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Pressing News 2010: issue 3

 

Media PRofile:

ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals
Lisa Algeo, editor

Lisa Algeo joined ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals in 1992 and has
served as editor for the last 16 years. Lisa and her staff provide practical information on clinical, management, professional and career development issues for professionals practicing in all areas of the health information management (HIM) industry. Matters surrounding healthcare legislation, privacy and technology keep Lisa busy, providing insights on the changing face of HIM for the publication’s nearly 50,000 readers.

One of the industry’s most seasoned writers, Lisa works for ADVANCE, outside of Philadelphia. Visit www.advanceweb.com/him to see Lisa’s latest work, where she also takes part in ADVANCE’s online forums.

PRessing Forward
Like most businesses, PReturn has felt the impact of this recession over the last couple years. We’ve seen significant reductions to some client PR budgets, but in other cases, businesses have boosted their PR spending.

In 2010, PReturn saw some of its clients increase annual budgets by 20 percent and helped new clients launch with focused media relations and marketing communications campaigns.

PReturn worked with CEO Dan Olson to launch DIYSEO, a subscription-based search engine optimization service for small businesses. An effort to build relationships with interactive marketing, technology and small business reporters to drive coverage of the innovative new offering anchored the media relations campaign.

We also expanded our footprint in healthcare technology by helping to launch eRenalMD, an electronic health record, practice management and mobile solution for nephrologists. PReturn worked with eRenalMD executives to develop messaging, Web copy, marketing collateral and a press kit to spotlight the unique practice management solution, tailor made for nephrologists.

PReturn also expanded its financial services expertise, helping to increase brand recognition for two innovative analytics providers that cater to payday lenders and alternative financial service providers and mortgage portfolio managers at large and mid-sized banks respectively.

Clients repeatedly tell us their PR investment represents the most effective marketing dollars they spend. They work hard to protect their PR investment and the snowballing thought leadership that comes with it.

Planning for 2011? Considering how PR can cost effectively boost your efforts? Contact us at info@preturn.comfor a planning checkup.

Tipline: GetMore “Pick Up” with Digital Press Kits
Press kits…they’ve long been a staple in almost every media relations program, but if you’re still stuffing folders full of paper, it’s time to rethink your efforts.

Press kits build brand awareness and can help companies get more out of trade shows, media tours and other efforts. Unfortunately, they don’t help at all if they end up in the nearest recycle bin or simply don't get picked up.

Digital press kits enable marketers to include as many relevant research reports, press releases, executive bios, white papers and other documents as they wish in a compact and branded package. Effective and efficient, digital press kits can also drive traffic to specific pages of a company’s website more easily via clickable links.

Companies that use digital press kits typically distribute kits at lower costs and achieve superior results with media. Digital kits are easy to access and require less energy and space to store. Plus, companies save time andmoney when it comes to updating and distributing press kits by going digital. Most importantly, they weigh very little and can easily be dropped in a briefcase, tote bag or pocket.

Instead of creating paper press kits to take to trade shows and hand out to media and prospects, consider using branded CDs or jump drives (also known as flash or thumb drives). These options are not only more cost effective; electronic press kits can be more environmentally friendly.

PReturn works with clients to create complete, user-friendly press kits that stand out. We also partner with the industry’s top vendors to deliver content electronically for clients with more particular multimedia distribution needs.

Consider doing reporters, prospects and the environment a favor by making your next press kit paperless. Ask us how at info@preturn.com.

Agency News

• If you haven’t yet found us in all our new places, look for PReturn on Facebook, Twitter and our blog.
• Know an emerging star in PR academia? PReturn seeks applicants for holiday 2010 and spring or summer 2011 internships.
• PReturn stepped up its recycling program in 2010. So rest assured when we work on your behalf; all recyclable paper, plastic and other items like ink, toner and batteries will be disposed of responsibly.
• If you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out the new and improved
  PReturn.com, updated earlier this year.

The Lighter Side

• Account Supervisor Addie Reed graduated from Second City Chicago’s Improv program in 2009 and has been cracking hilarious one-liners ever since.
• PReturn Founder and Proud Papa Kraig Smith and hiswife Pam welcomed their
  first child to the world on July 25, 2010. Lukas Banyan Smith checked in at 7 lbs and 19 inches.

Effective white papers ...

• Reflect an understanding of their audience
• Offer unbiased solutions to critical problems
• Showcase expertise and company capabilities
• Avoid the sales pitch

Marketing With White Papers
White papers provide detailed analyses of problems or trends facing industries or segments of industries. They demonstrate expertise and offer solutions. Some organizations leverage them effectively as educational tools while overlooking ways to put them to use for marketing purposes, but white papers can be extremely effective PR and marketing resources.

“When executed well, white papers can provide powerful thought leadership that opens doors to key decision-makers and influencers who seek solutions to concerning or confusing challenges,” said Kraig Smith, PReturn founder. “They help people make sense of complex problems and introduce them to companies and experts that can help. Our clients regularly report great success in putting them to use.”

Care Communications recently leveraged a white paper on changing educational requirements for hospital cancer registries as a hand out at trade shows and sales meetings. The white paper offered solutions for hospital administrators seeking to remain compliant and earned the attention of influential editors and reporters covering the industry.

“Releasing this white paper helped us secure a bylined article, a registry perspective feature story and the only privately scheduled interview with Advance for Health Information Professionals during a recent National Cancer Registry Association convention,” said Laurie Hebert, RHIA, CCS-P, CTR, director of cancer registry services, Care Communications, Inc

AdGooroo at a glance

• Founded: 2004
• CEO: Rich Stokes
• Business: advertising competitive intelligence
• Headquarters: Chicago
• Employees: 40
• Clients: agencies, marketers
• Web site: AdGooroo.com
• Blog: AdGooroo.com/blog/

Client Profile: AdGooroo Research Showcases Capabilities
Founded in 2004, AdGooroo provides competitive intelligence and keyword tools that empower online marketers and agencies to proactively monitor any industry’s advertising landscape and build a long-term competitive advantage. With clients large and small, many of the world’s top agencies and brands use AdGooroo’s tools.

PReturn designs and executes media relations campaigns that spotlight the innovative work regularly produced by the company, as well as AdGooroo’s valuable research on the search engine landscape and other important topics.

AdGooroo’s quarterly Search Engine Advertiser Updates forecast the quarterly performance of top search engines and illustrate the power of AdGooroo’s tools. PReturn leverages these and other reports to earn coverage in influential business and marketing trade media.

AdGooroo research regularly gets covered by such top tier business media outlets and blogs as Business Week, Entrepreneur, Investor’s Business Daily, TheStreet.com, The Register, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Washington Post.

Industry trade media also report on AdGooroo regularly. AdWeek, BtoB, ClickZ, Direct, DM News, eM+C, Internet Retailer, MediaPost and Website Magazine have all covered the company and its tools and research.

Often referred to as the Bloomberg of online advertising, AdGooroo leverages access and automation to offer advertisers insights on their competitors’ top keywords, ad copy, campaign statistics and more.

Balancing Personal and Professional in Social Media
Are you one of the 500 million+ Facebook users? Already embracing social media? Plan to in the future? If so, it’s important to decide how and why you’ll do so. Consider this social media behavior haiku.

Linked in for business. Facebook for personal stuff. Never shall they mix.

Your social media policy might not be this drastic, but it’s best to decide how and why you’ll use each social network before diving in to get started.

At PReturn, although we maintain a company Facebook page, our individual Facebook pages, for the most part, are personally focused. Friends, pets, movies, hobbies, vacations, sporting affiliations, family gatherings, concert going and other items that get filed under FUN are all fair game.

As you might expect, Linked in is all business all the time. Most will be best served to keep it that way. Focus Linked in energy on making and nurturing valuable contacts, learning about business or specific industries, and exchanging value with colleagues.

Your companies should also be visible. Alongside your ownWeb site, customers, potential employees and other interested parties increasingly turn to Linked in, Facebook, Twitter and evenWikipedia to learn more about your business. Not sure how to cover your bases in social media? Drop us a line at info@preturn.com to brainstorm.



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