The Power of One Targeted Media Story

In truth, it is very rare that your marketing strategies work immediately, including PR. Why is this? Simply put sometimes the most targeted media story you can get may happen to be in a magazine, and national pubs work up to six months out. So, while you've secured the opportunity, you still have to wait six months for it to hit. This can be true for a lot of media. But then again, you realize that marketing, in general, is a long-term process that needs nurturing and requires patience.

There are those few precious times when a journalist can take interest in your story and change the face of your business overnight. The best way to explain this is to give you examples of two of our clients.

About two years ago my friend, Dr. Michele Kehrer came to me and said "I'm one of few people in the country who treats chronic dizziness and balance issues, which 90% of Americans will suffer from at one point, and doctors don't know about me". It was a great story and was immediately picked up by the local ABC affiliate's HealthBeat. They came out the next week, taped and ran the story not just once but four times over the next several days - mostly appearing late night. Her business, Lifestyle Physical Therapy & Balance Center got more than a shot in the arm - she picked up over 100 patients and it transformed her clinic, literally, overnight. Two years later she has doubled her staff, again, and is enjoying less work and more management of the business.

More recently, as in this week, our pro bono client Kendall Ciesemier of Kids Caring 4 Kids, and I, finally saw the fruits of our labor. Roughly three months ago, Channel One, a news resource for six million kids across the country that is fed directly into classrooms, called and said they were in from New York for a story and wanted to cover Kendall's interesting story - and it is interesting (read more). Her primary goal: to distribute her "i care 2" kit and encourage American kids to support AIDS orphans in Africa. It took a few months to edit (and breaking for the holidays) and finally aired January 11, 2010 on Channel One. The result - within just a few days hundreds of kits were requested, donation pages set up on her website and....to date those numbers are still growing.

Why did these work to produce so much for these two organizations? Because the story truly hit their target demographics. Other key ingredients for success are two great stories, something the public would be interested in as well as learning about, they differentiated themselves from anyone else and both are extremely passionate about what they want to accomplishment.

This is what one truly targeted story can do for your business

This isn't to say that you aren't passionate about your business, it's about locating your story, writing and presenting it in a compelling way (Make it News!) and finding the one media outlet that reaches the particular audience you desire most.

Look, there are a lot of people out there who practice the "Bowl of Spaghetti" theory to PR - take a bowl of spaghetti, throw it up on the wall and see what sticks. In this case, write a press release, SPAM it to every journalist on the list and see who shows interest. Our particular approach was hands on, meaning our clients gave us their media wish list of about 10-15 and we went out and got them interested. It was more than just "sending an email", we crafted our story to each particular media and audience and....gasp....we even called them on the phone over just distributing by email.

Yes, generating PR, and marketing in general, takes time. Valuable time out of your day when you could be doing other things to run your business, but isn't it worth it to you and your business to focus on it for a week and see what develops? It could change your business and make your dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur come true.

In both cases, it took one person to stand out from the crowd with a great story to impart success. There is only one way to success.....go out and find your amazing story and if you're struggling, then it's worth it to find an experience news/PR professional to write it for you.

Follow me on Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert and @MyStorySource or subscribe to MyStorySource.com for FREE to pitch your story to media.

Positive PR for Great Nonprofit

In 2009, my involvement with I Should Be in The News, a nonprofit with a national network of PR people helping other nonprofits achieve positive PR, led me to Kendall Ciesemier and her organization Kids Caring 4 Kids (www.KidsCaring4Kids.com). We shared her vision and she became Cascade Communications' pro bono client for the year.

We rarely toot our own horns but this one story is a great example of what PR can do...for any organization. Her amazing story drew attention from Channel One news (about 6 million viewers in schools across the country) and resulted in the largest number of requests for her "i care 2" kit since she was on Oprah a few years ago.

http://www.channelone.com/onair/finding_strength_archive/

Kendall's story has inspired all of us to do more for AIDS orphans in Africa, and around the world - providing them with school uniforms, education, meals, bicycles and clean water. Many of these young kids walk miles to school and to get water while at the same time taking care of their younger siblings. No 11, 12, 13+ year old child should have this kind of responsibility. As a journalist and PR professional, it is these unique stories that make our jobs worthwhile and we're thrilled that the opportunity came our way.

Congratulations, Kendall! We hope the request for kits continue to pour in!

Do You Really Value Your Company, Customers?

In light of times like we’ve been through it’s easy to see why so many companies have been pushing major sales promotions – a. to move product and inventory to prepare for new and b. to just make the sale.

While this is not typically a bad thing, and something most businesses do regularly, it can become a problem when you do it just to make money; a quick sale. These business owners are focused on making money and lots of it, not nurturing the value of their brand, company, products and services, let alone their customers (who, I might remind you, are the reason you’re making money).

What I mean is that sometimes we can get so focused on “the money” that we fail to zero in on what is making that money. Obviously your customers, and their buying because they see value in what you’re offering. When you cheapen it with incredibly deep discounts or sales promotions that you can’t possibly fulfill just for a quick shot in the arm of cash, you are devaluing your brand, products and services.

Why do some people do this? Well, because they don’t see their own value.

When you don’t or stop seeing value in your offerings you become nothing more than annoying sales people and your customers will leave – you will always be chasing money (customers) rather than focusing on keeping existing customers happy and growing that base for real success.

Now, don’t get me wrong, a business always needs to think about its sales process, but what it can’t do is become so centered (to get tunnel vision) on that one element. It will fail you over time. Why? Because today’s consumers are smarter than they’ve ever been before. They want customer service. They want to feel valued by you and your business. They want to feel good about buying from you and part of a unique community supporting your business. Trust me, if they don’t receive any of this then they will leave and buy from your competitor.

Sometimes customer service can be the difference between you making the sale or your competitor. It’s time that we all remember who drives this economy, the consumer, and start:

• Developing customer service plans (even if it’s only one sheet)
• Planning special promotions in advance
• Stop working in “crisis” mode to making money
• Develop open and customized communications plans specifically for customers
• Focus on the long-term, keeping the customers you have and let them be part of the marketing process by giving valuable referrals
• Stop being a sales company and be good at what you really do. If you do it well and right the sales and success will come to you.

Here’s to a New Year with a new focus on how we run and grow our businesses and get back to what’s important – the customer.

Jennifer Fortney
Cascade Communications
Follow me on Twitter: @SmallBizPRXpert and @MyStorySource

No one should be out in this....

Does that say two degrees? Can't tell. Window is frozen. Unfortunately, I have to be out in it all day long. Bbrrrrr.....

The Best FREE Resources for Getting PR

In the past, as a PR professional there were a multitude of great resources we used to help generate news stories for our clients. Back then many were pay services that came by fax or even mail! Can you imagine how far ahead journalists had to plan to get a query posted on that one!

Well those days are mostly gone, thanks to the Internet and many service, while still pay are offering part of their service for free (promotionally) and others are just FREE.

Now my cohorts would ask me why I’m giving these away, but the reality is that if you really wanted to find them online, you will and I would rather have you visit Small Business Daily and save yourself some serious time.

Help a Reporter Out – sign up to receive this free email distribution three times daily with the latest queries from journalists looking for sources. Be ware. Participation has rules so best to read them before you get booted from the list.

Pitch Rate – also an email distribution that’s focus is on industry experts

Reporter’s Source – free email distribution with leads but you don’t have the chance to pitch the reporter yourself. Actually, you send in your pitch, it’s evaluated by the publishers and they pitch it for you. If the journalist is interested they put you in touch.

My Story Source – just launched. Free email distribution to media that allows you to pitch your news in the email and journalists contact you at their convenience. Also a good place to build community with other small businesses and nonprofits.

The Publicity Hound – a great place to get tips on improving your ability to generate positive PR for your organization.

Toilet Paper Entrepreneur – another great resource for entrepreneurs of every shape and size. A wealth of knowledge and information. Read the blog daily!

Jennifer Fortney
Cascade Communciations

Follow me on Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert

Time Flies...

Wow! Has it really been a month since I posted here? Well, if you're curious, you can always check out my posts on Small Business Daily where I contribute a little more regularly....but there is so much going on here at Cascade Communications, and you will only hear about it here and on Twitter @MyStorySource and @SmallBizPRXpert. Trust me....it's really good!

Today is Friday and while I try to use the day closing projects for the week and returning calls, I can't help but think the day wouldn't also be well-spent curled up on the couch with a romantic comedy! Maybe it's the changing weather and crispness of Fall air but I, personally, feel in transition and Cascade is definitely in transition. I'm a Scorpio, so while most people make new starts on or around New Year's Day, this is my new year and there will soon be much to tell.

If you're in Chicago and looking for a new networking group, follow Sip & Give on Facebook. It's a new networking group for professionals who are socially and community-minded. The first event is Tuesday, October 27 benefiting the Lakeview Pantry (due to the economy, they are in even greater need of food and help to provide for individuals and families this holiday season). See details on Facebook.

Cheers for a great weekend...stay tuned!

Benefits of PR - Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

It's rare that I actually post something from another public relations professional, but hey, we're all on the same team, right? I came across this on Twitter today and thought...."I couldn't have said it better myself!" So, Jenna, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Benefits of Public Relations
By: Jenna (Gruhala) Oltersdorf

It’s no secret that both public relations (PR) and advertising offer unique benefits when employed correctly. And, when working together, the two practices can build awareness, boost brand value and drive sales. Some of our most successful campaigns stem from a strong relationship between our PR team and advertising agency partners.

To contrast the two, PR earns media coverage through strategic outreach to journalists while advertising is a controlled message placed in paid-for space. Both practices work to influence the behavior of consumers by swaying opinion, calling consumers to action, etc., but the tactics used to gain results and meet goals couldn’t be more different.

Unfortunately, PR tends to be overlooked during the planning stages of some marketing campaigns because many don’t fully understand the benefits. And, if PR isn’t overlooked all together, many times key decision makers don’t quite understand how it works or worse, don’t understand how to measure a PR campaign’s success (common measurements include impressions, number of placements and types of placements).

The primary goal of any PR campaign, no matter how large or small, is to build relationships. Through these relationships, we’re able to secure stories, build momentum and create opportunities for brands, be it a person, organization, product or service. Before launching any PR campaign, it’s important to outline measures of success to fairly evaluate the benefits as well as manage expectations both internally and externally.

So what sort of benefits can you expect from a well-planned PR campaign?

Read more....

Pitch to Editors Should Cross Mediums

Score Multiple Hits Per Pitch: Chicago Tribune Critic Daley Suggests Writing Pitches Adaptable for Print, Online, Radio and Social Media

Jim Bucci (jbucci@bulldogreporter.com) Issue Date: Daily 'Dog - August 19, 2009 "Pitches need to be adaptable to multiple platforms and multiple adaptations," says Bill Daley, a food and wine critic for the Chicago Tribune. "I need to be able to write something for the newspaper, rewrite it into a radio script and also do it as a tweet. For example, I once took research for one story and repackaged it seven ways for the different media types. Pitches have to be focused and laser sharp. Fewer journalists mean fewer of us doing more things." His additional tips for scoring more coverage per pitch: Read more...

Don’t Spam Editors: Five Tips to Earn Their Respect

For small businesses DIYing PR there are three things that they have to learn to do well so be successful:

1. Tell their story – in effect, writing a strong press release

2. Effectively pitching media

3. Following up with media with respect

The last of these seems to be the one that most DIYers miss. A majority still believe that if they distribute their press release online and email an effective pitch to media that those two things will do the trick alone in garnering public relations. The truth is that it’s not, and for those who do actively follow up with media, most are simply SPAMMING media until eventually they are completely blocked all together. In my industry, we call it blacklisting and journalists DO it all the time.

The trick to good follow up and achieving PR in general is one thing: RESPECT.

Aretha Franklin sang the song, that quickly comes to mind, and people just like you seek it and demand it from others. So why shouldn’t you give it in return? In life, in general, having respect for yourself and others will take you far. Plus it always feel good. When you stop having that respect you can stop seeing results. Respect for journalists comes in many forms, all of which are key to your success in achieving PR for your business.

Here are five tips on how to respect journalists and generate media attention for your business:

• Understand how the media you’re pitching works: Deadlines for TV and print are totally different. If newspaper deadlines are 3:00p don’t call after 2:00p. If the TV newsroom meeting is from 9:00- 10:00a don’t call during. They won’t have an answer for you. Have respect for their time and deadlines and keep your pitches brief and to the point.
• Know what the journalist or blogger you’re following up with writes on, what are they looking for or interested in. What is their beat? It can take time to read through their columns online, but it’s important to do so if you’re going to be successful in catering your story to their beat.
• Don’t leave long follow up voice mails or send lengthy emails: They don’t have time to read it. Get to the point and tell them why your story is perfect for their beat.
• If you pitch yourself available for an interview make yourself available for the interview!
  
• Finally, do not send one email over and over again to a journalist trying to get their attention. It’s SPAM and you will be blacklisted for it. Instead, check in once a week or once every two weeks. If they’re interested they will get in touch.

One of the most important tips I can give you is that if a journalist turns you down on your story don’t whine about it to them and keep them on the phone trying to change their mind. It won’t work. Instead, keep them in mind and when you have something in the future that may be of interest to them, contact them again.

Respect is earned. Building relationships with media takes time and respect, but it can be lasting and beneficial for your business for years to come. Destroy that relationship and you will never get them to produce a story. As my father always said, “Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and then approach the situation”. I think about this everyday and it has made me the professional I am today with lasting relationships with media.

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com

Follow me on Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert for daily PR tips