Will Happen to Accounting Jobs?”

“AI Ethics a Growing Concern”

“AI Can Make New Malware”

“ChatGPT Has Pretty Depressing Thoughts About Big Law And The Billable Hour”

Some even predict a brave new world:

“ChatGPT Is a Tipping Point for AI”

“‘A Revolution in Productivity’: What ChatGPT Could Mean for Business”

How Did We Get Here?

AI tools are not new. The earliest successful AI program was written in 1951 by Christopher Strachey, director of the Programming Research Group at the University of Oxford.

Today, generative AI systems are proliferating. Generative AI can produce new content, whether as images, music or text, without being explicitly trained. Generative pretrained transformers (GPTs) are large language models (LLMs) that produce humanlike text using deep learning. ChatGPT is in the generative AI category.

ChatGPT Went Viral Quickly

Tools based on generative AI technology have been available for two or three years. Most focus on a specific audience or use case, such as visual, audio, text or code generators. Text generators include Jasper.ai, Rytr.me, Copy.ai and a number of others.

ChatGPT is not the first generative AI tool, though it is the first to win broad awareness – and likely the first to end up on late-night television. How did ChatGPT capture viral attention in late 2022? I asked ChatGPT to answer that question, and the AI engine replied (verbatim response from ChatGPT):

There are several reasons why ChatGPT went viral quickly:

  1. Superior performance: ChatGPT is a highly advanced AI language model that has shown impressive performance on various NLP benchmarks, including natural language understanding and text generation tasks. Its ability to understand and generate human-like responses has made it popular among users.
  2. Open-source availability: The source code for ChatGPT is freely available, which has made it accessible to developers who can use it to create various AI-powered applications.
  3. User-friendly interface: ChatGPT can be accessed through a user-friendly interface, such as chatbots and virtual assistants, which has made it easy for non-technical users to interact with the model and experience its capabilities.
  4. Social media promotion: ChatGPT has been promoted heavily on social media platforms, with users sharing their interactions with the model and generating buzz around its capabilities.

In a nutshell, OpenAI made GPT “friendly” on a consumer level. A free, easy to access, intuitive to use tool that is fun to play with was irresistible to early adopters and tech-curious users, who tried it, found it simple and shared the experience liberally, causing ChatGPT to go viral.

Next: Battle of the Titans

The competition between the tech giants will continue to evolve. Microsoft has invested $10 billion in ChatGPT. Microsoft’s Bing search engine is already integrated with ChatGPT. One million people have joined the waitlist for Microsoft’s AI-powered Bing. According to sources cited by The Verge, Microsoft is also preparing to demo the capabilities of OpenAI’s language technology in Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and other apps as early as March 2023.

Google – the historic king of search – responded to Microsoft’s move by introducing Bard, its rival to ChatGPT. The two will compete to define the next generation of search. Other tech leaders Apple, Nvidia and IBM plan to start making more significant and direct plays in the space.

A Healthy Field of Startups

Often the most innovative new technology is developed by unknown startups, and AI is no exception. DealRoom has identified over 210 startups in the generative AI space. Keep an eye on these – they are developing AI solutions for specific use cases and vertical markets. Some will boom on their own, and some will be acquired by bigger players.

The Game Has Just Begun

Unlike the short-lived frenzy over the metaverse, generative AI has legs. However, all the worry, concern and predictions for AI in the legal and accounting professions are premature at this point. As with most technology revolutions – and this one may drive as much change as the mobile phone revolution did – the mainstreaming of AI into our daily lives will happen in a gradual way. Markets and business practices don’t flip overnight. Stay on top of AI trends and enjoy the ride!

About the Author

Megan Miller is a senior consultant with Edge Marketing, assisting clients in development and execution of strategic marketing plans and implementation of marketing technologies. A global technology hound, Miller has built brands, trained teams and introduced successful products for global companies and startups.

A certified eDiscovery expert, Miller has written on trends and topics in electronic discovery, consumer electronics and the internet of things – before the IoT was even a thing. Her work has appeared in Attorney at Law, US Tech, TechnoLawyer, ACEDS and other industry publications.

/by Megan Miller

by Jennifer Marsnik

Content has been used for centuries to educate and persuade as a means of promotion. “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” for example, was first published in 1732 by Benjamin Franklin to promote his printing business. So, while it’s nothing new, expansion of digital channels in recent decades has catapulted content to a key part of the B2B marketing mix today.

But good content marketing isn’t just occasionally posting to your blog or sharing an insightful article via social media. As with any program, it requires purpose, strategy and thoughtful planning.

Here are some tips to get started:

  1. Make it a priority. Deciding to embark on a content marketing program is step one. Formalize your intention to promote the idea that it requires more than the random creation of a few pieces.
  2. Define a goal. Being clear about what you’re trying to accomplish will keep activity focused and purposeful and may help minimize the effects of the inevitable distractions that come along.
  3. Know your audience. Write and design content with a specific reader or viewer in mind. The more assets are tailored to a targeted audience, the more likely they will prompt a response.
  4. Inventory your current content library. What do you already have that can be repurposed or refreshed to use again?
  5. Identify resources. Who are the subject matter experts and thought leaders, writers, designers and others who will contribute background information and help produce content pieces?
  6. Brainstorm themes and topics. What are the trends, challenges or issues that will resonate with your target audience(s) and position your company as an authority on the subject?
  7. Determine content types. Content assets take many forms (short/long, written/visual, etc.) and may include any combination of external article placements, blog posts, white papers, e-books, infographics, videos, podcasts, webinars, case studies, reviews and testimonials, press mentions, newsletters and more. Prioritize what makes the most sense given your resources and budget.
  8. Establish distribution channels. Use a variety of channels to disseminate content: your website, blog, emails and social media, as well as third-party outlets. Leverage technology – marketing automation tools like Marketo, HubSpot or Pardot and social media tools like Sprout, Zoho or Hootsuite will help automate and simplify the management of content distribution.
  9. Create a content calendar. Commit to an achievable cadence and assign the necessary resources to produce the content.
  10. Execute the plan. Appoint ownership and an ongoing manager of the program and move forward with the plan. Don’t forget to track activity and measure results!

Producing content requires skill and resources, and its benefits often take time to realize. Successful programs require patience and a commitment to follow through. But their advantages are many. A strong content marketing program builds brand awareness and trust, strengthens your reputation as an authority and subject matter expert and promotes engagement. It’s a low-cost way of reaching audiences while serving as fuel for a variety of activities including sustained PR, SEO, social media, email and other campaigns.

But successful content marketing doesn’t happen by accident. It requires both a strategy and methodical execution of a thoughtful plan. Edge can help you get started – contact us to learn more!

About the Author

With Edge Marketing since 2007, Jennifer Marsnik specializes in helping clients develop and implement strategic plans that support their overall business goals.

She lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and two daughters, and enjoys golf and cheering on the Twins, Vikings, and U of M Gophers.

/by Jennifer Marsnik

by Cindy Moen

According to Forrester’s 2021 B2B Buying Survey, B2B buyers engage in an average of 27 interactions before making a purchase, and about 60% of those purchases involve a committee of at least four people. If yours is like most small businesses that sell to other businesses, the tools that measure marketing return on investment are often financially out of reach. Still, you need to know which tactics are working to help you get to those 27 interactions and which can go by the wayside next year.

For businesses that can’t waste precious dollars on pricey marketing analysis tools, a simple spreadsheet that tracks these eight measurement points will give you insight into marketing success. Your team can track the following:

  1. Website Users. In the Google Analytics “Reports Snapshot,” the number of people who visited your website for a given period of time show up as “Users.” Month-over-month, this number should increase if you are investing in marketing activities.
  2. Average Engagement Time. Also, from Google Analytics snapshot, this number tells you how long people are spending on your site. If this number is low, visitors are not engaging in your content, and you should consider amping up your copy and content.
  3. Pages and Screens. Digging a little deeper into Google Analytics, navigate to “Engagement” and then “Pages and Screens.” This report shows you all the pages of your site and how heavily engaged visitors are with them. Is there a blog post that seems particularly popular? Promote it on LinkedIn or repurpose the content. Is there a page you feel more people should visit? Work on optimizing the page and improving the content.
  4. Google Analytics. I probably should have started with this one. If you do not have Google Analytics for your website, go now and get this added. Do it today.
  5. LinkedIn Followers. The more people hear about your company through marketing, the faster your LinkedIn followers will grow. The more thoughtful, insightful and optimized posts you make on LinkedIn, the faster your followers will grow. The more contacts you invite to follow your LinkedIn company page, the faster your followers will grow. Month-over-month, you should see an increase in the number of followers you have on LinkedIn.
  6. LinkedIn Impressions. From the Analytics tab on your company page, go to “Content.” Make sure your metrics are set to “Impressions” and you have the time frame set to the dates you want to measure. From here, you can see the number of people your posts reached (impressions) and the number of people who engaged with it via “reactions” and “reposts.” If you are posting quality, relevant content, your impressions should increase each month.
  7. LinkedIn Clicks. From the same content analytics page, change the metrics to “Clicks.” This indicates how many people clicked on the content you provided. If you are posting content people want to read, clicks should be increasing each month.
  8. Marketing Database. If you are reaching the right people at the right time and place with relevant content, your marketing database should grow each month.

Tying sales back to a specific marketing activity can be a challenge for small businesses, especially when buyers need time and tools to get to know your company before making a purchase. Tracking a few key metrics using the free tools available to you doesn’t need to cut into your marketing budget and will still give you insight into return on your marketing investment.

About the Author

Cindy Kremer Moen has helped Edge Marketing clients with strategies and tactics to meet their goals since 2006. She and her husband have two college-aged sons and recently relocated to fulfill a lifelong dream of living near the shores of Lake Superior.

/by Cindy Kremer Moen

Four Questions to Consider

by Vicki LaBrosse

Our team just returned from a wellness retreat where we spent time relaxing, rejuvenating and reinvigorating our physical, mental and emotional states. Many of us arrived tense, stressed and anxious about keeping up with work while trying to be present in what was supposed to be team bonding and leisure time. It didn’t take more than one or two hours in the sun, away from screens, calendars and phones to come to the realization that what we were embarking upon – a brief, but much needed getaway – was just as important as answering emails and meeting deadlines. We left feeling rested and refreshed, ready to get back to our busy careers, families and social obligations. We as a culture have become all about “work first, life second” and often fail to recognize that this is not always to our benefit. We change jobs, get promotions, put in more hours, work harder, work remotely and do all we can to achieve work-life balance, but we still feel burned out. We often blame our jobs, but perhaps we should ask ourselves: What really is the underlying cause of burnout?

It’s not just workload – the most common scapegoat for burnout – that leaves you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and stressed. There are other areas in your life where you can feel the imbalances that cause burnout. But take heart! There are ways to combat these imbalances to help you have a fulfilling career and a meaningful life without sacrificing one for the other.

Who are your people?

Think about the people you work with or around. How supportive and trusting are those relationships? A strong sense of community is characterized by good teamwork, low levels of conflict and positive social interactions.

If your workplace lacks a sense of community, ask yourself what you can do to increase positive social interactions with colleagues. In many cases you can’t choose your colleagues and clients, but you can improve the dynamic. It could be as simple as taking the time to ask others how their day is going, sending an email to someone to let them know you appreciated their presentation or choosing to communicate something difficult in a respectful, nonjudgmental way. Burnout can be contagious, so to elevate your individual engagement, you must shift the morale of the group.

Are you in control?

In order to feel satisfied and competent in our jobs, we need to have a sense that we’re in control of our tasks and their outcomes. Feeling like you lack autonomy, access to resources and a say in the decisions that impact your professional life can take a toll on your well-being.

If you find yourself feeling out of control, step back and ask yourself what exactly is causing this sensation and what you can do to shift this situation. Consider asking your employer for more autonomy or responsibility. If you’re not feeling mentally challenged or perhaps you’re undertrained in a certain area, take steps to learn new skills or new technology that can help take the company and your career to the next level. If you’re experiencing any ambiguity about your role or responsibilities, be proactive and clarify exactly what’s expected of you.

Is the reward worth it?

If the rewards for your job don’t match the amount of effort and time you put into them, then you’re likely to feel like the investment is not worth the payoff. This includes financial rewards such a fair pay and good benefits, social rewards such as recognition from those around you and intrinsic rewards, which include the feeling that you’re doing a good job. If you’re lacking in any of these three areas, you’re more likely to feel dissatisfied with your work and may be more susceptible to burnout.

Burnout is more likely when your rewards don’t match your expectations. Look within and determine exactly what you would need to feel properly appreciated. Perhaps you need to ask for a raise or promotion, or maybe you require more positive feedback and face time with your boss. Experiment to see which rewards would make what you’re doing worth it to you and whether there is the opportunity to receive more of those rewards within your current work environment.

What are your values?

A mismatch in values is what you have when your personal values and goals aren’t in line with those of the organization. If you value something that your company does not, your motivation to work hard and persevere can significantly drop. When you’re assessing this element of burnout, you need to think carefully about how important it is to you to match your values with those of the company.

Consider how your boss, team and organization make decisions and invest resources. Do you feel good about those underlying motivations? Do they seem open to change? While smaller, less significant value mismatches can often be accommodated within your current job, finding an organization that supports similar values may be preferable.

Burnout is about far more than just working long hours. Asking yourselves these questions is one way to help you understand and recognize the symptoms and causes of burnout and provide a defense against its impact and an opportunity to reevaluate your priorities and values. Make sure to also take time for proper self-care (e.g., adequate rest, healthy diet, exercise), setting aside part of every day for relaxing, enjoyable activities and spending quality time with friends and family. Our company wellness retreat gave me a chance to exhale, refocus my energy and enhance my personal well-being so that I was excited about going back to work.

Edge team celebrates 25-year anniversary at Edge Summit 2022 in Key Largo

 

About the Author

Vicki LaBrosse, director of global public relations for Edge Marketing, has more than 18 years of marketing and communications experience in both the legal and accounting industries. LaBrosse works with clients to develop and execute comprehensive PR and marketing strategies that will help grow their business.

/by Vicki LaBrosse

by Tanya Amyote

Business owners can find themselves and their firms at the center of a crisis unexpectedly or as the result of a planned and deliberate operational change.

Regardless of the catalyst, there can be no better or more swift reaction than one that is carefully and intentionally crafted to mitigate a negative outcome or perception, as opposed to one created while trying to stay afloat.

A business crisis can come in many forms, but a few commonly requiring a crisis communication plan are:

  • A natural disaster or world event, such as the pandemic
  • A financial or operational event, such as filing for bankruptcy, closing locations, reductions to your workforce or changes in ownership through a merger or acquisition
  • A personnel or human resources issue, such as workplace misconduct or an incident requiring a severing of ties with an employee or stakeholder
  • A technological or service outage or anything that would affect business continuity and/or the delivery of your company’s services to your clients.

Schools conduct fire drills to ensure teachers, staff and students know what to do in case of an emergency. Trying to think clearly and come up with and implement an effective exit plan while flames are licking at your heels is a recipe for disaster. So, before the sirens start blaring for your business, here are some steps to take to make sure everyone gets out safely:

  1. Identify your company’s Crisis Response Team. Who is responsible for each phase of your crisis communication plan? Create a call tree or text chain including all key players. In a typical call tree, Person A will contact Persons B, C and D, who will each contact others, until all relevant parties have been reached. This enables quick dissemination of information while also keeping communication lines open.
  2. Identify a spokesperson. Who is calm under pressure and can speak to the media on behalf of the company?
  3. Prepare holding statements: generic responses for the spokesperson to deliver immediately. Crafting your comprehensive communications plan will take more time and thought, but a holding statement can buy you valuable time while you assess the situation and get your bearings. Your holding statements should be clear, concise and honest.
  4. Develop a Q&A. Having bought some time with your holding statement, you can anticipate and craft responses to the questions your audience might have. Again, you must ensure your story is clear, concise, honest and consistent for all audiences including staff, clients and the public.
  5. Monitor results. You need to know everything that is being said about your organization. The use of a media monitoring tool can alert you to coverage of your company – whether good or bad. This tool can also help your team measure the tone of the response should a crisis communication plan be implemented.

Crafting a comprehensive crisis communication plan takes time and clarity of thought. The best time to do it is now.

About the Author

Tanya Amyote joined the Edge team in 2016, as marketing assistant, Excel guru, and token Canadian.

When not solving the world’s pivot table problems, Tanya is an avid reader, fountain pen user, and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion.

/by Tanya Amyote

by Mary Obregon

A current question on a lot of marketers’ minds: “Is Twitter worth the trouble?” For some companies, Twitter may be the best social media platform; others may not say the same. Let’s discuss Twitter and whether the time and effort needed are worth it.

Background

Twitter took off in 2006 and became a prime platform. Since then, many other platforms have gained market share and Twitter has begun to take a backseat. Apps like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, etc., have all become very popular. Although many people still use Twitter, it has also changed with time.

When it first started, Twitter was a platform people used to post status updates for their friends and followers. Now Twitter has become one of the top platforms for news consumption, but mainly for journalists. About 69% of journalists regularly use Twitter to share or receive news, whereas about 13% of everyday Americans use Twitter for their news consumption, with Facebook being their top.

Why Twitter May Not Be Worth It

Decreased Users

Based on current statistics, it is seeming that most of Twitter’s usage is to view news. If you are trying to advertise or market your company by merely posting tweets with no relevant news information, it may not be the platform best suited for this. If you are looking to engage with industry news or post news yourself, however, then this might just be what you’re looking for.

Time Consumption

Twitter is an extremely time-consuming platform. In order to stay continuously relevant and gain a following, the effort involved may be somewhat tedious. Making sure to push content frequently and at a high volume is the first difficult task. And this is on top of replying, retweeting, engaging with followers and more. Time is precious, and some brands cannot meet the demands of an active Twitter account, especially if their efforts are better used elsewhere on a channel that will drive more traffic and revenue.

Bots

With the increase of internet users and advancements in technology, Twitter, along with other platforms, is bound to have spam accounts, bots, misleading/false information and more distractions. This sometimes takes away from the personalization of the app and connecting with users.

Difficulty Differentiating

With new algorithms, changes to the Twittersphere and other shifts in usage, gaining a following from scratch is a difficult task. Each day on average there are 500 million tweets. With these tweets oversaturating peoples’ feeds every day, it is difficult to stand out from the crowd. Even if you are tweeting daily, sometimes it feels like you are shouting into the void. There may be other platforms that are better suited to your company and its needs with less saturation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we believe that Twitter is worth the trouble if you already have a significant following or if you are looking to share industry news. When starting from scratch, though, it may not be best to put all your eggs in this one basket. Taking time to weigh your options and see what platform may be best suited to your company is probably the best strategy.

About the Author

Mary Obregon joined the Edge team in September 2020, amid the pandemic, in order to gain experience in the field by any means. Mary is now HubSpot certified, Yoast certified and Google Analytics certified! When not working, Mary is most likely spending time with friends, family or her boyfriend.

/by Mary Obregon

by Megan Miller

“By clicking ‘Accept All’, you consent to the use of ALL cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.”

How many times per week do you encounter a website alert with a message like this? Do you take a moment to set your preferences or just blow through it and accept all cookies?

A recent survey by NordVPN shows that almost half of U.S. web users hit the “Accept All” button whenever they run into a cookie notification, effectively allowing more information about their activity to be shared.

What Are Third-Party Cookies?

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve small pieces of data from your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience.

Third-party cookies can capture demographic and geographic information, and advertisers use that data to target, retarget and display ads. Cookies are at work, for example, when you look at some sunglasses on a shopping site and you later see ads for those sunglasses on other websites. Cookies also can remember your passwords and keep items in your shopping cart when you exit the browser.

Privacy and Security Risks

Privacy and transparency concerns among consumers are causing many businesses to reconsider their use of third-party cookies. A growing number of state privacy laws, in addition to existing GDPR regulations, require businesses to disclose to customers what information they collect and how they use it. The cookie preferences pop-up when you visit a website for the first time is an effort to allow users some control over their data. Given that most users agree to all cookies, it’s clearly not an effective long-term solution.

Security experts also warn that cookies do follow you online. Even if you hide your IP address by using a VPN, cookies can track your online activity and form a partial ID of who you are. Some sites earn revenue by selling third-party cookies data.

Enter the Cookie-Cutter

We’ll focus here on Google, as the Chrome browser has an over 60% share in the browser market and, coincidentally, Google’s cookie-based ads are a $150 billion-per-year business. So Google is on a mission to increase online privacy while replacing cookies with a technology that the ad industry will welcome and can smoothly transition to.

In June 2021, Google announced it would phase out third-party cookies in late 2023, with new tracking technology to replace them. In response to ad industry demands for more time to plan a transition, Google announced in July 2022 that it will now hold off until 2024.

How Will the End of Cookies Change Digital Marketing?

The end of third-party cookies will alter or even eliminate hyper specific targeting and retargeting as we know it. Marketers won’t have access to data about what people search for and look at on websites and apps other than the information they offer to us when they visit our website (first-party data). So the end of cookies will drive us to put a greater focus on alternatives to cookie-based marketing.

What Can You Do Now?

First, don’t panic. Cookies and cookie preferences will be around until 2024, or even longer. In the interim, new technologies and ad software are likely to emerge. Until then, consider the tools you have in your marketing toolbox, and keep an eye on Google.

Focus on First-Party Data

The post-cookie world will not eliminate prospect and client data. You keep a CRM database with contact information and notes on prospects from trade shows and marketing campaigns. That data, combined with client or customer activity, is a valuable source of first-party data. Plan to dig into that first-party data to get insights about customers and to look for patterns that allow retargeting.

Consider Contextual Ads

Publishers are particularly concerned about the new cookieless world, and with good reason. A Google study of 500 major publishers found that cookieless traffic delivered an average of 52% less revenue than traffic with cookies. It’s not clear how Google will address this issue. For now, Google has just said it is exploring different technologies aimed at meeting privacy standards and publishers’ needs.

In the meantime, marketers and publishers should consider contextual advertising. In contextual advertising or targeting, users receive ads that match the content they view instead of ads that match their data. Contextual ads match a website’s content using keywords and topics. For example, a user reading about legal practice management might see an ad for practice management software on the same page.

Google Topics 

An alternative in its fledgling stage is Google Topics. Topics groups users anonymously by interest, based on websites they visited in the past three weeks. Topics lets marketers continue to serve targeted ads.

With Topics API, a user’s browser determines a handful of topics such as Law and Government/Legal Services or Finance/Accounting and Auditing, which represent the top interests for the previous week based on the browsing activity. When a user visits a participating site, the Topics API will share up to three topics from the past three weeks with advertisers who can use it as one of many signals for interest-based advertising.

So, in professional services, we will be able to promote legal and accounting services to people who have browsed the relevant categories. We’ll just be doing it in a way that is more private than using cookies and identifying information.

Google Won’t Take Away Ads

The end of Google third-party cookies isn’t the end of digital advertising. However, marketers should consider their options in the next two years and keep an eye on the evolving Google Topics and digital ad technology.

About the Author

Megan Miller is a senior consultant with Edge Marketing, assisting clients in development and execution of strategic marketing plans and implementation of marketing technologies. A global technology hound, Miller has built brands, trained teams and introduced successful products for global companies and startups. A certified eDiscovery expert, Miller has written on trends and topics in electronic discovery, consumer electronics and the internet of things – before the IoT was even a thing. Her work has appeared in Attorney at Law, US Tech, TechnoLawyer, ACEDS and other industry publications.

/by Megan Miller

by Jennifer Marsnik

Not long ago, core business activities like advertising, public relations and marketing content creation were silos within an organization. But today’s communication channels lend themselves to a more integrated approach.

The PESO model is a communications strategy that combines four categories of media: paid, earned, shared and owned.

Integrated programs use a variety of communication assets and channels in all four PESO categories. Together they work toward building brand awareness, creating audience engagement and establishing credibility to achieve marketing and public relations goals and objectives.

PESO media types are essentially what their individual names imply:

  • Paid media encompasses traditional and modern channels including print, radio and television ads, sponsorships, native advertising placements and display ads or sponsored content on social media platforms. It may include nominal investments for sponsored tweets or significant spend on Super Bowl commercials. Paid media options are available today to reach nearly any audience with an array of messages and fitting almost any size budget.
  • Earned media is publicity gained on its merits, such as placements of bylined thought leadership articles, brand mentions and in-depth coverage generated by press releases or story pitches and source quotes in editorial content. Today, outreach to secure this coverage isn’t limited to journalists, but by pitching bloggers and other influencers who reach your core audiences. Earned media requires time and patience, but the credibility it builds can be invaluable.
  • Shared media occurs when paid, earned or owned media is distributed to a wider audience. This occurs directly, by sharing it via website, blog, social media, emails or even things like traditional mailers. It also occurs when others share that content or media asset, an outcome with both benefits and risks. Having others organically share your content puts it in front of more eyes and provides a strong endorsement for your message. The risk is the loss of control over who shares that message or any subsequent comments they might make about it.
  • Owned media is content that resides on your website, blog or other platform and is generally useful to your audience. This may include informative blog posts, white papers, e-books, webinars, podcasts, videos and other content. Assets like a company LinkedIn or Twitter profile may be considered owned media. As the creator or curator and owner of the content, you control its message or the narrative you want told.

While the PESO acronym is useful to remember the four media types, they aren’t necessarily employed in that order; in fact, the reverse order is more common. Owned content assets are often created to serve as the foundation for a holistic PR and marketing program. Then, as part of an integrated campaign, shared media can be used to distribute that content, earned media to validate it and paid media to amplify it.

It is where these four media intersect that we achieve things like SEO, lead generation and a community of advocates and partners to help promote your brand and key messages.

Want to learn more? Contact Edge Marketing to see how a PESO approach can work for you.

About the Author

With Edge Marketing since 2007, Jennifer Marsnik specializes in helping clients develop and implement strategic plans that support their overall business goals.

She lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and two daughters, and enjoys golf and cheering on the Twins, Vikings, and U of M Gophers.

/by Jennifer Marsnik

by Cindy Kremer Moen

As she was getting ready to return to the office, one of my friends recently said, “It’s time for me to put my hard clothes on.” With the return of many in-person conferences and trade shows, many of us are digging out our “hard” clothes – not to mention our uncomfortable shoes – and getting ready to shake hands and network and socialize with colleagues, clients and prospects.

The lack of industry events has been difficult for companies targeting other businesses. Leads dried up and forced companies to be more innovative with their techniques for developing new prospects. We all realized how important it was to connect face to face with the people we target. With the return of in-person events, we can once again realize the power that spontaneous conversations, sharing a meal or meeting on the convention floor has in our business development efforts.

As you are developing your plans for trade shows and conferences, it is a good idea to remind your sales team of some simple booth etiquette guidelines that will help them – and your company – make the best possible first impression with new prospects.

  • Only bring to the booth the items necessary to get through your day. Booths almost always have limited storage, so leave briefcases, coats, large bags, etc., in your hotel room.
  • Do not eat in your booth. Step out when someone is covering the booth and eat elsewhere. There’s really nothing worse than greeting a prospect with a mouth full of food.
  • Keep to just drinking water in the booth. When you’re not sipping, cover your bottle and put it out of sight. If you’re in need of other beverages, step out of the booth to consume them.
  • If you need to accept a phone call while you are scheduled in the booth, excuse yourself from the booth, if possible, to take the call. Only accept business calls during exhibit hall hours if the exhibit hall is quieter and you don’t have attendees waiting to talk.
  • Bring mints and discreetly consume them as needed.
  • Avoid browsing and scrolling through your phone. Phones should be in pockets or in your storage area while you are in the booth.
  • Dress to the dress code of the conference and wear comfortable shoes.
  • Appreciate that people have different comfort levels with social distancing. Decide on your level of comfort with handshakes or hugs, and monitor the body language of those you are meeting to assess their level of comfort with these activities.

It should go without saying, but I’ll mention it anyway: If you are showing signs of illness, do yourself and everyone at your conference a favor and stay away from the exhibit hall floor.

With a little practice and breaking in, the “hard” clothes soon won’t feel so difficult to put on, and the shoes will become more comfortable. Remember these basic booth etiquette pointers and your company will be in a great place to make the first few in-person events enormously successful.

DID YOU KNOW?

According to Statista, the largest U.S. trade show is the Consumer Electronics Show, topping out at 2,930,421 square feet of exhibition space (2019). As a comparison, AICPA ENGAGE in June will have 89,295 square feet of exhibit space and ILTACON in August will have 178,787 square feet!

About the Author

Cindy Kremer Moen has helped Edge Marketing clients with strategies and tactics to meet their goals since 2006. She and her husband have two college-aged sons and recently relocated to fulfill a lifelong dream of living near the shores of Lake Superior.

/by Cindy Kremer Moen

by Tanya Amyote

Diversity and inclusion are more than buzzwords in today’s climate of “wokeness” and “cancel culture.” They are meaningful and moving targets. They are actionable terms to describe an ideal and attainable goal. They are the very building blocks of a healthy business with happy employees serving satisfied clients.

A review of your organization’s internal demographic data can yield insight into your employees’ gender identity, age, race and any intersectionality of all of the above. That concrete data can shed light on the diversity – or lack thereof – within the organization. It can also bring about awareness of positive adjustments to hiring and advancement practices, such as blind assessment tools to battle unconscious biases and additional training for those in positions of power or decision-making. It can also point to a lack of diversity in specific departments or organizational levels.

What that concrete demographic data cannot tell you, though, is the degree to which your organization is actively nurturing a sense of inclusion among the members of each demographic segment and intersection.

According to Stanford University researchers, three key aspects of inclusion in the workplace are:

Objectivity:
Do your employees feel that your firm’s policies, practices and promotions are fair, transparent, and universally applied?

Growth Mindset:
Do your employees feel that they are given opportunities to grow, evolve and increase their own value within your organization? Is their growth supported through mentoring and professional development or education?

Belonging:
Do your employees feel safe, respected and free to be their authentic selves in the workplace?

How can you as a business owner ensure that your organization is fostering a culture of inclusivity? Here are three ideas to consider:

Anonymous surveys:
A surefire way to check the pulse of your organization’s climate is through anonymous surveys. Your team is much more likely to share their true feelings if you foster a culture of openness, honesty and collaboration. Throw in the option to remain anonymous and you’ll quickly get a baseline for how your firm is doing with regard to employee satisfaction, retention and the potential for attrition.

Mindful scheduling:
The Law Society of Ontario canceled the March solicitor exams due to a potential leak of test materials. This led to the exams being rescheduled during the month of Ramadan, observed by practicing Muslims through strict sunrise-to-sunset fasting, prayer, reflection and community. The situation highlights the complexities of scheduling in a multicultural society.

Another aspect to keep in mind is location, location, location: That team retreat sounds like a fantastic opportunity but, if the meeting room can only be accessed via a flight of stairs, it could pose a problem for anyone with respiratory, cardiac or mobility issues.

Employee resource groups (ERGs):
According to Business Insider, HR-sanctioned groups can be formed based on any number of criteria including common demographics, life stage or even job function. These groups can provide opportunities such as top-down and bottom-up mentoring. For example, Rajesh with 25 years of experience in sales could provide mentoring to newcomer Taylor who, in turn, offers social media or SEO guidance to Rajesh.

ERGs offer opportunities for employees with shared identities or life experiences to communicate and collaborate, leading to increased effectiveness and productivity.

An ERG can work to raise awareness of its members’ shared experiences, through acting as a resource for colleagues within the organization as a whole or in working with the firm’s leadership team to influence recruiting and hiring practices.

As firms allocate more time and resources to diversity and inclusion initiatives in 2022, it’s crucial to remember that your employees are not just boxes to tick on a list of quotas.

In the words of Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”

About the Author

Tanya Amyote joined the Edge team in December 2016 as marketing assistant, Excel guru, and token Canadian.

As a person with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), Tanya is an outspoken advocate for diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

/by Tanya Amyote