Planning your Marketing for 2016

We're headed into a new year and the digital marketing landscape is ever changing. Are you ready for the challenges to come in the new year? Some marketing questions you should be asking yourself include:

How much should I be spending on marketing?
Should I be spending marketing dollars online or offline?
What marketing strategies produced the best results over this past year?
It is best to understand the consumer before you decide on where you are going to invest your money. Consumers are more informed these days and are looking for more than just advertising—they want to know the value of the product or service and are searching for content that provides it.
Online marketing budgets will continue to grow at a steady pace in 2016. Businesses are spending about 30% of their marketing budget online by focusing on search engine marketing to ensure their businesses visibility in a simple Google search.

It is also important to consider your content strategy. What yielded the best results last year? What didn’t? Brainstorm ways to improve the value of the content you are sharing with the public. Position yourself as an industry leader in content marketing by sharing knowledge with the audience. Consumers are doing their research and the best marketing is still through word-of-mouth. A brand advocate can only spread the good word about your business if you put your best foot forward digitally.

Consumers are becoming more and more visual these days. The majority of folks spend their time online looking at videos. The Guardian stated, “By 2017, video will account 69% of all consumer Internet traffic, according to Cisco.” These trends prove that you must be able to take content and compile it into a short, meaningful video.

Although these tips can be beneficial no matter what industry you are in, every business is different and what works best for you depends on the nature of your business, the behavior of the target consumer, and the competitive marketplace.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Digital Marketing in 2016

With a new year approaching, it is important to recognize the ways in which digital marketing is changing and how to adapt to the new trends we will be seeing. The leading trend of 2016 is predicted to be marketing automation software. Marketing automation tasks are possible at small volumes without the use of software, but with the use of this software, marketers can cut costs, work more efficiently, and become better organized in the long run. Tasks that can become repetitive and mundane for a marketer can easily be automated through the use of this innovative software.
As mobile use continues to increase, another digital marketing technique booming in popularity is mobile marketing. Marketers would be wise to continue to build their presence through mobile marketing. This includes becoming more creative in the actual content as more and more people are tuning out mass ads and emails, forcing marketers and organizations to listen and deliver what their consumers actually want. Marketers are being called to write more blogs and create videos that can be used on various sites.

Videos are becoming increasingly important and are showing that by the end of 2016, almost 75% of internet traffic will be for video content. Once videos are created by marketers, they can then be used on social media sites, which is another digital marketing trend that continues to grow. While videos are important to use on social media sites, it is important to note that heavy text blogs can turn away consumers and the use of graphics increases readability. Specific graphic design trends are difficult to pinpoint, but it is always advisable to use crisp, clear photos and graphics that are viewable on both computers and mobile devices. The trends we see and use this year will definitely continue to be used in the year to come as digital marketing continues to be recognized and improved.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Marketing this Holiday Season

With the month of November winding down and the holiday season approaching, stress will be on the rise and everyone will be staying incredibly busy. How do you keep everyone engaged and ready to take on your product or service? The holiday season is not just time to spend with family as it gives you an opportunity to advertise your business. You may be missing out on a beneficial opportunity If you are not taking advantage of the holiday season as a way to improve your marketing techniques. The holiday season is when people are constantly purchasing items for gifts, allowing you to make a good profit.

There are multiple ways to increase marketing strategies. First, know your audience as this is one of the most important skills marketers need in order to be successful. Remember, the needs of your audience should be your top priority as this outlook will make you the best when measured up against the competition.

Always remember to wish your clients a happy holiday as you wouldn’t be successful without them. This can be done through the use of cards or gifts. Your clients will feel appreciated and value the contribution of your business, and at the end of the season, your bond with these people will be much stronger.

Considering both online and offline marketing strategies can help your business by receiving the attention it needs. It is important to decorate your office or store as decorations will set the holiday spirit for your customer.

Make use of technology! For those who do business online, changing the sites appearance according to the holiday will make them eager to start shopping.  Visual displays come a long way and you will be surprised at how many clients will visit your site. Social media has also become one of the most powerful ways to promote your business.

Overall, remember to be creative! Clients like a sense of individuality as well as to feel appreciated. The holiday season is not only about giving thanks to your family and friends but those that have helped you get to where you are as you would not be successful without them!

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Why Marketing is Important for Your Business

Successful businesses are built upon the the relationships they develop with their customers. A business must properly market themselves in order to establish these relationships. Marketing is a blanket term for a wide variety of techniques allowing a company to properly communicate with their target audience. Your business may offer great services, but potential customers not even knowing about them if your marketing is not up to par.

Marketing is the introduction of a product or service to potential customers. Advertising and marketing are sometimes thought to be one in the same, but advertising is just one component within the marketing process, along with market research, media planning, distribution, customer support, community involvement, public relations, and sales strategy.

The main purpose of marketing is to generate more sales in order to increase revenue. Creating product/service awareness allows customers to know what you have to offer. Designing a custom marketing plan of who your customers are, what their needs are, and how you can provide services for them helps to ensure the success of your sales.

It is also important to maintain your brand by managing your reputation. When you run a business, it important to get customer feedback in order to improve your services and to attract new customers. Negative reviews or comments can tremendously impact the reputation of your business. Your reputation can be controlled by improving your reviews through word of mouth and through media from your loyal customers. Reputation impacts whether a person wants to use your services or go elsewhere and maintaining a strong reputation will allow your business to grow.

One of the key aspects of marketing that helps your company grow is gaining clientele through referrals. Customers that are happy with your product or service will return and will hopefully will refer friends, family etc. to your business. Having a strong customer following could bring you growth and success through referrals alone.

The success of your business strongly relies on the way you market yourself. Simply introducing your product or service is not enough. All the components that go into the marketing of your company allows you to reach your highest potential. Without marketing, your sales would be limited, leaving you with little to no revenue. In order for you to progress and be successful it is important to have a strong marketing strategy for your business.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Why Google+ Is Important for Business

Creating a Google Plus (or Google+) page has become a popular trend for business owners since it’s release. Google is connected to almost anything you could possibly want to know about and is incorporated in many aspects of day-to-day operation as it is the most widely used search engine in the world. Google+ allows a business the opportunity to market themselves and make their presence known through search engine optimization techniques and quality content.

Google+ is classified as a social media website, similar to the likes of Facebook and Twitter, and people and businesses can link content to their page such as photos, videos, and articles in order to promote themselves and get their ideas out to their audience. There is a misconception amongst some people that Google+ is “pointless” and that “nobody uses it” due to it being a new and different type of social media platform. Although the site may not be too popular for social purposes, it can still act as a very good tool for marketing purposes.

A business’s daily routine usually revolves around Google (Gmail, Drive, Search, etc) and it is highly recommended they get involved in the Google+ community, as your content is given more attention when something is posted. When your content receives a +1, which is when another user endorses your content similar to a “like” on Facebook, it boosts your online reputation and is more likely that something you posted on Google+ shows up when people are searching for related things using Google Search. This can be extremely helpful when there are similar businesses to yours in your community but you have more of an online presence.

Creating a Google+ is a great way to optimize your business’s search engine results. Keeping active and interacting with your audience on social media is a new and effective way of marketing as even the smallest online presence can be helpful to your personal brand.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

National Physical Therapy Month

We celebrate National Physical Therapy Month annually during the month of October in order to acknowledge and bring awareness to the benefits physical therapy can bring to your life. Physical therapy can not only improve your health, but working with a physical therapist also helps to promote an overall healthy lifestyle.

The common practices of exercise, massage, heat, cold, water, and electricity used by physical therapists date back to the days of the Ancient Greeks. In the 1500’s, these practices were used in Europe to treat bone disorders and disabilities, and by the 1800’s were adopted and utilized to treat a variety of orthopedic diseases and injuries. Physical therapists still use these same ancient practices in order to help the body relearn certain motions and restore function.

Physical therapists play an important role in the restoration and improvement of motion by using techniques that avoid surgery or harmful medications while keeping their patients fit through the promotion of a healthy diet and lifestyle.

A physical therapist will work to build a treatment plan based on your specific needs. The goals will help to restore and increase your strength, endurance, balance, coordination, and flexibility.

Physical therapy can treat many ailments! Patients commonly visit a physical therapist in order to help alleviate back, knee, hip, and neck pain, as well as other musculoskeletal issues. A physical therapist can also help treat conditions such as vertigo, concussions, jaw pain, urinary incontinence, and headaches.

It is important that more people become aware of all the ways physical therapy can improve their health. Physical therapy can treat patients ranging from children to the elderly. If you or someone you know is experiencing chronic pain, physical therapy can help to reduce your pain and can improve your overall health. Come celebrate National Physical Therapy Month and spread the word of the great benefits of physical therapy!

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

What is SEM?

SEM is a marketing strategy that has gained popularity in recent years. SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing, and it companies are using it across the world on a daily basis. Search Engine Marketing, in its simplest description, is the process of increasing website traffic by purchasing ads on search engines. SEM is often confused with SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, because originally SEM was used as a broad phrase to describe all aspects of search marketing. Search Engine Marketing these days typically refers to buying traffic through paid search listings.

SEM, or paid search, is a great way for companies to gain an online presence. A company will bid with search engines such as Google and Bing for their website to be shown in search results for specific keywords and phrases. These companies bid against their competitors who are interested in the same keywords in order to rank themselves higher on the paid advertisement portion of the search engine. The paid advertisement area is typically on the top or along the right hand side of the search engine results and is usually labeled “sponsored links”.

When a company bids, they are stating what they are willing to pay when a person clicks on their website featured in the sponsored links. Technically, the company isn’t paying when their site appears, but they are paying when it is actually clicked on. This model is referred to as Pay per click (PPC) advertising. The PPC advertising tactic is a very effective way to get a company noticed online. Although it sometimes comes with a hefty price tag, the ROI is often profitable for a company.

Paired with other forms of search marketing, SEM allows businesses to thrive on the internet and promote their brand.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Social Media Trends for Fall 2015

Social media is an ever-evolving beast. It started out simple—a new way for friends to connect with each other, to chat, share pictures and keep in touch. In the past few years, it has been built up to an empire of Roman proportions.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, Pinterest; they are a brand new continent with their own unique vernacular, customs, and culture. Smart marketers have seen the breadth of opportunity unfolding through these new avenues and have taken their campaigns to the digital stage.

Social media marketing has been subject to a variety of changes as various companies and advertisers morphed and molded it into a fully functional, highly successful branch of marketing. 2015 has been no different.

This year has seen the age demographic of Facebook users climb. A site that was originally intended to be used exclusively by millennials has seen its user base expand to include parents, aunts, uncles, and even grandparents flocking to its user-friendly fields of digital social exchanges. Over the next half of the year and into 2016, researchers predict a 7.6% share increase among users 65 and older. The shares of younger users, specifically in the 18-25 year old range, is expected to continue to decrease in the same time.

The loss of millennials on Facebook does not mean ads won’t reach them. Younger people dominate platforms such as Instagram and Tumblr, have a monopoly on Snapchat and Vine, and are definitely tuned in to Twitter.

The increase of mobile app usage is also keeping audiences engaged. Users can see ads the moments they pop up and browse company social accounts on the go. Some social media sites, such as Instagram and Snapchat, are exclusively mobile and offer a unique way to connect with potential customers and clients anytime, anywhere.

Over the past year, social networks have even become search engines. Users are going directly to Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest for advice, product reviews, and information. Companies who are utilizing these tools can connect directly with people curious about their products and services.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Why Is Marketing So Important for Your Small Business

Consider this: you’ve grown the most incredible garden the world has ever seen. The colors of each and every bud pop as all the flowers bloom, the leaves are the most vibrant green you’ve ever laid eyes on, and their beauty lasts for days and days. You absolutely must share these amazing flowers with the world. You gather up as many bouquets as you can, perfectly arrange them in lovely vases, and set up a stand with your name on the front. You sit down and wait for the sales to pour in.

There’s a flaw here. Nobody knows you’re there. You may have a passerby or two stop to admire your flowers, but at the end of the day, you’ve still got a table full of them.

This is why marketing is so essential to successful businesses. Without proper marketing, your scope is extraordinarily limited. Your name gets tossed around once or twice between friends, and then you become vapor in the air between them. Without proper marketing, your business cannot have a lasting impact.

Marketing gets the word out about your business. It allows you to connect with potential customers and inform them of all the services you offer. It builds brand recognition and fosters healthy competition between businesses. It boosts sales, helps you construct a consist client-base, and helps you make your mark on the world.

Without strong marketing, it is easy to fade into the background and your business can easily disappear. With it, though, you can engage with clients and make your name known. Marketing increases your business’s overall potential, builds your reputation, and increases your reach, and is a tool that must be used in order to ensure your business is the best and most successful it can be.

What is SEO?

SEO is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization, and is especially important for web pages as it naturally ranks them higher on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Search engines show results based on relevancy to the user’s search, as the first websites that come up are typically the most relevant to the user. While there is no payment involved, as it is for paid search ads, SEO involves a lot of tactics and strategies in order to make the web page better ranked, and therefore gaining more visitors.

When someone conducts a search using a search engine, they most likely won’t spend time looking through the thousands of pages of results. Instead, one will typically look at the first or second page, narrowing it down to the first few results. Due to the nature of users of search engines, those pages that are ranked higher will have the most visitors.

There are multiple ways to increase the ranking of a website on a search engine. One priority is keeping the content relevant and making sure it is updated regularly. By updating content, it shows that there is relevancy, and in turn will attract more visits. Keywords are also important and need to be in the opening and closing paragraphs as well as two to four times throughout the content of the page. could be in bold or italics to emphasize them. The keywords should be specific and conversational sounding, and could be in bold or italics in order to emphasize them.

Tags and alt tags are also necessary to gain visitors, as they are useful for videos and media and help give a description. Tags are similar to keywords in that they help attract people looking for a certain topic. Links are also a great tool to boost SEO ranking. Good links to other parts of the web page will create a smooth flow.

When searching for something on Google, results will show a title, and brief description under it. This description can be the deciding factor if a user will visit or not, and should be simple yet informative. When deciding on keywords, it’s important for it to feel natural and not as a marketing tactic. Users might possibly be able to tell if the content is loaded with a bunch of keywords just for SEO ranking, and could very well turn them off from visiting the website.

When creating a website, the user must be the main priority, as they are the ones most affected by a poorly created site. SEO is the most natural and organic way to gain visitors and interactions, and sites should be simple and easily shared. In this case, quality takes precedence over quantity, as it is quality that users care the most about.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

The Importance of a First Impression

Bringing in new patients in today’s world is usually not face to face but instead is done digitally. It is important to make a good first impression and in this driven health care industry patients are making judgments by the website that is created. Instead of patients walking into your office on a Wednesday afternoon, patients are able to visit an online site anytime of the day or night.

The main reason to have a website for your business is for people to not only  find you but also give you credibility that will help with your first impression. To impress online visitors, have an unique and easy to use design so patients are more likely to stay on the page to learn more. Keep things fresh by creating blogs or links that are related to your practice. By doing this you will keep your website attractive and valuable. Online impressions are comparable to meeting someone in person but digitally is different because people are able to leave seconds after getting on the webpage. Your website should also have a design to bring in the patients you want to attract. No matter what type of business you are in, a website is a great place to showcase your work. On your website you should emphasize the healthcare your practice presents and the experience that makes you an ideal choice.

Patients will be more likely to make an appointment if they learn the highlights on the care they will be receiving. It is much easier to bring in more consumers by building a good relationship with patients. There are many doctors to choose from and for patients, it can be very overwhelming when trying to  choose the right doctor. Having a website that is well organized will help gain visitors and increase appointments. First impressions are key to attracting more patients and having a website will help introduce more visitors to your healthcare business.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Why Communication is Important in PR

Communication plays a vital role in effective public relations. Its very important to communicate between both parties so that both organizations are on the same page. The organization that is doing the PR must understand exactly what it is their other party wants for exposure. In public relations the company doing the PR for a certain organization must ensure they are receiving the information correctly and if not they should be getting feedback as to what they should change. This would help by writing reviews and communicating back and forth allowing the sending party to help out to the best of their ability.

The message that is being sent out must impact the consumer behavior of the customers so that they become loyal to the brand. Communication needs to have a strong influence on the target market for them to remain loyal to that brand or organization. I believe with a strong PR team and strong communication you can help expose the company in a great manner. As long as you know what your goal and objective is and you communicate properly there’s no reason your business shouldn’t thrive. Public Relations is meant to get valuable information that will benefit their partnered organization.

Public Relations has had great success over the years through big campaigns. It has changed attitudes towards certain activities like obesity and drunk driving. It is a very effective way in changing how people think. That’s why when you communicate with one another you are able to fix things, expand on things, and start new things. If a physical therapist needed to fix social media or start marketing their company through social media they would have to communicate with a PR firm to help expose themselves.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Google Plus for your Small Business

Social media is a highly effective way for small businesses to market and display their services. One social media platform that has been introduced and is very different from other social media platforms is Google Plus. Google Plus is a social layer for Google services that lets people connect and share content to friends, family and can help with expanding your business. But what are ways to help your small business grow using this platform? There are as many as 2.2 billion users that actively post public content daily.

The social web is able to build your reputation online and Google Plus is able to display your personality while giving opportunity for your product to reach the right market. With Google Plus circles, it is easy to identify and share content with your target market and increase networking capabilities. When trying to reach more users, Google Plus can also help bring your business ranked higher on the Google search engine. Compared to using other social media platforms, Google Plus profiles appear on the top of the search results which can help a small business flourish. This ability helps bring in customers in by giving key information such as location, phone number, and reviews.  Having a platform working with the Google search engine can a small business connect to a side range of audience.

A feature Google plus offers is a video chat tool. The video conferencing can video chat with up to six people and host up to 10 video parties. Google plus brings many opportunities to your business when using video chatting because large or small companies are able to meet with different geographical departments or even meeting different parts of the supply chain. Kenneth C. Wisnefski, founder and CEO of WebiMax a SEO company uses Google Plus in his business. “The screen share feature works great,” he notes. However, “Ensure you have a secure and fast internet connection”.

Google Plus isn’t just another social media network for small business but a platform that can help boost a business’s online presence with using the ultimate resource of Google. If a small business  is trying Google Plus for the first time understand that if your target audience is known to use all Google services to make your business a success.

Why Small Business’ Are Better

You’ve all heard one hundred times before, would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?  Normally you might think that you want to be the big fish but in some situations the smaller fish might actually have the advantage. Think about it from a business perspective; big businesses, while they have the power to get things done quickly are more likely to make mistakes or loose touch with what they have done or what they want to do. If a business is too big there are only so many places they can go, just like a big fish in a small pond. This why a small business can often times be more helpful and more efficient. While they might not have the advantage in size to overpower other business’ they do have the advantage to make the moves that bigger business’ cannot.

It is no small secret that large corporations are less personable than small ones. Regardless of what is might seem like on the phone when human resources are fixing problems made by other departments, most of the employees are just showing up for their 9-5 job and are unconcerned with any business matters outside of those hours. On the other hand small business owners and workers have heightened levels of caring and commitment and as a result are likely to be more attentive to both business and personal matters. Smaller business’ are more personal, more flexible to stakeholder needs, and at the end of the day they are going to be the best in their niche.  While larger business’ are on a linear track to being the best, the biggest, and the most recognized, smaller business’ have the advantage of being more in tune with their consumers. They are are able to provide them with exactly what they need while contributing to the local economy and helping out other local families and businesses. So think big and stay small, chances are you will get the most out of what you want if you do.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Why Blogging is Important

In today’s world, some people don’t believe that blogging is a useful tool in a world where social media has become prevalent. Many believe that the potential in a business’s marketing strategy lies in platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. However, there are many reasons why blogging is just as useful as having a Twitter and Facebook account and integral to a brand’s marketing strategy. By not having a blog, you miss out on a huge opportunity to your company’s visibility and digital reach.

Blogging can help drive internet traffic to your website. A blog gives you the chance to create original and relevant content to your customers, which can be a tactic to drive traffic to your website. If you have various social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, you should use these sites to your advantage by posting links to your blog. Putting inbound links in your blog also helps create more traffic to your website.

Blogging also helps your SEO or Search Engine Optimization. By consistently putting out new content in your blogs, you boost your rankings in different search engines, making you and your business more visible on the internet. You can also include various keywords, topics, and categories that you want to be found with your business when you write your blog. That way, when someone searches something related to that word or phrase, you will come up in earlier in search engines. Even if you do not include keywords on purpose, blogging regularly will only naturally boost your search rankings.

Blogging can also establish your position as an expert and industry leader. Well-written blogs will gain the attention of consumers and people within your industry. By displaying expertise in your blogs, you are also marketing your skills for your business as well. This can also build trust and better relationships with your customers. The more you show that you are knowledgeable in your field, the more people value what you have to say. In addition, blogs allow you to interact with your customers and respond to their comments. This allows you to make a deeper connection with your customers and helps to expand your reach amongst your audience.

Even though blogging seems outdated with social media taking over the world, blogging is still an extremely important tool. Blogging has many benefits and can help build and expand your business.

Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

Why PR is so important for small businesses

If you have a small business, and don’t want to remain small, your solution could be very simple. Marketing your business through a professional firm can be a great way to build clientele, and expand your business. Everyone nowadays is constantly tweeting, texting, and on their phones, and a firm such as Prescription PR can handle everything on the marketing side of your social media presence. With a talented and experienced staff, Prescription PR can increase your presence on the internet by up to 75%, in turn growing your business.

By interacting with potential clients for you, as well as taking care of any information you want published online, we take away the stress of having to market yourself online, by doing it for you. With many different packages, there is sure to be one to suit your business. Even if you aren’t looking for a huge expansion in clients, a web presence is a great way to personify your business and interact with people when they’re not at your location. It is also a great way to interact with other businesses in the area.

Managing a business can be a headache in itself. Let us handle the online marketing end of it for you. Time and time again, Prescription PR has been proven to expand your client base and make it easier for clients to contact you. We will handle all social media postings, as well as the writing of informative blogs that cater to your business, yet are relatable to potential clients. Call Prescription PR today to get a pricing quote, and to see if marketing through social media is right for you.

 Need help delivering your message, driving referrals, driving demand, creating media opportunities and much more? We can help. For more information on how Prescription PR can help build recognition for your medical practice, please call (631) 392-4255.

What is Public Relations?

The Public Relations Society of America has defined Public Relations as, “A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Their operative word in this definition is relationships.  Whether a business is large or small they have no power and no influence unless they are affecting someone in some way shape or form.  No matter how stakeholders are being affected, it is important to be attentive to a business’s influence and manage its’ relationships with other people and businesses. This is where the PR department comes in.  An effective PR team can operate efficiently without expending any major costs.  The reason for this one we already know, just like you can’t buy your friends you shouldn’t have to buy important relationships.

Of course business is business and matters can often be sensitive so it is important that a company builds an image and relationships that people can respect and have interest in being a part of. A common misconception is that public relations is synonymous with marketing, but it is not.  Marketing focuses on the lifeline of a product or service whereas PR is concerned with the relationships that exist either separately or in tandem with a product or service.

Press releases, public speaking, blogs, emails, and other forms of social media are all means of ensuring that there is an open line of communication between a business and the public.  Depending on the medium these conversations can either be a one way or two way conversation between the two parties depending on how a business anticipates public opinion, or plans to analyze their attitudes and feedback.  Very simply public relations is exactly what it sounds like, it is the practice of maintaining relationships between an organization and the general public. In addition to all of this a PR department or team can go much deeper and work at counseling management on all levels in order to maintain focus on public policy and social responsibilities all of which might influence employee, community, government, and other relationships. Relationships are important in building or maintaining any type of business, and public relations exists as a means to help maintain and manage any large or small scale relationships.

How Public Relations Can Help a Small Business Grow

A business cannot grow until you can get your brand in front of the right people. This is exactly what public relations is here to help you with. Existing as a backbone of sorts to marketing efforts, of any company, the public relations component of a company determines if, when, and how to manage and release information about a company or a product. Increased social media and technology has disrupted the way that stories are being shared and told, that is why public relations is important to manage the spread of information between organizations and individuals. Whether on a personal, governmental, business, or public level it is important to maintain or evolve brands to reflect the goals and values of an entity with as few obstacles as possible.

Public relations is all about telling a story and getting people to listen to that story. With the presence of an ever expanding social media platform. However, the line separating public relations from marketing has been blurred and as a result, important business components have been forgotten about. The truth is you can’t actually have one without the other, just because social media has become a huge part of day to day life does not mean that it has the power to take the place of public relations. While the goal of marketing is simply to sell a company’s products and service. Public relations works at a deeper level to develop and maintain company relationships and reputation.

Public relations is much less expensive than advertising making it incredibly valuable to small businesses.  A consistent and effective program brings awareness to a company as well as supports any current marketing campaigns. Public relations creates visibility for a company. This visibility can work in a multitude of ways ranging from making a small business appear larger or more established than it actually is to attracting and possibly securing partners, customers, or fundings. It is important that businesses do not eliminate public relations and take short cuts in growing or managing their small businesses. Let’s face it, it is important to maintain relationships with people and other businesses because at the end of the day what is a business without stakeholders?

Using Twitter to your Advantage in Marketing

Twitter has become one of the world’s most popular social media platform and we see it everywhere as everyone seemingly uses it nowadays. The statistics back this sentiment up: Currently, there are over a billion registered users, 300 million monthly active users, and 53 million users in the United States. For businesses, that’s a huge audience and makes Twitter a potentially useful and powerful marketing tool. Learning to use Twitter to your advantage can drive more traffic to your business and help it grow.

One way to use Twitter to your advantage is by using its advanced search engine at search.twitter.com to locate opportunities in your target area. You can search keywords related to your industry in order to find people who tweeted those words. Once you do find them, you can reach out and connect with them and start building a relationship. In addition, you can target tweets in a specific area with the search engine. By doing this, local businesses can easily reach out to tweeters in their area.

 Tweeting regularly can also is another good way to market your business. Not only do you show signs of an active profile and have a constant presence in the news feed, you will also boost your search engine rankings. Using keywords often in your tweets will also help increase your search rankings. Also be sure to include your company name and keywords in your bio since your Twitter bio is open to the public and can be easily searched.

Favoriting and retweeting is another useful tool for businesses. Favoriting a tweet is an easy way to acknowledge someone and show that you like what they wrote. In addition, it is much easier to favorite a tweet than to respond to it; this makes it easier to avoid any type of PR disaster from responding to consumers. Retweets are another easy way to acknowledge something that a person has written. You can also easily share content from your industry, which also allows you connect with those within it.

Twitter has also announced a new feature in which direct messages now have a 10,000 character limit instead of 140 that will be coming this summer. Although regular tweets will not be affected, it will now be easier for any business or brand to communicate to a consumer and also makes it easier to explain any problems or concerns to them.

Using pictures and videos in your tweets can drive more clicks and views. A study done by Twitter showed that including pictures boosted retweets by 35% and videos by 28%. Visuals also help engagement and attracts a user’s eye in the feed.

Becoming active and using Twitter as a marketing tool can go a long way in helping to expand your business.

Blogging to build your business

Nowadays, social media has a large impact on our daily lives, and businesses often look to social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to spread and market their content. While some businesses are beginning to focus their resources on having an active social media presence, many are forgetting another useful tool to help spread their content: blogs. Blogging can be an extremely effective way to build your social media footprint, establish your business as a resource, and demonstrate your expertise in a subject matter.

There are lots of reasons why you should use a blog to help build your business. Blogging is an easy way to get the word out about your business and share positive publicity and news about it. A blog serves as a legitimate source of information about your business and can be easily accessed by those interested. Blogging also allows you to interact with your readers. It’s an easy way to directly address and talk with your customers, which gives your business or company a personal voice. It also allows you to engage with customers who might be interested in your specific industry, giving you a target audience. Feedback is another important reason for blogging. Every comment by a reader can provide invaluable customer insight, opinions, reviews, and complaints, allowing you to improve your products or services. Additionally, blogging can help increase internet traffic towards your business. Blogs often contain lots of keywords and linking opportunities, which help to boost your search ranking. Social media sources dedicated to blogs and news sources may possibly find your blog and share it, which would give you more viewers and customers. Furthermore, blogging lets you exhibit your knowledge about the industry and helps to establish yourself as an expert. Once your readers begin to appreciate what you have to say, they will repeatedly visit your blog.

As with anything, the key to a successful business blog is patience. Rarely do any businesses see immediate results and it might even take a year or more before a blog starts making an impact. However, the benefits of blogging will go a long way in helping to improve your business.

NYS Bill S248B/A1470B Needs Your Deliberation!

Contact: Prescription PR Inc.                                  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Amanda Carnesi

Tel: 631-392-4255

Email: amanda@prescriptionpr.com

Date: June 8, 2015

With less than a week to go in this legislative session, NYS Bill S248B/A1470B needs your deliberation!

Tara Notrica was diagnosed with a rare disease that has caused her and her family an immense amount of challenges and heartache. One of those challenges should not be how she and other parents who face these same or similar challenges can safely get their children to school. Tara is lobbying NYS Bill S248B/A1470B to New York State Legislators. June 17, 2015 is the last day of this legislative session and NYS Bill S248B/A1470B needs your assistance in getting passed.

If passed the Bill “ Allows boards of education, upon written request of a parent or guardian, to provide transportation to and from school for a child residing within the two or three mile designated area to use an already established pick up/drop off location outside of such two or three mile designated area; requires requests to specify explanations for the request; requires board of education to provide a written explanation to the parents as to the reasons for approval or denial.” This bill has been sponsored by Former Senator Fuschillo numerous times.  Currently, Bill S248B is sponsored by Senator Martins and cosponsored by Senator Venditto.  The bill has also been sponsored by Deputy Speaker Hooper.  Currently, A1470B is sponsored by Assemblyman Cusick and co-sponsored by Assemblyman McDonough.  Under the sponsorship of Senator Fuschillo and Deputy Speaker Hooper, NYS Bill S595A passed unanimously in the Senate and NYS Bill A9267A passed with 142 Assembly Members voting in support of the bill in 2012 on to be vetoed by Governor Cuomo on August 17, 2012.  Since then, the bill has passed multiple times in the Senate but has been stalled in the Assembly.  Supporters are asked to call the offices of Senator Martins (516-746-5924), Senator Venditto (516-882-0630), Assemblyman Cusick (718-370-1384), and Assemblyman McDonough (516-409-2070) and ask for their support to help get this bill passed.

After five years of different diagnoses and treatments, Tara Notrica was finally diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Disorder in April of 2011. Tara was placed on an intensive medical treatment plan and continues to fight not only for her life but for NYS Bill S248B/A1470B so other parents will not have to struggle getting their children to school safely as she has in past years.  “Patients with rare diseases face tremendous struggles and financial burdens. Not being able to ensure the safety of your child, because your disease may leave you so weakened, that you cannot walk or drive your child to and from school is debilitating in itself. This bill will enable children to have a consistent and reliable safe way to get to and from school.” Said Notrica.

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