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.
Just over a year ago, I walked into Communiqué PR to begin my journey as an intern. Despite having had previous public-relations internship experiences, I was anxious, as being the newbie is always unnerving. At the time, I was ready to work hard and learn lots but had no idea the abundance of information and opportunities that I would be privy to that have allowed me to grow to lengths beyond those I had imagined. As I soon find myself bidding adieu to Communiqué, I reflect back on a handful of the many insights and lessons that I have learned from my internship and will take me on my career journey – including the fact that time really does fly by.
Be vocal – As a new intern who wants to prove their capabilities, intelligence, and not seem like a bother, it is easy to want to try and figure everything out on your own. However, one of the easiest ways to fully maximize your internship experience is to tap into the brilliant brains of your superiors, many of whom have had years of experience in the industry dealing with tough situations. Using my past experiences as a benchmark, I found that public-relations agencies have many similarities but also many quirks and differences that make them what they are. Asking questions is extremely important, especially when you are just starting out, to ensure that you fully understand what is expected of you and just how the company operates as a whole. That being said, it is also important to utilize outside resources and conduct research when appropriate in order to answer more general questions. Being vocal also means knowing when to speak up and bring your own ideas to the table. Although intimidating to have a senior-level coworker asking you for your opinion or edits on their blog post, it is important to remember that two sets of eyes are almost always better than one and your opinion is going to be valued.
There is no “I” in team – The level of camaraderie and collaboration between one another at Communiqué was apparent to me from day one. Communiqué prides itself on strategic thinking in order to deliver results and exceed client expectations. You will find that everyone has checked their ego at the door in order to focus on benefitting the company as a whole. Being a smaller firm, the importance of supporting one another in every aspect is crucial to success. On a daily basis I observed colleagues working together, regardless of seniority, in order to ensure that only the best work was being produced. This collaborative work style also creates a workplace that is very transparent and that much more comfortable to be a part of. Actively listening, offering a hand whenever need be, and communicating clearly are important aspects of a great team member and skills that I will always keep top of mind in my work and personal life, as I have seen the exponentially positive impact that a well-oiled team can have on success at Communiqué.
Take risks – The purpose of an internship is to learn new things about an industry, as well as to learn new skills that will make you a highly sought after commodity when it comes to job recruiting. As humans, we all make mistakes and I have found that taking risks and often learning from your mistakes, or accomplishments, is the best way to expand your knowledge and allow yourself to grow. It is important to remember that an internship should be mutually beneficial for you and the company. While it is undoubtedly the main focus of a firm to focus on client needs and financial stability, there should also be a clause that allows the company to turn its attention to you, as the intern, in order to allow you to learn and take full advantage of your internship opportunity. I can honestly say that at Communiqué, I always felt as though the management team had my best interest at heart, and in turn I had the company’s best interest.
I feel extremely fortunate to have been a part of such a hardworking and supportive team at Communiqué. Each and every day at the office, I was presented with a new opportunity that allowed me to acquire insight into various aspects of the public relations industry and business as a whole. With my internship experience at Communiqué under my belt, I feel well equipped to move onto my next adventure.
When developing a PR strategy for our clients, one of the first questions we ask is, “Does the company and the CEO have a social media presence?” If the answer is yes, then we determine how we can amplify our results through those channels and assist in growing followers for the company and executive. If the answer is no, then we determine what type of voice and personality the company or spokesperson should have, what kind of material should be posted, and how frequently the content should be shared. Our goal often is to provide followers with meaningful and valuable content.
But in November 2015, I began wondering if there was value in being less active on social media. The reason being, Jeff Bezos has just posted his first tweet. Of course, Bezos is a household name and runs a major global corporation, so it would be expected that he would have an active presence on social media. Oddly enough, he didn’t. Since joining Twitter as a user in July of 2008, Bezos hadn’t tweeted until November of 2015, when his aerospace company Blue Origin had a successful launch and landing of a reusable rocket.
This got me thinking and I began comparing him to another prominent CEO and figure in the space and auto industry, Elon Musk. Unlike Bezos, Musk is very active on Twitter with over 1,700 tweets and 3.7 million followers. So the question was: Which approach is better? To better understand this let’s consider both CEOs.
Musk actively shares his vision for alternate forms of energy and getting to Mars. He heads two of the world’s most innovative and interesting brands—Tesla Motors and SpaceX—that consistently share their progress and developments. It makes sense that he would tweet frequently. Because he freely shares his opinions and has access to content people are intrigued by, this is the perfect combination for a successful Twitter handle.
Bezos, on the other, hand reflects Amazon’s approach to publicity. The company is notorious for being more secretive, so it makes sense that Bezos would do the same on his personal handle. Also, while Amazon is innovative and largely used, the company doesn’t have the same appeal as rockets and sports cars—maybe when they introduce the use of drones for delivery there will be more public interest. Regardless, it makes sense that Bezos saved his first tweet for an event that wasn’t just newsworthy, it was part of history.
So, the answer to which approach is better? Neither. While Twitter is an effective medium to share information and freely promote your business, opinions and interests, it still needs to remain authentic to the user. In this case, both CEOs have done this. While we wouldn’t recommend staying dormant for seven years on Twitter, take a page out of either Musk’s or (now active tweeter) Bezos’ playbooks: Approach social media in a way that feels natural and matches your personality.
For PR professionals, the backbone of every client relationship is a strategic plan that encompasses what your client is trying to achieve and how public relations can help support their overall goals. Creating a comprehensive plan is critical because it sets shared expectations and defines measureable results. A PR plan is typically comprised of three key elements: objectives, strategies and tactics. Seems simple enough, but understanding the difference between the three elements can be tricky – even seasoned PR pros occasionally refer to a tactic as a strategy. Following is a breakdown of what each element actually means.
Objectives
Objectives are tangible and should be achievable within a year or two. When creating an objective, keep the SMART acronym in mind: Is it specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-oriented?
Many PR plans include two sets of objectives – the company’s overall business objectives and the communication objectives that will help achieve them. Restating the business objectives ensures alignment on the company’s short-term goals and makes it easier to see how the communication objectives fit into the company’s strategy.
For example, if a technology company’s business objective is to execute a successful IPO by the end of 2017, one of its communication objectives may be to raise the CEO’s profile among potential shareholders.
Strategies
Strategies are general approaches used to achieve objectives. A PR plan typically includes three to eight strategies, depending on how complicated the objectives are. Strategies should be actionable and explain how you will accomplish the objective and why you are taking that approach.
Going back to the technology company example, strategies to help raise a CEO’s profile among potential shareholders could include:
- Pursue speaking opportunities at industry events to make the CEO known among key audiences
- Place contributed articles with technology trade publications to establish the CEO as an industry thought leader.
Tactics
Tactics are the activities that you or the team will implement to carry out each strategy. They are the day-to-day steps that will move the company forward towards reaching its overall objectives. Each tactic should help answer the question, what is the next step we will need to take to achieve the strategy?
Using the technology company example, the tactics that support placing contributed articles include identifying an article topic, interviewing the subject matter expert, outlining and drafting the article, pitching it to targeted news outlets, securing publication of the piece and making sure it is showcased on the company website.
Strategic planning is a critical first step towards achieving success across all areas of business. It is particularly important in public relations because ROI cannot be measured solely based on traditional metrics. A strategic plan ensures that there is a shared understanding of what you’re trying to achieve, how you plan to do it and how you’re going to measure success. Just make sure you’re grounded in the difference between objectives, strategies and tactics before diving into your next plan.
A few weekends ago, I read a book called Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg, a New York Times investigative reporter and the author of the best-selling book The Power of Habit.
Smarter Faster Better focuses on productivity and why some people and companies are so good at getting a lot done. Duhigg explores how motivation, goal setting, focus, decision-making and data play a role in one’s productivity.
The book is very well researched and written. The real-life examples animate his points. For instance, in the chapter on absorbing data, Duhigg cites studies that show when people interact with data they internalize it better. He writes about school teachers in Ohio who had fancy dashboards and data on each student, but simply reading reports or charts on each student‘s performance did not help them figure out how to teach better. They really wanted to see their students’ test scores improve, but they were overwhelmed with the data and did not know how to apply the information to see results in their classrooms.
When Ohio implemented the Elementary Initiative, each teacher in this underperforming school had to spend a couple of hours a week in a conference room filling out index cards on each student. At first, they thought it would be a waste of time. However, they were soon able to see patterns and trends they were unaware of before, and they adjusted their behavior in the classroom. Eight months later the kids sat for the yearly assessment test scores and the results were dramatic with overall scores more than doubling over the previous year.
I loved this example and began thinking about how to apply it to our business. We use SalesforceIQ to track business development activities, but looking at the charts on your computer is not the same as interacting with the data.
Motivated by Duhigg’s book, our team is now also keeping track of progress with potential new clients on index cards. Specifically, the manager leading the new business effort gets an index card and notes the stage of the deal in the sales cycle. We also track the size of the deal and record which of us will work on the new business pitch. Receiving an index card also symbolizes ownership.
The experiment with the index cards has been fun, and like the teachers in Ohio, we are able to see some new patterns that were not as apparent from looking at reports in SalesforceIQ. Our sales pipeline meetings have taken on new energy with more in-depth discussions and brainstorming.
If you have a spirit of continuous improvement or just want to learn more about the secrets of being productive, this book is a must-read.
Image by Elizabeth Alter
The road to a successful career is a long and arduous one, but is a journey that can produce many rewards. When people begin their careers, they focus first on mastering foundational skills, however as they climb the ladder, their responsibilities grow along with their power and influence. Managers often are required to provide strategic counsel, deliver effective presentations and encourage teams to achieve revenue goals.
It is no surprise that these higher-level responsibilities require very different skills than the ones needed to perform entry-level duties. However, one concept that many professionals fail to consider as they move into senior leadership roles is how to build and use power effectively. If leaders are going to be successful in achieving their goals, they need to understand power, learn when to use it, and how to build or overcome a shortage of it.
Amy Cuddy, the author of Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges, explains there are two types of power: social power and personal power. According to Cuddy, “Social power is characterized by the ability to exert dominance, to influence or control the behavior of others.” She explains that individuals earn and express social power through “disproportionate control over valued resources.”[i]
Consider for instance, a VP in a PR firm. The VP is going to have control over more resources —such as staff and direction of client budget – than an intern does. According to the model provided by Cuddy, a VP has more social power than an intern does.
On the other hand, personal power stems from the ability to control one’s inner resources such as thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Personal power provides us with the ability to control our emotions, relate to others in a meaningful way, create intimacy, and project confidence.
In summary Cuddy explains, “… Social power is power over – the capacity to control others’ states and behaviors. Personal power is power to – the ability to control our own states and behaviors.”
Clearly, senior leaders need to understand and harness both types of power, but the way to build social power differs from how one builds personal power. According to the article “How to Overcome a Power Deficit,” by Jean-Louis Barsoux and Cyril Bouquet, power at work comes from three things: legitimacy, access to resources, and the strength of one’s network.[ii]
Inspired by Barsoux and Bouquets’ research, here are three ideas on how PR professionals can increase their social power to improve their relationships with not only managers and co-workers, but also with clients, journalists, analysts and others.
Continually Build your Skillset and Expertise for Legitimacy
To design and implement effective PR or communication campaigns in a world where the pace of innovation continues to accelerate, it is critical to stay up to speed on the latest trends and technologies. If you do not do this, you risk losing legitimacy since your base of knowledge is no longer relevant.
In the past 10 years, we have seen the introduction and growth of social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as new marketing automation tools such as Marketo, Hubspot and Pardot. Social media platforms and marketing automation tools are just two types of technology innovations that have a huge impact on communication and PR programs, that ultimately impacts engagement with consumers.
To stay current, PR and communication professionals need to stay informed, and they need to experiment with new approaches to learn what works and what does not. Finally, depending on their specific areas of expertise, and as technology changes, they need to evolve their skills in areas such as storytelling, customer engagement, writing, video production, and A/B testing of content.
Consistently Measure and Merchandise Results to Grow Resources
In the fields of public relations, communications, and marketing, people often perceive you (and your firm) to be only as good as your latest campaign results. This means you need to be continually self-evaluating your work and its impact. You must know what tangible results you have generated and you must proactively share these results with managers, clients, and other stakeholders.
When sharing results, use your marketing communications expertise to package them in a contextually and visually compelling manner, and be sure to explain why the results are significant.
By routinely improving your results, you will be in a much better position to demonstrate value and grow your marketing communications budget, which is essential to maintaining a power position. Conversely, if you are not demonstrating a return on investment, you must consider recommending, and making changes.
Develop a Broad Network and Nurture Relationships
Relationships are valuable. By building strong ones with reputable, well-regarded people on whom you rely – journalists, bloggers, consumer advocates, board members, academics, and other influencers – you can significantly increase your position of power. Through relationships we learn and grow, we gain access to information, we secure customers, we help clients gain customers, and much more. Given this, the well-informed marketer or communication professional must look for ways to connect and be socially engaging with a wide range of people.
When working to grow one’s networks and build relationships, it is important be avoid being sycophantic. Instead, look to add value by sharing information, offering to help with connections, or providing advice. A great way to expand one’s network is to look for opportunities to do volunteer work, join boards, or form your own group. For instance, I have made a number of valuable professional connections through my neighborhood-walking group.
While this advice may seem basic, I recently have spoken with a number of senior-level marketing leaders who have experienced issues at work. These issues have not stemmed from a lack of ability to do the actual work, but from a lack of power and their ability to influence change or build consensus for specific projects. By taking the time to think about how to grow their legitimacy, resources and networks, they can regain some of their social power, which will make them more effective and successful.
One of the most sought-after skills in the business world today is “critical thinking.” The Wall Street Journal reported that mentions of critical thinking in job posts on the career-search site Indeed.com have doubled since 2009. Critical thinking also ranked first on the “Most Important Skills for Next Gen Leaders” in a 2016 survey from Executive Development Associates, Inc. (EDA), Pearson’s TalentLens group, and Performance Assessment Network (PAN).
Certainly for PR and communications professionals, the importance of critical thinking cannot be overstated. Clients and partners look to us to be trusted advisors and a credible resource to shape their communications and PR strategies – running on autopilot just doesn’t cut it in this industry.
So what does it mean to be a critical thinker, exactly? Aren’t you automatically thinking all day, every day? The answer is both yes and no. The key here is the phrase “automatically thinking.” Critical thinking requires you to shut off the autopilot mode and thoughtfully consider the task at hand. For example:
Understand the bigger picture. Consider, for example, that you’ve been tasked with building a media list for an upcoming announcement. You might pull up your master media list, identify the top “friendly” journalists who have covered your company previously, and leave it there. Applying critical thinking to this task involves going a step further and examining questions such as:
- “Why is this announcement important to my client? To the industry at large?”
- “Who are the target audiences for this news? What publications do they read?”
- “Is my client’s business evolving in a new/different direction with this announcement?”
With this example, critical thinking elevates the task to something far more substantive than building a simple media list. You’re thinking critically about the more strategic goals behind an announcement, how it pertains to your clients’ business, and how it fits into the broader competitive landscape.
Anticipate & identify potential flaws in your logic. When presenting ideas to a manager, client or reporter, it’s important to anticipate potential questions or concerns. On its own, this demonstrates a thoughtful approach – but it’s only one part of the process around critical thinking. The first step is to think deeper to find potential flaws in your initial logic so that they can be addressed early in the process.
Let’s say you’ve got a great idea for a proactive media pitch – you draft it up and want to send it off to some target reporters ASAP. Think critically here before hitting the “send” button:
- “Is this really a timely/unique story angle? Why and why not?”
- “What do industry analysts have to say on this topic? Is there a quote/study/stat I could include to back up my point?”
- “What has this person written about recently? Why is it relevant for them, specifically, not just the outlet?”
- “If I was a journalist and I received this pitch, what kind of story would I write? What questions would I ask in the interview?”
Here, critical thinking lifts the pitch from a rapid-fire email to a reporter to a more thoughtful, well-researched story idea. You’re backing up your points with stats and information and can present the idea in a new, creative way.
Be discerning about data, and make informed decisions. Being able to analyze information from multiple sources, and apply that information to your task at hand, is a big component of critical thinking. Journalists have to utilize this skill on a daily basis. In the code of ethics for the Society for Professional Journalists, one of the very first tenants is to for reporters to “take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify information before releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible.”
For PR and business professionals, this translates to demonstrating the thinking behind the claims you’re making, and use data from a variety of sources to back up your claims. The final example we use here is around how to accept (or decline) feedback from multiple sources as part of an editing cycle on a document.
Having a second (or third) pair of eyes on a press release draft, for example, can catch things you might have missed the first time around. It’s easy to just quickly “accept all” after someone’s reviewed a document, and consider the job done. This is one of the most dangerous examples of auto-pilot mode: simply assuming the person editing/reviewing the document is correct. Critical thinking allows you to consider both the strength and validity of the original content being edited, and the edits themselves. Some questions to help guide your thinking:
- “Do I actually agree with these edits? Are they correct?”
- “Does the person editing/reviewing the document have familiarity with the situation/content being addressed?”
- “Are these edits necessary, or are they subjective and more a matter of writing style preferences?”
Critical thinking allows you to consider another person’s perspective and suggestions to consider, but more importantly, it allows you to actively choose to accept them or not.
What other parts of critical thinking do you utilize in your PR career? Are there other areas where you’ve found yourself working on autopilot? We’d love to hear about it in our comments section!