I came across an article titled, “9 Ways Companies Completely Blow Press Opportunities” in Business Insider. The PR person in me couldn’t wait to click through the list and discover the nine ways, according to this author, that companies blow it when creating and distributing news and working with reporters and editors.

As predicted, one of my biggest pet peeves made the list. Check out number two, begin your release with “the leading provider of,” “next generation” or “best of breed.” Yuck! I cringe when I see these words on a release—and you can throw award-winning on there also.

These buzzwords have no place in press releases. In fact, they have become so overused that they’ve lost their meaning. It’s impossible for every company to be the leading provider of its product or service, so find something new that truly sets your company apart from the rest. And if you don’t believe me, check out this study to see just how often these words are used when distributing news.

Check out the rest of the “9 Ways Companies Completely Blow Press Opportunities” list here.

Lesson learned? Distribute news only when you have something truly newsworthy to share. And, when those rare and precious press opportunities surface, don’t blow it by making a simple mistake. If you’re looking for someone to partner with on your public relations efforts, give me a call. At Canyon, you’ll never see our actions on this list.

photo courtesy: www.flickr.com/photos/danielmall

I’ve been thinking a lot about b2b content strategy lately. Really, who hasn’t?

If you’re a b2b marketer, you’ve certainly heard “content is king” uttered what seems like a zillion times (my ears may bleed if I hear this just once more). And, there is a lot to think about.

But, the part of b2b content strategy that just gets under my skin lately centers on one question: Do you give it away or require a registration?

I suppose the answer is different for every company. And, I’m sure you all have an opinion (please do share yours).

For me, I think it depends on the stage of the purchase decision and the content itself. You definitely need a mix of freely accessible content and content behind a registration wall. If you’re going to require registration, the content better be worth it—think research or a really high-value, informative white paper. Give away the smaller stuff and anything that is more self-serving like quick case studies. And, when you do gate your content, keep the registration forms short and use progressive profiling.

One more thing about all of that great gated content, be sure to create a keyphrase-rich abstract for this content that the search engines can crawl.

What about you? How do you decide when to require registration for content?

Being an effective B2B marketer requires the desire to be a life-long learner. While I’m a firm believer that basic tenants of marketing communications hold up over time, it is critical for marketing professionals to continue to push themselves to learn the new and innovative ways that other B2B marketers and leading organizations are applying tried and true marketing principles using the latest tools and technologies.

Last week, the Phoenix Chapter of the Business Marketing Association hosted its second annual Marketing Technology Summit along with the Arizona Technology Council. Event attendees were able to gain knowledge from marketers at leading organizations including Microsoft, Motorola, Intel, Honeywell, Molex, Avnet and OMS.

It’s impossible to walk away from an event like this without a few good ideas that you can use to steer your next marketing communications strategy. The important thing is to be proactive in your pursuit of new information and innovative thinking. Even the best ideas require a little inspiration. Be an active participant in guiding effective marketing communications program for your business by seeking out information from industry resources, media outlets and events.

What are your go-to resources and venues for new ideas in marketing communications?

Corporate blogging is a COMMITMENT. I know it’s a scary word, commitment. It’s natural to be afraid of commitment. I’ve known many commitment phobes in my life—heck, I married one and believe me he tried to run for the hills on more than one occasion when we were dating. But, if you’re still reading and haven’t trekked it to the hill country, then perhaps corporate blogging is for you.

You can make the corporate blog commitment as long as you have two things figured out: quantity and quality.

I’m sure you’ve weighed quality and quantity in some aspect of your life before, be it friends (quality), beer (quantity) or b2b leads (quality). In blogging, these two share the same level of importance.

Photo courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosefirerising/501356671/

Obviously, you need to have quality content that informs and entertains your readers—this will keep them coming back. But, if when they return, they see that you haven’t posted anything new in weeks or months, well you just lost your readership.

That doesn’t mean you should post a bunch of empty, valueless content just to keep your blog current. What it does mean is make sure that every post brings value to your readers and you establish an expectation for post frequency and stick to it.

At b2b Fishbowl, we try to bring you new posts at least three times a week. Sometimes, we fall a post short (we do get busy here @CanyonComm). Sometimes, we bring you more. But, we always strive to balance quality and quantity.

Tell me about your blog balance. How often do you blog? How do you ensure quality content?