Four Simple Rules for Posting Comments

Content is king – you’ve heard that before. Granted, there should be a healthy focus on content creation in today’s marketing mix, but one of the core beliefs at InkHouse is that content by itself – even great content – falls short. Content needs to be shared, it needs to grow and it needs to engage in order for your thought leadership foothold to increase. This is where a strong seeding program (i.e. InkHouse’s Content Bureau) can set your content apart.

One of the most effective ways to seed your content is to interact with existing content – articles, blog posts, even tweets. For the sake of this post, let’s focus on blog posts and articles. Almost all writers like a comment on their article or blog post – journalists have told InkHousers that they appreciate a article comments much more than a “rapid response” email – so it’s a great place to engage with influencers and drive them to your content.

Effective PR Strategies: Timing is Everything

A wise man/local celebrity once told me that in the public relations world, the calendar means everything. These are important words to heed as we approach what might be the most news-packed few weeks of the year in technology. Perhaps around this time of year your biggest challenges include getting Junior dressed and ready for the first days of school, but I can tell you that for a PR pro, navigating the tech news cycle over the next couple of weeks might be even trickier. Consider:

• Today: Samsung’s Unpacked Event and Sony’s IFA 2012 press event.
• September 3: Labor Day. I’m all for counterintuitive thinking, but announcing news on Labor Day is not the best use of your time. Fire up the grill, crack a cold beer and file that press release away for another date.

What George Costanza Can Teach Us About Content Creation

Classic antihero George Costanza has taught us many valuable life lessons – chief among them that you can still find a parking spot in the city if you apply yourself. But for those of us in content creation fields, he’s given career tips, too. Let me explain what I mean, because George is clearly the gift that keeps on giving. By the way, Happy Festivus, everyone!

There’s a well-known scene in “The Ticket” episode where George and Jerry pitch their sitcom idea to NBC for a second time. Having been dismissed by the network the week before because of George’s insistence that the show be about nothing, the two friends return with the opposite tack – with George leading the way. “Story is the foundation of all entertainment,” he tells NBC executive Russell Dalrymple. “You must have a good story; otherwise, it’s just masturbation.”

Social Media and the NHL: Let’s Not Ruin a Good Thing

The National Hockey League unveiled its social media policy yesterday, and as you might expect with anything ending with the word “policy,” there’s the potential it will take the fun out of hockey players using social media. This move wasn’t unexpected: the NHL is following suit after the three other major U.S. sport leagues set their respective policies/rules. The NHL is actually kinda sorta late with this one. With more and more news outlets reporting on athletes’ Twitter accounts, tweets are now the equivalent of a player’s actual quote. It’s a pretty interesting evolution of player comment when you think about it: Twitter has become an alternative official mouthpiece.

10 Ways PR is Like a Spin Class

If you’ve taken a spin class you know it can be a demanding, grueling, yet ultimately rewarding endeavor. Sound like a job in PR to any of you? Last night while sweating through another spin class, I started making mental notes about some traits both PR and spinning share. What follows are 10 ways PR is like a spin class.

It’s a woman’s world. True, women reportedly make up anywhere from 70 to 85 percent of the PR workforce, and from my own experience I can non-scientifically report the same in spin classes. Some men see this as a deterrent; others, an incentive. But guys, neither spin nor PR is just for women, so get out there.