If you Google the term "strategic communications" our company -- Strategic Communications -- is likely to show up on the first page of the results you see. Great, right? Well, not necessarily. 

 

But, the fact that it does, and the results that we see through our web site analyses, have provided some key insights into the types of words and phrases we, and our clients, should be optimizing for. 

 

When we review analytics there are a few key metrics that we monitor regularly -- one is bounce rate. The bounce rate gives an indication of how engaged visitors are with the content on a site. The higher the bounce rate, the lower the engagement. 

 

What we've seen with the bounce rate for the search phrase "strategic communications" on our site is that, while it was drawing a lot of visitors to the site, those visitors weren't staying on the site.

 

Why? Well, consider this logically (as you should when exploring your own analytics). Put yourself in the "heads" of those who are looking for what you have to offer. What are they likely looking for? 

 

In our case, are those that are entering "strategic communications" looking for a strategic communications consultant? Probably not. If they were, they would probably be entering "strategic communications consultant." So, what they're probably looking for is general information on strategic communications as a concept; they're likely not looking for a vendor.

 

Who do you want to draw to your web site and what words/phrases are they likely to be using when looking, specifically, for what you have to offer? SEO is not rocket science. But, optimizing for the "right" words and phrases requires some strategic, and logical, thinking. 

 

For more information see our blog posts on social media. 

 

Socializing Your CEO, a report released by Weber Shandwick, indicates that only 18% of the CEOs of the largest companies in the world have their own social network pages--a 2% increase from the 2010 report. 

 

It would appear that CEOs are simply not jumping on the social media bandwagon, at least not personally. Don't believe it? Do a quick search on LinkedIn, arguably the most "professional" of the various social media channels, and see how many CEOs you find.

You'll find some, but they don't represent the CEOs of the Fortune 500 -- or even 1000. Most, like me, are CEOs of their own small firms or consultancies.

 

So, what gives?

 

Actually, we feel this lack of engagement is logical. Think about it. CEOs of Fortune companies are busy people. On top of that, they're already well established so, unlike many other participants on sites like LinkedIn, they're not that interested in networking, building their reputations or landing new jobs. They've already "been there, done that." Quite simply, they don't see the value and--from their vantage points--maybe, just maybe, there isn't any. For them. But, not necessarily, for their organizations.

 

The challenge for  communicators then becomes not so much to convince CEOs that they, personally, should be engaged in social media, but to demonstrate to them, in measurable ways, how social media might benefit the organization. 

 

That's a different argument and it's one that can be won--but only through the use of rock-solid evidence of real, bottom-line results. We've written and spoken a lot about this topic recently and one of the things we're finding consistently is that communicators aren't doing a very good job of "speaking the language of the C-suite."

 

More here.

In our work with organizations, primarily in service professions (e.g. healthcare, consulting), we often find one critical audience overlooked--employees. 

 

Particularly for service organizations, employees are everything. They literally are the product! If they aren't kept informed about your company's mission, vision, values and desired brand image, they can't help you support your brand.

 

The big question for you: do your employees understand, and support, your desired brand image?   

 

We have a  white paper on "Branding Through Your Employees" that provides some specific tips and suggestions for how to ensure that employees are helping you to support your desired brand image. 

 

We've also written about the topic for a variety of business publications.  Most recently "Making Employees Into Ambassadors," a three-part series that appeared in an insurance industry publication.

 

It's an important topic and a core strategy for any successful brand. And, importantly, it costs a lot less than the types of activities that organizations typically embark on when they think about branding.

 

What do your employees know about your brand?