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.
Currently, over two million podcasts exist, and more than one-third of Americans listen to podcasts regularly. Given their popularity, podcasts have become a medium that organizations should consider for reaching target audiences and supporting communication objectives.
Though podcasts are a relatively new addition to the PR ecosystem, they are rapidly becoming a staple in building thought leadership and credibility for company spokespeople. Podcasts provide a conversational platform that humanizes executives and allows listeners to gain industry insight directly from the subject matter expert.
To get the most out of implementing podcasts into your PR strategies, consider the following:
- Connect directly with audiences. Almost every industry has a wide selection of industry-specific podcasts. For instance, there are marketing podcasts, IT podcasts and even agriculture and farming podcasts.
As a first step, identify podcasts that reach your target audience and will provide spokespersons with the chance to highlight their industry knowledge and expertise. Once you have landed a spot on a podcast, take note of the formatting of previous episodes so you can prepare the spokesperson for the conversation structure, questions and proper etiquette for the interview.
- Be conversational. The conversational nature of podcasts allows room for creativity for a spokesperson to voice unique commentary that can support their communication objectives.
It is essential to coach the spokesperson on responding to a podcast host’s questions in a way that stimulates the conversation and enables it to flow seamlessly. This includes open-ended responses, personal anecdotes, analogies, and expressions that help better explain your talking points.
- Reuse the content. The conversation spurred by the podcast host may lead to the spokesperson sharing new perspectives and one-liners that can be reused in pitches, audiograms, social media posts, blogs and articles. Consider creating transcripts from each session to make leveraging the content less time-consuming.
- Expand your network. Podcast hosts are often industry experts themselves. For instance, Tim Ferriss, CEO and chairman at Disney, and Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, both host their own business-focused podcasts. Connecting with individuals like these can help you to expand your network and meet people from your industry.
Additionally, it is becoming more common for publications and news outlets to possess their own podcast networks. A podcast network is a collection of podcasts that are produced, distributed or made available through a single company. Oftentimes, once you connect with a reporter or editor from a publication that owns a podcast network, they can recommend your spokesperson to a specific podcast within their network that aligns well with what you are trying to achieve with the interview.
- Voice a call to action. According to Semrush, 20 percent of people have purchased a product or service after hearing about it on a podcast. Being featured on a podcast gives a spokesperson the perfect opportunity to pitch their company or product in a more personable way.
Coach your company’s representative on ways to strategically present key messages that support the company’s goals and highlight differentiators.
While incorporating podcasts into your PR strategies is a fresh addition to the PR playbook, they are extremely helpful in positioning a company’s executive as a subject matter expert. Allowing the spokesperson to speak in a more colloquial way opens the opportunity to access additional audiences, create compelling content and better personify your company to your target audiences and stakeholders.
A decade is a long time. In 10 years, you’re guaranteed two presidents, five Olympics, one updated U.S. Census report and hundreds of Facebook birthday messages. In 10 years, trends change, new technology is invented and a new generation is born. Hey, 10 years ago, we thought the NBA was coming back to Seattle!
In 10 years, businesses and industries change, too. For example, Lyft, Blue Apron, Peloton and Tinder didn’t exist before 2012. If the way we travel, eat, exercise and even date have changed, is it surprising that the way we communicate changed, too? In 2012, Communiqué Public Relations was celebrating its eighth birthday. How much have we grown in the last decade? This blog post will take you on a journey into our blogs from 2012 to see how different (and yet similar) the public relations industry is today.
- New social media platforms. In 2012, Pinterest was the latest social media outlet, ready to be used to help brands communicate alongside Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
Today, the social media landscape looks different. While Pinterest is still operational, newer platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok have taken over. Short, sweet and visual social media messaging is the way to go in 2022.
- Focus on measurement. Not only was Communiqué focused on press coverage results, but we also began looking into measuring success on social media. Popular measurement tools our team utilized in 2012 included Mention, TweetGrader.com and Klout.com.
While the focus on measurement, both earned and social media, continues, the tools we use utilize have changed. Today, you can find the Communiqué team logging into HubSpot and Cision to provide data to our clients. Additionally, social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn have expanded their analytics offerings, allowing our team easy access to social engagement.
- Integration across communication specialties. It was correctly predicted that the comms industry would see an increase in the integration of PR, marketing, social media and sales in 2012. Many firms offer public relations, marketing and advertising under one umbrella with a unified goal: effective communication for an organization.
While some firms may be known for a specific communication style (Communiqué = PR), it is common for firms to reach across industries to communicate on behalf of their clients.
- Targeted pitching. 2012 was the year of strict evaluations of our clients’ target audiences to develop and deliver niche pitches that speak directly to said audiences. This has stayed true with our team fashioning detailed and thoughtful media lists, ensuring our focus goes where our audience is.
Other Changes
- Technology is more advanced. Ten years ago, our team was excited about mobile apps for professionals like Skype (ouch), SplashTop and Genius Scan. We also recommended our clients utilize LinkedIn apps, including Box.net Files, E-Bookshelf and Portfolio Display. If none of these apps sound familiar to you, you may have been a sophomore in high school, like me.
- The creative methods in which we used to share information have changed. Of course, social media and BusinessWire will always reign supreme, but Communiqué had some fun ideas for additional content sharing. We discussed word clouds, Wikipedia and even going viral.
- Additionally, at the dawn of the smartphone, we were hesitant about texting. Oh, how times have changed!
What Has Stayed the Same
- PR is still a high-ranking career. In 2012, S. News & World Report ranked PR as the 41st overall best job of 2012. In 2022, PR has moved up to the 35th spot, proving that strategic communication is timeless.
- The definition of public relations has stayed strong. PRSA developed a campaign called “Public Relations Defined” from 2011-2012 to redefine the term public relations. The result? ““Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” As of the time this blog was published, the definition has not changed.
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) remains vital to brand loyalty. As we said 10 years ago, “It’s important to perceive CSR as an opportunity to better the world while bettering your business, rather than as a damage control strategy or simply a publicity stunt to boost your image.”
Finally, while it is true that the world is constantly innovating, history has a funny way of repeating itself.
In 2012, our team published a blog on the merits of virtual work and provided guidelines such as “be aware of time zones,” “communicate,” and “create a culture.” We also posted a blog about collaborative tools for the office, highlighting Yammer and Zoho. We are not using these tools today, but we are incredibly thankful for Microsoft Teams and all its features and benefits as we continue remote work.
Communications is an ever-changing industry, with integration, new technology and new channels popping up constantly. However, some things never change. Ten years ago, we may have been excited about Pinterest and Google+, ready to take on the world of smartphones and hoping our clients go viral – but look how far we have come.
For more on how Communiqué has evolved over the years, we recommend reading some of our years in review, which highlight the work we have done
Many of our clients are committed to creating and publicizing meaningful thought leadership content in the form of surveys, white papers, briefing papers, podcasts and webinars.
In fact, today it seems like there have never been more opportunities for content placement. The key, however, is to make sure the things that you’re creating are truly valuable. Content needs to be relevant, timely and to resonate with key audiences.
To develop this type of content, some of our clients are leveraging their inhouse team to research and write articles and papers, while others turn to us to research and ghostwrite these articles, blogs and white papers.
When a client has unique data and insights to share, this process is often straightforward. We review the information, interview subject matter experts, conduct a review of other written works on the topic, develop the first draft and work with graphic artists to bring key points to life in the form of charts or graphs.
However, if a client lacks meaningful insights, wants to validate specific premises, or augment its data, we can also engage industry analysts, polling and market research companies, academic researchers, or others to conduct primary research.
Like so many things, the first step in the process is to be clear on your objectives for creating the content. Why do you want it? How might you and other stakeholders such as PR, sales, customer service and your executive management team use it? Why will this content matter to your business?
Once you’ve thought about the outcomes you’re looking for and know why they matter, it’s time to consider how you can contribute meaningful thought leadership and if you’ll need to take a research-based approach.
This is where things get exciting because there are so many options. For instance, recently, one of our clients was interested in Americans’ perceptions around property and casualty insurance and how they feel about the service they’re receiving. This was a perfect research challenge for Harris Poll and its omnibus survey.
Another one of our clients is interested in exploring a particular issue facing management teams of midsize and large enterprise companies. For this type of research, we are considering hiring Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, an independent commercial unit with HBR, which conducts research and analysis, packaging their work in the form of pulse surveys, white papers, briefing papers and research webinars.
Each of these works are supported by either quantitative surveys or qualitative research or some combination of the two and people can find them on HBR’s website. There are literally hundreds of these and other reports and white papers in Harvard’s research archive.
The point is, depending on what you want to do, myriad options exist with a variety of pros and cons, and costs. We can help you explore these and help you leverage the findings throughout your thought leadership campaigns.
For more insight into content development, please look at some of our additional blog posts, including:
Public relations is not an exact science. While we can effectively outline anticipated results for an announcement or proactive campaign, there is no guaranteed outcome. So how can we establish meaningful KPIs with our clients that are achievable, measurable and define success?
Of course, there are a range of quantitative results that can be tracked, such as number of articles secured or growth of coverage quarter by quarter. But there is value beyond just the quantitative results. When establishing KPIs with a client, consider outlining several less traditional metrics that will clearly indicate the value and impact of your work.
Message Pull Through
At the beginning of each year or client relationship, we craft a story arc that outlines key messages and themes that we want target audiences to hear and understand. These messages serve as the foundation of the work we execute and influence the ideas and campaigns we pursue. So, while securing coverage is exciting, it’s more important that the coverage we secure has the right impact.
In addition to outlining the anticipated volume of coverage, consider adding a KPI that outlines how many articles will include at least one key message. For example, over the course of the engagement, 80% of articles will include at least one key message or theme. This will demonstrate that the coverage is effective and that the key messages are reaching target audiences.
Inbound Requests
When we kick off a client engagement, it’s not uncommon that the organizations have done no formal public relations activity and are therefore are relatively unknown. It takes time to introduce a company to the media, build general awareness, create relationships with the right reporters and establish executive as thought leaders.
More often than not, we are presenting reporters with story ideas and company announcements, proactively contacting them with stories we believe they’ll find interesting. But, once we’ve effectively established a relationship and positioned a company’s spokesperson as a valuable subject matter expert, journalists will start reaching out to us for comments. This can be a slow and steady process but is often a great indication that public relations activity has established the spokesperson as a thought leader and made a lasting impression on the reporter.
Opportunities Secured
Proactive pitches are one of the most common strategies we implement on behalf of our clients. By leveraging trends and industry news, we present spokespeople as industry experts who can comment on these ongoing developments. These pitches can lead to interviews or contributed content, but many factors can impact the success of a pitch and the number of opportunities secured.
As we become more ingrained in a specific industry and build relationships with relevant reporters, often our pitches become more effective. So, one potential measurement to track over the course of an engagement is the average opportunities secured per pitch. If we can increase the average number of opportunities from two to four, our pitches are becoming more effective at reaching the right audiences and leading to valuable opportunities.
Measuring results is a critical part of any successful engagement. While there are a range of KPIs to consider, the more important part of establishing metrics is understanding what success looks like for the client.
A room of PR professionals from around the world gathered in Madrid to participate in the PR Network’s semi-annual members meeting. The first session of the day found us learning about improvisation and the relevance to PR and team dynamics.
You might be wondering, why improv? As it turns out, an ability to improvise is linked to organizational agility. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, “How do you deal with a crisis? What do you do when a sudden change disrupts routines? In order to thrive in times of uncertainty, you need managers and employees who can think on their feet and act fast — without an instruction manual. That is, you need skilled improvisers.”
PR and communication professionals are often faced with changes, uncertainty, and crisis management. We need to be skilled improvisers. And we need to work effectively across a variety of teams – including internationally with professionals from different cultures. However, as noted in the HBR article, improvisation takes practice.
We were fortunate to have Amy Vaya, Bahrain country director for Perceptions PR & Digital, guide us through a few exercises during which we were able to practice our improv skills, through focusing on active listening, building on ideas and being in the moment.
The exercises included the Three-Word Story exercise, where participants form a circle and make up a story about a chosen subject with each participant adding only three words at a time, building off the last person’s contribution.
These improv exercises help strengthen listening skills and quick thinking, build confidence, and support team building – all of which are valuable when developing working with clients, understanding coworkers, and adapting to change.
If you want to practice your improv skills, find a partner, and remember these three rules: 1) agree (accept their reality), 2) add to the conversation with the magic words “Yes, and …” and 3) have fun!
For more on this topic, check out these articles:
The beloved actor James Caan passed away recently, and as with many cherished celebrities, the news of his passing was met with an outpouring of love and sadness.
The bitter news was a reminder of his decorated career as an actor, which spanned more than 60 years. It included feature roles in many film classics such as “Brian’s Song,” “Misery,” “Elf,” and, of course, “The Godfather.”
Like other works of art, film has an uncanny ability to inspire audiences and entertain viewers, often while helping them contemplate weighty topics, and impart knowledge to deliver teachable moments across all walks of life.
An actor as distinguished as Jimmy Caan had no shortage of performances that left indelible marks on his admirers. Below, we explore some of Caan’s notable work and the life lessons that PR professionals can apply in their daily work.
Know Your Audience – Or It Will Come Back to Haunt You
#BookWormSat “I am your number one fan.”
— Tatiana Fajardo (@Tatiana19796) July 9, 2022
― Stephen King, Misery
🎞️Misery pic.twitter.com/MKCn2UeF8r
In the film adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel “Misery,” Caan plays famed author Paul Sheldon, who is rescued from a car crash by his “No. 1 fan” Annie Wilkes (played by Kathy Bates). A former nurse, Wilkes cares for Sheldon. However, as he receives treatment and pain medication, Sheldon realizes he is captive to her impulses and physical harm.
While dramatic (would it be a bestseller otherwise?), PR professionals must always know their audience. Thoroughly knowing who you’re addressing will ensure your message lands effectively. More importantly, you will steer clear of the wrong audiences, which can be damaging to you and your client.
Be Agile and Open to the Unexpected
I know everyone is going to talk about The Godfather, but he was low-key hilarious in this movie. RIP! #JamesCaan #Elf pic.twitter.com/F8tqVtN2u3
— Exhausted RN (@LilMonkeyWoman) July 7, 2022
The 2003 holiday classic “Elf” features Caan as Walter Hobbs, the biological father of the oversized, grown-up elf Buddy (played by Will Ferrell), who travels to New York to meet his father. Hobbs, a cynical children’s book publisher, begrudgingly takes in his son while dealing with his latest book flop. As Hobbs scrambles to deliver a new book amid rising pressure, he stiffly navigates the challenges of coexisting with his son while also learning how Buddy can help him.
In PR, a daily practice is thinking on your feet. Our work requires us to be agile, to move quickly with disruptions, the unexpected, and evolving client needs. Adopting agile strategies enables PR professionals to be proactive instead of reactive; it allows us to adapt to flash news cycles and the shifting landscapes we often encounter (crisis management, anyone?). Yes, it’s great to have a plan but build in room for flexibility. Because sometimes, external circumstances force you to pivot to find success.
Don’t Let Emotion Cloud Your Judgment
‘I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.’
— Ina de Bree (@InadeBree) July 7, 2022
Mario Puzo, The Godfather, 1969
James Caan in the role of Sonny Corleone (The Godfather, 1972) pic.twitter.com/ggYAOHLrW7
“Tom, this Is business, and this man is taking it very, very personal.” – Sonny Corleone.
In the 1972 Oscar-winning classic “The Godfather,” Caan plays Sonny Corleone, the hot-tempered eldest son of the Corleone mob family. Sonny is in line to take over the family business from his father, Vito (played by Marlon Brando). However, Sonny is known for his quick temper, which interferes with his relationships, business dealings – and more. While Sonny’s brother Michael (played by Al Pacino) shrewdly states during the movie, “Never hate your enemies, it affects your judgment” – it is a lesson that escapes Sonny.
Keeping emotions in check when working under a tight deadline or managing a PR crisis can be challenging. It can help to take a moment to pause, breathe, evaluate the situation, and then plan your next steps. Acting rashly never helps anyone – look no further than the cautionary tale of Sonny Corleone for evidence.
Approach Your Colleagues and Competitors with Grace
RIP to a childhood idol and legend. James Caan, I cried the first time I saw Brian’s Song, and every single time since! Thank you pic.twitter.com/7PPJOVwR4n
— Sailor (@wanderingSail34) July 8, 2022
The 1971 TV movie “Brian’s Song” features Caan as Chicago Bears halfback Brian Piccolo, a teammate of Hall of Fame halfback Gale Sayers (played by Billy Dee Williams). Based on real-life events, the two players build a deep friendship despite competing for a roster spot, their differing personalities and experiencing the racial tensions of the 1960s. Like any good film, this one will make you weep.
Just like the football field, fighting for your position in the industry can be tricky, and navigating the challenges of day-to-day PR work can make it easy to become stressed and overwhelmed. It’s important to know who your teammates are and remember they’re on your side to help when the going gets tough. Whether you’re working with other PR colleagues, co-workers in other departments, communications managers or directors, or external liaisons, approach your fellow professionals warmly. You never know what opportunities will surface through relationship-building and graceful networking.
Even in the world of PR, James Caan had much to teach. RIP, sir – your legacy remains.