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Public Relations Strategies and Tactics for Your Agency with Don Beehler

The communications world has changed drastically in recent years and practicing effective public relations strategies and tactics are no exception. Gone are the days of only having to know one or two reporters or knowing all of the potential publications to pitch. Today, there are so many more channels and opportunities that agencies struggle with understanding how best to utilize PR for their agency and for their clients. My podcast guest, Don Beehler has been involved in all aspects of communications. He has worked in corporate communications, advertising, public relations, marketing and in journalism as a correspondent and as a member of an editorial staff. All of that has helped him to really see how PR can help agencies create awareness, draw prospects into the agency to generate sales opportunities, and improve client retention. Join Don and I as we dig deeper into the PR world and discover: The dramatic changes PR has seen over the years How agencies can use PR as a strategic tool to drive new business How to determine what stories to pitch Ways you can become discoverable so that reporters can find you The kind of news that is truly newsworthy for agencies Why you shouldn’t think about using PR with the expectation that people will write stories about your agency How agencies can get the right kind of attention How to incorporate PR into your business plan How to correctly use PR in relation to speaking engagements How to use Google Alerts to capitalize on PR opportunities The steps to take right away to boost your PR Don Beehler has worked with news media on the local to international levels and has won numerous professional awards throughout his career. [...]

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Hey agency owner — Should PR be part of your mix?

I work with over 200 agencies a year and the ones who are really crushing their AGI goals are the ones who have blended digital and PR into their shops. The addition of PR into a traditional ad shop (even one who has made the leap to digital) brings all kinds of new revenue opportunities to your agency. Traditional PR and media placements, media training etc. Digital PR -- everything from guest blogging to securing back links Content marketing -- creating content, curating content, thought leadership Crisis communications planning and prep Reputation management I get it -- you’ve established yourself as an advertising agency. You have a list of devoted clients. Your work has earned you numerous industry awards and the respect and admiration of your peers. So why should you consider branching out into PR? I asked Nancy Marshall -- Maine's PR Maven, who is co-leading AMI's Build a PR Department Inside Your Agency workshop this November 6th and 7th to share her thoughts on how adding PR to your shop would add value.  Here's what she said. Here are five ways PR will improve your entire agency: You will be able to generate a bigger and better ROI for your clients. Let’s face it, advertising and PR work best when used together, reaching for the same goal. It will create an additional revenue stream for your agency. You will now be able to pitch prospects seeking PR services exclusively, representing an entirely new pool of potential clients for your agency. You can also upsell PR services to your existing clients. PR will add value to your client relationships. Current and prospective clients will like the fact that they can work with one agency to meet [...]

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Hey agency owner – how do you tell your story?

Every agency is wrestling with content creation these days.  But sadly, most content is still too sales-y and lacks a compelling story that’s meaningful and memorable.  As we all know — creating great content isn’t just about regurgitating sales bullet points.  There needs to be some heart in the mix. Even if your agency is stellar at creating content for your clients, the one place most agencies stumble is on their own content.  It’s a combination of not carving out enough time and being too focused on the sale.  Both mistakes get in our way of creating compelling content for our own agencies. In the following article for The Agency Post, I break down content marketing strategies to help you build a better conversation for your clients.  How are you telling your agency’s story? How are you helping build your clients’ story?  Let me know…

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Hey agency owner – do you have an internal content strategy?

Many agencies know how to create and implement marketing and content strategies for their clients, but when it comes to their own business they often miss the mark.  Instead the thorough and well thought out plan they’d present to their clients, their efforts are often haphazard and sporadic.  How guide your clients and have them trust your advice when you don’t model that behavior in your own business? So how can you build a foundation for your agency’s content marketing future? The Agency Post asked me to write the following article about how to build a foundation for your agency’s content marketing strategy.  How have you worked to create your agency’s content strategy? What challenges have you faced?  I want to hear from you!

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Letters To The Editor That Pull In Business

Awhile ago, we received a call from an agency in upstate New York. "I was looking through a back issues of Money Magazine," he said, "and I saw your letter to the editor mentioning that one of the things you do is work as an advertising agency consultant. You might be the kind of person I'm looking for to help me with my agency." So far AMR has helped him on several occasions. An unsolicited qualified prospect called us at the cost of one stamp on the letter to the magazine. (Today, it would be the cost of a mouse click!) If you think that letters to the editor only provide a place to sound-off on some issue of public issue you're wrong. They can also provide opportunities to spread the word about your services to an enormous audience. But for this strategy to pay off, you have to remain alert to opportunities during your regular reading, carefully construct an effectively subtle letter and promptly send it off. First, stay on the lookout for articles to relate advertising or marketing  issues. Then consider how you can agree, disagree or add to what was reported in the article. Start your letter with a reference to the name and date of the article you are responding to. Then present your comment using this formula: "As the principal of an advertising agency, I have found/feel/think ____." For instance: "As the owner of an advertising agency that specializes in the mining industries, I feel ... " "As the owner of a graphic design company that deals with high tech companies, I've found ..." For some excellent examples, take a look at the letters column in Entrepreneur Magazine. Almost every [...]

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5 Mistakes that cost agency owners money.

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