The Flipside by Alternative Strategies

How To Handle Online Criticism -- On Yelp And Elsewhere

In the last few years, social media sites like Yelp have been the best PR for some local businesses who discovered the positive effects of word-of-mouth reviews on the internet.

It makes sense: All the best paid PR in the world still doesn’t beat unbiased positive remarks from customers.

But for some business owners, there is a downside of review sites like Yelp. If you get a ton of reviews, not every one is going to be glowing.

Some can be downright mean or, worse, inaccurate.

However, there are some things a business owner can do to emphasize the positive and downplay and even eliminate the negative.

1. Register
Even if you detest review sites, it’s still worth opening a business owner account on Yelp. Citysearch, and any other website on which your customers are talking about you. Registering generally allows you to correct inaccuratcies, receive alerts when you are reviewed, and respond to your critics.

2. Participate
Participating on a review site by commenting on your favorite restaurants is a good way to build goodwill among the more active members of the sites. Don’t just praise your own place, recommend other good businesses. Also, let the other members know you are committed to running a good business and that you welcome any feedback. When people associate a business with a name or a face, they are more willing to give it some slack.

3. Don’t Fake It
Some businesses try to improve their Yelp standings by having their friends and family sign up and write reviews praising the place. Problem is, regulars can see right through it. For one thing, the fakers don’t bother to review anything else or upload a photo so it sticks out like a sore thumb.

4. Breathe
Just because you can respond doesn’t mean you should. Anything you say-in a private message, a personal e-mail, or even a voicemail-could end up on the Web. If there’s no way to respond to a review without being angry, profane, or aggressive, don’t do it at all.

5. Be Gracious
Apologize for what the customer didn’t like, and offer to make it right. When Lauren Hart, owner of the Root hair salon in Phoenix received a two-star review from a woman who didn’t like her hair cut, she wrote, “I am so sorry that you are unhappy with my work,” and then offered to pay for a cut at a competing salon. The woman wrote an equally gracious response and upgraded the Root to four stars.

6. Complain
If you can’t be nice to the reviewer, try complaining to Yelp directly. The site removes reviews in cases where there is a conflict of interest (for instance if the review has been written by a competitor). Other grounds for removal include hearsay, hate speech, and attacks that are unrelated to the customer experience.

7. Avoid The Courts
The Communications Decency Act protects websites from being held responsible for the actions of their users. And although defamation lawsuits against Yelpers have, in rare cases, succeeded in getting reviews taken down, suing tends to attract the ire of other Yelp users. If you decide to sue, be ready for more attacks.

So You Want To Rebrand, Eh?

By Nate Bergeron

So you want to re-brand your company’s identity? Here are some things to think about when making this decision.  Business will change with new technology, trends, people and events, all of which may have minimal or drastic effect on your strategy.

Remember that re-brands don’t have to mean an overhaul of the whole company image. The size of any change in the business should match the size of any change in your brand image. It could simply be a change of slogan to signify a slight change in direction but a change nether the less to show a sign of progress.



 The most common reasons for a re-brand:

• A merger or take over of a company
• A change in strategy
• A change in direction
• Keeping with the times

• Solving a problem

 

Specific changes that may have occurred that lead to a re-brand:


• Offering new services

• New core service

• Grown as a business

• Lost profit

• Created a partnership

• Now web based business

• Now an office based business

• New clients

• New targets

• Outdated
brand image not working.

Check out these rebrands and let us know which ones you like and dislike.

Advertising: Is It Right For My Business?

By William Lopez

The purpose of advertising is to promote a product or service in order to increase sales and create a branding of the product so that a customer loyalty base will be established. Without effective and targeted advertising, a business cannot succeed. There are many types of advertising a business can utilize in effort to increase their sales.

The following lists a number of types of advertising available to businesses:

Television and Radio

Since television was first introduced, businesses have had tremendous success using it as an advertising medium. This is due to the increase in consumers watching television. The cost of television depends on the time of day or night one advertises, the popularity of the television show (how many viewers,) and the length of the advertisement. Television advertising can reach millions of people. Radio advertising is a traditional advertising format that uses voice and jingles.

Print

This includes newspapers, magazines, fliers, brochures..etc. Placing advertisements in magazines and newspapers is an age old method of advertising. Newspapers and the magazines sell the advertising space. Prices depend on location, size, graphics, and color. Advertising success often depends on the number of subscribers. Print advertising allows a business to target a specific demographic. Fliers and brochures are a great way to advertise sales and launch special product promotion programs.

Internet Advertising

Online advertising consists of small ads, banner ads, text ads, video ads, pay-per-click advertising, and reciprocal linking to other websites. The effectiveness of online advertising depends on exposure and how many people actually view the advertisement. Internet advertising allows the advertiser to track the number of impressions an ad gets (how many people see it), and how many visits their business website receives from particular ads, making it simple to find out what kind of conversion rates the advertisers are obtaining. Online advertising does not have any time restraints and can be viewed day and night throughout the world. Businesses also have their own websites as an advertising tool. A well-designed and well-promoted website can provide a world of customers.

Out-of-Home Advertising

This can include digital signage, billboards, kiosks, tradeshows, and out-of-home advertising. This is advertising that takes place outside of a customer's home. This form of advertising has become very popular because it provides a new way to reach targeted customers. Billboards, kiosks, and tradeshows have been extremely successful advertising tools because you can take your product or service directly to the consumer. Digital signage is a newer method of advertising that is growing in popularity. Digital signage is where monitors/plasma TVs are placed in strategic locations and display advertisements directed at their targeted customer. Digital signage can deliver messages in the form of text and digital video. Advertisers have the ability to up date content from a remote location. You can find digital signage in such places as sports arenas, retail stores, department stores, malls, schools...etc.

Regardless of the state of the economy, businesses have to keep advertising to stay successful. Because of the broad range of advertising methods now available, businesses now have the ability to reach their targeted customers at very affordable costs.

PR Resolutions For 2010

Since 2009 is almost a memory and 2010 is almost upon us, now is the time to get your resolutions ready.

And while you may be vowing to lose weight or stop smoking, you may also want to consider some resolutions that will help you with PR.

1. Resolve to stand out from the crowd.

The key to good PR is stickiness and the goal of any campaign, be it through PR, marketing or advertising is making sure there is something that resonates with people.

Many people who hire an agency for PR will second guess what the agency is suggesting because it sounds weird or bizarre. Well, sometimes you have to do things in order to stick out from the competition.

That might mean a fun publicity stunt, taking advantage of a current news story to promote your product or even doing a soft-sell promotion that lets people know you have interests other than your business.

Whatever it is, don't be afraid to be different.

2. Resolve to use social media wisely.

Social media is here to stay and it's making people more savvy of their customer base.

However, as social media grows, people are figuring out how to use it. Frankly, successful social media is counter intuitive to the usual PR model.

Have a Facebook page set up to promote your business? Well, you are more likely to develop fans and keep customers happy if you focus more on providing information than plugs. Also, use social media as a way to connect with customers (even the unhappy ones).

Take Yelp for instance. If someone posts a bad review there, take time to connect with them and ask how you can make the next experience better. Many business owners take bad reviews as a personal attack when they are actually an opportunity to improve.

3. Resolve to take advantage of the opportunities that happen.

You may have this idea of getting on Oprah and hold out hopes of starting at the top.

The truth is, you're better off thinking of PR as incremental. Sometimes, starting off at a smaller blog or news site can help you create a body of press clippings that impress a larger outlet. Plus it helps you build up experience with the media.

When considering a media opportunity, it's important to decide quickly whether it's right for you, but make sure you decide, because there's no guarantee the opportunity will come up again.

Daddy, What's PR?

By David Moye

The following is a conversation with my 6-year-old daughter.

“Daddy, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m in PR, sweetie.”

“What’s PR?”

“PR is short for public relations. It basically means that, uh, I help people relate to the public.”

“Huh?”

“Uh, what I do is get my clients publicity for themselves, their product or their service.”

“What’s publicity?”

“Uh, that’s when you let people know something good about someone.”

“Like when I get an ‘A’ in spelling and mommy tells everyone?”

“Sort of like that. Except I tell more people than that.”

“Mommy tells a lot of people when I do something good. So does Grandma.”

“And they should. We’re very proud of you. What I do in PR is go and promote my clients to the news media the way that mommy and grandma pump you up to our friends and relatives.”

“Your clients are good spellers too?”

“It’s a little different than that. Each of my clients does something different, but all of them have something that other people should know about. For instance, one restaurant has great musical acts and another client is a woman doing something nice for soldiers and another makes really good smoothies.”

“So you tell people about that?”

“Exactly!”

“Well, there are a lot of people. How do you talk to them all?”

“I’m not sure. That’s why I’m on the cell phone a lot. But what I usually do is get other people to do it for me. Members of the media.”

“What is that?”

“Media is anything like a TV show, a radio station, a newspaper or a Web site. I basically let the folks at these places know about my client and why they should want to talk about them.”

“And do they?”

“Sometimes. It depends. Some media are more willing to talk with me than others.”

“Is it because they like you.”

“I hope so, but, really it’s about what I have to offer them in terms of a story. Media people can be really nice, but not want to do my story because it doesn’t suit their current needs. On the other hand, some media people might like my story, but almost be angry that they do.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, some media people want to think they come up with all the stories themselves.”

“Dr. Suess came up with all his stories himself…..”

“Are you sure about that? How do you know the Grinch didn’t have some guy like me saying, ‘Hey, Dr. Suess: I got this great character for you. Get this: He has green teeth and hates Christmas’?”

“Huh?”

“And how do you know the Lorax didn’t hire somebody to get his message out to a bunch of writers and Dr. Suess was the first one to pick it up?”

“Daddy! You’re being silly.”

“Yeah, well. It’s what I do. But, the point is, people hire folks like me to come up with ways to get media — newspapers, TV, radio, Web pages — to do stories about them in order to increase sales.”

“Is it fun?”

“Yeah, it is. I like having a nice client, coming up with a pitch that helps them get their message out and then convincing media types to do a story on it. It can be a lot of fun. I feel really alive when I do it.”

(pause)

“Daddy?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“If I do well on my times tables, can I hire you as my publicist?”

“Honey, I’ll work for you pro bono."

What You Should Know About Pay-By-Performance

Most PR agencies charge a monthly retainer -- which means you pay no matter how much PR or how little you get.

Also, if you're on a retainer, you can't specify where you want the press. The retainer allows the PR person to pitch you willy-nilly.

However, a growing number of PR companies, including Alternative Strategies, are adopting a Pay-By-Performance (PBP) for clients that want a selective amount of PR.

Selective is right. Under our PBP program, clients agree to pay a certain amount for every single piece of publicity secured.

A secured TV segment is worth more than print, which is worth more than online press, which is worth more than radio.

For certain businesses, PBP is a good option because it allows you to have PR and also a certain amount of control over your own destiny.

Here's why:

1. Under a PBP program, the client specifies which outlets they want pursued. For instance, if your business depends on local traffic, it may not be worth it to be quoted in a national trade magazine. On the other hand, a mention in a local lifestyle publication can mean big bucks.

2. If you have limited funds or time, PBP allows you to get publicity on a case-by-case basis. For instance, you may be happy with one piece of press each month. That is not practical on a retainer, but a PBP makes that possible.

3. If your business lacks sex appeal (such as doing taxes or real estate), you may not always have the opportunities to get press. A PBP ensures that you only have to worry about paying for the opportunities you accept.

On the other hand, businesses like restaurants, hotels or nightclubs live and die on publicity, so they are good candidates for retainers as our hair salons. It depends on how many angles your publicist can come up with.

So if you've decided to go PBP, here are some things you should realize a few things going in:

1. Yes, you get to pick the outlets you want to be featured in, but there's no guarantee they will want you or when they will want you.

A good PR people has contacts with media people, but those media folks have schedules and their own agenda. If your story works for them, great! If not, the PR person will plug away with something else. However, be prepared to strike when the opportunity is hot. If you've budgeted enough PBP funds for one media story a month and you have the opportunity for two, don't refuse just because of the money.

Instead, talk with the publicist and see if you can work out something. A good publicist picks clients they can have a longterm relationship with.

2. Don't assume you'll have complete control of the story. Yes, you're paying for a particular placement, but, as Alexander Hamilton said, "The right to a free press to belongs to the person who owns it."

The media may want to do a story on you, but they may want to do something different, or they may for space reasons cut out all those great quotes you gave them. All a PBP plan does it get you in front of them, hopefully with the angle you want.

3. There may be times when opportunites arise that make a PBP plan not economically feasible. For instance, if you have a big event or new product that you want to promote, you may want to see if your publicist will switch to a temporary retainer to reflect this.

4. Although a PBP client picks the media they want, be open to suggestions from the PR person. They may know some outlets that are good fits that you don't know about. Plus, media outlets come and go so the outlet you wanted today may not be around tomorrow.

Why You Should Use Twitter

By Jenny Pincus

Public relations is a 24/7 job and, sometimes, we find ourselves racing to keep up. 

However, playing catch up is not really an option, and falling behind usually means losing -- a risk we can not afford to take.

In just a short time, Twitter has quickly become our society’s main outlet of information. It not only keeps us updated on such things as what Oprah had for lunch, it also is a tool for up-and-coming businesses to promote their latest news and events (often in advance of the traditional media).

Engaging in this type of social networking, (referred to as “tweeting” in the cyber world) allows us to reach, and build relationships with a large and varied range of the population; gaining more exposure for our businesses and clients than ever before.

With just 140 characters (the maximum number twitter allows), this network allows us to grab our cyber audience’s attention in just a few seconds. However, we have to remember that the main function of social media outlets such as twitter is to interact with other people, and get them interested in what we are saying.

Self promotional tweets usually don’t grasp our follower’s attention, so tweets that simply inform and/or advertise are usually lost in cyber space.

Twitter works best when it is used to encourage discussion and feedback from our followers. And while your life may be just as entertaining as Speidi’s, if you don’t have a successful reality show, it’s best to stick to tweets that will engage conversation and capture your twits attention!

But like the fast pace of our industry, tweets move in and out in the blink of an eye, so in order to stay in the limelight the best option is to get people interested in what you are saying, encourage discussions, and tweet as often as possible!

Social networking is essential for getting your name and idea out there, and right now there is no better way to do this than through Twitter! According to a blog entry on Compete.com, Twitter ranks as the third largest social network with 6 million users and 55 million monthly visitors.

So the question of to tweet or not to tweet, is not a question we can afford to be asking. If you want to stay in this race, get with it and start tweeting!

Heart Beats Head When It Comes To Good PR

As a top publicist, there's one question I get more than any other: "You gonna eat those fries?"

The answer I usually give is, "Hands off."

The No. 2 question I am most asked is more relevant to this blog: "What is the secret to good PR?"

To be honest, the answer is somewhat easy: Remembering that successful PR engages the heart more than the head.

What do I mean by that? Well, The initials "P" and "R" are supposed to stand for "Public" and "Relations" but I think the successful PR types remember those are the same initials for "passionate response."

That's what we as PR professionals want from the folks we are pitching. We are paid big bucks to get media people excited about our clients. Excited enough that they want to write stories about them.

To do that, we can't rely on things like fact and logic. Those are are important tools, but secondary to things like emotion.

Some PR people who pitch to a journalists try to appeal to the writer's higher ideals by mentioning the importance of the story. Big mistake.

You are better off explaining what will make the story fun to write and by offering human anecdotes that support the story rather than dry facts, figures and data.

Here's how I tell my staffers to pitch: Tell the story you'd tell to your friends around a beer after work -- not the story that you'd tell when you're trying to impress a professor or your parents' friends.

What's the difference? The first way requires you to aim the pitch for the heart, the gut or, forgive me, the groin. Do that right and your listeners will be compelled to listen and take the pitch.

However, when you aim your pitch for the brain, you run the risk of having them tune out the rest of their body parts and they are less likely to be enthusiastic.

That's why I say that when it comes to PR, the heart beats the head by a large margin.

Better Listening Leads To Better Understanding

By Ashley Green

To create and sustain successful business relationships, we must understand the importance of effective communication and practice it in all of our professional affairs.  

Communication is defined as a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior and is considered an essential aspect of building relationships. 

This applies to all industries and professions as well as personal life.  In PR specifically, both clients and account executives should give other undivided attention and put forth their best effort to achieve a common goal. 

Communication is a two-way street and is the responsibility of all parties involved.  It also shows you support and respect each other.  In order to do this, you must have good speaking and listening skills. 

1.Be thorough and detailed

Explain all that you need to get across in detail.  Use examples when possible to demonstrate and get the point across.

Avoid jargon that your listener may not fully understand.

Be sure you are clear with your expectations as well as your wants, needs, likes, dislikes, and more.

Well defined goals are essential in any project – but what is even more important is communicating those goals in a distinct way to your partner.

2. Listen

As many good listeners know, it is impossible to listen and talk at the same time.  A good listener understands the importance of taking turns when exchanging information.  When it’s your turn to listen, you must focus on only that.

A good listener realizes that actions speak louder than words thus it is equally as important to identify what a speaker says as much as what the speaker does not.

Good listeners notice body language, appreciate emotion, recognize nonverbal signs, and critically apply that information to the words that are being spoken. This demands that you stay focused, ignore distractions, and comprehend information.

Practice active listening by evaluating what you hear through words, tones, and facial expressions.  And the most important factor in my opinion; Do not interrupt.

No one likes to be interrupted – especially when this interruption causes the loss of a great idea or train of thought.  Not to mention, it’s just rude.

3. Process information

Write down as much as possible. Documenting the key points of a conversation will assist you in recalling that information at a later date.

Once the speaker is finished, you’ll need to ensure you have everything you need to move forward. If you do not, this requires you to ask questions.

Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions.

Avoid assumptions and don’t pretending to understand when you do not.

Interactive listening suggests that you investigate and absorb what you’ve heard.

If you are patient, relaxed, attentive, and present during the conversation, this phase will be simple.  Make sure you recapitulate the information to the speaker.

Assure them that you have taken in and processed key facts by verbally repeating the information.

Acknowledge that you have focused by writing everything down.  Never trust your memory to recall every last detail. 

Applying these skills to your business meetings as well as in your everyday life will help you because a highly effective communicator.

You’ll be an active participant in a supportive relationship and able to build a stronger rapport while better understanding each other. 

5 Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

By Jordynn Farrar

So you’re not a large corporation with an extensive marketing department. So what? Small businesses need the same exposure to grow – they just need it at a budget price. Here are some marketing tips to follow to increase your small business’ exposure without busting your budget.

1. Newsletters
Newsletters are the ultimate cost effective tactic to mass exposure with little to no expenditures. Sending out newsletters with updates and deals to clients will keep your business fresh in their mind.

If printing a newsletter is pushing your monthly budget, send it out via e-mail. This will only cost you production time and will make you look tech-savvy and innovative. All the big corporations do it and so can your small business. Play with the big dogs!

2. Personalize
When was the last time a large corporation sent you a personal message? Exactly. Your small business has an important advantage because customers want to feel valued and mass e-mail or letters with a “personalized” stamped signature is not exactly what most have in mind for nurturing a business relationship.

Write personal messages in letters, send out business specific e-mails and give personal calls whenever your small business can. Check up with clients; ask them how their business ventures are going. People love to talk about themselves and its much cheaper to keep a client than to solicit a new one.

3. Switch It Up
Just because one marketing tactic is successful at first, doesn’t mean it will be months later. Don’t bore your clients with the same old same. Get feedback from your clientele and see what they thought was effective or if they have any ideas.

Again, this will show those you solicit for information that they’re important to you and keep them loyal. It also might give you insight as to what to do next in your marketing attack. Listen and plan well.

4. Get a Buddy
Business connections are something every business strives for, so why not make connections and market at the same time? If you send out a newsletter, add an article about another business in exchange for some exposure to their clientele.

This could double both businesses’ exposure and has the backing of the other business. If a client trusts your buddy business, they’re likely to be more willing to trust yours. Finding innovative ways to kill two marketing birds with one stone has the potential to cut costs for both businesses tremendously.

5. Open Up
Hosting an open event is a great way to get your small businesses’ name out there and show potential clientele what you have to offer. The cost is your time and maybe some cash for hors d'oeuvres and drinks.

This is a great opportunity to invite the media for more exposure. While this might take more planning and showmanship, this is what will draw people into your business so you can show them that your small business is more personal and valuable.