The Public Relations Blog

How creative public relations that attacks the mainstream cacophony helps your business

Early in the 19th century during the Peninsular War, when Spain was resisting Napoleon, the term “guerra” (Spanish for war) evolved to “guerrilla” to describe the way the Spanish were fighting against Napoleon’s empire. The fighters against the mainstream were rebels, radicals and revolutionaries. This small independent group used irregular means to fight against larger regular forces.

In the 1980s, the phraseology “guerrilla marketing” evolved from the historical corps of special fighters who succeeded in going up against the establishment. Gearing the strategies that worked in the Pyrenees as well as the jungles of Latin America, businesses (using little cash or other resources) could attack the big companies in similar non-traditional ways, on non-traditional battlefields.

Tips to implement your content marketing plan and grow your company

Marketers and PR professionals have been buzzing about content marketing for a few years now. The benefits from content marketing are vast, demonstrating that it’s a valuable tool and not just a trend that will disappear. Having a content marketing strategy can increase inbound traffic, engagement and lead generation, among countless other benefits.

So how do you finally get in the content marketing game in 2016?

Use PR to become a leader in your industry

We know the story well: Barack Obama went from a relatively unknown first-term politician to win the hearts and minds of the people and take the presidency of the United States. It was considered by many to be a major PR achievement and is featured in the recently published book Campaigns that Shook the World by Danny Rogers.

Do it right and you could form lasting and lucrative media relationships

Help a Reporter Out is a free service that enables journalists to connect with information sources. If you're an expert and have an interesting opinion or story to share with the media, you can sign up for HARO to get connected to journalist and get your story published, which will ultimately increase traffic to your website and get the word out about your company.

Not long ago, the Axia team blogged about dark sites – what they are and why they exist. But some may question their value in this age of rapid-fire, immediate communication. Now we take an in-depth look at dark sites and why we need them.

Available since the dawn of the Internet, dark sites are optimized, informative web pages that temporarily reside in the deep web of the Internet. Given limitless coding options, the Internet has layers like an onion.

A few months ago, social media platform powerhouse Twitter announced plans to alter its design. While some changes were aesthetic, a polarizing decision to remove the “share count” button sent Twitter users, developers and social media pundits into frenzies.

Twitter’s share analytics allow businesses, bloggers and everyday Twitter users to track the value (by share count) of their content. Twitter owners know instantaneously what content is perceived as most valuable. Some may wonder why the removal of the share count button is such a big deal, while others are scratching their heads over Twitter’s baffling decision.

December 2015

Estimated Reading Time: 60 Seconds

Incorporate remarkability, good SEO practices into business strategy

By definition, the best way to set yourself apart from your competition is to be remarkable, so make a point of it. Proper search engine optimization will ensure that your website ranks well on Google so that potential customers can find you. It’s time for your company to say “goodbye” to 2015 and “hello” to a remarkable new strategy for success.

PR communications in a crisis must be handled with empathy and sensitivity

Given the reality of 24-hour news, both large and small events receive intense scrutiny during a crisis. The larger networks, in an effort to cater to the American public, will switch to real-time events. Any type of news – good or bad – can become top billing in today’s news cycle. Stock market gains, job market changes or violent crises all can take the main stage for viewership.

Google has changed the SEO and social media game again, so you’ll need to change with it

Google recently announced a major change in how it handles Google+ for businesses. Most of the features a Google+ profile had before, such as phone numbers, reviews, operating insights and page insights, can now be found on the Google Maps profile. This update affects how a company should manage its SEO and prioritize its Google profiles.

How to use a PR nightmare to help you improve your bottom line

The country’s current social climate is an opportunity for better public relations between PR firms and their clients. One of the best examples arose recently at the University of Missouri, and smart companies are paying attention and making changes.