Attraction marketing is the philosophy of engaging in proactive marketing and communications in order to beckon the right clients to your company. A topic frequently discussed by Eric Morgenstern, successful attraction marketing leads prospects through four stages:

Awareness. Prospects must know your organization exists.

Familiarity. They should be generally aware of the products or services you offer.

Consideration. If you successfully build awareness and establish familiarity, you will be in your prospect’s top of mind.

Trust. Finally, prospects must understand and trust that you are their best choice.

As in the case with the love story, you must have the right message delivered in the right way at the right time. Once you clarify your message and show how you are your customer’s best choice, they will come to you.

In the end, it is important to remember that not every prospect is right for your company. Attraction marketing helps gain the attention of and build relationships with those that are a best fit. And that’s a win-win for all.

As an executive admin it would seem very inconvenient for me to be working remotely, miles away from the base where all the activity happens. With open communication in the form of emails, iChat messages and phone calls (but we can all admit that this is not only relegated to remote working situations), a lot of help from willing colleagues who are my arms, legs and eyes at homebase, and up-to-date technology tools, we have successfully made it work.

Recently I read an article (http://mashable.com/2011/04/25/communicate-remote-employees/) that had suggestions for better communication with employees who work remotely. Almost every single tip was being followed to the letter – either by my employers and colleagues or by me at my remote office. I am proof working remotely can actually work.

The last tip in the article, Be Inclusive, advises the employer to make every effort to ensure the remote employee feels like an inclusive part of the team even though they are miles away.

Morningstar makes me feel a part of the team every single day. I am conferenced in to the weekly team meeting, and they involve me in all activities. I even get sent the activities for our birthday celebrations so I can participate over the phone or via web camera. Once I was even offered a virtual cookie – Appreciated and very low cal.

However, nothing tops being able to physically see and interact with your co-workers and employers. We all know there are many pros to working remotely (casual attire, anyone?) but it can get lonely and isolating. Morningstar Communications manages to resolve this challenge too. They bring me in town every other month so I can meet and socialize with everyone and get some work done in our proper office environment. These trips are so important to keep me connected with the team and allow me to keep connecting with my colleagues and clients.

My next visit to Kansas City is in a couple of weeks and I am so excited to meet everyone and work in my other “true” office. I am so lucky to have the best of both worlds!

When people visit your website or social media, can they quickly understand, and then tell, your story?

When your salespeople interact with prospects, do your RFP responses, ads, articles, mailings and collateral all reinforce their story?

The good news is that every company and organization can ensure everyone and everything is on the same page. The key is to create consistent and powerful messages, the result of a six-step process we call, “The Pathway to Great Messaging.”

We have honed our process to develop great messaging, which we suggest you think of as the “DNA” of your story. It will be intertwined with every aspect of your story. Have you identified the DNA of your messaging?

Regardless of how your messaging is delivered (through the Four-Channel Media Model, the combination of paid, earned, shared or controlled media), it’s essential all of your communications tools harmonize from the audience perspective. (See Message Orchestration to bring this concept to life).

But that’s usually easier said than done.

It all starts with your message. All of your messages should be grounded from the same place – an authentic and true position. Picture a diamond. It’s always the same jewel, but it can be described from various aspects (cut, color, clarity…).

Our Pathway imagery shows the six steps to create great messaging. The first three describe the content of the message; the next three explain the context. All great communications programs are six for six!

Here are the six steps, in order:

1 – What. Start with the most important facts, features and benefits. In America, we’re really good at “what” messages…we know how to describe the facts. 

2 – So, What. Now the recipient asks the all-important question, “What’s In It For Me?” Tell them why they should care. Specifically, what’s in it for them?

3 – Now, What. Tell the recipient exactly what you want them to think or do. Don’t hold back: lead them to create a change in thought or behavior – or both.

4 – Simple. We don’t read much, and we don’t listen very well, or very long. Be certain that your message is direct and easy to understand. Shorter always trumps longer.

5 – Recipient-oriented. This is my particular favorite…it’s not what you want to say; it’s what they need to hear. Think about going to the store to buy a new clothes dryer, and asking the salesperson, “Can you deliver it on Tuesday?” He responds by telling us about the terrific extended warranty, or the color options, or the special deal if we also get the matching washer. All great features, but you really want to know if it can be delivered on Tuesday. Your audience expects you to communicate directly to them.

6 – Everyday Language. Use short sentences and little words … the way people actually talk. When you add lingo, jargon and corporate-speak, you only serve to confuse the recipient. Keeping it simple increases the chances of understanding and action.

With a clear and consistent message, you have established the basics of a solid communication program. You’re now ready to begin telling your story to the people who matter most to you.

Onward and upward.

If you aren’t familiar with Google Fiber, it is the first ultra high-speed fiber-to-the-home network coming to Kansas City, KS, and Kansas City, MO, later this year. Google Fiber will deliver Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, 100 times faster than most Americans have today. The arrival of Google Fiber in 2012, date still to-be-determined, promises to be a game-changer for the KC metro and is causing many companies to quickly take advantage of the coming opportunity.

The FiberKC event included an impressive list of panelists ranging from Cerner’s senior vice president to the director of IT at Kansas Board of Public Utilities. Rachel Hack, Kansas City’s Google representative, also gave a brief presentation on the status of the Google project.

The main theme each and every panelist stressed was the focus on the growth of Kansas City’s presence nationally and globally. In order to position Kansas City as an IT and technology hotspot and to attract top tech companies and talent, Kansas City needs to change its overall perception of a cow town by emphasizing the creative and innovative culture of the city. And Kansas City is doing just that with the region’s new America’s Creative Crossroads national marketing campaign, the recent Gigabit Challenge, and many other great initiatives in the city.

With much innovation in store for the year, it certainly appears to be an exciting year in Kansas City. What excites you most about living in Kansas City in 2012?

Take a step back for a second. Realize that social businesses are part of the social revolution. Granted, social networks like Myspace, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter helped spawn the movement, but those networks are just tools. The movement is centered around widespread human-to-human interaction. Humans are connecting with each other all over the world more than ever before, and they are building relationships with the people who matter most to them.

Wikipedia says, “[Social] always refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary.” The social revolution is a voluntary movement to reinforce the positive interaction of humans with other humans and to their collective co-existence.

IBM’s Sandy Carter phrases it this way, “A Social Business is a business that embeds ‘social’ in all of its processes, connecting people to people, people to information, and data to insight.” I agree. I also believe a social business creates two-way dialogue with those who matter most using social tools, creating transparency and “sharing expertise beyond [a businesses'] four walls.”

How do you create a social business? Social starts with human-to-human interaction. Your employees are what make you a social business. Their culture and your company culture are what shape and define that interaction. Create a positive company culture and empower your employees to embrace and act on the values of your company culture.

When Morningstar Communication hosted “Sharing a Century of Knowledge,” all six century-old businesses agreed that the secret to their success is company culture. CEO of Saint Luke’s Hospital Julie Quirin said, “We believe culture eats strategy for lunch.”  Senior V.P. of Public Affairs & Communications at Hallmark Steve Doyal said, “In any company, it’s about the people and the passion that they bring to their work.” In a Fast Company article, Shawn Parr wrote about the important role company culture plays in a business’s success.

A social business has employees that are in line with the company culture and who act on its behalf, creating real human-to-human interaction between the company and those who matter most. Chris King, of Sainsbury’s customer service team, and his interaction with three-and-a-half-year-old Lily Robinson is a great example of what it means to be a social business. It’s not strategy. It’s not marketing. It’s not simply using social tools. It’s having an amazing company culture and employees that build relationships. The basis of social business is positive human interaction. It’s not about a product – it’s about connecting with people.

My colleague, Michelle Boyd, sent me a post listing 23 of the most loved apps by PR pros.  While I already use several, there are many unfamiliar apps on the list. For those of you also on a quest for the best in apps, I thought I’d share Ronnie Manning’s post.

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10662.aspx

Apps I’ll be trying, Teuxdeux and Springpad.

What apps do you plan to check out?

In my case the butterfly effect started with an earthquake and ended with exceptional customer service.

Last Fall I ordered my dream car – a 2012 Mini Cooper S from Baron Mini Cooper. (His name is Pepi because he has a lot of spice and pep.) Since my car was manufactured to my specifications in England, Tom Seling, my salesperson told me that it would take about eight weeks for my car to arrive. I tracked Pepi’s progress and was pleasantly surprised when he arrived after only four weeks.

I eagerly drove to the dealer to pick up Pepi; went through some basic how-to training and started to drive home. Before I left the parking lot, an error message appeared saying that I needed to drive carefully to the nearest Mini dealer to have my anti-lock braking system (ABS) repaired. At first I figured it was just something the car dealer forgot to reset when they were prepping the car for me, however it actually was defective. Not only that, but the dealership needed to order the part from England and they told me it would be a few days before they could repair my car.

Baron prides itself on their customer service and everyone from my sales person, to the mechanic to the manager were mortified. Apparently this particular problem hasn’t happened to Baron since Baron started selling Mini Coopers in 1999. I was truly disappointed, but they gave me another 2012 Mini Cooper S as a loaner and told me that they would let me know when my car would be repaired.

Here’s where the butterfly effect comes in. There was a world-wide shortage of ABS parts.  The manufacturer that Mini Cooper had been using for the ABS was located in Japan and because of the tsunami in March, they were temporarily unable to deliver the parts to Mini Cooper. Mini Cooper found another supplier, but it was inferior quality and many systems failed and needed to be replaced.

In the meantime, Tom kept in contact with me and told me that it might be another six weeks before my car could be fixed – and of course, I could continue to drive the loaner until then.

When my car arrived, only three weeks later, Tom drove Pepi to my house so that we could switch cars. He gave me some Mini gifts AND a check for three months of my lease payments.

The earthquake near Japan, was completely out of Mini Cooper’s control – however what they could control is how they handled it. They turned what could have been an opportunity to lose a customer into a positive experience.

In the end, I am even more impressed with Baron Mini Cooper and I LOVE my car.

According to a Forbes article from last summer, the top activity on LinkedIn is industry networking. Being able to network in new ways is an amazing benefit to the social media revolution.

Photo courtesy of www.blog.pardot.com.

Here are a few tips on how to keep your LinkedIn presence in tip-top shape so your virtual networking experience is as valuable as your in-person networking.

Don’t cut and paste your resume

LinkedIn hooks you into a network. You wouldn’t hand out your resume before introducing yourself, so don’t do it here. Instead, describe your experience and abilities as you would to someone you just met.

Write a personal tagline

That line of text under your name is the first thing people see in your Profile. It follows your name in search hit lists. It’s your brand. (Note: your email address is not a brand!) You might need to refine your professional personality into a more eye-catching phrase that describes who you are at a glance.

Put your elevator pitch to work

That 30-second description, the essence of who you are and what you do, is a personal elevator pitch. Use it in the ‘Summary’ section to engage readers. You’ve got 5-10 seconds to capture their attention. The more meaningful your summary is, the more time you’ll get from readers.

Point out your skills

Think of the ‘Specialties’ field as your personal search engine optimizer. This searchable section is where that list of industry buzzwords from your resume belongs (but don’t use jargon or over-used business phrases). This is also the place to display particular abilities and interests, the personal values you bring to your professional performance, or even a note of humor or passion.

Distinguish yourself from the crowd

Use the ‘Additional Information’ section to round out your Profile with a few key interests. Add websites that showcase your abilities or passions. Then edit the default ‘My Website’ label to encourage click-throughs (you get Google page rankings for those, raising your visibility). Maybe you belong to a trade association or an interest group; help other members find you by naming those groups. If you’re an award winner recognized by peers, customers or employers, add prestige without bragging by listing them here.

Taking a few minutes to develop your LinkedIn profile and revisiting it regularly will be time well spent. It’s a valued resource in the business community and has a very real place in social media alongside Facebook and Twitter.

I’m a newcomer to the public relations and communications industry. I fell into this field by playing to my strengths (which kept me far away from mathematical equations and physics) and I feel fortunate to be in an industry I both enjoy and find interesting. However, I have to admit sometimes I avoid questions about what I do. Not because I wouldn’t love to talk about Morningstar Communications, my awesome co-workers, or how every day my job entails new, exciting things, but rather because of the reoccurring response I get when I tell people I work for a public relations and communications agency. I’m usually met with an inquisitive expression followed by, “Really? That’s interesting… So, what exactly do you do?”

It appears a lot of people are unclear on the definition of PR. In fact, as an industry we are somewhat undecided on how to define what we do, hence the Public Relations Society of America’s recent initiative, “Public Relations Defined.”

Photo courtesy of www.jamesgangcreative.com

So what does public relations mean in 2012? In an attempt to answer this question, I searched for definitions of PR and here are a few of my favorites:

“Public relations is a highly strategic discipline that’s integrated with marketing to achieve business goals. It positions companies and spokespeople with key audiences, whether internal or external. Public relations complements an integrated marketing campaign with measurable results garnered through media relations, social media, thought leadership, industry analyst relations, investor relations and/or special events,” Jayme Soulati – Soulati Media Inc.

“Creating mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and the groups upon which their success or failure depend upon,” Julie Heidelberg – Heidelberg PR.

“Public relations is communicating your organization’s messages at the right time and in the right place to the right audience. With the proliferation of tools and technologies, we can measure the value of those efforts and how they align with a business’ overall mission,” Marla Aaron – MRM Worldwide.

Perhaps it is so difficult to define PR because it varies by industry, client, audience, etc. But there is one unifying theme: PR is about forming genuine, mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its key audiences. And that is, in a nutshell, what we do.

One of the best ways for organizations to connect with their audience today is through e-communications. E-mail is easy to target, measure and adapt, and it also provides an excellent return on investment- $40 for every $1 invested according to the Direct Marketing Association.

While e-mails have the potential for success, they require strategy and planning to really connect with subscribers.

Here are some tips on forming connections with your audience through e-communications:

· Keep the information educational, not promotional. Craft the e-communication with the audience front and center, emphasizing what’s in it for them.

· Use short sentences, personality and humor when appropriate. My favorite e-newsletters feel casual and real, like an e-mail from a friend.

· Ask the audience to connect with the company on social media, and give them a reason. Oftentimes a simple reminder and a link is all it takes for someone to “like” an organization they support.

· Make it scannable, with interesting headlines and short stories. John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing likens it to serving your audience “snacks.”

· Include pictures and links to outside articles to make the content more engaging.

· Play with different formats and content and see how subscribers respond. Set a goal for the metrics (click rate, maximum number of unsubscribers, etc.) you want to achieve with each e-communication and track progress towards your goal.

· Look with a critical eye at other e-communications you receive. What do you like and not like about them? What are some possible ideas you could borrow? Sometimes simply observing can get your creative juices flowing.

· Prominently display a link to subscribe to e-communications on your website to keep your list growing. Include a reason to subscribe.

While e-mail does have some drawbacks (including fatigue from subscribers with overflowing inboxes) it is one of the most effective communication tools today. Keeping your e-communication distribution consistent but not overwhelming, engaging but not promotional, will build trust over time with your audience.