Spark Issue # 024
August 22, 2007

Greetings Summer SPARKers!  We’re back from our brief summer break and are ready to get back into the full swing of things. We’ve gone through a couple of changes here at Spotlight over the past couple months, we thought it would be a good time to discuss how the PR world as a whole is changing. The catalyst is the Internet, and it’s giving our field a makeover more extreme than Britney’s head-shaving episode. For this, our last issue of the summer, we’ll wrap up our guest writer series with some wise words from Jeremy Mays, CEO of Transmyt Marketing.  Jeremy’s experience in digital communications and internet-based marketing make him an expert on the subject.  So lounge back, put your AC on full blast, and prepare to be enlightened. Here is what Jeremy has to say...

Keeping Up With an E-World
No one can dispute the impact that a strong online presence has on an organization’s success.  The past decade has seen a dramatic change in the way various companies have restructured themselves to adapt to our online world. If you’re working in the communications industry, you need to make sure you’re staying on top of new Internet trends in order to get the most bangs for your clients’ bucks.  It can get tricky, but with some research and a little planning, you can get a lot accomplished.

Jump, Jive and Sway Your Logo
Your logo is what defines you.  It’s what people see in their minds when they visualize your company, so one of the first things you’ll want to do is make sure it’s optimized for the internet.  Take advantage of your resources and try to make your brand animated. Let it jump, sway, sparkle, or shine. Whatever you decide, make sure it doesn’t just sit there and do nothing. An animated brand is more likely to catch customer attention. You’ll also want to make sure that your logo is a small enough electronic file to be placed in emails, yet detailed enough to leave a lasting impression.

Email Your Heart Out
Email is increasingly becoming (as it should be) the preferred method of communication for people in industries all around the globe.  The days of snail-mail are slowly coming to their end.  Whether you want to pitch a story idea to an editor, get a proposal approved, or mail out a company catalog, chances are your best bet of reaching your target audience will be through a clever and compelling email campaign.  It also saves a lot of paper, which is great for you environmentally-considerate folk. A particularly clever campaign involved The British Heart Foundation. They sent out emails with words of encouragement to people who were trying to quit smoking.   If you can be creative like this, your emails will really take you places.

Make SEO Your BFF
A crucial component to any marketing initiative these days is SEO or Search Engine Optimization, which is the process of arranging your website’s content so that it can rank high up there in various search engines.  To do this, you’ll want to make sure your website contains enough key words and relevant links.  Having the word “muffins” show up repeatedly on your website will do nothing for you if you’re an accounting firm.

Have Fits of Metrics
SEO’s partner in crime is Web Metrics.  Since the web is becoming a dominant force in the business world, metrics allow you to see just what kind of traffic your website receives and how that traffic is converting into new business--you can view which links are clicked most, how long people stay on certain pages, which search engines direct people to your site, and about a million other vital numbers and criteria!  With this information, your organization can adjust its marketing strategy on the fly simply based on your metrics.  For example, if you’re an online retailer, metrics can help you understand which of your products’ web pages are actually closing the door and which are converting into that much sought after sale.

The rapid changes happening in our industry can be a bit intimidating at first, so just keep your cool, and be aware of trends in the world of digital marketing and communications. This will ensure that your organization stays really e-tastic!