Month: July 2014

Where the Hipsters PR

What do Nike Shoes, local brews, foodies, hipsters and Matter Communications all have in common? Simple – all can be found in Portland Oregon. I have been fortunate enough to spend this week with some of Matter’s newest cohorts in our recently added Portland office. While I am here in an official capacity, it has hardly felt that way. There is something in the air in… Read more »

PR Agency Culture: Play to Win!

Work hard and play hard. While so cliché, that expression accurately describes the tone at many PR and social media agencies – and Matter Communications is no exception. We embrace the philosophy that office-wide extra circular activities ensure that our PR professionals are engaged with not only clients (during the day and thereafter), but also with each other. And, we take the topic a bit further… Read more »

Using Social Media to Empower Prospective Customers

During a time when most of our newsfeeds are filled with duck-face selfies, people airing dirty laundry, and hash tags galore, social media is catching a lot of flack, perhaps deservedly so, for being futile and self-indulgent. That’s part of the fun of it, right? Thankfully, in addition to the abundance of trivial, unfiltered material that social media is infamous for, it is in fact capable… Read more »

6 Ways PR Agencies Help Marketers

A number of marketing professionals view public relations firms as a team of people who can pitch the media and get interviews. But a top PR agency can do so much more than that. Here are six ways that PR and social media agencies can help marketers succeed in their gigs: Increased PR exposure can lead to more “at bats” for the company, and any sales… Read more »

How Colors Influence Buying Habits

Do you ever find yourself in a store deciding on a product that has multiple brand options to choose from? I have found myself in this situation more times than I’d like to admit. I will read the benefits of each item, and possibly look up some reviews, but more often than not, the winning factor is the package design. As a graphic designer, I will… Read more »

Why Corporate Social Responsibility Matters

According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, corporate social responsibility is defined as “the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large.” Some companies demonstrate their corporate social responsibility by donating funds or employee time to charities. Other companies create products… Read more »

A Summer Momentum Guide for PR Agencies

It’s not so smart to start a debate about which of the seasons is preferred, so let’s agree that summer is terrific. It may not be the “best” of the four in the minds of many, but it is typically a dynamite time of the year. Beyond the opportunity to enjoy the beach or the boat, and to finally shake off the chill from the seemingly… Read more »

3 Ways to Win at Social Media (like the CIA)

I’d like to congratulate the U.S. Government. You’re winning at public relations right now. No, really. Two well-known and often maligned government agencies have found respective niches to educate and entertain, helping to project a friendlier image to the masses. There’s a few lessons we can all learn from their social media triumphs. Let’s start with the CIA. The agency renowned for keeping tight lips about… Read more »

How Facebook Toys With Your Emotions

Facebook is currently getting a lot of heat. Why? It was recently announced that in 2012, Facebook conducted a study on 700,000 of their users in order to test their emotional reactions. Facebook did this by altering the posts that showed up in users’ newsfeeds and seeing what affect this had on how the users felt. For example, users’ moods would be altered depending on whether… Read more »