Client Case Study - How a Media Campaign Helped a Small Business Hit the Big Time

When I first met Janice Stahl, a teacher with more than 30 years of classroom experience, and creator of TAKSKids School House Game, I knew she had a great story to tell. Her game helps third-fifth graders excel on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. The TAKS test helps teachers determine how prepared students are to go on to the next grade level. Children can sometimes be held back a grade if they do not achieve passing scores.

Challenge- Raise awareness of product on a limited budget.
Janice and I worked together to develop press releases for both print and television outlets in the DFW area. We crafted each release for specific media outlets. They were brief, only one page, and clearly outlined the benefits of children using TAKSKids School House Game. Most importantly the releases included everything the reporter needed including the obligatory who, what, when, where, why information, and testimonials from parents and school principals.

Outcome - Lots of Media Coverage!

The following news outlets featured Janice as a result of our efforts:

• Good Morning Texas

• WFAA, 5 p.m. news

• CBS 11 4p.m. and 5 p.m. newscasts

• Fort Worth Business Press

We leveraged her coverage by putting the stories on her website, and emailing them out to prospective customers. Additionally, her sales reps use the stories when they visit school districts.

Value Statement
Developing television and newspaper advertising would have cost Janice thousands of dollars. We were able to develop a plan that fit her budget. We gained added value through leveraging news coverage on her website and in sales materials.

Four Ways to Exit the Public Relations Emotional Roller Coaster

Public relations is an emotional roller coaster ride for many businesses. Profits dip and the C-Suite throws up its arms like a middle-aged man in the front seat of a tiny car hurling down the track of a thrill-seeking amusement park attraction. They want more public relations, more media attention, more campaigns and quick. Once the bottom line begins creeping up hill out of the red and the company re-focuses on customer needs. The public relations campaign gets tossed aside like the automated snap-shot taken during the roller coaster’s horrific drop.

We’ve all heard the adage, pay yourself first. Meaning put money in the bank, or under the mattress, and then pay the all-important life-sustaining bills. The same philosophy can be attributed to promoting your business. Managing your company’s website, blogs, social media, newsletters, smoke signals, etc. is overwhelming, and, more importantly, you can’t send the bill for those hours to a client. The pay off can sometimes seem abstract, until a potential client says, “Hey I saw your blog and you really seem on top of everything. Let’s have lunch.”

Keep these tips in mind when reviewing your company’s strategy:

• Public relations is a long term commitment. Formulate a 12 month plan, review it quarterly and make adjustments accordingly.

• The abstract is more concrete now than ever before. Your public relations efforts can be tracked thanks to social media.

• Schedule time periods on your calendar when you only focus on public relations. Protect this time. Your business’ life depends on it!

• You don’t have to go it alone. If you can’t afford to bring someone in house, contact a PR pro for hire.

Sell Your Story – Going Beyond the 5 Ws to Get the Media’s Attention

I recently sat down with board members of a local non-profit who were frustrated that their organization couldn’t get the media’s attention – no matter how hard they tried. They were discouraged that their previous attempts to pitch local news outlets flopped so they decide to reach out for public relations help. “We had folders made that included all of our information and hand delivered them to the reporters,” they explained. They had the who, what, when, where, why put together in a nicely printed high-gloss folder and touted their PR tool to help them land news coverage. What they really needed was a story.

Journalists are expected to have several story ideas every day, so they are in the market for good content. However, they are short on time. Stories that reporters are interested in are compelling and complete.

Public relations today means delving past the 23rd letter of the alphabet. You can start out by asking the following questions to help formulate an interesting angle:

• How visual is my story?

• Why is my organization unique?

• What experts will be available to lend credibility to my story – board members, key stake holders, customers, clients, etc.

• Have we been the first to do anything?

• Who have we helped and are they willing to be interviewed?

• Do we have any statistics to back up our story?

• Is there a mystery? Meaning, have we unlocked any secrets to success in our industry?

• Do we have an independent credible source that agrees with our viewpoint who could add credibility?

• Can everything fit in a one-page press release, and can I sell it to a busy reporter in 15 seconds?

Remember you are selling a story to someone with limited time and resources. Winning coverage, couldn't resist another W reference, is about having a compelling story that includes all the pieces and parts.

Three Tips on Getting Your Emails Read

Promoting your company or event through cyberspace may seem like an affordable and time efficient way to get your information out to a large group of people. No matter how well-crafted your promotional prose is, you could be wasting your time if your information is not getting read. I was offered a few pointers from a couple of trusted advisers – a.k.a. people smarter than me!

One expert source on the issue previously worked at a well-known online travel service. No need to name names. Let’s just say his previous employer had a pint-sized mascot with a flair for gardening. He referred to the criteria the company used when sending emails:

• Relevancy

• Compelling

• Timeliness

Bonus Tip!

I also received some bonus notes, if you will, from someone who has taken a couple of classes from a popular email marketing company. She suggested including the first few sentences of the email and then linking the remainder of the story to your website. That way you can review from your email management system not just who opened the email, but who was interested enough in the topic to continue reading. You might also consider giving something away – either for signing up for something, or for forwarding it on to a friend.

Editorial Content - The Swiss Army Knife of Public Relations

Writing editorial content is one of the most useful gadgets in the PR tool box. Think of it as the swiss army knife of PR practices.You need more than one hand to count how many ways a story for a trade publication or a professional journal can be flexed, bent and turned around. Spend a few hours crafting 750-800 words on a current topic, get it published, and you’ve got a piece worth well-more than the time you spent.

You can multi-purpose your work in the following ways:

• Newsletter – include it in your company newsletter – both internal/external

• Email blast – send out an email blast before and after your story is published

• Website – use it as fresh copy for your website and be sure to add the link to the publication’s website to your page

• Blog – make it your latest post

• Sales letter – include the published piece in your sales kit

• Facebook page – add to it your company’s and your personal Facebook and Twitter page

• Speaking engagements – if you are published regularly you can leverage it for more exposure

If you simply don’t have the time or don’t fancy yourself a writer, consider contracting help. Hiring out for editorial copy is far less expensive than generating paid advertising. In many cases, you can save up to two-thirds of the cost of traditional advertising.

Top 5 Networking Blunders

I had the opportunity to hear business training professional Sarah Zink speak at the monthly C3 for Women event in Fort Worth. She listed the top five worst networking habits. They are:

• Stop Assaulting People – stop “assaulting people with your business card,” Zink suggests. She advises that exchanging business cards is the last step in the networking process. Talk to someone for a few moments and then hand it over should they request.

• You’re not a card collector – “She who dies with the most business cards does not win,” proclaimed Zink. She suggests taking notes on the cards you intend to keep and then tossing the rest.

• How’s your hand? Where’s your eye? What’s that you said? – Learn how to give a firm handshake. Zink suggests Queen Elizabeth is the only one who is able to offer a bent finger shake, the rest of us should offer a firm hand ensuring a proper connection with the recipient. Don’t be bashful look your new acquaintance in the eye and speak clearly.

• Forget the name tags. – Even though someone’s name tag might not reflect a targeted industry, Zink advises what you really want to know is who they know not who they work for. “A professional networker doesn’t read name tags,” she said. Networking is about making a connection with an individual.

• Stop selling! – Go to events to give not to sell. You’ve got to give before you get!

Media Relations: An Extreme Example of the 3 Things You Should Never Do

I can’t help but laugh and then feel uncomfortable while watching the video of how a hospital public relations representative handled a television reporter in the San Francisco Bay area. This painful exchange reportedly took place at a public meeting at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center.

For a little more than three minutes I sat with my jaw open as I watched communications director Marc Slavin follow reporter Dan Noyes around the room. This video is a prime example of how not to handle the media. The top three things you should never do:

1. Never touch a camera! Cameras are extremely expensive pieces of equipment and photographers are sensitive about people grabbing or swatting at them. Plus, you’re actually assaulting someone and they have it on tape!
2. Never keep touching a reporter after they ask you to stop. The same rules that we learned in kindergarten apply.
3. Never get aggressive with a reporter. No matter how tense the situation, you must keep your cool and remember you are a professional.

What could have made this better?

1. “No comment,” always implies guilt. The administrator needed some sort of prepared statement. Whether its, “This is the first I’m hearing of this, let me get back with you so that I can provide you more information,” or, “Our hospital adheres to high standards and our donation program is compliant with all State regulations.”
2. Media training, media training, media training. A few hours of media training will prepare you for being broadsided by an investigative reporter, and handling tense situations in general.
3. Treat people as they expect to be treated. Reporters, customers and the general public can be pushy and rude when they feel like they aren’t being heard or respected. Listen, validate and give a few moments of your time in order to save yourself from the long term stress of a formal complaint, lawsuit or worse yet - a YouTube video.