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Marketing Matters Minding your PR P's and Q's Using public and community relations as a marketing tool By Nanci Evarts You finally have a “kick back” Friday. It’s a good time to sit back and thumb through your trade periodicals and local business journal. Midway through a page-turn, you stop and say something like: “Wow, here’s a two-page feature story about my biggest competitor. He got great free publicity. How did that happen?” or “Here’s a story about XYZ. I know as much as this guy. Why didn’t the reporter call me?” or “Here’s a whole directory of widget insurance providers and we’re not listed.” Discouraged, you flip on the TV to your local station. Adding insult to injury, darned if you don’t see a local rival getting prime time coverage of the “motorcycle safety” clinic. “Those guys are lucky,” you say to yourself. Chances are that luck had very little to do with it. Rather, this kind of attention is the result of a carefully thought out and orchestrated PR plan. The power of PR The short definition of a public relations or media relations program is an orchestrated effort to disseminate relevant “news” about your company, its products, and services. Additionally such a program should identify opportunities for press coverage in trade journals, as well as local and national business press where your company provides interviews, articles, and even photo opportunities. A successful PR program is a reputation builder and brand enhancer. Such a program can take your company’s message to a broad array of outlets and audiences. Third-party endorsement is a phrase often used to describe the benefit of a successful publicity program. Coverage by a news outlet implies an “endorsement” by the outlet that you and your company are relevant and newsworthy. Impressions via the press can be many multiples beyond the direct circulation due to “pass-along” and word of mouth value. PR programs expand your marketing reach by supplementing markets too expensive for frequent advertising. Coverage in the press makes your customers glad they chose a “leader.” It will also encourage new prospects to take notice of you. It bolsters your reputation and stature with other key stakeholders: your employees, your shareholders, your vendors, and business associates. However, contrary to what some believe, PR is not “free.” While it’s true that you don’t “pay” for space as you do in advertising, a good PR effort will require time, effort, resources of yourself and your staff, and perhaps even hiring the services of PR professionals to guide and execute your campaign. Focusing your PR campaign Just as you plan your advertising, direct mail, trade show appearances, and other marketing, your PR planning begins in the same way. Whom do you want to reach and influence? And what are the messages you want to deliver? If you offer business-to-business products and services, the “who” will generally be the following:
On the other hand, if you offer products to consumers—auto, home, health care, investments—you may wish to broaden your reach into general consumer media and press. Familiarizing yourself with the media Start by reading the publications and watching the news shows where you would hope to gain coverage. What do they write about and whom do they cover? Your goal is to see where you and your company “fit” within the context of that publication’s editorial coverage. Review regular columns or “departments.” Note the kinds of news and issues that are regularly covered. Use the publications’ editorial calendar to see when specific topics that relate to your products and services are run. In addition to traditional print, broadcast and cable, the “news” landscape is burgeoning with a whole new category that the professional PR folks have labeled “new media.” This includes thousands of online newsletters, news portals and blogs. These sources are harder to find on your own, but they do offer additional coverage and readership. Some companies have even deployed their own blogs to serve as a continual source of news and perspective. Again, think long and hard about doing this on your own. The demands and expectations you create may be well beyond your ability to deliver. A badly written or ill-conceived blog could backfire and do you more harm than good. You could wind up on the wrong end of a blog written by a dissatisfied customer or disgruntled ex-employee. There are actually services that monitor blogs 24/7 to alert companies of potential threats or bad PR. Massaging the message Publications receive an overabundance of news releases and story pitches daily. Your company and your messages will be covered editorially only if you are able to relate your company’s messages to what’s interesting, helpful, or useful for the readers of that news outlet. PR is generally a “softer sell” than a blatant sales or advertising message. You’re putting your message in an information or educational context. PR do’s When submitting news releases to publications, keep them factual and concise with the most important news summarized near the top of the release. Facts and statements must be attributed. Avoid language that sounds like advertising rather than news; editors don’t like fluff or overblown hyperbole. Make sure your news releases actually “say something.” Many news releases I see are too vague, obtuse, or too complicated. Editors tend to interview and cover people and companies that are good, solid, reliable sources of news and that possess an expertise. Good sources are prepared for an interview with well thought out facts and opinions. They promptly return a reporter’s call—usually the same or the next day. If a reporter calls you, it’s okay to schedule another time to (promptly) call the reporter back. This will give you time to prepare your thoughts. As you develop relationships with editors and publications, you may be asked to submit an article on a given subject. Such articles should be prepared with the utmost thought, and must be professionally and interestingly written. Above all, be respectful. Most editors and reporters are knowledge-able and experienced in what they cover. They know what they’re talking about and may, in fact, have a broader perspective than you do. Build relationships with the press the same way you build relationships with your best customers and market partners. PR don’ts First cardinal rule: Never expect or demand coverage of your company because you are an advertiser. In any good publication, the editorial staff and advertising staff are separate so as to protect the integrity of the publication. Respect the distinction and learn to be a good news source on your own merit. Not everyone is a good writer. You can gain a good deal of knowledge of how to write a news release or article by reading a publication. But, if you don’t have good journalistic style writing skills, seek out someone who does have that skill. Never casually blow off a reporter once you’ve set up an interview or back-grounding discussion. Schedules change for everyone, so call ahead and see if the reporter is open to rescheduling. Reporters select their “go to” news sources on their reliability. Don’t miss a deadline if you’ve been asked to submit an article. Again, if you treat these commitments as you would a promise to a customer, you’ll be in good shape. You may encounter an editor or reporter who isn’t an expert in your field or who may be new to an industry. You may find it annoying to have to explain the industry or product to this person. Take a deep breath and treat this as an opportunity to be an educator and a mentor. Don’t go to the well too often. Freshen your ideas rather than pitching a re-tread story again and again. Trade show PR Customers, vendors, and the press attend trade shows to see what’s new. As such, it often can be fruitful to let the press know that you will be attending a given show and if you’ll have something worthwhile and newsworthy to talk about. Those two words are important qualifiers. Talking about the same old program or product you have been offering for the past three years is not news. Talking about a new line of coverage or a new endorsement may be. Don’t expect coverage simply because you’re there. Reporters are following up with lots of news sources at a show—the association, the educational sessions, the vendors. Because reporters do try to cover the educational sessions, this is another reason for you to volunteer to give a speech, or serve on a panel. Community relations Another way to gain visibility, both directly and via the trade or local press, is to raise your community relations profile. This encompasses a plethora of charitable opportunities or community sponsorship programs, as well as organizing specific public events that serve the public. Some ideas that I’ve seen successfully deployed in insurance include:
Crisis communications Be prepared and proactive should something negative befall your company. These days such “events” could include a breach of a database of sensitive customer information, a negative lawsuit or court ruling, or some other industry shift that threatens your company’s products, services, or shareholder value if you are a public company. These are serious matters, and you will benefit from professional PR counsel. Their objectivity and experience in handling similar crises can be highly beneficial. “Working” a successful PR program requires a commitment of time, resources, and tools. Time to stay abreast of events and topics and develop thoughtful responses. Time to work with and respond to the press. Time to identify topics and materials for press releases, background materials, and media follow-up. You may be able to handle modest or routine programs or single announcements and such on your own. For a more aggressive, long-term, sustained program, you may benefit from talking with a PR professional, either a freelancer or a professional PR agency. You can generally identify pros who specialize in your field. They already know and have nurtured reporter contacts and know the publications’ styles and story appetites. Because they also bring an objectivity to the game, they often can tell you what you need to talk about to gain coverage. Whichever route you go, you will most likely find that PR can enhance visibility and reputation. You can “merchandise” PR successes in reprints or posting to your Web site, with permission, of course. And you’ll find it satisfying to “give back” to your professional and business community. * The author |
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