engaging readers

by

Your Company Story – Expert PR Advice

You’ve got the best product or service out there, right? So you say. But how do you get your audience and customers to believe your message?

One of the most difficult challenges to public relations is straddling the needs of the client and the needs and wants of their customers. It’s the PR person’s job to relay a message that ‘sings’ to the audience even whWhatisNewsen the client may not be completely on board with that message. For example, the client wants the message to express how expert their services are; the longevity in the business and how they will take care of the customer like no other similar company. The customers sees many other options in the marketplace so how does THIS company stand out above the rest? It’s all in the storytelling.

The PR person should consult with you to develop potential news ‘hooks’ that can be told in a clear, concise and compelling way in order to attract the interest of customers via your web or social media content, news releases or through customized pitches to the media. A savvy PR person who has strong media connections and knows how to reach out to reporters, producers and editors is uniquely qualified to provide this service for a client.

A PR company that blasts the same release, pitch or storyline to a long media list will likely not get the results the client is hoping for. A media pitch can take hours to mold and shape. The client has to assist by providing the facts, quotes and other details needed; it is the PR person who shapes those details into a pitch (and compelling subject line) that will at least get the media person to open the e-mailed pitch. The client who believes he or she can do all this will be disappointed in the results and frustrated by the amount of time taken away from daily business. A PR person is a step removed from the client’s daily business and can more or less objectively present the pitch to media contacts.

Why not call each media person? Reality is: people seldom answer their phones these days. When they do, they are pressed for time. If they are not interested in your pitch, the phone call may leave a bad impression.

The best PR people:

  • Listen to the client’s story
  • Ask questions about the business, challenges, hopes and dreams of the clinet
  • Find the message that will translate first to the media – then to the public

Trust your expert PR person to understand and tell your story in your content as well as in media pitches. That person is working for you for a reason; he or she can translate your story about your product or service to people with a compelling story that in turn can mean more business for you.

 

 

 

by

Today’s News is Yesterday’s Video (or Worse)

News is an event or issue happening in your world that affects many people. At least that’s what I thought was news – and what I was taught was news back in the day. I suppose I became old school because I still believe news should be something many people can care about or something that many people should know about. Issues and happenings that are significant in many people’s lives.

Now, it seems news is what happens to someone’s cat – or dog – or happy baby or on a dash-cam. Since news organizations have cut staffs to the bone, there are fewer and fewer stories – especially locally that affect people’s lives. At least on TV news, much of the time is spent telling you about celebrity news, what will be on that TV station tonight (almost always entertainment) and what fantastic video has shown up on You Tube or via some other internet channel.

NBC News today has broadcast dash-cam video from a New Jersey transit bus versus schoolsiegalbuscrashwebpkg_. whatever happened to the immediacy of news? Yes, the video was probably just released but the only reason the video is ‘news’ today is that NBC or any other news organization has found it. You know the saying “it’s like watching a train wreck?” Well, that is what this and all other video like it is all about. We are human, we can’t stop watching train wrecks. That’s why the Kardashians and Lindsey Lohan and any other bad boy/girl celebrity gets so much coverage.

News organizations used to be leaders. The hard-working staffs (still today) work like the dickens to write, produce, record news that the bosses tell them to put together. Many of the news stories are credible and interesting to a vast majority of people. But the tide turned about 20 years ago with the influx of infotainment programming. Now with instant news coverage and the pressure to get the pictures quickly, there is a lot of nonsense in news.

Len Berman used to do a TV sports segment that was hilarious; he showed all kinds of sports video of amazing shots, sports bloopers and such. He always had one crazy shot with people and things colliding and he would exclaim, “And nobody got hurt.” For a morning TV show, that was enough fun and games. It was a break from reality. Now it seems, the news reality is showing the insipid video from some child’s birthday party or something carved directly from You Tube.

KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia still does the news straight. No antics; perhaps a little too much jingle music AND they still have that crazy old-fashioned ticker. On that station, I get the news. Yes, there’s NPR and they do an honorable, creative and credible job, but for several reasons, I don’t listen often.

For now, the OFF button is where I go when the news is all about nothing that affects my life – or the lives around me. I’ll still watch, read and listen, but enough with the baby-cat-bus crash video.

by

Are You Engaged?

How much time do you spend on your computer? How much of that time is spent looking at web sites, looking for interesting news stories, gossip, other content? For ALL those stories, items, web sites, blogs, that you look at, are you responding in any way? Do you Tweet what you find? Are you posting this content on Facebook? Are you emailing the author?

contentMy unscientific answer is NO – to the last two questions. While you’ll see 22 people ‘liked’ your Facebook status but who cares – really? When it comes to companies, they are trying every way marketers can think of to create content and engage clients, customers and others to find them. Statistics available through Google Analytics, Facebook, a company website can (but not always) show specifics on the audience you are reaching.

The toughest question of all is, how can you turn those people who are stopping by your web site, Facebook business page and Twitter into paying customers? That is the million dollar question. Create good web design, Facebook page, engaging photos and solid writing – and you’ll see more customers. It will take time – months, maybe years – but a stick-to-it work ethic will bring results.