Mark Schlarbaum on Public Relations

By John Logar

Q: I can see how the “big boys” can generate PR, but how does a business like mine attract the interest of newspapers, radio or TV?

A: Some of the most powerful marketing strategies involve third party endorsements – testimonials, word of mouth, strategic alliances etc. But probably the most compelling “third party endorsement” of all is PR. Getting your story into the media is an almost fool proof way to guarantee customer attention!

As an example, I recall the impact that positive media exposure had on the level of enquiry when I was consulting in the investment industry. For a consortium of investment products, I worked tirelessly with the media to let them know all the great things that were happening to their investors. Every now and then they’d run a story on them … and when they did, the phones would run hot with qualified and almost pre-sold prospects. The sales teams loved these days!

So how do you go about getting this sort of publicity … and what do you do with it once you’ve got it?

As with most marketing activities, PR is not an exact science. You need to test and measure to find the approach that will work best for you. Having said that, there are some fundamentals that you must address to give your PR campaign a chance of success. You’ll dramatically improve outcome by approaching PR as you would any marketing campaign and that is to have a strategic plan of attack. The following is a list (by no means comprehensive) of 7 things you must do to ensure the success of your PR campaign…

1. Find an Angle – Find an angle that will generate public interest in you, your product or your business. It could be that you have a “world-first” product; that you’re supporting the community; or perhaps that you’re just doing something so “quirky” that the media will be able to have some fun with it.

2. Target – Make sure you identify the right vehicle for your PR activities. When I say this, I’m not just talking about whether you choose Newspaper, Radio or TV. I’m suggesting that you identify specific publications or programs that are of interest to your target market, find out who the appropriate editor or journalist is and approach them directly. You can access media guides that have all this information.

3. Make it easy – Make it easy for the journalist to run your story. The less work they have to do, the more likely they will be to run your story. For instance, you may issue a media release written as if it was ready to appear in their publication. You should also have photo’s available for them. Remember journalists and editors are inundated with hundreds of releases every day and at any given time they can only follow-up a handful of these. “Stand out from the crowd and be media friendly”

4. Follow-up – Once you’ve made your initial approach, make sure you follow-up. Always call to make sure that they’ve received your media alert or release. It gives you an excuse to explain your angle in more detail, and also gets your story pulled out from the pile of other stories they are considering. It’s important to follow up however, for your own benefit, don’t hound them. Nobody likes a nag, journalists least of all.

5. Say Thanks – If you are lucky enough to get coverage, make sure you thank the journalist for the coverage. If you’ve built a good working relationship, quite often you’ll be able to plant the seed of a follow-up story!

6. Be Persistent – As the famous saying goes … “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again”. Getting PR is all about timing. Keep trying and one day it will all fall into place. More importantly, if you consistently send information to the media about your industry or topic they will identify you as a source of expertise and may seek you out for stories in the future.

7. “As featured on …” – Once you’ve got the coverage, tell everyone about it. Cut it out, frame it and put it up on your reception wall; email a copy to your existing clients; tell your prospects about it; and mention it in your promotional material.

Thanks to Janet Schlarbaum

By Karen P Miller

PR can be a powerful tool to establish credibility, garner good will in the community and attract new business. Yet, too often organizations don’t show enthusiasm or interest for their own product or service. It brings to mind that classic line from the movie Jerry McGuire, “Help me help you!”

If you’re going to (wisely) invest valuable marketing dollars and hire PR professionals, make the most of your funds by learning how to be a “smart” client. Smart clients – those who get bang for their buck – are actively engaged in the public relations process.

The following characteristics will help you become a smart client and have positive results to show for it:

Assist your PR team in learning your business.

No one knows more about your organization than you. Take the time to educate your public relations team on your product, growth plans, target audiences and industry sector. Even if your PR pro has worked in that sector before, every organization is unique with its own story to tell.

Pass along trade magazines relevant to your industry sector.

There are literally thousands of industry specific magazines and e-newsletters available, and the number continues to grow (the Internet’s cost-effectiveness has enabled online publications to flourish). Don’t assume your PR person knows that a trade publication important to your organization even exists. In today’s day and age, there are just too many to keep track of unless they directly affect your business.

Be responsive to requests for information.

It’s flabbergasting to work with a client that asks for help promoting an item, idea or service, but doesn’t respond to requests for information about the topic. It’s this simple: a good PR consultant knows how to use the media and other outlets to help tell a story, but they need ammunition to do so.

Most clients have a wealth of information at their fingertips. Take a moment to jot down a few notes, pick up the phone or send an email to your PR person so they can learn about a particular topic and determine how to best position your organization for maximum visibility.

Show enthusiasm about your organization or project; it’s infectious.

Enthusiasm is contagious, inspirational and empowers your PR team to share your vision with key audiences. You hired public relations help because you think you have a worthwhile product or service. So, “pitch” your story to your PR people as if they were a potential customer or investor. This will enable your team to show a similar level of enthusiasm when pitching the story to reporters and other target audiences.

Let your PR team review your letters, sales pitches, collateral and web copy before it’s made public.

Public relations professionals specialize in copywriting. Take advantage of their expertise to ensure your organization has consistent, concise, grammatically correct, jargon-free and compelling content.

Remember to share information about your organization’s internal events and milestones.

You never know when a seemingly routine internal development might be newsworthy. A good public relations pro is always looking for ways to link your organization’s milestones or anomalies to current events – one of the most effective ways to get a reporter’s attention.

Realize that good PR is about building relationships. This takes time, patience and persistence.

Again, it comes down to a candid and constant flow of communication between you and your public relations team. Set up weekly conference calls, share information via email and meet in person periodically. The more your PR professionals understand your core business, the better job they’ll do in helping to showcase your organization with reporters and other influential audiences.

By TaJuan Williams

A pyramid never allows anyone coming in on the bottom to ever reach the top. Everyone pays some sort of association fee, works together under a team just to receives the same gift. In a pyramid, only those at the top profit. In a pyramid, your team members encourage you to attend meetings, conference calls, and annoy those you love to get the sale.

Giving private gifts to one another is an expression of kindness, which has been going on for centuries. Governments have allowed its practice for individuals to share their wealth with families, friends and others. It has been a means of helping and blessing others on special occasions or when the need arises.

Churches, civic groups and people from around the world have participated in organized gifting for over 300 years. Laws state that it is legal for individuals to exchange gifts. In the United States we have the Preamble, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to protect a private citizen’s rights to earn, pay taxes and give away property and cash as long as it is done according to the laws and codes of this country.

The law states that one or more individuals can give a gift to another individual of up to $11,000 each per calendar year without any tax liability to either the giver or receiver of the gift, because the tax on the gift has already been paid.