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.
Since the publication of Susan Cain’s 2012 bestselling book, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” introverts have become downright popular. What used to be stereotyped as the quintessential shy, socially awkward personality type, introverts have now become a force to be reckoned with, albeit in a quieter, less social way than their extroverted counterparts.
There have been thousands of articles written over the past few years extolling the traits and benefits of introversion, explaining how the more solitary and reflective types among us (myself included) can thrive in business and leadership, in school settings, as parents, and even in dating. If you’re curious, BuzzFeed has more than a dozen quizzes available to test just how introverted you might be.
Who are the introverts? Cain defines them as people having a preference for “a quiet, more minimally stimulating environment.” They are typically individuals who listen more often than they speak and are generally more avoidant of risk. Small talk can be a nightmare for many introverts because it lacks depth or any real connection. Introverts value having a smaller number of close relationships over several casual acquaintances, and they want their work to be meaningful.
So when it comes to a field like public relations – one that, by definition, relates to the public, is there room for the introverted personality type? It might be easier to imagine a classic extrovert – with their naturally outgoing and social personality – in a PR role. After all, extroverts are the folks who typically have no issues working a crowded room or trade show booth, or making cold calls to strangers and easily building a rapport for their clients. Make no mistake – extroverts are absolutely a critical part of a PR team. However, I would argue there are few career choices better suited for an introvert than public relations.
Take these common introvert traits, for example, and how they can be applied to PR:
Listen and think before you speak. Journalists work under tight deadlines and need answers and information quickly – this is the nature of our business. But all too often people prioritize reacting quickly or loudly or first, rather than reacting thoughtfully. Working too fast is how careless mistakes are made, and in PR, those mistakes can end up on the evening news. Consider that in the vast, vast majority of situations, there’s always time to pause and think critically.
Embrace the calm. This is key in crisis situations or in times when patience is running thin. The last thing a stressful situation needs is a sense of panic and anxiety folded in. Since many introverts are more subdued and less reactionary, they can bring a sense of calm to a crisis. Many years ago during a performance review, a manager described me as “the office hostage negotiator” because I was able to diffuse tense or challenging situations and keep my teams focused on their immediate priorities, rather than getting distracted and spinning a crisis situation out of control. It’s only recently I realize that accolade was due largely in part to my being an introvert.
Quality over quantity. One of the worst practices in PR is the “spray and pray” mentality toward media outreach. This is when a company blasts out a press release or email pitch to the widest variety of media possible, hoping that someone, anyone, will bite and cover the news. I suppose the logic here is that your message (in theory) reaches more people, but are those people actually reading your news? Do they care at all? Introverts tend to prefer having close relationships with a few people rather than with many acquaintances. I would argue having close, long-term relationships with your clients, your news sources and your influencers is vastly more effective than casually “pinging” thousands of contacts every week.
Be prepared. For introverts, preparation is everything – it ensures we’re able to speak thoughtfully and offer something meaningful to the dialogue. In PR, preparation is also critical – it’s the main differentiator that ensures a client nails an important interview or speech, and that your account teams are well-informed about activities, budgets and priorities. I personally find “speaking off the cuff” to be tremendously stressful because it means I often don’t have time to adequately research what I’m saying, prepare my key points and think critically about my argument. Think about potential issues and questions in advance to ensure you have the right materials and resources for the task at hand. The more prepared you (and your client) are, the stronger the end result will be.
In conclusion, being an introvert doesn’t mean you’re shy. Or socially awkward. Or an asocial hermit. But it does mean that you value time alone to regroup and re-energize. It also means that you more often listen before speaking, particularly in a large or unfamiliar setting. This thoughtful, arguably more personal approach will serve introverts well in an industry like public relations – and make them a valuable part of any PR team.
Are you an introvert working in PR? What do you like most (and least!) about it? What are your biggest challenges? Tell us here in the comments.
I have a confession – I’m not big on confrontation. I typically prefer to go with the flow and be seen as easygoing rather than disruptive. However, a segment Marketplace aired on its radio program last week got me thinking I may need to reconsider my agreeable ways, at least when I’m at work anyway.
According to a Columbia University study, tension among colleagues stemming from diverse expertise and professional backgrounds led to the most innovative teams.
While it may seem counterintuitive to encourage discord over harmony, the study’s author, David Stark, explains, “Misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication can be as important as a smooth exchange of ideas.” The discussions initiated by these lapses in communication can bring clarity and lead to new solutions that may not have been apparent before.
Here are four tips on how to successfully incorporate creative tension within your organization:
- Hire employees with different working styles and experiences – At Communiqué, our team members’ experience range from working in healthcare public relations to teaching high school English, with some having spent years at larger firms before joining CPR and others who came from small agencies. This mix has yielded an intelligent, creative and resourceful group that brings unique perspectives to everyday activities such as brainstorming byline titles and mapping out a new client proposal. When interviewing candidates without tech or PR experience, we look for which skills attained from their previous roles may transfer over and benefit the firm.
- Lay a foundation of trust to ease the tension – With disagreement inevitably comes friction, so it’s important to create trust within the organization. Stark notes, “If you all ironed out your differences you wouldn’t be able to come up with something new. So it’s this kind of ability to hold tight, put up with the ambiguity, tolerate that tension, and turn it into something that’s productive.” Develop trust by always being honest and respectful and by creating a shared vision with your team.
- Experiment with account teams – Stark also encourages creativity when it comes to building out teams. Instead of even-splitting a group of 10 into two teams of five people, he suggests creating two teams of six and seven with some members serving on both teams. Stark believes this type of division is necessary as innovative organizations require overlap. In his study of video game companies, Stark found when a team included members that had worked together before and had dissimilar knowledge, their team was most likely to create inventive and critically acclaimed video games.
- Set deadlines – While different thoughts and ideas are critical to success, you must establish deadlines for revisions and commit to them. Otherwise, a draft of a press release will continue to go through endless rounds of edits without accomplishing its main purpose of reaching media.
The next time you hesitate to share your opinion with a colleague, remember that the best concepts are often a result of collaboration. Drawing from past experiences and challenging yourself to embrace the discomfort will ensure co-workers and clients increasingly value your contributions.
Last week, technology blog Gizmodo published an article alleging that Facebook routinely suppressed conservative-leaning news stories from appearing in the social platform’s “Trending” section. The story initially set off a media firestorm as outlets such as The Guardian, The New York Times, Reuters, NPR and more raced to publish articles capitalizing on the controversy.
If you’re not an avid Facebook user—and I count myself in this category—let me bring you up to speed. The “Trending” section appears in the upper right corner of a user’s home page. The section features a number of “trending” articles that, according to several unnamed former editorial employees interviewed for the Gizmodo article, were curated by individual editors rather than relying exclusively on algorithms to determine timeliness and value to individual readers. The sources go on to say that these “human curators” were instructed to “inject” selected stories into the trending news section and claims have been made that curators frequently passed over stories that would resonate with conservative readers in favor or more left-leaning topics.
Does It Matter?
Given the current political climate in the U.S. and a seemingly never-ending presidential campaign season, it’s no surprise that conservative political figures and organizations would take umbrage at this potential slight. For instance, the Republican Party quickly responded with a blog post stating that “with 167 million U.S. Facebook users reading stories highlighted in the trending section, Facebook has the power to greatly influence the presidential election.” The following day, John Thune, Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, also joined the fray with a statement that “Facebook must answer these serious allegations and hold those responsible to account if there has been political bias in the dissemination of trending news.”
With more than one billion users a day, it’s clear that Facebook has access to an immense audience. However, one wonders how influential the platform is as a news provider. Granted, the social networking platform has recently begun paying news organizations to produce live video streams for its Facebook Live section, but at the time of writing this post, the three trending stories that appeared at the top of my feed were about Sinead O’Connor going missing in Chicago, Louis C.K. announcing new tour dates, and Tyga sharing details about his break up with Kylie Jenner. Not exactly examples of hard news and certainly nothing that may influence an election.
Facebook Responds
To its credit, Facebook responded to the allegations quickly with statements from staff managing the trending section, as well as Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. On the same day the Gizmodo story published, Tom Stocky, who oversees the team responsible for trending topics, posted a lengthy statement via Facebook describing how the trending section was designed to work, acknowledging the serious nature of the allegations and assuring readers that the platform has “found no evidence that the anonymous allegations are true.”
Three days later Zuckerberg followed suit with a statement that the company will conduct a full investigation into the claims of political bias and a promise to invite “leading conservatives” to share their point of view. According to The Guardian, the first two of such meetings will occur this week with conservative commentator Glenn Beck and one of Donald Trump’s advisors. In addition, Facebook VP Global Operations Justin Osofsky posted “Information About Trending Topics,” a detailed overview of how the section is curated and it’s likely more statements will be issued from the company to create a sense of transparency as this story continues to receive attention.
Maintaining Perspective
Whether or not Facebook intentionally suppressed politically conservative content is yet to be proven. The controversy is, however, creating a wealth of coverage for an ever-hungry news industry seeking fodder that will encourage audiences to leave behind newsfeeds rampant with baby photos, kitten videos and absurd memes for more newsworthy topics.
While the platform certainly has an immense following, it’s important to maintain some perspective on what users are seeking through their visits to Facebook. Is the draw a greater connection to community or in-depth reporting on critical news? As time moves forward and the social networking platform continues to evolve perhaps the latter will prevail. Until then, this Facebook user recommends relying on established news media for authentic, ethical and unbiased coverage of all topics—whichever way they may lean.
With Target’s new gender-neutral policy that offers customers and employees the freedom to use the bathroom or fitting room that best aligns with their gender identity, comes an inevitable national debate over an already controversial social issue regarding equality.
On April 19, 2016, Target issued a statement about its new policy and almost one month later, on May 11, Target’s CEO Brian Cornell finally responded to people’s concerns and confirmed that Target would not be reversing the policy. Social networks and news outlets are blowing up over this controversy, with over one million people* signing a pledge to boycott Target.
From a PR perspective, Target’s PR team is handling this communications nightmare really well considering the backlash. Following are three reasons why Target is doing the right thing, and why it could ultimately result in more good will for the company once the debate blows over.
Staying True to Company Values
It is inspiring to see a company like Target stand up for what it believes in. According to Global Strategy Group, the majority of Americans think it is appropriate for companies to stand up for what they believe politically regardless of whether or not it is controversial. Target is among the first major retailers to take a stand on controversial social issues about gender and sexuality. Gender-neutralism is a conversation that needs to be had to avoid discrimination and I applaud Target for setting an example and leading the way for other popular brands. Given that inclusivity is one of Target’s core beliefs, we can expect the retailer not to back down from its decision despite the growing number of opponents.
Not Feeding the Fire
Target has been nearly silent in its response to public backlash against its new policy. American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit organization that promotes fundamentalist Christian values, is leading the infamous Target boycott, which has stirred controversy on social networks and news outlets. The AFA claims that Target’s new policy “endangers women and children by allowing men to frequent women’s facilities” and is urging people to voice their opinions, to refrain from shopping at Target and to sign the Target boycott pledge.
Since the Target boycott made headlines, the AFA has likely benefited from the media attention. In an article from USA Today, AFA president Tim Wildmon said, “This is the best response we’ve ever had this quick.” It is evident that the AFA has earned a lot of press for its efforts, which ultimately helps increase awareness of the organization. Target, however, is doing the right thing by not feeding the flame, because eventually the fire will burn out.
Considering the Outcomes
Past religious-driven boycotts have generally been unsuccessful in accomplishing their goals and are typically not detrimental to sales. This is especially true for large, popular brands (like Target) according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. For example, recall the Starbucks boycott from conservative religious groups about the coffee makers’ 2015 plain red holiday cups. After everything was said and done, the company reported a 9 percent increase in comparable store sales in the U.S. – and this was “by far the strongest holiday in our history and record revenues,” said Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks.
The goal of the boycott is to force Target to revert its gender-neutral policy, but that likely will not happen according to Target spokesperson Molly Snyder who recently said, “We certainly respect that there are a wide variety of perspectives and opinions. As a company that firmly stands behind what it means to offer our team an inclusive place to work — and our guests an inclusive place to shop — we continue to believe that this is the right thing for Target.”
This diplomatic response to the Target boycott demonstrates how a company can proactively respond to and mitigate a communications crisis, while staying true to company values and maintaining a brand’s image/reputation. It may be inevitable that Target will lose customers over this, but the company will gain an even stronger, loyal customer base with those who do support LGBT rights.
Furthermore, if someone is concerned about a predator lurking in Target’s public restrooms, most Target stores have a single-stalled family restroom with a locked door that people are free to use.
Target’s communication strategy has been effective in this case, because they remained true to their brand and identity despite negative feedback from customers. In the coming years, I believe we will see more companies taking a stance on social issues as part of their branding efforts. It’s not just about the product or service anymore, but instead about supporting a brand/company that mirrors stakeholders’ beliefs.
For more information on Communiqué PR’s work with Point Inside and Target, please see our blog post titled, “Point Inside Powers New Mobile Features for Target.”
*The widely cited pledge has a signature count of over one million people; however, people may sign the pledge multiple times, which could lead to inflated numbers.
**We made minor edits to this blog post on May 23, 2016 to correct grammatical errors and streamline points.
Corporate blogging can benefit your business no matter what industry you’re in, but for companies in the travel industry it should be considered an essential marketing strategy. In addition to driving website traffic and generating new leads, blogging helps build credibility. For travelers deciding which trip planning service to use, knowing that the company has firsthand experience and has “been there, done that” is huge influencer.
It’s simple for travel companies to start a blog, but maintaining it by posting valuable, engaging content on a regular basis isn’t always so easy. One travel company in particular got it right – Utrip, a travel planning service that uses machine learning to create personalized itineraries, has an inspiring, informational blog that serves as a resource for everyone from seasoned travelers to newbies with wanderlust. Following are four key reasons why Utrip’s blog is a success
- Cites Personal Experiences – Travelers feel more confident taking a company’s recommendations if they know it’s based on personal experience. When I was researching before my trip to Thailand, I searched for posts by travel bloggers who had been to Thailand recently – I don’t want a hostel recommendation from someone who has never stayed there. Utrip does a nice job compiling guest posts from international travelers and interviewing subject matter experts to inject personal experience into its blog. For example, the post 8 Cheap Eats in East London from Around the World was written by David Heimowitz, a food blogger who lives in London.
- Fuels Inspiration – Reading about other people’s incredible travel experiences and seeing breathtaking photos can help bring a destination to life and inspire hesitant travelers to book their trip. Utrip’s blog inspires wanderlust by featuring popular tourist activities as well as lesser known attractions in major cities.
- Provides Useful Information – A key factor for the success of any blog is providing information that is useful for your audience. Utrip’s entire platform does this well, but the “Travel Planning Tips” section of its blog is particularly helpful for travelers, offering advice around what to do if your valuables are stolen and how to save money on transportation.
- Includes a Call-to-Action – Including an appropriate call-to-action (CTA) in your blog post helps guide readers to learn more about your company, leading to more conversions from your blog. Utrip nailed this by including relevant CTAs at the bottom of its blog posts (for example, Quick Tips for Travel Savings includes a link to Utrip’s featured trip Poor But Sexy in Berlin) and linking in-line CTAs when a related term is mentioned in a post.
These best practices are important for any corporate blogger to keep in mind, particularly those in the travel industry. What other tips for corporate blogging success should marketers consider?
It’s no secret—Seattle has a hot tech scene. From the industry giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Expedia and Zillow to the new Google and SpaceX offices, Seattle has become a technology powerhouse. The city is also home to an abundance of startup companies that continue to innovate and disrupt countless industries. Given that our firm has worked with a number of tech companies, I like to believe that I have a sense of what is going on in the Seattle tech environment.
However, a few months ago I stumbled across Arivale, a company that is using tech and personal data to develop individualized wellness plans that allow people to improve their health. Arivale collects personal information through tests conducted on DNA, the gut, blood and lifestyle assessments, then provides individuals with their data and assigns them a personal coach to assist in making actionable changes to improve their overall wellness. Once a colleague and I saw that co-founder and CEO, Clayton Lewis, was speaking at Xconomy’s Seattle’s Life Science Disruptors 2016 event, we decided to take the opportunity to hear exactly what the company was up to by attending the conference.
Initially, the company worked with 1,000 clients or pioneers as they like to refer to them, to refine the program, information dashboards, communication styles between coaches and pioneers, etc. From their pioneers, Arivale has come to understand a couple of items. First, that the pioneers value the time with their coaches and the advice they provide that allows them to turn information into action. Because of this, the coaching aspect will continue to play and integral part in the company’s program. Second, people are not focused on the long-term effects of their choices. For example, Lewis mentioned that when presented with the opportunity to eat a cupcake, the initial thought is that it will taste good right now, not, that the choice of eating it may lead to diabetes ten years down the line.
Arivale has come to understand that people want experiences and by explaining that wellness will allow them to partake in the experiences they want to have, whether its attending their child’s college graduation or climbing Mt. Everest, it makes their health more tangible and inspires them to make the necessary changes.
In order to make the program available to a larger audience, Arivale is working with a few major corporations to roll out availability of their program, though Lewis didn’t mention which ones. He also mentioned that the data they collect through testing has made a significant impact on people’s health and a lot of people that stand to benefit from their programming. In the future, Arivale is hoping to work with breast cancer survivors, people whose bodies have experienced harsh treatments and need help getting back to a baseline of normal health. Arivale has a number of exciting items planned for the future and we are looking forward to watching them develop!
Fortunately, Arivale was not the only company that left us impressed. M3 Biotechnology founded and led by CEO, Leen Kawas, is tackling Alzheimer’s disease by targeting small molecules and focusing on specific targets. Currently there are no therapies, cures or preventions for this disease, simply treatments that slow the disease or cover the symptoms. While Kawas made it clear that M3 is not creating a cure for Alzheimer’s, it is developing an anti-aging, disease-modifying treatment. Ideally, once the treatment is finalized, it will be in a form that people could easily use in their homes, something like a pill or EpiPen. She realizes that by making the treatment simple and accessible, it will have the largest impact on people affected by the disease.
Not only is the treatment impressive, but Kawas herself has had a very interesting and dynamic background that has led her to her position today. With a passion and drive to create value, she began her career as a pharmacist in Jordan before pursuing her PhD at Washington State University, focusing on cancer treatments. Once she realized that her findings could be applied to Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases, Kawas founded M3 Biotechnology. Once she was able to get people and investors interested in the concept, she did not have plans to stay on as CEO, but her passion and understanding of what M3 needed to be successful, led her to take on the CEO role. We are looking forward to M3’s future successes and the company’s impact on Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.
Overall, the Xconomy event was a great snapshot of Seattle-based companies, non-profits and research facilities that are making innovative strives in the areas of biotech. It will be exciting to follow these organizations as they continue to make ground-breaking strides that impact and improve the health and wellness or people around the globe.