These days, there are billions of people using various social media platforms, which makes social media one of the most important promotional platforms for businesses. Through this channel, companies can receive more consumer engagement, high-quality traffic, and essentially, more sales.

Companies that are able to utilize these types of platforms with smart campaigns can get plenty of benefits in terms of their marketing strategies .

There was a time when PR was associated with free publicity and marketing with paid advertising. That distinction has blurred since the popularity of the internet, especially social media. On the other hand, it depends upon whom you ask.

For companies selling products or services, marketing, and public relations have the same goal of producing positive returns that result in increased business and profits. That has never changed but social media has drawn the lines closer together in what’s called relationship management. It’s also called relationship marketing.

Anyone who has to represent an organization or a business or anyone that needs to reach the public has to successfully deal with the media. Being confident when stepping in front of the microphone and cameras with all the lights shining is something that can be achieved with decent media training.

It could be a short statement for the press, or perhaps an interview in a TV studio, or even a detailed radio discussion – whatever it is, most people tend to get stressed when it comes to any type of public speaking arrangement.

There used to be a time, not too long ago, when the only way that brands and corporations could get any media coverage was to go through news outlets and their journalists. The only way to get a good headline used to be to pitch to the news outlets directly with an excellent press release or an intriguing press conference.

However, those days are long gone, and the public relations industry, as well as the best ways for brands and corporations to get media coverage, has drastically changed. These days, brands have a lot more opportunities for exposure as well as influence, as journalists aren’t the gatekeepers to publicity. Now, there is a variety of tools and strategies that are available to anyone who needs them.

CTA or a call to action is the end goal all marketers aim to achieve. The best lead magnets, great landing page, outstanding videos, and content are valuable and important but don’t matter unless the consumer is led to make a purchase.

That’s where a solid base for CTA is essential, and every touchpoint on the brand’s sites should have it. Here are the basics and some examples of success.

Although he probably didn’t have channels in mind at the time, American televangelist Joel Osteen was spot on when he said, “Be the one to stand out in the crowd.” In today’s crowded field with most people ever browsing and shopping online, standing out in the field and being heard is critical.

Being aware of this and successfully achieving it are two separate issues. Each channel is different and demands special attention.

Businesses looking to increase brand awareness are already familiar with the popularity of thought leadership when it comes to their marketing tactics. The same thing goes for content marketing, which is frequently praised for creating more leads compared to other strategies. However, many business owners aren’t aware that these two strategies have clear key differences.

When it comes to content marketing, it’s a top-down communication method – and it can be promoted business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C). Additionally, content marketing aims to create a relationship with the readers instead of starting a dialogue. This is because communication is framed hierarchically in content marketing, which is different from thought leadership.

Activation seems like a simple enough word but one that apparently has numerous connotations. The Free Dictionary offers one meaning as “turning on.” Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammed Ali’s response to activation into the U.S. armed forces was, “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.”

Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, known for naming the concept of flow or “being in a zone” and connecting it to productivity, once said: “Purpose provides activation energy for living.” Despite these variations, all but Ali’s seem to point in the direction of this definition by Sixteen Ventures’ Lincoln Murphy that “Activation is the moment your customer derives value from your product.”