The Public Relations Blog

When I worked in Silicon Valley, a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal was the “ungettable get.” Our teams would persevere for weeks trying to figure out a way to get their venture-backed technology startup onto the front page of the Dow Jones-owned media outlet. Our efforts often felt futile, as the Journal covers mostly business news with significant financial or industry-shattering impact.

As numerous public relations firms have predicted since the beginning of the year, a key facet to every successful campaign in 2018 will be the story. From cave drawings and legendary tales to biblical passages and novels, the art of storytelling captivates us. And the foundation of all good stories, of course, is the unexpected adventure contained within.

The ability to craft unique narratives seeps through the souls of PR professionals. We look beyond what everyone else sees and often unearth unexpected elements that make our clients’ stories come to life. From those nuggets, we create unique stories to share with key demographics as well as the media.

How do companies discover the useful snippets necessary for a unique, creative and authentic corporate narrative?

A few years ago, Axia Public Relations made the transition to HubSpot, a developer of inbound marketing software products, and we’ve been tremendously pleased with the results. One of the biggest reasons our team enjoys HubSpot so much? It gives us the ability to manage all our clients’ blogs as well as make updates to various website pages. We like HubSpot’s blog functionality and manageability so much that we think you should start using it too! We listed our top seven reasons we love HubSpot below so you can see why we’re hooked!

This is one story in our series on how you can save money with a PR firm. Read about four more ways you can save with a PR firmas well.

Every company wants to save money. However, no company ever grew from cutting its public relations efforts. There are smarter ways to save.

Learn when to schedule content and when to post in real time

Scheduling social media content has many advantages:

• Create consistency
• Publish in multiple time zones
• Publish on the weekends and holidays
• Plan ahead

You can schedule content for your company using social media publishing software like Hubspot. There are factors you should consider when you schedule content in advance. Here are answers to some common questions about scheduling content.

Axia Public Relations teaches you how to market efficiently and effectively in its new inbound marketing book

Business leads are what keep a company growing. As your leads dwindle, so do sales. Some companies are still pushing their messages out in order to bring customers in, and it isn’t working. Perhaps you’ve realized that your online presence is static – that your company isn’t achieving the results it seeks – and you want to do something different. What else is out there?

How to grow your brand using a press release

Everything in the world of public relations and communications is changing fast. There are many new tactics, techniques and tools you can use to build mutually beneficial relationships with your public. How does the old-school press release fit in? Some PR pros say it’s dead; others contend that news releases are still relevant in PR today. Here are three reasons why the news release is still an effective marketing tool.

2 companies respond in very different ways to a PR crisis

In October 2017, Amazon debuted Amazon Key, its answer to the ongoing problem of porch theft. Home delivery of everything from groceries to jewelry has become ubiquitous as Amazon’s market share grows and influences American shopping patterns. Meanwhile, package purloiners have learned to reach for the low-hanging fruit of unattended front-door parcels. Enter the Amazon Key, a cloud-based security camera linked to a door lock that grants delivery people admittance to drop off packages, safeguarded with autolock settings at their departure.

One problem: As with all internet-connected devices, Amazon Key is vulnerable to hacking.

Cybersecurity company Rhino Security Labs exploited an authorization point in the wireless connection to take the entire device offline. To a remote user viewing the video feed, it appears the entry is secure. While offline, a hacker keeps the internet-controlled key in the open position without immediate detection. These vulnerabilities allow either a delivery person covert re-entry to the home or clever criminals to override the system immediately following a delivery to access a victim’s home for their own nefarious purposes.

Here is where public relations professionals’ dreams and nightmares coincide.

Mapping out your social media strategy for 2018? If you’re ready to step up your game next year, take a look at how some of the biggest brands use social media to increase engagement and improve ROI. Here are companies that are excelling on social media and some takeaways for social media managers.

How to broadcast an interview to increase your audience engagement

Facebook Live has quickly become the hottest new live-streaming platform. People share their personal stories through Facebook Live. Brands stream their own unique content to connect with their key audiences.

One of the most successful interactive experiences is broadcasting an interview. You can interview a VIP in your company, a happy client or anyone else and share it with your key audiences through Facebook Live.