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.
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.
A couple of weeks ago, I headed south to Salem, Ore., to assist in hosting a farm tour at Rickreall Dairy, a farmer-owner of our client, dairy co-op Darigold. While the time away from the office, interacting with the cows and enjoying the fresh air, feels like an adult field trip, there is a lot of planning that goes into hosting this event and making it successful.
Last year, we hosted a tour at a farm in Washington state that highlighted the most important part of Darigold’s story: the farmer-owners. After this event, we realized that no one could illustrate the passion and dedication that goes into producing high quality and operating a sustainable and responsible dairy better than the farmers themselves.
The goal of this event was to invite media to tour the farm and speak directly with the farmer to understand the daily operations of a dairy—everything from the cow nutrition plan and milking the cows to nutrient management systems and sustainability practices. We viewed this as an excellent opportunity to show journalists and consumers how milk is produced, as well as build positive sentiment with the farmers at the heart of Darigold.
Having hosted an event similar to this before, we had a general understanding of what was ahead of us, but as with any campaign, event or activity, it is always important to analyze the results and understand what went well, what could have gone better, and what we should keep in mind for next time. After debriefing this year’s tour, we want to share our key takeaways from the event:
- Plan around a news hook. As we began to plan the event several months ago, one of the first steps was to identify a farm that would be able to host a tour. During the decision-making process we considered a variety of items, including the farmer’s comfort level with hosting visitors and speaking to media, the story of the farm and farmer, and the location. As we considered each of our requirements, we had a number of farms on our list, but when we received the good news that Rickreall Dairy had won the Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability Award, making it the first the dairy in Oregon to do so, it was clear which farm would host the tour. The recent honor would provide us with an intriguing news hook that would likely encourage greater attendance—and it did, with six reporters from five different publications attending the event.
- Beware of Fridays during the summer. As we all know, summer is a hard time to track down anyone, journalists included. People are on vacation throughout the summer, but especially on Fridays. Once we began pitching, we received a decent number of responses. Unfortunately, they weren’t exactly what we were hoping for. Many people were on vacation for the Friday we planned the tour. However, we were able to work with them, as well as managing editors or assignment editors, to identify alternative contacts that were available to attend the tour. In the future, mid-week days would likely lead to fewer conflicts in availability.
- Pitch broadcast media closer to the date. In order to ensure the tour was on calendars early, and for the point made above, we reached out to all media well ahead of the event. While I think this was helpful because the event was on journalists’ radar early on, we likely could have waited a bit longer to pitch broadcast. As you likely know, broadcast does not begin planning the programming for the day until the morning of that particular day. While we knew this point when we began media outreach, a specific outreach plan became clearer after speaking with a number of newsrooms. We started outreach about three and a half weeks in advance of the tour. I would still allow that time for print media, however, with broadcast, I would send an email detailing the event about two weeks before. A week before the event, I would conduct follow-up outreach via phone and email to the newsroom and assignment editor to ensure the event is on the calendar. Next, plan to follow up with the assignment editors after the newsroom’s morning planning meeting to determine if your event is one that they plan to attend that day.
- Leverage social media to make the most of the event. As you can assume, hosting this event takes a lot of time and coordination, not only on the PR team’s part, but also from the farmer, so it is very important to make the most of the event. Social media is a great way to continue amplifying the event and the resulting coverage. While I walked along the tour with the farmer and journalists, I took pictures of the farm and of the farmer interacting with the media. Once we wrapped up the tour, I was immediately developing posts to accompany the images to share over the farm’s Facebook page. Once the posts were live Facebook, we worked with Darigold’s social-media team to share the posts from their Facebook handle. In addition to this, as the coverage has published, we’ve shared each piece from the social media handles to continue widening the reach of the tour.
Overall the event was a great success, leading to four pieces thus far and with more to come. I look forward to next summer’s tour!
- Rickreall Dairy wins national sustainability award—The Statesman Journal, 7/28/17
- Oregon Dairy honored for its sustainable practices—Capital Press, 8/1/17
- Rickreall Dairy wins innovation award for sustainable practices, happy cows—KATU, 8/2/17
- Rickreall Dairy Earns ‘Sustainability’ Award—Polk County Itemizer-Observer, 8/2/17
My goal for this summer was much different than previous summers. Growing up, summers were for being a kid, hanging out with friends, and working summer jobs for some extra cash. However, the older I am getting the more I am trying to prepare myself for the dreaded real world that we hear so much about.
This summer would be different. I planned to work as an intern at Communiqué PR, work my normal job at a restaurant, and read. For those who know me, the last goal seems like a gag, I know, but I really wanted to read one book a month, giving myself an obtainable goal all summer. For someone who usually doesn’t read unless it’s a textbook, about sports, or my Twitter timeline, one book a month seemed like a daunting task.
I decided first on Pete Carroll’s book, “Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion.” This piqued my interest initially, because Pete Carroll is the head coach of my favorite team, the Seattle Seahawks. His charisma and positivity, along with his competitive edge, helped him become who he is today. I wanted to learn more on how he is able to maintain success while remaining true to himself, and see how his lessons might be applied to the professional world. Here are the main points that stood out to me:
Having “Drive” or “A Chip on your Shoulder”
Carroll expresses how important it is to have “drive” or that “chip on the shoulder.” For him, it was not being physically gifted enough to play football to his full potential until later in life. Then it was being cut from his only shot at professional football. And later, it was being fired and having to start over, time and time again. But this didn’t stop him, as each failed attempt became a stronger motivation to make the next opportunity work.
The same can be said for the professional world. The chances of having no setbacks in your career are slim. Transforming setbacks into opportunities to better yourself allows one to be more prepared for what may come next. Use the setbacks as reasons to work harder and smarter. Every day is a chance to get better, no matter the situation. For me, seeing my writing being edited over and over again was frustrating, until I realized that in the end, each new attempt was me trying to out-do myself. Once I came to terms with this fact, writing and working as a whole has become much more enjoyable.
Always Compete
Competition drives the world on and off the field, and Pete Carroll is a testament to that. The core philosophy of his coaching style is competition. That competitive drive, through trial and error, is how he got to where he is: one of the most decorated college coaches of all time, and Super Bowl champion coach in the NFL. Anytime you become complacent and stop working hard, you are susceptible to losing your job. Often times in sports, you are replaceable, not because you are less talented, but because the person replacing you was a harder worker and made the most of his or her opportunity.
The same goes in the professional world. I will be graduating from college soon, and with more and more people going to college and boosting their resumes, the opportunity to find a career grows more difficult. This is great though, because I know that I can’t slack off, and it requires my best effort each and every day. In the office, work does not come to those who sit and wait. Whether it’s looking for new clients, or retaining current ones, those who are motivated to compete with themselves and others in the field will always be successful.
Having Fun
As much as Carroll stresses competition and improving yourself and others, having fun is just as important of a factor. Most people would agree that work is much more enjoyable when they can have fun and work. It is one of the things that Carroll is distinctly known for, highlighted by the fact he brought in a deejay for the long summer days of training camp with the Seahawks.
Likewise, here at Communiqué PR, the environment is fun. The days can be long, typing away at various projects, or sitting in on conference calls. But everyone has a great attitude, and we all look forward to our team barbeques and outings. It offers a time for the office to come together and step away from the stress of a job that is constantly changing. A work environment filled with driven people who enjoy the day-in-day-out grind truly has changed my perception of what it means to work in the office.
Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations
After reading Carroll’s book, I have a new respect and perspective on what it means to work the 9-to-5, 40-hours per-week-job. Growing up as an athlete, I wanted to win at virtually everything. Luckily, I still feel that I have that drive to better myself. By accepting my mistakes and allowing myself to learn from them, I try to never let a possible learning moment go by the wayside. I try to push myself each and every day, trying to become the first person in my family to graduate from college. If you can find that internal or external motivation, and use it your advantage, anything is possible.
Overall, I thought this book was a good read. Although there were no real secrets to success, like other books claim, Carroll doesn’t shy away from advice. Throughout each chapter, there are unique ideas and different perspectives on how to become successful. As the reader, I found it interesting to learn much more about someone who made the most of each opportunity, in almost every aspect of life. Whether you’re a football fan or not, I think that anyone can use this book to realize that each day is a new opportunity, and to always compete. In the end, as Carroll says, “All you should ever strive for is to be the best you can be … and that is the essence of what it means to Win Forever.”
I would recommend this book to any professional looking for creative ways to achieve success. Potentially, younger people who read this book may find it motivating, and could use the tips and ideas to become leaders in and outside the class room or office. For sports fans and non-sport fans alike, this book offers an inside perspective on how to make the most of yourself, and consequently, those with whom you surround yourself.
As a student studying public relations, one of the first things taught is the importance of interning. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for public relations specialists are growing at 7 percent annually. With a large number of students receiving degrees in communication, it’s now more paramount than ever to “get your foot in the door” and gain hands-on experience through internships.
What is an internship?
Internships are positions where individuals work in or for an organization, sometimes for college credits or without pay, in order to gain experience or satisfy requirements for job qualification. Interns are often portrayed in popular culture like fraternity pledges: running coffee orders, answering phones and printing material. However, one could argue that interns are a crucial factor in an organization, as they help keep the chaos at bay by keeping tasks orderly and lending a helping hand whenever needed.
Before interning, I knew only what had been taught to me in my introductory public relations courses. I knew that there would be a great deal of writing involved and that I would eventually have to be quick-witted in circumstances where tensions are high and deadlines are imminent.
In an academic setting, students learn the basics of PR: what it is, how it started, where it could be headed and how important it is. Students learn how to write introductory press releases, media kits and other crucial pieces of communication that help support clientele. They learn about public relations campaigns gone awry and cases that were handled with the utmost eloquence, such as the Tylenol crisis of 1982. Among all this information that academia provides, there is still something missing: experience. So, without further ado, I’ve compiled a list of the most prominent differences between learning about PR in school versus working in a professional setting.
Managing internal and external deadlines
Time-management is the name of the game. While in school, it is easy to block off time to dedicate to certain projects, and, let’s face it, procrastination tends to get the better of us all at times. However, working in the industry can be much more difficult when it comes to facing deadlines. If you miss a deadline for a school project, it’s a deduction to your grade, while missing a deadline for a client could cause a press release or product launch delay, which could then affect revenue and other business aspects. Client deadlines are crucial, which means procrastination is no longer an option. A good way to manage your time wisely is through the use of internal and external deadlines.
Internal deadlines are there to serve as motivators for execution and completion of projects. They are the goals and objectives that you give yourself surrounding project completion, usually 48 hours prior to the external deadline. External deadlines are shared between you and your team and work by using the power of peer pressure to hold everyone involved accountable. The completion of deadlines in a timely fashion is key, as they set a standard between you, your coworkers, and most importantly, the client.
While internal and team deadlines are vital, client deadlines are the most important. Our job in this business is to keep our clients happy and to try and convey the importance of PR and how it impacts their business, essentially proving why they should continue to practice PR.
Building an effective press list
Media relations are one of the most important pillars of PR. The relationship between media and public relations is symbiotic; we supply the media with stories that represent our clients and they are able to publish content that may gain traction with their audience. One of the ways we are able to reach the right media is through Cision.
Cision, otherwise known as the lifeline of every public relations professional, was never mentioned in school. Cision is a PR and earned media software company and services provider that helps aid in building press lists, retrieving contact information, and finding circulation and unique monthly visitors to key media outlets.
There is a plethora of functions and an ample amount of data on Cision, making this tool somewhat complex. This is where sleuthing comes in to play. Once we find reporters via Cision, we take a more in-depth approach and sleuth through each of their twitter feeds to understand the stories in which they are covering and gain a perspective on what they are most likely to accept from us.
These practices are valuable knowledge that every student studying PR needs to familiarize themselves with to be able to provide prompt, viable press lists. Check out our blog for more information on building a rock-solid press list.
The power of organization
I cannot say that school didn’t teach me a thing or two about organizational skills. Taking several public relations centered courses, along with extra-curricular activities, makes for a broad spectrum of work and deadlines. However, the level of organization that is used in a professional setting is incomparable. Before interning, I never organized my email in my inbox because I never had a range of different clients to categorize. And while an academic environment gives you some leeway to be free and organized at times, it is imperative that you stay organized while working for an agency.
A matter of time
Working in a PR organization, everyone must track his or her time. This way, the projects that we work on for clients are billed straight to the client and we are able to keep up with how many hours we completed for each client when the month is up. Since the environment in a PR firm is fast-paced and constantly moving, tracking time helps everyone keep up with the amount of work that is dedicated to each of our clients. By the time we have finished one project for a client, we have already started planning out the next ten steps towards a new project.
This kind of environment is something that one definitely has to learn to get used to. In an academic setting, the only time-tracking a student is pursuing are the hours or minutes until class is over. The pressure and workload stays at about the same pace until finals week. However, at the office, every week is finals week.
The importance of interning
It is important for students to intern to gain experience, and to figure out if he or she can see themselves working full time in that position. Think of it as a trial-run. You’re able to gain some insight into your strengths and weaknesses and can then tailor your course schedule to help build up those skills.
Had I not participated in an internship with Communiqué PR, I would not know how to properly formulate a pitch, create a working press list or briefing document, and so much more. Working here has helped me grow as a public relations professional and as a person. My internship was filled with excitement and provided an opportunity for me to constantly learn how to improve, and I will forever take this experience with me.
If you are interested in an internship opportunity with Communiqué PR, contact us at [email protected], or visit our careers page.
As PR professionals, we want to spark the interest of busy journalists to motivate them to consider our story idea. These journalists receive hundreds of pitches per day. So, how do we pique their interest?
Success often starts with presenting compelling information to journalists at the right time. It sounds pretty simple, but it can prove to be quite difficult. It’s challenging to PR professionals because we need to have newsworthy content and know how to frame it correctly. This means articulating a clear story angle and demonstrating why it is news.
The story angle is the specific viewpoint or perspective from which a writer tells his or her story – and often the same story can be told from a different viewpoint. Consider the fairytale of the “Three Little Pigs.” The story traditionally is told from the perspective of the pigs who are upset with the big bad wolf for blowing down the first pig’s straw house and the second pig’s house of sticks. The wolf is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of bricks.
This same story, however, can be told from a different angle. In “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, the story is told from the wolf’s perspective. For more on this, check out this fun YouTube video.
Our distribution of a press release about Richmond Capital Partners acquiring Smartlabs Inc. is a clear example of how different perspectives can shape the story angle. For this distribution, each reporter covered the news using a different angle. Casey Coombs with Puget Sound Business Journal decided his angle would focus on Rob Lilleness and his next career move. While Paresh Dave with the L.A. Times focused on the financial aspect of the acquisition. These reporters covered the same news, but used different angles for their stories.
According to Ragan’s PR Daily article, 16 Story Angles That Reporters Relish, some elements that make for a strong story angle include: conflict, an incident, extremes or superlatives, originality, relevance, and emotion. The inclusion of at least one of these elements, along with a personalized perspective, is a sure way to create an interesting and easily manifested story.
When pitching a story or writing an article, it is a good idea to consider all the potential angles and why each of those angles are significant. That way, you can weigh the pros and cons of one story angle versus another to come up with the strongest possible edge. Once you’ve decided on the story angle, you’ll begin writing and developing your lead.
Leads (or ledes) are strong, concise and usually are composed of 30 words or less. A lead is composed of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story. Using a relevant anecdote comprised with specificity to the story to is an effective way to create a lead and pique the reader’s interest.
Here are some examples of intriguing leads:
- “Silicon Valley’s steady march toward self-driving cars took another step forward Friday as the ride-hailing company Lyft said its customers will be able to summon a driverless vehicle on some roads by the end of the year.” – The Washington Post
- “In eight decades since Amelia Earhart’s ill-fated flight around the globe, residents of her Kansas hometown have grown used to renowned historians and armchair researchers claiming to have finally solved the mystery of her disappearance.” – The New York Times
The headline creates motivation for the readers to determine whether or not they will invest time in reading your story. Headlines create an initial impression that will either draw readers in or fail to capture their attention.
In our blog post revolving around which headlines resonate with readers, we investigate what makes for an engaging headline and the steps the New York Times has taken to ensure its content is receiving views. As Mark Bulik, senior editor at the Times points out, the headlines with the most success are clear, powerful, and written in a conversational tone.
Headlines must embody the underlying theme of the story, and try not to mislead readers into thinking the story is something different, entirely. For more information on how to make an impact with your headline, read our blog post How Headlines Shape Perceptions.
Below is a sampling of the headlines about Richmond Capital Partners acquiring Smartlabs, Inc. (a full list of the editorial coverage is included in this post). By scanning these you can see at a glance, the various angles that reporters used:
- Cash infusion could bring Smartlabs more recognition, L.A. Times
- Smartlabs to open Seattle office after it’s acquired by Richmond Capital, The Seattle Times
- Seattle tech veteran buys first IoT company with new investment firm, Puget Sound Business Journal
For more articles to help you build your PR skills, please check out these related Communiqué PR blogs: