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.
As newspapers and magazines continue to cut jobs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for small-to-mid sized companies to compete with larger organizations to garner media attention. So how can a company position itself as a valuable asset and tool for journalists while building trust, credibility and brand awareness with its customers? By becoming an industry thought leader.
Thought leadership can help generate coverage and position a company as an important influencer in the industry. Establishing a thought leadership program requires significant time commitment and dedication. There are several key elements to successfully implementing a thought leadership program. In order to become a well-respected thought leader, consider the following:
- Build Credibility – Building credibility requires that you establish yourself as an expert in your field. How do you do that? Educate yourself on what’s going on in your particular field and industry. Once you’ve established a clear point of view, you can communicate your ideas to the media and key audiences in a number of ways including interviews, byline articles, whitepapers, blogging and speaking at industry events. When expressing your perspective offer credible data points and resources.
- Express your opinions – A thought leader is someone with a clear point of view. In order to be “newsworthy” you must provide a compelling perspective on a particular issue and offer insight and predictions about the future of the industry. Think about your audience and make sure the opinions and perspectives that you offer are applicable to the issues they are facing.
- Foster your relationship – Persistence is key. Journalists are often very busy and receive hundreds of e-mails on a daily basis. In order to stay top of mind, follow up with your contacts regularly and look for innovative ideas to share with them. Comment on stories and blog posts. Securing the initial conversation may be difficult but once you have proven that you are a valuable resource, journalists will reach out to you and they will seek your opinion for future opportunities.
As indicated in previous blog posts, some of the ways companies can generate thought leadership include writing byline articles, leveraging newsworthy trends for feature stories and maintaining an informative and engaging corporate blog. In addition, here are other tools such as white papers, case studies and speaking opportunities that can be used to build thought leadership:
Thought leadership can be an effective tool to communicate a company’s passion and commitment to providing its customers and the broader marketplace with valuable perspective and information. We encourage you to generate an ongoing effort towards thought leadership by making it a strategic initiative within your company.
A recent article in PRWeek reports that several of the industry’s top publishing houses have recently reduced their budgets and workforce. One prominent company that is scaling down is Rodale, publisher of Men’s Health, Prevention, and Runner’s World, Time Inc. owner of Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune and Condé Nast whose titles include Vogue and Men’s Vogue.
For decades, the magazine industry has struggled to maintain and increase advertising revenue to support circulation costs. But much like the tech bubble that popped in the Silicon Valley in the early 2000s and forced companies to lay off workers or go out of business altogether, the recent economic crunch is pushing magazines to cut budgets and staff. This in turn is forcing these publications to move their content online and find other creative ways to remain a ëmust-read’ for audiences.
As budgets and staffs shrink, so do the opportunities to garner coverage. Several publications are relying on wire services and material contributed by contract writers and vendors to help round out the content. This growing trend highlights the importance of strategic media relations.
PR professionals and organizations need to tailor their strategies and tactics to fit in with the current media landscape. In order to build relationships with reporters and ensure coverage, consider the following:
Do your homework – This seems like a no-brainer but remains true even in today’s media climate. With limited staff, reporters are often juggling several unrelated beats. Make sure you are pitching information that is relevant to the reporter.
Make the reporter’s job as easy as possible – Package up all of the story elements such as the pitch, key data points, links to additional background such as industry or analyst reports, surveys, etc. so a reporter can easily digest it. Taking this approach is almost always appreciated by journalists who are crunched for time and don’t have bandwidth to do background research.
Consider alternative mediums – As noted above, most publications are moving to an online format that includes features such as webcasts, podcasts and blogs, which offer other opportunities to secure coverage and interact with reporters.
Byline articles are an excellent way to retain ownership of key messages and establish thought leadership. Executives can insert their point of view and reach target audiences by writing or commissioning these articles. But bylines can be tricky to write and require a careful balance to ensure that they are both informative and readable. Below, we’ve included a list of our top tips for writing byline articles.
Consider your audience. If you are writing for a technology publication, more complicated terms and concepts may be in order. When writing for a lifestyle magazine however, some concepts may need to be toned down. A recent post by New York Times technology columnist and blogger David Pogue makes a humorous case for avoiding technology jargon if at all possible. You can find this post here.
Don’t self-promote. Remember that this is a byline article, not an advertisement. The intent is to establish thought leadership and gain exposure for a product or service with out blatantly pitching it to readers. Check the guidelines of the publication for which you’re writing. Chances are they will remove words and phrases that promote your product and don’t otherwise add to the article.
Develop a strong thesis. Consider the main point that you want your readers to remember from your article, and be sure to weave this into the introduction. Depending on the publication, this thesis might tie a technological concept into a consumer trend or demonstrate how a new service is poised to change the industry.
Construct an outline. It can be helpful to mimic the outlines used in high school English class when writing a byline article. Begin with a broad theme and narrow it down to the thesis in the introduction. Provide evidence for the thesis in the body of the article. In the conclusion, expand on why the thesis matters in the grand scheme of things.
Use subheadings. Subheadings can go a long way towards clarifying the main points and keeping your article interesting. Using catchy phrases that sum up important messages above every few paragraphs will make your article easy to read.
Include quality data. Statistics from reputable sources are a great way to strengthen your argument. Perhaps your client has data from a survey or white paper they commissioned. Backing up your claims with this information will add credibility to the article.
Don’t be boring. Using correct grammar and proper sentence structure is important, but it doesn’t mean that the article can’t have a few conversational sentences or colloquialisms tossed in for good measure. It’s easy to lapse into tech-speak when writing about complicated technological concepts. Avoid this trap and remember that you are writing a news article, not an instruction manual.
For a few examples of byline articles we have written for our clients, check out the links below or e-mail us.
- Improving Business Performance Through E-Learning for Chief Learning Officer (CLO)
- The Power of Pull written for CLO
When facing difficult news such as layoffs, many companies used to draft meticulously scripted press releases – if they shared the news at all. But this strategy is fast becoming a recipe for disaster as employees turn to their blogs to voice frustrations and announce corporate layoffs.
In a recent New York Times article, Claire Cain Miller describes how corporate downsizing for one prominent news company went from bad to worse when a disgruntled employee took to his blog and shared the details of cutbacks at many local papers. This did little to inspire public support for the company and angered many of the blog’s readers.
Miller goes on to share a quote from Rusty Rueff, a former human resources executive at Electronic Arts and PepsiCo. “Today, whatever you say inside a company will end up on a blog,” he says. According to Rueff, you can either be proactive, “or you can let someone else write the story for you.”
So how can you retain ownership of your company’s messages? The answer is simple: blog. An increasing number of companies have implemented blogs where they announce corporate news – be it good or bad. But corporate transparency is a new concept for many executives, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Here are a few tips we have found helpful for our clients as they begin blogging:
Be Honest. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it can be tempting – and dangerous – to blur the lines. When commenting on any blog, be sure to identify yourself clearly. A Microsoft executive posting negative comments on a Mac blog under the guise of a teenage Apple enthusiast could face big problems down the road. It’s far better to be honest from the start than mired in a scandal that could easily have been avoided.
Be Proactive. When facing difficult news, don’t wait until employees have had several days – or even hours – to announce it for you. Instead, you can prepare a blog entry ahead of time to be posted immediately after speaking with employees. Just make sure not to share the news of a layoff before an employee has received the pink slip.
Get Everyone Onboard. As with any important decision within your company, you will need to obtain buy-in from your management and legal departments. Demonstrating the importance of transparency and embracing social media by pointing to the pitfalls of ignoring these trends can go a long way towards building support. Gather proof points about why blogging is cost-effective, beneficial and necessary for your company.
Define Key Messages. From blogs to press releases, it is important to communicate a set of key messages about your company and be consistent. Review your messaging before posting a blog entry to make sure you have included all the important points.
When done right, blogging can be a great way to improve the public image of your company. For more examples of companies who have successfully implemented blogs, see the hyperlinked list below. Happy blogging!
Dell
Nokia
The Mayo Clinic
United States Coast Guard
Wal-Mart
Wells Fargo
With the financial crisis looming ever larger, it is no surprise that some businesses such as AT&T and General Motors are slashing marketing budgets in an effort to stay afloat in this volatile economic environment.According to recent articles, advertising agencies will be among the first shops to feel the impact of the economy as companies cut advertising budgets and fewer new business opportunities arise. Further data from Epsilon Data Management LLC supports this trend with reports that suggest approximately 65 percent of chief marketing officers say they will decrease advertising spending because of the current economic situation.
Emily Steel with the Wall Street Journal provides an interesting perspective on the current economy and its effect on the digital media industry. She notes in a recent article, entitled “Marketers Cut Back on Digital Media,” that as businesses cut their advertising budgets the money that was set aside to experiment with new digital media technologies will no longer be available to pursue these innovative ideas. She goes on to say that these “experimental advertising techniques, which were hailed as the next big thing, will be among the first to hit the cutting-room floor.”
As consumers cut down on discretionary spending, it’s critical to continue building brand awareness and to increase consumer demand for products and services. Here are a few reasons why engaging consumers – even during a budget crunch – is important for companies:
- Maintaining a strong and positive image drives consumer’s perception of a business
- Engaging with consumers allows them to develop a more personal connection with the company’s products or services
- A downturn in economic conditions allows proactive companies to stand out and take market share from businesses that don’t creatively and proactively engage with consumers
So how can companies continue to engage customers despite tight marketing budgets? Creative advertising, marketing and PR campaigns can definitely help bolster an organization’s image and increase appeal with the broader public. Emerging media such as social networking will be a key component to help meet these business objectives and is an affordable option for companies to invest in to engage with and generate a significant audience.
Some other cost-effective ideas that enable companies to strategically promote a positive company image through media relations include:
- Desk-side briefings
- Speaking opportunities
- Blogging and engaging with social communities
- Proactively generating editorial opportunities
- Issuing relevant press releases
The bottom line is, if you want to stay connected to your customers during tough economic times you need to get creative and execute proactive campaigns that truly engage your customers and keep you top of mind.
These days, the national media seems to be focused on two stories: the upcoming presidential election and the economic crisis. In the past few months, the media has churned out thousands of stories with hundreds of different angles on each of these topics – everything from how the economy will impact the holidays to how the crisis is affecting pets. It begs the question: How can companies leverage noteworthy events and trends?
There is genuine value in leveraging national news events and trends to spark a feature story for your company. We regularly counsel our clients on how to proactively reach out to editors in order to align their companies or organizations with relevant trends. We’ve found that this type of activity can help keep a company top of mind with editors and reinforce the company as a thought leader and innovator.
One of the most effective ways to insert a company into a feature story is through buddy e-mails. These e-mails often include a suggested topic for a story and offer a company’s perspective on trends impacting the industry. In addition, you may consider offering a customer perspective on a particular topic which can go a long way in helping an editor pull together the components for a compelling story.
An example of a buddy e-mail could include:
Dear XYZ,
The current economy crisis is top of mind with everyone these days, from small business owners to large corporations. If you’re planning upcoming coverage on how the economic crisis is impacting XX initiatives and the XX industry, we’d like to offer XX’s perspective on the current situation and how its technology and customers are not only surviving, but thriving.
Please let me know either way as we would be happy to be a resource for you. Thank you in advance for your consideration. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Best regards,
XX
Proactively reaching out to editors with buddy e-mails and other story ideas can result in big results. So the next time you’re reading the newspaper, take a moment to think how current events could potentially create new opportunities for your company.