Marketing Guide| The ideal length of online content

Today we are more mobile than before and rely on our phones and tablets to check the latest news or check up on friends and family. As a result, we not only have to learn how to speak in soundest we have to learn how to say what we want to say in as few words as possible.  That is we are starting to communicate more and more with photos and other images.  Here is a brief guide from PRDaily to help you communicate. 

Facebook - Posts with 40 characters receive 86 percent more engagement than posts with more than that amount - 40 characters

Blog headlines - People tend to only read the first and last three words of a headline - 6 words

Email subject lines - Subject lines that fall within this range average a 12.2 percent open rate and 4 percent click rate - 28-39 characters

YouTube videos - The average length of the top 50 YouTube videos is 2 minutes and 54 seconds - 3 minutes

Podcasts - Podcast listeners won't tune in any longer - 22 minutes

Domain names -  The best domain names are short, easy to spell and remember, and don't have hyphens or numbers - 8 characters

Tweets – Shorter than 100 characters have a 17% higher engagement rate - 100 characters

Paragraphs – Opening paragraphs with larger fonts and fewer charcters per line make it easier for the reader to focus and jump quickly from one line to the next - 40-55 words

Hashtags – Don’t use spaces or special charcters, don't start with or only use numbers and be careful about using slang - 6 characters

Title Tags – Don’t exceed 60 characters or you will get clipped - 55 characters

News Release - Try to limit the content to 1,000 words. Optimal length that is short enough for people to read quickly and search engines to find is between 400-600 words or about a page and half (*Source iReach) - 1,000 words

Headline - 60 characters or you risk the headline cutting cut on a website, phone and tablet - 60 characters

*Source  (unless otherwise indicated)

First, define your organizations needs

Before you can begin to communicate effectively with others you need to know what you want to achieve and how that fits into your organizations strategic goals.

Too often companies and associations jump right in and want their story published in The New York Times, on the local news or told by others.   However, the first step is figuring out why an executive wants to be in The New York Times or on the local news. An experienced public relations professional can help your leadership team identify and prioritize your marketing goals and then will use those goals to wrap a strategic communications plan around it.

To better define your organizations marketing needs, it is helpful to look at:

• The history of the organization
• Its’ Mission and values
• Key stakeholders or audience you want to reach and why you want to reach them
• issues that you can talk about with credibility and authority
• Current and past PR efforts, what worked and what didn't
• Available research and data to support your efforts
• Budget parameters
• Priorities

Any experience with prior PR or marketing firms should not stand in the way of engaging new perspectives on your marketing needs that also match your marketing budget. However, your organizational priorities should dictate where you invest your marketing efforts and you should let you marketing team, including outside consultants step in to create and implement the strategy.

Know WHAT to say, WHEN to say it and WHO to say it to!

Don't create a plan -- build a playbook, complete with ...

• Key messages; 
• Media List;
• List of influencers/social state and federal; and,
• Key events.

You marketing playbook should be a living document, where the pages get ripped because you are flipping though with regularity. Each day, each week, month, quarter and year you should have something to do, or today - a Tweet. 

In communicating with others it is important to define the audience and establish objectives in creating a communications plan. That way you communicate with purpose and achieve the results you are expecting. 

Public Engagement and Media Relations When City's Are At Risk

The City of Detroit and State of Michigan are at a precarious position as the state looks into the city's finances and talkcontinues about the potential of having an emergency financial manager appointed.

As the talk continues the mood in Detroit has taken a sudden turn back to the "us vs. them" mentality that "only Detroiters can solve Detroit's problems".  To avoid creating an environment that will get in the way of progress and to help build political capital for the Mayor and the Governor, I strongly suggest that as part of the process for triggering a state review of a government's finances, a strategic communications plan and community engagement process should begin simultaneously to create a positive environment to make the necessary changes.  I recently wrote an article on how companies can preserve their reputation in a wake of bankruptcy.  The same strategy applies for a public entity.

For example, before an EFM is appointed or even before the triggers are pulled to start the process, the Governor and his team should be mobilized to the City of Detroit to meet with key stakeholders, such as:

• Business organizations;
• Community development organizations;
• The faith-based community;
• Detroit-based CEOs; and,
• Urban media

To explain why the state "may" jump in to help the city with its financial situation. This is to set the tone and set the record straight as to why we have this process, the steps we have taken thus far (including regular meetings with the Mayor) and what the next steps will be. It also will help maintain relationships and create open channels of discussion and dialogue.

The Governor should also find third party supporters, such as members of the clergy and business leaders, to validate the process to Detroiters so that they know that this is the right choice both the City and the State are making.

Then should the Governor appoint an EFM, along with that appointment, a person that is familiar with the media and political landscape should also be appointed to help the EFM navigate the local political environment and serve as the liaison to the community, as well as be the one to respond to the media and help represent the EFM at various community events.

Community engagement should be a part of the EFM process under the Act. Then having someone outside the Treasury Department respond to the media also can go along way in maintaining relationships in the city's EFMs operate.

Finally, having an EFM come into a community should be seen as an opportunity for a city to experience a fresh start and a new beginning.  As a result, while the EFM works to make a public entity financially stable and secure, the communities chamber of commerce, DDA or other community groups should create a strategy to enhance  the city's image. That way,  when an EFM's work is completed and the Mayor or Superintendent are given the responsibility once again to manage the public entity,  their image will not just be maintained, it will be enhanced due to a strategic communications plan.

Daniel Cherrin is an attorney specializing in protecting and enhancing the reputation of people and organizations and practices in the areas of public affairs, strategic communications, public policy dispute resolution and crisis management, with Fraser Trebilcock. He is the former Communications Director for the City of Detroit and Press Secretary to Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr.  Daniel also serves as the spokesperson for Mackinac Island and The Ann Arbor Art Fairs.