The Power of TV

By Charlotte Cheek

Television is powerful, but what about television is so powerful? It gets you in front of a large audience quickly and engages them visually. Television gets people to focus on one screen and absorb everything on it. At the same time, less and less people pay attention to advertisements. With Netflix, Hulu, and DVRs, skipping over commercials is normal, so how does television remain so powerful? How can a business reach people on television without advertising?

Get into the Content People Watch

First, move away from paid advertisements into the content people are paying to see. People pay for Netflix, Hulu, Cable, etc. so that they can watch television shows, sports, and the news. Most businesses cannot afford product placements in viewer’s favorite shows or to sponsor sports teams, but businesses can afford publicity in the news (especially the local news). Anyways, advertising is expensive and it lacks third party validation that local cable stations have. People trust their favorite news stations and reporters to tell them the truth more than they trust a business’s 30-second commercial to tell them the gritty truth. Publicity is free and television is a powerful tool for business. The trick is finding the story and pitching it to the right news station in your area. 

Power of Placement

Being placed in a local news segment is just the beginning. It places you in front of a large audience and uses televisions strengths: sight, sound, and motion to make a lasting impression on the audience. More specifically, cable stations can reach local markets extremely fast. Speed is extremely important in today’s competitive market and one good segment on a local news station can lead to more opportunities for free placement on television, in newspapers, or on the radio by others interested in your story. So, if you want to captivate a large part of your target market visually, then remember how powerful television is.

The Type of "Middle Man" You Want.

By Charlotte Cheek

If someone came up to you and said “I’m awesome,” would you believe them? Or would you have an easier time believing someone who said, “So and so is really great, because they did this.”

It’s easier to believe someone giving someone else a compliment than someone giving themselves a pat on the back.

That’s the power of third party validation.

Third party validation means having the media talk about you in a favorable way. The media is the middle man you want. They are not biased to you or your organization; so, their positive words hold more substance.

The media has the power to trash someone’s image or product, but when they don’t it means they mean what they say. Writing positive things about you or your organization does not directly increase their bottom line like it does yours. The public is more willing to take the media’s word for a great new product or service more so than believe an advertisement, because the media is not being self-serving by speaking well about you or your company.

Advertising will get the word out about your product, but a media outlet publishing an article or news channel talking about your company in a positive light will grab more peoples’ attention.

People trust their favorite media outlets as a reliable source to tell them what is going on in their world. So, getting the media to talk about you and your company is worth your time and money. So, go out and get a stamp of approval from the media, I promise it will help.

Speak, don't sell

By Charlotte Cheek

So, you have a speaking engagement! Good for you, but now, what do you say?

Your first instinct may be to get up in front of the room and talk about your spectacular business. It may seem easy to talk about the work you are passionate about and know inside and out. You may try and entice your audience to hire you or buy your products. But think before you act!

CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, is a well sought after speaker in the United States. Recently, she delivered the keynote address at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In today’s world, we are overwhelmed with advertisements. According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the average American encounters approximately 560 ads per day.* So, the people voluntarily coming to your speaking engagement are not going to want to add your 25-minute-to-hour-long advertisement to their daily list of ads. Your voice may be lost in the noise of endless ads.

Fifty percent of a sale is being in front of the room. So, get up there and be passionate, but don’t sell. The sale will come on its own without a glorified in-person commercial.

Your New Goals while speaking, besides selling:

• Be Passionate – Talk about a hobby you are passionate about or something you have learned in your career that can help the audience. If you are passionate and interested in the topic, you will be much more likely to be interesting. You can keep an audience engaged and they may even learn a few things, which leads us to our next goal...
• Be an Expert – Gain credibility with your audience by knowing your stuff. The audience will trust you more when they can tell that you are knowledgeable, which can lead to them trusting you in your field of expertise (aka your job).

So what are you passionate about? Wine, animals, social media, or art? The possibilities are endless and people will want to listen!

*https://ams.aaaa.org/eweb/upload/faqs/adexposures.pdf

Bill Gates & Donald Trump

What do they have in common? The power of public relations!

These two names are known far and wide, and they’re known as successful, wealthy businessmen. Both Gates and Trump used PR to gain public awareness of who they are, and although their names and faces are established, they continue to work with PR reps to make sure people know what they’re doing, and ensure that the right things are being said. 

These men are obviously extreme examples of how powerful PR can be. However, PR is something that every person who wants a well-known business needs, in order to gain public awareness of his or her name and brand. Who knows? With the right PR rep, you could be on your way to owning the next Trump Tower!

The Latest and Greatest in Social Media? Instagram!

 

By Alexandra Kutcher

Picture this

How many times a day do you scroll through endless news feeds? Probably more than you have time for, thus, the rapid-fire scanning scroll.

Where’s your voice – your company’s voice – in all of this? You know how you handle your social media intake. What about everyone else? You may rightly assume that most handle their news feeds the same way that you do: rapidly, quickly, hurriedly, briefly …

So, how do you get people to pay attention?

The short answer? Instagram.

Why? People use Instagram to look at photos. It’s a medium that draws people in more so than, say, Facebook because we are a visual breed. We want to look at things.

Attention

No one has it anymore.  Not a very long span of it, at least. Who has time to read a three-paragraph Facebook status on your all-star husband re-staining the deck and how your 3-year-old helped, all the while learning Latin?

Be seen not heard

Post a photo and blurb, and you are much more likely to engage and capture attention.

Scroll, scroll, scroll … something about the deli down the street … scroll, scroll, scroll … bad hairdresser something something … scroll, scroll, scroll … oh, what? I didn’t know they were remodeling. Gorgeous counter top! Is that concrete?

Like and comment: “Looks amazing, Jeannine! What’s the counter top made of? I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Jeannine posted a picture on Instagram and shared it on all her social media. She stood out. She posted an eye-catching photo in a unique format – square shaped with a dream-like edit.

Using photos to connect and grow your business allows the public to relate on an individual level.

On a personal note

If you don’t use Instagram, start now. Share those photos on all your social media outlets.

Don’t just talk about what you’re doing – show it. Customers, clients, and fans will see much more than just your brand. Post photos from your office. Post around holidays. Post with clients. Anything!

People will see themselves on your page, get excited, and share on their social media. This grows your following! Others will see friends, people, and places they recognize, and connect on a personal level.

And, they’ll want to be part of it. All because of Instagram.

So You’re in the News, Now What?

By AMY MARIE OROZCO

Congratulations! Your company was featured—favorably—on the front page of a large metropolitan daily newspaper. Way to go! You can’t buy publicity like that.

And the story spun into a 30-second bit on the nightly news? Priceless!

Go and bask in the glory … I’ll give you 5 minutes.

So, now what?

First, I’m going to assume you have covered the operations side of things. Ready for the resulting onslaught of orders. Materials in place. Distribution channels clear and open. Staffing ramped up.

Now, I’m going to tell you how to parlay your 15 minutes of fame into an eternity of publicity. Don’t let this avalanche of good fortune go to waste. Here’s what you must do:

• Thank the journalists responsible for putting your company’s name in lights. No need for a gift, but a phone call and an email or handwritten note will do the trick.
• Buy reprints of the newspaper story. Get it in digital form, too. Then create professionally produced reprints. Post the reprint on your Web site, Facebook page, and the rest of your social media.
• Link to the 30-second news bit to your Web site and all social media.
• Remember to use SEO and back links to further drive traffic to your company.
• Share your news with ALL your clients and prospective clients. Copies of the reprint go via snail mail. An email blast or your e-newsletter goes into everyone’s inbox.
• Think re-purposing and reusing. Did the newspaper article refer to you as an expert in your field? Add that to your list of credentials. Did the newscast recommend your business? Better put that on your Web site.
• Find out how the reporter decided to do the story. From a press releases you sent? A customer? How do you find this out? You ask them directly! Use the same tactic in the future, but don’t rely on it solely.
• Pitch other media with your news. Like a trade magazine or a radio talk show—now that you’re an expert.
• Keep your press kit updated. Always.
• Stick to your publicity calendar. Continue sending out press releases. Be regular with blog posts. Is your Web site fresh? Don’t rest on your laurels.

Careful, speaking “off the record” can stay on your permanent record

By AMY MARIE OROZCO

Journalists question President Richard M. Nixon during a Watergate press conference—Oct. 26, 1973. White House Photo Office Collection.

Anything said to a journalist may be used in a story, unless a previous agreement has been made—emphasis on previous. Remember that.

Speaking “off the record” needs to be a premeditated act with a very specific agreement reached between the subject and the journalist. For many, “off the record” means the source of the information won’t be named. However, to the Associated Press and journalism schools “off the record” means information given to a reporter is for his or her knowledge only and cannot be used in a public way. Oftentimes, this off-the-record information points the reporter to a new source, one who perhaps—reporters hope—has more leeway to speak “on the record.”

What many people think of as “off the record” is technically called “on background,” which means the information given to a journalist can be used but not attributed by name. The journalist will attribute the information to an agreed upon title such as “city hall insider” or an “executive level source within the company.”

When is it appropriate to speak off the record? When you have very important information of public significance and need a promise of confidentiality, according to the Associated Press Stylebook. Only speak after you have reached a previous agreement with the reporter. The AP Stylebook also advises that “a reporter who reveals the name or identity of someone who was promised confidentiality can be held liable for breach of this agreement.”

For some critics in today’s 24/7 news cycle, off the record has become synonymous with license to attack without accountability. For journalists, off the record and on background remain cornerstones of upholding the First Amendment.

To play it safe with the media, follow Media Manoeuvres Golden Rule:

“Always assume, if you are near a journalist, camera or microphone, that you are on the record and if you don’t want to see it, hear it or read it, then don’t say it.”

GIMME A GRABBER: 8 Tips for Writing Effective Headlines

By AMY MARIE OROZCO

It’s the headline that makes the sale in the publicity marketplace. The headline’s the one that grabs and holds the editor’s roving eye. No matter how brilliant your story may be, it won’t be read without the siren song of a headline.

Good to know, right? Better to know, though, is how to write a great headline.

1. Keep it simple and direct. The goal of a headline is to hook the reader. Even with all the changes the digital era has brought, the typical headline remains only five to eight words. Examples: “Unresponsive Private Plane Crashes Off Jamaica” from the HuffingtonPost.com, and “Assassin Kills Kennedy: Lyndon Johnson Sworn In” from the Chicago Tribune.
2. Express a complete thought. A headline has a verb, a subject, and sometimes an object. The stronger the verb, the better the headline will be. Examples: “Lava Threatens to Cut Off Town” from CNN.com and “Titanic Sinks Four Hours After Hitting Iceberg” from The New York Times.
3. Be specific. Readers make decisions in milliseconds. Don’t lose them by making generalities. Capturing their attention is in the details.
4. Save the one- and two-word headlines for earthshaking events. Example: “Diana Dead” from The Daily News.
5. Avoid the status quo. “No Word on New Tax Initiative” tells the reader not to bother reading. “Traffic Remains Top Commuter Complaint” is sure to induce a big yawn. 
6. Watch the hyperbole and exaggeration. Forego using miracle, amazing, breakthrough, and other such words indicating the copy to follow is full of hot air. 
7. Sidestep the “Upworthy Style.” Don’t bother with the trendy teasers hogging papering cyberspace, such as “This little boy was wheelchair-bound since birth. What happened at his aunt’s wedding will blow your mind.” Or, “This dog nursed an orphaned raccoon. You won’t believe the end result.”
8. Apply the “doo-dah rule.” To make sure the headline sings (sounds good to the ear), say “doo-dah” after it. If there is a rhythm, you are good to go. Examples: “Nixon Resigns doo-dah” and “Dewey Defeats Truman doo-dah doo-dah.”

#TBT ANTI-GRAFFITI PAINTING THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

Over the years, the iconic Hollywood Sign has been sprayed with graffiti from artists ranging from gang members to lovers to adventurers — all wanting to leave their mark.

As public relations’ rep for Textured Coatings of America (TCA), a Los Angeles-based company that manufactures paint and, among other specialty products, an anti-graffiti chemical coating, it’s not hard to figure out how a graffiti-covered sign and a company with an anti-graffiti coating fit together …

Working with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, we arranged for Textured Coatings of America to donate the supplies and labor to re-paint the Hollywood Sign’s 50-foot-high letters and coat them with Tex-Cote Graffiti-Guard®.

The project cost Tex-Cote more than $25,000 and took about a week to complete.

As the final day approached, we held a press conference in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce and invited every Los Angeles newspaper, television and radio station to attend.

As the press conference was underway, we could see the television helicopters flying over the Hollywood Sign as the anti-graffiti coating was being applied.

The Mayor of Los Angeles created a committee titled “The Mayor’s Committee for Graffiti Removal” and TCA’s CEO, Stuart Haines, was named Chairman.

What made this such a smashing success? Why did editors and reporters jump all over this story? Two main reasons:

• The Hollywood Sign is an icon, one everyone recognizes and cares about.
• The story was about the city and the sign, not about Tex-Cote.

Editors and reporters are not in the business of advertising companies. They care more about how your business engages and benefits the community than how your business makes you money. Yes, they are interested in new products (Tex-Cote’s anti-graffiti coating), but they are more interested in how those products benefit the community and the public.

For Textured Coatings of America, demonstrating how their product works by donating their time and money, earned them national publicity for more than a year, just from that one event.