Being Thankful and Paying it Forward

This week, like most bloggers, I want to touch on why I am so thankful.  I have many, many reasons to be thankful this holiday season, but there is one person that has always been my motivation to do well in life. 

I am thankful for my father.  Both my parents taught me to be the person I am today and I am eternally grateful, but if it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t be in the PR profession.  He had a passion for public relations like none other.  He began as a journalist and later put on his PR hat working for Corning Glass Works and then moved on to the agency side.  Because of a product recall he handled in the 1970s at Corning, he became known as an expert in Crisis Communications.  I would listen to his stories at the dinner table each night and knew I wanted to work in this field.  While I was in college, he was the national president of PRSA and later won the industry’s top award, the Gold Anvil.  What more motivation did I need? 

It wasn’t until he passed away that I truly understood how he was a role model and mentor to more than just his family.  His passion and success has always motivated me in everything I do.  And, this Thanksgiving holiday, I want to thank him for being an inspiration to me and to others and hope that I am able to “pay it forward” and help others succeed at whatever inspires them.

The Crystal Ball for Hot Topics for 2010

We all wish we had a crystal ball to see what was going to happen in the future. It would be really helpful in building our businesses. If you are in the business-to-business world and you are trying to promote your company’s products or services, there is one tool that I consider a type of crystal ball – Editorial Calendars.

Many people consider editorial calendars as tools for the advertising team and if you have no budget for advertising, why bother looking at them? Well, the editorial teams of your target magazines have spent significant time creating these editorial calendars as part of their media kits to drive advertising and also to provide direction for the publication for the coming year. Since they outline the topics they plan to cover during the year, these calendars are extremely valuable for promoting your business. For example, if you have a hot new technology gadget, then knowing when key magazines are going to publish their holiday tech gadget guides is essential.

If you don’t have tools like Cision or Vocus that provide databases of editorial calendars, make sure you visit the websites of your target publications to take a look at their 2010 editorial calendars and determine if they are focusing on any topics where your business might be a good fit. Then, get creative and pitch away!

Getting Your Feet Wet in the Social Media Pond

Between reading trade magazines and websites for my various clients and the PR industry, running my own business and having two active children, sitting down to read a good book is an opportunity that I seldom get.  I almost never buy a book off the shelves (or Amazon) without a recommendation from a friend or colleague.  So, I hope to pass recommended reading on to you as I get the chance.

I recently read, “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” by David Meerman Scott.  For those that haven’t heard of him, Scott is a forward-thinking expert in the world of social media.  If you are a marketing professional or have had marketing put on your long-list of responsibilities and are new to social media, this is an excellent book to read to get your feet wet.

If you have a good book that you have read lately, please comment below.  The next books sitting on my nightstand are:  “10-10-10” by Suzy Welch, “The Game” by Sarano Kelley and “Book Yourself Solid” by Michael Port.  Any thoughts which one I should choose?

Put Your Reporter Hat On

In the spirit of Halloween, this week I’m asking you to pretend you are a reporter.  Not that they wear hats, but put your reporter hat on and think about what it is like to be a reporter.  Putting yourself in their shoes will help you land more stories.

Reporters are bombarded with press releases and ideas for stories, so you need to figure out what will catch their eye.  Whether you are targeting TV, radio, print or internet media, all reporters have one primary goal – make their editors happy so that they can keep their jobs.  Editors are looking for stories that will interest their readers, listeners or viewers, grow their audience and attract more advertisers.

So, get to know your reporters and the audience they are targeting with their stories.  If it is the same audience that you are targeting with your messages, then get creative and come up with story ideas that are fresh and provocative and that a reporter will want to take to their editor to get permission to cover.

Who is YOUR target audience?

The first thing that comes to most of our minds when we think about our target audience is our customers.  Granted, without customers, we wouldn’t be in business.  However, there are other key groups of individuals that can be very influential to your business.

Take a step back and think of everyone that you deal with on a daily basis.  If a person or group of people can influence others to interact with your business than they are a target audience.  Some of the obvious target audiences include:

• Customers and prospective customers
• Partners and prospective partners
• Suppliers and prospective suppliers
• Stockholders and prospective stockholders
• Venture capital firms
• Government representatives
• Analysts (financial and industry)

Two other groups that are often forgotten are employees (current, former and potential).  Your employees are always asked where they work and what they do.  You want them to deliver a message that explains succinctly what your company does and in a positive way.  The other group that is often not considered is people in our personal lives, like our family members, neighbors, etc.  These people may know someone that is a potential customer, stockholder, employee, etc. and it is important for them to also have a clear understanding of what you do.

So, before you start marketing your business and selling your products look at the key groups of people and individuals that can influence your business and determine how best to reach these audiences and whether different messaging is needed for each group.

Knowing your target audience(s) and understanding their challenges and their needs will help you better focus your marketing efforts.

Are Press Releases Still Worthwhile?

When I first began in the PR field, I remember making hundreds of copies of press releases, stuffing them in envelopes, labeling the envelopes and then sending them out to reporters who actually used them to write news stories. Technology has changed the world of press releases. Now, at a click of a couple buttons, I can send a press release to the media. You would think that would have simplified the job of a PR professional. However, although it is easier for reporters to take information from the electronic release, they are much less likely use it for a story. Reporters are inundated with press releases. Some receive hundreds a day. With tight deadlines to meet in the 24×7 news cycle created by the Internet, they don’t have time to sift through their inbox for that next good story. So, should we still bother with press releases? My answer is yes! Press releases are still worthwhile. They serve a couple different purposes. When posted regularly on your company website, press releases show that things are happening at your organization. You can also send them to your customers and partners to keep them updated on your company’s achievements. Secondly, they help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). When you send out a release on the wire these days, it will most likely get picked up by hundreds of websites. Although, many of those websites have nothing to do with your business, your company will pop up more frequently on Google and other search engines. This can prove extremely valuable if your prospects use the Internet to find products and services. Press releases are a great way to communicate directly with your buyers and to become more visible in the online world. Maybe we need to get rid of the term “press” release and call these announcements “news releases” since they are no longer just targeted at the media. What are your thoughts?

Make that Ride Memorable!

We’ve all been in that situation where we have just 15 seconds or so to sell ourselves and most of us have looked back and said “what did I just say?”  Good first impressions are critical.  You may only have one chance with a prospect and therefore must make the most of it. 

When your delivering your “pitch” during that 15-second elevator ride, is the other person hearing “blah, blah, blah”?  If so, you may want to take some time to re-work it.

Your elevator pitch should be short and sweet.  You should explain who you are, what you do, why you are the best at what you do and then have a call to action. 

• Make sure it is clear and concise.
• Avoid industry jargon and acronyms.
• Try to stimulate conversation. 
• Make it memorable!

You want that person to walk off the elevator and feel an urgency to contact you because they are interested in what you do and you also want them to be able to easily re-iterate what you do to other people and spread the word about your organization.  If your pitch is full of jargon and you ramble on, most likely your listeners will not have a clear understanding of what you do.

Take the time to make sure your message tells the value you offer and why they should buy your product or service.

Advertising vs. PR

I thought one of my first posts should define public relations.  This may be entry-level for many of you, but I still get that baffled look when I tell people what I do. 

First, what is PR?  There are many definitions.  PRSA (the Public Relations Society of America) uses the following definition:  “public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”  I often use:  “PR is the means by which your company becomes known and stays known among your target audiences” (source unknown).  Essentially, PR is getting noticed by your key influencers!

How is PR different from advertising?  Let me count the ways:

1. Cost – the only money involved with PR is the time involved.  There is a significant financial investment for creating ads and paying media outlets to deliver your messages.  Did you know a full-page color ad in BusinessWeek is $112,000.  Wow! 
2. Control – with ads, the company can control the message.  With PR, the media controls the message and the method and timing of the delivery – you never know what you’re going to get.
3. Repetition – ads can be run multiple times.  News stories typically run once (unless syndicated).
4. Credibility – consumers are skeptical of ads, but tend to take what they hear in the news at face value.
5. Attractiveness – ads need to appeal to prospects.  Publicity must have an angle or hook that grabs the editor’s attention. 

Now, that I’ve set the stage, on to bigger things in future blog posts.

Welcome to B2B PR Buzz

Welcome!

I’d like to officially welcome you to my “B2B PR Buzz” blog.  As a marketing communications professional, I find myself writing blog posts for my clients, sharing information on a wide array of topics.  However, I do not get the chance to talk about my true area of expertise and that is public relations in the business-to-business world.  That’s where this blog comes in.  This is where I hope to share my experiences, past and present, working with companies to get noticed by their target audiences. 

B2B public relations is much different than marketing communications in the business-to-consumer market.  I hope that this blog will provide a community for my fellow marketing colleagues that also specialize in B2B to share ideas, tools and post questions. 

Additionally, I have a passion for helping small businesses grow and young women succeed.  Active in the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, I also hope to provide tools and advice for business owners. 

I look forward to this new adventure and hope that you will find the information in the coming blog posts valuable and worth reading.

Best regards,

Karen Higgins