Public Relations and Marketing Blog & Resources

How to Rebuild Customer Trust After a Crisis

Online reviews and forums have made it much easier for people to communicate their experiences with products or places, which, for businesses, can be a blessing and a curse. Although reviews are a reliable mode of expanding brand awareness, one bad streak in online reviews could scare potential customers away. Management must act quickly and respond thoughtfully to customers in order to protect the company’s brand reputation, but also want to avoid appearing overly eager to please. It’s a delicate balance between satisfying an unhappy customer and standing up for the business you believe in.

Companies are run by people, and people make mistakes. Even large companies like United Airlines and Johnson & Johnson occasionally have a misstep that casts doubt on the integrity of their business. Whether your company’s mistake was real or just perceived, it’s up to you to restore faith in your brand.

Here are some basic steps to follow when encountering a crisis:

1. Be Honest. When a public relations crisis occurs, honesty is the best policy. Own up to your mistakes and take a leaf out of the humility handbook. Excuses make your business look bad, and it’s especially damaging to indicate that the jilted customer is to blame. Accept the blame for the problem, note that you understand the customer’s frustration, and apologize.

2. Empower the Customer. Put yourself in the shoes of your unhappy customer. How would you like the problem to be fixed, if you were her? Ask the customer outright what you can do to assuage the situation. Listen to her response, and if it makes sense to you, implement it. A customer is much more likely to forgive a business that makes changes for the better.

3. Make Changes. To restore confidence in your brand, you need to make adjustments when you goof up. Customers will see the way that you react in times of trouble. Thanks to the Internet boom, communication between the business and the customer is an all but public platform; the way you respond to unsatisfied customers is likely to affect the opinions of both new and returning customers. Though it may be costly to you, it’s important to make your customers whole. In the long run, you’ll make back what you’ve lost by rebuilding customers’ trust in your business.
Customer loyalty is a crucial part of survival in the business world these days. Online reviews can be an extremely useful and empowering tool, as long as they are monitored and responded to with honesty and empathy.

A full service public relations, marketing, digital advertising and communications firm, The Public Relations and Marketing Group has over a decade’s experience with brand reputation and online brand recognition. For more information, please call 631-207-1057 ext. 107, or email us at info@theprmg.com.

Businesses That Advertise with Twitter Videos Have a Leg Up

Twitter’s trendiness has made it a hotspot for advertising. The social media site, infamous for its 140-character limit, has rapidly gained popularity since its release in 2006 by founders Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone. By the end of 2010, the service had gained 50 million monthly active users. That number tripled just two years later … Continue reading “Businesses That Advertise with Twitter Videos Have a Leg Up”

Twitter’s trendiness has made it a hotspot for advertising. The social media site, infamous for its 140-character limit, has rapidly gained popularity since its release in 2006 by founders Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone. By the end of 2010, the service had gained 50 million monthly active users. That number tripled just two years later in 2012, and, despite a small dip in 2015, the number of users continues to grow. As of December 2016, 319 million people used the platform on at least a monthly basis.

Businesses are joining the Twitter community in efforts to reach those who might not be so keen to comment on other social media platforms (such as Facebook or Instagram). Twitter users often opt to “mention” businesses, friends or famous people in their tweets, a feature which enables those mentioned to view and respond to said tweet instantaneously. This effectively provides users a direct line of communication with businesses to which they previously may not have had access.

Politicians, athletes and entertainers (among others) use the social medium as a resource for indulging pertinent information (such as the status of a recent bill in Congress, the current score of a soccer match, or the release date of a musician’s new album) in a concise and personal way. News and media outlets similarly utilize Twitter to reach out to mass audiences with crucial and critical news updates, a helpful and potentially life-saving feature in states of emergency, such as 2013’s Boston Marathon bombing. The ability to immediately reach a wide and varied audience is Twitter’s strongest suit, for business, celebrity, news and personal use alike.

The great thing about social media is its flexibility – the platforms change and update rapidly, which reflects the ability of the human mind to change and update, and easily keep their users’ ever-distracted attention. Facebook’s major success with new video advertisements has prompted Twitter to follow suit, shifting away from promoted tweets and toward video advertising.

Advertising on social media is useful in expanding brand awareness, increasing website traffic, and generating leads. When organic reach on social media platforms declines, ads are inversely on the rise. As Twitter rolls out its new video advertising campaign, businesses that take advantage of this new feature will be ahead of the game.

If you think your business would benefit from target-audience lead generation, you should consider video advertising on Twitter. Call the experts at The Public Relations and Marketing Group for advice and guidance, as well as ad scheduling and implementation. Please reach out to us at 631-207-1057 x107 or email us at info@theprmg.com.

Using Video Ads on Facebook

Facebook video ads allow you to reach more people who matter to your business. With over 50% growth in viewing, video ads on Facebook are a great way to drive awareness, capture lead generation and close online sales for your company. According to an IDC “Always Connected” report, people return to Facebook’s news feed on … Continue reading “Using Video Ads on Facebook”

Facebook video ads allow you to reach more people who matter to your business. With over 50% growth in viewing, video ads on Facebook are a great way to drive awareness, capture lead generation and close online sales for your company. According to an IDC “Always Connected” report, people return to Facebook’s news feed on average 14 times a day. By advertising on Facebook with video, you can target real people based on their interests, behaviors, age, gender and location across a range of devices such as desktop, tablet, or smartphones.

According to its own earnings reports, as of the third quarter of 2016, Facebook sees 1.79 billion active users a month. Also, as of January 2016 (the most recent information), more than 100 million hours of Facebook videos are viewed daily. Needless to say, that’s a large potential audience for you to market your goods and/or services to. Not only is it a large potential audience, but video advertising on Facebook is also more cost-effective than traditional advertising such as television, Facebook video ads we have run for our clients see an average CPC (cost-per-click) of $2.15 and an average CPM (cost-per-1,000 impressions) of $15.92.

Facebook video ads work on an objective-based system. Whether your objective is to increase overall brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, increase lead generation or online sales, Facebook video ads are effective in engaging your target audience and achieving your business objective.

A Facebook video ad could increase brand awareness by showing your video to as many people within your target market as possible, as per your allotted budget. Facebook video ads can drive traffic to your website by encouraging users to click on a “Learn More” button and also drive prospective buyers with a “Shop Now” button. By attaching a form to your ad, Facebook users can exchange their contact information in a request for more information from your company. Similarly, if you want to drive traffic to and capture leads from your site, we can develop a landing page with a contact form which stores that information as well.

Right now when you create a video ad on Facebook, that ad gets shown in the News Feed of your target audience, just as if it were any other type of content a user views on a daily basis. As stated earlier, these videos garner more than 100 million hours viewed on a daily basis.

As recently reported by the Wall Street Journal, Facebook is going to start testing 15-second advertisements mid-roll of organic videos. This means that, if you are viewing a video posted by your favorite news outlet, chances are there will now be a 15-second ad in the middle of that video you started watching. This is just one way that Facebook is experimenting with expanding their video ad presence, and it indicates that they don’t plan on dropping it anytime soon.

Ad Spotlight: March Madness

The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, appropriately named March Madness, gets the ball rolling on March 14-15, 2017. According to the International Business Times, 2016’s championship game between North Carolina and Villanova clocked in around 22.3 million viewers. This year, Turner Networks will continue to share NCAA Tournament coverage with CBS, TBS, TNT, and … Continue reading “Ad Spotlight: March Madness”

This year, Turner Networks will continue to share NCAA Tournament coverage with CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV. A total of 43 games will air on cable channels, including exclusive coverage of the Play-In Round and 24 games in the First Round, as well as coverage all the way through the Regional Finals (Elite 8).

Altice USA (formally Cablevision) advertising packages for the 2017 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament are broken up by zone. Each game airs across TNT, TBS and TruTV. In addition to the 43 spots available, Altice Media Solutions will include 100 added value spots across applicable networks, excluding News 12, competitive sports networks or top 20 networks.

Altice USA NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament packages and prices are as follows:

Zone	Package Price
North Nassau	$4,039.00
South Nassau	$7,679.00
Huntington	$2,169.00
Babylon	$2,509.00
Hauppauge	$6,619.00
Brookhaven	$3,359.00
Riverhead	$2,929.00

However, there are zone discount rates available. For instance, if you select two zones there is a 2% discount; three zones there is a 4% discount; four zones there is a 6% discount; five zones there is a 7% discount; six to eight zones there is an 8% discount.

NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament rounds, dates, and # of games/spots are as follows:

Round	Dates	# of Spots	# of Games
Play-In (First Four)	3/14 – 3/15	4	4
First Round (Round of 64)	3/16 – 3/17	24	24
Second Round (Round of 32)	3/18 – 3/19	9	9
Regional Semifinals (Sweet Sixteen)	3/23 – 3/24	4	4
Finals (Elite 8)	3/25 – 3/26	2	2
	Total:	43	43

Facebook’s Audience Network Expands Reach of Digital Ads

Earlier this year, SocialTimes reported a change to Facebook’s Audience Network that will allow even non-Facebook users to see Facebook-powered advertisements as they surf the web. Since its launch in 2014, the Facebook Audience Network has become one of the largest ad networks in the world. So what does this new policy mean for businesses and organizations … Continue reading “Facebook’s Audience Network Expands Reach of Digital Ads”

Earlier this year, SocialTimes reported a change to Facebook’s Audience Network that will allow even non-Facebook users to see Facebook-powered advertisements as they surf the web. Since its launch in 2014, the Facebook Audience Network has become one of the largest ad networks in the world. So what does this new policy mean for businesses and organizations trying to gain a cutting edge in the cutthroat world of digital advertising?

Originally, advertising partners with Facebook simply reached Facebook users through ads displayed on the site. But with the launch of the Facebook Audience Network two years ago, the social network enabled advertisers to extend the impact of their ads beyond Facebook. On a select number of mobile apps, partners could display ads with the added capabilities of the same targeting and measurement tools used on Facebook. However, these ads only reached users who were simultaneously logged into Facebook.

Facebook’s recent announcement removes even this restriction. Ads that take advantage of the Facebook Audience Network now have the capability to reach even users without Facebook accounts. This offers a further incentive to advertisers looking for the convenient and comprehensive metrics Facebook’s business program provides. In addition, it increases Facebook’s clout in the world of online interest-based marketing, alongside other services like Google.

Ultimately, Facebook has stated that they aim to improve users’ experience through their new advertising program as well. One of the benefits of the common ad platform will be to improve the overall quality and relevance of the ads users see, while individuals’ tools to opt-out and control their ad preferences are maintained. One can hope that the increased reach of the Facebook Audience Network will prove to enhance both advertisers’ and users’ online experience.

At the Public Relations and Marketing Group, LLC (PRMG), we can help your company develop strong and well-coordinated Facebook advertising campaigns to broaden your exposure and drive people to your business. For a free consultation or for samples of previous digital advertising campaigns, please contact us at (631) 207-1057 or at johnzaher@theprmg.com.

ADVERTISING SPOTLIGHT: PERSONALIZED SNAPCHAT FILTERS WILL DRAW ATTENTION TO YOUR BUSINESS

Now that it has surpassed Twitter in daily users, Snapchat is one of the most popular social media apps. With the introduction of personalized geofilters for photos to increase user engagement with businesses, it can now be used as an influential marketing platform. Snapchat is a photo- and video-sharing social media app, famously known for … Continue reading “ADVERTISING SPOTLIGHT: PERSONALIZED SNAPCHAT FILTERS WILL DRAW ATTENTION TO YOUR BUSINESS”

Snapchat is a photo- and video-sharing social media app, famously known for its vanishing element: users may to choose set a timer for their photos so that their friends can only view the photo within a certain (and short) timeframe.

Filters are a way to frame or otherwise ornament photos that users have taken with their mobile devices and will share through the Snapchat app. Geofilters take this one step further, as they are based upon the user’s specific geographic location. Many geofilter designs include logos, pictographs, words or phrases (including slang) and other fun images associated with a certain state, town, restaurant, etc. The filters were originally designed for exclusive use in public places, such as the Grand Canyon or the Washington Monument. With the introduction of on-demand geofilters that can include company logos, your business could benefit from substantial new branding and reach.

These “on-demand geofilters” won’t go unnoticed, particularly if your customer audience is made up of teens and young adults, the largest demographic to use Snapchat. According to Business Insider, 77% of college students use Snapchat every day and 58% of college students would be likely to purchase a brand’s product or service if they received a coupon on Snapchat. Additionally, Snapchat users are very actively involved with the medium, watching over 10 billion videos per day, according to a report published in Bloomberg back in April.

Your company would also benefit from the use of Snapchat geofilters for and during your planned events, as photos with filters are more likely to be shared on the social media platform than those without filters, and these shares attract attention.

A personalized geofilter for your business would appear to a Snapchat user after he or she takes a photo and swipes to the right; the filters could highlight either your brand or your particular event.

The cost for these personalized company filters depends on the size of the location where the filter will be displayed (called the “geofence”) and the length of time the filter will be displayed (from one hour to 30 days). If your business could profit from increased exposure, contact The Public Relations and Marketing Group for filter designs and other social media expertise. To learn more, call (631) 207-1057 or email us at info@theprmg.com.

Trust: The Key to PR’s Success or Failure

What’s the most important part of public relations? You might think that the answer is in the word “public”—in other words, how wide an audience you can reach with information about your organization. However, an equal amount of attention needs to be focused on the “relations” component of PR. PR is less a set of … Continue reading “Trust: The Key to PR’s Success or Failure”

What’s the most important part of public relations? You might think that the answer is in the word “public”—in other words, how wide an audience you can reach with information about your organization. However, an equal amount of attention needs to be focused on the “relations” component of PR. PR is less a set of tried-and-true formulas for communicating with customers, and more a discipline of building trust. The relationships you cultivate with audiences will ultimately determine your company’s success or failure.

This is borne out in recent conversations across cyberspace about the role of “influencers” in social media marketing. According to data from the PR firm Edelman, more and more existing and prospective consumers turn to trusted technical experts, academic experts, peers, and even CEOs for information on what products to buy. These “influencers” are opinion leaders because they have earned a given population’s trust and can therefore powerfully affect consumers’ purchasing choices.

As one author describes it, “Influencer marketing is yesterday’s word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.” Interestingly enough, even though 21^st-century consumers seem to prefer the “old-fashioned” concept of trust when deciding to make a purchase, the media they trust have shifted significantly. Edelman’s data also revealed that millennials tend to place their trust in search engines and social media more than traditional avenues.

Whether your business uses primarily traditional or online marketing in its approach, it’s safe to say that you’ll see greater results only if you use public relations to cultivate trust and build relationships with the clients that matter to you. This will strengthen brand loyalty, as people will genuinely enjoy your brand and your product. Some of our most successful clients have already developed relationships with customers who love them and what they do, and it shows.

The Public Relations and Marketing Group, LLC (PRMG) can help your organization develop a comprehensive public relations plan to connect with your audiences. As a full-service public relations, marketing and digital advertising agency, we understand the public with which your business is likely to interact, and we can connect you with influencers who will further help you develop a relationship of trust with consumers. If you have any questions about our social media or other marketing services, please contact us at (631) 207-1057 ext. 107 or at johnzaher@theprmg.com.

ADVERTISING SPOTLIGHT: GREATER PATCHOGUE

Community news source GreaterPatchogue.com is currently offering digital advertising spots on its website. Advertising with Greater Patchogue, which has been viewed over 1 million times since its launch in July 2015, is a smart move to connect your brand to the local market. High internet traffic and direct click-throughs to your company website are just … Continue reading “ADVERTISING SPOTLIGHT: GREATER PATCHOGUE”

High internet traffic and direct click-throughs to your company website are just a few of the benefits of advertising on GreaterPatchogue.com. The website is now offering six new monthly ad spots which provide a community-oriented platform for business exposure to residents of Patchogue and its surrounding communities who visit the site as a primary source of local news and events.

Advertising packages between start at $100 per month and range to $250 per month. The packages include 15,000+ guaranteed website impressions from users across a range of devices such as smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.

For assistance in placing an advertisement or for details regarding rates and pricing, please contact The Public Relations and Marketing Group (PRMG) at 631-207-1057 or email John Zaher at info@theprmg.com.

What You Need to Know About the New Google My Business

Building an online presence is crucial to the success of any contemporary business. From a website to social media, the modern business must create a solid web presence to keep up with today’s most common method of new business acquisition: the Internet. Search engines are certainly the most popular method for potential new customers to … Continue reading “What You Need to Know About the New Google My Business”

Search engines are certainly the most popular method for potential new customers to find local businesses, and Google is chief among them. Millions of business owners now look to Google My Business, the analytics and social media software developed to influence Google search results, to attract and retain customers.

Google My Business aims to frequently improve the properties it offers to users, and has continued its usefulness with several recent developments, including new insights, accelerated mobile pages (AMPs), and an “explore interests” feature, among others.

Key features of the new insights tool tell a business owner whether his or her listing is being viewed through Google Search or Google Maps and whether customers view the listing by searching for the business name (specific search) or by a category or related keyword (general search). An additional update removes Google Plus statistics from the insights panels.

Accelerated mobile pages (AMPs) optimize web content for mobile devices. They remove unnecessary resources, which in turn allows a mobile browser to provide a more fluid user experience. Google has announced that AMPs will be immigrating to Google’s main search results, thus increasing a company’s chances of acquiring organic traffic (versus traffic acquired from paid advertising).

Google’s projected “Explore Interests” feature would allow Google users to browse categories which appeal to them, such as music, shopping, food and drink, or sports. This feature can help drive more traffic to your company’s website by offering readers the relevant content in which they show interest.

A screenshot posted by the Android Police in its blog shows the test stage of the new feature:

Search engines are an essential tool for businesses in today’s modern marketplace, and utilizing Google as a means to increase traffic, and therefore sales, is a good business practice. Although a well-rounded web presence is critical for the success of today’s business, but it can be overwhelming and sometimes difficult to navigate. The Public Relations and Marketing Group offers expert web development, marketing, advertising, public relations and social media management solutions to help your company compete in a 21st-century marketplace. To learn more or for a free consultation, please contact us at 631-207-1057, or visit our website at www.theprmg.com.

It All Comes Down to Monday Night

The summer season is winding down and that can only mean one thing: IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON! This September, millions of Americans will be keeping a close eye on their favorite teams and fantasy players. While friends and families gather to watch the game, companies will be trying their best to fight for the attention of … Continue reading “It All Comes Down to Monday Night”

ESPN’s Monday Night Football is one of the most-watched television broadcasts, averaging roughly 10 million households per game. In 2014, ESPN’s Monday Night Football games:

Ranked as 7 of the 10 biggest cable audiences among households (3 of 10 among viewers) led all networks on Mondays – cable or broadcast – in delivery of key male and adult demos (ages 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54).
All 16 Mondays in prime time won the night as the most watched network among households and total viewers – cable or broadcast – in prime time on Monday in 12 of 16 weeks

According to Sports Media Watch, in 2015, the Monday Night Football (MNF) opener brought in 14.3 million viewers, a 24% increase from the previous year.

Cablevision advertising packages for the 2016 MNF season contain eighteen 30-second commercials and one-hundred 20-second promotional shout-outs. These packages start at roughly $4,000.00 for local zones and can increase to roughly $20,000.00, depending on whether you’re trying to reach viewers across all of Long Island. Multi-zone discounts are available and range from 2% to 8%, depending on the number of zones chosen.

Local teams are scheduled to appear on Monday night broadcasts four times this season. The season’s schedule is as follows:

Date	Game	Day / Time
12 – Sep – 16	Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins	M 7P – 10P
12 – Sep – 16	Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers	M 10:15P – 12M
19 – Sep – 16	Philadelphia Eagles vs. Chicago Bears	M 8:15P – 11:15P
26 – Sep – 16	Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints	M 8:15P – 11:15P
3 – Oct – 16	New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings	M 8:15P – 11:15P
10 – Oct – 16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers	M 8:15P – 11:15P
17 – Oct – 16	New York Jets vs. Arizona Cardinals	M 8:15P – 11:15P
24 – Oct – 16	Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos	M 8:15P – 11:15P
31 – Oct – 16	Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears	M 8:15P – 11:15P
7 – Nov – 16	Buffalo Bills vs. Seattle Seahawks	M 8:15P – 11:15P
14 – Nov – 16	Cincinnati Bengals vs. New York Giants	M 8:15P – 11:15P
21 – Nov – 16	Houston Texans vs. Denver Broncos	M 8:15P – 11:15P
28 – Nov – 16	Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles	M 8:15P – 11:15P
5 – Dec – 16	Indianapolis Colts vs. New York Jets	M 8:15P – 11:15P
12 – Dec – 16	Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots	M 8:15P – 11:15P
19 – Dec – 16	Carolina Panthers vs. Washington Redskins	M 8:15P – 11:15P
26 – Dec – 16	Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys	M 8:15P – 11:15P
7/8 – Jan – 16	Wild Card Playoff Game (Simulcast on ABC)	TBD

Public Relations and Marketing Blog

How to Rebuild Customer Trust After a Crisis

Using Video Ads on Facebook

Ad Spotlight: March Madness

Trust: The Key to PR’s Success or Failure

ADVERTISING SPOTLIGHT: GREATER PATCHOGUE

What You Need to Know About the New Google My Business

It All Comes Down to Monday Night

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