Outside of my job, I'm a family man as well as an avid bicyclist and outdoors enthusiast, with the occasional camping excursion, surf trip or ski outing. I also enjoy riding my motorcycle. My secret ambition is to ride across the U.S. either on my bicycle or on a motorcycle.
January 29, 2010 | 2:15pm
A Keyword Thesaurus (Todd Walter)
I remember taking a journalism class back in college where the professor harped on using the same adjectives more than once in a story. He urged us to be more creative to come up with different adjectives, and would even dock points if we duplicated words. Since then, I’ve always had a thesaurus at my desk. Admittedly, this was before today’s search engine revolution, with its emphasis on keywords. Now, instead of using a thesaurus to help write a press release we turn to the Keyword Tool on Google AdWords, which allows you to test keywords or phrases and see how often they are being searched. You don’t want to select words with poor search results. This presents a dilemma for many writers who like to use their official company lingo, abbreviations, or even generic wording (e.g., the word |
January 13, 2009 | 1:52pm
Should You Preserve Your PR Budget? (Todd Walter)
Should you preserve your PR budget in 2009? I think most marketing managers have heard that it’s unwise to cut advertising activity when the company budget is tight. But what about public relations activity, which is often moved to the back burner in favor of direct lead-generation tactics? Here are a few reasons why your PR investment still makes sense even with an ultra-tight budget. |
May 13, 2008 | 9:27am
Avoid the Sales Pitch in Your Podcast (Todd Walter)
Lately I’ve been riding the bus to work, trying to save on gas. A fringe benefit is that I can listen to podcasts on my MP3 player.
Many B-to-B marketers (including some of our clients) are using podcasts to reach specific audiences who want to be informed. It’s a great tool for companies to establish thought leadership. However, you should avoid the temptation to record a blatant product pitch or “audio brochure.” Instead, content should meet the audience expectation that they’ll learn something new. Your podcast needs to be educational and entertaining. The sales pitch can come later, when the listener chooses to take the next step and request more information (maybe even in exchange for their e-mail address). First and foremost, a podcast should deliver useful information. ---More--- |
August 2, 2007 | 12:06pm
Newsworthy, or Share Worthy? (Todd Walter)
Newsworthy or Share worthy?
(Note to my in-laws: Please stop forwarding those e-mails that were forwarded to you after they were forwarded to someone else. Thanks for the info, but I already know how to improve my gas mileage and protect myself from identity theft.) Do you instantly delete those e-mails – the ones with five Fwd: Fwds at the beginning? Or do you open them anyway, knowing you're about to read some urban legend or watch some goofy video? Although much of the material shared over the internet may be “useless,” these e-mails illustrate an interesting trend that marketers must face: Is it share worthy? The “it” is anything about your company, including customer experiences, product information, events, your website, and so on. People like to share what they see on the web. ---More--- |
