Behind every dark cloud there’s a silver lining… or so the old saying goes.
According to a recent Economist article, PR firms are reaping the benefit of corporate America’s woes. As auto executives caught heat for their private jets and bankers endured criticism over everything from inflated bonuses to H1N1 shots, PR firms increased their billings by nearly 3 percent in 2009. A remarkable achievement considering that spending on advertising contracted by 11 percent over the previous two years.
So what gives? While it’s true the recession put a bullseye on the backs of some industries – increasing PR’s clout in the executive suite – this alone can’t account for the industry’s growth. Some say growing interest in social media has given the industry a boost. While this may be true, I don’t believe this is the sole driver either.
Could it be that corporate America is realizing what many in the industry have known for years: that PR is effective in good times and bad? In times of trouble, a sound public relations strategy can calm angry customers and reassure worried employees. In times of growth, good PR can raise a company’s profile and generate much-needed buzz. When business is booming, PR can strengthen customer relationships and engender loyalty. Throughout it all, public relations can build, sustain – and even repair – trust in a brand.
If you look at it this way, some might say PR is recession proof. And, in my humble opinion, if it’s not … it should be!
Tagged as:
Economy,
public relations
As I’ve mentioned before, I {heart} NPR. So it should be no surprise when I report that one of my favorite interviews of all time was on NPR this week. On All Things Considered, Steve Inskeep interviewed Adam Goldstein, CEO of Royal Caribbean International, about his company’s continued tourist endeavors in Haiti after an earthquake decimated entire towns. Of course, the circumstances of this interview are tragic. So the prospect of unaffected tourists relaxing on vacation while thousands suffer around them is an incongruous image.
After hearing that Royal Caribbean cruises were still docking in Haiti for tourists to jet ski and lounge on the beach, Inskeep asked the question that many wanted to ask—Why?
Goldstein’s reasoned explanations for his decision to maintain tourist activity in Haiti were explained rationally with:
“We actually felt it was a pretty easy decision once we realized that the physical site at our property at Labadee was unaffected by the earthquake, and second, after the Haitian government made it clear that they wanted to continue to have our ships visit, both for the economic benefit that they normally bring, as well as the humanitarian aspect of delivering relief supplies.”
“We’re unloading about 40 to 60 pallets worth of materials with each ship call [including] a lot of water, canned goods, and then shelter-type relief supplies to the extent that they’re made available to us.”
Goldstein even leads the listener to the opinion that Royal Caribbean is actually helping Haiti by continuing its business operations:
“I think Royal Caribbean is Haiti’s largest foreign direct investor in any industry. Royal Caribbean wants to be involved. Maybe the type of relief effort we have in mind would do road construction and road maintenance that would sustain over time.”
Admittedly, I was cynical about Goldstein’s decisions when the interview started. But by the end of it I was seeing his side of the story. Why was I so swayed by this CEO? Because he is a very strategic and effective communicator. He provided well-supported and reasoned explanations for his business decision including factual information that supported his claim that his business is good for Haiti’s recovery.
When was the last time you heard an interview that could have gone so badly turn out so well?
Tagged as:
News Media
Thanks to Netflix and my avoidance of winter weather, I’ve been working my way through the list of nominees for 2009 Academy Awards. After spending an evening watching Frost/Nixon about British journalist David Frost’s exclusive interviews with Richard Nixon more than two years after Watergate, I am convinced it must be required “watching” for all media professionals.
To provide a little background, David Frost was considered more of a “TV personality” than journalist until he landed an exclusive interview with Nixon by paying for the opportunity. Nixon accepted the request, presumably because of the money and his overconfidence that Frost would soft-pedal through a fluff piece that would improve his public image after the Watergate scandal.
Much to Frost’s credit he did not let the opportunity to conduct some serious journalism slip past him. Granted, he was a little distracted at first, but you’ll find out more about that when you watch the movie. Ultimately, he and his team of assistants researched, investigated, planned and, most importantly, strategized, about the opportunity.
His team didn’t just refresh their memories about the Watergate scandal, they learned enough about the situation and the parties involved to pin Nixon into a quasi admission of guilt. They never would have gotten the opportunity if they had not strategized about the opportunity first.
As professional strategists, we are charged with thinking through all of the possible scenarios of a situation before acting on them. When we work with members of the media, we strategize first to make sure we accomplish our goals and, equally important, that the reporter gets what he/she needs. We start by asking some of these questions:
- What information is important for the reporter to know even if he/she doesn’t ask?
- How do I provide that information to a reporter?
- Who is the best person to represent or personalize this topic?
- Who will benefit from this interaction?
- Are there topics I cannot discuss, and how do I respond if asked?
Now that you’ve added Frost/Nixon to your Netflix list, tell us how you strategize when contacting media or responding to media queries.
Tagged as:
Media Relations,
News Media
A new study released Monday by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism investigates where news comes from in today’s rapidly changing media landscape.
A week-long examination of all the local media outlets in Baltimore suggests that while the news landscape has rapidly expanded, newspapers remain the primary source of information. Nearly 50 percent of the public got its information from the print media, while almost 30 percent relied on local TV. Niche media, such as specialty papers focused on business and law (approaching 15 percent), radio (under 10 percent), and new media (approaching five percent) were the other sources.
The study conducted an “examination of six major narratives” produced during the week and found that “most of the ‘news’ people receive contains no original reporting.” Eight out of ten stories “simply repeated or repackaged previously published information.”
And, of the stories that did contain new information, 95 percent came from newspapers. Blogs, Twitter and local websites played a limited role – working as an alert system to break news more quickly.
So what does this mean for PR professionals?
As newspapers get slimmer and reporting staffs continue to shrink, well-written news releases are becoming more important than ever. I found the following statement from the report quite interesting, although I’m not surprised.
“As news is posted faster, often with little enterprise reporting added, the official version of events is becoming more important. We found official press releases often appear word for word in first accounts of events, though often not noted as such.”
So remember to keep a news-like tone (no marketing hype) when writing your next news release – it may increase the likelihood of securing a worthy placement.
Tagged as:
News Media,
news release,
Writing
In October, Robin highlighted the key points of the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for disclosure for bloggers. The new guidelines went into effect December 1. As an avid blogger and blog reader, I have seen bloggers in blog posts when they are financially compensated and/or given free product for reviews, saying things like: This is a compensated review by BlogHer and HP. I have also seen a shift in disclosure policies- bloggers adding more details about affiliate links, financially compensated reviews, free products, etc.
The one thing that I haven’t seen is disclosure in blog posts when affiliate links are used. Affiliate marketing rewards people who are associated with a product, service or company for leads or clicks that they generate. The reward can be cash or product. Yes, most bloggers do have a statement in their disclosure policies that says their blog uses affiliate links. However, I have never seen a specific blog post say “compensated affiliate ” or something to that effect.
Since we have a client who is considering launching an affiliate program, we wanted to be sure we were clear on the law, so we did a little investigating. Our understanding of the law was that the disclosure was necessary, but since we didn’t see anyone doing it. Were we missing something?
After a bit of research, we found a webinar with Jim Edwards and Rich Cleland, Assistant Deputy at the FTC talking specifically about affiliates and the law. In the webinar Mr. Edwards asks, if a blogger uses the phrase: Disclosure: Compensated Affiliate on every post with affiliates, is the blogger in compliance with the law? Here was Mr. Cleland’s answer, which he emailed to Mr. Edwards: “The disclosure must be sufficient to alert the consumer that of the connection between the endorser. In this case it is an affiliate marketer. Your disclosure would appear to meet this requirement. The most important aspect of this kind of disclosure will be whether it is clear and conspicuous. Consumers must be able to see the disclosure when they are viewing the endorsement and at the point of the link to the seller’s website.” (Emphasis mine.)
This statement makes it clear that a blogger stating that they use affiliate links in their disclosure page is not enough. According to the FTC, a blogger must disclose within the post when they are endorsing something.
To gain further clarification, I called Mr. Cleland and asked him about affiliate links and when disclosure is necessary. He was kind enough to spend a few minutes talking with me about the matter. He said that a disclosure must be made when a blogger is recommending something and using an affiliate link. He went on to say that “the recommendation triggers the disclosure requirement.” He added that some affiliate marketing is clearly advertising and in that case a disclosure statement is not necessary. It is, however, necessary when the post includes an implied or overt recommendation.
It will be interesting to see how bloggers continue to apply these new guidelines to their blogs. What do you think about the guidelines as they apply to affiliate marketing?
Social media, and its closely related cousin mobile marketing, are the new frontier for marketing and advertising and, for many, have secured a significant presence in strategic communications plans for 2010. While it is wise to develop strategies and tactics utilizing a full spectrum of effective tools, the use of these new technologies should be more evolution than revolution.
Savvy C-Suite executives and marketing strategists know that putting all of your eggs in one proverbial basket is a risky strategy, at best, and rarely maximizes your potential return – even if the basket is as tempting as Facebook, Twitter and Smartphone applications. These are all valuable tools, but they do not individually constitute a well rounded strategy.
The goals of new media technologies are to expand your reach, to develop and deepen relationships with your customers and stakeholders, and to help you stay relevant and top-of-mind with a targeted audience. But it is important to realize that while the audience of social media users is rapidly expanding, it has not yet reached 100 per cent. Current Facebook statistics show nearly 1/3 of Americans are using this platform but most social media aficionados are still fairly casual users; only a distinct minority have achieved the status of power user.
As it turns out, ‘old’ media may still have a very relevant role to play in your 2010 marketing strategy. Traditional media still has greater reach and offers the opportunity to develop content that can be further leveraged electronically. Television, radio, outdoor and other traditional channels also offer tools to promote your social media and mobile marketing initiatives and pull more prospects into your electronic universe of ‘followers.’
As the options to connect with customers proliferate, it is more important than ever to find ways to integrate old and new tools and to cross-pollinate tactics. Here are some of the ways you can double-check your perspective as planning season commences:
Have you appropriately incorporated both ‘one-way’ communications (traditional media) and ‘two way’ communications (social media) into your strategic thinking?
Have you considered the reach into your targeted audience for each channel?
Have you built tactics into your strategy that leverage the strengths of both social and traditional media so that the integration of these strategies achieves maximum impact?
And as a final double-check: Does the integrated tactical approach you are considering ultimately support and achieve your larger strategic goals.
Tagged as:
Advertising,
Branding,
Facebook,
Marketing,
Social Media
Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet for creating a popular blog. As someone who blogs professionally and personally, as well as counsels many clients on the process, here are a few tactics that are effective in helping build a successful blog.
Select a Theme: Lovell Links topics are all marketing and public relations based. What is the theme or “brand” of your blog? If you don’t know, sit down and create a mission statement for your blog. This will help create focus.
Engage Your Readers and Join in the Conversation: I usually do this by asking a question at the end of a post. It is a great way to encourage comments.
It is also important to be present in the comments. Some blogs have threaded comments where readers and the writers can respond directly to comments made.
Leverage Other Social Media Tools: Having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, etc. will help drive traffic to your site.
Include an Image: Blog posts with images are more likely to be read. If you don’t have an image of your own, use a stock photo.
Use a Clean Design: Blogs that are filled with many ads, blinkies, etc. are a turn-off for many people who come to the site. Be sure you blog design is clean and represents your brand well.
Proof Your Work: Sloppy writing and editing is not acceptable. Just because it is not printed does not lessen its value. You are promoting yourself and/or your company with each post you write. Check out Ashley’s great post of common writing errors.
Invest Time: Starting and maintaining a blog takes a large time commitment. If you are not ready to commit to blogging several times a week, you should not blog.
Read Other Blogs: One of the best ways to learn how to become a better blogger is to read a lot of blogs. Read blogs that have a similar topic to what you write about – as well as those that are popular. The combination will teach you a lot. (A great way to manage reading a lot of blogs is by using a reader like Netvibes or Google Reader.)
Track Your Traffic and Understand Your Audience: Where are your readers coming from? How long are they staying on your blog? How frequently do they visit? By understanding your readers habits, you can help build loyal followers.
What other tips do you have for growing a personal or professional blog?
Tagged as:
blogs,
Corporate Blogs,
Social Media
Last week Lovell Communications Inc. conducted an email blast survey on opinions about the economy. Approximately 88 percent of 194 respondents (mostly business people and professionals) indicated they think the economy will either remain the same or improve over the next six months.
Last May 2009, when we conducted a survey with the same question, 89 percent of the 174 respondents indicated they felt the economy would remain essentially the same or improve between mid-May 2009 and mid-November 2009. Not a significant difference there.
Likewise, in the recent survey about 12 percent think the economy will get worse in the next six months compared to 11 percent asked the same question back in May. Also, not significant.
However, last May, 55 percent thought the economy was going to improve over the following six months compared to 48 percent in this month’s survey.
Last May, 34 percent thought the economy would stay the same for the subsequent six months compared to 40 percent of this month’s respondents who think the economy will remain the same for the next six months.
Asking Twitters and Facebook Users
In a separate survey sent out through Twitter and Facebook to a broader audience (not necessarily business people and professionals), only 74 percent of the 168 respondents think the economy will remain the same or improve over the next six months. Notably, 25 percent felt the economy would get worse. (compared to only 11 percent in the business and professionals survey.)
29 percent of the Tweeters and Facebook respondents feel the economy will remain about the same over the next six months. That compares to 48 percent of the business person and professionals survey.
I am wondering if this indicates that the business community is slightly more optimistic than the “average guy on the street.” Makes sense. What do you think?
Tagged as:
Economic Outlook,
Economy,
Survey
