Media Relations

[Podcast Update] Former News Reporters Discuss Public Relations, How to Get Your Business in the Press

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Pat Parkinson in blog 1 Comment

Next time you’re preparing to announce to the local press that your company has hired a new director, one word of advice: Don’t.

Do not issue press releases about your latest store opening or how much your company grew in the past 12 months. Nobody cares!

While gaining coverage in the local media requires effort, getting written about in the newspaper or talked about on television is much easier with a strong pitch. Community newspapers are read more often than national publications in some neighborhoods, and local articles about your company will drive leads and position you as an expert in your industry, which could elevate your online public relations campaign.

I sat down last week with Lendio spokesman Dan Bischoff, and Patrick Wiscombe, a radio producer at KNRS in Salt Lake City. The podcast was originally slated to be 30 minutes. By the time we finished chatting, however, we had spoken for more than an hour about ways businesses can get the attention of local reporters. Listen to the podcast now here.

You needn’t be a news junkie to convince reporters to write about your business. But you must understand the media just enough to seem a bit savvy. Knowing who the journalists are in your area and the beats they cover is a great start.

Part one of the podcast has tips for localizing regional and national news stories, and ideas for making your press release more appealing with the addition of photographs, video and sound bites. We discuss the value of being mentioned in the local press and ways to brainstorm newsworthy topics that reporters in your area will find interesting.

The conversation will continue in part two which will be available at http://www.lendio.com/blog/ on Feb. 27.

Let me know if you have been successful using any of our tips. I’d also love to hear other advice you have for small businesses trying to court local reporters.

Pros Provide 14 Online PR No-Nos

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Pat Parkinson in blog 2 Comments

Are you tired of Internet press releases falling flat, frustrated because they receive just a few thousand headline impressions? Are you dying for just one reporter to call and ask about your company? Maybe your business has a new CEO or adopted a highway to clean up trash, and nobody knows. You need some online PR.

Businesses have options for marketing themselves online – social media, webinars, email marketing, press releases, infographics design, the blogosphere. Still, deciding where to begin a campaign is tough.

I won’t tell you where to start, but here are 14 tips from some pros for what not to do when it comes to online public relations:

1. Stay silent

Being antisocial will never get you noticed.

Reach out to bloggers who write about your industry, said blogger Jacqueline Gikow, who writes about public relations. “Seek out thought leaders who have influence in your field, and then build a rapport with them,” she said.

Online PR is all about “who you know,” she added. “So do whatever it takes to become popular short of sullying your reputation under the bleachers during halftime.”

And don’t hesitate to jump into the discussion.

“One-way messaging in online PR and social media is always a mistake. No one cares when you retweet a good review of your product or announce your newest charitable cause. At best, you’re speaking to the converted,” said Jasmine Bina of JB Communications. “Instead use social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite or SentimentMetrics to see whose talking about your industry and then jump in the conversation with something valuable to say. If what you have to say is interesting enough, people will check you out on their own, and that’s the best and most natural path to discovery any company could hope for.”

2. Assail fans and followers with promotions

One sure way to decrease your Facebook fans and Twitter followers is bombarding them with sales pitches. People follow people, not products, according to Danielle Inez, owner of the Memphis-based diPR Agency.

“If the business comes across as detached from its supporters and solely focused on its bottom line, the supporters will learn to tune out the tweets and status messages,” Inez said.

Only strong content will engage readers.

“If you aren’t offering a message that starts a conversation or incites a reaction, you may as well be talking to cyberspace,” Inez explained.

“Hard-sell” messages interrupt online discussions, said Robert McEwen, president of Zing USA.

“The most fundamental principle to remember when devising online PR strategies is that companies are entering communities, and joining conversations within those communities,” McEwen said. “Social graces matter. No one would barge into a cocktail party conversation by asking loudly and abruptly, ‘Hey, anybody here want to buy a car?’ The intruder would be regarded as gauche and given the cold shoulder. If, on the other hand, one overhears a conversation in which the participants are discussing automotive warranties, for example, and the newcomer can add value to the conversation with fresh information, knowledge, or perspective on the same subject, his comments likely would be welcome.”

Closing a deal shouldn’t always be the top priority.

“What you must do with your content is show worth to your audiences,” said Jerry Sullivan of New Jersey-based Framework Media Strategies.

3. Lose control of social media

To protect your company’s image carefully monitor your social media marketing plan. Some say you should prevent employees from unwittingly posting embarrassing updates by banning applications like TweetDeck and Hootsuite, which integrate multiple social media streams.

Too often employees sign into their personal accounts while also tweeting and Facebooking for the company, said Sal Vilardo, owner of Prolific Studios.

“All it takes is a simple slipup and a major brand posts something about getting trashed over the weekend and sleeping with someone. While your brand may get some PR from the accident, ultimately there will be twice as much damage control that needs to be done afterwards,” Vilardo said.

4. Refuse to share

Operating an effective online PR campaign means making it easy for your messages to be shared throughout Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the Web. Businesses miss out when they don’t include easy ways for press releases, webinar invitations, newsletters and blog posts to be passed along.

“I’ve even gotten several emails from a high profile, profitable fashion company that will send screenshots of their fashion blog but neglect to hyperlink anything. The results speak for themselves: tweets at the wrong brand name, 100 people checked into a foursquare location with no mention of the brand hosting the event because they didn’t make a special location for the party and press releases with no placement impact because the reporter couldn’t access the site being promoted,” said Sarah Kunst, an online PR specialist who works with startups in New York City.

5. Disregard PR tools

There are many public relations tools available online. No matter your budget, you’ll find ways for submitting press releases, viewing editorial calendars and monitoring what is said about your business.

“The power of the press builds a brand, enhances a company’s reputation, drives traffic and accrues high-quality links,” said Dan Bischoff, director of communications and public relations for Utah-based Lendio. “But to do it right, you need the right tools.”

For submitting press releases consider Vocus, PRNewswire, PRWeb, Free Press Index, PR.com or PitchEngine.

Check out HARO, Reporter Connection, MyMediaInfo, MatchPoint or PressWiki for media contacts and editorial calendars. And for monitoring online activity related to your company try Social Mention, Viral Heat and alerts from Google and BackType.com.

“One negative comment, status or review can spread quickly and tarnish a brand,” Bischoff said. “Monitoring negative and positive things said about a brand online is crucial to public relations today.”

6. Press releases are just for journalists

Phillipa Gamse, author of the soon-to-be-published “42 Rules for a Web Presence That Wins,” said businesses do not do enough to leverage their press releases.

“They tend to include their press releases on their websites (good), but without building in links and calls to action to the products and services that are being promoted,” Gamse said.

Because press releases contain keywords, they are often the best indexed pages on a website.

“So there are a lot of visitors who are not reporters, but are interested in the subject matter,” Gamse explained. “The press release page will be the first page of the site that they see, and if they can’t immediately find how to get what they’re looking for, they’ll leave.”

7. Have a weak pitch

Edward Yang, managing partner at Firecracker, had these three no-nos for somebody trying to convince reporters to cover a story:

Don’t attach anything to your email pitches. Either they will end up in spam folders or editors won’t open them for fear of viruses. Cut and paste directly into the email.
Don’t pitch to the wrong editors. Make sure the contact you’re going after is covering the right area. Individualize your pitch by targeting a specific reporter by name. Explain why your story is important for their readers.
Sounding arrogant or threatening is a sure way to get blacklisted.

8. Limit your outreach to newspapers and magazines

Too often businesses ignore the strong potential of online PR by concentrating too much on seeing their names in print. Traditional mediums like newspapers and magazines have taken a hit as consumers turn more to the Internet.

“That is the biggest hurdle I have to face daily in my business as a PR professional,” said Tom Kidd of Pres Pak Public Relations. “In order, people take their information from TV, the Internet, radio, newspapers and magazines.”

9. Offend writers

Bloggers are important for spreading your message. No longer are traditional media outlets the only places for news. But this new breed of journalist can be touchy.

“One of the primary tasks I’ve been tasked with doing cleanup for with companies is blogger outreach and networking. Because the nature of the beast is so different … it doesn’t take much for a blogger to take offense to a poorly designed pitch,” said Jaime Palmucci, of DEBUTANTE MEDIA. “ The primary error made time and time again? Addressing a BCC list as ‘Dear Blogger.’”

Personalize your approach. Nothing will get your pitch rejected more quickly than blanketing reporters and bloggers with the same email touting why this story is right for them. Tailor the material by telling them how their readers would benefit from the article.

You may even establish yourself as a credible source in your industry by regularly emailing reporters and bloggers new and creative angles.

10. Shun social media

Clients might tell you they don’t think social media will benefit their public relations campaign. But even a modest presence on Facebook and Twitter may help with everything from SEO to managing your company’s reputation.

“Even if your Facebook page isn’t getting a whole lot of traction or attention … the more unique and fresh content there is about a company out on the Web, the more the search engines will rank that company higher in related searches for their types of products and services. For this reason alone, I find having a social networking and online blogging strategy to be crucial for B2B companies,” said Jennifer Green, a senior vice president at a mid-sized public relations firm in Dallas. “The B2B space is one of the most rapidly growing areas in social networking. I am not only seeing this with Facebook accounts, but also bloggers that are following specific business industries.”

11. Tweet recklessly

For businesses it’s challenging to create content that stands out. But don’t just throw out a bunch of stuff hoping that something will stick.

It’s easy to go overboard with social media, blogging and podcasts, said Martin Jones, managing partner at Boston-based March Communications.

“Given the sheer volume of information online, how do you produce content that stands out and actually generates visitors, sparks conversations and is shared with others? Become more strategic and deliberate in your approach,” Jones said. “Rather than tweeting 20 times a day, select a few influential people to start a conversation with. This will snowball into greater visibility far more quickly than reckless tweets that will inevitably get tuned out.”

12. Skimp on online press resources

Rather than linking journalists to wire service press releases about your business, make it easy for writers to learn about your company by having as much information as possible on your website.

“Companies should make it as easy as possible for their most important journalist contacts to get what they need with one or two clicks,” said Nora DePalma, principal of O’Reilly/DePalma in Alpharetta, Ga.

13. Diss your critics and the competition

Social media makes it easy to fire off zingers about the competition or a disgruntled customer. A word of advice: Don’t.

“It’s better to spend time and money promoting your products and services instead of tearing down your competitor,” blogger Kimberly Gauthier said.

14. Avoid spell check

Whether writing a press release or speaking to your followers on Facebook, your company will not be viewed as an industry leader unless your content is well written and free of silly mistakes.

Spelling and grammar are key. As is making sure your writing contains no exaggerations or hyperbole.

“Don’t boast without backup,” said Maria K. Todd, president and CEO of Mercury Healthcare International, Inc.

Hopefully a few of these tips work for your business next time you have sizzling content or a hot scoop. Of course the list is not complete. Please use the forum below to comment about other PR no-nos.

Making it Rain: Public Relations and Media

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Lori Gilson in blog, Uncategorized 8 Comments

Yesterday we hit a PR home run. We got one of our clients featured on eight different segments of a highly-viewed morning show. Piece of cake, right? Well, if you know what you are doing, yes, it can be. But even with the best story, it is sometimes hard to get a reporter to bite. If you want the attention of the media, we recommend the following five easy tips:

Tip No. 1: How good is your story? Really, be honest with yourself.

Not every story deserves coverage. However, every company has a story that does deserve a strong public relations campaign. Don’t just talk about yourself, identify what is truly unique about your company.

Good example: Company XYZ was the first company to ever invent, offer, provide… and we anticipate that it will be the best product, ever. The press loves to report on “firsts.” If a company develops a new category of goods or services, it is considerably easier to attract the media’s attention.

Poor example: Company XYZ grew 200% last year and hired Mr. Fantastic. Yawn. Unless Mr. Fantastic is as famous as Steve Jobs, nobody cares. New hires and growth are not ground breaking, nor interesting.

Tip No. 2: Be a good story teller. A really good story teller.

What makes a good comedian? Have you ever heard two people tell the exact same joke, and one comedian will be hilarious, and the other dry? Why is this? Delivery. It is all in the delivery.

Be passionate. Be Funny. Be real. Be you. If you are passionate about your story, others will be, too. Think about what moves you about your company. If you don’t know, talk to your employees, clients, or shareholders. Or, hire a good PR Firm. A strong PR company will spend time interviewing you, and through a discovery conversation, will identify a number of exciting pieces.

Tip No. 3: If at first you don’t succeed, well, you know the rest.

In our recent quest to get RunLikeAGirlRetreat.com some great PR, we got shot down. At first, everything was going great. The reporter was interested in the story, and thought it could make a great piece. Then he presented it to his producer and BAM, we were history.

We went back to the drawing board, and thought about how we could change the story to make it more interesting. We worked on the message and proposed new segments. We resubmitted, called, emailed, and practically stalked Fox 13. Through our tenacity, we were able to garner the interest of the reporter, again, and shortly after, we were on the schedule.

Just because you are told “No,” doesn’t necessarily mean your story is bad. It might just mean that you need to change it a little, and follow up… a lot. Don’t give up.

Tip No. 4: Start a relationship with the media. (Easy fella, not that kind of relationship!)

If you want to have a friend, be a friend. Right?

Well, the same goes for networking in the media industry. Develop relationships with reporters, editors, and producers. These folks are pitched hundreds of stories every single day. If they have a relationship with you, the chances of your email getting buried in their inbox decreases dramatically.

Don’t know where to start? Follow them. Comment on their articles or blogs. “Like” them on Facebook, and comment on their posts. Follow them on Twitter. Retweet their tweets. Start having real dialogue. When they are live on location, visit them. Say hello. Bake them cookies. Send them fan mail. Seriously. Treat them like your very favorite neighbor. The end result: you will make new friends, and be featured in stories. Win, win.

Tip No. 5: Think like a producer.

You are now as cool as Steven Spielberg, well, almost.

Producers are all alike. Whether they are producing a movie, newscast, commercial, television show, or documentary, they think in terms of viewers. They understand what makes someone sit back and enjoy a show. They want their stories to be interesting to a large audience, because they want a large audience.

Producers are held accountable for the number of viewers, so they are very selective in the stories they air. Who is your audience? Think big.

That wraps it up. Evaluate your PR campaign, and implement the tips above, and I am sure we will be watching you on CNN in the very near future. Go, get ‘em!

American Marketing Association taps PRMarketing President

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Pat Parkinson in blog 3 Comments

The American Marketing Association in Utah this week welcomed Lori Gilson as its newest vice president of community relations and charitable affairs. Gilson is the president of Bluffdale-based PRMarketing.com.

Gilson said she is busy forming a committee for the AMA, which will focus on helping charities and small businesses market their wares.

“I want the AMA to become very involved in the community in assisting small businesses and charities with marketing,” Gilson said.

PRMarketing.com formed in January as an offshoot of Bluffdale-based SEO.com. Both companies are owned by entrepreneur Mike Mann.

For Mann, giving to charity is a top priority, Gilson explained.

Countless non-profit organizations have benefited from the Internet marketing services provided by Mann’s Grassroots.org, she said.

“[Mann] basically gives everything back to charity and so that’s always been important to our company,” Gilson said.

Once her committee is formed, Gilson said the panel will put together its 2011 goals.

“I believe that entrepreneurs are the spirit of America and I want to support them and help them become successful,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gilson said she spends much of her spare time in her garden. She also loves running and eating sushi.

Huffington Post Exec: Marketers Must Join Conversations In Meaningful Ways

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Pat Parkinson in blog 1 Comment

Some of the most influential minds in social media and Internet marketing huddled this week in Park City, Utah. The Digital Publishing Summit heard from a marketing expert at The Huffington Post who said that when it comes to wooing consumers, traditional media like newspapers and magazines continue to get it wrong.

“They are trying to apply old models to this new realm and it is not working at all,” said Taylor Gray, senior vice president of marketing for The Huffington Post.

Traditional media is “a spectator sport,” he stressed.

The Huffington Post

“News is now a participatory sport,” Gray added.

He used to work in marketing at Time magazine.

“They would fight their readers,” he said. “They’re the ones who determined what was important.”

But a different breed of consumer is emerging online.

“The word has become social,” Gray said. “People are sharing it. People are altering it. People are changing it around.”

The influence of traditional editorial boards on content is weakening as some refuse to provide their audiences innovative ways to participate in the conversations, he said.

“This framework is entirely out of sync with people’s online behavior and the new dynamics of the digital world. People now understand that they can have a voice. The notion of a reader is outdated. People no longer just read,” Gray said. “This is something that for traditional publishers is shocking and very hard for them to wrap their heads around. When people start to share and begin to comment, it’s within our reach to be a part of that.”

The Huffington Post began as a blog. AOL recently purchased the website, which today is worth an estimated $315 million. Gray provided some insight into ways the online newspaper garnered influence.

Blogging and social networking

Content at The Huffington Post is broadly defined. The website works with about 16,000 bloggers and allows anyone to submit posts.

Staffers watch to see which submissions take off, Gray said.

“We don’t have a search engine optimization team,” he said. “We’ve given our editors all those tools.”

Promote content aggressively on websites like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Digg.

“Everything an editor is posting up on the site, they are also simultaneously tweeting. Every hour the editors get an update of what is happening with their content. They’re also seeing how people are finding their content,” Gray said. “This is how people are operating on the Internet. People are on their social network all the time.”

Successful writers also closely follow the topics that are trending online.

“If it seems relevant, we’ll start writing about it and put it up there,” Gray said.

The Huffington Post might publish up to 1,000 articles in a single day from a various sources.

“We publish that with hopes that 15 articles will hit it big,” Gray said.

And headlines matter, he added.

Carefully consider the headline before sending out your blog post. To test which title might generate the most traffic, Gray said the same article at The Huffington Post is sometimes published with five different headlines.

“We’re constantly massaging the content,” Gray said. “We’ll remove the four headlines that don’t work.”

Marketers: Get involved

Unfortunately, marketers can get in the way of online discussions.

“Marketers need mechanisms to enter these conversations in a meaningful fashion,” Gray said. “That gets into a revenue stream that we have discovered at The Huffington Post.”

The newspaper was one of the first online publishers to allow advertisers to blog on its website.

“We make them part of the conversation,” Gray said. “We’re acting as a social-media agency for our advertisers on The Huffington Post. We’ve become advisers to some of these companies about how to conduct the social-media outreach.”

Much like a social network, Gray said “we have a huge community that we can leverage.”

“Get in the conversation, engage with them,” he said. “You will have the opportunity to respond. So our advertisers become part of the communities.”

Corporations also use the material to maintain their reputations.

“We’ve got all these blue-chip advertisers,” Gray said. “We help them counter this sort of one-sided conversation that is going on on the Internet about their companies.”

So far this year, so-called “sponsor-generated content” has generated about $3 million in revenue for The Huffington Post.

“I believe every single client has valuable content sitting within their companies,” Gray said.

But not press releases, he stressed.

“There are very significant revenue streams out there,” Gray said. “We’re constantly looking for new ways to get our readers to be greater participants within our site.”

For example, instead of posts describing interior décor, a hotel chain that advertises on The Huffington Post was encouraged to profile their concierges in different cities. The interviews offer travel tips and places to visit.

“Our readers love it,” Gray said.

Silicon Valley hits the Slopes: Publishing Summit Brings Industry Heavyweights

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Pat Parkinson in blog, Uncategorized 1 Comment

While deciding who to invite to speak at this year’s Digital Publishing Conference, Corey Kronengold, director of content for Digiday, said he packed the list with outspoken industry heavyweights eager to address the most controversial aspects of Internet marketing, advertising and content distribution.

This week, representatives from the world’s most influential media owners attended the three-day conference in Park City, Utah. The agenda boasted the likes of Google, ABC.com, Hulu, Hearst Magazines Digital Media, Cheezburger, Pandora and the Huffington Post.

PRMarketing.com caught up with Kronengold at Stein Eriksen Lodge.

“My role is to identify the hot-button issues in the industry,” he said. “We’ve got these brilliant people who have so much insight and are really shaping the direction the industry is going in.”

One concern emerged during the bulk of this year’s discussions: privacy.

“Privacy seems to be permeating every aspect of the industry,” Kronengold said.

The consumers of online content do not want websites tracking them around the Internet, he said.

At the same time, most people don’t expect to pay for articles, making it difficult for content producers to turn a buck.

“Nobody seemingly wants to pay for anything,” Kronengold said. “They want all this stuff for free and they don’t want you tracking them … How do we begin charging for content with this expectation of free from the consumer?”

The New York Times announced recently that it would begin charging for online articles. With the change, did we receive a look into the future?

“The era of everything being free on the Internet is starting to wind down,” Kronengold said.

With debates about Internet commerce heating up on Capitol Hill, he said consumers cannot have both free content and complete online privacy.

“That puts web publishers in a little bit of a bind,” Kronengold said. “We can solve the technical hurdles. It’s a whole lot harder to get people to feel good about being tracked.”

Advertisers receive valuable marketing data when your online footsteps are traced.

“We need to know some stuff about you,” Kronengold said. “It’s made privacy an issue.”

And publishers are struggling to ease the minds of consumers, he stressed.

“That is just a very difficult environment to operate in,” Kronengold said. “We really need to talk about these issues honestly and not from a marketing platform.”

The amount of money companies spend on online advertising has grown.

“The money is there, the interest is there and just figuring out the most efficient pathways for going to where we need to go as an industry, are the questions that need to be solved,” Kronengold said. “There are billions of dollars at stake.”

To Land Stories in the Media, Think Like a ‘Dead Stonefly’

Posted on January 31, 2011 by PRMarketing.com in blog 1 Comment

3 Ways to Get More Media Coverage

In “A River Runs Through It,” Paul Maclean (played by Brad Pitt in the movie) hooks up with a monster fish. The fish streaks down the river like a lightning bolt. To keep the fish on the line, Paul jumps into the river and is swept downstream. He finally brings the fish to the bank, holds it up by the gills and smiles to his father and brother.

“You are a fine fisherman,” his dad says.

“I’m pretty good with a rod, but I need three more years before I can think like a fish,” Paul answered.

“You already know how to think like a dead stonefly,” his brother Norm said.

Getting a story in the media requires similar strategies. You have to think like a reporter. Once you know how a fish thinks, you can catch a fish. In PR, you have to similarly think like both a fish and a stonefly to land stories. Here’s what I mean:

Think like a fish = Thinking like a reporter or editor

An editor thinks:

What will get the most reads?
What do my readers want to see?
How does this pitch relate to my readers?
How can I fill up empty space in the paper?
I might shoot myself if I see one more press release riddled with jargon.
My reporters better bring some good stories for next edition

A reporter thinks:

What will please my editor?

What is fun to write about?
What is easy to write about?
What can I write both well and quick?
How does this pitch fit my beat?
How can I hit deadline?

Before contacting a reporter, try to have all those questions answered, and have all the information you can to help them write a good story.

Think like a dead stonefly = Thinking like a real story

Dead stoneflies drift and bob at the will of the current. Skilled fishermen know how to make their fly look and act like a real one, which will inevitably force a trout to bite. Similarly, to hook a reporter on a story, skilled public relations pros know how to present their stories the right way.

If you present a reporter the right story, that reporter will use it.

So, what is a real story?

To a reporter, a real story contains:

A solid lead that captures attention and summarizes the topic
Quotes that add value to the topic
Relevant information, facts, insight, etc.

Fish eat different things depending on the location and season. It’s exactly the same for reporters. Find out what they are writing about and when — you can do that through several online PR tools — or by doing your own research. Once you know what they’re writing about, you can come up with a story idea fit for them.

When you pitch a story, do it two ways:

First, write a simple email with a paragraph explaining your idea and some bullet points that include tips, suggestions, facts, etc.

Second, write a press release that’s written like a story they can just insert into their publication. The less edits they have to make on your release, and the more help you can give them, the more likely they’ll include your release in their publication. Think of it more as writing a story or article instead of writing a press release.

Any other ways PR pros can think like a reporter? Please add to my list in the comments.