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Public relations as part of a marketing function
The days of public relations playing second fiddle to other marketing disciplines are long gone. PR is increasingly firmly embedded into the best marketing campaigns right from the start – whether it is delivered by an in-house team or a PR agency.
At one time it was common, even for major brands, to simply throw the latest advertising campaign at its PR company and say ‘can you draft a press release on that, please’. And while this does still happen, the best campaigns have good PR thinking, news angles, stunts and ongoing media content opportunities built in from the start.
‘Integrated’ may be an over-used word in the PR and marketing industry but its popularity is justified.
As the scope of a marketing campaign becomes more fragmented by the wealth of media options available – direct, print, online, broadcast, social etc – it becomes increasingly important that you deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.
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In order to ensure that the public relations activity is not playing catch-up or isn’t slightly off message thanks to timing, it needs to sit within the marketing campaign from the start.
This makes it crucial that organisations at least have a PR consultant within their marketing function who can bring a below the line perspective to your plans. As well as delivering a crucial aspect of any campaign, a decent PR person should be able to identify the potential media pitfalls of any strategy.
Far too many campaigns have launched in the past and backfired thanks to a lack of decent media relations knowledge – Dixons ‘last place you want to go’ was always a strapline likely to be derided by journalists. Once the criticism begins and the ads get pulled from print slots and online advertising, who is called in to draft statements, handle calls and clean up the mess? The PR department.
There shouldn’t be a disconnect – if you still see your marketing team as separate to your PR function then you are missing opportunities and wasting time. The best teams even have a direct line and understanding of the management and HR functions.
After all, if you are saying one thing while the business does another then it’s only a matter of time before your marketing team is asking a PR consultant to step in and straighten things out.
Find out how a public relations agency integrates activity with digital marketing and communications.
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Social Media Plays an Important Part in the Distribution of News and the Power of the Masses
The Iranian government may have last year succeeded in having tight control of the information reaching most news media, but information had been spreading on Twitter (you could type in #Iran election into the search box for the latest updates). Whether this is always accurate highlights one problem with such news, in that not all sources can be proved to be reliable.
When Michael Jackson died in June 2009, again the power of social networking came to the fore. First the story was reported on US celebrity gossip site TMZ, and then online conversations began about it hours before the death was announced on traditional news programmes such as on the BBC, which had to make rigorous checks about the validity of the story before it could be broken.
Another example of the power of the social media is the recent Facebook campaign to end a long-running Christmas chart domination by Simon Cowell’s stars, The X Factor winners. In this campaign thousands of people joined a group encouraging them to buy Rage Against The Machine’s track ‘Killing in the Name.’ The campaign worked; Cowell’s empire was temporarily toppled, and Rage Against The Machine were holders of the UK’s official Christmas number one single in 2009. Proof that social networking can be used in a rebellion against popular culture, as well as being an informant to the masses.
Heard it through the grapevine
How the news spread of Michael Jackson’s death at music festival Glastonbury illustrates how gossip sites work in conjunction with face-to-face gossip. Vanessa Collu, onboard sales senior sales executive at the BBC, describes how she first heard the news at the festival: “On Thursday night at Glastonbury we started hearing people shouting ‘Michael Jackson is dead’ around the site, and then became aware that various stalls were playing his songs. The news gradually spread around the festival by word of mouth from people who were checking their Twitter and Facebook accounts, so social media played a major part in ensuring the news was quickly shared around.”
There is no doubt that social media resources are changing the way that people access news, and James Poulter, digital strategist at Ogilvy PR, goes on to say that social media is the most important development for the PR industry since the invention of newswire services. Poulter says that social networks are being integrated into everything he does, from using Twitter for media relations, keeping clients in the loop via wikis and blogs, to creating full-service digital campaigns of a global scope. He adds: “We are not only witnessing an evolution or upgrade of the internet but a revolution in how people engage with media and communicate with one another.”
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The way that social media allow interaction with audiences means that the days of talking ‘at’ people are long gone. Mark Mellor, managing director at communications consultancy Firefly, says he wouldn’t dream of launching a client’s new service or product without engaging the relevant blog communities and forums, or holding an event without drawing attention to it via blogs and tweets. Mellor says the current main social networking applications are Facebook and Twitter and discusses how such networks mean everything is live and immediate. He adds, “…there are no deadlines anymore, no embargoes, information is instant. This can be good and bad. In raw terms, it means we’re more in tune with audiences, events and issues than ever before, but on the other hand it means we’re always on.”
I did it my way
As well as being used by people to find out information that is not yet be being widely reported, publicists can use social networks to communicate what they want, when they want, without having to be translated by journalists in ways they do not like. Nikki Alvey, independent public relations consultant, argues that social networks aren’t just a way of bypassing journalists however, as they help to build relationships with them too. She says, “In addition to the usual PR tactics such as pitching by-lines, checking forward features lists for relevant opportunities, I can take a more proactive approach and actively seek out and track journalists – what they’re writing about, recently published works and to check out what’s going on in their lives. It enables me to get much closer to them and deliver what they need which I think results in a more positive relationship all round.”
For celebrities, the evolution of social networks has been a godsend. Ross Furlong, founder of digital PR agency Furlong PR, says that in for those in the spotlight, Twitter has become the super-fast way for some to communicate with their fan base. Furlong says that this is good news for them as they have regained control of their public image. He adds: “Rather than listen to idle speculation, you hear it from the horse’s mouth. Some personalities are particularly well suited to it. Andy Murray, dour on TV and rightly suspicious of TV interviewers, comes across far better on Twitter and on his blog.”
Me, me, me
Furlong believes that for PR professionals with celebrity clients, Twitter is a must, although he cautions: “You should probably insist that the celebrity consults with you over exact content as there’s as much potential for unintentional career suicide via Twitter as there is with any other channel. This needs to be balanced with an approach that is personal enough to be engaging. An over-sanitised approach will not be effective.”
When using Twitter for corporate PR, Furlong points out that companies had better make sure they have something good to say: “Anything less than daily content is not going to be very impactful, and therefore using Twitter asks serious questions about your website/blog content – as that is where you want your targets to go most of the time.”
Just creating a Facebook page, or writing tweets, does not mean you have nailed social networking. Marcus Childs, partner at experiential agency Amplify, says that the most powerful way to use social media is to get others to do the talking for you: “A message from your peers is far stronger than coming directly from the brand. So, identify the individuals with the most influence and reach amongst your target audience, forge a relationship and let them do the talking, while accepting that not everything will be positive.” Childs says is that it is worth considering how to use the fact that most status updates involve some sort of showing off, or as he calls it, “Facebook Envy’”. He explains: “Our greatest successes with brand social media campaigns have come from the simple premise of making the individual look good, they will work far harder for you if the end result is that their standing is being rai
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Leave a commentTraffic Generation Completes Your Affiliate Marketing Plan
An effective affiliate marketing plan is absolutely essential to determine your self in a long-term and viable business. As you’ll have already realized, for 1000′s of people across the Internet selling and promoting products, and some even have an affiliate marketing plan that they’ll promote you, claiming that this will provide earnings for your self and your family for many years to come.
The issue is that many an affiliate marketing plan fails because it lacks one central ingredient: the power to drive traffic. He might need the best website, the most compelling sales copy and the most effective product the world has ever seen but it’s all totally ineffective if nobody is aware of your site exists! No traffic means no guests and sales and no money, and that is the place your affiliate marketing plan can come to an entire standstill.
So as an alternative of dashing out to buy an computerized blog creator or an immediate website generator, you could study producing website site visitors and give attention to one kind of visitors generation and to you master it. That is the best affiliate marketing plan, because leaping from one technique to another will not solely make you pissed off that will cause you to lose money hand over fist while you are trying to make money in your affiliate marketing plan.
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Many gurus promote an affiliate marketing plan which revolves around paperclip, and this is usually a big pitfall for younger or inexperienced Web marketer. The great information is that there’s tons of the way which you can generate free traffic, resembling article marketing, social bookmarking and search engine optimization. These require persistence and a lot of work, however upon getting seen results from these you may have a technique that you can implement for each product you approach. The perfect affiliate marketing plan entails a considerable amount of free traffic, in addition to fastidiously crafted and targeted paid traffic.
The underside line is that no affiliate marketing plan is complete without a consistent, strong strategy for producing site visitors to the site. So before you spend 1000′s of dollars investing in websites and merchandise, the most effective affiliate marketing plan involves taking the time to study ways of producing traffic, to be able to set up a long-time period and financially viable Internet enterprise that can serve you for many years into the future.
So in the event you’re starting into affiliate marketing, you should view issues with the lengthy-term establishment of your online business in mind, moderately than attempting to make a few bucks here and now. Take the time to grow the business slowly, take the time to generate free traffic, and assume lengthy and hard about laying out an efficient plan for the longer term in your Internet marketing. It would take onerous work and dedication, but the lengthy-time period rewards for site visitors technology are nicely known. Studying these strategies are early on will serve you nicely both now and into the longer term, because generating site visitors is the hallmark of an effective affiliate marketing plan.
Posted in Marketing Plans | Affiliate, Completes, generation, Marketing, Plan, Traffic | Leave a commentHow Media Drives Obesity in Children and Simple Counter Tactics
One the most important indicators of the state of health of Americans today may be the ever increasing rate of overweight and obese children. The Institute of Medicine has found that one-third of American children are either obese or at risk for obesity. The Center of Disease Control has found that, since 1980, the proportion of overweight children ages 6-11 has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the increase in childhood obesity represents and unprecedented burden on children’s health. “If we don’t deal with children, this could be the first generation that will live sicker and die younger than its parents,” states Dr. James S. Marks, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which recently announced an unprecedented effort to reverse childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.
Obesity or being overweight is not only harmful to the self-esteem and mental health of youngsters in a society that places such high value on thinness, but there are serious physical health concerns as well. According to Dr. Melissa A. Kalt, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, overweight kids are set up for premature health risks such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and even poor behavior in school like inattentiveness, disruptiveness, truancy, and low grade scores.
Some of the environmental factors that are thought to contribute to obesity are: over consumption of fast food, simple carbohydrates, soda, or other high calorie, high fat foods; larger and larger portion sizes; lack of exercise and/or more sedentary lifestyles; under consumption of whole foods, fruits and vegetables. However, what may be underlying all of these factors or at the very least exacerbating the issue is children and media.
According to the Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity of the Federal Communications Commission, children today spend many hours each day watching television and are influenced by the programming and advertising they see.
The Kaiser Family Foundation states that young children cannot distinguish between programming content and advertising.
The U.S. Congress, Children’s Television Act of 1990 reports, by the time the average child is 18 years hold, he or she has spent between 10,000 and 15,000 hours watching television and has been exposed to more than 200,000 commercials.
Once research study documents that obesity in children increases the more hours they watch television. (Crespo, 2001)
Another research study shows that children who watch more than three ours of television a day are 50 percent more likely to be obese than kids who watch fewer than two hours. (Tremblay, 2003)
Another researcher reports that children who use a lot of media have a lower activity level which is linked to a higher rate of obesity (Vandewater, 2004)
According to the 2004 report “The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity” by the Kaiser Family Foundation, “during the same period in which childhood obesity has increased so dramatically, there has also been an explosion in media targeted to children: TV shows and videos, specialized cable networks, video games, computer activities and Internet Web sites.” And “much of the media targeted to children is laden with elaborate advertising campaigns, many of which promote foods such as candy, soda, and snacks.”
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The Advertising Coalition reports that – billion is spent annually on kids’ food advertising.
One study documented approximately 11 food commercials per hour during children’s Saturday morning television programming, estimating that the average child viewer may be exposed to one food commercial every 5 minutes (Kotz, 1994)
Another study found that children’s food choices were significantly impacted by which ads they saw, i.e. either an ad for fruit or an ad for candy (Gorn, 1982)
Other researchers found that for each additional hour of television viewed per day, daily servings of fruits and vegetables decreased among adolescents possibly due to television advertising (Boynton-Jarret, R, 2003)
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While many researchers and studies are still establishing the role of media in child obesity and overweight issues, (the direct link between advertising and obesity has not been officially established), the advertisers certainly know that TV ads can influence children’s and family consumer choices. For example, fast food outlets alone spend billion in television ads targeted to children. And according to “Advertising, Marketing and the Media: Improving Messages from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, food and beverage advertisers collectively spend billion to billion a year to reach children and youth.
So, what’s a parent to do to counteract unhealthy advertisements and the big dollars behind them? Here a few pointers on helping children be more healthy and fit:
First, educate them on the factors contributing to being overweight or obese:
1. Too much “fat foods” (fast foods, simple carbs, soda, energy drinks, cereal etc.)
2. Larger than life portion sizes
3. Not enough movement or exercise
4. Not enough whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole wheat bread, whole grains etc.)
Second, reduce poor food choices in the home. Refuse to buy the sodas and sugar cereals or insist that these only be indulged in after a healthy meal.
Third, make whole food choices easy for them to prepare (i.e. pre washed, cut up fruits and veggies; oatmeal; smoothies; whole wheat bread; pre-cooked healthy snacks/meals like cubed chicken breast, string cheese, hard-boiled eggs, in single serving size containers. Make it tasty and easy (see green smoothie recipe below).
Fourth, encourage them to exercise (i.e. refuse to drive them to school; sign them up for sports; play with them outdoors; get a dog and go for daily walks). Make it fun.
Fifth, limit television hours per day. And teach them how they can mute the commercials or “tevo” the show and fast forward through the commercials.
And finally, teach them that being fit and healthy means eating healthy foods and exercising, in direct contrast to how television shows and advertisements portray super skinny people eating chips and drinking soda, it’s just not true. And educate them on the fact that advertisers make their money by portraying beautiful people eating junk food.
(Go for a green smoothie over a soda! Children who drink just one soft drink a day are 60 percent more likely to become obese, according to a 2001 study by Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital.)
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Sources:
Boynton-Jarret, R, et al, (2003) Impact of Television Viewing Patterna on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Adolescents, Pediatrics 112(2003)6:1321-1326
Crespo, Carlos J. et al, (2001), Television Watching, Energy Intake, and Obesity in U.S. Children, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 155, 360-365
Eating Habits of Infants and Children Affect Health and Performance. HealthLink Medical College of Wisconsin. http://www.healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002925.html
Federal Communications Commission: Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity. http://www.fcc.gov/obesity/
Gorn, G, et al, Behavioral Evidence of the Effects of televised Food Messages on Children, Journal of Consumer Research 9 (1982): 200-205
Kotz, K. et al, (1994), Food Advertisements during Children’s Saturday Morning Television Programming: Are They Consistent with Dietary Recommendations?” Journal of the American Dietic Association 94(1994)11:1296-1300
National Institute on Media and the Family: Media Use And Obesity Among Children. http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_tvandobchild.shtml
Tremblay, M.S. et al, (2003), Is the Canadian child obesity epidemic related to physical inactivity? International Journal of Obesity, 27, 1100-1105
The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity: This Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief that reviews more than 40 studies on the role of media in the nation’s dramatically increasing rates of childhood obesity explores what researchers do and do not know about the role media plays in childhood obesity. It also outlines media-related policy options that have been proposed to help address childhood
U.S.News article “Childhood Obesity Epidemic a Long-Term Challenge” http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/070920/childhood-obesity-epidemic-a-long-term-challenge.htm
Related Media Relations Articles
Posted in media relations | Children, Counter, Drives, Media, Obesity, Simple, Tactics | Leave a commentEnlist a health public relations firm to help provide top quality medical care to the area
In these dark and troubled times, the prospects of running a successful health related business is quite difficult. There are a number of variables and a multitude of different factors that can determine the success or failure of a health related business. Obviously, the quality of work and the quality of the medical and dental practitioners is paramount. This should be easily understood in that if a particular health related business cannot deliver the goods, so to speak, no amount of spin control will resuscitate said business. Having broached the subject though, it can’t be said enough that how the general public perceives a particular health care provider will ultimately determine whether or not that particular health care provider is a success. This is why so many health care practitioners have enlisted the help of a health public relations firm like Makovsky and Company, a public relations firm in New York.
There are many advantages to hiring a health public relations firm like Makovsky and Company, a public relations firm in New York. The first and most important reason is that by controlling how the general public views a particular health care institution’s effectiveness, a health public relations firm can help to keep patients happy and coming back time and time again to receive a multitude of health services for many years to come. This is achieved by blocking information that is beneficial to the health care provider. This can be as simple as keeping local blogs, television stations, radio stations, print outlets, the local newspaper, and other portals of information in the loop as to the goods and services offered by a particular health care provider. This can include, but is by no means limited to advertisements. A health public relations firm like Makovsky and Company, a public relations firm in New York, can spread the word, so to speak, about a particular case of a health care practitioner going above and beyond the call of duty. In this way, a health public relations firm can show why their health care client is head and shoulders above the rest.
But the purview of a health public relations company is not limited to just spreading the word about all the positive things a particular health care practice does for their community. The health public relations firm is also responsible for protecting the health care provider from bad press. Anyone who has read a gossip blog knows that the medical and dental communities are not the only industries with public relations problems. Many a celebrity and popular sports figure has become undone due to bad press. This is even more apparent in the field of health care. That is why so many health care providers all across the United States of America have enlisted health public relations firms in varying capacities and in different realms to protect their good name. This means that the health public relations firm has to hide anything that could be considered damaging to the reputation of a health care provider. This includes hiding facts about whether a particular health care provider is too expensive, or has on occasion provided shoddy or inaccurate services. These types of scandals have to be avoided at all costs by any self respecting health care provider. In order to ensure a smooth and effective business, a health public relations firm is a welcome addition to any and all medical practices who want the best for themselves.
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A Little Known Media Exposure Tip: 2nd Quarter = Prime Time PR
As the year moves forward, many businesses and entrepreneurs continue to tweak marketing plans and budgets for the months ahead. When it comes to setting up your PR/media exposure plan, WHEN you launch your campaign can be just as important to what and how you launch.
In the last 16 years of generating media exposure for our clients, my research shows that 41% of our media interest and exposure we generate in a year has happened in the 2nd Q – that’s almost double the amount of any other quarter of the year:
1st Q: 18%
2nd Q: 41%
3rd Q: 21%
4th Q: 20%
So what does that mean? If you are planning to implement your PR/media exposure campaign for your business or product in the coming weeks – congratulations. Your timing is ideal.
Frankly, you can get great media exposure at any time of the year given the right pitch and tending in the media market. But what many people don’t realize is that the spring and early summer months are when many media outlets look to run a lot of features on unique products and services: home & garden products; kitchen & food gadgets; auto accessories & car care; pet care and accessories; outdoor/ recreation products; travel products; and more.
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Also, like all of us, many media people take vacations during the summer, so they like to be able to put together many products features in the second quarter that are relatively evergreen and can run at any time while they are gone on vacation in the weeks and months ahead. But they won’t run them if they don’t know about your unique product or service. And that’s why timely, quality media pitches pitch now can be so mutually beneficial for you and your media contacts.
And believe it or not, the latter part of the second quarter is when many of the larger magazines and bigger syndicated TV shows start planning what they call their “Holiday Book” – yes, they start working on their holiday gift guides that early. In fact, some of the bigger magazines are all but finished with their holiday book by August. (I realize July & August aren’t in the second quarter – my point is that the early birds who get their releases and pitches in by May & June stand a better chance of being featured than those who wait until months later.)
The potential media exposure opportunities are directly dependent upon how quickly and efficiently you or your publicist/PR agency can help the media secure the placement. Media relations is crucial. Your job is to make the reporter/editor/producer’s job as easy and as effortless as possible – which will lead to quicker and more numerous placements for you.
What we are trying to do is plant seeds in media outlets’ editorial minds continuously over the next several weeks and months. Given the right tending, the seeds you plant over the next few weeks/months will indeed germinate and you’ll benefit from some great media exposure well into the next couple quarters of the year.
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Wikileaks and the International Community
Recently I’ve had several friends approach me with questions pertaining to international relations, specifically the recent actions of North Korea and the infamous Wikileaks release. These two topics in the past week have been twisted and misconstrued, leaving people with a poor conception of the situation. First we’ll examine North Korea and their recent attack on South Korea on the Yeonpyeong island, which resides in disputed waters that North Korea claims are rightfully theirs.
North Korea has a unique type of government being classified as a ‘ohereditary dictatorship, which is ruled with a military junta and has a centrally planned economy. I hesitate to call it communist, only because technically the communist movement is international, while the North Korean government consists of maintaining a single state presence. The official name is called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) which is of course is irony at its finest considering it has one of the most repressive regimes of modern history.
The artillery barrage from last week marks one of the most aggressive moves the DPRK has made to its southern neighbor, claiming that the islands south of the Northern Limit Line belong to them. However, there are ulterior motives at work here: North Korea has no interest in starting a regional war, especially one that they would surely lose. North Korea’s internal stability like all nations in the world revolve around keeping their populace content, of course each nation has their own agenda and how they view a problem. For the DPRK it’s simple: they face chronic food shortages which lead to inflation in the economy and eventually stagnation. In addition to this, some speculate that the attack is simply related to the succession of Kim Jong-il as a test of strength, which could be true as well. No single reason can explain this event easily.
North Korea’s diplomacy in the past has been one of aggression to bring key nations to the diplomatic table. In response to this, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States formed the six-party talks in hopes of halting the cycle of violence. For future details, the New York Times has an interactive timeline showing the more prominent events with the clashes between the two Koreas, including the six-party talks. The most recent incident is nothing new, with North Korea wanting attention and diplomatic power by threatening war; however, it’s no secret that the leadership wants direct talks with the United States. This would enable the DPRK to cut a deal so to speak with the United States on the trade embargo imposed on them and the foreign aid they receive, instead of getting their requests watered down in the six-party talks as mentioned before.
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Hence, North Korea has nothing to gain for starting a peninsular war with its southern neighbor, since even China, their closest “ally” in the loosest sense wants to prevent this at all costs. Having North Korea engage in a war means refugees crossing into China controlled Manchuria; a logistical and domestic nightmare. It would also mean American troops being stationed directly on China’s border, which would ruffle the feathers of the Chinese leadership. Finally, North Korea would most likely not launch a nuclear strike on the United States because, not only does their missile technology pale in comparison to ours, but they would also never be able to come to any diplomatic table from the international community.
In relation to this, we know from the Wikileaks fiasco that China is having second thoughts when it comes to their alliance with North Korea. The DPRK is proving to be too troublesome and closed-minded even for Chinese standards, damaging their relations with the international community and their slow transition to democracy. For now, the best course of action for the United States is to continue the six-party talks and have direct discussions with the Chinese leadership over North Korea. Only China can rein in their unruly neighbor, which would dramatically change the dialogue of negotiations considering they’re North Korea’s main trading partner.
This would not be the first time Wikileaks has given the public access to high level diplomatic information; in fact, the website is starting to change how the public views governments and the complex relationships between them. If you are completely unfamiliar with Wikileaks, here’s what you need to know: Julian Assange is an Australian citizen who is the editor-in-chief and spokesperson for the website Wikileaks. The website, through various internal sources predominately in the United States Military, obtains and releases sensitive high level data on government operations which only until now have been quite serious. The servers are located throughout the world and the legal status is complicated to say the least, however if one could label a headquarters it would be Sweden due to their strong laws to protect confidential journalistic sources. In fact, one of the main computer servers has been described as a James Bond villain style bunker, located 30 meters underground in a Cold War facility.
It’s hard to judge if Wikileaks is legal, however it is providing what many see as a veil lifted from the public’s eyes on the inner workings of governments. Congressman Ron Paul was quoted on the subject saying, ‘oIn a free society we’re supposed to know the truth, in a society where truth becomes treason, then we’re in big trouble. Naturally many, including most notably former Canadian government adviser Tom Flanagan said that Julian Assange ‘oshould be assassinated, though most government officials view Wikileaks as a security risk, potentially ruining delicate balance of diplomatic relations.
Regardless, Wikileaks has given journalists, bloggers, even ordinary people a wealth of information to analyze and digest. Frankly, there is so much more I could write and speculate on but for now expect Wikileak documents to be part of my regular analysis in the future. This article was intended just to introduce anyone to the website, and of course use its cables to explain China’s relationship with North Korea. In turn, North Korea’s recent actions are unacceptable to the international community and the six-party talks should resume with China in particular taking the lead in condemning the attack. Only China can effectively neutralize the DPRK’s leadership, making them think twice about future attacks, lest they risk their trade relations and overall economy.
Steps to Create a Medical Practice Marketing Plan
If you want to effectively use marketing techniques for your medical practice, it is not good to just be haphazard about it. The strategies that you employ will not be effective if you just “wing it,” or follow the common trends that you hear about, or copy what your competitors are doing to promote their brand.
For your advertising thrust to be effective, it is crucial that you develop a medical practice marketing plan. The marketing plan enables you to form a framework that you use as a guide when choosing the steps to improve your medical practice.
Of course, not everyone is knowledgeable about forming marketing strategies and the like. Because of this lack of skill or knowledge in marketing, many firms are having trouble with forming a good medical practice marketing plan. That is why it is important to remember what the proper steps are.
The usual steps for making a medical practice marketing plan revolve around these three topics:
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The primary action that you need to take when coming up with a medical practice marketing plan is to study your current situation. This means that you learn both the internal and external happenings in your company. This implies analyzing your own capabilities and services, what your competitors are doing, your target market, as well as the current market environment.
By doing this, you will know the different features where you can base your marketing strategies. You will know which services to highlight as well as which things you would need to improve. Of course, the caveat is that you have to be very honest in your analysis to provide accurate data.
After realizing what the current situation is, the next step is to set concrete goals which you want your medical practice marketing plan to achieve. When doing goal setting, you must ensure that the milestones that you set are specific, measurable, achievable and relevant. By making your goals set to these standards, you can know when you are going off course in trying to reach them.
The final step of your medical practice marketing plan must be determining the kind of marketing techniques you want to use in order to reach your goals. It must cover the broad scope of your plans such as what kind of media to use, or whether to utilize online marketing through web sites, as well as the more detailed information such as knowing what kinds of designs or articles to come up with to market your practice.
After being able to formulate a marketing plan, the remaining step is to just start following it and acting upon it. If you find that you have some troubles in doing the plan or making the necessary actions, you should consider getting some outsourced medical marketing assistance.
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Career Opportunities for Public Relations Manager
Almost each and every firm seeks to promote their products and services for ensuring profitability. In smaller companies, it is the owner or the Chief Executive Officer that would assume all the responsibilities towards sales and marketing, as well as all the promotional aspects. However, things stand on a different footing when it comes to larger enterprises. They would have some public relations manager to deal with all these issues.
Using Services of Public Relations Manager
Smaller firms do not like to spend huge amounts by engaging specialist public relations manager and often outsource them. However, medium and large enterprises find using the services of public relations manager better than outsourcing as it is economic on the long run. Managers can direct advertising or promotion staff that is not usually large except in the very big firms.
Job Features
Usually the job of the manager would be to –
Create a firm liaison between the advertising as well as promotion agencies;Managers supervise creative, in house accounts;They also supervise media services departments; andOverseeing the copy chief, art director, as well as related staff, he or she will help the public relations effectively;The job revolves round fast moving media relations besides projecting, securing and repairing the images of the company for which they are working.Career Building Requirements
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In the era of job growth the job of public relations managers are also gaining headways in the job markets. Basic requirements for building up the career are –
A bachelor’s degree at the minimum that could cost around .3 million.Efforts, time, and financial investments are more than compensated when the job is secured.The job is reliable and vital and the competition is great. Hence the prospective candidate should not only have academic degrees but practical skills and communication ability as well.Relevant Institutes
An academy that offer training in various aspects of public relations and deal out bachelors or masters degrees for the candidates is the best bet for people aspiring for the career. Fortunately, not only many such academies exist but online training is also available for expectant candidates.
Employment Prospect
Usually people within the company who have become acquainted with the affairs are selected for the job but direct appointment opportunities are also there. However, working in various posts in a firm could be great way of making to the post of public relations manager in the enterprise.
Working in non-profit organizations dealing with the public issues could be a great start for any career aspirant.
The job revolves round fast moving media relations besides projecting, securing and repairing the images of the company for which they are working.Almost each and every firm seeks to promote their products and services for ensuring profitability. In smaller companies, it is the owner or the Chief Executive Officer that would assume all the responsibilities towards sales and marketing, as well as all the promotional aspects. However, things stand on a different footing when it comes to larger enterprises. They would have some public relations manager to deal with all these issues.
Writing Media Press Releases
We may have been hearing about releases without actually knowing or understanding which is which and what they stand for. A news release, media press releases, press release or press statement is a form of written or recorded communication which is mostly handed to the news media for announcement to the public. Mostly, these releases are emailed, faxed or mailed to the news editors of the news media they want to use for the news announcement.
Most news releases are adopted in public relations where they are used to attract media attentions. News releases serve as news source for reporters and they provide information as scheduled events, personal promotions, awards, news products and services, sales, accomplishments, etc.
On the other hand, media press releases are short news articles about a company and their product. The media needs these stories to work as readers will be searching for interesting stories. So the attention here is focused on making the story workable. It doesn’t require too much detail about the company like what they do and their benefits, but just few things to make the story work.
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Contrary to all these, a press release is different from a news article. People often take this to be the same but it not so. A news article is a compilation of the facts surrounding a given firm but a press release can not be based on the general facts as there are elements surrounding each release. Press releases have several traits to whether it is a general news release, event release, product press release and more recently the social media release. This is why press releases are different from other PR communication methods like pitch letters or media advisories.
A press release can never be complete and will never be accepted without having some elements. For instance, a press release must have a headline, dateline, introduction, body, boilerplate, close and the media contact information which may include the name, phone number, email address, mailing address, or other contact information for the PR or media relations contact person.
On the other hand, unlike the other releases, the result a press release will get depends a lot on the newsworthiness of the story and how the audience is convinced.
One of the best ways of having a successful press release is to keep releasing a steady flow of news. You can no just release a story and relax once you see it on the limelight. There are many releases coming from other companies and they can get your release cleared out of the spotlight anytime. Keep the news coming! If you run out of headline, subjects or just get demoralized on the work, contract a press release service firm. Use firms that have been in business for sometime which understand the necessity and functionality of media press releases. There is always need for more good stories and a press release service firm knows just the right angle to ‘strike’ your story and get the public gasping in surprise.