Alan Fogg of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and Josh Dare of the Hodges Partnership talk about how businesses can build a strong public relations program with an emphasis on media outreach.
Enjoy Night⚡Call Girls Iffco Chowk Gurgaon >༒8448380779 Escort Service
Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce Business Education Series: Building a Public Relations Program
1. Greater Reston Chamber of
Commerce
Business Education Series
BUILDING A
MEDIA RELATIONS PROGRAM
April 25, 2012
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
2. Today’s Agenda
• Public Relations – An Overview
• Media Relations
– Types of media
– Outreach
– Positioning
– Pitching your story
– News releases
– Editorial calendars
– Op-eds, commentary
• Beyond Media Relations
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
3. Why are you here?
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
5. Why public relations?
• Applications for your business
– Raise visibility
– Broaden awareness
– Introduce new products
– Establish/enhance expertise position
– Enhance your reputation
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
6. Components of PR
• Internal communications
• Industry communications/relations
• Community relations
• Promotions
• Crisis communication
• Strategic planning
• Reputation management
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
8. Why Media Relations?
• Target key constituencies
– Trade and consumer media outlets
• Amplify your marketing/other messages
– Consistent messaging with brand/adv.
• Third-party validation
– Especially to new audiences
• Legal reasons
– Financial reporting, materials events
• Earnings statements, leadership changes
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
9. What Media Relations can’t do
• Can’t precisely control the message
• Can’t control the timing (kinda)
• Message constricted within news context
• Sustaining a campaign can be challenging
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
10. Types of Media Outlets
• Newspapers
– Dailies, weeklies
• Magazines
– Consumer, trade
• TV/radio
• Online outlets
– Websites, ezines, blogs
• Social media platforms
– Blogs, Facebook, twitter
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
11. Media Outreach
• Starts with research
– Know the outlets
– Know the reporters
• Developing targets
– Databases
– Understanding your end-target
• What do they read/watch?
• Build/verify your list
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
12. Thinking like a reporter
• What’s new or different?
– New product, company, leadership
• What’s the larger trend?
– You as part of a larger story
• What’s your expert insight?
– What are you seeing that others aren’t?
– Stats and examples to back it up
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
13. Making Contact
• Establishing a relationship
– Introduce yourself/your expertise
– Comment on a story
– Follow on Facebook/twitter/blogs
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
14. The Pitch
• What is a Pitch?
– Means for piquing interest in your story/POV
• Email vs. phone call
– Most reporters today prefer email
• Think of it like a sales call
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
15. The Pitch (cont.)
• Email pitch
• Short and sweet
• The Subject Line (relevance)
• Lead with your news
• Support with context
– Trend
– Expertise
• Offer more info
• Embed
• Visuals
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
16. Pitching Exercise
Now you try…
• What’s your pitch?
– What’s your lead?
– Why’s it news?
– Why should I care?
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
17. The News Release
• Still needed?
• Format
Date, contact, city, etc.
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Contact: Alan Fogg
Phone
Email
HEADLINE
Subhead
Springfield, Va., Jan. 19, 2011 – The FCEDA announced today…
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
18. A Word about Language
• Keep language simple
• Avoid hyperbole
• Avoid industry jargon
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
“Zimbra is the leader in open source, next-generation collaboration
and messaging software. We provide innovative experiences to end-
users and their administrators because we see existing tools are
fundamentally broken. We also believe in compatibility with existing
infrastructure and applications (both open source and proprietary).”
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
20. Headline
• Punchy summary of the news
– Subhead (optional) can expound
Fairfax Economic Development President
Named “Business Person of the Year”
Dr. Jerry Gordon honored with Virginia Business magazine’s
third annual award
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
21. The Lede
• Restate the main news from headline
• When?
• Where?
• Who?
• Descending order of importance
Fairfax County, Jan. 19, 2011 – The Fairfax County Economic
Development Authority announced today that 412 of the nation’s
Fortune 500 companies have agreed to move to the county by
the end of the calendar year.
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
22. The Body
• More details
• Your point of view (quotes)
• URL for more information
• Boilerplate
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
23. What’s News
• Launch of new product
• Companies solving problems
– Case studies
• Consumer tips
• Events/transactions
• HR news (appointments, promotions)
• Expert opinion
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
24. The Media Kit
• Elements
– One-pager on company/product
– FAQs
– Company backgrounder
– Bios
– Images
• Printed vs. electronic
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
25. Distribution
• Wholesale vs. retail
– Craft for specific outlets
– Mass email
– Distribution services
• PR Newswire, BusinessWire
• Profnet/HARO
• SEO considerations
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
27. Planning
• Develop a quarterly/biannual calendar
• Align with editorial calendars of media
targets
• Align with other marketing
– Advertising, social media
• Take a media tour
• Set realistic goals
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
28. Tracking Results
• Electronic services
– Burrelle’s, Factiva, Lexis-Nexis, Google alerts
• Web searches
• Follow-up emails
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
29. Merchandising Your Success
• Reprints for distribution
• Email links to articles
– Enewsletters
• Social media platforms
– Blog
– Facebook page
– Twitter
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org
30. Your Turn
Discussion/questions
www.hodgespart.com www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org