integrated marketing communications

June 3, 2016

in Social PR News, Interesting Things, Events, Business Marketing Association

5 Takeaways from #BMA16

I had the pleasure of attending my 4th BMA National Conference this week at the Hilton Chicago. Every year the conference seems to grow and change, this year with the ANA partnership front and center. Regardless, I can always count on the BMA Conference for great networking, quality content and a wealth of insights and ideas to bring back to my job and my clients. Some of the most common themes from this year’s conference included how marketing can and should drive business results, ways to build compelling brands through storytelling, and making marketing more important within organizations. There were plenty of great B2B insights to choose from, but I’ve narrowed it down to my top 5 takeaways over the 3-day event. It’s not B2B or B2C its B2H= Business to Human. While this isn’t a new idea, it bears repeating. Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Office at GE, reminded us that business...

April 13, 2016

in Career Thoughts, Tell Your Story News

by George Rafeedie

Join Our Team: Social Media & PR Manager

Tell Your Story, a story marketing agency, is looking for a full-time Social Media & PR Manager to join the team. We are looking for someone with 3-7 years experience at a marketing agency or PR firm, in a similar role. The candidate would need to have the flexibility to work at our downtown Chicago office (WeWork Fulton Market) as well as remotely. Benefits include a flexible and nimble work culture, health insurance, 401K and a competitive paid time off policy. Responsibilities would include assisting the Tell Your Story team in development, implementation and management of marketing, business development, social media and public relations efforts for a variety of Tell Your Story clients. Writing / Content Development— We need someone with excellent writing and editing skills that is comfortable writing for B2B and B2C clients. The candidate must also be able to help write proposals, press releases and blog posts, and...

January 29, 2016

in Tell Your Story News

by George Rafeedie

10 Tips and Tactics for Better Content Marketing

How can business-to-business make their content marketing more effective? George shares his thoughts on creating better, more valuable, relevant and consistent content in his guest post 10 Tips for Doing it Better (Content Marketing, That Is) on the One North blog. ...

January 21, 2016

in Blog, Brand Communications

by Nicole Benzer

Social Media Advertising 101: How to Get Started

Social news feeds have become a highly competitive space over the last few years, as platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and most recently, Instagram, have opened their self-service advertising models to all businesses. In order to get the maximum results and ROI desired from their content, brands and organizations are finding they have to “pay-to-play” in the social media game. Achieving stellar results organically is more difficult than ever as competition for eyeballs continues to increase, and various marketing research supports the notion that organic reach will be next to zero in the next few years. Social media advertising, when planned, executed, optimized and measured correctly, is an effective way to: • Increase brand awareness • Extend content reach and help ensure content is served in the right place, at the right time • Promote thought leadership • Create engagement and dialogue among influencers and audiences • Drive targeted website traffic • Enhance SEO and build...

October 14, 2015

in Partnership, One North

by George Rafeedie

Tell Your Story and One North Enhance Partnership

For almost two years, our team at Tell Your Story has partnered with digital marketing agency One North Interactive on a variety of projects. Today we are announcing that One North has made a strategic investment in Tell Your Story in order to offer both of our client organizations a full range of digital marketing services. This partnership further solidifies both of our agencies’ positions serving the unique needs of B2B and relationship-based organizations. For One North, it gives them the storytelling and content marketing capabilities that many current and prospective clients need in their overall marketing mix. For Tell Your Story, we gain One North’s second-to-none digital, technology and strategy know-how to better serve our clients. We believe great partnerships are formed when each organization can build upon each other’s strengths. One North’s strengths lie in creating extraordinary interactive experiences that deepen the relationships between businesses and their most important audiences. Tell...

September 23, 2015

in Association, Interesting Things, Events, Business Marketing Association, Brand Communications

by George Rafeedie

8 Steps to Storytelling Success

Tell Your Story Founder George Rafeedie gave a recent breakfast seminar with the Chicago Business Marketing Association where he taught a group of B2B marketers how to develop and share stories on any budget. In his dynamic presentation, George explained how every organization (big, small, start up, non-profit, division) has a story. And our job as marketers is to find it. Then develop it. Tell it. Measure it. And lastly, improve it. The story should be unique and tied to an organization’s purpose, the difference they make in the world, says George. He shared the following 8-step process that marketers can use, right now, to develop and share their story/purpose. 1) Executive download & brainstorm. This is where executive buy-in happens. It is where you go to your boss/CMO/President/whomever and explain the process and why your organization needs it. This step is crucial as it ensures your stakeholders feel like they are part...

May 29, 2015

in Blog, Events, Business Marketing Association

by Nicole Benzer

Be More: Top 5 Themes from #BMA15

“Be More.” Two words, countless nuances, depending on whom you’re talking to. For the hundreds of B2B marketers that attended BMA15, this slogan invariably implies how we must continually adapt and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of a world guided by technology and innovation. B2B’s potential is overwhelming, yet promising, as we continue to strive for improvement in all areas. After attending dozens of sessions and combing thousands of posts on Twitter over the past few days, these 5 themes seemed to rise time and again for marketers looking to Be More. Customer experience and satisfaction is the catalyst for all marketing initiatives, but great customer service isn’t enough anymore. Experiential marketing is becoming the norm and successful brands are learning how to deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. Employees are the foundation and support system for customer loyalty, acquisition and retention. Every brand, regardless of industry, should make employee...

May 29, 2015

in Blog, Events, Business Marketing Association

by Ellen DePodesta

Top 10 Takeaways from Day 2 of #BMA15

[caption id="attachment_3187" align="aligncenter" width="675"] The #BMA15 tweet wall on Day 2[/caption] There were some really strong presentations at BMA15 Thursday. I like the cadence of this conference, with most sessions half an hour or 45 minutes long—enough time to delve into a topic without getting slow. There were many remarkable speakers today; heavy hitters from companies like Forrester Research, Pinterest, Dow and Daimler Trucks. Here are some of my favorites and some of the memorable sound bites from the day. 1. Joe Pulizzi. Just the guy to jump-start our brains after a night of staying out way too late. He talked about some of the characteristics of great content marketers, and gave examples of companies that do it right. Those who succeed document and write down their content strategy. It’s not enough to think about it, or have it in your head. And, they work to build an audience, a key component...

May 28, 2015

in Blog, Events, Business Marketing Association

by Amanda Pollard

Top 10 Takeaways from Day 1 of #BMA15

[caption id="attachment_3175" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Google's Jim Lecinski presents at #BMA15 Photo Credit: DejaViewsUSA.com[/caption] The Tell Your Story team proudly joined more than 950 fellow b2b marketers for Day 1 of the world’s biggest and best b2b marketing event, BMA15. In addition to staffing the press room and managing press for the conference, our team soaked up a plethora of valuable ideas, insights and takeaways that we can apply to our b2b marketing programs and careers. The conference has our entire team inspired and energized to “Be More.” Here are our top 10 takeaways from Day 1 of BMA15: [caption id="attachment_3177" align="alignright" width="325"] The number of B2B searches has tripled in the past two years. Photo credit: DejaViewsUSA.com[/caption] Millennials now make up almost half (46%) of b2b buyers. Reach them via mobile and video, or get left behind. Data, data, data! We don't need more dashboards, we need insights to guide decisions. There’s much disconnect between...

October 17, 2014

in Brand Communications, Business Marketing Association

by Nicole Benzer

SEO Best Practices for Content Marketers

[caption id="attachment_2698" align="aligncenter" width="500"] By Theyoungyi CC-BY-SA-3.0[/caption] “Why are you passionate about what you do?” This hardball inquiry was tossed into a panel discussion I recently participated in at Northwestern University with students who are a part of the Medill Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program. A question that I, like many professionals, ask myself often, I realized that it’s largely because of the endless learning opportunities available within the marketing field. Case in point: That same morning I attended a BMA breakfast seminar on content marketing and SEO best practices led by Andy Crestodina, web strategist for Orbit Media. The seminars are great because you walk away with takeaways that are not only useful, but actionable. As someone who spends a majority of the workday creating content, I know it’s equally as important to understand how to optimize, distribute and measure it effectively. Here are a few key takeaways and reminders of SEO best...

10 Tips and Tactics for Better Content Marketing

Top 10 Takeaways from Day 2 of #BMA15

SEO Best Practices for Content Marketers

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