ZB Group

Storytelling

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October is National Women’s Small Business Month

Image: Pixabay

October is synonymous with beautiful fall foliage when nature “reinvents” itself as leaves lose chlorophyll and carotenoids are revealed. It is also National Women’s Small Business Month which recognizes the importance of our country’s female entrepreneurs. We are celebrating by featuring three women who embraced entrepreneurship and reinvention by either launching new businesses or becoming a first-time business owner.

These dynamic women changed course to focus on their passions and build a business. One as an owner of a bed-and-breakfast, another founding a skin care company and the third’s business provides equine based coaching workshops. There are roughly 12 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. according to the United States SBA.

ZB Group was proud to collaborate with these inspiring businesswomen. We shared the benefits that their businesses, products and services provide, and what led them to pursue their dreams, with the media, bloggers and influencers. Snapshots follow with a link to read about our specific collaborations and the media coverage garnered for each one.

Mary Passalacqua, Woolverton Inn

Mary Passalacqua and her husband Mario, are owners of a beautiful historic bed and breakfast in Stockton, New Jersey. Woolverton Inn is nestled on ten acres and surrounded by 300 acres of preserved farmland and forest. It is a convenient destination for year-round getaways, weddings, special events and corporate retreats. After spending more than 25 years working in corporate finance for large manufacturing companies, Mary realized a lifelong dream by purchasing Woolverton Inn in 2016. Today their thriving bucolic inn is a testament to Mary and Mario’s dedication to their guests and staff, investment in the property, commitment to the local community and savvy business acumen.

Idyllic Bed and Breakfast

Edye Dumhart, Edye’s Naturals

A mother of two and a lifelong athlete, Edye Dumhart didn’t plan to become an entrepreneur and a proponent of the benefits of organic skin care products, but she has immersed herself in both. She developed her first product, Edye’s Face & Body Butter, when she was unable to find wholesome non-toxic ones to help her rosacea, sunspots and wrinkles after years of competitive sailing and sun exposure. Through Edye’s hard work, foresight and enthusiasm, her line has expanded. It now features nine nourishing eco-friendly plant-based products. Edye’s Naturals can be found in many locations throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, at various seasonal craft shows, and on her website.

Edye’s Naturals

Marie-Claude Stockl, The Horse Institute

Located on 30 scenic acres about 100 miles north of New York City, The Horse Institute provides leadership development, team building and communication skills workshops, using Equine Assisted Learning. Founded by Marie-Claude Stockl and her husband Larry Stockl, they are two seasoned corporate executives who believed a different kind of experiential training was possible and necessary beyond the typical conference room and slide show presentations. The business utilizes Marie Claude’s communications expertise honed during her stellar career at Fortune 100 companies and her lifelong devotion to horses. Clients include major pharmaceutical companies and organizations.  

Corporate Training Company

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Join us in acknowledging the growing number of women-owned small businesses and their countless positive contributions.

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How to Influence Consumers and Customers with PR and Storytelling

Public Relations and StorytellingPeople love stories. Even before we learn to read as young children, cuddling next to a parent, grandparent, sibling or caregiver to listen to a story or book is a favorite pastime enjoyed by every generation.

This love of stories doesn’t subside when we grow up.

In the digital age of Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, Snapchat Stories, podcasting and TED Talks, the methods of telling and sharing stories may have changed, but our affinity for stories hasn’t lessened one bit.

So what’s the point for brands and companies? We’re glad you asked.

Sharing news about a person’s life, loves, challenges or career is interesting for others as it relates to their own life or circumstances. The same goes for brands and companies.

Storytelling is an effective way for you to reach the people who matter most. Brands and companies that share compelling insight can use storytelling to humanize them — gaining loyalty and positive perceptions in consumers’ minds by doing so.

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Barbara Haslip discussed how an entrepreneur’s story can be the perfect marketing tool. It cites research that suggests why humans respond well to character-based stories and memorable images, explaining the relevance for businesses. Read the interesting piece here.

Public relations professionals inherently use different tools and strategies to help clients tell their stories to the right audiences. By doing so, connections are made and buying decisions are positively influenced.

Companies should also leverage consumer input in brand storytelling. An article in MIT Sloan Management Review, says new research finds that sharing consumers’ positive stories about a brand can be a highly effective online marketing strategy.

Here are five ways we work with clients to share their stories:

Media Relations: We package and pitch your messages then reach out to the appropriate journalists to arrange media coverage for your brand, business or organization. These placements provide third-party endorsement via earned media which builds credibility, thought-leadership, visibility and SEO.

Content Creation: Produce and place bylined articles, press releases, blog posts or custom video designed for company blogs and websites, industry-specific or local and major media.

Strategic Partnerships: Arrange partnerships perhaps by creating community special events presented by companies and nonprofit organizations. This is an effective way to engage audiences, build brand equity, secure media coverage and provide an interesting story for the parties involved to tell across all of their platforms.

Live and Online Events: Identify speaking opportunities for company leadership or spokespeople at live or online events so sought-after audiences (either the press, consumers, businesspeople or partners) hear about the latest news, products or brand story first-hand and why it matters for them.

Blogger Engagement and Influencers: Reach out to mega or micro bloggers or social media influencers in your space who drive conversations among their devoted fans and followers. Some may be interested in exclusive content, brand partnerships or sponsored opportunities for their blogs, websites and social media channels encouraging readers to take action – i.e. buy the product, try the service, enter the contest or share the content.

When planning your marketing strategy, don’t overlook the power of stories to help business growth and let us know if we can help.

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As the Year Winds Down Plan to Rev Up Your Brand with PR in 2017

PRAs the saying goes, “out with the old and in with the new.” This is the time of year when communications budgets are reviewed and new ones are set. Consider including PR in 2017 as there are many unique benefits you can expect.

PR is an investment in your brand’s equity. It’s a valuable adjunct to your marketing, advertising, influencer, social media and other promotional expenditures.

PR strengthens authority, reputation, goodwill, relationships, community connections, revenue, visibility, credibility, thought leadership, SEO and engagement to spur action.

PR uses many different strategies and tactics to tell your authentic story so that customers learn, better understand and develop loyalty for your products and services over a competitor’s. As Susan Credle, Global Chief Creative Officer at FCB says in this WSJ article, “When you are telling your brand’s story, you aren’t spending money – you are investing.” We couldn’t agree more!

Consumers are savvy and skeptical when gathering information by checking online and with those they trust before making purchases. Thus they are familiar with native ads, sponsored or paid editorial that must be labeled accordingly as required by the FTC. However earned media coverage, the type that PR delivers, appears in news outlets reported by journalists and bloggers who your audience knows, follows and trusts. Contributed content via bylined articles, OpEds and guest blog posts, are other effective ways to convey credible information under the PR umbrella.

To help you understand how to evaluate and measure PR results, we’ve cited an ebook and a few articles worth reading.

Diane Thieke, President and Founder of Simply Talk Media and a former Executive Director of Marketing, PR and Communications Solutions at Dow Jones & Company, wrote “Talk to Me” 10 Tips for Explaining the Language of PR into the Language of Business. This concise ebook explores the perceptions and attitudes of both PR professionals and senior executives toward the impact of public relations on business success among other topics.

The Barcelona Principles are the industry’s accepted method of how to measure PR. They state Measuring Outcomes is Preferred to Measuring Media Results. This principle suggests that: outcomes include shifts in awareness, comprehension, attitude and behavior related to purchase, donations, brand equity, corporate reputation, employee engagement, public policy investment decisions and other shifts in audiences regarding a company, NGO, government or entity as well as the audience’s own beliefs and behaviors.

A new Google ranking study shows that links are very important to highly rank in Google from reputable sources. PR does just that by generating coverage that brings visitors to your website or blog.

This article in the Harvard Business Review says making an emotional connection matters more than customer satisfaction, which effective PR helps bridge and strengthen.

Bospar, a boutique tech agency, surveyed 500+ CMOs, vice presidents of marketing, marketing directors and marketing managers. The results are here indicating that after top-tier media coverage ran, survey participants saw an increase in brand awareness followed by an increase in:

  • Brand value
  • Web traffic
  • In-bound sales leads
  • SEO improvement

Once a significant story is published those surveyed recommended it be supported with these activities:

  • Promoted in social media
  • Showcased on a company’s website
  • Included in a company newsletter
  • Sent to prospects and customers or clients

To properly evaluate the ROI of a PR effort it must be tied to your defined communications goals set upfront and monitored along the way. This will ensure it is a worthwhile expenditure with lasting long-term value.