Most Viewed Blogs of 2011

Since 2012 is almost here, let's take a look back and reflect on the top 10 most viewed blog topics from 2011. What was your favorite?

Groupon - What's Behind This Retail Sales Bonanza?

The Complex World of Healthcare Marketing

Online Marketing Trends in Manufacturing

Finding the Right B2B Bulls-eye

Utilizing Custom Facebook Pages

Social Media Do's and Don'ts

CMA Named Best in Show at ASTRA Awards

3.5 Marketing Ideas for 2011

Foursquare – A Fun Location to Be

Media Planning Demystified

What’s on Your Marketing List for 2012?

 As the song goes, Santa makes his list and checks it twice. With 2012 just about a week away, it’s not too late to make your marketing “list “for next year. For many businesses, it seems long-term planning has been sidelined by a focus on short-term success and survival.  While we all have to do what we can to survive, a sensible marketing plan with real goals and objectives will help make sure you don’t end up with a lump of coal under the tree next year.

A few key questions to ask as you finalize your 2012 plan:

• Are there changes in the marketplace or other environmental factors that may affect how you do business now or in the future?
• Have your target audiences or competitors changed or will they change in the future?
• Have your key success factors changed due to the current marketplace?
• Are existing strategies working or do you need to develop new ones?
• Should your key messages to targets change?

Even the naughtiest kid knows putting together a ridiculously long list of gifts isn’t going to get him what he wants.  Treat your marketing plan the same way.  It can help to spend sometime thinking about your dream wish list, but don’t get stuck there.  Ultimately, your marketing plan needs to be based on sound strategy, measurable goals and a realistic budget. 

Here’s to staying off the naughty list in 2012!

Erin Higgins
Director of Marketing Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

CMA's Matt Kulcsar to Moderate Panel on Technology in Interactive Design

The New Jersey Communications, Advertising and Marketing Association (NJ CAMA) will kick off the new year with an educational networking event on January 10 from 6:00-8:00 PM at D&R Greenway in Princeton, New Jersey. Attendees will learn about new tools for communications professionals such as Open Source, Open Workforce and cloud computing and other design applications and e-marketing software that are changing the way agencies and freelancers approach creative work and deliver results to their clients. A panel discussion, moderated by Creative Marketing Alliance (CMA)’s Interactive Designer, Matt Kulcsar, will feature Ed McLaughlin, Chief Marketing Technologist and Co-founder of SVM E-Business Solutions and Brian Crooks, Executive Creative Director at Influence Interactive discussing “New Tools and Environments for Creatives.”

 

Formerly the creative director at Razorfish, Crooks has over 20 years of experience in the design field and has created several notable fully integrated consumer and BtoB interactive media campaigns, including those of Nestle, Dove, Sallie Mae, Neiman Marcus and General Motors. He will discuss how creatives need to be free to think and have access to the information that drives original thoughts. Attendees will learn to embrace new technologies that are catalysts for ideas, not simply an electronic box of tools. Crooks will focus on the convergence of the physical and digital—the space in which ideas can percolate and where information, observations and insights are the coin of the realm.

McLaughlin has executed countless online marketing initiatives with organizations large and small, from Fortune 500 to non-profits, across a broad array of industries. A champion of the emerging role of the marketing technologist, Ed has a professional passion for the business-changing potential of open source software, distributed workforce models and cloud computing. McLaughlin will focus on the concept of the “Distributed Agency,” meaning a shift from physical environments to digital environments and leveraging software-as-a-service, cloud computing, and the collaborative tools and ethos of the open source movement. 

Kulcsar of CMA has over 13 years of professional experience in website design and development. He has developed web content, managed websites, e-blasts, single-page websites and interactive displays also has expertise in combining SEO and SEM strategies with social media. 

The cost to attend is $25 members, $35 non-members, and includes catering by Christopher’s Personal Chef Service. The meeting will be held at D&R Greenway, Johnson Education Center, RWJ Auditorium, One Preservation Place, Princeton, NJ 08540. For directions, go to www.drgreenway.org/directions.htm. To register, visit www.njcama.org. For more information about this event, contact programs@njcama.org and for membership information, contact membership@njcama.org.

Drum roll please...It's CMA's Signature Holiday Card!

Once again, the laughter poured out 191 Clarksville Road this year in preparation for our signature holiday card. Join us as we look forward to a year full of celebration, as 2012 is our 25th anniversary year!

Happy Holidays from CMA! Check out the digital version of the card here.

How to Maximize Your Facebook Presence

By now, many businesses have flocked to Facebook with the promise of raised awareness, increased brand loyalty and fresh sales leads. But are you doing all you can to maximize your company’s presence on Facebook?

First, it’s important to know what kind of users you are dealing with.  Here are some key behaviors to keep in mind as you develop your campaign:

• People are visiting fan pages looking for something in return—it could be coupons or discounts, exclusive information, entertainment to share with friends or maybe even recognition.
• The majority of a consumer's Facebook experience is the wall, which is also visible in their top news feed. The 95% of Facebook users view their news feed only, according to a recent study.
• With the new interface changes that took place this Fall, there is much more “passive sharing,” meaning a news feed is more cluttered with app updates from Netflix, Spotify and other sites connected to Facebook through an automatic update system. These changes are constant at Facebook so make sure to stay on top of what’s going on and maximize the technology or at the very least don't fall behind it.

It is often challenging to get attention when the Facebook universe is so vast and deep, but fret not. Social media is all about innovation and the best tips for success are discovered simply based on trial and error. So try these suggestions out and adjust as needed based on your target audience’s response.

1. Make “Like Us” buttons prominent and easy to find. One of the best ways to promote your Facebook presence is to simply add the small “f” icon on your website, but it shouldn’t stop there. Add the icon to your employee’s email signatures, to your e-newlsetter, or blog or any other digital communications.

2. Consider custom tabs. There’s more to a Facebook page than just the Wall. Consider working with a marketing agency that has experience in creating customized Facebook tabs. These become an extension of your website and can be used for product promotions and current offerings. Your designer can even arrange for these tabs to be the first landing page a user sees when they visit your page.

3. Engage and entertain. Social media definitely has a proven business value, but ultimately, users are looking for something fun and/or useful. Create content that makes them want to share with their friends or keeps them coming back for more. Quizzes, giveaways, exclusive videos and insights into the inner workings of the company are good ways to pique the interests of your fans and keep them engaged.

What are you looking to get out of your social media participation? Once you’ve determined the value Facebook or any other site has to your business, consider using an experienced marketing agency to do the heavy lifting—content research and development, posting and monitoring. Often the largest obstacle in the way of any kind of social media success is time.

Erin Higgins
Director of Marketing Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

How to Use Google+ to Promote Your Business

Google+ was publicly launched on June 28, 2011 and boasts more than 25 million users, the fastest growing social media platform to date. There has been, as you might expect, comparisons being made between Google+ and the other two social media giants: Facebook and Twitter. Some say it is redundant—“what can I get from this that I don’t already have?” Others say its ease of use and new capabilities make it a contender in this fast changing and highly competitive business.

Google+ has most of the features of their competitors and a few new ones that make the site distinctive, which addresses some of the issues users have with Facebook and Twitter such as privacy concerns (Facebook) and character constraints (Twitter).

Google+ Features

Here is your crash course in learning some of the new features Google+ offers:

• Circles – This feature allows you to put friends into relevant circles. You can communicate with all your friends or a specific friend, and even upload certain photos to certain circles. Circles are seen as a time-saver with regard to privacy settings.
• Hangouts – These are group video chats like Skype that allow you to chat with your friends in real time. Skype charges a fee for multiple users and Google+ allows you to have as many as 10 participants for free.
• Instant Upload – Google+ has an instant upload feature which automatically uploads all your videos and photos to a private Google+ album. You can organize them into categories and decide to whom you want to send them. This is only available for Android Phones.
• Huddle – Currently limited to android users, this feature allows you to chat across different platforms including your mobile device. 
• Plus 1 – While searching or surfing the web you may come across little icons with “+1” in them. You can click on these icons and a snippet of information is displayed in your profile so that your friends can comment on or share with others. 

How Does it Measure Up For Businesses?

From what we’ve seen, there won’t be a mass exodus from Facebook and Twitter any time soon, but Google+ plus should not be underrated. There are many unique ways businesses can use Google+ as an additional social media marketing tool—here are two you can try right away.

Create a Hangout – It’s simple to use and there are many uses for the hangout service. You can talk to current and prospective clients, bring staff together for a meeting where ever they might be, or interact with other business partners and friends. This face-to-face tool can be a boon for small businesses that are not always able to interact with individuals they aren’t always able to connect with in person. 

Create a brand page – Every brand should have a page and so should every individual—as personal branding is becoming almost as important as your company’s positioning. The brand page on Google+ should contain similar information as your other social media sites. Build an “about” page that includes pictures and other attention-getters such as graphics and articles. Don’t forget to mention your accomplishments and interests.

Then, offer avenues of conversations and interchanges. In other words, be “social” invite comments and information. Where ever possible, include exclusive material that will pique the interests of your visitors, such as tips and other inside information. Keep it simple, consistent and constant.

It’s an exciting time in marketing and the ever-changing world of social media continues to offer new and expanded ways to connect with people you never thought possible. Keep Google+ on your radar as another way to interact with customers and raise awareness overall—try it out or contact CMA to learn more about how we can assist you in your social media strategy. 

Kaitlin Friedmann
PR Manager
kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

Help a Rising Star! CMA Internships Now Available

Creative Marketing Alliance is currently accepting resumes for full time or part time interns to support activity within its art/design, marketing, public relations, association management and financial departments. Depending upon the area of concentration, the candidate will assist our staff in a support role and will be given opportunities to observe and participate in the day-to-day operation of a full service marketing and communications firm. Please send resumes to Melanie Kotsonis, mkotsonis@cmasolutions.com. 


Business Development Intern

The ideal candidate should possess the ability to connect and integrate strategic initiatives’ goals and objectives, strong database skills and familiarity with programs including Excel and Access. The candidate should also possess the ability to meet deadlines while managing several projects and willingness to learn and share opinions. A major in Marketing or Business is preferred.

Responsibilities include participation in team planning efforts, coordination across cross-functional teams, management and compilation of data sets and marketing models and lists coordination.

Finance Intern

The ideal candidate should be attending a four-year school, majoring in finance or accounting, and preferably be in his/her junior year. This will be an unpaid internship. The candidate will assist our staff in the areas of accounts receivable, accounts payable, and billing.

Public Relations Intern

The ideal candidate should be attending a four-year school, majoring in public relations or communications, and preferably be in his/her junior year. This will be an unpaid internship. The candidate will assist our public relations staff with press releases, news releases, case studies, database management, and client support.

Marketing Intern

The ideal candidate should be attending a four-year school, majoring in marketing, and preferably be in his/her junior year. This will be an unpaid internship. The candidate will assist our staff in coordinating ad campaigns for existing clients: emphasis on business to business accounts, industrial and commercial.

Graphic Design Intern

The ideal candidate should be attending a four-year school, majoring in art or graphic design, and preferably be in his/her junior year. This will be an unpaid internship. The candidate will assist our staff in the areas of creative concept, direct marketing and design.

Association and Event Management Administrative Support Intern

The ideal candidate should be attending a four-year school and preferably be in his/her junior year. This will be an unpaid internship. The candidate will assist our association executives in coordinating activities for non-profit and trade associations. Duties may include maintenance of databases, supporting membership services programs and membership payments, and assistance with event planning. Individual must be computer literate, particularly in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access are a plus.

CMA Gives Thanks Through HomeFront Food Drive

CMA Director of Marketing Services, Erin Higgins (left); PR Manager, Kaitlin Friedmann (middle) and Administrative Services Manager, Melanie Kotsonis, drop off Thanksgiving food baskets to HomeFront.

CMA donated eight baskets of non-perishable food to HomeFront as part of their Thanksgiving food drive.

A non-profit organization located in Lawrenceville, HomeFront provides emergency shelter and support services to help Mercer County homeless families get back on their feet. Each year, the organization strives to meet its goal of providing Thanksgiving meals to over 1,800 homeless families in the area. For over a month, CMA employees collected and donated canned goods and other non-perishable items for the drive. 

“Year after year, our staff joins together to help local families in need for Thanksgiving,” said Jeffrey Barnhart, President and CEO of CMA. “We hope these baskets will brighten up their holiday.”

CMA Gives Thanks

Every once in a while, CMA takes a break to celebrate and give thanks. Last week was no exception, as CMA staff members took a moment to reflect on what they are most thankful for this holiday season. 

No Flash for Mobile Web Signals New Era

Software developer Adobe announced last week they will cease production on mobile versions of Flash…so what’s the big deal?

Essentially, this move signals the end of an era. Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. For nearly 15 years, it has been one of the mainstays of web-based animation. Now, tech-savvy insiders are saying Flash will be deemed irrelevant and that the influence of the late Steve Jobs of Apple cut mobile Flash’s chances of success very short. 

According to CMA Interactive Designer, Matt Kulcsar, designers stopped using Flash for full site development about 3-4 years ago because of technologies like jQuery. In the past year, it was widely believed Flash would not survive the transition to mobile platforms simply because of its unstable nature and intense battery drain.

“When I heard the news, I thought ‘happy days are here!’ From a designer’s standpoint, Flash was just a resource hog and was becoming more and more cumbersome to use,” said Kulcsar.

“Opting to use Flash would be like saying you don’t care if any Apple users can see your content. After a certain point, no one was willing to exclude that audience,” he added.

Kulcsar says HTML5 is the emerging Web language that many developers are using, even Adobe is leaning this way for its non-mobile software development. There’s no doubt Flash will continue on in some form or fashion but designers say it will not be branded in the same way that Flash used to be, or carry as much weight as it used to.

“It’s an exciting time of transition where within the span of just about a year, we are seeing tablet usage skyrocket—not just the iPad, but the Samsung Galaxy and the Kindle Fire have gained traction in the marketplace. We’ll start to see the stripped-down net book laptops also really takeover in the next two years or so,” said Kulcsar.

Let us help you adapt to changing technology. Give us a call today to discuss cutting-edge web strategies to grow your business.

Groupon: What’s Behind this Retail Sales Bonanza?

Once again, we know you’ve heard about it, and we want you to be in the know.

Groupon (group coupon) has recently emerged as a popular social media site that is essentially a group buying service that offers one deal a day within the markets it serves. It offers deep discounts to all retail establishments it screens. The key is that enough people have to buy into a deal in order to make it a profitable venture from the start for all concerned.

What’s it all about? What are the pros and cons of participating from a business perspective? Allow us to shed some light on this new phenomenon.

Deep Discounts

Retail businesses offer, through Groupon, deep discounts on products and service-up to 90% off. Groupon will tell the potential buyer via email that a particular firm is willing to offer 50% on a particular day on particular items and the buyer will use his or her credit card to purchase the certificate. Coupon deals have expiration dates as noted on the website.

A Group Effort

Groupon will send an email certificate to the buyer which they can redeem at the store. Say the merchant is a restaurant, and they are offering a $40 discount on two meals complete. So the price to the consumer is $20 Groupon keeps 50% of the revenue.

In this case the customer remits the discounted price for the meal to the establishment and Groupon keeps 50% and the establishment keeps 50%. It should be noted that Groupon’s major market is female customers meaning that health, fitness and personal care items are their primary offerings.

Each such offering is a one day only deal and Groupon only goes forward with the deal if they get enough participants to tip the balance and make it worthwhile to Groupon, the merchant and the buyer. Once they have enough takers the offer is open to anyone who wants to participate.

Pros and Cons for Businesses

On the plus side, Groupon is an excellent way to drive traffic to a particular business or service and catch the attention of thousands of buyers who otherwise may not have known about you. It also helps to sell slow moving inventory—Groupon offers an excellent way to get them out the door. In many cases, Groupon helps to generate new relationships. Although you may be providing a one time offer, a simple coupon can bring in repeat business if the coupon holder likes what they see.

There are also several potential pitfalls to consider. You could have a disaster on your hands if you don’t plan on having an onslaught of new customers. Running out of inventory or not staffing appropriately will send customers away with a poor impression of your business. Also, since price is the driving force behind this service, you need to choose those items and services that have the highest margins. You can actually lose on the deal if you are discounting a low profit margin product or service.

Your business and CMA

What does this mean for your business? CMA knows social media, and is ready to help you navigate through all the new digital developments. Give us a call.

Kaitlin Friedmann

PR Manager

kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

Happy Halloween from CMA!

CMA gets into the Halloween spirit! 

Our costume contest winners - The Beverly Hillbillies! a.k.a. Matt Kulcsar (Jethro), Melanie Kotsonis (Elly May), Danielle Carrick (Ms. Hathaway), Darrell Christmas (Jed) and Erin Higgins (Granny).

CMA - Top Agency Winner at 2011 JASPERS!

CMA Public Relations Manager, Kaitlin Friedmann (left) and Public Relations Account Executive, Meghan Higgins (right) accepted seven JASPER Awards from Board President, Rich Jack at the 37^th Annual Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JSPRAA) Awards Gala on October 14.

CMA received seven JASPER Awards at the 37^th Annual Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JSPRAA) Awards Gala held Friday, October 14 at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey--the most out of any agency who entered the competition. 

CMA received three gold awards for the creation of a brochure for a financial publication, a print magazine for an electrical buying group and public relations campaign for a meetings industry association. The firm also received four silver awards for a brochure and internal newsletter for a global accounting association, sales kit for a regional medical dermatologist and a web banner for a national transportation association.

“It is an honor to be one of the agencies with the most wins of the night,” said Jeffrey Barnhart, President and CEO of CMA. “This success coupled with our outstanding showing at the ASTRA awards confirms our commitment to serving client needs effectively.”

What a Scary Thought!

Your company’s website URL was misspelled in an e-blast sent to current and prospective clients.

Your print advertisement missed the mark and confused your target audience.

Your products brochure doesn’t include photos of your new product line.

Your whitepaper report doesn’t link to the correct URL to download the report.

These nightmare scenarios show you a glimpse into what can happen when you skimp on marketing talent. Before you opt for the inexperienced “cheaper option,” consider the impression you’re leaving on your current and prospective customers. You might just end up scaring them off for good!

In honor of Halloween, CMA wanted to share with you the worst marketing blunders of all time. 

What marketing nightmare is keeping you up at night? Use the comment box to let us know. Fret not! CMA specializes in marketing—let us lighten your load by handling your next brochure, e-blast or advertisement.Give us a call today at (609) 297-2235.

CMA Staff Recognizes Diane Galante Haggerty

CMA is proud to recognize Diane Galante Haggerty as the company’s third Crew Star program winner for 2011. The Crew Star program recognizes a CMA employee every quarter for exemplifying CMA’s core values and going above and beyond.

Diane is responsible for the overall management of association clients on both a national and international scale. Along with the management of day-to-day association operations, Diane applies successful membership development and recruitment strategies, meeting planning expertise and other best business practices to her leadership of associations. A resident of Yardley, PA, Diane is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University. She has been with CMA for five years.

Diane was selected by her peers for her willingness to help fellow employees, her positive energy, passion for her work and servicing clients. As 2011’s third quarter Crew Star, Diane will enjoy perks such as a prime parking spot, lunch with the executive team and her picture on the wall in the CMA reception area.

Congratulations, Diane!

Finding the B2B Bull’s-eye

CMA works with many different kinds of business-to-business (B2B) clients and each are unique in their own right. They face different market challenges, they have different goals and have unique sales cycles. Perhaps the largest variable to consider in B2B marketing is who the target audience is.

Within a B2B company’s target zone, it’s always essential to find out who makes up the “bull’s-eye.” After all, it’s a common rule of thumb that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients—the most loyal clients. The genesis of this theory was an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who in 1906 noticed that 80% of Italy's land was owned by 20% of the population. He then carried out surveys on a variety of other countries and found to his surprise that a similar distribution applied.

The way marketers are building brand loyalty has obviously changed drastically since Pareto’s time, but the principle remains. Consider this recent eSurvey of 1,100 North America marketers. It found that B2B marketers employ an average of eight different tactics to achieve marketing goals and those tactics mostly included content marketing.

“Content Marketing,” or custom media (sometimes called custom publishing, custom content or branded content) is the creation and distribution of educational and/or compelling content in multiple formats to attract and/or retain customers.

Essentially, what this says about the new B2B marketing landscape is that marketers are now publishers. There are many different avenues for creating useful information for potential customers while showcasing a company’s expertise.

Ready to be a publisher? Give us a call to learn the many ways CMA can bring these tactics to life for you.

Jeffrey Barnhart

President and CEO

jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com

Keep it Consistent

In today’s fast paced world, we can end up moving from one marketing project to another without a second to breathe. It’s important to take a step back regularly to make sure each “project” still has a consistent message and relates back to your brand in a meaningful way.

These questions can help you figure out if your brand is in conflict.

Are you having an identity crisis? Moving quickly to keep up all of your marketing needs can sometimes make you lose focus and miss the big picture. You might find that your brand changes with each new project. Before you know it your website, print ads, e-newsletter and printed collateral don’t hang together any more. 

Have you put it all out on the table? To see if you have a problem, you have to bite the bullet and put all your marketing in one place at the same time so that you can review them. Make this a team effort because you’ll be surprised what other marketing pieces are being used throughout your company that may not reflect your brand properly.

Is your website speaking a different language? While you don’t want your website to be simply a digital version of your corporate brochure, you need your online presence to be cohesive with your collateral materials. Be sure when one is updated, so is the other.

When is it ok to be different? Like any rule, sometimes there needs to be an exception. Special promotions might require a unique look and feel or a certain target audience needs to be communicated to differently. Overall, even within these specific circumstances you want to make sure your marketing messages and identity are inline and the returns from these promotions pay off for your overall brand.  

Need help getting your brand back together?  CMA can help you evaluate your current marketing program and get your brand back on track.

Jeffrey Barnhart

President and CEO

jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com

Proven Tactics in PR and Social Media

CMA's PR Manager Kaitlin Friedmann was recently invited to contribute another guest blog for e-Xplorations, a blog that aims to help small to mid-sized businesses adapt to digital marketing strategies. Check out the excerpt below....

I grew up in the MTV generation so when I hear social media experts predict the death of the press release, it makes me think of the panic SEO Marketing that must have stricken radio stations across the country when “Video Killed the Radio Star” was popular.

Rather than making predictions for one thing eclipsing the other, PR pros should embrace the many tools available to them. A mix of classic media relations skills and web-savvy strategies are essential now more than ever to raising awareness and proving ROI.  

To maximize your social strategy, increase the reach of your content and stay as relevant as you can to your target audience, PR professionals should take the necessary steps to optimize their next press release distribution or overall social media strategy.

The Role of the Press Release

Past – The only eyes on a press release were that of a reporter, editor or other member of the media (setting aside investor relations). Its purpose was purely informational and was rarely taken verbatim.

Present – Press releases are seen by a larger audience—they are blasted out to far-reaching lists of media and the general public optimized press releasethrough PRNewswire, PRWeb and other distribution sites. In the age of Google Alerts and RSS feeds, mass distribution is as crucial as ever. Press releases are additionally posted on company websites, sent in customer e-newsletters and linked to social networks.

While I can’t speak about the pre-Internet days of PR, I can make an educated assumption that the most proven public relations tactic has always been flexibility. What this analysis says is that PR pros don’t rely on any one method of communication and the press release must simply be newsworthy for the media and, more broadly, for the end user. The above-mentioned wire services will take care of the release’s optimized delivery, but it’s up to the PR pro to use keywords, anchor text and key messages that resonate with the target audience. The press release in the “classic sense” must also still have a real-live voice behind it (the PR pro’s follow-up calls) to increase the chance of media placement. 

The Gatekeeper-Free World of Social Media

Social media content has the power to bypass the media as the “gatekeepers” of information and go straight to your target audience. This is not just an awareness-raising tactic—there are sales to be made directly from social media working in concert with SEO. According to a comScore study, buyers “who purchase or convert online are almost as likely to use a combination of search and social resources (48 percent) as they are to use just search (51 percent) along the path to purchase.”

It’s nearly impossible to not mention social media in the discussion of the “future” of public relations, so let’s examine the future of the press release in this context.

Future – As attention spans shrink, experts say the press release could be phased out and replaced by viral infographics (visual representations of announcements that particularly involve statistical data used most prominently by FourSquare) or social media posts (Tweets, Status Updates, Discussion Points, etc).

To these predictions, again, my answer is to diversify. Why does one have to replace the other? Some of CMA’s most successful PR campaigns have been those that utilize the full arsenal of PR, SEO and social media tactics.

We recently used a healthy mix of classic PR practices, SEO and social media to “scare” up awareness for an association of haunted attractions. The first foray into our Halloween PR campaign started earlier this month with the keyword-riddled press release describing haunted attractions’ ability to compete for young adults’ attention. Distributed via PRNewswire, the release was also posted on 10 free press release distribution websites.

We also recruited the social media savvy of the association member base to further widen thepress release distribution reach of the press release to industry insiders, while following up directly with phone calls to a variety of consumer media covering the Millennial generation’s behavior. The results—placement on over 200 news websites, a feature article secured in an industry magazine and an in-depth feature article in the works on 10 haunted attractions for a major consumer magazine with more than 10 million circulation.

The bottom line here—SEO gets you on the right pages, but it’s up to you to make the most of your opportunity once you’re there.