If your company doesn’t appear within the first two pages of Google search results, you could be in trouble. Even though it’s not usually considered part of the plan, strong corporate leadership could be an invaluable tool for your company’s success. Earn your customers’ trust to keep their business.

After a massive data breach, a failed expansion into Canada and increasing negativity from employees, Target's recent decision to rescind the job offers of dozens of new corporate hires was the latest in a string of blunders plaguing the big-box retail store. Target recently opted to terminate 40 of its newest team members within two weeks of their expected start date – with no explanation, except that their positions were no longer available.

The Minneapolis-based, mammoth retailer should have anticipated the potential repercussions of such a decision before dismantling 40 corporate jobs without explanation. This latest flub has brought about a flurry of negative media scrutiny and speculation concerning Target’s financial performance and a potential class-action lawsuit. And worst of all, Target is sending a message that its employees (and its reputation) aren't valued.

Taking extra care of your customers could be the key to your business’ success in 2015. Google’s new algorithms mandate a significant change in your SEO practices. Now is the time to re-evaluate and switch directions for your business.

By Jonathan Bernstein and Jason Mudd, APR

Current events demonstrate that a crisis can strike a company at any time. It's a matter of when, not if. Don’t think that it can’t happen to you. 

Natural and man-made disasters happen all the time and often without notice. No one knows when or if events like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, SARS, anthrax, or a tornado may occur. In these times, every business must be prepared. Otherwise, you risk the possibility that the media will drag your company through the wringer and allow the public to judge you by scandalous front-page headlines.

Earlier this year, the New York Times published an article about The Council of Public Relations Firms, which lists more than 100 PR agencies as its members. The association met in an effort to not only redefine its own image, but attempt to redefine public relations in this new digitally-focused age. What concerns me as a 20-year veteran of the communications and public relations profession is the fact that our industry--as evidenced by the article--is amid an identity crisis.

Practice unique creativity to attract attention

Take a close look at your efforts to reach your audiences this past year – did you make the cut? There is one surefire way for you to attract consumers’ ever-important attention. Remarkable creativity will speak to your audiences and make your business stand out.

Historically, headline-seeking journalists have struggled with reaching live spokespersons for interviews and with extracting necessary facts from press releases shared in newsrooms. Happily, though, times have changed, spurred on by the burgeoning digital realm and the creation of the online newsroom.

Big and small businesses alike can turn website real estate into useful bits and bytes for the press. Downloadable videos, news releases, photographs/executive headshots, biographies, movie trailers, application reviews and the like appear with ease online for immediate viewing and download. It is this website subsection that we refer to as the online newsroom.

By Jason Mudd, APR

One key phrase oft repeated inside newsrooms is “If it bleeds, it leads.”

To those outside the communications profession, that may sound utterly offensive, but realistically, news editors, writers, journalists and programming directors know that when it comes to news, people listen and watch more intently when it’s negative. In fact, bad news far outweighs good news by as much as 17 negative news stories for every one positive one. Scholars have studied the psychology behind this, too. The human brain evolved in a hunter-gatherer environment where dramatic events required immediate attention for the sake of survival, and we still care (worry/fear) more about the threat of bad things affecting us than hearing about good things. When the news is negative, people take notice.

Take a minute to think about the best stories you’ve heard in your life – the ones that made you laugh out loud, brought tears to your eyes or elicited a happy sigh after reaching the end. What is it about storytelling that evokes these emotional responses and causes us to remember them for years on end? I know I can recall details of family trips, Grandma’s famous recipes and Grandpa’s scariest yarns. Storytelling utilizes a specific formula to entice us to pay closer attention, and the stories that make the deepest impact are the ones that resonate most personally with each of us.

Focus and direction are key to revenue gains.

To beat your competition, accentuate what sets you apart from them. Don’t let your company get distracted from what matters and what works for your creative vision. Maintain a laser focus to achieve your goals.

60-Second Articles:
1. Avoid the sandbox
2. Shiny Object Syndrome vs. sound strategy
3. The 60-Second Close: The importance of direction