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.
PR and advertising are both important in a company’s overall marketing mix, but the two play entirely different roles. On a number of occasions, I have had to explain to people what PR is, what PR professionals do, and how PR differs from advertising. To put it simply: PR is earned media and advertising is paid media.
With advertising, a brand has complete control to share whatever message it wants through a guaranteed, paid media placement. With PR, people work with third party sources, such as journalists, analysts, bloggers and influencers in order to secure earned media placements. In the case of PR, these third party sources write their articles or reports based on the information they gather from a variety of sources; coverage of your company are not guaranteed the way they are with advertising, but rather earned by effectively positioning and promoting your company to the media.
It is important to note that journalists need to write objective, impartial stories. They need to balance a variety of sources, viewpoints and perspectives in order to develop a provoking and credible piece. Therefore, it might not be that a journalist did not want to write about your company, but that the information was not compelling enough to include, or there were too many additional points to include in the article. Because articles in the media must adhere to editorial standards of fair and impartial reporting, it is often argued that an earned media placement (an article written by a reporter) lends more credibility to a brand than a paid advertisement could (since advertising content and messaging is written and controlled by the company paying for it).
Building Credibility
PR can also be a more subtle, non-invasive way to communicate a brand’s message when compared to disruptive banner or popup ads. A brand can communicate whatever message it wants with an advertisement, but with PR, we share brands’ messages with the media with the goal that they will include the brand (and its messaging) in an article. Why is an article more valuable than an advertisement in this context? It all comes down to trust and credibility. According to Content Marketing Institute, more than 70 percent of consumers say they prefer to learn about a product or service through editorial content rather than traditional advertising.
Audiences tend to be more receptive to messages from third parties, such as journalists they trust, than when messages come from the brand itself, such as advertisements. In terms of building trust and credibility with an audience, PR can be more effective than an advertisement, because someone your audience trusts is telling your story for you, making the message more trustworthy, and credible.
Meeting Your Business Objectives
Another key difference between PR and advertising is that PR professionals focus on supporting a company’s overarching strategic business objectives. PR focuses on long-term, bigger goals for a company, such as bringing a product to market, positioning the company for an IPO, increasing market share, and the like. Advertising, on the other hand, focuses more on short-term goals, such as increasing sales and prompting immediate action. PR and advertising both help in building awareness for brands, but the path they take, and the goals and objectives that guide them are completely different. PR can potentially be a more cost-effective marketing strategy when compared to advertising, because it can increase the perceived value of a company with third party-validated content, as well as support the bigger picture and strategic business objectives for a company.
Following is a modified chart, originally developed by PR agency owner and Forbes columnist Robert Wynne, to include differences between public relations and advertising that I felt were most important to understand:
|
Public Relations |
Advertising |
| Earned media | Paid media |
| Third party validation; credibility | Self-promotional |
| Non-invasive editorial placement | Disruptive advertising placement |
| Less/no control of content; media in control | Complete control of content |
| Helps build relationships | Helps promote something |
| Focuses on long-term business objectives | Focuses on short-term sales objectives |
| No guarantee for coverage; uses persuasion | Guaranteed coverage |
| A story only runs once | Ads runs as often as you can pay for them |
Which Comes First? Suggested Best Practice
Building awareness and credibility first through PR is a good best practice to consider. PR can typically do this more effectively than advertising can, because it can provide more information through storytelling about a product, company or person with earned media placements. This first step is critical to the success of advertisements down the road.
For example, if you saw a billboard along a highway of an unknown toothpaste brand promoting its teeth whitening solution, next to a Crest billboard promoting its teeth whitening solution, which ad would resonate most with you? Probably the Crest billboard because Crest is an established, trusted toothpaste brand. If you can build trust and awareness with your target audiences first, your future ads will have a stronger impact and be more effective in terms of prompting an action.
So, can you now tell the difference between PR and advertising?
Beginning in March 2016, Communiqué PR began a partnership with A Place for Mom (APFM) to support PR efforts around a series of research findings, tools, and quarterly reports in development by the senior living referral service. The data-focused program centers on providing information about national and regional senior living trends to consumers, using state-of-the-art statistical methods and APFM’s massive database of senior housing referrals so families can better prepare for senior living. This includes senior-focused information on the housing market, senior living costs, multi-cultural considerations, and LGBT issues within senior communities. We were excited and grateful to provide strategic PR guidance for the program and understood it presents an excellent opportunity to drive media attention for APFM’s services.
As a bit of background, APFM is America’s largest senior living referral service, with more than 400 senior living advisors providing resources and personalized assistance in finding senior living options. APFM works with a nationwide network of more than 17,000 providers to help families find options based on a loved one’s stated needs, preferences and budget. This may include independent senior housing, home care, residential care homes, assisted living communities and specialized Alzheimer’s memory care.
National Senior Cost Index
As the first part of the quarterly data series, APFM released new findings from its National Senior Living Cost Index highlighting costs for three primary senior living categories in the U.S.: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care. The data indicates a 2.7 percent increase in annual costs in the U.S. across the three primary senior living categories. This means seniors are paying $99 more per month toward senior living compared to 2014, with people living in southern states ($125/month) and western states ($90/month) facing the greatest increase in growth (4 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively).
With that said, it’s important to note that although the median cost of senior living is on the rise, it is still well below the median growth rate of the national housing market from 2014 to 2015 (7 percent). The data also indicate that seniors are waiting longer to move into senior living, and people aged 84 or older making the transition increased by 3 percent between 2013 and 2015. This fact creates higher acuity needs once seniors make the move, resulting in greater general spending by the consumer.
Planning Tool
One unique and helpful finding unveiled along with the National Senior Living Cost Index is APFM’s new, interactive senior living planning tool. Hosted on APFM’s website, the new tool allows families to map and rank senior living costs by county, state and region, as well as to see year-over-year and multi-year trends in senior living costs. There are no other such planning tools available to consumers, making it a truly one-of-a-kind resource to help people and families plan for senior care.
The data used in the planning tool and Senior Living Cost Index is based on actual rent and care charges collected from referred family move-ins to APFM partners. National and regional median costs and growth estimates are based on communities with at least one move-in for a given care type two years in a row. City, metro and state estimates are based on an econometric model of inflation-adjusted move-in charges (in 2015 dollars) during 2014 and 2015. Estimates in zip codes with few move-ins borrow information about costs from other zip codes with either similar median household income or geographic proximity.
Media Interest
Communiqué understood the news value of APFM’s National Senior Living Cost Index findings – journalists love hard numbers and data to validate what they are reporting. The findings also appealed to a wide audience and anyone residing in the U.S. could view the trends and results as helpful and interesting.
As a first step to prepare for media outreach, Communiqué meticulously audited recent coverage around senior care to understand what outlets and reporters cover the topic. This included researching national, regional and local media, as well as the major trade publications associated with senior care. Based on the findings, CPR identified “beat” reporters whose main job is to cover senior-related news and others who sometimes cover related senior topics and still represent good targets for media outreach.
Because the National Senior Living Cost Index story is only the first of four in the quarterly series, Communiqué recognized that many of the reporters identified would also be strong targets for the rest of the PR program. We knew building relationships with these reporters would prove critical in garnering ongoing media coverage throughout the year. This inspired the idea of sending personalized notes and care packages to key targets to let them know about the upcoming data series and ensure that APFM is top-of-mind if they are ever in need of an expert source for an article.
This tactic, along with a well-crafted pitch and a coordinated media outreach campaign, resulted in some incredible coverage for APFM. National, regional, local and trade media all covered the story, reaching millions of people and families with valuable information for them to consider when thinking about senior care. A few of the highlights include coverage from:
- The Next Avenue
- Forbes
- Philadelphia Business Journal
- Long-Term Living Magazine
- Senior Housing News
- McKnight’s Senior Living
- HealthLine
Communiqué congratulates APFM for their commitment to providing valuable resources to help people plan for senior living and embarking on a yearlong journey to provide insights into issues impacting senior communities.
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While many content marketers are rejoicing the news of Facebook’s updates to the platform’s branded content restrictions, the rest of us are busy scratching our heads and wondering what exactly this means? In recent years, brands have relied on Facebook, the largest social network, for means of expanding content marketing campaigns, which leads me to believe that these updates would be of high importance. Unfortunately, a statement released by Facebook left much to be desired – including questions surrounding the implications of the change and best practices moving forward. It is my hope to translate these murky terms into layman’s terms in order for brands to best utilize the changes and boost branded content on Facebook.
To understand branded-content policy updates, it is important to start with the foundation – what is branded content? According to the Branded Content Marketing Association, “Branded content is any content that can be associated with the brand in the eye of the beholder.” Branded content is one of the most effective ways for brands to stand out and make deeper, more entertaining, connections with consumers. By incorporating social media, including Facebook, into branded content campaigns, brands have been able to deliver multi-channel campaigns, providing a reminder of brand image no matter where you look. When branded content is successful, consumers are entertained and educated while brands remain top of mind, creating a symbiotic relationship for success.
Breaking Down the changes to Branded Content on Facebook
Facebook defines branded content as posts that specifically mention or feature a third party product, brand or sponsor. After recently purchasing a new, faulty garage door, my father decided it was most practical to take to every social media channel to express anger and frustration with said garage-door company. By Facebook standards, this is an example of branded content. However, while the average Joes of the world could post about both positive and negative interactions with brands, verified pages have not had such luxury – until now.
As of April 8, 2016, all of the pages with the little blue check mark next to the name can sell sponsored, branded content to partnering companies via their personal Facebook pages without having to first receive permission from Facebook. In other words, brands will have an easier time making money on branded content and branded content can now be seen as advertisements via publishers and marketers.
In the past, verified pages, or publishers, were denied the ability to run branded content because of Facebook’s desire to limit the amount of advertisement-based posts on newsfeeds. However, an undeniable shift away from traditional marketing toward content marketing, specifically focusing on social media platforms, has lead to “media companies, public figures, influencers, and marketers” asking for an update to Facebook’s ad policy[i].
Facebook points to the fact that they wanted to limit the overly promotional content on users’ newsfeeds because many see them as distracting and uninteresting and the reason why the change did not happen sooner. In order to limit the interference of promotional features, there are still limitations within the branded content policy that should be understood before implementing the branded content tag. Users should also be aware of any updates that Facebook roles out in order to tune out branded content.
So, what should we expect now?
Although Facebook’s foundation is in social networking – think stalking classmates and keeping in touch with distant relatives – it has transformed into today’s largest online advertising tool. With Facebook’s recent update to branded content, the path toward a platform run by advertising and sponsored posts is only becoming more prominent. As mentioned, rules have been enacted to accompany this update in order to ensure that users are not bombarded with advertisements, however, only time can tell how exactly the ratio of sponsored-to-organic content will be affected.
The strongest ties to the update lie in Facebook’s potential new revenue stream. Because publishers must tag their branded content with the product/company via Facebook’s Branded Content tool, Facebook can collect more comprehensive analytics regarding the post. Facebook can in turn charge fees for insights into how posts are performing, as well as to boost posts. This is an attractive deal for advertisers, seeing as they usually pay influencers and publishers depending on the user-interaction with branded content posts. It is beneficial for advertisers to know concrete metrics to ensure proper ROI. This also presents the opportunity for the publishers of verified pages to receive their own hefty chunk of change by posting branded content.
While there has been speculation around whether or not the update will hold up to Federal Trade Commission advertisement guidelines, we should expect to see a whole lot more celebrity endorsements and branded content popping up in newsfeeds as the floodgates have been opened.
A recent Forbes column caught my interest about the “devolution” of public relations given the rise of content marketing and self-published content by companies and entrepreneurs looking to promote themselves.
Former journalist and PR agency owner Robert Wynne comments that the shift toward free content online – coupled with the decline of print publication subscriptions and falling ad rates – has changed media forever. Indeed, print publications have struggled for the better part of a decade; editorial teams are all-too often pared to a bare minimum, and companies can no longer take it for granted that a publication will cover their news.
As a result, this evolving media environment is driving many organizations to embrace content marketing to promote their products and services. This type of owned content can range from blog posts, newsletters, social media posts, videos, infographics and slideshows. Paid content is also on the rise, which includes “advertorial” sponsored articles, as well as traditional advertising. Many long-time reporters from outlets such as the New York Times and TechCrunch have left the journalism world behind to take communications or marketing positions in the corporate world, signaling a growing need within businesses for experienced writers and content producers.
“Whether this trend is good, bad or neutral doesn’t matter,” Wynne writes. “Self-produced content, paid or free, is here to stay.”
Explaining Content Marketing
The Content Marketing Institute explains content marketing as “the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. … Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.”
The key here is “instead of pitching your products and services.”
So does the rise of content marketing and owned content – as well as sponsored and paid content – signal the devolution, if not the outright demise – of public relations? After all, isn’t our business founded on the practice of pitching our client’s products and services to media?
PR’s value in today’s new media landscape
It’s true that we pitch our client’s products and services to journalists, but the important nuance here is that PR professionals shouldn’t be selling or marketing as part of our jobs. Even with the explosion of owned content being developed by many companies, the role of a PR contact is to be a resource for journalists, and ultimately to earn media placements.
After all, despite the changes in the media industry, reporters still cover news, write feature stories, conduct in-depth investigative pieces, and produce editorial journalism. While publications might be accepting more contributed content than in years past, there are still editorial guidelines to which those articles adhere.
If anything, the role of public relations is not deteriorating, but becoming more important than ever as part of a company’s communications strategy. Our role should be to connect journalists with sources and content that provide context and perspective on the news and issues their readers care about. Sure, telling your client’s story is paramount, but so too is positioning that story within a broader industry landscape and tying it to trends, breaking news, and competitive news.
Our audience in this instance should not be the buyer or end user of our client’s products, but the journalist. PR professionals can – and should – leverage owned content as part of their media outreach strategy, but our craft centers on being able to translate those materials for journalists, and ultimately earn a media placement.
Businesses must take a multi-pronged approach that encompasses owned, paid and earned media. These three strategies are not interchangeable. Knowing how to frame a story in a compelling, credible way for editorial audiences is a valuable and much-needed part of an organization’s communications strategy. As owned and paid content continues to play a larger part in the overall marketing mix via content marketing, let’s not be quick to dismiss the importance of PR in facilitating and securing earned content. There’s room for all three elements at the table.
In our constantly evolving world of technology, emerging platforms and, as a result, changes to how news and entertainment is consumed, have become the norm. Accordingly, PR and communications professionals are challenged with keeping pace and updating strategies to align with new media platforms.
Cision’s recent State of the Media 2016 Report takes a look at media trends, a crucial aspect of any communication strategy that PR pros must understand, and hone, in order to secure results on behalf of clients. The report, based on a survey of more than 300 print and digital journalists, highlights the four top media trends. Given the changing landscape, the following should be key considerations in PR and communications recommendations and strategies:
Mobile: 72 percent of Americans own a smartphone and media outlets are taking advantage. According to the survey findings, 92 percent of media outlets have or are currently adopting mobile-friendly Web design. As smartphone use continues to increase, pitching content that’s easily transferrable for this medium will increase PR professional’s pitch value. Visually appealing or easily digestible content are suggested.
Multimedia: The next most important trend is multimedia, according to 25.8 percent of the surveyed journalists. Multimedia content, such as infographics, helps with the above mentioned visual appeal, and helps differentiate content, as well as bring stories to life. Nearly half of the journalists indicated they include this type of content in their work, making it a key element to consider in any PR effort.
Native Advertising: Cision’s report also found native advertising’s importance among the surveyed journalist fell compared to last year, from 43 to 24.6 percent. There are conflicting opinions about native advertising within the industry, but regardless, it will be an important element for those in communications and media to monitor. Cision’s Media Research Team predicts that native advertising use and adoption will boom as traditional print publications continue to evolve.
Social Media: Finally, Cision found that 21 percent of the surveyed journalists use Twitter as a reporting tool and expect the platform to grow in value the most. Even though the report found social media to be a low-ranking trend—only 9 percent found social media to be the most important trend—this medium may be one of the most crucial elements to watch. New platforms and apps are constantly popping up, creating new opportunities for PR pros to communicate and reach target audiences.
Take for example, Periscope, Meerkat, and Snapchat, all of which have created new means to consume news and entertaining content in real-time. Nearly two-thirds of American adults use social media, making these mediums important ones to watch, particularly as they look to include publishers—in the way that Snapchat and Facebook have begun to share content in recent years.
As technology continues to change how we consume news—whether it’s via digital outlets, our mobile devices, or through social media platforms, PR pros will be challenged to adjust to the burgeoning influx of mediums and adjust strategies accordingly in order to be successful.
For more detailed findings, be sure to check out the full Cision report here.
In public relations, you’re constantly developing relationships with journalists and clients. Another relationship that is especially critical for PR practitioners to seek out is with a mentor.
The best mentors are a valuable professional asset and can serve as a sounding board to help guide you in your career.
Here are five dos and don’ts to get the most out of a mentor.
Do – Know your objectives: First things first, before approaching someone to be your mentor, you need to have a clear understanding of your goals and objectives. Do you want to become a better leader? Figure out why you’re not getting promoted at work? Ask yourself what personal areas you want to improve so you can determine how a mentor can help you accomplish your goals.
Don’t – Waste your mentor’s time: Come prepared to your meetings and be respectful of your mentor’s other commitments. Be open to all advice and suggestions and resist the urge to get defensive when critical feedback is provided. Ideally, mentors are also benefitting from this relationship so don’t hold back from expressing your opinions even if that means disagreeing with them. By challenging their beliefs, you’re offering a fresh perspective and earning their respect.
Do – Steal their Wi-Fi: I recently read Mindy Kaling’s book “Why Not Me?,” which included the essay “On Being a Mentor” from Kaling’s former boss Greg Daniels. Daniels is a writer, producer and director who has worked on such television series as “The Office” and “Saturday Night Live.” In his essay, one particular piece of advice comparing finding a mentor to borrowing someone’s Wi-Fi resonated with me:
“You take your mentoring where you can find it, even if it is not being offered to you. Have you ever used your neighbor’s Wi-Fi when it wasn’t on a password? If you have the opportunity to observe someone at work, you are getting mentoring out of them even if they are unaware or resistant. Make a list of people you think would make the greatest mentors and try to get close enough to steal their Wi-Fi.”
Even if you don’t formally ask someone to be your mentor, you can still learn a tremendous amount by simply surrounding yourself with people you admire and incorporating their work habits.
Don’t – Be afraid to move on: Like any relationship, sometimes you outgrow your mentor and that’s normal. While you may move from a weekly coffee date to the occasional “like” on a LinkedIn update, it’s important to thank mentors for their guidance and acknowledge the time they invested in your professional growth. Besides, this is PR and you never know if those relationships may prove useful in the future.
Do – Pay it forward: Look for ways you can share your newfound knowledge with rising PR professionals. By volunteering for a mentors program through your local PRSA chapter or other PR organizations, you’ll reinforce the lessons you’ve learned and have the opportunity to shape someone else’s career path.
Developing worthwhile mentor relationships take time, trust, and follow-through from both parties. Although it’s not an easy pursuit, the connection and experience gained by the mentor and mentee makes it more than worth the effort.