digital pr for growth

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Digital PR for Growth

Strategy and Tactics



Your Speaker

Amy Kenigsberg, Principal ConsultantK2 Global Communications

Bachelor of Journalism, magazine & newspaper journalismMBA20+ years in PR and marcomExperience ranges from the first Internet agency to GEindustries from alumni relations to telecomCo-founder, K2 Global Communications, international PR, marcom, and content marketing from Israel



IntroductionsYour Turn



Linking Your Business Goals

Making PR Relevant



Audience: Internal and External “Customers”• Employees

• Every employee

• Every department

• Clerical to CEO

• Customers

• Influencers

• Potential customers



Messages

Delivery Channels

Audience



Messaging

• Critical success factors

• Competitive advantages

• Unique selling propositions



The Ultimate KEY Message

What’s in it

for me?



Requirements

•Consistent messages

•Internal buy-in

•OPEN communication channels



Delivery Channels



Be Aware of “Telephone”



You’re NOT DONE• Need SYSTEMATIC, ongoing communications

• Daily/weekly newsletter• NOTHING formal

• Two-three sentence status updates from each department, e.g.• Sales lists potential customers

• Tech support lists issues for the sales engineer

• Marketing provides link to new version of product brochure

• Weekly “Stand-up” meetings

• Ongoing communication to department heads regarding management initiatives



All customer-facing team members need to be on the same page



The Failed SaleInside sales rep has the customer ready to

buy – based on information he received from the product manager

The inside sales rep schedules a follow-up call with the CTO. The CTO disputes every spec made to the customer by the sales rep



Practicum, Step One

Write your company’s main value proposition/key message: “We create solutions that…”



General PR OverviewThe Basics



If you build it…“ It doesn’t matter if you have the best solution on the market if nobody knows about it.”

L. Kenigsberg, to an irate CEO



Public Relations, K2 Style

Building relationships with influencers to create third-party endorsements, attracting customers to buy and/or repeat purchase



Four out of Five Experts Surveyed…

Third-party endorsement adds value to your solutions



What is a media outlet today?• Website• Print• Blog• Analyst report• Analyst blog• RSS• Newsletter• Social media



Advertising v. PR

•Budget

•Control

• “Coupons”

• TRUST…Third-party endorsement



Looking OutwardDefining Your Audiences



All PR & Marcom Outreach Should Appeal to Clearly Defined Target Audiences



Tiered PR

• B-to-B

• B-to-B-to-C

• B-to-C

• Partners v. End Users – Where does the revenue come from?

• B-to-P



Defining Your Audience

•What is in it for each level of the tier?

• Influencer

•Customer



Multiple Audiences

•Clearly define the messages for each

• Separate efforts

• Separate materials

• Two landing pages/website sections, etc.



Reaching Your Targets

• You have your goal

• You know your audience

• Find out who is influencing them

• Journalists

• Bloggers

• Analysts



What Do You Want to Achieve?

• Drive more sales

• Too general

• Drive sales in markets A, B & C

• Too general

• Drives sales in markets A, B & C from C-level and project managers



Practicum, Step Two

We create solutions that ABC for KEY TARGET AUDIENCE MEMBER, who needs to achieve/conquer challenge of XYZ.



The Process

Getting it Done



PR + Social Media + Content Marketing =

CUSTOMER-FOCUSED COMMUNICATIONS



Everything needs to follow…



What is News?

• Industry specific

• General

• Product news

• Corporate data

• Deals with major partners

• Company news

• Reputation building• Expertise

• Analysis

• Opinion



NOT News

• We’re going to a show (unless…)

• We met with a potential investor

• We’re taking it on the road

• We’re joining 20 other Israeli companies at…



The Basics

• Inverted pyramid

• Tell a story

• Who, what, when, where, why , how

• What’s in it for me? Journalist/reader



The Press Release

• Be clear about your key messages

• Get to the point

• Compelling writing gets read

• Tease, don’t bore or be overly granular

• Human-sounding quotes, only

• Streamline the approval process



Practicum, Step Three: The Release

•HEADLINE

•SUBHEAD

•FIRST PARAGRAPH



To Release…

• Make sure your release is newsworthy

• Consider your audience

• Make it interesting!

• Respect the journalists’ time

• Keep your PR team close



“Local” Coverage• Israel

• A LOT OF COMPETITION

• DO NOT expect local coverage

• Foreign media based in Israel

• Approach on a one-to-one basis

• Potential success only on a slow news day after much persistence



International Coverage• Target markets

• Industry

• Geography

• What is an investor looking for?

• Tech Crunch v. Key Trade Journal



“Western” PR• Focus on the business need

• Be very specific re: what you can do for the target audience

• Remember: What’s in it for the journalist?



Asian PR• Still very product focused

• Strong rules of etiquette

• Recommend local language

• China – PR is political – the government owns the media



The Wire Services

• The big three

• PR Newswire

• Marketwired

• BusinessWire

• PR Web – online only

• Free services

Don’t!• Unless…

• You have signed a deal with a major player

• Have money to spend

• PR Web – For SEO only

• Free services – You get what you pay for



Relationships

Cultivation is Key



Anatomy of the Journalist/Blogger

• Deadlines have become virtually continuous

• Layoffs mean one journalist is doing the job of many

• Trying to stay abreast of the news and trends

• Overwhelmed by email, Tweets, Facebook posts, LinkedIn messages, all trying to get his attention

• Tweeting & blogging & posting on behalf of his publication

• Blogging & tweeting & posting on his own behalf to establish himself as a brand so when he’s targeted in the next round of cuts…



Care & Feeding of the Journalist/Blogger

• What can you do to make his/her life easier?• Only approach with real news

• “Pre-digest” your information

• Offer them objective content with your byline

• Ask what he/she needs and wants, today and tomorrow



“Talking” with Journalists• What are they writing about?

• What do you have to offer?

• What do you have in common with the companies they cover?

• What makes you unique?



The Relationship with the Journalist

• She IS doing you a favor by speaking with you

• NEVER cancel unless a dire emergency

• Be prepared, especially for curves

• Most communication occurs by email• NEVER attach anything

• Get to the point, keep it short

• Use bold/underlining



Anatomy of an Analyst• Trying to shake the pay-

for-play image

• Blogging regularly to ensure/establish personal brand (for the day…)

• Less likely to be reached by your social media activities



Care & Feeding of the Analyst• Approach twice a year

to ensure “free” briefings

• Have specifics about what you can do for the markets they cover

• Don’t cancel!



The Interview Itself• Use media interactions to reinforce your key messages

• Be prepared

• Make sure you know exactly what you want to say and how to say it

• Answer their questions with your key messages

• Make sure you provide “quotable” content



Pitching Tips

•Remember – KISS

•Be succinct

•Clear headlines

• Link it to previous content



Promote Your Pill Counting Machine• Retail Pharmacist

• Chain Store Age

• Retail Technology

• NPD Group (analyst)

• The Pharmacy Sage (blog)



Practicum, Step Four

• List three key trade publications for your industry

•Provide three items about your company that would be considered newsworthy



Practicum, Step Five

• Let’s NewsJack

• Three key trends in your industry

•Current events and your company

• Steal someone else’s thunder



PR and Content Distribution

• Exclusivity v. “the masses”• Type of impact v. quantity

• Embargoes

• Check with your SEO expert (un-indexing, etc.)

• Target, target, target

• If published: Always post their link on your website



Awards & Speaking Opps are PR Opportunities, too• NO ONE cares if you won anything

• DO pay for PR Newswire’s/PR Web package so you are on Google, though

• Make your speech topics submissions memorable

• Humor and sarcasm generally do work

• Don’t forget everyone who knows better can identify the pay-for-play awards



The Real Secret: Don’t Be a One-Hit Wonder

PR Depends on LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS: Persistence, persistence, persistence



Measurement• Higher website traffic

• Consider quantity v. quality• Six visits – One registration

• Thousands of visits – Nothing

• More downloads

• Increase in newsletter subscribers

• Growth of conversion rates

• Incoming media inquiries

PR trade industry

associations are still

debating measurement

standards after 30+

years



DIY v. The External Approach

• People you know

• Influencers you know

• Analysts you know

• Bloggers you know

• TIME YOU HAVE

• Expands your sphere of influence

• Understands the value of your news

• Dedicated resource

• Experience



The PR Team• PR is the primary avenue

to establish and reinforce your brand

• Drives traffic to your site• Streamlined methodology

gets your messages out faster

• Integral part of your team



K2’s Tactics• Direct public relations outreach

• Introduce and maintain company presence in key publications/blogs in targeted markets

• Content contributions• Create and place content to reinforce expertise among targeted audiences

• Articles, guest blog posts, slide shows

• Social media• Actively participate in industry-related LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook groups• Repost relevant articles (news you can use)

• Analyst relations• Brief relevant industry analysts

• Trade show support• Arrange in-person meetings with influential journalists at relevant exhibitions



DON’T• Take a short-term view of PR

• Expect your agency to deliver optimally without collaboration

• Forget that your agency is your partner

• We’re in it together – our successes are interdependent

• Mislead or under inform your agency

• Expect agencies or freelancers to work for free/receive pay for performance

• You need dedicated, motivated representation



PR, Social Media, & Content Marketing

Mutual Support & Communications



Your Content Needs to Focus On

•“News You Can Use”

•Objective statistics that help the industry

•Content that adds to the conversation

•Controversial/oppositional



Reduce: Get Down to Tachlis

•Drill down for information/data you possess that can create objective reports for your industry

• Use cases

• Customer statistics



Reuse Your Content

• “Sell” it as a blog to a targeted media outlet

• Promote their usage on social media

• Put a link to their site on yours

• Send the content in your newsletter – with an “As Seen in”



Recycle• December comes every year

• Predictions

• Holidays

• Back to school

• Are the same people reading your blog?

• Do they even remember what you wrote?



Evergreen Content Topics • 360 degree perspective on the industry

• Environment

• Channels

• Technology

• Leverage global trends (news hacking)

• Make events interesting

• General industry trends

• Special reports/surveys



A/B Testing Your Content Distribution• Vary the headline

• “Rearrange” the content

• Test time of day

• Test day of week

• Split by market interest



Amplifying PR with Social Media

•Part of the Reduce/Reuse/Recycle Cycle

•Any content used in one place should be promoted in another

• Same theme, different channel



Practicum, Step Six

My target audience of TITLE/INDUSTRY HERE would be most interested in these topics:

• 1

• 2

• 3



Final PointsResults



You are an Israeli Company…Or Not?• You ARE an Israeli company

• Politics

• NEUTRAL: “I don’t feel it would be fair or appropriate to use this as a political forum. Our focus is on sharing our technology to everyone’s benefit.”

• You AREN’T• R&D is in Israel

• Stick to the story



Present a Professional Face

• Have a native English speaker review your website

• While it may appear to be English, many Israeli sites are in “Heblish”• The cow brown that jumped over the moon.

• The brown cow jumped over the moon.

• He is getting into the place.

• He entered.



Spelling Counts

•Any typo in a website or marketing material significantly reduces your credibility• If you cannot be bothered to spell correctly or have

your materials proofread, you’re undermining confidence in your company and products



And Your Name Is?

• רוני

• Ronny

• Ronnie

• Roni

• Ronni

• Ronie

• Ronney

NEVER misspell anyone’s name• Ask how his/her name is spelled• Check LinkedIn, etc.



Step-by-step Guide• Refine your messaging

• Define your target audiences

• Research where your audiences are

• Potential PR opportunities

• Promoting yourself through local lists

• Contributing content to publications/blogs your clients read

• Speaking at seminars

• Offer yourself as an expert resource to media writing about your field

• Determine your priorities

• Audiences

• Time



Our Clients Received These Results• Direct sales: 6%-20% conversion rates from niche PR coverage

• Website traffic: 400% increase

• Awards: Start-up to watch generated direct sales leads

• Bloggers: Software – Interview led to discussion with huge potential customer

• Major player endorsement: IBM quoted client’s media coverage in own report

• Reputation building: Internet security – Established client as “go to” authority via aggressive outreach

• Traditional media: SatCom – Printed article led to multiple sales inquiries

• Social media: Telematics – LinkedIn activity led to potential deal of $1.5 million+ annual revenue

• Niche focus: Green tech – Highly targeted placement led to PO worth $25,000+ within 24 hours of article publication

• Maximize SEO with objective links



Questions?Thanks!