Meeting with Jill Martin in NYC!

Yesterday, Sam and Christy of the Ant Hill team traveled to the Big Apple to meet with No nonsense and style/fashion guru Jill Martin. As mentioned in a previous post, Jill will be the celebrity ambassador for the brand's re-launch this fall.

Strategizing.

During the meeting, many exciting initiatives were discussed including public relations, social media, marketing, an exciting Facebook contest and fun as well as educational vignettes that will be filmed later this summer. Jill had some awesome ideas around how to style the tights and leggings and we can't wait to really begin working with her!

Sam, Jill and Christy.

Timing Is Everything When It Comes to Posting on Social Media

One of the many services Ant Hill offers its clients is managing social media accounts as well as offering advice for this sometimes overwhelming and ever-changing phenomena. With this, there is actually an ideal time to interact with followers on Facebook and Twitter. The whole point of social media is to engage and create conversation, so it only makes sense to post when your audience is paying attention, right?

We saw some interesting stats in a story on Mashable's site (with the help of link-shortening and tracking service bit.ly) that will help increase engagement, awareness and click-thrus. Below find some pearls of wisdom when it comes to when to post on Twitter and Facebook:

• Want your link to get the most traction on Twitter? Post it on a Monday between 1 and 3 p.m. ET.
• Sending a tweet with a link after 8 p.m. ET should be avoided - as should posting links after 3 p.m. on Fridays.
• The half-life of a link posted to Twitter is about 2.8 hours.
• Facebook's optimal posting times are slightly different than Twitter. Links sent between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. get the most traction, with Wednesday at 3 p.m. being the best time to post on Facebook all week.
• Links posted after 8 p.m. and before 8 a.m. on Facebook also didn't get the most clicks. Similar to Twitter, bit.ly recommends not posting links you want to go viral during the weekend.
• While web traffic starts to increase around 9 a.m., it would be wise to wait until 11 a.m. to post. Traffic on Facebook usually fades after 4 p.m.

"It's easy to see that just like your neighborhood restaurants, each social network has its own culture and behavior patterns," noted bit.ly in a blog post. "By understanding the simple characteristics of each social network, you can publish your content at exactly the right time for it to reach the maximum number of people."

By following these simple rules and supplying interesting content, you'll be creating conversations and gaining new followers in no time!

No nonsense...No Longer Your Grandma's Pantyhose!

There is nothing more exciting to us than a company re-branding. And we are so lucky to be working on No nonsense’s efforts to be seen as a more stylish, relevant and modern brand. This fall, No nonsense (typically known in the past as just a panty hose manufacturer) will be launching fashion-forward yet comfortable and affordable tights and leggings. Ant Hill was tasked with creating an integrated communications plan to let media and consumers know about the new products.

The new No nonsense

We started out with a media tour in NYC and had 12 amazing meetings. We met with the fashion editors from O, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Redbook, Real Simple, Teen VOGUE, InStyle, Lucky and others. At the meetings, we showed them the new products, the new branding and conveyed the important message points. We look forward to seeing some great placements when the fall fashion issues hit the newsstands.

Also as part of the communications plan, we have negotiated a contract with Jill Martin to be the “face” of the new No nonsense as a brand ambassador. Jill is an Emmy Award-winning television personality, fashion expert, and co-author of the New York Times bestselling style guide, “I Have Nothing to Wear!” She is the New York correspondent for Access Hollywood and a contributor on NBC’s TODAY Show, known for her wildly popular “Ambush Makeover” and “Steals and Deals” segments. Jill will have a large presence on social media, tweeting about No nonsense products, hosting a contest on Facebook, and taping vignettes on how to wear the new tights and leggings that will live on the Facebook page. Additionally, we will pitch Jill to national daytime talk shows to promote the new products.

Jill Martin

To reach the influential world of bloggers, we’re negotiating to have No nonsense product featured in BlogHer’s yearly conference fashion show. BlogHer attracts over 4,000 bloggers to attend every year and receives over 37 million unique visitors on its web site each month. Stay tuned to learn more about what we’re up to with No nonsense!

We adore this very informative and highly accurate portrayal of what it is like to work with women.  As a woman owned agency we totally agree that we feel much better when we have time to 'apply fresh lipstick... several times a day'.  Oh our poor working sisters from 1943 - thank you for your bravery to enable today's woman to be who they are.   Here is a link to the full article (or at least one you can read!)  http://bit.ly/11FamO

Did You Miss Us? We Missed You!

Sorry it’s been a while since you’ve heard from us on the blog! Things have been pretty busy here at the mound – a.k.a Ant Hill Communications’ World Headquarters. Since our last post, we have won some great new accounts and have helped one of our existing clients, No nonsense, launch its rebranding initiative.

Two new accounts that we won that focus on initiatives we love – health and beauty – are Sun Bum and BlenderBottle. Sun Bum is a new, hip, high-end sun care line whose products are all tested and approved by The Skin Cancer Foundation. This past February, we conducted a media tour to introduce the products to the top beauty editors in NYC. The meetings proved to be fruitful as Sun Bum will be featured in the following publications: SHAPE, Teen VOGUE, People StyleWatch, InStyle, O, The Oprah Magazine, Men’s Journal and others. Sun Bum’s Face Stick was even highlighted on The TODAY Show as a beauty essential when traveling.

Our other new client, BlenderBottle, is the only shaker cup with a surgical-grade stainless steel wire whisk inside that mixes protein drinks smooth. We won this account earlier in the year and created a strategic communications plan, managed media at several trade shows (including International shows), and will help launch several new products with the help of NYC media tours.

BlenderBottle's New SportMixer We Helped Launch

Sun Bum!

Add to all this, the rebranding initiative for No nonsense as well as our growing medical business and you can see we have been busy bees, err, ants! Check back often for more exciting news!

Selecting a PR Firm: Does Size Really Matter?

A great article in PR Daily came out making the statement that in regard to hiring a PR firm, bigger isn't always better. This is music to our ears as Ant Hill Communications is a full functioning boutique PR firm. We are small and compact because we choose to be. We in turn, cater to companies that have a "start-up" mentality and recognize the importance of reaching the bottom line. This being said, we may be small but we pack a mighty punch and offer a plethora of services. Small size doesn't mean limited scope of services.

In reality, it's not about the size of an agency or firm, it's about its capabilities. In order to find a compatible match, Dorothy Crenshaw, author of this article suggests asking these questions:

1. What's the program's scope?

- This is a great question to ask. Essentially it's a "what can you do for me" question. Honestly, any business bidding for more business will tell the potential client what he or she wants to hear. That's why case studies and references are crucial when selecting a PR firm to represent your brand.

2. Is a range of services needed?

- Many times a potential client will give a firm a laundry list of to-do's to accomplish. Other times, only a few objectives need to be executed in terms of a project or a short campaign. It may not be necessary to search for a firm that operates on a large spectrum if only A, B and C objectives need to be met.

3. Are multiple offices required?

- This is pretty self-explanatory. When a service is needed on a local level, why pay a firm in a big city that will charge a big city retainer and big city hard costs?

Dorothy asks several more thought provoking questions which are sure to be advantageous when making the decision to sign on with a PR firm.

Read the article here.

Socks for America to be on CNN!

Everyone at Ant Hill is super excited today... we have big news!

We have been working really hard on the No nonsense Socks for America campaign all summer, and it is going along wonderfully. Next weekend the campaign will have get mention in a TV spot on CNN!

Two of the students traveling around giving out socks, Amanda and Shelby, were recently interviewed by CNN's Don Lemon.

Be sure to check out the interview when it airs. If you miss it, we'll post the link.

Remember to support the No nonsense Socks for America campaign by:

• Purchasing No nonsense socks! For every specially branded No nonsense three-sock pack purchased, an additional pair of socks will be donated.
• Visit the No nonsense website.
• Become a fan on facebook.

• Fun fact: For every person who "likes" the No nonsense SFA facebook page and clicks the donate button, one extra pair of socks will be donated in their name! 

• Follow the campaign on Twitter @BeNononsense @SocksforAmerica

Here are some pictures from the interview:

On the air 

Amanda getting prepped for the interview

The girls with Don Lemon of CNN