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.
A common challenge in PR is working with clients to determine if their story is newsworthy. News organizations are often bombarded with pitches and press releases that have no hope of seeing print. As PR professionals it is our job to work with our clients to determine what the news elements are.
For example, a product release might not be appealing to a journalist, but if tied to a hot trend, it can help pique interest.
In a recent article I came across in Ragan.com titled, “6 questions to determine whether your story is newsworthy,” Susan Young suggests questions to walk through when deciding whether your pitch might get pickup. I’ve included some of Susan’s questions below along with examples from my own experience in pitching reporters.
- Who cares? It sounds harsh, but this is the no. 1 question reporters and editors will ask themselves. If you can answer this question, you should highlight it in the subject line or leading sentence of your pitch.
- What makes my story outshine the other 372 that crossed a reporter’s or blogger’s desk today? Just like standing out in a crowded room, pitches need to be unique. I guarantee that the journalist you are targeting receives hundreds of emails a day and you must grab their attention before they hit delete. For more information on how to craft a subject line that can help, read our previous blog post.
- Where would my story fit in this reporter’s world? Sometimes tying a product launch, a new company or event to a relevant trend can help your story. Reporters need to be able to relate, so try to tailor your pitch to be relevant to their coverage topic.
- When is this most important? Today, tomorrow, next Tuesday? Reporters generally cover day of news or preview upcoming news. They aren’t interested in something that happened yesterday. News is such a fast paced and competitive industry that old news is no longer news.
- Why would anyone sitting in their den in Utah, driving on I-95 in Florida, or bowling next to my dad in New Jersey want to pay attention to this story? The goal of a reporter is to have their story read or watched by their audience so the story should tap into emotions or a human element. For example, providing someone that the journalist can speak with who is impacted by the announcement can make your story more compelling. This moves the story away from the company announcing the news, but shows the impact the news has.
- How can this story help other people? The news is likely important to the company sharing it, but in the same vein as the question above, journalists like to illustrate how the story will help other people. By writing an article, how will the audience benefit from this news? For example, if you are pitching a story about a new safety feature for a car, be sure to call out how telling this story will benefit the audience. Will this reduce the number of accident fatalities? Impact soccer moms? Save money?
The more you can showcase why your story is newsworthy for the journalist, the more likely you’ll be successful in your pitch. For more information on what makes a good story, and additional questions to ask yourself when developing a pitch, read our previous blog post.
Earlier this week, we facilitated a two-hour messaging workshop for a new Communiqué PR technology client. The goal was to discuss the company’s mission and vision, as well as hone in on its value proposition and distill that information into several compelling key messages.
The messaging workshop was a big success and it got me thinking about our work and methodology for facilitating these discussions, which can often be fraught with emotion as senior leaders and executives often have strong points of view about the subject matter. At Communiqué, we believe there are five key steps that should be taken when preparing to conduct the messaging workshop:
- Explain the importance of messaging and build the case for the workshop. Messaging is often the foundation of your PR program. To harness the full power of PR, you want to deliver messages that are accurate and credible, as well as concise and compelling as possible. It is also essential to arm employees, staff, investors and partners with the right messages so they can deliver them on your behalf. Given this, if a company has not outlined key messages, we recommend holding a workshop to identify and build consensus around the key points that need to be communicated.
- Determine who needs to participate. This is another essential step for a productive workshop. To have a meaningful discussion about mission, vision, values and a company’s value proposition, you will need the senior leadership team to be present. Typically this group of individuals are responsible for the direction of the company so it is important they articulate their perspectives on these topics. By gathering this group together to discuss vision, mission, values and value proposition, the facilitator can hone in on differences in perspective and help resolve them, which is important if you’re going to deliver consistent messages about the company and its products and services.
- Get the creative juices flowing. We recommend coming up with one or two ice-breaker exercises to help set the stage for an effective and engaging ideation meeting. These can be really helpful as you look to get people thinking in a new manner. For instance, you might provide executives with a list of emotional or functional attributes to describe their company and ask them to rank them. Each person could then present his or her perspective. This gives everyone an opportunity to share his/her thoughts at the beginning of the meeting and sets the tone in establishing participation with all the leaders.
- Set time limits. Determine how much time you’re going to spend on each subject. Give everyone a few minutes to share a point of view, but at the end of the allotted time, be sure to move on to the next section so you don’t get bogged down on one point. If there is unresolved conflict around a topic, feel free to table it so you can do some more thinking and analysis.
- Identify roles for the meeting. Designate one or two people to facilitate the meeting, and appoint someone else to take notes and capture key action items. We also recommend bringing a digital tape recorder to ensure that everything is captured and can be reviewed later.
We hope these tips are helpful. If you’re challenged to come up with the right messages, please feel free to call us. We are experienced and adept at helping companies identify and come to consensus on key messages.
The flowers are blooming and the days are getting longer, and that can only mean one thing: college graduation and summer internships are right around the corner. For students studying communications, public relations is a great field in which to work, but there are some things you should keep in mind when it comes to a career in PR.
PR is a lot more than putting together press lists and writing press releases. While you certainly don’t need to be perfect, you do need to understand some qualities PR firms are looking for in candidates, decide if you live up to these and ensure you demonstrate these characteristics.
- Be your own PR representative. In order to represent companies in a transparent, ethical and positive way, you need to reflect these qualities in yourself. Do you have a bunch of pictures posted on Facebook of you and your sorority sisters out at the bar last weekend? Do you post things on Twitter that might be too personal? Make sure you put your best foot forward online and build your own positive reputation before you expect a client to trust you with theirs. Also think about your own key messages you want your potential employer to know about you and the proof points you can share that reinforce these messages. Think about how to consistently deliver those messages when you are interviewing.
- Be a good communicator. It seems obvious, but PR is all about communication, whether it be with your team, with clients or with reporters. You need to be able to clearly articulate ideas or recommendations via just about any method of communication: email, phone, blog post, instant message or teleconference. You need to be comfortable and proficient with all the many ways to communicate (well, except Morse code) because that is really what our job is all about.
- Be professional. This one also might seem like a no-brainer, but looking and acting professional is essential. In our line of work, you sometimes meet with powerful people that have high expectations and little time to make small talk. CEOs, vice presidents of marketing and other executive leaders within your client’s organization may need to meet with you, and it is important to walk the walk and talk the talk. Dress professionally for client meetings, keep the discussions on appropriate topics and stay calm, cool and collected. Letting your professional side shine will build trust and respect with clients.
- Be proactive and solutions-oriented. Part of being a PR pro is being able to handle just about anything your client asks for. The secret to this quality is to always consider what is best for the client and anticipate what they might need before they ask for it. By putting yourself in your client’s shoes, it is easier to understand his or her perspective and can help you come up with impressive solutions if you run into a speed bump with a project. Always think about how you can make your client feel like he or she is your only client, even if you are working on multiple accounts.
- Be courageous. In PR, you need to be pretty brave. You need to be able to tactfully push back on clients or coworkers who make recommendations that you don’t think would help your account. You need to pick up the phone to call reporters at national publications to pitch stories or follow up on interviews. You need to be graceful when put on the spot. Learn how to use new tools or technology quickly. Even if you aren’t the bravest person you know, you need to be okay with the fact that in PR, you will be pushed outside of your comfort zone from time to time.
- Be flexible. One of the facts of life for PR professionals is that no two days are quite the same. Sometimes a crisis will come up with a client and you’ll need to drop everything to help them draft some messaging or talking points to handle the situation. Other times a reporter will call with a deadline that afternoon and he or she will want an interview with a client. Or perhaps a new business opportunity will come up and you have to put together an impressive proposal in a couple days. Whatever the scenario, you need to have a can-do attitude and be able to roll with the punches.
These are just a few examples of the qualities employers and clients are looking for in their PR people. While you may not really need to be perfect, you do need to be perfectly suited for PR. To get more ideas about the type of work PR professionals need to be able to handle, you can check out our careers page. Additionally below are a few tips as you search for a PR position:
- Follow the hashtag #HAPPO (Help a PR Pro Out) on Twitter
- Leverage LinkedIn to connect with other PR professionals, secure informational interviews and network
- Join your local PRSA and participate in networking and educational events
In just a matter of two years since its beta launch in March 2010, Pinterest has become one of the top ranking social networking sites today. Just last month, Experian Hitwise reported Pinterest is the third largest social network in the U.S., surpassing LinkedIn.
As consumers continue to flock to the site in droves, so are businesses and brands as it’s been proven to drive traffic back to their websites. According to an article in Ad Age, Real Simple magazine’s GM of digital Shannon King shared that, “Pinterest is a huge source from a referral standpoint, even beating out referrals from Facebook in the month of October. It speaks to the power of engaged audience members. We view it as an important part of our social media strategy.” And both small and big businesses alike are following Real Simple’s footsteps, exploring ways to use the site to connect with consumers.
While most content on Pinterest centers around art, fashion, décor, beauty, food and other lifestyle categories, automakers (yes, you read that right) are exploring the platform as a way to engage with their female demographic.
One creative campaign that is garnering a lot of media attention is Honda’s “The Pintermission,” which is part of its larger “Leap List” campaign for the CR-V, a small SUV that is targeted toward females. Given their target demographic, they have come to the right platform since women generate nearly 85 percent of activity on the site according to comScore.
For the campaign, Honda targeted five of the site’s top pinners and offered them $500 each to stop pinning for 24 hours. During their time off from “pinning,” they were to get out and do some of the things they have been pinning about, then return to the site and pin about what they did. Check out what each of these five pinners did on Honda’s board.
While Honda admits they didn’t set metric goals for this campaign, they are viewing it as an opportunity to begin engagement on this new social networking site in a creative way, and integrate Pinterest into the brand’s larger social media strategy to drive traffic to its website. Lauren Ebner, assistant manager of social media at American Honda Motor Co. notes in a separate Ad Age article, “It’s such a fast-growing social-media network and seemed like a really good, different, creative outlet for us and a chance to use a visual medium to promote our cars.” Honda hopes the campaign will inspire others to take a Pintermission (without the $500 incentive) and get out to enjoy life. After all, we do deserve a break from the 24/7 connected world we currently live in every now and again.
Have you come across other creative campaigns on Pinterest? Which ones caught your attention? Let us know.
And if you’re thinking of building a presence on Pinterest, be sure to check out another one of our blog posts, “Ground Rules for Harnessing the Power of Pinterest.”
Earlier this year, we wrote about the rise of Pinterest and its potential for benefitting businesses. We discussed its ability to help businesses drive traffic to their sites, provide a platform for deeper customer engagement, and showcase new products and services in unique ways. Since then, as we predicted, Pinterest has grown like wildfire. In fact, Google Ad Planner notes that Pinterest has reached 16 million users worldwide, crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history.
However, although Pinterest has seen rapid growth, many businesses are still in the early stages of exploring this new social network and determining how to take full advantage of the platform. Given this, we thought it’d be helpful to share some guidelines and etiquette as highlighted on Ragan’s, to help maximize your Pinterest presence and effectively promote your brand.
- Give credit when credit is due: Sourcing the original link is the unspoken cardinal rule of Pinterest. Whenever you find and post an image to Pinterest, make sure to include a link back to the original source. For example, if you find a great photo on Google Image, rather than linking back to Google, provide a link directly to the photographer’s site.
- Don’t trick users into following incorrect links. Unfortunately, some people embed incorrect links with their images so that when a follower clicks on a pin, they’re redirected to an unrelated site leading to extra page views and, as a result, extra income. This is an unethical marketing ploy and good way to lose both followers and credibility. Make sure you link to relevant content and don’t mislead your followers.
- Write a full caption. Tell your followers why they should click on a link by including a descriptive caption for each image you pin. Avoid marketing and advertising jargon and remember that Pinterest is about direct, authentic communication.
- Don’t overwhelm your followers. While it’s fun and slightly addicting to pin images, be careful not to post every image you find compelling, especially if it’s not directly related to your brand. High quality is key in the digital world—and it’s what Pinterest followers love most. Don’t go pin-crazy if you want to keep your followers.
- Interact and engage with your community. Similar to most social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest is more effective when you communicate with both your followers and broader target audience. The more you comment, like, or repin someone else’s content, the more interaction you’ll receive on your own content.
While Pinterest is a great place to promote your business, do so with caution. Rather than spamming people with nothing but your own products and services, use Pinterest to elevate your brand by building and contributing to the community.
Are you a Pinterest pro? Share what’s worked for you!
When I was growing up, my parents were professionals dedicated to building their careers; however, when they came home they were no longer directly connected to the office through technology. Their passion for their work translated then into discussions during and after dinner. These conversations were interactive and inclusive of everyone at the table. My sister and I participated in these discussions and learned how to engage with our parents (and others) on a variety of topics. Conversations were vital in how we as a family communicated and how we stayed connected with each other, and instrumental in developing relationships within our family.
As a parent and a business owner, I worry about how technology is changing the way we communicate. Face-to-face conversations seem to be dwindling as we have come to rely upon email, social networks and texting to communicate with each other. I have friends that comment on how their teenagers are more likely to text with friends than actually having a conversation.
Consider the following quote from a 16-year old boy that was included in Sherry Turkle’s article this weekend in The New York Times, “The Flight from Conversation”:
“Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn how to have a conversation.”
The increased use of technology is decreasing the frequency with which we engage in conversations. We have substituted online connections through Facebook, Twitter, and texting for face-to-face conversations. The reality is these connections do not provide a substitute for conversation.
Ms. Turkle goes on to explain that as a society we are relying on technology to “keep each other at distances we can control.” We “expect more from technology and less from one another and seem increasingly drawn to technologies that provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of relationship.”
Ms. Turkle offers a few suggestions on how we can focus on making time for conversations:
- Create sacred spaces that are device-free zones. For example the dining room, kitchen and/or car.
- Demonstrate the value of conversation to our children and at work. Consider introducing “conversational Thursdays.”
- Remember to listen to each other, “even in the boring bits, because it is often in unedited moments, moments in which we hesitate and stutter and go silent, that we reveal ourselves to one another.”
In addition to these suggestions, I recommend reading Susan Scott’s book Fierce Conversations. Her book provides a valuable guide on how to engage in effective, real conversations with colleagues as well as family and friends.