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.
As a communications advisor to clients in the tech industry, I am frequently asked how to leverage social media as part of an integrated PR strategy. Clients are often curious to know when and how often they should post and what their content should look like. Many clients are also now starting to think about whether or not they should use social media tools for relationship building, and if they should maintain personal feeds as well as corporate ones.
When and how often?
Not many people would be surprised by the fact that the posts that get read and shared the most on social media are those that are published between the hours of 9 a.m.-noon Monday through Friday. This is the time of day when business people are most alert and active on social media. I typically suggest that clients carve out 30 minutes each morning to read and re-tweet compelling content. There will be days when nothing much is of interest, and that’s OK. Posting truly insightful content three-to- five times per week is plenty.
What should the content ratio look like?
The most successful brands on social media use their Twitter, Facebook and, increasingly, their LinkedIn accounts as platforms for thought leadership. Clients are frequently interested in using their own feeds for this purpose and have questions around what types of content are most appropriate. I suggest a balance between original articles (those that are authored by you) and curated pieces (those authored by others). Original content can be anything from a blog post to a customer case study; curated pieces include anything that adds to the dialogue in your respective industry. Balancing original with curated content results in an overall perception that the person or organization posting is well versed on conversations happening in the industry and is a good source of information and insight. From a PR perspective, this is especially valuable not only for attracting new customers and partners, but journalists as well. Many companies will periodically include a call to action, a “check us out!” if you will. If it makes sense for your company, go for it.
Should you use social media to build relationships with journalists?
The short answer is yes! We counsel our clients to follow the reporters who regularly cover their space and to re-tweet and comment on articles they feel are particularly interesting or relevant. Twitter in particular can be a great place to learn more about a journalist – her likes and dislikes, the things she’s passionate about, and even if she’s planning on attending CES this year. Some clients ask if they should reach out over social media to suggest a story idea or invite a journalist for a cup of coffee. Be careful. Social media, particularly Twitter, is inherently a 1:many platform and a misfire in such a public forum could spell disaster. I always advise that for personal communications, such as a comment on a story or an invitation, or to meet at a tradeshow, email is best.
Personal feed? Corporate feed?
A common question I hear is whether or not clients should maintain their personal feeds in addition to their corporate ones. The short answer here is, it depends. Social media takes time and a whole lot of effort. In 2012, over 60 percent of marketers spent the equivalent of a full workday each week monitoring and managing social media platforms. Today, it’s safe to assume that this number is even higher. A corporate feed is useful for brand image, conveying breaking news, sharing product updates, and more. A personal feed, on the other hand, is more nuanced. For a CEO, it can be a wonderful platform for thought leadership and forward thinking. The key is to ensure that both feeds are complimentary and cohesive. Drawing up an editorial calendar of topics is step one in the process.
A final word and call to action
If you’re still with me, I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips on social media in PR. Now, go and put in your 30 minutes of reading and re-tweeting!
Patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to PR. When beginning work with a new client, there is an excitement in wanting to share their story with the world and, more specifically, with journalists who can help you share that story. However, with journalists receiving hundreds of pitches daily, cutting through the noise requires a strategic process that can necessitate some experimentation to find what resonates. By creating a compelling story arc and identifying the brand’s place in the industry landscape, PR pros can pique journalists’ interest and drive coverage in key publications.
All PR is cumulative. One of our clients, VoloMetrix, has now achieved a steady cadence of coverage in key business press through consistent exposure in trade publications and informational briefings with relevant journalists and analysts. VoloMetrix is a people-analytics technology company that uses big data to optimize organizational performance, providing executives visibility into the daily activities and relationships that propel business forward. This technology helps improve companies’ organizational alignment, drive sales, and promote employee engagement. Because they have invented an entirely new technology and established a new category, we knew gaining traction would require some creative thinking and grit and—you guessed it—patience.
We began by sharing the news of their patent filing, establishing them as innovators and owners of the technology and of the people-analytics space. Next, we continued announcing major news including funding and new hires to their executive team. Most importantly, we have maintained a steady pace of proactive pitches, framing their company in an intriguing way by leveraging current trends and shaping the data collected. VoloMetrix is now well-established; it owns the people-analytics space and is considered an authority and resource on people analytics. We are thrilled by the momentum VoloMetrix has gained in both PR and overall business efforts and we are eager to assist them in their continued growth and success.
Following is a list of some of VoloMetrix’s media coverage from August 2014 through February 2015:
- How Big Data Will Change Everything About Managing Employees—Entrepreneur, Aug. 7, 2014
- 3 Behaviors That Drive Successful Salespeople—Harvard Business Review, Aug. 20, 2014
- Is Big Data watching you at the watercooler? –PC Advisor, Aug. 22, 2014
- Seattle startup VoloMetrix raises $12M, plans to triple staff—Puget Sound Business Journal, Oct. 13, 2014
- VoloMetrix Raises $12 Million Series B–Analytics For Organizational Performance—Forbes, Oct. 13, 2014
- VoloMetrix Raises $12M to Market ‘People Analytics’ Software—Xconomy, October 13, 2014
- VoloMetrix, pushing an app to track employee productivity, scores $12M—VentureBeat, Oct. 13, 2014
- Stop Wasting Everyone’s Time—The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 2, 2014
- The Wasted Workday—The Atlantic, Dec. 4, 2014
- How Quantified-Self Will Redefine the Future of the Enterprise—WIRED, Jan. 2, 2015
- The Geeks Arrive In HR: People Analytics Is Here—Forbes, Feb. 1, 2015
- In ‘People Analytics,’ You’re Not a Human, You’re a Data Point—The Wall Street Journal. Feb. 16, 2015
- ‘Big data’ analysis of employees is growing, but it has its drawbacks—The Times, Feb. 24, 2015
Revel Systems, the leading iPad Point of Sale (POS) platform and one of our clients at Communiqué PR, recently closed a $100 million Series C financing round to bolster support and operations. The round includes an initial $65 million investment from Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), a New York-based private equity firm, with an additional $25 million equity line available from WCAS.
The most comprehensive iPad POS platform in the industry, Revel provides food service, retail SMBs and franchise operators access to a full suite of enterprise-grade operations and reporting features to help them grow their businesses. Revel’s end-to-end commerce platform is scalable, from single location SMBs to enterprises with thousands of locations, and is designed to move commerce data seamlessly through open APIs.
The funding positions Revel to meet the fast-growing sales and high demand for its platform. Revel recently launched the world’s largest iPad POS deployment with installations at 700+ Smoothie King locations and serves large and multi-chain grocery, retail and restaurant establishments including Dairy Queen, Goodwill and many more.
“We’re very excited to welcome WCAS as an investor and Sanjay [Swani] to our Board of Directors. We couldn’t have picked a better partner to launch Revel into the next phase of growth,” shared Lisa Falzone, Revel co-founder and CEO. “Their deep investment expertise in the B2B services and payments industries, plus their proven track record for fueling company growth, will help us further cement Revel as the industry standard POS solution for both small businesses and enterprise customers. Our industry leadership and strategic position in the commerce space have allowed us to attract a top investor and have helped us achieve what appears to be the highest valuation in our industry.”
Revel’s funding announcement garnered significant coverage in business press, including The New York Times’ Dealbook, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes and more. Together with SSPR, we secured the following coverage for Revel’s funding news:
- Bloomberg—Revel Systems Gets $100 Million as Payments Firm Eyes IPO
- Bloomberg BusinessWeek–Revel Systems Gets $100 Million as Payments Firm Eyes IPO
- TechCrunch—Revel Systems Raises $100M To Grow Its iPad Point-Of-Sale Business, Sets Sights On IPO
- VentureBeat—Revel lands a whopping $100M to put another nail in cash registers’ coffins
- Fortune—Term Sheet — Tuesday, November 11
- BRW—Revel Systems takes $115.7m investment, vaulting entrepreneur Sean Tomlinson into Young Rich league
- CNBC—Revel Systems gets $90 million-plus in funding
- CNET—Revel raises $100M in bid to remake the cash register
- Dow Jones—Revel Systems Raises $100M for Pay System at Valuation More Than $400M
- Entrepreneurship Weekly—Revel Systems Raises $100M To Grow Its iPad Point-Of-Sale Business, Sets Sights On IPO
- Forbes—With $100 Million In New Funds, Revel Systems Keeps Fighting For Point Of Sale
- GigaOm—iPad Cash Register Maker Revel Raises $100M
- Mashable—Revel Systems raises $100 million to replace cash registers with iPads
- New York Times Deal Book—Welsh Carson Leads $100 Million Investment in Revel Systems
- Payment Eye—Revel Systems secures $100m in Series C funding
- FinSMEs—REVEL SYSTEMS SECURES $100M IN SERIES C FUNDING
- FinSMEs—REVEL SYSTEMS, INTERVIEW WITH LISA FALZONE FOLLOWING $100M SERIES C ROUND
- Re/code—Revel Systems, a Square Competitor, Raises $75 Million
- Silicon Valley Business Journal—Retail payment systems startup Revel raises $100M
- Street Fight—Street Fight Daily: Revel Raises $100M, Groupon Splits App
- TabTimes—iPad point-of-sale platform Revel Systems rings up $100 million in funding
- Vactor News—POS solution Revel raises $100M in Series C funding
- Silicon Tap—Revel Systems Gets $100M
- PEHUB—Revel Systems raised about $100 mln from Welsh Carson, others
- Upstart Business Journal—The Pipeline: A hurge round for Revel, Google gets its own airfield, and Pandora’s founder angers the neighbors
- Finextra—Ipad POS outfit Revel Systems scores $100m in funding
- ZDNet—Revel Systems $100m funding round sees Australian expansion
- Retail Drive—POS startup Revel Systems raises $100M in new funds
- Vertical Systems Reseller—Revel Systems Secures $100 Million in Funding, Company’s Goal Is To Go Public
- Financial News—Welsh Carson/Revel Systems
- JDN—Revel Systems lève 100 millions de dollars
- ITWire—Revel secures US$100m in funding to support sales growth
One of the many reasons I got into PR is because I have a deep-rooted love of storytelling. Stories not only reflect back our experiences, but they also shape how we think about the world. Stories help us be analytical, empathic and worldly. They empower us to think beyond our own experiences.
Few understood this better than CBS News foreign correspondent Bob Simon. When I was a kid, Simon made frequent appearances on the little analog TV on our kitchen counter. I distinctly recall my mother’s palpable fear when he was captured by Iraqi forces. Too young to grasp the seriousness of the situation, I remember thinking it was brave to sacrifice your own safety to tell someone else’s story.
Fast-forward, and I now find myself working in a career that relies heavily on the art of storytelling. With Simon’s tragic death last week, I can’t help but reflect on the lessons learned through his integrity as an impeccable storyteller.. There are several that stand out as I look back on his years of reporting and the thousands of stories he told.
- Don’t force the moment. After he was released from Iraqi forces, a reporter asked him what he had learned. Rather than capitalizing on the moment and delivering a false oratory about what he learned, Simon paused and responded that, though he was sure he learned something, he wasn’t yet sure what exactly. His response was utterly earnest and profound in its ambiguity. He didn’t force the moment.
- Ask the tough questions. Admittedly, people who work in PR probably won’t find themselves in the dramatic and dangerous situations that were commonplace for Simon. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from his ability to ask powerful, gutsy questions. He asked the uncomfortable questions that other journalists might’ve thought, but never voiced. We too need to be comfortable with ambiguity – comfortable asking ourselves and our clients questions that we’re thinking but are too afraid to voice. This ability, to dive deep into ambiguity, in part, built his reputation as a journalist.
- The storyteller matters as much as the story. These days, it’s becoming commonplace for journalists to recant false stories. But that wasn’t the case with Simon. His integrity shown through, and we listened as a result. People in PR have as much a responsibility to integrity as journalists themselves, and I learned this from him. Without the integrity of the storyteller, a story can be compelling, but it won’t be trusted.
Simon’s stories inspired me and countless others. But it’s his integrity as a journalist that will truly define his reputation.
Communiqué PR is a proud member of the Public Relations Network (PRN), an international agency organization that now encompasses 28 agencies on five continents. We are PRN’s exclusive partner in the U.S. and have leveraged this collaborative network of member agencies numerous times to secure in-country results for our global clients.
And membership is growing. PRN has just announced its newest member, open up, a communications and PR consultancy based in Zurich, Switzerland. Managed by two partners, Kilian Borter and Melanie Schneider, the agency supports larger companies, SMEs, and non-profit organizations in all their communications needs. Specializing in the financial and insurance sectors, IT and telecommunications, tourism and transport, education and healthcare, open up has been a member of the Association of PR Agencies in Switzerland (BPRA) since 2010, and was certified in accordance with international standards (ICCO) for the first time in 2011
Expansion of the network to include a Swiss partner, and in particular an agency with a focus on IT and telecom, is a welcome addition.
“Although Switzerland is not a large market it is nonetheless a very important one with a specific media scene,” said Veit Mathauer, PRN board member and managing partner of PRN member agency sympra, GmbH. “The different languages spoken in this region make the media more complex and this is why we are especially delighted to have found a reliable and competent partner for this country. First projects have shown that we have a common understanding regarding PR and quality.”
Communiqué was selected as the U.S. agency in late-2013 after working with several of the member agencies to secure results not only for our clients around the world but to help garner attention in the U.S. for PRN member clients.
PRN is a global collective of like-minded public relations agencies providing consultancy and local support for worldwide PR campaigns. PRN has affiliate PR agencies in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Columbia, China, Denmark, Dubai, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italia, Morocco, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK, USA and Venezuela. To learn more, click on www.pr-network.biz
I’ve been working with tech PR agencies for well over a decade now – enterprise/B2B clients mostly – so I was pretty bummed out when a friend in PR dramatically shared they’d “rather die” than do PR for “boring, geeky” tech clients. Come on now, why hate on the “geeky” tech companies? What have they ever done to you, except provide actual, literal life-changing gifts of computers, Internet, e-commerce, mobility, and Netflix?
This wasn’t the first time I’ve heard this type of talk from PR folks turning their noses up at tech. Some people are open to working with more consumer-friendly tech, just not the nitty-gritty tech companies targeting the enterprise or infrastructure. Others simply won’t touch tech with a 10-foot pole. “I’m just not a technical person,” they’ll say. Or, “It doesn’t sound fun.”
To this, I proclaim: “Fear not the nerdy technology clients! Embrace them, for they shall ultimately make you a smarter, sharper PR professional!”
Here are my rebuttals to common complaints I’ve heard about tech clients:
“It’s boring.” Tough love time here, readers: It’s our job as communications professionals to take that “boring” tech-speak/jargon/alphabet soup of acronyms and transform it into a compelling, interesting story. It’s what our clients pay us to do! If you’re bored, you’re not paying enough attention to your client or to the industry in which they operate. There’s always a bigger story beyond the technology.
“There’s so much to learn.” OK, this one’s true. There are no shortcuts – you either know your client’s business or you don’t. That means combing through product sheets, white papers, and press releases, and getting smart about how the product works, how it’s sold, who buys it, and why it matters. Learning a new industry is what makes our jobs interesting. You don’t really want a job where you never learn new things, do you?
“But I’m not a technical person.” As one of my first employers told me, you don’t need to explain exactly how the aspirin works, just that it gets rid of the headache. We don’t have to describe every spec and feature of the product (that’s what the client is for), just enough about how it works, what sets it apart in the market and what business problem it’s solving. Relax, you’ve got this.
“It’s not fun.” You know who uses technology? Pretty much everyone on the planet. Even the geekiest, most technical products out there make people’s lives better in one way or another. Being able to take something often perceived as dull and demonstrate how it impacts an industry or an individual takes skill. That’s where the fun in our job comes from, right?
So ultimately, yes, tech PR is hard. But PR for anything is difficult today, whether it’s a consumer product or a non-profit organization or a Hollywood celebrity. There’s more noise than ever before plus more channels/outlets/devices/networks vying to convey your message. There’s no easy way to do it.
What’s kept me in technology PR this long is this realization: If you can take seemingly dull, dry jargon-filled techno-babble and transform it into a compelling, articulate business story, then you’re pretty much unstoppable. It’s hard work to distill technical language into something that a business or consumer audience can understand and doing it day in and day out isn’t for the faint of heart. Then again, those folks probably wouldn’t select PR as their chosen profession anyway, right?
Plus, there’s something very, very rewarding about holding your own against a cranky veteran tech journalist looking to test you about your client – make that time you spent reading all those white papers actually pay off!
For those currently in tech PR, I’m curious – what do you like about it? And for those who have determined that tech isn’t for them, why not? Share your thoughts here – I’d love to hear your stories.