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.
If you are passionate about writing, you understand the importance of word choice to convey the right meaning or evoke emotion. Recently, a friend introduced me to Visual Thesaurus, a wonderful subscription tool developed by Thinkmap, Inc., which I now find indispensable. The Visual Thesaurus is an online dictionary and thesaurus that displays the word you are looking up at the center of a branch chart linking to related words.
Image Credit: Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus
For instance, if you look up “write” on the Visual Thesaurus site, you’ll see a branch chart with all the associated words – compose, spell, pen, publish, drop a line, communicate, describe, etc. – clustered around it. The tool makes it easy to discover new words and provides a way to consider the semantics of a particular word. Another key benefit of the Visual Thesaurus is that you can roll over the word to see the definition as well as use-case examples of the word in a sentence. In addition, you can hear the words pronounced correctly, which was very helpful for me when I recently got into a debate with my husband about the correct pronunciation of “filet mingon.”This is only the tip of iceberg. Visual Thesaurus offers much more – you can share maps with friends, create personal word lists, and sign up for the word of the day. Beyond its functional benefits, I find Visual Thesaurus fun to use, intuitive and it makes me feel smart. For just $19.95 per year, I think it’s nifty (or as Visual Thesaurus suggested: bang-up, swell, peachy or groovy!).
If you have not had a chance to try it, I would encourage you to subscribe. The company offers a 14-day, risk-free trial. I applaud Thinkmap for coming up with such a clever and practical tool for writers and word lovers everywhere.
It is a new year and a time to look at what the future holds. Public Relations is constantly changing and evolving and this upcoming year is no different.
At Communiqué PR we are constantly monitoring and keeping on top of the latest trends and predictions. While looking at PR predictions for 2013, I came across two interesting articles that suggest what is in store for the new year. A Ragan.com article written by Sandra Fathi outlines “6 PR and Social Media Predictions for 2013,” and another post from Business News Daily looks at, “25 Big Ideas, Trends, and Predictions for 2013.” Both articles offer some insightful predictions and I’ve selected some of my favorites below:
- LinkedIn is the new Facebook. In 2013 more companies, particularly B2B, will leverage LinkedIn to connect with current and potential customers and influencers in their particular space. We helped one of our clients, Attachmate, leverage LinkedIn and have seen great results and a steady number of followers. We’ve noticed that particularly for B2B, this is one of the fastest growing social media outlets. It is a ripe platform for businesses to connect and share information. The new features that allow people to “endorse” is great for businesses and employees. Fathi says that “As adoption and activity on LinkedIn surge, journalists will spend more time using the platform for research, identifying sources and breaking stories.”
- Social media spreads to government. Social media is not just for consumers and businesses. More and more government agencies are leveraging social media platforms to communicate messages and connect with citizens. Fathi uses the example of the Israel Defense Force and Hamas military using Twitter to communicate to international government officials and the general public about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Additionally, the 2012 United States presidential election set records for Twitter activity. Twitter is already seen as a news source for citizens searching for information from media, but in 2013 government will have an increased voice.
- Traditional journalists are restored. Journalism has seen a dramatic change with the birth of blogging and social media. The public demands information that is fast and easy to access. Traditional journalists have been fighting this battle and trying to adapt ever since. However, with the amount of factually inaccurate information circulating through social media and blogs in an attempt to be speedy, viewers are eager to revert back to a reliable news source. When Twitter first became hot, I was working as a reporter and always frightened to provide too many details on Twitter or Facebook until I’d confirmed. Now, it is not uncommon for news organizations to report scanner traffic via social media or report information and note it has not been confirmed. This can lead to rumors.
- PR goes mobile. More and more consumers and journalists are using their phones as their primary news source and primary means of communications. In 2013 PR professionals not only need to craft pitches that are concise and easily readable via social media or on a mobile device, PR pros also need to think about news content that is mobile-friendly.
- Pictures are a must. We’ve written in the past about how powerful infographics are, but in 2013, PR pros will continue to see the importance of images to tell a story. Fathi writes, “All Things D reported that in August, smartphone users spent more time on Instagram than on Twitter for the first time since Instagram launched in 2010.” This is another indicator that pictures are taking over. When you are developing content, keep in mind what visual content you have to help tell the story.
- Brands will become publishers. Many organizations have already realized the benefits of having a blog, but in 2013, more brands will create additional content to help build thought leadership and credibility. Tips and how-to guides will start to crop up in company newsletters, blogs, etc. This also helps organizations with search.
Here at Communiqué PR we are looking forward to this new year and everything that 2013 will bring. What are you predictions for 2013? We’d love to hear from you!
We’ve all been there. You think you have the perfect story and the perfect pitch to send to a reporter who is the perfect fit and then…you’re ignored, hung up on, or denied. As a PR professional, rejection is sometimes part of the job. But what if there was a way to help make pitching more effective and help increase the likelihood of landing your story? This is exactly what Pitching Notes aims to do.
According to the website, Pitching Notes is a free service created to give PR pros the chance to review and talk about their personal experiences with specific journalists. Here’s how it works: The site encourages PR professionals to sign up by adding their thoughts and tips on journalists with whom they’ve worked. The idea is that by sharing pitching “notes” and knowledge, we can all improve our pitching techniques and make more targeted pitches offering specific journalists the type of information they’re looking for, leading to better results.
At my previous agency, we had a similar program for internal use. I found it to be extremely helpful in learning a specific reporter’s pet peeves or getting more insight into the stories in which they’re most interested. However, while the database was filled with several valuable insights, I recall that it was extremely difficult to get people to actually update it with their notes and reporter interactions. Many people would leverage the information, but not contribute themselves.
According to Pitching Notes, there is a lot of value in contributing or “including Pitching Notes in your social media strategy,” as it can help drive the industry conversation and build your brand. Specifically, the reviews and tips from your experience link back to your Pitching Notes personal profile and can become an online portfolio where you can showcase your results. The company claims that because many of its members are business owners, contributing content can help attract potential clients or employers.
Additionally, the founders of Pitching Notes claim that reporters and bloggers can also benefit from the site as they can share notes on their interests and how they prefer to be pitched.
I’m curious about what you think of the site. Do you think it can be successful? Or do you think people will be wary of sharing their pitching secrets in a public forum? I plan to sign up for the site and will keep you updated on my experience.
Fighting insider threats and managing audit and compliance requirements is a challenge for many industries, including financial services, government and healthcare. This battle can result in lost business, damaged reputations and financial losses totaling billions of dollars.
Our client, Attachmate, delivers advanced software for terminal emulation, legacy modernization, managed file transfer and enterprise fraud management. In September, the company launched an update to Luminet, the company’s enterprise fraud management and compliance solution, which included the following enhancements: integration with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, most notably Sentinel 7; the introduction of the Oracle Forms data channel with support for Oracle Forms 6.5 (client-based) and Oracle Forms 10 (Web-based); significant UI and case management enhancements and features; as well as general product improvements.
With this launch, Communiqué PR aimed to do the following:
- drive customer inquiries pertaining to Luminet,
- support the sales field efforts to promote and sell Luminet by increasing visibility and awareness of the solution,
- educate key audiences on the values and benefits of continuous monitoring solutions
- highlight how Luminet helps protect organizations from internal threats and fraud and enables organizations to meet internal/external audit requirements, and
- extend Attachmate’s thought leadership in the data security and IT compliance spaces.
This launch provided a significant opportunity to highlight Luminet’s momentum and evolution since previous releases, particularly as concerns about insider threats grow and responding to compliance regulations becomes increasingly complex.
We developed two pitches: One to target general security publications and another to target the federal and government vertical industry publications. We also aimed to connect with industry analysts covering fraud management and compliance.
With this approach, we were able to secure six briefings for the launch, comprising six analysts and one editor with a federal trade publication. We also received five pieces of coverage:
- ITWire, “Attachmate Luminet 4.4 provides continuous monitoring,” September 19, 2012
- Network World, “Products of the week 10.1.12,” October 1, 2012
- IT Jungle by Alex Woodie, “Attachmate Hooks Fraud-Fighting Tool to SIEM,” October 9, 2012
- 451 Research Impact Report by Javvad Malik, “Attachmate releases Luminet 4.4, integrates with SIEM,” October 18, 2012
- Federal Computer Week by Camille Tuutti, “Big data brings big skillset gaps,” October 29, 2012
To learn more about Attachmate’s Luminet 4.4, visit: http://www.attachmate.com/Products/efm/luminet/luminet.htm.
LinkedIn has become well known as a tool to market your company, network with colleagues, build relationships with potential clients or employees and highlight your expertise. Communique PR actively uses LinkedIn for a variety of purposes from networking to recruiting, and we recommend it to businesses and job seekers alike. As a heavily used recruiting tool, one of the most important features of LinkedIn is its ability to connect companies with people. You may have noticed that the look and functionality of LinkedIn has changed in the last few weeks. Based on user feedback, LinkedIn has changed tweaked the company page interface in an effort to improve experience for both companies and LinkedIn users. Here are a few of the changes:
For Companies:
- The company page, similar to member profiles, now has a “profile picture”.
- The update stream is now customized to LinkedIn users; status updates and job opportunities are shared with specific categories of users.
- The new company page allows companies to highlight the company’s products, services and career opportunities in separate sections.
- For select companies, LinkedIn is offering a more visual way for them to display their employer brand through the Career Pages section of the company page. The intent for this feature is to allow the companies to tell their employer story and to help personalize the job-seeking process.
If your company is actively recruiting, or looking to improve on its LinkedIn presence, make sure to use the new company page design to the fullest. Add a profile picture, create language for the product, service, and career sections of your page, and frequently update any corporate news.
For Members:
- The new layout for company pages is designed to make the user experience as easy and manageable as possible. When a member looks for news, information, products, opportunities or insights, it is a more streamlined process.
- The updates made by the company are centered, making them easy to see, comment on, or “like”.
- Access to the company pages has now been added to the LinkedIn app, so pages can be seen from an iPhone, iPad, or Android.
The new design of company pages can help members and job seekers learn more about what a company does, who works there, and what a company might be looking for in an employee. Furthermore, through the updates feature, members are able to see the day-to-day activities a company is engaging in, giving LinkedIn users a better idea of what working for a brand will entail.
To see a few examples of how companies are making use of the new LinkedIn company page design, check out:
For more information on setting up a company page on LinkedIn, look to LinkedIn’s guide for company pages.
Finally, for more on LinkedIn from Communique PR, see the following:
- Using LinkedIn Advertising to Pitch Media
- Best Practices for Company Pages on LinkedIn
- Making Use of LinkedIn Applications
- Four Tips to Maximize your LinkedIn Profile
- The Latest in Brand Marketing from LinkedIn
How does your company use LinkedIn?
So often, the stories we tell in business are about stability, dependability and predictability. Trends, market share and proof-of-concept are all business theories founded upon large groups of people buying the same product, sharing the same idea, and then making sure they continue to do so in the future. But oftentimes, the story of the contrarian can be just as powerful. Two recent experiences have me thinking about the power of disruptive ideas and why offering a dissenting view can lead to important change.
In November, I was invited by a friend to a fundraising breakfast for the Women’s Funding Alliance. The keynote speaker that morning was journalist Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author of the best-selling book The Dressmaker of Khair Khana. In her book, Tzemach Lemmon details the brave young women of Kabul during the early years of the Taliban rule, who took great risks to build a thriving dressmaking business and underground school for girls in a time where women and girls were banned from the streets and beaten for showing their faces in public. The young women profiled in her book not only survived the brutal regime, but they thrived as entrepreneurs to provide an entire neighborhood with jobs, education and hope of a better life.
According to Tzemach Lemmon, she seeks out and tells these women’s stories because she believes that society invests in survivors, but not victims. So often the reports from conflict regions of the world portray women as victims of violence, or showcase women who are forced to beg or prostitute to feed their families. While these facts are undeniable, it is also important to tell the very real stories of women and their ability to cope and thrive under extremely difficult circumstances. The willingness of these women to share their stories of survival could have a profound impact on whether the world invests in their families to promote peace in their communities, or ignores the victims and conflict continues.
The second experience that has me thinking about the power of disruptive ideas is work Communiqué PR is doing with SR Education Group, which publishes websites and an online guide that help students select an online college. Online education, though more convenient and often more affordable for many students, carries a negative stigma thanks in part to a U.S. Senate report published this past June that condemned for-profit colleges for low graduation rates and high student loan default rates.
Rather than favor non-profit online schools over for-profit schools, SR Education Group instead is helping students select the best online college for their individual needs by bringing more transparency to the process of comparing and selecting an online college, regardless of its business model. Its Guide to Online Schools provides rankings and information about graduate rates, retention rates, loan repayment rates and a database of nearly 4,000 student reviews that provide first-person experiences from those who have enrolled in specific programs. So instead of embracing the popular perception that for-profit education is bad, SR Education is building upon its mission of making a quality education accessible to all by offering tools and information that empower potential students to research schools and find colleges that offer exceptional value for the cost.
As a result, SR Education Group and the Guide to Online schools are gaining media attention and growing their databases of student reviewers and online colleges daily.
These are just two recent examples of how ideas contrary to the popular way of thinking are helping promote change, empower individuals and ultimately improve lives. But I am sure there are many more examples of businesses with disruptive ideas that would benefit from a wider audience. At Communiqué PR we look forward to learning about these ideas and sharing the stories in the coming year.