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.
As an intern at Communique PR, I have enjoyed learning more about PR professionals’ resources for their everyday projects and clients. Life as a marketing student is a fast-paced journey where I’ve been fascinated to learn more about creative branding and public relations methods. As I discover more about the PR world, Business Wire has given me some valuable tips on becoming a successful PR professional.
For those who don’t know, Business Wire is a press release distribution and regulatory disclosure company, and 60 years ago, the company opened its first office in San Francisco. Today, it has 17 offices worldwide, with a network of 100,000 media outlets and 162 countries.
To celebrate its anniversary, Business Wire is sharing 60 secrets and tips for best PR practices. This e-book has given me so much insight and guidance into the world of public relations. Specifically, I wanted to share five tips that resonated with me:
- “Understand what makes your readers tick. Write your press release from the viewpoint of your end audience. Make the impact your news has on their lives the center of your story.”
- This tip is helpful because it sheds some truth on attracting an audience and creating meaning for readers. Before gaining exposure to writing PR materials, I didn’t realize how crucial it is to ask questions like “How does this affect the reader?” and “Why should they care about this news?” In addition, it’s essential to speak the language of the audience to maximize the impact and reach of your communications.
- “Match your visual approach to your audience and channel. Understanding your audience and their channels of choice will help you choose your final content types.”
- Through my internship, I’ve seen how images and videos enhance materials. However, it’s also important to consider your audience’s preferences when considering the kind of content to create. In some cases, you might want to create a chart or graph, while in other instances, you might produce a TikTok or YouTube video to amplify your message further.
- “Add pull quotes and calls to actions. Increase inbound traffic and advocacy by adding hyperlinks and social messaging directly into your press release.”
- A call to action encourages people to follow up with the news or engage with content that genuinely piques their interest. In addition, by adding hyperlinks or comment sections, you can enable people to interact with the author and other readers. An engaging call to action that directs the reader can help maintain excitement around the announcement and communication material.
- “Many populations are composed of multiple cultural identities. Research thoroughly and develop content that embraces the cultural insight of the demographic you’re targeting.”
- This advice shows the importance of addressing diversity and healthy relationships among all cultures in communications campaigns. Companies and their PR teams should take this advice in stride because understanding the culture and norms of diverse populations can help form meaningful connections with readers. Providing a culturally sensitive and insightful piece can build bridges for underrepresented audiences to expand the community and sustain traction with a brand.
- “Be aware that our own biases can create unintended barriers when trying to understand differing cultures and backgrounds. Remember to take a step back and reflect on your news and consider how it will appear to a multicultural audience.”
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- Unconscious bias is the downfall for many relationships or communities that may negatively impact public image or workplace dynamics. It’s wise to reflect on how words and actions may resonate with all audience members. Unconscious bias can lead to negative press and long-term brand consequences by exposing the audience to microaggressions or negative attitudes toward certain subjects or communities. The article’s intent can be perceived differently by diverse audience members, and the impact of content can present unfavorable consequences.
These are just a few of the enlightening tips found in this downloadable e-book, which I recommend for people looking to improve their expertise and learn best practices for effective communications. I love Business Wire’s commitment to educating its readers on myriad issues such as developing a great pitch, driving engagement from press releases, and relating to diverse audiences.
Click here to download Celebrating 60 Years With 60 Tips: Communications and PR Best Practices in Advancing Today’s News Adoption and Consumption.
“For forever and a day, I shall chase that white whale.” – Captain Ahab, “Moby Dick”
Had Captain Ahab worked in public relations instead of whaling, his quote may have referred to securing the elusive, top-tier national coverage that so many clients seek.
Everyone wants to see their name in valued news outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, those seeking this coverage don’t always know how to get there.
That doesn’t stop PR professionals from trying. We can be downright dogged in our pursuit of the great white whale. But often, pitching national media can seem like embarking on a round of cold calls, with a slim likelihood of success.
This is not to say you can’t be successful. Building relationships with national media requires preparation and effort. You must first establish familiarity to cultivate these relationships.
Here are a few tips that can help build relationships with national journalists and media, the white whale of PR.
- Do your research and leverage the human touch.
It may seem simple but must never be overlooked: Journalists are people, and you must consider their interests and needs. Do your part to know and understand the media to whom you pitch. Familiarize with their outlet, their target audience, and the topics on which they’re writing. Before reaching out, ask yourself, “Why should they care about this news?” Be meticulous with news distribution; sharpen your press list accordingly to focus on journalists who cover topics that are hyper-relevant to your client and their specialty area. The extra legwork will make for an ideal fit and a win-win situation for all parties involved.
- Plan ahead and be in front of the story.
Like anyone else, journalists are busy people with loaded calendars. National media already have their list of stories to work on and hordes of folks fighting for their attention. When pitching news, allow time for journalists to digest the information and run it by their editors, should they need story approval. Remember: It’s their job to be ahead of a news story. Helping them anticipate what’s in the pipeline can help them plan for covering relevant news stories as they happen. Do your part as a PR professional to stay on top of news trends to inform relevant pitches. A heads-up in advance is unlikely to go unappreciated, and your effort to stay ahead of the curve will position you as a valued resource.
- Engage with their content.
In the age of social media, there are many ways to put yourself on a journalist’s radar. Leverage social channels to your advantage to like, share, and comment on news stories or posts from journalists you follow. Sometimes, this can result in organic networking or relationship-building. If you land coverage, make sure to promote the article accordingly across your social channels. A simple story-share can go a long way toward building stronger relationships with media.
- Bring value to the table.
Media resources are indeed dwindling, but this doesn’t mean journalists are desperate for content. Above all else, journalists value quality news. When pitching stories, bring quality ideas to the table that are relevant to their audience and newsworthy. Provide as many components as you can to help them build a news story, such as good quotes and images or infographics to run with a potential article. Take steps on your end to make their job easier; it can only help your chances in securing that valued coverage.
- Nurture the relationship.
Maintaining successful media relations requires effort. Devote time each week to media engagement. Once you’ve landed a successful pitch, try to keep an ongoing cadence of correspondence with the journalist approximately every month. Maybe you’ll have more news to pitch, or perhaps you want to comment on a story a journalist wrote that you enjoyed. Thank them for pitches they accept but also engage on those they reject. Make sure they know you’re available as an expert resource for upcoming stories.
Any successful relationship requires work. As PR professionals, we can only secure valued coverage by showing the journalists we rely on that we value their time and energy through dedicated preparation and engagement. By adhering to a few simple steps, the pursuit of top-tier coverage can become much less daunting and more likely to succeed.
It’s no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world in more ways than one this past year. Working professionals had to massively adjust their daily schedules as companies moved to remote work business models. Although many professionals reported benefitting from these work-from-home transitions, others are still grappling with the impactful changes remote work has caused, leading to many throwing around the term “post-pandemic exhaustion.”
Dr. Ian H. Newmark, chief of pulmonary medicine at Syosset Hospital, defines post-pandemic exhaustion as “the state of being worn out by recommended precautions and restrictions related to the pandemic and is often manifested by boredom, depression and other psychological issues including physical exhaustion.”
By the end of 2020, many individuals were feeling the impacts of the pandemic. A recent study found that 76 percent of U.S. workers admitted to feeling burnout, with 37 percent citing stress about COVID-19 as a direct contributor to their work fatigue.
Now, as companies decide whether or not to return to in-person work weeks, employees are being hit with even more changes to their daily schedules. As a result, professionals are dealing with additional stressors as businesses make moves to bring back some normalcy to day-to-day life.
A Gartner CFO survey revealed that nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of companies plan to permanently shift employees to remote work after the COVID-19 crisis ends. Additionally, it’s estimated that 70 percent of the U.S. workforce will be working remotely by 2025.
The following steps and healthy practices should be identified and implemented to combat “post-pandemic exhaustion” as employees settle into permanent remote workdays or return to the office for the first time in almost two years.
Identify where and why you’re struggling
Do you find it hard to concentrate at work? Do you lack energy to be consistently productive during the workday? Are you having trouble sleeping during the workweek? If you answered yes to any of these questions, chronic burnout might be part of the cause.
Heavy workloads, long hours, a work-life imbalance, and a lack of control of your work are just a few job stressors that lead to chronic burnout. Many impactful problems are associated with chronic burnout, including concentrating, productivity, change in mood, and physical health decline. As a result, when you’re experiencing burnout, it’s vital to implement ways to handle and resolve it as it won’t go away on its own.
Explore your mental health options and locate help
Over the years, mental health has started to be destigmatized as society openly discusses it more. As such, the mainstream narrative surrounding mental health has begun to infiltrate industries around the globe as more businesses establish and expand mental health options for employees.
A recent report found that 32 percent of employers have expanded mental health support for their workforce due to COVID-19. Starbucks, Target, and Salesforce are just a few companies that have increased or implemented mental health benefits for staff in recent years.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, mental health services were overwhelmed with inquiries. In fact, according to Headspace, a mental health and meditation application, there was a 500 percent increase in inbound interest from companies seeking mental health resources for their employees in 2020.
If you’re struggling with post-pandemic exhaustion or other mental health problems, utilize the resources your employer may have available to get the help and support you need. Talk to an HR representative about gaining access to these resources. Additionally, you can reach out to the SAMHSA Treatment Referral Helpline or go to mentalhealth.gov to explore an array of support options.
One of the critical steps to managing and improving your mental health is identifying what may be wrong and seeking out the right help for you.
Discuss post-pandemic exhaustion with your colleagues
When it comes to your mental health, it’s essential to know your limits in all aspects of your life. For work, in particular, being open with your colleagues and bosses about your post-pandemic exhaustion is one way to manage it. Odds are, if you’re experiencing post-pandemic exhaustion, many in your workplace may be struggling with it, too.
Finding common ground like this with co-workers can make you feel less alone during this challenging time. It can also help everyone impacted by post-pandemic exhaustion communicate and identify the best practices for managing it.
Additionally, communicating with your bosses and supervisors when your mental health declines offers transparency and insight into your work capacity. Through this, you can collaborate with your boss on how your job is impacting your health, what can be done to change it, and the steps that can be taken to avoid it from happening again.
Rediscover a work-life balance
Finding a balance between work life and personal life is a constant challenge for many professionals. However, companies’ transitions to remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has blurred the lines between work life and personal life for many.
A recent study found that 70 percent of newly remote workers reported completing work tasks on the weekends over the past year. Meanwhile, 45 percent noted that their hours have increased since going remote due to the global pandemic.
For those working from home or returning to the office, redefining that work-life balance is essential for mental well-being and physical health. Working professionals must implement activities in their daily lives to help them recharge and unplug from work, especially when dealing with post-pandemic exhaustion.
Of course, these self-care activities will range from person to person, but hiking, reading, cooking, listening to music, and playing sports are just a few everyday leisure activities many partake in to unwind and destress.
Sleep is also incredibly important for balancing your daily life. Recent studies show that taking a nap for up to 30 minutes helps the body recharge and refocus. Additionally, taking 1-2 naps a week can reduce the chances of stroke, heart attack, or heart failure and improve your overall mental health.
Above all, whether in the workplace or at home, if you’re experiencing post-pandemic exhaustion or fatigue, it’s crucial not to ignore it. Seeking out help from professionals and creating a support system around you are key steps toward managing your mental health during this time of change. It’s also essential to redefine that work-life balance in the post-pandemic world for your mental well-being, physical health and overall day-to-day life.
2021 has been an exciting year for Delta-Q Technologies (Delta-Q). This year alone, the company launched a new partner program, Charged by Delta-Q, a new three-in-one battery charger, the XV3300, and celebrated a milestone with one of its longstanding partners. We have collaborated with Delta-Q for several years now and have had the opportunity to support these announcements and increase the company’s brand awareness.
For example, YTD, we have secured 88 placements for Delta-Q, already a 17% increase from the coverage secured in 2020. We began working with Delta-Q in 2014. In that first year, we became grounded in the company’s business and kicked off a media relations presence. In that first year, we secured approximately 10 articles. It has been exciting and rewarding to witness Delta-Q grow as a brand, help tell its story, and build awareness as a leader in its field.
As a leader of industrial battery chargers, Delta-Q is committed to helping a variety of industrial equipment industries embrace electrification in a realistic and meaningful way. For example, its latest product, the XV3300, fills the compact mobile machinery market’s need for a highly compact charger that is low voltage and high performing. Further, the global push for increased sustainability of industrial equipment has put some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in a pinch to design and deploy equipment that will ensure reliability while also meeting emissions standards. As a three-in-one solution, the XV3300 combines a high-performance 3.3kW charger, a 500W DC-DC converter, and an EV charging station interface in a compact package to make power-train electrification practical.
Production of the charger begins in 2022; however, the company announced the solution’s launch this year, and in June 2021, we collaborated to share the news with Delta-Q’s audiences. Below is a list of the articles secured from our media outreach around the announcement. To learn more about Delta-Q’s XV3300, watch the video on the company’s charger webpage.
- North American Clean Energy: Three-in-one charging solution – 7/15/21
- Golf Car Advisor: U.S. Battery Manufacturing and Delta-Q Technologies Partner in Battery Compatibility Program – 7/2/21
- North American Clean Energy: North American Clean Energy-Three-in-one charging solution – 7/15/2021
- OEM Off-Highway: Weekly New Products Roundup: Hengst Oil-Coolant Module Optimizes Fuel Savings – 6/25/21
- Forklift Action: Product news Thursday, June 24 – 6/24/21
- Material Handling Network: Delta-Q Technologies Launches First Three-in-One Charging Solution with the XV3300 Battery Charging System – 6/18/21
- Electronic Products & Technology: Battery charging system delivers 3-in-1 charging solution – 6/16/21
- Canadian Manufacturing: EP&T: Battery charging system delivers 3-in-1 charging solution – 6/16/21
- Battery Power: Delta-Q Launches New Line of Battery Charging Solutions – 6/15/21
- Rental Equipment Register: Delta-Q Technologies Launches the new XV3300 Battery Charging Solution – 6/15/21
- Access Lift & Handlers: Delta-Q launches XV3300 battery charger – 6/15/21
- KHL: Delta-Q launches XV3300 battery charger – 6/15/21
- Power Electronic News: 3.3kW On-board Charger for Small Electric Vehicles – 6/14/21
- Charged Evs: Delta-Q launches three-in-one charging solution – 6/11/21
- ABI TechNews: Delta-Q Launches Three-In-One Charging Solution – 6/11/21
- Lift and Access: Delta-Q Adds to Power-Train Electrification Solutions – 6/11/21
- EE World: Industrial battery charging module includes 500-W dc-dc converter – 6/9/21
- Automotive Technology: Delta-Q Technologies Launches First Three-in-One Charging Solution with the XV3300 Battery Charging System – 6/10/21
- OEM Off-Highway: Delta-Q XV3300 Battery Charger – 6/10/21
- The Cleanzine: Delta-Q Technologies launches first three-in-one charging solution with the XV3300 battery charging system – 6/10/21
- Bodyworx Magazine: Delta-Q Technologies Launches First Three-in-One Charging Solution with the XV3300 Battery Charging System – 6/10/21
- Power Electronic Tips: Industrial battery charging module includes 500-W DC-DC converter – 6/9/21
- Electronics Weekly: 3.3kW on-board charger for small electric vehicles – 6/9/21
- Material Handling Wholesaler: Delta-Q Technologies launches first Three-in-One Charging Solution with the XV3300 Battery Charging System – 6/9/21
- Canadian Manufacturing: Delta-Q Technologies releases a new charger for OEM’s developing electric vehicles – 6/9/21
- North American Clean Energy: Delta-Q Technologies Launches First Three-in-One Charging Solution with the XV3300 Battery Charging System – 6/9/21
- Trucking News: Delta-Q Technologies Launches First Three-in-One Charging Solution with the XV3300 Battery Charging System – 6/9/21
To learn more about our work with Delta-Q, check out the following blog posts:
Dry as it may seem, tracking the impact of a PR campaign is crucial to success, and has evolved over the years. The gathered metrics and subsequent analysis can beneficially inform budgeting and allocation of resources moving forward and can guide changes to messaging, audience engagement strategies, and sales processes. Yet measuring the power of PR can be challenging. The first step is to ensure alignment and agreement with the company’s business objectives.
Clear and measurable business objectives are essential as you need to know what you are trying to achieve and what success looks like. Examples of business objectives include increasing revenue by X% in 2022, attracting X% new talent and retaining XX% of existing talent in the coming 12 months, securing $XX million in additional investment by 202X, etc.
A strategic PR plan will ensure the proposed campaigns and activities are tied back to the organization’s business objectives. Ideally, the plan also provides recommended metrics to track its effectiveness. There are numerous ways to measure the impact of PR. “[I]t’s essential for any PR team to find ways to demonstrate the results of their efforts,” counseled a recent article in Forbes entitled 14 Key Metrics For Measuring A PR Campaign’s Effectiveness. “If campaign results can’t be measured accurately, it’s hard to determine their worth and create effective plans based on the progress thus far.”
When incorporating metrics into a PR plan, knowing what is already being tracked, what is feasible to track, and the effort associated with tracking specific metrics is critical. Further, if the metric does not directly align with a business objective, it is vital to understand how it affects or supports one or more of the organization’s business objectives.
To read more on this topic, below are some additional resources:
Road to IPO: Key PR Tips for A Successful Journey
The transition a company makes from a privately held entity to a publicly traded one is intensely fierce. With only one chance to do it right, there is a lot riding on a company’s trajectory when going public.
Well before and throughout the IPO process, the public relations team plays an integral role in building the market buzz that is essential to IPO success. With strategic planning and execution, a company will find itself prepared for the rigors encountered when operating in a regulated environment.
Publicly traded companies must adhere to strict SEC guidelines in several areas. Understanding what – and what not – to communicate can sometimes seem daunting. It’s vitally important to understand that all company spokespeople are subject to SEC regulations. Before any executives speak with media, it’s important for them to understand a few mission-critical do’s and don’ts.
Two high profile companies – Slack and Uber – are well-known examples of how not to handle PR during an IPO. Both companies had to amend their SEC filings due to unsanctioned board member interviews on CNBC that included commentary that was either not company authorized or inconsistent with its filings.
Careful advanced planning and experienced execution can help companies achieve maximum brand exposure without stepping out of line. Below are some guidelines for how SEC regulations apply to media interviews and posting to social media.
DO:
DON’T:
When in doubt, consult your legal team for guidance on how to proceed or what information to share. Like most things, SEC regulations may be subject to change so it’s also important to keep a close eye on developments and adjust your communications strategies accordingly. By making sure your communications team and executives are well versed on SEC communications requirements, you can ensure your spokespeople will remain on message.