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 PR professionals (PR pros) we are often tasked with trying to maximize exposure for our clients across multiple forms of media, while actively listening to audience feedback and mining for emerging trends and conversations that we can leverage to keep our clients top of mind.
While standard reporting is important, how you report on your progress and wins is often as important as what you are reporting on. Let’s face it, no update from one’s PR team likely means there is no coverage to report. Worse, it might appear to clients and other stakeholders that PR has done nothing to secure coverage. As PR pros we know this is rarely the case, but it can appear to be so to outsiders.
One way to reduce potential concerns is for PR pros to maintain a consistent reporting cadence. This applies to specific pitching efforts as well as the firm’s ongoing activity at large. For diligent PR pros this should be relatively straightforward and often takes the form of a weekly update. This provides clients with the ability to quickly determine where activity stands and easily keep track of the moving parts.
The weekly updates also can be a good way to provide line of site toward progress to larger goals. For instance, maybe you secured 65 articles for a client last year and have a goal to increase year-over-year coverage by 20 percent in the current year. The weekly reporting can be a good place to provide updates that show whether you’re on track to meet or exceed your annual goal.
To initiate this process, it’s helpful to clearly outline your plan at the outset so you can manage the client’s reporting expectations in advance. This may seem like PR 101, but all too often this simply isn’t the case. Be explicit so clients know when they’ll get updates from you: weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually.
Additionally, a basic tracking document that can be shared with the client for real-time visibility can work wonders to bolster the client relationship. This level of access provides the client with the ability to monitor activity in between regular reports and further reinforces a collaborative approach.
Aside from maintaining a strong client relationship to enable successful PR efforts, reviewing coverage with a critical eye will help determine the success of the strategy and identify lessons learned to inform future efforts. When doing a deeper dive, consider the following questions:
- How much of the coverage comes from news items generated from press release distributions? How many are features that began with your pitch to a journalist?
- Have your executives been quoted from interviews?
- Are you securing enough thought-leadership articles with bylines from your executives?
- If pitching goals are geographically oriented, are you measuring them? Likewise, if a campaign is targeting certain vertical markets, then PR pros need to have an idea of the weighting of coverage across each one. This allows for corrections and strategy changes to make sure they reflect business objectives.
As PR pros we know transparency is often the key to collaboration and productive business relationships. As we’ve seen, it can be useful during the pitching process, too.
Much like the age-old question that asks, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” there is the content marketer’s version, “If you develop terrific content but no one finds or reads it, does it help your business?” I can’t answer for the trees, but I know the answer for content marketers is “definitely not.”
For PR, marketing and communications professionals, content development is often a key priority. However, writing the content is really only half the battle – the other element to a successful content campaign is to make sure that that content reaches the right people at the right time.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a critical strategy that allows potential customers and other target audiences to find your content more easily, and also for organizations to reach people that might not have found it otherwise.
However, if you’re using random keywords and publishing blogs and other content assets without much knowledge of your readers, then you might be setting yourself up for failure. Julia McCoy, in an article for Search Engine Journal, advises that “You can’t create content randomly and expect to see results. That’s like throwing a dart at a bullseye…blindfolded.”
For quality inbound leads and profitable traffic, it’s imperative to develop content strategically that’s based on solid SEO principles. Every piece of online content – whitepapers, blog posts, product datasheets and the like – must be written not only to provide useful information, but to also achieve placement in search engine rankings.
Below are some suggestions for how content developers can leverage SEO to make their content easier to find:
- Keywords are key. Remember your target audience is human (we hope), so you should write your content the way that actual humans speak and read, rather than for search engine algorithms. Reusing a keyword or phrase in 20 different ways through a blog post, for example, is both irritating and off-putting; readers will see through it and likely not search for your content a second time.
Likewise, consider the phrases and words that your target audience might use when searching for your company or product. Those terms are often conversational and contextual. As Forbes’ contributor AJ Agrawal suggests, “Try brainstorming what kinds of language potential customers might use to ask questions or describe problems associated with your product or service.” You can also use keyword research tools like the Google AdWords Keyword Planner to come up with your keyword lists.
- Also, think beyond keywords. McCoy points out that “Keyword research alone does not an SEO strategy make. Instead, we want to begin by defining your brand’s purpose and expertise.” Identifying topics and areas where your organization has unique expertise and thought leadership can help guide audience and keyword research.
- Consider who’s in the audience. This seems simple enough, but before creating any type of content it’s essential to really understand who the audience is. What are their challenges? What motivates them? Evaluate your current (and future) customers, as well as the competition. Consider creating target personas for the “ideal” customer you’re aiming to reach and tailor your content to address their challenges….and then lead them to seek out your solution.
- Think globally. If your business spans to different countries, then localizing content can make a huge impact on search results. Often this can be a simple spelling change (realize to realise, for example), or it may require translating copy into local languages. Don’t forget too to include local contact information such as phone numbers and domain names (.com versus .co.uk, for example).
- Track the ROI of SEO. Measurement is key with SEO, and with any content development initiative. Begin by benchmarking where your company ranked for certain keywords before optimization efforts, and then track changes in keywork rankings ta various intervals to see how efforts are paying off.
I hope these tips are helpful as you continue building your content development and SEO strategies. Are there other tips you would include that have helped your business with search engine rankings? We’d love to hear about them!
The Washington Post (WaPo) is one of the most highly respected papers in the country. Founded in 1877, it is the largest paper published in Washington, D.C., and has received countless Pulitzer and Worth Bingham prizes. Securing content in WaPo is a PR professional’s dream, but often unattainable. If you throw an email pitch at a reporter, it is likely to be deleted without so much as a second thought. So how do you place content in this coveted publication? Here are a few options.
Submit an Op-Ed
One way to secure content in WaPo is to submit an op-ed. An op-ed expresses the opinion of an author who does not usually write for the publication. WaPo is very specific on the qualifications of op-eds they accept. To start, pieces should be shorter than 750 words, although the submission box allows for 800 words.
They accept content on any topic, from anyone. You do not have to hold a certain title to submit an op-ed, however, if you do, there is a place to note that in the “comments” section. A very important note WaPo makes is that they do not accept content that has been submitted or posted elsewhere, including personal blogs. All content must be original.
There is no need to follow up if you do not receive a response. If you do not hear back from editors after one week, it likely means they did not choose to publish your piece.
Submit a Letter to the Editor
Although much shorter in length, letters to the editor are often a good way to get published in WaPo. These pieces are opinionated as well, relating to issues of concern from readers, or responses to articles in the publication.
WaPo prefers letters that are fewer than 200 words and relate to content that has already been published in the paper. Anonymous letters will not be considered, and the writer must disclose any bias he or she might have in relation to the subject – personal or financial.
Similar to op-ed submissions, letters to the editor must also be original and cannot appear elsewhere.
Submit to Outlook
Another option to secure coverage in WaPo is to submit it to the Outlook/PostEverything section. This section is separate in the print paper but grouped together with op-eds in the online edition. Outlook is similar to the Op-Ed section, however, Outlook authors typically have professional or personal experience with the subject that gives the writing a unique and inside perspective.
Outlook submissions can be up to 1,500 words long, although editors like a variety of lengths and topics. Keep your topic catchy and fresh, something that will grab the readers eye, and be ahead or in line with the news.
Outlook/PostEverything submissions can be sent to outlook@washingtonpost.com.
One of our client’s recently asked us to help with a research project to learn more about staff perceptions. Our ultimate goal was to discover staff attitudes and beliefs articulated in their own words.
To gather this qualitative information, we decided to do one-on-one interviews, as opposed to a focus group, because we were interested in individuals’ perspectives without the influence of their peers and we didn’t want group interaction to be part of the method.
We also recognized that surveys or questionnaires are most effective when looking at how many people hold a certain opinion, whereas interviews are better for understanding what the opinion is and why a person might subscribe to it. By talking with individuals and taking an interrogatory approach, we could more fully explore answers that might otherwise be underdeveloped if answered in another manner such as a survey.
Finally, as part of this project we will need to synthesize and share our findings with the team and potentially the entire company. Reporting often is the last step in the research process and it is important to think through the best way to present your findings and results.
As we completed this research project, I thought it would be helpful to document some of our learnings around best practices.
- Record and transcribe the sessions. Whenever possible, it is a good idea to record and transcribe the sessions. Clearly, transcription can be time consuming and expensive. If it is not possible, then it is vital that researchers take careful notes. As a best practice, consider having two researchers do the interviews: One person can ask the questions and guide the discussion, and the other person can capture the responses.
- Focus on thematic analysis. As you write your report summarizing responses, you will want to review your notes or your transcripts and look for common themes in relation to your subjects. For instance, are there particular responses that were consistent among baby boomers that are different than the responses of Generation-Y subjects? Consider coding responses so you can easily find them and assign percentages in reports.
- Consider developing a hierarchical outline or matrix. Once you’ve read over the written transcript and identified themes or sub-themes, you may want to organize them in a hierarchical outline or create a matrix to track responses.
- Pay particular attention to minority opinions. If there are one or two people who differ radically from the other responses, you may want to make note of those in your report and findings as well.
- Consider presenting quotes from participants. You may want to include a few quotes to illustrate individual’s perspective but be sure to provide the appropriate context for them so they’re fully understood.
- Write your report. Consider your audiences and determine sections you’ll want to include in your report. These may include:
- An abstract or executive summary
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- An introduction or summary of project background
- Methods: where you describe the participants, what was measured, how you collected data and how the data was analyzed
- Results: This is where you report the results and include quotes, graphs, figures and tables to illustrate key finding
- Conclusions: This is the section where you outline the implications of the findings. You may want to articulate your ideas for how to use the information, you may want to highlight benefits or limitations of the findings, or you may want to recommend additional studies be conducted.
If you have other real-world examples of best practices that you’ve used as you researched, analyzed and reported on work situations or to explore other issues, please share them.
For nearly 15 years, Pew Research Center has distributed an overview of the state of the media, analyzing different forms, target audiences and consumption. It also looks at how media organizations are performing as businesses, analyzing outlets’ ability to capture attention as well as revenue.
Rather than issuing one report, Pew distributes eight separate fact sheets, covering everything from local TV news to Hispanic and African American news to audio and podcasting.
After reviewing the fact sheets analyzing the state of the media in 2017, here are some important takeaways.
Newspapers Circulation Declines but Unique Visitors Grows
It’s no secret that as consumer preferences have shifted to digital, newspapers have experienced dips in circulation. According to Pew’s research, the estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation for both print and digital in 2017 was 31 million for weekday and 34 million for Sunday. These numbers were down 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from 2016.
However, prominent papers in the U.S. have seen recent increases in their digital subscriptions. Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both produced independent studies that indicated both publications experienced significant gains in digital subscriptions. The New York Times saw a 42 percent increase and The Wall Street Journal experienced a 26 percent uptick in digital subscribers.
This uptick could be due to several factors, including digital being the preferred format or an increased interest in current events over the last year. However, another possibility is the dynamic platform offered through digital media. Many publications have created interactive media sections that enable readers to interact with a map or search for data relevant to them and tie it to the story, potentially captivating more interest.
Digital Media Reaches Nine-in-10 Adults
About 93 percent of individuals in the U.S. get at least some news online, either through a mobile device or a desktop. While Pew recognizes that many “legacy” news organizations, such as The New York Times or The Washington Post, have significant presences online, its digital media fact sheet looks specifically at news sites that were founded online.
One unique piece of information revealed through the report is not the data, but a list of the digital news sources that were used for the study. Pew only included sites that averaged 10 million unique visitors per month from October through December of each year analyzed. In 2017, 35 outlets met this requirement, including Business Insider, Buzzfeed, Bustle, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, Huffington Post, Mashable, Politico, Refinery 29 and Vox. The entire list can be found here.
Because these are digital outlets, its no surprise they are largely focused on reaching readers through social media. One hundred percent of the digital outlets included in the study have Facebook and Twitter profiles, while 94 percent and 89 percent have YouTube channels and Instagram accounts respectively. So when thinking about pitching these journalists, it’s important to consider what could be used for an intriguing headline, tweet or caption, and what visuals you can offer to accompany the article.
Don’t Overlook Podcasting
Audio news has two main sources, traditional radio (AM/FM) and digital formats such as online radio and podcasts. While traditional radio hasn’t seen much of a change in listenership since 2009, online radio and podcasts are trending up.
In 2006, about 12 percent of Americans over the age of 12 had ever listened to a podcast. Now, in 2018, nearly 50 percent of Americans have listened to a podcast. One outlet that has seen substantial success in its programming is NPR, having created some of the most popular shows in the iTunes library. From 2016 to 2017, NPR saw the average weekly unique user who downloaded a show rise by 1.9 million, from 3.5 million to 5.4 million.
With the continued popularity and upward trend of listeners, you may want to consider what podcasts are reaching your audiences and determine if you have a strong spokesperson who could contribute interesting perspectives to those programs. Alternatively, if you are working with a brand dedicated to content creation, you may want to consider if an audio platform would be of interest to your target audiences. For more ideas on how to start a podcast, check out this blog post.
As individuals who leverage the media to reach target audiences, it is critical that PR professionals take the time to understand how the state of the media evolves as consumer preferences change. With this understanding and data, we can then think strategically about how to reach our target audiences and provide journalists with valuable information and stories.
We recently had the opportunity to support Dell EMC’s presence at IBC2018, one of the most influential media, entertainment and technology events in the world. More than 57,000 visitors from 170 countries gathered in Amsterdam for IBC, including content creators, broadcasters and content delivery providers.
The show wraps up today, Sept 18., after five jam-packed days of informational sessions, technical conferences, award ceremonies, booth demonstrations, and countless networking lunches, dinners and happy hours.
Originally known as the International Broadcasting Convention, IBC has shifted from its technical broadcast roots and now covers the whole breadth of media creation management and delivery, from online content to digital cinema, and from automated workflows to high-resolution capture and display.
At the show, Dell highlighted its comprehensive technology portfolio, which includes Dell EMC storage, servers, networking, VMware virtualization solutions, and high-performance Dell workstations and displays. In fact, Dell EMC has been working with broadcasters, content service providers and media production facilities for more than a decade.
This marks the third year that Communiqué PR has supported Dell EMC at IBC, working to secure onsite briefings with key media and entertainment trade reporters and to drive coverage from show announcements.
Together with Dell EMC’s global agencies, this year we were able to secure seven press and analyst meetings for Dell EMC’s media and entertainment team, as well as five potential press “stop-bys” at its booth. We also helped to prepare and submit a nomination for Dell EMC for IABM’s BAM Awards (which is currently a finalist in the “Store” category!), and supported content development leading up to the show.
Large, busy trade shows like IBC can make it difficult for companies to get noticed amid all the noise. There’s so much competition for attention, whether it’s the industry keynotes and educational sessions, the press conferences and events, the booth demos or – perhaps most important (and fun!) of all, the networking parties.
For PR and communications professionals, it’s important to keep a few things in mind at large industry gatherings like IBC2018. Below are a few pointers for how to make the maximum impact at an industry conference or trade show:
Think beyond the event itself. Particularly at trade shows, schedules are almost always in flux, which means that some press briefings might run late, get pushed to another day or cancelled altogether. While face-to-face time with journalists is one of the top priorities at a show, remember that you can – and should – connect with them throughout the year and update them about your company. Following up after the event might be an opportunity to get your company included in post-show wrap-up articles and offer takeaways from the big announcements that took place.
Think globally, not locally. As with any PR or communications endeavor, consider your audience – and at IBC, that audience is decidedly global. More than 170 countries are represented at the show, and that includes journalists from all corners of the world. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase any global clients or use cases your customers might have, and also to educate yourself about the specific industry trends and market drivers that various regions are experiencing.
We wish the Dell EMC team and the entire Dell crew the best of luck at IBC2018 and look forward to hearing about how the show went. Did your company exhibit, speak or attend IBC? What were your thoughts and takeaways? Tell us here in the comments!