(DGIwire) — In the age of Facebook, Twitter and 24-hour news cycles, news travels instantly, allowing people to hear about what’s happening as it’s happening. We can follow any event in real or near-real time as events unfold, including something as exciting as a presidential election or as terrifying as a natural disaster.

Unfortunately, because of near-universal Internet access, there is essentially no way to regulate what people post. While news sites are supposed to present factual information, it is easy for an error to slip through during the race to post an article before a competing website offers it to the public.

If you are in charge of your company’s public face, you’re likely aware of the challenge of keeping all the corporate information factual and up-to-date. Perhaps you’ve even experienced some online antagonism and have been challenged by the need to figure out the best way to tackle these anonymous critics. On the other hand, perhaps you haven’t looked at your website since the first year you were in business, and it has become a dead end. If used correctly, a company’s online presence can be its biggest asset.

At its most basic, you need a website and it should provide the names of people that make up the company’s management team, what product or service you offer, your hours of operation if appropriate, and how people can contact you. Offering this basic information is essential and, if done right, will let site visitors get a good sense of what you do, while inspiring them to move to the next level of interaction with your company.

One person who appreciates the importance of a stellar website is Dian Griesel, Ph.D., President of DGI. Griesel shares this information and a lot more in her new book, ENGAGE: Smart Ideas to Get More Media Coverage, Build Your Influence & Grow Your Business.

“When it comes to captivating the attention of your online visitors, quality content—text, images, sound, video or animations, for example—becomes essential,” explains Dian. “When you first launch, your site will be fresh, so some people might visit it by chance or out of curiosity. However, traffic will die down if visitors don’t have any reason to come back. Ideally, you should have a blog on the website that you update weekly or monthly. Also, try to review all of the site’s content at least every two months, just to make sure everything is still up-to-date. And check how many visitors you are getting and how long they stay, to establish the patterns.”

As Griesel also advises, “Once you’ve gotten your website up and running, you should think about how to optimize it by adapting it into an app for smartphones and tablets. Keep in mind, though, that your mobile app can and should be different from your website. It should be optimized for smaller screens—in other words, made easy to read with larger buttons—and has to require less data to load and run. Some companies even offer an incentive through their app, including coupons, discounts and exclusive content.”

Your website will most likely be your first impression, Griesel emphasizes. “Whatever you need to do to keep your online presence fresh, up-to-date, and competitive—do it!”

 

(DGIwire) Are you looking to captivate an audience for your next meeting? Or are you interested in delivering an unforgettable presentation? Public speaking is a useful skill to possess for garnering investors, increasing staff morale or engaging with the media. If you follow these tips, you will surely reap the benefits of effective public speaking:

• Possess a genuine appreciation in what you do. Remember not all people have the chance and the courage to speak in front of a large crowd. It is a privilege that is coupled with your responsibility to entertain, educate and persuade your audience. Public speaking is an art that requires a tremendous amount of skill.

• Prepare adequately. Research your topic. Do not throw away old materials that you have used. Organize material logically and use supporting metaphors or analogies to solidify the message you want to convey.

• Relate with your audience promptly. Remember that you only have half a minute to connect to your audience so use it wisely. Avoid offensive remarks or jokes. Share a funny story that is applicable to your subject; cite a quotation or an anecdote to keep their attention.

• Be sincere and sensitive towards your audience. Share some of your unfavorable experiences involving your topic. This way your audience perceives you as a real person and they can relate to your subject.

• Develop a passion for your topic. Your audience will not care to listen if you show less interest in your topic. Jot down the topics that you love. Then, choose two or three that you can expound.

• Communicate in ways that will help people learn. In a recent study, 80% of people learn by visual stimulation and only 20% actually learn by listening to the lecture. So do not underestimate the use of visual props and visual aids. Find other ways or tools that can help you achieve 100% of your audience’s attention.

• Reinforce your key points. Be a proficient storyteller and share stories that people relate to then circle back to your point. How can your words relate to your listeners?

• Be patient in your goal to succeed. Persistence is a must. There is no such thing as overnight success in public speaking. Attend trainings about effective speaking; or ask someone who has mastered the art of public speaking.

• Practice. Memorizing your speech is not enough. Try to practice in front of a mirror or with a friend. Their feedback can help you improve the way you deliver your message.

• Be determined in your pursuit to be an outstanding spokesperson. Show excellence through your experiences and how you tailor your material to match your audience.

Dian Griesel, Ph.D., the author of ENGAGE: Smart Ideas to Get More Media Coverage, Build Your Influence, & Grow Your Business, and President of DGI based in New York City, knows just how important and beneficial it is to connect to the public, “Media interviews and corporate presentations are essential and relied upon by many to assess company leadership—which might be why some officers don’t care for them. If you can’t deliver energetic and commanding speeches or polished and articulate interviews, you are short-circuiting your company’s future. There is no time like the present to do something to improve the situation.”

Good luck!

(DGIwire) — Everyone dreams of a day when their company makes front-page news—for positive reasons, of course. But too many entrepreneurs and company owners find themselves frustrated that their exciting new ideas or other company news don’t make it into the media. What happened to the famous Field of Dreams premise—and promise—that “if you build it, they will come?”

Unfortunately, your work isn’t finished once your product is on the market or your business’ doors open. News features don’t materialize out of thin air, and reporters and journalists need a reason to feature you in their newspapers and magazines or on their blogs. And even after you’ve determined your “angle” and solidified your company’s brand, you still need to have the public relations know-how to make a name for yourself in your industry.

A June 2015 post on Business News Daily offers these effective strategies to boost your business’ recognition and engagement:

• Make friends with industry influencers.The first step is to connect with the right people. This is especially true if you’re doing your own PR, as you won’t have the advantage of established PR firms’ robust media lists. Even if reporters aren’t able to write about you at first, you should try to maintain regular communication with these key influencers to keep you on their radar.

• Refresh your messaging. If, after a concerted effort, you’re still not getting any press attention, you might want to give your message a makeover. Keep track of your competitors by identifying their strategies and comparing them with your own. Also, be sure to figure out a few different story angles that you can pitch to the media, keeping in mind that the media won’t be interested in straight advertisements for your company.

• Hook into seasonal trends. Seasonal or event-based pitches can be a great way to offer a timely story that isn’t all about you and your company. Always look a few months ahead—is there an anniversary, a national recognition or celebration day or a seasonal change that brings different activities, entertainment or foods into focus? Find a way to attach your company and products to these events, since consumers are more likely to look for gifts and use different services during these times.

• Distribute a multimedia news release. If you want to reach a large number of news outlets at once, you can try a distribution service that will send your news release to many national and local journalists who might be interested.

“You have to be proactive,” says public relations industry expert and PR company owner Dian Griesel, Ph.D. “If you find that you’ve exhausted your reach on your own, you might want to employ the use of a PR firm, since they have the know-how, vast resources and vetted contacts to help take your company to the next level.”

As President of DGI Comm, a New York-based media relations and news placement agency, Griesel has decades of experience helping a wide range of clients from all arenas establish their brands—by getting their stories placed in distinguished print, broadcast and social media outlets via influential journalists and bloggers. “An effective public relations plan requires a lot of collaboration,” adds Griesel. “The first thing you want to ensure is that the team you’re working with makes you and your company a priority.”

 

(DGIwire) — Any entrepreneur worth their salt knows that an idea alone can take you only so far. Actually putting that idea into motion and emphasizing its distinctiveness is what makes for true success. To make your ideas—and by extension, your business and your products—stand out from the crowd, you need to do some personal branding.

Personal branding, according to Entrepreneur magazine, is one of the most effective strategies available for modern businesses. Consumers generally distrust corporate brands, so personal brands can offer a unique way to build trust, facilitate customer loyalty and increase revenue.

While the basics of personal branding are relatively simple—it’s basically corporate branding applied to an individual—successfully implementing this strategy doesn’t always go as smoothly as planned. If you’re struggling to see results from your efforts or if you feel as though your momentum has come to a halt, it might be due to one or more of these common mistakes, another Entrepreneur article explains:

1. Your branding is inconsistent: Inconsistency is the most common problem plaguing new entrepreneurs. As with corporate branding, personal branding needs to be solid and consistent to be effective.
2. You’re limiting your social channels: A ton of channels are available for your personal branding needs, including social media platforms, publishers and other assorted online opportunities. If you’re using only a few of them, you’re not going to reach your full potential.
3. You’re only networking online: There’s a misconception that personal branding is exclusively about the impact you can make online. Due to the prevalence and simplicity of online publishing and social networking, it’s easy to think that using these channels exclusively is the best way to go. Attending in-person networking and speaking events can introduce you to people who don’t network online, and can greatly improve your reputation, which is especially important for startups and local businesses.
4. You aren’t creating a dialogue: Too many entrepreneurs make the mistake of writing a lot of content and posting a lot of social media updates, but never look to their followers and fans to create a dialogue. Opening the dialogue with questions, surveys, invitations for discussion and other forms of interactive exchanges will make you and your company more approachable.
5. You’re doing everything alone: Building a personal brand may largely be an individual effort, but that doesn’t mean everything has to be focused on you. To be successful with personal branding, you need to collaborate with other thought leaders and more established institutions around the web.

“If you’re struggling to create a personal brand on your own, you might want to consider working with a public relations team to help tap into your full potential,” says public relations expert Dian Griesel, Ph.D. “Taking advantage of everything a professional PR firm has to offer will get you far.” As President of DGI Comm, an award-winning media relations and news placement agency based in New York City, Griesel has decades of experience helping a wide range of clients—from multinational corporations to creative individuals—establish their brands and make them more visible, both online and in traditional media.

“It’s all about being recognizable,” adds Griesel. “Breaking through the noise is the first step to making a name for yourself.”