A memory popped up on my Facebook feed today for #PRprochat, a digital PR Twitter chat that I ran for years, in an effort to spread digital skills to the PR professionals looking to expand their skills, and as a tactic to build audience prior to my Above The Noise book release in 2016.
I deeply believe this book will help you. Why? Because so many business owners–even marketing communications and public relations professionals–are investing time and resources into online marketing that simply doesn’t produce results.
They’re completely lost with zero online visibility. Or, almost worse, they’re visible to the WRONG AUDIENCE.
It’s live. IT’S FINALLY LIVE. My book page is up on Amazon for pre-sales, with a publication date of January 27th. I’m so excited!!
If you’re interested in building trust and reputation online (including two GREAT case studies from two of my very favorite pet brands), reserve your copy today.
Reviews matter, yet so many companies let them grow by default and inattention, rather than a focused effort – rarely monitoring what is being said unless a crisis flares up, grabbing everyone’s attention like firecrackers lit inside a public library.
Most restaurants and retail businesses make an effort – smart ones realizing just how much new business they fuel – but monitoring is slim-to-nonexistent for many other types of businesses and there’s no effort made to grow the volume of reviews.
I believe the roadblock is often lack of ownership and accountability.
Who’s responsible for growing and managing customer reviews – is it PR? Marketing? Customer service or sales? Are you giving them enough attention? Do you have a process in place to handle negative reviews? All great questions to be thinking about, since reviews have incredible impact on reputation and visibility, and a conversation that PR can/should kickstart, if it isn’t happening.
Did you know that most brand mention monitoring subscriptions don’t include customer review websites?
Yelp, Google Reviews, Amazon, Trip Advisor, Open Table – all of the generic and trade specific review sites fall under the bailiwick of Reputation Management – an entirely different solution that includes measuring sentiment on top of mention and review monitoring.
It’s never a bad idea for PR pros to take a close look at customer reviews for their employer or clients on a regular basis, and make recommendations on how to grow or manage them… especially if it’s something that is neglected. Start those conversations and you’ll instantly be more valuable.
[Tweet “You can’t build trust neglecting your online reviews. “]
Trust – it’s so fragile. It takes forever to build and moments to crush.
My brain is teeming with ideas about how to build trust, and how it’s impacted by the content we create and the social media posts we share. As I wrap up the last half of my book, I’m very focused on the topics of trust, value and reputation – and how they intersect to create a bigger picture.
Trust is a complex thing. It’s built up over time based on small everyday interactions, subjective opinions, our own unique perspectives and experiences, and what people tell us.
The internet is no different. Online, trust is built on a foundation of reputation, consistency, professionalism and demonstrated expertise. It’s a collective accumulation of impressions, with each exposure forming an imprint, like individual brush strokes together create a larger image, a larger truth.
Excerpt from Above The Noise (coming this fall!).
We can’t build trust if the content we create is unfocused, and we sure won’t build any kind of meaningful awareness or audience.
Each brushstroke – each piece of content and layer of social media – adds to a larger truth. How trustworthy does your content appear? What perception are you creating as the bulk of your content grows over time? Are you creating a masterpiece or something you can’t give away at a garage sale? Are you creating a bigger picture that is intentional or accidental?
Wondering what my new book, Above The Noise, is about? Here is a short video where I introduce a little detail about it.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
Good afternoon, everybody! My name is Carrie Morgan and I’ve authored a new book that’s coming out this summer called ‘Above the Noise.’ It’s about how to build trust, value and reputation online to rise above the noise.
I wanted to share with you a little bit what the book is about, because I think it’s so important for companies to slow down and really take time to evaluate, and take a deep look at their brands today, because that kind of clarification is truly what helps you rise above the noise. There’s so much conversation, content and social media activity online that it’s just more and more difficult every day to be heard.
There’s a couple of steps that companies need to slow down and spend some time with before they get too deeply involved in their marketing efforts to make sure that they’re targeting the right areas and the right audience, and getting the most out of their marketing efforts.
I’m so excited to be working on a fabulous new identity for Rock The Status Quo! It carries the same theme of the peacock and our slogan, “we make brands more vibrant and visible online” – but with the help of my graphic designer, it will embody those ideas more beautifully than ever before.
After all, what’s more vibrant and visible than a peacock? Talk about brilliantly colored!
My favorite part of having this iconic animal as part of my brand is how people reach out to me all the time when they see something with a peacock on it. They’ll be out shopping, then send me a photo of the item, telling me how it reminded them of me. I love that!!
Isn’t that what a brand is all about – helping your business stick in the mind of your audience? Being remembered when they need you?
Here is a sneak peek at the new logo (left), and the back of my still-in-development business card (below).
Aren’t they gorgeous?
Social media images, letterhead, new business proposal covers, website changes – all kinds of other changes will be rolled out to launch the new look as we finish each project. It’s so fun!
I’m also in the middle of developing a new speaker website for my personal brand as an author and speaker, and can’t wait to show it to you, too. I’m hoping for lots of feedback!
In the meanwhile, some very cool things are happening with my book, Above The Noise (Motivational Press). I’m doing my best to wrap it up FAST so it is published in early summer. Here’s a little preview.
I’m thrilled to announce my newest book, Above The Noise. Barring issues, it should hit bookshelves in the first half of 2015. It’s all about how to build an online marketing strategy based on clarity of messaging, positioning and target audience – then using that clarity to create trust, value and reputation within the right target market …