Tips & Tricks

Since there are no two PR campaigns, two clients or two audiences the same, things can sometimes go wrong for the right reasons or exceptionally well for the wrong reasons. We stand to learn from both. So please read some useful tips and tricks that both emerging and seasoned PR professionals could make use of to ensure PR efforts run smoothly and deliver the desired results.

Also make sure to check some of the tools and checklists we recommend.

Posts

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Paid, Owned and Earned Media: What They Are and How They’ve Changed

Public Relations

Public relations has always been about communicating a message in the best way possible, but the channels PR agencies can use to do that have changed. A lot.  The digital revolution has opened countless new opportunities and blurred the once-distinct lines separating PR, marketing and advertising ownership.  Here’s an overview of what paid, owned and earned media are, what’s changed across these channels and how they should be approached today.

Paid Media

In the most basic definition, paid media is advertising. Whether it be print, direct mail, TV or radio etc., if you pay for impressions to positively show your product and service off, then it falls under this channel. While the more traditional avenues of paid media have remained, a number of new forms have opened up courtesy of Google, social media and content syndication networks. No matter its form, though, advertising allows companies to easily control their message and get in front of their target audience, but the channel is seen with skepticism.

Tech companies looking to take advantage of paid media should consider how it can be used to amplify their earned media or owned media efforts. Secured a great piece of press coverage? Push the third-party validation out to add some credibility and reach more eyeballs with native advertising platforms like Outbrain. Want to extend high quality content like an eBook to your buyers? Run a targeted LinkedIn Sponsored Update campaign to showcase your thought leadership and support downloads and lead generation.

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Are Clichés in PR Writing Ever OK?

Clichés in PR WritingThis post was first published by James Young on March Communications’ blog.

Anyone with extensive academic or professional writing experience has been warned about the hazards of using clichés. In the world of tech PR, we’ve explained why jargon and mumbo jumbo in particular are more common than they should be.

The cliché is a distant cousin. One journalism professor of mine thought so little of clichés that if you dared to use one in an assignment, you would, in his words “suffer the ignominy of an F.” That was not an empty threat, either. I did fail a few assignments.

That professor is not alone in his harsh assessment of clichés. Read more

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Anticipation, Teamwork and Planning Ahead: The Keys to a Successful PR Campaign

a55a731219871a7b9911d9594bf5b848One of the best-remembered episodes of the TV sitcom WKRP In Cincinnati is “Turkeys Away,” in which the manager of the eponymous radio station devises a surefire way to boost his station’s listener base during the holiday season — a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.

On the surface, this was a solid idea, but as TV viewers remember, the holiday promotion did not go smoothly. Station manager Arthur Carlson, played by the late Gordon Jump, tossed 20 live turkeys out of the WKRP helicopter. Even if you haven’t watched the episode, you can guess what happened. Read more

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A Twist on the Traditional PR Event (by JCPR)

Intro PR Event JCPRBranding your own event puts you in control

The world of communications and public relations provides an endless amount of obstacles but the goal is always the same: gain exposure for your brand. And as editorial staff continues to shrink in our increasingly digital age, achieving recognition from the journalists and reporters that you need to succeed has become increasingly challenging.

Brand ambassadors have long attended industry events to reach both the media as well as target audiences. Networking can move the brand awareness needle, but what is the return on investment? Exhibiting at events can cost well over $10,000 — and that doesn’t even include travel and hotel expenses. And trying to get the attention of the frenzied media alongside hundreds of other companies at these events is a feat unto itself. Read more

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How to Bring the Power of Social Media to Networking Events

Social Media Channels

We spend so much time in front of computers and on social media that, now more than ever, it’s important to remind ourselves how a little face time can go a long way — and I’m not talking about the Facetime app on your iPhone. Smartphones have become a part of our everyday lives. Let’s face it, without an Internet connection we often feel disconnected from the world at large. Many believe that the millennial generation is too concerned with and dependent on technology. But maybe there’s a middle ground — a combination of interpersonal communication and social media that strikes the right balance and offers the best of both worlds.

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What Does “Digital Disruption” Mean for B2B Tech PR?

Technology

Digital disruption is a term we’re hearing a lot these days. As the digital infrastructure expands and grows more capable, and as businesses keep creating innovative and exciting products and services, we’re coming to find out that digital disruption is the new status quo. It’s like the Journey song says, “The wheel in the sky keeps on turning.” In fact, this reference seems even more appropriate (besides being a great song) if you consider all the innovation happening in the cloud right now. So, how does this relate to B2B tech companies and public relations?

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How B2B Tech Companies Can Generate Leads with LinkedIn

Linkedin logo

We often consult with clients on how to leverage social media to support lead generation. For B2B tech companies especially, we believe that one of the strongest channels at the moment is LinkedIn. Last year, HubSpot found that LinkedIn generated 3x as many leads as Facebook and Twitter. It offers more of a focus on professional networking and real opportunities for businesses to showcase themselves as industry thought leaders.

Like with all social media channels, it’s important to invest time and effort in establishing your presence on LinkedIn in order to see meaningful results. Has your organization optimized its Company Page? Add a banner image to showcase your branding. Complete the About section and include keywords so your company turns up in relevant searches on the social media network. Likewise, include details on your products and the business needs they are fulfilling, and get customers and partners to endorse them.

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A Broader Perspective to Board Responsibility

CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility

This week GlobalCom PR Network Partner Stephen P. D’Alessandro from CREDAL Business Consulting introduces traditional and modern perspectives on the concepts of corporate governance and board responsibility.

Milton Friedman’s traditional view of business responsibility is that social responsibilities affect the long-term efficiency of a business negatively. His famous and much quoted adage was that “the business of business is business”. He maintained that “There is one and only one responsibility of a business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” This approach dictated the focus of the management of a company on maximizing profits within the risk parameters set for the company.

Other more contemporary authors propose that businesses have responsibilities to shoulder beyond achieving profit. They maintain that businesses have four responsibilities that can be prioritised as follows:

  • Economic: to produce goods and services of value to society enabling the firm to repay creditors and shareholders;
  • Legal: defined by government through laws that management is expected to obey;
  • Ethical: following the generally held beliefs about behaviour in society;
  • Discretionary: purely voluntary obligations that a firm assumes.

In this way, social responsibility includes both ethical and discretionary, but not economic and legal responsibilities. Read more

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Getting Through a Crisis

PR Crises

In our PR practices series today Mirette A. Shoeir of GlobalCom PR Network’s partner agency MEAComS in Egypt reports on crisis communications.

It seems that two years following the 25th January revolution most PR work in Egypt has shifted towards contingency planning and crisis management. According to the Institute of PR, a crisis is “a significant threat to operations that can have negative consequences if not handled properly”. We should add that the even bigger damage is probably the tarnishing of an organization’s reputation; this can be so severe as to jeopardize its very existence.

Crisis can be caused by a variety of factors such as technology breakdown, flawed products, top management decisions, and rumors. In Egypt it seems as though almost all crisis stem from the political turbulence which the country is going through and in which organizations must now operate. Strikes, rumors, new operating procedures, and different economic and financial regulations are all things which organizations must deal with on a daily basis.

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