Printer Friendly Version

President Tom Albers is surrounded by nearly all of the Albers Communications Group, which has doubled in the past three years.
 
PR and Social Media Firm Honored as
Chamber’s Small Business of the Month
By Dan McCann
The Daily Record
At its heart, Albers Communications Group LLC is a story-telling operation – but that is only part of the story.
“Our clients partner with us because we help them achieve their visibility and exposure goals much more quickly and effectively than they can on their own. We do this by becoming integral members of our clients’ teams, immersing ourselves in their industries, and accessing our many relationships to help tell their stories,” said Tom Albers, company president. 

Founded in 2000 and honored as the Greater Omaha Chamber’s Small Business of the Month for April, Albers Communications Group has become the largest PR and social media firm in Omaha, serving a nationwide roster of clients, including industry leaders such as Home Instead Senior Care, Merry Maids, Verizon Wireless and Farmers National Company. 

“We work with businesses who want to use PR and social media to affordably increase their brand recognition, become known as their industry’s newsmaker, and connect meaningfully with their current and prospective clients,” he said. “We strongly believe that PR and social media go hand-in-hand and work best when used as part of an integrated communications strategy.”
The company’s core services include media relations programs; social media planning and management including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, videos, and email marketing; special event planning and management; crisis management; and media training. 

“Our services are very scalable to both small and large businesses – from one employee to 65,000 employees,” explained Albers. “We have specialized expertise working with companies that have multiple locations including franchises, branch offices and retail locations.”  

Omaha-based Home Instead Senior Care, which currently has more than 900 franchises, has worked with Albers Communications Group for more than 12 years.

“In that time, our company has expanded by more than 600 franchises worldwide, and we have watched Albers grow exponentially as well,” said Lori Hogan, co-founder of Home Instead Senior Care.  

Hogan was among those nominating Albers Communications Group for Small Business of the Month. In her letter to the Chamber, she wrote, “I feel, and I know that the many people within the Home Instead Senior Care network who work with Albers agree, that in Albers Communications Group, we have a partner.  In addition to providing public relations and social media to our local markets, they have contributed to our national campaigns as well.”

Positive word-of-mouth and referrals from clients are the company’s greatest source of new business, said Albers.

Revenues have grown an average of 15 percent annually during the past five years. The firm’s staff – 17 employees, including Albers – has doubled in three years. 

“We have staff members who have worked as daily newspaper reporters, TV newsroom producers and anchors, editors at national magazines and as bloggers. Our team’s extensive experience with traditional, online and social media makes us better at telling our clients’ stories,” said Albers. 

Albers Communications Group’s client campaigns have been recognized as among the best in the nation for results and creativity. In 2009, the firm won the highly-coveted Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America, “presented to organizations who have successfully addressed contemporary issues with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness.”

As for the company’s latest honor, Albers said, “We are honored that the Greater Omaha Chamber is recognizing our successes by naming us Small Business of the Month.”

He added, “What makes this award even more gratifying for our team is knowing that Omaha is an active entrepreneurial community with many small businesses doing amazing work. We thank the Chamber for this recognition and for the support it has given us along the way.” 

The honoree’s success has had a positive impact on the community – beyond that of helping clients like Home Instead Senior Care prosper.

Hogan commented, “We place a high value on working with an organization that not only serves us, their client, but also their community. Albers Communications does this through their involvement in a number of organizations, including Heartland Family Service, Kiwanis, the Black Student Catholic Scholarship Fund and Children’s Respite Care Center.

“It has made numerous generous contributions to the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation, and, for the past four years, it has awarded annual scholarships to University of Nebraska Omaha journalism students.”

While all of the recognition is gratifying, Albers said, “Nothing gives me more satisfaction than knowing that our PR and social media programs help our clients create positive relationships with important audiences including the news media, referral sources and potential clients. We are fortunate to work with companies that have great stories to tell and we are grateful that they have entrusted their PR and social media programs to us.”

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska is the sponsor of the Chamber’s Small Business of the Month award.