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.
We have written often in this blog about the value of earned media, but I’d like to dig a little deeper into how it can help better build your brand. How can you reinforce positive perceptions of a company, support media pitching efforts, and ultimately strengthen the value of media placements? Social media might be the answer, albeit not a quick fix. With time and consistency, effective use of social media in three ways can bolster your brand credibility and land you even more impactful media coverage.
First, according to Muck Rack’s most recent State of Journalism Study, more than half (59%) of journalists say they “usually” or “always” consult branded social media profiles when reporting on an organization, and 29% will “sometimes” check these profiles. Twitter remains the leading social media network among journalists at 85%, with LinkedIn being the platform they plan to spend the most time on after Twitter in the coming year. Therefore, an investment in content marketing and expanding your company’s social media presence may not only improve your ability to reach customers, partners and other stakeholders, it also could pay dividends in your pursuit of earned media.
Next, as PR professionals, we know the importance of relationship-building in the media-pitching process. However, interacting with journalists and media outlets on social media can also extend your reach. Social media is an ideal vehicle for nurturing authentic and mutually beneficial connections with media covering your industry. Following, sharing and commenting on a journalist’s content on Twitter and LinkedIn in an altruistic way could make yours a name they recognize in their crowded email inbox and thus make them more likely to open and consider your pitch.
Finally, the easiest tip to deploy: Utilizing some simple social media tools in your daily work can go a long way to expanding your visibility. By incorporating social sharing links and buttons in press releases and on blog posts you give your followers a quick and easy way to share your news with an audience you might otherwise never touch. Using hashtags is another way to spread your message and monitor your reach and success.
So, as you lay out your strategies for 2021, remember to include the many facets of social media in your media relations plan to grow your brand credibility, reinforce your pitching efforts and position your company as a thought leader.
Key messages are the bread and butter of public relations. They offer anyone representing a brand a collection of approved messages that can be confidently shared through any form of communication. Whether you’re preparing a spokesperson for an interview or developing a pitch, clearly reflecting key messages into all campaigns and written materials will ensure that your client’s brand stays consistent and on topic.
While it may not be the most glamorous project, creating key messages is an essential component to properly reach a target audience with a strong, unified message. A good set of key messages will be similar to an elevator pitch, concisely communicating what sets the brand apart in under a minute. Whether you are looking to create key messages for a new client or refresh a collection that may be outdated, below are three key takeaways I learned from an episode of The PR Pod, an essential PR podcast for budding public relations professionals, that you should always keep in mind when creating this foundational material.
Put in the time for preliminary research
Research and think about the key messages that audiences need to hear and understand. Having a firm grasp of your client’s industry is helpful and you’ll want to understand the narrative the company wants to share. One good way to do this is to develop a Q&A. This helps get all the basic information a journalist would inquire about in one location. You should also identify communication goals and target audience with the client. Finally, it’s a good idea to look at the competitor landscape to pinpoint the differentiating components the brand possesses.
Aim for three to four concise key messages
Once the preliminary research and discussions take place, devote one to three hours to crafting these messages. This can be tough and often will require more than one pass through to get the result you desire. Take time to ensure each word is impactful, supports the company’s mission, and aligns with the established expectations. Typically, public relations professionals aim to have a collection of three to four concise messages supported with proof points. The first one should be a summarizing statement describing the business that shares the most important information. Then, after you flush it out, you can go into more description illustrating what, how and why the company is different and its unique offerings. To ensure your messages are credible, you will need proof points. Proof points are concrete examples or data that support the claims that you’re making in your key messages.
Buffer in extra time for the review process
When the first draft is complete, it can still take hours to create the end product a client may desire. Buffer in extra time for the approval process both internally and externally. Before sending it off to clients, it can take several rounds of internal edits from a variety of coworkers to get it in a good place. Once it’s in your client’s hands, set aside time to address feedback and make additional edits before the key messages are finalized. This whole process can take anywhere from a week to several weeks and is crucial to avoid disparity across all written and spoken communications.
After refining, solidifying and testing the messages to ensure they resonate with the target audiences you can begin to use them for all of the company’s communications. No matter where you are in your professional career, as a public relations professional, it is crucial to create, or learn if already developed, a client’s top key messages and routinely reassess them to ensure they still meet the company’s needs and those of the target audience.
As working professionals in any industry, continuing education is key to job security, career advancement and client success. PR is no different. In fact, the evolution of the media landscape and social media platforms, and the integration of marketing and public relations, are all the more reason to seek opportunities to learn the latest methods, refresh our skills, and gain a competitive edge over other industry professionals.
But what might continuing education look like? Is it pursuing a master’s degree? Is it earning an APR? Is it attending conferences? There are many ways PR professionals can elevate and polish their skills. Outlined below are five suggestions to help individuals determine which options are the best fit for them.
- Social Media
Scrolling on social media has earned a bad rep as being a waste of time. However, it can actually be a great way to stay on our toes. Information on social media is always changing, and the medium is arguably one of the easiest ways to share stories. Because of this, social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter have become a go-to way for people to share their professional successes and failures. The posts our network shares are teaming with valuable insights that can teach us best practices. The posts might also help us avoid making the same mistake one of our colleagues recently made.
Another way to use social media to our benefit is by searching hashtags like #PRPro or #PRTips and monitoring the conversations to glean helpful career info. Further, we might find mentoring or networking opportunities – both valuable components of continued learning.
- Conferences
Conferences and events are a commonly used way to stay in-the-know. Conferences teach practical PR strategies and tactics, catered to a variety of sectors. For example, there are PR conferences for education, food and beverage, tech, crisis communications, travel and tourism, health and much more. Industry leaders come together to share their lessons learned and how they’re adapting to market and technology changes – a topic especially relevant during a pandemic.
- Traditional Education
Recently, Tesla made headlines with its decision to eliminate its PR department. Some of the PR team was reassigned within the company, taking on roles in external relations, employee experience or content design and development. While there are serious negative ramifications that could result from removing the PR department, the move demonstrates a trend that other companies might choose to follow. Writing for PR Daily, Ted Kitterman highlighted the importance of being a well-rounded PR professional by saying, “PR pros can make themselves indispensable by becoming business experts who have communications knowledge.”
Some individuals might find it useful to pursue another degree to strengthen their business prowess or expand their skillset. For example, if someone has a bachelor’s degree in communications, they might choose to pursue a master’s degree in business or advertising or pursue a certificate in graphic design. Being well rounded can give us a leg up when pitching a new client, providing counsel to an existing client, or weathering internal company changes.
- Reading
With our phones at our disposal, we can easily access a wealth of industry knowledge from blogs, news websites, books and more. Reading is one of the most common means of continual learning. And like social media, the information shared is always changing. PR pros should seek out materials that deliver smart insights, do’s and don’ts and examples of PR campaigns in the industry. Major PR publications include PR Daily, PRNews, O’Dwyer’s, PRsay, Cision Blog and HubSpot Blog. Business outlets like Entrepreneur and Forbes are also great resources.
- Podcasts
No time to read? Podcasts are a great alternative. Listening to podcasts injects learning into everyday life, with little to no disruption to our schedules. Whether we’re making breakfast, going for a walk or commuting, podcasts can teach us while we multitask. For ideas on podcasts to listen to, check out Cision’s recommendations.
Our challenge as public relations professionals is to keep ourselves informed about new and emerging technologies and techniques so that we are able to provide clients with the very best counsel and service we can. While much of our learning comes on the job, we must also take advantage of online and in-person opportunities to learn. Regardless of our place in our professional lives, we must continue to hone our skills so that we remain on the cutting edge of the techniques and technologies that define our profession.
Pitching to media is one of the most important avenues to earning coverage for your client. Pitching involves researching, identifying, messaging and contacting journalists who you believe will cover your client’s announcement. It is essential that you are targeting the right people with your pitch.
To determine the best fit for a pitch, look at the topic or “beat” of each contact. If a journalist’s beat is not explained in their job title, read a few of their recent stories to get a sense of the topics they cover. After you have recognized contacts within a relevant beat, narrow down your pitching list to the titles and roles of media contacts which accept pitches or can assign news stories. Below is an overview of common titles within a media outlet and if they should be prioritized for pitching.
- A Publisher oversees the commercial success of the publication. They ensure that the outlet can recruit and maintain advertisers and subscriptions. Publishers do not assign or contribute content, so they are not an appropriate contact for pitching.
- An Editor-in-Chief oversees high-level organizational operations. They are often in charge of hiring staff, determining the look and feel of a publication, editing and fact-checking copy, and sometimes writing articles themselves. Editors-in-chief are more likely to assign stories at smaller publications where resources are limited. Avoid pitching to editors-in-chief at larger publications.
- A Managing Editor is tasked with maintaining the day-to-day operations of a media outlet. This means they may generate story ideas, plan and assign content, and oversee commissions of stories and art. They also create editorial calendars and supervise editorial staff. For these reasons, managing editors are one of the best contacts for pitching at an outlet.
- An Editor-at-Large is an editor at the publication who also contributes content on a regular or semi-regular basis. Editors-at-large are distinguished from writers because they do not need approval from another editor before writing stories. They are a good contact for pitching.
- A Senior Editor works under the direction of the managing editor and is often in charge of a specific section within the publication. They will guide the editorial content of their team of editors and writers. Senior editors are an adequate pitching contact if they cover a beat important to your announcement.
- A Deputy Editor often works under a Senior editor. They may help with copywriting and editing or may write themselves. This position varies greatly from organization to organization so the true day-to-day of a deputy editor is not certain. For this reason, they are not a great contact for pitching.
- A Senior Writer may help with editing and proofreading for their department but does not have the organizational responsibilities of an editor. Senior writers have more agency than staff writers in determining the content they cover, but they still must have stories approved by their editors. Only pitch to senior editors operating within a relevant beat.
- A Staff Writer contributes content to the publication from within the outlet. This is the most junior role within a media outlet, and there is little freedom to determine content direction. Pitching should be prioritized to more senior contacts.
- A Reporter/Journalist is most similar to the role of staff writers, except they often will travel for their role rather than remaining in the office. Similar to staff writers, it is best to prioritize pitching to contacts with more power in determining what content they cover.
These job descriptions should help explain who may be best to target with a pitch. It is important to remember however that job titles are fluid and may vary from organization to organization. At smaller publications, tasks are more likely to be shared. At larger organizations, the roles may be more distinguished. This list should serve as a starting point, but not an end-all-be-all of media pitching.
The unique circumstances of this year have required businesses to get creative, rethink strategies and adapt to a new normal. By now, we’re all familiar, probably too familiar, with video calls. While they may be tiresome, the new comfort around this form of interaction has sparked a great opportunity to support virtual media tours.
While conducting media tours and interviews via webcams is not a novel idea, it is more approachable with the increased use of video calls and the acceptance of taking these from home. A virtual media tour would have been referred to as a satellite tour several years ago; and with that, there would have likely been increased production, it likely would have been hosted in a studio, with a camera crew and the support of a full production person. However, with the variety of video conferencing platforms accessible and equipment available for online order (i.e. lighting and mics), virtual media tours are a very approachable and effective strategy.
So, when our long-time client Spaceflight was preparing for the announcement of its new Sherpa-NG program, a virtual media tour was a strategy we wanted to pursue. This program comprises of three different orbital transfer vehicles and is a groundbreaking development for Spaceflight and a growing trend in the industry.
With this new development, not only was there a strong verbal story, but there was a visual story as well with the creation of new hardware for this program. We decided to offer a select group of journalists a virtual tour of Spaceflight’s Sherpa-FX ring before it launched. This enabled an expert at Spaceflight to walk through all the important details of the Sherpa-NG program and the upcoming mission, while showcasing the physical hardware that would execute the mission.
Below are a handful of learnings from our experience conducting the virtual tours.
Know your Messages
This should come as no surprise. As with all media briefings, it’s important for every spokesperson to know and understand their messages. However, unlike a traditional media briefing, virtual tours require spokespeople to not only speak to their messages, but showcase a visual element, in this case, the orbital transfer vehicle. So, in addition to speaking to benefits and addressing questions, the spokesperson needs to frequently refer to an object throughout the tour.
In advance of the tour, outline the key messages and develop a high-level agenda. This agenda should present information in a way that makes sense to the tour audiences, however, be flexible enough to adapt to questions or redirections that occur during a tour. If a spokesperson is comfortable and confident in their messages, then they should be able to deliver an authentic and effective tour.
Be Thoughtful about Visual Elements
Visual elements can go a long way in hosting a virtual media tour. It offers something unique and engaging. Additionally, if it’s something the company is developing, for example, the hardware Spaceflight produced, it can go a long way in establishing credibility and demonstrating the company’s progress. As the spokesperson guides reporters through the main visual element, they should be prepared to tie in key benefits related to the features of the hardware and describe its differentiators.
If you can provide multiple visual elements, it can make the tour even more engaging and support key messages. In this case, Spaceflight had a unique piece of hardware and was able to highlight other equipment that would support the Sherpa ring in executing its mission once in space. However, to ensure journalists had a clear understanding of how the hardware would function and what it would look like once fully integrated with satellites and into the rocket, we had posters of renderings of the equipment in space. This allowed our spokesperson to describe the ring and its mission and then seamlessly showcase the renderings and demonstrate a final product.
Host a Dress Rehearsal
No one is above tech issues. We’re in our ninth month of working remote and I still find myself having the occasional technical issue. Hosting a dress rehearsal is a must. It will allow the spokesperson to run through their messaging and confirm it feels natural, and, during that time, it will allow other attendees to assess logistical elements, such as sound and video quality. Doing this in advance will ensure that the tours run smoothly, reduce “in-the-moment” stress, and make sure that the tours are a valuable use of everyone’s time.
Not every announcement or company development warrants a virtual media tour, but when there is a compelling visual element to showcase, it can create a very engaging experience. Additionally, sharing a product or platform and demonstrating its development and, quite frankly, existence, can help establish credibility. As you prepare for upcoming announcements, consider the visual elements. If you have something unique to offer, host a visual media tour to create a unique and captivating experience for journalists.
As PR professionals, an inalienable truth of our work is that we cannot be successful without the help of reporters, journalists, bloggers and news media.
We build relationships with media members because we need them. Yes, we rely on journalists for valued coverage, but also for information, guidance and greater insight into what’s going on in our communities.
This year, we needed journalists more than ever before to help us understand COVID-19, its resulting impacts, and how to combat the disease. We needed journalists to shine a light on the social injustices occurring across our country and document how communities were responding. And we needed journalists to report and provide analysis on one of the most intense election years in our country’s history.
Journalists are essential workers for a reason. They have the unenviable task of covering news as it’s happening – whether it is a pandemic, protests, riots, or tense political atmospheres. Their job is not to run from a fire, but toward it. In a year when many of us likely needed a break from unrelenting news reports that were often troubling and discouraging, journalists remained vigilant and watchful. They are seldom allowed to look away, even as the news becomes emotionally wearisome and dispiriting. Look no further than this year’s presidential election, when many journalists worked non-stop from Nov. 3 through Nov. 7 when a decision was called – and then beyond to cover the contended results.
Sadly, the news industry has not been immune to the economic fallout from COVID-19. The Poynter Institute has maintained an exhaustive list of newsroom layoffs, furloughs and closures that are related to the pandemic. The full impacts of COVID-19 are still be felt throughout our country and world.
Nonetheless, for those celebrating Thanksgiving, this is a time of year for giving thanks. And so, after a difficult year that saw so much news that was painful and challenging to bear, it is an opportune time to give thanks to journalists and news media. Through the demands of their work, they have endured the pandemic and social crises, and forged ahead to report the news and keep our communities informed. Far too often, journalists are community stewards whose work goes unheralded.
And so …
Thank you to the journalists who covered COVID-19, when we knew little about the disease, were under quarantine and it was not safe for people to gather.
Thank you to the journalists who continued reporting amid the social unrest and ongoing demonstrations following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Thank you to the journalists who braved tear gas, rubber bullets, and hostile confrontations between protesters and police officers, all in the name of reporting the news.
Thank you to the journalists who never wavered from covering the tense and highly charged rhetoric of the 2020 presidential election. And thank you for continuing to monitor the dialogue on social media, especially in those instances when it wasn’t easy to do so.
Thank you for staying committed, staying vigilant, and staying watchful over our communities to inform the public and report news that was honest, credible and true. We needed you more than ever before, and you did not disappoint.
We continue to need journalism that is accurate, fair and thorough. As the Code of Ethics from the Society of Professional Journalists states, “ … public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.”
Please subscribe to your local news outlets. At Communiqué PR, some of our favorites around Seattle include:
Newspapers
- The Seattle Times
- Everett Daily Herald
- Tacoma News Tribune
- Puget Sound Business Journal
- The Stranger
- Sound Publishing’s Eastside Reporter newspapers
- Northwest Asian Weekly
- Queen Anne & Magnolia News
- Madison Park Times
Digital Media
- Seattle PI
- Crosscut
- Seattle Patch
- GeekWire
- MyNorthwest
- PubliCola
- Converge Media
- South Seattle Emerald
- Capitol Hill Seattle Blog
- The Urbanist
Magazines
- Seattle Magazine
- Seattle Business Magazine
- Seattle Met
- 425 Magazine
- 425 Business Magazine
Public Broadcast & Radio
Broadcast Media
- KOMO 4
- KING 5
- KIRO7
- Q13 FOX