The Matchbox.

Feb. 12

Conversation Hearts Spell Better Relationships Between PR Execs and Journalists

In many ways, public relations is all about relationship building. As Valentine’s Day approaches, let’s look at the ways we can sweeten our connections with journalists and make our outreach more lovable through the use of conversation hearts.

Respect Me
Like any relationship, the rapport between reporters and PR professionals is built on respect. This means taking note of and respecting deadlines, preferred methods of contact and writing styles prior to connecting.

Sweet Talk
Charming conversation can help bring a story pitch to life, but get to the heart of the matter with reporters by being concise and direct about what you are offering, e.g., an expert resource, exclusive news, a feature story idea.

Top Dog
This might seem like a given, but know your material. When pitching, it is imperative to be highly familiar with the subject area, so you can field reporter questions accurately and quickly.

Call Me
If reporters are amenable to receiving phone follow-ups, connect briefly with a call but do not pester.

Tweet Me
Follow reporters on Twitter, so that you can track areas of interest, recent articles and then engage with them better via phone and email.

Cheer Me On
When a story publishes, be supportive by sending the reporter an email or tweet to acknowledge the article and thank them for including you or your client as a resource.

My Pal
Continue to foster reporter relationships by letting them know when you or your client can be an expert source for a particular topic. Reporters can keep this detail on file and connect with you when the time is right.

Posted by ::
Feb. 07

Buzzword Alert: What Content Marketing Means to PR

Content marketing is one of the latest buzzwords to come up in every new business and planning conversation we have. And while the principles of content marketing – creating, distributing and sharing content that speaks to target customers without an overt sales pitch – are legit, they aren’t new to PR. Non-sales, educational, trend and thought leadership materials have always been crucial to successful PR. Byline articles, case studies, blogs, infographics, news releases, newsletters – all core PR elements – are also effective content marketing vehicles.

What has changed is the seemingly endless opportunities to publish, readdress and share that content. Whether a case study becomes the basis for a news release and speaking opportunity or a news release leads to a byline article and blog post, a single content topic can be leveraged across a  variety of marketing and PR elements.

In addition to the corporate need, there is a very real media need for content. Online news organizations are consistently increasing the amount of content they publish and many also serve as news aggregators. Some re-publish corporate blog posts – in addition to accepting contributed articles and producing their own news – to help meet readers’ appetite for more content.

So, yes, collaborate with your PR team about content marketing but also get involved in developing the content strategy. Planning which topics to address when and how best to share are crucial pieces to getting the most visibility and mileage out of your content. Also, foster transparency across your marketing and PR team – including vendors – to ensure that the content topics are relevant to both the needs of the business and the customer and that the content developed can be shared and published across multiple marketing domains.

Posted by ::
Jan. 16

Is Your Company A Good Fit for PR

Several times a year, we see a burst of new business inquires coming from satisfied client referrals and/or our industry reputation and experience. While part of the discussion certainly involves our sharing of how we work and what sets us apart from the array of tech PR agencies out there, we also evaluate client prospects to determine if they are a good candidate as a long-term client and are truly at a point where PR will make an impact. As a boutique agency, we must be mindful of the types of clients we engage. Any good agency will readily admit that the first 3-4 months of a new engagement are not profitable as so much time is spent getting ingrained in the business goals, key differentiators, vision, and subject matter experts voices. The client side investment also is quite considerable in the beginning.

Whether you are a CEO, VP of Marketing or Sales, here are a critical few questions to answer before you embark on an agency search:

1) Do you have a strong sales pipeline that will support an ongoing investment in PR? If losing one to two clients puts you on the brink of reducing head count or turning off the lights, PR is likely not a good investment right now.

2) Are you using PR as the chief marketing and sales tool? If the answer is yes, your PR program and sales could suffer. PR is an incredible way to elevate a company’s brand awareness and visibility but it should be a part of an overall strategic marketing program.

3) Is the executive team on-board? Unless the executive team has bought into the idea of a PR program and understands the commitment they will need to provide to it in the form of knowledge sharing rather than just dollars, an engagement with an agency is doomed to fail from the get-go.

PR can yield tremendous returns for an organization but it requires an investment. Make sure you and your organization are ready for PR before you plan that first vendor phone call.

 

Posted by ::
Dec. 17

‘Tis the Season: Practicing Gratitude

As 2013 comes to a close and the holidays are upon us, many of us get swept into the busyness of wrapping up last-minute activities and quickly looking ahead toward plans for the next year. This time of transition is a great opportunity to take a few moments to reflect on and thank the people and endeavors that have brought your team or organization success. While this concept may sound cliché or simplistic, it is incredibly important for business’ overall sustainability as well as for renewing staff morale for the coming year.

Following are some things that I am grateful for during this season:

  • Amazing colleagues whom I cherish and am energized and impressed by each day.
  • Both longstanding and new clients who are passionate about their businesses and place their trust in our Y&A team to strategize and execute winning PR programs for their organizations.
  • The power of creativity when teams collectively bring ideas together.
  • Ever-improving technologies that enable our team to perform top quality work remotely, regardless of physical location.
  • Journalists and industry analysts who take a genuine interest in their areas of focus and produce excellent reporting on the industries our clients serve.

Feel free to share your gratitude ideas or thoughts in the comments. Wishing all of our Matchbox readers a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

 

Posted by ::
Nov. 15

Back to Basics: Planning a PR Campaign

Whether you are promoting a new product, company-backed research or a new area of expertise, developing a solid plan is an important first step. Time and time again, it has been proven that sketching out a solid strategy, from research to execution to evaluation, can help you achieve success and garner positive PR results.

Research first
What have the results been for similar campaigns? What is the media’s interest level in the subject matter? Reporters (especially those covering technology) shift focus quickly, so it is important to gauge current trending topics to determine how what you are promoting might be received. Reading your target journalists’ recent articles and scanning their Twitter feeds is a must.

Gather the team
After completing the initial research, bring the team together to discuss and collaborate on strategy. This is the time for brainstorming and infusing the campaign with creative ideas and tactical elements.

Put it on paper
Creating a plan with a timeline will help everyone stick to the strategy and schedule. While it is important to build in some flexibility for any unexpected events and/or to adjust or leverage relevant news impacts, following a schedule is helpful.

Evaluate results for future planning
Don’t forget to grade your work following the campaign. While it can be difficult to predict results at the beginning of a promotion effort, taking a close look at what worked and didn’t work following will help you plan future PR initiatives.

Posted by ::
Nov. 06

Media Relations Advice: Email Interviews and Online Comments

While media relations best practices don’t change dramatically week-to-week, there are some trending tactics and questions that continue to come up across clients and prospects. Lately, it is email interviews and participation in the  “comments” section of online news articles.

Email interviews – in which an email Q&A replaces the traditional phone interview – are in vogue and thought leaders can take advantage of additional media visibility by being a timely resource and providing thoughtful email responses to reporter inquiries. It is a way for reporters to quickly gather insights from multiple spokespersons. While this approach offers the interviewee more control over their responses, they shouldn’t confuse this opportunity with a chance to control the overall story. How the reporter uses those responses is up to the reporter, including paraphrasing some of the submitted content without a direct quote. This is similar to a phone interview that includes spokespersons sharing content that may be used contextually in the story.

Another trending topic is the practice of posting comments on news articles for additional visibility. While some argue it is a way to increase a thought leader’s or topic’s media profile, we don’t advise making it a practice as it dilutes your thought leadership and credibility. Most reporters aren’t scouring their articles’ comment sections for interview sources and your potential clients probably aren’t either. That said, if you author a byline that is published, it is prudent to monitor the comments sections for additional questions. Instead of feverishly commenting on reporter articles, share your insights in a blog post, via Twitter (or a series of tweets) or in a byline or white paper – where it can attract more widespread attention.

While media relations is an ever-evolving practice, the core tenets of working with the media consistently apply. Whether giving an interview verbally or in written format or determining the best forum for media-based thought leadership, a solid strategy and on-point, clear messaging are required for successful execution. What are some of your recent media relations FAQs?

Posted by ::
Oct. 18

What Is Our Involvement in PR?

Whether dipping their pinky toe into the PR waters or having never worked with an agency, many organizations–including marketing and senior execs–don’t have a strong understanding of their involvement in or commitment to a strong public relations program. Some have been told by PR firms and consultants that they can “take it and run with it” following an initial kick-off meeting or download conversation. And, they are dead wrong.

While a PR firm can and should do the heavy lifting, involvement and support or lack thereof from both the marketing liaison and senior execs can make or break a PR program. Here’s why. While account teams should have a pulse on an organization’s industry, including news and driving trends, we aren’t on the front lines working alongside their clients who are sharing first-hand feedback on their real pain points and ultimate goals. Not to mention that these issues often change throughout the course of a company’s life.

 

Further, we can’t (and in some cases, shouldn’t) be at every internal meeting with sales and senior execs to glean the latest and greatest on internal and external initiatives. So establishing a firm understanding of a PR program and setting client involvement expectations at the onset is paramount. We need access, buy-in and time from a marketing liasion and senior execs to get into their minds and those of their clients to tell their story to media and ultimately make sound strategy recommendations.

Posted by ::
Sep. 18

Y&A Takes DC for Fall Planning Meeting

Y&A Team in DC

We’ve just returned from an invigorating Y&A planning meeting and retreat in Washington, DC. Collectively taking in the city’s grandeur while collaborating on creative ideas, the team reflected on the past year and set thoughtful goals for taking Young & Associates into a successful 2014.

Perhaps it’s because Y&A’s roots are in the DC area or because our close-knit team has been working together for at least a decade (or a little of both) but the topics flowed freely and our team offered up new client delivery strategies and ways to foster the agency’s continued momentum.

Taking the time to looking inward and plan isn’t always convenient for businesses—with day-to-day responsibilities and client priorities leaving little time for self-reflection—but it sure pays off to carve out a day or two throughout the course of the year. I know our team is better for it.

Posted by ::
Aug. 28

I’m In My 30s and Use Facebook, but Do Your Customers?

You might have read the widely circulated Mashable article, I’m 13 and None of My Friends Use Facebook, with insight from a middle schooler about her social media usage—primarily Twitter and Tumblr—and her lack of interest in Facebook.Screen Shot 2013-08-28 at 2.48.39 PM

As the middle school contributor puts it, “We want what’s trending, and if Facebook isn’t ‘trending,’ teens won’t care.” She isn’t the only teen dropping Facebook. It has been reported that Facebook’s numbers are declining among younger users, as they move on to Snapchat, Vine, Instagram (owned by Facebook) and Tumblr. What does this mean for marketers?

First, knowing where your audience currently spends time is critical. For a b-to-c brand trying to connect with teenagers, Tumblr and Instagram might be the most important channels but they shouldn’t eliminate Facebook either. Instead, these companies should continue to track analytics closely and, if necessary, expand their horizons by adding more tools to their social media arsenal.

Many of our clients fall into the b-to-b technology industry where Twitter is often the preferred social media platform for customer engagement. However, some have a healthy presence on Facebook and LinkedIn as well. Based on the business, social media strategies need to be tailored and continually refreshed to successfully reach and connect with key audiences.

Most importantly, companies need to be fluid with social media, especially as user adoption and the sites themselves change frequently. While it can be productive to have a social media plan in place, it is imperative to be flexible in modifying that plan as consumer engagement fluctuates.

While Facebook’s audiences are massive, it is important for marketers to diversify their social media approach. Social media will continue to transform, but focusing on building relationships, engaging with connections on various platforms and adapting quickly to change will help businesses follow the crowd, whether that be teens or Fortune 500 enterprises.

Posted by ::
Aug. 12

Stopping the PR Merry-Go-Round

At Young & Associates we pride ourselves on our long term and valued client relationships. Most of our new business is from referrals and while each year brings some client turnover, we always have a solid group of multi-year agency stalwarts. So it is disheartening when we hear from prospects their negative associations with PR because in trying to find the right partner they’ve worked with a merry-go-round of agencies or freelancers. While every industry has some bad seeds (PR is no exception) and client-agency rapport and work styles play a big role, many client-agency relationships fail because of a short sighted view of the impact public relations delivers.

A PR presence requires a commitment to media results, but it is more than just landing the big hit. A successful PR partnership is rooted in an understanding of the value in a strategic, ongoing and cumulative PR effort and in building relationships. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are impactful public relations programs.

Posted by ::