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.
Despite the popularity and convenience of messaging solutions, voice calls are still important for organizations. Specifically, companies must be able to receive inbound calls from customers, stakeholders and employees to continue to grow and run their business. The ongoing increase of cybersecurity breaches and climate disasters pose a threat to network and internet connectivity. These threats have created a need for companies to have better call routing options.
Flowroute, a BCM One Company and a self-service SIP Trunking and SMS platform, offers a patented HyperNetwork service that creates backup, also known as redundant, call options. This service increases inbound call resiliency and redundancy for enterprises. Call redundancy is essential because it helps businesses ensure they can continue to communicate with their customers if one or more communication channels fail.
The HyperNetwork helps mitigate outage time. It detects upstream network problems and quickly reroutes calls. Because the HyperNetwork dynamically changes the routing of telephone numbers, calls arrive over a different path than the one originally assigned.
Flowroute has offered the HyperNetwork for several years, but the company updated the capabilities of the HyperNetwork after BCM One acquired Flowroute’s assets in March 2022. Over the past year, BCM One and Flowroute have invested in new features to enhance the service.
Communiqué PR had the opportunity to partner with Flowroute and BCM One to announce the upgrades. The team supported messaging reviews, press material development, media training and other activities to help prepare for the announcement. We also secured an interview with a leading telecom analyst to discuss the HyperNetwork service upgrades and other company initiatives.
Last week, Flowroute officially announced the launch of the new HyperNetwork with upgraded features. We distributed the news to target telecom, cloud, developer and channel communication reporters. Below is a snapshot of some of the articles secured from the media outreach around the announcement.
- Channel Vision: Flowroute Launches HyperNetwork with Upgraded Features
- Telecom Reseller: Flowroute Launches New HyperNetwork with Upgraded Features
- The Fast Mode: Flowroute Launches Upgrades to its HyperNetwork
- VMblog: Flowroute Launches New HyperNetwork with Upgraded Features
- TMC: CEO Rich Tehrani shared a congratulatory post on LinkedIn
- No Jitter: Microsoft and Google Roll Out Collaborative AI Capabilities, While Zoom Hits a Home Run
Below are a few tips for companies planning to announce product launches or upgrades. Taking the time to work through these details will help ensure a successful announcement.
- Define and Review Messaging – It is important to clearly communicate the resources for the product relaunch or new services. Before you announce changes, it’s a best practice to align on updated messaging and product details to make sure spokespeople have the latest messages and can communicate the messages the customers need to know and understand.
- Develop an Announcement Plan – After the company finalizes new or updated messaging, review the elements available for the announcement and create a plan. A solid plan first requires clear objectives, messages, proof points and target audiences. These elements and the desired timing of the announcement will inform the media strategy. For example, the company might offer the news to specific reporters or analysts early, develop and distribute a press release via a wire service or opt to forego media outreach. The strategy for sharing the news will depend on the objectives and significance of the announcement for the company, its customers and the industry.
- Identify Target Reporters – Identifying target audiences is critical to developing an announcement plan, so much so that it warrants its own step. Solid messaging and a compelling story will only go so far if companies are not sharing those messages with the correct targets. Companies must invest time into identifying and building a robust press list. A significant portion of the success of an announcement distribution relies on the press list.
There are other essential elements and steps to take when making announcements; however, the steps above are three important tips that will help strengthen the process and results. Check out other Communiqué PR blogs for guidance on PR plans and tactics.
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses are turning to phygital to boost customer engagement. “Phygital,” a combination of “physical” and “digital,” doesn’t just enhance customer experience. It’s a whole new way to tell your brand’s story.
Chemi Katz, the CEO and co-founder of Namogoo, writes in TotalRetail, “[Phygital] presents an opportunity to create a more immersive, engaging and interactive customer experience. Retailers from Sephora to Amazon.com are utilizing phygital strategies to reap benefits, including increased conversions, personalized customer journeys, and boosted brand loyalty.”
Sephora has led by example. It has improved customer engagement by offering multichannel experiences and implementing artificial intelligence (AI) to give customers an interactive in-store experience. Consumers can interact with augmented reality (AR) and facial recognition to get their perfect shade of foundation. The mobile app also uses location-based marketing to share relevant information, such as store maps and deals.
Keeping this in mind, I have outlined some of the benefits phygital offers brands below.
- Enhanced customer experience. Phygital can help businesses provide seamless and engaging customer experiences with virtual reality, AR, AI and other digital tools. According to Janelle Estes, chief insights officer at UserTesting, “embracing phygital reveals a growing recognition that creating seamless customer experiences across multiple channels is no longer enough — it’s now about fusing channels to engage customers with a more powerful and memorable experience than a single channel alone can provide.”
- Increased engagement and participation. By incorporating interactive media elements, companies can create more engaging and memorable offerings. For example, the World Tennis League (WTL) partnered with Akshaya.io to create a phygital marketplace for fans to share unique collectibles and entice customers with a “once in a lifetime chance” to meet the sport’s biggest stars. Akshaya.io and the WTL successfully achieved their goal of creating “tangible, emotional, and digital experiences” for fans on a popular platform, the NFT marketplace.
- Improved data collection. By enhancing the customer experience with phygital, companies can collect more first-party customer data about engagement. They can also identify essential touchpoints on the customer journey. Marketing and communication teams can leverage this data to plan events or campaigns and analyze these proactive effort results.
- Increased accessibility. Carol Martinez at Inclusive City Maker states, “Phygital experiences actually combine the best of both worlds (physical and digital) to remove accessibility barriers and foster inclusion.” For example, online streaming platforms allow people in remote or underserved areas to access live events, creating opportunities to participate regardless of location.
- Reduced carbon footprint. Phygital experiences lessen the need for resources like transportation to events, materials to build event venues and more. For instance, instead of exhibiting at CES, Panasonic created a digital booth to showcase its sustainable tech and offered virtual tours. In this case, phygital eliminated the need to use build the booth and repurposed some of the company’s existing factories to showcase these sustainability tours.
Leveraging phygital to create interactive experiences can enhance your brand’s impact. It helps you tell your story in a new and exciting way.
PR pros know that behind every piece of media coverage is an effective press list. Your client might have a great story to tell, but getting the right set of eyes on that story can be challenging.
Securing media coverage means having the right information at the right time, and then getting that info in front of the right people. So how do you build a press list that will generate the attention you and your clients deserve?
A good press list includes a wide range of media contacts to pitch, from the more traditional newspapers, magazines, broadcast media and wire services to newer media like podcasts, bloggers and influencers. Whether you’re targeting trade, local, or national publications, a well-refined press list helps ensure your pitches find the right person.
Here are four tools I use to create more targeted press lists. These tools can help refine your contact lists and increase your chances of getting the coverage your client needs.
Cision
Cision is a comprehensive platform that helps PR pros manage their media relations, monitor and analyze media coverage and measure the effectiveness of their PR campaigns.
Cision helps you find contacts and easily create press lists. The platform boasts a massive database with over 850K+ contacts and outlets—one of the reasons Cision is first on our list. Here’s how you can use Cision effectively:
- Narrow your focus: Cision offers filters for subject matters, publication types, editors, bloggers and reporters worldwide so that you can search for specific journalists or media outlets. It provides a list of complete contact information, outlet details and social profiles.
- Create lists: These filters can also help you create lists more efficiently. You can organize your final media list by media type, location, industry, topic or other characteristics. You can also access your created lists and add contacts from existing lists.
Sparktoro
SparkToro is a market research and audience intelligence tool that helps PR pros find media by analyzing the behavior and interests of your story’s target audiences. After all, you’re trying to get your story in front of your target audience, so what better than going directly to the source?
Sparktoro shows what your audience is already reading, watching, listening to and engaging with online. Since Sparktoro may be new for some, here’s how you can use this tool to identify journalists who might be interested in your story:
- Conduct a search: Sparktoro has several search options. For example, you can select “My audience frequently talks about” and type in your industry, niche or keywords. You’ll see which publications, journalists and websites your audience already engages with.
- Review your media options: By clicking on a publication or journalist, you can view their audience insights, which include information on their social media followers, websites they visit and other interests. Use this information to figure out who might be interested in covering your story.
- Find journalists’ contact information: At the top of the profile, you’ll find public contact information, which could include social media handles and email addresses.
Google News
The phrase “Google it” is in our lexicon for a reason. Google has made it easy for PR pros to search related stories or topics and see which publications and journalists are already covering similar stories.
There are a variety of ways you can use Google News to stay up to date on the latest trends for your company’s or client’s industry. Here are two of the simplest methods:
- Set up Google News Alerts: News Alerts email you notifications whenever articles related to your specified search query are published. To set up a News Alert, simply enter a search in the Google News search bar and click on the “Create Alert” button. Consider setting up alerts for your company’s or client’s name, industry terms or other phrases. You can even try “[keyword] reporter” to get more results.
- Use advanced search filters: Filters can narrow your search results by publication, location, date and other factors. They can help you find more specific news articles and journalists covering stories related to your industry or niche.
Advertising Kits
Let’s say you’ve found a publication you’d like to cover your story. Reviewing their advertising kit can provide valuable insights into their target readership and help build a targeted press list.
Advertising kits have detailed information about the media outlet’s audience, including their demographics, interests and purchasing habits. PR pros can use these kits to understand the types of stories likely to resonate with that audience, as well as the types of pitches its editors and reporters are most interested in seeing.
Using these tools can help you regularly refine and update your press list. You’ll likely find that people change jobs, new beats emerge or new publications launch while others fold, creating a whole new list of potential contacts. By keeping your list refreshed, you will always be prepared to pitch your story to the right audience.
Anyone attending a conference or expo can tell you that a speaker can make or break an industry event. This is especially true for keynote speakers. A great keynote sets the tone, inspires the audience and leaves a lasting impact on all the attendees.
Whether it’s insight or inspiration, a memorable keynote gives an audience something only the speaker can provide. Look for these attributes when lining up your next keynote speaker.
- Preparation and professionalism – The best keynote speakers take their role seriously and fully prepare for the event. They should be punctual, well-organized and have a professional demeanor. Quality speakers should be flexible enough to adapt to schedule changes or other unforeseen situations, ensuring their presentation is seamless and impactful.
- Expertise and knowledge – A good keynote speaker has a deep understanding of their subject matter. They should be an expert in their field and have significant experience in their topic. This expertise will help them deliver an engaging and educational presentation.
- Authenticity and credibility – Expertise can be lost on a crowd if a speaker’s not able to establish their credibility. Audiences don’t just connect with knowledge but with the person sharing that knowledge, their story and authenticity. Whether the speaker’s credibility is demonstrated through personal anecdotes or stage presence, authenticity helps the audience connect with the speaker’s message on a deeper level and trust what they have to share.
- Relevant and impactful content – The content of the keynote speech should be relevant to your event and audience. It should be tailored to the event’s theme and the audience’s interests, needs and expectations. Impactful speakers provide new insights and perspectives that leave the audience with actionable takeaways.
- Engaging presentation style – Expertise and credibility create a critical foundation for a keynote speaker, but those who captivate their audience from start to finish leave a lasting impression. They use storytelling, humor and other engaging techniques to keep the audience interested and attentive. Speakers should be dynamic and charismatic in their delivery.
A great keynote speaker can be a game-changer for any event. By carefully considering the above attributes, you can find a speaker who will engage and inspire the audience, provide valuable insights and leave a lasting impact on your attendees.
In a recent blog post, I outlined tips to prepare for in-person client events. These tips included aligning expectations and planning logistics in advance, reviewing health and safety guidelines, packing accordingly, and establishing a channel for real-time communication.
These tips came in handy while on-site at Acumatica Summit in Las Vegas. I also learned additional lessons at the event, which will be useful in the future. My four tips below focus on takeaways and learnings for supporting in-person client events.
Be Proactive
My biggest takeaway from supporting Acumatica Summit in person is to be proactive. Look for what needs to be done and do it. If you’re not sure what to do or directions are vague, take the initiative to find answers and add value. Remember: The client is paying for your time, and you are an extension of their on-site team. Regularly ask yourself if what you’re doing is adding value and consider additional ways you can maximize your contribution.
Here are a few ideas to help you be proactive if you’re unsure where to start:
- Introduce yourself: With work being largely remote the past three years, there may be several people you’ve only met virtually. If you see a familiar face, go out of your way to make the connection and build relationships.
- Confirm upcoming meetings: Send reminders to participants and ensure meeting rooms are available. If a reporter or analyst is leaving the event soon, reach out to thank them for their time and participation and determine whether they have everything they need.
- Take notes: Write down what you learned during the keynote addresses, breakout sessions or other meetings while it’s fresh in your mind. These might be key company messages, questions from reporters or analysts, product updates or ideas for future PR campaigns.
- Think ahead: Brainstorm questions or action items you think might result from the event. Are there presentation materials reporters or analysts might ask to receive? If so, outline a recommended process for file sharing to your client.
Be Present, Attentive and Accessible
Stay present and be an active participant at the event. Take notes during meetings, track action items, thank participants for their time, and chime in with questions. Stay energized throughout the event by drinking plenty of water, fueling your body with healthy snacks and getting fresh air. Get as much rest as possible in the evenings if you’re supporting a multi-day event.
As previously mentioned, you are an extension of the client’s team while on-site, with a specific role and responsibilities. It’s essential to be accessible. Ask yourself: Do key stakeholders (my client, media and analysts) know how to contact me? While you don’t want to be glued to your phone and appear disengaged, keep your phone handy, regularly check for key stakeholders’ communications and strive to reply promptly.
Be Adaptable
Events are typically scheduled from morning to evening to maximize attendees’ time and ensure they have ample opportunity to connect with peers, learn about the latest industry trends and engage with sponsors and exhibitors. Since these events are carefully planned and structured, it can be tricky to find time for executives, customers, partners and other stakeholders to meet with media and analysts.
It’s also crucial to adapt to the many ways scheduled meetings might evolve. For example, if a session runs long or a stakeholder gets caught up networking with someone in the hallway, they might be late to or miss a scheduled appointment. If possible, work quickly and efficiently to reschedule the meeting. Stay calm, be gracious in your communication and remember that schedules can shift on a dime.
Be Organized
Ensure you have all the information you need at your fingertips. Helpful information might include:
- Meeting schedules for key stakeholders (e.g., media, analysts, executives, customers, etc.).
- Contact info for the client and other key stakeholders.
- A map of the event space.
- The event schedule.
- Room availability.
- Transportation information to and from the event space.
- Hotel concierge information.
When you first arrive on-site, orient yourself with the event space. Walk from end to end, identifying critical locations on the map. Doing so will not only help you find your way, but it will help you help others find their way.
By following these four tips, PR professionals can ensure they maximize value and support for in-person client events.
As the statistician and management consultant W. Edwards Deming once said, “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.”
Collecting and analyzing data is critical for all businesses and organizations. Understanding results gives teams insight into what is working versus what isn’t. It helps them make informed decisions and optimize performance.
As strategic partners, PR professionals should constantly review and analyze the effectiveness of their work. Understanding the success of a campaign can be paramount in driving results for your client.
Below are some common questions and best practices for analyzing a PR campaign’s effectiveness.
Where do I start?
PR professionals should begin by defining campaign goals, so you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. For example, some common goals might include building brand awareness, enhancing reputation, managing a crisis and growing thought leadership. Clearly defined goals help you track and measure your progress.
What types of data should I track?
You’ll want to choose relevant metrics that align with your PR goals. For instance, consider measuring things like website traffic, share of voice, the number of articles published or message pull-through.
On a larger scale, it can be helpful to measure the impact of PR efforts on business outcomes, such as sales and leads or customer retention. You’ll likely need to ask other department heads for this data, which you can then correlate with your PR campaign.
Once I’ve decided what I’m tracking, what measurement best practices should I use?
Below are a few best practices to ensure your data is accurate and reliable:
- Organize your data in a spreadsheet: This allows you to easily manipulate it and see metrics like coverage by quarter and region, growth rates, the correlation of activity to results, response rates, average domain authority, unique visitors per month and the like.
- Use consistent measurements: This ensures you can compare results over time. For example, when tracking growth rates, be sure to use a consistent period of time to ensure an apples-to-apples analysis. When tracking data on the number of articles published on your client’s behalf, you should gather the articles published within a given quarter, year, month, etc.
- Use benchmarks: It can also be helpful to benchmark results against key competitors. To do this, gather the competitor’s articles within the same time period, then review and compare the growth rates to those of your client.
How do I use this information?
Once you’ve gathered all the necessary data, dig deeper. Analyze your results to better understand what activities contributed to your campaign’s success or failure. Nailing down causes can help you identify specific improvements for your next campaign.
For instance, to increase your chance of media coverage, you may want to update your pitch to add value. Including unique angles in your pitch removes some of the burden from journalists, making your story more appealing and increasing the likelihood of coverage.
You can also target different reporters to ensure you’ve thoroughly covered the media on behalf of your client. Consider a shift in strategy if its execution is not driving results.
What’s the best way to present this information?
Once you’ve gathered and analyzed the data, present your findings to the client in the most organized and professional manner possible. Consider developing a slide show using the following template:
- Introduction: Begin with an executive summary that highlights your findings and reiterates your goals.
- Findings: Use the middle slides to dig into the campaign metrics and results. Use charts, graphs and tables to make your data easily accessible.
- Next steps: Provide clear and actionable recommendations on how to improve results for the next campaign.
- Be sure you are measuring the impact of each campaign as your relationship with your client continues to grow.
Analyzing data and results is equally as important in PR as in any other business. It’s critical that PR professionals understand the impact of their campaigns and make necessary adjustments to provide clients with results that move the needle for their businesses.