Archive for the ‘Public Relations’ Category

For BusinessCast #171 Robert and I sat down with Dave Fleet,VP, Digital at Edelman (Toronto) to address a scenario that businesses around the world are increasingly having to address. And, the stakes could not be higher: your business reputation…which, of course means either the success of your business success or its downfall.

Here is the scenario (as applied to a large financial institution):

A Canadian-based financial services company has launched a campaign that renews one of its seasonal consumer-based investment products (e.g. RRSPs). They have spent their resources on traditional media (including television, radio, direct mail, in-branch literature and outbound telemarketing) as well as leveraged their permission-based email program, search engine marketing and ad-buys on some well-known consumer sites (e.g. national and local newspapers as well as investment sites).

Everything seems to be going on as expected but, then they get thrown a curve ball: Four days ago their call centre started receiving a dramatic increase in calls revealing that a message is floating across Facebook that their investment product is somehow unreliable.  At the same time, one of the SVPs has just seen that a local financial community influencer with nearly 10,000 loyal Twitter followers has just posted a message slamming the product. Finally, the spill-over is having an impact on in-branch conversations with consumers as well as in the B2B areas of the bank.

In BusinessCast #171 Dave provides insights about how to use social media to protect the business reputation by answering the following questions — questions that are applicable to all businesses facing this type of scenario:

• What are the most immediate actions that you would advise the company to take?
• What is the best way to evaluate the damage done to the reputation of the brand and its product?
• What can the company do to make sure that there is little spill-over into other areas of the its business?
• What are the measures of success that you would recommend to demonstrate success?
• What kind of timetable is required to execute the key recommendations?
• In what areas are the major hard dollar costs associated with the key recommendations?
• What are the most common knee-jerk reaction activities that the company should avoid taking?

Listen to BusinessCast #171 for Dave`s insights on how to use social media to protect and enhance the reputation of your business.

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Social Media — it continues to be a hot topic because of its implications for how every entrepreneur approaches and leads their business. That’s why over the last few months we’ve been bringing the insights of many of the world’s experts in the field of social media to the BusinessCast (see below, “A Selection of BusinessCast Episodes Tackling Social Media”).

And, that’s why in BusinessCast #160, Robert and I sat down with the father of web metrics, Jim Sterne. For over a decade, Jim has been helping business leaders across the world better understand the complexities (and myths) of online measurement strategies, tactics and tools. Jim, who also is the entrepreneur behind the world-renowned Emetric Summits, has just authored a straight-forward book that is essential for business leaders/managers: “Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Optimize Your Marketing Investment“.

A Selection of BusinessCast Episodes Tackling Social Media

In episode #145 Fotobabble – A Social Media Innovation – we get the inside scoop from the mind behind what could be the next big social media business.

In episode #143 The Mitch Joel Interview – international author, successful entrepreneur and new media expert shares the secrets of his success and how to leverage social media.

In episode #136 Social Media – Part 5 – the co-founders of Biz Launch discuss findings from a study on how Canadian growth companies are using social media tools and technologies.

In episode #130 Choosing the Right Social Medial Tools – social media guru Michael Seaton shares with us the social media essentials for all entrepreneurs.

In episode #101 Leveraging the Groundswell – Going Social – Robert and I talk with Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell – – the book that has become the social media strategy bible — about how business leaders/managers can effectively leverage social media.

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Many entrepreneurs struggle with knowing if, when and how to engage a Public Relations company. That’s why in BusinessCast #147, Robert and I sat down with Sylvain Perron, the General Manager of Edelman Digital Canada. With over 130 employees, Edelman has grown rapidly to be one of Canada’s most respected and innovative P.R. firms.

Sylvan shares with us some key tips and insights to help leaders of growing Canadian companies truly leverage one of their most important assets — their P.R. firm.

Of course, if you’re trying to get a handle on social media as a tool for P.R., you’ll need to measure its effectiveness. The eMetrics Summit is a world-class event to help you tackle this challenge. And, the event is coming to location near you. **Special for BusinessCast Listeners**: You can get 15% off the attendee cost if you use the following purchase code: BCAST15. See you there!

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Social media remains an important topic for leaders/managers of growth companies. That’s what you, our listeners are telling us. And, that’s exactly what the research says too. While we’ve covered social media from several angles in previous episodes, in BusinessCast #136, we sit down with the founders of Biz Launch — known country-wide as the trainers for new businesses — who have recently conducted “state-of-the-nation” research on social media.

Listen to BusinessCast #136 and you’ll get some practical tips that you can use tomorrow to begin or hone your social media strategy. At the same time, you’ll also get a sense of where most companies like yours are today — as far as their social media plans, initiatives and successes.

Also check out the following BusinessCast episodes that focus on social media:

#130 – Choosing the Right Social Media Tools – Robert and I speak with social media guru Michael Seaton. He shares with us the social media essentials for all entrepreneurs.

#104 – Leveraging LinkedIn - Robert and I chat with Doyle Slayton on how to cost-effectively leverage the Internet’s most popular online social networking tool. See this episode’s blogpost for useful LinkedIn-related links.

#101 – Leveraging the Groundswell - Robert and I talk with Charlene Li, co-author of the Groundswell – which has become the ‘Bible’ for many social media marketers — about how entrepreneurs can effectively leverage social media.

#64 – Blogging for Business - Robert and I get practical advice for new and experienced bloggers from Matthew Vernhout — a digital media veteran and an up-and-coming social media maven.

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When was the last time you and your team planned for an emergency? If you’re like most entrepreneurs, your answer is “We’re far too busy to plan…” or “We’ve already taken precautions to prevent emergencies…” or “We aren’t at risk…”.

Well, the truth of the matter is that all you have to do is open up a newspaper to find instances of business leaders just like you who have suffered great personal and professional losses from not having a current, relevant and flexible continuity plan (i.e. business disaster plan).

That’s why in BusinessCast episode #133 — Be Prepared: Continuity Planning — we reached out to get the most current insights about how and when leaders in growth companies should plan for emergencies. Our guest is American Express’ VP and General Manager, Howard Grosfield. Howard shares with us the results from American Express’ recent cross-Canada research of growing companies’ current state of continuity planning.

Listen to BusinessCast episode #133 and you’ll understand how your emergency planning stacks up against your competitors. At the same time, you will find practical tips for helping you determine how and when to cost-effectively develop a relevant continuity plan for your company.

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