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 public relations professionals, we are constantly cultivating story ideas from our clients, developing pitches, identifying targets and distributing them where we hope they do the most good.
Though having a compelling story is important, it is only half the battle; finding the right audience for your story is also key. Ask yourself: Who will care about this news? For whom is it relevant? Who should I target? Identifying the right journalists is essential to securing coverage. You may have a great story, but if you’re pitching the wrong media contacts, it is unlikely your story will get placed. There are tools available, like Cision, that can help you build the right media list for your pitch.
We recently started working with Trupanion, a Seattle-based pet insurance company. Trupanion is passionate about pet safety and pet friendly workplaces. In support of Pet Fire Safety Day on July 15, Trupanion shared its own best practices about pet safety, including a fire drill video they produced starring their own office pets. Pet Fire Safety Day has traditionally not generated a great deal of coverage and we knew it may not generate main stream media coverage. So, we selected targets in the pet community, such as pet bloggers, who would likely care about our pet fire safety story. Because of that careful selection and attention to the right audience, we were able to secure coverage in two pet blogs:
- Dog Tipper, “Creating a Fire Evacuation Plan for Pet-Friendly Offices,” July 15, 2013
- Pet Health Care Gazette, “Pet Fire Safety Tips for the Workplace,” July 18, 2013
We were also able to secure an interview with Herb Weisbaum for KOMO News radio. He’s planning on using Trupanion’s pet fire safety tips as his weekend pet tip. Overall, our client was happy with the results and considered it win. Through our outreach we spread the word and continued to position Trupanion as a thought leader for pet safety.
In addition to helping you be successful in pitching, taking the time to identify the right targets will help build and keep relationships with journalists. Journalists are very busy and appreciate when you take the time to understand what they cover and send relevant story ideas. For more tips on pitching media, see our past blog posts:
- Pitching Tips from Media Pros: BusinessWire Media Roundtable
- Tips for Pitching the Media through Social Media
What questions do you ask yourself to ensure you are reaching the right target audience?
A few weeks ago, my fellow Assistant Account Executive, Sheridan, and I presented to University of Washington Department of Communications students. Our aim was to give them a basic idea of what a career in PR is like.
Afterward, we got to thinking that it might be helpful to summarize some aspects of our presentation for anyone pondering a career in PR. If you’re a prospective PR professional, consider the below at a glance information. There’s a lot to consider when you’re deciding what career is right for you – hopefully this can help you determine if PR is a fit.
What is PR?
If you’re interested in PR, you still not might be sure exactly what the terms covers. PRSA defines public relations as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Sounds about right. Head to PRSA for a comprehensive definition of public relations.
Different sectors of PR
Before starting your career, you’ll want to consider what industry you want to work within. Below, we’ve listed several major industries that PR folks often work within. As you might guess, working in government PR is quite different than consumer or technology; think about your interests, and pay attention to what prospective agencies’ clients do when you’re looking for a job.
- Technology
- Consumer
- Public affairs
- Non-profit
- Health care
- Government
Different types of PR organizations
As you’ve probably noticed if you’ve started looking for internships or jobs, PR roles come in all different types of organizations. Agencies come in all sizes, and in-house environments are different still. To learn more about how PR roles can differ, check out our posts Five Key Differences Between Working at Large PR Agencies and Boutique PR Firms and Internal vs. External PR Roles.
Skills for starting out
You might also be curious what types of skills PR requires. Sheridan and I came up with the following list of essential skills and traits for a successful launch into PR; if you’re still in school, now could be a time to sharpen some of these. Internships also provide you a chance to cut your teeth and build these types of skills.
- Hard-working
- Able to take calculated risks
- Action-oriented
- Possess strong personal initiative
- Critical-thinking, problem-solving
- Confident
- Ability to write effectively with AP Style competency
Getting an internship
Speaking of internships, gaining work experience is always helpful when embarking on a new career path. No better way to do this than with an internship. In order to get your first, look into doing the following:
- Network, network, network!
- Research potential employers
- Set up informational interviews
- Build portfolio of published work and/or writing samples
- Perfect your resume, personalize cover letters to each employer
Communiqué’s internship program
So what will you do as an intern? Well, intern programs vary from place to place, but our intern program at Communiqué consists of:
- Administrative work
- Research (clients, competitors, public relations)
- Social media
- Blogging
- Editing and proofreading
- Building media lists
- Tactical support on projects
What are entry-level responsibilities?
Even armed with the above information, you’re probably still wondering what you do day-to-day as an entry level employee in PR. At Communiqué, entry-level employees generally engage in the following:
- Account management
- Updates to clients, status reports, client research
- Media relations
- Craft pitches, distribute press releases, conduct call downs with media, identifying/securing editorial opportunities, media outreach & buddy emails, schedule briefings
- Edit and manage projects
- Review materials, develop briefing documents, monitor for client coverage
- New Business
- Develop new business plans, conduct research, assist with presentation and documents
This list is pretty standard, but responsibilities will vary depending on the company you’re working for.
Pros of a career in PR
Like any career path, PR presents both pros and cons, which vary depending on your personality and interests. Starting out in PR, Sheridan and I have noticed the following traits that make us love our jobs:
- We deal firsthand with clients and media representatives
- We’re constantly learning as clients and media evolve
- It’s an exciting, fast-paced environment
- Our responsibilities are business-oriented yet require creative thinking
- We have the opportunity to learn about different businesses/industries
We hope the above is helpful as you think about whether a career in PR is right for you. As you continue to consider public relations, we also recommend you look to the following resources to learn more about life in the industry:
Curating content for a social media platform requires time and energy, so it can be disappointing when you find something worth sharing with the Facebook world, and it doesn’t get the shares or likes you thought it would. However, there may be an explanation if your business’ Facebook posts aren’t receiving the attention they might merit. PRDaily recently shared some insight on why Facebook posts and pages tend to lack popularity. I’ve summarized five of these points below; if you answer yes to any of these questions, it might be time for you to reevaluate what you are sharing with your followers or how you are choosing to do it.
Are your questions broad?
People don’t generally want to spend large amounts of time pondering over questions while using Facebook. Facebook is a way for people to connect and explore. The best way to get people to respond to a question is to make it easy for them. Give them choices or create a poll. By doing this, they aren’t required to put in large amounts of time or effort, and consequently are more likely to respond.
Is your tone uninspiring?
Though you are posting on a page that represents your company, it does not mean that the content has to be boring. Every business has personality, so don’t be afraid to show it off to your followers! Having fun and making your posts relatable will make your company more appealing and intriguing to your fans.
Do your posts only consist of words?
Visuals are stimulating, interesting, and can capture the attention of Facebook users faster than words. Try to find an image or infographic that relates to the post or your company. Images will help catch people’s attention as they scroll through their news feeds.
Do you constantly try to sell things?
This page is supposed to share information about your company. Do not use it as another platform to sell products. People do not use Facebook as a way to shop, they use it to connect. Allow your fans to connect to your company’s personality through your Facebook page. If viewers are interested in shopping, they will use another platform, such as your company website.
Do you neglect to offer any deals or specials?
Users will become fans for perks. Offering specials might make your page more attractive, which can cause an increase in traffic and attention to your page’s posts. As noted in the tip above, do not use this as a selling platform, rather use it as a tool to motivate people to visit your website or go to a store. My favorite example from PRDaily is about Sprinkles Cupcakes. Anyone who likes the Sprinkles Cupcakes’ Facebook page learns the “word of the day.” If they tell the cashier the word of the day, they get a free cupcake. That means that everyone craving a cupcake on a particular day will be viewing this page and most likely paying a visit to a Sprinkles location. By providing offers, people will constantly check the page to keep up to date.
If you have answered yes to any of the questions above, take a minute to reevaluate how you are interacting with your Facebook fans. Used correctly, Facebook pages are a great way to communicate with your clientele, and have the potential to drive traffic to your company’s website, increase positive perceptions of your brand and ultimately affect sales. Thinking through the above tips may help inform an improved Facebook strategy for your business moving forward. Good luck!
For more tips regarding Facebook, look at the CPR Blog:
- Spring Cleaning for Your Facebook Profile
- Facebook & Public Relations
- Five Facebook Tips for Social Media Managers
To err is to be human. But how one handles the mistake can make or break a relationship. Businesses, particularly in this era of social media, are in a more difficult predicament when mistakes are made. Rumors spread quickly in the social stratosphere and can lead to negative consequences for a brand’s image. However, when business leaders and others in the public eye apologize appropriately, they are able to minimize damage – and might even benefit from the situation if done right.
A recent article in the Harvard Business Review explains how to effectively apologize, breaking it down into a variety of situations based on the audience that may have been offended, such as strangers or acquaintances, partners or friends, and teams at the workplace or even a society. The author reminds us to “remember to ask yourself the following: Who am I talking to, and what is he or she looking for in my apology?”
Most corporate communications departments will immediately pull together a carefully crafted statement. The effort to respond quickly is important but sometimes they can be overly scrubbed, which can turn a heartfelt apology into what appears to be a legal statement protecting the company rather than showing concern, understanding and caring for customers. That’s not to say apologies shouldn’t be carefully and thoughtfully written. This is critical. But if it isn’t direct, the apology may not appear authentic or genuine, which could damage a brand.
Here are four tips to effectively apologize to customers and keep your company image in tact.
- Respond immediately – As the saying goes, it’s easier to eat crow while it’s still warm. A swift apology can stop the rumor mill from spreading. On the contrary, when many hours or days go by without a word, the worst assumptions may be made.
- Look deeper – This could be a sign of a bigger issue that must be addressed. Customers don’t always complain so its up to a business to uncover the fundamental problem. As reported in another HBR article, when TED received complaints about one of its TEDx conferences, executives apologized but it didn’t stop there. They took the time to talk to constituents and learn about underlying issues to ultimately improve the conferences consequently saving its brand image.
- Acknowledge the damage done and take responsibility – Be direct and specific about what happened and who may have been affected. For example, after major operational issues resulting in complaints, JetBlue publicly apologized in a very authentic way, expressing how customers must have felt and taking full responsibility by stating its explicit failures.
- Identify a solution – Using the same example, JetBlue went on to create its “Customer Bill of Rights,” which details how customers will be compensated if future issues arise. If a tangible solution like this isn’t possible (for example if words were offensive, not the actions), take a stand on the issue to clarify your company’s position.
Apologies are not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, they can be a sign of courage and can help customers trust a brand. Circling back to the first sentence in this post, “to err is to be human,” the best way to apologize is through the same vein, by showing you are human. In this era of connecting through words on a screen, people continue to value – maybe more than ever – the human connection.
As online consumers spend more time online, content marketing is playing a more prominent role in the marketer’s tool box. According to some, content marketing is displacing other more traditional forms of marketing including search engine marketing and traditional advertising. So how do you go about creating content?
Recently, I came across an infographic which provides a very basic summary of the dos and don’ts of content marketing. According to the infographic, the four pillars of content marketing are: press releases, blogs, infographics and guest posts. While the infographic is a nice primer, noticeably missing was video and other forms of multimedia content, which, as we’re all aware, are huge drivers for raising awareness and increasing engagement with consumers.
Each of the four pillars mentioned in the infographic (plus multimedia) are deserving of their own how-to posts, but I thought I’d pass along a few additional tips for press releases to augment those mentioned in the infographic:
- Do think creatively and critically about the “news” you’ll be announcing.
- Do consider online press release distribution services for announcements that may not warrant the cost or breadth of distribution of a traditional wire service.
- Do keep in mind that the ideal length for a headline is 90-120 characters.
- Do incorporate keywords into your release, and ideally include your most important keyword at the beginning of a headline.
- Don’t use hyperbole.
Here at Communiqué PR, we’re always on the lookout for tools that make our work more efficient. Recently, we’ve been using one extra handy tool that we thought worth passing along—analytics provider Alexa.com.
Alexa.com offers free website analytics, including traffic data, national rankings, global rankings and more. These rankings give an idea of how a particular website compares to others. Although geared mainly to website owners looking to gauge their site’s popularity, Alexa also has value for PR professionals seeking more information about an online outlet.
Alexa’s service isn’t strictly about measuring statistics—it doesn’t offer a concrete number of monthly visitors, for example—but its rankings are still an excellent means for evaluating an online publication. Alexa allows you to understand which sites are more (or less) popular or engaging, and how a website’s audience compares with audiences at other publications. This material can help inform your messaging and outreach as you work to successfully reach an online outlet’s audience with a client’s story.
Specifically, in our practice we’ve found the following areas of Alexa’s analysis most helpful for PR purposes:
Website Popularity. Alexa combines the number of average daily visitors and number of daily page views of a site to estimate both global rank and U.S. rank, therefore allowing PR professionals to see how an online outlet matches up to its peers. Alexa also displays historical traffic trends that allow you to evaluate a site’s longevity or popularity stability. These longer-term trends include traffic rank, page views per user, the estimated percentage of global Internet users who visit the site and the estimated percentage of global page views on the site, among others.
Consumer Engagement. How influential is a website to users? How meaningful are consumers’ visits to the site? Alexa offers statistics about the daily page views of a site per visitor, daily time spent on the site per user and the bounce rate—the percentage of visits to the site that consist of a single page view. Ideally, the bounce rate will be relatively low and the daily page views and time spent relatively high—if you’re seeing otherwise, you’ll know that an outlet’s content is not effectively engaging viewers.
Audience Demographics. As a PR professional, understanding an outlet’s audience is crucial to creating relevant, compelling content. Alexa offers a breakdown of estimated audience demographics that reveal how similar a site’s audience is to the general Internet population. Statistics offered include age, education level, gender, children (yes or no), geographic location (country of origin) and browsing location (home, school or work). These stats will collectively help paint a picture of the typical viewer, and will therefore help you strategize how to create a message that resonates with an outlet’s audience.
As you may have deduced, one of the ways Alexa is most useful overall is for comparison: assessing how an online outlet matches up to others. In short, the best way to use Alexa is to combine all of the gathered information to determine which outlets are most relevant to clients’ interests, and therefore worth targeting. Once you’ve decided who to pitch, Alexa also helps you strategize how to pitch. Its statistics make it easy to assess an outlet in terms of multiple characteristics. As you craft content, consider using these insights to your advantage.
Have you used Alexa? What information do you find most helpful from the website? Let us know!