Category Archives: Business

A Little Optimizing Goes a Long Way

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Ashley Marsh

What’s the point of having a great idea or product if it doesn’t reach the right people?  Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in on a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Your Press Release Webinar. In this webinar, the SEO experts at Business Wire shared insights on how (and why) to apply SEO to a press release using proven techniques, tips, and tools.

Starting with free industry tools such as Google AdWords and Compete.com, Business Wire walked me through optimizing a press release’s content for search engines.  Consider the following takeaways when you draft your next release:

  • Keep headlines between 2 and 27 words.  If you include less or more, Google News may reject it.
  • Avoid using special characters in headlines such as ™ (trademark) and © (copyright) symbols as they can affect how your press release is indexed. If a search engine does not recognize a particular symbol, it will not recognize the headline.
  • The first paragraph should be at least two sentences in length – three is better.
  • Include bullets and bolding as they highlight key points.
  • Multimedia should be incorporated when possible as images stay with your release and are attention grabbing (ex: in a release about a new company CEO, include a picture of him or her).

These SEO tips and tools help our clients (and HB) stay ahead of competitors on a targeted search list and ensure great ideas and great products do reach the right people.

Posted in Business, Hart-Boillot, Media Relations, Public Relations, Writing | Leave a comment

Never Underestimate the Power of a Good Book

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Ashley Bell

In honor of the end of “Get Caught Reading Month” HB wants to share some of the books that we were caught reading this month.

Books and the stories they tell are powerful in their ability to inform, engage, and drive audiences to action. Every company, brand and person has a unique story. How do you compellingly present yours? What books have you learned from?

Here are some of ours:

Fierce Conversations
by Susan Scott
“This book elicited a greater awareness of my inner voice as it relates to relationships (both business and personal). After reading this book, I am able to have in-the-moment conversations of candor that historically would not have happened for months, even years.” -Kevin

Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“This book reminds me that sentences and paragraphs can be beautiful as well as substantive.” -Nicolas

The Long Halloween
by Jeph Loeb
“This Batman comic has driven me to re-address my wanting to write a book, short story or screenplay. Reading one of ‘the best’ in a particular field helps you push your brand to new heights.” -Justin

The War of Art
by Steven Pressfield
“The War of Art has helped me to get up and do what I need to do every day even when I don’t feel like it, both in terms of my own writing and working on the business.” -Nicolas

Stories about Loss
by various non-profits’ websites and magazines
“This is not just one story, but many. I’ve recently been struck by the power of stories about life and loss. Reading these stories elicited such a deep emotion that I was driven to pledge a yearly donation to the non-profit.”

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table
by Molly Wizenberg
“Molly Wizenberg’s chronicle of her life and favorite recipes reminded me of the thrill of discovery. After seeing her at a book reading and subsequently devouring her book within days, I vowed to try at least one new recipe each week.” -Perrin

Short Cuts
by Raymond Carver
“Some of the best and shortest stories I’ve read. They teach me that more words don’t mean a better story. In fact, often the best and hardest stories to write are the ones with the fewest words.” -Nicolas

The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“Although this is seen as a child’s book, I’ve returned to it many times in my life. One of my favorite take-aways is the thought: ‘what makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.’ This constantly reminds me of the power of simplicity.” -Ashley

So What?
by Mark Magnacca
“This is a quick read that really digs into how to communicate what really matters to your audience. The author reminds us that people buy for THEIR reasons, not ours. According to Magnacca, “audiences do not care about what you are offering them until they understand exactly how it’ll benefit them.” Saying you are the first or best at something only goes so far. The bigger question is “so what?”” -Dawn

Miriam’s Kitchen
by Elizabeth Ehrlich
“This is a delicious tale that explores the intersections of food, family and culture throughout our lives – a story that reminds me happiness and satisfaction often lie where all of these meet.” -Andrea

Wall Street Journal–A Lament for the Class of 2010
by Joe Queenan
“This article was one of the most amusing reads of the month. It reminded me that humor can be found (and used effectively!)  in even the darkest topics.” -Ashley

Posted in Books, Business, Hart-Boillot, Writing | 2 Comments

Strategies for the Green Economy — the new Joel Makower book

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Nicolas Boillot

I had the good fortune of seeing Joel Makower speak at a recent Renewable Energy Business Network event. He’s not only an excellent speaker, but an excellent writer. I have been reading his blog, Two Steps Forward, for a while — his simple style draws you in, but unlike many “activist” writers, Makower doesn’t shy away from complexity — presenting numerous sides of every issue in an even-handed manner.

Among the many gems in this book is the appendix, “The Ecological Roadmap – Earthjustice Findings on Environmental Values,” by Cara Pike. This is a MUST READ for green or clean-tech marketers. It presents the results of research into environmental worldviews, breaking the US population down into 10 separate categories and detailing their attributes and beliefs, along with suggestions for what and how to market to each category.

Here are three other gems that stuck with me from Makower’s book, Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business.

  • No green deed goes unpunished: Makower gives several examples of organizations that are getting green but cannot publicize their good deeds because doing so would shed light on more significant problems, thus inciting previously untapped criticism from environmental activist groups. This can lead to not talking about environmental efforts, called “greenmuting” by McDonald’s Bob Langert.
  • “The Greenwasher in all of us:” Quoting directly, “While it’s generally a good thing to maintain high standards for companies seeking to claim environmental leadership, I can’t help but ponder the hypocrisy of it all — how much more we expect of companies than of ourselves.” Makower goes on to discuss how his audiences are often railing against businesses but rarely implementing greener practices in their own lives.
  • A Tale of Two Circles: This is the title of one of the book’s chapters, which addresses “how the public and companies can focus on a set of environmental issues or aspects of corproate operations that may not necessarily have the biggest environmental impact. And it offers a warning to companies that have been telling the wrong story when the public’s focus changes.” Makower goes on to show how public discourse focuses on the amount of waste that ends up in our municipal landfills. What we don’t talk about is the industrial/commercial/agricultural waste. As the author notes, “It’s only a matter of time before [...] the public recognizes that for every pound of trash that ends up in municapl landfills, at least 65 more pounds are created upstream by industrial processes — and that a lot of this waste is far more dangerous to environmental and human health than our newspapers and grass clippings.”

Pointing out these few important pieces of Makower’s work does not do justice to a book that reads beautifully and is literally filled with facts and figures that will make you think, act, and potentially adjust your business and marketing strategies.

Posted in Books, Business, Clean Tech, Green Living/Working | 1 Comment

McCain and Obama on Technology

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Nicolas Boillot

If you focus on technology markets that touch healthcare, clean technology, renewable energy and high-tech, it’s worth reading a recent (September 2008) report published by the non-partisan Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

The report, “Comparing the Candidates’ Technology and Innovation” can be downloaded from the foundation; or right here. It details how the candidates have positioned themselves on a host of topics including tax, innovation and R&D, digital transformation, broadband & telecommunications, e-government policy, workforce reform, energy and environment, education and more – all focused on how technology plays out in the candidates’ positions. Might sound like a tough read, but it isn’t – and it may affect the way you vote.

Posted in Business, Clean Tech, Current Affairs, Hart-Boillot, Web/Tech | Leave a comment

My ever-changing friendships

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Perrin McCormick

David Carr discussed Facebook in his weekly New York Times column this week and hit a few points that I have pondered.

First of all, yes, I am on Facebook. I explored it a few months ago as part of my ongoing research related to Hart-Boillot’s continued expansion of its digital offerings. Already on LinkedIn, I wanted to get a better sense of other social networking sites.

Although my group of Facebook friends is rather limited, it has fostered closer relationships with that group (including my high school-aged cousins, a new friend, and college acquaintances). In his article, Carr questions how blurred the line between your personal and work personas should be. Carr suggests that one should either be strategic in your posts or selective in your friending. Like Carr, I am neither, but must admit that I have not sought out work-related friends and have not received any such friend requests. Would I accept a friend invitation from a client or an editor? Absolutely. I enjoy knowing about their lives and would welcome them to join my online world.

On Facebook? Feel free to friend me. With a name like Perrin McCormick, I am pretty easy to find.

Posted in Business, Social Media, Web/Tech | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Video, video, everywhere

Posted on June 30, 2008 by Perrin McCormick

Each year we help many clients cut through the clutter and noise at tradeshows to garner attention from prospects, the media, and others. This month both the PR and Creative departments supported Soapstone Networks at NXTcomm08. The creative team designed Soapstone’s booth and the PR team worked to raise Soapstone’s visibility with key editors and industry analysts.

In addition to productive meetings, relationship building, and written coverage, the show resulted in video coverage of Soapstone Networks on Telephony TV. Check out the video yourself to watch Rich Karpinski and Esmeralda Swartz discuss industry trends.

According to comScore, a provider of Internet audience measurement services, in March 2008 11.4 billion video streams were initiated by 138.5 million users (or 74% of all Internet users that month). People are watching video. While many focus their video searches on YouTube and basset hounds, others spend time searching for and watching live product demonstrations and executive interviews. What are you doing to meet this unprecedented demand for video?

Posted in B2B Technology, Business, Web/Tech | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Trade Show Tips

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Andrea Dunbeck

Nicolas and I recently returned from a week of supporting clients at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Jose. To help our HB colleagues, we compiled a list of activities and initiatives that we had done correctly and effectively, and those we still needed to perfect.

This sparked an animated discussion about our past experiences with trade shows (both good and bad). May the following top 13 trade show pearls of wisdom be helpful to others in our profession and on the client side:

* Set measurable objectives.
* Have a plan, activate it and stick to it.
* Set up appointments with pertinent media persons and prospects before the show to ensure that you get to meet with all appropriate media/journalists.
* Have enough experts present to handle all customer, prospect and media meetings.
* Check out the competition and gather any collateral you can.
* Network with potential partners (and with competitors).
* Wear comfortable shoes.
* Incorporate interactive displays.
* Be sure that the language on your booth clearly states your value proposition.
* Engage and connect with prospects – gather all the information you can (train your folks to ask questions when they scan badges!).
* Don’t pressure anyone – this is a time to build relationships. Close the sale when there’s less noise and distraction.
* Have small pieces of collateral on hand that prospective customers can take home with them so they remember what you do.
* Follow-up and follow through. Failure to do so after the event could be your biggest missed opportunity.

We’d love to hear about your own experiences with trade shows – the good, the bad, the ugly. Which of the suggestions on our list do you disagree with? What are we missing?

Posted in B2B Technology, Business, Hart-Boillot, Public Relations | 3 Comments

Another book for the TBR (to-be-read) pile

Posted on April 8, 2008 by Perrin McCormick

I came across this review of Accidental Branding in CRM Magazine today. The book’s author interviews “accidental” marketers to develop a list of six steps that led to success in each case study. The brands covered by David Vinjamuri include Craigslist, Burt’s Bees, and J. Petermans.

A number of other reviews of this book exist if you are interested: on The Marketing Spot and Modern Marketing. Or, check out the book’s Web site.

It sounds as if the stories told by Vinjamuri provide a glimpse into how some fairly large brands were created. While it may not be a step-by-step guide to branding, the reviews promise some excellent nuggets for gaining prominence with a brand.

Posted in Books, Business | 1 Comment

How much should I spend on marketing communication?

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Nicolas Boillot

A client of ours – let’s call him M – is wrestling with how to significantly increase lead generation within a tight budget. He told me that in 2007, his company cut its advertising budget significantly, yet leads actually increased. His question to me: how low can we take the advertising budget?

Finding the low line:
Having built market share and a leadership reputation over 25 years, M’s company is able to reduce its advertising spend while maintaining, or actually increasing, lead generation. Obviously, the question “how low can we go?” is bound to come up.

There isn’t a formula to figure out exactly how much you can limit your advertising frequency and reach before target audiences sense that you’re no longer around or start forgetting to look at your products when specifying new designs.

Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Business, Media Relations, Miscellaneous, Public Relations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Focus on outcomes, not output”

Posted on February 7, 2008 by Perrin McCormick

Yesterday I watched part of a customer communications Webinar in which a Gartner analyst used the phrase, “focus on outcomes, not output.” This notion matches the philosophy behind the Franklin Covey approach to time management and goal setting.

All HB-ers use the Franklin Covey planning system. In addition to helping you corral and prioritize your daily tasks, the system includes tools that help you identify your values and establish monthly goals that support each value. As a time management system, the Franklin approach includes a mechanism to help you schedule the important tasks into your week or month (the “output” that will help you achieve your long-term goals or “outcome”).

Have you established any goals for the month (or even the year)? How do you manage your goals and ensure that focus on the desired outcome, not just your output?

Posted in Business, Hart-Boillot, Miscellaneous | 1 Comment