When you begin to put together a marketing communications plan, the discussion invariably turns to messaging and positioning. These two terms can take on different meanings and the process can by quite different between practitioners, but in the context of public relations or corporate communications it comes down to what you want to say, how to say it in the context of the public discussion, and to whom you want to say it.

The 8 Powerful Communications Secrets Every Person Can Use
I have recently re-connected with a personal hero of mine: Pamela Maier, a personal counselor or “life coach” as she describes the role she fulfills, “because I now have a life.” Pamela is a delightful individual who’s lived a variety of experiences in her 79 years.

InsideSales.com to Host the World’s Largest Virtual Sales Acceleration Summit Thursday
InsideSales.com, the global leader in cloud-based sales acceleration technologies and solutions, is sponsoring a virtual summit focused on sales acceleration. The Sales Acceleration Summit is slated for Thursday, March 13, 2014 and assembles the world’s leading experts in sales, marketing and technology.

Making a Bad Decision Worse in Minutes
It’s no secret that the Internet – and social media specifically – has made it extremely easy to share information of any kind with both friends and strangers. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., are thus ideal venues for PR professionals to update their audiences on the latest happenings with their clients.

Waterford Institute’s UPSTART Benefits Local Family
Here is a success story from one of our clients, Waterford Institute.

The Seductive Writing Tips That Leave Readers Begging for More
Why did Duistermaat’s writing seduce me? Today I share some of her most alluring tips. Duistermaat wrote her post as a guest submission for Jon Morrow, an online writing hero I’ll be interviewing further within the next several weeks. In the meantime, I learned Henneke’s book Blog to Win Business – How to Enchant Readers and Woo Customers has just become available on Amazon.

Six ‘Out-of-the-Box’ Ways PR Writers can Overcome Jargon
Unknown-1Often, between the frank discussions on preparing a message platform and the written messages, we end up with overused and tired clichés, phrases and jargon to describe an otherwise important piece of information.

When The Government Closes Your Business
This week I interviewed Michael J. Daugherty, author of “The Devil Inside The Beltway,” an expose on federal government overreach into cybersecurity and small business.

How to Write An Effective Blog Post For Your Company Website
Blogging, in addition to any online presence, is becoming just as important as having a company website. Customers, clients, and potential clients want to read a blog. They want to see what companies have to say when they aren’t pushing a commercial or promotion or event.

Applying Ethics Can Help You Think Outside the Box
I’ve been teaching an intro to public relations class and the most recent lecture covered ethics in PR. It was a great reminder to give more thought to my actions, because looking back over the past few weeks I actually can name several instances where I could have applied ethical thought to my actions and to my recommendations.

Digital Changes We Can’t Control
big brotherIt is a beautiful mid-January day in Salt Lake City, Utah; sunny and verging on 50 degrees. During lunch with my adult daughter today I heard the medial news story that the NSA is suspected of adding radio wave tracking software to over 100K consumer computers in 2013.

5 Ways to Keep Your Customers – and the Media – Wanting More
As a business strives for success, it is going to have numerous highs and lows. For McDonalds, one of the most successful brands in the world, last year was a definite low, if you put any credence in the recent list 24/7 Wall St. compiled of the 10 most hated companies in the United States.