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.
Late last year, Communiqué PR started working with The Shops at The Bravern, an open-air retail shopping center in Bellevue, Wash. Since that time, we have focused on building awareness of The Bravern both with consumers and the broader shopping industry.
We have had the opportunity to promote a variety of events and work with a number of lifestyle, retail and business media outlets and bloggers, whose articles and posts mentioning The Bravern have generated more than 120 articles, totaling 83 million impressions thus far in 2011.
Some of those recent articles include:
- A cover story featuring The Bravern in the August issue of Shopping Centers Today.
- Alaska Airlines Magazine included The Bravern in a May article, “Seattle Itinerary: Spectacular Shopping.”
- Inclusion in “Destination Washington: Bellevue,” which appeared in the June issue of Alaska Airlines Magazine.
- The July/August issue of AAA’s Journey magazine highlighted The Bravern in “Next Stop: Bellevue.”
Most recently, we helped promote “Be Bold. Be Bald.” – an event hosted by John Howie Steak and The Bravern in conjunction with Sips & Sounds, The Bravern’s weekly summer happy hour. The event raised money to support a local woman and employee of Chef John Howie, Tomoko Bryant, and her participation in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. In advance of the event, local media such as 425 Magazine, Bellevue Patch, KOMONews.com, Seattle PI and Seattleite shared details of the event with their readers. KOMONews.com also posted a fun slideshow of photos from the gathering – including images of Chef John Howie getting his head shaved!
We are excited to partner with The Bravern to build awareness for its second annual Fashion’s Night Out celebration taking place Thursday, Sept. 8. The free event is open to the public and will include a variety of activities including fall runway shows hosted by Neiman Marcus and Anthropologie. Additionally, during Fashion’s Night Out, shoppers can take advantage of special in-store activities, offers and gifts with purchases such as a free Fashion’s Night Out tote to customers that spend more than $100 at Tory Burch.
We hope you will join us at this fun event in September! For more information on Fashion’s Night Out at The Bravern, visit www.thebravern.com/fno.
In a world where your work force might be spread around the globe, being an effective communicator via email and phone is imperative. Though we use the phone to communicate daily with co-workers, clients and friends or family, we use a different set of principles and guidelines than are needed for a phone interview.
Chances are that someone in your organization will be called on at one time or another to give a phone interview with a journalist. Like any interview opportunity it is essential to deliver a clear and compelling message that positions your organization for success.
The difference between a face-to-face interview and a phone interview is that the only tool that you have to communicate your message is your voice. Ragan’s PR Daily posted an article titled, “7 tips for giving a better phone interview,” that offers some helpful guidance. Consider the following:
- Get out of your office. If possible, don’t do a phone interview at your desk where you can be distracted by incoming emails, phone calls and visitors. Try to find an empty conference room with no distractions and tape a “Do Not Disturb-Interview in Progress” sign on the door. This will ensure that you are focused on the interview and are being respectful of the journalist’s time. Nobody likes to be interrupted.
- Bring your notes. Notes are a helpful tool for phone interviews. Since the interviewer cannot see you, you are free to glance at your notes. However, do not read directly from the notes. Use them as a tool to trigger your memory or from which to recite statistics and facts. Reading from your notes will make the conversation seem scripted and less authentic and that is not the image you want to convey during an interview, even on the phone.
- Get a headset. Telephone headsets are ideal for phone interviews. This allows you to use your hands to gesture, not only making you feel more comfortable, but helping to emphasize your voice to make a point. This also frees up your hands to write notes or search for information in necessary.
- Stand. This tip is often forgotten during a phone interview, but is an easy way to give yourself an advantage. In addition to helping you “think faster on your feet,” your delivery will come across as more powerful because you are projecting from your diaphragm.
- Smile. Just because the interviewer can’t see you doesn’t mean he or she can’t hear you smile. When used appropriately, the reporter can hear the warmth through your voice when you smile.
- Use a landline. As more and more people ditch the landline in lieu of mobile access, this can be challenging. However, using a landline helps avoid dropped calls and the speakers usually provide better sound quality.
As a former TV journalist, I can tell you that most people prefer to give phone interviews because they feel safer. However, it can be more difficult to deliver a clear message effectively. These tips are a great start to giving a better phone interview. When accompanied by preparation and knowing your key messages, you will be prepared for success.
The “About Us” page is one of the most important pages – and often most visited – on any company’s website. For most businesses, the messaging is first created at the early stages of the website’s design and most likely has not been reviewed since.
However, while you may not be paying attention to it, potential customers are. It is the page where most visitors go to learn more about a company, the products and/or services offered, the company leadership and other pertinent information that will turn a visitor into a customer.
So what does your About Us page say about your company? Take a moment to read it and ask if it still accurately describes and reflects the characteristics of your company. As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
If you find your company’s About Us page no longer hits the mark, here are a few tips to consider on how to refresh it.
- Share the basics. Provide readers with the basic information about your business including the company’s mission and goals, what you can provide and who you service, even how long your company has been around. Always include key contact information (i.e. main phone numbers, customer service phone number, a fax number, email) and a physical address. If your company has several locations, include a mention of this fact and create a separate “Contact Us” page.
- Make a connection. With the advent of social media, consumers want to know more about a company and feel a connection. To take this page beyond the boring and unapproachable, share some of your company’s personality with your visitors. Offering some insights as to how your company first started, the leadership and what they are passionate about will help create a personal connection that will foster a customer’s affinity to your brand.
- Establish trust and credibility. During the past few years, there have been countless incidents that have given consumers ample reason to lose trust or become skeptical of businesses. When developing your About Us page, use language that establishes your credibility and communicates your company’s values. Also, mentioning awards or honors your company has received, community service programs your company supports, and clients you have partnered with can go a long way in building trust among your current and future customers.
- Incorporate social media. If your company has a presence on social media, the About Us page is a great place to share your company’s blog and/or subscription buttons for your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or other social media channels. Potential customers will most likely visit these sites to see what topics you’re discussing, and if they feel a connection to your company, they are likely to buy what you’re selling. Also, if you create any type of video content for these platforms, consider featuring it on your About Us page to make it more dynamic.
- Revisit the page. Now that you have created your new About Us page, don’t let history repeat itself and let it fall to the wayside. Think of this page as your company’s resume and keep it current with recent company announcements, awards and clients. Also, watch your site’s performance using Google Analytics or another monitoring service to see how the page is trending and where visitors are clicking through. This will give you a good indication of what may need to be modified or enhanced depending on the results.
What information on your About Us page resonated well with your customers? Do you find About Us pages a valuable resource when researching a company? What type of information do you look for about a company when you consider engaging in business with them? We would love to hear your thoughts.
A client recently approached us about archiving Facebook chats in order to further engage their audience. Many companies find Facebook chats are an excellent way to maintain contact with their consumer base. Providing archives of these conversations is a helpful way to allow continued viewing of, and participation with these conversations.
We did a little investigating about Facebook archiving, and here is what we found out:
Archiving applications
- Firefox provides the extension “Archive Facebook,” which essentially converts your conversation to a PDF, available for print or savable on your hard drive. While these PDFs cannot be directly displayed under a tab on your Facebook page, potential uses include uploading them to your website or blog for further viewing (and commentary).
- Facebook hosts a “post archive” app directly on the website that offers a fundamentally similar service to Firefox’s “Archive Facebook.” This tool may be easier to use, since it is on the website itself.
Alternative solution
As your company continues to host live discussions, consider using the “discussions” application available on Facebook to host live chats. This application allows the administrator to post a discussion topic on which other Facebook users are able to respond in the same fashion as a wall post. Each topic is separate and easily searchable. Administrators are also able to monitor and edit content, which prevents issues of spam.
Bath and Body Works is an example of a company actively using the discussion feature; view their postings here for a better idea of what “discussions” look like.
To install Facebook’s discussion application,
- Go to “edit page” on the upper right hand corner of your Facebook page.
- Click on “apps” in the left hand list of options.
- “Discussion boards” should be the last option in the list of apps.
- Click “edit settings.” A box will pop up; click “add,” then “okay.”
- Return to your home page; the discussion app should be in the left hand side under “wall,” “photos,” etc.
- Click on the discussions app and start a topic!
Please note that Facebook uses the term “discussion boards” and “discussions” interchangeably, however, they are the same feature.
Hosting discussions connects with your audience in a fun and interactive way. Try using Facebook’s discussion app to facilitate easier search-ability and interaction with conversation topics. If you find that the live chat feature remains your preference, use either the Firefox Archive Facebook or the Facebook post archive tools to maintain records and post them elsewhere.
We hope you find this post useful as you continue exploring Facebook. Please let us know if you have discovered any similar solutions to archiving Facebook chats in the comment section below.
This past April in Boston, Radian 6 hosted its Social 2011 User Conference. Designed for those who oversee and implement social media programs, the conference welcomed several distinguished keynote speakers, including Mitch Joel, the current president of Twist Image and New York Times’ bestselling author of the book Six Pixels of Separation. Joel delivered a stirring speech (see video below) on the shifting paradigm taking place within the realm of technology and social media, providing tips on how to apply these changes to business strategies.
Because of the constant evolution of technology and culture, Joel reminded the audience that it is important to continually evaluate consumer behavior and how they connect, specifically online. Joel pointed out that today’s consumer is able to purchase items at the click of a mobile device, easily reaching massive amounts of powerful content from their tablets, smartphones, or computers. Joel also made several useful points that every business should consider when implementing a marketing strategy relating to current changes and trends within consumer behavior:
- Social media is not necessarily congruous with youth. With more grandparents than high school students on Facebook, it is pertinent to remember that hiring someone young to head a social media program does not ensure success. A 24-year-old cannot represent everyone who is connected, Joel reminded us. It is more important to make sure your marketing department and strategists are well versed in current technological and social practices, rather than relying on a youth-based social media program that may not adequately address your consumer base.
- Power lies in consumer reviews. Approximately 75-80 percent of customers read consumer reviews. While Joel maintains that no PR or marketing program can save ineffective products or services, he does strongly believe in the power of product reviews. Allowing your product to be reviewed, especially on your own site, gives you the power to address specific customer concerns and provide more finely tuned customer service. Joel recommends that companies pay close attention to reviews, and consider providing the option to review a product or service on the company’s website. He points out that your website may be perceived as ineffective without them, and if you don’t host reviews, someone else will.
- Customer service should always be a top priority. Word-of-mouth is still pertinent, Joel offered, but it takes a more technologically advanced form. Customer service remains paramount on the road to obtaining marketing objectives. With consumers able to broadcast their opinions quickly and easily, engaging with them can provide you with authentic and useful feedback, as well as a positive review that will be paid forward (if not about your product, then about your customer service).
- Focus on “who”, not “how many.” The major paradigm shift in the world of marketing is the shift from “how many” to “who.” Traditionally, marketing strategies position themselves to reach as many people as possible, with the idea that a percentage of those reached will respond to effective advertising. Today, however, the power is no longer in how many you reach, but who you reach. Consumers are constantly bombarded with different marketing schemes. However, social media platforms provide the opportunity to specify marketing campaigns, making them more efficient for both the business and the consumer. Consumers voluntarily self identify via today’s social platforms, and thus you are able to cater and specify your message to those who are receiving it. Furthermore, you can find out which of your current customer base has the potential to endorse or promote your product.
Joel offered the additional tips to “not write checks with social media that your website can’t cash” and to embrace the transparency and authenticity of relationships with customers that are available with growing platforms of engagement. He advises to think of marketing strategy as similar to publishing, and to go forth with the subsequent mindset that content, frequency, authenticity, quality, and context are elements of material that are essential for success.
Joel’s most significant and applicable point is to re-evaluate your strategy frequently to ensure it is keeping up with the changing cultural and technological trends. This evolution allows classic and emerging PR and marketing tactics to be implemented in new, more effective ways. Joel has showcased in the preceding points how some of these changes look in application, and gives us an insight on how tweaking your PR and marketing approach, in his recommended fashion, can be useful.
As you move forward with your PR and business strategies, consider Joel’s recommendations, as well as the core concept of continually re-evaluating and strategically managing business tactics to fit the current business and cultural atmospheres. Technology continues to transform every aspect of our world; ensure that your business strategy aligns with these changes.
If you work in public relations or marketing then you are likely to be playing an indirect role on driving sales for your organization. Or perhaps you’re a PR person trying to motivate your company to engage in more activities. In either case you may want to have a better understanding of the sales process.
I recently have been re-reading The New Strategic Selling, by Stephen E. Hieman, Tad Tuleja, and J.W. Marriott. The methodology outlined in the book for selling has not only helped me in discussions with prospective clients for Communiqué PR’s services, but also has been helpful as I work to better understand the unique situations that our clients confront as they work to sell their products and services.
The book focuses on helping get a better handle on the complex sales cycle, which the authors define as “one in which several people must give their approval before the sale can take place.”
Clearly, when a person or team decides to hire a public relations firm, it is often the case that multiple people – such as the CEO, vice president of marketing, and PR managers – are required to give their approval before the business is awarded to a specific agency. And many of our technology or business-to-business clients face similar situations when selling their software solutions or products. They may need to have approval from the CEO, CTO or a variety of IT managers.
Given this situation, it makes sense that one of the first things one needs to know about complex sales is how to identify and know everyone involved in the decision to buy your service, solution or product. The authors help you do this by identifying four key roles that exist in every complex sale situation. They assert that in each complex sale there is 1) the economic buyer, 2) the user buyer, 3) the technical buyer, and 4) the coach.
The book goes into much more detail about why these roles exist and provide readers with an understanding of each person’s underlying interest depending on their role. But for example, the economic buyer cares about return on investment, while the user buyer cares about performance.
For me, having a better understanding of roles and the individual’s focus in the role has been one of the most helpful elements of the book. I have found it has implications not only for sales and business development, but also for public relations.
For instance, imagine as a PR professional you’re helping a manufacturer of wholesale spa equipment with key message development. The owner of the spa is going to play a different role and have very different interests than the technician using the product when giving a customer a manicure or pedicure. You’d therefore want to develop one set of messages for the owner and different messages for the technician. The owner might care more about the cost of the product, while the technician might want to know how its features would make their life easier.
If you’re looking to get a better understanding of complicated sales or even how to more artfully impact the sales process, I highly recommend this book. It is a classic.