Public Relations to the Corporate Executive Rescue: Proving Our Worth in Innovative Ways

A recent Booz & Company study finds that a company’s internal message is being lost and that business leaders are finding themselves worried over a variety of communication-related issues. Chief among them:

·         64% said they had too many conflicting priorities

·         54% do not believe their company strategy will lead to success

·         53% did not believe their corporate strategy was understood by employees

·         33% felt company strategy and company capabilities were aligned

While these internal struggles often make our jobs as PR professionals more difficult – how can we draft an effective press release if the company doesn’t know what it wants to say or how to say it – I believe it’s also a valuable opportunity for our industry.

Always eager to demonstrate our communications worth, as PR agencies we must market ourselves as objective strategy sounding boards as well as networked media professionals. To some extent we do this all the time – hand-holding and coddling our most challenging clients.

But rarely do we market these evaluative skills up front. Too often we fall into the trap of “yes-ing” clients to death, spinning our wheels in failed response to internal client confusion. Considering all the talk of late of how PR agencies must adapt to new realities (faced in some cases, with the severing of 80-year-old client-agency partnerships), becoming diversified communications agencies versed in multiple channels and multiple ways of telling a compelling story might be only the beginning. Add to that our very adept skills at executive coaching and direction-finding and we may yet turn an internal corporate disadvantage into a new PR agency strength.

So has your PR agency already taken on new responsibilities as a quasi-executive coach – a prospering industry in its own right? What, specifically, are you doing to achieve that aim? And how are you balancing these expanded responsibilities with traditional PR? Share your trials and tribulations with the ThinkInk PR community in the section below.

Are tweets the new press release?

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Officer of ThinkInk, originally appeared on Mobile Marketer on 10/25/12.

Leave it to the wonder and mystery that is the human brain to channel ideas together and combine them into cohesive article-worthy or press release-fit logic. One hour and voilà! Nine hundred and twenty-six words. It is a shame that my computer cannot achieve that independent feat of intelligence and brainstorm client copy on its own.

But, then again, maybe it should not have to. Maybe we all need to embrace Twitter and leave the press release behind?

Arty or RT
Let us face it. For an industry that prides itself on being up on tech-savvy knowhow, playfully – and, sometimes, not so playfully – chiding our distant cousins (print journalists) in their dinosaur-like ways, the press release is often our antiquated little secret.

Of course, we publish them online and they can be written, edited and read across all mobile platforms.

But when you think about it, how much have press releases changed in the course of their 106-year lifespan?

The answer is not terribly much. The basic press release is as formulaic as computer code – and often just as monotonous to this right-brainer.

An obligatory jargon-filled run-on lede sentence that tells the reader what the company has done, and what said company plans to accomplish from now through the next decade.

This is followed by a series of quotes and concludes with marginally relevant big picture data, some contact information and request for interviews.

Apart from the 1.5 line spacing we used to use – back in the day when we still snail-mailed press releases complete with stuck-on photographs – it is a formula that has not ever changed.

So it is hardly surprising that press releases, in this traditional format, have not set the mobile world on fire. And why would they?

Feeling the need for speed and connectivity
Because the reality is that the Internet – once erroneously called the “information super highway” when the 24.4 Kbps-modem Web was anything but fast and efficient – is beginning to live up to that dated moniker.

Compared to 2012, the Internet of, say, 1996, was like a gravel road fit for horse and buggy and the occasional tractor.

Enter Twitter in 2006 with its 140-character space limitations quickening its communicative back and forth and you just might have the fastest and most efficient way to disseminate a message yet.

As of June, Twitter boasted some 400 million tweets per day, marking an 18 percent increase from March and has around a half-billion users.

And it is in this ever-faster space that the press release has tried to remain relevant and itself newsworthy.

But in recent years, social media has been the mover and shaker of all sorts of news: from the 2011 Arab Spring youth-led uprising, to the Twitter-revealed death of Whitney Houston – 27 minutes before mainstream media – and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps earning top honors not only in the pool, but in the number of tweets he sent out regarding his medals.

Even President Obama got in on the act to congratulate Mr. Phelps as he tweeted back, “You’ve made your country proud.”

If this is where the world’s most Earth-shaking events are getting first light, then it is incumbent on corporate communications and public relations professionals to more completely embrace this medium.

Twitter’s immediacy, combined with its brevity is like instant movie teasers, with 140-characters replacing 140-second television and radio ads.

Add to that their nearly zero production costs, minus the need to pay a staff to generate and monitor multiple tweets across multiple clients, and you are left with an instantly adaptable medium tailor fit for the mobile world that we all inhabit.

Of course, all this Twitter trumpeting begs the question that in part inspired this piece, “Are tweets the new press release?”

Yes. And no.

Despite my press release bashing above, press releases are necessarily written in a predictable format to make it easier for journalists and others who would be interested in the information to gather it quickly and reach out to additional sources. And there is no denying that a 500-700-word release contains far more information than a barrage of tweets.

Tweet this: Press releases and tweets can and should work together
When it comes to the Twitter versus press release tiff, it is likely press releases will undergo two major

changes to keep pace and adapt.

On the one hand, they will likely get shorter and begin mimicking other forms of concise social media communications. Or at least there will be two versions: a complete release, or its lede with a hyperlink option to “expand details.”

It is also likely that they will be relegated to niche markets, and nor will they remain a PR team’s first line of communication defense.

Like the longer, more narrative-feeling second-day news story that expands on the gritty hard news details from a day-one event, press releases will become a secondary form of outreach, but nor will they end up deleted from our collective inboxes.  

At least for now, the press release hard work of crafting a lengthier message, distributing that message and making sure it gets to the right people in a timely fashion is not going anywhere – yet.

And considering the growing popularity of the phablet – tablet and smartphone hybrids – and tablets outright, mobile screen size may not prove the information processing stumbling block for which it is often chastised.

So it is back to writing client copy – Twitter for the head’s-up and press releases for the data that follows.

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Officer of ThinkInk, originally appeared on Mobile Marketer on 10/25/12.

Why 'Good' Press Releases = 'Bad' Journalism

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Officer of ThinkInk, originally appeared on Marketing Daily on 3/15/12.

When writing news stories, editors advise young reporters to do the following: stick to facts, don’t opine, place important/newest information high, answer the five Ws, have a solid lead and conclusion, spell names correctly, use conversational language, meet deadlines and hit the word count.

It’s a formula for success that reporters of all ages rely on. More than that, however, the tips speak to the professional evolution of storytelling found to be most effective at getting points across, with a 150+year history.

Seems like a simple formula, right?

Then why do so many press releases I read -- and some I am required to write -- fail to meet these standards? What’s changed in the communications industry that allows for the writing and distribution of such abysmal drivel? And why don’t the rules governing quality storytelling apply to many of today’s releases?

PR is NOT the Dark Side of Journalism - But Some Clients Might Work for the Death Star

Whoa. Three questions in one paragraph -- and a possible clichéd Star Wars reference subhead. That, too, may violate a writing essential -- that a story can be about one thing and should avoid clichés like the plague (cliché intended). Coming from a public relations angle, I can tell you that it’s not as simple as pitting agenda-pushing poor-writing PR professionals against reporters.

Too often the challenge lies with our clients and their expectations. Yes, as their communications team, it’s our job to direct conversation, to craft proper messages and distribute that message through the media in a concise, accurate and compelling manner. But like journalists, we too can’t always claim the moral high road. Clients pay our salaries, just as advertisers pay (or used to pay) journalists. Sometimes we just have to do what we’re told. Most times, we just have to “make it work.”

Press Release Dos and Don’ts

Of course, “making copy work” is not like making copy sing -- a nod to the lyrical and rhythmic flow of quality writing. An off pitch release (Not the PR pitch) “creates” news rather than telling something newsworthy. Ask yourself -- if you didn’t work for company X, would you read it? If the answer is ‘no,’ then you’re already in trouble. The solution: clients need to be honest about their announcements. Writing a release about something that may happen in six months is not newsworthy. That’s about as useful as someone planning to be rich by summer.

At most, that’s the kind of company “news” that meets Twitter post standards or a short email blast to client investors. It does not require an 800-word release that causes journalists’ eyeballs to glaze over or public relations professionals to struggle through 17 drafts of a document that has failed to capture the “essence of the company story.” Sometimes what clients say just isn’t that important. Clients need to have the humility and presence of mind to know when to shut up -- or at least respect when their PR staff tells them to.

Press releases also fail because of their language. If you’re writing a release in English, then write in English -- not gibberish. Is some jargon necessary? Yes. But too much and a press release can bury its own newsworthiness.

Print This: PR Professionals and Journalists Play the Same Game on Different Teams

How’s that for a newsworthy press release? But even if we play on different teams -- journalists dig for the news while PR professionals push what they’d like to be considered news -- the rules of the writing game should not change.

Modern journalistic writing evolved from the rigors of changing technology – the telegraph. At a penny a character, brevity was far more important than expressive prose. Combined with the fear of technology failure, reporters were taught to write and report news as if readers only read the headlines and first paragraph. (Sound familiar?)

Today’s hyperactive news cycle and extreme mobile connectivity is the outgrowth of these technological realities. PR professionals, emerging some 50 years after Samuel Morse’s invention, really do know what good writing and storytelling is about.

If only we can teach clients that same lesson, perhaps the PR vs. journalism professional stalemate will be broken –- and great press releases will equal great journalism.

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Officer of ThinkInk, originally appeared on Marketing Daily on 3/15/12.

QUITE POSSIBLY THE WORST PRESS RELEASE EVER

I don't normally write in caps, or use all caps for titles.

This post is the exception - I had to grab your attention to what is quite possibly the worst press release ever written. Ever.

I received this pile of junk last week and in the spirit of what follows, OMG. What you are about to read will make you want to stick pins in your eyes.

Are you ready?

"TEXTCHX - Text Message Marketing: A New Way of Advertisement

A good look at how TEXTCHX text message marketing has allowed small, & medium sized businesses to highly target customers & keep them coming back to purchase. Also, showing how this tool directly boosts brand awareness in the mind of the consumer.

(I-Newswire) June 15, 2010 - Text message marketing is a new innovative way of getting your business’s products and name out there. Almost everyone has some sort of text message service. It’s just ingrained in our culture. We want to be able to quickly send and receive messages to keep us up to date with what’s going on in the world around us. We get news, weather, social networking sites updates, we can vote on our favorite soft drink or American Idol star…almost anything—within reason—can be done with text messages!

As a business, you can benefit from a new form of advertisement. But what is this type of advertisement? What does it do?

Mobile text advertising is a wonderful way of sending your customers updates and new deals that are going on at your establishment or company. It’s easy—not a lot of people go without their cell phones. You can reach them anywhere and tell them all about your awesome new business, your deals, or whatever else you have to offer. Almost every major company supports text messaging marketing.

With sms marketing software, you simply choose a keyword, and your advertisement is sent out to a subscriber. Someone who is texted is more likely to read your message than someone you contacted over the phone, email, or any other media methods. You can also choose between local, statewide, country wide or even international markets. Imagine being able to reach customers EVERYWHERE! In Hong Kong, Baton Rouge, London, Brussels, or even Algiers!

But the text messaging advertising isn’t just limited to text messages. There are also options including mobile internet and app advertising.

Say you’re a dating service and your contract includes a mobile app that a lot of single people use. Maybe there’s a guy. He’s twenty-ish, not bad looking, but extremely shy. He doesn’t know where to start, poor thing. He wants to get out, see people! He knows he’s a lady’s man on the inside. He just has to find it!

Then, he sees your advertisement—thanks to your text messaging software—and decides he’s going to give it a try. He does—and discovers he LOVES your dating service. So he texts all of his friends and tells them all about it, earning you even more customers! All because of one little advertisement."

ENOUGH!

Whoever wrote this needs to be spanked and sent back to Grade 3. It's precisely this sort of crap that gives the PR industry a bad name.

Not to mention that the company is about 2.5 years too late to the party.

I just re-read it, I need a drink!

Oh, and Happy Tuesday.

Hey, The Press Release Isn’t Dead… Yet

Back in September '09, I wrote a column for MediaPost called "Think You Know PR? Think Again", which ignited a lot of heated dialogue about the value of press releases in today's increasingly digitally-driven media world. It questioned the effectiveness of the press release as PR currency, and I went so far as stating that the press release is dead.

But apparently, it is not. Yet.

As a follow up to my column, Lindsey Miller of the communication professional's bible - Ragan.com - interviewed me about the usefulness of press releases. My comments appeared in a Ragan Communications/Pollstream survey released last week. Miller's article appears here - http://wp.me/pcO2G-8k

What do you think? Is the press release dead?

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

(This article originally appeared in MediaPost on August 18, 2009)

As an agency owner, I work with companies across various industries and verticals, and so it strikes me as illogical how many -- even nonprofits -- hire marketing and PR firms to tout their company's abilities to the media and beyond with the exception of marketing (and related) firms. The irony here is that in an industry focused on selling ideas, brands and images, many marketing firms don't practice what they preach. When was the last time you PR'd or promoted your company in a calculated, consistent and authentic manner? (A canned press release on PRWeb does not count.)

Some time ago, I had a conversation with a client (before he became a client) and asked about his agency's work. "Our work speaks for itself", he told me. Really? "Then why do you want to hire me?" I shot back.

For me, that was the crux right there. Getting others to know who you are and what you do, whether your company is built upon selling tangible goods or marketing those of others. As a marketer, what you do for your clients is something you should be doing for your firm at every opportunity. You know, creating authentic, credible communications. If you aren't committed to your brand or don't convey that same passion about your "products," how can you expect others to?

Read the article on MediaPost in full here, "Do As I Say, Not As I Do"