MediaSync: is a free online reporter resource with a database of more than 500,000 media contacts and 9 million articles and blogs. The site allows PR pros to quickly identify, connect with and track reporters, editors, analysts, bloggers and others in the media/analyst community who are assigned to a specific beat and/or write on specific topics relevant to your marketing activities. If you don’t subscribe to expensive services like Vocus or Cision, this is an alternative. However, it seems you get what you pay for when looking for media relations databases.

TweetStats: is a free application that calculates various stats of your tweets and displays the information in colorful graphs for free. This website only requires a twitter username (no password or profile required) to compute statistics, which makes it very useful when analyzing twitter activity for clients or competition.

EdCals, by CisionPoint: is a site offering free editorial/media calendars from CisionPoint’s database of nearly 500,000 editorial opportunities in North America. Yes FREE! While not the most attractive service out there – who cares? Our intern loves this program because it puts the information in an easy-to-download Excel file too.

MuckRack: Tracks the short messages on Twitter written by the journalists who do the muckraking for major media outlets. Muck Rack makes it easy to follow one line, real time reporting. A great way to skip having to make your own twitter lists.

Prezi: is the zooming presentation editor. Prezi lets you bring your ideas into one space and see how they relate, helping you and your audience connect. Zoom out to see the big picture and zoom in to see details — a bit like web-based maps that have changed how we navigate through map books. A very cool program, if you know how to use it. If not, your presentation will give people motion sickness.

SimilarSites.com or SitesLike.com: is a related content engine, displaying a list of related sites for any site that you submit. SimilarSites.com takes past user opinions into account when sorting relevant sites. Each search result has “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” buttons, letting users help us determine a site’s relatedness. As more users search and submit feedback, the results get increasingly accurate. These programs help me widen the range of outlets when pitching… and it is kind of fun to look up the sites you prefer to visit for fun.

SlideShare: is the world’s largest community for sharing presentations. Upload and share on blogs, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. 50 million people use SlideShare every month for research, sharing ideas, connecting with others, and generating business leads. SlideShare also supports documents, PDFs, and videos. Why didn’t I have this site in college? You can search any topic and find hundreds of presentations –genius.

NewsBasis: is an online service for media professionals and businesses. Companies, agencies, non-Profits and academic Institutions can easily and efficiently promote story ideas to the media and content publishers and respond to their specific requests. This works like HARO  and ProfNet but with in a website with a search function. While interesting to sort through, I tend to find other services are better.

So the question is, given the reluctance of potential clients to hire a firm based on past successes and general campaign ideas alone, how much insight and information do you include in a proposal without giving away too much?

The answer isn’t an easy one and depends greatly on the client you’re pitching, but here are some general rules we try to follow during the proposal writing process at Maven:

-          Provide detailed, measurable objectives. This sets the tone for the proposal and shows that you understand the company well enough to formulate objectives that meet the business goals of the company.

-          Write in terms of outcomes, not outputs. This will allow you to demonstrate what they will receive from a well structured campaign (e.g.  increased traffic to their website, more visibility of executives in trade publications, etc.), while providing more general outputs. Keep in mind that the outcomes are what they’re paying for in the first place.

-          Provide specific ways that the campaign will be measured. For example, if a Twitter campaign is part of the plan, in the measurement section of the proposal give detail about how the campaign will raise the number of followers; increase the “klout” rating; or double retweets by influencers. This way, the client gets a feel for the results you can produce, without divulging all of the firm’s methods.   

-          Insert a statement that says that any ideas presented for consideration by the agency remain at all times the sole property of the agency and can only be implemented by the client in the event of a signed contract. This isn’t a guarantee that your ideas will be protected, but it will hopefully make them think twice before using them. 

Keep in mind that a proposal for services is really an overview and the plan is something that a client should pay for. It’s the first step in the client/agency relationship where trust and rapport are built and if you’re lucky, the beginning of a long-term, symbiotic partnership.

So, where to begin? The first step is to identify the amount of money you want to spend on marketing activities over the year. For most companies, the marketing budget usually lies somewhere in the 2 to 10 percent range of your overall gross sales or revenue, though some companies spend as much as 20-30 percent. Although this may be good to use as a guide, the marketing budget for your business is not something determined by a formula. Since every business’s marketing needs and costs vary widely, there are no simple rules for determining what you should spend on marketing your business. If your business is new, it’s important to dedicate a larger dollar amount on marketing – we’re talking up to 30% here. Once the company, product or service begins to build traction, you can re-evaluate and begin to prioritize based on which channels provided the most return on investment.

Okay, now that you’ve got a number in your mind, where will it be allocated? Consider your target audiences carefully: Who are they and where do they go to consume information? How do they prefer to receive information? Who do they trust to receive key industry updates and information? What channels (print, web, direct mail) will be most effective to deliver your message within your budget?

As you allocate resources, consider what channels will allow you to maximize your reach while stretching your marketing dollar. While traditional marketing tools such as sales collateral, events, direct mail, sponsorships and advertising continue to be mainstays of the marketing mix, more and more companies are investing heavily in online marketing, public relations and social media strategies to engage target audiences and create a conversation about their company, product or service. According to Borrell Associates, total online ad spending will grow almost 14%, from $45.6 billion in 2010, to $51.9 billion, in 2011. To further demonstrate that the fastest-growing segments of online advertising will be everything involving social media, Econsultancy’s 2010 Social Media and Online PR report reveals that 83% of marketers have indicated that they will specifically increase their social media spend in 2011.

As you develop your own marketing strategy, here are some key trends we see on the horizon for the upcoming year:
Don’t underestimate the value of your website. For most companies, their website is the most useful marketing tool they have. Ask yourself ‘once people get to my site, do they have a reason to stay?’ In 2011, make it a priority to focus on producing useful and relevant content, be it a frequently updated home page or interesting blog. If your company has a Facebook page or Twitter feed, make sure those channels are posted prominently on your website. Adding an RSS feed that pushes company information to your customers and clients will help keep clients abreast of company news. In addition, a company “News” page with recent updates and a “Resource Center” with relevant industry articles, white papers and informative videos, will help create a “sticky” environment that keeps visitors coming back. Static websites are a thing of the past. To get attention today websites must engage and compel.

Video is where it’s at. We’re predicting that companies will be spending more of their marketing budget on video in 2011. It’s a proven way to increase SEO, not to mention a great way to communicate a message in a succinct and personal manner and encourages a high level of engagement. Research firm eMarketer estimates that by 2011 advertisers will spend $2.3 billion on online video marketing efforts.

Having a Facebook page is not a social media strategy. Creating a Facebook page and actually having it work for you are two entirely different things. While most companies have tested the waters with social media, very few have developed robust strategies that will help them maximize the benefits. In 2011 more companies will be looking for ROI on their social media efforts. That begins with setting clear, measureable goals for your social media strategy. The most common goals are to increase awareness, change behavior, or communicate company news. If your Facebook page or Twitter feed is not engaging customers or clients, then it’s probably worth taking another look to ensure your resources are well spent.

Once you decide where your marketing budget will be allocated, remember, it’s not set in stone. Evaluate your campaign throughout the year, and if an element isn’t working, make a change. Track where your customers are coming from and invest more in those channels. And if you need direction from seasoned experts, give Maven a call.

1)      Keep Attorney Bios Fresh – frequently update attorney bios with links to recent articles that have been written, quotes in the media, speaking engagements or CLE courses.  Keeping bios up-to-date not only keeps them from getting stale, but also gives additional credibility for anyone doing their own research online. In addition, including as many links as possible makes an information rich and easy to use web page.

2)      Record and Post – video on law firm websites not only increases search engine optimization, but also provides an additional, 3-dimensional perspective of the firm and its attorneys.  More than a stiff headshot, video conveys personality and expertise.  In addition, more and more media outlets are requesting to see video clips of attorneys before agreeing to an interview.  By posting video to your website you’re better positioning the firm’s attorneys for speaking and media opportunities.

3)      Make Your Firm’s Marketing Materials Downloadable – including a link to download the firm’s marketing materials on every page of the website is just one more way to put your message at the fingertips of those who may benefit.  Rather than having to dig around for print copies, pulling up the website and downloading a PDF takes less time, less cost and less trees (not to mention stress).  In addition, it drives increased traffic to your website.

4)      Create an Online Newsroom – more than just recent press releases, an online newsroom should include links or PDFs of recent media coverage, CLE course announcements, recent published article and anything else that may be of interest to clients or potential clients. An information rich newsroom may be the most useful page on your firm’s website when it comes to new business development.  

5)      Make Your Marketing Virtual – there are so many ways to make the leap from traditional marketing to web 2.0 and most cost little to nothing.  Every attorney should have a LinkedIn page that includes links to the firm’s website, links to recent coverage as well as links to the firm’s newsroom.  Post video on YouTube and link to it from the firm’s website.  E-blast clients, potential clients and anyone else who may care with client wins, firm news and links to recent media coverage.  Add a “tweet this” button to all firm news online and let your clients, friends and family do your marketing for you. 

6)      Blog – if you’ve got something to say, and most attorneys do, blog about it.  A blog doesn’t have to be filled with original thought or groundbreaking opinion, it simply needs to be interesting and if possible entertaining.  Personal thoughts about a recent legislation, comments about a news story, kudos on a job well done – as long as a blog is regularly updated, it can contain any number of things and can often serve as a great marketing tool for individual attorneys.

7)      Align Marketing and Business Goal – it’s vital that the goals of the marketing department and the overall business goals of the firm are aligned. Marketing and business development should always work together to create cohesive and consistent messaging for the firm.  Together marketing and business development should think holistically and only then can they part ways to execute specific tactics.

8)      Monitor Your Reputation Online – the proliferation of social media has provided an online focus group for anyone who knows where to look.  Regularly peruse areas on social media sites that commonly comment on the law and specific firms. Look at engagement levels on blogs, twitter feeds and facebook pages and read comment posted to online articles.  These often provide more insight than information in the article itself.  This will help you to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the industry as well as within your own firm.

9)      Ask “Why is This Important” First – before sitting down to write a press release on a recent client win or partner promotion, ask yourself “why should the media care.”  Sure, it’s great news for the firm, your client or new partner, but what’s really the news?  To make it important to a greater audience, including the media, figure out what the compelling story is.  Perhaps its part of a larger trend, or maybe it marks an important milestone for the firm; whatever it is, figure out why anyone would care to read it before you start writing.

10)   You Still Can’t Beat Face-to-Face – email, g-chat, IM, websites, YouTube, Twitter, facebook – there are so many ways to communicate with clients in an instant that we often forget the original form of communication: in-person.  Make time for more face-to-face meetings and you’ll find a connection that’s not possible with technology. It may be just the boost your client/attorney relationship needs.

Here are a few tips that will help you engage your customers and keep your company top of mind in 2009:

1. Continue to Connect: Ongoing communications with clients reminds them that you’re still there for them. With businesses and individuals spending less this year on their marketing, your message has a better chance of reaching target audiences. However, if you’ve fallen off the map, they may forget that they need your services after all.

2. Add Value, Build Confidence: People are looking for insight and advice during economic downturns. By listening to industry Balloon trends and communicating your perspective, you are positioning yourself as an expert and linking confidence back to your brand. This is the prime opportunity to present your story in a less cluttered news environment.

3. Strengthen your Spokespersons: To communicate your company’s core value, now is the time to train or refresh your messaging by training appropriate spokespeople. Identify a credible and informed communicator who will be the voice of the company. Although the CEO usually speaks on behalf of their company, employees should be well-versed on your core messages and values. Remember that employees are your unofficial spokespersons: they communicate every day with family, friends, customers, and potential customers about how they view the company. By keeping employees engaged and informed, you can control communication internally and externally.

4. Listen and Observe: Feedback is a necessary form of measurement. Talk to your stakeholders, vendors and employees – you may find insights that will surprise you. Knowing what your employees, customers, investors and even your competitors think about your business will help you deliver a better product or service.

5. Embrace New Media: As the news cycle shortens and print media continues to lose marketshare, it is important to think about how to position yourself in this changing environment. Social media networks, E-zines, blogs, and video sites are all potential tools you can use to communicate your brand and learn more about your customers. These terms may sound overwhelming, but ignoring them may mean missing key opportunities to connect with your customers and employees.