Bob Maples, President

With more than 30 years’ experience in technology PR, Bob's strengths are his relationships with the “who’s-who” of business and technology, editorial, publishing and industry influencers. Bob conceptualizes the overall strategy for Maples Communications and develops the business through key industry connections.

Hitting the reset button on marketing communications begins by accepting a new perspective on what marketing communications needs to accomplish. Switching a company’s perspective from that of a traditional advertiser to that of a tightly disciplined, personalized publisher can help a company join the online conversation. The company’s Web site can generate dramatically more sales leads than it ever has before by offering more-timely, personalized, and useful content.

One way to communicate directly with a targeted audience is to create a company news site, one that focuses on the company, its news and events, and industry issues. Maples Communications proposes creating a news site to the company’s global content onto a single page, updated and prioritized each day and laid out much like a newspaper.

The Lakers have their legacy – another NBA Championship. What will be your legacy? Are you willing to figure out what it is going to take for you to accomplish your goals? Are you willing to miss some shots and take some risks to find success? For me, I found my niche in life and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be successful and to make my clients successful. I have passion, commitment and loyalty to my family, my friends, myself and to my clients. I may get knocked down from time to time, but I will never, never give up.

Maples Communications is launching a “Flat-Rate” PR and social media program to help companies build brand visibility, attract new customers and boost their businesses. The program is about using the power of the Internet to lead customers through the buying process.

Every company, every marketer often dwells on the ROI for social media, and there’s a popular misconception that relevant metrics are lacking. While it’s true that standard metrics are evolving, there are many ways to measure the impact of social media on a company’s marketing performance.

Walking into a ballgame, you are likely to hear someone shouting, “Program! Get your program! Can’t tell the players without a program!” I can’t think of a better analogy for developing a “best practices” social media program: its all about nailing down – in writing – who you need to connect with online, what you are trying to achieve with them, and knowing what to measure so that you will know if you have achieved your goals.

Being able to see beyond the scope of your customer base to understand how your market is influenced is one of the most important advantages of a social media program.

If the company is going to achieve and maintain a brand value using social media, it will need to first understand the company’s stake in the marketplace and the value it offers to its customers. The value proposition is all about the customer. What matters to them and how you can deliver value that differentiates you from your competitors.

Pepsi gets it! Its decision to sit out the Super Bowl, once deemed a “can’t miss” showcase for major advertisers, underscores how social media and the Internet are reshaping marketing by providing companies better ways to convey their messages to customers who might be likely to buy their products.

Many marketers stepping up to embrace social media are bringing their old “push strategy” skills to a new “customer pull” reality, making a critical miscalculation. The social media phenomenon is not just a new set of communications vehicles for your company to broadcast its value proposition and messaging to a target market. It is about customers wanting and needing relevant information to make better decisions and to share with others. Over the years they have become jaded by the packaging and spin that typifies most marketing and advertising campaigns.