Articles Written by the Edge Marketing Team


Corporate public relations is a critical and ever-evolving function, but its foundation remains focused on creating and maintaining a favorable image for your organization. While that effort includes several areas of discipline, communications and media relations are among the most important. The rise of social media and digital technology that advances one-to-one contact via data-driven ad targeting, email campaigns and other direct marketing channels has left some companies forgetting how important and valuable more traditional mass communication is for getting their message out.

In the current political climate, the phrase “fake news” is often applied to unflattering coverage and those who produce or share it. But in fact, journalists take a great deal of pride in fact-checking and certifying the credibility of their sources before publishing anything. Their reputations are among their most valuable assets because they need credibility in order to be trusted by sources in the future. Most journalists do not have a lot of incentive to manufacture news they cannot stand behind.

Those who are trusted to deliver news and information with integrity are important partners in your corporate public relations strategy. Earned media coverage is valuable to organizations seeking to expand brand awareness or change public perception. In professional services markets like legal and accounting, we rely on the media to share information about relevant news and events and to educate the audiences about the latest industry technology, innovations and trends.

When an objective third party covers your news, cites company leaders or specialists as sources or subject matter experts or publishes content authored by those experts, it adds a level of legitimacy to the message beyond what is typically achieved through self-promotion. The media can be a great friend, so it’s important to know how to make the most of the opportunities offered through this communication channel.

Here are some tips to increase earned media coverage:

  • Do research before outreach. Know your media targets, their publications or platforms, their audience(s) and the type of content and topics in which they’re interested.
  • Be respectful of the media. Their time is valuable, so don’t overshare or inundate them with information that isn’t of interest to their audiences.
  • Share relevant news. This includes mergers or acquisitions, company updates such as financial reports, expansions, product and service introductions or upgrades, significant milestones, key new hires and other news and events of consequence.
  • Keep earned media educational, informative and objective. Save the sales pitches for marketing materials, advertising and other paid media coverage.

Take of advantage of any invitation to be interviewed by editors or reporters, whether for them to learn more about recent news, to serve as a resource for a story they’re working on or perhaps to perform a product demonstration. These are great opportunities for your organization, but there are some additional things to remember:

  • Always confirm meeting logistics including dates, times and places to ensure you don’t keep them waiting.
  • Make sure all technology and connectivity are in proper working order so there are no delays during a demo or a bad phone connection. If either party indicates difficulty hearing during a call, offer to dial in again to improve the connection and limit the possibility of any misunderstanding.
  • Prepare, prepare, prepare. Know your key talking points and have a polite and professional response ready for any questions that cannot be answered for any reason.

Most importantly, know that you are always on the record! When talking to the media, whether in person or by phone, email or another channel, unless otherwise indicated everything shared is assumed to be on the record. So do not overshare or say anything you or your boss wouldn’t want published and attributed to you!

When in doubt, consider enlisting the help of a qualified public relations firm. In addition to having expertise in communications and messaging, PR professionals will leverage their media relationships and work on your behalf to secure coverage that will expand your brand and create the market perception you seek.

/by Jennifer Marsnik

Tips for increasing the click-through rate of your enewsletter campaigns

We all know that email newsletters are a key component of any business’s sales strategy. We carefully determine our enewsletters’ design and cohesion within our other marketing collaterals; however, what we may not consider are the finer details of how to make our enewsletters yield the most response. How can we increase the likelihood that our enewsletter will be opened, read, and relevant enough to our readers that they actually engage?

Links

Be mindful of including too many hyperlinks in your emails, as this acts as a trigger for many spam filters to deliver your message, not to the Inbox, but to the dreaded Junk folder.

Enewsletters that include buttons for sharing on social media have a 158% higher click-through rate vs 115% the previous year, according to a study by email marketing specialists, GetResponse. Including links for sharing your content on social media makes it easy for your readers to disseminate your information for you, broadening your reach, and increasing the likelihood of engagement.

Also, according to Dean Levitt, Chief of Culture at MadMimi Email Marketing, the first link in an email gets the most clicks in more than 90% of emails. Make it count; don’t bury the lead! What is your ultimate goal in sending this email? Ensure that that first link aligns with your goal.

Preview

Be mindful of your email’s intro. In Outlook, for example, you’re able to view the first few words of an email without clicking on it. Preview the email yourself, to ensure that what you see is engaging, and isn’t something your readers will scroll past or, worse, delete unread, such as the alt text of a header image or logo. It’s easy to personalize a greeting with any number of email merging tools; there’s no longer any excuse for generic salutations.

Previewing the email also gives you an opportunity to view the email on multiple platforms: iOS vs Android, mobile vs desktop, MAC vs PC, Google Chrome vs Safari, etc. Take the time to optimize your reader’s viewing experience and decrease the chances of them scrolling on by.

Timing

According to a compilation of data from 14 studies by email marketing experts such as MailChimp, the best days of the week on which to send emails and have them perform are, in order, Tuesday, Thursday, and Wednesday. The best times of day are somewhat surprising: The emails that receive the most clicks are sent at 10 a.m., between 8 p.m. and midnight, 2 p.m., and 6 a.m. For me, this definitely checks out: Right or wrong, I know that the last thing I do before I go to sleep is putz on my phone, checking email and socials, and it’s often the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning as well. Yes, this is poor sleep hygiene, but that’s a whole other topic. The point is that taking the time to read emails is often how we start and end the day. Experiment with A/B testing, to determine what yields the best response from your readers.

A few last things to consider when determining your company’s enewsletter strategy:

  • Aim for quality, not quantity. If you’re unable to swing a quality enewsletter once a week, consider moving to a bi-weekly schedule, or even monthly. It’s better to be proud of your content than to just push something out for the sake of doing so, and it will be obvious when your content is padded with filler. Consider outsourcing this if need be, to someone whose sole responsibility is to create compelling content for your customers, based on your direction.
  • Create an editorial calendar: Include a list of previous topics, so you can see what you’ve already covered, and ideas for future topics. Assign accountability for each issue, and determine the resources and reference material necessary for fulfillment each month.
  • Ensure your email campaigns are in compliance with anti-spam legislation, such as GDPR and CASL, and include your company’s contact info and an option to unsubscribe. Yes, that is required.

While there’s no “secret sauce” to ensure your email campaign will accomplish your goals 100% of the time, keeping these suggestions in mind will help your odds!

/by Tanya Amyote

Public relations is a powerful tool for influencing and changing behavior, but most companies don’t think of PR as a means to generate leads. After all, it’s hard to measure the effect an editorial placement or a graphic has on leads. Organizations often don’t want something that can’t be correlated to sales. How do you use PR to get leads? Strike a P.O.S.E. – through paid, owned, shared and earned media!

Paid Media

Paid media is simple to understand: It’s PR that you pay for and refers to external marketing efforts that involve a fee-based placement. This includes branded content, display ads, Google Ads, social media ads and other advertising. It boosts the performance of your “free” media. Paid media is one of the quickest ways to drive traffic and a good way of opening doors – even if just a crack – that would otherwise stay closed. Paying to promote content can help get the ball rolling and create more exposure. Be sure to test your paid media. For example, LinkedIn and Twitter often perform well for B2B media. Start with a small budget and see how you do.

Owned Media

Owned media is content you create that is unique to your brand. It exists to educate, inform and even entertain your prospects. This includes your website, blog posts, white papers, case studies, videos, e-books and social media channels. The more owned media you have, the more chances you have to extend your brand presence. This is perhaps your prime opportunity for utilizing calls to action and landing pages. Your content should compel viewers to want more, to take action. Having these calls to action will encourage them to sign up for a demo of your product, speak with a sales person and hopefully convert to a lead.

Shared Media

No matter what you’re selling, the bottom line is that people, not businesses, are buying your products or services. And people are on social media. It’s where we research, get product assistance and socialize. It’s our culture. Shared media is content which is specifically designed for user-generated circulation. It primarily encompasses social media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social platforms to distribute content. Being active on social media is not enough. Simply sharing content for the sake of visibility will not in itself generate leads. Sharing should connect your audience with a call to action.

Earned Media

Earned media is the equivalent of online word-of-mouth and the vehicle that drives traffic and engagement around a brand. It is usually seen in the form of viral tendencies: mentions, shares, reposts, reviews, recommendations or content picked up by various media outlets. Earned media provides critical, third-party endorsements for your company, product, service or management team. As opposed to advertising or direct marketing, communicating through a journalist provides valuable and sought-after credibility that other forms of communications cannot match. While there are different ways a brand can garner earned media, good SEO, content strategies and established media relationships are the most controlled and effective. This is perhaps the most desired type of media since others are essentially doing your PR for you.

Influencing audiences to take action is what public relations is all about. This makes PR a great tool to improve lead generation. It may be tempting to only try one media channel at a time if you have a limited time and budget. You might think that pouring all of your resource into say, paid media, is the best way to go. The reality is that in order to get leads, paid, owned, shared and earned media need to work together.

/by

Is your creativity kaput? Wrangle it back into working order with these four tips.

The aliens have arrived – and they’re angry.

The one with the most arms, taller than a bodega, comes at you. You spit on the ground, casually reach for your weapon, and …

Wait.

Wait …

Where is it?

Your holster is empty. Your sling holds no bow. And the knife in your boot is gone.

Your oomph is kaput.

I’m not talking about productivity, or willpower or actually fighting aliens (although we’ve all been there, right?). Instead, it’s that secret ingredient that makes a lot of what we do stand out – creativity.

Creativity plays into your job no matter what your title. A leader finds a delightful way to excite a team. A designer delivers an intriguing ad inspired by an everyday item. A marketer finds an overlooked service to monetize.

Everyone needs creativity.

But what do you do when it goes missing? When you’re slamming your head against a corkboard trying to brainstorm your way out of a problem and all you’ve come up with is “Ask Carl”?

Here are four ways to wrangle that creativity back to work.

Visit the upside down.

Creativity thrives with new experiences. But patterns sneak into all of our lives. We build them for comfort, for sanity. You get up at the same time. Drive the same routes. Buy the same groceries at the store down the street. Cheer on the usual heroes on TV. You get the idea.

If you’re feeling low on creativity, visit the upside down. Challenge the way you experience life – in small or large ways.

Walk backward.

Ditch your smartphone for a day.

Talk to a stranger in the checkout line next to you. (You get the best stories from strangers. A wedding planner once told me that her Chow Chow ate a chicken and “got the taste of blood” before showing me an itinerary.)

Swap desks with someone, or take a project to a conference room or coffee shop. If you regularly work from home, sit in a different room. My personal favorite: Go to a friend’s house and work there for a few hours.

Say yes to things you normally wouldn’t. Yes, I’d love to go to that Linda Ronstadt concert. A workshop on Ayurveda? Sign me up.

You get the idea. By shaking up your common patterns, you’ll reinvigorate your creativity.

Jolt your senses.

Does the smell of brass polish remind you of your high school marching band days? Or does the sight of a forest make you sigh happily? Our senses have a keen hold on our brains. Beyond their day-to-day activities of helping us interact with the world, they stimulate memories, moods, and mojo.

Unexpected smells in a familiar place can jump-start inventive thoughts, like eucalyptus, lemon, clove or cinnamon. If you’re feeling really adventurous, find some not-so-friendly smells like a dumpster or wet dog. (Something will definitely come up that way.)

Don’t forget sounds. Switch out your phone’s ring tone. Ask a coworker to pick a playlist for you. Listen to a foreign language. Or take the opposite route and go quiet, letting small sounds pack a big wallop.

Museums and art galleries stimulate vision, much like puzzles with optical illusions or finding designs and colors that inspire you.

Let taste pop you back into the creative zone with new cuisines, hot peppers, craft cocktails or delicate sweets. The more unusual, the better.

And don’t forget touch. Get a massage or manicure. Stroke a starfish at the city aquarium. Dig in the dirt or wade in a pool.

Move it, move it.

Yes, I just referenced a cheesy song to make a point. (I’ll wait if you want to Google it. Just remember to add “I like to” ahead of “move it, move it.”)

Sometimes physical activity is the best way to break through the cobwebs. Learn a new dance move. (I believe in your floss.) Take a walk or go for a hike. Ice-skate. Try one of those places that use a big fan to simulate skydiving. Jump on a trampoline. Engage your body in a new way.

Indulge the “why”

Curiosity fertilizes creativity.

Humor that part of you that really wants to jump down the rabbit hole. Find a subject that intrigues you – whether small or large – and spend 10 minutes or more, depending on your schedule, looking into it. How do you make pasta from scratch? How do family trees help police identify criminals? Why does helium make your voice go higher? Explore your way back to creativity.

Recapturing your creativity is all about the new. Have fun!

/by Melanie Brenneman

On February 9-12, 2019, ALT, the Association of Legal Technologists (ALT), held its second annual ctrl ALT del conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, bringing together nearly 100 legal tech vendors, consultants, and law firm IT and KM specialists to discuss current developments in design thinking. The goal of the gathering was to foster collaboration among professionals in the legal technology field and build on the momentum of the new organization’s first conference a year ago.

The two main days of the conference offered four excellent keynote speeches, followed by in-depth panel discussion from a variety of perspectives. Zach Abramowitz, CEO of Reply All, spoke about new legal service delivery and the technology underlying today’s new legal service offerings. Shawnna Hoffman, Cognitive Legal Co-Leader of IBM Global, addressed artificial intelligence and ways for attendees to better leverage AI tools to their benefit.

Dennis Garcia, Assistant General Counsel of Microsoft Corporation, addressed security and privacy, with a specific focus on developing security strategies and leveraging technology to execute those strategies. Finally, David Cambria, Global Director of Operations for Baker McKenzie, spoke on adoption and change management, outlining ways legal technologists can maximize their impact and user adoption by identifying the right tools and leveraging change management techniques.

Following each of the keynote speeches, Andy Peterson, co-founder of the consulting firm Design Build Legal, led panel discussions that probed deeper into the ideas presented at the conference. These sessions were also a valuable opportunity for attendees to collaborate on design thinking principles through small group exercises.

The Highlights

While many interesting and thought-provoking ideas were presented and discussed over the course of the four days, a few things stood out as real highlights of this year’s conference. The first was an overarching call for legal technology professionals to adopt new ways of thinking about technology and innovation. Lawyers and law firms were tasked with engaging in collaboration and considering different viewpoints in order to start thinking differently about the various technology possibilities offered in the marketplace.

To that end, Zach Abramowitz used his session on new legal service delivery to address how law firms can strategically position themselves to capitalize on new potential markets that might not have previously been on their radars. In encouraging this shift in mindset, he likened law firms to killer whales who have learned to adapt and beach themselves in order to catch prey. The panel discussion that followed highlighted the need for firms to analyze their own internal structures and processes, not just the available technology options, recognizing that sometimes that means developing internal innovations in order to remain competitive.

Change was also a central theme of Shawnna Hoffman’s speech on AI. Rather than simply discussing the benefits that AI can bring to legal practice, she also focused on some of the biggest risks and struggles lawyers face when it comes to implementing and using AI tools. Among the highlights were having enough good, clean data, taking the time to understand new technology and how it works, being proactive in thinking about regulations that will impact new technologies, and developing a clear idea of the benefits you plan to gain by implementing new tools.

Finally, on the privacy and security front, Dennis Garcia laid out a compelling list of 20 considerations that legal technologists and attorneys should always keep in mind as new technologies continue to emerge in today’s data-driven world. Among them were understanding the data you have, developing detailed security policies, investing in training, being aware of potential threats, implementing an incident response plan, and working with specialists both internally and for external security audits. Ultimately, the goal is to gain your clients’ trust when it comes to handling and securing their data.

Looking to the future, ALT is pursuing a plan to increase membership in 2019, with a goal of hitting 500 members by the end of the year. As part of that initiative, ALT has added a young leaders committee in the hopes of reaching out to younger technology professionals and encouraging them to join ALT’s ranks. Given the building momentum and the high quality of this year’s speakers, we should expect to see great things from the next ctrl ALT del conference in 2020.

Special note: I would like to personally thank Dave Umlah and the ctrl ALT del conference team for making this event happen. It is a unique environment and I can see the value of continuing down this path for legal IT leaders.

/by Amy Juers

Open any industry newsletter or visit a news website and you’ll see announcements on the latest industry merger or acquisition. Companies merge or acquire other companies for a variety of reasons, perhaps to fill product or service gaps, broaden their geographic reach, obtain strategic technology or grow revenue. Given the high rate of M&A activity in technology, those of us in the legal or accounting technology industries will likely be involved in an acquisition at some point in our careers.

A merger or acquisition presents unique marketing challenges. At the heart of it, the merging of two organizations, no matter how carefully planned, brings strategic, logistical and cultural pressures that must be recognized and addressed in order to avoid confusion, errors, loss of customers or loss of key employees. Whether you are a company founder, executive or marketer, it’s important to plan the transition so that the two organizations smoothly combine as one.

Create a transition team that includes all functional areas of the company.

This should occur when the deal is agreed on, but prior to the effective date. The cross-functional team will identify and make plans to address issues in the areas of products, services, support, human resources and more. Marketing is a key participant in that team; their role is to develop and manage communication of consistent messaging surrounding the event.

Clarify marketing roles and relationships.

In an acquisition, every department faces the potential for confusion about overlapping roles, processes and responsibilities. Marketing leadership, as early as is practical, should communicate the roles and responsibilities to all members of the newly combined organization. Make it clear that “renegade” communications are not allowed. The message must be carefully controlled during the transition.

Address branding/rebranding issues.

Review and update the parent organization’s branding architecture, that is, the structure of brands within the organization.

In many cases the brands and corporate identities of the two organizations don’t easily fold together. Work with the executive team to understand the strategic goals behind the acquisition. Let the longer-term strategy and your knowledge of the market perception of each company or product guide decisions on branding or rebranding. If a product road map or long-term product strategy is available at this point, consider that outline of future offerings in the brand architecture.

Identify key audiences and tailor the message.

Most marketing organizations spend the lion’s share of their time focusing on customer or client audiences and the messages we direct to them in advertising, product collateral, social media and the like. In the event of an acquisition, it’s important to consider all audiences for whom this acquisition could be of interest or whose relationship with the parent company might be affected. Expand the messaging platform to include employees, sales channels, technology partners and prospective new hires, as well as clients of the parent company and the acquired company. A truly personalized message will be tailored for each of these constituencies. Work across the company with sales, support, HR and other departments to be sure that communications of the change are positive, detailed and offer additional resources for those who want to learn more. An internal FAQ document can be an effective way to quickly answer the most common questions.

Plan website updates to announce the acquisition.

At a minimum, the websites for the parent company and the acquired company should be updated to announce the acquisition to each new visitor. These changes typically go live on the day of the press release announcing the acquisition. In addition, if the value proposition for the new combined organization has changed, copy edits will be in order. Consider how the website(s) will help educate the market on the merger or acquisition and on the branding changes. Determine a transition timeline, (typically 3-12 months) when both sites will remain live, while the site of the acquired company will encourage visitors to move to the parent site. At a future date, the site of the acquired company will have an automatic redirect, sending visitors immediately to the parent site.

Take inventory of marketing assets.

The day the acquisition is announced, visitors to your website should find current content – product and service briefs, white papers, case studies and other assets that carry the current brand and contact information for the company. It’s not unusual for an acquisition to involve review and update of 100 or more pieces of content. Prioritization is key here; be familiar with site analytics to understand which pieces are most frequently downloaded and therefore a higher priority for updates. Lower-priority pieces might be pulled and put in a work queue for updating.

Build a PR and media relations plan.

All activities surrounding the launch of the newly combined organization will key off the PR announcement date. The messaging platform developed for the transition will inform the PR message and content as well. In addition to a press release on the acquisition, work with a media relations expert to strategize on garnering coverage of the announcement, including executive interviews or topical articles on trends or technology in your target market segment.

Build a social media plan.

Review content and activity levels of both companies on all social sites. If the parent account will become the primary account for the newly combined organization, update the branding, description, logos, etc. Refine the list of hashtags and terms, and create a social media policy to reflect those choices. As the transition progresses, merge the accounts of the acquired company into the parent account. This is relatively straightforward with Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Instagram and Twitter are a bit more complicated. Set your bio to redirect all potential followers to your permanent account. Post a “We’re moving” alert for several weeks to encourage followers to move to the new account.

Publish a project timeline with assigned owners.

While juggling the first eight efforts on this list, be sure to assemble a detailed project plan with a list of tasks by category. Each task should include an owner, approving person (if required) and deadline. Regular meetings or calls with the transition team will keep everyone up to date and allow opportunities for new questions and tasks to surface.

Plan the celebration!

In a well-managed transition, the real work and planning happen in the weeks or months leading up to the public announcement of the acquisition. Communicate continuously with employees about the strategy, messaging and changes they can expect to see. Engaged employees will generate great energy behind the transition if they feel they are a part of it. Be sure to add a line item in the project plan for an internal company celebration of the launch – icing on the cake, so to speak, after all the hard work is done.

/by Megan Miller

Some of the most successful – and fun – client relationships we have at Edge Marketing are the ones in which we, the marketing experts, work directly with the sales lead at our clients’ companies. As marketers, it is our job to know the industry better than anyone else and, when we work directly with sales, we can give them exactly what they need to engage their target audience.

Aligning the goals of the sales and marketing departments sounds simple and obvious, and yet many companies just do not do it. Often, the reason is either structural or traditional: these are – or have always been – two separate functions, and the CEO has never held either accountable for being synced.

You might be saying to yourself, “Why bother?” From our experience, when sales and marketing are aligned, salespeople have better leads to work with, and marketing is able to prove return on investment. Still not convinced? According to the TAS Group, companies whose sales and marketing department goals line up have 36 percent higher customer retention rates and 38 percent higher sales win rates.

A new year is coming and if your sales and marketing functions are not yet working in tandem, now is the best time to start. Here are a few ideas to help your organization move forward:

  1. Start at the top. The executive team or CEO of your organization should set the goal and work with sales and marketing to create realistic, achievable objectives. And don’t just do this once at the beginning of the year to kick off the new initiative. Leaders should regularly monitor progress and make sure teams are working together towards targets.
  2. Meet regularly. It is important for sales and marketing teams to get together regularly to exchange information. This is the time to discuss developments in the marketplace, listen to challenges and opportunities and define solutions to problems. It is also the time to work to refine ideal customer personas and create content to help drive them through the marketing and sales funnels.
  3. Invest in good technology. A marketing automation system that integrates with your CRM will not only keep your sales and marketing teams organized and productive, it will also be able to give you vital information such as conversion points from marketing-qualified lead to sales-qualified lead, velocity of conversion from visitor all the way to closed sale, return on marketing investment and much more.
  4. Define (or redefine) a lead. With good technology, you will be able to pinpoint when a lead converts from marketing qualified to sales qualified. This knowledge enables sales teams to be more efficient with their efforts, because they are contacting a lead when that person has indicated readiness to make a purchase. The process of redefining what a lead is may reduce the quantity of leads within your organization but will increase their quality.

All companies need marketing expertise to generate, nurture and score leads, just as much as they need successful sales teams to foster customer rapport and close deals. When activities between sales and marketing are aligned, companies will generate more revenue, and everybody has more fun.

/by Cindy Moen

Five steps to follow when you experience bad press 

We’ve all heard the saying, “There is no such thing as bad publicity!” But if your friend wants to go to Chipotle for lunch, do you think twice and wonder if you will be sick afterwards? I know I do. I have heard too many news stories about people getting food poisoning and Chipotle locations being shut down (many times in many cities) to trust that I will not have the same issue.

Then there are the companies who experience bad press and their stock immediately plummets, sales go down and they have to spend millions to try to counter the negative publicity. Remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf? They had to shell out millions to rebuild their image and gain the market’s trust again. How about Target, Facebook and all the other companies who have recently experienced a data breach? Do you trust them when they want your personal data? Look at Harvey Weinstein. Would you ever consider working with his company? I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

So, the question remains…is any press good press? The answer is simple. No! This statement is one of the biggest myths of public relations! While it is great to get your name or company in the press, you want it to be there for the right reasons.

There are so many things in today’s world of technology that could go wrong – an employee could make a negative comment, your technology may not do what it is advertised to do for someone, your company’s security may be breached, etc. But whatever it is, you need to stay on top of it and make sure you are communicating with your customer base and the market about what you are doing to fix the problem. So, while we can’t always have only positive press, here are some steps to take if you have something negative written about your offering or company:

Step One: Make sure you have a public relations person you trust on your team that can help you craft the messaging needed to manage the damage. Pull together a crisis communication plan if necessary. Make sure the messaging you are bringing to the market is a better representation of the company.

Step Two: Use social media to respond. Address the negativity right away. Getting out in front of what people are saying and talking about it might be your best option. Sometimes this is as simple as correcting the information. Whatever the case, it’s important to keep in mind that information spreads very quickly in today’s social media-obsessed world so being on top of what is out there is very important.

Step Three: Be honest. If something was not done the way it should have been, be accountable. Say you are sorry. Offer a solution and show your expertise and dedication to the market.

Step Four: Continue with your PR and marketing efforts. Don’t stop marketing your company. While you need to acknowledge and address the situation, you still want to keep selling your product or service! Don’t let this completely change your efforts.

Step Five: Move on. While you may want to add some messaging to your efforts in the future to contradict or address whatever the issue was, don’t continue to beat yourself up. Work with your PR professional to get positive coverage in the market that you can promote.

The most important thing to remember is that, if your response is done correctly, you can regain the trust of your customers over time.

/by Nicolle Martin

The response to Nike making Colin Kaepernick the face of its latest ad campaign was immediate. Those angered burned their shoes as the company stock price dipped in the days following the launch; but, shortly thereafter, online sales increased by more than 30 percent and, in just a week, the stock price rebounded.

Nike’s latest iteration of the popular “Just Do It” campaign may seem bold, but it isn’t shocking. In the ad narrated by Kaepernick, he says, “Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy: Ask if they’re crazy enough.” The underlying message is about taking risks, pushing the limits – qualities the company has promoted for years. Nike has a reputation for more than just selling shoes. About innovation, the company says, “We dare to design the future of sport. To make big leaps, we take big risks.” This is a core part of Nike’s culture, so their deep dive into a hot political issue isn’t surprising.

While Nike strategically engages in politics, other companies get pulled into debates on which they’d prefer to remain neutral. Many have historically stayed away from politics entirely, but relying on a corporate strategy of avoidance no longer works the way it once did. As some have learned, saying nothing can do more harm than good when customers or employees expect a response to a political issue.

The key is knowing the right time to engage, and a few key factors can help determine whether your primary stakeholders, including customers, employees, and investors, will accept it.

First, is the issue relevant in some way to your business or culture? It’s not unreasonable for companies to speak out about topics that directly impact them. They have an obligation to stockholders, employees, and others to promote their own interests, even regarding politics.

Also, consider how a statement might align with the company’s brand. People are more tolerant of political viewpoints – including those that are controversial or different from their own – when the company has been open about its positions in the past. When an organization is transparent about its political leanings, most won’t be surprised when it makes a public statement, and many expect it. Some may even feel disappointment if a company holds back from taking a side in a political debate when doing so would be consistent with previously-stated positions.

Organizations that are honest and consistent in their positions, and that have a business interest in the issue, also have an opportunity to demonstrate real leadership by taking a political stand. Companies convey a sense of strength and purpose by assuming a leadership role, which most stakeholders will respect.

Corporate executives are paid to assess risk and reward in making difficult decisions. This is certainly true when determining whether to weigh in on any political debate.

“Believe in something,” Kaepernick says in the Nike ad, “even if it means sacrificing everything.”

For 30 years, Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign has included an impressive and very diverse collection of spokespeople, representing its very diverse customer base. Along the way, the company has been transparent and consistent in its positions on any number of issues. Taking a political stand on this polarizing issue was a bit risky, but it showed leadership. Nike understands its stakeholders well enough to know the short-term negative response to its new campaign would be outweighed by the long-term positive response.

So, did they really sacrifice all that much?

/by Jennifer Marsnik

Marketers understand the power of buzzwords, but they should not ignore the buzz around blockchain. The rise of blockchain, and the dramatic change it drives in digital marketing, can unlock opportunity and drive results like never before.

A decentralized database – or ledger, if you will – blockchain creates new ‘blocks’ of information in a running collection. By design, the technology assures security, transparency, and authenticity of the content of a distributed database.

Blockchain technology is poised to drastically change marketing by providing users with greater control over personal data, and allowing them to receive monetary compensation for their online behavior and content.  Three quick examples:

Ads

The value of digital advertising is eroded by bots and fraud, to the tune of billions of dollars each year. Blockchain can remove the middleman in the ad process and assure greater value from ad spending.

With blockchain, direct connection with the user secures and authenticates the interaction, avoiding bots and fraud.   Users could earn cryptocurrency by opting in to view ads, read content, or subscribe to newsletters. This would be done in micropayments – a fraction of a cent per action. For example, the price of reading an email, could be .0025 cents. This way, marketers will be challenged to offer high value content to the customer, and find new ways to engage with them.

Social Media

Blockchain holds huge implications for social media. The very nature of blockchain technology provides users greater control over the privacy of their information and content. Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites have grown as a result of interest in articles, videos, and other user-generated content, and by serving up ads to users based on their profiles and interests, while the creator was not compensated.

Blockchain technology could put the power back in the hands of users, allowing them to control the privacy settings on their personal information, while at the same time, potentially receiving monetary compensation for the viral content they create.

Data Privacy

In May 2018, the Generalized Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect. This law presents burdens to marketers, requiring them to capture explicit consent from users and commit to supporting the ‘right to be forgotten’. Blockchain technology will play a huge role in allowing marketers to collect, process, and manage users’ personal data in an anonymized way, in compliance with GDPR and other data privacy regulations, while giving users direct control over their data profile.

Not Just a Buzzword

Blockchain is earning its wings in the world of technology and, as with any science, there is evolution. No one really knows whether the vision of a blockchain-based world will become a complete reality. It is in its infancy but, even if some of the masterminds that are pushing this along have success, it could dramatically alter the way marketers go about advertising, promotion and retention.


Image: By Davidstankiewicz [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

/by Megan Miller