Finding The Why of Social Media Through a Social Media Audit
Author Simon Sinek popularized the idea of finding your why. Many organizations, including our own, have created “why statements,” allowing us to succinctly state the purpose behind our work. Before getting to work, Sinek proposes that organizations “start with why.” But when social media exploded, many organizations jumped in feet first. It was something they…
Read MoreCastle Empowers Nonprofit Communications Through Consult Café
The Castle Group recently created and produced the first-ever Consult Café, a pop-up communications forum for small nonprofits, in partnership with the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network and Babson College. This exclusive event at Babson’s downtown campus gave nonprofit leaders the opportunity to connect, engage, and discuss best practices for creating and building relationships with key stakeholders…
Read MoreCastle Public Relations and Social Media Trends
Fake news. Podcasts. Instagram stories and IGTV. As we look ahead in 2019, we’re recapping our favorite media stories and trends from the past year and sharing our predictions for what’s next. What do you think was the most inspiring media story of 2018? The action taken by the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High…
Read MoreFive Best Practices for Working with Bloggers and Social Media Influencers
As the traditional media landscape becomes increasing crowded and noisy, brands large and small have needed to modify their media and marketing strategies to create alternative opportunities to get in front of their desired audience. One growing alternative to traditional earned media is social media and blogger marketing, where brands work directly with blogger and…
Read MoreBianchi PR President Jim Bianchi reflects on his career in automotive PR, secrets to social media and client retention, and his firm’s affiliation with PRGN
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with friend and Public Relations Global Network (PRGN) partner Jim Bianchi, the president of Detroit-based Bianchi PR. Jim shared with us his agency’s secrets to social media and client retention, as well as the interesting story about how he got his start in automotive PR. How and…
Read MoreEvents: The Missing Link in the Paid/Earned/Social/Owned Marketing Model
The ever-evolving marketing industry has defined the PESO (Paid/Earned/Social/Owned) model as a way to categorize marketing activities in the context of our digital world. It makes sense and is an important lens through which to consider our work. One critical element, however, always seems to be missing from the PESO model: events. As our team…
Read MoreBoston Celtics President Rich Gotham Talks Teamwork, Culture & Community Service
Boston Celtics President Rich Gotham recently sat down with Sandy Lish to talk about his most defining moment with the organization, the importance of teamwork on and off the court and how great it is to be a part of “Celtic Pride.” He also shared a few things most fans may not know about the…
Read MoreMake your audience your ally
One of the first rules of effective communications is to know your audience. This is particularly important when crisis hits.
Consider this: all the prepared holding statements, Q&As, talking points, letters and response strategies in the world won’t help in times of crisis if you don’t have an understanding of how your audience views a particular issue in the first place. In fact, if you don’t have a general awareness of who your various stakeholders are and what they think, your communications efforts could take what is actually a minor issue and inadvertently turn it into a full blown crisis.
Read More#amplifycastle with WriteBoston
During The Castle Group’s Spirit Week celebrating our 20th anniversary, we hosted a day-long workshop at our office in the Navy Yard as part of WriteBoston’s six-week summer program that engages students to improve their writing, build journalism skills and explore different parts of Boston.
Read MoreCrisis Communications Strategies for Sexual Abuse Allegations in Schools – Part Two
Below is the second post of a two-part blog on communications during a school sexual abuse crisis. You can read Part One here. Communications Materials Communications, legal and risk management are inextricably linked in these matters, and need to work as a team. The communications plan needs foundational materials, all of which should be reviewed…
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