In April I published a book of life lessons I learned from my 93-year-old grandfather, Maynard Johnson. While thinking about ways to promote the book, “Maynard’s Memories: Life Lessons from the Developer of Airlake Industrial Park in Lakeville, Minnesota,” I learned about Amazon Giveaway, an offering from the Internet giant that provides anyone the opportunity to…
DetailsBy Aliki Vrohidis When revamping a brand or taking it to the next level, many managers and executives see the importance of giving social media an overhaul. However, what was once limited to creating a Facebook page has expanded to so much more. At Minnesota PRSA’s most recent event, we sat down with Periscope to…
DetailsBy Aliki Vrohidis With the inception of YouTube, the era of the beauty blogger was launched. What was once limited to pictures and written words on the Web has been transformed into a live community featuring how-to tutorials, reviews and giant hauls. According to recent data from OpenSlate, the top 100 beauty and style…
DetailsBy Aliki Vrohidis America is thought of as a large melting pot. Different races, ethnicities and cultures come together, sharing ideas and intermixing values. In regards to communications, though, a one-size-fits-all approach simply does not work. While leaving out groups of society can cause damage to a brand, sometimes these niche messages are not cost…
DetailsHe was a farm kid who became a big city businessman. Growing up in tiny rural Dawson, Minn., Maynard Johnson knew that he didn’t want to spend his life farming. He wanted to go into business instead. Johnson’s business dreams were put on hold a couple of times – first after his dad became…
DetailsMelinda Emerson’s “Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months” book is the perfect go-to guide for individuals wanting to leave corporate life and transition to becoming an entrepreneur. Now in its second edition, she covers everything that I had to learn very quickly when I was laid off in 2010 and subsequently decided to start…
DetailsIndependent public relations/social media/search engine optimization consultancy Skogrand PR Solutions is looking for an intern. You would be working with Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC, the 2012 president of Minnesota PRSA and 2013 chair of the PRSA Midwest District. Brant has more than 20 years of experience on both the agency and corporate sides of public…
DetailsChalk it up to Minnesota humility. Despite the immense public relations wisdom and experience present during a recent Minnesota Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) “Breakfast with the Fellows” event, there was an air in the room of helping one another and advancing the public relations profession. “I’m old, retired and insignificant,” joked Lowell F.…
DetailsMelinda Emerson, Twitter’s @SmallBizLady, offers advice and encouragement to more than three million entrepreneurs every week online. Forbes magazine named her the top woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She’s a successful businesswoman, a social media expert and journalist, and a dynamic and stimulating speaker. We decided to turn the tables on her and…
DetailsPublic relations case studies, content marketing and media Q&As were among the most popular posts on the Skogrand PR Solutions Blog in 2014. Here are this year’s top 10 posts in terms of traffic: Public relations case study: Target data breach Importance of content marketing Public relations case study: Nestle infant formula Business Wire releases…
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