Branding is important and creating a feel for our boutique public relations agency is what Platinum PR chooses to share.  From our website to our Facebook page, there is no mistaking where you are or the type of service you will receive from our team.

We know adjustments to change take time.  To learn more about Facebook’s new pages try these Facebook links:

•  Start with Facebook’s Pages Overview Guide (PDF)
• If you’re new to Pages and want to know how to get started, check out Pages Product Guide
• Walk through key features with Facebook’s product experts in the Pages Learning video

Remember all pages will automatically receive an upgrade on March 30, 2012.  Get with the new look and add a cover photo to feature your company’s news.  Or weekly pin a new post to the top of your page to show your users what the hot topics are for your company or product.

We are enjoying this new brand and we can help your company do the same.  Just call us 304-876-8321.  That is… after you like our new page.

Start by understanding why you’re not attracting new customers, then prioritize your list.  What things can you change today?  They should be first on the checklist.  To whom will you assign these responsibilities?  What things need more time or money to develop?  Most businesses have multiple projects occurring at once.  Choose the top three that you can afford and your staff can support.  Know your expected outcomes and then match in-house resources with the tasks needing completion.

Communicate with your customers.  Current customers are your company’s best sales pitch.  Create a chat room or blog for customers to interact with you.  Have a presence on social networks.  Most informal discussions occur online.  If you’re not there, feedback isn’t reaching your ears.  Share this responsibility with your staff.  Be the expert.  Customers expect the company to be accountable.  Know your market and your product or service.  Send messages to your target audiences.  Change it depending on the demographic you want to reach. Show new customers why you are the best solution for their needs or wants and remind them on your website in your company newsletter and in your annual report.

Visibility is important.  New customers want to see what they are buying.  If your company isn’t out there at trade shows, online, at the next Chamber event or on your current customer’s lips when asked, “Who do you use?” Then make a change and be seen.  New customers will want to be included in your circle of influence.

Platinum PR has six steps to get your spring cleaning initiative off the ground:

1. Formulate a plan and set goals – Write down what things your company needs to spruce up for the spring season.  Maybe you should change the look of your website, brush off that strategic plan you started in December or give the office a facelift.  Make a plan and choose what objectives you want to reach.
2. Clear the clutter and get organized – No matter where you start, you have to have a clean space.  This may your conference room or your own mind.  Clean out the cobwebs and focus on what your customers believe.  Starting with a clean slate opens your mind to endless possibilities and energizes your creativity. Don’t place limits on what you think you can do. Think outside the box and do #3.
3. Get your colleagues involved – No one wants to clean alone.  Ask for help.  Your colleagues know what your customers are looking for and they may even have an idea that you haven’t explored.  Revisit your parking lot of ideas from weekly meetings or start having those staff meetings to get ideas on the table.
4. Use products you have on hand – Review your advertising and publicity campaigns.  Tweak these to align with your upcoming product or service releases. Beef up your social media presence.  Send out monthly eNewsletters to your customers reminding them why they chose your company to meet their needs.  Create a database of prospects.  Consistently reach out to them with helpful tips and ideas to bring them to your product or service.  Ask clients for testimonials and use these on your website or promotional brochure.  Don’t forget to ask for those referrals.  A happy customer can market your brand just as easily as a paid advertisement.
5. Tackle one area at a time – It’s budget season too so make sure your financials are matching your projections.  Then ask your customers for feedback on service, product quality or what things they still desire.  This can also help with #3. Seek out customers and proposals whose business you didn’t retain.  Maybe they too are spring cleaning and will give you another shot.
6. Maintain this momentum – Pace yourself.  Some businesses do this in a week and others take a month or more.  Spring cleaning helps your business to grow, but should be consistent.  Reread #1.

Take a look around. There are all kinds of great projects to begin.  Roll up your sleeves and have some fun welcoming spring to your business.

Here are some upcoming events to check out at Ricciuti’s:

Ricciuti’s Food and Wine Uncorked
Food and Wine Uncorked events are “tutorials with a twist,” taking diners on a palate-pleasing tour of food, wine, and cooking techniques.
The dinner series features a multi-course, farm-to-table meal paired with sumptuous wines and a Vine and Dine seminar, led by Chef and Proprietor James Ricciuti.

March 6 & 27 and April 3 & 17 from 7:00 – 9:30 pm

The cost is $75 per person, and seating is limited to 15 people.

W(h)ine After Work Happy Hours
W(h)ine After Work, a tongue-in-cheek reference to after-hours office “grape and gripe” sessions, features irresistible cocktails, beer and wine, and specialty appetizers appropriate for every paycheck and palate  Mondays through Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 pm in their welcoming bar area.
Address: 3308 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832

Phone: 301.570.3388 or Email: info@ricciutis.com

Web: www.ricciutis.com
Twitter: twitter.com/ricciutis
FB: facebook.com/ricciutis

As a writer, playing with words is my favorite pastime.  Word play, a manipulation of words and sounds, is a witty way to engage your audience in ads, speeches and social media.  Contrary to its name, word play is trickier than it sounds, as it is equal parts art and science.  Making an impact with literary devices like rhyme, alliteration (the repetition of an initial sound), and homophones (words with the same pronunciation, but different meanings) requires a seasoned ear and eye, and a grasp of their appropriateness to your audience and tone.

Artists from James Joyce to Jay Z have lured in audiences (and astonishing revenues) with rhymes and double meanings, and Madison Avenue has followed suit (get it?).  Whether your focus is home cooking or home mortgages, word play can invigorate your copy, grow your audience and bottom line.  Go on, play with your words!

Eating Our Words: Examples of word play in an ad for Ricciuti’s Restaurant of Montgomery County, Maryland

Want to get local or regional media coverage for your business or event?

1-  Find something unique to pitch about it. What is new this year? Pitch a cool unique story about one of the people involved. Got numbers and data- reporters love those!

2-  Tie your business to a national current event or hot topic! Offer to be a spokesperson to localize something that is going on at a national level.

3-  Suggest seasonal story ideas. Can you tie your event or business to a holiday or season? Journalists are always tasked with finding holiday or seasonal story ideas. Your business or event would be the perfect way for them to meet that requirement and will get you some free publicity in the meantime.

There are several instances when people forget to mind their “p’s and q’s” and in the work place is no exception. Sure, everyone is guilty of sending a quick email and not checking for grammar and spelling mistakes, unless you have automatic spell-check, which can be a Godsend. People are also guilty of sending the emoticons in emails, myself included.

Here are some quick workplace etiquette tips that are the most commonly forgotten:

1) Spell-check, capitalize, and proof your emails. It is best to do this before you even put the recipients email address in the “to” section because it’s easy to become send happy. Also, emoticon-check your emails. It’s tempting to send them when you’re trying to show expressions, but you should avoid doing so.

2) Do not send an email out when you are upset. This goes for everyday life as well, but especially for the work environment. An underlying bad attitude and poor manners are magnified online and through email.

3) When someone sends you an email, try to reply in a timely manner. At least send them a reply saying that you received their email and will be going over it soon. It’s hard to reply to a lengthy email when you are busy with other things, so to keep the sender happy, just let them know you are aware they have contacted you. This will also keep them from sending additional messages.

4) Be friendly and kind to your co-workers, but don’t cross the line between “friends” and “more than friends”. It is a really bad idea to mix work with your love life, but if you chose to anyway, consider getting a job elsewhere when the relationship becomes serious.

5) Shake hands. If you are seated and are being introduced to someone, stand up and shake their hand. Sometimes people can be unsure if a handshake is appropriate. I learned from an interview workshop that men should always extend a hand, but women should wait until a hand is extended to them. I think a handshake is a nice and professional gesture, just don’t get too carried away with the shaking; hurting someone’s arm or shoulder wouldn’t make a very good impression.

Getting up in front of a crowd, even a small one, can be nerve wracking. But not to worry. With a few key tips, you’ll have the audience laughing with your jokes and paying attention to every word.

1. Know your topic. Be it a history of your family, Sunday school lesson, or talking about your career, make sure you know why you’ve been asked to speak and then have a good idea of what you will say. You don’t have to have a script to follow, especially since that can seem a bit mechanical. Rather, make sure to prepare some key topics to hit on and elaborate a little on each. But don’t go over board, you don’t want the audience sitting for too long, their minds will start to wander.

2. Use specific examples. The best way to illustrate a point is to use your own experiences. It not only proves to the audience that you know what you are talking about, but it also helps draw them in because they can better understand you.

3. Make eye contact, but don’t stare them down. With a Western audience, they automatically assume you respect them when you look them in the eye while speaking. If you don’t, it’s as if you didn’t respect them or are unable to overcome your fear of public speaking. Be brave, look them in the eye and don’t just look at one or two people.

4. Listen to what you are saying. It’s great when the audience listens to you, but it’s even better when you listen to yourself. If you let yourself ramble and not pay attention to what you are saying, it’s likely that you make an error and the audience will likely tune you out. Besides, if you aren’t listening, why should they?

5. Dress appropriately. If you are talking about clowns and the art of being a good clown, then wear the clown suit. If not, I don’t recommend it. If you aren’t sure what to wear, or there isn’t a specific dress code, wear a suit with a coat and if everyone is dressed business casual, you can take the coat off and fold-up your sleeves.

6. Be kind and easygoing. Practice can really help you to calm nerves during a presentation. It gives your body a way to relax and recall the rehearsal, plus you will be more easygoing which will also help retain your audience’s interest. Kindness is also good because a gracious presenter is always better than someone who is a bit too brusque.

On the home front, we added Jaimee and Krista as new team members.  We were pleased to make former intern, Hanna, a regular fixture while she completed her last year of college.  The end of 2011 and early 2012 also brought Adrienne and Meghan to the team.  I am so fortunate to have such a diverse group of talented women in my midst.  If you haven’t had the opportunity read about our expanding team, you can read their formal bios (link) or laugh at their funny factoids on the Platinum PR Facebook ‘team’ page.

As we kick off 2012, we strive to maintain our success in providing strategic, cost effective communications solutions for our clients.

http://www.shepherdstownchronicle.com/page/content.detail/id/507832/Age-old-tradition-of-resolutions-continue.html

For those who’ve resolved to manage their time better in 2012, here’s an excerpt:

“I know this sounds crazy, but I’ve been taking tap and ballet classes and my goal is to do the splits,” [Sandy Sponaugle] said.  She also shared that she hopes to try one to two new recipes per week, which could be a very big deal because normally her husband does most of the cooking.

Sponaugle shared that her business goals for Platinum PR include writing one to two blogs per week, something she says her company does for clients but does not do enough of for themselves.  She also hopes to encourage each of her team members in attaining their personal goals in 2012.

Since it is now mid-January, an update on my progress is in order.  I’ve prepared two new recipes and written three new blogs.  My ballet classes continue and my flexibility improves, but the splits remain a distant fantasy.  While performing in Swan Lake or Cirque du Soleil isn’t on the immediate horizon, no one said I needed to complete my resolutions in the first month!

Admittedly, I’ve been too busy with client projects to connect with my team members on their goals for the year.  I hope to tackle this resolution before the month is out.

Now I’ve shared my resolutions… what about yours?  How can we advance your personal or professional goals in 2012?  Don’t forget, “We are the music makers; we are the dreamers of dreams.”  – Roald Dahl.