Katee Holman

04/29/2018

The End is SO Near…

Ninety some days ago I wrote about what led me to deciding on going to grad school. Well folks, I have made it. The end of my scholastic career is coming to a grinding halt. I am four short days away of wrapping up my final client presentation, and then I. AM. DONE.

I have many mixed emotions. I am excited and relieved to see this day come. I am scared for what the future might hold. I am sad to say my last “goodbye” to my fellow classmates, professors, and campus in general. I am also nervous for my next steps.

I am officially in job hunt mode. It is time to part ways with my current company. As much as I hate to leave there, at this point in time I do not have a future there, my peers and supervisors pushed to keep me in the G&A family, but it is time to move on, and there are no hard feelings.

So, my next steps after graduating is to go on a much deserved vacation with my family. I am taking this time to set some goals, clear my head and be ready to start fresh come June.

I have a list of things I need to accomplish before the applications start piling up. I need to update my resume and LinkedIn, join PRSA again and start networking with my fellow professionals.

I’d appreciate any good vibes sent my way during this transition. I know it is going to hard, but it will be so, so worth it in the end.

P.S. If you find any fun job postings in my field, please send them my way!

04/22/2018

Web Videos: The Why, The What and The How

Now more than ever web videos are vital when it comes to marketing and public relations. People tend to have short attention spans, so lengthy, wordy posts are things of the past. Videos are every! They can be television commercials, posts on social media, even digital billboards. Videos are arguable one of the top tools of the trade, and are extremely effect, even though they can be time consuming even for the pros.

I came across a few video marketing facts while researching this topic. Here is what I found from IMPACT, a resource for inbound marketing.

– Seventy-five million people in the U.S. watch online videos everyday
– Merely mentioning the word “video” in an email subject line; the click-through rate is increased by 13 percent
– Nearly 50 percent of all video is watched on a mobile device
– It is predicted that by 2019 all internet video traffic will account for 80 percent of all consume internet traffic
– Lastly, videos up to two minutes long get the most engagement

Going further down the black hole that is web video it’s important to know not only why to use them, but also where to use said videos. Video marketing can be used is so many different ways; websites, both as an informational video like a product explainer or on a landing page, for blog articles or even webinars.

But personally, I think the most important way is on social media.

– Eighty-two percent of users watch video content on platforms like Twitter
– More than 500 million hours are spent daily on YouTube videos, which have over a billion users (almost one0thrd of the total internet users)
– Viewers retain ninety-five personal of a message they watch (video) compared to only ten percent while reading a text.

So, now that you know the importance of web videos how can you compete with everyone else? Here are three tips that IMPACT gives:

1. Optimize for Mobile Viewing

As mentioned above, half of all videos watched were viewed on a mobile device, so it’s best to be mobile friendly. Square videos are also better since they work without needing to rotate said device. To go above and beyond to accommodate your viewers, make sure the visuals are impactful and add captions. Eighty-five percent of Facebook videos are viewed without sound.

2. Keep It Short

Humans have a short attention span. Anything more you risk the chance of the viewer scrolling past without finishing your video. Remember, two minutes or less will get the most engagement.

3. Build Curiosity

The best tip for successful web content is to tease your videos. You could also end on a cliffhanger so that more people tune in to your next video. Don’t forget to make it fun. You can use bloopers at the beginning of the video as well to build up excitement.

So far you’ve learned why videos are important, how to reach your target audiences, but now I am going to give you my personal step-by-steps of creating a video.

1. Brainstorm Your Ideas

As for anything creative; the first step is to always brainstorm ideas. No one ever rolls with the first idea that comes to mind. I personally throughout a bunch of ideas, write them down, and then create an outline for my top ideas, just to see which flows better.

2. Don’t Forget To Do Your Research

Research is so important when you are educating the public about a subject. Even if you feel 100 percent confident in your topic, it’s best to go a quick search to see what other information is out there.

3. Shoot Your Content

The next step is the most fun for me. There are so many ways your can create content these days. Mobile devices are great! I personally love shooting quick videos with my iPhone. It’s cheap, quick and easy. I also love the option to record my phone screen. Don’t make this step too complicated. Use what you have! You can even use your computer to record your screen or shoot in a webcam style.

4. Edits, Edits, and More Edits

This is the most time consuming step. First, you want to choose which program you want to use. I’m an amateur and use iMovie. It gets the job done and is fairly easy to navigate. All you have to do is upload your content and the rest really falls into place. In this program you can cut content, add transitions, titles, music and more. Once you are happy with your product you can export it into a movie file and it’s ready to be put out into the world.

5. Know Where You Want To Upload It

Your last step to creating web videos is to upload it where you want it to be viewed. I personally use YouTube to host my videos. Depending on what engagement you want from said video, sometimes it’s best to embed it directly onto the site, like Facebook. It’s algorithm, to no surprise, prefers uploading straight to them.

Don’t let the time get in the way of creating web videos. They are a fantastic way to get your message across multiple platforms. If you feel uncomfortable with the process of creating content, there are so many web video 101s out there. Take the time to learn the trade, you won’t regret it!

For more on video content check out my source here: https://bit.ly/1NucvdB

04/15/2018

What makes effective content?

Let’s be honest. Sometimes it can be difficult to come up with content to write about or share on social media. I find it in my every day life, both personally and professionally. Some times you just get writers block, and if you don’t have anything planned ahead you may be scrambling to find content, especially content that the general public would be interested in. When I started brainstorming ideas for this blog post, I had this exact problem. Sure, I could have written about what’s going on in my life, but no one really cares about that. After some dead-end Google searches on topics to write about personally, I decided to see what others in the profession do to come up with effective content. I stumbled across an article from Link Humans titled “9 Steps to Writing Effective Social Media Content,” that gave some great tips that seem really “no-brainer,” but I see people, including myself, tend to forget out on a daily basis.

1. Don’t be all “me me me”

Whether you are writing for your personal account or if it is for your company make sure you have balance content that don’t revolve all about “you.” It is best to think of planning your content around a rule of thirds. Write about yourself or products and services one third of the time. Another third of the time write about what is going on in your industry. You can do this by sharing or retweeting. For the last third, spend time answering others questions, if possible, or general conversations with people.

2. Don’t be afraid to be brief

Even though platforms like Facebook don’t have a word count like Twitter, it’s still best to keep your content brief. Humans have a very short attention span, so longer posts sometimes get over-looked.

3. Use extra punctuation

Punctuations help make your content more readable and give extra clarity. It was statistically proven that tweets with punctuation get more retweets than those without.

4. Ask a question and say “you”

If you want to engage your readers make sure you ask a questions with the word “you.” Ask questions or opinions so that your readers feel like they are apart of the conversations. It is also helpful to use strong words like “why,” what,” “who” and “how.”

5. Avoid abstract titles

When it comes to creating effective titles, make sure you chose one that will make the reader click on your link or post. If it is too abstract it is possible that they will look right over it.

6. Tell people what to expect

Along with the last tip, it is best to tell your readers or viewers exactly what to expect right from the title. This doesn’t mean you have to give away all the details of your article, but you are more likely to get clicks if the reader is clear on what they are about to read.

7. Check your spelling and grammar

This tip is huge! If you don’t use proper grammar or spelling it reflects poorly on your company or personal brand. Use spell checker whenever you can, but remember sometimes they don’t always catch everything. Take your time and read and reread your content before you publish.

8. Don’t forget your context

This is more for once your content is out there. Once you hit publish or post, it is out in the world and can be interpreted multiple ways. Some times tweets or posts can be sent out during inappropriate moments. Be sure to be quick to combat misuses when possible.

9. Don’t auto-post across all platforms

Even though it is a time saver to post the same content across all platforms, it can make you look lazy at times. Auto posting can also make you miss audience interactions, especially if you rely on third-party systems like Hootsuite to post your content. It can be easy to think “out of sight, out of mind.”

So, whether you are posting for personal reasons or for work, make sure the content you are posting is effective. This will lead to better engagement and more audience participation.

Source: https://linkhumans.com/sweet-retweets-how-write-social-media-sookio-tips-video-smlondon/

04/08/2018

Music and Social Media

If there is one thing I have always been passionate about it’s music. Music has literally shaped my life. As a kid I loved to listen to the “oldies” station with my dad cruising down the roads of Columbus; The Beach Boys, CCR, Bob Seger and the like. I attempted guitar lessons in the 6^th grade, but failed to lack of retention. I went from liking country music like Kenny Chesney to more of a pop-rock scene around the same time. I even became a percussionist in the 8^th grade and went on to do auxiliary percussion all four years of high school.

But the one aspect of music that I truly loved was concerts. There is something about live music that can just lift whatever mood I might be in and warm my soul. I can still remember the first concert I ever went to. It was in May 2005. My best friend and I convinced her older sister to take us to what was then the Pepsi Coliseum to see our all-time favorite band, Simple Plan. I remember how nervous and anxious I was for the show. “What went on at concerts? Do I sit or stand? Is there dancing?” all these thoughts ran through my head during the 45 minute commute from Columbus to the state fair grounds. As each band went on the nerves slowly went away, and I was forever hooked.

My best friend and I went to countless numbers of concerts during our adolescents. We even drove five plus hours out of state at times. The feeling never faded. I eventually graduated from the bigger arenas to knowing which local venues put on the best shows. Shout out to anyone that ever spent his or her Friday/Saturday nights at the Crump Theater. One concert in particular changed my life for the better. You see a local band, News from Verona, opened up for a band my best friend and I were really into at the Emerson Theater on the east side of downtown Indy. After the show, we went to check out everyone’s merch and the drummer for the band stopped us to ask what we think. From that moment on we “followed” the band across the state to watch their shows. I had no idea I would end up meeting my future husband from that encounter. He was the lead guitarist. We talked as friends for a while and went on the occasional coffee date, then finally in January 2011 he asked me to be his girlfriend…and then left me for a three month tour.

1916734_392245690755_1414454_n — That’s me and my husband (on the far left) the very first time we met at the Emerson Theater.

That is when I learned about the other side of the music scene. I learned how little money tours bring in and it’s all about the selling of merch and radio play. I learned the ends and outs of making a studio album and how to work with a record label. Up until that point I always saw myself working in the music business, but after that small glimpse I couldn’t go through with it. I didn’t want it to taint what connect I had with music.

Don’t get me wrong. I would still love to do entertainment PR, or help do PR for a band starting up, but I don’t want to get so caught up in the money that I lose sight on my passion.

I also love seeing the bands that were once signed to these big record labels make it on their own, and I think a lot of their success is do to the power of social media. Every band I like is on some form of social media whether that is Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or even music streaming sites like Spotify. Their profit comes from connecting with fans. Social media is how bands announce tours and albums, share picture or video updates from the road. Social media has given musicians back the control. When thinking about this topic I did some research to make sure I wasn’t the only one seeing this trend of musicians and bands doing more things on their own, and I wasn’t wrong. I came across an article from TrendJackers called, “How Social Media Has Affected the Music Industry,” and here are some tips they give for aspiring musicians:

TIPS FOR MUSICIANS TO SUCCEED ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

FACEBOOK

Keep an active, on brand profile showcasing your latest releases
Create a list of relevant groups to post your content in – update this list at least once a month
Harness the power of Facebook Livestream to transform your local gig to a global event

TWITTER

Create a list of relevant hashtags to post your content in for example #140bmp, #UKMusic or #Acoustic. Update this list as frequently as you can for best results

INSTAGRAM

Create interesting behind-the-scenes content to share with your following – for example, if you are planning to release new music soon, you can tease your audience with short videos taken from the studio
Popular influencers on Instagram who can promote your brand to new audiences

SNAPCHAT

Create a Snapchat Geofilter to support your live shows and encourage social sharing
Like Instagram, promote upcoming music by sharing small pieces from the studio with your following

TIPS TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC ONLINE

Give your music away for free to capture leads on Bandcamp or your own channels
Put your music up for streaming on Youtube, Spotify, and iTunes
Provide your music stems online for free and encourage other artists to remix your tracks
Consider licensing your music for advertising

I hope that my two passions, social media and music, continue to go hand and hand in the future, and we continue to see both of them rise with success.

04/01/201804/01/2018

What is SEO and SEM?

If you are in the field of marketing or public relations chances are you’ve heard the phrases SEO or SEM. As a practitioner these acronyms are two of the most intimidating terms in the trade for me. Knowing how to utilize these can either make or break your campaign.

In order for you to understand their importance let me break them down for you.

SEO

What is SEO? What do those letters stand for? SEO, or search engine optimization, according to moz.com is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.

The best part of SEO that is affordable and very effective. SEO allows you to reach an audience you might not normally think of targeting, because said audience it actively searching information on their end. SEO leads have a 14.6 percent close rate compared to nearly 2 percent for other tactics such as direct mail or print advertising.

If you don’t utilize SEO you run the risk of losing potential customers or audiences to other companies or organizations that have their websites and content appear higher in the search results. Put yourself in your company’s position. How many times do you search for information and find yourself looking past page three or four of Google? Odds are most people don’t even get that far. Actually study shows that only 60 percent of traffic from Google searches go to websites that appear in the first three pages. Landing on the first page or two is so important to stay in the game.

So, how do you work towards that first few landing pages? First, it is a process. You can’t get work one day to land the top spot. Influencing the search engines takes time, but the benefits far out weigh the troubles of getting there. Here are some tips on how to accomplish this, which can be used as a “checklist” to help keep you on track.

1. Build a SEO-friendly site

Whether you are starting from scratch or adapting the old, it’s important to make sure that your company has a SEO-friendly domain name.

2. Pick a keyword to focus on

Determine what the keyword is your company will incorporate into their content. Use this keyword everywhere! Put it in your title page, headers, URL and even in the image files. There are tools out there if you get stuck on finding one that works best for you.

Dog Toy Website

Renaming File Name

3. Research the competition

It’s important to know who your competition is and what they are up to. A quick look on Google’s top 10 results will help determine who your competition is. Take a look at what they might be including or missing and how you can do better.

4. Create good, specific content

Content can be hard, but it is one of the most important parts of the process. Content can be anything, ads, blog posts, etc., but whatever it is it needs to be the best in order to show up in the search results.

5. Insert both internal and external links.

Lastly, another way to optimize your chances of showing up in the search results is to have both internal and external links on your website. Internal links means that you are linking back to other pages or content on your website, which means if you already have posts on your site, you might want to visit them and edit for SEO. As for external links, that means to link to any sites outside of your own. Google relies heavily on this for credibility. If others are bragging about you and using your content then chances are Google will take notice.

SEM

Similar to SEO, SEM stands for search engine marketing. It is the marketing process with a goal of getting more visibility in search engines by free traffic (aka SEO) or with paid traffic (aka promoted ads.) SEM is paying for a high rank by putting your links above the organic links. It is considered the most important source of internet traffic since it is being targeted, and when viewers see an ad verses an organic link, they are more likely to convert and link on the ad link.

Which Should I Choose?

SEO and SEM are very similar, as SEM is an umbrella over SEO. Both are used as a tactic to get people to view you content, but one is organic and the other is paid for. Both can be very usual to marketing and public relation efforts. When choosing which one would work best for your company or organization, it all boils down to what’s in your budget. Both are highly effective when done properly, so don’t be afraid of those three letters and get to attractive viewers to your content.

Sources: https://blogs.constantcontact.com/what-is-seo/#, https://moz.com/learn/seo/what-is-seo, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/274809, https://www.reliablesoft.net/what-is-the-difference-between-seo-and-sem/

03/04/201803/27/2018

What is Vero Anyway?

This past week the internet has been abuzz with the news of a “new” social media platform. It seemed like for a full day all my social media feeds were filled with people talking about this Vero app. I was baffled that someone had created a social media platform that seems very similar to others that are already much more popular. It is currently the No. 1 free app on the app store, outranking other social media networks and even YouTube, with over 3 million users at the moment. So, what makes the app different?

Vero has positioned itself as a different kind of social network – one that takes ideas from the greats (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,) but makes them better. The manifesto states that users can be “more authentic” and “be themselves.” Its whole pull is that the user can fully control who or what they are seeing on their feeds. The app has categories like “close friends,” “friends,” “acquaintances” and “followers,” so users can specify who can see what. Ultimately, what this really means is there is no algorithm messing with content and said content is displayed in chronological order.

As for the content, users can post in whichever way they prefer whether that is photos, videos or text. It also allows for users to make suggestions for music, books, places, movies, etc. For the moment, the app has no ads, and its business model includes a subscription-fee. They stated that the first million users will receive free access for life, but the company, at this time, has decided to extend that offer to everyone.

Vero technically isn’t new. It was actually co-founded in 2103 by billionaire Ayman Harir, the son of former prime minister of Lebanon, Rafic Hariri. Vero launched two years later in 2015. So, why has it suddenly gone viral now? No one really knows. Some think it’s due to the interest of teens, but Mashable reports that half of the app’s users are between the ages 21 and 40 years old, and 68 percent male.

Curiosity got the best of me, so I downloaded the app with the intentions of checking out what they had to over. I attempted to sign-up, but never got passed the verification code part. It took over 8 hours for me to get the code sent to my phone number. After that, it kept saying I wasn’t registered so I gave up. It seems that the sudden soar in popularity has created several server issues for them. Some users were unable to load posts at times, while other’s had trouble even loading usernames.

The app crashes aren’t the last of the backlash. Some users have been alarmed about its terms of use, allowing full access to user’s content, although this is pretty standard for social media platforms. And that’s still not the last of the issues. Some users who, like me, decided to check out the app out of pure curiosity, are now having trouble deleting the app. Vero seems to be working out all these kinks, but is it enough?

Personally, I think it’s all a fad. I could be wrong about that, because I said the same for Snapchat when it first came out, but here I am using it almost daily now. But this one seems too familiar for my liking. Why should I add one more app when I already have text, photo and video sharing capabilities on other apps already? Space is already limited on my iPhone, so if I am going to take the time to download the app, it better be worth it.

Yes, the idea of ad free is nice, but even Instagram, Twitter and Facebook started out that way. And it makes me uncomfortable that the company hasn’t stated what the hypothetical fee or the plan for instituting it will be. All good things have to come to an end, and the app will eventually need to make money somehow. Even the app’s ideas of chronological order and specifying who can see what seems innovated, but many platforms before has done this before, Facebook still allows this “censoring.”

So, basically all it boils down to is everything is still too new to know the impact it will have over the other social media networks. I think the app has a lot of stuff it will need to iron out before it can be added to the major league. The company itself also needs to make some important decisions about the business model. Hariri seems optimistic stating, “so many people who are frustrated with the way other social networks have behaved in the past. Not being able to access their own audiences. And just the ability to be themselves on an online social network that mimics the real-world social network.”

Vero can count me out for now. I have no problem jumping on the bandwagon down the road if need be, but for the moment I will admire from afar.