Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
I recently found myself in a Google typhoon, searching pages of results to answer one seemingly simple question: How does Google treat LinkedIn long-form content for SEO rankings? In particular, I was trying to determine whether or not republishing content, and linking back from one’s own blog to LinkedIn, would negatively impact the SEO value of both sites.
Through researching several articles, I learned one thing for certain: Google is constantly updating its rules around indexing and refining search algorithms to better match users with online content. Because of the constant changes, experts allude that even Google contradicts itself when discussing the subject, and after reviewing Google’s Duplicate Content rules, I can attest.
Once I confirmed that Google does in fact value LinkedIn content in SEO rankings – with help from two great articles: “Do LinkedIn Posts Affect Your Site’s SEO?” and “LinkedIn Update Adds 3 Keyword Tags to Posts for SEO” – I wanted to gain a better understanding around the topic of how republishing content and linking back from a personal or business website would impact SEO. Should someone forego sharing their article on LinkedIn to maintain their SEO credibility? Are the benefits of reposting content to LinkedIn worth sacrificing the SEO opportunity?
Luckily for anyone who has ever pondered these questions, it doesn’t have to be an either-or decision. While there is definitely a gray area around this subject and the opportunity for a complementary argument for one side or the other, it boils down to focusing on the quality of the content you’re posting. Taking this approach will eliminate the concern that you may be duplicating content, as well as avoid blundering your SEO ranking.
For instance, each platform has its own appeal and its own audience. Because of this, your strategy needs to be clearly defined. Instead of blasting the same content on every platform, it’s critical to take a moment and differentiate your content to cater to your audiences. Focusing on the quality of content in order to appeal to the appropriate audience will improve the reader’s experience and eliminate the potential of duplicate content.
Another element to consider when appealing to the platform’s audience lies in the length of the post. LinkedIn content tends to be shorter (typically around 600-800 words), making it ideal to access and read on mobile devices and tablets. Alternatively, blog posts and long-form articles can be more detailed (up to 1,000 words or more) and as such, most readers tend to access blogs at a desktop versus a mobile device. Tailoring content while maintaining high quality will be key to successfully giving your readers the information they want, on the device of their choosing.
Considering these factors, SEO ranking will not fall victim to reposting and linking back to the original platform, but will instead help enhance engagement, build thought leadership, and connect users with the content they need.
Check out these helpful blog posts and articles for more information on SEO and LinkedIn best practices.
- Blogs, Medium and LinkedIn: Which Platform is Best for You?
- Power Up Your PR and SEO Efforts in 2017
- The SEO benefits of publishing on sites like LinkedIn and Medium
- The SEO And User Science Behind Long-Form Content
- Making Sense of LinkedIn’s Publishing Capabilities
- Duplicate Content
If you are still feeling unsure about your content, you can submit your article to Google Search Console to be crawled before posting it on another platform.
Since its 2013 social media crisis, when a photo of an employee licking a stack of taco shells surfaced online, Taco Bell has risen to be an exemplary – and often hilarious – model of a business that uses social media for customer engagement and that shows off its brand personality while doing so.
What did the Taco Bell social media managers do to achieve this success? The answer is almost too simple: They react on social media as if they were actually human – go figure! Unlike other businesses who respond like robots with automated responses, Taco Bell fosters authentic conversations between the brand and its customers.
With its engaging, conversational and personal approach to twitter, Taco Bell generates opportunities for consumers to build a connection with the brand. These opportunities, often found in the form of taco-related puns or memes, are usually “retweet”-worthy, leading to exponential exposure of the brand.
So what exactly are Taco Bell’s social media managers’ main tactics?
1. They encourage user-generated content.
remember when I told you guys I was gonna get my senior pictures at taco bell and you thought I was joking pic.twitter.com/GiJK5mNZRf
— brittany (@mogirlprobs) August 7, 2015
Senior picture goals. https://t.co/2IxlLNMr2Y
— Taco Bell (@tacobell) August 7, 2015
Taco Bell has proven it values the content its customers produce. Lately, there has been an influx in students taking their senior photos at Taco Bell – so much so that Taco Bell has a portion of their website dedicated to celebrating them. Instead of posting pictures of highly stylized tacos with studio-perfect lighting, Taco Bell welcomes all (appropriate) photos taken by their customers. In the case of the tweet above, the simple act of retweeting silly senior photos not only generates positive PR by creating more exposure, it also gives recognition to whoever tweeted the photos and therefore inspires other users to engage with the brand in the same way.
2. They target opinion leaders and influences (such as celebrities):
https://twitter.com/acaciabrinley/status/335239874498154496
Instead of spending money on sponsored posts that many users ignore, Taco Bell has been known to send unique gifts with authentic, handwritten notes to its influential fans with strong social media presence. For example, Acacia Brinley Clark’s Twitter post about the custom Taco Bell ring she received went out to 749K followers – hitting a larger and more engaged audience than a blanket sponsored post likely could.
3. They respond to – just about – everything:
@lamenesss Roar.
— Taco Bell (@tacobell) October 8, 2013
A tweet from heavy hitters like Michael Jordon obviously deserves a response, but what about all of the other “little people” out there in social media land like you and me? Taco Bell doesn’t discriminate. Timely and frequent responses to its customers’ tweets signal that Taco Bell prioritizes making their fans feel valued and important. Have you ever gone to a concert and afterward felt like you knew the artist personally? Taco Bell’s social media responses create the same effect. This personal connection may impact sales, but most importantly it fosters a positive interaction with the brand, something all marketers dream of.
4. They are innovative in new ways for user engagement:
#TacoEmojiEngine pic.twitter.com/4tBNTTcOX8
— Taco Bell (@tacobell) June 14, 2017
The notion that “if you aren’t moving forward, you are moving backward” unquestionably applies to social media. Taco Bell succeeds in moving forward by creating unconventional ways to engage its online followers. For example, the #TacoEmojiEngine encourages users to tweet at Taco Bell with a taco emoji and an emoji of their choosing. Taco Bell then creates a meme, GIF or other photo mashup, almost instantaneously, to tweet back. The new emoji content generated by Taco Bell will likely be retweeted multiple times, expanding the reach and encouraging customer interaction with the brand.
It should be evident that a strong social media presence relies heavily on the ways in which consumers engage with brands. A surefire way to create personal connections and positive engagement is simply to be human. Consumers today value authenticity, and a business that can let their true personality shine on social media is a business that will be successful.
Earlier this month, Communiqué PR had the opportunity to help Richmond Capital Partners announce the acquisition of Irvine, Calif.-based Smartlabs, which also included $7.3 million in funding for the internet of Things (IoT) company.
Smartlabs is the parent company of Insteon and Smarthome, and is the world’s leading authority on electronic home improvement and automation. According to a report published by Business Intelligence, by 2020 the U.S. residential market will have 193 million devices in connected homes with almost 50 percent of those devices in Smartlabs’ core electrical, lighting and sensor market. The global smart electrical control market is expected to grow to $10.8 billion over the next five years.
“There are two incredibly interesting IoT spaces in technology today—the car and the home,” said Rob Lilleness, who will assume the role of chairman and CEO for Smartlabs. “Over the next five to 10 years, it is inevitable that a large portion of electrical nodes in the home will be ‘smart’ and addressable via the internet. With Insteon’s patented dual-mesh technology that communicates both wirelessly and via the home’s own electrical wiring, Smartlabs has the most reliable and scalable technology for electrical control and communication, which is critical to meet consumers’ expectations.”
The Seattle-based investment firm turned to Communiqué PR to drive editorial coverage around the news. We worked closely with Richmond Capital Partners to provide counsel around the timing and strategy for the announcement, and then developed key messaging for its target audiences, and drafted the press release. Communiqué PR also developed an email pitch for targeted journalists to secure briefings with Richmond Capital Partners around the transaction, and conducted outreach to local and industry publications.
Below is a list of the coverage to date about the transaction:
- Seattle startup vet Rob Lilleness acquires Smartlabs, investing $7.3M in the home automation company – GeekWire, 6/13/17
- Irvine’s Smartlabs Acquired – Orange County Business Journal, 6/13/17
- Cash infusion could bring Smartlabs more recognition – Los Angeles Times, 6/13/17
- Serial Seattle tech exec buys 25-year-old Irvine IoT company – L.A. Biz, 6/13/17
- Seattle tech veteran buys first IoT company with new investment firm – Puget Sound Business Journal, 6/13/17
- Smartlabs to open Seattle office after it’s acquired by Richmond Capital – Seattle Times, 6/14/17
- Smartlabs Acquired By Richmond Capital Partners, Raises $7.3M – SoCal Tech, 6/14/17
- Internet of Things News of the Week, June 16, 2017 – Stacey on IoT, 6/16/17
- Insteon, Smartlabs Acquired; New CEO Wants to Make Powerline Great Again for Home Automation – CEPro, 6/19/17
We congratulate the teams at Richmond Capital Partners as well as Smartlabs, including Rob Lilleness, and look forward to their continued success in the fast-growing automation and IOT sectors!
In its simplest form, a brand advocate is someone or something that acts in favor of a brand or product and is responsible for spreading positive word-of-mouth messages about the brand to others.
If you stumbled upon this post in a wandering Google search or with little knowledge of PR, let’s just say that the definition of brand advocacy holds strong parallels with the definition of public relations: “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
Although a company’s brand manager and PR manger have different titles, their day-to-day roles and responsibilities strive to achieve many of the same objectives, one major parallel being the strategic pursuit for third-party validation and acclaim.
PR professionals develop plans and conduct media outreach to engage with third-party journalists, analysts and industry influencers. Very similarly, brand advocates are a company’s third-party target that increases brand exposure and spreads positive coverage about the specific product or announcement at hand.
So are PR professionals brand advocates in disguise?
Not quite. Although the question seems simple, it can be more complex when pulling back the different layers of each profession’s purpose. For example, there are tiers or day-to-day activities of brand advocates that do not apply to the roles of a company’s PR team (i.e., sponsored social media posts, discounted products, trunk shows, etc.). After evaluating these layers more closely, you’ll uncover that brand advocates are more often than not the online influencers or paid-customers-turned-ambassador –or-advocate. Despite the road to their official title as brand advocates, these individuals are our friends.
A helpful Meltwater article shares a comprehensive rundown on how PR impacts and benefits from brand advocacy. The article assesses the typical sales funnel and identifies where PR plays a role in the customer purchase decision. Two that hold high authority include “awareness” and the shift from “consideration to loyalty.”
Awareness. Knowledge or awareness of a product or service is one of the first steps of a purchase decision. If your competitor has an overwhelmingly large amount of positive word-of-mouth support, it can be difficult to stay in the running with little to no public validation. PR efforts help spread your messages and raise awareness of your product to the right audience, even if your competitors are also in the conversation.
Consideration to Loyalty. Reputation management and corporate image are two chief responsibilities of a company’s PR team. As consideration moves to loyalty, a company’s reputation also becomes a determinant in the purchase decision. Take the #DeleteUber incident for example – even loyal Uber riders were upset with the company’s actions and chose to cut ties in order to disassociate from Uber’s corporate image.
Whether you wear the hat of a brand manager or PR professional, exploring and getting to know your company’s brand advocates can help move the needle on targeted marketing campaigns and successful reputation management.
Is your company interested in conducting targeted brand ambassador outreach? We’d love to learn more about your objectives!
Being born in the early ‘90s, I grew up in the thick of the digital revolution. In the words of thought leader Marc Prensky, I am a “digital native.” Throughout my childhood, I was immersed in the rapidly expanding technological landscape that exploded in the mid ‘80s and has yet to slow down. It is an exciting time, as innovation after innovation improves our quality of life and communications technology makes the world increasingly connected. The list of benefits are endless, but it is important to realize that our digital age comes with its own unique challenges and that all of this tech may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
The drawbacks of the digital age read like the warning label on a prescription drug: The Digital Age – side effects may include but are not limited to insomnia, reduced creativity, increased stress, loss of intimacy, shortened attention span, information overload, reduced productivity, dry eyes, narcissism, loss of empathy…the list goes on. The issue is that these problems have only recently started coming to light. Technology advanced so quickly, the research on adverse effects is only just beginning to catch up – and the results are worrying.
Luckily, there is a way to mitigate the side effects of digital addiction: a digital detox. Scary, I know, but it can really make a difference. If you had told 18-year-old me to ditch digital for 24 hours, I would have laughed you out the door. Thankfully, I am now both older and wiser, and I was forced to take a mobile break due to an unfortunate incident involving my phone and a canoe. I spent two weeks smartphone-free as I waited for my replacement to come in the mail and found the entire experience to be surprisingly liberating. I read two books. I had full uninterrupted conversations with my friends. My homework took me half the time it usually did. There was a noticeable difference in the way I interacted with people and projects, and it was honestly for the better. Since then, I have set aside chunks of time each week to unplug and it is incredibly refreshing.
I am not the only one to realize the benefits of a technology break either. Pop star Ed Sheeren hasn’t had a cell phone for over a year, his reasoning being that the constant flood of messages was emotionally draining and he felt increasingly disconnected from people. Padmasree Warrior, current CEO of NIO, sets aside every Saturday to completely unplug after realizing that she was constantly working, even on the weekends, and it was killing her creativity. Digital detox camps, like Camp Grounded, have become increasingly popular as they allow adults to step off the grid for a full weekend. Studies are showing that ditching your electronics for an extended period of time can improve your relationships, productivity and your physical and mental health.
The great thing about doing a digital detox is that you can tailor it to fit seamlessly into your life. You can take one whole day off a week, or a month. You can take a whole week of once a year. If you have trouble sleeping, you can unplug a few hours before bed each night to relax. You can ban phones and laptops from your work meetings or schedule an hour of uninterrupted work time in every day. You could have screen-free family dinners. It’s all about finding a way to unplug that most benefits you, so why not give it a try?
It is no secret that social media has become a key conduit to how consumers, business and even politicians, interact with one another.
We live in an era of the 24/7 news cycle. The vast majority of consumers use social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter, to read, share and comment on breaking news because they are right at their fingertips. The instantaneous nature of social media creates many opportunities to quickly share news (and your opinions about that news) with a variety of different target audiences. However, this also means that there’s a small window of time that your news or commentary could be relevant.
Creating compelling content and staying top of mind in a short news cycle can be a challenge. Below are three tips to consider before sharing your news on social channels.
Tip #1: Stay up-to-date on the news in your space
It is important to be well-read and up to speed on current events in your industry and the world-at-large, before publishing your news or commentary on social media.
Timing is everything. On July 20, 2012, an NRA-affiliated magazine, American Rifleman, tweeted: “Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?” around the same time details about the tragic shooting that occurred in Aurora, Colo. were being released.
Unfortunately, nothing ever truly goes away once it is posted to the internet.
Tip #2: Tailor your content to each platform
Social media has become a necessary promotional platform for many organizations; it is an effective and powerful medium providing users access to millions of individuals around the world. Publishing tailored content on different social media accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat can be an effective strategy to quickly connect with a diverse population.
Given the variety of audiences for each of those platforms, figuring out what exactly to post on each site can be a challenge. Having an understanding of the content and social media your clients use is an important factor to consider to ensure your use of social media is valuable and moving the needle. It’s important to be relevant but always remember to stay true to the organization’s core values and brand.
In our blog post, How Different Social Media Platforms Can Benefit your Business, Hannah Hughes explains, in detail, how each platform is set up and how to use them to your advantage.
As the number of social and community-focused sites and apps continue to rise, PR professionals must become proficient in not only using them as consumers, but utilizing them for their clients. When Snapchat first became popular, it was used for photo-messaging between users. Snapchat can now be used to promote businesses, events, and even cities by using Geofilters.
Tip #3: Critical thinking is critical
It is important to think critically about how your target audiences may view and react to your posts. Overlooking this could result in a crisis scenario brought on by messaging that misses the mark, or cringe-worthy content.
We, as public relations professionals, must remain a few steps ahead of the public when it comes to trends and public sentiment, and learn to counsel our clients about how their social media content and presence may be interpreted by all audiences.
The Ultimate Cheatsheet for Critical Thinking may help you decipher this method by asking you questions like, “Why is this relevant to me/others?” If you can answer these questions, you are on the right track.
Food for thought:
Social media has revolutionized the way we as individuals and professionals communicate with each other. In turn, it has transformed the way we approach creating new public relations and marketing campaigns. Understanding how to utilize these tools is not only important, but has become a must-have in order to stay top of mind among target audiences.