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.
Every so often, I get the urge to create a product and have even approached my husband with a variety of ideas. Inevitably, we discuss them for a couple of days and then fail to take any further action. Given my tendency, I was intrigued when I learned that Smartsheet was sponsoring a Startup Weekend at its offices in Bellevue.
For those of you who are not familiar with Startup Weekend, let me explain. Startup Weekend is a nonprofit organization and global grassroots movement with a goal to empower entrepreneurs and help people be better prepared to create startup companies.
Smartsheet decided to host the first ever Startup Weekend in Bellevue because of its commitment to supporting the growing startup community and invited me to come by to see the event in action, which proved to be very inspiring.
The giant game of rock paper scissors.
After a fun icebreaker with everyone in the auditorium playing the giant hand game of rock-paper-scissors, John Creason, chief technology officer and co-founder of Smartsheet, kicked off the evening by sharing thoughts about entrepreneurship.
John’s point of view is that an entrepreneur’s success does not always revolve around skills; more often, success requires the right mindset. Often the entrepreneur who succeeds is the person willing to take risks to get results. Most importantly, successful entrepreneurs know what to do with an idea.
The concept of knowing what to do with an idea struck a chord with me. Clearly, having a good idea is important when forming a startup. However, an idea alone is not enough – one must have a sense of how to take action.
This is where an event like Startup Weekend can help, because individuals get to pitch and receive feedback on their startup ideas. This feedback can often motivate and inspire action, and enables entrepreneurs to bounce ideas off other attendees as well as coaches (e.g., experienced entrepreneurs, industry experts, investors or attorneys). Attendees vote on the ideas and form teams around the most viable ones. Then, everyone goes to work on things like creating business models, coding, research to validate ideas and product planning. On Sunday night, the teams make their final presentations and the judges select winners.
Consider Julian Hurst’s experience at Startup Weekend. Julian had been mulling over an idea for creating a new type of storage business. His vision is to match people looking to store their physical belongings with people who have extra space in their homes or businesses. Specifically, he wanted to create an online marketplace for people to find or list storage at the prices they deemed appropriate. It would provide an easy way for people to monetize their extra space and give those in need of storage a new less-expensive option than corporate storage (e.g., Public Storage).
As an attorney with no experience developing a product or company, Julian was encouraged to participate in Startup Weekend to validate the idea and get help figuring out next steps. He signed up for the event not sure of what to expect.
Working late into the night at Smartsheet during Startup Weekend.
When Julian pitched his idea to the approximately 80 people in the audience, it received the most votes. This led to the formation of his team, which was highly motivated and productive. In the course of the weekend, the team did market research by conducting more than 40 man-on-the-street interviews in three different neighborhoods. Julian came up with a brand positioning and a name – Squirl Storage. The team also developed part of a working website, secured a real paying customer and connected him to someone willing to share space.
On Sunday evening after Julian made his final presentation, the judges voted and Squirl Storage won the competition. Julian’s experience was highly rewarding and he is grateful to Smartsheet for stepping up to sponsor the event. “If they had not hosted the event,” explained Julian, “I would not have been able to validate my idea or demonstrate proof of concept. My teammates suggested we do the market research and were instrumental in the process of securing a customer. The coaches were also really valuable in the process as many of them are experienced entrepreneurs.”
I found Julian’s experience exciting and motivating. It also demonstrates the importance of these events in helping people know what to do with a good idea. So the next time you have an idea for a new product or service, don’t just think about it. Take action. If you’re not sure how exactly to do so, sign up for a Startup Weekend to learn from others in your community. Maybe one of these days, I’ll follow Friday’s innovators and do it too!
With shrinking editorial rosters at publications across the country and an explosion of online publications eager to populate their sites with relevant content, an old-school PR tool stands at the ready to help fill the gap – the classic mat release (also known as a matte release.)
About Mat Releases
A mat release is a consumer-oriented feature story that is written and produced in camera-ready format, including art, and then distributed to publications across the country by a vendor, such as North American Precis Syndicate (NAPS). Publications that are looking for content to fill empty column inches can search the NAPS database of articles, make a selection, then drop the camera-ready features into their layout and run them as-is with no need for editing or formatting.
A mat release can be a good use of PR dollars for any company that has a story to tell with broad consumer appeal and reasonably evergreen content. The company maintains ultimate control over the content, so key messages will always shine through. Tips, advice and seasonal stories are good examples of content styles that work well for this format.
Jennifer Gehrt, founding partner of Communiqué Public Relations, has used mat releases with great success over the years for various clients. “When I worked with Waggener Edstrom on the MasterCard account team, we developed and distributed two very successful mat releases,” said Gehrt. “The first mat release aimed to educate consumers about the benefits of paying bills online while the second story focused on motivating people to use debit cards. Our campaign results were impressive, with the placement of hundreds of articles in more than 24 different states.”
More recently the Communiqué PR team developed a mat release about a new online shopping guide for NASCAR fans. This release generated 204 newspaper articles in 15 different states with a readership of more than 8 million.
Guaranteed Exposure
NAPS, which formed a partnership with Business Wire in 2009, distributes its mat releases to 10,000 newspapers across the country, including 1,600 daily newspapers and 8,400 weekly and community newspapers, according to its website. The combined circulation of its potential reach is more than 200 million.
A typical mat release distributed by NAPS will result in 100-400 print placements and 400-plus online placements, according to the NAPS website. NAPS provides a detailed, graphical report following the distribution of each mat release as well as a clipping service, so companies will have tangible evidence of the ultimate reach achieved for their investment.
NAPS can also provide similar services for companies interested in reaching target audiences through radio and TV.
The Process
NAPS provides free writing services to turn a company’s story into a ready-to-run feature, following specific style and formatting guidelines that have proven successful. The company simply needs to supply raw information (a press release, fact sheet, web page, etc.) and NAPS will come up with a recommendation for a feature story. The company maintains control of the content, providing direction and edits until they are satisfied with the end result.
So if reaching a broad consumer audience is one of your PR goals, think about whether a mat release would be a good tool for telling your story. For the dollars invested, the pay-off is guaranteed. And everyone is happy when money has been well spent.
We’ve seen a lot of change in the field of media in the last few years. Traditional print publications have reduced circulation, blogs have boomed in popularity, and social media engagement has become a metric by which to measure popularity for publications.
Journalists and PR professionals alike have found themselves in uncharted territory. While PR professionals now have a wide array of publications to pitch, easily contactable via email, this same phenomenon can be troubling for journalists, who are now inundated with irrelevant pitches.
HARO (Help A Reporter Out) and other similar services have addressed this growing relationship by providing platforms through which PR representatives can better find pitch targets and journalists can more effectively request sources. As this kind of service continues to evolve, we’ve been particularly impressed in recent months by Jeff Vance, a freelance writer covering IT news for publications like CIO, Network World and Forbes. Jeff has developed his own query request Listserv, “Jeff Vance’s Story Source Newsletter.” Essentially, Jeff has created his own HARO service, sent only to subscribers.
After receiving Jeff’s e-newsletter regularly for the past few months, we’ve determined several advantages this type of system can have for journalists:
- Specified queries. When Jeff gets a story request from an editor, he can send out a query to his Listserv asking for ideas, pitches – you name it. We’ve seen queries from Jeff on every topic, from ideas for Big Data stories to nominations for “best startup” lists. Jeff is able to format his query however he pleases, with no restrictions on length or formatting – and he doesn’t have to compete with other queries, as one does when their query is listed in a mass email (like in HARO).
- Targeted subscribers. If you’ve subscribed to Jeff’s Listserv, you’re probably interested in pitching him – after all, it serves as an update about what he’s working on. Rather than reaching the wide audience that Listservs like HARO reach, Jeff is able to reach a targeted audience that’s already familiar with his beat, publications and interests. As journalists continue to be inundated with pitches, this helps Jeff focus his source requests to a targeted audience, ideally saving time sifting through extraneous emails.
- A platform for feedback. Jeff recently took to his Listserv to provide feedback to people who had offered up pitches in response to a recent query around Big Data. Thanking everyone for submissions, Jeff gave tips on what he’s looking for (a story to go along with a source, not just a briefing). Jeff’s advice was to focus on the “why” not just on the “who” or the “what,” emphasizing that for him, this is what makes a story interesting. This feedback is incredibly helpful for those working to improve their pitching style, and helps Jeff’s subscribers customize outreach to fit his preferences, which is beneficial for both parties.
Jeff Vance is clearly at the forefront of a new journalistic methodology, and we’re fascinated to watch as this space continues to develop. In the meantime, we applaud Jeff for his proactive system. The relationship between PR professionals and media should be mutually beneficial– we’re pleased to see journalists and resources like HARO proactively work toward making this ideal a reality.
Blogging has become a key way for businesses and individuals to communicate in today’s online world. Blogs can cover a range of subject matter, from business to fashion, and are an excellent tool to give your brand a voice as well as keep people updated on events or important changes.
In order to harness the communications power of blogging, you’ll first need to draft content. This can be a dilemma for many people – blogging requires a succinct and colloquial style of writing with which many people are not comfortable or familiar.
If you’re having trouble crafting posts for your own (or your company’s) blog, Mark Schaefer and Stanford Smith, co-authors of the book “Born to Blog,” recently offered insights into writing effective blog posts that you might find beneficial. I’ve compiled the tips I find most helpful for getting a blog post started below, but I encourage you to read through the entire post here for additional insight.
Start writing
The easiest way to get a blog post underway is just that: Get started. Even if you aren’t sure of the structure you’re going for, start to put words on paper (or screen). Don’t be intimidated if you’ve never blogged before. Like any skill, blog writing is something that you can improve on with time and practice. Also, don’t let the task at hand become daunting – even if you’re not happy with your first draft, getting something down on paper gives you a lot more to work with than staring at a blank page will. Furthermore, the more you write, the easier it will become to find your voice and develop a style of writing that suits you.
Request others’ opinions
Once you’ve started to write, don’t be afraid to solicit the opinions of others about your subject matter or main point. Hearing other points of view and the simple practice of discussing your blog post can help you determine how to effectively get your point across. It never hurts to run a post by a co-worker and adapt his or her insight. This process can also help get your creative juices flowing – a quick brainstorm can do wonders.
Read out loud
Blog posts should flow as easily as a conversation would. Once you have something drafted, the easiest way to check your blog post’s flow is to read it aloud. Through a simple read-through, you will be able to detect awkward phrases or wording that you may not have noticed in the writing process. Reading aloud also may help you think of additional ideas or points you’d like to make within your post, or of subject matter for a future blog.
Remember: There’s no strict structure
From a young age, we are taught to write with a specific structure: introduction, body, conclusion. While you certainly want your blog to contain clarity of thought, blogs are often read quickly, and people do not always have the patience to read a lengthy introduction. To this end, the most important part of your blog post will be communicating your point clearly – don’t get too caught up in or frustrated by trying to maintain a perfectly structured essay format.
If you’re daunted by the task of creating a blog post, try applying the above tips. Hopefully you will find the process easier, and will be more satisfied with your post and with the writing process in the long run. Good luck!
For more on blogging visit the CPR blog:
- Digital’s Role on Public Relations
- Corporate Blogging Best Practices from PRNewswire
- The Power of Blogs
On Monday, we shared some best practices for curating content on Twitter. Whether you’re curating or creating original content, the Holy Grail of Twitter is having others share your content through the viral power of retweets.
Not all tweets will be retweeted, but as you develop your content, there are some basic practices that you should consider to make your tweets more shareable:
- Tweet length: To increase your chances of being retweeted, the optimal length for an original tweet is 70-100 characters. With fewer characters to work with, your message will need to be even more concise and creative.
- Timing: Most retweets happen between noon and 2 p.m. To be even more precise, tweeting on Fridays between noon and 2 p.m. can garner significantly more retweets.
- Include links and hashtags: According to studies, tweets with these two elements tend to be retweeted more.
To learn more about how you can develop tweets that are more likely to be retweeted, check out the infographic below.
So your business has a Twitter handle. Now what? Coming up with unique content to share with your followers can be challenging for businesses. Creating an effective Twitter presence is a delicate balance between promoting brand content and sharing others’, so that your brand is offering up its own unique material without appearing too promotional.
One way to address this is by curating content from other sources, which is a great way to position your business as a thought leader and remain active and relevant with your followers. In order to do this, you’ll need to both find content that works with your brand’s message, and figure out how you’ll use this content to add to your brand’s Twitter voice. We’ve outlined a few tips we find helpful on each of these steps below.
Finding Content
First and foremost, finding great content to share is essential. You might feel swamped in the amount of information available, and have trouble finding material that fits your brand’s message. Fortunately, there are a number of tools that help ease this process. An article on Ragan.com suggests, “4 time-saving content curation tools,” which includes:
- LikeHack. LikeHack is a tool that saves you time by aggregating, curating and delivering the top stories on your topics of interest.
- Storify. Storify collects updates from social networks to create a story format that is interactive, dynamic and social.
- Pearltrees.Pearltrees is a visual and collaborative library.
- GetPrismatic. GetPrismatic is about creating a newsfeed based on your interests. It’s along the lines of Google Reader and Flipboard.
Curating Effectively
Once you have found content worth sharing, you’ll need to think about how to best go about posting this content through your business’ Twitter. In order to make your posts more interesting, you can go beyond simply sharing by adding your 2 cents and framing the post.
For example: “Our thoughts exactly } Instead of replacing legacy systems, modernize them via @FederalTimes http://bit.ly/19jX5IA.” In this tweet, you know where the brand stands on the article it is sharing. It contributes to the brand’s voice, even though the business didn’t produce the content itself, and helps to frame the article.
At Communiqué PR, we work with a number of clients on their social media profiles. We’ve been working with our client Attachmate for several years on developing and growing their Twitter handles and finding new ways to provide relevant content to their followers. Our strategy has evolved from being very conservative and simply sharing content without taking a stand, to editorializing tweets when curating. Our client, Tom Scearce at Attachmate, wrote the blog, “For Those About to Curate I Salute You,” that offers some good tips.
We’ve outlined a few best practices to keep in mind when curating content on Twitter:
- Make it relevant. This should be a no brainer, but make sure that the content you are sharing is relevant to your followers. When selecting content, consider your audience.
- Don’t be afraid to rearrange. Just because a tweet is arranged a certain way doesn’t mean you have to keep it. You can cut the tweet down or put the link up front to encourage followers to click sooner.
- Take a stand. Add in your opinion, funny comment or provocative statement to help frame the tweet. This helps to provide context and draw followers in. Make sure to separate the editorial comment from the title of the article or retweet you are sharing. Tom suggests using the “ } ” symbol.
Curating content on Twitter is a great way to add to your brand’s online voice, and create a Twitter presence as a thought leader, not simply as self-promotional. We hope the above tips are helpful as you work on your own brand’s Twitter presence.
What tools do you use to find content for your own social media platforms? Are there any best practices for curating content that you’d add to our list?