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The how-to-do-it e-newsletter for PR and marketing
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Now is the time for PR to get social
The internet ought to be the greatest gift to PR professionals since the expense account. Yet how many could honestly say they are exploiting its full potential? The internet, that is!
Fact is, digital technologies are evolving so fast, every day reveals a new opportunity. So we kick off this issue with some wise advice from Kevin Taylor, president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, on using social media in PR.
Getting clients quoted is one of the most common of PR tasks. Yet here’s what one editor tells me he thinks of many of the quotes he reads in press releases: “Those client quotes put in to keep them happy: aaaaagh!” It needn’t be like that. So scroll down to PR Writers’ Clinic for some tips on writing quotes journalists will want to use.
Cliff Saran, managing editor (technology) of Computer Weekly, Britain’s biggest circulation IT newspaper, tells us what he’s looking for from PRs. He makes the interesting point that Computer Weekly is now a multimedia operation and PRs can take advantage of this by thinking Web 2.0.
Much PR steers clear of controversy. And there’s certainly something to be said for playing safe in some situations. But, sometimes, there’s PR benefit when controversy stirs debate on a subject. Kaila Krayewski, communications manager at Oban Multilingual Strategy, has an interesting story to tell about how research into the ways travellers use the internet prompted a media debate.
One of the popular features of PR Success Monthly is the “Sponsored Weblink” section, which you’ll find at the foot of the right-hand column. You can link easily to a range of organisations that have useful services for PR. If you’d like to have a sponsored weblink in the next issue, you’ll find details of how to go about it there.
Finally, are you superstitious? Not me. Friday 13th March holds no terrors. Which is just as well. For that’s the day I’m speaking at a day-long seminar on doing in-house PR. If you feel like defying the fates and joining us, you’ll find all you need to know at www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk. Go on, be lucky!
Peter Bartram
Editor
DON’T MISS OUT: the only way to ensure that you receive every copy of PR Success Monthly is to register online at www.prsuccess.co.uk. It takes less than a minute.
10 top tips for using social media in PR
Social media poses new challenges for PR professionals. Kevin Taylor, president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, sets out some of the key rules of engagement
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations launched its “social media” best practice guidelines in February 2007. It has since updated them to take into account emerging trends and issues in this fast moving and growing area of the PR industry. Here are 10 key points that PR people using social media should bear in mind.
1. Recognise its importance and know how it works. The biggest mistake possible is to assume that social media doesn’t matter – that it’s somehow peripheral to your work. Used appropriately with skill and care, social media can be an additional weapon in the PR professional’s armoury.
2. Understand legislation and ethics. Since the original CIPR guidelines were launched, they’ve been updated to cover new legislation. If you fall foul of the legislation, it is likely that you will also have done something to contradict one of the CIPR’s three principles of ethical practice – integrity, competence and confidentiality – as set out in our Code of Conduct. The principles are as relevant in social media as in any other area of PR. But social media presents its own unique set of challenges.
3. Avoid “flogging”. Creating a fake blog to give the impression of independent support for a campaign or initiative – flogging - breaks the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and contravenes the CIPR Code. The key thing to remember when setting up a blog or posting a comment is to be transparent. Say who you are, what your job is and who you work for – and mention upfront any conflicts of interest.
4. Keep off the “astroturf”. Astroturfing, the practice of creating fake grassroots enthusiasm, like flogging, is not only prohibited by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations but contradicts the principle of integrity which lies at the heart of the CIPR Code of Conduct.
5. “Off the record” doesn’t work. Off the record can be a dangerous concept at the best of times. But in the social media world, it barely exists. Your conversations or e-mails with a blogger, for example, may be posted online without your permission so they end up in the public domain.
6. Take great care with the laws of defamation. That includes repeating possible slanders or libels posted elsewhere. A comment posted on a website or social networking site carries just as much legal weight and responsibility as a media release issued through a press office. And it is a permanent record. Website content often lives for ever.
7. Treat information carefully. The casual nature of blogs can lull people into a false sense of security – and use of the word “posting” to describe the act of placing material on a blog can lead people to forget that what they’re doing is not posting but “publishing”. So ask yourself all the time – do I want to publish this? And steer clear of sensitive corporate information or mentioning anything before it has been formally released.
8. Measure social media. It is just as important to measure the success of your social media work against business objectives as it is other PR activities. This helps you demonstrate the value of your work, justify budgets and plan for the future. Just like traditional media, there is no “silver bullet” or single method for evaluating social media, but there are a number of methods available. As with all campaigns, set out your objectives for the activity at the start and then measure your performance and success against them.
9. Provide employer guidance. If you’re an employer or communications advisor, you need to be aware that employers bear responsibility for how their employees use social media. The best thing an employer can do is to provide guidance on social media policy to employees. Issue updates in line with new developments.
10. Embrace social media. The final, and in many ways most important, tip is this: don’t be afraid of social media. The social media landscape is constantly evolving and guidelines on practice will need to be amended to keep pace. However, you just need to remember that openness and transparency are key elements to being successful with this new medium. Used correctly, social media can have a real and positive impact on what we do, making our job as PR professionals easier, not harder.
Good luck!
The CIPR social media guidelines are at www.cipr.co.uk/socialmedia
NEXT MONTH: Diane Thieke, executive director, public relations and strategic communication, Enterprise Media Group Dow Jones, with 10 top tips on how PRs can talk business language.
PR writers' clinic: quote... unquote
Peter Bartram has something to say about how to turn a PR quote from one that's ignored into one that makes it into the journalist's copy
A recent participant in one of my PR training masterclasses wanted to know why the quotations in their press releases and articles hardly ever got used. I had a look at some of those quotes (as we journalists like to call them) and it wasn't hard to see why.
There are three reasons why editors groan when they read the quotes in press releases and contributed articles. One, the quote repeats something already mentioned earlier in the release. Two, the quote states "the bleedin' obvious". ("We are delighted to have won this order," is the classic: they'd hardly be disappointed.) Three, the quote is just self-praise or puffery of the "our world-leading solution" variety. All three kill a quote stone dead. Here is an anonymous example of the kind of quote journalists hate: "The [product name] represents an unprecedented story of success that reflects industries unsurpassed..." Blah, blah.
Do we need to go on? This kind of fulsome self-praise never works. There are two key points to bear in mind when you're writing quotes. First, the quote needs to say something original. Just repeating what everyone else is saying about a situation isn't likely to make journalists think it will add much to their copy.
The people who tend to get quoted are often the people who take a different point of view. Or perhaps they display some expert knowledge. Or they highlight an aspect of the situation others have over-looked. So if the quote is about something others will also be commenting on, don't go for the obvious. Think of something to say that's a bit off-beat. Here's a union boss commenting on a rail company's plans to cut costs: "By axing jobs, closing dining cars, cutting ticket offices and rationing first-class passengers' biscuits and water, they will only drive passengers away."
The list of specifics, with the quirky reference to biscuits and water at the end, lifts the quote by spelling out the consequences of the company's cost cuts. The second reason why people get quoted is that they make their point of view in an original way. They reach for a phrase or, perhaps, a simile which is apposite and sums up a point of view in a memorable way. Usually, they keep it short. When space is tight, a journalist will choose the quote which packs the most information into the fewest words. Here's a government minister commenting on high pay for council bosses: "We've seen some councils change top managers like premiership football clubs, sometimes with big pay-offs for failure."
The comparison with football managers lifts the quote and links it to something that most people can relate to.
There is one other important point about quotes. If your quotee is famous or a known expert in some field, he or she is more likely to be quoted. There is a first eleven of quotees - leading politicians, some chairmen of quoted companies (no pun intended!), talkative celebrities.
But most quotees are not in the first eleven. If yours is in the second eleven (or the third), you need to work harder at what they're going to say.
There is one special danger with quotes. Some people get a reputation as a "rent-a-quote". If called by a journalist, they're prepared to saying anything about everything just to get a mention. Perhaps some of those quotes won't help the cause of the individual's organisation. In any event, people who're prepared to say anything to get into the media devalue their own credibility currency.
Quotes are part of reputation management. As Gerald Ratner - if you don't know the story just Google "jewellery prawn sandwich" - could certainly verify. Discover how to handle quotes and many other aspects of article writing at the Writing for Publication Masterclass in London on Thursday 12th March. Go to http://www.writingforpublication.co.uk/ for more details and online booking.
Five minutes with... Cliff Saran
Cliff Saran is managing editor (technology) of Computer Weekly, Britain’s biggest circulation IT newspaper.
1. What I want from PR people is…
…for them to understand how the magazine is now a multimedia platform, and perhaps work within the Web 2.0 domain - ie use Twitter, blogs, podcasts, video, etc.
2. The best way to get my attention is…
…quite simply, speak to me. Take a bit of time to find out what I like/don’t like, then suggest something innovative, clever…
3. But please don’t…
…e-mail me extra large images of execs because we don’t need to print billboard size. Large PDFs or PowerPoint decks are also banned. They will be the first to get deleted once my ludicrously small in-box fills up. Please don’t follow-up with a phone call asking if I received it because the internet is pretty reliable. You’ll know if it failed to get delivered. I receive perhaps 100-200 e-mail messages a day. PRs often complain to our admin staff that they can’t get through to me on the phone. That’s because I take about 12 calls an hour from PRs following-up press releases. Most e-mail press releases will not get a direct response from me, but I scan every message – usually the subject line - save any that are remotely relevant, and bin the rest at the end of the week.
4. When pitching a story to me…
…think hard about the client’s unique selling point. It’s usually not the fact that they have a new version of their product. Are the executives interesting? Does the product genuinely have the “wow factor”? Do you have high quality case studies with people lined up who can talk eloquently about what they have been doing?
5. If you’re sending a press release…
…use the subject line to pitch the story. Send a link to the full information with downloadable images, PowerPoint slides, PDF documents, etc. Perhaps use something like a Twitter feed with TinyURLs to the full info. If it can’t be said in 140 characters then it’s not worth pitching!
6. The most successful PR people…
…understand the publication and what type of stories work. In my experience, they seem to be very good at keeping in touch with journalists and pitching relevant ideas. A long-term professional relationship built on trust and mutual respect is key.
If you’d like to refine your skills at pitching ideas to journalists, why not come to the Perfect Pitch Masterclass in London on Thursday 30th April 2009? More details and online booking at www.perfectpitchmasterclass.co.uk
How Fogs helps Oban see more clearly
Kaila Krayewski, communications manager of Oban Multilingual Strategy, describes how a research project sparked a controversy – and lots of media coverage
As a multilingual search engine optimisation company, our service offerings are quite technical. So we wanted to find a way to engage with the general public. In the process, we found that a single word can start a controversy and gain a lot of media coverage.
We devised a competition called the Face of Global Search (or Fogs, as we affectionately know it), in which participants play an online flash game. They had to answer questions about their online search habits to advance to the next level. Our aim was to discover how online search behaviours differ internationally.
The competition was extremely popular and garnered plenty of coverage in the mainstream and trade press. More importantly, a large number of people took part and this allowed us to compile results that revealed a variety of international online search trends. We also spent a day in London, interviewing international travellers and asking them how they used the internet to research their London trip.
Our results were telling. One of the most interesting findings was that international travellers are often unable to find good quality content in their own language, and so are forced to search in English even if it’s their second (or third) language. We were able to use results like these, combined with past research and our own analysis, to write insightful articles about how international travellers engage with the internet.
One of the most trusted sources in the travel industry, E-hotelier, published every article in the Fogs results series (there were five). From there, our coverage snowballed. We found our articles on Travel Mole, Travolution, Travel Trade Gazette, and even in the European Commission’s New Media Review newsletter.
While most of the coverage was positive, it did generate some debate. For example, prominent web reporter Christopher Elliott blogged about Oban's finding that international travellers are not being catered for by travel websites offering English-only content. He called this “discrimination”, which was not what we’d intended. Elliott’s views provoked significant debate with many people arguing that it’s unjust to call English-only content discriminatory.
We considered jumping in to explain that we had never used the word “discrimination”, but we thought the better of it. The aim of our competition was to get people thinking and talking more about the multicultural, multilingual web, and we were happy to have achieved that aim.
What we learned from that experience is that sometimes it takes a provocative word, such as “discrimination”, to stimulate debate - and that the debate may not always favour your side, but at least people are talking about the issue.
Overall, the Fogs competition was an entertaining and profitable experience that allowed us to engage with people whom many multilingual search engine optimisation companies find hard to reach (and often can’t be bothered to try!). The very act of doing so, and creating an engaging topic out of a very technical process (referring to multilingual SEO), was what made the media so interested in what we were doing.
We are looking forward to organising another successful Fogs competition this year, something we hope to become an annual Oban tradition.
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Contents
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Diary dates:
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Training events for PR and marketing professionals:
Thursday 12th March: Writing for Publication Masterclass
How to write news stories and feature articles that editors want to publish
More: www.writingforpublication.co.uk
Friday 13th March: Perfect Public Relations Masterclass, London
A practical workshop for organisations that want to win more of their own media coverage
More: www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk
Thursday 30th April: Perfect Pitch Masterclass, London.
How to devise article and interview pitches that journalists really want to hear
More: www.perfectpitchmasterclass.co.uk
Tuesday 2nd June: Perfect Public Relations Masterclass, London
A practical workshop for organisations that want to win more of their own media coverage
More: www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk
Thursday 18th June: Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass
How PR and marketing consultancies can improve pitches to win more business
More: www.perfectproposals.co.uk
Wednesday 1st July: Writing for Publication Masterclass
How to write news stories and feature articles that editors want to publish
More: www.writingforpublication.co.uk
Thursday 1st October: Perfect Press Release Masterclass, London
A journalist’s eye view on how to write releases that make it into print
More: www.prmasterclass.co.uk
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Worth knowing:
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Book of the month...
The second edition of How to Make Your Case in the Media is just out. It contains the results of a survey of 75 editors and senior journalists. The results reveal some fascinating statistics – such as the fact that each week the average editor receives 51 PR pitches for contributed articles, interview opportunities or press events, such as briefings or “one-to-ones”.
Some journalists receive far more. Cliff Saran, the managing editor (technology) of Computer Weekly, reveals in the “Five minutes with….” slot in this issue, that he’s picking up the phone about 12 times a hour to PR people – many of whom are calling to ask if he’s received a press release.
New material in the book focuses on the top 10 reasons why editors turn down pitches. The most common is that the pitch is simply irrelevant to the publication. There is no substitute for getting under an editor’s skin and genuinely understanding what he or she wants.
It’s not surprising that PR people look at issues from their clients’ point of view. That’s what they’re paid for. But, usually, the trick of pitching a great article or interview idea is to look at the subject from the editor’s point of view. And that involves thinking about what the readers of the newspaper, magazine or website would find interesting. If you can’t confidently answer the question “why would readers of this publication want to know about this?” you need to think some more about it before making the pitch.
How to Make Your Case in the Media contains 67 checklists – on everything from seven personal qualities needed by spokespeople to five mistakes to avoid in an interview. You can read chapter one free online and buy the book (£14.95 plus £1.95 delivery) at www.makeyourcase.co.uk.
Piggy back
The idea of “piggy backing” on a news story – linking your PR offering to the broader news agenda with the aim of getting more coverage – is often a good one. But it has some downsides.
One of these is that it’s not usually a good idea to try and piggy back on any story which has an element of human suffering or tragedy. So the publisher’s marketing executive who sought to gain mileage for its book on handling a child’s death by linking to the sad loss of Tory leader David Cameron’s son was being, at the very least, insensitive.
They got some coverage – sour little paragraphs commenting on their crass conduct. The publisher issued an apology and it was reported that the person responsible had been suspended.
The lesson from this sad little episode is clear: if you’re planning to piggy-back on a bigger story, make sure your link is clear and positive. And most definitely resist the temptation to become exploitative.
Pee R
Having a chairman or chief executive, such as Richard Branson or Alan Sugar, who becomes a media personality can be worth zillions in PR value to a company.
But their value partly depends on their not becoming a motormouth. So when Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary blurted out that the airline was considering introducing an inflight charge of a pound for using the lavatory, he handed journalists a story which has circled the globe faster than his planes. And not necessarily to Ryanair’s PR advantage.
A few days after the story broke the quite complex Google search “Michael O’Leary pound for a pee” was throwing up 4,870 hits. They revealed that the story had made it into such diverse media as the Irish Times, Daily Star, Times of India, Qatar Living, USA Today, Fox News and Aviation Week.
There are two PR lessons from this incident. First, if you’ve got a sensitive announcement to make, release it carefully – don’t let it escape. Secondly, never give a journalist a chance to make lavatory puns. You won’t be flushed with success. (Sorry!)
D-I-Y PR
When IT networks support specialist SAS UK started to do its own public relations, rather than using an agency, it increased the coverage it was receiving by 182 per cent within two years – and lopped a hefty £65,000 a year off its PR bill.
Boutique hotel travel company Mr & Mrs Smith spends £100,000 a year handling its own PR – but reckons it would have to spend three times as much to get the same results from an outside consultant.
These companies have discovered that it’s possible to get great results from public relations without breaking the bank. It’s a formula which more firms, especially SMEs, will be seeking as the credit crunch bites and marketing budgets are shredded. Some will do their own PR while others might seek help from a consultancy – or even adopt a hybrid approach.
But, whatever the approach, when cash is short, the emphasis is on value for money. SAS UK has just two people working on its PR since it took the job in-house two years ago. Sheila Parry, head of corporate communications, says having the PR people inside the company means they know more about what works and what doesn’t. “We understand far better what we are doing. We measure everything very precisely and are able to do that because we have control.”
Parry says that it’s been easier to make good contacts with the journalists who matter. “I think the fact that journalists can get hold of us quickly and we don’t mess them around is important,” she says. She agrees that as well as delivering results, keeping a lid on costs is important. “We have to cost-justify everything we do and we don’t spend unnecessarily,” she adds.
At Mr & Mrs Smith – the main brand name for Spy Publishing Ltd – managing director James Lohan admits that winning press coverage for delightful boutique hotels in charming locations is a lot easier than garnering column inches for, say, light bulbs. “Sometimes you’ll have a product that doesn’t have the legs to get into the papers,” he warns.
However, even when the product and brand is strong, Lohan says that it’s still important to focus on PR basics, such as contacting journalists with relevant information, in order to win that all important media exposure. And as the credit crunch bites, the company’s media activity is becoming more selective. “We’re concentrating on PR strategies that deliver results,” he says.
The Perfect Public Relations Masterclass is a day-long course for in-house PR people to he held on March 13th and again on June 2nd. To find out more and make a booking online go to www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk
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Contact details
We hope you find this newsletter of interest. If you have any queries or would like to make a suggestion about future content, please contact New Venture Publishing using the contact details below.
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Tel: +44 1273 565505. E-mail: info@newventurepublishing.co.uk
© New Venture Publishing Ltd 2010. All rights reserved.
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