Strategic Communications Group

November 19, 2014 by Marc Hausman

Oh It’s On…No Chorus of Echo Chamber Dribble at Tomorrow’s Summit

Tomorrow morning I’ll drag myself out of bed at an uncomfortably early hour and slog through Washington, DC traffic for what I anticipate will be a day well spent at the Government IT Sales Summit.

The agenda is rock solid and the speakers are compelling. Yet, my excitement centers around the panel I will be a part of that will explore how content marketing, social media participation and engagement, and digital communications influence how companies sell to public sector customers.

Rest assured, this is definitely not going to be one of those useless conference presentations where the panelists waste the audience’s time by complimenting each other in a chorus of echo chamber dribble.

Rather, we’ll present a diverse (and divergent) set of views and best practices in an engaging and entertaining style. That’s a nice way of writing the panelists will most likely disagree with one another, based on our own unique set of experiences.

In fact, you can check out exclusive Q&A interviews with the other panelists and our moderators in this special editorial section on Modern Marketing Today.

My goal as part of the panel is to get the audience thinking and to help them make decisions to the benefit of their company.

I’ll publish a recap of the Summit and (hopefully) video of the panel discussion in the next few days.

Who is the man in black? It’s the opinionated and informed government marketing expert Mark Amtower. He will join me as a panelist at the Government IT Sales Summit.

November 15, 2014 by Marc Hausman

New Definition of Office “Coolness”

This week the Washington Business Journal invited readers to take a peek inside some of the coolest office spaces in the area.

And they are certainly cool; loaded up with gadgets, gismos and perks designed to keep employees buzzing around in a caffeinated-fueled state of productivity.

What if your definition of cool is strikingly different?

Rather than a spirited game of cornhole, it is more important to be steps away from your son or daughter as they work on an art project. Or free from the agony of a commute defined by a slowly churning sea of brake lights.

Articles like this and awards that recognize best places to work tend to reward companies for binding employees to a physical location. That is a mistake.

Wake up, I say. It is almost 2015. Broadband adoption is here and real.

By empowering employees to work from where they want, when they want and how they want, you create a mature organization defined by professionalism and accountability.

We live that at Strategic Communications Group (Strategic). Through a relationship we have negotiated with Carr Workplaces, each team member has access to space throughout the region in convenient locations.

Plus, everyone has the option to work from home whenever possible. Heck, we even have a colleague who will relocate to New York City next month, but will continue on as a valuable member of our organization.

Yes, we do need to emphasize culture and I make it a point to bring the organization together in-person twice a month to brainstorm, share best practices, etc.

However, a flexible work environment allows you treat employees like true professionals. That’s cool, right?

October 29, 2014 by Marc Hausman

Paid Promotion Juices Up Content Impact

A best practice I hype in my book, “The Intersection Point: Where Content, Social and Sales Collide,” is the importance of a multi-channel promotional strategy as part of a content marketing initiative.

Content creation sputters when we employ a “build it and he will come” mentality. Social engagement, search engine optimization (SEO) and digital communications all provide opportunities to attract and engage high value readers with relatively little expense.

What about more traditional paid channels – such as advertising or content distribution services like Outbrain or Taboola? Is the additional cost worth it?

When the media is targeted…absolutely!

Here is an example of how NetApp has integrated its online advertising program with GovDataDownload, an innovative content marketing and field sales program developed in partnership with Strategic Communications Group.

Working closely with the Washington Post, NetApp continues to draw in new readers to GovDataDownload, many of whom fit squarely in the campaign’s sweet spot – decision-makers and influencers at federal agencies.

September 8, 2014 by Marc Hausman

Taking the Stage at Digital East

How relevant are industry conferences in this age of social and search?

It’s a fair question and one that marketers typically ask themselves when planning their resource investment for the year.

While the knowledge gained and peer interactions via online and digital channels are high value, they should be viewed as complimentary to the good, old-fashioned conference. There is simply no way to truly replicate the intimacy that can be achieved via in-person dialogue.

This is why Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) devotes significant time and money to participate in and sponsor events that gather marketers, technologists and influencers.

Last year our relationship with the Inbound Marketing Summit brought us to San Francisco and Boston. In April, we were part of the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit, where I gave a keynote presentation and hosted a panel of three exceptional corporate marketers (see video below).

This week finds Strategic at Digital East, to be held at the Sheraton Tysons Corner in Northern Virginia. The organizers anticipate hosting nearly 800 attendees for comprehensive and timely discussions about content creation, digital communications, social media and related technologies.

Strategic is a sponsor and our online magazine (Modern Marketing Today) is a media partner. Plus, I’ll be back on-stage for a talk and panel themed “Web2Sales: How Marketers Can Drive Customer Demand.” Joining me as panelists are Meredith Lawrence of Polycom and Jessica DeCianno from CrowdStrike.

Please message me if you’ll be at the conference and would like to meet up. That’s how relationships are created.

May 7, 2014 by Marc Hausman

Two Pauls and My Informative (and Entertaining) Marketing Talk

The two Pauls know how to fill a room with exceptional marketers.

I’m referring to Paul Duning, the publisher of Capitol Communicator, and his partner Paul Sherman, who is editor-in-chief of Techwire Publications. Together, the Pauls host the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit, a gathering of communications professionals, corporate and field marketers, agency and service provider representatives, and technologists who work for companies in the Washington, DC area.

More than 400 people came together last month at the Gannett/USA Today headquarters building to network, share best practices and listen to an exceptional set of speakers. I was fortunate to be on the agenda with a presentation entitled “The Intersection Point: Where Content, Social and Sales Collide.”

In addition to my talk, I also hosted a panel discussion that included marketers from FireEye, ICF International, Iron Bow Technologies and Privia Health.

So…how did it go?

You can watch the video of my entertaining and informative talk and panel below, and check out blogger reviews of the presentation here and here.

And, if you’d like more insight about how companies like yours are aligning their content marketing programs with tactical sales activities, join me this Friday, May 9 at 11:30 AM ET for a Webinar hosted by marketing automation provider eTrigue. You can register at this link.

Oh It’s On…No Chorus of Echo Chamber Dribble at Tomorrow’s Summit

New Definition of Office “Coolness”

Taking the Stage at Digital East

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