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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.

The Rise of the Contributor

While pitching an announcement for one our clients recently I ran into an increasingly common problem: The perfect person to pitch was a contributing writer at the publication and I couldn’t track down his contact information. Eventually I found a way to get in touch with him, but it got me thinking about the balance between contributing writers and full-time staff reporters.

As the digital evolution continues to sweep the media industry some outlets are adapting by restructuring their staff to include more contributors, which in turn could have some benefits for PR pros.

Forbes is a prime example of an outlet that is shifting its structure in order to remain relevant. The magazine still has staff reporters, but they are backed by an army of contributors who are topic experts. According to a Forbes article published last August, the company has about 45 staff writers and 1,200 contributors. Here’s how it works: One or two staff writers head up coverage of a certain topic and have anywhere from 10 to 200 contributors helping out. For example, the technology department has more than 100 contributors, each specializing in a certain topic. Using this model, Forbes produces a wider variety of content and reaches a much broader audience.

Forbes isn’t the only outlet with a large contributor list. Sites such as Entrepreneur, Fortune, Business 2 Community, PC World, Thought Catalogue and more rely on contributors to produce the majority of their content. Conversely, many freelancers write for multiple sites. For example, a writer who contributes to Forbes might also contribute to ReadWriteWeb.

The rise in freelancers means PR pros might have to do a bit more digging to uncover the perfect person to pitch, but in the end the extra research could pay off. Since freelancers write for multiple outlets, forming a relationship with one freelance writer could connect you to several publications.

However, forming relationships with freelancers isn’t always easy. PR pro Krystal Tingle offers helpful tips for working with contributors in her post on PR Daily. Most importantly, stay connected to freelancers so you know what outlets they are writing for and what’s in their pipeline, but be careful not to badger them.

Do you have any tips for pitching to contributing writers?

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How to Build a Media List

Finding a list of journalists who may be interested in your pitch is no easy task. The success of a pitch or press release often rides on the shoulders of a thoroughly developed press release. When approaching a media list, I find myself facing asking questions like: How do I find journalists who will be interested? How do I narrow my search? How do I expand my search? Am I targeting the right audience? Where can I find their contact information? Luckily, PR Daily recently shared some useful tips on how to answer many of these questions and effectively tackle this sometimes overwhelming task.

Begin your search and keep it organized

Start by using any search engine, such as CISION, to begin collecting contact information. Try finding an email address or phone number for a specific journalist, not just the outlet’s general information. If you contact someone directly, there is a much greater chance that you will receive a response.

When searching for media outlets, keep your niche in mind. Are you targeting a specific area? Are there trade magazines that your audience would be inclined to read? Try to answer questions similar to these to understand a more specific audience. By targeting a particular audience, you are more likely to find outlets and journalists that make sense for your story and will therefore be more inclined to write about your pitch.

Filter and sort

If you are using a search engine then they will have no shortage of contacts, meaning filters will be a great asset. Start with a somewhat broad term such as “technology.” If that leads you to too many options, narrow it by making your topic more specific to your pitch topic, such as “collaborative technology” or “collaboration tools.”

If this is still producing a selection that is too large, examine how much traffic the outlet generates. It is important to pursue outlets that will reach the audience size for which you are aiming.

Look past the database

In an ideal world, contact information would always be listed for each journalist and it would always be the most up to date information. However, we are usually not so lucky. If you are unable to find an email address or phone number in the database you are using, look at the outlet’s website and look for a journalist profile or contact information listed with one of their previous articles. If all else fails, send an email to the general address to inform them of who it is you want to contact and most importantly, why.

Use Google to your advantage

There is a good possibility that there are journalists who may be interested in your pitch but are not in the database you are using. By searching Google News, you may be able to find articles on related topics and that could lead you to a new contact.

Creating media lists can be a daunting task, but it is a crucial one. Targeting the correct outlets, and more specifically journalists, could be the difference between a successful, well-covered release and one that is simply pushed aside. Following these tips will assist in creating a well-developed list that will hopefully lead to the optimum coverage that your story deserves.

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Should PR Pros Be Engaging in Comment Sections Online?

In today’s digital world, PR pros are offered an array of avenues to help voice their client’s message and shape public opinion. Comment sections are among these channels, but pose an interesting dilemma.  Comment sections have become the playground for “trolls,” or negative commenters. These “trolls” pose a risk of defaming the efforts of PR pros. So the question remains: Should PR pros engage in comment sections?

In a recent article in PRWeek the two sides debated this argument. Both sides seemed to agree that comment sections are necessary in some circumstances, but varied in their opinion of the degree of involvement PR pros should expend on these comment sections.

Jeffrey Zack “disagrees” with engaging people in the comment sections. Zack sees a variety of options to carry out your client’s message. Comment sections are among these, but are riddled with people just looking to rant on a subject. While he believes these sections should be avoided, Zack says that if information is incorrect, comment sections are where you can set the record straight. PR pros should consider other approaches before rebutting in the comment section though, such as requesting a correction if the information is incorrect.

The argument in favor of commenting, written by Paul Rand, pointed out that PR pros should be allowed to clarify or correct wrong information in the comment section. Letting this incorrect information sit on the internet would be a mistake. Rand points out that comments should only be left if it makes strategic sense.

Comment sections are bound to persist, so communicators in PR should use this outlet to leverage their message when appropriate. When commenting on something in relation to a client, it may be a wise call to disclose that you assist with PR for the company.  By being up front about the situation, you alleviate the risk of a commenter’s backfire if you were to not disclose this information and then were discovered.

Forming responses to comments should be done so cautiously. It is vitally important to not get worked up over irrational, negative and sometimes even violent comments.  You cannot stoop to the “troll’s” level, for what you think to be a witty comment back could risk your image and or the image of your client.  Giving these “trolls” more fuel will backfire.

Some companies have tried to remedy this comments backlash by removing comment sections.  This may be a mistake, though, because comment sections show the public that you care about their opinion.  Negative comments are bound to happen, but handling these situations with poise and a clear head will ensure a smooth message and delivery.

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Turning up the Heat – Driving Awareness Through Targeted Media Outreach

With 2013 behind us and the new year just getting underway, now is a great time to look back at the year and reflect on the unique and interesting client campaigns that we worked on at Communiqué PR. One client for whom we’ve had a great experience driving publicity over the course of 2013 is Mobidia.

Mobidia, a leading mobile analytics provider with the largest global sample of smartphone and tablet users, provides unique insights into mobile usage trends on mobile applications and mobile networks. Mobidia’s main commodity is usage data: real usage from real users on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks, which provides a comprehensive and unique understanding of what people do and value in the mobile world.

Mobidia has grown quickly over the past 15 months, and as such, we’ve partnered with Vice President of Marketing Chris Hill to scale up our media efforts and draw awareness for Mobidia’s main commodity: data.

In order to do so, our main objective was (and is) to establish Mobidia as a resource for media when they need data to build out or provide evidence for a story. To accomplish this, we employed the following tactics, which I’ll explore in greater detail below:

  • Targeted media outreach
  • A steady drumbeat of news
  • Bylines or contributed articles

Targeted media outreach

In order to reach journalists who actively write using usage data, we started tracking stories that feature data and reaching out to journalists, offering up Mobidia as a source.

Tracking what journalists are writing about is relatively seamless in this day and age. We leveraged Google Alerts and Twitter to ensure that we caught all the journalists for whom Mobidia could be a future resource.

A steady drumbeat of news

In addition to reaching out to journalists who made active use of data in their stories, we also put out a steady drumbeat of news on newsworthy topics in the fall of 2013. This provided us with collateral and relevant examples to offer journalists, and often resulted in standalone coverage.

We partnered with Mobidia to identify what newsworthy storylines they could distribute interesting, meaningful and credible data on – and with the rise of mobile apps, there were many opportunities! Over the course of the fall of 2013, we issued the following releases on topical subjects:

Bylines / Contributed Articles

To build thought leadership for Mobidia’s team, and to provide Mobidia’s own perspective and analysis on trends in data, we also work with Chris to pursue byline opportunities whenever it made sense.

In the fall of 2013, we secured and published three bylines:

Results

In addition to the three bylines mentioned above, we secured 51 articles and mentions from November 2013 through December 2013, amounting to 54 total pieces of coverage.

These results are detailed below, and range from the Wall Street Journal to coverage in blogs like BGR.

We have thoroughly enjoyed partnering with Mobidia to drive awareness around its data. Working with Chris Hill and the team at Mobidia is always an excellent experience, and we look forward to continuing to place stories on Mobidia’s unique data in 2014.

We’ve also been grateful for the skilled and helpful journalists we’ve worked with on behalf of our client. We’ve connected with a wide range of interesting and insightful industry professionals, and are excited to see the stories that come from these publications in 2014.

Here’s to a data-filled New Year!

Results (Detailed)

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Seattle’s Seahawks Victory Parade and the Importance of Celebrating Success

This past Wednesday, an epic event overtook the city of Seattle: the Seahawks Super Bowl victory parade. According to news reports, some 700,000 people flooded the downtown streets to go full Beast Mode and revel in the Seahawks’ win—the first Super Bowl victory in the history of the franchise. In a city of 634,535, this very well may have been the largest gathering in Seattle history.

The event was certainly momentous in every sense of the word. The Seattle City Council voted to name the day “Seattle Seahawks Day.” Gov. Jay Inslee declared 12:12 p.m. an observed “moment of loudness” across the entire state. Many businesses closed, some schools shut down and those that didn’t experienced unusually high absentee rates. Transportation routes and downtown establishments were completely overwhelmed by the tremendous influx of attendees.

Along with a couple of my colleagues, I personally took a few hours away from my desk to trek down to the parade route. And as I stood on the sidewalk, chock-full of screaming Seattleites donning blue and green, I was reminded of a fact that we often forget: the importance of taking the time to celebrate success. Many missed work that day, skipped school or trekked for miles, but each bystander made time to come and rejoice, along with the fellow 12th Man, in our—yes, our—Super Bowl win. This was our team, our city and our success—and little could stop anyone from celebrating it.

As PR pros, we enjoy investing our time into projects for our clients, and work hard and often to deliver results. In such a fast-paced setting, it can be easy to get swept up in the work, shifting immediately from one achievement into working toward another. But to be truly productive, we need motivation—and being recognized for our achievements is one of the greatest motivators we have in the workplace.

We’ve all heard that it is important to set goals—they give us something to work toward and create a sense of purpose that inspires us. However, there is little point in establishing goals unless you take the time to recognize when you’ve reached them. This recognition can be invaluable to promoting confidence and pride in our work—which translates into more meaningful, quality results.

Here at Communiqué, we certainly value taking the time to celebrate accomplishments among our colleagues and our clients—honoring these individual achievements helps ensure the success of our entire team. From pats on the back to team outings and parties, we think it’s tremendously important to stop every now and then to just enjoy a moment of celebration. We take great pride in delivering valuable results for our clients—and recognizing when we’ve done a good job just makes it that much more rewarding.

Oh, and GO HAWKS!

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Communiqué PR Enhances Its Global Influence by Joining Public Relations Network

It is only February, yet 2014 is already proving to be an exciting year for Communiqué PR! Communiqué is now the official U.S.-based partner for Public Relations Network (PRN), a global network of public relations agencies dedicated to providing high-level consultancy and quality support for worldwide campaigns. PRN has a high-caliber network of partners in 25 countries outside of the U.S. that will surely be invaluable assets to our team.

Just as we will provide assistance to foreign firms developing U.S.-based campaigns, we will also receive support from agencies in the member countries, including Germany, Australia, Morocco, Venezuela and many more. This new access to partners around the world will be highly beneficial to our clients as we continue to tell their stories to not only a national audience, but a global one as well.

“Given the global nature of today’s marketplace, most of our clients are looking to reach audiences internationally, as well as in the U.S.,” said Jennifer Gehrt, co-founder and partner at Communiqué PR. “Membership in PRN makes it possible for us to extend our reach to critical markets around the world in a seamless and cost effective manner.”

Working globally is nothing new for Communiqué PR; however, this network of support will only strengthen our abilities to reach a broader range of outlets and secure more opportunities for our clients. Last year Communiqué collaborated with the German Public Relations firm, Sympra, also a member of PRN, in securing coverage for Siemens in the U.S. After having this collaborative experience and success with this global campaign, PRN will provide Communiqué PR with the chance to continue cultivating relationships with firms abroad.

“Communiqué PR’s experience in working with global campaigns and delivering successful results made it the natural choice when searching for a U.S.-based firm,” said Chairman of the Board of PRN, Veit Mathauer. “We look forward to the benefits they will bring to the network.”

As Communiqué PR will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2014, it seems appropriate that we take this exciting new step towards expanding our network. The market place has changed and expanded since we opened in 2004, but we continue to adapt and grow with it; and by doing so, offer the best possible service to our clients. We are excited to see the effects of this new partnership and the prospects it will bring.

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