Rae Hostetler

The impact of internal communications on marketing success

Rae Hostetler · Jul 30, 2013 ·

I have a business partner who is one of the best internal communications public relations practitioners in the city of Indianapolis. Over the years we’ve worked on many, many client projects together. Since my practice focuses on external communications, I just like being around her. I’ve been able to soak up some great tips and techniques in communications for employees.

Honestly, to most mid-sized business owners (my pr firm’s focus), some of the ideas she presents sound soft. Most CEOs and owners want dramatic results. They’re looking for the silver bullet. Here’s the bottom line: if your employees don’t know your vision, your marketing outreach—why are they going to help you get those dramatic results? How can they get onboard and talk up the company if they don’t have any idea what’s happening. Drop those preconceived notions and start talking to the staff. You’ll get results.

Here’s the latest true tale….

For the past two years Hostetler Public Relations has worked with a local business owner who’s been in the marketplace for 30 plus years. He made his business in the 80s and 90s with traditional print , radio and television advertising. It’s been his go-to request in our planning.

Our team know that communications tools have shifted and changed. This client’s industry still needs traditional advertising, but smart companies and their pr agencies are using web tools. We’ve recommended many times that his employees (he’s got about 40 of them who work with customers) need to hear and know what marketing tools we’re using so they can act as a walking-talking mouth piece. Everyone agreed it needed to happened, but fell a bit lower in priority due to rebranding and other initiatives. (Shame on us for not pushing more.)

Last week, we held an all staff meeting. My client gave me the floor. I outlined their marketing/communications program in a fun, easy to understand, interactive presentation. I asked for ideas (got some great ones) and talked about our online outreach: social media, website development, social media, email newsletters, and further developing marketing measurement tools.

Here’s what happened next…

Since that meeting, just days ago:

The company’s floundering social media pages have hit pay dirt with about 100 more followers/likes—in just days!
Social media reach has increased dramatically as a result.
Website traffic is increasing.
Company reps are talking up key initiatives with customers (now they know them!).

Bottom line… these employees are involved and driving company communications and subsequent revenue.

What did it cost to move that needle? A company meeting to drive employee engagement. Going forward—the company will keep updating team members with a centralized bulletin board and discussion at staff meetings.

As my client says: “It’s all good stuff!”

SEO: Make yourself relevant

Rae Hostetler · Jul 22, 2013 ·

Ever wondered when you search a word, phrase or business name how it manages to come up on page one of the search engine? It’s not a mystery. Those tech programmers at search engine companies have come up with complex algorithms to be sure relevant information comes up first for website users.

So how do you make yourself relevant online? Use search engine optimize your website!

Integrated public relations means a company should look at every piece of your marketing communications. Today, your website is your online storefront. It doesn’t just have to look great and real well—it needs to function for you.

There are four places search engines typically scan for keywords and phrases that are relevant to your industry or business.

Title tabs: Mouse over that title tab at the top of the page. It’s the one that shows the name of our company. It says Indianapolis Independent PR Firm-317-733-8700. We placed that content into the tab using a WordPress widget in a strategic effort to say who we are and what we do.

Content: The information you write and share about your company, its services, culture, vision and more should be authentically written to reflect the real words and phrases a person would type into a search engine bar to find you. Business owners in Indianapolis use Indianapolis PR firm, marketing firm, communications firm, for example. That’s what we are and what we do. So the content on our pages reflects it.

Photos: On a website, they should be more than pretty pictures. Photos should work for you. The photos on the website should include meta-tags to reflect the content on the page.

Keywords: A good SEO widget in WordPress asks you to type in keywords and/or phrases. We typically find two to three per page as a rule of thumb.

The same words and phrases should be used in writing blogs and adding new content to the website. Google loves fresh content. Remember keep it real and keep it relevant for customers to find you.

Public Relations–More than working with the media in Indianapolis

Rae Hostetler · Jun 18, 2013 ·

Public relations is often misunderstood to mean media relations–working with reporters to get editorial and/or broadcast coverage. Truth is, it’s how your company or business communicates its image to meet your communications goals. Those goals are unique to every organization–earning customers, gaining awareness, raising funds. I’ve worked in this business for 20-some years and am still educating clients that public relations professionals do so much more that just talking to reporters. So here’s a sample of a typical work week for an Indianapolis public relations counselor (me).

My firm typically works with six to eight clients and/or projects at one time. Most clients are retained partners, which means we have a plan that’s been outlined, developed and reviewed on paper. We agree to it and we work it together. That said here’s an overview of public relations projects for our Indianapolis-based clients.

Brand development: Working in partnership with another Indianapolis public relations firm, we are assessing a client brand to create a marketing/communications program. Through my partner company Roundhouse Resources, we are sourcing a public relations/marketing communications professional who will be staffed to execute the plan. We’ll manage and mentor the staff member. This assessment involves client/vendor interviews, a top line report and recommendations based on their perceptions and feedback.
Website development. We’re working with a new client that has an old website. The site itself has all the correct information. It needs some polish–updated messages/story about the business, new photo graphs and updated key terms for search engines.
Public relations planning: In conjunction with that website, we’re also outlining a consistent plan for the client to manage communications through 2013. The goal is to gain more customers. We’ll work on social media, blogs, media relations, events and more together. This client doesn’t require an assessment for brand development–only public relations housekeeping for a consistent program.
Service outreach/communications: Another client has a service line that needs to be brought to the forefront to gain more communications. This is being managed through social media, blogs, website updates, an email newsletter and possible direct mail to their customer based. We’ve sourced the vendors, written the communications and project managed the graphic design to ensure consistent brand and message to their publics.
Sales kit: A business-to-business client needs a sales-team tool kit. They want a mix-and-match system that includes PDFs, printed documents, bios for team members and company information. Once the kit is complete, each sales rep can pull the information they need from the file to ensure a consistent message for RFPs and sales presentations.
Media relations: One of our clients sponsors a statewide non-profit youth program that kicks off at their client site tomorrow. The program involves several partners. We support the media relations, update the client’s website and social media. We’ll also be onsite to take photos to use in marketing/communications materials for their prospects and clients.

In each of these examples, the public outreach and work is very different, yet the end goal is the same: communicating the client’s image professionally to meet their unique goals and needs.

PR investment guide: Questions to drive decisions for short-term decisions and long-term impact

Rae Hostetler · Jun 5, 2013 ·

I work with a lot of mid-sized company owners and non-profit leaders in Indianapolis that I’m proud to call clients. They all have a simple goal in the communications/public relations we undertake together–design and manage tools that generate ROI. There’s one simple personal goal I have in mind to do this–honesty in counsel and fair rates for service. That doesn’t mean I’m cheap or give away ideas; It means I’m fair in business.

Nearly 13 years in business (July 1 is HPR’s anniversary), I’ve seen this happen over and over. Business owners want to develop communications tools, but often end up over paying, in my opinion, for something this isn’t going to provide consistent and long-term results to grow the business. The Internet may be driving public relations today, but it doesn’t mean the philosophies and processes used to create the tools should cost more with short-term planning. Before engaging in a contract ask questions to be sure the investment will drive ROI, support the sales team and be solid for long-term success.

How much is this going to cost? Get a proposal and understand what you’re buying.
What happens after the tool is created, event is done, message is out?
How will this tool you’re buying sustain long-term marketing/communications and public relations?
Is this the best way to spend my marketing/communications budget for long-term success? Are there other options?
How will I measure the success?
Is this public relations company an extension of my team or here for a one-time project? (Either way it’s ok. Just be sure you understand each other before jumping into the expense.)
Don’t be afraid to ask a professional’s honest opinion. They may strategically be considering an idea that would support your goals, but without opening the door for advice, hesitate to give professional counsel.

Here’s a recent story where a smart business owner considered options before making any investment.

I”m working with a new mid-sized business client. The company has been in business for over 20 years. The owner is a specialist in his field, but not in marketing. Like many businesses, the recession took a toll on his bottom line. He’s bouncing back and ready to invest in growth. As we began to discuss the best way to invest marketing dollars it became apparent that the tools being used need some housekeeping. The brand is great. The message is there. His place is very credible. There are just arms and legs all over the place in terms of marketing/communications tools that have been built and added onto over the years.

The first meeting the client talked about creating a one-shot event to bring in new customers. We priced it. It was expensive for a company of his size. As a smart business owner he asked the question, “Is this one shot deal worth it?” And like a good PR Pro I first responded, “Do you want my honest advice?” He did.

Heck no! Spend the money on clean up, planning and consistent communications/marketing. For the same cost, we can come in to strategically undertake housekeeping and create a plan in partnership that will be designed to bring in new business. We can drive those offers and messages to bring in new business every week, not in just day.