As a newbie to the Twittersphere a few weeks ago, I was unsure of the protocol for tweeting about clients and client PR. After carefully monitoring my Twitter feed to see what other PR and marketing execs had to say about clients, I tread carefully into the social media waters last week.

Datastrip manufactures mobile biometric readers for ID verification. Because I had not seen much of a following for biometrics on Twitter’s search page, I attempted to start one. With the mighty hashtag (#) in hand, I began posting information I had on the biometrics industry and appending it with #biometric/#biometrics.

Admittedly, I haven’t tweeted enough on the topic to draw attention, but I did get a few followers interested in biometrics and security. I was also able to network with some folks planning to attend this week’s ISC West show in Las Vegas, as well as pitch/place a case study for Datastrip in a leading industry publication.

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By now every person responsible for business marketing in America knows what blogging is, but I’m willing to bet that relatively few actually know any bloggers. By that I mean having any kind of relationship. In fact, I’m willing to bet that most B2B marketers haven’t even had any direct contact with a blogger as part of their media outreach. Well that needs to change. Now.

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Brand Equity,  brand eq”ui*ty\, n.

The value of a company’s brand in the mind of the market, directly related to the number of positive or negative impressions they receive.

Brand equity goes hand-in-hand with being the preferred brand. You brand is only as valuable as buyers perceive it to be. Marketing communications helps put your message in front of prospects to get the attention you deserve.

The “Schubert Sales-Centric Marketing Dictionary” is available in the resource section of our Newsroom.

In surfing my RSS feeds this morning, I came across this gem from Valeria Maltoni at the Conversation Agent blog. Rather than wax poetic about my findings, I urge you to read this yourself. Bottom line, you can help your clients avoid marketing fluff by actively consulting with them and helping them find a point of view.

One of my favorite memories from childhood was the Pushmi-PullYu (pronounced Push-Me Pull-You) from the original 1967 Dr. Doolittle movie. If you don’t remember (or are only old enough to know the Eddie Murphy remake), the Pushmi-PullYu was a llama that had heads on both ends, but just four legs and a “normal” body. The good doctor attended to it’s mental state and soon enough the beast was getting along just fine. I always think about this laughable llama when I talk about pull-through marketing – in part because I’m frequently childlike (some say childish) and in part because the Pushmi-PullYu is quite symbolic of pull-through PR.

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“I think reporters are grateful when PR people act as a partner … reporters just don’t have the time to do it all anymore.” This is Los Angeles Business Journal editor Charles Crumpley talking at a recent seminar.

So if you’re working with a PR agency, you have a better chance of getting positive exposure. It’s just one of three reasons PR is even more valuable during this sour economy.

Reason #2: Greedy CEOs, scamming Wall Streeters, and mismanaged financial institutions have given business – all business – a black eye. A sound PR strategy can help you stay clear of sweeping negative stereotypes.

Reason #3: When budgets shrink, PR shines. A study by Procter & Gamble Co. showed that its PR efforts delivered 275% ROI – by far their most effective tactic. It can be yours, too.

Sweeping generalization alert: Based on what I’ve seen floating around the newswires recently, it would seem PR writers don’t consider basic reporting methods when announcing client news. I’m not just talking about AP style here.

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Attrition At*tri”tion\, n.

A customer who no longer does business with you because of acquisitions, leadership change, budget, unsatisfactory service or quality, etc.

Not only are your customers faced with alternate choices each day, but they are bound to go through corporate changes too. Attrition is unavoidable. However, it is important to keep a positive relationship and continue to maintain contact (touches) with them. Whether it is through personal contact or messages they get from trade publications and news, it is important to remain their preferred brand. You never know when you might get the opportunity to work with them again.

The “Schubert Sales-Centric Marketing Dictionary” is available in the resource section of our Newsroom.