Daily PR Brief - December 22nd, 2016
Good morning. Here are today's top clips -
The Five Most Important Website Design Trends That Will Emerge In 2017 (Forbes - December 21, 2016)
How to Build a Successful Thought Leadership Program (Adweek - December 22, 2016)
Waypoint Predictor: what does 2017 hold for online PR, media, CRO, integrated communications, DM and mobile? (The Drum - December 21, 2016)
If you're going to say sorry, say it early and say it straight, says FTI crisis comms report (PR Week - December 22, 2016)
Black PR History Month Set for Feb. '17 (O'Dwyer's - December 21, 2016)
How to improve your marketing without breaking the bank (PR Daily - December 21, 2016)
Most PR pitches 'slightly' or 'not valuable' (Ragan - December 21, 2016) [Infographic]
6 simple ways to make your intranet content more readable (Ragan - December 20, 2016)
The highs and lows of comms measurement in 2016 (Ragan - December 21, 2016)
Social media’s role in holiday marketing (Ragan - December 22, 2016) [Infographic]
[VIDEO] How Hilton Worldwide Finds Authentic Influencers (PR News - December 21, 2016)
3 Customer Community Management Tips (PR News - December 21, 2016)
Gould+Partners Rolls Out New Version of PR Agency Financial Management Handbook (Bulldog Reporter - December 22, 2016)
Behind the Headlines With Caroline Michaud (Cision - December 22, 2016)
The 12 PR Blogs You Must Subscribe to (and Read) in 2017 (Spin Sucks - December 22, 2016)
PR 101: What is a media impression? (SHIFT Communications - December 21, 2016)
3 Research-Based Lessons on Media & Influencer Relations (Mention Blog - December 21, 2016)
Editorial Calendars: Turning Uncertain PR Coverage into a Sure Thing (Business 2 Community - December 21, 2016)
Summary Section:
The Five Most Important Website Design Trends That Will Emerge In 2017
By Sheila Kloefkorn, CEO and President of KEO Marketing
Forbes - December 21, 2016
1. Responsive Website Design. Users may not know what it takes to make a website design responsive, but they know that without it, they will be looking elsewhere for answers, products or a viewing experience. 2. Semi-Flat Design. The widely-used design approach can bring clarity to the website for the viewer, while making transitions appear more unified. 3. Minimalism Paired With Micro-Interactions. Best practice search engine optimization is in our blood, and having at least 200 words on each page tends to improve search engine results. But, in an era when people are looking for faster mobile interactions, users were getting frustrated navigating through too much content per page. 4. Parallax Scrolling And Interactivity. An example of using it innovatively would be applying it to interactive storytelling and interactive assessments. Each engages the user at a deeper level. 5. Stronger Use Of Typography. By keeping user needs in mind with the specific messages that will resonate with your target audience, you can choose the right methods for action and conversion on behalf of your intended users.
How to Build a Successful Thought Leadership Program
By Curtis Sparrer, principal at Bospar
Adweek - December 22, 2016
I recently spoke to expert Troy Scarlott of YapStone, who has years of experience leveraging CEO and executive experience to build brands’ thought leadership programs. “Once you have identified your likely thought leaders, get to know them beyond the morning coffee conversation. To develop future content that is compelling, you must get to know them on a deeper level, so you can understand what they think, how they think, what they believe and what their guiding principles are. This approach will serve you well as you focus on storytelling that is interesting, insightful and entertaining. Intensely collaborate with the thought leader on their content to capture their tone and voice,” suggests Scarlott. “And don’t get too aspirational or the content will just sound like fluff.”
Waypoint Predictor: what does 2017 hold for online PR, media, CRO, integrated communications, DM and mobile?
By Richard Draycott
The Drum - December 21, 2016
Earlier this week The Drum Network and Waypoint Partners launched the Waypoint Predictor in which a number of agency leaders from a range of agency and business types outlined what they thought was going to be happening in their sector in 2017. In part two it is the turn of agency owners from the worlds of online PR, media, conversion rate optimisation, global integrated communications, direct marketing and mobile to offer up their views on what the next year will hold for them. "The most switched on brands in our industry know there is no such thing as an on- or off-line strategy; there is simply the creation of a seamless ‘customer experience’." - Rosie Freshwater, owner, Leapfrogg
If you're going to say sorry, say it early and say it straight, says FTI crisis comms report
By Sam Burne James
PR Week - December 22, 2016
The report, which will be published next year and is titled The Anatomy of a Crisis, also said that businesses should not avoid an apology solely on the grounds that it may lead to expensive and complex legal liabilities, because those may be outweighed by the broader cost of not saying sorry. Of the 100 crises studied, there was only evidence of a public apology in 37 cases, and only 16 of those came within two weeks of the public becoming aware of the situation. The report concludes: "Issuing a swift apology and accepting the fair payout that may follow might allow a company to begin rebuilding the trust and belief that is ultimately required to support a positive valuation more quickly than any other tactic."
Black PR History Month Set for Feb. '17
O'Dwyer's - December 21, 2016
The Museum of Public Relations at Baruch College in New York City will kick-off the first-ever Black PR History Month February 9. Following the event, an exhibit featuring the lives of black PR professionals, will be on display for one month at the Museum. Admission is free and open to students and PR pros by reservation at www.prmuseum.org. Black PR History Month is a partnership between the Museum and the National Black PR Society. Its goal is to help diverse students and young professionals feel a greater connection to a field whose history has long been depicted as one dominated by white men.
How to improve your marketing without breaking the bank
By Eileen O'Shanassy
PR Daily - December 21, 2016
1. Set clear goals. The cost of financing a new marketing campaign should be determined in your annual business budget. 2. Look for freebies. Take advantage of social media mentions, and make connections with influential users. 3. Promotions and giveaways. Attend events to hand things out personally; authentic interaction goes a long way with consumers. 4. Links and backlinks. Embedding links to your business into online content marketing efforts increases brand visibility and website traffic. Develop a strategy with a digital focus to attract followers online.
Most PR pitches 'slightly' or 'not valuable' [Infographic]
By Bill Conn
Ragan - December 21, 2016
The reason PR can be so tough, whether you do it in-house or hire an agency, is that media outlets—the ones you want to be in—aren’t all that interested in cold pitches from PR people. According to a recent survey of 1,300 publishers from Fractl via MarketingProfs, 73 percent of editors and journalists at top-tier publications (and 62 percent at other sites) find pitches slightly valuable or not valuable. The problem is that so many people, both in-house and at agencies, commit common errors when pitching stories to journalists:1. They don’t do their research. 2. They sound like a robot. 3. They pitch at the worst possible time. 4. They have zero relationship with the reporter. Reporters are busy and don’t have time to waste listening to every self-promotional pitch (and most PR pros are doing exactly that). Build relationships through helpful content. You get so much by giving, both in real life and public relations—but you have to do it without expecting anything in return. Smart, insightful content is a great way to be helpful.
6 simple ways to make your intranet content more readable
By Cam Dred
Ragan - December 20, 2016
A Nielsen Norman Group study found that users scan content instead of reading it: At least 79 percent of users scan content; Users read 25 percent slower when looking at a screen versus paper; People read only 28 percent of the words on a page. So, what have we learned? 1. Make information easy to scan. Organize your content so it's readable on a screen. 2. Make sure people can read your text. 3. Break text into small chunks. This forces them to reread to find and understand information-if they don't give up and stop reading altogether. 4. Provide clear headings. 5. Reserve text highlighting for headings and keywords. 6. Differentiate links. 7. Prioritize information.
The highs and lows of comms measurement in 2016
By Katie Paine
Ragan - December 21, 2016
The best of 2016: 1. The maturing of the measurement market. At the top of my list are new integration tools and case studies illustrating how earned media placements are driving business results. 2. The launch of the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework. It’s not the ultimate solution that the hype might lead you to expect, but it is a good guide to establishing your measurement program. 3. The arrival of the 800-pound gorillas. Communications measurement has been something of a backwater industry, of interest only to PR people with budgets that are insignificant compared with their advertising brethren. 2016 changed all that, with Adobe, Salesforce, IBM and others jumping into the field. Never mind that Cision appointed the former GM of Oracle Marketing Cloud as CEO. Clearly, it needs PR and social media data to fuel its data analytics operations. 4. The decline in television ratings. Communications folks are turning to engagement numbers as an alternative. 5. More evidence that there is no validity to the principle of “multipliers” or AVEs. 6. Books
Social media’s role in holiday marketing [Infographic]
By Clare Lane
Ragan - December 22, 2016
Sprout Social looked at the inbound and outbound messaging of 15 brands across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Here’s are a few highlights: This holiday season, 3,140 social media messages are expected to be sent to the average retail brand; One-third of consumers say their gift buying is directly affected by social media engagement; 30% of people will post about a gift on social media. From Sprout: This is particularly important for retailers with large social audience. Since follower count often correlates with message volume, enterprise retailers can expect a record-breaking season on social.
[VIDEO] How Hilton Worldwide Finds Authentic Influencers
By Sophie Maerowitz
PR News - December 21, 2016
Communications professionals need to be aware not only of their own goals when reaching out to potential influencers, but of the needs and goals of their target influencers as well. And influencers should have more than a large following—they should be able to lend an authentic voice to your brand's story. John Walls, director of brand PR, luxury and lifestyle brands at Hilton Worldwide, makes use of influencers regularly, and notes that authenticity is all about understanding potential influencers' aesthetic and tone.
3 Customer Community Management Tips
By Jerry Ascierto
PR News - December 21, 2016
1. We’re in This Together. One of the most important aspects of creating a customer community is making people feel as though they’re part of something bigger than themselves—giving them a cause to align themselves with, a shared purpose. 2. Be for Real. One of the most common mistakes brands make when attempting to marshal their customer community is in providing content that’s more self-serving than useful. 3. Speak Their Language. A brand has to ensure that the people curating the community have a similar voice to its inhabitants.
Gould+Partners Rolls Out New Version of PR Agency Financial Management Handbook
Bulldog Reporter - December 22, 2016
Gould+Partners announced the 4th and latest edition of “The Ultimate PR Agency Financial Management Handbook: How to Manage By The Numbers for Breakthrough Profitability of 20% or Greater,” by Rick Gould, CPA. J.D., managing partner of Gould+Partners. The new version of the book features information and how-to advice on personnel management, financial metrics, brand recognition and how to weather recessionary cycles, among other areas.
Behind the Headlines With Caroline Michaud
By Julia Rabin
Cision - December 22, 2016
Caroline Michaud, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Relations at PHG Consulting, says to be competitive, clients must determine their specific brand and strategically position themselves in the marketplace. "As many of our clients are considered to be “under the radar,” our secret to media relations success is facilitating first-hand experiences for media personnel with these lesser-known, but remarkable, destinations. We conduct multi-day immersion trips so that journalists can get a feel for each destination and identify exactly what aspects of the experience will resonate most with their readers — hopefully learning something new that gets them really excited!"
The 12 PR Blogs You Must Subscribe to (and Read) in 2017
By Gini Dietrich
Spin Sucks - December 22, 2016
While most of these are truly PR blogs, I’ve thrown in a few I think every communicator should read next year. 1. 6 a.m. This is Richard Edelman’s blog and it’s a good one to subscribe to because he writes maybe three times a month. 2. Christopher S. Penn’s blog. 3. HubSpot. You’ll find everything from email and content marketing to client satisfaction and productivity tools. I always find a nugget or two in everything I read from them. 4. Content Marketing Institute. 5. Convince & Convert. Jay Baer bills his blog as a foremost expert on social media, but what you’ll find is much, much more. 6. IBM Watson. 7. moz. You definitely need a fresh brain and some time to absorb what you’ve learned. But if you do that, I promise you will not only learn a thing or two, you’ll have actionable tasks to expand your knowledge and skills. 8. Orbit Media. 9. PR Newser. 10. Ragan. 11. SM Current. Full disclosure: I am an editor for this curated blog so I’m a bit biased. But Laura Petrolino says it gives her a nice station of the nation overview of the changes in social media. 12. Spin Sucks. I know, I know.
PR 101: What is a media impression?
By Christopher S. Penn, Vice President, Marketing Technology
SHIFT Communications - December 21, 2016
Impressions, broadly defined, are any interaction with a piece of content and an audience member. An impression is the broadest possible metric for any piece of earned, owned, or paid media’s performance. The reason why impressions are given a bad rap is that many advertising and PR measurement efforts stop at impressions. Impressions are only the very top of the funnel – much more has to happen after an impression of an ad is served or a story is displayed. Impressions help us set the context for everything that comes after.
3 Research-Based Lessons on Media & Influencer Relations
By Ashley Carlisle
Mention Blog - December 21, 2016
We always believe open collaboration yields the best results, so that’s why my team at Fractl went out and asked 1,300 publishers how they wanted to be communicated with by media relation professionals. After digging through the depths of several very long Excel spreadsheets, here are three valuable lessons in influencer and media relations, straight from the publishers themselves. 1. Do your research. One repetitive theme that dominated the survey was the general consensus among publishers that they absolutely despise PR folks that don’t do their research. 2. Grab their attention with a good first impression. Unfortunately it can be difficult to get them to click open solely on your name if it’s a cold contact (though once you build a relationship with the right contacts, your name holds much more merit). By process of elimination, that means subject lines hold a lot of weight. In fact, half said it’s the most important factor for opening emails. 3. Prove your value. Going back to the top pet peeve of the media, failing to prove your value falls hand in hand with proving your relevancy. Remember, your brand can produce some of the most innovative, cutting edge content, but it means absolutely nothing if it doesn’t make its way to the right audience.
Editorial Calendars: Turning Uncertain PR Coverage into a Sure Thing
By Amy Rosenberg
Business 2 Community - December 21, 2016
Editorial calendars are a roadmap of stories that help keep the editorial teams organized. But their main function is to help the advertising department sell ads. Ed Cals can serve as a starting point from which the rest of your content plan emerges. Not only will you have some timely, newsworthy topics deemed valuable by the press, you could possibly reach beyond your current audience if the press picks up any of your materials.
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