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 PR professionals, we are constantly seeking innovative ways to amplify, leverage and increase visibility for clients. Considering the investment of time and energy that goes into securing coverage for clients, PR professionals should be asking themselves how to increase the reach of the content before it’s published.
In addition to the traditional strategies, integrating paid tactics is a way to take earned media amplification to the next level. To successfully use paid channels, you first need to understand what the content aims to accomplish and the types of paid options available. Setting specific goals and tracking the right KPIs will make it easier to adapt your content and your paid amplification strategy for success. Example KPIs include website traffic, increasing video views and boosting social channel engagement.
There are countless ways to incorporate paid channels into your amplification strategy, but this post highlights a few ways to elevate single pieces of content. Here are a few ideas to get started:
Paid Social Media Posts
Social amplification enables brands to amplify the reach of organic content and target the right audience. With social channel algorithms evolving daily to provide users with a better experience, brands need to supplement organic posts with paid promotion to ensure the posts are reaching their target audiences. Nearly every social platform offers some type paid amplification options.
You can bring individual content pieces to the news feeds of new, targeted audiences through boosted posts. It’s quick, easy, priced by the click and a great way to expand viewership on content that’s important to your brand. After posting the content on your Facebook business page, select the “Boost Post” button in the lower right corner. Define your audience, select a budget and amplify away.
Similar to boosted posts, Twitter’s promoted tweets give brands the option to elevate specific posts to new audiences. Twitter bases its targeting options on keywords, interests and followers. Tweets will be displayed directly on the user’s feed and can include specific calls to action, such as “register now” or “learn more.”
LinkedIn offers a variety of ways to leverage its 500-million-strong user base. A good place to start is its self-serve PPC advertising platform, which allows brands to target audiences based on a variety of criteria, such as job title, responsibilities, geography or age. Through its sponsored content feature, brands can pay to have content featured on a member’s LinkedIn home screen or news feed.
Content Recommendation
Content recommendation platforms allow brands to place their content on respected websites and media properties underneath other types of relevant content. Through companies like Outbrain, brands submit content to be linked to websites such as CNN, Time and ESPN. It’s an effective way to amplify without interrupting, as the headlines from brand publishers blend into the rest of the content recommendations, creating a seamless user experience.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content or sponsored articles are an evolved version of what many PR professionals call advertorials and have been around for decades. In addition to sponsored content options on social channels, major publications are developing their own studios to create and host sponsored content. They usually employ a team that is separate from their editorial team to produce content for their sponsored content offerings. Using a publisher’s content studio doesn’t come cheap so a healthy budget is necessary when exploring sponsored content. Examples of content studios include, BrandVoice at Forbes, Partner Studio at Huffington Post and T Brand at The New York Times.
The perception of paid media is changing in PR agencies. In the last several years, paid media has transitioned from being a faux pas to becoming a core part of the PR strategy. Consumers are increasingly inundated, becoming more fragmented and harder to reach. To drive results for clients today, paid media can play an integral role in your overall strategy.
Forbes has labeled 2017 “The Year of the Influencer,” and they might be on to something. The idea of an influencer in itself is not particularly new or revolutionary – brands have been using celebrities to promote their products for decades – but the landscape of influencer marketing has drastically changed over the last few years. Thanks to the rise of social media the coveted title of influencer is no longer reserved for the mega-famous or people with millions of followers – and so enters the micro-influencer. These days, just about anyone can become a micro-influencer if they have the time and energy, and that has opened up a lot of doors for marketers.
A micro-influencer is exactly the same as an influencer, just with a smaller following. Think 10,000 to 100,000 instead of hundreds of thousands or millions. Don’t get me wrong, the big names and celebrity influencers are great if you want a lot of eyes, but there are two major downsides: cost and engagement. Getting the big names is expensive, and multiple studies have shown that social media users with huge follower bases actually see a drop in engagement after they pass the 100,000-follower mark. Why? People just stop trusting them. Turns out, consumers are sick and tired of brands trying to pull the wool over their eyes and are starting to question the authenticity of the sponsored-influencer Instagram posts that are popping up on everyone’s feed. Micro-influencers fix both of these problems.
You may still be thinking, “But won’t big stars with lots of followers expose my brand to a much larger demographic and, therefore, increase my sales more than a micro-influencer would?” Yes and…maybe. It will definitely expose your company to a lot of people that you may not have reached yet, but it will only significantly increase sales if what you’re selling appeals to everyone and you can afford it. Big influencers will have followers that are every age, gender, nationality and race, that all have different tastes and interests. So unless your product or service is demand by a huge demographic, you could be spending massive amounts of money to market to people that are never going to become customers. With many celebrity endorsements costing five or six figures, it might not be worth it.
Micro-influencers, on the other hand, usually have a much smaller variation in the kinds of people that follow them, which can be extremely helpful if you are targeting a specific audience and cost virtually nothing compared to the bigger names.
Let’s say that you have a new workout clothing line that you are trying to market. In one scenario, you pay a celebrity to endorse your brand in a sponsored Instagram post. In the second scenario, you do some research to find 20 micro-influencers that are passionate about fitness and healthy living and pay each of them to sponsor your brand. Some 97 percent of Instagram micro-influencers and 87 percent of bloggers charge $500 or less per post, so that is only $10,000 to get 20 sponsored posts out there. In comparison, influencers with three to seven million followers charge an average of $187,500 per Instagram post. You could get sponsored posts from 375 micro-influencers for that same amount of money. Now, you probably won’t reach three million followers through the 20 micro-influencers, but if each of them has 50,000 followers, you will still reach 1 million people at a 20th of the cost.
Not only that, but these 1 million niche followers have much a higher probability of actually engaging with your brand than the celebrities followers. This is because it is a niche audience engaging with a trusted source. Micro-influencers become micro-influencers because they are passionate about something and their followers are typically passionate about the same thing. So the 1 million people who follow your 20fitness focused micro-influencers fitness are more likely to invest in workout clothes because they have an interest in working out.
This is also where trust plays a major factor. Micro-influencers are more believable when they sponsor a product because their followers know that companies aren’t just throwing huge amounts of money at them to endorse a product they probably don’t even use, which is the general perception around sponsored celebrity posts. Even more believable? Having a micro-influencer rave about a product because they genuinely love it. To cut down on costs even further, you could send your top micro-influencers some free workout gear and ask for their opinions and feedback. If they think it is a great product, there is a chance they will post about it without the extra sponsorship fee.
This year might be the year of the influencer, but it doesn’t look like they are going anywhere anytime soon. There are lots of benefits to any influencer marketing, but micro-influencers are one of the most cost-efficient and effective ways to get your brand out there. In this case, you can have quality and quantity.
If you subscribe to HARO (Help a Reporter Out) queries, you’re likely familiar with the format of these email alerts. If you are not, welcome to the world of HARO – a great database for journalists and PR professionals with a number of sources for upcoming stories and opportunities to secure media coverage for clients.
HARO emails are sent several times a day and are broken into different industry categories. Under each category are lists of the titles and topics in need of resources. However, above the categories and at the top of every email, HARO publishes news and/or tips and tricks for marketing and PR professionals.
In a recent email blast, HARO featured Cision’s free white paper, “The Five Truths of Modern Media Targeting,” which addresses the common challenges associated with conducting influencer outreach.
For example, did you know that “80 percent of influencers complain about irrelevant pitches they receive?” Cision’s white paper addresses this mix-up and shares five tips for how to effectively leverage influencer campaigns.
- Design your targeting strategy with your clients in mind. This may seem like a no-brainer, however, it’s a good reminder to take a customer-centric approach when creating a list of target influencers. Many PR professionals will go after the big dogs like The Washington Post or Wall Street Journal, but it’s more important to consider the outlets with which your customer is reading and engaging. Identifying the individuals, news, trade and social channels your clients are already interested in will better inform your strategy for creating a brand-influencer campaign. At Communiqué PR we achieve this by taking time to learn a company’s objectives and target audiences; taking this strategic approach accurately leads into the next step of creating a media list.
- Find relevant influencers using more than just Google. Although Google is a great tool to discover influencers’ topics of interest and areas of past coverage, it should be one step in the influencer vetting process. Taking time to consult other database tools will help quickly filter the right influencers with which to engage. For example, Cision’s influencer profiles contain links to their recent articles and their social media accounts to provide transparency into their “sphere of influence.” A best practice I use is to start with a Cision or IT Database search, and then verify my findings using Google to determine if this influencer is still covering the topic.
- Understand the messages your target influencers want to hear. A major element in identifying the correct influencers lies in understanding the topics and trends they cover and that their readers care about. By taking the time to learn past areas of coverage and even the voice of their reporting, PR professionals will quickly be able to determine if the influencer is a fit. If they do seem like the right influencer, take time to craft and individualize the campaign so it will not only resonate with the influencer, but also provide them with the information they need to serve their readership. Types of items to research before drafting your message include, but are not limited to, past articles they’ve written, topics of interest, audience demographics and the their preferred time and contact method.
- Personalize pitches and reduce the volume of outreach. This shouldn’t be breaking news to any PR professional. Tailoring pitches goes in hand with tip no. 3, however, in addition to connecting influencers with the right messages and experts, it’s also important to minimize the number of individuals to whom you are sending pitches. If you followed step no. 3, you’re influencer press list should not have 100 contacts in it. Keep campaigns small, meaningful and targeted. You’ll receive more results, improve brand perception and, most importantly, inform rather than overwhelm.
- Bigger isn’t always better. Often PR professionals and clients view unique visitors per month (UVM) and reach as the most important metrics when evaluating and selecting influencers to target. Depending on the company size, product availability and topic of your campaign, an influencer with readers who value your campaign topic will be more beneficial than a high-visibility influencer with a larger readership. Cision’s “Digital Reach” approach takes a step further than UVM and analyzes the level of engagement influencers have with their audiences. This is executed by measuring how often content from the influencer is shared via social media channels and linked with other websites. Assessing these types of influencer data will help uncover the impact niche influencers can provide to the business, as well as inform conversations to secure your clients buy-in.
If you’re still in need of resources, check out these two blog posts on influencer programs to help drive value with your strategies and prevent your brand from conducting off-topic outreach.
On July 26, 2017, A Place for Mom, the nation’s largest senior living referral service, released detailed findings from its Senior Living Preferences Survey. The findings, which are relevant to seniors, their families and friends, developers and urban planners, revealed some surprising trends in senior housing and care.
A Place for Mom found one preference of seniors is to live in walkable neighborhoods, a trend more often ascribed to millennials. Other findings from the survey included:
- Walkability is not just for active seniors. A strong preference for walkability is most common among senior apartment consumers (53 percent), but over a third of independent-living consumers (38 percent) and over a quarter of assisted-living consumers (26 percent) show a strong preference for walkability.
- Walkability is not just for city slickers. Consumers in both urban and rural areas prefer walkable communities. To the extent that differences in preferences exist, walkability is most important to consumers who prefer urban centers. Yet more than half of consumers who prefer suburbs, as well as a third or more of consumers who want to live in a small town or rural area, also strongly prefer walkability.
- Regardless of care needs, the top three most important neighborhood features are low crime rate, close proximity to hospitals, and close proximity to family. Over 90 percent of consumers in each senior housing and care category prefer a neighborhood with low crime; same for proximity to a hospital.
You can read the full press release here: Will 75 Million Baby Boomers’ Desire for Walkability Impact City Planning?
To support the announcement, we connected with a number of A Place for Mom’s community partners to capture their feedback about their senior living residents desires. They were able to corroborate APFM’s findings with insight into occupancy rates and other information. We then reached out to a number of highly relevant national business and industry press to share the news, generate interest, and secure coverage. Our efforts resulted in nine original articles.
Following is a summary of the coverage around the news:
- Seniors want walkability, too, survey says – Curbed, 7/25/2017
- Walkability May Be Key For Future Senior Living Developments – Senior Housing News, 7/26/2107
- Developers: Keep Grandma In Mind – M Report, 7/26/2017
- Walkable Areas Are Getting More Competition – Realtor, 7/26/2017
- Seniors want walkability, too, survey says – Builder, 7/26/2017
- Survey: Older Americans Value Walkable Neighborhoods – Professional Builder, 7/26/2017
- Walkable location a surprising draw for assisted living prospects – McKnight’s Senior Living, 7/26/2017
- What We’re Reading: Walkability to Serve Seniors and Their Communities – National Center for Mobility Management, 7/27/2017
- Not just millennials: Baby boomers want walkable neighborhoods too, study says, – Boston Agent Magazine, 7/28/2017 (the same article is posted on Chicago Agent Magazine)
We want to congratulate A Place for Mom on its research, and are excited to see what it will uncover next. As the largest provider of referral services in North America, it has a wealth of interesting data and the company’s data scientist is continually examining it to discover new trends and to see how community partners can transform the senior living experience. Be sure to check out www.APlaceforMom.com.
From interns to account managers alike, scheduling and facilitating an interview can be a daunting (and butterfly-worthy) process. Recently, I had the opportunity to conduct my first interview with a business professional to gain supplemental information for an article I am writing. After a couple of minor miscommunications with my interviewee, I quickly learned that there is a definite right and wrong way to schedule interviews.
In order to be respectful of everyone participating, I have put together a list of important tips for scheduling and conducting an interview:
1. If you haven’t already, sign up for a free account with Freeconferencecall.com. Free Conference Call is a service that provides you (the host) with a unique dial-in number. At the time of the interview, you and the interviewee will call the dial-in, submit the access code and be joined in on the same call. If it is okay with your interviewee, you can even record the call so the content of the interview is easily retrievable as you write your article.
Pro tip #1: Create a new Outlook signature with the dial-in number and access code so you can easily insert it into emails.
Pro tip #2: Don’t share your dial-in number with anyone who will be using it as a host. If you are conducting a phone interview and someone else accidentally dials in, it is a breach of the interviewee’s confidentiality.
2. If you and a colleague are facilitating the interview together, compare calendars on Outlook to ensure there is a mutually available time. Imagine: You and the interviewee finally find a time for the interview, and once agreed upon, you realize it conflicts with your colleague’s calendar. Avoid this common mistake by always comparing the two internal calendars before suggesting a time to the interviewee. This will not only save time, but significantly reduce frustration from all parties.
3. Don’t waste time by sending unnecessary emails back-and-forth such as: “How about this time?” “That doesn’t work, how about now?” “No, that doesn’t work for me.” Instead, pick a time that works for you (and your colleague – see above), block it off on your calendar so you don’t get double booked, and send an email to your interviewee with your suggested time. Right away, send a calendar invite. Even if the time doesn’t work, the calendar invite ensures that at least something is on their calendar, pending acceptance.
4. Send a follow-up email the day before the scheduled interview to (1) remind the interviewee in case he/she forgot and (2) to make sure they are still available/to see if the call needs to be rescheduled.
5. Have a list of questions prepared so you are in control of the interview and can steer it in the direction that will help you acquire the specific content you need.
Pro tip: A useful question to ask during every interview is, “Is there any information you want to share that I haven’t asked about?” Nine times out of 10 they’ll tell you a vital piece of information that you would not have previously thought to ask about.
6. Dial-in to the interview at least a minute before it is supposed to start. You want to be the one greeting your interviewee, not the other way around. Once connected, thank them and give them an estimate of the length of the interview so you can make sure there are no conflicting commitments. It is also important to have them state their name, title and to explain what they do for their company.
7. Don’t be afraid to let conversation flow naturally. Yes, it is important to get your prepared questions answered, but it is equally as important to make the small bits of small talk that will establish a relationship with the interviewee. You never know what kind of opportunity a new connection could present!
Overall, embrace the butterflies! Speaking with someone new is naturally nerve-wracking, but it is important to realize that the interviewee is probably significantly more nervous than you! If you are interested in reading further on this topic, check out these great articles from the CPR blog: TV Interviews Best Practices, Best Practices: Skype Interviews and Preparing for the Broadcast Interview.
Happy interviewing!
If you work in PR, there is a 99-percent chance you have written in AP Style, considering it is the leading writing and usage style guide for both reporters and public-facing corporate communication. When I first started interning at Communique, I had never even heard about AP Style and I certainly didn’t know any of the rules. After my first few writing assignment came back covered in red ink, I decided it was time to learn. If you are new to AP Style, here are some tips and tricks to get you up to speed.
Your journey to AP Style mastery starts where all great journeys start – Google. You may be wondering why I’m not telling you to start with the actual AP Stylebook, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law 2017, since it is the best resource out there. That is a great question and the stylebook is definitely the best resource, but it is also 611 pages and the first 312 read like a dictionary. To save time, and your sanity, it is much easier to find a few beginner guides that will keep you from making any major faux pas, like not spelling out percent or using the wrong state abbreviation. Below are a few resources you can use to get started:
- AP Style – the Purdue University Online Writing Lab
- Associated Press Cheat Sheet
- AP Style Quick Reference Guide
Then you can use the style guide to look up more nitpicky rules, like understanding the distinction between a mistress and a companion, or if cyberattack is the correct term to use for stolen data. Curious if there is a hyphen in your word? It is probably in the style guide. Wondering if you can abbreviate the International Monetary Fund? There’s an entry for it. Whatever your question, the stylebook probably has an answer.
Another great way to pick up AP Style is by reading articles written in newspapers and magazines that use it. The more you read, the more comfortable you will become with the syntax and the easier it will be for you to emulate. You’ll start to notice how dates are written and which numbers are spelled out, or you’ll at least recognize that there is a rule around a topic that you need to look up.
Reading articles is also a great way to pick up on rules that aren’t explicitly in the stylebook, particularly if they are related to a niche industry or if it’s a new word. A new stylebook comes out every year with a section specifically for new content. For example, this year it is livestreaming, one word, and VR is an acceptable alternative for virtual reality, but AR is not acceptable for augmented reality. If you haven’t seen the updates for the 2017 guide, check out this article – AP Stylebook Updates: Singular ‘They’ Now Acceptable’.
When you do have time, reading through the style guide is a good idea, especially if you are going to be using AP style often. Even if you don’t remember every rule, and you definitely won’t, it will give you a better understanding of which words, phrases and other English quirks have rules, making them easier to reference in the future. The stylebook also has dedicated sections that explain the guidelines for a certain industry or topic: broadcast, business, data journalism, fashion, food, religion and sports. These sections are great to read over if you spend a lot of time focusing on one of those topics or specifically work in broadcast or data journalism.
There are also sections dedicated to explaining punctuation and social media rules. The basic guidelines for punctuation? Use common sense. If the punctuation doesn’t help make your point clearer then it doesn’t need to be there. However, if you struggle with colons and commas like I do, reading through that section is a big help.
Even after my enthusiastic commitment to learning everything AP, my work still comes back with some suggestions, and that is important to remember. No matter how good you are, you should always have someone else do a quick edit. You could read through your work 100 times and still miss something that will make you smack your forehead when it’s pointed out. Learning AP Style isn’t hard, it just takes some getting used to.