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.
In an unexpected move for its readers and its more than 100,000 contributors, HuffPost announced recently it would be ending its popular unpaid contributor network.
According to The New York Times, “The decision was rooted as much in a move to declutter the site as in Ms. Polgreen’s (editor in chief Lydia Polgreen) desire to focus on quality reporting and minimize unvetted stories at a time when there is so much misinformation online.”
As Polgree herself put it in her Jan. 18 article: “Open platforms that once seemed radically democratizing now threaten, with the tsunami of false information we all face daily, to undermine democracy.”
In other words, this decision was based largely to halt the continued proliferation of fake news.
After all, if unpaid “citizen journalists” and bloggers can break stories, interview sources and report on current events just as “real” reporters do, it becomes increasingly difficult to tell the two apart. The credibility and trustworthiness that used to accompany journalism (remember those days?) has become diluted to the point that it’s barely recognizable. Gaining clicks and views has become a higher priority than whether the author (and their content) is credible.
HuffPost’s unpaid contributor network in particular was not without its controversy. As Emily Price of Fortune writes, “It’s a model that has put the publication under fire from writers that feel they should be paid for the work, as well as the public when the often amateur contributors wrote news stories that were perhaps not as factually accurate as they might have been had they been written by a professional journalist.”
Professional journalists know not just how to tell a good, compelling story; they’re also trained in how to investigate and report on complex, multi-faceted issues accurately, fairly and without bias. As a journalism major myself, I can say that more than one professor offered this sage advice when it came to finding credible (and multiple!) sources for my stories: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”
Not every writer will do that due diligence (especially on their own mothers), and of course, not all unpaid contributors or bloggers are purposely trying to spread false information. Indeed, the vast majority of unpaid writers and contributors are simply trying their best to share the stories that interest them and offer perspective to their readers. The ability to self-publish content online quickly, easily and to millions of people is the very embodiment of our country’s First Amendment. It also comes with a risk.
As Polgreen stated, “When everyone has a megaphone, no one can be heard.” Without hundreds of thousands of voices out on the internet today, who can you trust? Who should you listen to? And what does this mean for public relations and content marketing professionals – whose livelihoods are built on providing our clients and companies with said megaphones?
One answer to consider is that we need to rethink both the megaphone and the messages that it is communicating. I don’t believe it’s a matter of simply eliminating unpaid contributors or blogging programs. Search Engine Journal offers some good suggestions for how to transform contributed content in light of the HuffPost changes.
- Consider other mediums – Think beyond the written word. Don’t limit content to print and online publications, consider repurposing it as a podcast or video series.
- Collaborate on content – Expand your own network of collaborators. Does your company have a list of partners, customers, industry influencers and other “friendlies” it can leverage? Consider a guest blog trade where your company provides a post for their blog in return for one on yours.
When counselling clients or colleagues about contributed content and bylines, bear in mind that the articles being submitted should uphold the same journalistic standards of the publication. Keep the content vendor neutral, back up your claims with reputable and recent sources/data, and offer a fair and accurate assessment of your topic.
Citizen journalism won’t end anytime soon – and it shouldn’t, not by a long shot. But as blogger platforms and guest content continues to evolve, it’s critical to hold those amateur writers to a higher standard when it comes to publishing their content, as HuffPost recently decided.
As a PR professional, it’s commonplace to have regular conference calls with clients and colleagues. They can be a productive and efficient way to hold a meeting, especially for those who would otherwise have to travel to attend. However, if the call is not conducted in a professional and organized manner, it can be a waste of time for both you and your participants.
Anyone that’s ever had an office job knows conference calls can often be the worst. The constant beeps, the awkward pauses, that guy who forgets to use the mute button — the reasons people hate those dreaded meetings – just goes on and on. Thanks to this sketch from Tripp and Tyler, which hilariously demonstrates how a conference call would play out in real life, we have a witty reminder about the importance of leading a successful conference call.
To ensure your participants aren’t disengaged and multi-tasking on other things during your next conference call, consider the following tips.
Organize and Prepare
One of the most important things to remember before any meeting is to be prepared and organized. This is crucial if you are
leading the conference call and you want to accomplish the items on your agenda and keep your participants engaged. Prepare ahead of time for the topics you want to discuss and be sure you have the right people on the call to accomplish your objectives.
Be Punctual
Just like any other professional meeting, it is important that you arrive on time. If you are the host you should dial into the call a few minutes early. Equally important, stay within your scheduled timeframe and end the meeting on time. Limit calls to a reasonable length so participants know what to expect. As the host, it’s your job to keep the call concise, on point and moving along.
Stick to the Agenda
People are busy. It is important to create an agenda and stick to it. Send the agenda in advance so everyone knows the purpose of the call, approximately how long it will last, and what they are expected to prepare. This reduces anxiety for all. When people dial into a conference call, they don’t have the visual cues that are present with a face-to-face meeting – the added clarity of the agenda makes the call go smoother.
Encourage Participation
Let your participants know you value their opinions. You don’t need to bring your pom-poms to the call, you simply need to ask questions – particularly of those who haven’t been as active. People who aren’t involved easily tune out and will not provide the valuable feedback you may be seeking. Many conference call services provide features to involve your attendees, particularly for large groups. These features may include polling, surveying and Q&A capabilities.
Be Aware of Your Location
Your location is critical during a conference call. This is an obvious one, but something that everyone continues to experience. Be aware of your locale and your surroundings. If you are in a loud area such as a coffee shop or at home with a barking dog, you may have a difficult time hearing the conversation and keep in mind everyone on the call will experience this with you.
Familiarize Yourself with the Technology
Your meeting shouldn’t be the first time using the conference call system. Set up a practice run and learn how to use all the features, including how to mute and unmute
all callers. There’s almost nothing worse than being on a conference call with a host that doesn’t know how to use the technology.
Record the Conference Call
Many conference call services allow hosts to record the calls. This can be a valuable tool for several reasons. First, it can allow participants to go back and review the discussion. Second, if an individual cannot attend the meeting, they can listen to the recording after the fact. Additionally, a recording is a way to keep track of the meetings and verify what was discussed and presented.
Send a Recap
Keeping notes on the discussion will provide a quick summary of the items discussed and the decisions agreed upon. It’s helpful to streamline these notes and keep them focused on action items and major developments, as you don’t need every detail if you’re recording the call. This is also an efficient way to keep the momentum moving after the call and remind participants about actionable next steps.
Last week, Darigold released its new Salted Caramel Milk, a decadent beverage made with farm-fresh whole milk, utilizing the highest-quality ingredients. The delicious new flavor joins an already impressive line-up of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavored milk.
Communiqué PR was tasked with assisting in the announcement of this new product and knew that in order to reach the right audiences we would need to reach three types of publications.
Our first priority was to inform consumers of this new product available to them. In order to do this, we decided it would be best to reach out to traditional consumer media as well as bloggers that reach Darigold’s target audiences. Traditional media would help inform consumers of the product and the blog posts would provide consumers with inspiration on how to use the milk in creative ways. For instance, the milk can be used as part of a recipe for milkshakes, ice cream or to spice up a bowl of cereal.
In addition to consumers, it was important to highlight Darigold’s innovation to the dairy industry. In order to do this, we delivered the release to our friendly contacts at dairy and food-production trade outlets.
The last element to our announcement strategy included offering the opportunity to sample the milk, because the best way to get people on board is to let the product speak for itself. Trust me, once you’ve had a sip, you will be hooked!
Below is a list of the coverage we’ve secured thus far and I am happy to report that we are still garnering interest in this delicious treat!
• Darigold Introduces Salted Caramel Milk—BevNet.com, 1/12/18
• Darigold adds new product—The Daily Sun, 1/12/18
• Try this Salted Caramel Overnight French Toast Recipe!—I am the Maven, 1/16/18
• Salted Caramel Milk—Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, 1/18/18
In case you’d like to try Darigold’s Salted Caramel Milk for yourself, you can purchase resealable pint-size bottles from the refrigerated section at grocery stores in the Pacific Northwest.
The past year proved to be a busy, productive and fun year at Communiqué PR. In addition to continuing to partner with our existing clients, we started working with several new clients during 2017, including Phytelligence, Whitepages, and WGU Washington.
Below is a summary of the activities and results we secured on behalf of some of our clients over the past year. Look for future blog posts to capture the work we have executed on behalf of more of our clients.
Our work with A Place for Mom continued to build momentum throughout the year. We had a steady stream of news and other content to share with content. To learn more about the work we did throughout the year, check out these two blog posts.
- A Place for Mom: A Wealth of Information on Senior Living & Related Topics
- A Place for Mom’s Walkability Findings
Darigold invited media to one of its member farms this summer to speak directly with the farmer to understand the daily operations of a dairy farm – everything from the cow nutrition plan and milking the cows to nutrient management systems and sustainability practices. Learning from Hosting a Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Rickreall Dairy.
In the fall, we had the distinct pleasure of tasting Darigold’s new Heat n’ Serve Hot Cocoa before it hit the shelves, and in preparation for driving editorial and blog coverage. Redefining Hot Cocoa: Darigold Releases New Heat N’ Serve Hot Cocoa.
We also had the opportunity to support Darigold’s partnership with MilkPEP and Olympic hopeful Breezy Johnson, to reinforce the health benefits of white milk, and align its brand with the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. In addition to social media activities, we secured editorial coverage with The Ski Journal, “Too Fast to be Scared with Breezy Johnson,” Bellingham Herald, “She’s never skied Mt. Baker, but this WWU sophomore hopes to compete in the Winter Olympics,” and Idaho Statesman, “She might be America’s next downhill skiing star. And she’s from Idaho.”
In partnership with Darigold, this year we also helped place several op-eds related to the NAFTA trade negotiations that are taking place, including “Canadian trade policies hurt U.S. dairy farmers,” which ran in the Seattle Times.
Delta-Q announced a new product, the ICL900, which is an extension to their family of lithium battery chargers. Through our media relations activities in support of this announcement we secured nearly 20 articles regarding Delta-Q’s new product, including:
- CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine: Delta-Q expands family of lithium battery chargers for EVs and industrial machines – 10/21/17
- Power Electronics News: Delta-Q expands family of battery chargers for EV and industrial machines – 10/23/17
- Battery Power: Lithium Battery Chargers for EVs and Industrial Machines – 10/23/17
- Lawn & Landscape: Delta-Q technologies expands family of lithium battery chargers – 10/24/17
- Engine Technology International: Delta-Q expands battery charging line-up – 10/27/17
During the year, we drafted more than 20 blog posts for Dell EMC in 2017 across verticals such as automotive, media and entertainment, financial services, analytics, and surveillance. We secured several briefings for its automotive vertical, including this podcast with Varun Chhabra as a guest, and supported PR for Dell EMC at IBC2017, securing numerous briefings with media and a podcast with Thomas Burns from Dell EMC as a guest.
In addition to a steady stream of editorial coverage with tech and industry media, Flowroute secured coverage via King5 highlighting how its technology is helping Polaris in its fight against human trafficking: Seattle company improves calls for national human trafficking hotline
We recently kicked off work with one of our newest clients, Phytelligence, which was recognized as one of Geekwire’s Seattle 10: Hot Startups. We are excited to help build awareness and demand for its propriety MultiPHY technology and tissue culture process among growers and producers in the U.S. and around the world!
Spaceflight continued to build momentum with its business units with the following key announcements:
- Spaceflight Purchases a Rocket Lab Electron to Expand its Dedicated Rideshare Service
- Spaceflight Reaches Two Impressive Milestones in One Week
In 2017 we started working with WGU Washington. The nonprofit university now has more than 10,000 graduates! Recently KAPP-TV developed a segment on the role WGU Washington is playing in addressing the need for more teachers in the state: WGU Washington Training Teachers Online. Additionally, we were able to organize interviews with WGU Washington Chancellor Rich Cummins, as well as WGU Washington Teachers College graduates to raise awareness about the teacher shortage statewide: Responding to teacher shortage, Washington schools look to expedite training and Western Governors University looks to expand local footprint.
Discover magazine consistently has delivered refreshingly understandable reports on complex developments in science, medicine, technology, and the world around us for more than 30 years. It is highly regarded for compelling stories that are thought-provoking and raise important awareness to sometimes obscure topics.
One of our clients is conducting some groundbreaking scientific research. Because of the reasons above — along with its impressive 328,671 circulation and 2,087,797 UVPM — Discover magazine was at the top of our pitch list to highlite this information as an outlet that will not only have incredible reach, but also be the most effective in telling the story. In order for my pitch to be as compelling as possible, I conducted some extensive research into how the editors at Discover like to be pitched as well as general best pitching practices. Here’s what I learned.
General Information
Discover is published 10 time per year with the annual “Year in Science” special edition, highlighting the top 100 scientific stories of the previous year, publishing in January or February. The lead time is typically six months or more for features and two to three months for news stories. The online version of the magazine, www.discovermag.com, has shorter leads and mostly seeks content for its blogs and photo galleries.
When pitching, it is important to not send completed articles, to include a few strong clips or summary of previous publications, and to send the story pitch to the appropriate editor. If you are unsure which editor to pitch, you can send it to editorial@discovermagazine.com.
Sections Accepting Pitches
Discover has eight specific sections in the print magazine that accepts pitches, “The Crux,” “Mind Over Matter,” “Prognosis,” “Out There,” “Notes from Earth,” “History Lessons,” and “Origin Story.” Before pitching any of these sections, it is incredibly important to do your homework and read a couple of stories from each to ensure that your pitch will be relevant to the section.
The Crux, the “vibrant front-of-book,” prioritizes stories that have whimsical or quirky elements to them. This could include dramatic, futuristic advancements to topics discussed in the magazine, or even radical, first-person accounts from the front lines of research. Above all, The Crux is designed to give a reader a tantalizing taste of what is to come in the rest of the issue. When pitching this section, be sure to understand the purpose that it serves.
The Mind Over Matter column fittingly covers behavioral sciences and the submissions are written exclusively essay-style. Pitches to this column should clearly discuss the inner workings of the mind in a way that readers can fully understand and to which they can personally relate.
Prognosis, easily deciphered from its name, is Discover’s column focused on medical science. It typically covers new trends in medicine, unknown or little discussed research, or a specific medical field through the eyes of a scientist.
Notes from Earth explores earth and environmental science topics with stories that inspire awe about our planet. The goal of this section is to stimulate its readers to think of our world in remarkable new ways, and pitches should reflect this.
History Lessons provides insight into forgotten or seldom-visited moments and individuals in the history of science. Pitches to this section should connect these past events with current research or topics in order to demonstrate timeliness and relevance. This section welcomes thoughtful narratives but there is also room for lighthearted essays.
Origin Story, congruent with its name, explores new research that works to advance or challenge our understanding of our collective history. This section covers archaeology, anthropology and human evolution, with a special focus on ideas that question our common knowledge of how humans evolved.
Out There is the magazine’s column on all things space, primarily planetary science, astrophysics and cosmology. Usually complex topics to understand, pitches should reflect the writer’s ability to effectively convey these ideas to the average reader while also creating a compelling story.
Features
Discover actively seeks pitches for its narrative feature stories in any area that the magazine covers. As these stories have longer lead times, around 6 months, writers should be prepared for the piece to undergo two or three major revisions. These feature stories should involve research that is relatively new and will cater to the narrative style of the section. Pitches should explicitly tell the editors why the information is important, what the approach to the story will be, and should include ideas for additional content (photos, infographics, etc.)
Securing content for a client in Discover magazine would be a huge win and I hope that these guidelines will get you one step closer!
As 2017 comes to a close, I thought it would be interesting to look back on one of the bigger crises of the year: the forcible removal of a passenger from United Airlines’ flight 3411. Many people remember the disturbing video that fellow passengers captured of the screaming and bloodied man being dragged by security officers from the plane.
In case you missed it, on the evening of April 10, 2017 officials with United Airlines announced a flight leaving Chicago was overbooked, and they were looking for four volunteers to give up their seats so employees of Republic Airlines could fly to Louisville for work.
After no volunteers came forward, even after offering incentives, the airline resorted to randomly selecting passengers for removal. Three of the four randomly selected passengers went with no issue, except – Dr. David Dao – who refused to disembark, claiming he had patients to see at his practice. United Airlines employees then asked the airport police to remove him, and what happened next shocked many people.
Airport security wrestled Dr. Dao out of his seat and into the aisle. Along the way, Dao’s face collided with an armrest leaving bloodied. Passengers filmed the officers removing Dr. Dao and quickly posted the videos on their social media accounts. After the altercation went viral, United released a short statement that fell short of answering questions, reassuring consumers, or describing the reason for such a physical removal. From the beginning, United failed to take control during the crisis.
The impact was substantial. Many passengers learned that having a ticket does not guarantee them a seat, as most assumed.Consumers felt betrayed that United prioritized travel needs of employees from another airline over their own customers.
Influencing Perceptions: The Importance of Accuracy, Consistency, and Sensitivity
In crisis situations, it is a best practice to release an informative statement in a timely manner. As my colleague pointed out in a blog about crisis communications, “Accurate, factual information can help manage a story in a favorable direction.”
As significant details emerged about the passenger and the incident, many people had questions about the overbooking of flights, and United Airlines’ policies. United complicated matters when the company said, contrary to its previous reports, that it had not overbooked flight 3411. Rather than gathering the details and controlling the situation and the messages, United initially released inaccurate information which further eroded consumer confidence.
Eventually, United’s CEO Oscar Munoz released both a public statement and a letter to employees. The public statement included a half-hearted apology and downplayed the situation which he described as “re-accommodating” the passengers. However, in his letter, Munoz praised employees for their efforts saying, “I also emphatically stand behind all of you, and I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right.” Munoz is also on record calling Dr. Dao “disruptive and belligerent.” Unfortunately for United, Munoz wasn’t consistent in his messages. Although he apologized publicly, his message to internal audiences was vastly different and struck many people as insensitive.
By studying United Airlines’ handling of the crisis, PR professionals are reminded of the importance of delivering consistent messages and being sensitive to the emotions of others. It wasn’t until Munoz’s third statement that he acknowledged the problem, and hinted a company policy review would be in order. After multiple statements that failed to relieve tension, accepting their mistake and taking full responsibility of the situation was the only thing left for Munoz and United to do.
It’s no surprise that in the weeks following the event, consumers and news outlets were watching United closely. United conducted an internal company review, in which employees were said to receive more training and changed the process for bumping passengers from flights. While Munoz was right in saying “it’s never too late to do the right thing,” it was too late for United to try and come away from this crisis unscathed.