Posts Tagged ‘media’

More Tips for Handling Media Interviews

Here are two more techniques for handling media interviews.

Lead the reporter on.

Simply add a phrase at the end of a response, leading the reporter to the next, obvious question. For example:

“That’s not all.”

“Here’s how this might play out.”

“There is much more to this story.”

The reporter typically will ask for more information. “Tell me more.” “Can you give an example?” And then you’re on your way, presenting your messages.

 Redirect the question.

 Here you start with a verbal stop to shield yourself from an unwanted question. Examples of verbal stops are:

“Actually…”

“In fact…”

“In reality….”

Then make your point, possibly explaining why you can’t answer the original question.

No technique works all the time, but these techniques can help you through a challenging interview and raise your chances for success.

 Some material for this article came from the article “Sneak Peeks and Deflections: How they Can Raise Your Spokespeople’s Performance,” by Ed Barks (Public Relations Tactics, November 2012).

Product Reviews I Have Known

I have watched, with interest, as Tesla has defended itself against a negative product review in The New York Times.

Until recently, this could have been disastrous, but Musk took to Twitter. Of course, he had an advantage. The car’s data-monitoring system indicated the reviewer undercharged the battery, didn’t set the cruise control to 54 m.p.h. to save energy as he had claimed, and cranked up the heat as the charge faded.

Only time will tell whether consumers believe Musk’s tweets (and the tweets of other Tesla fans) more than they believe the photo of the Tesla being loaded into a flatbed.

The episode reminded me of experiences I’ve had with product reviews over the years. These reviews happened before sites like Amazon became powerhouse review resources, and before online social networking gave companies a real chance to fight back.

They happened when we had few options to fight a poor review. Sure, we could (and did) complain to the reviewer, refuse to participate in future reviews, explain our side of the story to our customers and business partners, and pitch other reviews to other publications. But in those days, we couldn’t take our case directly to the public as Musk has done with the Tesla review.

Here are some stories.

In one case, my client fired the technical contact we had given the publication, but let him stay on the job for two weeks. (An interesting concept, indeed.) In that timeframe, the reviewer called and the tech contact trashed the product. The reviewer believed him. The resulting review said that my client’s technology product was good as a door stop, little else. And our subsequent contacts with the editor got us nowhere.

Then there was the competitive review when the AT&T business phone got an “A” and all the competing phones (including my client’s) got “C’s.” The phones were very similar; we thought they were all “B’s.” Then we learned that the reviewer (a freelancer the magazine had hired for the review) was an award-winning reseller for AT&T. We notified the magazine, saying that we did not feel the review was fair because the reviewer had a vested interest. (The magazine ignored us.) We – and all the other companies in the first review – refused to participate in other reviews in that publication. But a new company did and the result was the same: an “A” for AT&T and a “C” for the other product. (Note: this is not to disparage AT&T which, in all likelihood, did not know about the subterfuge.)

Another time a competitor contacted a reporter, pretending to be “just an interested end-user.” The competitor said he had tested several products, and gave his “test” results to the reporter. The gullible reporter printed the information only to learn that the “interested end-user” had a vested interest indeed, and that the highest ranking product came from his company. The editor was duly embarrassed, and I doubt that the offending company ever got coverage in that magazine again. (My client’s product was not included in the “test,” so experienced neither a positive or negative impact from the episode.)

And a final example. We were promoting a home-networking product that was designed for the latest computer hardware and software. For some inexplicable reason, the reviewer decided to cobble together a network from used computer parts and outdated products for his test bed. Not surprisingly, my client’s product–and all the products in the review–got poor marks because they were all geared for up-to-date technology, not left-overs from previous years. The products made these perfectly clear in their user manuals. Again, we contacted the magazine to explain the discrepancy and ask for a new review, to no avail.  

Today, I often check reviews before making a purchase, especially a technology product. I know how flawed the system can be, and yet it still helps to see what people think about a product. And some sites, such as CNET, PCMag.com and Consumers’ Reports, have good reputations for objectivity.

I am glad they have. And I am happy I now can respond if the review is totally off base.

Some Telling Statistics re the Media

• The Pew Research Center indicates that confidence in traditional media has decreased every year during the past 10 years.
• Fully 46 percent of the U.S. public gets their news online at least once a week while a third (32 percent) seeks out online news every day.
• 25 million people record and watch major evening newscasts, but only 8 percent of the 315 million U.S. population tunes in.
• About 93 percent of the U.S. population claims that they listen to radio at some point during the day.
• Nielsen estimates that there are nearly 180 million blogs in the world.
• Blogger software service WordPress says that it adds another 100,000 daily.
• And PR professionals now outnumber journalists 4:1.

These are some of the sobering statistics in the article “Sourcing Information: the Impact of ‘Pageview Journalism’” in Public Relations Tactics (March 2013, Public Relations Society of America).

What does all that mean?

I think it means both challenges and opportunities.

Challenges because:

• It is certainly harder and harder for PR professionals to reach journalists.
• It is harder for professional journalists to reach their intended audiences.
• Media and sources of information are more and more fragmented.
• Credibility is definitely threatened.
• Traditional (mainstream) media is shrinking.
• Gullibility is both rampant (witness all the online scams) and extinct (witness the lack of confidence in traditional media).
• The opportunities for inaccurate information to go viral increase each day.
• The need for analysis will increase.

Opportunities because:

• Organizations have more ways to reach their “publics” directly.
• PR professionals can definitely take up the slack in terms of research and preparation of good stories, visuals and the like.
• Traditional media needs the help of PR professionals, probably more than ever before.
• As stated earlier, the need for analysis—for someone to put the factoids into context—will become greater and greater. Another opportunity for PR professionals to shine.

What will happen in the next few years? Probably an acceleration of the trends (e.g., fragmentation of the media, dearth of context and analysis, decrease in the number and quality of traditional media outlets) that have created our present situation. And what that will bring about, I hesitate to speculate.

Publicity Opportunities with Observances in July

As you may know, I’m a fan of capitalizing on observances to generate publicity. The trick is to find and capitalize on the ones that fit your product or service. By tying your product or service into something bigger, you increase your chance for publicity and attention.

It is important to think ahead and plan such tie-ins. We all know that July has Independence Day. But there are a lot of other lesser-known (and more targeted) observances. For example, did you know that July is Cell Phone Courtesy Month?

What could you do with that? Well, if you have any connection with cell phones (e.g., a retailer or a cell phone service provider) or with business, you could consider generating publicity by:

• Holding a contest asking people to write in their cell phone pet peeves
• Writing up tips on good cell phone etiquette
• Developing your own “top 10” list of pet peeves
• And…

Get the idea? Here are some other potential observances for the month of July:

• Cell phone courtesy month (www.etiquetteexpert.com/cellphone.html)
• National Make a Difference to Children Month (www.kimratz.com/madtc.html)
• Smart Irrigation Month (www.smartirrigationmonth.org )
• National Ice Cream Month

Here are some individual days celebrated in July:

• July 1, 1862: Bureau of Internal Revenue Established (a good excuse for accountants to get into the news again)
• July 1, 1847: First U.S. Postage Stamps Issued
• July 1, 1968: Medicare Went into Effect
• July 1: Second Half of the New Year Day (A midyear checkpoint)
• July 2, 2002: First Solo Round-the-world Balloon Flight
• July 2: Made in the USA Day (www.madeusafdn.org)
• July 4: Independence Day (Of course)
• July 7: Father-Daughter Take a Walk Together Day (great for family counselors, teachers, personal trainers)
• July 20: Toss Away the “Could Haves” and “Should Haves” Day www.jirehpublishers.com
• July 27: Walk on Stilts Day (www.stiltwalker.com) (A discussion about “stretching yourself”?)
• July 28: Anniversary of the Start of World War I

You can learn more about these and other observances through Chase’s Calendar of Events, which is available at Amazon and at other leading book stores.

Eight Ways to Announce Products (Part 2)

In my previous post, I discussed these five ways to announce a product:

• Blog
• Special Interest group
• Barebones
• Minimalist
• Web conference
  

Here are three other ways to make an announcement.

#6: Trade Shows

I am not a fan of introducing products at trade shows, but it can make sense in some circumstances. If that is your case, I recommend arranging one-on-one interviews. Start contacting reporters and analysts about six weeks before the show (depending on its size and type) and give them enough information to get them interested, but not enough so they could report on the story without seeing you.

Depending on the type of product, you might find a way to make the “pitch” illustrate the product benefit. For example, a 3-D imaging company sent the media invitations that needed 3-D glasses to read. The company was almost overwhelmed with media attention, in spite of competition from much larger, better-known companies at the trade show.

Another possibility is to announce your product before the show. Many publications and websites have “show preview” issues. Generally you’ll get better coverage in those than you would in the after-show articles when you’re competing with everyone else.

#7: Press Conferences

I am also not a fan of press conferences. By definition, they require significant news and important people. Few announcements qualify.

However, if yours does, make sure you invite the media in plenty of time. Schedule the conference early in the day. Put out fewer chairs than you expect attendees, so it can look as if you’ve generated more interest than expected as you pull out more chairs. Practice the presentation and review possible questions. Videotape the presentation for use on the website afterwards and, for that matter, for a way to evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation.

#8: Media Tours

A media tour means you travel to the reporters to meet them in their offices. This can be very time-consuming, but can yield enormous benefits. After all, the reporters like the fact that you take the time and trouble to visit them. You get one-on-one face time in a fairly controlled environment, and you can tailor your presentation for the individual reporter.

Start at least two months beforehand, contacting the reporters and analysts. Get a good (no, a great) travel agent to help with logistics. And recognize that things will go wrong. (In one case, the company spokesperson and I were in a traffic accident while en route to a live TV appearance in Boston. We made it…with about 20 seconds to spare!)

A Final Note

In all this, I’m assuming that you have your other announcement “ducks in a row, e.g., that you have notified the appropriate people internally and externally, that you are supporting the launch through your social media channels, and the like.

 

Eight Ways to Announce New Products (Part 1)

 New products are the lifeblood of many companies. They can provide the bulk of the revenue, and give the company the opportunity to become better known.

Yet getting media attention for new products is difficult, if only because so many new products are announced each year.

Even given the product “noise,” however, it is possible to effectively publicize new products. Here are eight approaches to publicizing a new product.

Note: I’m assuming you’ve already done your homework. You’ve studied the competition and market. You have set your goals for the announcement, and developed your positioning statement and messages.

So now you’re considering the importance of the product, the size of your budget, your timeframe, and other priorities as you decide on your announcement method.

Here are five approaches you might consider, arranged in the approximate order of difficulty. I’ll give three more approaches in my next post.

#1: Blog Announcement

Probably the simplest approach is to just make your announcement in your blog. Companies like Tesla and Netflix have been doing this very successfully. Of course, this only works if you have a large enough following to make an impact, which probably means your company is big enough (or interesting enough) to “make waves” whenever you announce something. And, if you are a public company, you need to abide by all SEC rulings regarding disclosure. But that is another topic.

#2: Specialized Group Announcement

Another approach is to simply make the announcement to a special-interest group. For example, a software company could announce a new version to the user groups devoted to its software.

This is certainly simple and probably can stimulate sales quickly. However, it has the disadvantage of “preaching to the choir.” The approach decidedly limits the scope and reach of the announcement.

#3: Barebones Announcement

For the barebones announcement, you would write a good release and distribute it over a wire service and individually to the media who are particularly important to you.

If your news is newsworthy and your release well-written, this may all you need to do. This is all I did years ago when I was announcing a new online service. Within 24 hours, Fidelity Investments had called my client and signed up for a trial.

#4: Minimalist Announcement

One simple way to augment the barebones announcement is by doing some telephone and local media interviews. For this to work, you need to contact the reporters before the announcement. (Don’t be like the company that, after it had made an announcement, contacted me to see if I would pitch the story to “my friends in the media.” Too late.)

If you are going to do interviews, make sure you train your spokesperson. Plan how you’ll approach the announcement. Think about the questions the media might ask and decide how you would answer them.

#5: Web conference

Web conferences are relatively inexpensive, provide a way to pace people through a presentation or demo, and enable people to interact in real time. They also let you reach people in different areas easily and cost-effectively.

However, it’s important that the web conference go smoothly. Incorporate as many visual elements as possible. Do not commit “death by Powerpoint” and subject your audience to word slide after word slide.

Include as many interactive elements (e.g., surveys) as possible. Encourage people to send in questions, and explain up front when they will be answered (e.g., as they come in, at the end of the presentation). Also encourage people to contact you afterwards, and follow up with the attendees after the fact.

These five are some of the simplest and least-expensive ways to announce a product. I’ll discuss three other, more complex ways in my next post.

Get Publicity by Tying into Observances in May

From Groundhog Day to an Elvis anniversary, it can seem that every day is earmarked for one observation or another. Sometimes it is well-known (e.g., Mother’s Day). Other observances are much more specific and sometimes even obscure.

Observances, however, offer a good opportunity for publicity. The trick is to find and capitalize on the ones that fit your product or service. By tying your product or service into something bigger, you increase your chance for publicity and attention.

For an offbeat example, Limerick Day (May 12^th) provides the opportunity for a school to run a limerick competition, giving them a chance to promote the school’s creative writing department.

While not tied to a specific day, the English Department at San Jose State University has successfully run a similar competition since 1982. The whimsical Bulwer-Lytton contest, which challenges entrants to “compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels,” gets entries from all over the world.

Get the idea? Here are some other potential observances for the month of May:

• Arthritis Awareness Month, www.arthritis.org
• National Bike Month, www.bikeleague.org
• Gardening for Wildlife Month, www.nwf.org
• Get Caught Reading Month, www.GetCaughtReading.org
• Gifts from the Garden Month, www.gardenlady.com
• International Victorious Woman Month, www.victoriouswoman.com
• National Meditation Month, www.thedeepcalm.com
• National Family Month, www.familymonth.net
• National Moving Month
• National Photo Month, www.pmai.org

Here are some observations that last either a day or a week:

• Executive Coaching Day (May 1)
• Keep Kids Alive: Drive 25 Day (May 1)
• Labor Day (May 1)
• National Return to Work Week (May 12-18)
• Anniversary of the release of the movie “Star Wars” (May 25, 1977)

These are taken from 2013 Chase’s Calendar of Events, a resource I highly recommend. Note: Neither Chase nor I warrant this information. So if something here “fits” your product or service, I recommend you check with the sponsors to see if the observation is still being promoted.

 Good luck!

Ten Ways to Make Your New Product Stand Out in the Crowd (Part 2)

In my last post, I covered five ways to improve the effectiveness of your product launch:

• Involve the reporters, readers or viewers.
• Provide product samples.
• Arrange product reviews.
• Enlarge the announcement.
• Position the announcement as part of a trend.

Here are five more time-tested techniques to help your new product stand out in the crowd.

6. Prepare good visuals.

Editors of both online and offline publications need good visuals. Put some thought into an innovative photo or a good, eye-catching diagram. Some companies are using infographics to introduce their products, bypassing the traditional news release altogether.

Over the years, I’ve used everything from regular screen shots and “people pictures” to turn-of-the century ads and original cartoons. Almost always, those visuals have paid off handsomely in significant coverage.

7. Report on the product’s benefits

Make the product’s usefulness, purpose and benefit central to the story. When Roku and Netflix introduced the Netflix Player by Roku™, they emphasized that the device “enables Netflix subscribers to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV.” They also pointed out that “the player is simple to install, easy to use and gives Netflix members instant access to more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes.”

The two companies did not describe the intricacies of the technology, or the details of their partnership. Instead they focused on what the viewer would get from the device.

8. Use the Web.

Capitalize on online tools. Before the announcement “seed” the announcement by participating in online industry or consumer groups related to the product. Respond to questions and offer advice freely. This will help position you as an expert, which will help your credibility come announcement time.

On announcement day, distribute the release over a wire service. Post information on LinkedIn and, if appropriate, Facebook, Pinterest and the like. Tweet your announcement. Provide all product information – visuals, demos, video – online. And, at bare minimum, post your announcement on your website. It may seem too obvious to mention, but it is overlooked only too often.

9. Capitalize on the media’s plans.

Monitor editorial calendars (listings of feature articles that the media has planned). It’s possible the editors are planning to cover a topic that might “fit” your product.

For example, I pitched a case study to an editor who had scheduled a story on construction management. The article, which covered 75 percent of a tabloid-size page, appeared before we had even formally launched my client’s construction management software, greatly enhancing the announcement that followed.

10. Present a historical perspective.

A “look backwards” can be a fun way to generate interest. We used that technique to introduce a treatment for menstrual cramps. I researched turn-of-the-century treatments and discovered Lydia Pickham’s Pink Pills (which were mainly alcohol). We included copies of Lydia’s ads in our press materials. (The copyright had expired.) Those ads were featured in dozens of articles and TV programs, increasing the general appeal of the announcement.

In short, think about how you can enhance your product announcement. Sometimes a little extra thought and care can dramatically increase your publicity.

Eight Ways to Market a Service Business (part 3)

In my two previous posts, I discussed six ways to market a service business:

• Develop a good website
• Use LinkedIn
• Consider Facebook
• Develop story ideas
• Track editorial calendars
• Capitalize on “opportunistic PR”

Here are two more time-tested techniques.

Develop effective visuals.

There is incredible competition for space in magazines and newspapers except for good visuals. Editors need photographs or illustrations to draw attention to the text, break up the page visually, and help tell the story. And the need for good visuals is as acute online as off.

Start a file of photographs or illustrations that catch your eye and tell a story. They may spark ideas when you need some inspiration.

If you’re planning to get a photograph taken, first sketch out what you want it to say.

Also consider infographics, diagrams, charts and the like, all of which can be incredibly effective. For example, a pharmaceutical firm developed a board-game-like diagram that illustrated the FDA approval cycle. I saw that illustration more than a decade ago, but still remember it because it was so effective.

Create news.

You may not routinely have news, but you can “create news.” So hold a contest. Take a survey. Celebrate an anniversary. Announce a list.

Depending on the type of news you create, you may have several publicity opportunities:

• Announcing the contest, event and the like.
• Reminding people of the deadline or event date.
• Announcing the list, or the contest results and winners.
• Inviting the media to the event.
• Providing pictures to the media.

Write letters to the editor and editorials.

One of the most obvious—and often overlooked—opportunity is a letter to the editor. It’s a standing joke in some editorial circles that the best writing is in the letter to the editor section. That popular section is often better read than many other sections.

One important item: you have the best chance for pick-up if you tie the letter directly into the news or a recent article, and submit your letter in a timely manner.

Another good outlet is a guest editorial. Most newspapers use editorials, as do many business journals, some magazines and some online publications. You can submit an abstract (a paragraph describing your idea) first, but usually publications want to see the finished editorial.

Conclusion

I hope by now you see that, although success is not automatic, it is possible to market a service business. Try some of these ideas and let me know your results.

Eight Ways to Market a Service Business (part 2)

In my previous post, I covered three ways to market a service business:

• Develop a good website
• Use LinkedIn
• Consider Facebook.

Here are three more time-tested techniques.

Develop story ideas

Developing story ideas can be an effective way to ingratiate yourself with the media. Face it. Reporters are typically overworked and underpaid. They appreciate it when someone does some of their work for them.

Develop a few ideas so if the reporter doesn’t like the first one, you can suggest another story. “How to’s” are often good, as are stories about trends and personalities.

For example, for a physical therapy client, I pitched a story on back pain: its causes, prevention and treatment. I researched some statistics and outlined potential questions. The pitch was successful; my client was interviewed for an hour on the largest radio station West of the Mississippi.

Track editorial calendars.

An editorial calendar is a schedule of the topics a publication plans to cover over a period of time. You can often find this information on the publication’s website, usually in the advertising or media kit section.

Research the editorial calendars of publications that are most important to you. Then prepare your own summary calendar with the:

• Publication’s name
• Articles you are interested in
• Section where the topic is scheduled to appear (e.g., cover story) and
• Issue date.

Contact the editor of a monthly publication about five months before the publication date, about two to three months for a weekly publication. (You may be early, but better early than late.) Editorial calendars change frequently. Topics get deleted, moved or changed. By contacting the editors early, you’ll be better able to track things.

Often the editorial calendar just lists topics (e.g., “widgets”), not story angles (e.g., “the growing importance of widgets in medical imaging”). Most editors like getting story angles from readers, so develop a few ideas and contact the editors. If they do not have a specific angle in mind, present your ideas. If the publication takes contributed articles, offer to write the feature. Otherwise, offer to be a source of information for the article.

I have successfully maintained PR programs for clients based almost exclusively on “working” the editorial calendars. You can do the same.

Capitalize on “opportunistic PR.”

When working with editorial calendars, you’re working with planned articles. However, unplanned events can also be publicity opportunities.

So contact editors whenever a news event might impact your business. For example, anytime a major new computer virus is announced, representatives from Symantec, McAfee and other anti-virus software makers get quoted in the articles.

What type of event would give you that same opportunity?

I’ll give two more techniques in my next post.

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