How many times have you received a text message you didn’t look at? The answer is most likely “almost never.” In fact, text messages receive a 98% open rate and mobile messaging is the No. 1 most frequently used feature on our phones. This unlocks a world of creative opportunity for brands. In a time when ad blocking is the new normal, marketers must embrace choice-based ad offerings in the quest for true attention. Luckily, there’s a ripe opportunity to reach the nearly 1 billion iPhone users out there with something they’ll actually appreciate—in iMessage.
Topics
Wolf Packs and Nudity: PR Trends at SXSW 2017
March 15th, 2017 by Anna Ruth Williams, AR|PRIf you’re a PR professional and you’ve never had the opportunity to work a SXSW show on behalf of a brand, you should definitely add it to your career bucket list. There’s the sheer geography of SXSW—every street is lined with branded facades as companies take over venues for experiential marketing stunts. Not to mention the volume of social media and social ads that pump through every channel.
Rise of #SXSW Chatbots Is Real—and It’s Awesome
March 14th, 2017 by Caitlin Angeloff, DocuSignMessaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger (both part of the Facebook family) are powerful platforms that are now being used by more and more people. As mass adoption occurs, the tipping point makes it justifiable for brands and services to invest in the development of bots and AI. And judging by this week’s SXSW, that tipping point isn’t far away.
How to Get Your Pitch Accepted and Eventually Rejected
March 14th, 2017 by Seth Arenstein“Journalists are grammar nerds.” – Kristen Page-Kirby, Senior Arts Editor, Washington Post Express “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” – Attributed to several people, including: Will Rogers, Oscar Wilde, Mark… Continued
How to Get Your Pitch Accepted and Eventually Rejected
March 14th, 2017 by Seth ArensteinIt was an effective pitch: brief, tailored to the media outlet that received it, clearly and cleanly written. It pitched an essay about a relevant topic: best practices for small companies and startups seeking to obtain media coverage. That’s why the pitch, from a PR firm representing a communications director at a brand, and its attached essay made it through several layers of editors until it reached your blogger, with a message affixed from a PR News colleague: potentially usable content. It went downhill from there.
Lyft, Uber Get Easy PR Wins at SXSW
March 13th, 2017 by Ian James WrightLyft and Uber have been locked in PR warfare against each other this year, but the first weekend of Austin, Texas’ South by Southwest was a feather in the cap of both ride-sharing platforms. And they didn’t have to do a thing—they just stood by and watched as others failed to do their job successfully.
How to Lose a Customer and Tarnish Your Brand in One Easy (Mis)Step
March 13th, 2017 by Diane SchwartzRarely do I mess with cookies, except to eat them. But an experience over the last two weeks with a furniture retailer had me clearing the cookies from my computer. So annoyed was I by… Continued
How to Lose a Customer and Tarnish Your Brand in One Easy (Mis)Step
March 13th, 2017 by Diane SchwartzFor those of you who are dealing with customers and stakeholders (who isn’t?), a little customer service goes a long way. Little, as in, call someone back (text or email is also fine) within a reasonable time frame. Treat them like you don’t want to lose them. Bad customer service experience can not only inconvenience you, it can change the whole way you feel about a brand.
How To Turn Metrics Into Engagement
March 13th, 2017 by Jerry AsciertoAs PR pros know, measuring the effectiveness of social media posts can be tricky. Many measurement strategies emphasize vanity metrics such as reach, impressions, shares or retweets, but those KPIs can be misleading. Just because a tweet is re-tweeted multiple times doesn’t mean users actually are clicking on the link found within. So communicators must separate quantitative and qualitative metrics—volume vs. quality—for a more complete picture, says Danielle Brigida, national social media manager at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
How PR Can Play a Role in Training Employees to Be Brand Ambassadors
March 13th, 2017 by Morry SmulevitzLast year, I moved. That meant along with changes to my billing address, my favorite coffee shop and my go-to dog park, I also switched cable TV providers, sending me down a month-long rabbit hole of technician visits, troubleshooting phone calls and frustrations of every kind. The experience also resulted in the best PR I’ve ever received. It was due to just 1 employee who cared.