Month: August 2019

MACIAS PR – Our Consistent Track Record with Media Placements

Posted on by Mark Macias

How many PR firms can say they secure stories for their clients every day of the week? Well MACIAS PR can say it.

In the last week, MACIAS PR secured publicity for our clients on local and national TV, as well as in print.

On Monday, PIX 11 in New York City shot a TV segment on our digital health client. That same day, our team also got our political client on CNN.  Two days earlier, WNBC ran a story on our other digital health client. Oh, we can’t forget our nonprofit client who has been with us for more than 2 years. That organization appeared in the largest newspaper in St. Louis.

MACIAS PR in the News

Over the summer, our in-house team built a mobile app for fun that tells New Yorkers where to go for entertainment. News 12 Brooklyn ran a TV segment on our mobile app, Brooklyn Bound. Two different Brooklyn newspapers also published features on the app and interviewed our founder, Mark Macias.

Sometimes, you need to live in the moment and reflect on the good times. This was a good week for MACIAS PR and all of our PR partners who inspire us everyday to look for new ways to get them on the news. Want to see what we can do for you? Message us in the

Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017 and 2018 Strategic PR Firm of the Year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He’s also a contributor with CNBC and author of the books, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media and the Tao of PR.

Paid Sponsored Posts – Are they worth it?

Posted on by Mark Macias

There’s a digital marketing trend taking place that involves sponsored posts.

More brands are buying sponsored stories or posts with targeted news outlets, like Men’s Health, hoping to give the allusion that the media is writing about them.

On the surface, the intent is to fool consumers into believing the publication is endorsing your product or service with a favorable story. But does it work?

First off, a sponsored post, also known as a promoted post or promoted story is essentially an advertisement. There is no independent journalist writing the story from an objective perspective. Instead, the company approves the story copy and message.

But how good is a story – sponsored or not – if no one sees it?

Sponsored Posts are not Discoverable

If you dig deeper with sponsored posts, you will see they don’t appear anywhere near the pages where consumers browse. Sponsored posts are published in different news sections that are usually not discoverable. In simple terms, the story is not on the home page, or news sections where consumers are exploring and reading. Sponsored stories are buried with other unread content.

Yes, sponsored posts are discoverable by Google, but think about it: If a consumer is Googling your product or service, they already know about your brand. What good is a sponsored post if it’s buried in a section that consumers don’t see?

Compare this in contrast to earned media where the story does appear on the home page and is very visible to consumers. A news feature written by a journalist is  placed in a high-traffic section that consumers will see. It also doesn’t come with a transparency clause that tells consumers you paid for the placement.

Most news publications clearly state that the content is sponsored – like the above sponsored post with Men’s Health demonstrates.

How do Sponsored Posts compare to Earned Media?

But probably the strongest argument against buying sponsored posts boils down to budget – and how well it works for you. All sponsored posts are removed when an advertising budget ends. That doesn’t happen with earned media. Real news stories stay up – long after your PR campaign ends. The dollar cost average decreases over time, making your PR campaign more affordable than any sponsored post.

Digital trends come and go. Content marketing is not new and these sponsored posts will continue to grow in saturation as newsrooms shrink in size. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely your brand will grow with this trend, especially after your advertising budget ends and you have nothing left to show for it.

That’s right – when your content marketing budget is over – say goodbye to those stories and any marketing budget you placed to get them.

Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017 and 2018 Strategic PR Firm of the Year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He’s also a contributor with CNBC and author of the books, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media and the Tao of PR.

How B2B PR Firms can Develop Quality Business Leads

Posted on by Mark Macias

Many B2B businesses wrongly believe that PR is just for consumer-facing products. It’s not. An effective public relations campaign can help your business develop quality leads and at a fraction of the cost.

The best PR agencies develop strategies that are aligned with your goals. MACIAS PR has launched and executed several B2B media campaigns that introduced a product and services to targeted enterprises.

A recent campaign helped introduce a digital health service to HR professionals. The article educated HR professionals on how a government-supported wellness program could lower their healthcare costs. The story also explained how the program could help employees become healthier and boost morale with the program. And for those HR professionals who didn’t know about the program, the article explained how it works and how to participate in the program via our client.

The article, which you can read  by clicking here, introduced this B2B company to more than 240,000 Human Resource professionals, according to their website. That’s more effective than sending out 200,000 emails to potential clients. The publication did the selling for this client.

PR as a Marketing Strategy in B2B Sectors

Business frequently turns to advertising for marketing initiatives. Yes, advertisements can reach your targeted customers but so can PR. Content is still king in the media and if your business has a good story to sell, the best PR firms will be able to get you exposure.

You can also work with your PR firm to align the message and outlet so it fits with your brand. HR Advisor was a perfect match for this client because its readers are potential customers of this program.

The legitimacy of the publication also gives readers a feeling of trust. HR Advisor has been around for more than 30 years and serves more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500. So the next time you are analyzing your ad buy budget for trade publications, ask yourself: do you pick up the publication for the ads or the content?

Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017 and 2018 Strategic PR Firm of the Year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He’s also a contributor with CNBC and author of the books, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media and the Tao of PR.