September 28, 2012 in Media Relations, Public Relations by Reg Rowe
ADVICE: Mind Mapping Helps You Visualize Key Messages

Mind mapping circlesSuccessful media interviews come with experience and the use of a few key skills; and one of my favorites is Mind Mapping. In situations where you, as a spokesperson for your organization, are expected to know everything there is to know about your firm’s history, people, products and services, Mind Mapping can make the difference between a successful interview and an opportunity lost.

Mind Mapping is a process of identifying important information about an organization and what it does, provides, produces, sells and distributes, and how it communicates with its key audiences: employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, partners, influencers, followers, media outlets and more.  A Mind Map can be a general overview of your entire organization or a very focused, detailed look at a single product, service or issue.

The Process Starts with a Circle

Start your Mind Map by drawing a circle in the center of a white board, flip chart or piece of paper. In the circle, write down the subject of the Mind Map. Is this an overview of your company? A detailed look at your latest product or service? A major issue facing your company or industry? A crisis situation? Whatever the subject, write it in the center circle.

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September 26, 2012 in Content Marketing, Marketing by Jill Diedrich
ADVICE: 5 Tenets of Content Marketing

Five Tenets of Content MarketingContent marketing has become the clear choice of companies wanting to build awareness, enhance engagement and increase conversions online. And while every company has a different story to tell, the basic tenets of content marketing remain the same.

Some of these ideas may seem elementary right up until the time you fail to integrate them into your marketing and public relations strategy. Taken together they can become a real starting point for a plan that accomplishes your goals.

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience goes beyond just realizing who your audience is — you have to get inside their heads and find out what their interests are and what they want to learn more about. Ask yourself — and better yet ask your audience: What are their concerns and pain points? What are these people talking about on a day-to-day basis and how are they talking about it?

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June 19, 2012 in Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media Marketing by Clay Zeigler
IDEA GROVE NEWS: New Video Hits the Highlights for Idea Grove


Nothing starts a relationship off right like a proper introduction. Now visitors to IdeaGrove.com have that thanks to a new home-page video highlighting our capabilities.

To do it, we called on our friend Amy Schmittauer, a social media consultant with a lively video presence. Amy loves the camera, as a subject and as a marketing tool. Video blog posts are a key element of her business, based in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

So, check it out — and let us know what you think in the comments.

 
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May 3, 2012 in Media Orchard by Scott Baradell
HEADS UP: Pick of the Orchard

Social media are on our minds again this week, but as usual, we always come back to content marketing.

 
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April 14, 2012 in PR Agencies, Public Relations by Scott Baradell
IDEA GROVE NEWS: Longtime Weber Shandwick SVP Reg Rowe Joins Idea Grove

We’re pleased to welcome Reg Rowe, former senior executive at agencies including Weber Shandwick, Hill and Knowlton and Ketchum Public Relations, as our new senior vice president.

Reg has provided senior counsel, strategic planning and public relations program management for the past eight years in his capacity as senior vice president of Weber Shandwick. He served clients including some of the largest corporations in the country, such as American Airlines, ExxonMobil, GM, Microsoft, Verizon and Walmart.

Prior to Weber Shandwick, Reg served as senior vice president at Hill and Knowlton and as senior vice president for technology clients at Ketchum Public Relations. He has also served as the managing editor of a mid-sized daily newspaper, where he gained a strong grounding in developing, managing and distributing content.

Among his accomplishments, Reg has earned a PRSA Silver Anvil Award, a TPRA Silver Spur Award, and was twice named Oklahoma Newspaper Columnist of the Year.

 
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