Public Relations Advice

Articles Written By:

Heather Keefe, Keefe Communications

Phone 732-899-1755    heather.keefe@comcast.net

PR 101: That’s What Friends Are For

 The irony about trying to promote your business in the local media is that you can’t sound “too promotional.” Otherwise, you’ll contact reporters and be told to “take out an ad” because they think they’ve seen through your smokescreen of news.

 This is unfortunate because I’ve always believed people are the news. People make the story. Scroll through the list of Chamber members, in every category, and I guarantee there are compelling stories to be told.

 How did you launch your business? What are you passionate about? How do you balance career and family? How is your family involved in your business? The questions go on and on if you take the time to consider how local businesses thrive and evolve.

 In past columns, we’ve discussed how to identify “your story” and pitch it to the proper media contact. But I’d also underscore the importance of having others tell your story for you.

 Much of our day-to-day work involves referrals and professional relationships. These can be lucrative not just for the project at hand but also for “legitimizing” your business in the media. Here are some examples of how “friends” can help you tell your story:

•  Many businesses geared toward kids are offering “summer camp” programs right now. Some have joined forces to package their programs together and drive traffic into multiple locations. These partners could issue one news release together and, in their quotes, talk about the other business and why they’re excited about the partnership. It’s more interesting than focusing on why your own business is wonderful.

•  For my non-profit clients, I develop a lot of grant proposals, so I’m always seeking cash from businesses or their corporate foundations. But an inexpensive way to support non-profits at the local level is by donating time or supplies. Over-stock items, in-kind services or gift cards can very useful for non-profits in their offices or at their fundraisers. And as for your time, gather a group of your employees, volunteer at a local non-profit and then ask the non-profit to release an announcement about your group. The news value increases greatly if your volunteerism is included in a broader “thank you” news release, which your non-profit friend may be happy to issue.

• Find out more about your employees. You may be surprised what you learn. Your employees may be involved in charitable causes, side ventures, hobbies, music, etc., outside of work. Assemble some interesting anecdotes about your people and pitch them together to the media. The catch is you won’t be pitching your business this time; you’ll be pitching the array of eclectic talent under your roof! The story goes back to your people, but they’re still representatives of your business. (In the summer, we see a lot of media coverage of teachers and their summer jobs, and then in fall, we see coverage of lifeguards going back to their “other” jobs. We also read a lot about people and their hidden talents; all of this could relate back to your business while giving some welcome kudos to your business.)

• Don’t forget letters to the editor. They can be a powerful tool for positioning your message exactly as you want it. If something touched your business positively – a supplier, customer, employee, do-gooder, pleasant surprise, etc. – write a brief, complimentary letter about your experience. The focus is outward – on the memorable story – but you’re submitting the letter on behalf of your business. Or better yet, ask your “friend” if you could submit the letter together.

 All of us can be consumed by our daily work life. But if we do look outward to the professional friendships that make our business tick, we might be tickled by what we see – and what we can promote.

PR 101: Do you have an elevator message?

As business owners and managers, it’s critical for us to be cheerleaders for ourselves and the work that we do. But sometimes, don’t you find it hard to talk about your business and what makes it great?

That’s why I recommend all my clients have an “elevator message.” If I were in an elevator and someone asked me about a client, I’d need to give the essential information concisely before the doors opened.

Here’s what I’d say about myself:

Heather Keefe is a public relations consultant who owns Keefe Communications, which specializes in media outreach, copywriting and grants. She helps her clients “connect the dots” through public relations.

Through this elevator message, I’ve explained what Keefe Communications does — briefly — and said point-blank what makes the business stand out from the crowd. It’s hard for anyone to remember something on demand that’s longer than two sentences, so I’d stick to that length. It’s also hard for people to remember lists with more than three things. That’s why I try to boil down my consultancy into three areas, even though public relations activities can be much broader.

Once you’ve written your elevator message, practice it out loud. This may sound silly, but you really can’t get a feel for your message until you say it out loud to your mirror, dog or friend.

In my next installment of PR 101, I’ll explain how you can expand your elevator message to create a “boilerplate statement” that’s critical for news releases and other marketing materials.

Now get on that elevator!

 PR 101: Create Your Boilerplate

Last month, we discussed the importance of creating an elevator message about your business – a two-sentence of description of what you do and why you’re unique. I’d encourage you to take the next step of developing a “boilerplate,” which can be up to a paragraph in length.

Think about how many times you’ve seen, or heard, people describe your business and get it all wrong. Maybe they’ve misstated your areas of expertise, made an honest mistake about your professional background or (even worse) referenced an incorrect phone number or Web address.

If you create a boilerplate that’s detailed, accurate and covers all the key points of your business, you can use it in every marketing material you develop – including letters, brochures, fact sheets news releases and Web copy.

It’s helpful that your boilerplate message will be longer than your elevator message because it gives you the freedom to cover the following points:

·         Who you are

·         History of your business

·         Your services

·         Your mission

·         Your contact information

To get you thinking, here’s my elevator message:

Heather Keefe is a public relations consultant who owns Keefe Communications, which specializes in media outreach, copywriting and grants. She helps her clients “connect the dots” through public relations.

Now, here’s how I expand this into my boilerplate:

Heather Keefe is a public relations professional with 12 years of experience in the agency, corporate and non-profit sectors. She founded Keefe Communications in 2004 as a full-service public relations consultancy. Keefe Communications partners with businesses and non-profits of all sizes to streamline their marketing efforts and raise public awareness. Specialties include media outreach, copywriting and grant development. At Keefe Communications, our mission is to help clients “connect the dots” through public relations. To learn more, please e-mail heather.keefe@comcast.net.

In the news releases that I develop, I use the boilerplate as the final paragraph. When the news releases are picked up by the local media, I love to see the boilerplate used word-for-word. Of course, with news releases, there are no guarantees as to what an editor will or will not use, but we increase our chances by making the boilerplate as detailed and “newsworthy” as possible. If people are trying to figure out what you do, they should look to the boilerplate and have their questions answered.

I also find the boilerplate works best as the final message in other types of documents, including letters. It’s a good way to wrap things up. It’s perfectly fine to have mentioned something about your business – like your list of services – earlier in the letter and then to reiterate it in the boilerplate. The boilerplate should stay the same in all your marketing materials in order to provide consistency of message.

In my next installment of PR 101, I’ll give you some tips for developing a news release that will pique the interest of the local media and help build awareness of your business.

You know your business best, but effective communications can help other people to “get it” and become your supporters.

PR 101: Make News with Your Release

The cornerstone of any media relations effort is a news release. Simply put, a news release is a document that conveys all the key information about your “story.” The goal is for the news release to intrigue a reporter enough to have him or her cover your story.

In rare cases, small publications might even print your news release in its entirety. But that’s more the exception than the rule. What’s more likely is that your release, if well written and full of actual news, will be excerpted by a reporter and used as a reference tool.

Producing a succinct, newsworthy release can be a tricky business. These tips may help:

·         Who, what, when, where, why and how. Think like a reporter! Before you write your news release, take time to think about who-what-when-where-why-how. Then make sure you’ve covered all these points in your release.

·         Don’t be too promotional. If you are, a reporter will tell you to buy an ad! If you’re trying to promote your business – and who isn’t? – think about couching your story as part of a larger issue. If you’ve won an award, explain the significance of it. If you’re expanding your product line, explain why your new services are needed. If you’re engaged in charitable work, don’t be shy – talk about why.

·         Incorporate quotes from an authority figure and a “regular” person. I like this combination. If you’re the authority figure, feel free to embellish about your business and what you’re trying to achieve. This is acceptable in a quote. Then add a quote from the “regular” person (such as a client or customer) that addresses how your business/service/project has made a real impact. It’s fine if the quote is a bit “touchy-feely.” Just make sure the person actually said it. Don’t make up quotes!

·         Include a call-to-action. If a reporter uses your news release, and your story appears in the local press, what do you want readers to do? Call you for more information? Visit your place of business? Participate in an event? Make the “next step” clear in your news release.

·         Make sure to include contact information. The standard format of a news release has a media contact (name, phone number and e-mail address) at the top. But make sure to include a “for more information” section in the body of your release. This is critical for making sure readers know how to reach your business and complete the call-to-action.

·         Don’t forget your boilerplate message. As I mentioned last month, your boilerplate should include a basic description of your business, history, services, mission and contact information. (Yes, it’s OK to repeat your contact information if, for example, you’re telling people how to reach you and then telling them where your business is based. Your contact information can serve multiple purposes.) Your boilerplate works well as the last paragraph of your news release.

·         Keep it short. Reporters hate to see news releases that are more than two pages. If you can, keep it to one page with standard margins and formatting. Don’t try to squeeze in too much information. It can be overwhelming for a reporter. Plus, it can be helpful to be able to paste a news release directly into an e-mail, and if it’s too long, this becomes unrealistic.

If you’d like to check out some actual news releases, feel free to e-mail me at heather.keefe@comcast.net, and I’ll send you some examples that may be a helpful reference for your own business.

In the next installment of PR 101, I’ll discuss how to pitch your news to reporters and leverage yourself as a valuable resource – not an annoyance!

Expand Your Media Connection

If you’ve written a news release about your business and it’s led to media coverage, congratulations! Your media journey has begun! But even if you’re new to the media relations game, there are other ways to market your business in the local press.

·         Make a Media Target List for Yourself. (I’d recommend no more than a total of five newspapers/news broadcasts/Web Sites. You’re already busy!) These are the places where you want to see coverage of your business. Keep track of your targets by reading/watching them regularly. The core of media relations is media monitoring. The monitoring will divulge who’s covering what and present opportunities for contacting editors or producers reactively. (For example, the Asbury Park Press often asks readers to submit story ideas or participate in interviews/forums. You wouldn’t know this if you didn’t actually read the newspaper.)

·         Don’t Forget News Web Sites. The Asbury Park Press Web Site (www.app.com) and its new off-shoot, Jersey Shore Moms (www.jerseyshoremoms.com) offer a variety of blogs and reader forums that might be appropriate for your business. NJ.com leads to several major newspapers throughout the state, and the Web Sites of all the New York news affiliate are chockful of information and sections for reader comments. When you have something substantial and not-entirely-promotional to say, by all means, participate in these opportunities on behalf of your business.

·         Write a Letter to the Editor. The editorial page of any given newspaper is a great place to secure attention for yourself and your business – provided you have something newsworthy to say. Try to tie your letter to an article that ran in the newspaper – something that really impacted you. Or take a stand on a trend/hot topic/issue affecting your business. If your letter is viewed as timely and relevant, you’ll have a much better shot of having it printed.

·         Position yourself as an expert. No matter what your business is, I guarantee you’re an expert on at least five things. Do you run a family business? Can you speak authoritatively on work-family-life balance? Have you launched a type of business that’s truly unique in our community? Can you provide perspective on the New Jersey real estate market, the rising cost of health care, the obesity crisis affecting children or other “hot topics” on a local level? The point is to let members of the media know you exist – and how you can help them when they’re writing trend stories.

·         Once you’ve identified your areas of expertise, contact a few reporters/editors/producers that you’ve noticed in your media monitoring and give a BRIEF explanation of what you do. Ask them to keep you in mind for future stories. If you see something on the national news that’s relevant to your business locally, by all means, reach out to an appropriate editor at, say, the Asbury Park Press and offer your feedback. All local media outlets are looking for local angles to national, and international, stories.

·         Partner with the non-profit of your choice to provide donations, programs, supplies, volunteers – whatever interests you. Then promote your partnership in conjunction with the non-profit. (You could issue a joint news release, but decide who’s doing the media pitching.) The story will help “legitimize” your business as a true community partner – and not look like you’re just trying to round up new customers.

PR 101 from Keefe Communications

Good Things Come to Companies That Give

In Kenya, Coca-Cola is teaching children how to test drinking water for contamination. In India, Starbucks is donating $1 million to WaterAid in order to combat sanitation problems. And both companies marketed their good will through a “World Water Day” promotional effort on March 22.

But what does this have to do with businesspeople in the Point Pleasant area? You might be surprised.

According to the Natural Marketing Institute, 60 percent of U.S. adults over 18 said “knowing a company is mindful of its impact on the environment and society makes me more likely to buy their products and services.” The institute surveyed 2,000 adults to assess their perceptions of how companies address social and environmental issues and how these factors influence their buying decisions.

Fifty-seven percent of consumers said they feel more loyal to companies that are socially responsible. Fifty-two percent said they were more likely to talk to their friends and families about such mindful corporations. And in terms of the bottom line, 38 percent said they’d pay more for products produced by socially responsible companies.

But here’s the challenge for all of us at the local level: Even major corporations do a bad job of promoting their “good works.” Often, there’s a huge disconnect between what companies actually are doing to help others and the perception of what they’re doing.

Think about the ways your company gives back to the community and consider how you might promote these activities to current and potential customers.

Could you announce a donation of cash or services that you made to a local non-profit? Could you promote locally made/environmentally friendly products that you carry in your place of business?

Could you host or sponsor an event with a non-profit partner and have your company featured prominently in invitations, programs and other marketing materials? Could you address members of a community organization and talk about how your business is relevant to their needs?

Honestly, the possibilities are endless, particularly with smaller non-profits that are happy to work with local businesses to promote their mutual goals. Many local non-profits are members of the Chamber.

Just remember to “do it, then say it.” Yes, it feels good to do good, but it’s in our best interests as business leaders to promote our philanthropy.

PR 101 from Keefe Communications

You’re the Authority

Through the combination of business, community and family life that makes all of us unique, we come to be viewed as an authority on certain topics. At least, we should be!

If I asked you to complete the statement “I’m an expert on…”, could you do it? Could you name three things?

Think about your business and the type of services you provide. What truly makes you stand out from the crowd? What gives you a competitive edge? What makes you particularly proud on the business or home front?

I’m a firm believer that all parts of our lives intersect to make us the businesspeople we are, so don’t discount family when considering your “expert” areas. For example, from a media perspective, there’s a huge interest in the sandwich generation that may be caring for aging parents, college-bound students and young children at the same time. Businesses led by women, minorities, single parents, young entrepreneurs, retirees tackling a new venture – all of these are newsworthy topics.

Once you’ve established your areas of expertise, consider how you might market them to the media. Letters to the editor, and editorials, in local newspapers are a great way to position yourself as an opinion leader and promote your business subtlely. Business and trade magazines are another good outlet for you to submit opinion pieces on behalf of your business. There are no guarantees that your submission will be used, but if you’re reading the publication regularly and honing in on a trend or hot topic, you have a good shot.

Many reporters with a specific beat, such as business, health or entertainment, maintain an “expert file” of people they can contact quickly about a specific story. Getting yourself on this list, and remaining accessible to reporters when they need you, can be valuable to your business. This also can be helpful if you’re trying to position yourself among trade magazines or newspapers in a different market from, say, the Asbury Park Press.

Draft a BRIEF e-mail about who are you, what you do and give your BRIEF areas of expertise. Offer your phone number, e-mail address and business Web Site. Say something like “If you’re covering X, Y and Z in the future, I’d be happy to participate in an interview and offer you my perspective.” Then leave it at that. If the reporter is interested, you’ll be contacted. And if you’re not, it’s fine to offer yourself to other members of the media. Just keep your target list short and sweet. Reporters talk to one another, and you don’t want to look desperate!

You also might want to consider writing a “top 10 list” about your expert area and submitting it to your target reporters. If you take a careful look at newspapers, magazines and especially media Web Sites, you’ll see a ton of lists as “sidebars” to longer articles or as stand-alone pieces. Reporters love them because they provide a quick entrée into their stories.

These lists can be about virtually anything. Consider the following:

·         Top 10 things to consider before sending your child to camp

·         Top 10 things to consider before purchasing a washing machine

·         Top 10 things to consider before selecting a savings account

·         Top 10 things to consider before writing a news release

If your profession is related to summer camps, washing machines, savings accounts or news releases, you can brand these lists to yourself (i.e., information courtesy of Keefe Communications) and try to place them in the media. They also look great on your business Web Site or brochure.

Just as we need to promote the good works that we do in our community, it’s equally important to promote our areas of expertise. That’s when customers will choose to rely on us.

PR 101 from Keefe Communications

Make a Connection with the Media

At this stage in the media relations process, you should have an elevator message, boilerplate message and news release. Now you’re ready to pitch your story to the media!

The first rule of thumb in media pitching is to actually read the newspaper, or watch the news program, that you’re targeting. For purposes of this exercise, let’s talk about newspaper editors and reporters.

Generally, it’s the editors who assign the stories, so it’s a good idea to approach them first, via e-mail. Paste your news release into the body of an e-mail message. Then explain, in a couple sentences, WHY you think the editor should care about your news release. You might try something like this:

“Hello, X. With tax season approaching, I thought you might be interested in how a local business is providing financial counseling to college students, many of whom have never filed their own tax return. The news release below details the services of my company, Y, which (mention three things that you do.) I’d be glad to offer additional information and arrange interviews with some of our local clients. Please feel free to contact me at…”

In my example, I’ve provided a local angle for a broader story (tax season) and offered to do some of the work for the editor (set up the interviews). Ideally, your news release would have included a couple interesting stats about tax season and college students, so then, you’ve even done some of the work in terms of research.

After you send the e-mail, unfortunately, it’s time to wait. You definitely don’t want to harass the editor with additional e-mails or phone calls.

Generally, if I haven’t heard from an editor in a couple weeks, I’ll try to come up with one “new” reason to send another e-mail, such as a related topic in the news or something else that my business is offering. Phone calls are fine, but editors tend to prefer e-mail because all the key information is in front of them and can be forwarded to their reporters.

I’d encourage you to disseminate your news release to as many editors as MAKE SENSE. Your story might interest editors who cover, say, local business, features, women’s issues, health issues and/or the town where you’re located. Just don’t send one e-mail to multiple editors. Take the time to send individual messages.

If an editor is interested in your story, you’ll be contacted, so try to provide assistance quickly. Participate in interviews and offer help in other areas. Offer suggestions for photos or other local businesses that would enhance the story. (What goes around, comes around!)

Once you get the ball rolling, it’s possible you’ll be contacted by another editor. Be honest. Explain who you’re working with and how. If you’re meeting each editor’s particular needs, you’ll still secure widespread media coverage. At every step of this process, SAY THANK YOU. It’s astounding to me that more people who are pitching the media don’t do this.

In my next PR 101, I’ll discuss additional ways to expand media relationships on behalf of your business.