10 Things I Know About ... Public relations
Victor Cruz is principal of MediaPR, plying his trade in Massachusetts for 25 years.
10) Know thyself. Comedians must know their audience. Public relations people must know their readers and audience, depending on the target publication.
9) Know the press. Don’t pitch your products/services to an editor. Pitch your CEO, customer success stories and expertise. Publishers look for stories to educate and entertain readers, not for companies looking to sell products.
8) Press releases. Most press releases are not newsworthy unless money is at stake (e.g., acquisitions, mergers, venture capital funding). Survey findings can be newsworthy. Announce proprietary news relevant to your customers.
7) SEC compliance. To stay in compliance with U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission rules, public companies must use a wire service to dissemination news of material value.
6) Content marketing. So-called content marketing is a relatively new trend. The lesson here is companies must write their own content to promote messages in a way to inform the audience.
5) External blogs. These offer a platform for the CEO’s vision. Select a handful and contribute vendor-neutral, advisory articles repeatedly.
4) Interviews. If you land a coveted press interview, be aware your role is to help that reporter write the best story they can. Don’t make it all about you.
3) Case studies. Customer success stories pointing to return-on-investment gains are your best kind of testimonial and make for excellent follow-up sales material.
2) Company blog. Use your blog and social media to share information of relevance to your community, not primarily to toot your own horn by solely touting your products/services.
1) Social media. Use Facebook to support company culture (e.g., ugly sweater day), allow access to employees under limited policies. Use LinkedIn for joining vertical groups.
Victor Cruz is principal of MediaPR, plying his trade in Massachusetts for 25 years. Contact him at vcruz@mediapr.net.
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