The Search for the Right PR Firm: Where to Start?

Public relations is a complex discipline with lots of moving parts.  Many people think of PR as publicity and dealing with the media, but it is really much broader and plays an important role in every industry.

So, how do you know where to start when you need to find a PR firm?  Navigating this vast and complicated space may seem like a daunting task, but break it up step by step, and you’ll be on your way to finding public relations support that fits your needs.

In this series of blog posts we’ll walk you through the process of finding the right PR champion to meet your very specific goals and objectives. Every organization has a unique structure and mission, but asking the right questions and knowing what to look for will help you find the right fit.

The first step is to look inward. What type of organization do you run? What does your internal structure look like – who would be responsible for directing the company’s PR efforts and do they have the time? What are you looking to accomplish?

Organizations have a variety of goals that require the dedication of additional resources to public relations.  Consider the following scenarios:

• Start-ups and early phase companies looking to create buzz without the steep costs of advertising placement.
  • WARNING: If you fit in this category ask yourself if it’s truly time. Careful consideration of business objectives, a clear vision, and room in the budget amid myriad costs of starting a business is mandatory to establishing a successful PR program.

• Companies wanting to build brand recognition and move to the next level.

• Mid-size organizations looking to secure their place in the market.

• Larger companies with a specific need to be filled whether it be media relations, community engagement, issues management and crisis communication, reputation building, social media, employee communications, and more.

• Organizations that must maintain a strong reputation or ones that have recently suffered damage to their reputation.

• Organizations that must engage multiple audiences on different levels.

• Professional service firms that rely on establishing expertise and building relationships.

• Organizations with complex messages, not easily packaged for key audiences.

So who are you? Take a step back and look at what stage your organization is in, what specific goals and objectives you have, your existing resources, and where you need help.

 

Art credit: © Aidarseineshev | Dreamstime.com

The Price of Customer Service

It seems that customer service is often a luxury these days, only afforded to those with the time, perseverance and downright stubbornness to handle the curve balls our many service providers throw at us.

Comcast recently charged me $40 for a technician to come out and fix several months of extremely poor quality of service. After questioning the charge, Comcast immediately removed it, but not before 30 minutes on hold and being transferred to two departments. Four months into a six-month lease, my apartment management felt a significant increase for a lease renewal was justified. After a brief meeting, the price increase had been completely waived from the lease renewal.

This “let’s see what we can get away with” approach surely makes sense to the number crunchers of a company, but this strategy comes with dangerous consequences.

According to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Comcast had 22,360,000 basic video subscribers as of September 2011, not mentioning its Internet and telephone product lines. Let’s say just one percent of Comcast’s video subscribers (223,600) received an erroneous charge for a technician visit and either didn’t read their bill carefully enough or didn’t have the time to navigate Comcast’s phone system. That equates to $8,944,000 in “found” money.

But in an ever-changing landscape, this approach to customer service will not lead to long-term stability or gains. There will always be something bigger and better on the horizon and it’s a solid relationship of trust and service that will keep customers from straying.  When running an organization, don’t get caught up in short-term gains that will ruin the overall longevity of a business. Developing a sound rapport based on transparency, trust and quality are the right strategies for success.

Simple Steps for a Major Grassroots Victory

On Wednesday, January 18, you were more than likely impacted by the protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Major sites like Wikipedia, WordPress, and Reddit shuttered websites for the day and many others, like Google and Firefox, emblazoned homepages with protests of these two pieces of legislation.

The Internet community took this message by storm, generating an incredible amount of buzz around the issue and I don’t know of a member of Congress that would touch PIPA or SOPA with a ten-foot pole.

I found an especially intriguing grassroots campaign by Fight For The Future on the WordPress homepage. After watching an informative video explaining the issues surrounding SOPA and PIPA I was led through the following steps.

• Option to provide your zip code and phone number to be directly connected to your local Congressperson.
• Talking points to review while waiting for a phone call from Fight For The Future.
• Receive phone call with instructions that reinforce key talking points and provide coaching tips for how to handle conversation with politician.
• Connect directly to local legislator’s office to voice concerns.

Whether for or against PIPA and SOPA, we can all agree this was a superb campaign. If all grassroots programs were this organized and well executed, we would see more changes in how our society operated.

Lessons learned are:

1) Drive home key messages.

2) Equip audiences with the tools to deliver these messages.

3) Provide an immediate outlet for audiences to exercise these tools.

A Shining Star Amid a Gloomy Situation

Shuttle Endeavor being decommissioned in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

In a recent blog post, I mentioned attending a NASA Tweetup – a once-in-a-lifetime experience. While in awe of the event’s tours, special speakers, close-up view of the launch and behind the scenes access, the public relations professional in me couldn’t get over the fantastic strategy behind the event.

Imagine if you were told the most popular and well-known segment of your company would be shut down. It’s a preposterous business scenario for most, but with the shuttle program officially closed as of August 2011, it was a dark deadline surely looming over the heads of the NASA communications team.

On January 21, 2009 the first Tweetup launched – and with great success. So successful, that the most recent Mars Curiosity Tweetup was the 31^st of its kind.

While astronauts aren’t currently launching into space at the Kennedy Space Center, NASA has found an innovative way to keep fans engaged and take a viral approach to cultivating new space fans when a less savvy organization could have quickly become lost and forgotten.

The results are astounding. NASA tracked 10,665 tweets originating from the 150 participants of the Juno spacecraft launch Tweetup to find the event yielded 29.9 million potential impressions. By many accounts, today’s Tweetups produce close to double the impressions of the Juno Tweetup.

With each Tweetup, the momentum behind NASA’s social media presence continues to snowball and more and more of the general population become engaged with the latest updates in space exploration. The Twitter handle @NASATweetup boasts 30,062 followers and @NASA ranks in at 1,636,046 followers. It doesn’t stop there, as the majority of NASA Tweetup participants continue to support and promote the space agency long after everyone returns home.

The masterminds over at NASA honed in on the inherent nature of social media – sharing information – and found a fruitful formula to spread messages across millions of Twitter accounts. Congratulations, this is one for the social media textbooks.

More Than Just Winning

Up Close View of Atlas V Rocket

My husband recently turned to me and said, “you didn’t win anything on Twitter this week, now what are we going to do this weekend?” He was referring to my healthy social media contest winning streak that included tickets to many events as well as some rather interesting prizes.

I swam in a tank at the Florida Aquarium and watched the Weeki Wachee Mermaids perform just below me in the water. I have sampled restaurants before they opened and was even part of the Orlando Broadway Twitter Force, earning me season tickets and special access to each performance’s cast party.

The point is that businesses are finding creative ways to engage existing fans and attract new audience on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. An often-successful strategy is to offer what is referred to as a priceless prize – something money just can’t buy.

The social media realm is quickly becoming a crowded place and it’s going to take some pizzazz to stand out from the crowd. Offering a once-in-a-lifetime prize creates a brand ambassador for life, but more importantly, creates exciting buzz for your brand in the process.

In true once-in-a-lifetime fashion, I was selected to participate in probably one of the greatest examples of a “priceless” Twitter campaign. In an effort to attract new fans to space exploration, NASA began holding “Tweetups,” an exclusive event that grants unprecedented access to the Average Joe. Since the first Tweetup at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on January 21, 2009, the Tweetups have become high-demand events with thousands of Twitter fans entering to win, on average, one of 150 invitations issued for each Tweetup.

I was fortunate to experience the 31^st Tweetup, which was a two-day event to celebrate the launch of the Mars Curiosity Rover. NASA stationed the “tweeps” in an air-conditioned tent outfitted with Wi-Fi, power strips and workstations right next to the famous countdown clock. We heard briefings from the brilliant minds that made the mission possible, hung out with astronauts, toured the Vehicle Assemble Building and even got to visit Space Launch Complex 41 for an up close look at the Atlas Five rocket before getting front row seats to the launch.

Bill Nye the Science Guy from the popular children’s television program, as well as Will.i.am, member of the famed musical group, Black Eyed Peas and STEM education proponent, were on hand to speak to the crowd and add even more excitement to the event.

It was a truly amazing experience, but I also had my eyes opened to the fascinating projects NASA works on outside of the shuttle program and will continue to learn as I follow Twitter feeds, YouTube accounts and Facebook pages belonging to NASA.

Are you looking to make your social media debut or wanting to enhance existing efforts? Why not do it with a splash and offer something spectacular to turn heads online.

Crisis Communication – Are You Ahead of the Curve?

What a year for public relations.  A plethora of PR crises has given rise to many articles and blog posts – Cain’s presidential race defined by PR missteps in addressing harassment allegations, Penn State’s failure to manage issues and communications effectively – not to mention the toll of senior management’s neglect to address serious allegations in a timely manner, and Blackberry’s failure to communicate during four days of outages and service interruptions.  And these are just a few – neglecting to listen to customers and mishandling crisis communications have tarnished many brands – Bank of America and Netflix readily come to mind.

At the same time, I’ve seen an upturn in issues and crisis management activities.  Clients know that we have to stay ahead of the curve – identify and mitigate risks, prepare for full crisis communications and be proactive in handling issues transparently.  Much time and money is invested in building a respectable brand and it’s foolish to not protect it.

In the past year, I’ve led several media training sessions for clients.  Broken down into three modules, media training takes clients through the basics of understanding how to work effectively with media to intense on-camera interview training and individualized coaching on creating compelling messages and delivering sound bites.

While the media training sessions have focused primarily on traditional media, we are also working closely with organizations to understand the ramifications of social media on crisis communications.  Social media has led to viral transmission of information – many times inaccurate.  Organizations are finding they must place more focus on listening carefully to audiences and responding quickly, getting their stories out before someone else does it for them.

I can’t say we have all the answers – each incident presents its own challenges and the continually shifting media landscape keeps us on our toes.  However, the basics still work and taking a proactive transparent stance usually elicits a nod of respect from our audiences.

Looking Back … Again

Three years ago, following a visit with my father, I wrote about the stories he shared about life during the Great Depression and the Second World War. On October 8, 2008 I wrote: “As he nears his 83rd birthday, Dad spends more and more time recalling past years. The details in his recollections have become more crisp and compelling. His life’s lessons more relevant, especially today – as we awaken to even more dire economic predictions. As I listened to my Dad, it became apparent that honesty, hard work, courage and leadership were the underlying strengths that sustained him throughout his life.”

Honesty is not always easy – not everyone wants to hear the truth. And, having the courage to be truthful with a potential client can sometimes be a real deal-breaker. Committing to hard work takes time, perseverance and the risk of failure. Taking a leadership role takes courage and adds more responsibility and more hard work. Courage is the most difficult to sustain. Without courage, you won’t face risks, you won’t speak your mind and confront someone with truth. Without courage, you won’t lead. And, without courage, you risk allowing fear to rule.

A little more than 18 months ago, I was informed that Dad has Alzheimer’s. The decline has been sharp and swift. But in the face of this most daunting of challenges, I’ve observed my father to consistently exhibit both courage and humor. In fact, it’s the humor that seems most remarkable. Especially since it’s most often aimed at himself.

I hope to continue sharing the values that shaped my father’s life with my family and through my work with my colleagues and clients. But recent events have led me not only to reorder their importance in my life, but to also add one.
• Courage
• Honesty
• Leadership
• Hard Work
• Humor

 

Get Ready For Timeline

By this time I thought I would have heard my fair share of both wailing and praise for Facebook’s latest feature and reinvention, the Timeline. Judging by online reports it looks like the rollout will come closer to the end of the year so let me share some more details that are sure to whet your appetite.

The new Timeline format makes me want to be a better Facebook user.

Whaaaat? It’s true. I’m not being sarcastic, I honestly think that Facebook Timeline will change the way we use the social media platform – it sure has for me. Your wall is transformed into a digital scrapbook of your life and each user gets to serve as curator, expanding the timeline by adding milestone events, pictures, and more. But it really goes beyond entering fond memories and events that have already gone by.

Facebookers will change how they post content to enhance their timelines on the go. The much maligned Facebook location based check-ins now seem more attractive to make sure the map that is proudly displayed beneath your name is filled with fun and exciting adventures, same goes for adding a location to any photo that is uploaded to Facebook, and icons in the status update window make it a breeze to add a new life event or milestone.

The Timeline will make profiles even more descriptive than ever, providing more insight into likes, favorite restaurants, travel destinations, you name it. Take a rehearsal dinner for example. To take a better snapshot of all the festivities surrounding a wedding, a bride will be more likely to add the event as a milestone on her Timeline. She’ll check into the restaurant or venue along with its exact location, tag all her friends and add several photos to go along with the milestone. It’s a great way to capture the atmosphere of an event, and a real-life testimonial for how great your rehearsal dinner could be at Venue XYZ.

The question becomes, will marketers quickly jump on this new format and adapt to become a larger part of user’s Timelines?  Facebook has laid the groundwork, modifying the programming functions to allow other verbs than “like” (read, ate, watched), it will be interesting to see who is first to successfully capitalize on this new format.

PR That Goes Bump in the Night

We saw the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a new light this past May when the government health organization posted tips for a “zombie apocalypse.” In an effort to show the world that the organization is in touch with what’s popular today, the CDC used zombies to educate the public on preparing for a real disaster in a fun and engaging way.

Engaging indeed. According to the Washington Post, the CDC’s zombie apocalypse blog post garnered 30,000 hits, compared to the standard 3,000 hits other CDC blog posts typically receive. The Twitter handle @CDCemergency currently has 1,314,504 followers and the CDC boasts 162,448 likes on Facebook. Compare those figures to the Department of Homeland Security’s (@DHSgov) 52,050 Twitter followers or the U.S. Department of Labor’s 11,220 Facebook fans.

Using zombies to teach real-life disaster lessons to the public proved so successful that the CDC continues to use the zombie apocalypse theme to reach out to new audiences. Recently, a CDC VIP visited Dragon Con, one of the largest pop culture/science fiction conferences hosted annually in Atlanta. Rear Admiral Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH, who is the assistant surgeon general and director of the CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, participated in a panel discussion to discuss the real science behind popular doomsday plotlines found in comic books and film.

The CDC unlocked an important, albeit peculiar, key to connecting with larger audiences and many are following suit. Visit www.sears.com/zombie and you will be directed to two different sites depending if you are still among the living or not. Even the cosmetic company, Dermablend, strayed away from the typical celebrity spokesperson or supermodel, calling upon Rick Genest (AKA Zombie Boy) to sell its product in an unconventional ad spot.

Lesson learned: don’t be afraid to go for innovative and even off-the-wall concepts to attract the attention of your target audiences. If executed correctly, a zombie apocalypse might be just the trick to instill new lifeblood into your organization.

Earning Media takes Time and Strategy

Seth Godin’s latest blog post on earned media hit home.  A term we in public relations freely use to describe editorial content generated on behalf of a client, ‘earned media’ is, as Godin notes, regularly misunderstood.  I can’t tell you how many times a potential client has requested guarantees of article placement in major newspapers.  Ethically I cannot make such promises.  And, for the most part these folks simply refuse to understand that while earned media is not always free, it is always unpredictable.

A solid public relations strategy, bolstered by great execution generally results in media coverage, but there are no guarantees.  Too many variables can get in the way – breaking news on a grand scale has interrupted many client interviews or drawn television coverage away from great community events.

Earned media is valuable.  But, despite the definition referenced in Godin’s blog, it is seldom free.  Earning media coverage in the form of a news story or opinion piece takes time –which is not free.  That’s why strategy is so important.  When you figure the costs of developing a 3,000 word by-lined article or even a 500 word opinion editorial, you want to be sure you’ve spent some time targeting the right audience and refining the message