How Public Relations Can Amplify Your Online Efforts
According to the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), public relations is the strategic management of relationships between an organization and its diverse publics. An “organization” can be anything from a brand, an individual, or a company. As the business world continues to evolve, so does the practice of public relations. There are two main approaches to this practice, traditional PR and digital PR, which are differentiated by tactics. Although traditional PR is still relevant in today’s digitalized world, digital PR tactics can help an organization amplify their online efforts.
PR & Content Marketing
Public relations and content marketing share a common goal: to create and amplify quality messaging related to your organization. Part of a PR professional’s job is to study and predict trends across a wide spectrum of industries. Similarly, content marketers are tasked with staying on top of industry trends and consumer insights. PR and content marketers can work together to identify topics relevant to audiences and industry trends. As well, a PR professional can help amplify your organization’s quality content by reaching the right people. PR professionals create and maintain relationships with journalists, bloggers, and influencers. These relationships can act as a launch pad in amplifying your content.
At the end of the day, public relations and content marketing are working towards the same goals. By unifying these two practices your organization can increase brand awareness, educate audiences, and create better industry positioning.
PR & Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When it comes to digital marketing, public relations and search engine optimization (SEO) go together like peanut butter and jelly. Understanding how audiences communicate about and with your organization online is a cornerstone of SEO. Using SEO keywords can help PR professionals develop content (press releases, blogs, etc.) that will drive targeted web traffic to your organization. Reaching out and maintaining relationships with industry influencers is a large part of public relations. A PR professional can leverage these contacts to get online press coverage, helping build natural editorial links from high-traffic, authoritative websites. As well, with increased exposure, chances are other publications will want to cover you, resulting in more exposure and links. It’s a powerful cycle.
Combining public relations and SEO practices is the ultimate game-changer in your organization’s digital marketing strategy. At the end of the day, it increases your organization’s visibility in the overcrowded digital world.
PR & Social Media Marketing
With a newly integrated and constantly evolving digital landscape, you have the ability to fuse public relations and social media to create notable results for your organization. Public relations and social media share the same goal: to manage your organization’s reputation and audience relationships. Public relations can present your organization with more formal and traditional communications, while social media can be done in more relaxed and conversational tone. Social media is also instantaneous and allows an organization to communicate with their audience quickly. This is a great asset when it comes to being proactive and managing your brand’s reputation in a time of crisis. As well, social media makes it easier for PR professionals to identify and reach digital content creators or influencers who can help spread your message to a specific audience.
Social media helps amplify PR efforts, while in turn, PR helps generate social media coverage. If you can seamlessly merge your public relations and social media efforts, you can achieve impressive results.
#CanadaProud: Spotlight on the Toronto-KW Tech Corridor
It boasts the country’s highest concentration of skilled tech companies and employees. It attracts top talent and investment capital from around the globe. It’s where you’ll find tech giants, like Google, and a swarm of competitive startups leading breakthroughs in biotech, artificial intelligence, and IT.
On paper, we call it the Toronto-KW tech corridor. Some dub it Silicon Valley North.
Whatever the name, we’re proud to be a part of Canada’s thriving technology hub.
The 112KM corridor between Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo is the largest technology cluster in the country, representing 17% of our annual GDP and employing over 200,000 tech workers across 15,000 companies
It’s home to Canadian innovators like Blackberry, Shopify, and OpenText. But it’s not just homegrown Canadian companies driving growth in the corridor.
Last year, Google unveiled a new office in Kitchener with room for up to 1,000 employees. Ford is making sizable investmens in the province, including a research facility in Waterloo. The MaRS innovation hub near the University of Toronto houses workers from Facebook, Paypal, AirBnB, Autodesk, Etsy, and 200 startups.
So, what draws the tech world to our doorstep?
To start, the region is a wellspring of talent.
Our educational institutions are known worldwide for academic excellence. Many of Ontario’s 20 universities and 24 colleges are located right here in the corridor, offering extensive internship and co-op education programs to serve the technology industry. Over 38,000 students in Ontario graduate with degrees in math, engineering, or science each year.
One of the challenges we’ve faced is keeping these students here in Ontario once they graduate. In the past, many of Canada’s talented grads left to pursue opportunities in Silicon Valley. But that’s beginning to change. The public and private sectors are working together to fund technology entrepreneurship and innovations in Toronto-KW, fueling the creation of more jobs for skilled tech workers. Ontario invested $3 billion in such spending over the past six years, and the federal government has committed an additional $950 million to support clean tech, bioscience, and digital innovation in the future.
Not only have we made headway in stopping the brain-drain, but the Toronto-KW tech corridor is drawing global talent as well. More American citizens and foreign nationals are leaving the United States to work in Canada. Our vocal pro-immigration stance and strong investment in tech has made the corridor an attractive option for workers, and both universities in Waterloo region are reporting double-digit growth in international student applications this year.
A workforce as diverse as ours is a force to reckon with. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Quora, “Having a group of smart, capable people focus on the same problem from a range of different perspectives, backgrounds and lived experiences is much more likely to come up with great answers than a homogeneous group would.”
In addition to world-class academic institutions and research centers, the corridor has a number of organizations dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs. Waterloo region is fertile ground for startups, with over 5,000 budding companies growing there today.
For a glimpse at the future of Canadian technology, you need only step through the doors of the many start-up incubators in Kitchener-Waterloo. One such organization is the Accelerator Centre, an incubator dedicated to helping startups grow and compete on the world stage. Among its alumni are Trustpoint Innovation Technologies, a machine-to-machine communications developer that made Deloitte’s Fast 50 list; Magnet Forensics, which recently opened new headquarters in Waterloo; and yours truly, Trafficsoda.
The Toronto-KW tech corridor has a long way to go to catch up to Silicon Valley, but it’s on track to become one of the foremost innovation hubs in the world.
How Canada’s Anti-Spam Law Affects Your Marketing Strategy
Does your business promote its products or services via email, social media, or other electronic means? If so, Canada’s anti-spam law affects you.
Don’t get us wrong — we know you’re not a spammer. Truth is, the law applies to many forms of Internet marketing, including things we don’t normally think of as ‘spam.’ It covers everything from electronic coupons to newsletters, and even certain social media activities.
If your business has a digital marketing strategy, you should know the rules and take steps to ensure compliance. We’ve put together a quick primer on Canada’s anti-spam legislation and outlined steps you can take to stay on the right side of the law.
Quick Summary What is CASL? Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) came into force on July 1st, 2014. It sets rules for when and how you can send commercial electronic messages to individuals and businesses. Does CASL Apply to Me? CASL applies to anyone who sends commercial electronic messages in Canada. A commercial electronic message (CEM) is an email, text, or other electronic message that encourages participation in commercial activity. Electronic ads, newsletters, coupons, and promotions are examples of CEMs. The law also applies to some social media activities. What are the rules? 1. With few exceptions, you must obtain the recipient’s consent to send them a CEM. 2. All commercial electronic messages must identify the sender and contain up-to-date contact information. 3. You must give recipients a fast, simple way to unsubscribe from your messages. |
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation
Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) sets rules for how and when you can send commercial electronic messages like email ads, offers, and discounts. The law also tackles malware, phishing, and other practices, but we’ll focus on the sections that deal with commercial electronic messages.
When it comes to sending commercial messages, CASL creates three major rules:
- Consent: You must have a person’s permission to send them a commercial electronic message.
- Identification: All commercial electronic messages must identify the sender and contain up-to-date contact information.
- Unsubscribe mechanism: You must give recipients an easy way to unsubscribe from your messages.
The law has been in force since July 1st, 2014, but some parts only take effect this year. Though the private right of action (lawsuit) portion has been suspended, you can still face steep fines from the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commissions (CRTC) for breaking the law. If you don’t have a CASL plan yet, now is the time to make one!
Does CASL Apply to My Business?
CASL applies to all individuals and businesses who send commercial electronic messages in Canada. A commercial electronic message (CEM) is any message that encourages the recipient to participate in a commercial activity, such as promoting a product or service.
A CEM can include any commercial message sent to an “electronic address,” like:
- Emails (newsletters, promotions, deals, coupons, advertisements, etc.)
- Instant messages
- Text messages
- Some social media activity
A public social media post, like a Facebook wall post, would not fit the definition of a CEM. However, since social profiles are a form of “electronic address,” a commercial message sent to a specific user would have to meet CASL’s requirements. It is unclear how the law might impact friend requests, tags in posts or photos, or Tweets at individuals.
What CASL Does Not Cover
Certain types of commercial electronic messages do not fall under CASL. These include:
- B2B messages where you and the recipient have a previous relationship.
- Internal messages related to your business’s activities.
- Messages you are legally obligated to send, such as safety recalls.
- Messages sent within an existing relationship. Includes a family relationship, business relationship, or non-business relationship (donations, volunteer work, etc.)
- Responses to referrals, so long as you name the person who gave the referral, and that person has a previous relationship with you and the recipient.
You can send these messages without the recipient’s consent, and it does not need to meet the other requirements for CEMs.
Getting a Recipient’s Consent
It is against the law to send someone a commercial electronic message without their permission. The good news is, there are a few different ways to get consent.
The best way to protect your business from potential claims or fines is to get express consent. Express consent is when you ask the potential contact for permission to send a message, and they explicitly agree. It requires an active “opt-in” process, where the recipient takes some action to show their agreement. For example, you can provide an online form that lets customers sign up for your newsletter.
There are a few rules to follow when seeking express consent. To start, you must state to the recipient:
- Identifying information, including your business name, mailing address, and either a telephone number, email address, or website URL.
- Why you are asking for consent.
- Description of the messages you will send.
- That the person can withdraw consent and unsubscribe at any time.
The recipient must actively affirm they want to receive CEMs from you. You cannot get express consent using a default or pre-checked toggle box. Additionally, you cannot “bundle” a request with another action. For example, the user shouldn’t have to consent to CEMs in order to agree to your terms of sale.
Do not ask for consent via an electronic message! This counts as a CEM. Instead, provide another way for people to sign up.
When Consent is Implied
Sometimes, you can infer consent from the recipient’s actions in lieu of express consent. However, implied consent can be difficult to prove, and it often expires after a certain time. It’s always preferable to obtain a potential contact’s express consent before sending a message.
Regardless, you may use implied consent under the following circumstances:
- Relevant CEMs: You may send CEMs which are relevant to the recipient’s official business role, function, or other duties if they gave you their electronic address or published it in a public place (like a company website).
- Responding to inquiries: You may contact a person who contacted you with an inquiry, complaint, or application within the past six months.
- Existing relationship: You may contact those with whom you had an existing business relationship or non-business relationship within the past two years.
- Clubs/associations: You may contact a person if you were a member of their club or association within the past two years.
If a person states they do not wish to receive unsolicited CEMs, it negates implied consent.
Exceptions to the Consent Rule
In the following circumstances, you can send a CEM without the recipient’s express or implied consent. You do not need permission to send:
- Quote or estimate the recipient requested.
- Information related to a transaction the recipient previously agreed to enter.
- Legal information such as warranties, product recalls, or safety or security issues related to a product or service the recipient has used or purchased.
- Digital products or services, including updates and upgrades, the recipient is entitled to receive.
Note that even when a consent exception applies, your message must still meet the requirements outlined in the section below.
Required Information for CEMs
Every commercial electronic message you send out must clearly and prominently set out:
- Your name, or the name under which you carry on business.
- If you are sending a message for someone else, include their name and indicate who is sending the message on their behalf.
- Your mailing address and either your telephone number, email address, or website URL. This information must be valid for at least 60 days after it is sent.
The message must also contain a working unsubscribe mechanism, as explained below.
Unsubscribe Mechanism
You must give the recipient of any CEM a quick and easy way to revoke consent and “unsubscribe” from your messages if they choose. The process must be convenient, accessible, and free of charge. For example, an email CEM may have a hyperlink or a clickable button at the bottom of the message which removes the recipient from the mailing list automatically.
If a recipient asks to unsubscribe, you must fulfill the request within 10 days.
Making a CASL Action Plan
If you weren’t aware of Canada’s Anti-Spam Law before, you may have to make some changes going forward. There are things you can do to make the adjustment easier on yourself and your customers.
Your CASL action plan should include the following steps:
- Determine if CASL applies to you. If your business has a digital marketing strategy, there’s a good chance it sends some form of commercial electronic message. Review your online presence and determine whether your activities fall under CASL’s scope.
- Get express consent from your existing contacts. Since July 1st, 2014, the law has required that you document express consent for each new Canadian contact. You must also be able to prove express consent for old contacts by July 1st of this year. If you haven’t been doing this, you should start now! Send a message to these contacts asking them to affirm their express consent. You can offer a clickable link or an address they may contact to confirm. Don’t send another CEM until they do.
- Document express and implied consent for all new contacts. Develop a plan to document where and how you got each new contact’s consent. If you intend to rely on implied consent, keep track of when it expires so you will know when you must stop sending CEMs.
- Ensure all messages contain the right information. All electronic commercial messages must contain your name, mailing address, and either your telephone number, email address, or website URL. You must give recipients a simple way to opt out of receiving CEMs. Create a template which includes all the necessary information.
It may seem like a lot of work, but once you put this plan into action, you’ll find that complying with CASL is actually good for business. Many of these measures were considered best practices for digital marketing before the law came into effect. Keeping record of when and how you obtained consent can help you understand where your leads are coming from and spot trends over time. It also creates a more open, transparent relationship with your contacts.
Looking for more information about Canada’s anti-spam legislation? Check out these links from the government of Canada:
- Canada’s Law on Spam and Other Electronic Threats (Official site)
- Anti-Spam Legislation Infographics (CRTC)
- Frequently Asked Questions about Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CRTC)
Image: vasabii
Six Plugins That Every WordPress Website Should Have
Having the right plugins on your website can ensure it is optimized for a better user experience while increasing its functionality.
So, what exactly is a plugin? A plugin is a piece of software that acts as an add-on to a web browser, giving it additional functionality. A plugin also allows your web browser to display content it was not originally designed to display. When you start to work with WordPress, you will learn there are hundreds of thousands of plugins. It can be a process to figure out which ones are the best fit for your site. Some work very well, while others may not play well with your theme.
We have put together a list of tried and true basic plugins that will work with almost every theme while increasing the functionality of your site.
Yoast
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular plugins to help optimize your website. We like it because it gives the author a list of checks and balances to follow when creating content. The plugin itself doesn’t give you higher search rankings, but it ensures you include the right information so Google can learn more about what the article is about. For brands who want to amplify their content on social, there are custom boxes where you can add specific text, images and titles to attract more engagement.
Yoast also offers Google Analyics and Webmaster Tools integration.
Social Media Buttons/Sharing
Your website and social media channels should work seamlessly to promote your brand. Social media buttons make it easy for your audience to share your content right from your website. Best practice suggests that social media sharing buttons should be displayed along the side, top or bottom of your webpage.
XML Sitemap
A XML Sitemap helps search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing better index your website. Using a sitemap makes it easier for crawlers to see the complete structure of your sitemap and retrieve it more efficiently. Additionally, the sitemap plugin will notify search engines when new content is posted to your website.
Akismet
Akismet is an advanced anti-spam service that uses an algorithm to filter spam from comments, trackbacks and contact form messages. When someone comments on your blog, Akismet servers reviews the post and user to determine if it is spam. Spam is a huge pain to sort through and can hurt your SEO if not properly monitored.
W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache helps to improve user experience and SEO of your website through caching the site’s pages and assets. Caching is the temporary storage of web documents such as HTML pages and images. The storage of these web documents helps to reduce bandwidth usage and speeds up server load, making your website faster.
While this plugin is important for optimization, it can be tricky to set up, so make sure you follow the steps on their site to ensure you are taking full advantage of the plugin’s features.
WP-Optimize
WP-Optimize automatically cleans your WordPress database so it runs at maximum efficiency. If you create a lot of content or are constantly updating your webpages, you will create a lot of bloat on the back end with post revisions. You can reduce database size by cleaning up your website regularly, which means quicker and smaller backup files. WP-Optimize will also clear out spam comments and the site’s trash can. Running this plugin once a month will keep your database clean and your site as light as possible.
Image: inbj
Should Your Brand Go Live on Facebook? YES!
Without a doubt, Facebook is the most widely used social media platform. People are on Facebook one in every six minutes online, and one in every five minutes on mobile. Users have access to an average of 1,500 posts per day. That is a massive audience.
There are many tips and tricks to maximize Facebook when running a business page, but one of the newest (and most exciting) features is Facebook LIVE. Right from your phone you can live stream video content for up to 90 minutes. Rich media like video is guaranteed to get more engagement from your audience, and the commenting and reaction features create an unprecedented amount of interaction.
But how is Facebook Live different than posting a normal video?
There are a few reasons why Facebook Live is a more powerful way for you to connect with your audience than a typical status update, photo or link.
First of all, Live is a unique content form so it gets peoples attention. It is a new form of content that is privy to experimentation and in-the-moment comedy. People are likely to spend up to three times more time watching a live video than a normal video. The rawness and lack of editing creates a new form that creates an air of authenticity and is just simply exiting to watch.
The Livestream is an opportunity to show a variety of sides of your company. Whether you do a behind the scenes stream, a demo, interview with an expert or a question and answer, customers can get a peak into the details of what you do. You can tell your story, your way!
Facebook Live provides an immediate and direct avenue to connect with your audience. In real time you can see and respond to comments and questions. Viewers can react to your stream, letting you know what kind of content they like or dislike. You are able to see how your viewers are enjoying your stream as they either like, dislike, love, hate, are wowed or humored by your stream!
Live creates a bond with your viewers that is much stronger than anything possible in a status or photo. You can respond to questions from commenters and shift your focus if needed as the stream unfolds. By hearing what is on the mind of your viewers and responding to that, you create a relationship that is informative for both sides. This immediate and direct interaction with your audience is rare and should be cherished.
Another great thing about Live, is that it gives your audience a chance to know your company on a more personal level. Seeing a face to the brand they interact with online humanizes the interaction and creates a personal connection. Viewers are able to get a better feeling of who you are!
Beyond the buzz around Live at a user level, Facebook itself also rewards pages for going live. Live videos are most likely to appear high in newsfeeds and unlike any other type of post on Facebook, Live sends a notification to all followers that the stream is starting. Followers of your page will be notified of the title of your Livestream and be called to watch it! This is a great way to engage more passive followers as there is a sense of urgency in the need to watch what is happening live.
Live is a great place to generate ideas for new content. When you get to talk to your followers you get a chance to hear their needs and desires, shaping your creative content moving forward. The more you know about your audience, the better you are able to create material that appeals and adds value to them, increasing engagement in return.
Finally, Livestream also lasts beyond when it is streaming. The video will be saved to your page and is a great form of quality content that can be re-shared and repurposed on blogs or other platforms.
Here are a few best practices to keep in mind to optimize your FB live stream.
- Announce your upcoming Livestream on your social networks so viewers can be prepared to watch. They will get a notification when it begins, but if they know the stream is coming they will be more likely to make time to watch.
- Go live when you have a strong internet connection. It is best to go live with Wi-Fi, but if not have at least a 4G connection. If the video is of poor quality, people are not likely to continue watching.
- Write a captivating description of your video. The title of the video is what will show up on the notification that people receive on Facebook when when you go live. The more interesting the title, the more likely people will come and check it out.
- Broadcast for a longer time. The longer the stream, the more likely you are to gather an audience and be discovered. We recommend streaming for a minimum of 10 minutes and a stream can last up to 90.
- Go live often to keep your audience engaged and excited to see your content. Be creative and try out different types of streams and see how your audience reacts.
- Thank your viewers for watching. They put their time into watching your stream, so thanking them make them feel seen and a part of the experience.
- Have a focus to your stream. Though the point of the live stream is to be in the moment, it is important be organized with what you want to talk about.
- If you can, have a few people involved in the stream. Comments and reactions come quickly and it can be overwhelming to the person talking. If you have someone monitoring questions and another filming it makes for a smoother stream.
The goal of a live stream is to provide value for your followers. It is as close as you can get to a real time conversation besides being in a room with them. Call out the viewers by name and truly engage with their reactions. Fans will keep up and new followers will discover you too as your post is boosted to the top of their feed. Facebook Live is a great feature that should be utilized by any company looking to create a faithful audience.