By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC In a week when NFL players’ alleged misdeeds dominated the headlines, the breakfast event hosted by the Minnesota chapter of the Public Relations Society of America on sports public relations and communications was fortuitous indeed. The event, held at Target Center (home of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx), featured members of the Minnesota Timberwolves and…
By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC While there doesn’t seem to be a formula to guarantee that a video will go viral, researchers have found some commonalities among hits across the Internet. In a recent article by Natalie Kitroeff of the New York Times, she highlighted the following findings from researchers: Emotion is key. The video can cause either…
By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC Approximately 200 public relations practitioners recently converged in Springfield, Mo., for this year’s PRSA Midwest District Conference. While storms in the Chicago area delayed those flying through O’Hare Airport, travelers persisted and were rewarded with excellent learning and networking opportunities. The conference, with a tagline of “Firm Foundations/New Horizons,” featured three…
Authentically saying “I’m sorry” can be a very challenging action to take. Last week, however, Jonah Hill delivered an excellent apology on “The Tonight Show.” While Hill was on the show to plug his new “22 Jump Street” movie, he insisted on clearing the air first regarding the circumstances in which he was caught on…
By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC What goes on the Internet stays on the Internet, right? Yes — except for in the European Union now.* Thanks to a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, Google and other search engines now also are in the business of being caretakers of people’s reputations. Here’s…
By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC Infant formula is one of the products that helped create food conglomerate Nestlé when, in 1867, Swiss pharmacist Henri Nestlé mixed together a liquid food from cow’s milk, wheat flour, and sugar for a neighbor’s baby who wouldn’t nurse. Infant formula also is the reason for a boycott against the…
By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC Keyword research is considered the most crucial element to search engine marketing. Utilizing the appropriate keywords and phrases to connect with your target audience can greatly impact your search engine rankings. According to Search Engine College, “Keyword research is simply the process you use to come up with appropriate keywords and…
By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC “Content marketing is to 2014 what social media marketing was to 2007.” As the opening sentence in Cision’s eBook, “Power Your Story: Content Marketing Essentials for PR,” it provides insight into how integral content marketing is becoming in communications. So what is content marketing, anyway? According to Cision, content marketing…
Interested in capturing the attention of IT buyers? These facts will help you understand how IT buyers watch and share webinars. Seventy-five percent of IT buyers use webinars for their jobs. In fact, it is the most popular information format. Moreover, 60 percent of IT buyers attend webinars weekly or monthly, whereas 39 percent attend only…
By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC A crisis, or a “people-stopping, showstopping event that creates victims” according to crisis communications expert Jim Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, can create major havoc for an organization. One aspect particularly known to cause hand-wringing for CEOs is the negative media coverage that usually accompanies a crisis. Lukaszewski, however, never worries about…