The Public Relations Blog

How to grow your brand successfully on Instagram

Instagram is one of the top social media platforms. It’s no surprise that it’s so popular; people like sharing photos. Most companies use Instagram to improve their brand awareness and generate likes and engagement that often leads to business growth.

Promoting your company on Instagram is rewarding and a lot of fun. However, there are some pitfalls. Here are seven major mistakes you should avoid on Instagram.

Overcome hiring a PR firm mistake #1

Hiring a public relations firm is an exciting time for most companies. However, sometimes, people get so enthusiastic about their product/service and story that they jump in headfirst without being fully prepared. In fact, Axia Public Relations considers hiring a PR firm too soon mistake #1 from our list of 15 mistakes companies make when hiring a PR firm.

Here are three situations where your company is hiring a PR firm too soon:

How to become a writer that readers will trust

Being a contributing editor is a highly rewarding way to build a journalism career and promote yourself as a thought-leader. This role has many benefits: It can help you to grow as a writer, connect you with many interesting and talented people in your niche and provide inspiration from other writers.

It takes work and determination to become a successful contributing editor – a source of information and knowledge in your niche that readers will trust and return to.

Focus on these three steps to become the best contributing editor in your industry.

You have a news release ready to go for your company, and you assume that getting it in the hands of journalists first thing on Monday morning will beat everyone to the punch. However, you should consider which day is best for your news release because there are some days that provide more benefit for your company than others.

Your guide to writing a better news or feature story

When you write a story, your objective is to get the right message to your target audience. If you understand what type of story you’re writing, it will improve your writing and help you reach the readers you want to connect with. There are many kinds of stories. The most common ones are a news story and a feature story. Even experienced writers often confuse the two.

While both types of stories are equally important for your public relations strategy, they’re used in different circumstances. Here are three critical differences between a feature story and a news story.

3 tips for spotting an altered photograph

Images can create very strong reactions and, in some cases, a significant viral stir. In the world of marketing, images are everything. They’re created, posed, colored and sized with the intent of stimulating emotion and a call to action. The new bane for journalists and readers alike is the spread of false images. How can you discern true images from the doctored ones?

Building relationships with reporters and editors is key to helping your clients’ news releases become inspirations for news coverage. Sending news releases and making friendly, engaging follow-up contacts is a common-sense approach all PR people should know. However, it’s critical that you also build trust and respect with journalists to get your stories on the air, in print and online. Here are five tips that will help.

3 reasons we use this often overlooked site for publishing to social media

We frequently get calls from sales reps encouraging us to check out their new social media publishing sites. The conversation usually goes something like this:

“What publishing tool are you currently using?” Sales rep inquires.

“HubSpot,” we answer.

“Oh, you mean Hootsuite.”

“No, we use HubSpot.”

Your company regularly creates press releases. You, as the PR specialist, spend time researching, writing, crafting the perfect quote and curating the best media list – only to have your release not get picked up anywhere. If radio silence from the media is the norm when it comes to your news releases, it’s time to shake things up a bit. Here are some tips to improve your news releases and media outreach approach.

A thriving social media presence is essential for a successful company. Instagram is a terrific platform for engaging your target audience. However, it’s not enough to post every now and then on your company Instagram page. Your presence must be consistent and continual. If you’re not posting regularly, your potential and current clients may lose interest, and that’s not good for your company. Here are three ways to build a successful company Instagram campaign: