I&O Communications

The old adage “it’s not what you know but who you know” is two-thirds of the battle in public affairs. Naturally the facts need to be on your side, and then you need a good strong voice to carry your message. I&O Communications has contacts all over the world and experience at every level of government. We take pride in keeping our contacts and relationships current so we can help you find the voice you need to win your argument. And we look forward to introducing you to the right people, for the right action at the right time. Whether you’re starting a new company in a new city, expanding your footprint or blocking someone else’s, we can help you win.

We can start from scratch with ideas, test them through research, measure them through polls and in-depth interviews and help you set your path. Or we can jump in the car as you’re headed down the road to help you navigate new streets, avoid potholes and arrive at your destination early, well-prepared and victorious.

When you’re the best, we want experts to recommend you, talk about you and sell your product or technology for you. That’s why we build analyst relations into every product and technology launch we handle. Industry analysts test-drive your product, look under its hood and compare it to others before making recommendations on the best and brightest. Naturally, that will be you.

At I&O, we keep in touch with some of the key industry analysts so we can help you position your products or technology with your potential clients.

By knowing key analysts, we can:

• Set appointments and interviews allowing analysts to hear more about your groundbreaking technology
• Encourage analysts to write about your technology and products
• Entice your key audience to consider your technology in development of their new products

Regardless of specialization, industry analysts principally offer independent advice and research to four groups of customers:

• To businesses that use, or invest capital in, technology-based products and services
• To public sector organizations that buy from, regulate or support technology businesses
• The manufacturers, developers, providers and investors of technology-driven products and services
• The ‘channel’ companies that resell or combine these solutions, such as mobile network operators, value-added resellers, and content aggregators

Strategic Partnerships are the essence of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” Quid Pro Quo. Strategic partnerships allow you to capitalize on the expertise of another firm without spending the resources to develop it yourself. I&O builds strategic partnerships that make sense for our clients and best help both parties involved. From tying a nonprofit’s tagline to iconic businesses or creating mutual co-marketing opportunities between a start up and local businesses or creating a relationship between a product and celebrity spokesperson, I&O Communications connects the dots.

The difference between a news story and media disaster can be one or two misplaced words or gestures. I&O works hard to ensure your opportunities with the press are positive for your business and products. We offer several media training packages for our clients depending on your needs: message development and refinement, interviewing skills, bridging techniques, learning to take control of the interview and more.

It’s hard to be an advocate for your company if you don’t know how the system works. Communication with the state legislature is essential to the growth and development of state funded programs and even more important to those needing a law passed or killed. Many programs struggle with communicating their success to state officials. This often translates into a skewed perception among lawmakers and can often result in the creation of legislative initiatives impeding the scope and daily operation of the organization’s program. Let us train you on message delivery and refinement, testimony review, communicating with and through lobbyists, making the best of your meetings with legislators and how to differentiate between winning a battle or winning the war.

Say what?! People are talking, now more than ever, and what they’re saying makes a big difference in how the market perceives your brand – whether you’re participating in the conversation or not. I&O Communications keeps an ear to the ground and an eye on the web for our clients. We monitor the issues mattering most to you and your brand, who’s saying what, how they’re saying it and where. We also advise you on how, when and where to respond. With I&O Communications, you have extra eyes and ears and an ally always by your side.

Digital Advance Product Highlights:

• Comprehensive scan examining online media, websites, blogs, and social media dialogues as well as traditional newspaper and broadcast clips.
• Incorporates both the information “pushed” through media and “pulled” through search and social media engagement.
• Results and recommendations about the websites, organizations, people and relationships connected to your issue.
• Deliverables include charts, maps and lists of messages, opinion leaders, reporters, bloggers and others inclined to be interested in purchasing and/or participating.
• Pinpoints topics, phrases, and messages that have been of specific interest to likely prospects, opinion-leaders, influencers, reporters and the general public.
• Highlights voices present only online, as well as online visibility gaps. Helps identify your brand advocates and informs us about best ways to neutralize any voices of dissent.

People are talking! Are they talking about you? Is that good or bad? Think about it…there are more than 500 million active Facebook users, 175 million Twitter users, and more than 70 million iPods and iPhones in circulation, the conversations are already happening and it’s vital for brands to participate effectively and have some control of the messages.

In this digital age, to maintain a positive image and influential voice a social media presence is a necessary addition to traditional marketing and public relations.

78 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations above all other forms of advertising. To break through the clutter, it is vital for brands to be seen, and interact with their customers, as peers. If done effectively, social media can build or manage a brand, cause media coverage, drive traffic to physical business locations or events, and even solve customer service issues.

But where do you start? I&O Communications can analyze a brand’s social media presence and identify where to focus efforts for the best return on time invested, develop a social media plan and tactics for raising brand and even strategically administer a brand’s social media sites.

• Community & Competitor Analysis
• Strategy Building
• Training
• Management & Administration

Moving up in the organic search engine ranks is an algorithmic art and means almost instant ROI for your company. Capitalizing on un-paid search results, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for and what search terms they use to find you. You might call your product a breakthrough in specialized, ventilated footwear for very young children, but your website better show up on a search for “sandals for toddlers.”

With the word “Insight” in our name, it comes as no surprise that we’re able to analyze a client’s web presence and create a strategy and visibility plan of action that takes keywords and site architecture and incorporates them into your website through text, structure, code and links to catch Google’s eye when looking for a match.

SEO targets all kinds of searches, including image search, local search, video search, news and industry-specific keywords. Site coding and architecture, backlink strength and geo tools also come into play. Even analyzing competitor sites and creating new web pages to take advantage of keyword placement are part of the mix. And keeping up with the ever-changing criteria of that Search Engines use to rank sites is, in itself, an exercise in right/left brain management. At the end of the day, SEO isn’t a formula. It’s more like a moving visibility puzzle. One we master on a daily basis.

Search Engine Optimization Products

• SEO Assessment
• “On-Page” SEO Plan
• “On-Page” SEO Implementation
• SEO Linkbuilding Plan
• SEO Linkbuilding Implementation
• Conversion Optimization

Search Engine Marketing is paid advertising bought and placed through search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing and others. Most people call it Pay-per-click (PPC) and it’s used to target your specific audience based on keyword searches. PPC works as a stand alone or as a complement to any advertising/marketing campaign or strategy. Clients love it because you only pay for the ad once someone clicks on your words. Unlike traditional advertising that goes to millions who don’t care, PPC hones in on folks looking for what you’re selling. The beauty is you control your daily click budget and the ROI is building traffic right away and increasing visibility of your product, service or issue.

I&O helps craft the language of the ad, the keywords to bid on and we assist in developing the right spend for your campaign. We constantly monitor, track and report on how your PPC campaign is performing making recommendations along the way so that you get the most for your money.

Getting people to the site but nothing’s happening? People clicking on products but not closing the sale? Just like in sales, there’s an art to online conversions.

I&O Communications assesses and identifies the key decision makers for your product, service or issue. We then develop strong, personality-focused conversion beacons and tweak or add form pages to increase percentages both of visitors and sales.

Tell them why! If you want people to buy your products or services, you’ve got to tell them (quickly) why they should choose you. It’s called positioning. It’s messaging, logos, reputation, brochures, collateral…it’s the market’s perception of what you offer. We’re here to make sure the market is getting the right idea about you.

If you’re an advertising junkie like us, you listen to the content of the ad as well as when you heard it. Placement is almost as important as what you say. Through well-established relationships and long-standing rapport with media outlets in most markets, we leverage our experience and superior negotiating power to get you the best bang for your buck. We do research – lots and lots of research – to find out what your consumer looks like, where they are, what magazines and newspapers they’re reading, what channels they’re watching and what websites they’re visiting. Our Strategic media buys require some serious introspection on what you’re selling, who your target audiences are and knowing where you’ll likely reach them at the lowest cost.

Everybody loves a party and we throw the best. All you have to do is receive your guests and enjoy the show. Whether it’s a customer party or a serious press conference, we take care of every logistical detail from pre-conference brainstorming, planning, vendor management, execution of the event, crafting key messages, creating presentations, presentation training, registration, management of the press and post-event wrap-up. You can’t get easier or more full-service than that!