People often believe that because they host a special event that the media will flock to it and blanket it with coverage. This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Hosting an event means you have to work harder to obtain pre-press efforts and actually get the media to attend the event.
Here are a few pointers on obtaining actual media coverage for your next event;
1. Promote your keynote speaker. Make sure the press knows who is going to speak, what the overall message is, and then send soundbites after the event is over (within 24 hours).
2. Be clear about a theme. When promoting the event (pre and post production), make sure you explain why it is newsworthy and beneficial to the business industry or community at hand.
3. Don’t have a self-interest. Reporters will see through awards and acknowledgements in exchange for actual media coverage. Instead, invite them for their expertise on a panel and make sure you include social media interaction as part of the event and conversation.
4. Take an outside perspective on the event. Sure, it is important to you, but why would it be important to someone who doesn’t know you? The answer to this question will mean the difference between media attendance and media coverage.
I hope this information helps you secure actual media coverage for your next big event.
Until Monday,
Velma Trayham
Showing posts with label Neve Campbell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neve Campbell. Show all posts
Friday, July 10, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Avoiding A Social Media PR Crisis
My number one rule for other publicists is to align yourself with the right thinking and the right brands from the get-go. It doesn't matter how broke you are, aligning with the wrong client can harm you financially in the long-run. I say this because promotions sync with social media, which syncs with you - the brand. Poorly executed launches for clients or clients that will not listen can reflect on your social media accounts and lead to your very own social media crisis!
Before you line up your brand with anther creative team, or a client, you should understand that there are real laws in place to help protect the public from brand bending, which can also harm you and cause you a social media crisis.
For example;
The list goes on and on........
Don't sit around and allow clients to misalign your brand causing a social media PR crisis. At the same time, don't get caught up in a client's social media game, either. If you know they are buying fake reviews, walk away from the contract. If you know they are posting issues that can cause both you and themselves harm, walk away from the contract.
Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham
Before you line up your brand with anther creative team, or a client, you should understand that there are real laws in place to help protect the public from brand bending, which can also harm you and cause you a social media crisis.
For example;
- Did you know employees and clients have the right to bash their employer on social media? Yep, if it is a money issue or a conditions issue, it is legal. And the current or former employee or client can discuss wages, hours and working conditions.
- Did you know that if a public relations persons Tweets on behalf of their employer without disclosing their "employee" status, your client can be fined up to $11,000 per incident?
- Did you know it’s illegal to buy fake reviews and/or fake followers on social networks and plenty of companies have been fined upwards of $250,000 for this?
The list goes on and on........
Don't sit around and allow clients to misalign your brand causing a social media PR crisis. At the same time, don't get caught up in a client's social media game, either. If you know they are buying fake reviews, walk away from the contract. If you know they are posting issues that can cause both you and themselves harm, walk away from the contract.
Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham
Thursday, January 29, 2015
The Types of PR... Who Are Your Clients?
There is a difference between celebrity PR, branding PR and corporate / business PR. Most people don’t understand how important corporate / business PR is. Many believe a press release should only go out when a new product / service is launched. Well, that is true but it shouldn’t be the cornerstone of your PR campaign.
Internal PR relations is often overlooked when companies hire a PR firm. There are crisis communication needs, Board of Director and investor relations that have to be properly navigated, and there is employee morale via company newsletters, email statements, etc. This component of company / business PR is expensive, needed and continuous. So, why do many companies overlook it?
Simple. Ignorance. When you launch a company – don’t always bank on the media to be your best advocate. Your employees are. They talk about the company and their employment experience to others as much as any member of the media. So, it is important to accurately communicate with your team. There are also legal issues as to what and how things are communicated. Thus, many of us PR professionals work on a day-to-day basis with legal team, a fact often not known by the general business community.
If you are seeking to open up a business, or improve your company’s standing, anytime soon- think about this area of public relations and then call me! I am happy to provide a quote on my services.
Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham
Internal PR relations is often overlooked when companies hire a PR firm. There are crisis communication needs, Board of Director and investor relations that have to be properly navigated, and there is employee morale via company newsletters, email statements, etc. This component of company / business PR is expensive, needed and continuous. So, why do many companies overlook it?
Simple. Ignorance. When you launch a company – don’t always bank on the media to be your best advocate. Your employees are. They talk about the company and their employment experience to others as much as any member of the media. So, it is important to accurately communicate with your team. There are also legal issues as to what and how things are communicated. Thus, many of us PR professionals work on a day-to-day basis with legal team, a fact often not known by the general business community.
If you are seeking to open up a business, or improve your company’s standing, anytime soon- think about this area of public relations and then call me! I am happy to provide a quote on my services.
Until tomorrow,
Velma Trayham
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
PR Stunt to Sell Tickets?! No, It Can't Be....
The oldest trick in the PR book is to start a controversy to create news for yourself or your client. I bring this up because Beyonce's father just stated the divorce rumors surrounding his daughter were self-created to sell tickets.
The New York Daily News wrote this tonight, "Mathew Knowles is claiming Beyoncé and Jay Z's divorce rumors are all a bid at getting more bills, bills, bills. The superstar singer's dad and former manager opened up about his daughter and son-in-law's supposed marital woes on the "Roula and Ryan" Houston radio show on 104.1 KRBE earlier this week. "It's called a Jedi mind trick," he said. "The Jedi mind trick fools you a lot of times." - Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/beyonce-dad-mathew-knowles-divorce-rumors-sell-tour-tickets-article-1.1920503#ixzz3CsGWqU2G
But why would Beyonce and Jay Z need to sell tickets? Isn't their tour going well enough? Yes and no. The tour has tickets at not-so-friendly recession prices. Between tickets, merch., and drinks, two people can easily spend in excess of $500 to go see the concert. Those numbers mean a lot to people making between $11 and $20 dollars an hour. But, if this concert then becomes one of the last times you might see Beyonce and Jay Z together, for fans, the ticket price because "doable" given the possible circumstances. Don't forget that Kid Rock recently bashed entertainers, like Jay Z, who are charging outrageous amounts of money for concert tickets. Rock performed all last summer with ticket sales at $20 a pop. The tour did quite well- all in the same of bashing Jay Z!
So, why not use the oldest PR trick in the book and have Jay Z create a conflict that would benefit Jay Z and Beyonce? If what Mathew Knowles claims to be the truth is right, then Jay Z has just pulled off one of the greatest PR tricks known within our industry.
Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO
The New York Daily News wrote this tonight, "Mathew Knowles is claiming Beyoncé and Jay Z's divorce rumors are all a bid at getting more bills, bills, bills. The superstar singer's dad and former manager opened up about his daughter and son-in-law's supposed marital woes on the "Roula and Ryan" Houston radio show on 104.1 KRBE earlier this week. "It's called a Jedi mind trick," he said. "The Jedi mind trick fools you a lot of times." - Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/beyonce-dad-mathew-knowles-divorce-rumors-sell-tour-tickets-article-1.1920503#ixzz3CsGWqU2G
But why would Beyonce and Jay Z need to sell tickets? Isn't their tour going well enough? Yes and no. The tour has tickets at not-so-friendly recession prices. Between tickets, merch., and drinks, two people can easily spend in excess of $500 to go see the concert. Those numbers mean a lot to people making between $11 and $20 dollars an hour. But, if this concert then becomes one of the last times you might see Beyonce and Jay Z together, for fans, the ticket price because "doable" given the possible circumstances. Don't forget that Kid Rock recently bashed entertainers, like Jay Z, who are charging outrageous amounts of money for concert tickets. Rock performed all last summer with ticket sales at $20 a pop. The tour did quite well- all in the same of bashing Jay Z!
So, why not use the oldest PR trick in the book and have Jay Z create a conflict that would benefit Jay Z and Beyonce? If what Mathew Knowles claims to be the truth is right, then Jay Z has just pulled off one of the greatest PR tricks known within our industry.
Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
When Reporters Cross the Line!
Do you know when a reporter crosses the line? Let me explain a bit about the unsaid rules of the press. You have two types of journalists to pitch to. The ones that can be bought and the ones that can't. Of course, the ones that can't be bought have more power as far as reach is concerned and people tend to trust them more. Anderson Cooper is one of these journalists.
The other type, the ones that can be bought, care about pushing the interest of their advertisers and typically will ask soft questions or deter away from hot button issues. You will work with both types of reporters within your PR career. Therefore, it is very important to know which types of clients to push to the different types of reporters.
For example, if you have a client who is always in trouble and can't handle himself well in-front of the media, putting him on Anderson Cooper's show is a bad idea- even if you vet the questions. This said, you could put that same client on any major network daytime TV show where vetting the questions is possible and you can brief the interviewers.
All this said, there is no safe bet. You may run across a reporter who crosses the line with your client. What do you do in this case? Do you pull the interview on live TV? This can make things worse for your client. Do you try to recover with follow up press releases and interviews? I wish I had the answers. You see, this subject has to be deal with on a case-by-case basis. There is no across the board answer.
When a reporter crosses the line, have a prepared plan read to be put into action for your client. Make sure you have a different plan for each client and you will be as prepared as you possibly can in this scenario. Remember, your a publicist - or at least trying to navigate your own PR efforts- and the current situation with your overall branding goals have to be the first thing you consider when responding to any reporter who crossed the line.
Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO
The other type, the ones that can be bought, care about pushing the interest of their advertisers and typically will ask soft questions or deter away from hot button issues. You will work with both types of reporters within your PR career. Therefore, it is very important to know which types of clients to push to the different types of reporters.
For example, if you have a client who is always in trouble and can't handle himself well in-front of the media, putting him on Anderson Cooper's show is a bad idea- even if you vet the questions. This said, you could put that same client on any major network daytime TV show where vetting the questions is possible and you can brief the interviewers.
All this said, there is no safe bet. You may run across a reporter who crosses the line with your client. What do you do in this case? Do you pull the interview on live TV? This can make things worse for your client. Do you try to recover with follow up press releases and interviews? I wish I had the answers. You see, this subject has to be deal with on a case-by-case basis. There is no across the board answer.
When a reporter crosses the line, have a prepared plan read to be put into action for your client. Make sure you have a different plan for each client and you will be as prepared as you possibly can in this scenario. Remember, your a publicist - or at least trying to navigate your own PR efforts- and the current situation with your overall branding goals have to be the first thing you consider when responding to any reporter who crossed the line.
Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Know It All Publicity
Let me go over some names for you….. Helen Hunt, Goldie
Hawn, Corey Feldman, David Faustino, Neve Campbell, Park Overall, and Pauly Shore.
These people all used to be the toast of Hollywood. Now, they can’t get media
coverage unless they beg for it or do some type of degrading reality TV show.
And, by the way, most corporate publicists know better than to even pitch
reality TV shows that aren’t on a major network (only on cable) because they
are the kiss of death when it comes to reputation / star quality.
So, what makes you think your client is so special? If you’re
an up and coming entertainer, why should the media cover you? They will not
cover Helen Hunt anymore and she was in an Emmy Award winning television show.
Think about this.
The answer as to why these people aren’t covered is media
value. They no longer have hits and therefore they no longer are the talk of
the town. If you aren’t relevant with today’s hits and trends, you’re not
anything.
Know it all publicity doesn’t exist. We all have something
to learn and even the best press release in the world can’t garter the
attention of a praising media courtship, just consider Balloon Boy’s Dad (and
yes, he was on a reality tv show afterwards)!
Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)