Category: Featured
10 Pieces of Business Jargon That Suck
I think I’ve finally decided which piece of horrid business jargon I detest most: “core competencies.” So help me, the next person who starts rambling on about their “core competencies” — especially if they’re referring to “utilizing” or “perfecting” them — gets a vigorous lashing from a noodle. It’ll be a wet noodle — this time. What makes “core competencies” such a nauseating term is that it expresses a simple idea with words that suggest complexity, the kind of arcane notion only the best and brightest MBAs could possibly grasp. It is not. A pre-schooler could grasp it. Your core competencies are the things you do well.
read more
Why Clint Eastwood’s RNC Speech Is a Model For Brand Journalism
People don't want perfect; they want real. Eastwood shot from the hip and sounded like any interesting person you might run across at the bus stop or corner bar during your day. That’s why his speech is the one people will remember more than any other this political season. People tune out anything they think is “crafted” or “scripted.” Eastwood was real, and real is what people crave.
read more
What is Brand Journalism?
Today, the typical person no longer trusts a company at face value. It is human nature to hate being sold, so most people avoid salespeople like the plague. When we want or need a service, we look to sources we trust and ask others for their opinions. You might say we are in the age of the expert opinion, and the expert is just about anyone besides a company trying to sell us something! For companies, the implications are huge.
read more
Brand Journalism Tactics: Are You Using the Right Language For Your Audience?
Choosing the right words is critical when telling your company’s stories How do you know you are using the best words in your online stories so they resonate with your target audience? That’s a question that we ask ourselves constantly while creating brand journalism content for our clients. Language can be tricky, because language evolves...
read more
Brand Journalism: What’s Your Company’s Story?
As long as humans have been communicating we’ve used stories to relate to each other, make sense of the world around us, and help us make decisions as we go through life. Advancements in technology have us sharing greater amounts of information, and we’re finding ourselves making more decisions based on those stories.
read more
Why Brand Journalism is the New Key to Franchise Lead Generation
Quick, close your eyes and try to recall a business mailing, magazine advertisement or online banner ad that you’ve seen in the last week. It should be easy — the average person is exposed to several thousand display ads a day. But are you able to recall a single one? It’s hard, isn’t it.
read more
5 Reasons We Like the Chem-Dry Carpet Cleaning Franchise
Chem-Dry isn’t just the world’s biggest carpet cleaning franchise, with more than 3,500 units in 47 countries. In our opinion, it’s the best carpet cleaning franchise and one of the best options for someone thinking about opening a new business.
read more
Planet Beach Spa Franchise Case Study
Entrepreneur Magazine is considered the bible for most business owners and it carries and amazing amount of influence for franchise systems. In the world of franchising, public perception of a brand does more to determine what brands grow and which ones struggle. The January 2010 trends article proclaimed that tanning franchises were out and listed Planet Beach as a tanning franchise.
read more
Entrepreneur Magazine Features Brand Journalists
When former journalist Thomas Scott started blogging about his home-staging franchise in 2007, he discovered that his industry-related content radically improved how business prospects perceived his company's brand. Scott realized there was an untapped market for providing other businesses with content that's well-written and entertaining, while helping consumers relate to them on a personal level.
read more
How Brand Journalism Created a Breakthrough for Chem-Dry Carpet Cleaning
Bill Knight, formerly of Lenny’s Subs, TCBY and Ruby Tuesday’s, joined Chem-Dry Carpet Cleaning as vice president of franchise development in 2009, in the depths of the recession. He immediately took the established steps franchise pros use to boost lead generation. Leads increased but it wasn't enough.
read more