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.
Recently I revisited Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great.” The book focuses on why some companies are able to attain extraordinary results while others are not. Collins and his team of researchers identified “good-to-great” companies (i.e. companies that leap from good results to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years), as well as directly comparative companies (i.e. companies in the same industry with same opportunities and resources that did not have a leap from good to great) and unsustained comparative companies (i.e. companies that made a short-term shift to great, but did not maintain that path) in an effort to identify which factors contributed to those great companies’ sustained success.
As a leader of a growing firm, my attention is pulled many different directions given the needs of my team, our clients and the function of running a growing business. As I re-read “Good to Great,” I am reminded about the transformation process Collins identified, which is broken into three stages: disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action or, more succinctly, a culture of discipline.
Collins writes, “When you have disciplined people, you don’t need hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you don’t need bureaucracy. When you have disciplined action, you don’t need excessive controls.”
It is with this lens that I have been evaluating our organization and how we manage our existing and continued growth; determining where Communiqué PR is within the framework described in Collins’ book; and how we continue to move our organization forward in a manner that facilitates and encourages great performance.
Some of the findings shared in “Good to Great” include:
- “The good-to-great leaders spent essentially no energy trying to ‘create alignment,’ ‘motivate the troops,’ or ‘manage change.’”
- “Good-to-great companies built a consistent system with clear constraints, but they also gave people the freedom and responsibility within the framework of that system.”
- “Good-to-great companies set their goals and strategies based on understanding; comparison companies set their goals and strategies based on bravado.”
- Good-to-great companies maintained focus on their core concept that guided all their efforts. “If it doesn’t fit, we don’t do it. Period.”
As we near the end of 2011 and plan for 2012, it is valuable to take note of how as an organization we are creating a culture of discipline. I am already looking to build my “stop doing” list, determining what activities should be eliminated because they do not support our core concept.
“Good to Great” also provides a table to help evaluate if you’re on the path to a good-to-great company or if you’re in “the doom loop” as a comparative company.
How are you ensuring your organization is great?
There are some topics that are easy to write about, the words flow naturally, provide depth and result in compelling content. And then there are other topics that present more of a challenge and the interesting aspects are harder to extract.
So just how do you extract those gems that will make the difference between a stellar press release, memo, email or blog post and a snoozer? I came across an article on Ragan’s written by Alan Pearcy that provided some helpful guidance, “How to write riveting copy about any topic—even a job ad.” He provides tips that can spice up even the most mundane topics.
Consider the following:
- Dig deeper. Topics that appear dry might require a little more leg work, but if you dig around, you will be able to uncover a hook that will draw in readers. Alan uses an example from his “Job of the Day” feature where he wrote a job ad for “Cooking with Paula Deen.” This typically does not sound that exciting, but Alan hooked readers by writing the job description as a recipe, tapping into Paula’s roots. When I was working as a reporter, I put together a story about rising heroin use. To tell a more compelling story, I did some digging and connected with a recovered heroin user to help illustrate the dangers.
- Be funny. This is a tip that can be done well in the right dose. Make sure not to go overboard. Humor is a good tool to capture and entertain an audience, but it can also be a turn off and lose credibility if you overdo it or use it inappropriately. I will never forget when I graduated college and researched jobs in journalism. I came across a job ad written by a news director that was witty, honest and different, and I immediately applied. It drew me in and made me want to work for that company. The job was in a part of the country I would never have considered applying, but because of the way it was written, I was sold. Words have the power to sway decisions.
- Read more. Have you heard the saying, “the more you read, the more you’ll know?” By reading articles or books on unrelated topics you’ll be able to draw connections that you might not have made. For example, if you are writing a pitch where you are trying to illustrate something, analogies or famous quotes can be helpful. A pitch about a charitable partnership could open with this analogy, “Life is like a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.”
- Open a thesaurus. A thesaurus is a great tool for expanding your vocabulary. It helps you avoid using repetitive words and makes for a more creative read. However, use it in moderation and don’t use words or phrases that no one will understand as this can dissuade your audience from continuing to read.
- Use a provocative subject line. When sending an email pitch or memo, the key to getting your email read is the subject line. For more information on this tip read our previous post on “Subject Lines That Are Sexy.”
It’s likely there are still topics that might require additional steps to craft “riveting” copy. We aren’t suggesting that you spend hours researching humorous tidbits or famous quotes for every company email, but if you want your writing to be read and received well, adding a little creativity can be helpful.
Playmark, a Seattle-based startup, recently signed an exclusive partnership with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) to bring businesses and entrepreneurs unprecedented access to the official rights to NFL players. This innovative and unique partnership makes it possible for thousands of app and game developers, independent artists, agencies and businesses of all sizes to gain immediate access to the intellectual property rights of NFL players.
By bringing the star power of NFL players to growth markets like mobile apps, casual and social games, and on-demand merchandise, Playmark enables new businesses to be instantly recognizable to millions of NFL football fans. Communiqué PR had the opportunity to help Playmark and the NFLPA raise awareness around their partnership and generate visibility into how the Playmark platform simplifies the entire licensing process.
In the days leading up to officially launching the licensing platform, we collaborated closely with Playmark and the NFLPA to build out a PR strategy, create compelling story angles and develop media materials. As a result of our efforts and partnership, Playmark and the NFLPA garnered nine placements in business, local, sports and licensing publications to effectively reach their core target audiences.
Below are a few coverage highlights:
• Bloomberg: NFL Players to Launch Playmark Website for Licensing Images, Autographs
• Xconomy: Playmark Opens Digital Licensing Shop with Rights to 2,000 NFL Players
• Geekwire: Playmark scores TD, inks deal to license images of NFL players
• TechFlash: Seattle startup Playmark lands deal with NFL players
• Crosscut: How a new Seattle firm dove into NFL player licensing
• SportsPro Media: Playmark gains access to official rights of NFL Players
It was exciting and enlightening to work with two forward thinking organizations to support their PR activities. Playmark doesn’t intend to stop at the NFLPA, but hopes to expand its offerings into other major sport associations. Stay tuned for additional milestones from this innovative startup, which is truly revolutionizing the licensing industry.
If you are the CEO of a company large or small, you undoubtedly are busy thinking about myriad issues ranging from customer satisfaction, trends surrounding revenue growth, and alignment of resources, to recruiting, innovation, establishing direction and external changes, to name a few. In the midst of all of this, it is easy to forget about public relations and its strategic importance to helping your organization achieve its business objectives.
We recently were talking about the CEO’s role in public relations and wanted to share a few thoughts on this topic. In many organizations the CEO is critical to the success of a company’s PR activities. Namely he or she plays a role in the following areas:
- Serves as the company spokesperson. In many, but not all, organizations the highest-ranking corporate officer plays a significant role acting as the company spokesperson. Journalists look to this individual for comments and insight because she personifies the company. Clearly, the CEO is not obligated to be the spokesperson. He or she can appoint someone to take on this responsibility, but typically journalists working on a corporate story will expect to have access to the CEO for comment.
- Approves the Budget and Resources. Often a VP of Marketing or Corporate Communications, a Manager of PR, or Marcom Manager will have the responsibility for developing and proposing the scope of work and budget, but the CEO should be involved in reviewing and providing approval of the budget. The CEO should do this as he or she has a broad view of the organization’s situation from its projected revenue to the overall operating budget and can best see how PR fits into the bigger picture.
- Evaluates ROI. In addition to approving resources and the budget for PR, the CEO should play a role in considering the overall effectiveness of the organization’s PR activities. He or she should consider top-level success metrics (e.g. share of voice) and consider how PR is impacting sales. Clearly, in some organizations it is often impossible to prove that PR plays a direct role in motivating someone to purchase, but there should be some hard evidence showing the positive impact that PR is having on his or her organization and brand.
- Showcases Results. To build excitement about an organization’s activities, there is an opportunity for CEOs to showcase results from PR activities. For instance, the CEO might showcase a marquee editorial placement in a company meeting to build further staff enthusiasm for a particular initiative. When I joined Tegic Communications in January of 1998, we were a very small startup. Every month we had an all-employee meeting to discuss our progress toward company goals. PR was essential in helping us stay top-of-mind with our customers and our CEO Bob Hart, along with our VP of Sales and Marketing Don Davidge, did an excellent job of highlighting the editorial coverage the company was receiving. This was especially motivating to the engineers who otherwise might not have been aware of external reaction to their work. Other places that editorial coverage should be showcased include board meetings or even in some instances discussions with customers and partners.
For additional thoughts on the role of the CEO in PR, please check out this article by Kathy Keenan. It contains some excellent reminders for CEOs from the perspective of journalists with Fortune, Business Week and the New York Times.
Clearly, with many responsibilities it is easy for the CEO to abdicate PR to others in the organization. However, CEO involvement with PR is often paramount to achieving success.
We’re all human and very rarely does anyone produce an article, press release, internal communication plan or any other form of written work free of errors right out of the gate. This is why the review process is critical. At CPR, we make it a best practice to have other team members review important materials before sending them to clients to prevent embarrassing errors.
But even having several eyes review a document is not a perfect system. I once did a final review on a press release only to realize that the contact information was wrong. It is sometimes the most obvious items that escape even the most critical eye. I came across an article on Ragan’s PR Daily written by Daphne Gray-Grant that offers 10 proofreading tips that are especially helpful and easy to incorporate into your proofreading habits.
Consider the following:
1. Allow at least one day to pass before proofreading. This can be challenging, especially if you work in a deadline-driven environment. If it is possible, your fresh eyes will be able to catch unconscious mistakes that many of us are guilty of. For example, typing “thought” instead of “though.” If you can’t wait a day, I would recommend having other members of your team proofread your work as they are likely to have a different perspective.
2. Print it out. This will make many environmentalists cringe, but you will catch more errors if you print out your document and proofread in hard copy. With handy tools such as tracked changes, most editing is done electronically. But Daphne Gray-Grant writes, “the human eye reads material on screen much more quickly and less carefully.”
3. Use large font. If you are unable to print out your document as suggested in tip two, use a large distinctive font such as Papyrus 20 point when reviewing material on screen. This will make it easier to catch errors that could slip by.
4. Question facts. In addition to unconscious mistakes and typos, addresses, dates and titles are often goofed up. Most proofreaders will trust that this type of information is accurate. The most common is to mismatch days and dates. Be sure to double check the accuracy of your facts.
5. Pay attention to the obvious. Similar to dates and addresses there are other “invisible” items that are often overlooked. Daphne sites an example where the client’s name was misspelled in 48 point font. We often put too much trust in the obvious items such as titles and contact information, but that should always be given a scrupulous eye.
6. Begin at the end. This is a tip that I have not yet tried, but like the idea of. Daphne suggests that professional proofreaders often read documents backwards line by line. This will keep the focus on grammatical errors instead of content.
7. Put a ruler under each line. By putting a ruler under each line that you read, it will help your eyes from jumping ahead to the next line.
8. Consider what you might have left out. When crafting emails or pitches, it is sometimes the most obvious elements that are omitted. I am usually so focused on getting all of the details right that I forget to include a phone number or require an RSVP. After you craft your pitch or invitation, double check that you have not left anything out. I find it helpful to ask yourself, what would I need or want to know?
9. Make a list of common errors. Making a check list of common errors helps give you something to look out for. After you make the list, check your document for those you have specifically listed. For example, using “their” instead of “there” or “its” instead of “it’s.”
10. Read your work aloud at least once. By reading your work aloud, you’ll get a feel for how it actually sounds and will catch more errors. This is my favorite trick and what I find most effective when proofreading materials.
While these are great tips to help you catch mistakes and avoid embarrassing errors, my number one recommendation is to have other team members review important documents. It is helpful to have multiple folks review docs. And if everyone from your team is implementing some of these techniques, you are more likely to catch those sneaky errors!
What techniques do you find most effective?
Last week I had the opportunity to hear Jennifer Seymour, director of content strategy and integration with Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Cory Badger, vice president of corporate and strategic business development with Regence Blue Shield, speak over lunch at the Puget Sound American Marketing Association Healthcare Special Interest Group (SIG). Both presentations were informative.
Since we work with the team at Seattle Children’s, I thought I would share a few of the points from Jennifer’s presentation on “Building an Online Audience One Story at Time.” I think her story and tips are applicable to many PR or social media managers working to add value to online communities.
Jennifer began by sharing information on the history of the organization’s Facebook page, which was born in June 2008 with the goal of increasing engagement and awareness among prospective patient families. Created by the web department, the Facebook page came to be managed by the PR department. (This was prior to the creation of Seattle Children’s content strategy and integration team, which now manages the page.)
About a year ago, in October 2010, Jennifer and team decided to undertake a survey to uncover more about Seattle Children’s followers. By leveraging Survey Monkey, they gained new insights. They learned that 73 percent of the hospital followers were related to or close to a patient. Almost 17 percent were employees, 14.9 percent were guild members or volunteers, and 11 percent were donors.
These results were significant. Given that so many followers already had a connection to Seattle Children’s, Jennifer and team decided to now focus on sharing compelling content to deepen connections with Seattle Children’s.
Some of the ways that Seattle Children’s is driving more meaningful engagement with followers includes live chats with physicians and sharing tips for keeping families safe. Last summer, the team shared a reminder with parents that screens on open windows are terrific for keeping bugs out, but screens don’t prevent children from falls. They then posted a video with tips for preventing these accidents and received many comments on the post, including one from a mother who immediately went to the hardware store to buy special window locks.
Jennifer noted how rewarding it is to the Seattle Children’s team to use Facebook to help prevent accidents, and in terms of return on investment noted the seamless alignment of these results with the hospital’s mission.
In December 2010, Seattle Children’s also worked to raise donations via its Facebook page. In three weeks, the nonprofit organization received 172 donations and raised $24,365.
Jennifer summarized some of the keys to success on Facebook as follows:
• Have a great brand
• Encourage folks to share their stories
• Adopt a warm, caring, fun and inviting tone
• Answer questions (this takes time, but is worth it)
• Ask questions
• Thank others for mentions
• Consider Facebook advertising (Seattle Children’s has found this to be very helpful)
• Develop and share authentic content
• Find a balance in how often you post
• Become a curator of content
• Try new things
• Make it someone’s job
Today, Seattle Children’s has more than 25,000 people that “like” them and has seen a 150 percent increase in fans since the end of 2010. We look forward to seeing this growth continue and hope the PSAMA will invite Jennifer back to give another update next autumn.
Jennifer Gehrt