2015 The Abbi Agency Media Placements

The Abbi Agency 2015 Media Placements

The Abbi Agency Table of Contents

Date 11.16.2015 7.19.2015

Publication Northern Nevada Business Magazine Reno Gazette Journal

6.12.2015

MarketingProfs

6.12.2015

Imglance

5.27.2015

Visualistan

Title Reno Ink Shows Power of Partnerships Lessons from EDAWN's Startup Deck Travel Blogging Trends, Insights, and Pet Peeves Travel Blogging Trends, Insights, and Pet Peeves Travel Blog Trends

5.27.2015

SmartBlog on Food & Beverage

1 Winery's Best Practices In Social Media

5.20.2015

Bulldog Reporter

5.18.2015 5.15.2015 5.15.2015 5.14.2015 5.14.2015 5.14.2015 5.13.2015 5.13.20115 5.3.2015

Northern Nevada Business Magazine Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Twitter Reno Gazette Journal

4.15.2015

OSN

4.6.2015

Northern Nevada Business Magazine

4.5.2015

Reno Gazette Journal

2.27.2015

NCET

1.19.2015

Northern Nevada Business Magazine

1.9.2015

Nevada Business Magazine

Cash or Check for Your Post? Travel Bloggers Are Impacting the Digital Inbound Marketing Age, Abbi Agency Study Finds People: Michaella Elicegui Wayne Dunlap Kirsten Alana Cassie Kifer The Traveller Lost Kat Photo Real Posh Mom Nadeen White People On The Move: Who Should Manage Your Social Media Navigating The Startup Process NCET Award Winners: Rising Star Creative Services: Constance Aguilar Is Your Pitch Reaching The Right Ears?

People: Laura Davis The Abbi Agency Hires New Account Coordinator

Travel Blogging Trends, Insights, and Pet Peeves [Infographic] June 12, 2015 Half of successful travel bloggers say blogging is their full-time job, according to a recent report from the Abbi Agency.

The report was based on data from a survey of more than 100 "high influence" travel bloggers selected by the Abbi Agency.

Some 70% of respondents say they get paid to blog, and 40% say they have accepted free gifts/trips from brands.

Most respondents (90%) say they are willing to do sponsored posts on their blogs.

Other key findings: 

79% of travel bloggers also write about other topics.

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78% say photo posts are their best-performing content type.

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53% of post 3+ times a week to their blog.

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81% say Facebook is the social network that sends the most traffic to their blog.

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Respondents say their top pet peeve with PR agencies is irrelevant pitches/press releases.

Travel Blogging Trends, Insights, and Pet Peeves [Infographic] June 12, 2015 Half of successful travel bloggers say blogging is their full-time job, according to a recent report from the Abbi Agency.

The report was based on data from a survey of more than 100 "high influence" travel bloggers selected by the Abbi Agency.

Some 70% of respondents say they get paid to blog, and 40% say they have accepted free gifts/trips from brands.

Most respondents (90%) say they are willing to do sponsored posts on their blogs.

Other key findings: 

79% of travel bloggers also write about other topics.



78% say photo posts are their best-performing content type.



53% of post 3+ times a week to their blog.



81% say Facebook is the social network that sends the most traffic to their blog.



Respondents say their top pet peeve with PR agencies is irrelevant pitches/press releases.

May 27, 2015

The Abbi Agency recently surveyed more than 100 travel bloggers to get insight on everything from attitudes toward sponsored content, pet peeves and habits of their readership. The data generated by this survey was then used to create an infographic based on the responses.

The survey revealed people are increasingly relying on travel blogger accounts and UGC, with an increased preference for their content over industry awards and traditional forms of advertising. 72 percent of bloggers report having been asked to be brand influencers and 95 percent have agreed to place sponsored posts among their content.

Additionally, these travel bloggers have a wide variety of interests that create distinct flavors for their content. Make no mistake-- they don't just blog about traveling. In fact, 59 percent talk about lifestyle, and 22 percent write about family matters.

Also, as much as video is being pushed for blogging and social, only 6 percent of travel blogging videos perform well, compared to 78 percent of photos earning high traffic and interactions.

The market for travel bloggers is growing exponentially. Check out this infographic to become familiar with them so you can personalize your pitch to who they are and start to become more comfortable giving them the freedom to promote your business or client.

1 winery’s best practices in social media May 27, 2015 It is nearly impossible to be taken seriously as a brand without establishing a social media presence.

This holds true in the food and beverage arena — brands are expected to communicate and connect with their consumers online through social media in order to stay relevant. According to Razorfish, 64% of consumers have made a first purchase from a brand because of a digitalexperience, and more than half of consumers use the internet before making a purchase in shops.

One St. Helena, Calif.-based winery, Whitehall Lane, understands the value and necessity of doing social media effectively. Katie Leonardini, vice president of retail sales for Whitehall Lane, created social media pages in 2008 and saw immediate benefits in the way these accounts allowed the brand to connect directly with its audience. She decided social media was worth the effort, and began a working relationship with The Abbi Agency to manage Whitehall Lane’s social media content.

We have worked with Whitehall Lane to hone its techniques to a tight-knit strategy and have grown social channels to a collective more than 12,000 fans. With Leonardini’s goals of quality customer engagement and retention in mind, we have developed countless campaigns and worked to strengthen the winery‘s social accounts. We’d like to share some best practices we’ve strived for in our social media success: 1. Learn and follow legal guidelines First, and arguably most important, a company promoting alcohol-related products must learn the specific rules of what they are allowed to do online. Facebook has strict guidelines about promotion of alcohol, and requires posts about alcoholic products to be specifically targeted to an audience of a legal drinking age. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau does not allow us to give away any alcohol, or encourage engagement from those who are not of legal drinking age. These guidelines affect our daily social posting and overall strategy, but ignoring them would be detrimental to Whitehall Lane.

2. Encourage and use user-generated content We’ve found that one of the most effective ways to connect with fans through Whitehall Lane’s social media is by highlighting authentic brand experiences with user-generated content. We use and repurpose content posted by Whitehall Lane customers almost daily to each of our outlets.

Before you can leverage user-generated content, you must find it. We started by establishing a clear brand hashtag that users could post to. To encourage use of our hashtag, we regularly host photo contests and work with Leonardini to offer non-alcoholic prizes, such as fun merchandise with Whitehall Lane’s logo. Sometimes these prizes will include tastings at the winery, other times we’ll work with another local business to give away a package or cookbook. We’ll also use Instagram locations to search through geo-tagged photos on Instagram and interact with people who have physically visited and tagged the winery. In reaching out to them, we’ll encourage them to participate in our hashtag and request explicit permission so we are able to share their content.

Once your audience begins to participate in providing photos and other content featuring your brand, share it everywhere! We re-share content from Whitehall Lane fans on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and even as blog content. It has allowed us to feature passionate fans of our brand while also highlighting real experiences of the wine and winery.

3. STOP. Collaborate and listen While it seems counter-intuitive to use your online channels to promote other brands, we have found great success in partnerships on social media. By working with complementary brands that are either near Whitehall Lane geographically or have products that fit with the overall message, we have been able to grow our following and engagement through sharing targeted audiences.

One of our most successful social media campaigns has been #MerlotMe, which was created by a dozen Napa Valley wineries in 2013 to promote appreciation for Merlot. With many other brands and users interacting with the hashtag #MerlotMe, we were able to capitalize on our use of the tag to create unique, branded content that fit with the overall conversation.

4. Reward loyal fans Whitehall Lane frequently hosts contests and giveaways through social media to increase usergenerated content and newsletter databases. But, we also use these contests as a way to drive brand loyalty by rewarding faithful customers.

We have never aimed to drive high numbers of fans, but instead to grow a quality fan base of followers who genuinely like our brand. This mentality stems from Whitehall Lane’s overall brand identity, but also is extremely effective on social media. An intimate fan base gives us the ability to interact more with our followers and reward them for following us. And, a fan who we call out or award prizes to feels appreciated and is more likely to share our content. Win-win.

5. Know and find your audience Whitehall Lane has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and has engaged audiences on each of these platforms. To develop these fanbases, we’ve learned what type of audience we have on each platform and have tailored our content directly to each one. Before expanding to a new social media platform, brands must spend time researching demographics and popular content on new platforms. This will inform posting strategies and assist in fan base growth.

We are also always on the lookout for new places to reach our audience. Wine reviewing apps, such as Vivino and Delectable, have recently spiked in popularity, and we’ve worked them into our overall strategy. While we cannot directly respond to users on the apps, we search for Whitehall Lane reviews that have been shared through Twitter and thank users directly.

In our work with Whitehall Lane’s social media accounts over the last couple of years, The Abbi Agency has developed a cohesive strategy across social media channels. Through contesting, development of original content, fan interactions and our work with user-generated content, we’ve been able to grow the overall social following by more than 9,000 fans and create more than 60,000 genuine interactions with individuals.

Allegra Demerjian is the digital communications manager for The Abbi Agency, where she leads a digital team to create and implement cross-channel social media engagement strategies for brands. To keep up with her online happenings, follow her @allegradem.

Cash or Check for Your Post? Travel Bloggers are Impacting the Digital Inbound Marketing Age, Abbi Agency Study Finds May 20, 2015 Half of Bloggers Surveyed Said Their Blog Is Their Full-Time Job The sharing of authentic personal experiences is one of the greatest sources of influence in the digital age, and the rising number of travel bloggers is no doubt a strong indicator. The Abbi Agency, an integrated marketing communications firm that drives lead generation for tech companies, consumer packaged goods and travel brands through targeted influencer campaigns, surveyed more than 100 travel bloggers to determine how the tourism industry can succeed in this changing digital landscape. Nine out of ten are willing to work with public relations and marketing professionals, paving the way for content that culminates in a distinctly direct and effective inbound marketing opportunity.

Half of those surveyed said that their blog is their full-time job. Owning a blog, traveling, and writing about it aren’t the only ingredients in the successful formula for this lifestyle though—the biggest factor is that they’re attracting a large readership. The three ways they are shaping inbound marketing practices are: blog and social media engagement, diversity of content and offerings, and brand partnerships.

Blog and Social Media Engagement: Travel bloggers are no doubt savvy about digital media and know how to use both their blog and social media to generate interest in their content. 

 

50 percent of bloggers surveyed have more than 5,000 Twitter followers and 31 percent have more than 5,000 Facebook fans. These numbers drive 68 percent and 81 percent of traffic to their blogs respectively.

Equal percentages of bloggers are posting 1-2 times a week and 3-5 times a week across their social platforms—30 percent and 32 percent respectively.

Forget Pinterest: Despite Pinterest’s growing popularity in recent years, only 15 percent have more than 5,000 followers and only 38 percent say it contributes traffic to their site.

Diversity of Content and Offerings: From budget-conscious to family-friendly travel, there’s a blogger to attract every type of traveler and every niche audience.    

Whether it is lifestyle or food, 79 percent of travel bloggers strongly identify with another subject besides travel.

Seventy-eight percent say posts with pictures perform best on their blogs, but six percent and one percent say it’s video and audio, respectively. Written posts remain relatively low at 15 percent.

A large majority, 68 percent, will moderate their social media or blogs at any time of the day.

Travel bloggers are spread across the country, so hosting a typical media reception in New York City (27 percent live on the East Coast) or Los Angeles (32 percent live on the West Coast) will only reach a small regional group, forcing PR firms to rethink their networking strategies.

Brand Partnerships: Those who profit from their blogs point to brand partnerships a main source of compensation, income or ability to travel.

  

Seventy-two percent of bloggers surveyed have been asked to be brand influencers, while 95 percent do sponsored posts.

The top three things they look for on press trips are: (1) a full tourist experience, (2) unique, unusual, and local attractions, and (3) historical and cultural information.

While they appreciate a structured itinerary, travel bloggers cite the freedom to explore on their own as their favorite trait of a press trip.

Consumers are tired of aggressive outbound advertisements and are turning to free and readily available quality content on the Internet to draw them toward products and places. This is exactly what travel bloggers provide—a medium for PR professionals and marketers to reach a targeted audience.

With the increasing reach of travel bloggers in the digital age, the travel industry must take note and change its inbound marketing strategies.

By Cece Zhou, The Abbi Agency

Wayne Dunlap May 15, 2015

Kirsten Alana May 15, 2015

Cassie Kifer May 14, 2015

The Traveller May 14, 2015

Lost Kat Photo May 14, 2015

Real Posh Mom May 13, 2015

Nadeen White May 13, 2015

Who Should Manage Your Social Media April 15, 2015 As the saying goes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. This is true, but may not be a reality for when it comes to managing your company’s social media so I’ve provided four options below for you to choose from to fit your needs and particular situation.

Option 1: Manage your social media yourself.

PRO: You know exactly what’s going on in your industry.

CON: You may have no idea how to post effectively on social media or you may have no time to do it.

Most companies I talk to do not have the time to manage their own social media. I think it’s incredibly important to make time for this because no one knows your industry, your tone of voice, your values or your happenings better than you do. To help make the transition a smooth one, I would suggest hiring a consultant to come in and train you for a day on social media best practices / tips and tricks for saving time and then take the plunge. It makes a huge difference when the person who runs the business is also speaking for the business on social media.

Example: Jessie Hilgenberg posts on her own social accounts in her own voice and has generated a huge following as a result. You actually follow her and get an inside look into her life. It’s not just a feed of pre-generated, scheduled, evergreen content and therefore feels much more authentic.

Option 2: Hire someone to work in-house and manager your social media.

PRO: They are incredibly focused, knowledgeable and dedicated.

CON: A full-time, or even part-time salary may be too expensive to fit your budget.

If you can afford this, I highly recommend it. Your in-house employee will be incredibly knowledgeable about your world but will have much more time to dedicate to improving your social media than you may. You can send them to conferences and classes to make sure they are always staying on top of best practices for social media marketing and always moving your brand forward.

If you cannot hire someone to solely work on social media and you already have an in-house marketing team, dedicate someone on that team to include this as part of their job description. If you don’t already have an in-house marketing team and you cannot afford to hire someone, consider an intern from a local college. You can pay them part-time at a lower wage to work with you on your social media while they are still in school.

Example: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada has an in-house marketing team that works on a variety of things but also posts on their social media accounts. They know what’s going on within their company better than anyone and can post things like this in real time as they happen internally.

Option 3: Hire a freelancer to manage your social media.

PRO: They are the more flexible, cost-effective alternative to hiring an agency.

CON: Although they have more time to become invested in your industry, chances are they are not as knowledgeable as your in-house staff. The exception to this would be if you are one of their only clients and can spend time training them and engraining them in your world. For the majority of the freelancer/client social media relationships I’ve seen, the freelancer spends a couple hours per week working on the account. Compare that to someone who works in-house and can spend 40+ hours per week thinking about your industry and working on projects specific to the company in addition to posting on social media.

Example: For a period of time in 2013 I freelanced for Nexgen Store, an online kitchen gadget retailer.

My posts consisted were often like the one below, detailing recipes and uses for their products.

Although I brought fresh perspective to the account and what social media users were looking for, I felt I lacked the specific knowledge about their products to provide exactly what they were looking for.

Option 4: Hire a social media agency to manage your social media.

PRO: They are on the cutting edge of new technology and trends in the social media industry.

CON: Of all the options, they are most likely the least knowledgeable about your industry.

When you hire an agency, you’re getting an experienced team with a wealth of knowledge and diverse experience. Not only that, they are the most up to date with social media tools, trends and happenings.

However, if you are hiring an established agency that has a reputation for quality social media management, chances are they are managing at least 5, sometimes up to 20 other client social media accounts. This means your social team can’t dedicate as much time or focus on you account as an inhouse employee could. They aim to become experts in your industry so they can speak on your behalf but there’s only so much they can learn while still maintaining their other accounts.

If you choose to go this route, one thing I would suggest is have your agency schedule all social media posts in advance and have a person inside your company (or you) check it before it is posted live. That way you can catch any errors before they are on your social media channels. I would also suggest quarterly discovery days where your social team visits your company/store/office and spends time with your employees learning as much as they can for the day.

Example: The Abbi Agency manages the Chez Louie social media account, a restaurant close to their office. Because they are so close, they are able to make frequent trips to talk about the specials, take

pictures and keep up to date on the restaurant’s happenings, making the overall experience greatly enhanced.

Is your pitch reaching the right ears?

February 27, 2015 When pitching a client to media, knowing which journalist or editor to pitch is just as important as knowing what to pitch.

Thanks to PR and social software such as Cision and Vocus (two companies that recently joined forces), a plethora of media contacts are at our fingertips, but what’s in a name unless you know how to use it? Here are a few quick tips to ensure your message is reaching the right ears.

1. Don’t Forget the Underdog The mistake commonly made in building media lists and sending pitches is to go straight to the publication’s head honcho. Seems to make sense right? Place your story into the hands of the one with the most power? The problem with this thinking is that with great power comes great responsibility, and more often than not that means the editor of the magazine on your client’s champagne list has more pressing things to do than sort through pitches. A better approach is to target the writers, reporters, and assistant editors who are looking for stories on a regular basis as part of their job description. Think symbiotic relationship.

2. Leverage Online Opportunity With the digital world transforming many news outlets and even magazines and online versions receiving more traffic than their hardcopy counterparts, it’s important not to skim past the online versions of your target publications. More often than not, the digital staff is completely separate from the print side of the publication, which opens up a whole new arena of writers you can pitch. Even better, with the pressure of the Internet’s daily and hourly deadlines, online writers have a much wider net to cast for story opportunities.

3. Heed the Power of the Blogger 4. Research Your Freelancers

The Abbi Agency Hires New Account Coordinator January 9, 2015 Award-winning firm welcomes Laura Davis to the team RENO, Nev. - The Abbi Agency is excited to announce Account Coordinator Laura Davis to the team. With the digital engagement firm’s rapid growth this past year, the state-based agency, with offices in both Reno and Las Vegas, is staffing up.

Davis brings a wealth of experience from various corners of the media world. Her work includes writing for the Las Vegas Weekly covering arts and entertainment, corporate marketing experience at EMPLOYERS workers’ compensation insurance, and copywriting for local PR firms and various freelance publications including the local Reno News and Review.

“We are thrilled to have Laura onboard,” said Abbi Whitaker, owner at The Abbi Agency. “Her breadth of experience brings knowledge and passion, elevating our team and furthering our growth.”

Davis assists account and media relation executives to fulfill client needs while working with the media relations and social teams on business initiatives and campaigns.

About The Abbi Agency The Abbi Agency is a full-service public relations firm specializing in traditional public relations, social media campaigns, event production, expert positioning and content creation. Based in Reno, Nev., with offices in Las Vegas, The Abbi Agency works with national brands in the tourism, technology, sports marketing, business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. Learn more about The Abbi Agency attheabbiagency.com or call 775-323-2977.