Newsroom: Blog

Request a Proposel
Give us a call: 877-374-5270

Are you ready for a social media attack?

By Jessica Gaumer | Published May 17, 2012

Are you ready for a social media attack?Cyberspace is a deceitful place—full of information good and bad, trustworthy and not so trustworthy.

In this age of social networking, brand reputations can rise and fall in “real-time” or, “social media” time, so damaging information about your brand could be out there at any time. How quickly and strategically a company responds to a Twitter, Facebook or Yelp.com assault makes all the difference.

Whether a company is large or small, the power of social networking to grow or crush that business simply cannot be ignored. Educating your social media team on a repair strategy is a vital part of protecting your hard-earned reputation. Given the right training and tools, your team can be ready when bad PR arrives by blog writers, websites, or social platforms. Here are some tips to follow if you find yourself in a little cyber identity crisis.

Don’t ignore: Face it head on and don’t be afraid to approach the issue before it spirals out of control. Get your social media team together and execute a plan to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Address the problem: If you see tweets or Facebook posts that are damaging to your reputation, put your customer service hat on and provide those unhappy customers with solutions to their problems. If you don’t have an answer yet, let them know you’ve addressed the issue and are working to resolve it. Most importantly, be honest.

Good news: What are your happy customers saying? Let their comments leverage your defense and help regain control of the situation.

Grow: Turn the negativity of the attack into a positive PR opportunity for your brand. Let consumers know about the issue and how it was resolved.

Social media can be great for brands, but it can also be damaging if not monitored on a daily basis. Make sure your social media team acts quickly when it comes to reacting to bad PR. Keeping a level head and staying on top of the crisis will increase your survival odds in the event of a social networking attack.

 

Posted in Social Media | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Five compelling reasons to ride your bike to work

By Ann Meany | Published May 15, 2012

Five compelling reasons to ride your bike to workIs anyone else wondering how they’re going to fit in a workout this week?

For most of us, it’s a constant struggle to find the time to exercise. That’s where National Bike Month comes in. Now’s a perfect time to try incorporating some physical activity into your daily routine.

At Brandpoint, one of our core values is quality of life: finding that happy balance of work, health, fun and accomplishment. As part of our health initiative, we are celebrating National Bike Month in May along with the local Twin Cities Bike Walk Week, June 2 through 10.

If you haven’t done it already, here are just a few reasons to consider adding some two-wheeled transportation to your life:

  • Cycling reduces health care costs: On average, cyclists live two years longer than non-cyclists and take 15 percent fewer sick days, according to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.
  • Easy weight loss: The average person could lose more than 12 pounds during their first year of regularly riding their bike to work, according to Denver Bike Sharing.
  • Feeling better overall: Cycling to work can promote “lower stress and greater feelings of freedom, relaxation and excitement,” according to a study by UK think tank the New Economics Foundation.
  • Heart health: Active commuting, including cycling and walking, is associated with an overall 11 percent reduction in cardiovascular risk, according to Preventive Medicine.
  • Increase in productivity: Employers take note — exercising before work raises an employee’s productivity, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

Many more benefits come with incorporating biking into your day. Does your company encourage bicycle commuting? How are you celebrating National Bike Month?

 

Posted in Brandpoint News | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How much will a mat release cost you?

By Lisa Bergerson | Published May 10, 2012

mat releaseLike everyone else, when I am shopping for services one of the first things I look for is the price. Unfortunately, for most marketing services, including mat releases, it is not easy to post a simple price sheet.  There are always multiple variables affecting the cost and you usually end up having to talk to a salesperson to determine your goals before you can find out some actual numbers.

If you are looking for a general estimate, a mat release will usually cost you in the range of $2,000 to $5,000 when comparing reputable, professional companies. Like most things in life, you often get what you pay for.

Make sure you take a close look at the entire package surrounding the price: Are you comparing apples to apples? A lower-priced mat release that doesn’t provide any benefits, in the long run, costs a lot more than a higher priced one that delivers a solid return on your investment.

Some questions to ask when evaluating the cost of a mat release service:

  • Find out how the writing and editing process works: Do you have access to a specific writer? Working directly with a writer and editor is important. Even if you are planning on writing your own article and are just looking for distribution, you should expect to receive suggestions and strategic advice to improve your placement results. What are the credentials of the writing staff and have they written for your industry? This is your brand; quality is important. Ask about the editing and approval process. Make sure you have final control over what is going out, and that it will be managed in a way that is simple and efficient for you. And don’t forget to inquire about turnaround times.
  • Ask for details on what is included in the price: Is there an additional cost to include a photo? Some mat release providers offer a stock photo as part of their services. These can be costly for you to purchase yourself and are a nice add-on when available. Also, remember to check out the maximum word count. How will the content look on a page in a media site – will it get lost – and is it long enough to effectively deliver your message? When in doubt, ask them to show you an article with the word count you are considering. Paying for extra words after the fact can add unplanned costs. If you are doing a series of articles, ask about quantity discounts.
  • Get details on placements and reporting deliverables: Getting quality placements is your goal. Ask about the quality of the sites in a provider’s network. Can they guarantee your placements and how many? If you are also looking for print placements, find out if those are included. What kind of reports or tools to track success will be provided? What sort of information will be available for you to share with stakeholders on your end?

Mat releases are efficient and cost effective when you find the right partner. Make sure you choose carefully.

 

Posted in Mat Release, Public Relations | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Content Marketing Outsourcing: What the Pros Say Wins – [Infographic]

By Lisa Bergerson | Published May 9, 2012

We wondered what marketing professionals look for when they evaluate online content providers for a possible partnership.

To find out, we went to the source: Brandpoint – along with the Content Marketing Institute – commissioned a survey of marketing decision-makers in a variety of industries, and asked these professionals their opinions on content creation and outsourcing.

Some of the most interesting data came from a question about what they look for when they need content. In short: what kind of online content produces the best results?

This graphic illustrates – in order of importance – what they told us are key ways they assess content providers.

Embed this infographic on your own site:

Copy and paste this code into your blog post or web page:

 

Posted in Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t get lost in the crowd: How to make sure online customers find your business

By Dave Colling | Published May 8, 2012
At one time a physical storefront was the most prominent way a small business like a law firm or daycare center promoted their services. But now the Internet has replaced the physical building as the primary source of information on any product or service someone is looking for.

The Internet is a much more complicated and crowded place than the real world, and potential customers might not even know you exist when they start their search. Finding your address on a map is easy if there are only a few streets to wander through, but it becomes very difficult when more streets are added and more competition comes along.

Search engines are like your GPS, they help find the address you’re looking for. But search engines use different criteria than a GPS; search engines use activity to spot the best places to send your potential customers, specifically activity originating from the site itself.

Think of your website as a physical storefront and the Internet as the streets around your business.

Finding your business before the Internet was easy.

As the Internet has grown, finding your business has become more complicated.

When you update your site, when you post a new blog entry or when you actively engage with your customers online, the search engines greatly reward you for this. The Internet has become so crowded with useless, abandoned addresses, that just showing you’re alive and kicking is rewarded by the search engines. And the louder you are and the more hand waving you do, the more likely you are to be found.

So what’s the best way to promote activity on your site? It can be summed up in one word: content.

However, most small-business owners are not writers, they have other things to do, like run a business. Besides selling their goods or services, now they have to market their website too, if they want to compete and continue to attract new customers. A small investment in content marketing will keep your business from getting lost in the mess that is the Internet and keep new customers flocking to your location.

Content marketing should be thought of in the same way as any other promotional tactic: a necessity for your business and a way to stay ahead of the competition.  If a business isn’t constantly making itself visible to the search engines with fresh content, it won’t attract business, especially new business.

Don’t sit back and hope that visitors will just happen to find you out there. Make some “noise” with good content.

Posted in Content Creation, Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The power of storytelling

By Jessica Gaumer | Published May 3, 2012

At the very center of content marketing is storytelling.

We all love stories, whether they’re presented in books, conversations, commercials or movies. Simply put, our brains have always responded best to story formats. It’s a rich connection we make that causes us to become emotionally attached to the narrative, and it’s that connection that causes us to remember what it is we’re reading or hearing.

Can you remember the plot of the last movie you saw? How about the main points from the last business article you read? It’s probably easier to remember details of the movie because a story packs a powerful emotional punch that an academic article couldn’t hope to match.

With so many other things competing for our attention, especially on the Internet, marketing content must be compelling.  For instance, if you’re browsing headlines on a news site, how much time do you spend looking for items that grab or tug on your emotions? When do you catch yourself clicking out and moving on to the next story?

If you work in marketing, don’t forget about the human being that’s going to read your content? Your content marketing plan should include important key messages and optimization, but it also needs to emphasize the telling of stories that the audience will enjoy reading.

If good storytelling can build an emotional connection between the brand and consumer, it can lead to loyalty, positive word-of-mouth and repeat business — just like a movie.

Posted in Content Creation, Storytelling | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A good time to talk about biking (or walking) to work

By Grant Boelter | Published May 1, 2012

Have you been thinking about trading your car keys for a bike helmet when it comes to your work commute? If you have, now is the perfect time to make the leap.

National Bike to Work Week is May 14 to 18 and here at Brandpoint, we’ll be celebrating the Twin Cities-specific Bike Walk Week during the week of June 2. Due to our northern location, it makes sense to have our event a little later in the year when good weather is more of a guarantee.

If you haven’t tried biking or walking to work, these events can provide the perfect impetus to give it a try. And if you are already doing it, it’s a great time to share tips with others who may be thinking about doing the same, as well as share resources with your fellow bikers and walkers.

As part of our celebration, we’ll be providing a healthy breakfast one day and have a biking and walking themed barbecue another. We’ll also be distributing maps and other helpful commuting resources specific to the area around our office. If your office is planning to celebrate one of these events, or recognizes biking and walking in any other way throughout the year, we’d love to hear what you’re doing.

At Brandpoint, management has made it easy for those who choose to bike by providing bike racks and parking as well as small locker rooms and showers for employees.. Is there anything that your employer does to make it easier for you to commute by bike or foot?

For those who haven’t yet tried commuting by bike, there are a few common barriers that keep most people from giving it a try. The National Bike to Work Week website provides resources to help make your commute easier and I’ll be talking about overcoming some of those obstacles in a subsequent blog post. If you have something that’s holding you back, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to cover that issue in the next post.

Posted in Brandpoint News | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Five ways to come up with great blog posts

By Jessica Gaumer | Published April 24, 2012

It’s a tough job keeping up with your blog and it’s even harder to keep topics fresh and interesting without the content sounding bored, cliché, or even worse…just like every other blog in your industry. Here are a few ideas to help spark some new topics. Or, if you outsource your blog writing, this is a good way to keep a running list of themes to present to your blog writing service.

Past Blog Posts: Good news! All that hard work you’ve already put into your blog can be recycled. Those posts will provide you with lots of useful information about what your audience finds interesting. Review your most popular blog posts. Take bits and pieces of the posts and change up the angle to give the topic a fresh perspective.

Debate: People love to see two different sides to something. Conflicting viewpoints bring a post alive! If you have a topic that can be examined from two different sides, lay it out in a post. Or, even better, if you interview or have two writers contribute their opinions, it’s a great way to bring intensity to the post. This also could be a great way to get some readers to leave comments on the subject.

Questions or Feedback: What are salespeople hearing on the other end of the line during sales calls? Check in with them to see if those questions or feedback could be turned into a blog post. Or, has your marketing department done any industry surveys lately that resulted in some interesting data that’s worth sharing? As I discussed in my previous post, The three problems content marketing can solve, it’s important to bring your audience what they need and educate them on the subject you are an expert at.

Google Alerts: Set an alert with a few industry keywords. Go through the headlines and save the interesting links for future use. If you see several headlines about a particular topic, you’ve got a blog theme and you already know the interest is out there.

Industry Events: Attend industry events, journal about your experience, write down your best takeaways and check the event’s Twitter hashtag to find out what everyone on the Twitterverse is saying about it. Write a blog post soon after it’s over and tell your readers something interesting you’ve learned from attending. Remember to include the event’s hashtag; if applicable, join the conversation and bring more exposure to your post.

Try these techniques; see if brainstorming for topics becomes a little easier. Blog topics are all around us, we just have to take note and keep track so when it’s time to write, the idea is already there.

Posted in Blog Writing, Content Creation, Social Media | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Elbow lessons: What you can learn from a survey

By Evelyn Pimplaskar | Published April 17, 2012

In the journalism world, the value of surveys has been a topic of hot debate for decades (maybe longer). After all, survey results are really just a particular group’s opinions, and opinions, as we know, are like elbows – everyone has one or two.

Marketing professionals, however, recognize the value of a good survey, because opinions influence decisions, and marketing is all about influencing opinions. Hence the reasoning behind our recent survey of folks who use online content marketing. Readex Research conducted the survey on behalf of Brandpoint and the Content Marketing Institute.

Some eye-opening opinion patterns emerged from that survey. In the competitive world of online marketing, it pays to know what everyone else is thinking, and smart marketers know they can’t be above looking at someone else’s elbows.

Here are the three most interesting things we learned about what online marketers are doing and thinking when it comes to content marketing:

1. Quality trumps quantity, SEO and everything else. 

The responses to several survey questions pointed to this conclusion. Respondents cited engaging, creative storytelling, custom-crafting and professional-level writing as the three most important things they want from a content-creation partner. What’s more, considerations like search engine optimization and high-volume production both placed in the bottom half of the 11 values we asked respondents to rank.

Which leads us to our next conclusion …

2. Marketers are clear on the need to sell to people, not just search engines. 

The elements marketers want most from their content speak directly to their understanding of who’s on the receiving end of it – and who the ultimate decision-makers are. The majority of respondents (82 percent) said it’s more important that their website and blog copy be written for people, rather than search engines. Though they’re enthusiastically embracing new technologies and marketing tools, marketers are not losing sight of the importance of the human element in everything they do.

3. Money is less of an object than you might think. 

Perhaps the most eye-popping tidbit to emerge from our survey is that marketers are willing to spend more to get more. In fact, 80 percent of those polled said they are willing to pay more for well-crafted, custom, professional copy. They’re also not afraid to spend money on outsourcing, with 70 percent saying they plan to outsource content production, including video, infographics and online articles, in the next 12 months. 

In all, our survey taught us a few new things and reinforced some we already knew – which is a good outcome for any survey. Turns out you can learn a lot by looking at elbows.

Posted in Content Marketing, Content Marketing Survey | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Three writing mistakes to avoid when developing online content

By Laura Malm | Published April 11, 2012

Writing MistakesWe’ve all experienced it – a website full of copy, seemingly chock-full of information to help you out. But you click on one page and end up a little confused. That’s OK, hopefully you’ll get the information you need on the next page. Wait, this page is worse than the last. The third page is no better, and now your patience has run out. You click away and move on. You’ll never visit that site again.

Turning away customers with bad content can take just seconds. Engaging them with good content is a much more complex task. To do so, it’s important to avoid some major writing mistakes.

Mistake No. 1: Bad grammar and spelling
If you are applying for a job and submit a resume, you absolutely should not have any misspellings or grammar mistakes in it. This will get your resume put directly in the trash. Same goes for your online content. Incorrect spelling and poor grammar will not reflect positively on you or your business. If someone is visiting your site for the first time, it’s your one opportunity to make a good first impression and turn them into a customer. Before uploading new content, run spell check multiple times, have someone you trust proof your copy, read it out loud – do whatever it takes to triple check for mistakes.

Mistake No. 2: Missing your target audience
Truly engaging your customer is key, and to do this, you must know who that customer is. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately there are so many businesses that focus on the wrong readers, and they lose out on a big opportunity. When you develop content, you should always have this target audience in mind and tailor each piece to this group. If you communicate well with this group, your message will resonate. They’ll be more likely to visit your website time and time again, become an active customer, and tell their friends. These friends will likely be in your target audience too. Win-win.

Mistake No. 3: Using tech jargon or industry speak
Have you ever visited a website and started reading, only to be more confused than you were before your arrival? The Web is full of sites that only feature tech jargon and industry speak. Now this might be fine if you have a very specialized audience that understands such specific terminology, but most B2C businesses – like beauty products, health foods, computer supplies, just to name a few – should avoid the heavy language. Your customer shouldn’t need a degree to understand what you are talking about on your site, so simplify your copy and offer definitions when needed. Remember, your customer is coming to you with needs and hoping you have the solution. If they end up confused, they’ll jump ship fast and another company with an easier-to-understand website will reap the benefits.

Posted in Content Creation, Content Marketing, Digital Content Marketing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment