Want To Promote Yourself?
The Secret is that it’s NOT all About You
Sometimes the harshest truths are the most important ones.
In public relations, one of the most important truisms revolves around the primary question that the media asks itself as it evaluates the potential stories it may cover: Who really cares?
They ask that question not out of rudeness, but rather out of a genuine desire to serve their audiences. Now, as consumers of the media, we may argue some of their choices of stories (I’m completely mystified with the media’s fascination with the cast of the Jersey Shore, but that’s just me), but we have to remember that the media’s revenue comes from the size and scope of their audiences. If they believe their audience wants to hear about a particular person or story, you can be assured they’ll cover it.
What is a 3-D PR Campaign?
How the Different Elements of Your PR Campaign Work Together
With all the movies coming out in 3-D these days, I started thinking about how a good PR campaign also has its own 3-D elements. Well, really, there are four types of media outlets today – TV, radio, print (offline and online) and social media – so you really need a 4-D strategy (a point I am sure I will be arguing online at some point with a smart-aleck physicist who takes issue with my science).
In PR, unlike movies, 4-D is the only way to go. I mention this because people frequently ask me which of the four media outlets I think is better. I try to explain that each one is effective in its own right, however, as the media feeds off of itself, the most effective PR campaign will include using all elements in a strategy that leverages a 4-dimensional approach.
What Are the Building Blocks of a Modern-Day PR Campaign?
Presenting the NEW Face of Public Relations
After 21 years in the PR business, it has become increasingly apparent to me that it’s time to drive a new milepost into the ground.
While the media has been specializing in reinventing itself every few business quarters, the business of marketing has been slowly evolving, trying to keep up with the changes. Regular readers of this column have seen some phrases making repeat appearances, such as social media, email blasts, online news outlets and other terms that refer to some of the technological advances that have hit modern marketing communications. As each of these new areas of outreach emerges, our tactics as PR strategists are changing with the times.
So, How Many People Am I Going to Reach?
It’s a More Complex Question Than You Think
Irony has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.
One of our clients was at a convention this week, and among his activities, he was hosting a panel on the digital revolution in the entertainment industry. While his credentials in the entertainment business are solid, he has yet to figure out how to operate his new Droid smartphone.
So one of my staff emailed him, pointing out the irony and the client emailed back, “I thought ‘digital’ meant they were going to talk about fingers!”
Going Away for the Holidays? The Media Won’t
Having just gotten through Labor Day, I’m reminded that we’ll soon be closing in on the BIG holiday season. It’s a time when many businesses are closed for several days and business slows to a crawl in most of the country from Thanksgiving right on through New Year’s Day.
However, there is one industry that doesn’t close down. It’s the media and here are some statistics to back that up:
So, What’s The Value of All My PR Efforts, Anyway?
How To Measure The Results of Your PR Campaign
I tend to use this space as a “how to” venue. I like to share my insights on how to get the media excited about you, your message, your products, your services and books. My hope is that the information I offer will enable you to generate media placements for yourself to further your public relations efforts.
However, I’m frequently asked about the value of PR in relation to the business goals it’s designed to enhance. People wonder what will happen if they’re able to achieve a picture-perfect PR campaign and get the media to notice them and generate coverage for them. They wonder if the upside is increased sales, or if it’s in the branding or maybe it’s just the increased exposure for their company or projects or their book.
The short answer is yes, but the long answer is a bit more complicated than that. First thing’s first. When we do a print campaign, for instance, we rate it based on the reach of the publications in traditional print outlets and online outlets. We use two key terms – circulation and visitors per month (VPM) – and while one of those terms is old and the other is new, they are based on the same principle. Read more
Christmas in August?
You Need to Start Now To Be in Your Customers’ Holiday Plans
Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the shopping’s so delightful
So since we’ve got cash to blow
Let it go, let it go, let it go.
Okay, so I’m no Burt Bacharach, but you get the idea.
The fourth quarter – that holiday spending season between October and December – is still a month and a half away, so I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m riffing on a holiday classic. My point is that the holidays is when consumers and businesses make a disproportionate amount of purchases compared to the rest of the year, but just because they spend the money in Q4 doesn’t mean that’s when they also make the decisions on what to spend it on. Read more
Harry Potter Just Made $476 Million – And How is YOUR Business Doing?
Three Reasons Why Summer is NOT the Time to Slow Down Promotion
Call it what you will – the summer doldrums, the dog days of summer, the summertime blues. It really doesn’t matter what you call it, but most all of the statistics show that businesses slow down during the summertime.
Now, if you’re content to follow the crowd, by all means, feel free to follow suit. But, I certainly can’t run my business based on seasons of the year – and as a marketer and CEO, I can’t understand why other businesses would, unless they’re seasonal in nature. So, if you’re able to disagree with the crowd logic (or as I see it, “illogic”), then while everyone else is following the trend, you could be spending your time and energy transcending it. Read more on how your business is doing →
Getting Results: How Timing and Creativity Can Get You Booked
Just last week, I showed you an interview I did with Lisa Hess, our TV campaign manager, about a typical day in her life here at EMSI. In it, we learned a lot of the different things she does in order to get our clients booked. Although I can always count on Lisa to arrange good TV bookings each week, last week she outdid herself with 4 national TV appearances and 5 local TV appearances on network affiliate stations. So I thought it might be helpful as a follow-up to share with you how she got these bookings.
In her world, there are two kinds of pitches that she uses to garner the interest of national TV producers. While national news programs and talk shows tend to follow the news cycle and seasons, they also sometimes respond to a pitch that is more evergreen, a message that’s not tied to the news but is one that’s timeless. However, in order to generate interest on the evergreen pitch, it has to be creative and really offer the viewers some serious added value. Read more on getting results →
Why Can’t I Just Talk About My Book On The Air? Why Using the Media to Sell Books is a Finesse Play
Unless you’re Oprah, a former president or a major celebrity, there is one question you will likely never be asked by the media when promoting a book.
“So why did you write your book?”
They won’t ask it, not because they don’t know you’re an author nor because they’re being rude. They won’t ask because the media doesn’t exist to help authors sell books. The media exists to create content that informs and entertains its audience, so that their audience stays tuned in. The more audience they have, the more advertising dollars they can charge for their print space and air time. Audiences are what make them money.
This is one of the most common disconnects we usually see with those who are new to the game of PR. Authors expect they can use the media as a venue to talk about their books, while the media is only interested in them for their expertise and the information or entertainment they can offer their audiences. Read more on why you can't just talk about your book on the air →
Is the TV Commercial Dying? Why What Happens Between the Commercials Has Become Even More Important
My Senior Campaign Manager, Tony Panaccio, wrote a great piece the other day about the state of TV advertising and I thought it was so interesting I wanted to share it with you.
Maybe it’s me, but I read something the other day that made me wonder if I’m the only one who doesn’t see the logic here.
The Nielsen Company tracks the audience viewership of TV programs so that programmers and advertisers can get a handle on how many people are watching certain shows. Programmers take that data and figure out how much they’ll charge to advertise on their shows. Of course, they pay attention to key demographics and more granular statistics, but at the end of the day, this is the data that helps them figure out that they’re going to charge $3 million per minute to advertise on The Super Bowl broadcast and $1 – $3.80 per minute on reruns of the recent reboot of Hawaii Five-0. Read more on is the TV commercial dying →
You Don’t Need to Be a Celebrity to Get in the News
So, Why Would the Media Be Interested in Me?
In my more than 20 years in public relations, one of the questions I get asked a lot is, “Well, why would the press care about me? I just work for a living, like everyone else.”
The truth is that experts are experts, no matter their field, and as the media has grown over the past decade, it seems there is an endless hunger for experts to comment on the news. Keep in mind the media encompasses 24/7 cable news networks, news/talk radio stations, print media and online news sites that cover just about every topic you can imagine, and then some. While your expertise may be in a “niche” industry or profession, you’d be surprised how many media outlets might have need of your opinions and commentary for their coverage of the news. Read more on you don't need to be a celebrity to get in the news →
Why Your Promotional Message Is Not Your PR Angle
Whether you’re promoting a company, book, product or service, the goal is to get your message out so people will decide to buy whatever it is you’re selling. Promotion often revolves around your key market differentiators – the things about you that make you different and better than your competition.
However, when it comes to your PR campaign, the press isn’t interested in your market differentiators or whatever it is you’re selling.
Their position is that they don’t exist to provide coverage to help you sell or to make money at all. The press corps in broadcast, online and print exists to inform and entertain their audiences so THEY can sell advertising and make money. Read more on why your promotional message is not your PR angle →
How to Give a Great Print Media Interview: Five Tips You Don’t Want to Miss
Sometimes I cringe when I hear people talk about “the media.” It sounds as if everyone in TV, radio, print and online press is a member of one fraternity that thinks and acts the same. There is a vast gulf between the daily life of a print journalist and the daily life of a radio show host. And there are many differences between radio hosts and TV producers.
They really shouldn’t be treated the same. That’s why I’ve written a booklet called 50 Tips to Make You A Great Radio Guest and a similar piece for TV. Now I am compiling interview tips for working with print and online journalists (which in many cases can be the same thing). This will be the first of three articles, so stay tuned for the others over the next two weeks. Read more on how to give a great print media interview →
How to Prepare for the Big Interview
The Questions You Ask Yourself are as Important as the Answers
After more than 20 years in the public relations business, I’ve discovered one universal truth: There’s really nothing quite as important as preparing for an interview.
After all, if you’ve gone through all the trouble of studying the news, reading about the issues and creating a set of resonant messages and have used them to score an interview with a journalist, why would you want to wing it? The problem is most people prepare for an interview by asking themselves the questions THEY would ask THEMSELVES, instead of asking the questions a professional journalist would likely ask them. That’s where I have seen many campaigns run off the rails before they begin. Read more on how to prepare for the big interview →
Planning on Booking Your Own TV Publicity?
There’s More to It than Just Sending Out a Press Release
In the past few months, I’ve covered a lot of ground with regard to how to do your own public relations campaign. I’ve explained how to make yourself or your company appealing to the media, how to write pitches and why articles work better than press releases.
But I haven’t yet explained some crucial elements with regard to orchestrating a PR campaign and more specifically with regard to landing TV appearances. Radio and print publicity definitely require attention to details – but the number of logistical issues you have to deal with for TV exposure is far greater. Read more on how to book your own TV publicity →
Want to Get on TV? Follow a Daily News Routine to Increase Your Chances
Over the years, I’ve always advised my clients that if you want to get in the news, you have to watch and read the news. I know it sounds a little like “bumper sticker” advice, but it’s really not meant as a sound bite. In fact, we use a practical application of that advice every single morning at our agency.
It’s actually a very simple list of easy steps that anyone can do, and it can get blockbuster results. Read more on a strategy to get on TV →
Stay Focused on Your Passion: Emmy-Winning Client Proves Passion and Drive Can Overcome ANY Obstacle
I spend much of my time doling out practical marketing and PR advice based on the harsh realities of today’s new economy. People ask me constantly for ways they can market themselves affordably and more reliably, so I try to make sure most of my tips are grounded and instantly useful.
But there is one particular element I discuss quite a bit in my book, Celebritize Yourself – I also refer to it so often when speaking to clients and potential clients that I sometimes feel I run the risk of it losing its meaning. The element I talk about copiously is following your passion, and because I hate the thought of sounding like a broken record, it’s refreshing when something happens that re-emphasizes the meaning of my words. Read more on passion being the driving force behind your success →
How to Make the Most of Your On-Air Time
Ever since the days when every TV set was a massive 12 inches, and millions of Americans tuned in to watch I Love Lucy in glorious black and white, television has been in the center of our living rooms.
Today, the screens are larger, the picture is in high-definition color and the programming choices are near infinite. Also, in addition to shows of general interest, there are now literally hundreds of cable network shows that cater to specialized niche markets. Plus, millions are now watching TV shows on their cell phones and computers. All in all, TV viewership continues to soar. Read more on how to make the most of your on-air time →
How to Get the Media Interested in You: You May Be Newsworthy Without Even Knowing It
Do you know what the media would consider newsworthy about you or your company?
Many new clients come to us with a strong opinion about what their “pitch” should be, but often miss the mark, in terms of knowing what will get the media to sit up and pay attention to their message. But it’s very understandable that this could occur, if you’re not working with the media the way we do, day in and day out, developing story angles intended to grab their interest. Read more on getting the media interested in you →
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You Can Enjoy Expert Celebrity Status
Are you ready for your own brand of celebrity? Public relations expert Marsha Friedman teaches you how to Celebritize Yourself! Learn the secret to becoming an expert celebrity. Her book is the manual for becoming well known as an expert in your field! -
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