What is Public Relations?

A very popular question I get all the time is ... What is Public Relations? 

I always pause and smile before responding with a response like "Well that's not an easy question to answer. PR is a lot of things. Where would you like me to start?"

So here's my answer, as brief as I can get:

I think a Public Relations professional is one who assists clients identify points of distinction and strategically deliver key messages through custom campaigns. They generally have expertise in crisis communications/reputation management, media relations, media training, event planning & facilitation, corporate social responsibility/community relations, internet and social media marketing and other related tasks. Some people think Public Relations is about sending out press releases, strictly managing matters regarding media for business, simply making people or businesses look good, or spend 95% of their time writing.

The definition of public relations has and will continue to change over time due to economic and technological changes. The PRSA defines public relations as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Considering our modern economy, I would accept their definition as my own. However, I believe my definition of public relations goes more into depth.

By Yana Gaines, CEO & President of Michigan Premier Marketing Team

Take Advantage of Mobile & Media Marketing

There are so many marketing tactics and resources businesses aren't taking advantage of. Some businesses are unaware that their business practices (or non-practices) are killing their business and handing potential customers over to their competitors. Here is a couple of evolving marketing channels to keep in mind the next time your business is analyzing its marketing strategies.

1)    The value of social media marketing:  One of the most difficult aspects about running and owning a business is facing competition. It’s not always easy to convince consumers to purchase your products or services over your competitors. With social media marketing, you open your business to unlimited consumers. This venue is excellent in reaching as many people as possible. It will also augment and accelerate your offline connectivity with your customers.Here are some other benefits of utilizing social media marketing:

• ▬   Social media marketing is extremely inexpensive and often times free. With some work (like updating status), you could build traffic to your social media page.

• ▬   There are many strategies you can use with social media websites to attract potential customers. You can use images, videos, follower interactions, and reviews, just to name a few. Start by doing some research, figure out your target demographic, and then choose which method will be best suited for attracting your target customers.

• ▬   Since social media sites bring in a lot of traffic, this will increase your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

• ▬   63% of users prefer businesses with the information that can be easily accessed on the social media websites. (Source: Digitalsherpa)

• ▬   Customer acquisition: According to Socialmediatoday, in 2013, 52% of businesses have found their customers on Facebook, 43% have found their customers on LinkedIn and 36% of marketers have acquired customers on Twitter.

2)    The value of mobile marketing: Mobile marketing is becoming more and more important for any business in today’s society. Think of how many times you’ve grabbed your mobile device and searched for a store, restaurant, or service before going or calling there and before considering them over any of their competitors. Now, also think about how many times you’ve been frustrated or turned-off by a business because they don’t have a mobile-friendly site so you have to zoom in, scroll back and forth and up and down, and have a hard time navigating. Chances are, if you don’t find the business right away in your search results or aren’t presented with a mobile-friendly site that (1) loads quickly, (2) is easy to read, (3) is easy to navigate with minimum scrolling, and (4) is visually appealing, you are more-than-likely to give up and turn to a competitor that has such. You can also provide mobile coupons, utilize mobile apps, and use text-message marketing to retain your current customers and gain potential ones. Here are some other benefits of using mobile marketing:

• ▬   Helps businesses reach their customers wherever they are through email, apps, text message marketing, and mobile friendly sites.

• ▬   90% of all smart phone users search for local information on their phone.

• ▬   88.2 million adults in the U.S.A. & Canada have redeemed online coupons.

• ▬   Even if they see your print ads first, 71% of people will then search your business using their mobile phone first.

• ▬   Mobile is immediate.

• ▬   In AdWeek Magazine, Google says that any business that uses AdWords or web search that doesn’t have a mobile-friendly site are going to pay more for their ads and are going to get a worse placement on the search engine results page.

          (Sources: The Mobile Movement Study, jumpchargemarketing.com) 

Bottom line, your customers are online, they want information quickly, and they’ll give you about 7 seconds maximum to deliver what they want. If not, they’ll go somewhere else. Utilizing mobile marketing will result in increased sales revenues because it helps to increase purchase frequency, increase transaction size, and attract new customers.

Making use of these evolving and impact marketing channels might be just the push your business needs in successfully growing your customer base.

Marketing and/or Sales Intern Job Position

DESCRIPTION:

Michigan Premier Marketing Team is seeking an intern to assist the Marketing Director with various projects related to marketing, advertising, digital marketing, sales, collateral development, special events and promotions.

Hours per week are negotiable.

Interns will be assigned to a discipline that matches their area of interest. Interns may also have the opportunity to work with teams to support specific clients. Each intern will be challenged to expand his/her knowledge in preparation for entry-level opportunities with Michigan Premier Marketing Team. Interns must have strong interest in gaining knowledge and insight into careers within marketing or media, and in Michigan Premier Marketing Team.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• ▬   Excellent writing skills
• ▬   Proficient in Office Suite
• ▬   Adobe Creative Suite experience a plus
• ▬   Google Analytics knowledge a plus
• ▬   Knowledge of digital maketing strategy a plus
• ▬   Self-motivated and takes direction well
• ▬   Ability to manage multiple projects
• ▬   Responsive and organized

QUALIFICATIONS (ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED):

• o   Enthusiasm
• o   Strong work ethic
• o   Self-driven
• o   Confident
• o   Self-learner
• o   Interested in the marketing/business field
• o   Organized
• o   Honest
• o   Respectful
• o   Strong interpersonal skills

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

Intern must be currently enrolled in a college or university (preferably in a marketing, communications, journalism, public relations program, sales management or some similar concentration), or a college graduate.

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS (NOT REQUIRED):

ê  Connections with media sources (please mention this in the email you submit)

ê  Lives in Michigan

ê  Enjoys traveling (as little or as much as you’d like)

ê  Multilingual

OPPORTUNITY

This is an unpaid internship. However, if you excel at your intern position, you will have the opportunity to be offered a paying position within our company.

9 Tips for Beginning Entrepreneurs

1.    Don’t start a business unless you have a passion for it. Passion moves us to excel and thrive as individuals. You have to love what you do to be successful.

“There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you.” – Richard Branson

2.    Hire a team with different strengths. If you’re an entrepreneur, hire people who are strong where you are weak. Allow your employees to challenge you and each other. Don’t be afraid to answer or ask the tough questions.

“The smartest business decision you can make is to hire qualified people. Bringing the right people on board saves you thousands, and your business will run smoothly and efficiently.” –Brian Tracy

3.    Your team should be as enthusiastic as you as. Hire people who have a passion for what they do. They should have a strong work ethic. They should be happy working for you and your company. They should be comfortable in their work environment. Enthusiastic employees contribute to the overall success of your business.

"Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it . . . ; Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine." — David Ogilvy

4.    Have a business plan and a marketing strategy. Businesses with goals and objectives achieve far more than those that don’t. If you’ve reached your goals, make more. Never be content. Strive to thrive in your business and I promise, it’ll always be worth it.

“People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” – Tony Robbins

5.    Consumer validation is vital. Know your customer/client/patient/consumer. If you don’t know who you’re targeting, you’re wasting your time and money. So spend the time to get to know your consumers so you can target them. Focus on people, not numbers. This is the key to starting your business off successfully.

“What the people in the business think they know about the customer is more likely to be wrong than right.” –Peter Drucker

6.    Understand, know and focus on your core competencies. Know what you’re good at and use it to your advantage. In order to establish a footprint, you have to have a solid reputation and strong brand recognition. This will give you an upper-hand on competitors. Focusing on your core competencies will provide your business with the best opportunity to grow, survive and succeed.

"Focus on a few key objectives ... I only have three things to do. I have to choose the right people, allocate the right number of dollars, and transmit ideas from one division to another with the speed of light. So I'm really in the business of being the gatekeeper and the transmitter of ideas." — Jack Welch

7.    Don’t lose control of your business. As a beginning entrepreneur, you are in charge. You should know everything that is going on in your business. Don’t waste time or money hiring managers to do what you, as a passionate entrepreneur should be doing. In the start-up phase, having managers report to managers gives your business a 99.9% chance of failing.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

8.    Seek out new experiences. Take risks and explore opportunities. You’ll never know the potential for you and your company unless you seek it out. Try something different. Challenge yourself. Learn, learn and keep learning. The wider the experiences you pursue, the more you will get out of life as you will be exposed to different individuals, ways of life and standpoints. This is a secure key to success.

“My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had — everyday I’m learning something new.”— Richard Branson

9.    Have some fun! Life is short not to have fun at work. Your employees should be happy and have low stress levels. When they excel, reward them. Celebrate individual and company accomplishments and successes. Nothing is wrong with having nerf guns in the office for a little bit of fun and excitement. It’s always nice to plan a night out with your employees. Who said work couldn’t be fun?

“Some 80% of your life is spent working. You want to have fun at home; why shouldn’t you have fun at work?” – Richard Branson

Michigan Premier Marketing Team is a uniquely full service marketing firm that handles absolutely ALL of your business needs. We guarantee that.

We are located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. We service firms both in Michigan and all over the United States.

If you’re a start-up company looking for business or marketing advice, we are more than happy to answer all your questions. Call (248) 956-0246 to set up a FREE consultation. 

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson