Email can be an overlooked skill, but it’s often apparent when people don’t have control of their inbox. They may use their time inefficiently, miss emails, lose important information or fail to respond to email in a timely manner. According to Adobe’s 2019 email usage survey, U.S. adults spend nearly three and a half hours a day on work email. [...]
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 [...]
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Creating a unique podcast in today’s saturated market is difficult – really difficult. But if you can do so effectively and creatively, the resulting success can truly change the way your business’s voice is projected and the way consumers view and interact with you. A good case study of a strong corporate-made podcast is [...]
In my last blog post, I provided my initial takeaways from The New Strategic Selling, by Robert B. Miller and Stephen E. Heiman, and how its approach to complex sales cycles can be replicated when advising our PR and communications clients about their businesses. In this post, I’ll examine the various “buying roles” involved with a complex sale and how [...]
Ahh, spring ‒ flowers are blooming, birds are singing, allergies are emerging, and clutter is accumulating! I’m not just talking about the junk in your closet ‒ public relations “clutter” tends to build up throughout the year and can inhibit your ability to produce effective PR results. Give the same attention to your PR strategy as you would your overflowing [...]
As a general rule of thumb in PR, every pitch should offer a dedicated spokesperson. Without losing sight of the foundational steps of ensuring your listed spokesperson is approved to speak on behalf of the company and prepared to speak to your pitch, consider the benefits of offering multiple spokespeople. This strategy is particularly helpful when you’re attempting to illustrate [...]
At the beginning of each year, I review and sign the PR Council’s “Code of Ethics and Principles” as part of Communiqué PR’s membership renewal. The PR Council is an industry association committed to advancing its member firms’ business and there are more than 100 firms who belong to the organization. Firms of all sizes have joined the PR Council [...]
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 [...]
Have you ever heard the saying a smile can be heard over the phone? The saying rings very true because there’s nothing quite like the sound of a smile. But, when it comes to pitching stories over the phone (call-downs), you’ll need more than just a dashing smile to be heard. Pitching a story, whether that’s in person, via email [...]
2015 has thus far been a pretty tough year for broadcasting companies. First, NBC took a major hit to its credibility when Nightly News anchor Brian Williams was found to be less than completely honest in his storytelling. Now, PBS, the independent and publicly funded network that many Americans look to for educational and unbiased programming, is at the center [...]
As an intern at Communiqué PR, I have had many opportunities to expand my knowledge of the industry. I recently learned of an intriguing communications tactic known as “newsjacking.” For those who are unfamiliar with the term (much as I was), newsjacking refers to when you capitalize on a trending news topic—by using humor or by inserting your company’s point [...]
The Pacific Northwest is home to a thriving technology industry with many innovative startups in residence. In our role as strategic communications advisors, we frequently have the opportunity to work with many of them; companies that have built successful businesses from the ground up and that are now ready to begin laying the foundation for a communications strategy. The CEOs [...]
A story is only great if there are people to enjoy it and share it with others. When you think of a media list you should look at is as a special invitation to hear your story; it’s ultimately who you want to tell your story. If you are new to the term “media list” it’s basically a (targeted) list of [...]
On Jan. 9 of this year, I posted a blog on “Best Practices for Online Surveys.” As I explained in that post, surveys can provide significant fodder for PR if handled correctly. I offered five helpful tips for anyone wanting to develop a survey. This week I want to offer some additional wisdom from U.K.-based Stewart Rogers, the director of [...]
They say do what you love and it will never feel like work, it’s cliché but it’s essentially true. Just recently I began my career in PR and though I absolutely love my new job, it triggered a huge lifestyle shift. I worked in the hospitality industry for the past eight years and I did every job you can imagine [...]
Amid the excitement of the Seattle Seahawks’ run to the playoffs, the team’s explosive running back Marshawn Lynch was fined $100,000 for violating the NFL’s media policy, which requires players to speak with the media after practices and after games. There’s been much debate about the fairness of the NFL’s policy and whether players should be “forced” to speak with [...]
Every January about one in three Americans make resolutions to eat healthier, hit the gym more and manage their stress better, among other self-improvement goals. This year, PR pros may want to consider adding a few of the following professional goals to their list of resolutions as well. Tap into your creative side. People remember what they see more often [...]
Every month at Communiqué PR, we celebrate the success of our blog and its contributors by sharing stats, including the most views and the average time spent viewing the post. Analyzing these statistics allows us to track the growth of our blog and determine which topics appeal to our audience. Building a committed and involved audience is a priority, however, [...]
I get a lot of grief from friends and family because I am what you might call a “planner” when it comes to my weekends, holidays and other special events. This can clash with my friends who prefer to go with the flow. But I want to know what to expect and ensure it has the outcome I want. I’ve [...]
As a young economist, Michael E. Porter wrote a landmark article for the Harvard Business Review in 1979 that ignited a revolution in the field of strategy. So compelling was his “The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy” that it helped inform and mold an entire generation of academic research and business practice, and stretched across nations, regions, corporations, and [...]