Driving An Interview ISN'T Like Driving A Car!

The times, they are changing. How we navigate an interview and approach the media is different now than it was a year ago, five years ago, and a decade ago. Oh, and they will be different this time next year, too. So, how do you pitch the media and drive interviews in the current landscape? 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 Monday,

Velma Trayham

Peer Referrals …. Do They Really Work?

I recently had someone ask me if I get any ROI from attending marketing events or online symposiums. The truth is ‘Yes’ – I do. While I know many people don’t think marketing events or peer referrals truly work, the bottom line is to understand that referrals aren’t a “sure” thing. You still have to work to obtain the business.

Some people say, “Sure, refer me to your source” only to be nice. This is a lead that you will pitch and pitch and will never come through.

Other people say, “OK, make the introduction” only to see the cost of your services and run away- no matter how valued the relationship is. This lead was never secure to begin with.

Other people are thinkers. Other people are price comparers. And other people are actually interested. Like any type of business, referrals are simply inquires and you have to earn their business. Just because someone knows you and loves your services doesn’t mean the third party will buy on a handshake or virtual introduction.

So, how do you close a referral lead? Simple – just follow these 3 steps.

First, reward those who send you business. If the referring party has a financially vested interest, he or she will help to follow up and close the leads they do send over. Keep in mind, however, that only about 20% of all leads will actually close.

Second, offer a discounted or rewards program to those who have been referred to you. Even with praise and amazing ratings, an incentive-based offer to try your services for a limited time works better than sending over a large contract or long-term service obligation.

Finally, don’t be aggressive. Stop with the daily “follow up” phone calls, sales-ad emails (sent twice a week), and Facebook ‘Likes’. If a potential lead is annoyed with a pushy sales process right off of the bat, he or she will be skeptical of your services. I know it is hard- but be conservative with your follow up efforts.

Until next time,

Velma Trayham of ThinkZILLA

The PR Power Is In The Lesson!

Happy Almost Friday! Below are a few powerful PR lessons I've learned. I want to share them tonight so you have a few tools to help you better your ability to compete within business.

Here we go;

Before you create anything in business ask yourself these two questions: “What problem am I solving for my ideal client/how am I being of service?” and “how does this lead to making money?”

Brain storming is vital for success. When you release all of the ideas in your brain and get them down onto paper you can start to strategize and organize. You can put the pieces of the puzzle together and eliminate the ideas that don’t serve you.

Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you have to. You are great at many things but that doesn’t mean you have to do all of them at once. Take that one step further… just because you started out doing one thing and became known for that one thing doesn’t mean you have to continue to do it if it no longer thrills and excites you. Let it go.

Community is critical. There is nothing more comforting than sitting in a room with like-minded people who are taking a risk and opening up about their fears, insecurities and limiting beliefs. It’s not easy to speak your truth but once you release it, you can move past it.

Mentoring is invaluable. I truly believe that the fastest way to success is through mentoring. There are things experience can teach you through the lessons and insights shared by those who have been there and done that.

The only way to grow is to take risks. The surefire way to stay exactly where you are is to do exactly the same thing you are doing right now. It’s a choice. Choose wisely.

Until next time,

Velma Trayham

Measuring Real PR Value

The PR report can help you gain better contracts, more money, and more respect within your industry. PR reports reflecting real value and measurements. 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 to show real value;

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 

Media Relations Ruined in Three Steps

Public relations professionals don’t book work or appearances outside of media interviews, talent or literary agents do this. Public relations professionals book media appearances based on what a client is doing. If you have to do the work for your client and then get them media interviews – there is a problem with the client. This said, below are my top 3 common PR mistakes.

1. It is two different things entirely to pitch news your clients force you to pitch against your better judgment and pitch something to a reporter without the thought of you believing it is news in the first place. Yes, pitching what a client thinks is newsworthy doesn’t make it so. You need to educate your clients on this or your company will be reflected in the mistake as much as the client.

2. Your timeline isn’t what the press cares about. In fact, you need to care what the media’s timelines are. I recently read this piece of advice and couldn’t agree more. “Let’s say you are sending a Christmas wish list to a monthly magazine. When do you send that pitch? October? August? Try June or July. If not, tell your client to wait until next year or focus on weekly trades. Editorial calendars change sometimes but lead times do not. Know the deadlines first, and know not to call a reporter when he or she is buried under one second.”

3. Know the news. Everyone thinks their clients are special, and they are. However, you will not get your clients picked up by every single news outlet. In fact, for every 500 outlets pitched, expect a 3% return and not right away. Remember, editorial calendars exist!

As you move forward into your PR career, you will create connections that will make it easier for you to pick up the phone and bump competing press agents and their stories. Until then, follow the rules and don’t make these 3 major mistakes.

Until Monday, 

Velma Trayham of ThinkZILLA

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

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

Failure - A Way to Win!

Failure is going to happen in business. From failing to meet a customer’s expectations to failing at your overall operations, on some scale- you will fail. It is where you go after the failure, and what you do, that really counts.

I’ve failed countless times. Some of my greatest business lessons came out of this failure and not out of my college classes. While failure can be expensive, learning from it always possesses value.

Here’s how you can turn your failures into a ‘win’;

1. Accept responsibility for your mistakes instead of making excuses.

2. Apologize. Many thinks in life are easy to accept once an apology is offered. Refusing to say “I’m sorry” is what adds salt into your customers’ wounds. In fact, examine the apology Starbucks offers to clients when mistakes are made by clicking here: http://starbuckspassion.tumblr.com/post/925449418/the-importance-of-good-customer-service

3. Don’t repeat the mistakes once you acknowledge them.

Being humble is a part of business. You will not please all of the people all of the time. We are not, as humans, perfect. However, taking ownership of our being human and making mistakes can help you learn from failure and prevent further missteps.

Until next time,

Coco the CEO