It certainly feels as if a traditional approach to media relations is on a downward slide to oblivion. With so many ways to connect directly with prospects, customers, and influencers, many companies are questioning the investment in old-school earned media. Even social media-based PR has become pervasive enough to feel ‘traditional’ to some degree. And with sponsored content, native advertising and pay-for-play by-lines gaining in popularity, it’s understandable that many marketers are becoming more deliberate in figuring out how to best structure a long-term public relations campaign. But as we like to tell our clients, while digital strategies are an essential part of the marketing mix, traditional media outreach is still important. Here are five common myths about public relations in the year 2014 that are worth examining:
1) Traditional PR is becoming irrelevant. This is a very tempting myth to buy into because fewer publications are thriving; and because fewer reporters are employed by those publications, it calls into question readership and impact. We continue to see layoffs across the media landscape, and some trade pubs have closed their doors. Print readership is way down, but many of these publications have maintained or upped their commitment to digital content. All of this is not necessarily an indictment of earned media as much as it is the “printed form” of earned media, which we still feel provides tangible validation of a company’s products or services, and enables thought leaders to shape conversations. An independent analysis from a credible publication will always be taken more seriously than your own marketing. In addition, the search engines continue to value original “good” content from news outlets over sponsored articles.
2) Sponsored content is just as good as earned media. It is true that target audiences are looking for good content, regardless of where it is published and by whom. Still, editors are struggling to incorporate sponsored content into their online publications. They know it’s a nice revenue stream, but they are still hesitant to do anything that might confuse their readers by making native advertising look too much like their own writing. As a result, it often is marked with their own version of a scarlet A—clearly denoting it as a paid placement.
3) Get a good article placed, and everyone will see it. It wasn’t that long ago that a print publication would get passed around an office so that actual readership might be many times the circulation. Those days are long gone, and many trade pubs have shifted to online only. That means that the likelihood that an individual print article will be seen and viewed by the right audience is falling. Instead, today’s media currency is sharing through social channels as well as direct outreach. We tell our clients to aggressively market their earned media placements as much as possible, and every good PR program needs to have a solid social media strategy. That increases the chance that prospects see the article as you can’t just assume that the target audiences you want to see the content will stumble across it organically. In addition, the search engines and social media algorithms put a premium on those that get shared the most, guaranteeing that the article will come up high in search results and in social feeds.
4) You can’t connect media coverage with leads and sales. Marketing and sales teams struggle to show a direct connection between media coverage and new sales leads. At Bluetext, we think that you can make that connection and show the value of media outreach, and that any smart PR program will have those types of metrics integrated into their campaigns based on tying media coverage to business objectives. There are effective methods to drive readers to landing pages and microsites, where re-targeting and other lead generation connections can be made and measured. The key is being smart about the tools you use and the results you are looking for.
5) Traditional PR is slowly but surely going the way of the dinosaurs. This myth is probably closest to some version of reality, depending on how one defines ‘traditional.’ As I said earlier, print as a PR medium is declining, but there are still news sources for which media coverage can have impact. At the end of the day, good content is good content, no matter where it is published. Getting that good content to the right audiences means using all of the platforms—traditional and digital. No one can afford to put all of their eggs in one basket anymore. Campaigns must be integrated and coordinated for maximum impact.
At Bluetext, getting the messaging right before we execute any campaign or strategic endeavor is critical. We had a great meeting this week with a prospective client to discuss our approach to messaging in advance of a large rebranding effort. They have spent a lot of time inside their own walls discussing the right words to describe the business. We compiled some thoughts on the inputs required to develop an effective messaging platform. Here are six areas to think about for developing a corporate messaging platform. I am sure that others have many more to add. Would love other thoughts you have that may be missing here?
- Get the inside perspective. Talk to executives, customer facing staff, and other staff who can provide valuable insight into product, solution or strategy.
- Get the outside perspective. Talk to partners, customers, and prospective buyers to understand their needs and preferences.
- Make sure your messaging is a direct response to a clear and measurable market challenge. Use your research to ensure there is a clear and measurable market challenge; make sure that your messaging can address the “so what” factor.
- Conduct an analysis of how your competitors are messaging to identify opportunities to drive differentiation.
- Ensure your messaging speaks commandingly not only about who you are and why people should care, but also provides a market perspective to drive thought leadership; customers like working with thought leaders.
- Don’t forget to perform an SEO analysis to ensure word choice and structure align with the words the market is searching for.
Contact me at michael@bluetext.com to discuss your messaging challenges.
The fate and fortunes of three politicians, two prominent and one who is only prominent through his actions, can serve as a lesson for any company worried about facing a crisis or simply wanting to protect its hard-earned reputation. How political figures prepare for and respond to challenges to their integrity can be quite instructive for commercial enterprises, and underpin the basic principles of crisis communications. It’s important to keep in mind that the scrutiny that public servants face is almost always far more intense than what a company faces, primarily because the media loves a political scandal and partly because issues affecting a company are often more complicated and thus harder to cover. Nevertheless, there are lessons to be learned.
Rob Ford, Toronto Mayor
The first political example is that of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, an otherwise unknown local politician who succeeded in becoming an international figure because his behavior was so far out of the norm that he became his own train-wreck. Mayor Ford was caught on video smoking crack cocaine, has frequently been seen in drunken stupors, and had one video of him in an uncontrolled angry rage. Ford’s response has been defiance and excuses, ignoring the obvious and pretending that he has done nothing out of the ordinary. As a result, the City Council has stripped him of most of his authorities and has been pleading with him to resign. He may still have his position, but he has lost all authority and credibility.
Chris Christie, NJ Governor
The second is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. His scandal is serious, intense, and could destroy his future political ambitions, but it’s not directly a result of his actions (this may change as new facts come out, but I take him at his word). Christie came out forcefully when it became known that his top advisers had precipitated a massive traffic jam on purpose to retaliate against the local mayor who had declined to endorse his reelection bid. In a lengthy press conference, he answered every question, denied any knowledge, fired the offending officials, but didn’t address the elephant in the room: Did he create an atmosphere among his administration that fostered this type of outrageous political retaliation, and if so, what would he do about it?
President Barack Obama
The third is President Obama who has faced a number of criticisms and potential scandals over the past year, ranging from the IRS targeting of conservative tax-exempt groups, to the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov, to the Benghazi embassy tragedy. There is no suggestion that the President had any responsibility or direct hand in any of these, yet they have contributed to his falling approval ratings. His answer to these events is to let investigations continue, allow his own feelings of outrage at each of these events to come out, and take a larger look at his top teams of advisors and bring in new players that can better help his administration cope with these types of issues.
Bluetext has three rules of crisis management that we believe are required of any organization or political leader if they are to weather the storm:
- 1. Show compassion. Understand that whatever you are facing, you can understand why someone would believe these to be serious issues that you are ultimately responsible for;
- 2. Show contrition. Recognize that you do have responsibility for what happens on your watch, regardless of your direct knowledge; and
- 3. Give a path forward. Explain what steps you are doing to resolve the issue, and more importantly that you are ensuring that it can’t happen again.
Mayor Ford fails on all accounts. He has shown no compassion, contrition or a hint of how he is going to avoid these types of instances in the future (such as the time-honored tradition of entering some sort of rehab program).
Governor Christie has tried to follow these rules, but has failed on one key point; taking responsibility directly for establishing a culture that would empower aides to take such actions. If at his press conference he had acknowledged that his administration may have set the wrong tone encouraging political payback, and had pledged to make changes to that type of culture, he might have avoided much of the criticism he has received.
President Obama’s challenge is far more difficult. He can’t get too involved in programs over which he has little control for fear of being mired in those activities and “owning” the crisis far more than he should. Showing the appropriate amount of concern, compassion, and acknowledging the wrongdoing through contrition are essential, and he has done that. His path to move forward is a little more difficult, and bringing in new personalities to his team is an insider’s play with little effect on his larger public audience. I would have liked to have seen a more public plan to make sure that his White House is on top of significant public policy programs.
For our clients, we recommend that they regularly assess their vulnerabilities before a crisis happens, and to practice responding to hypothetical threats to their reputation, incorporating our three rules into their operations. That makes facing a real communications crisis easier and more effective.
A pair of startups – Coin and Tile – are garnering significant attention for their recent product launches. In his most recent guest article for PR Week ‘the Hub,’ Bluetext Partner Brian Lustig discusses what technology companies and startups can take away from the success Coin and Tile are experiencing when it comes to how they have developed and executed their product launches.
APRIL 22 – WASHINGTON – Bluetext, one of the fastest growing digital marketing, branding and communications agencies in the country, and GreenTrees, the largest carbon reforestation company in North America, today launched a comprehensive corporate sustainability platform designed to enable enterprises to demonstrate and quantify environmental, financial and social benefit. Companies such as Duke Energy and Norfolk Southern Railways are experiencing the benefits of the GreenTrees program.
The GreenTrees program offers companies a way to invest in proven reforestation efforts that provide carbon offsets, water credits, biodiversity and other environmental benefits. Bluetext provides a turnkey communications platform that lets customers, partners, and investors know about a company’s participation and investment in GreenTrees reforestation.
“Large corporations often have difficulty demonstrating their commitment as environmental stewards and to sustainability,” said Chandler Van Voorhis, Managing Partner of C2I, the driving force behind the GreenTrees program. “The GreenTrees reforestation program offers a short path to environmental leadership and CSR goals. Partnering with an innovative company like Bluetext will help companies communicate effectively about the benefits of their participation in this program.”
GreenTrees grows world-class, healthy forests to heal a vital part of our country. The outcome produced is an ACRE (Advanced Carbon Restored Ecosystem). The monetization of this restoration is a conduit to connect private capital to private landowners for the public good.
This joint program includes both the development of the GreenTrees proven CSR program wrapped around an integrated CSR campaign development and implementation strategy.
“When the opportunity to launch something unique with GreenTrees arose, it perfectly aligned with our core principles of being a good company that helps our clients become good corporate citizens,” said Jason Siegel, partner at Bluetext. “Our team has worked on many exciting corporate social responsibility programs for global enterprises and we are confident that as more companies learn about the benefits of GreenTrees and our platform for getting their message out they will recognize the value of this innovative program.”
About Bluetext
Bluetext delivers comprehensive digital marketing, branding, and strategic communications services to our clients, who range from global leaders in their industries to emerging companies at the forefront of innovation and technology. Organizations turn to Bluetext because of our reputation for developing robust and highly scalable digital platforms designed to optimize brand performance in an increasingly digital environment. Our team has delivered some of the most creative and effective campaigns for organizations looking to increase their presence and brand in this market. We have successfully positioned lesser-known organizations as thought leaders, and taken better-known organizations to a new level, differentiating and delivering a brand promise that resonates with the market. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Our goal is to get a seat at the table with you, understand your goals, audit what you have done and what resonates with your audience, and deliver an integrated strategy that will give you a long-term platform for success. To learn more visit www.bluetext.com
About GreenTrees
GreenTrees delivers the Currency of Conservation. GreenTrees starts from a tree planting approach, grows the forest to produce carbon, and then lets the carbon become the base for a series of forest assets – biodiversity, air, and water – we call it ACRE (Advanced Carbon Restored Ecosystem). Forests are nature’s cathedrals, and we cement a legacy and turn out sustainability credits for investors seeking the best in credentials for their work. To date, GreenTrees has over 2 million tons of carbon credits under contract for Fortune 500 companies, making GreenTrees the leading reforestation carbon company in North America. To learn more visit www.green-trees or http://vimeopro.com/greentrees/planting
Read the story at WashingtonPost.com here.
Sales teams can be very quick on the draw to reach out to potential leads. That is, after all, their business. But sometimes that sales call may be too soon for the customers. When does that outreach look more like nagging and less like effective nurturing during the journey through the sales pipeline? A recent survey by IDG—a technology-focused multimedia company whose publications include Computerworld, NetworkWorld, CIO, and a range of other magazines—offers valuable insight into the process. IDG surveyed more than a thousand IT decision-makers to get their perspective, and some of the findings should provide some guidance.
Two of the more interesting findings show the difficulty in making the judgment call between nagging and nurturing. Nine out of 10 survey respondents said that speaking with a knowledgeable company representative increased their likelihood of making a purchase. However, before you pick up that phone too quickly, only three percent of respondents want to be contacted by a salesperson after receiving just one piece of content related to that purchase. That increases to 34 percent after downloading between two and four pieces of content. But on average, they need to have consumed five pieces of content related to the sale before they are ready to talk with a sales rep.
Those are numbers worth pondering. This research suggests that every campaign should have multiple selections of content that are timed to educate and inform the buyer. Here’s what Bluetext recommends for our clients’ campaigns:
During the early phases of the decision-making process, IT buyers are determining their needs and requirements, and should be served general information including articles about trends and strategies, management and technologies. This is a good place to be seeding case studies and use case examples.
· As they move through the process and are trying to narrow down potential vendors and evaluating possible solutions, their needs evolve to information more specific to the solutions our clients have to deliver. Test results, product reviews and independent opinions will keep the vendor top-of-mind when the decision-maker creates their short list. More case studies can also bolster the vendor’s standing.
· In the later stages, IT decision-makers need to make the business case for their decision. At that point, we recommend ROI tools, product demonstration videos and calculators. Our clients need to make it easy for the customer to get buy-in from their own team.
In our next blog post, we’ll discuss how companies can leverage social media to engage with IT decision-makers throughout the process, and will offer other tips for providing customer leads with the information they want when they want it.
WASHINGTON – January 30, 2013 – Bluetext, one of the nation’s fastest growing digital marketing, branding, and strategic communications firms, today announced that it has been chosen by The Washington Times to rethink and redesign the media property’s digital platform.
The Washington Times, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary as an alternative voice in the nation’s capital, has earned a reputation as one of the premier sources of news and commentary for U.S. conservatives. Since its founding, The Times’ award-winning political, social, national security and intelligence reporting, along with insightful editorial and opinion pages, have attracted growing national and international audiences online. As part of its transition to a Digital First news Compatibility horoscope concedes the possibility of romance, but states that long lasting relations are not quite probable. orientation, The Washington Times has embarked on a top-to-bottom reorganization to provide its audience with more timely and comprehensive information, reporting, and perspective on the major stories of the day.
“We chose Bluetext not only for its experience with some of the largest national media brands including Adobe and Google, but also because of its creativity and insight on how to appeal to our audience with the news and information they are looking for,” said John Martin, Chief Operating Officer for The Washington Times. “Bluetext brings us both a great user experience and fresh ideas on growing our revenue opportunities.”
“We are excited to work with The Washington Times to challenge national market leaders as the most innovative media property covering the news and issues coming out of Washington,” said Jason Siegel, Creative Director for Bluetext.
There’s a lot that businesses can learn from political campaigns in the heat of national elections about how to identify, reach and motivate target audiences. Political campaigns, and in particular Presidential elections, are a hot-bed of on-the-ground strategies, where anything and everything is tested to see what works all with a single goal in mind: to get as many people who will vote for your candidate to the polls on election day as possible. The national political parties spend hundreds of millions of dollars on these efforts, and are at the cutting-edge of these types of behavioral and digital sciences.
If you have any doubt, just look at the Obama 2008 campaign where the announcement of the selection of Joe Biden as the Vice Presidential candidate was not released to the national news media on a Friday evening to maximize news coverage as had been the norm going back decade. Instead, it was broadcast via Twitter to the campaigns millions of followers at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. On that date in August 2008, the traditional news media and its filter of reporters and editors serving watch over the campaign news that it would deliver to citizens officially became irrelevant to the campaigns. The Obama team went directly to supporters with its message unfiltered.
Get-out-the-vote campaigns have a lot in common with the efforts of businesses to reach potential leads and turn them into active customers. With a wide set of tools in their toolbox, ranging from traditional print and broadcast ads to direct mail to digital strategies, executives struggle to know which activities will be most successful. Here’s where they can learn the most from campaigns.
Starting in 1998, a team of political scientists led by Alan Gerber and Donald Green began experimenting with various get-out-the-vote techniques to see which were the most effective. They compared, for example, the effectiveness of calls from a paid call center, a piece of direct mail, and a home visit (this began before the age of digital marketing strategies, of course). The biggest surprise was that having people knocking on doors boosted voter turnout by nine percent—a huge increase in political terms. Least effective were impersonal techniques, such as generic mailings and phone calls from paid, script-reading workers.
What did work? Personalized, inquisitive and engaging communications targeted to the consumer were most effective. Even simple tasks such as thanking a voter for their previous support had a significant impact.
The lessons are clear and shouldn’t be surprising. Developing campaigns that speak directly to a key audience, that is personalized and talks about their particular needs, is the most effective way to reach and motivate customers.