• Motivation: What is it and where does it come from?

     I don’t want to get too deep in my post, but lately I have been wondering where does my motivation for my everyday activities come from? Was I born with it, was it taught, or is it some hidden driving force deep down inside of me? Staying motivated can sometimes be a struggle; our daily lives are constantly changing, but I think the key is to understand your thoughts and actions, and how they drive your emotions.

    First, love what you do, and do it well.

    Being able to get up every day and do what I enjoy and am passionate about keeps me motivated. My colleagues and clients consistently encourage me to improve my skills, and I knew I wanted a career that pushed me beyond my comfort zone.

     Knowing you are working with a great team

    Here at Matter, I work with a hardworking, dedicated, team. I’ve found my colleagues to always be willing to answer any of my questions, help me out with a project or give advice on the best way to work with a client. Seeing my colleagues be successful and passionate about what they do motivates me to work just as hard.  I greatly appreciate the mentor program we have at Matter; knowing that there is someone to go to when challenges arise, provides extra motivation to help me get through a tough day.

    The feeling of accomplishment

    There is no better feeling than when I succeed after facing a continuous challenge. Maybe it’s landing an article in a large publication or finally connecting with an editor I’ve been following up with for months. Keeping track of my most important tasks and day to day activities allows me to direct my positive energy towards success.

    Final Thoughts

    It is human nature to have days when I am not as motivated as I’d like to be, however, by surrounding myself with positive and motivational people and tasks, I’m able to continue to strive for my goals. So I’d like to know, where do you get your motivation from? Share your thought in the comments. 

    Matter

  • Matter Communications Wins Digital/Social PR Award from Bulldog Reporter

     Newburyport, Mass. – January 22, 2013 – Matter Communications, a full-service public relations and social media agency specializing in technology and consumer markets, announced today that its work on behalf of VacationHomeRentals.com earned Bulldog Reporter’s Digital/Social PR Award, which recognizes “excellence in the use of digital and social media in public relations.”

    Collecting the award for “Best use of digital/social media for a travel/hospitality campaign,” Matter helped develop and execute a highly successful program dubbed:  “Our Vacation Home is Your Vacation Home.”

    VacationHomeRentals (VHR) CEO Tom Gilmore gave away a free week’s vacation to his personal holiday home in Maine for one lucky family. In order to enter, VHR asked consumers to comment by answering the simple question “Why do you need a vacation?” The contest was held on Facebook and Twitter, and received considerable engagement from VHR’s target audience.

    The campaign generated coverage in a spate of popular blogs and travel sites such as HuffPost Travel, which all shared the campaign via social channels and/or posted about the news, further driving user engagement.  

    “Matter is truly a hybrid firm, which means we excel equally at traditional public relations and social media approaches, both of which drive revenues for our clients,” said Scott Signore, principal and CEO, Matter. “The award from Bulldog Reporter for our social media work is a nice feather in our cap.”

     About Matter Communications, Inc.

    Headquartered north of Boston in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with offices in Providence, Rhode Island and New York, New York, Matter Communications executes creative, results-driven public relations programs on behalf of clients across the U.S. and Europe. Matter maintains a broad portfolio of clients in high-technology, consumer-technology and consumer markets – including, among many others, Harris Corporation, Lexar Media and Verizon Wireless. Founded in 2003, Matter’s PR services include company and product launches, product reviews, analyst and media relations, social media, crisis communications and thought leadership programs. For more information, please go to www.matternow.com or visit the Matter Chatter blog.

     

    Media Contact

    Parry Headrick

    VP of Marketing & Communications           

    [email protected]

    978-518-4547

     

    Matter

  • How PR made my transition to Matter a breeze

    I joined the Matter team earlier this month, and already I feel like one of the gang. Do I still have a lot to learn? Yeah. Do I still forget where to find my colleagues’ offices? Sure. But from the moment I arrived members of the Matter team went out of their way to meet me, chat for a while, and learn about the road that brought me to Newburyport. 

    Would this have happened in a healthcare organization? Maybe. A software company? Less likely. For a PR agency, though, my experience shouldn’t surprise any of us. PR stands for public relations, after all. The Matter crowd is full of expert conversationalists and seasoned fact-finders. Our craft is to learn as much as we can about our clients and their technology, the latest news, reporters, and each other to communicate the right information to the right people at the right time. You might even call us communication machines, programmed with droves of catalogued information and an exponentially expanding list of probing questions. 

    Well done, Matter. There’s no place like home, among sharp, inquisitive minds.

    Matter

  • Lucky

     

    Today I woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland in Newburyport, MA. While we all expected a dusting, the six inches were a surprise that may have slowed down commutes, but also amplified the New England beauty on a cold January day. Today also happens to be my birthday (shameless plug).

    Lucky, is how I would describe how I feel today…lucky to be living in a charming area, lucky to come to work happy because I am amongst wonderful colleagues and lucky to be working on strategic / creative campaigns that are moving the needle for clients.

    By 11 a.m. I’ve managed to put out some client fires (fingers crossed), give a glowing review and promotion to a deserved member of our team and finish a 2013 client plan for a major retailer…all in time for a fun birthday lunch with some of my Matter friends.

    Matter really is like a family, and the amount of work/life balance, respect, creativity and smarts that fill the office is amazing to be a part of.  So cheers to being lucky! And thanks to Matter for being such a big piece of that – lord knows we spend enough time at work, that enjoying it is half the battle. 

     

    Matter

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  • 2013: Hitting the Ground Running

    As quickly as 2012 ended, 2013 began. Here at Matter, we have already hit the grounded running putting together 2013 plans, messaging, pitch angles, etc. As with all PR folks, we must be on top of our game to ensure we get the results we aim for with each account in 2013. For some clients, aligning PR efforts with national holidays can make planning a bit easier.

    A recent article from PRDaily outlines “20 holidays PR and marketing pro should plan for.” Not only does it call out the major holidays but it also includes a suggested time to launch any PR/marketing efforts. In my opinion, some of the best include:

    Saturday, February 2: Groundhog Day. This holiday helps to shake off the cobwebs from the winter freeze and get excited for a new season.

    When to market: the week of.

    Idea: Get your customers excited by offering conditional deals. For example, you could propose a winter offer if the groundhog goes back in its burrow, or a new product release or update if the groundhog says spring is here. (more…)

    Matter

  • PR is ranked the number five most stressful career…so what?

    Jobs and career networking site CareerCast.com just revealed its top ten most and least stressful jobs for 2013. Not surprising to many in PR, “Public Relations Executive” came in at number five on the “most stressful” side of the rating (in 2012, that title came in at number seven, and in 2011, “Public Relations Officer” was number two).

    The job description that CareerCast included for PR executives is pretty accurate to me, but I think it’s worth pointing out that just because the job is stressful doesn’t mean it’s not fulfilling, unrewarding or a poor career choice. The placement of PR executive on this list certainly shouldn’t deter any professional or recent college grad from pursuing this path.

    There’s no doubt that PR is a fast-paced, high-stakes and intense career, but that’s why many people (myself included) love it. I’m glad to have a career that really challenges me and pushes me to constantly improve, while being incredibly rewarding at the same time, and it wouldn’t be far off to venture that all my colleagues at Matter would agree. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan (“Remember that product we pre-seeded with reviewers? It doesn’t work.”); sometimes a client has a fire drill on a Friday afternoon (“We need a press release announcing a new customer before the weekend.”); and sometimes we’re faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges (“Sorry I told you to do this 40-page briefing book in the wrong format. Can you fix it within 30 minutes?”) – but that’s what’s great about PR! We never know what’s coming next. And yes, that can be stressful, but overcoming those challenges or getting a sincere “thank you” from a client after putting in the extra time to knock a campaign out of the park or exceed expectations is so rewarding. We do the job because we love having a real impact.

    Matter is the kind of place where those that want to make a real impact can do so. Our clients look to Matter to be smart communicators, and even though it is stressful at times, we honestly and truly love what we do. While this may not be the case for all PR people, it certainly is here, and that’s the main reason why I don’t view PR’s placement on this list as a negative, but instead something to be proud of. 

    Matter