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.
Recently I experienced a rare day without any client or team meetings on my calendar. I hunkered down and took a deep dive into my email, powering through tasks and to-dos, updating clients, reporters and colleagues along the way. I had documents reviewed, edited and approved via email, and checked in with a co-worker about a deadline via Skype.
By the end of the day, it occurred to me that I hadn’t really left my office all day and that my interaction with humans – real, live face-to-face humans – was truly minimal. And yet work moved on seamlessly! This got me to thinking about how technology impacts the way we work today and what it means for employees and managers in the years ahead.
In an article for Forbes, contributor Joe McKendrick writes about the impact that digital and cloud technologies are having in today’s workplaces, particularly around the future of management. “There has been an acceleration of automated decision-making capabilities, in which many day-to-day decisions are handled by algorithms,” McKendrick writes.
As access to technology becomes more affordable and integrated into everyday business, employees across the board have become empowered to use online tools to manage work and streamline processes. This eliminates the “need for layers of hierarchy to process and disseminate things,” says McKendrick, which dovetails with the rising trend he refers to as “the smashing of the corporate hierarchy … fueled by an increasingly educated workforce of information workers.”
As enterprises and organizations continue to utilize cloud-based resources and automate many core business functions, the big question then becomes, “Is management an outmoded notion in the age of the digital enterprise?”
McKendrick’s answer – which I agree with whole-heartedly – is no.
Particularly for creative organizations – and I’m grouping PR agencies like mine into this category – there’s really no substitute for the human side of management. Your computer can run spell-check on a press release, for example, but it can’t determine if the content aligns with your client’s strategic goals, or captures the messages from a conversation you had with the VP of marketing last week.
A report from Kinsey substantiates this (“Where machines could replace humans—and where they can’t (yet)”): “For now, computers do an excellent job with very well-defined activities, such as optimizing trucking routes, but humans still need to determine the proper goals, interpret results, or provide commonsense checks for solutions.”
True, there are (satirical) programs that will randomly generate a startup company website, but there’s never going to be a way to automate the process of brainstorming or troubleshooting a pitch idea that isn’t resonating with media without at least some human interaction. Even if those conversations are held over Skype or Slack or Telepresence, it’s still the human brainpower that gets the job done at the end of the day. For creative firms, our people are our competitive differentiator.
And for organizations managing PR firms, this is also key.
Here at Communiqué PR, we have been longtime users of cloud-based tools such as Smartsheet and Harvest and Cision that are instrumental to keep projects running efficiently for our clients. They also provide our clients visibility and transparency into our activities and budgets, in real-time, which eliminates much of the administrative work that would have been required even a few years ago.
But again, even by providing our clients with access to these cloud-based tools and reports, there’s still no way of automating the collaborative process that a client-agency relationship involves. In fact, over-dependence on electronic communication can lead to crossed wires around deadlines or deliverables and that can have a real impact on hours, budgets and relationships.
McKendrick concludes, “Technology is an incredibly empowering force, supporting a workforce that is fully equipped with the information and resources that will take people well above and beyond traditional and confining job descriptions.” And certainly, having worked in PR focused on technology-based companies exclusively, I’m a fierce advocate for cloud-based and digital tools that make our lives, and work, easier. But the workplace of today (and tomorrow) will always need their carbon-based, human management to keep businesses and teams inspired and moving forward. All that might change is the tools and the means they use to do so.
Instagram recently announced that it will begin rolling out business profiles to users in select markets. These updated tools will be available to companies of all sizes and will provide insights to help them better understand and attract followers to continue to grow their business. Although companies have already been using standard Instagram accounts as a way to showcase their product offerings, company updates, office space and team members, this new tool will offer different features to help companies better engage with their target audiences. A few of the new tools include:
- Contact button. This addition makes it easy for current and prospect followers/customers to speak with an employee at the company. Businesses can choose how followers can contact them (i.e. via call, text or email) – enabling a private and direct-line of communication between the two parties.
- Analytics tool – This feature enables businesses to view impressions, reach, website clicks, engagement, follower activity and demographics. Through viewing these metrics, the company can better understand the types of posts that are resonating best with their audience/followers.
- Promote tool – This update allows the business to turn a popular post into an advertisement within the app. The “promote” tool is only accessible to Business Profiles – the user who converts the post must have admin-level access and the ads must adhere to Facebook’s advertising polices. Facebook Business has shared a helpful step-by-step process for how to use the promote tool.
With these new tools, companies can more efficiently communicate with their target audiences, increase the quality of their marketing efforts, and connect with prospective customers that they may not have discovered or contacted if not through the ease of Instagram’s business profile update. In addition, having an advanced knowledge of the demographics and preferences of your most engaged customers will enable marketing teams to accurately advertise and improve the overall customer experience.
Instagram is a great platform to increase engagement through visual marketing in the form of photos and videos that convey emotional responses, which in turn increase followers’ emotional connection to the company and even brand loyalty. As the number of Instagram users continues to skyrocket, businesses must share meaningful content that will stand out among its competitors and build the emotional relationship and brand awareness with its followers.
Business profiles can help accomplish this. By understanding what type of content triggers high levels of engagement and an emotional reaction (either positive or negative), companies will be able to improve planning and create more successful Instagram campaigns based on popularity and outcomes of their past posts.
One caveat to Instagram and all social accounts, however, is that in order to be successful, companies must establish a firm character and cadence with their posting. If a company posts a photo once every five weeks, followers will likely lose interest, feel no responsibility to engage, and ultimately unfollow the company. Reaching out to an outside party to handle social accounts allows marketing coordinators and VPs to focus on content planning and other marketing initiatives to grow the business. Having to develop and continuously update an editorial calendar for social posting can be a daunting task, not to mention replying to followers’ comments and questions in order to keep the relationship strong and engagement high.
A PR firm that has a close relationship with a company’s business and communication objectives can help align social media activity with company announcements and content development in the pipeline. Capitalizing on the Instagram Business Profiles opportunities will help drive buzz around company announcements and news, as well as increase traffic to the company website.
Is social media stressing you out? Let us know and we will help to find a strategy right for your company.
If you are a small business interested in using Instagram, check out this article:
Four Ways Instagram Can Lead a Small Business to Success
For anyone watching the global investment market, it’s increasingly clear that the first half of 2016 has been something of a surprise in terms of the number of initial public offerings (IPOs). According to a report published by Dealogic, a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) research firm, this year has had the lowest volume of global IPOs since the financial crisis of 2009. This represents a decrease of 54 percent year-on-year in IPO volume, with figures totaling $47.8 billion during the first half of the year.
Due to extreme declines in the major stock indexes in 2009, it’s somewhat easy for experts to comprehend that year’s weak IPO market. In 2016, however, with relatively stable markets, a growing economy and improved employment figures, it’s less clear why the global IPO market is experiencing such meager activity.
In his Investopia article, “4 Reasons for the IPO Market Slowdown in 2016,” John Burke puts forth a theory stating that four factors are combining to drag the number of IPOs lower: startups staying private longer, overinvestment in startups, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, and weak performances by 2015 IPOs. Another hypothesis to consider is that for a variety of reasons, companies are choosing to pursue acquisition rather than move forward with an IPO.
Why Acquisitions are an Attractive Alternative to IPOs
For worldwide deal making, 2015 was a record-breaking year, with $4.7 trillion in announced mergers and acquisitions, according to data from Thomson Reuters. This explosion of activity and deal value was due in large part to mega-deals—deals that are over $5 billion, such as Pfizer’s $191.6 billion offer for Allergan PLC—which account for 51 percent of the overall M&A value in 2015.
Given that the strength of 2015’s M&A market was unprecedented, it’s not entirely surprising to learn that M&A volume for the first half of 2016 is down 18 percent year-on-year, according to Dealogic. Regardless of this decreased volume, the benefits of M&A deals are often quite attractive and this may be influencing the IPO market slowdown.
Award-winning entrepreneur and value investor Warren Cassell theorizes that there are four reasons why companies may choose acquisition over an IPO: cheaper financing, speed, less stress and more resources. In his Investopia article, “Why IPOs are Becoming Less Attractive for Companies,” Cassell states that because interest rates in the U.S. are at record lows, leveraged buyout firms and corporations are able to finance acquisitions, using debt, inexpensively. This easy and inexpensive access to capital has led to increased M&As.
In addition to cheaper financing, Cassell argues that investors who want to liquidate their stake in a company quickly may opt for M&A because listing a company on the stock market can be extremely time consuming—taking from several months to years to complete the necessary regulatory requirements for an IPO. Stress is another factor noted by the 16-year-old investment wunderkind. Public companies face significant scrutiny from their investors and the press—an experience that is avoided by their private counterparts. Finally, companies that are acquired receive more than just funding from their buyer, with access to a variety of resources including valuable connections, expertise and sometimes a client base.
As experts continue their attempt to solve the puzzle surrounding the 2016 investment market, one thing is clear: Executives considering an exit strategy for their companies are rich with options.
As a firm providing PR counsel to growing technology companies, the team at Communiqué PR has assisted numerous clients through M&A transitions, with at least one client per year being acquired, on average. Keeping with the 2015 trend, we saw an increase in client acquisitions last year, with former clients Volometrix and Mobidia being acquired by Microsoft and AppAnnie, respectively.
For insights into developing effective messaging and communications plans, or for more about how Communiqué PR has helped clients facing M&A transitions, check out the following articles:
Working Yourself Out of a Job – The Right Way
Reflecting on Our Work with Mobidia
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Over the last year, Communiqué PR has been working with Darigold, a dairy co-op, and in that time we have promoted its new naturally white cheddar cheese, planned and hosted an event for the Sunnyside Plant expansion, and shared an abundance of delicious Darigold recipes. After a year of great results highlighting the products, the company and its growth, we wanted to direct some attention to the heart of the corporation: the farmer-owners.
Darigold is a farmer-owned co-op and for those of you who don’t know what that means, the farmers that supply the milk for all Darigold products own the company. Darigold has about 500 farmer-owners, making it one of the largest co-ops in the country. It also means that at the core of Darigold is a group of farmers who are passionate about their farms, their cows and ultimately the milk they provide to consumers. As a partner to the organization, we get to see this passion and dedication firsthand and we thought it only fair that others experience it as well.
Working closely with the team at Darigold, we decided to organize a farm tour that would allow us to share a behind-the-scenes look at where it all begins, a dairy farm. As we planned the tour, there were a few things to consider.
- Who should we take on the tour? For the farm tour, we ultimately decided to invite bloggers to attend for a couple of reasons. With a farm tour, we knew that we would have to drive for at least an hour (in this case two) out of the city and with reporters on deadline, we felt bloggers would be able to work this into their schedule with more ease. Another reason we opted to go with bloggers is the relationship they have with their audience. Consumers often turn to them for suggestions, ideas and reviews on different products as if the blogger is a friend. Lastly, with a little more creative freedom than traditional outlets, we felt that the bloggers would be able to share more openly about their personal experience at the farm and how seeing this side of Darigold influenced their feelings towards the brand and its products.
- Where should we hold the tour? As I mentioned, Darigold has a lot of options when it comes to farms! Distance ultimately eliminated a large portion of the farms. The bloggers that we had invited all have children and needed to ensure that this was only a day trip. With that in mind, we still had an array of options but decided on a farm that was a reasonable distance to drive for a day trip and had experience in hosting tours. I have to admit, I’ve never hosted a farm tour, so I didn’t know what elements of a farm to show off or the order in which we should share information about the farm and how it operates. Luckily, the Coldstream Farm in Demming, Wash., had experience in hosting tours and this allowed us to lean on their experience and expertise in hosting the tour.
- How can we ensure it’s a positive experience? We knew going into it that Coldstream Farms was going to do a wonderful job hosting the event but we wanted to ensure that we had thought of every detail. First, we held a call with Darigold, Coldstream Farms, and the team at Communiqué. On the call, Coldstream shared unique qualities about their farm, state of the art technology and important measures they take to ensure the cows’ health and happiness. With this information, we were able share with Coldstream the important messages Darigold as a company wanted to communicate with consumers and how they tied back to their efforts on the farms. Once we established the key messages and the key aspects of the farm, we built an agenda for the tour that would help manage our time and provide the bloggers with a cohesive narrative. Planning this in advance of the tour allowed for a seamless and smooth event that the bloggers enjoyed. Following the tour, we reached out to all the bloggers to ensure they had all the information they needed for their posts.
Overall, the event was a great success—and a lot of fun, not only for the bloggers but also for me! Sometimes we get caught up in the same routine and strategies, but it’s important to remember to continue thinking outside the box and developing creative ways to tell your clients’ stories. Of course, the traditional methods of outreach will continue to play an important role, but providing a unique experience for media to enjoy will give them with an opportunity to interact with the brand and share their experience with their audience.
Below are a couple of the blog posts that resulted from the tour with more to come!
Since it went public in January 2016, Facebook Live has earned significant attention, with many live streams going mainstream. Streams that have received major national attention include “Chewbacca Mask Lady,” the U.S. House of Representatives sit-ins, as well as numerous videos of shootings, public protests and arrests.
There have also been some very interesting and entertaining company and brand uses of Facebook Live. PR Week recently published an article, “The six most innovative brand uses of Facebook Live so far.” The article describes how McDonald’s, Benefit Cosmetics, Dunkin’ Donuts, Popeyes, GE and Airbnb have used Facebook Live to reach new audiences and increase social engagement.
In short Facebook Live offers brands a unique opportunity to tell stories and engage audiences via video. Live streaming video services allow company spokespeople to share stories spontaneously, or they can evolve their stories organically as they answer questions or respond to comments in real-time.
According to Michelle Michalak, director of social media for Slyde Handboards, another benefit of Facebook Live is that you can see when viewers are dropping off and adjust your messages or begin to wrap up your broadcast.
With 1.7 billion Facebook users, more and more companies are deciding to leverage Facebook Live and some clear best practices are emerging. Below is a list of the things to keep in mind if you decide to leverage Facebook Live for your company:
- Consider the timing of your live stream. It is always a good idea to think through why your content is relevant on a particular day or at a particular time. McDonalds timed its live stream to coincide with National Hamburger Day. With so many other national days, other brands can follow McDonald’s lead. A quick glance at the national days that are upcoming include National Tailgating Day (Sept. 3), Stand up to Cancer Day (Sept. 9), and National TV Dinner Day (September 10) among many more. It will be interesting to see if any organizations leverage Facebook Live in conjunction with these days.
- Make sure the length of your live stream is appropriate. You don’t want to drone on and lose the attention of your viewers so think about the value you want to add and how to communicate in the most succinct, compelling or relevant manner.
- Be consistent with your brand voice and identity. If your brand is laid-back and fun, you may want to take a laid-back and fun approach to your live stream. If your brand or company has a more serious mission, your live stream probably should reflect this.
- Outline your talking points. Before you get online, it is an excellent idea to have a script or talking points. Gabby Wallace, video marketing expert at GabbyWallace.com recommends that you have a strong call to action or next step for your audience that you repeat twice once at the beginning and once at the end.
- Make sure you have the right technology and technical skills. You need to produce video that people want to watch. This means you need good audio quality, you need compelling visuals, and you do not want to have any technical glitches during your live stream. Think about how you will produce a successful and engaging stream, and have a contingency plan in the event something goes wrong.
- Know how you’ll measure success. Some things you might consider measuring around your Facebook Live video include the number of views, impressions, comments and shares. With your first live stream you can always establish a baseline around these metrics and then work to continuously improve them.
- Consider promoting your Facebook Live stream. Facebook offers several different ways to boost content so it might be worthwhile to look into this option if you need some extra help generating awareness or engagement for your live stream. You can either promote your live stream before it happens or during your broadcast.
If you have leveraged Facebook Live, please share your story. And, for more on how Facebook Live is affecting journalism, please check out this New York Times article by Liz Spayd.
For more of our thoughts on Facebook, please see the following articles:
Facebook Provides Increased Competition for News Media
Lessons from NPR’s Survey of its Facebook Fans
The Why and How of Deleting Your Facebook Page
Traditional Seafair Embraces Modern Social Media
With average life expectancy the highest it has ever been, it is no surprise that more than 40 million people over the age of 65 are currently living in the United States (U.S.). In fact, global life expectancy has increased by about six years over the past two decades. And that number will only continue to rise as advancements in healthcare and technology enable people to live longer, fuller lives.
The importance of planning for senior living and care cannot be understated, particularly now that life expectancy is at an all-time high. A Place for Mom (APFM), the nation’s largest senior living referral service, understands this fact and, as reported in March 2016, Communiqué PR is partnering with them to support PR efforts around a series of research findings, tools, and quarterly reports to help people prepare for senior living. As the second part of this series, APFM just released new research about how long it takes to find a senior living solution, and Communiqué PR had the opportunity to drive media coverage and awareness around this important topic.
New Research
APFM’s new research examines the different factors that impact senior living search time, showing that care needs are the key indicator of search length, while finances, relationships, time of year and search-area income level also have an impact. Below are some of the key findings from the data:
- 50 percent of families searching for a senior living solution find one within 46 days, and nearly a quarter find one within three weeks
- The urgency of care needed by a senior is the strongest predictor of how long it takes to find a senior living solution, and is twice as important as all of the other factors combined
- Seniors searching without the support from family, friends or a professional take about twice as long as someone with assistance (51 days for retirement communities; 47 days for assisted living)
- Seniors with higher incomes and larger monthly budgets for senior living typically take more time to find a senior living, unless they need assisted living, which creates the need for an immediate solution (11 days faster than families in similar situations with lower monthly budgets)
- Families searching for senior living in wealthier areas find it faster than seniors searching in middle-income areas, while families searching in low-income areas also have faster search lengths because limited resources and options cause them to move into the first community they can afford
- The peak search times for senior living solutions are immediately following end-of-year holidays (6 percent longer than the average month) and August (7 percent longer) after family members see aging loved ones
- Nearly five percent of seniors take one and a half years to move into a senior living solution, while three percent take two or more years
This data is based on a sample of more than 125,000 families APFM helped move into retirement communities, senior apartments, assisted living communities, residential care homes or memory care communities in the U.S. between 2012 and 2015. The statistical models are built from thousands of competitions between simpler models containing only a subset of the predictors. Predictor importance is measured by the percent of competitions won by a particular set of predictors. In addition to building these statistical models, key summary statistics were queried from APFM’s database.
Planning Tool
As a part of the new research, APFM also created a new tool that gives families an estimate of how long it will take to find a senior living solution based on their situation. Aptly named Chart Your Course, the tool helps families plan their senior living search by showing them the typical search length for consumers with similar care needs, finances and relationships to the senior. Chart Your Course is free to use and accompanies the Senior Living Cost Index tool, which APFM developed earlier this year and allows families to map and rank senior living costs by county, state and region.
Media Interest
National, regional and trade media all covered the story, demonstrating the news value of hard data and interest in senior-related topics across the country. Because of APFM’s efforts to educate the public about the length of senior living searches, millions of families across the country now have new information and better resources to help them plan for the future. Highlights from the media coverage include:
- MONEY Magazine: 4 Ways to Ease the Search for Assisted Living
- McKnight’s Senior Living: Care needs greatest determinant of senior living search length
- Long-Term Living Magazine: Window-shopping or moving in? Seniors take their time choosing housing
- Senior Housing News: Top Factors Slowing Down Senior Living Move-Ins
Congratulations to APFM for their continued efforts to help people find the right senior living solution.
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