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.
Facebook, as we know, is a social media platform deeply integrated in individuals’ personal, social and even professional lives; and therefore, is a prime marketing and communication tools used by organizations to engage with target audiences.
A recent study by Buffer and BuzzSumo analyzed more than 43 million Facebook posts from the top 20,000 brand accounts to identify the trends with Facebook user engagement from Q1 2017 to Q2 2018.
The study is one of the largest conducted in 2018 and involved sorting through top companies’ videos, stories and posts. Its findings provide insight that marketers and business owners can use to revamp their social media marketing strategies for 2019.
Below is an overview of the top five takeaways Buffer and BuzzSumo highlighted after analyzing Facebook data over the past year.
- Post frequency is increasing, the study found that from Q1 2017 to Q2 2018 there was a 24 percent increase in the number of posts per quarter from 6.5 million to 8.1 million posts.
- Total page engagement decreased more than 50 percent, and continues to decrease, which increases the competition in the News Feed each year.
- Images (not videos) receive the most engagement; however, average engagement per video, image and link collectively decreased from the year before.
- Posting five times per day resulted in the highest engagement and business pages that posted less than one time per day had the lowest overall levels of engagement.
- Top business accounts’ engagement levels dropped between 49 to 70 percent, artist pages witnessed the largest decrease in engagement at 70.6 percent followed by movie and media/news pages.
So what can marketers do with this data?
At first glance the results may turn individuals away from utilizing Facebook. However, instead of abandoning the social media platform and potentially the target audience who favors it, marketers can turn these findings into actionable tactics with future social media campaigns.
Share higher quality content. For example, if post frequency is increasing, it is natural for page engagement to decrease because users can only sort through a finite amount of content without losing focus. Businesses can increase page engagement by maintaining high-quality content in a time of increased competition. Social media experts can create higher quality content by understanding Facebook’s new features and the types of posts their target audiences prefer to engage with (i.e. knowing when to post videos over an images, etc.).
Optimize content for mobile use. Another actionable step marketers can take is making content easily accessible from mobile devices. More than 95 percent of Facebook users access the platform from their phones, so the ability to cater to this platform will help to increase page and post engagement. For example, as engagement with videos is decreases, companies can change old practices to incorporate newer video trends such as vertical video viewing or including text on all video content.
Post more than once a day. It is important for marketers to note that as the frequency of posting increases, the overall levels of engagement rise – but only to a certain point. The study found that accounts posting five times per day received an average of 2,466 “engagements” per post; and pages posting 10 or more times per day received nearly half as many engagements per posts (1,202). With that being said, companies should test frequency. For example, consider posting three or five posts per day for a month or quarter, measure engagement levels and then adjust frequency up or down as needed for the next month. Not all companies will have the same pattern because of different target audiences and number of followers, etc. but identifying the sweet spot of how many times to post per day will help business maintain or raise levels of engagement.
Another battle marketer’s face is the “Facebook News Feed algorithm.” The study also confirmed that the News Feed algorithm favors families and friends over pages, this means that businesses are not only competing with other brands to capture a user’s attention, but also competing with every personal profile, business page and group in the network.
Before marketers begin designing social media plans for 2019, they should asses their company’s Facebook practices and engagement levels, and use this study as a guide to develop a targeted and successful Facebook marketing strategy.
I’ve always rooted for the underdog. I love those unsung heroes that work hard day in and day out, often in the background, keeping things moving while others enjoy their time in the spotlight.
This might be one reason why I adore working with trade media and vertical publications.
Sure, there are bigger and more well-known publications, with their circulations in the hundreds of thousands – the popular kids of the media world, if you will. Everyone reads them, everyone loves them – we get it, USA Today, People magazine and The New York Times, quit showing off already!
But for organizations selling products, services or technology used primarily by specific industries, or a niche audience such as hospital administrators, data scientists, farmers, or shipping terminal operators, then bigger isn’t always better when it comes to media coverage. An article in People magazine will reach millions of readers, but if your product or service is aimed at a more specialized audience, you might not have a compelling story at the time for that type of media outlet. People magazine’s reporters for example, need to focus on cover stories that appeal to the broader consumer population.
Depending on their target audiences and business objectives, some organizations are better served by targeting reporters with trade media and vertical press. The good news is that there is a trade or specialty publication for pretty much any topic you can think of (Sheep! Magazine, Model Airplane News, The Peanut Grower, Rubber World and Meating Place are some prime examples), and almost all of these publications are looking for subject-matter experts and or contributed content.
Communiqué PR has successfully secured media placements focused on trade publications for many of our clients, offering best practices, and a deep dive into issues and opportunities for specific industries.
With cloud communications provider Flowroute, we developed a proactive pitch aimed at healthcare publications about how physicians could better connect with their patients, and more efficiently manage their businesses, with the use of text messaging. One pitch resulted in eight contributed article for Flowroute, in publications such as Physicians Practice, Dentistry IQ, Beckers Health IT and CIO Report, Healthcare Business & Technology, and Health IT Outcomes, among others. Flowroute reported a significant spike in traffic to its website as a result of this resulting coverage, demonstrating that vertical press and trade media, while smaller than its mass media counterparts, can pack a mighty punch!
We also were able to generate strong interest from publications focusing on the automotive industry for our client Dell EMC. In this case, we developed a proactive pitch around how the growth of connected cars and autonomous vehicles has led to an exponential rise in the amount of data that car manufacturers need to store and analyze. From this one pitch, we secured articles in outlets such as Wards Auto, Automotive Industries, Autonomous Vehicle Technology and Global Auto Industry.
For organizations looking to pitch trade reporters or vertical publications about their company or product, we offer the following tips to consider:
Focus on best practices/how-to pitches – This is your opportunity to educate readers about your experience in the industry and provide guidance for future deployments or installations. What worked, what didn’t? What surprises came up and how did your organization address them? What three things should potential users know when looking for a solution or product like yours? Asking these types of questions elevates your article or commentary into a thought leadership category – it’s not just showing someone a house but teaching them how to build the house and offering advice for the project along the way.
Now is the time to geek out – Tech geeks and subject matter experts, rejoice! This is your time to shine and show off your know-how. For publications aimed directly at end-users, they’ll want to hear more about the bits and bytes of a product, and why those matter to the industry you’re reaching. In most cases, these readers will know about the “tech speak” or industry jargon that might baffle a broader consumer-focused publication because they speak that language every day. Remember not to rely on buzzwords and to tie that “tech speak” to how it will actually impact an organization’s bottom line.
Shine a light on industry-specific use cases – Almost all publications love case studies and customer stories – it lends credibility to a company and its products when they have actual users in the field seeing benefits and results. It also builds thought leadership for your organization if you can provide some insight into the deployment – its challenges, results, takeaways, etc. It’s one thing to say your product can help companies to accomplish something, but its far more compelling to share how you worked with a customer to accomplish the thing, and how you were able to surpass their expectations.
Have you had success with a media outreach campaign aimed at trade press or vertical industries? What other tips would you offer us? Tell us below in the comments!
After reading Mark Goulston’s book, Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, I can safely say it’s a must-read for anyone looking to increase their persuasion and collaborative work skills. While the whole text is full of great insight on how to harness the power of persuasion, I found myself most struck by Goulston’s chapter titled, “When All Seems Lost – Bare Your Neck,” in which he describes how projecting vulnerability yourself produces vulnerability in others. The basis for his theory here are the brain’s mirror neurons. Scientists have found that these neurons act as the basis for empathy, making us, if only for a moment, feel the same emotions as someone we are watching. If you’ve ever cringed when a friend gets a paper cut or cheered when a movie hero ends up with the girl, you’ve experienced your mirror neurons at work. Other scientists refer to these neurons as “Dalai Lama neurons” because they are evolution’s efforts to dissolve the barriers between self and others.
Moving on from the neuroscience, why is this mirroring important for life in the workplace? If we circle back to Goulston’s main points about vulnerability, he states that baring your neck to someone else will induce mirroring of this vulnerability in others. Thanks to biology, they won’t be able to help it, even colleagues who may not like you very much. This tool is an effective way to show authenticity and honesty, bond and connect with others, and help the other party see your point of view. Finding the courage to expose your vulnerabilities can be difficult, but trusting in the reciprocal empathy of others is proven to be effective. Collaborative and highly functional office environments thrive on expectations of mutual respect, a side effect of mutual vulnerability.
On the other side of the coin, disguising your vulnerabilities can be harmful because of these same mirror neurons. Whatever negative attitude you’re painting over your distress will rub off on the people you’re interacting with, making the situation worse. Take, for example, using anger to cover up fear of failure. Maybe you have a big presentation coming up that you’re nervous won’t go over well, so you project a “screw you” attitude to hide feelings of helplessness. Rather than receiving support or empathy in return, you’re likely to get back a “fine – screw you, too.” Baring your neck (read: exposing your fears) to your coworkers will produce empathetic reactions, including offers of assistance, words of encouragement, etc.
Collaboration and cooperation are important aspects of any human interaction, specifically in the workplace. Whether it be negotiating a contract with a new client or pitching your next great ad campaign, learning to recognize internal distress and respond with vulnerability can create an atmosphere of valuable openness and respect that is a surefire recipe for success.
If you’re looking for information on how to more effectively connect with journalists and consumers, you may want to read “Business Wire’s Complete Guide to Modern Public Relations.”
This report, which was published by Business Wire, a leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure, provides insight into the way consumers receive news and how digital media has impacted this over last decade. The overall message of the piece is straightforward: times are changing in the media industry, meaning public relations and communications professionals must evolve in their practices as well.
The guide highlights the four key elements PR pros should keep in mind when reaching out to journalists:
The future of business communications
The first section introduces how the concept of a news release came about in the first place, thanks to American publicity expert and founder of modern public relations, Ivy Lee. Although the core elements of news releases have remained much the same, the way news and information has historically been distributed to media outlets has changed drastically. This is a result of companies increasingly seeking to cater to the way that consumers interact with the media, both in terms of accessing and reading content, as well as engaging directly with media through blogs and social media.
Lee offers guidelines for PR professionals to ensure that news releases are successful in their delivery and reception by their target audiences:(1) be trusted and timely, (2) focus on the facts, (3) be interesting, and (4) be impactful with media. These guidelines are timeless and essential for keeping journalists engaged and interested.
Tips on press release development
This section details the elements of a news release and why their mastery is important when communicating with journalists. Since a press release lets journalists know the news elements are for developing a story, it must contain attention-grabbing, accurate, interesting and relevant information.
Who, what, when and where (the four W’s) are questions that need to be addressed within the first few paragraphs of a news release to keep a journalist reading further and committed to determining whether to move forward with the information.
Implementation of multimedia elements can also increase engagement with news releases. The inclusion of pictures, infographics, videos, etc. in any announcement has been proven to retain the reader’s interest for longer. Multimedia elements can also communicate the overall message of an announcement more effectively than those that only have text throughout because visuals enhance reader engagement.
Business Wire mentions that when developing a press release, it’s a best practice to put yourself in your reader’s shoes and take the perspective of someone who might not know anything about the subject matter you’re discussing. The news release must do a good job informing the reader about the topic, why it’s worth covering, and why it’s relevant, in order to be successful.
Relationship building
This is arguably the most important part of the guide because it analyzes how imperative it is to build and maintain relationships with journalists, even before news is available to share. This is a best practice because, after all, journalists are people too, and they are experts at recognizing authenticity, or lack thereof. It’s important to remember that a journalist having access to your information is not the same as forming a relationship with them.
A great first step to doing this is researching journalists and bloggers, at both the local and nationwide levels. Knowing what they cover, their angles, interests, and biases helps make the connection more personal, and increases the likelihood of a response. A networking opportunity will always be more genuine when there’s proactive thought put into it beforehand.
Measuring success
The final section of the guide explains eight ways to measure the results of a public relations program or campaign. These include to: (1) get granular, (2) properly count the overall results of each programs, (3) look at the influence and reach of your news, (4) use advanced attribution, (5) research the devices your audiences use, (6) listen to social conversations, (7) track the amount of time your audience spends with you, and (8) don’t manage analytics alone.
The value of public relations is increasing, which means there is an increasing number of ways to assess the success of a PR campaign. Being able to properly identify and calculate the ROI, reach and value of a campaign is vital in the marketing, public relations, and advertising industries. Business Wire goes into detail on each measurement tool to highlight how and why to use it.
This guide is an asset to not only public relations professionals, but also to those who want more insight into the everchanging digital world and its effects on consumer media engagement. Updating your understanding of how the information age works is necessary for effective communication with journalists and their target audiences.
Months of cover-letter revisions and tapping into every connection in your LinkedIn has paid off – you have landed the ever-elusive PR internship. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and you are going to gain more experience in the next few months than you have in years of schooling. You want nothing more than to thrive and grow in this new position, but how? From one new intern to the next, here are a few tips that I have picked up along my journey with Communiqué PR (CPR) so far that are valuable tools to succeed as a PR intern.
Take notes
Although obvious, I want to reiterate the importance of taking notes. The CPR office is always stocked with composition notebooks, and we take great advantage of them. If your office does not supply them, I would suggest investing a few dollars in a pack of notebooks. I carry mine with me wherever I go so I am able to jot down things from to-do tasks that get casually asked of me (they aren’t always requested via email), to book recommendations from colleagues. There have been times where I have forgotten to bring my notebook to a meeting or check-in and I always regret it when I’m sitting at my desk later, thinking “What did they say again?” Mistakes happen, and people forget things, but try not to be the intern who has to ask someone to repeat something that has already clearly been stated – it could be perceived as you not listening.
Writing is key
Clear written communication is critical in public relations. You might find yourself writing a byline for a client or a speech for an executive, so make it a point to improve your writing throughout your internship. There are a few ways to make sure your writing is up to par, one of which is using the correct grammar and style. The correct way to write in the PR and Journalism world is to follow the AP Style Guide. As a PR intern, this book is your bible. It will tell you everything from the correct way to write a date, to which numbers to type out versus using numerals. It gets updated every year, so make sure you have the most current copy at your disposal.
Another way I have improved my writing at my internship is by reading critically. In the morning I pour myself a cup of tea and browse Medium and The New York Times and make notes of words and phrases that caught my eye that I can inject into my writing at CPR. I also look for places that were uncomfortable to read, where further edits could have been made. Learn from other writer’s successes and mistakes.
Accountability
You are responsible for everything you say, do, and write during your internship. You are new to the field, which means the work you are doing now is the foundation of your reputation. Use this to your advantage, since you have a clean slate and the opportunity to create a positive image for yourself in the industry.
Remember that everything you do has your name attached to it, so remain accountable for your actions. You don’t have to be the perfect intern and know everything there is to know about PR, but when you don’t know something, do not say “I don’t know.” Instead, follow up with an action item or an indicator that you will use your lack of knowledge as a stepping stone, such as, “I’m not certain on the answer to that question, but I will look that up and get back to you right away.” This shows you are eager to learn more and will continue to add to your knowledge bank.
Compete with yourself
Try not to compare yourself to other interns since every person has different skillsets and abilities. You may be great at editing, while the intern two desks down may be everyone’s go-to for creating briefings – and that is OK. You can’t control other people, but what you can control is your progression in the industry. One way I compete with myself is at the end of every day I evaluate what I can improve on tomorrow. I pick out a few things I want to focus on; it can be as broad as time management or as specific as finding more tailored publications to pitch contributed content. My advice here is to not see your shortcomings as stopping points or places to avoid, but rather opportunities to improve.
Be bold
This may come as a shock, but no one can read your mind. Be bold and confident and ask for what you want. I learned about press briefings on my second day at CPR and was fascinated with the idea of hearing a client and a journalist interact in real time, so I sent a note to the team asking to keep me in mind for future briefings and consider letting me sit in on them. I have since been invited to sit on calls and edit briefing documents, which exposed me to the preparation side of things as well. I promise you your superiors want to see you thrive and prosper in this new role, so don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and what will help you succeed in your PR internship.
Recently I was at a meeting where the head of global communications for a Fortune 100 company recommended that managers read a book called “The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business” by Erin Meyer. He raved about the book as a wonderful resource to those doing business with people in different countries.
As a small boutique PR firm, you might not think we have many international clients, but over the years we’ve served clients headquartered in Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, France, the United Kingdom and Mexico. In addition, some of our U.S.-based clients have also taken equity investments in foreign companies, which requires us to effectively collaborate with their parent company.
Every time we work with people living in another part of the world, we learn about their company’s unique culture, their communications preferences and how business is done in their country. For instance, a few years ago, we had a software client headquartered in Japan. I knew formality in business communication was important, but I had to learn the specifics of what that meant. To come up to speed, I spent a significant amount of time reading articles about Japanese business etiquette. This was helpful, but I wish I’d had “The Culture Map.”
In her book, Meyer provides readers a unique methodology to decode cultural differences so they can work together more effectively. She also does an excellent job explaining how cultural differences shape behavior and perceptions. Finally, she reminds readers that many of our perceptions are relative and based on our own unique culture experiences.
Consider the perception of age. If you’re 50 years old, you may think 30 is young. If you’re 15 years old, 30 might seem old. Similar relative perceptions exist around culture. Meyers asks readers to consider whether people in Spain build trust based on relationships or tasks: Are they a more relationship-based culture or a task-based culture? The answer is not as obvious as it might seem – it depends on what type of culture you grew up in or in which you currently live. If you’re from the U.S., the culture of trust tends to be more task-based than Spain, so you may perceive them to be more relationship oriented. However, if you are from India or China, trust building in Spain may seem more task-oriented in comparison to your culture.
This is just one of the eight areas that Myers focuses on in her book. The other areas include:
- Communicating: low-context vs. high-context
- Evaluating: direct negative feedback vs. indirect negative feedback
- Persuading: principles-first vs. application-first
- Leading: egalitarian vs. hierarchical
- Deciding: consensual vs. top-down
- Disagreeing: confrontational vs. avoids confrontation
- Scheduling: linear-time vs. flexible
When you scan this list, you can see the importance of each of these areas in doing business. Without an ability to communicate, evaluate, persuade, lead, make decisions, trust, and even disagree, it’s unlikely much will be accomplished. These foundational skills are critical and many of them are influenced by the cultural norms of your country.