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.
Being born in the early ‘90s, I grew up in the thick of the digital revolution. In the words of thought leader Marc Prensky, I am a “digital native.” Throughout my childhood, I was immersed in the rapidly expanding technological landscape that exploded in the mid ‘80s and has yet to slow down. It is an exciting time, as innovation after innovation improves our quality of life and communications technology makes the world increasingly connected. The list of benefits are endless, but it is important to realize that our digital age comes with its own unique challenges and that all of this tech may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
The drawbacks of the digital age read like the warning label on a prescription drug: The Digital Age – side effects may include but are not limited to insomnia, reduced creativity, increased stress, loss of intimacy, shortened attention span, information overload, reduced productivity, dry eyes, narcissism, loss of empathy…the list goes on. The issue is that these problems have only recently started coming to light. Technology advanced so quickly, the research on adverse effects is only just beginning to catch up – and the results are worrying.
Luckily, there is a way to mitigate the side effects of digital addiction: a digital detox. Scary, I know, but it can really make a difference. If you had told 18-year-old me to ditch digital for 24 hours, I would have laughed you out the door. Thankfully, I am now both older and wiser, and I was forced to take a mobile break due to an unfortunate incident involving my phone and a canoe. I spent two weeks smartphone-free as I waited for my replacement to come in the mail and found the entire experience to be surprisingly liberating. I read two books. I had full uninterrupted conversations with my friends. My homework took me half the time it usually did. There was a noticeable difference in the way I interacted with people and projects, and it was honestly for the better. Since then, I have set aside chunks of time each week to unplug and it is incredibly refreshing.
I am not the only one to realize the benefits of a technology break either. Pop star Ed Sheeren hasn’t had a cell phone for over a year, his reasoning being that the constant flood of messages was emotionally draining and he felt increasingly disconnected from people. Padmasree Warrior, current CEO of NIO, sets aside every Saturday to completely unplug after realizing that she was constantly working, even on the weekends, and it was killing her creativity. Digital detox camps, like Camp Grounded, have become increasingly popular as they allow adults to step off the grid for a full weekend. Studies are showing that ditching your electronics for an extended period of time can improve your relationships, productivity and your physical and mental health.
The great thing about doing a digital detox is that you can tailor it to fit seamlessly into your life. You can take one whole day off a week, or a month. You can take a whole week of once a year. If you have trouble sleeping, you can unplug a few hours before bed each night to relax. You can ban phones and laptops from your work meetings or schedule an hour of uninterrupted work time in every day. You could have screen-free family dinners. It’s all about finding a way to unplug that most benefits you, so why not give it a try?
It is no secret that social media has become a key conduit to how consumers, business and even politicians, interact with one another.
We live in an era of the 24/7 news cycle. The vast majority of consumers use social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter, to read, share and comment on breaking news because they are right at their fingertips. The instantaneous nature of social media creates many opportunities to quickly share news (and your opinions about that news) with a variety of different target audiences. However, this also means that there’s a small window of time that your news or commentary could be relevant.
Creating compelling content and staying top of mind in a short news cycle can be a challenge. Below are three tips to consider before sharing your news on social channels.
Tip #1: Stay up-to-date on the news in your space
It is important to be well-read and up to speed on current events in your industry and the world-at-large, before publishing your news or commentary on social media.
Timing is everything. On July 20, 2012, an NRA-affiliated magazine, American Rifleman, tweeted: “Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?” around the same time details about the tragic shooting that occurred in Aurora, Colo. were being released.
Unfortunately, nothing ever truly goes away once it is posted to the internet.
Tip #2: Tailor your content to each platform
Social media has become a necessary promotional platform for many organizations; it is an effective and powerful medium providing users access to millions of individuals around the world. Publishing tailored content on different social media accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat can be an effective strategy to quickly connect with a diverse population.
Given the variety of audiences for each of those platforms, figuring out what exactly to post on each site can be a challenge. Having an understanding of the content and social media your clients use is an important factor to consider to ensure your use of social media is valuable and moving the needle. It’s important to be relevant but always remember to stay true to the organization’s core values and brand.
In our blog post, How Different Social Media Platforms Can Benefit your Business, Hannah Hughes explains, in detail, how each platform is set up and how to use them to your advantage.
As the number of social and community-focused sites and apps continue to rise, PR professionals must become proficient in not only using them as consumers, but utilizing them for their clients. When Snapchat first became popular, it was used for photo-messaging between users. Snapchat can now be used to promote businesses, events, and even cities by using Geofilters.
Tip #3: Critical thinking is critical
It is important to think critically about how your target audiences may view and react to your posts. Overlooking this could result in a crisis scenario brought on by messaging that misses the mark, or cringe-worthy content.
We, as public relations professionals, must remain a few steps ahead of the public when it comes to trends and public sentiment, and learn to counsel our clients about how their social media content and presence may be interpreted by all audiences.
The Ultimate Cheatsheet for Critical Thinking may help you decipher this method by asking you questions like, “Why is this relevant to me/others?” If you can answer these questions, you are on the right track.
Food for thought:
Social media has revolutionized the way we as individuals and professionals communicate with each other. In turn, it has transformed the way we approach creating new public relations and marketing campaigns. Understanding how to utilize these tools is not only important, but has become a must-have in order to stay top of mind among target audiences.
Our client, Spaceflight Industries, recently announced that it has purchased an Electron rocket from New Zealand-based Rocket Lab. Spaceflight, the launch service and mission management arm of Spaceflight Industries, built its business on the concept of ridesharing. Rideshare consists of procuring available capacity on existing launches and assisting satellite providers in securing the excess capacity for a fraction of the cost.
After seeing a large demand for access to space from smallsat providers, Spaceflight looked for innovative choices to offer routine, low-cost options for payloads to reach orbit. The result was dedicated rideshare launches. The recent purchase of the Electron rocket is the second rocket that Spaceflight purchased, the first being a SpaceX Falcon 9 in the fall of 2015.
Spaceflight’s dedicated rideshare service is a unique method to reach space that stands to make a large impact on the smallsat industry by removing many of the hurdles that satellites providers face when attempting to access space. So when distributing this news, it was critical that it demonstrate the expansion of the service. When getting the news to reporters, Communiqué made a point to highlight the positive response the first mission received and offered supporting facts to support the statement. For example, the first dedicated rideshare mission is at 90 percent capacity. We also chose to highlight how this launch would service a unique group of satellite developers looking to reach 45 to 60 degrees on orbit.
The response to the news was very positive and many of the space industry journalists, as well as several technology and local publications, covered the news. Below is a list of the coverage Spaceflight secured from this announcement.
- Gaining Even More Rideshare Launch Frequencies… Spaceflight Purchases a Rocket Lab Electron—SatNews, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight Purchases Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab—Via Satellite, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight buys Rocket Lab Electron launch for a small satellite sampler—GeekWire, 5/17/17
- Rocket Lab Readies First flight of Electron Booster—Leonard David Blog, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight Purchases an Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab—Parabolic Arc, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight Purchases an Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab for More Frequent, Affordable Rideshare to Space—SpaceRef, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight purchases Electron launch for medium-inclination payloads—SpaceNews, 5/18/17
- Spaceflight Purchases Electron Launch from Rocket Lab—Space.com, 5/18/17
- Spaceflight buys Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab—Space Daily, 5/18/17
- Rocket Lab signs up new customer as launch window gets closer—Hawke’s Bay Today, 5/18/17
- Electron counting down—The Gisborne Herald, 5/18/17
- Spaceflight Industries Purchases Dedicated Electron Rocket—Spaceflight Insider, 5/19/17
- Rocket Lab to provide Electron launch vehicle for new Spaceflight mission—Aerospace-Technology.com, 5/19/17
- Week in Review: Remembering the Seattle of Chris Cornell and Grunge—Xconomy, 5/19/17
- Rocket Lab Launches Its First Rocket Into Space—Forbes, 5/25/17
Once again, CareerCast has put out its Most Stressful Jobs list and its Worst Jobs list, and the rankings continue to be grim for those of us employed as PR executives and journalists.
Newspaper reporters and broadcasters ranked no. 1 on the Worst Jobs of 2017 list (so, congrats?), which is based on criteria such as income, outlook, environmental factors, stress and physical demands. Surprisingly, reporters outranked jobs that included enlisted military personnel, pest control workers and firefighters when it came to having the worst jobs.
“Both of these industries [broadcasting and newspapers] have felt the years-long squeeze of diminishing job prospects, due to declining advertising revenue that has impacted the newspaper, radio and television industries,” said Kyle Kensing, online content editor for CareerCast.
Then there are the PR executives who are consistently ranked on the Most Stressful Jobs list because we tend to manage crises in the public eye and under extreme deadlines or pressure.
There are countless stress management tips I could offer, but thriving (not just surviving) in a stressful field like PR or journalism requires more than just attention to work-life balance, or a positive attitude. It requires a keen and realistic sense of perspective about your role as a team member, a manager, and a strategic advisor to your clients.
For example, below are some do’s and don’ts about keeping perspective in PR (and many of the other stressful jobs identified by CareerCast):
Do accept that you can’t control everything.
There are so many factors outside of our control that make PR stressful. The reality is that you can’t plan for every scenario. Competitors scoop your big story. Reporters choose not to include your client in an article. Your CEO goes off-message – way off message – in an interview. Your much-anticipated product launch falls short of expectations.
The good news is that you can – and should – plan ahead. Have a plan in place both for major campaigns and for worst-case crisis scenarios, and make sure that the key stakeholders have reviewed and signed off on them. Have messaging and talking points available for a variety of situations “just in case.” And go in knowing that, in a crisis or stressful situation, there are going to be areas you can’t control.
Do realize that you can’t do everything all at once.
In a stressful situation – whether it’s a full-blown crisis or just a giant stack of deadlines – break down your tasks into smaller, manageable pieces. If your head is spinning and you’re not sure where to begin, prioritize your tasks and set deadlines accordingly. What can you do by the end of the day, or by noon today, or in the next hour, or in the next 15 minutes? Each interval makes it more time-sensitive and also limits what can be accomplished in each block of time.
Don’t lose sight of the big picture.
Especially for PR executives, where our main role is one of a strategic advisor around communications, stop and consider whether your actions – both immediate and long-term – align with the overall business goals and objectives for your client or company. It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture in the effort to diffuse a crisis or tense situation. Make sure that messaging, strategies and tactics all support the broader objectives, and whether those broader objectives need to be updated from time-to-time.
Don’t forget that, while PR is often not life or death, it can be in a crisis
This one I hear (and say) a lot, and it’s a good reminder that, unlike other jobs on the Most Stressful list (enlisted military personnel, firefighters, police officers, etc.), for the most part with PR, there aren’t actual lives at stake. As an important side note: This isn’t always true for reporters and broadcasters, by the way, and 115 journalists did lose their lives doing their jobs in 2016.
The key here is that while the majority of PR executives (knock on wood) may not have to manage a massive crisis scenario, there clearly are situations where people have died, been severely injured, or have had their livelihoods impacted unexpectedly.
A true PR crisis can cost a company billions of dollars or disrupt an entire industry. This isn’t meant to scare off PR executives necessarily, but it should emphasize the importance of advanced planning, acting as a strategic advisor, managing deadlines efficiently and keeping a healthy perspective day-to-day.
What other “Do’s and Don’t’s” would you share to help PR executives and journalists manage their stressful jobs? Do you agree that a newspaper reporter deserves the no. 1 Worst Job of 2017? Tell us why or why not in the comments below!
When it comes to communicating company news, we routinely turn to the strategy of drafting a press release and planning its distribution. Make no mistake, issuing a press release is a valuable way to help companies spread its key messages, raise awareness around updates and further establish itself as an industry leader.
However, what happens when you can’t or would prefer not to issue a release? Maybe you’re running into external roadblocks, struggling to secure internal approvals, faced with financial restrictions, or perhaps your announcement just doesn’t feel press release-worthy. Where do you turn to then?
For new or small start-ups, issuing press releases can be a big investment and not always the best way to go. Even larger and more established companies face the dilemma of whether or not to issue a press release when they are dealing with multiple shareholders or sensitive information.
If you end up at this fork in the road, it’s important to have a few go-to strategies in your back pocket.
Consider executing one of these four communication tactics next time you’re unsure about issuing a release. You may find that you can still secure the benefits associated with distributing a press release, while also communicating with your target audiences and building SEO.
- Offer the news as an exclusive. Offering the news as an exclusive provides the company and a news outlet with a handful of benefits. For example, the company controls the topic and placement, and the reporter has first right-of-refusal and can cover the news before his or her competitors. Before reaching out to your top target, you’ll need to craft the announcement into a timely and compelling story pitch.
- Design the announcement into a webinar. Webinars are a cost-effective way to promote products, expand professional networks and build thought leadership. Similar to a conference or trade show, a webinar allows your company or an executive to present on a specific topic, without the expense of traveling. Once the webinar is complete, you can post it on social media channels, mail it to your customers and share it with relevant media targets.
- Share the news in a weekly newsletter. Depending on the subject of the news and if your company has a strong e-newsletter, selecting this strategy can be a great tool to announce new hires and recent product announcements to your existing customers and current newsletter subscribers. Keep in mind this strategy would eliminate targeting media as a priority.
- Create a case study. Weaving a new partnership or company milestone into a customer case study is a great way to highlight a successful product offering or solution implementation. Ownership of the development of the case study will allow you control the key messages and overall sentiment. Because case studies traditionally demonstrate a company’s proficiencies, they are also a great tool to attract and engage potential clients. Once the case study is completed, you can either share it with your customers and social media following, or offer it to a publication to cover as an exclusive before publishing it to your website.
Before deciding to draft a press release or selecting one of the strategies above, it’s important to review your news with a critical eye and to determine your objective, target audience and desired results. If you’re still stuck at the fork in the road, check out these other blog posts: Writing the Winning Press Release and How to Drive Meaningful Coverage Without Hard News.
Starting a new PR engagement is exciting. The hours you put into winning the business and developing a strategy you’re confident will meet your client’s needs have paid off and you’re ready to start executing.
But before you start hammering out the press list and crafting messaging, there’s just one tiny detail casting an elephant-shaped shadow you should address – your client’s “ex.” Sorry to break it to you, but unless you’re working with a startup, odds are you’re not your client’s first PR firm. Clearly there were some issues or they wouldn’t be the newest addition to your roster, right? While you don’t need all the salacious details (although you have to admit you’re dying to hear them), you should at least have a high-level overview of previous partnerships. Here are some tips on what to ask and how to exorcise any lingering doubts.
1) Ask what went wrong
This is an obvious first step to understanding what the pain points were in the last partnership and more importantly, how to avoid them. During the initial conversation, it’s completely fair and within reason to ask potential new clients why they’re looking for a new PR firm. The clients’ explanation will also reveal a great deal about them. If their complaints sound unreasonable or petty, you may want to steer clear of working with them. I always appreciate when clients can provide specific instances and admit their own shortcomings. For example, I spoke to a marketing manager who cited a firm’s lack of follow-up on activities as a reason they parted ways. However, he noted that he also could have done a better job of providing information and communicating.
2) Find out their strengths
After you’ve learned about the missteps, ask what the firm did right. What were the big wins? Did they constantly flag newsjacking opportunities or provide stellar crisis support? You’ll quickly discover if your agency can produce similar results and gain insight into what the client values. You can use this feedback as motivation to find ways to improve as well. Maybe it’s building out activity reports by adding a quarter-by-quarter analysis or inserting detailed graphs that allow executives to easily see the ROI of their investment.
3) Follow through
For those who have had less than positive experiences with former PR teams, it’s important to establish a foundation of trust early on with these individuals. Simply put, say what you mean and do what you say. Clients need to know they can depend on you for candid counsel and to complete tasks on time. By consistently delivering high-quality work and following through on activities, you’ll be able to earn the confidence and respect of your contact.
4) Be patient
Remember that strong partnerships don’t happen overnight. It can take months or even years to be viewed as an irreplaceable extension of the communication team, rather than just the hired help. Try not to get frustrated or let your impatience show if a client is slow to come around; instead, focus on what you can do to demonstrate your steadfast commitment to the business.
Exhuming the ghosts of PR firms past can help put to rest any concerns a new client may have and pave the way for a fresh start. Discussing both the highs and lows will ensure mistakes aren’t repeated and successes are defined. As with any bad breakup, be prepared to show how you’re different (and better) and invest the time in the relationship.