Does Engagement Matter?

By Susan Otten In a world where content is king, it is vital for brands to create engaging, exciting content for their target audiences.  This was the message from our well-attended professional development November lunch and learn CREATING ENGAGING CONTENT, that showed us how to build powerful content. Case studies were presented as examples from […]

Masterminds: Veteran Communicators Learn New Tips & Tricks

By Susan Otten The IABC Minnesota Masterminds group tried something new for our October meeting; we went on a “field trip!” Rob Litt, Director of Corporate Communications at General Mills Headquarters in Golden Valley, hosted the group. We had a record crowd of 11 attendees, including a number of first timers who were intrigued by the […]

So what if you’ve got a few million Likes?

By Linda Lim You’ve launched a great campaign and garnered millions of impressions on social media with engagement rates that are above industry benchmarks.  You know you’ve made a difference – but how do you connect these activities to their impact on business performance? The business communications professional, similar to other important members of the […]

Feeling isolated or just plain stumped?

By Jim Madson I have been a member of professional associations since I was in college and enjoy the sense of community and the resources that they offer. Seven years ago, a colleague suggested I attend an IABC event. I was impressed by the value of the programming and the stature of the people I […]

5 Bewitching content tips from @Serena

By Tammy Nienaber I’ve been a follower (aka, stalker) of @Serena for some time. Serena is smart, funny and full of energy. She’s also a wealth of knowledge when it comes to how businesses can use social media. I had always expected this to be the case based on the content she shares. My assumption […]

How to Launch an App to Help Your Clients

App Launch Communications

Communications Key for Development and Launch of Mobile App By Susan Otten When I’m not having fun supporting Minnesota professional communicators as President of IABC Minnesota, my day job (as I like to call it) is COO of VITAL WorkLife. As a national behavioral health consulting company, we’re in the business of improving the well […]

Better Political Communication Can Start with Us

Think Twice Before Sharing the Next Slimy Political Post By Susan Otten It doesn’t take much effort these days to know the Election (yes, with a capital “E”) is just around the corner. But if you’re like me, you’ve grown quite weary of the inflammatory, often rude and hateful, and even more often, purposefully misleading […]

How do you communicate the reinvention of a brand? Deluxe tells its tale

What do you do when you are challenged with communicating the reinvention of an iconic American brand, while also needing to pay respect to the company’s 100-year heritage? Tricky! If you are Amanda Brinkman, chief brand and communications officer for Deluxe Corp., you think outside the box. And you go big. IABC Minnesota recently interviewed Brinkman […]

How to Improve the Value of Networking

Networking is better with IABC By Susan Otten What an amazing opportunity I have been given to serve communicators in Minnesota. Let’s start with the why, as Simon Sinek says, this is so important to me. After growing up in Minnesota, my career, and that of my husband, moved our family to Chicago, Kansas, Houston and […]

Responding to the Changing Landscape of Health Care

(This post sponsored by the University of St. Thomas) A guest post by Dr. Mike Porter, APR Health care represents one of the most rapidly-changing industries in the world – every month reveals new products, advances in medical research, regulatory changes, and increased costs for insurance. In response to this, a couple of years ago […]