Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Unlike the retail industry, PR professionals are usually able to snag a little down time around the holidays. Clients are on vacation; journalists are out of the office; and news is not the public’s top priority. So, for us, that means a little less billable work. But just because the work isn’t billable doesn’t mean it can’t be valuable. Below are a few ideas on how to make the most of your “down time” through the holidays and any other lulls you may experience throughout the year.
1. Networking and Relationship Building—Relationships are one of the most valuable assets you can cultivate. However, they require investment of time and energy, which are not always readily available. So when you do have the time, it is important to schedule in-person meetings with clients and other people in your industry to continue fostering your relationships. When you meet, focus on topics that aren’t business-related; be sure to learn new things about them, like their favorite hobbies, how their kids are doing, etc. Also, build new relationships! Maintaining previous relationships is always important, but building new ones is just as important. So reach out to someone you’ve been wanting to meet or reach out your contacts and ask if they know of anyone that you can build a beneficial relationship with.
2. Team Building—In this industry, and most other industries, your team is your differentiating factor. A well-functioning, talented team is what separates you from your competition, so it’s important to keep them motivated and happy. Plan a fun activity for your team to do together or order lunch into the office and spend time together that doesn’t center around client work. Not only will your team be able to let loose and have a little fun together, but it will emphasize that you appreciate and value their hard work.
3. Expand your Industry Knowledge—On a day-to-day basis it is hard to keep up with all the happenings in the world. Things seem to change constantly and with social media, we tend to know about it instantaneously. But how often can we really sit down and read several articles on a topic to truly understand its impact? Not that often. For example, how will the changing interest rates affect investments and venture capital firms? I’m not sure, but with a little extra time I can learn more on the topic and understand how my clients will be impacted by the change. Understanding this will allow me to make better-informed decisions around a client’s messaging and positioning and the counsel I provide to our clients.
4. Practice a Few Skills—There is always something that we can improve upon, but we are not necessarily diligent in practicing the skill that needs improving. For me, it’s writing. Writing is a skill that I can always improve and can practice in a lot of different ways. I can spend time developing blog posts, coming up with a few sample pitches for a variety of clients or writing a piece that highlights my personal perspective on a completely random topic. None of these pieces have to see the light of day, but developing them provides an opportunity to practice skills and garner feedback from colleagues.
It’s rare that we have extra time, so when it comes around it’s crucial we take advantage of it. Many things, like the ones listed above, fall short of being a top priority, yet are important aspects of success. So instead of letting extra time around the holiday season, or any other season, go to waste, use it as opportunity to make these items a priority again.
It’s that time of the year again! With 2015 now behind us, public relations professionals around the world are asking themselves, what’s next for 2016? Will developing creative, engaging content continue to rule the roost? How will social media communications evolve in the new year? And what are the things PR folks should be thinking about as they begin planning their next big campaign?
Below is a shortlist of trends in the communications world that are expected to either emerge or continue in 2016. As the year unfolds, be sure to check back in on the Communiqué PR blog to see if the predictions hold true or if something new and unimaginable takes a hold of the profession.
Content Amplification
Hours have been spent working to secure coverage for a client. Every key message painstakingly developed and rehearsed made it into the article. But nobody seems to be reading it.
Before any important piece of news or content is anticipated to be published, public relations professionals should be asking themselves how to increase its reach. In fact, specific content amplification plans are emerging as a norm for any comprehensive communications plan. Services such as Outbrain, which places links to earned coverage on popular websites for a fee, are expected to rise in 2016 and offer even more options to expand reach. How content is distributed and who it reaches may soon overtake unique monthly visitors and circulation as the most prized metric to measure success.
Mobile-Friendly
This is one that can be included in these types of articles for years to come (and should have been included in previous years). Basically, people today are digesting their news via mobile devices. Everyone has one and they aren’t going away anytime soon. Communications professionals need to understand this fact and what it means to the planning process.
For example, how does that new infographic look when viewed on a cell phone? If an image is being developed for Twitter, does it fit the dimensions needed to be seen in full? What about resolution? Can people read the text on a small screen?
These are just a few things to consider for any content being produced and distributed in 2016, but certainly not the only things. Creating mobile-friendly content today also has to account for the ever-evolving technology that is reaching consumers. Not only do people need to account for smartphones and the specific nuances of each model and operating system, but with the rise of tablets and wearable technology, it’s become critical to develop content that works across a wide variety of mobile devices along with desktops and laptops.
Integration
Communications professionals have come to realize integration provides a means to circumvent limitations faced with a singular approach and can ultimately improve results. From the onset, marketing and other vertical leads should be involved in all planning discussions. What are their priorities for the year? How can public relations help them achieve their goals? What properties do they have that can be leveraged in a communications campaign?
By integrating all communications efforts into one overriding strategy, every vertical will have a better understanding of each department’s priorities and ensure that its goals do not conflict with one another. With this understanding, communications professionals should take a step back before developing a plan to think about how an integrated approach will work and how to sell the ideas to all the different parties involved. Essentially, everyone involved in the plan should see how it benefits their area of focus to ensure buy-in and success of the proposed tactics.
Multimedia Announcements
Reporters are inundated with hundreds of press releases and pitches on a daily basis. Their time is limited, and getting them to look at a company’s latest announcement can be a struggle. Luckily, multimedia press releases continue to grow in popularity because they have that something extra that can grab the eye of a reporter.
Although nothing new, multimedia press releases are set to become standard in 2016. Including pictures, infographics, video, b-roll, social media links, etc. in major company announcements is a simple way to garner extra attention. The days of the long, three-page press release are nearing an end and in its place is a more visual and interesting representation of the same information.
But it doesn’t end with just press releases – using multimedia and different communication channels to reach reporters directly is quickly growing and being embraced by public relations professionals around the country. Sending direct messages to reporters via Twitter or Snapchat is becoming standard for many media specialists, and including embedded GIFs or video in standard pitch emails is a new, emerging trend.
Will these predictions hold true? Only time will tell. But one thing is for certain: Public relations will continue evolving and it is up to us as professionals to stay ahead of the curve or risk being left behind.
The heyday of native advertising is over. Even before the ornaments are taken down from the tree to be placed carefully into dusty boxes marked “Xmas,” the Federal Trade Commission released its new guidelines for native advertising that are sending people into a tizzy and forever changing the way publishers and brands leverage the controversial medium. Native advertising – the inclusion of sponsored brand content within existing editorial formats – will be virtually obliterated since the new FTC guidelines require native advertising to abide by stricter guidelines and in many cases, disqualifies how native is practiced today.
As media journalist Bob Garfield wrote, “The action will be devastating to advertisers, agencies and mainly publishers, but it cannot be surprising to anyone.”
Given the rise of digital formats and consumers’ dwindling attention spans, publishers have been under the gun to stay afloat. Over the last several years, publishers have faced stiff competition from content aggregators, social networks, and blogs, searching for novel ways to present information that drives page views and attracts advertiser dollars.
As Walt Mossberg of Re/code mentioned on stage in late 2014 at the Geekwire Summit, “It’s a great time to be a writer. But it’s a tough time to be a publisher.” Re/code’s parent company Revere Digital, was wholly acquired by Vox Media earlier this year.
Native advertising, a format that emerged five years ago, has allowed advertisers to heavily influence content on publisher sites through sponsored posts and in-stream ad units. Native was thought of as a shiny new revenue channel for publishers, a way to seamlessly fold in branded content within the confines of a publisher’s existing editorial flow – a nod to the advertorials of yesteryear but without the stigma.
And advertisers were jumping on the bandwagon since publishers weren’t always explicitly required to identify native ads from other content on their site or in a publication. But several outlets had opted to do so. But the free ride is over.
The newly released FTC guide for native advertising is an 11-page framework that crushes the ability for publishers to surreptitiously include ad content without the public’s knowledge and requires publishers and brands to clearly disclose whether content is a paid placement.
According to the guidelines, “Terms likely to be understood include ‘Ad,’ ‘Advertisement,’ ‘Paid Advertisement,’ ‘Sponsored Advertising Content,’ or some variation thereof. Advertisers should not use terms such as ‘Promoted’ or ‘Promoted Stories,’ which in this context are at best ambiguous and potentially could mislead consumers that advertising content is endorsed by a publisher site.”
Putting on my writer hat, these guidelines make complete sense since consumers have a right to know if a publication is compensated to create content on behalf of a company.
But for those in the marketing and public relations industry, the question remains – what does this mean for agencies that create and secure coverage on behalf of their clients? A publication, say The New
York Times, clearly has an ethical obligation to report the news without bias and accepts story ideas based on news value, then researches and writes independent articles. But what about agency blogs or other publications?
With editorial departments being slashed to pieces within news organizations, where will content come from in the future? Editorial is still revered by many, in fact the entire concept of native advertising stems from advertisers trying to mimic the quality and thoroughness of premium editorial content. But how will these publications source more and more articles as the writing profession becomes commoditized with the goal of pumping out more and more stories and clicks?
One answer is through the acceptance of contributed articles written by company executives and PR professionals. But this places the tedious task of quality control on publication editors to properly vet and decline pieces that include overt marketing messages and content. Will the role of journalists morph into that of content marketers, to help publications manage the influx of content indirectly submitted by brands? Hopefully not, and many of my journalist friends would scoff at this very notion.
This question has become more and more relevant as PR professionals are becoming immersed in the industries they represent, have a penchant for writing, and are starting to blur the lines between PR and journalism. With a plethora of publishing channels at their fingertips like LinkedIn Pulse and online blogs, agency executives are feeling the desire to write, and shouldn’t writing be encouraged within the broader communications industry? Aren’t the tenets of journalism to accurately report the news and to present ideas that encourage new ways of thinking and spark intellectual discourse?
While the indirect impact of native advertising on PR agencies has yet to be clearly defined by the FTC, moving forward, a good rule of thumb for any communications firm or marketing professional is to disclose client relationships in published pieces that include clients, especially for pieces bylined by PR personnel that are placed within independent media outlets. This helps preserve journalistic integrity, highlights the values of your firm, as well as informs the public about unseen influences that may be at play.
However, the medium should also dictate the message. It is my belief that marketing agencies and PR firms are generally known to be paid by their clients and therefore should be able to publish posts about said clients on agency blogs, on LinkedIn, and via social media. Especially if clients are clearly listed on an agency’s website.
And regarding how these new FTC regulations will impact traditional publishers and brands, only time will tell.
What do you think about the new regulations? How will they impact your business?
One often overlooked activity in the PR professional’s arsenal is the satellite media tour. The satellite media tour (SMT) involves leveraging an expert spokesperson and making him or her available for live or taped interviews with television news teams.
For instance, Joan Lunden, an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, motivational speaker, women’s health and wellness advocate, and mom of seven continues to be one of the most recognized and trusted personalities in America. She also is a spokesperson for A Place for Mom (APFM), the largest senior living referral service in the U.S. and Canada.
We had the pleasure of working with Joan Lunden and her team to set up and conduct a successful SMT on how to talk with aging loved ones over the holidays about planning for their future. Specifically, we collaborated with another firm to secure studio space and book the interviews. Joan then did two to five minute interviews with more than 17 television and radio stations.
In her interviews, Lunden explained that with 90 million people expected to travel over the holiday season, there is “a great opportunity for families to find out how their moms, dads, uncles, aunts and older siblings are doing physically, emotionally and mentally.” She then provided tips for how to prepare for these important and sometimes challenging conversations. Check out these clips to watch some of the coverage surrounding the SMT and learn more about Joan’s important work for A Place for Mom: KBTV Fox – Beaumont, Texas, WZVN ABC – Fort Myers, Florida, WAAY ABC – Huntsville, Alabama, WKOW ABC – Madison, Wisconsin, WGXA Fox – Macon, Georgia, KTIV NBC – Sioux City, Iowa
To pull off a successful SMT, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Be clear on your objectives. Is the goal to educate or entertain viewers? This will have a big impact on the selection of your expert spokesperson and the messages you are working to convey. It will also inform the creation of companion content such as b-roll and your set design.
- Have a compelling, credible expert who is adept at working with the broadcast media. Someone like Joan Lunden is ideal. As an award-winning journalist, and longest running host in early morning television with Good Morning America, we knew Joan Lunden would do a fantastic job, and more importantly, the producers with television stations around the country knew they could count on her to provide valuable information to their viewers.
- Develop talking points for your spokesperson. Identify three or four points the spokesperson will make during each interview. Use language that is accessible to a wide-range of viewers.
- Carefully select clothing and set design. Your expert spokesperson will want to dress in a manner that is complementary to the messages he or she is delivering. It is a good idea to think about the studio set and whether it makes sense to display a logo in the background.
- Rehearse. Practicing the delivery of the information is often critical to success and ensuring the messages stay top-of-mind during each interview.
- For each interview, consider the market. A good spokesperson might tailor the information for the station’s local audience.
- On the day of the interviews, make sure the spokesperson has his or her favorite snacks and beverage. It takes a significant amount of energy to do 15 to 20 back-to-back interviews, so make sure you have the right refreshments to help your expert maintain his or her energy levels.
We hope these tips are helpful as you consider leveraging the Satellite Media Tour for your clients.
One of the most exciting and challenging aspects of our work in PR is driving coverage in the absence of hard news. Without funding announcements, partnerships, or new products to announce, how can PR pros drive meaningful coverage for their clients?
With a little persistence and a clear plan in place, PR professionals can drive stellar results for clients even without formal announcements. This is of particular importance for clients in the service industry, such as consulting firms or advertising agencies, who have compelling stories to tell but may not have hard news to announce regularly.
For these clients, we recommend an integrated approach focused on the following strategies and tactics:
- Build thought leadership platforms for the executive team – Get to know the executive team’s interests and areas of expertise by scheduling short one-on-one brainstorming sessions with each key executive. Come prepared for these sessions with specific questions, and recap what you heard from the executive after the meeting so there are shared expectations.
By developing thought leadership platforms for each executive, PR pros can effectively offer the executives as sources to journalists, develop bylines on their behalf, and pursue targeted speaking opportunities that resonate with the client and their audiences. Taking the time to become rooted in your clients’ platforms helps you establish them as thought leaders, particularly in the absence of hard news.
- Monitor and leverage relevant industry trends – For each executive, monitor industry trends that are relevant to his/her thought leadership platform. For example, is he or she interested in dealflow and financial trends? Invest a certain amount of time each week to reading key publications (e.g., Marketwatch, The Financial Times, etc.) to understand what’s happening in the space and identify opportunities to insert your client’s perspective.
When you find a relevant story or angle, do the heavy lifting of flagging the opportunity and outlining a potential perspective for the executive based on what you know from your brainstorming session. When the angle is agreed on and clearly articulated, move quickly to share the perspective with key journalists in the space to book briefings and drive coverage.
- Build thought leadership through contributed articles and speaking opportunities – Contributed articles are a wonderful way to drive coverage and establish thought leadership, especially in the absence of hard news. They also have the added benefit of helping drive additional editorial coverage; once an executive has been published in a number of publications, it can be easier to secure journalists’ interest in briefings. Based on your brainstorming session with the executive team, develop a plan that includes potential topics, outlets, and timing for bylines for each executive. When there’s consensus on the plan, begin drafting! You’ll find that the more bylines you develop for an executive, the more natural it becomes to capture his/her tone, perspective and style.
Bylines can also be repurposed for speaking abstracts at targeted events for the executive team. Speaking opportunities require a large time investment, often involving travel, so it is important to identify opportunities that are a good fit for the executives’ thought leadership platforms and that reach their respective target audience(s).
- Establish a process that works for your client and your team – As with any PR program, it is crucial to execute on account activities in a strategic and sustained manner. With hard news, there’s the inevitable date that the news crosses the wire, forcing the PR team to act aggressively prior to the announcement. With proactive pitching and bylines, however, the lack of a deadline could create a lack of urgency – the PR team needs to create a rhythm for these activities and stick to it.
It is important to establish regular times throughout the week to keep these activities moving forward and clearly delegate roles and responsibilities across account teams. For example, dedicating a certain amount of time per week to reading relevant industry news is crucial to driving coverage, so the team needs to have a clear process in place for identifying and flagging proactive pitch angles.
By becoming rooted in the executive team’s thought leadership platform, monitoring industry trends, aggressively pitching reporters proactively, and crafting contributed articles and speaking abstracts, PR teams can secure fantastic coverage – even without a single press release. The key is to strategically plan these activities and delegate across the account team, so you can create a steady cadence of coverage for your client.
“We are excited to have you onboard,” one of the founding partners told me as I was settling into my new role. Little did I know, what I was about to embark on would change my perception on PR, business and what it means to do what you love.
It all started with my fascination with how stories are told and how perceptions are built – PR helps make things possible. I was going to school full-time just learning the ropes of the industry and suddenly I was working full-full time trying to climb them. Luckily, it was a smooth transition.
As my first year dedicating about 260 days (which equates to roughly 2,080 hours and 124,800 minutes) to PR comes to a close, it’s important to reflect on the accomplishments and failures in order to plan for success in the future – because if you don’t love what you do and strive to do it better, why do it? I’d like to share three pieces of advice for the up-and-coming PR pro that I wish people told me when I was starting out.
- Keep a list of all the reporters you build relationships with and keep notes of your correspondence. I began building my personal media list about six months after I started pitching reporters. Note, it’s crucial to remember what reporters tell you (what stories they like, what clients they’re interested in, what they don’t like, editorial guidelines, etc.). I recommend building a list in Excel – I’ll discuss organization later.
- Exceptional writing skills are a must. I wish I had known how important it is to have strong writing skills because I would have taken it more seriously in school. I felt as though I was pretty good before I started – now it’s good I’m up for a decent challenge. You do a lot of writing in this job, so if you don’t like to write, this may not be the right career for you.
- You will need to learn a lot about many industries really fast – and it doesn’t slow down. Try not to get too overwhelmed and just do your best. The more you can read and learn about your client’s industry, the more valuable you will be to the client, the reporter and the agency – don’t forget that.
In addition to reflecting on what I wish I knew, I also wanted to share some advice about ways that you can plan for success in the future, because the planning should never stop. I suggest setting yearly goals; every year, evaluate your progress and set measurable objectives to reach your targets. We should never stop striving to become a more improved version of ourselves! Never stop working for tomorrow, but always live in the now – it’s a healthy motto to live by. Here are a couple suggestions to help keep everything together as you continue your journey in PR.
- Create and maintain an integrated organizational system. Sync your email to your phone, laptop and iPad/tablet and keep your inbox organized so you can find things quickly. Also, create a well-kept organizational system for your office space that works for you. It’ll be important to plan for ways to be prepared for anything as quickly as possible – staying organized is critical in this industry.
- Take time to smell the flowers. Take time for yourself and your life outside of the office. It’s important to be successful and I promote doing what it takes to get the job done, but do so at the right pace. Have fun with your coworkers and get to know them because it’ll make working more enjoyable if you work around people you know and like. Enjoy your time off and take care of yourself by going on vacation, going to the gym and eating healthy food. It’s important to uphold a workhard – playhard (aka) work-life balance lifestyle. You’ll make yourself happier as well as the people around you.
If you have any advice, tips or stories that’ll help me, and those who will soon cross the “I survived my first year in PR” finish line, please share!