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Snapchat is one of social media’s newest networking sites and is fast becoming one of the most used apps out there. With over 150 million users daily (and growing), Snapchat reaches roughly 41 percent of 18-34 year olds in the United States alone. This means that a single National Sponsored Geofilter typically reaches 40- 60 percent of those daily users.

Understand your audience. Snapchat offers a different type of environment where marketers can reach their audiences. Think of it as casual Friday rather than a Monday morning meeting with your boss. Grubhub ingeniously engaged with almost every single message it received garnering the highest Snapchat score of any brand (53,668 at that time) and giving it great insight into what type of content its... read more

Spring Training began last week as pitchers and catchers reported to Major League Baseball camps in Florida and Arizona. For baseball fans, there is nothing like Spring Training. It is a time to forget about last year and look forward to a fresh start. It is a chance to shake off your blues and have a little fun in the sun. It’s like a break but not a vacation. Teams establish their goals for the coming season, and every player works hard, or they don’t make the team. Hope springs in Spring Training. Whether they are rookies or veterans; All Stars or Minor Leaguers; Hall of Famers or guys who only had a cup of coffee in the show, everyone has a positive outlook. There... read more

Whether or not you believe in making resolutions, the beginning of the year is a good time to take stock of where you are professionally, set some goals, and do some housekeeping. Get electronically organized Set aside an hour early one morning to get your computer organized. Create folders and subfolders for important projects. Find a home for your photos and gather them all in one place. Likewise, make sure all music and video files are stored in their proper folders. Clear your cache, delete unnecessary downloads, and remove unused applications from your phone and computer. Take a moment to run a scan of your system with an anti-malware program, like Avast Free (PC) or Sophos Home (Mac). Now, back everything up and take the time... read more

Healthcare communicators face enormous challenges in 2017 as the healthcare landscape continues to shift. As any Denver public relations professional can tell you, no other industry poses as many opportunities or as much uncertainty. So how can healthcare organizations direct their communications strategies toward their most pressing needs? Some recent articles can help illuminate the most effective path forward.

Patient education According to a new analysis of US healthcare spending published in JAMA, just 20 conditions make up more than half of all healthcare spending in the United States. The three most expensive ones are diabetes, heart disease, and low back and neck pain. Together, they cost more than $400 billion in 2013. If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, how will hospitals absorb all... read more

Public Relations is about storytelling. People are attracted to stories, and as public relations professionals or organizations trying to communicate with consumers or increase brand recognition, storytelling is paramount. However, it’s often more difficult than it sounds. So, how can we create content that people actually want to consume?

Employ a classic storytelling structure From fairytales to New York Times bestsellers, the most compelling stories have a plot, a hero, and a satisfying conclusion. A happy ending actually activates the limbic system—the brain’s reward center—to release dopamine making us feel more hopeful and optimistic. Even if the story you want to share is about a new product or upcoming fundraiser, consider how you can craft it to contain these key storytelling elements, and present... read more

There are now more Millenials (people born between 1982 and 2004) than Baby Boomers. They have a combined buying power of 1.3 trillion annually and spend an average of 25 hours online each week. When it comes to healthcare public relations, how do you reach and appeal to this target market? Here are some things to consider. They define health differently.

For this demographic, health is less about avoiding illness or acheviing the ideal weight to height ratio and more about overall wellness—both physical and mental. It’s important to them to maintain a healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise and self-improvement. They readily use apps to track their health goals, get information, and overcome issues, like stress, social anxiety, and insomnia. They rely heavily on... read more

Pushkin PR is coming up on a big anniversary--20 years. Looking back, what would you say is your proudest accomplishment? JP: The thing I am most proud of is the long-term relationships we’ve been able to sustain with many of our clients. Many of our clients have been with us for five years or more, and Kilpatrick Townsend has been a client for 17 of our 20 years. I’m not sure how many other Denver PR firms can say the same, but those long-term relationships say a lot about the quality of work that we do and the integrity of the clients we’ve been luck enough to work with. There are a lot of great Denver public relations firms, but I think that Pushkin PR’s... read more

You don’t know what you don’t know; never was there a truer piece of advice spoken. Strangely enough, since I first heard the words at a conference in high school six years ago, I have lived by this advice, passed it on, and used it as a mantra. In work, I have supervised staff members and urged them that when in doubt, all they need to do is ask. In school, I challenged my classmates’ theories and ideas simply because I didn’t know differently and I was open to their perspective. In my personal life, this advice pushed me to grow and focus on leadership development in ways I would have never predicated.

Little did I know, I was going to use it every... read more

You are amazingly creative! Whew, what a great reminder. As public relations professionals, we are expected to be constantly creative. Clients expect us to consistently tap into our creative reservoirs to produce engaging content for their target audiences. But sometimes, the reservoir is zapped dry and we are cursed with a temporary spell commonly known as writer’s block. Hitting this wall can be overwhelming, especially if you are trying to meet a deadline. But never fear! Writer’s block doesn’t have to feel like a pressure cooker. Here are six tips to help you get your creative juices flowing again.

1. Get away from the computer Sounds simple? Definitely. But getting away from the computer can be a great way to... read more

IMAGE CREDIT: LA TIMES We have all seen the footage on the nightly news of Elizabeth Warren berating Wells Fargo Chief John Stumpf while he stammers explanations, excuses and apologies. The more he talks, the more he seems to fuel public outrage and skepticism. For a quick lesson in crisis communications, we turn to Pushkin PR founder and public relations pro Jon Pushkin, a guy who is all about shooting it straight.

Why do you think people continue to be so frustrated with John Stumpf and Wells Fargo? JP: When an organization has lost the public’s trust, it takes more than an apology to get it back. Repairing a damaged reputation requires more than just saying sorry. The organization needs... read more