Are You Ruining Your Own Image?

Here's the thing, you shouldn't mix business with pleasure. In the publicity world, this can be very hard to do.  You have to create relationships with people but you have to keep it professional. Does this mean you don't go out for drinks after an event with your co-managers from different marketing and event teams? No. Does this mean you get black-out drunk, make-out with the cute AR from a competing agency, and tell your client what's up via YouTube? Heck, no!

Publicity people can turn on you. I don't care how loyal you think they are. Making friends with other industry insiders isn't advised unless you know that person for at least five years! The same goes for any other industry peers. You need to maintain your professional edge all of the time with everyone, even when out in social situations.

I recently ran into a junior AR who was mortified when her drunken client rant from an industry night went on YouTube and then was sent directly to her client account. "But the video was on my personal FB page," was her explanation to me. Really? And she didn't think the guy from the competing company - the one who wants her client account- wouldn't swipe it off her personal page and pull this trick? Remember, not everyone is PRSA certified!

Always be friendly but professional when working- even at social "after work" events!

Until Monday (yes, there isn't a blog tomorrow- Happy Halloween),

Velma Trayham

Reputation Building & PR

A bad PR move can ruin your brand, even with the best public relations teams on board! So, why is it that Tylenol, Charlie Sheen, and others survive scandal where many others (sometimes worse off or not) fail? Well, it is all about reputation.

I know what you're thinking... there's no way I just used the phrase "Charlies Sheen" and "Reputation" in the same sentence and in a positive manner! The truth is that people love him regardless of whatever shenanigans or Tiger Blood he produces. People still take Tylenol in spite of the major scare so many years ago.

Reputation management has to be built long before a crisis ever takes place. Why? So when a crisis does take place, the crisis communication aspect of publicity actually works. This said, there are three rules every publicist follows when working with reputation management. I've listed them below;

1. First, don't assume people care about your press release, media kit, or other collateral.  Guess what, if the media doesn't spin it or it doesn't go viral- people don't really care, and if they do- only until the next breaking news story comes along. Reputation management is about likability and making people care about you, your client, or your brand.

2.  Second, don't assume what you or your client says can't or won't be taken out of context. It will. Some stringer journalist will look to make a name of him or herself. Make sure you have a plan to deal with these types of reporters ahead of time. Know what you can and can't do when responding to this legally and from a PR POV.

3. Play the relationship / favor card. You will have to bite the bullet here. If you have a really green client, reporters may not see their media value. You may have to trade a feature with a major client to get small clippings for the yet-to-be major client.

I hope this information helps you. Contact me, however, if you have any questions.

Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham

Do Your PR Efforts Measure Up?

 I recently spoke about the benefits of measuring public relations  efforts. Many PR people are afraid to run a publicity report. Why? The PR report can help you gain better contracts, more money, and more respect within your industry. If you are afraid to run a metrics report then you know you are doing something wrong or under-serving your clients.

Here are a couple of ways to measure PR efforts for you “Do-It Yourself’ers” out there.

1.       Surveys - Ask relevant questions and tally results. Yes, survey results count as part of reporting. In fact, it is a major role if your client isn’t a B2B client.

2.       Scores - Create indices or scoring mechanisms to identify valuable outcomes and results, recognizing quantity (volume of media hits) and quality (scoring for content feature, prominence and mention).

3.       Correlations - Identify correlations between outputs, outcomes and business results. Track public relations events with lead generation (online, email, phone, events) and track public relations events with web traffic.

There are some online applications that can run your social media and clipping reports too, but you often have to pay for these. Yes, they are expensive.

Even if you have to create and keep reporting data in a spreadsheet, do it! Not sending clipping reports or reel reports- heck, any report, can shortchange both you and your client.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

Journalists Wet the Bed!

I was recently asked by a public relations and communications student if having a relationship with a journalist matters. The answer is yes and no. If you ask a journalist, he or she will say - on the record, of course- that it doesn't matter. The journalist will tell you that everything in life is fair and that they treat every single press release with the same consideration.

If you ask someone like me, the answer is 'yes'. Relationships do matter. They matter because it is easier to call up someone you know and get your pitch moved forward vs. a cold call- or worse- a press release via email.

Journalists can't promote something based solely on a relationship. But, they can vet it based on the relationship. A publicist is a sales person. He or she must sell the pitch in spite of the relationship, which is where a journalist may "wet the bed" in industry speak.  If a PR person fails to follow AP style or is pitching something that isn't timely or has media value, then the relationship doesn't matter. If the publicist has something with media value to pitch, then the relationship does matter.

The truth is, media -in general- has more than 50 shades of gray when it comes to rules, policies, and relationships. I saw trust your gut and always be honest.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

3 PR Tools Worth Having

Happy Friday. I was recently asked a question about what PR tools are worth having. Well, there are a lot of select from when it comes to publicity tools and apps. However, I will say that the follow three are "must haves" for newbies and seasoned PR professionals.

1. PitchRate. This free service connects journalists with topic experts – such as small business owners – for free media coverage. HARO is good, but PitchRate delivers results!

2. Zemanta. Basically, this is a blog service on steroids. The service will index your marketing content for multiple Content Ad formats. It saves you tons of time and is worth signing up for.

3. Aminstitute.com. This clever website helps you develop the perfect headline for your next release or ad campaign. Oh, it is free too! You want to write in AP style, but you want to capture emotion- this website tool helps you do both.

Until Monday,

Velma Trayham

Wendy Feldman Is Wrong!

I read an article earlier today that really upset me. Why? Well, a well-known crisis management publicist attacked her former client on Twitter. There is a line of respect that should navigate your professional as a publicist- even when you are upset with a client or former client. I always tell up and coming PR professionals to handle unruly clients in court. It is the easiest way to stop them in their tracks- I mean by hitting them in their pocket book.
But I'm not so sure the crisis management publicists, Wendy Feldman, meant to hurt her client when she went on the attack. After all, she is a publicist and in launching the attack, her Twitter followers grew and so did her company's brand. So, was this a strategic move at the former client's expense? I think so!

Among other celebrities, Wendy Feldman formally represented Teresa Giudice of the Real Housewives of New Jersey.  She fired Giudice and then she took to Twitter and spoke with several media resources on the firing.  She conveniently told Page Six, "“This relationship was filled with more problems than usual clients have because of the constant refusal of Teresa to accept responsibility for the smallest thing. This may be due to poor prior advice and so a coping mechanism or just plain denial. In any event, federal prison is no joke and must be navigated with extreme care. In the end that wasn’t done and so the relationship had to take a new direction.”

Clients and publicists will have disagreements. They may even have to terminate the relationship. But, dirty laundry should never be aired. Period.

Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham

Why You Shouldn't Be Kind!

There are two types of PR clients. Those who pay you to do your job, council when needed, and help promote growth. Then there are those clients who pay you to say their ideas are great, never challenge what isn't working, and sit and listen to them blab on about how great they are.....

The challenge in being kind lies with the second type of client. It is not your job to be kind to clients, although there is a way of saying certain things, but rather it is your responsibility to be honest and deliver the raw truth.  Clients can become very upset when you do this. They may even drop you for a while. Don't give in and be kind. Instead, restate what you said. Mean what you say and say what you mean.

I had one client who was a celebrity. She thought things were not moving fast enough for her in the campaign. We had many prior branding challenges to deal with. Things weren't going to move fast and I told her this when the contract was signed. Two weeks in, she started to call me every day and complain. I had no choice but to not be kind and be honest. She fired me. She fired the next PR firm and then the one thereafter. A year later, she tried to hire me again. I declined the contract.

You want to work with clients who are ready and willing to hear the truth and to do whatever it takes to build their brand and promote growth. You don't want to work with clients who expect you to be the 'yes' man or women. This said, below are my tips for delivering blunt, unkind PR advice.

1. Don't be sorry... be about shine. Don't ever apologize to a client if you have nothing to apologize for. They may want to hear 'sorry' but this isn't something they are entitled to hear.

2. Back up your words with facts and data. It's hard for clients to blow off your points if you can back them up.

3. Have an exit strategy. If you know a client isn't willing to change, figure out how you are going to exit the relationship within the contract's terms.

Until next time,

Velma Trayham

The Publicist Interview

There are times when your client(s) should not give an interview. Often, you will be required to give an interview, or make a statement, to the media.  While us PR people know what advise to give to our clients when handling the media, are we able to do the same? Nerves can get the best of anyone, after all - we are human. So, how do you, a publicist, give a great interview on behalf of a client?

Here are some tips;

1. Don't jump into the interview. Ask for the reporter to meet you 30 min. prior to the interview so he or she can go over a brief history and what is new and up to date. This will help you develop a back and forth with the reporter and shake the nerves out.

2. Drive the conversation, don't answer questions. This is a big mistake for PR people because we are so used to providing facts and figures. If your client is, let's say, on trial- no comment isn't going to work. Here's an example of a great response to driving a conversation versus answering a question.

Reporter: Do you think your client is guilty?

** Don't answer 'No', instead say;

You: Of course not! I believe everyone has the right to due process and, while I know assumptions will be made, appreciate you giving me an opportunity to address the charges.  My client and I's concern is to catch whomever did this and to fully comply with police.  Has your newspaper received any tips?

Yo want to be long-winded. You want to ask as many questions as you answer. You want to be friendly and likeable.  Sticking with yes and no answers isn't always the best thing to do in crisis communication mode.

3. Research your reporter. If you can site certain alike coverage, you will gain the reporter's vanity card and be able to request edits easier, etc. Remember, PR is still a game of strategy.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

Emails & The Press... What You're Doing WRONG!

I ran into a friend who started to chew my ear off about media response. She said hardly anyone from the press replies to her emails, and- if they do - it usually is negative. You asked me what I thought she was doing wrong. Well, it isn't about what her or you are doing wrong, it is about what you're not doing right.

Contacting the press is tricky. You should follow AP standards but you shouldn't cookie-cut pitches, advisories, etc. Remember, PR is about relationships- not press releases! This said, I have 3 tips for you when it comes to writing and sending emails to the media.

1.  Your focus should be on the subject line. Press members are busy! They are pitched by people they do know and don't know 100 times a day. Plus, they receive emails from peers, their boss, publicists responding to story requests, friends, family, SPAM... their email boxes are flooded. If the email header reads "press release" or "media advisory"... don't bother sending it. You need a subject line that will stop traffic.

2.  Don't BS a reporter. They hate hype. They can spot hype a mile away. If you use any type of promotional verbs or nouns, they will not only NOT cover you- many will put you on blast via social media. Reporters like quick facts and credible resources.

3. Attach this. Reporters are not going to open an attachment. Forget it. If they're interested, they will follow a link. Yes, you need to provide two links in your email. One that goes to the media advisory or press release with more information and one that goes to the online media kit.

Remember, you can mess up on AP style, you can pitch the wrong reporter (who will send it to the right reporter almost always),  and you can accidentally toss in a spelling error or two- and still get your story covered. Journalists can forgive bad style if the story is good. But, if you're not doing the basics right (see above), they will never even open the pitch.

Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has hired Burson-Marsteller

I recently read all the nasty brand hitting Burson-Marsteller  is taking on behalf of its new client,  Texas Health Presbyterian. Wow, what some PR agents have to go through.

Typically, medical clients are a hard sell for the publicity teams who represent them. But, it doesn't have to be this way. In life, there are always exceptions to the rule. While Burson-Marsteller has an uphill battle for its client (which hired a PR firm way late in the game), all is not lost.

I'm sure Burson-Marsteller is going to implement these two rules (below), so why am I sharing them with you? Well, they are PR secrets that only season professionals implement during a time of crisis. Since this is a learning blog, it is important for me to share with both clients and professionals what steps need to be taken during these situations.

First, state a positive position on non-paying clients. Why? Well, there are already racist accusations and poor-hating statements on social media. The medical group needs to make a public statement on how it handles patients with no insurance and cite examples of its quality-control committee reviews in relation to paying (insured) and non-paying patients. This is damage control 101.

Second, host a town hall meeting with employees. Reporters are going to seek out employees to comment. Smart reporters are not going to the PR firm at this point. They want quotes - even if anonymous- to support sensationalized headlines. Reporters will find disgruntled employees to speak with before contacting the medical firm's pr team.   A town hall meeting can help address what would happen if non-aligned statements or concerns leak to the media before internal resources.

Cover ups shouldn't happen, but accidents do. Handling these situations from a media perspective can be a challenge. Remember, control the message and accentuate the positives.

Until Monday,

Velma Trayham

What Would Velma Do?

I want to start a series called "WWVD?" - basically, What Would Velma Do!  I get many, many questions throughout the day on branding and publicity. I want to reserve this series to every Friday. So, let's jump right into it!

Today's question is as follows, "Hey Velma, What do you do when your clients don't understand how to navigate Twitter?"

Answer- simple, education. Many publicists assume their clients know as much, or at least 50%, of them. This isn't true and you have to remember this. Unfortunately, many publicist don't educate their clients on what they are doing and why. First, you should always do this so your clients know your value. Second, you should do this so your clients know what they shouldn't do. I recently had a client who would post on Twitter about their services.... over and over again. This isn't going to get any traction as far as the brand itself and there is no ROI coming from these types of posts. So, I called the client and educated him on how to use Twitter and why.

So, today's thought is aimed at education. When you educate your clients on how to do certain things, or why you're doing certain things a certain way, you prove your value.

Until Monday,

Velma Trayham

PR & Emails

I promise you there isn't a day that goes by you, as a publicist, will not book a media event via email. Gone are the days of setting up conference calls and shared faxes with event planners to work out junket credentials.

This said, media confirmation emails need to be treated differently than regular emails. So, I am providing my top two tips on emailing the media to confirm media bookings.

First, be brief but provide information. We tend to believe people can read our minds... they can't. Press emails shouldn't be longer than five sentences and they should include the who, what, where, why, and how information- always.

Second, follow up. Journalists and publicists are busy people. Sending your email and then re-forwarding it within the same 24 hour period gets under the skin of many professionals. They are not sitting at their desks waiting to respond to you..... so, if it has been longer than 24 hours- make a phone call to follow up. Be polite. If you're aggressive, kiss your media opportunity goodbye.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

Selling PR - What You NEED to Know

When people don't see the value in public relations, they don't see the dollars they are missing out on. Publicity is a long-term, layered process. You need to build a relationship to be in the game, not just send out a few releases and Tweets over the period of a couple of months.

So, how do you get a client to realize all that you do for him, her, or them when it comes to publicity? Simple, you simply say "yes" followed by "and then."  This tactic has been used for years by Wolves of Wall Street.  It is pretty effective because it tells clients what they are missing out on and helps you upsell all at the same time.

For example,  if a client says to you "I'm not seeing results. It's been four months and I could have done this myself," don't argue with them. For the most part, they COULD have called the media and wrote their own press releases.  Instead, using the 'Yes' tactic will put more into perspective for them.

Your response should be more like this; "Yes, and I can see your frustrations. I'm not doubting your ability to do what I do, but do you really have the time to dedicate to these tasks or  the ready-to-go resources? Results do take time, but let me list what we have accomplished in such as short time....."

The same goes for an upsell situation. For example, if your client states "I love the new Google wire you are working with." Your response should be, "Yes, and I love it too. Did you know we also can run an analytics report and send a follow-up newsletter? It is part of our blanket special right now, which is only an additional $75 dollars per month." 

So, as you head into the week, ask yourself if you are saying "yes" enough when clients are happy, sad, or unsure.

Until next time,

Coco the CEO