101 Series: What is a Boilerplate?
It may be the most important paragraph you will write about your company. You have most likely seen it, but may not known what it was called or its origin. What is it? It is your boilerplate.
In public relations, the boilerplate is the last paragraph of a press release that describes the company product, service or brand featured. This should contain facts about the company (where are you based, what do you do, private/public, services, clients, awards) as well as some compelling information, your mission, positioning (first brand to do such and such). In the digital age, it should also contain hyperlinks to your website and/or social media profiles.
Plainly, it’s the “About Us” section that is copy and pasted onto every press release, fact sheet and any additional marketing communications materials – even on your company’s LinkedIn and social media profiles.
So where did this term come from?
The term boilerplate actually dates back to the 1800s when manufacturers of steam boilers would attach a metal plate on their boilers as a sort of trademark so people would know who made the boiler and where it was made. In the early newspaper days, they had “boilerplates” or actually printing plates for each company they covered regularly, so they could easily include the company background with stories they wrote. This saved time in the printing process. The term stuck.
Here’s an example of a boilerplate for our client, Liebherr:
About Liebherr
Driven by innovation and characterized by sophisticated, elegant design, Germany-based Liebherr Corporation brings the best of Europe to the refrigeration category in North America. Visit www.liebherr-appliances.com to view Liebherr’s full product line of freestanding, built-in and fully integrated refrigeration and wine and humidor cigar storage units.
Check out the other installments of our 101 Series posts:
101 Series: What is Native Advertising?
There’s been a lot of chatter among marketing/communications pros in recent months involving a new buzzword for a relatively old phenomenon: Native Advertising. There’s a good chance you’ve come across this digital marketing tactic while reading your favorite blog and if done correctly, hopefully you didn’t realize that it was in fact an advertisement.
In a nutshell, native advertising is when brands pay for sponsored content on a blog. The placement takes on the look and feel of an editorial post yet it’s paid advertising. Many insiders including PRNewser’s Patrick Coffee will tell you that traditional paid media, such as banner ads are on their way out and native advertising is taking on a greater role in brands’ marketing campaigns. Not only does native advertising provide greater opportunities for brands to share in-depth content with online audiences, but it also allows publications to have more control over the advertising they feature as many write the copy with approval from the advertiser.
Buzzfeed is an excellent example of a website utilizing native advertising. Scroll down on their feed on any given day and if you look closely you’ll see posts highlighted with an unique background, noting that it’s “Presented By a Featured Partner.” Many brands are taking advantage and using native advertising on the popular site to share a message connected with their product or service such as the recent post, 14 Reasons Why You Should Be Afraid Of The Dark presented by the SyFy network.
Native advertising is not an entirely new concept. Marketers have long-since paid for sponsored content in traditional print publications better known as advertorials, however now this strategy is moving online, yet another indication that marketers are continuing to infiltrate the digital landscape.
Check out the other installments of our 101 Series posts:
101 Series: What is a QR Code?
No doubt you’ve heard of QR codes. You’ve almost certainly seen them around town, on mass transit, or in print ads. But what exactly is a QR code?
QR code stands for quick response code, and is a variation of a barcode. Simply stated, it’s a link in the form of a specific image that can be scanned with a barcode reader. In most cases, QR codes are show as a small black and white square box. They are however, customizable, and can results in some interesting designs. One of the best features of the codes is that they allow a user to quickly go from one medium to another, without the need for text input. This allows you to create specific call to action elements in your ads.
QR code usage has grown tremendously as smartphones have become ubiquitous. We certainly have seen some interesting uses recently. There are also a lot of mistakes that are made when QR codes are used in marketing. Want to know what to do and what not to do when utilizing them for marketing purposes? Well, more on that later.
You can download barcode/QR code scanners on via iTunes for Apple devices or Google Play for Android devices.
Check out the other installments of our 101 Series posts:
101 Series: What Is a GIF?
What is a GIF? Surely you’ve heard the term. You might even recall hearing it years (and years) ago. GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format and Wikipedia defines it as:
a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability. The format supports up to 8 bits per pixel thus allowing a single image to reference a palette of up to 256 distinct colors. The colors are chosen from the 24-bit RGB color space. It also supports animations and allows a separate palette of 256 colors for each frame.
For our purposes we are talking about an animated GIF. A GIF can also be a static image, though most people are referencing animated GIFs when they simply say “GIF.” For us, boiled down to its simplest form, a GIF is essentially an animated image.
Even though GIFs have been around for 25 years, the file format has seen a recent resurgence in popularity. This may be due to the (relatively) small file size, the rise of an increasingly visual oriented web, or the files ability to toe the line between image and video. GIFs are generally pop culture related, often focused on humor or attached to memes, and have proven to be huge drivers of web traffic. We’ve also seen the format become integrated in more traditional marketing.
Check out the previous installments of the 101 Series posts:
101 Series: What does # # # mean at the end of a press release?
Number sign, pound sign, #, hashtag.
On Twitter, the number sign (#) denotes a hashtag. However, when used in journalism and public relations, the number sign has come to have a different meaning entirely.
Three number signs/pound symbols (###), centered directly above the boilerplate or underneath the body copy in a press release, indicate to media that there is no further copy to come. The reporter or editor will know they have the full document in hand. An alternative way of formatting the end of a press release, depending on your J-school professor, is to use “-30-.“
While for PR pros using ###, -30-, or sometimes even –END-, is habit, many of us don’t know why or where it originated. There are several theories––from the Civil War era when Western Union 92 Code of telegraphic shorthand was used to signify the end of a transmission, to a time when stories were written in longhand and X marked the end of a sentence, XX the end of a paragraph, and XXX the end of a story (XXX=30 in Roman numerals). You may have missed them, but pop culture has also seen references to “-30.” The finale of the TV series The Wire, which concerned the media, was called “-30-“; an episode of Law & Order about a poisoned reporter was also titled “30”; Bugs Bunny even utters, “That’s -30- for today” in a cartoon.
Whichever symbol you decide to use, don’t forget that it comes out of tradition and respect, and simply means…
“The end.”
- Lara Cohn, Senior Vice President/Director of Public Relations
# # #
Check out the previous installments of our 101 Series:
101 Series: What Is an API?
Have you ever heard the term “API”? You most likely have, but do you know what it means? API stands for application programming interface, and is defined as “a specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other.” For our purposes here, we are focusing on internet- based APIs.
Companies release an API so other companies can build on top of them. Sometimes this means creating a marketing product, while other times it can simply be the addition of a feature that the original product doesn’t offer. All those apps, games, and custom tabs you see on Facebook? They’re all there due to use of the Facebook API. An API generally adds value to a product because other companies build compelling apps to complement the main product. (Twitpic, for example, was originally built on the Twitter API to enable photo sharing.) However, depending on the terms of service, you may also be able to use an API to create a customized marketing experience for your customers. Occasionally, entire new products and companies can be built on top of an API.
Some interesting apps/sites/products built on top of APIs include:
- Instaprint: a physical printer that will print Instagram photos taken in a specific location or with a specific tag.
- Weeplaces: an app which visualizes your Foursquare and/or Facebook check-ins.
- The Wilderness Downtown: a Chrome/HTML5 interactive music video by Google and The Arcade Fire, which uses the Google Maps API.
- We Are Hunted: an app which tracks and ranks popular and emerging music across blogs, social media, and music services like Spotify.
You can access some popular APIs here:
In short, for general purposes, an API can be termed as “a toolkit that allows you to build upon something.”
Check out the previous installments of our 101 Series: What is a Hashtag? HERE, What is a Meme? HERE, What does ### at the end of a press release mean? HERE, and What is a GIF? HERE!
101 Series: What Is a Hashtag?
You’ve heard the term “hashtag.” If you’re on Twitter, you’ve almost certainly seen it. You may have even seen one in the lower corner of your favorite TV shows recently. But what exactly is a hashtag? The term frequently gets thrown around, but you might not actually know what it is. Well, in this 101 Series, we’re here to help you understand exactly what a hashtag is.
Twitter defines a hashtag the following way:
The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.
A hashtag is simply a number sign with text following it (ex. #sample). It essentially acts as a filing system that allows people to assign tags to certain topics, and letting others find the topic easily. When you click on a hashtag via Twitter, it will show other tweets that have been tagged the same way.
By knowing (or finding out) what a specific tag is, people can easily follow and/or join in a particular conversation. For example, fans of the Fox show Fringe started a hashtag campaign on Twitter with the hope of saving the show. Fans would use the title of the week’s episode as the hashtag. The goal was to turn the titles into trending topics. Since trending topics are chosen, in part, on surges of popularity, #fringe would be more difficult to become a trend. But as the title of each episode would be new each week, it would be easier to tap into the fan base and generate trending topics. The fan-generated effort was soon supported by the network, which featured the tags on screen during the episode. This effort has been credited (even if unofficially) as being a major force in the show’s renewal.
Another example of hashtag use is Twitter chats. One example is #journchat, which focuses on PR and journalism; another is #CmgrChat, which focuses on community management. A Twitter chat is exactly what it sounds like: a chat on Twitter, which any twitter user can join, at a pre-selected time. Hashtags are used to follow along and participate. Each time someone comments, they simply add the appropriate tag to their tweet.
Hashtags have moved beyond Twitter and are commonplace on other platforms such as Google+ and Instagram. On each, they act the same way and with the same purpose as on Twitter.
In short, a hashtag is a content-discovery and filing system. Discover. Tag. Participate.
Check out the first installment of our 101 Series, What is a Meme? HERE, and our other posts, What is an API? HERE, What does ### at the end of a press release mean? HERE, and What is a GIF? HERE.
101 Series: What is a Meme?
Have you heard the word meme? If you have, you might not actually know what it means. If you haven’t odds are that you’ve experienced a meme. In fact, it’s a near certainty. The term “meme” was originally coined by Richard Dawkins, and was defined as an idea or element of social behavior passed on through generations in a culture, especially by imitation. Here, we’re talking about internet memes, which are credited as Ideas shared across the web.
A meme doesn’t necessarily have to be a video or an image, but generally is. The concept is so popular that entire businesses have been built from it. One reason that memes are so interesting to marketing and communications professionals is that they spread rapidly, get people talking (generating buzz)…and sometimes don’t even make any sense. Here are some examples of popular memes:
- LolCats; which have been featured on SNL among other places
- The Evolution of Dance; which has 195+ million views on YouTube and earned the performer, Judson Laippley guest spots on The Today Show, Inside Addition, Ellen, and Oprah
- Friday, the song by Rebecca Black, was viewed millions of times and even covered on Glee
- Charlie Sheen himself became a meme (with the help of the auto-tuned Winning video)
- Ridiculously photogenic guy; which simply was a picture of a marathon runner
And have you ever thought you were clicking on an important link, only to end up here?
Have you ever seen any of the examples above? That’s a meme. In fact, memes in general are very useful for digital snacking. Now that you know what a meme is, can you think of a particular one that stood out to you for some reason?
