Five Skills for Exceptional PR

“What exactly do you DO?” It’s a question us PR folk hear frequently, most often from parents, acquaintances, and high school friends, (siblings stopped asking moons ago), those who aren’t in our professional circles and are several industries removed from those that consume me daily. Some of my favorite people in the world are as far away from my profession as you can imagine — they plant and sell trees, design and sell jewelry, build houses from dirt, teach children with disabilities to read, and support women in their right to choose whatever it is they want to choose. Yummy professions that I love to talk about, yet most of those folks don’t know exactly what I do, and I love them for it.

But there’s a crop of people who need to have a firm grasp on what we do and why: those who want to work in PR. We’re growing, searching for more great people to round out the incredible team we already have here. We’ve worked with interns who have not studied communications but get it and excel immediately, and those who are graduating with “Public Relations” inked on their diplomas who don’t like to write. Curious. We’ve had senior team members give us and our clients their skills, enthusiasm and loyalty, and those who take their business relationships for granted (the proverbial match to the bridge in most books).

The process of building our team has sparked some interesting discussions here about what it takes to succeed long term in our profession, and the nuances we look for in candidates new and seasoned. We’re a protective bunch (over our clients and our team) and because my partner and I have been successful for two decades and still love what we do, we thought it right to share some of our learnings. For success in our field, we’re looking for a blend of talent, passion, integrity, respect and humor. Let’s break it down:

1. Talent. Obvious, right? The skills needed for PR are different from those required in other professions, but would serve you well anywhere. You need to be an incredible multitasker, intelligent, creative, tenacious, thoughtful, organized, and calm. Yes, calm. It gets pretty harried in our line of work, and you have to keep it cool. There’s also a lot of activity in the brain every moment, and you need clarity and organization.
2. Passion: You need to really care. Really. It’s not just a product we’re promoting, it’s our client partner, and our success is directly tied to their success. Their wins are our wins. Their happy customers make us happy. We absolutely HAVE to care about that. If you don’t get excited when you land a great story or hear “great idea” from your client fairly often, you’re in the wrong field. It’s simple, really.
3. Integrity. We all have this, right? Well… The PR profession is famously knocked for its lack of integrity. I’ve not experienced the horrific stories reporters tell about PR pros in the two decades I’ve spent here. Have we all made mistakes? Sure. Human nature, folks. But we’re doing exceptional work to promote exceptional products, strategies and people, and it’s coming from a place of genuine integrity.
4. Respect. Again, sounds obvious but boy have we seen some things here! We don’t take a single thing for granted. Companies and clients are entrusting us to do great work for them. We do it. We appreciate that they’ve given us an opportunity to help grow their businesses. They’re spending valuable resources on our brain power, we love that and we appreciate it very much. We thank them for their trust, we deliver what we say we’re going to deliver. And if this respect isn’t bi-directional, then we bid adieu, because we also respect ourselves and our teams in equal measure.
5. Humor. Critical. I’m not sure what more needs to be said. You absolutely have to laugh at yourself, make light of situations, and keep it all in perspective. Life is funny all around you. Lighten up.

We’re looking for a few new talents to join our team. If you have the above chops, and enjoy collaboration and challenge, flexibility and fun, then give us a call!

Cheating on our Website with Facebook

Concept is populating a shiny new Facebook Page for our business, which showcases our clients and successes, goings on, team, news, points of view, and other goodness. As we’ve spent time on it this past week, posting and uploading, writing and customizing, we’ve commented to one another how easy and fun it’s been to build it out. (The kind of fun that has me working into the wee hours when my client work has long gone to bed.)

But now that we’re nearing launch phase, I’ve started to wonder, isn’t this all on our Website? And that was my husband’s first question when I asked him to come take a look. While I was hoping for a  simple, “Wow, honey, that looks great!” I didn’t get that, and instead defined why a Website works with Facebook, rather than in place of. (My husband is a great “so what?” meter.)

My description of the evolution of communications and the way people engage with brands today didn’t quite do it for him. But then I drew the smile, head nod, and “yeah, that looks great, honey!” with the following comment: To ensure people are reading our blog and staying informed on our company, they need to come to our site, or subscribe to our RSS feed, which few traditionally do for small and medium sized businesses. With Facebook, our content appears in front of our audiences, where they already are, without asking a single thing of them.

We’ve seen dynamic communication and audience growth work well for our clients through the Facebook Pages we manage. Now it’s our turn! And what about your business? If you’ve asked yourself about the virtues of Facebook vs. your Website or blog, consider the following:

1. Replace your Newsletter:  Are you doing a company newsletter? Consider replacing or augmenting it with content on Facebook. Invite the same people on your mailing list to join your Page. You’ll likely receive more Likes and Comments than you would have in replies to the newsletter.
2. Make a Great First Impression: Facebook is becoming the de facto place for people to look for and at your company (like LinkedIn replacing resumes). It has the power to replace a Website for quick introductions and information. Let your Facebook Page be the first impression you make about your business, brand values, mission and work quality.
3. Extend your Company Voice:  Are you looking for ways to develop or extend your company’s unique point of view and brand? We love the new Facebook feature that allows you to edit as your brand, so your Likes and Comments appear from your branded Page, rather than individual person, giving your company its own voice.
4. Stay in Front of your Audience:  Nearly 1/3 of the world’s population is on Facebook, including most of your friends and family, colleagues and business prospects. They’re already there, and your brand can be there as well, speaking to them, asking questions, sharing content and starting conversations.
5. Separate Business and Pleasure:  Do you blur the line a bit between business and pleasure on Facebook, but don’t like spamming your pals with corporate promos? Facebook Pages (rather than Profiles) let you keep personal it its place so you’re not mixing biz speak with photos of your kids.

So yes, this content is all on our Website, but you’re all on Facebook. We still love our Website, as we do our blog and LinkedIn profiles and Twitter feeds, but Facebook is dynamic and interactive and allows for easy updates and conversations. We’re  excited to engage with our friends, colleagues, clients and prospects through another channel, and show potentially the world what it is we do. We do realize “the world” will not be Friending our Page — but it’s there for them regardless, and that’s the point.

Now don’t worry, blog, you’re the first one I turned to for this post — but only because you so smoothly populate our Facebook and Twitter feeds automatically. If you didn’t do that, well, our parting would be such sweet sorrow.

A Leader Works in the Open

Veronica Skelton, Darlene Gannon, Alan Mulally, Graham McKenna, Vadim Brenner - CES 2011

It’s the first week of the month which usually means we at Concept Communications are busy compiling press coverage reports, calculating expenses and generally reflecting on the past 30 days or so and what we’ve accomplished for our clients in that time.  As it turns out, January 2011 was an epic month for us and our accounts, filled with international trade shows like CES and MIDEM, press conferences and media events, and opportunities for us to meet and/or listen to high level executives in the various industries in which our clients play.

It occurred to me that of all the influential people I’ve had the fortune of encountering over the past month –including celebrities like 50 Cent and the heads of the digital divisions of all the major record labels – it might seem unlikely that the one, very brief moment I had with Alan Mulally, the President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, made the biggest impression on me.

It happened when Darlene and I were at a large media event at CES in an area set aside for Ford and its partners – representing our client Gracenote, a Ford technology partner for years.  We were suddenly told Mr. Mulally may be coming by, and moments later I noticed him out of the corner of my eye.  What immediately struck me was that although he is not a particularly large man, his vivaciousness, his confidence and just his sheer *energy* made him an enormous presence in what was literally a hotel ballroom.

And, when he approached our group and he looked at me, I felt like the only person in a crowd of almost 1,000 people.   He looked me square in the eye, he shook my hand warmly, he asked me questions, he made funny comments – none of which I can remember, but it doesn’t matter because for one minute, I felt significant, I felt special, I felt acknowledged by the leader of one of the most important businesses in the United States.  He asked our group if we wanted a picture and then stood next to us and put his arms out.  At that moment, it felt as though we were posing for a team photograph for the yearbook.  A winning team.  A positive team.  A team that was coming off a phenomenal season and was strong, in shape, and ready to do it all over again.  It made me proud to be associated, if even remotely, with the Ford brand.

How did this happen?  How did this man I’d never met make me feel this way over the course of what can’t have been more than three minutes?  Theodore Roosevelt once said, “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. . . The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert.”  I think the secret lies in Mr. Mulally’s sincerity.  In his genuine interest in the American people and what they want.  And I thank him for reminding me that in life, not just in business, success lies in one’s ability to make meaningful connections, one person at a time.

The Dos and Don’ts of Optimizing Your Press Release

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find a practical tips piece by eReleases.com founder, Mickie Kennedy, on the dos and don’ts and of writing SEO-optimized press releases in my email inbox. As PR professionals, we are always trying to leverage the power of SEO to drive the organic search result placement of our client’s products and services, and I think Mickie did a very nice job at summing up the steps to take when writing your next press release to ensure that it is search-engine friendly, but not overkill.

Happy writing and remember, be natural about it all!

1. Do keyword research before you start writing: When done properly, keyword research can help you figure out the exact terms your customers are using when searching for your products or services. Never just assume or guess what you think the best keywords are. Use a free keyword research tool to discover the terms you should be targeting. Make a list of some of the top keywords, and use these as a foundation for your press release.

2. Don’t sacrifice readability for SEO: Why do SEO writers always seem to get carried away with stuffing keywords in every possible piece of their copy? Good press release optimization isn’t about seeing how many times you can get the keyword in your copy. It’s about creating an easy-to-read piece that just happens to also be optimized for the search engines.

3. Do place keywords toward the top: Keyword placement is an important, yet often overlooked, aspect of optimizing a press release. To give yourself the best chance of having a well-ranked press release, you should try to include the targeted keyword in the headline, subhead, and first paragraph of the press release. You should also use the keyword throughout the rest of the press release when it makes sense to do so. Remember, the goal is to include the keyword naturally, so don’t force it if it doesn’t work.

4. Don’t get caught up measuring keyword density: Keyword density is one of those old SEO myths that just won’t die. Some people still swear that by using a keyword a certain percentage of the time in your copy, you can rank better in the search engines. It’s total BS. Don’t waste your time measuring keyword density, because there is no magic number you need to hit. Instead, focus on creating a natural flow in your press release.

5. Do use keyword-rich backlinks: Many times, you can include links back to your website within your press release. This lets readers get more information about your story, and it drives traffic to your website. But that’s not the only purpose of doing this. If you use keyword-rich anchor text in your backlinks, you can actually help improve the rankings of the pages being linked to. For example, if you’re linking to a page on your website about ABC widgets, your backlink should include should include the words “ABC widgets.” This lets the search engines know what the target page is about, helping to rank it accordingly.

6. Don’t write press releases just for the sake of SEO: While press release marketing can be an effective SEO tactic, you shouldn’t do it solely for the sake of improving your search engine presence. That’s how you end up sending out high volumes of poorly-written, uninteresting press releases. Always focus on writing newsworthy, interesting press releases.

If you follow these six tips, you should be able to enjoy the best of both worlds: media coverage and high search engine placement. The key is to always write newsworthy press releases with a strong hook that draws readers in.

Are Corporate Blogs Becoming the Modern Day Newsletter?

Company newsletters are and have always been a well-known, effective way to distribute information to your customers and stakeholders. Whether you want to share news about a new product or service or simply want to inform your readers about upcoming events or promotions, this tried-and-true communication tool is a solid way of sharing information and building brand loyalty. But would you get more focused, quality readership and participation if you just bypassed the newsletter mailings and simply created a corporate blog with an RSS feed?

It’s not a simple yes or no answer. Both communication outlets have their time and place. Newsletter designs, objectives and audiences can run the gamut from employee-targeted messages to prospective customer outreach and promotion announcements. A steady stream of newsletters, whether issued monthly or quarterly, maintains your company’s visibility with a targeted group of folks who opt-in to receive your news, and is also a fairly cheap compliment to any marketing program.

So, what about a corporate blog? Has this become the must-have modern day newsletter? With more and more Fortune 100 companies taking the cue from the proliferation of influential bloggers and social media networks, successful companies such as Cisco have realized the importance of establishing an online voice and open dialogue with their clients. A blog is a simple channel to create and maintain a conversation with your customers and stakeholders, while also building thought leadership and credibility. Where a newsletter can be seen as more of a formal news and marketing outlet.

However, although more informal, good corporate blogs take time to build, so be patient and don’t expect to see the ROI overnight. They require a long-term commitment, with dedicated contributors, interesting topics and audience engagement. Share company and product news, but also open up the dialogue on interesting industry trends, competitor moves and solicit customer feedback. Also, once your blog is off the ground, an RSS feed provides seamless contact with your audience.

I’d say the corporate blog is quickly becoming a must-have part of successful business marketing and PR strategies, but it doesn’t replace the corporate newsletter, rather it compliments it. And every company has an individualized approach and objective for each communication tool which can’t possibly be covered here, but will make for some interesting subsequent posts.

Generally speaking, a corporate blog is a daily dose of coffee meant to jump-start the brain, invoke interest and immediate reaction, whereas the newsletter provides a full menu of the company’s latest happenings and long-term business opportunities.

Subscribe to a great corporate blog or newsletter? Share it with us in the comments.

Our Top 10 Rules for Effective Internal Communication

I had coffee on Tuesday with Michelle Glover, who was my boss when I was in Corporate Communications at Intuit. Michelle and I worked on internal communications for the company, which at the time had more than 7000 employees. She’s now at ROI Communications, an agency that specializes is internal communication, and the firm is going gangbusters.

I can’t help but believe their success, aside of course from the incredible talent they’ve acquired, is because companies – no matter how big or in what stage of maturity they may be – are starting to realize how important effective employee communications are to the bottom line. In an age when there are countless ways for executives to connect and have a two-way dialogue with their employees, a good internal communication strategy has never been more critical.

Every year, Fortune magazine comes out with its 100 Best Companies to Work For as well as its famous Fortune 500 list, and year after year, there is tremendous overlap between the two lists. Why is this? The classic book about employee relations, Contented Cows Give Better Milk, put it best:

From the start, the exceptional organizations have differentiated
themselves as employers of choice, thus enabling them to hire and
retain top-drawer people, and then differentiated their products and
services in the marketplace. Think it’s a coincidence? We don’t.

And neither do we. There are hard facts about the return on investment that comes with effective employee relations. However, being successful at it requires much more than an occasional email from the CEO, or quarterly all-hands meetings. Below is our “Top 10 List” for impactful employee communication:

1) Be Open, Honest and Direct. Believe it or not, most employees already know the truth, and half-truths only hurt your credibility.

2) Know the Current Employee Climate. Make sure your internal communications team, PR team, and/or HR team is taking a regular pulse on what your employees care about.

3) Prepare for Questions. Remember employees are looking for the “why?” and “what does this all mean?” every time you communicate.

4) Listen. Have a way to hear back from and respond directly to employees.

5) Be a Storyteller vs. Just a Teller. Bring your ideas to life, break down barriers and move people to action with stories that mean something to you and your employees.

6) In Times of Change or Crisis, Communicate in a Timely Manner. If there are rumors circulating, stop them before they fly. If you don’t know the answer, say so.

7) Say ‘Why’, Not Just ‘What’. In times of change, explain the root cause and impact of the change. Employees need to understand the importance.

8 ) Less is More. Be clear and consistent to communicate with employees on a practical level.

9) Communicate Your Passion. This can be a powerful emotional tool that enables you to connect with your audience and move people to action.

10) Maintain a Schedule. Have a plan that guarantees consistent communication (be that quarterly, monthly or weekly) to keep the group’s goals fresh and so that employees feel a part of the team.

Your Online Voice Drives your Offline Reputation

Dana Wollman, an editor at LAPTOP Magazine—a super sharp gal and all-around good person—and I had lunch a few months back when I shared my dismay at searching for an account coordinator to help the agency with research and social networking support. I was lamenting that the Internet is a double-edged sword for our candidates, because they’re in the field of online communications, yet seem to fall down a bit in, well, online communications. Our conversation worked its way into a story on how job hunters in particular need to manage their online reputations, which ran last month and is a great read if you haven’t yet seen it.

My expectation for sound writing and interesting points of view was (as many expectations are) perhaps higher than it should have been. I was basing the candidates’ qualifications for the position on the writing style in their personal blogs and the content of their social Web posts. Was that fair?

I began to beat myself up a bit, but couldn’t move away from the fact that the personal anecdotes I learned about these candidates left me a bit curious about their fit with Concept. I didn’t fret for long because I asked the question that serves me well when faced with ethical quandaries: “What would I do?” Sure, not the largest sample size, but I’m a decent judge of character, have managed my reputation well over the years, and am in the business of reputation management after all.

What I would do (and, in fact, do), is write for everyone. I assume that my clients are reading my Facebook updates (sorry, you must be bored out of your minds), that their customers are reading my Twitter posts (since I’m identified as the manager of their Twitter profiles), and that potential clients type “Samantha Steinwinder” into Google before calling to discuss a partnership. And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time online, reading, writing and generally participating—for personal, business and even my clients’ business—my reputation is my lifeblood. And my reputation is also tied to that of my clients’. We’re interchangeable, with my voice representing their business, and vice versa. I love the book Trust Agentsby Chris Brogan and Julien Smith for the thoughtful tips on this client/customer reputation entanglement and how it should and can best be managed.

But that doesn’t mean I’m all business. I reveal openly that I am ridiculously in love with baseball and football, that my musical tastes can’t break out of the 70s, and that my children are my stars and moon but I still love my day job. I share what my friends, family, clients and even their customers might like to know or, at a minimum, won’t find objectionable or grammatically flawed.

I hope my “audiences” learn simply that I’m a decent writer, share my passions openly, love a good debate—and even more so, competition—and that I don’t offend my keyboard. All things that serve me well, yet tell you a bit more about my personal style. And, thankfully, what you won’t learn about me is what I had for lunch. Unless it’s dim sum. Sometimes I can’t help but talk about dim sum.

Truth in Public Relations

A couple of weeks ago I attended a cocktail party in downtown San Francisco, hosted by one of our newer clients, real estate search engine Roost.  The party featured fabulous wine from Peay Vinyards, poured by vineyard co-founder Andy Peay himself.  Before the party started Andy and I were chatting about the fact that they’ve focused on Pinots from the very beginning, even when they weren’t trendy.  When I remarked how interesting it is that all industries go through their trends and people scamper to take advantage of them – be it wine, fashion, publishing, technology – Andy simply said, “That’s why it’s so important to be true to yourself.  Then, you build an audience based on your core beliefs.”

And then, you never need to waver from them.

My partner Samantha and I have been reflecting on our core beliefs as we celebrate a milestone anniversary for Concept. It was this week five years ago that she and I had a summit at her house in Seattle, out of which came the agency as we know it today. And in the past five years, many PR tactics and agency philosophies have come in and out of fashion. Yet despite working in an industry renowned for taking liberties with the truth, we’ve always remained true to our clients, to the media, to each other, to our employees, and to ourselves – as people and as a company. Our reporter friends appreciate it, and so do our clients.

We believe our principles have guided us to do our best work – isn’t that what your principles should do? —  and why we appeal most to clients who subscribe to our core principles of Integration, Integrity, and Imagination.  It’s also why we’ve had a continuously strong business that has thrived during boom years and is weathering the current economic downturn, and why great clients like Gracenote and ARCHOS have been working with us for years. 

To everyone who has supported us over the past five years, we thank you for believing in us.

Veronica Skelton
Co-Founder and Managing Director – San Francisco Office
Concept Communications