There were two positive attributes listed that are extremely pertinent features for small businesses. The first is that businesses receive an SEO boost through Google+, as the social platform will influence searches for individuals that have included a Google+ business in their circle. The second is that small businesses point to expanded content distribution, which translates into increased followers.

As for the negatives, Google+ (and Facebook) can be difficult to administer, as the page must be maintained through an individual’s account. Depending on the size of the company, there can be some issues with sharing account information. Google+ is also not embedded within dashboards like Hootsuite, which hosts Facebook and Twitter accounts through one portal. Domus utilizes Hootsuite to manage the Facebook and Twitter accounts of various clients, and the absence of Google+ within the portal can act as a deterrent for the use of the social network.

The most glaring aspect is the fact that Google+ does not have an actively engaged user base, despite what Google says. This New York Times article sheds some light on the Google+ user numbers:

Google claims that about 50 million people who have created a Google+, Google Plus account actively use the company’s Google+, -enhanced products daily. Over a 30-day period, he said, that number is 100 million active users.

Although these numbers sound impressive, the catch is that Google Plus-enhanced properties include YouTube, the Android Marketplace and Google.com, the company’s flagship search engine.

This ComScore stat is what really tells the engagement story for Google+, or lack thereof:

In a view from outside the company, a report released last month by ComScore, the market research firm, says Google Plus users spend about three minutes a month on the social network. By comparison, ComScore says that people spend an average 405 minutes a month on Facebook, the service Google Plus is trying to displace.

Google+ needs to increase its overall user base along with user participation and engagement. Keep in mind that Google+ is still in its infancy, and only time will tell if this network will become as powerful as the current market leaders. With that said, Google began running primetime television ads for its social network, something that Facebook and Twitter have never had to do. Is there blood in the water for Google+? Only time will tell.

Full disclosure: I have been a member of Google+ since the initial launch in 2011. With that said, I still have not fully immersed myself in this social network platform and do not access the network on a regular basis.

Greg Smore is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines public relations as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics,” and while I agree and think this definition summarizes public relations well, there’s nothing about it that’s tangible.

It’s not easy tying a company’s sales or revenue to public relations. Marketing seeks to do that by measuring campaigns and sales results, but while the ultimate objective of public relations is to boost sales and increase revenue – there are virtually no measurement tools that can say whether or not PR boosted sales. PR might boost awareness of a brand or product, and the foremost goal is to bolster the brand image and the public’s perception of a company or product, but to claim that PR efforts had a direct result on sales is not easily done.

Instead we look to define success in other ways. One of the primary functions of public relations is media relations. It’s very easy to see if a media relations campaign is successful. Is your brand or company featured in positive news articles and segments that showcase its expertise or products in media outlets where your audience will see it? If yes, then the media relations campaign is successful. If you can repeat this formula and garner many placements in outlets that your target audience reads and watches, then your campaign is VERY successful. The crux of a basic public relations campaign is media relations, and a successful campaign with quality (not quantity) placements will go a long way in making an impression on your desired audience.

Another critical part of a successful campaign is ensuring that it properly aligns with the overall marketing strategy. There must be synergies so that the public relations strategy is a complement to the marketing plan, otherwise your messages get confused and you don’t have the same impact as you would with a fully integrated plan. Domus regularly develops fully integrated plans for clients. For a successful communications strategy you really can’t have just marketing or just public relations or just advertising; all of these mediums must work together – we call it the marketing mix – and it varies for each client.

Public relations is not a hard science, however there are goals to be measured. If you combine your PR strategy with your social media strategy (as you should) you can easily measure media coverage, audience engagement and audience growth. Setting goals for these three tangible items will help you measure a level of success and allow you to tweak your strategy if those goals are not being met. To develop a strategy for setting PR goals or adjusting your current strategy to meet your PR goals, contact Domus for insight and an assessment of your current PR campaign.

Kate Toy is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

In today’s digital era, this length of turnaround is unheard of. Production and changes to banner ads, Web pages, HTML emails and even good old fashioned print materials can be accomplished in a few hours and sometimes even minutes when a deadline is looming. This means that agencies are more than ever reliant on well-built internal operations and workflow systems.

To have a fast, smooth agency workflow, agencies need a specific system to open jobs, build creative briefs, create estimates and timelines, organize daily efforts, issue purchase orders to vendors and track project status. In the past, this system was a manual process that required a physical paper trail and job jacket for every project. This time-consuming paperwork created inefficiency in today’s world where minutes, not hours or days, can make the difference in delivering a completed project on time and delivering superior client service.

Today there is a proliferation of digital agency management workflow systems available. According to an annual survey conducted by Second Wind Networks, an advertising industry consulting firm, 10 percent of respondents still rely on a manual traffic system, and 23 percent use some amalgam of software and a custom system. Overall, 81 percent have some level of digital traffic management.

Domus was founded on the belief that an agency must be able to constantly adapt to industry changes and client needs. We are a lean, nimble structure that responds seamlessly to the challenging dynamics of our industry. That is why we constantly tweak our workflow management system to become faster, more agile and the most efficient agency possible.

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Lean Finely Textured Beef. Pink Slime. No matter the name of this recently famous beef by-product, the mere mention of the stuff makes people’s stomachs turn. While I can’t say that there’s anything appetizing about pink slime, as a strategic communications professional – and as a Jersey girl who has enjoyed scrapple, pork roll, sausages and hot dogs throughout the course of my life – I can’t help but wonder whether pink slime just needed better PR.

Public relations itself, as a profession, often gets a bad rap. Some think PR is a bit slimy and that PR professionals manipulate the truth – we’re sometimes referred to as “Spin Doctors.” But as a 20-year industry devotee and proud member of the profession, I strongly disagree with such assessments.

Public relations is the art and the science of strategic communications and public engagement – whoever those publics may be. Part of a PR professional’s daily challenge is to develop well-thought-out strategy for how information is packaged and presented. So I couldn’t help but consider, as the media feeding frenzy began to circle and attack pink slime, how a well-thought-out public relations (or crisis communications) strategy could have helped the beef industry’s (and the USDA’s) handling of the situation.

Let me be clear – I am in no way condoning or advocating the inclusion of harmful ingredients into our country’s food supply. I believe that we deserve transparency and that we should be well informed consumers. But let’s also consider consumer choice. Those of us who grew up in this area of the country probably had scrapple for breakfast and pork roll sandwiches for lunch and consumed more sausages and hot dogs (there’s nothing more American – right?) than we probably care to admit. Did we ever stop to think about what’s REALLY in those foods that are a “regular” part of our diet? Do we care to know what’s inside? Probably not. All were prepared and served in our homes, schools, restaurants and ballparks and all were thoroughly enjoyed. So is it all in the presentation?

Consider this: pink slime has been around since 2001, and has been a component of most ground beef produced in the United States since that time. We’ve probably all consumed quite a bit of it unknowingly, and I dare say we’ve lived to tell about it. It was really not until the media got hold of the story in recent weeks that the American public first heard about pink slime and the frenzy began. With the help of social media, the public outcry grew louder. In response to the tidal wave of negative media coverage and consumer hype, restaurants, schools and supermarket chains agreed to pull ground beef containing the USDA-approved pink slime from their shelves and menus. Almost overnight, processing plants declared bankruptcy and closed their doors, and now people are out of work.

There’s a part of me that can’t help but believe that, had the beef industry been more forthcoming, had the processors and advocates of Lean Finely Textured Beef better demonstrated the safety of their product and had the industry been better prepared to discuss pink slime with the media and allay consumers’ fears, this may have been less volatile, less frantic and less devastating to the industry. That same part of me suggests that skilled public relations counselors could have been a part of that team to help mitigate the damages and calm the sea of bad publicity surrounding pink slime.

Love it or loathe it, I think pink slime could have used better PR!

Amy Whilldin is an Account Director at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

What should I be looking at?

When you are running an SEM campaign on Google AdWords, the BIG question that comes to mind is which Google Analytics metrics you should be focusing on. The fact that there are 138 million search results for “what should I look at in Google Analytics” proves this. One post that I recently read struck a chord with me.

The concise version is: averages are misleading. Putting it simply – In Google AdWords you can view average ad position for a keyword. If your average position is 3, this doesn’t mean you’ve appeared in position 3 the most; it could mean you have been in position 1 half the time and in position 5 the other half of the time. The same is true in Google Analytics for Average Time on Site and Average Pages per Visit. If your Average Time on Site is two minutes, this doesn’t mean this is most often the amount of time spent on site; it could mean half your visits last a minute, while the other half last for three minutes. But here is where it gets interesting. Unlike AdWords, Google Analytics lets you see behind these averages!

Behind the averages

Let’s take a look at Length of Visit Report and Depth of Visit Report. Unlike their glamorous cousins (the averages), these reports are not found on the Dashboard, but rather in your Visitors section of Google Analytics. Where these reports are found differs according to which version of Google Analytics you are using:

Version 4: Under Visitors > Visitor Loyalty > Length of Visit OR Depth of Visit

Version 5: Under Visitors > Behaviour > Engagement > Visit Duration or Page Depth

These reports let you see the proportion of visits that spent a certain length of time on site or viewed a certain number of pages in a visit.

The differences between the insights you can get are surprising.

An example:

Looking only at non-bounced visits over the last 30 days for a site,headline stats looked as follows:

Pretty healthy, right?

However, when we looked at the Length of Visit report, we saw that actually over 65% of visits to the site were LESS than three minutes long:

When we looked at Depth of Visit report, we saw that almost 70% of visits had FEWER than five pages viewed:

In summary, those visits where a billion pages are viewed and that last 14 hours are skewing the averages.

It is important to understand how visitors engage with your site. You should make sure that you are looking at the right metrics before making any big decisions.

Domus Inc. can help you better drive your SEM campaigns by helping you tailor-build them and making sure that you get more for the buck you spend on online advertising. You can get in touch with us by clicking here.

Dhawal Sehgal is a Programmer at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-280

• Google is the top search engine, with over 60% market share. According to Google’s website, its mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
• Facebook has been valued at over $100 billion dollars. Facebook’s mission is to connect the world. In a recent PC World interview, CEO Mark Zuckerberg was quoted saying, “There is a huge need and a huge opportunity to get everyone in the world connected, to give everyone a voice and to help transform society for the future.”
• A great example of corporate social marketing is Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program which helps move America’s longest-waiting children from foster care into adoptive families.  Every time a Kids’ Meal is purchased, three cents is given to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. 

Supporting this idea is a quote from management guru Peter Drucker from his book Management:

“… it is the function of business… to satisfy a social need and at the same time serve their institution, by making resolution of a social problem into a business opportunity.”

But Drucker also warns in a later writing that “The first social responsibility of business is to make enough profit to cover the costs of the future.”

By focusing on social marketing, marketers have the potential to be highly successful with their products as well as help improve society through business. For example, Wendy’s recently overtook Burger King to become the world’s second largest hamburger chain even though Burger King has twice as many locations. 

Much of this credit can be attributed to Wendy’s strategy of focusing on what their customers wanted – more fresh food offerings. However, Wendy’s also heavily promotes their Wonderful Kids program in-store with donations made with the purchase of a Frosty on Father’s Day or Halloween Coupon books as well as in-store POP and donation canisters.  Burger King also has a foundation but it is supported primarily through employees, franchisees, and suppliers.

Domus has worked with numerous clients on social marketing initiatives for the good of social issues and that make good business sense including establishment and promotion of foundations, cause-related event sponsorships and charity promotion overlays.

Ed Samide is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

While social media is largely seen as vital to the success of an organization’s communications campaign, it can be difficult to quantify the true value of social media itself. Understanding this, social platforms such as Facebook are beginning to provide metrics that track page view traffic, growth of page “likes,” etc., in order to provide tangible evidence. As social media continues to evolve, there will undoubtedly be more and more ways to assign value to a campaign.

While hard numbers and metrics are needed to calculate the ROI of a campaign, all questions regarding the potential of social media have recently been put to bed, thanks to a recent video produced by Invisible Children. This is one of the strongest examples of the massive influence that social media can command when implemented properly.

Invisible Children is a U.S. non-government organization that has focused its efforts on ending the violent acts of Ugandan militant leader Joseph Kony and his militia, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The organization’s goal was to increase the visibility of Kony so that his acts can no longer go unnoticed and to provide enough international pressure to bring him to justice.

The group launched the KONY 2012 social media campaign on Monday, March 5, 2012, and in a matter of five days, the film had received more than 52,000,000 YouTube views. Variations of KONY 2012 had also inundated Twitter as worldwide trending topics. It’s important to understand that Kony’s militia has been active for over 26 years and has lived in relative obscurity for much of that time until this social media campaign attracted worldwide attention.

Why did this social media campaign explode?

1). It’s a noble endeavor to stop a warlord, especially one that forces children into military service 2). The video enacts an emotional appeal and personalizes the situation 3). The film provides viewers with a way to support the cause without even leaving the comfort of their own homes (supporters are urged to donate, sign virtual petitions and share the story via their personal social media network). 4). The organization clearly identifies the goals of the social media awareness campaign: increase the visibility of Joseph Kony.

There has been criticism over the overarching priorities of the cause and negative reaction from Ugandans. Regardless of whether you believe in Invisible Children’s cause or not, the effectiveness of the social media tactics employed cannot be argued. KONY 2012 is truly an awareness campaign that has achieved exactly what it set out to accomplish in an extraordinarily short amount of time.

Still not a believer in the power of social media? Think again.

Greg Smore is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

A lot of people don’t understand the function of public relations. When I tell someone outside of the marcomm industry what I do, I usually hear “So it’s like Advertising?” or “So you’re a writer?” or I get a polite nod or blank stare.

It’s not always the easiest job to explain – mainly because so many public relations professionals serve in different ways. Some strictly handle events, some only contact the media and some write articles and blog posts or run social media accounts. 

To fully understand public relations, it helps to see it in action, and you can, in fact, see it at work all around you. Do you ever flip through a magazine and see products splashed all over a page with some magazine copy in between? Or read an article where an expert source is quoted? Or watch a news segment in which a local expert is being interviewed? A PR person pitched all of these. They emailed or called the reporter and explained why the product, service or topic would be relevant to the reporter’s audience. For example, were you wondering how so many reporters knew every little detail about the new iPad before it even hit the shelves? It was Apple’s PR gurus at work spreading the product details and sending out samples to editors they deem as key targets. And it worked didn’t it? Apple didn’t need to work very hard to get the news out – the editors did it for them.

Other public relations duties involve planning and executing events, managing social media campaigns, attending trade shows, pitching clients as speakers at industry events, speech-writing, setting up appearances on TV and radio talk shows and writing collateral such as emails, newsletters, bylined articles, case studies and blogs.

PR is a client-centric job, and to do well by our clients, we need to be dialed in to their needs, their industry and their goals 24/7. Did you wake up to a front page article about a competitor? Is there a breaking story that your client is a perfect source for? Did that reporter whom you’ve been dying (DYING!) to get in touch with finally respond to your email? These are the things that dictate a public relations professional’s day.

Kate Toy is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

 Research by Gallup and others shows that engaged employees are more productive. They are more profitable, more customer focused and more likely to withstand temptations to leave. The best-performing companies know that an employee engagement improvement strategy linked to the achievement of corporate goals has a direct effect on a company’s bottom line.

• Gallup’s recent analysis of 199 surveys found that business units scoring in the top half on employee engagement double their odds of delivering high performance compared to those in the bottom half. Those at the 99th percentile are nearly five times more likely to deliver high performance than those at the 1st percentile.
• Companies in the top 10 percent on employee engagement bested their competition by 72 percent in earnings per share. For companies that scored beneath the top quartile, earnings fell 9.4 percent below their competition.
• Gallup researchers, who base the Employee Engagement Index on a survey of nearly 42,000 randomly selected adults, estimate that disengaged workers cost U.S. businesses as much as $350 billion a year.

Companies are realizing that employees are their most important asset and the living embodiment of their brand. If employees are engaged and energized, they will bring the brand to life and deliver exceptional work and positive experiences that impact business performance. Today it is imperative that company leaders are committed to providing formal engagement opportunities with all of their employees. Employees need to be engaged in the corporate vision, mission, strategy and goals. One way to do this is to develop an employee brand message platform based on their business mission and communicate it consistently within all employee communication vehicles. Examples of employee communication vehicles include videos, push emails, employee surveys, employee games and recognition of employees who are demonstrating the corporate mission. Domus and its network of resources have the expertise to help companies develop and execute fully integrated employee engagement plans. Let us show you how we can help you drive your bottom line through greater employee engagement.  

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Consider these headlines, for example:

• Backlash grows over Susan G. Komen-Planned Parenthood flap – CBS News
• Occupy Facebook: Social Network for Protesters in the Works – Mashable
• Bank of America Dropping Plan to Charge Monthly $5 Debit Card Fee – Huffington Post
• What the Arab Spring Taught Journalists About Social Media in 2011 – Mashable

In each case, social media played a significant role in telling these stories. But perhaps even more importantly, social media actually became part of the stories themselves.

The power of social media is undeniable. According to “The Demographics of Social Media,” published by Ad Age and ranked as one of the publication’s five most read posts of 2011, there were more than 155 million Facebook users within the United States. A more recent Ad Age article reports that Facebook currently accounts for 52.1% of sharing (or how online content is shared), while Twitter was responsible for 13.5% of sharing – up 577% in 2011.

The power shift

Consider the Bank of America scenario or the similar Verizon situation. Both actions were viewed as exercises in corporate greed (profit for profit’s sake) and spurred a prompt and loud public outcry that resulted in tremendous backlash perpetuated through social media. In contrast, the Susan G. Komen organization announced the withdrawal of financial support of Planned Parenthood – a move that was seen as politically motivated. Social media immediately became a hotbed of dialogue about the subject.

In the case of Bank of America, Verizon and Susan G. Komen, the organizations ultimately retracted their original positions and instead found themselves with a bit of a crisis communications situation on their hands…all of which also played out on social media.

The lesson here is that social media helps level the playing field by shifting power back to the consumer. The voice of one can quickly become the voice of many, and there’s power in numbers as demonstrated in the final outcome of each of these scenarios.

Mobile devices = instant news and sharing of information

During some of the more recent political uprisings overseas, social media was the only way in which news of these events reached external audiences. Social media and mobile devices empower individuals to become citizen journalists with the ability to take photographs and record video and share them almost instantaneously with large groups of people via a variety of social media platforms, as witnessed by recent political uprisings overseas. Media as we know it has evolved. Now, everyday men and women have the ability to share their observations and opinions with a potentially massive audience – whether intentional or otherwise.

These examples demonstrate both the impact and the power of social media, as well as the need for organizations to more fully comprehend the speed and reach of communications via these platforms. Being able to anticipate public or consumer reactions is imperative, as is being prepared to handle such reactions. Sound public relations strategies and support can help.

If your company needs assistance navigating the evolving world of social media or the tools necessary to harness the power of social media in order to communicate in a cohesive and an articulate manner, contact Domus. Put our expertise in public relations and social media to work for you. Visit http://www.domusinc.com/ today and be an active part of the conversation that’s taking place in the world of social media.

Amy Whilldin is an Account Director at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

The first thought that comes to mind when considering the addition of embedded videos, games, interactive graphics, etc., into a website, is the use of Adobe Flash or just “Flash” as it is more popularly known. Flash has been around since 1996, and with their popularity, various facilities and friendly plug-ins, Flash improvements have helped developers worldwide build fantastic websites. However, there are some drawbacks to these  Flash improvements that have caused developers to seek new alternatives. Thankfully, a new alternative has come – HTML5. With its open source platform, easy access with mobile phones and other features, HTML5 has gained tremendous popularity in a short period of time. Interestingly, people have started comparing these two technologies, and we are seeing a great deal of discussion about Flash versus HTML5.

HTML5 is a new set of web standards for the World Wide Web that began in 2003, and as of today, is still in its draft stage. HTML5 adds enhanced functionality to the latest web browsers without breaking the web for older browsers. This evolution in web development enables browsers to natively (without additional plug-ins like Flash or QuickTime) display audio and video, use CSS3 to animate elements like images and text, reduce site load times and add geolocation support and a number of additional enhancements. These updates to HTML and CSS give developers an opportunity to build web sites that are more powerful, handle information better, and work on a wider range of devices.

Tech giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft have all created websites to show off the power of HTML5. In fact, Apple took a huge leap and did not support Flash in any version of its mobile operating system iOS, with Steve Jobs suggesting that Flash is a bulky, archaic technology that is in its Fall, and that Apple as a company likes to adopt technologies that are fast, less bulky, more responsive, and are in their Spring phase, which HTML5 is.

As far as Flash is concerned, one knows a technology’s future is not promising when even the company that manages it starts to offer a toolset for the competing approach. In August 2011, Adobe surprised the web development community by releasing a preview of software for building Rich Internet Applications (RIA), called Edge. It is surprising that Edge uses a newly emerging set of web markup and programming standards clustered around the HTML5 standard, including HTML5 itself, and also CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), the Canvas tag and the JavaScript programming language.

But then again, Adobe’s Flash has been delivering animations, interactivity and rich graphics to web browsers for more than 15 years now via a plug-in that is currently installed in as many as 98% of the world’s desktops and computers. One thing to consider is Flash’s still-powerful legacy. While the latest versions of browsers support HTML5 for the most part, the vast majority of computers in use are older versions and don’t fully support the standard. This is even more impactful considering the number of enterprise users whose browsers don’t get updated as often. Therefore, if you want your content to reach these non-updated masses, you will need to go with Flash.

In short, as long as there will be businesses looking to get ahead of the competition, and as long as Adobe keeps thinking up useful innovations that will offer content providers this leading edge, there will be a market for Flash.

Domus can analyze what is best for your business and develop web solutions for you in the vastly popular Adobe Flash or in the savvy new HTML5 – or both! Contact us today to discuss your needs and the ways in which our skilled team at Domus can help.

Dhawal Sehgal is a Programmer at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Just yesterday, comScore reported that Pinterest had surpassed the 10 million visitors mark, attracting 11.7  million unique visitors, and has become a top 10 social media site. It received 40 times the number of visits during the week ending December 17 than it had received during any single week in the prior six months. That’s a 4,000 (FOUR THOUSAND!) percent increase, making it the fastest-growing social media site EVER. 

Check out Pinterest’s site for how-to’s and best practices here.

Here’s why Pinterest is becoming interesting to brands: Pinterest is viral. Every time a user pins something they can choose to announce the pin on Facebook or Twitter, and when users join the site, Pinterest will automatically follow all of a user’s Facebook friends or Twitter followers who are already using it. Users can also follow each other even if they are not Facebook or Twitter friends. If you see several pins from the same user, follow their boards because you appear to share similar tastes and would likely be interested in seeing all of their pins.

Here’s why Pinterest is getting REALLY interesting to brands:  Because Pinterest is set up so that each pin links back to the website where the image was originally pulled from, the site’s referral traffic is growing right along with its unique visits. According to a study from Shareaholic, Pinterest beat YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace for percentage of total referral traffic in January. Twitter just barely edged ahead of the newbie, accounting for 3.61% of referral traffic, while Pinterest accounted for 3.6%. Back in July 2011, Pinterest accounted for just 0.17% of referral traffic, which goes to show how much the site has grown in six months.

I guess the biggest question for brands and companies is “what now?”  Pinterest’s mission statement is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” For the first time in a long time, users are not connecting because of who they are (a la Facebook and Twitter); they’re connecting because of products and tangible items. 

So far, I haven’t seen any companies with a Pinterest page in my browsing, but an article on Pinterest from Time indicates that Whole Foods, Burberry, and ideeli.com all have Pinterest pages. I, however, did notice an editor who has a page for their publication. Residential Lighting, a magazine covering all things related to lighting and lighting accessories for homes, is an ideal fit for the design and home décor-obsessed Pinterest crowd. A board full of ceiling fans or shades with links to where to buy? Yes, please!

Pinterest will not be a fit for every company, but for PLENTY of brands Pinterest is a place you need to be. At Domus we’re working on proposals that will help showcase client products on Pinterest in a way that will be valuable for both our clients and Pinterest users.

Pinterest is moving quickly, so get going. Request an invite (if you ask nicely, I’d be happy to send you one), check it out and think up a few ways where you can offer some value to Pinterest users. And, as always, if you need some help working it into your social media strategy, Domus is only a click away.

Kate Toy is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com/. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

[Webtrends] analyzed the website traffic of Fortune 100 websites based on ‘unique visits.’ The study revealed that 68% of the top 100 companies were experiencing a negative growth in unique visits over the past year, with an average drop of 23%.

To ascertain if Facebook had a part to play in this decline, unique visits to a brand’s website were compared with unique visits to its Facebook page (obtained using fan count as a proxy) within a three- to five-month period. In a sample of 44 companies, 40% exhibited higher traffic to their Facebook page compared to their website.

Based on these statistics alone, one can glean that social media as a whole is increasingly pertinent to a company’s overall marketing and communications campaign. Company websites will continue to lose ground as additional web traffic is divided among various social media platforms such as Twitter, Google+, etc. With that being said, companies must make themselves accessible on every social media platform in order capture the web traffic of their clients or customers. Social media continues to expand its reach, which provides new opportunities for companies to reach audiences that may never have visited their company website directly in the past. The data presented above tells a compelling story; social media is a viable communication strategy, and it’s time to build an integrated campaign to take advantage of the opportunities that social media presents.

Determining the appropriate communication mix is the ultimate challenge for many businesses. Domus, Inc. can provide a tailored assessment of your brand in order to develop targeted strategies that fit your company’s situation.

Follow Domus, Inc. on Facebook and Twitter through the following:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DomusInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/domusinc

Greg Smore is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Here is what I have recently witnessed within the industry. The lines between public relations and social media are blurring. Account managers need to be well-versed in analyzing technical data, interpreting those results and translating those results into strategic recommendations. Media professionals need to understand the brand strategy and all of the media options available today including social, online and mobile campaigns as well as established channels like broadcast and print. Likewise, creative and production teams are learning new technology and software programs in order to keep pace as well as how to translate TV or print concepts to online and mobile. And everyone needs to have in-depth expertise within a client’s business.

At a recent Ad Club Second Annual Media Innovation Day, attendees were polled about how the fluctuating advertising environment is impacting their profession. The outcome indicated that media professionals, in particular, are increasingly working with other departments within their companies. When asked which departments they work with “very often,” 31% included their brand planning department and a quarter cited their creative departments. Over half described the use of other departments within their company to develop client campaigns as “very important.” And 32% use their analytics departments to measure every client campaign.

Some other interesting statistics are that Americans have access to:

• 1 trillion web pages
• 65,000 iPhone apps
• 10,500 radio stations
• 5,500 magazines
• 200+ cable TV networks

At Domus we take a holistic view of our clients’ business objectives, including their target audience and how they consume media, react to all forms of advertising and what their brand preferences are.  Our strategic planning approach allows us to understand the extraordinarily complex dynamics of the marketplace from the very start of a project to better equip ourselves and our clients to make decisions about how to connect with customers across all the available platforms. In this way they can achieve the greatest results and analyze the outcomes in qualitative and quantitative terms.

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805

Why Sign Up?

Why NOT sign up? Get on there and check it out. For the most part, people are going to sign up – after all it’s Google. People like Google, people are familiar with Google, Google has a lot of money and a lot of expertise, and Google+ is already growing…rapidly.

Gaining Momentum

While 50 million users is a far cry from Facebook’s 1.8 billion users, it’s still 50 MILLION users (and growing) since its launch in August, making Google+ the fastest growing platform EVER. This presents a small problem in that Facebook users are used to Facebook’s features and activities. Facebook has set the precedent, but user activities on Facebook don’t necessarily correlate to similar activities on Google+. This can be a bit confusing. For example and in general terms, if you “Like” a company page on Facebook, you then become a subscriber to the page’s status updates. On Google+, you can “+1” a page; however, in order to subscribe you must add the page to your “Circles.”  This difference may be minor, but it can pose an issue for members’ ease of use.

Differences with Facebook

Interestingly, one of the first things a user will realize is that a company’s Google+ page and Facebook page don’t seem any different. If your audience is already on Facebook and your Google+ page isn’t bringing users anything new, why would they create a Google+ page just to view your brand when everything they need is already on Facebook? Logically speaking, they wouldn’t, but a ComScore survey estimates that 22% of U.S. adults will be on Google+ by August 2012. Hopefully, Google execs are active Google+ members by then. All joking aside, can you or your business afford to ignore 22% of the United States’ young, affluent, early-adopter audience? Or even if you could, why would you?

A big feature within Google+ is the “Hangout,” which is being pegged as something ideal for businesses. Essentially, it’s a chat room which users can visit whenever they want. It allows users and companies an opportunity to interact with one another, and may be a great relationship-building tool. Current limitations do not permit participation in a hangout on a mobile device. Ouch…really Google? But I assume that it’s just a matter of time until mobile capabilities for the hangout feature become available.

Bottom Line

Sign up. I know, I know – ANOTHER page to update?! Between Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Foursquare (and so on), you have enough to manage. You might think you’ve got all your audiences covered – and you just may – but you don’t want to be the only company that’s NOT there. It’s obvious, or should be obvious, that managing your company’s social media effort is a full time job. If it’s not, you’re just not engaging as effectively as you could (and should) be. Might as well cover all your bases and add one more to the mix.

Saving the best for last…

With Google analytics finally within the social media mix, Google+ could (maybe, possibly, HOPEFULLY) offer businesses some hard data on the holy grail of social media: social media metrics and ROI.  Halleluiah! It’s a holiday miracle!

Kate Toy is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Take social media, for example. Consumers are increasingly relying upon social media for their information – going to a company’s Facebook page, for example, before visiting a company’s website. And consumers demonstrate their brand preferences (and loyalty) by following and liking their brands of choice on Twitter and Facebook. In fact, a recent Nielsen report states that 53% of active online adult social networkers follow a brand, that social networking and blogging now account for nearly a quarter of total time spent on the Internet and that Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other U.S. website. Pretty compelling statistics…and pretty valid reasons why public relations professionals need to include social media as part of their overall communications tactics.

Naysayers may dismiss these statistics, but I recall a similar conversation about the World Wide Web nearly 20 years ago. Enough said.

But beyond B2C communications lies the evolution of “media.” Media is ever-increasingly an online vehicle as printed media – printed news media, most especially – fades away. Writers and editors rely on social media platforms to magnify their voice and reach in the hope that it will (1) increase their reach and (2) drive traffic back to their articles/website, thereby increasing their readership and the value of their advertising.

Even what we consider “media” sometimes comes into question: are bloggers considered media, for example? In my opinion, creating online content does not a member of the media make; however, those with the forum and the voice may not be afraid to use it. So we as public relations professionals must manage these relationships just as we must consider social media platforms as media relations tools – platforms for engaging with the media and platforms for communicating with our various publics.

Does your company need assistance navigating the evolving world of social media? Do you have the tools necessary to harness the power of social media in order to communicate your messaging in a cohesive and an articulate manner? Domus does! Put our expertise in public relations and social media to work for you. Visit www.domusinc.com today and be an active part of the conversation that’s taking place in the world of social media.

For more on this topic, see “Public Relations in a Social World” posted on COMPREHENSION – PRSA’s blog: http://comprehension.prsa.org/?p=3557.

Amy Whilldin is an Account Director at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

It’s so important that some people will do anything they can to increase their followers. But there is a right and wrong way to attract followers. Politicians have taken to Twitter to spread their campaign messages (some have ulterior motives, but we won’t name names in this blog). In the early stages of the GOP nomination process, Newt Gingrich boasted that he had 1,325,842 followers, whereas Mitt Romney and Michele Bachman have not even cracked the 100,000 mark. However, it was later learned that more than 80 percent of Gingrich’s followers were dummy accounts and were obtained by an agency that is paid to bolster Twitter followers for a fee http://gawker.com/5826645. As you can see, this is the wrong way to attract Twitter followers.

There are numerous ways to legitimately increase followers. Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg.com, discusses 10 ways to increase followers in the following TechCrunch article: http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/25/kevin-rose-10-ways-to-increase-your-twitter-followers/. Here is one excerpt that specifically caught my eye:

“Start a contest. @jasoncalacanis offered a free macbook air if he reached the #1 most followed spot. That never happened, but Jason added thousands of followers…brilliant.”

Domus has developed and implemented numerous Twitter contests for its clients. A recent Dacor contest included various product giveaways and successfully increased the company’s followers from under 700 to 3,366.

The most important aspect of attracting followers is that a company’s Tweets should fulfill some need. Dacor’s Twitter feed is populated by useful information regarding the company’s products, money-saving deals, recipes and the occasional contest/giveaway. Contact Domus to learn more about our Twitter strategies and how we can help your company.

Greg Smore is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Experiential marketing, especially one-on-one interaction with customers, can create a branded and memorable experience to help strengthen your marketing campaign. This experiential marketing has the ability to appeal to all five senses, giving customers the opportunity to engage personally with your products and your brand. According to a recent online survey of 2,574 consumers ages 13-65, in the top 25 U.S. markets, the results confirm that this increasingly important marketing medium resonates strongly across demographics and product categories. In fact, 72% of 18- to 23-year-old consumers say experiential marketing would make them more receptive to the brand/product advertising; 59% say it would lead to a quicker purchase.

This study also indicated that live marketing experiences were shown to be a valuable way to increase marketing ROI:  75% of consumers say that participating in a live marketing experience would make them more receptive to the product/brand’s advertising; 75% of consumers said they would be extremely likely to tell others after participating in a live marketing event, extending impact through word-of-mouth.

Domus has had great success with live marketing experiences for the Pennsylvania Lottery to help launch its new instant ticket games. Each event utilized a creative overlay that reinforced the traditional advertising program of television, radio, print and outdoor. The theme was brought to life through a state-wide bus tour including live activities with audience participation, street teams, signage and ticket giveaways. Each tour garnered pre- and post-event press coverage as well as a multitude of attendees. The results? Another record-breaking year of ticket sales for the Pennsylvania Lottery!

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805

Since consumers have gotten in the habit of receiving media content online for free or at a lower cost, cable TV content providers and distributors are adjusting their business models so they can remain profitable.

One idea adopted by companies like Comcast and Time Warner is “TV Everywhere.” In this model, consumers are able to watch shows online as long as they are a traditional cable TV subscriber. But according to The Wall Street Journal, “TV Everywhere” has been slow in gaining popularity because some TV channel owners want to be paid extra to provide their shows over the Internet – as a result only select shows are shown online.

Another popular alternative is Hulu – a website offering free TV shows that is a partnership between Walt Disney, Comcast and News Corp. According to The Wall Street Journal, some media executives value Hulu since it gives content creators direct access to consumers compared to working with cable and satellite distribution companies as well as an online alternative to offering shows through Apple’s iTunes and Amazon.com. 

Although Hulu is a free site, consumers can subscribe to Hulu Plus for $7.99 to receive premium content; Hulu Plus currently has more than one million customers. Hulu Plus is a new revenue stream for content creators but also puts them at risk of angering the distributors, who are their biggest customers since the service can be seen as competition.

As consumers continue to increase their use of mobile devices and consume media online, TV content creators and cable companies will need to evaluate their business model to remain profitable and relevant. 

Ed Samide is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

1. Answered or responded to a direct mail letter or brochure? (Current research shows only 3% have responded.)
2. Did you follow up on a mainstream media advertisement such as TV, radio, magazine or newspaper? (22% of those polled did.)
3. Did you go to the Yellow Pages to look up a company to buy a product? (3% of those polled did.)
4. Did you Google and search online when looking to purchase a product or service? (97% of those polled did.)
5. Did you use your Peer to Peer Network via Facebook, Instant Messenger, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media service to get the URL of a website for a product that you were looking to buy? (80% of those polled did.)
   And now for your ace in the hole…
6. So why are you still using traditional marketing for your company when you yourself have minimal response to it?

Hopefully this is where your clients see the light. If not, just remind them that the social media dark ages will be a lonely (and unprofitable) place.

Kate Toy is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Since each client is unique, Domus develops the most appropriate reporting and communications systems to meet their needs.  This can include any or all of the following:  creative briefs, decision reports, weekly hot lists, weekly status reports, monthly client meetings, quarterly and annual results analysis as well as other customized reports requested by the client.  Many of the above reports we are now converting to a digital dashboard that allows our clients easy access to this information at the touch of a button.

Domus’ workflow and communication processes have been proven over the years.   In fact, we are often called upon by our own clients, to help them  establish their internal processes and systems to improve their marketing communications efficiency. 

So the next time you’re considering bypassing a process for the sake of speed, remember the importance of standard procedures in the creative environment and how ultimately it will help you deliver better product in the end.

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Zynga’s model has key differences which separate it from traditional video game manufacturers. Zynga offers its games for free through Facebook but makes money by selling “virtual goods” that allow people to perform better in the game. According to The Wall Street Journal, 95% of users play for free while the remaining 5% spend from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. Sales of virtual goods have given Zynga revenue of $600 million in 2010 including $91 million in profits.

Zynga also uses analytics to constantly improve its games. Based on data collected through Facebook, Zynga can regularly make adjustments to the game to increase the time people spend playing as well as increase sales of virtual goods.

Traditional video game makers are adjusting to this trend. Walt Disney and other major manufacturers have acquired social gaming start-ups. Electronic Arts, launched a free version of “The Sims” on Facebook; as of September 27th, the game climbed to be the second most popular game on the site. In addition, Electronic Arts has evolved its traditional console game FIFA soccer by allowing users to download players, coaches and training sessions for a fee. According to Bloomberg, sales of virtual goods for FIFA soccer were $100 million in 2010.
Wall Street analysts expect revenue for traditional gaming to grow 1% this year to $9.7 billion while sales of virtual goods are expected to rise 50% to $2.2 billion. Traditional gaming companies will need to stay aware of and adjust to social gaming to continue to grow and stay relevant.

If you are interested in social gaming as part of your brand’s marketing program, Domus has deep capabilities in HTML5 driven game development, mobile game development and Facebook/Twitter integration. Please contact us for more information about how we can be a social gaming a resource for you.

Ed Samide is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

This is an extremely important factor when calculating reach, as the pass-along rate creates a multiplier effect for that specific message. This rate has been in use for decades and its significance has grown exponentially given the rise of online media content. For example, 20 years ago you may have read an article in a magazine, found it compelling and gave it to a friend. Therefore, the message did not just impact you, but also your friend as well as anyone else that your friend may have given it to after he or she read it. The point is that published messages live on, and the advent of online content and social networking have created an environment where pass-along rate is paramount.

Let’s look at the previous example that examined the traditional pass-along rate and apply it to the digital age. You see an article in an online magazine and you decide to send that article to five of your friends via email. That message has now been distributed five times more than the traditional pass-along example. Now let’s examine the concept of utilizing social networking to share this same article. Let’s say that you have 30 Twitter followers and you decide to Tweet this same article; you’ve now successfully shared this message with 30 more people. If one of those people then Retweets this article, it is then distributed to all of their followers, and so on.

Brands can create a virtual echo effect by redistributing their company news via social media platforms. If your company is featured in a news article, there’s a good chance that the publication will Tweet the article as well, which means that the publication’s followers have all seen this news item. Your company can then Retweet the article to disseminate this message to your followers. Now there are two identical streams of communication that are targeting two groups of individuals. The message reverberates throughout the network at a greater rate than it could ever be distributed before.

Keep in mind, this is just the tip of the iceberg; we haven’t even discussed the opportunities that Facebook and LinkedIn provide. Domus helps clients such as Dacor and OKI Data Americas manage their social media presence on a daily basis in order to reach their overarching media goals. Contact Domus for more information on how we can help your business manage its social media presence.

Greg Smore is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805

By being a dialed-in, finger-on-the-pulse-of-your-industry PR professional, you have the opportunity to share breaking news with your fans first. Post a recent article on a relevant topic or ask your followers a question about a hot topic. The beauty of social media, especially now with all of the changes to Facebook, is that every friend of your followers can now see most of their activity. So if they comment on a post on your wall, it will appear in their newsfeed and will ideally inspire someone else to click on your link, find your page interesting – and voilá – you’ll have a new follower.

This method of attracting followers is not guaranteed – in public relations there’s very little that is – but it’s a way to be recognized as a valuable and forward-thinking participant in your particular industry.

Kate Toy is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Companies can take the customer review process one step further by including testimonial videos on sites such as YouTube. Domus incorporated this tactic with OKI Data Americas’ customers during the ISTE 2011 Conference in Philadelphia. OKI customers were given a platform to present their story and increase their Internet celebrity through the process. This strategy gives consumers a voice and also puts a face to the name, which lends additional credibility to the testimonial. The reach of these videos can be increased when distributed through social media networks as well. An example of the OKI customer testimonial video can be accessed through the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxHIxhVSFuI.

Not only do these videos provide beneficial information to prospective customers, but they also increase the company’s interaction with current clients, helping to build that existing relationship.

Greg Smore is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

With a discount offer, the business is probably appealing to customers that purchase on price. It is unlikely customers will come back to the business in the future to purchase products and services at full value. In a column on AdAge.com, Al Ries, the famous marketing consultant, states:

“Presumably, all those consumers who bought products and services for 50% off are going to be happy to return to their local retailers and return to buy those same products and services at full prices. That’s not going to happen. What is going to happen is that those same consumers are going to go back to Groupon and wait for the next 50%-off sale.”

I’m sure many of you have used Groupon, Living Social or one of the other local daily deal sites. Of those of you who have, how many of you have returned to that business to purchase the same product or service at full price? My guess is not many.

The trouble with only focusing on new customers is that it costs much more to the business to market to new customers than to sell to current customers. A business is also sacrificing its profitability on sales to new customers using a Groupon offer since the business splits about 50% of the revenue with the company.

Filippo Caffari, owner of The Butcher Store, a restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was quoted in BusinessWeek saying that when using Groupon “A lot of people just come for the deal, and very few become repeat customers.”

In The Wall Street Journal, David Wachs, president of Cellit, a marketing firm that has collaborated with small businesses on Groupon deals, argues that small companies need “ongoing conversations” with customers, not coupon offers. Groupon is best used “to drive new customers in their door.” He’s right about the necessity of ongoing conversations with customers. In order to be a worthwhile marketing tool, business owners need to capitalize on the Groupon or other deal tool. Ask customers to leave their email address when they redeem their deal and contact them with additional coupons, invite them to follow the company’s Facebook or Twitter, and share news about new products and services that would be of interest to them.

With Groupon and other deal sites, a business is reducing profitability as it markets to new customers and by using the deal alone, they are unable to build a relationship with these new customers for repeat business. When considering Groupon as a marketing tool, a business should first evaluate the effect on its profitability, brand and relationship with customers before joining in the daily deal trend.

Ed Samide is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Listening requires careful attention. Sometimes people don’t pay careful attention when someone is speaking to them, thinking instead about how to press their point when the other person stops speaking. Also consider that people talk at about 125 words per minute. However, we think at a speed that is four or five times as fast, at 500 words per minute or more. This means that our thoughts move much faster than the words we are listening to and makes it not surprising that we often let our attention wander.

Both anecdotal and scholarly research has shown that developing well-honed listening skills is extremely important in team building, project management, problem solving and ultimately, business success. Good listening skills are a valuable attribute in today’s business climate. In developing improved listening skills, individuals must learn to not only listen to the content of words but also pay attention to body language; it speaks as loudly as words.

While listening seems like it should be second nature to all of us, good listening skills take practice. Below are a few tips to improve your listening skills:

1. Face the speaker. Sit up straight or lean forward slightly to show your attentiveness through body language.

2. Maintain eye contact, to the degree that you all remain comfortable.

3. Minimize external distractions. Turn off the cell phone.

4. Focus solely on what the speaker is saying. Try not to think about what you are going to say next. The conversation will follow a logical flow after the speaker makes her point.

5. Keep an open mind. Wait until the speaker is finished before deciding that you disagree. Try not to make assumptions about what the speaker is thinking.

6. Engage yourself. Ask questions for clarification, but once again, wait until the speaker has finished. That way, you won’t interrupt his train of thought. After you ask questions, paraphrase the speaker’s point to make sure you didn’t misunderstand. Start with: “So you’re saying …”

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

1. Have a point of difference: Yes, this is Marketing 101, but it’s surprising how many brands, seemingly in a panic over retaining old customers and gaining new ones, slowly, but surely, are moving away from this key basic. Having a point of difference means understanding your market needs, knowing what perceptual space each of your competitors has claimed and then (based on your brand’s core competencies) differentiating your market-relevant message so that it resounds and grabs the minds and hearts of your target audience.

2. Be consistent: Again, a basic that we were all taught in “packaged goods school.”  But, now consistency is what you need to convey not only in your paid advertising, but also in your social media, public relations, promotions, event marketing and especially in your customer service and employee communications.  If your customer service reps or employees can’t describe what your company and brand(s) stand for, you’re missing a great opportunity for the most natural viral campaign. Now, everyone is a star on Facebook – and they talk about their lives, including their work – make sure they are ambassadors, not complainers or destroyers of your positioning.

3. Measure, adjust, measure, adjust, measure, adjust: Well, you get the picture. This approach is common now in online advertising, BUT it needs to be applied to every facet of your brand’s marketing mix. Gone are the days when you implemented an “Annual Planning” cycle and re-wrote the next calendar or fiscal year’s plan to launch on a certain date.  The “measure, adjust, measure, adjust” approach must be built into each program.  When you are developing a promotion, from the onset, you need to know what the monthly, weekly and, dare I say it, daily success hurdles are that your brand needs to clear.  And, they must be actively managed on an ongoing basis to reallocate, increase support or pull the plug.

It’s back to school time (let’s face it, that feeling never goes away) and that can mean back to branding basics. If you want to learn specific examples of how these three easy steps for better ROI worked for marquise brands, visit the Success Stories section at www.domusinc.com If you want to chat online, leave a comment on this post. If you want to chat in person as to how Domus can help your brand, call or e-mail me directly at 215-772-2805 Or betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com.

Betty Tuppeny is the CEO and founder of Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact Betty directly at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Recently, we’ve all seen endless debates about who should “control” social media in ad agencies. And that “someone” should be the PR professional – often the eyes and ears of the agency.

PR and Social Media – “Both About the Relationship”

The social space is about quick connections, as well as real and strong relationships. We can no longer isolate social media from public relations – it just can’t be avoided. Savvy journalists and bloggers use Facebook and Twitter like their own personal newswire services and constantly search online for stories and trends. Any way you look at it, the social aspect represents just one more way to get a journalist’s attention.

After all, PR and social media share the same qualifications:

1)         Who is your audience?

2)         What do they care about?

3)         How will your “announcement” impact their lives and help enhance your client’s’ message?

PR Pros – Time to Go Where the Action Is!

PR practitioners cannot expect audiences to come to them; rather – they must go to where their audiences are. So if these targets are online, the PR pro must be online too. This is where the PR/social convergence begins. Think about it: social media goes perfectly with PR – it allows PR pros to engage with audiences and target markets like never before! But yes, there are those in the PR world who consider this imminent change to be one giant annoyance because – it requires that they learn new techniques, while abandoning some old ones.

To many, this overlap presents tremendous opportunity – new technologies and communication channels are available and have changed the PR profession. Yes, PR practitioners must change the way they write, and responding and thinking must be done in real -time. Yes folks, it’s time to know your way around the social world as well as a newsroom! It’s about immersing yourself in the social culture as a way of better understanding its inherent advantages. It’s about participating, interacting and sharing.

PR and social media are now completely intertwined. Both feed on public interest, and neither means making that “sell” right then and there. Both are catalysts for eventual business and should go arm in arm. PR professionals are now realizing that the traditional PR skills that they’ve used so long are perfectly suited to our new social world, they just need some 2011 modifications. Any PR pro that who isn’t becoming a social media expert should get on board…quickly.

Do you agree that the line between PR and social media is now too fine of a line to separate? Should the PR person on your staff take the lead in social media? Please share your thoughts and join our discussion. Thank you.

Lynette Byrnes is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805

Also consider the fact that newsrooms have been dealing with limited resources as a result of job loss and budget cuts for several years. The recession has not improved that situation and creates more pressure for journalists to produce more content with less resources.  Public relations helps meet that need for content by delivering story ideas, research, subject matter experts and resources.

So while it is not an ideal economy, it is an ideal time to invest in public relations.

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.