Atlanta – May 14, 2013 – Softscribe Inc., an Atlanta-based technology public relations firm, announced that it earned a Communicator Award of Distinction for the second consecutive year. This year’s award is in the Integrated Campaign category. The International Academy of Visual Arts (IAVA) bestowed Communicator Awards on “work that made a lasting impact” with marketing and communications excellence. It selected winners from more than 6,000 worldwide entries.

IAVA recognized Softscribe Inc. for a body of marketing communications work created for Kaba Lodging, a division of a publicly traded security corporation. Kaba provides access control solutions to the lodging market. Softscribe Inc. leveraged Buyer Persona messaging for Kaba Lodging in an integrated public relations campaign consisting of print ads, trade show booth messaging, video and press materials.  Click here for an overview.

“Marketing messaging is going micro and visual. You have 3 seconds, using 6-to-8 words, to capture your prospects’ attention. How do you choose the right words?” asks Julie Keyser-Squires, CEO of Softscribe Inc.  “Buyer persona-based messaging is the result of a disciplined process that lets us grab hold of the true voice of the customer.  We hand-build the personas into persuasive messaging that breaks through the noise level, and triggers sales.”

“Softscribe took a chance with Buyer Personas,” said Adele Revella, founder of the Buyer Persona Institute. “They invested in the workshops and the time to do the interviews without any guarantees that they would be rewarded for the effort. They are rock stars, a shining example of the reason I founded the Buyer Persona Institute.”

Revella awarded Softscribe Inc. the respected Buyer Persona Institute Certified Practitioner badge, which is based on a rigorous proficiency evaluation.

Squires credits Adele Revella with training the entire Softscribe Inc. team in her proprietary Buyer Persona methodology.  “Adele is a gifted mentor. Her Buyer Persona-creation process is thorough, streamlined and effective.” Squires said it took 2 to 3 months to schedule and complete the required buyer persona interviews.  “We work with interviewees’ busy schedules. So far, we’ve completed Buyer Personas for two of our most innovative clients. The sales impact, and clarity of the messaging, is phenomenal.”

Softscribe helps clients shorten the sales cycle and find customers faster through strategic public relations and digital marketing campaigns. The company’s technology clients target the hospitality and travel, casino gaming, multifamily, government, and related markets.

About The Buyer Persona Institute
Buyer Persona Institute is a training, coaching and speaking consultancy helping B2B marketers understand and harness the power of what really matters to buyers. Founded in 2010 by Adele Revella, Buyer Persona Institute offers workshops, coaching, speaking and consulting services for Fortune 500 and mid-market companies around the world who seek the confidence to say,” This is what really matters to our buyers. So here’s the plan.” Revella is the author of the eBook The Buyer Persona Manifesto and co-author of For Compelling Content, Let Buyers Be Your Guide. More information at www.buyerpersona.com, on Twitter at @buyerpersona or on Facebook.

About Softscribe Inc.
Softscribe Inc. is a sales messaging corporation. We help technology companies targeting the hospitality and travel, government, multifamily, and related markets shorten the sales cycle and find customers faster. To do this, we leverage over 14 years of proven experience and innovation, domain expertise, and long-term relationships. Our effective, client-tailored public relations and digital marketing programs apply SEO and social media to achieve clients’ business goals. We are proud of our best-in-class clients and would like to help you, too. For more information please visit www.softscribeinc.com, on twitter @SoftscribeInc, and on Facebook and LinkedIn.

CONTACTS:
Buyer Persona Institute, Inc.
Adele Revella, President
685 Spring Street, #200
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
Phone: 360-378-2684
Email: adele(at)buyerpersona.com
www.buyerpersona.com/

Softscribe Inc.
Julie Keyser-Squires, APR, CEO
180 River Springs Drive NW
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 404-256-5512
Email: julie(at)softscribeinc.com
Twitter: @Juliesquires
www.softscribeinc.com

A new idea thundered during Brian Easter’s presentation at Atlanta’s recent Search Engine Marketing Professionals meeting. Brian is the visionary CEO and co-founder of award-winning Nebo, a top digital marketing agency.
His revelation?

“Your company’s story drives success in
search, social media and sales.”

Wait…here’s a search guy talking
about Story?

“More than anything else, story matters… It’s what drives decisions for one brand over another throughout the entire buyer journey.” – Brian Easter, CEO, Nebo

The fusion of story, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media is now a solid trend.  Hotels saw a similar pattern in the synthesis of revenue management with marketing.  That movement took 10 years to solidify.

“The user is creating his or her own story in the buyer journey,
and so should you.” - Brian Easter

We liked that and grabbed Brian to learn more.

Julie: How has SEO changed over the past 3 years to arrive at the point of Story-Search-Social?

Brian: SEO is evolving. We’re now starting to see the impact of that.

Google’s algorithm is less math-based now. It’s a semantic search engine. That’s why meaning is so important. Story is everything. You can manipulate things like keyword instances and inbound links, but you can’t manipulate a message that solves people’s problems. Google is getting better at interpreting story. It’s more important than ever to figure out what yours is.

Julie: You said “We promise your search marketing campaigns will improve once you know what your story is.” Why?

Brian:  Humans are not coldhearted, rational beings. We’re not Spock. We’re emotional creatures who are willing to pay more and remain loyal to companies that stand for something.

Look at New Belgium Brewery, a beer maker dedicated to eco-friendly manufacturing and physical fitness. The cost-to-quality ratio of New Belgium microbrews may not be the lowest around, but it’s a company that people can feel good about buying from. The brewery’s unique selling point is this:

When you grab a six-pack of Ranger IPA, you’re not just buying a Pale Ale, you’re buying a story. You’re buying New Belgium’s drive-in movie nights and Tour de Fat race and its sustainability initiatives. Brands like New Belgium set a shrewd lesson for all of us with the way they communicate core values.

“Story is the glue that connects SEO to Pay Per Click to Public Relations
to your overall brand identity.” - Brian Easter

Without it, your campaigns are nothing more than ads and keywords.

Julie: What are the top online venues, from an SEO perspective, on which to post the company paragraph?

Brian: Story comes alive through great content – thought leadership, videos, visuals, earned media coverage. There’s no “right” place to post this content. The important thing is to craft your story effectively, then find your audience and bring it to them. That could mean Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn or YouTube.

From an SEO perspective, we never recommend chasing links. We recommend spreading great content. There’s a difference. Google will pick up on social mentions and brand mentions, even if the number of direct links to your site isn’t high. The goal is to get people talking.

And I enjoyed talking with you, Brian.  Thanks, and see you around town.

Give Brian a shout at www.neboagency.com.

Do you use storytelling to drive sales?  Tell me – what is your main challenge?

We all spend time and energy to create high quality messages that achieve our companies’ business goals.   Ever wondered what is the best time to post them for stellar results?  If so, here they are, and please note: All times are ET. Tip: We use HootSuite to schedule posts. It frees up your weekends.

Twitter.  Best time is between 1:00pm and 3:00pm, especially on days earlier in the week. Worst time is after 8:00pm and after 3:00pm on Fridays.

Facebook.  Best time is between 1:00pm and 4:00pm, with Wednesday at 3:00pm being the best time all week. Worst time is after 8:00pm and before 8:00am, and posting on the weekend.

LinkedIn. Best time is between 7:00am and 9:00am or 5:00pm and 6:00pm. Worst time is between 10:00pm and 6:00am.

Google+.  Best time is between 9:00am and 11:00am.
Worst time is between 6:00pm and 8:00am.

Pinterest.  Best time is between 2:00pm and 4:00pm or 8:00pm and 1:00am.  Traffic builds after 12:00pm and the peak time is Saturday morning.  Worst time is between 5:00pm and 7:00pm.

Tumblr.  Best time is after 4:00pm to post most important content, posts that go up after 7:00pm get the most clicks during a 24hr period. Friday evenings are also a key time to post.

And for best results, consider staggering your posts.

Would you like more insights on how to create high quality messages that increase sales? Give me a shout at Julie@softscribeinc.com.  Cheers.

Thanks to Maisha McKinney for her valuable research for this blog post.
Sources: Mashable (bit.ly data), Forbes, and Business2Community

*Please note: All times are ET

Click here for Josh Martin’s SoCon2013 preso on
“Customer Engagement in the Palm of Your Hand, Going Mobile.”

Josh Martin is the manager of social media for Arby’s.  He’s big on “short, bite-sized bits of content.”

Josh says we are in the Thank You economy and I agree. Go mobile with your social media Thank You’s.

He gave a strategy-rich presentation on mobile and social media at Atlanta’s annual SoCon conference this month, and centered on:

Did you know 54% of the world’s brands use Instagram [follow me @Juliesoftscribeinc ], which uploads 5 million photos every day? Data shows that photos attract twice the number of Likes on Facebook over text-based status updates.

Josh also says mobile video has a 6x higher click-through rate than standard display ads.

What does this mean for your messaging?   

It means you have 3 seconds to catch a customer’s eye with the right 6 to 8 words.  Or in the case of Twitter Vine, 6 seconds to catch a customer’s attention with the right 6 to 8 words. Twitter Vine is a mobile service that lets you capture and share 6-second, looping videos and post them immediately (is Twitter Vine valuable or irritating? We do not yet know.).

What 6 to 8 words would you say to customers, over and over in six seconds via Twitter Vine?

More on Twitter Vine: http://blog.twitter.com/2013/01/vine-new-way-to-share-video.html

How do you know which 6 to 8 words your prospects and customers want to hear?

Buyer Persona research delivers the most effective and concise message to break through the noise level. For Softscribe, Buyer Personas are a discipline we use to grab hold of the voice of the customer.  We hand-build Buyer Personas into persuasive messaging that captures the buyer’s attention. Here’s an example.

Is your messaging ready to go Micro and Visual?  Do you already know the 6 to 8 words your customers and prospects want to hear?  Give me a shout to find out how.

First published by Adele Revella’s “Buyer Persona Institute Blog,” as “PR Agency Uses Buyer Personas to Simplify Marketing.” Reprinted
with permission.

“I’m excited to see more marketing agencies among our workshop attendees because by training just one agency to develop actionable buyer personas, we can help many more companies.

To get a sense of how agencies are leveraging buyer insights in the messaging, content marketing, advertising and campaigns they deliver for their clients, I interviewed recent Buyer Persona Institute graduate Julie Squires, CEO of Softscribe Inc. Her Atlanta branding, marketing and public relations agency serves clients in hospitality, travel, multifamily housing, and federal government and enterprise markets.

Q:  How did you decide to build buyer personas for your agency clients?

Julie Squires:  “I like to tell the story of Henri Matisse, who  started painting in his late 20s while he recovered from appendicitis. His first teacher looked at his work and said, ‘You were born to simplify painting.’ Softscribe is here to simplify marketing – that’s what we do for our clients.  Our focus is to increase sales 15 to 25 percent through marketing.  And buyer personas give us an effective process to do that.”

Q: How are personas helping you better serve your clients?

Julie: “Messaging is going micro and  visual. If you only have six to eight words to get a message across, how do you know you’re picking the right words? Buyer personas give us a way to break through the noise level. For us, they’re a discipline for grabbing hold of the voice of the customer.  We hand-build this into persuasive messaging that captures the buyer’s attention.”

Q:  Do you think marketers are getting too caught up with data, forgetting that marketing is both art and science?

Julie: “I do think we’re getting too algorithmically hypnotized. But we’re starting to see a swing back toward incorporating more of the human element and storytelling back into marketing in service of the business goals.”

Q:  What did you do first after attending the buyer persona workshop?

Julie: Our team quickly completed 6-8 solid interviews for a client with buyers who made win or loss purchase decisions within the last 30-90 days. We found that we were able to tap into the voice of the customer at a visceral level and understand the essence of who the buyers are and what they want. Buyer personas are now embedded in our agency culture as part of our BEAM methodology – with the ‘b’ standing for buyer personas.”

Q: Do you think that buyer personas will help you win new business?

Julie: “Yes, it’s one way we’re getting new business…Our clients trust us to lead them into the next new, effective way to communicate to increase sales. So we’re seeing a lot of interest. And it’s already paying big dividends for our existing clients.”

Q: How have buyer personas helped your clients?

Julie: Here’s what’s cool. Our first buyer persona initiative resonated so well that our client rolled out the messaging in all their ads, trade show booth verbiage, and videos. At the sales meeting, everyone was enthusiastic and had confidence in the work [because it was based on real interviews with real buyers].”

Q: What advice would you give for others who are considering using buyer personas?

Julie: “Templates, e-Books, webinars and a wealth of other resources can help you get started. It’s a big procedural shift.  You need to invest in training. Teach your team how to incorporate buyer personas into their marketing and PR processes. Also, it’s not enough to talk to in-house experts; interviews with real buyers are essential to gathering competitive and other insights you need to build effective sales-oriented messaging that gets results.”

I want to thank Julie Squires for participating in this interview and sharing her experience. If you have a success story about buyer personas, I’d like to hear from you.” - Adele Revella

With marketing automation tools, it is relatively easy to distribute, measure and analyze any content you create. We like Marketo to get it done.

Messaging that increases sales, however, must be hand-built. We like a combination of

Adele Revella’s buyer persona method, accented with Jaynie L. Smith’s competitive advantage approach, to get it done.  Both thought leaders simplify and systematize an effective messaging process.

Your sales messages to prospects and customers must be like a firm, trusted handshake. Or a warm handshake. Or a friendly clasp.  Effective sales messaging must look them in the eyes and say, “I know you well.”

Our buyer persona mentor and colleague, Adele Revella, said it best in a recent email:

“So what’s changed? While it was always important
to know the audience before we created a story,
today’s audiences are overwhelmed with content, and
far less forgiving of companies that skip this step.” – A. Revella

You may have experienced this.

Buyer Persona Sales Messaging

Our company, and especially our clients, benefit  – first – from Adele’s free eBook, The Buyer Persona Manifesto. Then we invested in her company-wide workshops to learn her method for effective sales messaging. We and our clients continue to benefit from her “With You All the Way” promise and close association.

Adele’s process includes step-by-step templates and detailed instructions – down to the 3 best times each day to reach a win/loss prospect at his desk – in order to interview the candidate and accurately populate Adele’s Five Rings of Insight™.  The 5 Rings address: 1. What made the prospects start looking for a solution? What was their Priority Initiative?  2. What do Success Factors look like to them?  3. What are the Perceived Barriers? 4. What is the Buying Process?  and 5. What is the Decision Criteria? What capabilities does the buyer deem important?

Click here to see succinct, fresh, customer-centric sales messaging we produce using Adele’s method.  These are rolled out for our clients in ads, videos, booth verbiage, press releases and more.  They boost revenue 20% to 25%.

Competitive Advantages

In sales messaging for clients, first we create a core message, and different version of that message, using Adele’s approach. We then stimulate prospects to action by adding competitive advantages to our content.  According to Jaynie L. Smith, a competitive advantage must be:

• Quantifiable and detailed.
• Sustainable.
• Something competitors cannot claim.
• Helpful to the buyer in making an educated decision. Tell the buyer something they do not know.

As an example, Softscribe Inc.’s current competitive advantages are:

• Softscribe Inc. solidifies a company’s brand awareness and can increase annual sales 20% to 25% or more.
• Softscribe Inc. generates the right messages for your audiences 100% of the time. This is essential to closing sales. We create and leverage time saving, effective, streamlined processes.
•  Softscribe Inc. staff members average 18 years’ earned industry depth, and experience in branding, marketing and PR.

Other examples of competitive advantages we created for clients include:

• [Company’s] market share in the hotel/casino vertical exceeds competitors’ by 400%.
• [Company’s] expertise in complete UHF RFID system integration delivers a 100% control of linen inventory.
• [Company] produces and supports 100% of its system and product development in-house. This allows [Company] to be twice as responsive to system enhancement requests compared to outsourcing and industry norms.
• [Company] leverages 20 years of technology innovation, proven methodologies and earned industry depth.

Check out Jaynie Smith’s two books, Creating Competitive Advantage and Relevant Selling for a “how-to” process on creating competitive advantages to power your sales messaging.

How do you capture the voice of your customers? 
I would like to know.

Do you have questions about your sales messaging?
Give me a shout now.

This is a question asked by many prospects who want our sales-focused branding, market consulting, and PR services:

“How much does PR cost?”

That depends on your answer to this question:
“Would you hire a salesperson on Groupon?”

If “Yes,” then scroll down to the subhead “Order & Chaos.”  This is for you.

If your answer is, “No,” then one industry-average for minimum retainers is between $7.5K and $10K per month. What do our clients get for that investment?  Significant business growth across 100% of their target market. Less focused branding and PR might net you 75% of a market. How much is 25% of your market worth? Several million? Hundreds of millions? This is the cost of not investing in effective, integrated branding and PR.

Order & Chaos
If, however, you need to continue to build your belief in PR & marketing by doing it yourself or in a less focused way, it takes a combination of Order and Chaos to move the sales needle.

“Order” is my following 5-step framework for how to market effectively.

“Chaos” is your company’s unique way of implementing within this framework.  Get to it. Or give us a call.

5-Step Framework for How to Market Effectively

First, understand the environment in which your potential customers operate.  Experts suggest we have the online attention span of a goldfish, about 3 seconds.  Your main benefit-value proposition must be clearly stated and consistently repeated in various ways. Keep it short and visually graphic.

Second, organize your energy in this order:
1. Create content.
2. Search engine optimize it.
3. Apply social media, but only if it supports your business goals and you have the resources to keep it going.
Click here for more details.

Third, focus on your highest level message. A well designed value proposition, like a good visual design, can scale to the size of a postage stamp or a billboard and maintain its integrity.  Then create 30,000-ft, and 10,000-ft messages that roll up into your highest level message.  Start with a Messaging Platform.  Click here for a Messaging Platform template to guide you.

Softscribe takes messaging a step further with a systematic Buyer Persona interview process. We capture what your customers care about in that slice of time just before they start looking for your product or service.  Click here for examples.

Fourth, design your efforts into a hub-and-spoke strategy that can grow with you.  What will be your hub? Your website? A blog?  Drive prospects to your hub and convert them with a Call to Action. Click here for a sample B2B hub-and-spoke PR strategy.

Fifth, tap into a learning environment and/or outside expertise – give us a shout. From now on, professional learning is part of our lives. Make it manageable; fit a learning culture into your lifestyle.  In Atlanta, I regularly attend 3 business groups at a time, currently SEMPO, StartUp Chicks, and Toastmasters.

You can use MeetUp.com to find groups in your location.

And you can use my  5-step marketing framework to reach your business goals. I’m eager to hear about your success.

What marketing step would you add to a must-do framework?   Share it with me here.

This article was first published in Hotel Executive, February 2012

This article explores how the Press Release fits into your content marketing strategy and Google+. It reviews proven principles for creating content pillars to extend your influence and keep your messaging clear and consistent. It explores the idea of creating content for buyer personas. We end with a tutorial on how to get started on Google+

The Press Release: Ever evolving, are you?

The Press Release, like the hotel market, is ever evolving. How different our industry is today compared to the days of the Knights Templar during the Middle Ages. Often considered the first hoteliers, the Knights Templar built 800 Abbeys in Europe and a chain of castles in Syria for traveling pilgrims.¹

Ok, that’s a little extreme. The point is, I am about to introduce you to some new concepts we are all learning together. History evolves and so do we in marketing.

Editorial + Architecture = Today’s content, such as Press Releases, customer stories, viewpoints and blog posts

Think of content marketing as having two sides: Editorial and Architecture. The Editorial engages people; the Architecture shapes content for technology platforms.² As a key player, the Press Release must also show off both its editorial and technical sides. Let’s explore them separately.

Content Editorial: Storytelling to a buyer persona

Messages are not only growing shorter and more visual, they also include a strong and sometimes emotional storytelling component. They often catch readers “out of uniform.” One example is a stunningly successful technology company that moved into new, award-winning offices. A Press Release and photos of the new offices plus editorial placement in interior design magazines can reach their customers in a new way. The message was still within the context of their brand and culture of excellence. We exchanged target markets for target, or buyer, personas.

What is a buyer persona?

I like this simple definition: “A buyer personal is a detailed profile of the buyer the company hopes to persuade to choose its products, services or solutions.³ ” I recommend you identify your top two buyer personas at the beginning of your content marketing strategy. That way you will know what really matters to your buyers. Use your two buyer personas to shape your content and tell the stories they want to hear.

With that in mind, Colleen Jones⁴, principal at Content Science, neatly outlines the new storytelling tone in her book Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content, page 12.

“Content strategists and writers…already draw on some aspects of rhetoric — such as being sensitive to context…” — Colleen Jones⁴, Principal, Content Science. Used with permission.

The new thinking says it is okay for your product to make an appearance in the Press Release, but it is better to tell the story of how people use your product. When you write, start with your buyers not with your product. What are their wants? Problems? Concerns?

In fact, what is their profile or persona? If the concept of a buyer’s persona is new to you, consider reading through the resources at the end of this article. It is an idea that will become essential in the fully mobile, segmented environment.

Content Architecture: The new distribution channel is an environment

Consider creating three pillars for your content strategy. These will be your key messages and will act as an organizing framework. Adherence to these three messaging pillars ensures your messages will be clear and consistent, everywhere.

And some version of your Press Release will be everywhere because you want to create an online environment in which your customers, prospects and friends thrive. You can distribute snippets of your Press Release via your website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and a nurture email send. Rewrite it conversationally as a blog post and remember to include relevant links. Content from a series of themed Press Releases or customer stories may be packaged as a presentation and posted on SlideShare. It’s great for search. We like this format for posting Press Releases on the website.

I encourage you to invest the time to learn how to html code your keywords for Google Analytics, and then measure which venues send you the most qualified referrals.

I also encourage you to jump in and explore how to share the messages in your Press Releases on Google+. To get you started, here is a tutorial.

How to Get Started on Google+

Google+ was introduced last June and in November I made my first post. Have you tried it yet?  It’s an ongoing experiment but guess what: your customers are there, or will be soon.  And your content – including snippets from Press Releases – needs to be there too.  Since Google+ starts to weave together all your online personas with twitter- and Facebook-like features, I encourage you to jump in and get up to speed now.

TIP: Organize your content and architecture around the top 3 messages that support your company’s business goals.

Here is some vocabulary and best practices to get you started.
CIRCLES. Circles are a way to organize your contacts. Once you get on Google+ and establish yourself, start circling people you want to listen to and be heard by.  I was advised to take it slowly.  You can create and get rid of circles, or place a person in multiple circles.

Consider establishing circles around your company’s top 3 messages, or “content pillars.”  For instance, I have 3 circles so far, titled Relationships, Innovation & Experience, and Our Markets – but nobody can see that. When you name a circle, it’s private to you. These are our company’s top 3 messaging buckets that support our business goals.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE POSTS, GREEN and BLUE. When you create a post, you must select what circles to receive it before it goes live.  You can choose to make it Public or Private. If the color key is green, it’s public. Anyone can see it and it shows up in search.  If the color key is blue, it’s limited to the circles you selected.

HANGOUTS. Hangouts are group video chats with your webcam and can be used to deepen relationships around an area of interest.  They currently let you and 9 other people video chat at once (gotta get a better background before I screen test).  Companies use hangouts to get input on ideas from developers; host press audiences; or chat around conferences at which your team is speaking.

How do you get in?  You get a notification that someone wants to invite you to hangout.  Everyone who is participating is in a live thumbnail across the bottom. Whoever is speaking rotates to the bigger window at the top.

TIP: Hangouts are currently public. If you want a private hangout, create a temporary circle.  Send the hangout invite to just that circle.

+1 BUTTON POWERS SEARCH. The +1 button indicates you LIKE something. When you click it, you can also include a snippet of your own opinion.  This is a POWERFUL way for people to show what is important on the web, and for you to increase your brand’s online influence.  +1 is the best reason to post good, relevant content.

What I will do differently on Google+ than I did on twitter and Facebook. I vow to only add valuable content related to our top 3 brand messages in support of our business goals.  These are Relationships, Innovation, and domain expertise in the Hospitality, Government, Multifamily Housing and related markets.  To start, I will also choose my friends differently than I did before: only people I know.  I will ALWAYS be respectful of your stream; no flooding.

QUESTION: Will Google+ replace LinkedIn? I hope not.  The marketplace needs competition.

For more articles on Google+, please click here.

Can the Press Release help evolve our hotel industry news portals?

More than any other vehicle, the Press Release straddles the marketing evolution timeline we are all experiencing. Most of our hospitality news portal websites are tooled to distribute Press Releases – but not alternative html and graphic messages. Because the eyeballs in our industry are focused, Press Releases get results on these channels.

Press releases, and other vehicles for your three pillars of content, can also excite engagement in the online environment you create. I wish you much success.

¹ Archeology in Marlow blog, “The Knights Templar,” March 6, 2008
² AiMA Live Blog, October 27, 2011
³ Buyer Persona Institute with Adele Revella
⁴ Content Matters: AiMA Live Blog, October 27, 2011

Resources:
Heartfelt thanks to the high value webinars from Bulldog Reporter PR University and especially these teachers on the Google+ webinar:

Jon Greer, Training Director, Bulldog PR University
Rebecca Davis, EVP, Digital Influence, Ogilvy
Jennifer Lashua, Global Social Media Strategist, Social Media Center of Excellence, Intel
Vidar Brekke, Chief Product Officer, Conversion
Mark Traphagen, Internet Marketing Manager, Virante

Copyblogger blog, “How to Write a Social Media Press Release” by Muhammad Saleem

Chris Brogan blog, “Your Customers Are Always the Story” by Chris Brogan November 12, 2011

Buyer Persona Institute blog by Adele Revella, “FAQs”

Web Ink Now blog by David Meerman Scott, “How well do you know your buyer personas? “ July 22, 2008

Web Ink Now blog by David Meerman Scott, “An analysis of gobbledygook in over 388,000 press releases sent in 2006” Oct 12, 2006

Content Marketing Institute, “How to Put Together an Editorial Calendar for Content Marketing” by Michele Linn, August 16, 2010. Thanks @leenjones in Clout

The Yahoo Style Guide

The New Rules of Marketing and PR, book by David Meerman Scott

***

June 6, 2012 – Los Angeles – Spirited innovation and the human touch differentiate InvoTech Systems, Inc. from its competitors. The company recently discovered the magic these same qualities bring when applied to public relations and branding. One result is a banner year for InvoTech, which saw dramatic sales growth of its inventory control systems  in North America, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the Asia Pacific region.  InvoTech Systems credits its fresh marketing approach for helping to double sales inquiries and steadily increase new contracts.

“The first step is to delve deeper into understanding potential customers—who they are and what they want,” explains Jeff Welles, vice president of InvoTech. “This enables us to understand how to craft messages that reach our prospects and effectively address their needs.” InvoTech’s customers include the world’s largest casinos, hotels, resorts, theme parks, sports arenas, and laundries.

Welles says highly focused public relations and marketing programs generated much of the growing interest in InvoTech’s products.  Those efforts began last year when InvoTech started a relationship with an award winning Atlanta-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in hospitality and casino gaming.

Video press release shows and tells how InvoTech delivers

“Softscribe Inc.’s PR strategy, benefit messaging, strategic communications, and website work boosted awareness in our target markets of the value we deliver,” says Welles. “Case in point: a video press release they developed. The release includes a live demo that we conducted at the June 2011 HITEC event in Austin.  We wowed potential customers with three typical hotel laundry tracking processes that our systems automate and improve. When a prospect called us in April 2012, we forwarded a link to the press release. Being able to watch our system in action prompted the prospect to become a customer.  InvoTech continues to get a significant return on the PR investment we started nearly a year ago.”

Effective messaging, innovative approach drives more pre-qualified inquiries, a shorter sales cycle

“The relationship with our technology public relations  provider clearly builds a greater awareness of our systems’ value in the minds of potential customers,” said Harvey Welles, founder, CEO, and president of InvoTech Systems. ”Now, when prospects contact us, many already know about the benefits we deliver through our marketing work. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of what we can achieve.”

InvoTech recognized early that their marketing partner shares the company’s emphasis on innovation and long-term customer relationships. “Softscribe has a great rapport with our team,” said Jeff Welles. “We trust them to contact our clients and value their ability to represent InvoTech. When we provide our customers’ information for a story, their team handles it professionally every time.”

“A whole new way of marketing” doubles leads during the first year

InvoTech—a company that grew into industry leadership before ever distributing a press release— moved into “a whole new way of marketing,” says Jeff Welles. Benefits include:

• Doubled inquiries via a revitalized website with enhanced “request for information” processes. Closed multiple contracts fed into the sales funnel by public relations.
• Increased editorial coverage, with the right benefit message, in the most valuable industry publications.
• Realized stronger post-purchase approval. This resulted, in part, from customer success stories forwarded to InvoTech’s client list and repurposed in company newsletters.

“Judging by the growing number of inquiries we receive and the brisk traffic at our booths at HITEC, HOFEX, and other industry expos, more and more companies recognize the value our solutions provide,” Jeff Welles said. “The recognition makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
 

About InvoTech Systems
InvoTech Systems, Inc. – a Microsoft Certified Partner – is a leading provider of high quality and innovative inventory control systems for hotels, casinos, resorts, theme parks, and sports arenas.  The company’s GIMS™ asset management solution and tracking systems manage uniforms, linens and laundries, and its SAMS™ systems manage security and guest services operations. Both GIMS™ and SAMS™ provide ultimate control and accountability, streamline operations, improve quality and loss control, and reduce labor. The GIMS™ ultra high frequency, radio frequency identification (UHF-RFID) system, in particular, fully automates uniform and linen tracking, allowing managers to eliminate labor from cost centers and instead put staff to work enhancing revenues. With more than 500 customers worldwide that include MGM Resorts International, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Universal Studios, and Madison Square Garden, InvoTech Systems is rooted in a culture that emphasizes long-term client relationships, superior customer service, and on-going technology innovation and integration. For more information, please visit www.invotech.com.
 

About Softscribe Inc.
Softscribe Inc. is an award winning market consulting and integrated public relations firm.  We help technology companies targeting the hospitality and travel, government, multifamily and related markets achieve substantial business growth.  To do this, we leverage over 12 years of proven results and innovation, domain expertise and long-term relationships. Our fresh, client-tailored public relations and branding programs apply an integrated approach of SEO, social media and online marketing to achieve our clients’ business goals.  We are proud of our best-in-class clients and would like to help you, too. For more information please contact us at www.softscribeinc.com, or 404.256-5512. Thank you.

CONTACTS:

InvoTech Systems, Inc.
Jeff Welles, Vice President
16530 Ventura Blvd., Suite 603
Encino, CA 91436 USA
Phone: 818-574-6866
Email: Sales@invotech.com
www.invotech.com
 

Softscribe Inc.
Julie Keyser-Squires, APR
180 River Springs Drive NW
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 404-256-5512
Email: Julie@softscribeinc.com
www.softscribeinc.com

June 6, 2012 – Los Angeles – Spirited innovation and the human touch differentiate InvoTech Systems, Inc. from its competitors. The company recently discovered the magic these same qualities bring when applied to public relations and branding. One result is a banner year for InvoTech, which saw dramatic sales growth of its inventory control systems in North America, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the Asia Pacific region. InvoTech Systems credits its fresh marketing approach for helping to double sales inquiries and steadily increase new contracts.

“The first step is to delve deeper into understanding potential customers—who they are and what they want,” explains Jeff Welles, vice president of InvoTech. “This enables us to understand how to craft messages that reach our prospects and effectively address their needs.” InvoTech’s customers include the world’s largest casinos, hotels, resorts, theme parks, sports arenas, and laundries.

Welles says highly focused public relations and marketing programs generated much of the growing interest in InvoTech’s products. Those efforts began last year when InvoTech started a relationship with an award winning Atlanta-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in hospitality and casino gaming.

Video press release shows and tells how InvoTech delivers

“Softscribe Inc.’s PR strategy, benefit messaging, strategic communications, and website work boosted awareness in our target markets of the value we deliver,” says Welles. “Case in point: a video press release they developed. The release includes a live demo that we conducted at the June 2011 HITEC event in Austin. We wowed potential customers with three typical hotel laundry tracking processes that our systems automate and improve. When a prospect called us in April 2012, we forwarded a link to the press release. Being able to watch our system in action prompted the prospect to become a customer. InvoTech continues to get a significant return on the PR investment we started nearly a year ago.”

Effective messaging, innovative approach drives more pre-qualified inquiries, a shorter sales cycle

“The relationship with our technology public relations provider clearly builds a greater awareness of our systems’ value in the minds of potential customers,” said Harvey Welles, founder, CEO, and president of InvoTech Systems. ”Now, when prospects contact us, many already know about the benefits we deliver through our marketing work. We are only beginning to scratch the surface of what we can achieve.”

InvoTech recognized early that their marketing partner shares the company’s emphasis on innovation and long-term customer relationships. “Softscribe has a great rapport with our team,” said Jeff Welles. “We trust them to contact our clients and value their ability to represent InvoTech. When we provide our customers’ information for a story, their team handles it professionally every time.”

“A whole new way of marketing” doubles leads during the first year

InvoTech—a company that grew into industry leadership before ever distributing a press release— moved into “a whole new way of marketing,” says Jeff Welles. Benefits include:

• Doubled inquiries via a revitalized website with enhanced “request for information” processes. Closed multiple contracts fed into the sales funnel by public relations.
• Increased editorial coverage, with the right benefit message, in the most valuable industry publications.
• Realized stronger post-purchase approval. This resulted, in part, from customer success stories forwarded to InvoTech’s client list and repurposed in company newsletters.

“Judging by the growing number of inquiries we receive and the brisk traffic at our booths at HITEC, HOFEX, and other industry expos, more and more companies recognize the value our solutions provide,” Jeff Wells said. “The recognition makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

About InvoTech Systems
InvoTech Systems, Inc. – a Microsoft Certified Partner – is a leading provider of high quality and innovative inventory control systems for hotels, casinos, resorts, theme parks, and sports arenas. The company’s GIMS™ asset management solution and tracking systems manage uniforms, linens and laundries, and its SAMS™ systems manage security and guest services operations. Both GIMS™ and SAMS™ provide ultimate control and accountability, streamline operations, improve quality and loss control, and reduce labor. The GIMS™ ultra high frequency, radio frequency identification (UHF-RFID) system, in particular, fully automates uniform and linen tracking, allowing managers to eliminate labor from cost centers and instead put staff to work enhancing revenues. With more than 500 customers worldwide that include MGM Resorts International, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Universal Studios, and Madison Square Garden, InvoTech Systems is rooted in a culture that emphasizes long-term client relationships, superior customer service, and on-going technology innovation and integration. For more information, please visit www.invotech.com.

About Softscribe Inc.
Softscribe Inc. is an award winning market consulting and integrated public relations firm. We help technology companies targeting the hospitality and travel, government, multifamily and related markets achieve substantial business growth. To do this, we leverage over 12 years of proven results and innovation, domain expertise and long-term relationships. Our fresh, client-tailored public relations and branding programs apply an integrated approach of SEO, social media and online marketing to achieve our clients’ business goals. We are proud of our best-in-class clients and would like to help you, too. For more information please contact us at www.softscribeinc.com.

CONTACTS:

InvoTech Systems, Inc.
Jeff Welles, Vice President
16530 Ventura Blvd., Suite 603
Encino, CA 91436 USA
Phone: 818-574-6866
Email: Sales@invotech.com
www.invotech.com

Softscribe Inc.
Julie Keyser-Squires, APR
180 River Springs Drive NW
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 404-256-5512
Email: Julie@softscribeinc.com
www.softscribeinc.com