Great Customer Testimonials Can Have Long Legs

Every PR person loves customer testimonials – especially when they’re legitimate and authentic. But when your client’s customer says something that is very specific and quantifiable – it can be magic and can sometimes catapult your client into the business press, allowing them to obtain even broader coverage.

Recently, my client, Astute Networks, had a wonderful customer who was willing to share his success with Astute Networks’ virtualized appliance. The customer had achieved a 1,500% increase in performance over their old system after they deployed Astute Networks’ newly introduced ViSX G3. The customer was thrilled and he was willing to share his performance gains with reporters. The customer spoke to many reporters, including Network Computing, where the reporter did an extensive story talking to my client, their customer and an analyst we had prebriefed as part of Astute Network’s ViSX G3 launch. Later, a Forbes reporter became interested in the story and highlighted Astute Network’s ViSX G3 as a catalyst for potential rocketing of VMware’s stock price. (Here’s the story called: “VMWare Stock Ready to Race to $111:” http://onforb.es/pPeWex)

In this case, a solid customer testimonial helped to rocket Astute Networks into the business pages of Forbes. A wonderful thing.

As you look at using customer testimonials it’s ideal to make them stand out in the crowd. To be truly effective, here are some rules of engagement to consider:

1.    Use the Customer’s Name and Company. Blind testimonials maybe OK in some situations, but when the customer will talk to a reporter, you’ve got the potential for a compelling story.

2.    Be as Authentic as Possible. When a customer is willing to “go on the record” with a story that is authentic, rather than have someone merely write a quote for him, the example rings true and reporters are interested in telling the story.

3.    Make the Quote Quantifiable. Whenever ask the customer to add hard numbers – “I saved X or my performance improved by Y” – the story has credibility unlike anything else.

4.    Avoid the Obvious. Avoid phrases like “We are pleased to work with Company X.” It’s trite and everyone says that. The customer should be as specific as possible. It’s much more meaningful for your client and for the customer when they can describe the benefit of the product. It’s a win, win for both.

5.    Take the Guesswork Out of the Equation. Counsel the customer. Make sure the customer is aware of what will be asked. This isn’t the time for surprises.

6.    Get an Approval. Many times an IT manager, someone in customer service or on a plant floor doesn’t realize they need approval from their corporate PR department to speak with the press. Always make sure the customer spokesperson has that approval.

When it comes to customer testimonials, the more specific the customer is with the reporter, the more compelling the story and the the more the testimonial can be leveraged.

A Solid Strategy for Crisis Communication

Having a strategy for crisis communications’ is always worthy of examing. This article from Ragan’s PR Daily outlines the three top points to consider.

From LinkedIn: Although social media may have added a whole new dimension to the discipline of media relations, it’s interesting to note that many of the key principles haven’t really changed at all. This is particularly true in the field of crisis communications.

Three of the most important rules of crisis communications for traditional press and broadcast media are just as relevant to social media. They are:

Be quick

It has always been vital to respond to a crisis proactively rather than reactively. This means getting your message out there either before the story breaks or as soon as possible afterward.

When there were just daily newspapers and scheduled news programs, your deadlines were clearly defined, but with the advent of rolling news and citizen journalism, the faster you can be, the better. It may be tempting to delay things by saying “no comment” or just staying silent, but this makes it much easier for the media and public to assume the worst.

It can also be tempting to spend valuable time refining your message, running it through committees and approval processes. Don’t. The most important thing is that you put your head above the parapet and give a reasonable response.

Be helpful

It is vital to keep the media and public on your side. Ideally, this process will have started before any crisis occurs, through fostering relationships with journalists, bloggers and, of course, your customers.

Once the crisis has occurred, you keep them on your side by being helpful and giving them the information for which they ask. Let them know what you are doing to fix the situation and how long it will take.

Issuing regular statements and calling press conferences have traditionally been the way to do this. Now, social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube enable you to be proactive in getting this information out to the widest possible audience.

Be open

Don’t try to put a positive spin on a crisis situation or deny responsibility when your organization is clearly at fault. Even the slightest hint that you might be hiding the truth will greatly damage your credibility.

The public has always been expert at spotting dishonesty. The difference now with social media is that your dishonesty will be discussed in great detail by thousands of people.

In addition, don’t be afraid to let your emotions show. If you are genuinely upset by a crisis, let people see that. It is always a good thing to show that you are human, too.

Dan Harvey is marketing & client relations director at HarveyLeach Media Training.

A good read. http://linkd.in/nxjOXE

Keep those press releases coming

Repurposed from LinkedIn:

A new poll suggests that journalists are increasingly relying on social media for their sources, but it’s still not as influential as PR. Oriella PR Network polled nearly 500 journalists, and learned that 47 percent are using Twitter (up from 33 percent a year ago) and 35 percent are using Facebook as a source (up from 25 percent a year ago).

Still, social media isn’t the first thing they’re going to—only 4 percent said they use Twitter, Facebook, or blogs as their first source in researching a story. The No. 1 resource that journalists in this study are using for sourcing was PR agencies, with a whopping 62 percent.  As for the first port of call when researching a news or feature story? PR again! Nearly 22 percent of respondents say their initial stop is a press release.

Oriella PR Network, an alliance of 15 communications agencies in 20 countries, has published its annual study on digital journalism since 2008. 
 
One striking stat in the article suggests that journalists are working harder:

Almost half (45 percent) admitted they have to produce more content and a third (34 percent) work longer hours. However, despite this added pressure, 44 percent of the respondents said they enjoyed their job more, compared with 34 percent in 2010 and just 27 percent in 2009.

So folks, keep those press releases coming—apparently they’re still important to many journalists.

If you want to read more about it – here’s the link. http://linkd.in/rd1UZd

So You Want to Hire a PR Consultant: How do you go about doing that?

Today, so many companies are hiring outside consultants – whether you need a marcom manager, a PR consultant or engineering talent to develop a product, everyone needs outside expertise from time to time.

From a consultant perspective – so much of the success or failure of an engagement relies on the relationship between the consultant and the company contact. If you’re the consultant, I find the best thing I need to know is:

·         Is my client contact educated about PR? (So often a company will put someone with no experience – or interest – in managing the PR function.)

·         Does my client contact know what I need?

·         Do they understand that a reporter on deadline has a non-negotiable deadline?

In order to ensure the success of your project, I thought it would be helpful to go over some of the ways that you can make your PR consulting engagement successful.

·         Check out your consultant. What are their past experiences? Do you know anyone who has used this consultant before? My advice – Rely on recommendations. Find people from other trusted advisers.

·         Once you hire them, give them a chance and trust them. Give them what they need to do their job. Answer their calls, give them the raw materials they need to do their job. Pay attention to what they need. Respond quickly. Treat them like a member of the team. Give them the opportunity to do the best job. If they don’t perform – then it’s time to question them.

·         Share your information. If you’re new to PR, share your information. You just don’t know what could be worthwhile. The consultant knows what reporters want and the client have have a bit of information that could turn into a great story. Sometimes they just don’t know that they have a great story.

·         Listen. So often, the client contact doesn’t know what they don’t know. That’s why you’re hiring a consultant, right? At least hear the consultant out. If they’ve been down the road before it’s likely they probably know what they’re talking about.

·         Mutual respect works best. Most consultants want to have happy clients. And in my experience, clients usually want to be happy. If you’re happy, I’m happy. I’ll give you my best opinion, if you disagree – that may be fine. But please listen.

·         Don’t micromanage. Remember, we’re on the same team. I really want the best for you. Nothing makes me happier than seeing positive results. That means you need to get me the material I need to succeed. Hire them, give them the resources they need, then let them do their job. You’ll be happy with the results.

·         Stay on top of the situation. The relationship between the consultant and the client contact is an interesting ebb and flow. Your consultant wants you to be happy with the results. Give them guidance, give them information and most of all — give them space.

Remember, you don’t always have to take the recommendation of your consultant. But you are paying them for their expertise. And, if you disagree and you win the argument, then you can’t complain if the results don’t satisfy you. You pay the consultant for a reason. And remember, just because it seems like its easy – it usually isn’t. And if you could do it yourself, you would have done it by now.

How effective are news release for you?

Before you ever take pen to paper it’s always good to understand what you want from your news release. Now that may sound silly – you want press of course!  But often, you may want more than that.

We obviously think our news is “stop-the-presses” important but in today’s 24-hour online news cycle most editors only have time to read the headline or the first paragraph. And many others only have time to take a “reactive” approach to the news that’s pushed to them. So before writing a release, think about what else your news release can do for you. Let’s look at it.

News releases can be a unifying document that gets everyone in multiple departments on the same page. The process of preparation, review and final agreement on content is very important. It gets all interested parties aligned. It helps establish talking points and the process of writing the news release provides copy for other documents like a newsletter, pitch to reporter and sales tools. The news release ultimately stands as the company’s position on the topic. Customers and prospects can go to your website and read about your position. A news sales person can read through the release and understand the position he/she should take when discussing the content. The press release is an archive so it has lasting impact in that role.

When you put a release out on the wire, it lives forever. And the variety and diversity of the Internet means that even specialized news is likely to get picked up. Look at www.slashdot.org and the wide variety of tech news they link to daily. With 40 million pages and 5 million unique viewers a month, Slashdot can give your news and your site a real boost if the Slashdot folks find your press release interesting.

So there’s value to be had when you consider all things – make your news relevant, optimized for search and publish on the wire and via RSS, Twitter, Google News and wherever you think you have relevancy. The humble press release then becomes more powerful than ever.

The ideal default method of engaging with the media: The press release

Visit any marketing site and you’ll find articles galore on writing press releases. You’ll find advice on what to say, how to say it, where to post it and how to optimize it. What you rarely ever read, however, is: “How often should my company put out a release?”

A good rule of thumb is to put out a release every month. If you’re like so many small tech companies, you may have the following reaction to that statement: ‘We don’t have enough news to commit to a monthly schedule!”

If you really think about it, you surely have plenty of news. Consider the following ten categories of news releases.

Corporate News – Announce new senior level executives, Board of Director members, new financing, acquisitions, community involvement, office space expansion or an office relocation.

Product News – Tech companies have at least one major product announcement a year that warrants talking with analysts and press. Enhancements to the product and additional products can help you build out product news schedule.

Awards – Have you won an award or been named a finalist in an award? Take the time to tell the world about your success.

Current Events – This is an easy way for a small company to interject itself into a big story. Think about whether you fit into a larger story. For example, back to school, hurricane season, holiday shopping or even offer to be an expert during patch Tuesday if your technology warrants involvement.

Survey Results – Everyone loves a survey. Using a free service like Survey Monkey, every company can develop a survey. Write a release to publicize your results and you’ll get press. For a really successful survey, make it an annual event.

Sales Events like Webinars – Put out a release to announce upcoming Webinars. And don’t forget to include the link to register.

Trade Show – Announce your participation in upcoming tradeshows. If you’re an exhibitor, have exhibitor sales send you the press list and approach those reporters with your show news.

Trends – The press loves “look ahead” stories and if you package your view of next year’s top trends, getting press can be easier than you think.

Customer Win – Everyone loves a happy customer. If you have a customer who is “press referenceable” the press loves a customer willing to talk about an implementation. And if the customer is in a non-technology industry – even better.

Momentum – Tell the world how you’re doing at least once a year. You don’t have to reveal revenue, but show the world your progress with a thought-out momentum release that includes the number of new customers, awards, expansion into new markets or whatever makes sense.

With a little thought and some planning, you too have lots to talk about.

To Wire Service or Not to Wire Service: Even Now, That’s Still a Big Question

If you’re a small start up you’ve probably looked at your marketing budget and wondered whether there’s any real value in using a wire service. You’ve probably thought that putting a release on your company website is as good as putting it on the wire. You’re on the web with that approach, right? Isn’t that enough? Can’t you just call a few reporters and bloggers and hope they cover the news?

That strategy can surely work for Apple or Google – and probably Charlie Sheen. But before you settle on your approach, think about your press release as part of a broader corporate strategy. Your release acts as one element in a mix of tools and techniques that tell the story of your company.

Regardless of your corporate goals (to go public, be acquired or build a stand-alone company), a press release will help engage your audience by giving them a view into your company. Each release contributes facts to your corporate story that, when put together, shows forward movement for your business. Prospects, partners, venture capitalists and reporters look at your news section to get a feel for your company and your business. Keep this section current.

Within this thought in mind, the big three wire services Business Wire, Marketwire and PRNewswire bring considerable value to the equation, especially for start-ups. Using a wire service ensures that you’ll get the broadest possible distribution. Remember too that Google and other search engines favor newswire content and will include links back to your website, which helps boost search engine ranking. With a wire service, you’re also reaching media that may not be on your core media list and you’ll be hitting website portals and niche sites that don’t have editorial staffs to go out and look for stories. These sites rely on well-crafted news releases to post.

This is often true with bloggers too who will often take chunks of your release and your photos to add to their sites. Many bloggers will rewrite releases, pull out product information and “cover” your news in their blogs primarily using release information that they saw on the wire. That’s why it’s important to include a photo of your product on the wire as bloggers will be more likely to cover your news if you provide them with a story package that they can publish.

For a start up with limited budget, each wire service offers a variety of circuits that fit specific goals. Pick a circuit like a metro or state circuit. That approach keeps cost down, while reaching a broad audience. Using the wire gives your release credibility, momentum and establishes traction. For a start up, especially one with a B2B product, there may be no need to use a national circuit, which has a really broad reach.

Evaluate each release on its own merit as to the circuit you select. And don’t forget to tweet your news to your LinkedIn connections and on your company’s Facebook page. Each of the wire services has Twitter components wrapped in their services so your news reaches social media sites and builds more traction. It’s like a finely tuned orchestra, with every instrument contributing to the overall goal.

Each wire service also provides a wide range of metrics on page views, web clips, distribution and search engine reach. Armed with that information, you can “tweak” the distribution for subsequent releases. When used correctly and consistently, wire services can help support your business objectives. When you develop a consistent release schedule and give it care and attention by keeping up a steady stream of news, you will be on your way to achieving the best possible results as you showcase your company.

I wouldn’t skimp on wire services – everyone is watching.

Keep PR Real: Welcome to the Conversation

Today, reality TV is sweeping the country. It seems that everywhere you turn, it’s about “keeping it real.” And truth be told, public relations is no exception to the idea of keeping it real. So as I dive into writing this blog – my goal is to keep it real, keep it interesting and keep it relative to your needs.

I’ve been in high-tech marketing and PR for a long time. I’ve learned the ropes from some of the most successful and savvy technology marketers. I’ve also learned about PR via rolling up my sleeves, doing the work and living it. Having also spent five years working as a journalist I understand both sides of the job.

In this blog, I’ll share what I know and provide you with an honest assessment of PR tactics. So please stay tuned and thanks for reading!