News & Opinion

By Bob Gold, Principal   I want to praise Mark Lieberman who is CEO of Viamedia. Mark, leads an effort to provide local TV advertising through 70 different TV service providers across the country. Not an easy task when companies are reducing marketing budgets. Mark continues to be flexible to grow his business while facing multiple obstacles like so many American companies. Here is “Words to Lift By” a poem for Mark Lieberman.   https://youtu.be/3Yhc9Fft0Eo?list=PLWRdnZxbRzbAbLRbxsScSSUFJsZBjKNzj For more information regarding our service offering in public relations and crisis communications please contact us, or check out our Viamedia case study on reinvigorating a corporate brand under fire.

By Bob Gold, Principal   Creative, smart, connective, and tireless. These are just a few words I would use to describe Diane Schieman-Christman. Diane is the right hand to Jana Nelson Henthorn at The Cable Center. Expect big things as The Center looks to grow in new directions and expand upon its amazing Intrapreneurship Academy. Here is “Words to Lift By” a poem for Diane Christman.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pugM3vh47ws&list=PLWRdnZxbRzbAbLRbxsScSSUFJsZBjKNzj&index=27&t=3s For more information regarding our service offering in securing publicity, special events & trade shows, and awards and recognition, please contact us.

By Bob Gold, Principal   I am truly grateful for Beth Braen who is so additive to my life and work. She is all heart, full of laughter, dedicated to her work, and a true friend. We created this poem to celebrate and honor her. Here is “Words to Lift By” a poem for Beth Braen.     https://youtu.be/j25WU7_wTic?list=PLWRdnZxbRzbAbLRbxsScSSUFJsZBjKNzj For more information regarding our incredible team, please click here. Explore our service offering in public relations, content creation, and bankruptcy communications or contact us for a discussion around your specific communication needs.

By Bob Gold, Principal   A brilliant PR pro runs Whiteoaks International, a partner PR agency, in the U.K. I like to think of James Kelliher as my mentor. He has taught me so much about how to run an agency and help to manage client workloads. So today, my poem goes out to my friend, colleague, and partner in PR, James, and his team. Here is “Words to Lift By” a poem for James Kelliher.   https://youtu.be/fN738cya3Hc?list=PLWRdnZxbRzbAbLRbxsScSSUFJsZBjKNzj For more information regarding our service offering in global public relations, digital marketing strategy, and special events & trade shows please contact us.

O'Dwyer's is the leading source for news on PR agencies, public relations, and marketing communications. We publish our news in a weekly newsletter and a monthly magazine that focuses on a specific specialty or industry trend.   O'Dwyer's has been conducting its PR firm rankings for 50 years.    See complete list here. See all Bob Gold & Associates awards & highlights here.

By Roxanne Leone, Director Marketing and Communications  According to the Global Web Index, digital consumers spend an average of two hours and 24 minutes per day on social media networks and messaging applications globally.   As companies and brands strive to increase eyeballs on these various platforms, there is also a growing need to become more human. That is, finding a better way to connect with prospects, customers, and partners to build strong and authentic two-way communication. A good way to do that is by building relationships and trust on social media platforms including LinkedIn and Facebook. 1- Understand Your Target Audience Your social media strategy starts with understanding your audience. What are their wants and needs, how do they wish to interact with you, and how to satisfy their needs in line with the goals of your business? In addition, your strategy should include clear content KPIs. According to Inc., the 80/20 Rule works for some companies but not all. Meaning, an average of 80% of content should inform, educate, and entertain to serve audiences effectively leaving 20% for straight promotion. 2- Track and monitor what you are doing, what is happening in your industry and what has the most traction Many marketers struggle with social listening and monitoring. To put the challenge in perspective, take time to listen and learn from others in your industry including media and competitors. Choose one or two of your competitors and follow their social channels for a week. React to a handful of posts whether it is a comment, retweet, share, or other. See if they respond and how it made you feel. Now, go back and review the type of content you reacted to. Was it a video, image, link to learn more, or something else?   Learn from your own personal experience and begin documenting what your own audience relates to. Be more conversational with the comments you receive. It will help you better manage your reputation, uncover new business opportunities, and help you find more qualified leads. 3- Build a content calendar and make sure it is full of variety Sure, social media continues to be a valuable platform to stay up to date with current news, but the fastest growing segment is driven by the evolution of social platforms as an entertainment hub. Consumers and B2B buyers crave funny and entertaining content - all audiences are human! So, be sure to include bits of fun, humor and pathos into your content. As you plan out your content calendar, make sure it is consistent with your brand and fits with your website and company blog. Remember, content should inform, entertain, or connect people together. For guidance on how to conduct a content audit, review this blog from HubSpot, How to Run A Content Audit in 2020. 4- Employ video content to increase engagement Marketers and public relation professionals want to maximize awareness and promotion on social platforms and get the most from their investment. According to Social Media Today, 54% of consumers want to see more video content from the organizations they support. There is clearly never enough video! Review your budget and ensure you have allocated adequate funds to develop new videos and repurpose videos you already have in your content library.   From a day-to-day standpoint, assign a team member to respond to comments in a timely manner. When posting remember to ask for reviews or comments on your product or service. Ask pertinent questions and of course, respond to user questions. As part of your overall social media strategy, plan ahead for surveys or polls, share informational or entertaining videos, tag guests, reference other’s content that is educational and purposeful and naturally, show some personality in order to keep the dialogue going. 5- Do not be afraid to engage in 1-to-1 relationships Social media is about human connections. Adjust your mindset not to market to the masses and the opportunities are endless. To do so successfully, you need to consider various forms of content that will resonate with your audience.   From a day-to-day standpoint, assign a team member to respond to comments in a timely manner. When posting remember to ask for reviews or comments on your product or service. Ask pertinent questions and of course, respond to user questions. As part of your overall social media strategy, plan ahead for surveys or polls, share informational or entertaining videos, tag guests, reference other’s content that is educational and purposeful and naturally, show some personality in order to keep the dialogue going. 6- Measuring Success How to demonstrate success is top of mind for every social media manager. This Forbes article, Social Media: Measuring The ROI, reminds us to take a benchmark of where you are starting, so you can better determine where you want to go. Review website analytics, SEO rankings, acquisition costs, number of followers, customer satisfaction scores and more! Before firming up your social media strategy and setting your KPI’s, ensure that you understand what metrics you are currently tracking. Metrics used to prove ROI include reach, audience engagement, site traffic, leads, sign-ups and conversions, retention, and revenue. To dive deeper into how to show social media ROI, visit the Hootsuite blog. 7- Good social media can be a great crisis management tool When reviewing your social media strategy, it is good practice to take a glance at your existing crisis communications plan. The better you understand how you are sharing key messages and what are the best methods to communicate the more prepared you’ll be if a real crisis hits. Social media can help manage your crisis or amplify and spread false information like wildfire. For guidance on pulling together a crisis communications plan and ensure all bases are covered, read our blog, “Crisis Management: Every PR and Marketing Professional is a “Crisis Communicator”.   Social media marketing is so much more than a mass marketing tool. When you take the time to build upon conversations and connect with your clients, prospects and others your business will see tangible results and real benefits. Like all other aspect of PR and marketing, social media is changing all the time. It is imperative that you stay abreast of emerging tools, trends and apps and adjust your processes accordingly. Continuing to build two-way conversations can help you strengthen and expand relationships, trust and community.

  NEVER give up — that’s the adage that has come to be my life motto. Just to put this into perspective, I’ll tell you about a time where I felt the most down but chose to persevere.   A “friend of a friend” was in desperate need of finding a new home for her cat. The catch was that the cat was healing from a recent injury with fresh stitches. But, when she brought the cat over, it was clear that this was far from the truth. His wound was infected with unraveling stitches, exposing his muscle. I had never seen anything like it before, so naturally I asked a myriad of questions.   After feeding me an obvious heap of lies, I ultimately found out that her roommate had a raging anger management disorder, and one day, annoyed by the cat as he endlessly meowed to be let outside, nearly sliced its tail off.   I knew I had to save this cat and agreed to take him in with his fresh stitches, cone around his neck, daily antibiotic regimen, and all. Mr. Whiskers became Maynard and together we persevered as he regained his health and my love.   That’s why on the dreaded day that he went missing, I knew I would NEVER give up on trying to find him. Especially after everything that he and I had been through.   Every day began by waking up early and walking around my neighborhood endlessly shaking his bag of cat treats while calling out his name. I did this religiously for a few weeks then realized I needed to cover more ground in my search efforts.   I hopped into my car every morning before work then right after, covering nearly every nook and cranny that I could. At this point friends and family were telling me to give up, but I knew that was not an option.   That’s when I created an account on a neighborhood hub app that allowed me to connect with my neighbors. Trouble is that a cat can be in one spot one second then someplace else the next. So, I decided to go “old school” and started hanging laminated posters throughout my neighborhood and surrounding areas.   Then, at the six-month mark of my search efforts, I received a phone call from a nearly 90-year-old man who had seen my poster and was positive that my cat popped around his place every morning to steal his cat’s food.   That following morning, we staked out his backyard as he put a can of cat food on the ledge of his brick wall, saying — “sometimes, we just have to wait it out.”   So, we did just that as we sat down with our cups of coffee while his curious cat roamed around us. Without realizing it, in the midst of my long search for my cat, I made a new friend.   I learned about his days in the U.S. Army while serving during WWII; his move to California with his beloved and now deceased wife; how wonderful his children and grandchildren are; and just life in general.   Then, mid-conversation, my long-lost cat appeared. I couldn’t believe my eyes. When he asked if that was him, I held back tears, replying — “Yes!” He could feel my sense of relief and we were both equally elated.   As my wise new friend had said — “sometimes, we just have to wait it out.” And, man, oh, man, how glad I was that I had done so!   Anytime I find myself feeling down, I remind myself that by staying patient, resilient, and NEVER giving up, I was rewarded with not just my cat back in my life but a new friendship too.

By Bob Gold, Principal   Bob Gold & Associates got lucky. Seven years ago we hired a guy who has simply become indispensable to our business. Chris Huppertz is not just VP Communications at our agency but, someone that clients and staff respect. Here is “Words to Lift By” a poem for Chris Huppertz. https://youtu.be/o3sEXQFmLGc?list=PLWRdnZxbRzbAbLRbxsScSSUFJsZBjKNzj For more information regarding our incredible team, please click here. Explore our service offering in public relations, content creation, and digital marketing strategy or contact us for a discussion around your specific communication needs.

By Bob Gold, Principal   In trying times, I believe the associate who shows up and gives more than expected becomes indispensable and essential to the business and his team. Those that don't go the extra mile and limit their contribution to set hours may not have the right attitude. At the end of the day, we are all in this together, managers, investors, owners, clients, customers and employees. That's why I have to take a moment to praise a very special person on my team, Andrews Laszacs, who is not only a responsible and stand up guy at Bob Gold & Associates but throughout the community. These Words to Lift By are for you Andrew. Here is “Words to Lift By” a poem for Andrew Laszacs.   https://youtu.be/wEPY5Ku6FuE?list=PLWRdnZxbRzbAbLRbxsScSSUFJsZBjKNzj For more information regarding our incredible team, please click here. Explore our service offering in public relations, content creation, and digital marketing strategy or contact us for a discussion around your specific communication needs.