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How can hiring an agency help my business grow?

According to the Public Relations Society of America, Public Relations is defined as “anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that impact, for the good or ill, the operations and plans of an organization.”

The perspective a client has of your brand is extremely important and can impact your overall growth. How you structure your organization, the business practices and services you offer, and your presentation to the public, are all essential components of maintaining a positive brand image.

Public relations agencies help businesses, including start-ups, with research on a continual basis to put campaigns into action that will allow the public to perceive the business in the “light” it wishes to emulate.

Public relations agencies direct courses of action and communication, plan public policy, set campaign objectives, and employ a series of tactics to brand a business. CC Communications specializes in the following public relations services: performing market research to provide overall brand direction including logo development, the composition of press releases and online content, the organization of media relations or press conferences, the creation of special events and marketing promotions designed for public outreach, and of course, social media management.

Businesses should consider hiring a public relations agency when they want to enhance and build their brand through modern forms of media. At CC Communications, we work very closely with our clients to analyze their organization and create positive stories that translate to the public to create “top-of-mind” consciousness.

Social Media is WORD OF MOUTH, only viral!

Many local business owners argue that a majority of their sales come from word of mouth advertising!

This is great news for those who are becoming more warmed up to the idea of using social media to help build their client Rolodex. Here’s why!

Social media marketing is word of mouth advertising, only digitalized. The opportunity to share information with a significant number of friends on Facebook has enabled small businesses to connect with larger audiences in a smaller amount of time. Keeping an up-to-date profile is therefore no longer a sub-task you should leave for “when I have time,” but rather a necessity to keep your online presence active and your profile traffic consistently growing.

The opportunity to connect with customers is also an advantage that traditional forms of advertising do not allow. Interacting with your customer base can allow you receive marketing insights that you would not have otherwise been privy to. If there is a problem with your product or service, you can find out about it immediately and contact the customer directly.

Using social media to grow your brand also makes your competitors antsy! The sooner you start to amass followers and create a strong identity the harder and more expensive it will be for competitors to join the band wagon. Although using social media to grow your business can be free, if you are having difficulties marketing your products and services to the masses, you may want to consider hiring a PR or marketing agency for help.

Hiring an agency can also streamline the process it will take to get you up and running but also ensure that your content will appeal to a larger target audience. The investment is usually worth the trade-off as you are likely to see a return by communicating with potential clients you may not have connected with any other way. In addition, social media marketing agencies such as CC Communications are continually developing their strategy to accommodate for shifts and changes not only in the market place, but also in the online digital world. Busy business owners may find the assistance rather life-changing as they can rely on an agency to continue to build and develop their online presence while they carry out day-to-day tasks.

Although some businesses thrive in the viral cyberspace by using attention gabbing tactics, it is much more important to maintain a reliable social media presence.

Tips for Selling to Millennials using Social Media

Millennials are characterized as individuals born within the early 1980’s to the early 2000’s.

Being a member of this generation, I can attest to the incline of challenges that have tried and tested our generation including living through a recession, working two jobs to pay back student loans, and being negatively affected by a high unemployment rate.

However, Millennials are extremely well education and stand strong, especially in the community of Sault Ste. Marie. There has been an increase in a number of start up businesses led by members of this cohort who have become inspiring role models for our youth.

It is important to account for the challenges that affect Millennials and also their attributes when marketing especially their tech savvy capabilities. It would be wise for businesses to consider adding these tips to their marketing and communications plan in 2016:

1) Accept technology and use it to advance your brand. Millennials are tech savvy and as technology continues to advance, those in business would benefit from transitioning from traditional forms of advertising and communication and opt-in for a more modern and immediate form of marketing like routine social media management.

2) Make sure you have a strong social media presence that is kept up-to-date and relevant. Millennials are constantly using the internet to research and are very socially aware. Communicating with them on their level will not only allow you to be perceived as keeping-up-with-the-times but also earn you “top-of-mind” status the next time they require your product or service.

3) Millennials are very busy and most often moving quickly from point A to point B. The amount of time you have to make a social media impression is less than 3.5 seconds as they scroll through a newsfeed. It is imperative to have engaging content and make a good but immediate impression.

4) Authenticity is key! Be genuine and address ALL your customers with amazing customer service.

For more help on using social media to grow your brand, book a conversation with CC Communications and Let’s Talk!