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 radio media tour (RMT) is defined as a series of interviews offered to radio stations throughout the country during a specific time period. RMTs are typically conducted via telephone with radio reporters, news producers or talk show hosts. The interviews are either live or taped and typically last about 10 minutes.
While RMTs are great for companies and organizations that are trying to convey a complex message to a specific audience and demographic, the success of RMTs depend on a variety of factors.
According to a PRWeek article, these factors primarily include relevance and choosing the right spokesperson. The story should be timely and encompass a broad topic or trend that a broad audience can easily grasp. For example, let’s say your client was looking to raise consumer awareness around a new smartphone device, you could consider pitching an RMT around ways to quickly organize your life and include details about how the device helps consumers and professionals stay organized.
Lining up the right spokesperson is also important to ensure a successful RMT. The spokesperson should be credible, have wide audience appeal and be relatable. Let’s take the same example of the getting organized RMT. Rather than having an executive from the device manufacturer serve as the spokesperson, you might consider finding a well-known organizational expert who can offer useful tips (including your product) on how to quickly get your life organized. Recruiting an expert can be a win-win situation because it gives them a chance to promote their expertise and lends credibility to your story.
When executed properly, RMTs provide a “cost-effective means of additional insight to a company’s story.” In order to implement a successful RMT, consider the following:
Craft a Compelling News Hook. Like any pitch or story, an RMT should have a sharp news hook that resonates with a broad audience. In order to capture the audience’s attention, make sure the topic is timely and is tied to a broad trend or breaking news. According to Richard Strauss, president of Strauss Radio Strategies, pitching issues that are tied to breaking news, health stories, the economy and the environment are popular with radio stations right now.
Localize the Story. When pitching a story to regional radio outlets, it is important to localize the story. Keep in mind, regional radio often targets not just a specific media market, but also a segment of the market. For example, a regional radio show might specifically target soccer moms or business entrepreneurs.
Set your Spokesperson Up for Success. To ensure a successful RMT, it’s critical that your spokesperson – whether it’s a company executive or third-party expert – is well-prepared. This means conducting media training to ensure they’re grounded in the key messages and practice delivering those messages with mock interviews. In addition, you may want to consider developing an FAQ to outline some of the tough questions you anticipate the radio reporter will ask. This is especially important when preparing for a live interview. To learn more about preparing for interviews, visit our post entitled, “The Importance of Preparing before an Interview,” by clicking here.
RMTs can be a great vehicle for reaching a broad audience in a cost-effective way. Unlike on-camera interviews, RMTs do not require costly preparation such as travel, makeup, and extensive equipment. And while the time involved for spokespeople may require approximately three to four hours, it’s time well spent to secure a handful of wide-reaching radio interviews.
Many of us know or have experienced the benefits of networking. Actively fostering existing relationships and building new ones can lead to new business leads, job opportunities or help you recruit new talent to your organization. It also provides individuals the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skill set and build their reputation in a particular area or industry. For example, ask yourself if you have ever secured a new business lead from a friend or been offered a job because someone you knew put in a good word. Chances are you have reaped the benefits of networking at least once or twice in your professional life.
With the national unemployment rate at 9.7 percent, many professionals are relying on networking to help them land their next job. People are connecting with old colleagues and buildnew relationships in order to grow their business during these tough economic times.
Author Anne Subervi explored this topic in a recent PR Week article that reminds professionals that networking can help fuel business. Subervi also says, “In PR, it’s all about who you know and managing your reputation.” This advice certainly applies for all industries, not just PR. She continues, “Keeping relationships strong can save you when times like these take a toll on your business.”
So how can you make the most out of your networking activities? Whether you are a networking pro or a networking newbie, here are a few best practices to keep in mind to help you make every encounter a success.
Establish your objectives in advance. Just as you would for any meeting, it is important to prepare in advance of a networking event or encounter. Write down your objectives and be clear about the purpose of your meeting. Think about the questions you want to ask as well as how you will answer questions you receive about yourself and your background.
Be an active participant. When you are attending a networking event or meeting an old colleague for coffee, remember to be an active participant in the discussion. Ask open-ended questions that spur conversation, listen and add value. Similar to a job interview, you should look for ways to demonstrate your skills and abilities in a meaningful way.
Be authentic. Building new relationships requires authenticity. A genuine approach will serve you better in the long term so do not try to be something you are not or overpromise on what you can deliver.
Contribute to the relationship. Successful networking relationships provide both parties with value – an equal give and take. Think about ways you can help the other person. In some instances, this may include making an introduction to another colleague or offering a new business referral.
Follow up and follow through. One of the most critical aspects of networking is the follow up and follow through. For example, if an old colleague has taken time out of his or her day to meet you for coffee, be sure to send a thank you note and follow through with any action items discussed. When you drop the ball, it not only tarnishes your reputation, but it also makes the individual less likely to help you again in the future.
These best practices will help ensure you are making the most out of each networking activity. If you have any additional tips, we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and start a discussion.
Peter Shankman, creator of Help A Reporter Out (HARO), recently sat down with PRWeek to offer his perspective regarding the current status of media relations. His point of view is very relevant as his creation of HARO has been described as “redefining the art of networking.”HARO is a free service that distributes up to five e-mails a day to subscribers, highlighting more than 1,200 media queries each week and providing journalists with more than 100,000 sources overall. HARO has quickly become the most popular service for connecting journalists with PR professionals and resources. And did I mention that Shankman also has a knack for adding humorous anecdotes and sharing paid promotions and advice with his subscribers?
He also goes to extreme lengths to make sure none of his subscribers are “spammed” and enforces the rules to using HARO, suggesting that anyone who joins the list asks themselves a few questions before responding. “Is this response really on target? Is this response really going to help the journalist, or is this just a BS way for me to get my client in front of the reporter?” His unique perspective and dedication to networking makes Shankman an extremely knowledgeable source on the future of media relations.
In his interview with PRWeek about the future of media landscape, Shankman advises PR pros on how to pitch to journalists in this fast-paced, ever changing media world. As the number of journalists decrease at many print publications, it is important to utilize tools like HARO to better connect with the right sources. With little time, the probability of getting a reporter to read a long pitch or idea is unlikely, especially if you do not have an existing relationship. Instead, he says the “answer is two-fold – write really well, and be dead-on topic. There’s no middle ground anymore.” PR professionals can learn from this; present the right information in the right way with the right sources and you will be successful.
As a current subscriber to HARO, it is easy to see how beneficial Shankman’s service is. Instead of trying to network through a one-way channel, HARO facilitates connections between journalists who need sources and PR professionals with ideas to pitch on behalf of their clients and companies. Communiqué PR has used HARO many times, enabling us to reach analysts, journalists and third-party resources on behalf of our clients. For example, while working to secure an article in Desktop Engineering, we needed to connect with an industry analyst who could provide quotes and information regarding research and a breakthrough in flow separation. After posting a HARO inquiry we sparked interest with an analyst from Frost & Sullivan and we were able to secure quotes for the article.
We’d like to hear from you. Have you had success using HARO? Share your story and comment!
At the 2009 Games for Change Festival, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Nicholas Kristof delivered a surprising keynote address saying that online games can be a powerful reporting platform for educating people about global issues such as the environment, poverty and human rights.
His epiphany came during a chance encounter with online game, “Darfur is Dying“,which was created through a partnership with MTVu, Reebok Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group to educate people about the genocide in the African nation of Darfur. The game is a simulation in which players negotiate forces that threaten their refugee camp to give players a glimpse of what being in Darfur is really like.
Kristof believes games like this can be an effective way to inform and emotionally connect people with some of the most important issues facing our world and empower change. As a journalist, he admits he would love it if people were empowered by reading his Pulitzer prize-winning columns on global issues. However, he recognizes that today’s consumer is often hard-pressed to read an entire newspaper article and believes viral, online games such as Darfur is Dying can be a viable substitute for raising social awareness.
In fact, he plans to create an online game to accompany his upcoming book, “Half the Sky” which examines the oppression of women in third-world countries. He hopes the social networking game will “help convert this awareness into a global movement to turn oppression into opportunity for women and girls throughout the developing world.”
“Darfur is Dying” may be the most visible online game dedicated to social change, but Games for Change is an organization dedicated leveraging the power of video games to “address the most pressing issues of our day, including poverty, human rights, global conflict and climate change.” The organization’s Web site boasts a variety of different games that educate consumers on issues surrounding public policy, economics, public health, global conflict and politics.
It certainly is an interesting time in both PR and journalism as the media landscape continues to shift. While Nicholas Kristof may be an unlikely advocate for alternative reporting platforms, his acknowledgment that new mediums such as online games are viable vehicles for the next-generation of journalism is further evidence that we’re only just beginning to see what that landscape will potentially look like. It’s still too early to tell, but in the meantime PR professionals, journalists and organizations alike will continue to try and understand how to leverage new mediums in meaningful ways.
Back in April, we blogged about Apple’s move to eliminate the “one price fits all” model for its iTunes digital media store, opting to shift to a three-tiered pricing model. While this news was met with some trepidation by media, music labels and consumers, a new article from Billboard‘s Antony Bruno and Glenn Peoples suggests that Apple’s variable pricing approach may just be working.
An analysis of Nielsen SoundScan data conducted by Billboard found that while Apple’s variable pricing model may have caused overall sales volumes to decline, tracks that were priced higher compensated for the decline and actually generated more revenue.
Bruno and Peoples note, “Playing with pricing won’t solve the music industry’s biggest problem: Digital revenue is increasing too slowly to compensate for the decline of CD sales. But variable pricing will help labels bring in more money from online downloads, according to the results so far.”
One of our clients, Digonex (on behalf of which we secured this piece), a provider of real-time, demand-driven automated pricing solutions, knows first-hand the impact that variable pricing can have not only on the digital music industry, but on other industries such as event ticketing and e-commerce. The company’s Digital Online Exchange (DOE) platform is an innovative dynamic pricing solution that systematically changes prices based upon behavioral and econometric principles. In a nutshell, it finds the optimal price for every item in a given product catalog and updates those prices in real-time.
Some industry analysts think it’s still early to tell if these new pricing models will truly impact the digital music industry. Forrester Analyst, Mike McGuire says, “For the first year or so the labels are looking at this to see how the market reacts.” “It’s real-time research, in effect. They need as much data as they can to try to understand where they go from here.”
Clearly, this is an evolving landscape. From a PR perspective, it’s important for organizations in emerging markets to establish thought leadership early on to drive awareness and adoption of products and services. We’ve been working closely with Digonex to build relationships with key media and analysts who are covering this space to build awareness around the company and the category.
Aside of the Billboard/Reuters piece above, in the short time we’ve been working with Digonex we’ve secured key coverage on behalf of the company in Red Herring, Reuters, and Billboard.biz. We’ve also set-up introductory briefings with several key industry analysts to ensure they’re grounded in Digonex’s vision and the benefits dynamic pricing. Laying the groundwork early has helped Digonex gain early awareness in this market and establish itself as a credible thought leader in the category.
It’s unlikely that the founders of Twitter ever imagined their social media site would become the vehicle for a political uprising. Or that it would have the capacity to replace traditional journalism and media resources. But that’s exactly what Twitter has done.
Within the last three weeks, Iranian protestors have used Twitter, YouTube and personal testimonies to provide a window into this theocratic state’s rioting and rebellion. Because the government has banned all major reporting from inside the state, the world has had to depend on 140 character tweets about the current status of Iran.
Crowd sourcing and social media have already changed the face of traditional journalism and are likely to continue to redefine it. Instead of turning on the TV and listening to Bill O’Reilly for breaking news and information on Iran’s protests and riots, political followers have instead looked to unfiltered, firsthand experiences available instantly on Twitter and YouTube.
For example, one of the most powerful stories from Iran’s political uprising is the tragic story of Neda, a young woman who was killed during riots. A video of her death was posted on YouTube and quickly became one of the most popular hashtags on Twitter. Neda’s story and the public’s use of social media is an example of the movement to a more unconventional way of reporting – anyone with a Twitter or blog can be considered a journalist or a legitimate source of information.
So what does this mean for the future of journalism and broadcasting? More personalized reporting may give media the breath of fresh air it needs. CNN, for example, has created iReport which is a Web site for citizen journalism. CNN encourages people to upload photos, videos and information, which are then instantly updated on iReport, with some even making it to their newscasts.
The producers acknowledge that although they cannot confirm authenticity of news being disseminated, special circumstances in Iran have left the network with no choice but to depend on citizen journalists. That may not be a bad idea, as tweets and YouTube videos are offering followers instant updates on Iran, well before major networks break the news. Matthew Weaver, a blogger for The Guardian relies on these untraditional sources because, “when rallies and conflicts occur first the tweets come, then the pictures, then the YouTube videos, then the wires. It’s extraordinary.”
Clearly, traditional journalism is changing dramatically with the rise of citizen journalism vis-‡-vis mediums such as Twitter and YouTube. Instead of fighting this trend, media outlets should look for ways to incorporate Twitter into their reporting strategies as a way personalize their stories and connect with their audience while staying current and providing breaking news.