Marketing & Content Strategy for GeoTech

5 Ways to Make Sure Your Press Release Doesn't Suck

2020-06-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, you have some news, BIG news... now what? Well, if you have a PR or marketing person/department then no doubt youll be sending out a press release soon. The following are 5 tips for a better press release, some useful tips from experts, and some related "how to" tools. Before you do that though, make sure that your press release doesnt suck!

1 Have Something to Say
Sounds like a no-brainer, but seriously, unless you have something new, earth shattering, and/or down-right cool then you might as well save your time. Some announcements may be idea for certain publications and others might be of interest to all journalists... you might want to hand-pick who gets which release.

2 Get Visual
Many industries are visual. So, if you have a new solution, app, service or ? then use graphics that enable the reader to visualize exactly what your talking about. Include an image and provide links to where high-res images can be seen on your website along with supporting information. Dont bother distributing your PR releases with 10 image files attached, a ZIP file or other large media files. Ideally just provide a link to where the images can be accessed.

3. Make A Movie
Video is all the rage and if PR folks havent clued into that yet then you may want to ask them why? If appropriate, consider creating a short video to complement your news. If you have a new app, solution, project win or the like then Im sure your team can put together a short video about it. If video isnt your thing then you can always use still photos and images, mash them up and drop some nice music in with them. Dont have movie mixing software? Sorry, thats no longer a valid excuse as Windows PCs come bundled with Movie Maker software, theres freebies galore online, and YouTube even provides basic movie mixing. Lastly, keep it under 3 minutes!

4 Let Them Find You Again
Another no brainer, however, youd be amazed at how many companies fail to include detailed contact information with their PR. Include a valid email address, phone number, website URL, and be sure to also include your Social Media resources - Twitter and facebook page at a minimum.

5 Track It
Creating and distributing a good PR takes time and effort so dont let it all be for nothing. Create custom short url web links using a service like bit.ly. Include these unique links in your PR then follow up to see how effective your press has been. If you send your PR via a number of different channels then consider unique urls for each site/source that will be running your PR.

5 Money Conversations to Have with Your College Grad

2019-11-06T08:22:00.003-08:00

The end of the year is near, perhaps your child has finished his/her education and is now heading out into the real World. Yup, that means time to start planning… financial planning! No doubt, for most of us, if we could go back in time we would change the way we budgeted, spent, and saved in our early years. Don’t let your kid make the same mistakes!

Here’s some topics that you need to bring up with the recent grad. If they listen, they’ll be laughing by the time they hit 50!

These five conversation topics can give recent graduates the confidence and know-how they need in the “real world.”

The Low-Down on Student Loans
Most student loans have a built-in six-month grace period, but this time goes by quickly. The faster the debt is paid down the better, as you avoid accruing more interest or late fees. Further, too much student debt can negatively impact your ability to qualify for other loans, such as an auto or home loan, stalling other post-graduate goals. You can help recent graduates research the best payment options for their individual circumstances. Overwhelmed? Contacting an experienced student loan counselor may bring clarity.
Budgeting isn’t Boring
Gaining the independence that comes with graduating offers the perfect opportunity to learn more about budgeting. There are plenty of smartphone apps and other tools to keep tabs on how much money is coming in and going out. Getting a good grasp on a budget is the first step toward financial security.
Everything About Emergency Funds
A safety net should be part of any budgeting strategy. This money is kept for true emergencies — when the car breaks down or for an unexpected hospital visit. Stash as much money away as your budget allows until you reach three to six months’ worth of living expenses. Even $20 a month will add up over time.
Don’t Forget Healthcare
It’s required by law to have health insurance, so graduates need to include healthcare costs in their budget as well. While they might be on their parents’ plan now, coverage ends on their 26th birthday. Sooner or later, young adults will need to choose a plan according to individual circumstances, including what deductible and premium they can afford.
Credit Card Debt? No Thanks.
Recent college grads are inundated with pre-approved credit card offers. But don’t be tempted by deals that seem too good to be true. Having one credit card payment, paid off in-full every month, is the best way to establish a positive credit history. Emphasize that missing even one payment can result in fees and ding their credit score. Carrying a balance, too, can wreak financial havoc as interest adds to the total balance due.

Soure: Take Charge America

Creating Story Maps with ArcGIS StoryMaps Beta

2019-04-11T06:49:00.001-07:00

Do you enjoy creating Story Maps? If so, there's something new for you to explore, the Story Maps Beta. The new, Beta resource offers a completely new experience, new UI and new look and feel of your maps. You won't find all the pre-defined templates that you might be used to in the original Story Maps, however, you will find a more modern, block-style editor that enables you to create clean maps that are even more mobile friendly.

I spent a little time testing out the Beta system and was pleasantly surprised. It really is easy and nice to use and the experience is in line with the development of all the ArcGIS apps (like Web AppBuilder and Survey123 etc...). If you've authored blogs using the new Wordpress Gutenberg experience this will look familiar to you! The story map below is a bit of a trial that shows you a new look Story Map - jump directly to the map HERE

Story Maps are a fabulous way to create compelling data visualizations and are an ideal fit in any company's marketing mix!

Read more about Story Map BETA HERE

10 Reasons to Include Video in your Marketing Mix

2019-04-10T07:37:00.003-07:00

Video is hot, really hot, however, many businesses are reluctant to add video into their marketing mix. The reasons are pretty simple. Most businesses that are avoiding video think that video marketing is too expensive, hard to figure out, takes too much time, and doesn't result in ROI. All of these things are far from the truth! Creating video may seem difficult, however, it’s really not. With some careful planning, a business can generate ideas that produce many hours of video content.

So, why consider video content? Here are 10 reasons:

Stats show that video is growing in usage year-over-year and not just for companies with a large ad budget.
Videos are proven to attract and engage your audience
People want more video! Guess what the #2 search engine in the World is... yup, it's YouTube!
Memorable videos are engaging and create trust.
Video is an extremely powerful medium to assist in making a decision to buy
Adding a video front and center on your homepage or landing page is a proven strategy.
Video helps reduce your website bounce rate and thus helps build Google page ranking
Video also indexes in search - think SEO!
Videos are easily repurposed over many of your marketing channels (Youtube, facebook, live feeds, web)
Share your best content in video. If you spend hundreds of hours creating a case study, article, or putting on an event, be sure to generate video around that content. If it worked once it will work again in video format!

Bonus Tip - videos have been proven to be more easily shareable. Facebook and LinkedIn have been upgraded with added support for embedding video.

Example. In the past, I've created articles about creating and distributing your PR (for example, this one on tips for creating a PR). An article or blog is great, however, I've also provided these tips using video (See https://youtu.be/-m5_aR5-kF4). This is an efficient and fun way to share the same materials, however, it is much more engaging!

Master Your Marketing & Design in One Slide

2019-04-08T11:20:00.004-07:00

Here's some amazing Infographic inspiration. If these marketing stacks don't inspire you then nothing will. Enjoy the top 48 marketing stacks from the Stackie awards - these decks have been designed by the best in graphic design from all over the planet. What is a stack? Simply put, each slide illustrates a “stack” - the collection of marketing technology tools they use and how they conceptualize them together. The entire marketing channel process is conceptualized and visualized in just one amazing slide. (see slide deck above from Stackie winner, Esri)

ABinBev, Airstream, Alliant Credit Union, Artemis Health, BraunAbility, Esri, G Adventures, Juniper Networks, Lola, Nationwide Advisory Solutions, Paychex, Racing Post, Sargento Foods, The Telegraph, Tennant, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha were some of the non-martech brands who participated this year. Plus many wonderful entries from companies within the marketing tech industry.

Learn more and see all the winners HERE

Google Tip - How to Download your G+ and ALL your Google Data

2019-04-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

Google plus G+ was shut down on April 1. You may not care, however, you may have data there that could be useful to you in some capacity. But don't worry, using Google's tools you can archive ALL of your data that exist in the Google cloud, including your G+ history.

Some of the data that you may have stored with Google, and are available for download, include:

blogger blogs
bookmarks
calendar
Chrome history
Contacts
Drive
Photos
Fusion Tables
and more!

Retrieve your Google history HERE

See details of the Google+ shutdown

Thrifty Thursday - Tweetdeck, the free Twitter client

2019-04-04T20:12:00.004-07:00

Tweetdeck, the free Twitter client for social media pros or amateurs... Tweet like a Pro! Are you searching for an amazing and free Twitter client? Look no further than Tweetdeck. This awesome resource is ideal for anyone who manages multiple Twitter accounts (myself I manage 9 accounts using Tweetdeck). Users can control the look and feel of the service (select light or dark themes) and you can also schedule tweets and integrate your favorite link shortening service with it (like bit.ly). Something kind of cool is the mute filter. Is there a topic that is driving you crazy? No worries, simply mute it and you won't see any more bothersome tweets on that topic.

Something new, Tweetdeck now has a really cool way to quickly add columns to your deck. Columns are where you follow everything that's important to you, including your @ mentions (aka. people that nudge you), important hashtags, and follow your favorite accounts. Additional column options include collections, trending topics, likes, your followers, scheduled tweets, direct messages.

Tweetdeck is from Twitter and you can get started easily simply by linking and signing in via Twitter at https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/

Why you Should Include Video in Your Marketing Mix

2019-04-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

So, why consider video content? Here are 10 reasons:

Stats show that video is growing in usage year-over-year and not just for companies with a large ad budget.
Videos are proven to attract and engage your audience
People want more video! Guess what the #2 search engine in the World is... yup, it's YouTube!
Memorable videos are engaging and create trust.
Video is an extremely powerful medium to assist in making a decision to buy
Adding a video front and center on your homepage or landing page is a proven strategy.
Video helps reduce your website bounce rate and thus helps build Google page ranking
Video also indexes in search - think SEO!
Videos are easily repurposed over many of your marketing channels (Youtube, facebook, live feeds, web)
Share your best content in video. If you spend hundreds of hours creating a case study, article, or putting on an event, be sure to generate video around that content. If it worked once it will work again in video format!
Bonus Tip - videos have been proven to be more easily shareable. Facebook and LinkedIn have been upgraded with added support for embedding video.

10 Things That You Should Be Including In Your Press Release

2019-04-03T11:05:00.001-07:00

For many companies, the PR and marketing department may be a PR machine, constantly creating and distributing interesting news and press to share with the World. In the new age of new media you really don’t have to reinvent the wheel, however, for many companies, penning their PR has become rather robotic, with many of the same practices, styles, and tactics being used to get the word out. With that, I’d like to share a short list of 10 items that anyone creating a press release might/should consider including in their press release:

A Catchy, short Title – As hard as it is to believe, I see many PR releases come through with no title or simply with a subject “Press Release”. Use a catchy title with good SEO buzzwords and keep it short, about 120 characters max so it can be easily Tweeted
Corporate Twitter Name – no twitter account? You need to have one, plain and simple!
Link to Facebook Page – 500,000 million users a day, you’re company needs a FB page, be sure to provide a link to it
Keywords – at the end of your press release, provide a list of important keywords applicable to the release. This is great for added SEO
Related Image – If you have a photo, screencap, or image that’s related to your news upload it to your website and provide a link to it – don’t simply drop it in the email with your PR as a ZIP file or large file attachment – if you have a video clip even better!
Link to the PR release on your corporate website (or on a newswire). Many online editors will appreciate a link to a simple, html format version of your PR
Link to a related YouTube Video – Not using video yet? You should be and make sure to use youtube. Again this is valuable for sharing, youtube clips are fast and easy to embed and share, and best of all, a short video can tell the whole story. Keep the video under 3 minutes if possible
Use a valid reply to email when you distribute PR via email – Again hard to believe but if I receive your PR and hit reply to your email and this brings up an email address like noreply@company.com I’m likely going to hit the Delete and ignore your news
A suggested Tweet – again, at the end of your PR you might wish to provide a short, concise suggested Tweet that a person can quickly copy/paste – people will appreciate it.
An intro summary – not actually part of your PR, provide a paragraph that describes and summarizes your announcement. This is often very useful for a blogger or for an editor to use in some other way, perhaps in a facebook post or LinkedIn discussion post

Why your Social Media Content Sucks!

2019-04-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

Yes it is frustrating posting and posting yet time and time again, crickets. But here’s some tips that could help – Neil is very wise and makes loads of sense. – be yourself!
Likes, shares, RTs… this is what everyone wants. So, why is my content that is obviously very interesting and useful getting ZERO attention, yet the post from the girl with a lame selfie picture gets 28,000 likes and shares??

Excellence in Advertising & Journalism - The Folio Awards

2019-03-28T10:32:00.002-07:00

Get Recognition... if you’re producing content, there’s a home for you in the Eddie & Ozzie Awards!

It's time for the Folio Awards! Each year, Folio recognizes excellence in publishing & journalism. This could be a great opportunity for bloggers, journalists, and even your own corporate marketing team. There's a number of categories recognized for design excellence including creative advertising campaign, newsletter, blog, podcast, articles, video and more. Perhaps your marketing time created a campaign that killed it or, perhaps you produced a campaign or award-winning content for a client. Folio is a fabulous way to get National recognition. Note, Folio also puts on an amazing marketing event each fall in New York, we attended several years ago and it was fantastic! 

Learn more about the awards HERE
Be sure to check out Folio Mag for everything marketing & advertising

Where is the Innovation? 2019’s Most & Least Innovative States

2019-03-27T12:57:00.001-07:00

With the U.S. projected to spend $581 billion on research and development in 2019 you may be wondering, where is the most innovation in America? You'll be pleased to know that there's some insight on this topic and it may help you in your future plans for relocation or perhaps expansion of your company.

In these latest findings, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 24 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of STEM professionals to R&D spending per capita.

The District of Columbia has the highest share of STEM professionals, 9.80 percent, three times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest at 3.30 percent

Most Innovative States		Least Innovative States
1	Massachusetts	42	Nebraska
2	Washington	43	South Dakota
3	District of Columbia	44	Kentucky
4	Maryland	45	Hawaii
5	Colorado	46	North Dakota
6	California	47	Tennessee
7	Virginia	48	Iowa
8	Utah	49	West Virginia
9	Delaware	50	Louisiana
10	Oregon	51	Mississippi

To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank see HERE

Tips for Building a Social Media Content Strategy

2019-03-24T09:31:00.003-07:00

Social Media is misunderstood by many. Is it part of your sales, marketing, PR or communication efforts? Or perhaps it plays a role in all. Regardless, many professionals are still left to wonder, what can social media do for our business?

Top 10 Social Media Myths

Can social media really help drive sales and, if so, how and where? Is social media genuinely worthwhile or an enormous waste of time?

Here are 10 common social media myths about small business, and reasons to disregard them.

When I set up a social media account, sales leads will follow.
Time spent on social media might be better spent elsewhere.
Social media activity requires a daunting amount of time and effort.
If my Tweet or Facebook post doesn’t go viral, it’s not worth the effort.
I can’t attract older customers on social media.
Twitter works for rock stars and high-profile athletes, but not for me.
A Twitter profile or photo is unimportant.
The more I post on Facebook, the greater the returns.
Video social media is too costly and time-intensive to work for me.
Personal branding doesn’t work.

How much time will you devote to your social media strategy? A tip, to assist you with planning tasks and scheduling, check out Co-Schedule

“To make Twitter matter, you need to make your tweets timely, relevant to your customers, and not entirely self-promotional,” says Michael Mothner, CEO of the online marketing firm Wpromote.

Source/Credit: Peter LaMotte, LEVICK

Open Data Tip - Track USA Spending by Federal Agency

2019-01-06T19:41:00.001-08:00

USA Spending tracks federal spending to ensure taxpayers can see how their money is being used in communities across America.

https://www.usaspending.gov/#/explorer

The Spending Explorer lets you explore the entire federal budget in increasing granularity, illustrating how awards derive from federal accounts. Interactive visualizations provide help building context, and multiple breakdowns clarify the relationships between federal-spending components. Agency profiles are offered so you can deep dive into spending by each Federal agency.

The resource features an API for developers, a wealth of data and tools, and additionally, the entire database can be downloaded for further research and analysis. A great starting point is the data lab, just go right there! https://datalab.usaspending.gov/

Spending.gov is a hidden gem and you can find it at https://www.usaspending.gov

Canada Open Data - geogratis.gc.ca

2018-12-15T09:00:00.002-08:00

Not to be confused with Canada’s open data portal (yes, I know it’s confusing!) Geogratis is the home of data, maps and publications from Natural Resources Canada. The CGDI is an on-line resource that improves the sharing, access and use of geospatial information – information tied to geographic locations in Canada. It helps decision-makers from all levels of government, the private sector, non–government organizations and academia make better decisions on social, economic and environmental priorities. Data are organized according to the country’s major resource sectors: Energy, mines, forests, while other main topic areas include The North and the Environment. A quick search of popular data reveals access to digital vector data products (CanVec), digital topographic maps, and a very comprehensive atlas of Canada Maps.

For downloadable digital data, visitors are sent offsite to several resources. These include:

The infrastructure itself consists of data, standards, policies, technologies and partnerships that are in place to allow the sharing and visualization of information on the Internet.

Web: http://www.geogratis.gc.ca

Twitter: @NRCan

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalResourcesCa

Drone Mapping with the new DJI PHANTOM 4 RTK

2018-11-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

The all-new DJI Phantom 4 RTK is the tool that takes construction mapping to a new level. This week DJI announced the new DJI PHANTOM 4 RTK About the UAV (via DJI)… Exceptional surveying deliverables can be achieved thanks to its built-in centimeter-level navigation and positioning system, as well as the high-performance imaging system that supports both RTK and PPK.

Learn more: https://enterprise.dji.com/construction
Website: http://enterprise.dji.com

Kerski looks at TNRIS portal

2017-02-12T19:20:00.001-08:00

A look at TNRIS. From Joseph regarding the portal... One of the oldest and yet most useful of all regional or state portals is that of the Texas Natural Resources Information System, or TNRIS. Indeed, TNRIS predated digital spatial data, for it was founded in 1968, housing paper topographic and geologic maps and aerial photographs for years before hosting digital spatial data. TNRIS allows searches by county or by data theme. If one zooms in on a the statewide map with county boundaries, the familiar USGS 7.5-minute grid is displayed, from which one can download such data as digital raster graphics, elevation, wetlands, geology, and historical and current satellite imagery. Statewide themes include bathymetry, land cover, soils, census data, transportation, and many others. Metadata is not only available but it is conveniently packaged, and the site doesn’t burden the data user with needless frills and fancy ways to download–it is, in my view, what a data portal should be–with the ability to quickly go in and get what one needs, in a variety of formats.

Read the full review here

Esri FedGIS Conference Showcases Cutting-Edge Technology

2017-02-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

Esri president Jack Dangermond will kick off a series of talks by government users that explore the latest groundbreaking ways that government agencies are using spatial analysis technology to improve the nation and the world and make better-informed decisions. The conference is expected to host 4,000 attendees.

“Today’s complex issues require a new way of thinking,” said Jeff Peters, head of the national government sector at Esri. “Our users are leading the charge, using mapping and analytics to empower digital transformation, accelerate understanding of big data, and democratize technology. It is inspiring to see how they create more effective government and citizen services and improve public policy.”

The conference is the site for announcements about the innovative use of the Esri platform.

Learn more at esri.com/events/federal.

Join the conversation @Esri @EsriFederalGovt #FedGIS

New Jersey Announces OpenData site

2017-02-12T08:16:00.003-08:00

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed an open data law that requires agencies to publish their data on the internet so that citizens, businesses and other executive branch agencies have free and easy access to information.

Signed on Feb. 6, the New Jersey Open Data Initiative will expand on the state’s current Open Data Center and the Transparency Center — which house the state’s financial data as well as some mapping files and a licensed child care center search function, according to NJ Spotlight.
Responsibility for overseeing and implementing the open data site falls to the Treasury Department’s Liz Rowe, the deputy CTO for policy and New Jersey’s chief data officer.
For the central site, agencies can provide non-proprietary, machine-readable datasets or provide a link to open data on their own sites.

Visit NJ OpenData at https://data.nj.gov/

Source: GCN

Learn Python - Python Programming Cookbook

2017-02-12T07:41:00.003-08:00

Python is a widely used high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability, and its syntax allows programmers to express concepts in fewer lines of code than would be possible in languages such as C++ or Java. The language provides constructs intended to enable clear programs on both a small and large scale.
In this eBook, we provide a compilation of Python examples that will help you kick-start your own projects.

We cover a wide range of topics, from multi-threaded programming to web development with Django. With our straightforward tutorials, you will be able to get your own projects up and running in minimum time.

With this free eBook you will also receive weekly news, tips and special offers

New Jersey launches Open Data Initiative

2017-02-12T07:26:00.002-08:00

More data for New JErsey and a great move for OpenData and OpenGov...

Signed into law Monday, a New Jersey Open Data Initiative requires state agencies to either provide datasets to the state's chief data officer for publication on a central data portal or to publish data on their respective websites.
The state already operates an open data portal, but the new legislation requires the CDO to establish and enforce rigorous standards and best practices for data formatting, sharing and frequency of updates that are expected to bring new depths of maturity to what have so far been ad-hoc efforts. The legislation signed by Gov. Chris Christie also formalizes an operational role held by deputy chief technology officer Liz Rowe, who is now officially the state's chief data officer.

Read More

Drone2Map for ArcGIS Up Close

2016-04-21T14:22:00.002-07:00

What can you do with Drone2Map? A presentation about the new, Drone2Map for ArcGIS filmed on location at the 2016 Esri DevSummit event, Palm Springs, CA. Learn about the capabilities of this new product from Esri, expected to be released later in 2016

In the field, Drone2Map for ArcGIS offers rapid imagery processing, so users can make sure they’ve captured everything they need right away, avoiding costly return trips. The imagery can be used immediately in ArcGIS to provide a clear, accurate picture of any asset or area for mapping, analysis, and decision making.
The photogrammetry engine in Drone2Map for ArcGIS is powered by Pix4D, an industry leader in professional image processing software.
Free trials of Drone2Map for ArcGIS are available through a beta program. Visitesri.com/drone2map.
See also, Esri releases Drone2Map

A look at @HERE maps inside auto

2015-11-17T12:49:00.001-08:00

Geo Tech Jobs on GeoJobsBIZ - new career portal

2013-07-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

GeoJobsBIZ from Spatial Media (think GISuser.com) - Our fabulous, new resource for GIS, geo technology, surveying, mapping and positioning career opportunities and resumes. For a limited time GeojobsBiz is offering Free job and resume posting during the initial launch (Beta) period. Check it out at Geojobs.Biz.

Newly Updated National Elevation Inventory

2013-04-18T12:27:00.003-07:00

An interesting data tip from NOAA… The United States Interagency Elevation Inventory has been updated. The inventory is a comprehensive, nationwide listing of known high-accuracy topographic data, primarily lidar, as well as bathymetric data, such as NOAA hydrographic surveys, multibeam data, and bathymetric lidar. The data are shown on a map with their geographic extents and each entry includes information such as vertical accuracy, point spacing, date of collection, and often a direct link to download data. This project is an ongoing collaborative effort between NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey, with contributions from the FEMA. The inventory is current as of November 2012 and will continue to be updated annually. See www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/topobathy