PR Communications Jobs in Hawaii

One of the most common questions I get is about PR Communication jobs in Hawaii. The Public Relations Society of America, Hawaii Chapter, hosts a job board. This site is regularly updated and provide an excellent source of information. It's free for members to publish job postings. Click on the image below to see the current list of offerings: 

Don't forget to also visit the websites of your most-desired employers. Most organizations posts jobs on their own website before publishing them in the newspaper.

Before applying for that job, do a Google search for your name to see if search results are what you want your employer to see.

Remove any controversial images from Facebook, as "cybervetting" is becoming increasingly popular among hiring departments. Check your privacy settings to ensure you're only sharing information with appropriate audiences.

Some practical advice for social media is to use the the "4-Way Test" before publishing any content: 

1. Is it true?

2. Is it beneficial to all concerned?

3. Does it build good will and friendships?

4. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

Only hit the "Publish" button if you can answer YES to each question. Following this guideline will help keep your social profile clean during your PR Communications job search. Parents, share this tip with your kids today!

Why Your Company Needs a Culture of Inbound Marketing

While in Rome, do as the Romans. So I’m sitting at the Starbucks on Boylston Street in Boston, within walking distance of MIT, Harvard University and surrounded by college kids on a sunny, summer day. Today’s the last day of HubSpot’s Inbound12 conference, of which 2,800 marketers and agencies attended.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound Marketing is basically HubSpot’s interpretation of “Social Media Marketing.” By “interpretation” I mean the phrase “Social Media Marketing” had already become saturated when HubSpot really started to take off in the market.

HubSpot needed a marketing message, one that would brand their company in a unique way, while enabling them to also track the results of marketing investments. Today, any search for “Inbound Marketing” can be directly tied back to a seed the HubSpot marketing team planted somewhere along the way.

In practical terms, “Inbound Marketing” means the same thing as “Content Marketing” or “Social Media Marketing for Business.” It’s based on the finding that technology, smartphones and mobile devices have made mass market advertising irrelevant to the current generation, and to really capture the hearts and minds of customers, you’re going to need to interact directly with them on a 1:1 basis. It’s about having conversations that interest your customers, not because they bought something from you, but because they are looking for an authentic, personal and grounded experience.

The focus of the Inbound12 conference was  helping companies gain a competitive advantage through intelligently using the information their customers are putting in front of them every day. HubSpot’s Inbound12 conference was also about the power that comes to an organization when all available customer data lives on a single, integrated platform, and can speak to the business development, service and sales team in real time. It’s about  making 1+1=3, which was the theme of the conference. 

 

 

How to Create a True Culture of Inbound Marketing

“People are sick and tired of programs,” exclaimed Marcus Sheridan, president of The Sales Lion. To do Inbound Marketing well, the entire organizational culture needs to be aligned from the ground floor to its principals. “What’s the difference between a program and a culture?” He asked. “A program comes and goes, but a culture is forever.”

This important point led into a session about how an entire organization needs to work together to create an culture of Inbound Marketing. When you think about it, this isn't anything radically new. Business advisors have been telling companies they need a coherent, customer-focused culture for years. But now that digital media is making service and customer experiences more transparent, it's becoming more urgent that we do this now. 

An organization has to connect the “why” to every single employee so they know in concrete terms how their specific job function connects to the ultimate customer experience. At a minimum, every single employee at your organization (and yes, every single one) must be able to answer the following questions about inbound marketing:

•       What it is (inbound marketing)
•       What a blog is
•       How Google and search works
•       How consumers shop and research online
•       How inbound marketing and content affects the entire company
•       How inbound marketing affects each employee individually
•       The difference a single blog article can make

Results

Once a company holds a full-day Inbound Marketing session, the overall impact of their web, search and traffic generating efforts goes way up:

 

With every employee on board, each person better understands how their personal contribution makes an impact. The results are a dramatic compounding of positive returns. As the slide above shows, the results are immediate. A side effect is organizations generally see better customer service, also.

Your inbound marketing consultant will help provide the structure and format for this workshop, then can work with you afterwards to help keep employees engaged. They can provide templates, create an editorial calendar and format the blog articles. Sometimes they'll even write the first and last paragraph, which is generally all that someone needs to get the creative juices flowing. Employees just need to write down the answers to the questions they get every day. 

Once employees are engaged, organizations see rapid increases in traffic, leads and sales. Marcus shared a few slides from his own direct experience, which is also verified by hundreds of customer case studies at HubSpot.

The "Inbound Marketing Summit" is the first step in taking Inbound Marketing from a "program" to a full cultural shift within an organization. It requires upper management to buy in and will have every employee working from the same page.

Not every company is ready for the fundamental cultural shift of Inbound Marketing. But as I will explain in my next few posts, the ones that do will be at a tremendous competitive advantage.

95% of Small Businesses Use Email Marketing to Attract New Customers

Two-way communication provides real-time market intelligence to owners and nearly instant ability to get the word out to your best customers.

This Small Business Marketing Infographic is provided courtesy of BOLT small business insurance.  If you'd like us to work with Infographic World to create and promote an infographic for your business to use in social media, contact us here. 
Via: Bolt Insurance

 

Join Social Media Club in North Hawaii for Google Analytics Program

Since it began offering public meetings almost four years ago on O‘ahu, Social Media Club Hawaii (SMCHI) has shared their events via live video stream. The streaming events have helped connect social media, PR Communications and marketing professionals working on the outer islands.

Now, to take things to the "next level," I will be hosting a small get-together in Waimea where we can all watch the next Live Stream event, Monday, August 20th from 5:30-7:30pm.

We will be meeting at Conference & Tea Room in Waimea, upstairs in the green "Moon Center" building, above Lava Rock Realty, 65-1298 Kawaihae Road, across the street from Red Water Cafe.

You're welcome to bring food and drinks, but please don't feel obligated to do so. I'll probably pick up a pūpū plate or some poke if a few people register. We can snack and socialize from 5:30 to 6 and the program will start at 6 pm.

Speaking of registration -- please let me know if you plan to attend! Use the registration form below to sign up. That way, I can estimate what size pūpū plate to bring and what, if any, beverages I might want to throw into a cooler. Also, you'll get a reminder the day before with a map to the venue and any last-minute updates if you officially register.

August 20, 5:30-7:30 pm: Understanding Google Analytics

The O‘ahu event will feature three expert presenters showing how to best use Google Analytics on their blogs, including getting social stats. Here, on Hawaii Island, we will watch the live video and have our own Big Island-centric networking and discussion group. There will be a live demo of Google Analytics, and a discussion about the following:

1. Which stats help your business the most?
2. Insight about your traffic sources, keywords, time on site, unique visitors, and what these all mean
3. What "bounce rate" is and why it's important
4. How to look at social media numbers
5. Setting up goals & tracking E-Commerce
6. Q & A Session

If you're a Google Analytics expert living on the Big Island, please come and add your own mana‘o to this event. For example, Brent Norris is one of the top Google Analytics experts in the state, and if he comes he'll have a lot to add. I'm probably going to add my two cents as well. There are many other highly qualified experts living here. The more we get to know each other, the more we can refer business to each other. You can see who the current Google Analytics speakers are here at the SMCHI website.

If this sounds like fun, just scroll down below and choose Hawaii Island Attendee @ Tea Room in Waimea. This event is complementary, thanks to a sponsorship from Kinoshita Communications,  specializing in helping businesses use website tools to turn website visitors into new business leads and sales. 

Waimea Conference & Tea Room 65-1298 Kawaihae Road, Upstairs
For details and  information, call Laura at (808) 447-0072.
Want to follow along on Twitter? Use hashtags #FBISM and #SMCHI

 

 

 

 

(We'll be in the green building on the left, upstairs. Click the image above for Google Map)

If you'd like to sponsor food or room rental in the future and have your logo featured on the SMCHI website and newsletter, let me know here.

PR Campaign Wins Prestigious PRSA Award for Integrated Communications

Public relations practitioner Laura Kinoshita, principal of Kinoshita Communications, was presented with the prestigious Koa Anvil Award Thursday night at the 29^th Annual awards ceremony hosted by the Public Relations Society of America Hawaii Chapter.

The award for Integrated Communications was for the Bite Me Sportfishing campaign. The campaign helped increase new customers, improved search engine rankings, reduced costs for pay-per-click advertising, raised awareness of the Fish Market Bar & Grill and generated more conversations online about Bite Me Sportfishing as a top sportfishing, dining and travel destination site.

Today, the Bite Me Sportfishing website is a better lead generation and sales tool, attracting more customers to each business unit.

The campaign also improved the value of the “Bite Me” brand by improving ratings on travel review sites. In addition, the business owners now have valuable customer and business intelligence.

“Most businesses can’t attribute a dollar of sales to their social media efforts, but we know our business is growing because of it,” said Deneen Wargo, co-owner of Bite Me Sportfishing. “As a result of Kinoshita Communications’ efforts, we now generate more new business leads and sales through our website than we did one year ago.”

Components of the Bite Me Sportfishing campaign included:

• Reputation management on TripAdvisor and Yelp

• Pay-per-click advertising on Google

• Corporate blog setup, training and management

• Website search engine optimization

• Facebook training and management

• Customized Twitter page consistent with branding

• Foursquare setup and management

• Email template design and sign-up forms

• Custom landing pages and offers

• Online Content Strategy with 12-Month Editorial Calendar

• Inbound Link Building and Referral Traffic

• Closed-Loop Customer Analytics

Campaign metrics showed an increase in sales across all business lines. Campaign activities generated a 145% increase in website traffic and 2-3 additional new charter bookings each month. Website optimization saved an average of $697 in monthly pay-per-click spending. TripAdvisor reviews improved two full stars, with 20 new five-star reviews generated in just six months.

The Koa Anvil Awards celebrate the “Four Rings of Excellence” for which entries are judged: research, planning, execution and evaluation. According to the PRSA Hawaii Chapter, it is the competition “to develop better plans, use creativity to produce better results, increase professional skill to produce the best public relations programs and tools that keep the professional motivated and moving forward.

The 2012 Koa Anvil Award for Integrated Communications is the second award bestowed to Kinoshita Communications this season. The PR communications firm also earned an International Hermes Award for Social Media for The Shops at Mauna Lani on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii Island. That campaign helped bridge the digital divide between the online shopping center’s Facebook fans and Twitter followers by using lead nurturing, custom landing pages and email offers that converted online fans to in-store traffic and sales.

How to Respond to a PR Communications Crisis

Leaders of the world:
You can not keep a secret

I'm serious.

You're going to look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong.

But I'm not wrong.

You're going to try to convince me you have absolute control over your organization.

You don't have control.

I get it.

You come from a generation of leaders that were from the 80s when maybe -- sometimes -- information could be successfully withheld from the public's eye. You may have even withheld  information from your most innermost circle. You may even be hiding information from your wife.

Good for you.

But you can't hide information from me.

Why?

Because information is everywhere, instantaneously shared around the world via networks you can't control. You don't know what information is out there, and you don't know who has it.

The truth always gets out.

When faced with a PR Communications crisis there is a standard 4-step response:

1. Assess the situation

2. Apologize

3. Correct the problem

4. Make restitution

Like the five stages of grief all four steps must happen -- sometimes concurrently.

1. Assess the Situation

First, does a crisis really exist? Yes, I know you found a blog article that contains lies and defamation. But is it hurting sales? Does anyone read the blog?

When you respond to a situation you can make a situation worse. Case in point -- the business who has lawyer send a "cease and desist" order to a blogger that has just published photos of  safety violations for a popular tourist attraction. The blogger laughs and shares the letter with his readership. Folks comment. Traffic goes up. Within 24 hours, any search for the attraction  turns up the defamatory accusations. Sales suffer. On the Internet, the more attention you bring to something, the more popular and viral it becomes.

If your phone's not ringing with angry customers, or if sales remain strong, you might not be in a crisis. Consider a muted response.

On the other hand, if you do have a crisis on your hands, then the first thing you need to do is communicate. Still don't know the facts? Then explain what you're doing to get the facts and tell reporters when you're next update will be (preferably within four hours, depending on the nature of the emergency).

Why?

Because the public abhors a vacuum, and if you don't provide your side of the story, someone else will. That takes control of the message (and the situation) out of your hands and into someone elses. You want to be the primary source of information. Your job is to build trust and credibility. In the first moments of a crisis, the only thing you have is open and transparent communication.

2. Apologize

"But I've done nothing wrong." Oh, yes you have. Otherwise, you wouldn't have a crisis on your hands. "But it was our vendor's fault." Doesn't matter. Apologize. The sooner you apologize, the sooner you can get on with the business of repairing your reputation.

So many times I've seen CEOs drag out this part of the process. It's painful to watch. Attorneys get involved and tell their client to just keep quiet. That's disasterous for your reputation. I've seen leaders in denial, honestly believing what they did was right. Please, do yourself a favor and just apologize -- as honestly and authentically as you can. Come to terms with the fact that you are in a crisis.

Remember: the responsibility for your reputation is yours alone. Your lawyers don't give a hoot about your reputation, that's not what they get paid for. If you want to go back to business as normal one day, you're going to need your reputation intact. Listen to all the advice you'll get and make an informed decision. Give the advice you get from your attorney equal weight to the advice you'll get from your PR communications counsel.

3. Correct the problem

Do I really have to say this? You'd be amazed at the number of leaders who honestly believe they can go back to doing business as usual. Don't do that. Either legislators will come after you or activist groups will get together or the trust you break with customers will never return. "We've broken no laws." Just because it's legal does not make it right. And trust me, it's only a matter of time before what you're doing will become illegal -- eventually. 

Is what you're doing the right thing to do?  Is it fair to all concerned? Do you have your employees best interests in mind? Do you have the community's best interests in mind? Are you being honest about your practices and behaviors?

Don't make assumptions about "what the community wants." Ask them. And when they tell you what they want, listen and respond appropriately. Dont ignore the precious feedback you've been given. You might not get it twice.

4. Make restitution

This is another area where I see leaders try to delay the inevitable. There has never been a real crisis that didn't end in some form of apology payment or educational program. Oh sure, sometimes you'll see an "educational fund" be established, or a healthy donation to a worthy charity that both sides support, but make no mistake about it -- payments will occur.

Foolish and stubborn leaders might insist they can overcome serious opposition without making some sort of payment. But they're wrong. Distrust and negativity will persist until this happens. It can't be avoided. Penalties must occur. Sure, the money might go to support a mutually beneficial charity, educational campaign, or to victim families, but true healing can only occur once the community feels justice has been done.

Prepare for Your Crisis Now

Begin with identifying your crisis communications team and spokespersons. Your best spokesperson may not be the CEO. Qualified spokespeople must be able to think clearly under enormous amounts of stress, sometimes for several days (or weeks) at a time.

In a national crisis event, your spokesperson might go several days without sleep. Call a full-service marketing firm to your aid at the moment you learn of your crisis and get the resources and support you'll need during the first 12 hours.

If you haven't prepared your notification systems and processes, do that now. Identify how information is going to be gathered and shared, by whom and when. Often the CEO and VP of Marketing will be connected at the hip during the first few hours of a crisis. Timliness is key. Cancel the weekend plans! Nothing is more important than your repuation.

Did you just think of a phone tree? Think  instant messaging instead. Crisis consultant Johnathan Bernstein recommends technology that can automatically contact all key stakesholders in a time of crisis, as well as other important crisis functions.

Anticipate your crisis. Every business is at risk for some type of employee violence, crime or accident that results in loss of life. But what types of crisis situations are unique to your location or industry? Product safety? Contamination? Customer data? Industrial chemicals?

Set time aside now for in-depth crisis planning, and include cybersecurity in your plans. Make this crisis planning off-limits to all interuptions so you can complete your crisis plan in a timely manner. It may feel odd to block off time and talk about events that might not occur. But whether it's an earthquake, bomb threat or unforseen accident, there will be a crisis that affects your company. And when that happens, you don't want to be standing in your office wondering what to do. You'll be at work resolving the issue.

Can Your Small Business Survive an Emergency?

I just got back from an emergency trip to visit my 97-year-old Aunt. Last year at this time I would have had enormous difficulty taking a sudden trip to California for three days, but with proper planning over the past 12 months I was able to pull it off with very little disruption to my business.

You can't do the same things and expect different results

It used to be when I got sick, my business suffered. Or sometimes family and friends would call with an unexpected visit. Last summer, several friends came to visit. I desperately wanted to reconnect. However, I was in the middle of a major Wordpress installation and did not have the support systems or staff to manage even a few days off. So I resolved to change everything about my business.

Build Your Team

At some point your business is going to need to survive without you. Better to plan for that day today rather than in the midst of an emergency in the future. Start with hiring the best people you can find, and then pay them what they are worth! They will provide you with more intangible value for your business than what a salary can provide, so treat them well and watch your business grow.

I changed my small business by building a highly trusted network of marketing communication professionals, not just in the state of Hawaii, but in the mainland U.S. as well. I now work with highly qualified full-service marketing professionals on the east and west coast. This team is helping me manage work (and new business opportunities) across multiple time zones.

I also rely on collaborative, web-based software so all clients and team members have access to me and each other in the rare times where I need to travel.

Web-based tools

As a small business owner, consider how you can take advantage of new systems and processes. A centralized accounting system will enable you (and your accountant) to enter expenses and pull financial reports from anywhere in the world.

I use Internet tethering on iPhone to access the Internet from anywhere. This keeps my business mobile. I admit, there have been more than a few times where I have caught up on paperwork, reviewed reports and updated client notes while sitting at a playground.

Getting web-based project tools also lets you be more effective at achieving your goals. The platforms I use the most are Basecamp by 37 Signals and Freshbooks. I also use Microsoft Outlook Web Access, Wordpress, AT&T's Office@Hand and HubSpot to make everything in my PR Communications firm run smoothly.

Lifestyle

It's never too late to start a healthy eating and lifestyle regimen. Not too long ago I was in a doctor's office talking about feeling tired. The doctor said it was nothing out of the ordinary considering I had an active five-year-old and a full-time business. But I found I could boost my metabolism, and thus my energy, if I ate healthy and exercised. My new routine has worked wonders. I try to run three times a week and eat more high fiber, nutrient-rich foods, like grains, quinoa, cheese, tofu, broccoli and fish. I have had to wake up extra early to get in the extra exercise, but it has put my body on "West Coast time" and helped me work better with East Coast partners.

Unexpected things happen

I can’t tell you what crisis will affect your business in the next six months, I just know that one will. It’s the law of science and statistics. So start preparing today. In my next article I will talk about what a business can do to prepare for a public relations crisis and those events and behaviors that damage an organization's reputation.

In the meantime, if you'd like to start preparing your business now -- or maybe get help setting up some of these systems for your business -- I have a few consulting spots available. You can also ask me a question or leave me your thoughts in the Comments section below.

 

Kinoshita Communications Wins International Hermes Creative Award

Turning website traffic into retail sales has earned Kinoshita Communications LLC an international Hermes Creative Award, the PR Communications agency announced today.

The award was based on the evaluation of the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals’ judges and recognizes outstanding achievement in traditional and emerging media.

Kinoshita Communications LLC was hired by The Shops at Mauna Lani for a six-month campaign to increase shopping center traffic and retail sales. Objectives were to raise visibility on mobile devices, get more impact from social media efforts, increase website traffic and get better rankings for top keyword phrases (SEO). 

The PR Communications agency designed, implemented and managed an integrated cross-platform campaign that included Facebook and Google advertising, pay-per-click (PPC), location-based offers, outreach to travel sites and custom web applications that seamlessly integrated with Facebook, Twitter and Constant Contact.

Results

In less than six months, the campaign generated an 83% increase in social media traffic. The shopping center’s website rose to the #3, #4 and #6 positions for important Google keyword search phrases, including “Big Island Shopping Center.” Referral traffic increased, including traffic from TripAdvisor, which increased 44 percent. Overall, new business leads and shopping center traffic increased as a direct result from campaign efforts.

“We’re very proud of this work which continues to produce positive results for The Shops at Mauna Lani,” said Laura K. Kinoshita, president of Kinoshita Communications. “An investment in a company’s website pays dividends for years to come. We faced a rigorous schedule and produced outstanding results. Our campaign metrics far exceeded industry standards and I think the judges recognized that fact when they bestowed this award.”

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition comprising more than 4,700 entries from the United States, Canada and several other countries. It is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, an international organization consisting of several thousand marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, media production and freelance professionals. AMCP judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. Winners were selected from 179 categories grouped under advertising, publications, marketing/branding, integrated marketing, public relations/communications, electronic media and pro bono. About nineteen percent won the Gold Award, the honor which was granted to Kinoshita Communications. A list of winners is available at http://www.hermesawards.com/winners-search.

You can download the case study, "Driving In-Store Traffic with Social Media and Content Marketing" here: 

Get the 25-page workbook that provides instructions on some of the methodology used during the campaign here:

How to Integrate Facebook into Your PR Communications Strategy

Practical Tips for Reinventing Your Business with Social Media

Social Listening & Engagement Gives Advantages to Small Businesses

Last week I had the chance to watch a presentationby Jon Ferrara, founder and CEO of Nimble. Jon is a top expert in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Nimble is a new company he founded that helps businesses improve their "Social Relationships." Businesses that use Nimble are usually able to develop stronger, more profitable relationships with their best customers over time. 

There are two reasons marketing agencies and salespeople should watch this video:

1. Social listening and social engagement are the two most important concepts small business owners must master if they are to be successful in businesss during the next five years.
2. It's the best product demo I've seen in years. The pacing, presentation and content are top-notch. Jon is a CEO you can learn from.

Fast forward through the first five minutes, which are general housekeeping notes from HubSpot, which hosted the webinar. The presentation is geared toward marketing agencies, but will be useful for any business owner interested in developing better sales and marketing relationships.

By using social connections in new and better ways, business owners will be able to discover innovation, service and product improvements. That offers the potential of even the smallest business owners to compete against large and established brands. In other words, Brains, creativity, passion, commitment and stamina will be the marketing currency of the future.

To provide some context, in the last five years several major brands have moved into my rural area: Target, Sports Authority, Office Max, Petco, Macaroni Grill and more. Mom-and-pop retailers can not compete directly with these brands on product selection or price, but they CAN compete on innovation and customer service.

Unfortunately, I think many small business owners are not aware of the cultural and social changes taking place around them. They are not aware of how quickly society and culture are changing around them, or, more to the point, how that is going to affect their business in the next five years.

Sure, they've noticed more smartphones. They know people are searching Yelp! and TripAdvisor. But they haven't thought about how they can make their business stronger or better because it. I developed The Mobile Marketing Workbook as one way to help start thinking about these things in new ways.

Jon's introduction to Nimble shows customer relationship management in a socially connected world, and the Mobile Marketing Workbook is one way business owners can find their strategic competitive advantage.

Let me know how you are using social media to discover innovation or improve customer service by posting a Comment below.