Whether you’re just starting to experiment with AI or looking to sharpen how you use it day to day, understanding the basic do’s and don’ts of AI in public relations is key to using it responsibly and making it work for you, not against you. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll help you navigate what AI does well and how to use it in a way that still sounds like you.
Recruiting applicants should be an easy process. You post a job listing, you send it out on all the major job platforms, maybe have your employees share it on social media, and you’re done. Right? Well, not exactly. As many business owners have experienced in 2021, hiring quality applicants is getting harder and harder. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll look at how to implement a great recruitment marketing strategy. Learn about the current landscape, what’s changed, and how you can fill the empty positions that are hurting your bottom line.
f you are like many companies, a return to normal means staffing up to pre-pandemic levels as we bounce back. However, in many business verticals, something’s different. People aren’t clamoring to take that job you have advertised on Indeed or LinkedIn. Recruiters are having challenges finding just the right candidate for you, and when they do find the right person, the candidate may have different expectations than what you are offering. If you are having trouble filling critical roles, from production and service jobs to executive roles, it might be time to ask if your company’s approach to recruiting is part of the problem. In today’s Plain Talk newsletter, we’ll talk about poor employer branding and recruitment marketing practices that are slowly starving businesses across the country and how to avoid them.
In today’s Plain Talk, we’ll look at the ensuing panic this faux statistic created and then separate fact from myth to get to the bottom of just how important optimizing for voice search is to your business.
Over the past 18 months, an entire industry built on convenience had to work diligently to make itself even more convenient—practically overnight. The addition of delivery services, click and collect, curbside pickup, and changes in store formats, websites, and loyalty programs all had to be executed in months rather than years, and all under steadily decreasing traffic for fuel. Many of the conveniences created and habits formed are expected to stick as increasingly, consumers are expecting brands to operate seamlessly across all retail channels. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll talk through the role evolving convenience store channels should play in your brand’s omnichannel marketing plan.
For traditional banks and credit unions that enjoy strong name recognition, the value of their name carries equity. For many years, this has been a fixed dynamic that isn’t lost upon anyone in the industry. Over the last few years, traditional institutions have had to compete more and more for customers with non-traditional entrants to the industry. Conventional wisdom has been that this disruption means that traditional institutions should begin investing more in technology. But what should it mean for their marketing investment? In today’s edition of our Compound Interest newsletter, we’ll look at the value of financial services branding for traditional banks and credit unions. We’ll explore why your focus on innovation can’t come at the expense of your brand.
According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, there were roughly 9,400 business-to-business trade shows in the U.S. in 2019. These trade shows, by some estimates, represented a $15 billion industry that was forecast to exceed $17 billion in 2021. More importantly, these shows routinely represent critical sales opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Then in 2020, COVID-19 came and not only wiped out the shows, but also the critical sales opportunities they offered. The climb back to trade show “normalcy” is predicted to be slow as shows and businesses scramble for virtual solutions to bridge the gap. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss the past and future of trade shows and talk about whether the trade show of today or tomorrow will still be your business Super Bowl.
When we consult with our clients and evaluate their lead generation and other marketing practices, we often find that follow-through is their biggest challenge. Much like a great golfer takes a video of their swing and self-evaluates to improve their game, a company needs to frequently take an honest look at its marketing practices—the whole customer journey—and assess if the follow-through is lacking. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll give you a step-by-step guide to performing a customer journey analysis for your business.
In today’s hyperconnected, digitally focused world, reputation management is a 24-hour job. With countless social media platforms available for both fans and foes to say anything, anytime about your brand—like that time shrimp tails were found in a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch—these posts can easily influence a company’s success and even redefine a brand for the better or worse. That’s why smart brands are keeping an eye on the conversations surrounding their organizations and their products and are engaging or even guiding those conversations to boost brand image and customer satisfaction. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss how to manage your online reputation management. We’ll explore where it happens and provide three useful suggestions for how you can come out on top.
When we think of online influencers, it’s easy to instantly think of a celebrity or someone on Instagram with a blue checkmark by their name and one million plus-followers; sharing their favorite makeup or facial cleanser – but in reality, these types of influencers aren’t what’s driving the high user engagement rates – rather their micro-influencer counterparts are. In fact, when it comes to online influencers, bigger isn’t better. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll investigate micro-influencers in healthcare marketing. We’ll look at their sway on healthcare decisions and what you should do about it.
The country is emerging from a generation-defining disaster in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of December 2020, the U.S. had 10 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic. According to Yelp, by September 2020, over 97,000 businesses had indicated they closed their doors permanently. Plus, the global media attention to the virus has led to a sharp increase in public fear about germ safety. While all that seems gloomy, U.S. consumer confidence remains solid, gross domestic product (GDP) is heading in the right direction, and America seems on the way to a sound recovery. While we don’t expect a rash of saltshaker thefts, we do think it’s likely that some behavioral changes sprouting from the past year may remain long after the pandemic is history. In today’s Plain Talk, we’ll dig into some of the long-term implications of consumer behavioral changes during the pandemic and how to adjust to meet them head-on.