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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.

Let Your Brand Decide: Journalist, Influencer, or Both

In recent years we have seen a rise in the number of blogs and social networks that include Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Consequently, brands have experienced a flood of both positive and negative opinions coming from user reviews and online word-of-mouth messaging. This should come as no surprise considering it is an age-old fact that recommendations are one of the most influential marketing tactics.

Forbes credits word-of-mouth marketing as the “most important” form of social media, with 92 percent of consumers admitting the “recommendations from friends and family always trump other forms of advertising.” I have no intention of shooting down traditional forms of advertising. However, I would much rather rely on peers’ personal experiences with a product for advice than unsightly billboards or strident commercials in which companies have paid money to try and convince you that their product stands above the rest.

Generational Shifts in Media Consumption

As consumers, the way we receive information has transformed from face-to-face communications to online media – hence the need to reach online influencers. Bloggers are now filling the same role as asking a good friend for advice on which mascara you should purchase. Because of the role bloggers have come to play in our daily lives, they have become wildly influential and should be considered in integrated PR strategies.

Through their writing, influential bloggers have mastered the art of opening up their homes, bringing readers along to spin class with them, and even allowing online audiences to partake in more intimate life events, such as wedding ceremonies. By doing so, author and consumer make a deeper connection, providing a whole new level of trust.

One specific blogging genre that has experienced an exponential boom in recent years is the rise of “mommy bloggers.” Generation Y is the first generation that has been fully reliant on online media. As the females of this generation become first-time mothers, it is common practice for them to turn to bloggers for advice and support during this exciting and emotional time. Bloggers take on the role of trusted advisor and the products they promote are accepted by readers everywhere. The specific brands bloggers promote and recommend benefit immensely from increased sales. In addition, once a connection between blogger and reader is made during pregnancy, reviews evolve to include recipe, restaurant, and vacation recommendations. Influencers begin to play a significant role in everything from what is going to be made for Sunday night dinner to what hotel to stay in on baby’s first road trip.

Influencers vs. Journalists

A recent article by PR Week asked two industry experts to weigh in on the question: “Have influencers eclipsed journalists as brands’ primary pitching targets?” If one were to read up to this point, I think the answer would appear to be quite clear – yes – but don’t underestimate the importance of journalists.

Regardless of whether or not your PR target is a journalist or influencer, pitching is going to follow similar criteria. Securing coverage for a client is going to be irrelevant when placed in front of an audience that does not care. One must define the target audience including which publications are most persuasive and prominent in their lives. If you are looking to get news in front of those 65 and older, you are more likely going to rely on traditional newspapers and/or television news channels as the primary medium. On the opposite end of the spectrum, high-school-aged girls are not spending time reading the Wall Street Journal but rather stalking Instagram and YouTube moguls. Your time is going to be much better spent reaching out to online influencers.

While journalists and influencers have their own appropriate time and place, it is more beneficial to think of the two as a continuum rather that being mutually exclusive. In other words, there is no definitive answer to whether or not influencers have eclipsed journalists as brands’ primary pitching targets. Evaluating the message you are trying to get across and to whom you are targeting it is going to provide you with the direction in which you need to go to best suit your particular case. As the article points out, “There is a science to finding and pitching the right influencers and journalists,” as well as to determine the right outreach approach. If the ROI of having your client’s baby shampoo featured on the latest mommy blog is going to outweigh that of traditional media, then so be it, and vice versa.

Finally, do not be afraid to incorporate traditional avenues with influencers – you never know the successes you might find.

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How to Combine LinkedIn Company Accounts Without Losing Followers

Having a strong brand on social media is important not only for a company, but also for the user who is trying to learn more about the services it provides. If a company has multiple accounts on one social media platform it can cause confusion. Many times someone who is foreign to an organization will stop their search at the first company account they come upon, completely unaware of another account that is out there and that this company offers exactly what they need.

After learning this, an organization may decide it wants to take action and have one LinkedIn profile.  After brainstorming it, finally decide which page it will keep that best demonstrates a consistent brand image and a platform for people to connect and learn more about the company.  Then the question strikes: What will happen to all of the connections made on the account that is being abandoned? Where will all of the messaging and relationships built disappear to?

Not only is there a way to easily transfer connections, essentially merging the accounts, there are also steps to take before removing the account to help keep connections and build even more.

To ensure LinkedIn company connections are not lost, follow these steps:

1.  Confirm company email. Make sure you have an established company email address registered to your account.

2.  Visit the LinkedIn “Contact Us” Web page. Since other LinkedIn profiles (the employees) will be impacted by deleting one of the accounts, you need to contact Customer Service.

3.  Submit a request to transfer your connections. Supply the email addresses for the accounts you want to merge, and designate the name of the account you want to keep and any changes you would like to make.

When consolidating accounts, it is important to keep LinkedIn connections from both accounts in the loop. Following the steps bellow will ensure that current connections, as well as new connections, know where to go to receive the most accurate and current company updates. In the past Communiqué has written about how not to lose Twitter followers, but below are recommended steps catered to LinkedIn that a company should implement before deleting an account.

Steps to take before contacting customer service during the merging process:

1.  Update your bios. As an initial announcement, edit each account’s bio to let its audience know that the account is moving and to direct them to its new home.

2.  Notify your connections. Every day for 10 business days, communicate that the account is moving by posting something along these lines: “We’re moving on Aug. 10!  Connect with us here [new home] to continue getting our updates.”

3.  Stop posts unrelated to the move. During the transition period, only post reminders about the move from the LinkedIn account that is being discontinued. All other updates should be posted from the account that will remain.

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Does Your Organization Need a Spokesperson?

Many organizations struggle with the idea of a identifying and preparing a company spokesperson. For some companies, there is a clear spokesperson that naturally assumes the role, enjoys it, and is good at it. However, for many organizations the spokesperson is not identified until an event, such as a crisis, forces someone into the role. Unfortunately, this scenario does not position the company or its spokesperson for success as the individual who assumes the role may not be prepared and may not be the best candidate to adequately address external-facing matters.

As a best practice, organizations that engage in media relations, face potential crises, or have external audiences with which they are communicating should have a designated spokesperson (or spokespersons) that responds to inquiries and thoughtfully represents the company. This individual will be the person who engages with media, is quoted in press materials, and serves as an extension of the company’s brand and image, both internally and externally.

By identifying a spokesperson(s) in advance an organization can ensure the most qualified individuals are selected and trained. Though most employees are immersed in the company, its goals, and values, being a spokesperson is not easy and not everyone is suited for the role. Spokespeople need to be credible, personable, and convincing and they need to be well-informed about the organization. Even those who are need training and guidance along the way.

The Inherent Value of a Spokesperson

A spokesperson helps provide a human extension of an organization and its brand, which makes a company more relatable and trusted. This human extension of a brand enables target audiences to begin forming a connection with the spokesperson and the brand/company, establishing credibility with the public, media and company stakeholders.

Having a spokesperson will position companies to respond quickly to media inquiries and not leave a void that competitors can leverage to build their own awareness at opportune times. And better yet, organizations can proactively position spokespeople with media (or through speaking opportunities and events) to build the company’s brand and reputation.

Furthermore, journalists are searching for quotable spokespersons about a wide range of industry topics to be included in their stories. Journalists are hungry for sources and compelling content – and spokespersons can provide both, while driving coverage for a company’s brand.

For these reasons, we recommend our clients have a spokesperson (or persons) identified and trained to interface with the public and press. We work with each company to determine which individuals are best suited for the responsibility in terms of industry expertise and experience. We also recommend clearly defining roles and responsibilities. For example, given the dynamics of an organization and target audiences, how many spokespersons make sense and what are the areas of focus/expertise for each?

Below are two blog posts we have published on this topic:

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5 Steps to Soliciting Meaningful Feedback

In order to successfully meet clients’ communications and business objectives, PR pros rely on ongoing feedback from a multitude of parties, and they need to be strategic at eliciting that feedback to refine their PR strategies and tactics.

I recently read an insightful article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “How to Get the Feedback You Need.” Though the piece, penned by Carolyn O’Hara, was focused primarily on individual employees soliciting feedback from their managers, the recommendations in the article can and should be a part of every PR pro’s toolbox.

Here are five steps you can implement now to solicit better feedback from clients:

  1. Seek Feedback Often. Admittedly, receiving feedback—especially if it’s critical—can be stressful. According to Ed Batista, an executive coach and an instructor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, that’s exactly why people should do it often. It’s less stressful to initiate the conversation and hear the feedback if it’s done on an ongoing basis. Don’t just wait until the end of the quarter to ask your client how PR is going from their vantage; rather, engage them in an ongoing discussion about their perceptions of your work and how you can continue to refine your approach.
  2. Don’t Wait. This recommendation piggybacks on of the former. The best feedback happens when it’s fresh. According to O’Hara, “You might … close a conversation with a client with a parting request for her reaction to your role on a recent project.” Rather than waiting until the quarter’s end or the budget is set to renew, be timely in your solicitation of feedback. The feedback you get will be better—and you’ll be proactive in requesting it.
  3. Get Specific. If you ask for general feedback, the feedback you receive will likely be as vague as your question. Sheila Heen, author of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, suggests asking questions like, “What’s one thing we could improve?” or “What do you think we might have done differently?” The more specific your question, the better feedback your client will offer you.
  4. Don’t be afraid to call. In our digital age, it can be particularly difficult to get regular feedback since “physical distance often prevents informal exchanges,” argues O’Hara. Rather than requesting feedback over email, where nuances can get lost, it’s important to solicit feedback over the phone. Picking up the phone to call also demonstrates that extra effort to show you value and honor your client’s feedback.
  5. Seek feedback from multiple parties. Chances are you have one client contact with whom you interface the most, but O’Hara argues you should be seeking feedback from multiple perspectives. “Don’t just look up the organizational chart, but also left, right, and occasionally down,” she writes. Soliciting feedback from your main contact as well as his/her boss and direct reports provides you with even more data points around how PR and your work are perceived within the organization, arming you with the right information to improve your work.

The main takeaway? Feedback can be awkward to solicit, but the more regularly you seek feedback and refine your approach accordingly, the better off your client relationships will be.

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Storytelling: The Power of Persuading an Audience

I would like to share with you a recent article I read about effective persuasion by Lisa Lai, an advisor, consultant and coach for some of the world’s most successful leaders. Lai argues that in order to persuade an audience you must focus on either winning their hearts or their minds – and that to do both at the same time actually makes you less influential. If that sounds confusing, read on.

In her article, Lai suggests that you can persuade an audience by either:

 

  • Connecting with people emotionally, on a personal level, to your idea or position.
  • Using logic, well-articulated positioning and analysis in favor of your idea.

 

She recommends that you should heavily focus your argument on using just one technique, depending on the circumstances of the situation. Doing both at the same time ultimately makes you less convincing because you won’t have a solid foundation to build your argument from.

The article and Lai’s recommendations really got me thinking about the art of persuasion. Like other art forms there are many ways to practice it and you can get results by using a variety of techniques, just as artists do. Artists always have a plan when they conceive a piece of work, but may use many techniques to create it. For example, a painter may hold a paintbrush a certain way to achieve his desired stroke on a canvas, while another painter may hold the same paintbrush a different way, but achieve the same brush stroke – the same result, a different approach.

Lai’s recommendations are solid, but sometimes your technique for persuading your audience won’t always be so black and white.

Take storytelling, for example. Storytelling is inherent to what we do in PR, and crafting a clear story that compels journalists and their readers to probe deeper into a company or a product I represent is what I love to do. Often this requires appealing to my audiences’ hearts and minds.

For example, in a recent pitch that I sent to a journalist, I researched news, studies, statistics and data (logic) that would prove as evidence for why my client’s products/services benefited a particular audience, and then I tied that research and data to something that the audience could relate to; that the readers (of the journalist’s publication) would ultimately care about (emotional). Journalists tell stories that their readers care about, but they also want evidence to back it up. The pitch was effective and persuasive because it landed an article about my client’s services in front of their target audience.

Whether you’re actually speaking with someone verbally or using written form (e.g., email) as the vehicle for communicating with your audience, here are three tips that I’ve learned along the way for developing a persuasive story:

 

  • Blend data with an emotional hook. In my experience, sometimes it’s the emotional aspect of a story that draws people in, but it’s the numbers or data that convinces them that your story is legitimate.
  • Think critically and creatively. I have learned that bringing key story elements together and then breaking them apart, again and again can help you get down to the core of the story.
  • Know your audience. No matter how I go about my creative process I always have a plan of where I want to go with a story, where I envision it will end, what it will look like, the overarching thesis of the story, as well as an idea of who my audience will be. Knowing who your audience is, and the best way to reach them, is key.

 

MAIN TAKEAWAY – There are a variety of approaches you can use to persuade an audience and using the power of storytelling can be an effective tool. Ultimately, in order to persuade your audience, you have to make them care.

 

For more of information and perspective on effective storytelling, check out these posts:

 

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One-Two Punch of Product and Corporate News Results in Knockout Coverage for Smartsheet

 

April and May were incredibly busy months for our client Smartsheet, a fast-growing Eastside company that has been a client of Communiqué’s for more than three years.

Smartsheet makes a spreadsheet-inspired collaborative work management tool that is used by millions of people worldwide. Its software pairs the familiar, easy to use spreadsheet interface with capabilities like file sharing, work automation, Gantt chart features and integration with cloud productivity tools.  More than 61,000 companies use Smartsheet (including Communiqué PR!) to collaborate, plan and execute activities such as marketing campaigns, product launches, business operations, manufacturing processes, strategic planning and HR initiatives.

To set the stage, let’s look at some of the major announcements from April and May:

  • In April, the company issued a customer round-up announcement highlighting how event planners in the sporting world are using Smartsheet to manage large-scale events like the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, Mayweather/Pacquiao, and others.
  • This was followed by Smartsheet’s participation at Microsoft’s popular Build conference in San Francisco, where Smartsheet launched the beta version of Smartsheet for Outlook, which was showcased in the Microsoft Office keynote address.
  • Mark Mader, Smartsheet’s CEO and president, was selected as a semi-finalist for the prestigious EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2015 Award in the Pacific Northwest region.
  • Smartsheet was selected as a “Cool Vendor” in the Program and Portfolio (PPM) report by Gartner.
  • Smartsheet issued a corporate milestone announcement (“Smartsheet Achieves 80 Percent YoY Increase for Fifth Straight Year, Increases Footprint in Enterprise Accounts”) highlighting revenue and corporate growth, and customer wins/expansions.

This one-two punch of customer/corporate momentum combined with product news proved to be a knockout for Smartsheet in terms of media interest and coverage.

We were also able to leverage some really unique customer use cases for Smartsheet in our media outreach, such as Top Rank Boxing, the promotions/production house behind the hugely anticipated Mayweather/Pacquiao match. In a customer profile in FierceCIO, Brad Jacobs of Top Rank explained that he relies on Smartsheet to manage more than 250 critical tasks associated with producing an event, including items like making sure that an ambulance – and a backup ambulance – are scheduled before boxing matches get underway.

The coverage mix for Smartsheet in April and May spanned national press, local outlets and tech/trade press, which helped to reach the wide array of organizations using the tool, as well as prospects considering it. Many Windows and Microsoft-focused outlets covered the Smartsheet for Outlook launch, with local media, including the Seattle Times and The Puget Sound Business Journal, covering the corporate momentum news.

There was also an executive profile in Business Insider of Smartsheet’s co-founder and CMO Brent Frei.  Enterprise reporter Eugene Kim spoke with Frei about his experience growing up on a farm in Idaho and discussed how much of what Frei learned as a farmer could be easily applied to his life now, at a tech company.  For example, putting in hard day’s work, being creative with whatever tools you have on hand, and having broad, versatile knowledge that can be applied in different areas, are just a few of the attributes that Frei brings to his work at Smartsheet.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the great coverage Communiqué secured for Smartsheet in April and May:

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