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.
In PR, rapid response situations often arise. For example, inbound media inquiries often need a quick turnaround because of journalists’ deadlines. In addition, journalists posting queries on websites such as HARO and Qwoted often require responses within short timeframes.
These types of requests are common, so it’s a good idea have processes in place to effectively manage them. If these inquiries are addressed and executed correctly, PR professionals can secure important media opportunities for clients and demonstrate their ability to move quickly to meet media’s requests.
Here are a few best practices to consider as part of your rapid response process:
- Evaluate the request: Determine if the request is relevant and if you or your client can add value to the discussion. Is the publication and audience a good fit? Will the information be beneficial? Can you offer an unbiased, fact-based, or original response? Can you realistically meet reporters’ deadlines and expectations?
- Select a spokesperson: Determine who from the organization will serve as the spokesperson for each opportunity based on their job title and experience. Understand if they have the bandwidth to support interviews as needed or review written responses.
- Coordinate briefings or provide a written response: Depending on the opportunity, you may want to schedule an interview or develop a written response such as a Q&A or quote. If it’s a complicated topic, you might also offer to develop a contributed article.
- Ask for feedback: At the end of the interview, ask if the information was helpful and if it’s something the journalist plans to use. If so, find out when they think the story will publish. Feedback is a great way to improve performance, build stronger relationships and grow your skills.
- Monitor for the coverage: After the content is submitted or the interview is complete, monitor for the coverage and flag it to the team once it is live.
By following these steps, you can ensure you’re equipped to handle media requests with urgent or short deadlines efficiently while also helping your clients secure even better editorial coverage.
As we close out the first month of a new year, it’s common for company morale to hit some speedbumps. The start of a new year brings its own set of challenges. With recent news about employee layoffs and a looming recession, it’s understandable for employees to feel anxious and concerned, and it’s vitally important for leaders to find ways to boost employee morale. Recognizing and appreciating employees is one of the most effective ways to do so.
Recognition can take many forms, including verbal or written appreciation, bonuses and award programs. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at the benefits and considerations of employee and team award programs.
Awards in professional environments can generate mixed reviews. Some awards can be effective in improving morale and a sense of teamwork, while others might foster a toxic and overly competitive environment. Below are some of the pros and cons of award programs:
Pros:
- Awards can make the individual or team feel more valued and appreciated.
- Recognition can increase motivation and engagement across the team.
- Company recognition programs can also improve retention if employees feel their contributions are valued and making an impact.
Cons:
- Awards run the risk of seeming insincere or condescending.
- Potential exists to create resentment and unhealthy competition among colleagues and teams.
- It’s possible introduce biases in the award selection process.
It’s important to have a firm understanding of company culture and how teams might react and engage with the award. Crucial to avoiding the cons listed above include having clear objectives for the award and transparent communication about the process, criteria and purpose.
When creating or updating an award program, consider the following best practices:
- Align awards with company goals and values. Prioritize behaviors that align with and reinforce company goals and values. This will help motivate the team and efforts toward a common goal and reinforce that their efforts are valued and make an impact.
- Ensure consistency. For the award to be effective, it needs to be consistent and have a recurring cadence. Share the recognition close to the action the company is recognizing to make it more meaningful.
- Celebrate it publicly within the company! Publicly acknowledging the award during regular team meetings, in an all-company email, or in person can help increase awareness and boost morale.
Awards can be effective in motivating employees and bringing teams together. However, companies should consider the pros and potential cons of employee award programs with their own teams and culture in mind. Clear objectives, consistent communication, and alignment with company goals and values are key to making the awards successful.
Check out the blogs below for more guidance on how to support employee well-being.
- Improving Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace
- Supporting Employee Engagement and Wellbeing
- In Defense of Fun Fun Fun in the Workplace
Do you have team awards in place? What best practices worked for your company?
Thought leadership is a powerful tool for building credibility, establishing yourself as an expert in your field, and gaining visibility for your brand.
A key element of successful thought leadership is storytelling. Using stories to communicate your ideas and insights can engage your audience, build emotional connections, and make your message more memorable.
One of the most powerful aspects of storytelling is its ability to bring abstract concepts to life. Instead of simply listing facts and figures, employ stories to illustrate your points. Draw on personal experience and include details surrounding people, place, plot and purpose. This process will enhance the relatability of your message and foster emotional connections with your audience, increasing the likelihood that they will remember and act on the information you’ve conveyed.
Another advantage of storytelling as part of thought leadership is that it allows you to showcase your expertise and insights in an engaging and informative way. By using storytelling as part of your thought leadership strategy, you can create a sense of authenticity, which is crucial for building trust with your audience.
Establishing oneself as a media reference can be a powerful way to drive thought leadership and gain visibility. Here are some steps you can take to become a media reference:
- Develop a platform: To build yourself up as a media reference, focus on a specific area of expertise. Identify the topics and issues you are most passionate about and have the most knowledge about, and focus on those areas.
- Build relationships with journalists: This is an essential part of becoming a media reference. Reach out to journalists in your niche and introduce yourself. Offer to be a source for their stories and provide insights and commentary on relevant topics.
- Create compelling content: Write articles, blog posts, and whitepapers on topics relevant to your niche and share them with journalists. Make sure to make the most of your thought leadership content – The Four R’s: Tips for reusing thought leadership content.
- Participate in industry events: Attend conferences, seminars, and other events related to your platform and speak on relevant topics.
- Use social media: Social media is a powerful tool. Share your content and insights on social media and engage with other thought leaders in your niche.
- Leverage your network: Reach out to other thought leaders and experts in your niche and ask them to share your content and promote your expertise.
- Measure and evaluate your progress and adjust your approach as needed: Keep track of how many times you were quoted or interviewed by media, and use that data to identify opportunities to improve your media visibility.
- Be consistent: Establishing oneself as a media reference takes time and consistency. It is important to continue to share your insights and engage with the media over time.
By following these steps, you can establish yourself as a media reference and drive thought leadership. By consistently providing valuable insights and commentary, you can build credibility, increase visibility and establish yourself as a go-to expert in your field.
Training plays a crucial role in the success of an organization. Whether it’s staff onboarding, mandatory state training or other educational meetings, training can help employees develop skills for their everyday work. It can also help them stay current with industry developments, technology advancements and best practices.
To put it simply, creating practical training can have a positive impact on employee growth, productivity and job satisfaction.
However, creating a truly effective learning environment can be difficult. Managers may have trouble ascertaining their team’s training needs, feel too busy to organize and develop materials or have limited resources.
With this in mind, I’ve outlined some best practices when creating employee training programs or materials.
- Set training outcomes – Establish clear training objectives to determine the specific knowledge, skill and behaviors you want the employee to gain. To understand whether your training was effective, conduct pre- or post-training assessments to measure any improvements.
- Develop effective training materials – Create materials such as handouts, presentations, videos and interactive activities that cater to different learning styles and don’t forget to include concrete examples. Keep in mind that these materials can benefit all employees, even the most experienced staff. They also can help give newer employees the confidence to be more independent, reducing the need to ask for help from senior staff.
- Train staff for insight and not just production – Consider training staff in tasks they may not normally do in their day-to-day, also known as cross-training. While it may seem counterintuitive, the insight can be invaluable for employees’ growth and companies’ ability to adapt to changing workloads. Employees not only gain skills but also understand the roles and expectations of their co-workers. Cross-training can also be beneficial should a staffing shortage occur. If someone were out sick or on vacation, they would still have someone they could count on when needed.
- Help employees measure success – It’s vital to help employees create measured and trackable goals. By providing tools for tracking progress, employees can understand where they have excelled and where there is room for improvement. A goal-setting method such as SMART, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound, can ensure that their goals are clear and achievable.
- Encourage and incorporate feedback – In the spirit of continually improving your training programs, it’s a good idea to gather feedback from current trainees so you can refine it as needed for your next training. After all, great teachers are always learning themselves.
With these best practices in hand, revisit your current training practices and see where your organization can grow. Businesses will find that they can better support staff and boost the quality of their work when they invest time and effort into their training.
After more than two years of working remotely and attending events virtually, PR professionals across many industries are dusting off their suit coats and blazers and hopping on planes to support client events face-to-face.
As we reacclimate to being “on” and in person, it’s helpful to refresh on best practices for supporting client events. My four tips below focus on how you can prepare to attend and support clients at an event, rather than planning the overall PR strategy.
Align on Expectations
Once you’ve developed an event plan, consider what your role will be at the event. It’s vital to understand what the client envisions. Do they need you to staff the media lounge and network with reporters? Guide journalists as they navigate the event space and sessions? Attend and facilitate media briefings with spokespeople? Monitor for media coverage in real-time? Or all the above?
To align on expectations, ask specific questions about what would be valuable to the client and provide recommendations on how you might achieve their goals. For more insight into managing client expectations, check out this blog post.
Plan Logistics in Advance
It’s important to think through the logistics to support public relations efforts at an event. Laying the groundwork early can help alleviate stress, foster alignment and streamline planning processes. There are several logistical items to consider such as the dates, the budget for support, and travel, including event registration, transportation and lodging. It’s also might be a good idea to book flights that are fully refundable. These tickets tend to be more expensive, but they may save you money if you need to cancel due to the unpredictability of weather or illness.
Review Health and Safety Guidelines
In the current COVID-19 pandemic climate, it’s important to pay attention to health and safety protocols. These include airline-related practices, local guidelines and regulations established by the event location host. Be sure to bring masks and hand sanitizer while you travel and while you’re on-site at the event.
Pack Accordingly
No one wants to be underdressed, in pain because they’re wearing uncomfortable shoes, or hungry and wishing they’d brought a snack. Consider where the event will be held. Will it be indoors? Will you be taking public transportation? What will the weather be like? Is there a dress code? Will you be walking long distances or spending lots of time on your feet?
Once you’ve thought through these things, make a packing list to ensure you’ve covered all your bases. Doing so will help ensure you don’t forget anything important.
Essentials to have on hand include:
- Your phone
- Your laptop
- Chargers
- A pen and paper
- A map of the event space
- An event agenda
- Briefing materials about attending media, influencers, analysts and company stakeholders (e.g., executives, customers, partners, etc.)
Establish a Channel for Real-time Team Communication
Events can change quickly. Sessions might run long or end early, a reporter might request to move the time of their briefing, spokespeople might get tied up talking with attendees – it’s important to be flexible and communicate efficiently.
Before heading to the event, establish how you want to communicate with team members – both your PR team back at the office, and your client’s on-site comms team. Team members might opt for a group text, a messaging app like WhatsApp or GroupMe, a Teams chat or email. It’s best to work this out in advance and make sure you have the cellphone numbers on file so you’re not scrambling reach people.
Preparing for an in-person client event involves careful planning and organization. It is important to plan logistics in advance, align on expectations with the client, pack accordingly and establish a channel for real-time team communication. By following these tips, PR professionals can ensure they are well-prepared to support their clients and achieve successful events.
Stay tuned for a follow-up blog post full of tips for once you’re at an in-person event.
In today’s day and age, thank you notes seem to be a rare thing. Following interviews and calls, our team often discusses how important this small, yet impactful action really is. Thank you notes were once a staple of interaction, especially from a personal standpoint, but are they still relevant in a business setting?
Yes. In an industry that centers on building solid relationships, every interaction can make a difference. Thank you notes may seem small and even insignificant but can make a major impact if done effectively.
Differentiate yourself and demonstrate appreciation
Thank you notes can help you stand out from the crowd. Whether you’re interviewing for a new role or pitching a new business opportunity, thank you notes can go a long way in demonstrating your appreciation for the meeting and their time.
If people are deciding between multiple candidates or potential partners, the decision can often come down to chemistry and rapport. Thank you notes are another way to build that chemistry and establish a meaningful relationship.
Reiterate your messages
We recommend that spokespeople reiterate their key messages throughout interviews. The same advice can be incredibly impactful for job interviews and new business pitches. Reiterating specific skills, recommendations or results can help certain messages stick.
During a meeting, a lot of information is shared and it’s crucial to make sure important ideas and thoughts are remembered. Thank you notes are another time to reiterate those key points and recap the highlights of the meeting. Additionally, there is an opportunity to incorporate additional thoughts that you may not have come up in the original meeting.
Small touches matter
In a world where we are moving quickly and we are often focused on the next action item or request, slowing down to acknowledge someone else’s time and energy can go a long way toward creating a positive impression.
Given the speed of today’s business world, an email thank you note will reach the interview in a timelier fashion than a handwritten note. While hand-written thank you note can be more personal. To make your decision about which to send, consider the timeframe, company cultures and your writing style. It’s also worth noting that there is no harm in sending both a follow-up email and a handwritten note. It shows enthusiasm and gratitude.
In short, thank you notes are still a great way to make a good impression after a job interview or business meeting. They show that you appreciate the other person’s time and are serious about building a positive relationship.