Month: April 2017

5 Tips for Creating RFPs for PR Agencies

Requests for proposals (RFPs) are a double-edged sword for PR agencies like Matter. Of course, it’s far better to be invited to compete than to be left on the sidelines; it’s gratifying to know your reputation for PR results earned you a shot. Who wouldn’t want that? The flip side is that – and with apologies to the marketing and procurement folks trying their level best… Read more »

Effective Media Relations Begins Before You Pitch

Almost any brand can benefit from great PR, but not every brand is ready for media relations. Earned media is part of a much larger PR picture, and a solid, strategic foundation can make all the difference when it’s time to step into the public eye especially for early-stage companies. Here’s a few effective media relations strategies to deploy before the first pitch goes out the… Read more »

Happy National Volunteer Recognition Day!

It’s been said that “you have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you,” and here at Matter, we agree! With five different offices across the US, each of our offices are involved in the Matter Helping Hands initiative, which aims to give back to local communities through volunteering. In honor of National Volunteer Day, we chatted with our… Read more »

3 Steps to Effectively Support Your Customers Through Social Media

Have you ever thought about how much time you spend browsing your preferred social media channels? According to Nielsen, consumers devote an average of 5 hours and 30 minutes per week using social media. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that in 2017 your customers’ first instinct may be to contact you on social instead of dealing with an automated phone tree and hitting “0”… Read more »

Key Takeaways from the 2017 Health IT Marketing and PR Conference

I was fortunate enough to attend the annual Health IT Marketing and PR Conference or #HITMC (pronounced hit-mick) in Las Vegas. For those outside of the healthcare marketing and PR world, HITMC is a conference put on by one of the most successful and influential bloggers in the space, John Lynn, and his partner Shahid Shah, who is also a widely respected thought leader in the… Read more »

5 Steps to Validating Your Campaign Concept

In a world where consumers are increasingly demanding social responsibility from their chosen brands, it’s imperative that said brands refrain from turning social movements into tropes to be exploited. The consequences, as Pepsi found out last week, can be severe. On Tuesday, the soda brand attempted to capitalize on the perceived Social Justice Warrior generation with an ad disarming a police blockade using a can of… Read more »

How to Create a Killer Branded Video

Go to any company website or log on to your favorite social platform and poke around for five seconds. I guarantee you will run into at least one branded video. We are seeing more videos than ever, and for good reason. According to Cisco’s VNI Forecast, video will account for 79% of internet traffic by 2020! I’m going to go out on a limb and assume… Read more »

All the Fake News That’s Fit to Argue About

As you might’ve heard, we had an election this past November. Perhaps you were living under a rock in a locked container that was hermetically sealed and then buried in the earth’s mantle before going on a top-secret mission to the planet’s core? Yeah, you probably still heard. Along with tax returns, email servers and plenty of other subjects, fake news on social media platforms was… Read more »

Exploring the Portland Startup Scene at NewTech PDX

As a Massachusetts native, I’ve encountered my fair share of smart, scrappy founders working to turn their ideas into reality in a competitive ecosystem. As a transplant to the west coast and working in Matter’s Portland office, it’s easy to see there’s something different in the air here, and startups love it. To date, I haven’t been more reminded of that than I was at a recent… Read more »

5 Ways to Turn Existing Content into Engaging Visuals

One of the most effective ways of taking existing content and turning it into a more visually engaging piece is through the creation of case studies. That successful project you put your heart, sweat and tears into for three months? Share it with your audience! Why not create a dedicated page on your website, a sales tool or a company brochure? Highlight your stats with colorful… Read more »