Many companies hire PR agencies because they want to make the news, i.e., see their stories splashed on the front pages of USA Today or the Wall Street Journal or featured in a top-tier technology publication. Such a media hit rarely happens overnight, as the bar for a solo feature profile is incredibly high. To put this into perspective, even Steve Jobs had to patiently wait a few years before he became the story.
A PR colleague who used to work for Regis McKenna (Apple’s PR agency of record in the 80s) recalled a meeting in which Jobs asked when she would get him on the cover of Fortune. She answered with brutal honesty. Jobs in turn hurled a glass of water at her. He did call her the following morning to apologize and they continued to work together. And, as you know, in his lifetime, Jobs graced not just magazine covers but books, movies and documentaries.
So if you’re not Steve Jobs and you’re not the story, what’s the next best thing?
Pitch a bigger story
News outlets seek stories with broad appeal and meaning, which will discount most pitches about CEOs and company missions. Instead, craft your pitch around an interesting development in your field that’s happening and not enough people are talking about. A very effective strategy here is to conduct a survey and then report the results. Amendola client Health Catalyst did that last year, garnering considerable coverage. Or, pitch a story based on a larger societal trend or current news event, provided you can make a direct connection to it and offer up one of your company’s thought leaders to weigh in.
Yes, your company and mission can be a facet of the above pitch types, but tread carefully. The goal at this point is to get the process going, become a part of the story and build your profile as a valued source. Think of your company’s media career as that of an actor who is steadily building up his or her credentials, in one increasingly larger role after another. Over time, more audiences become aware of the actor. If the roles are in quality, interesting productions, the audience’s interest and like of the actor will grow as well.
Let your client (the end-user) take center stage
Oftentimes editors are more interested in the end user, not the vendor. They don’t want to report about software, but actual use cases, as evidenced by this article in Network World. Originally, we pitched a broad story about private healthcare data being stored on public clouds. This was enough to pique the interest of a tech reporter at Network World, who then asked to speak to a hospital CIO about the risks and benefits of storing sensitive information on public clouds. The reporter immediately saw the need for a sidebar about a HIPAA-compliant cloud and ended up quoting our client extensively in it.
So you see, being a sidebar or a part of a bigger story are just a couple of ways to prime the pump on your way to being THE story. You just need the guidance of seasoned PR professionals to help make it happen. We stand ready to help only non-water throwers, please.
After 14 months, dozens of emails, numerous brainstorming sessions not to mention several bottles of Tums my PR team was excited to have our client profiled by Forbes. And then, just like the careful-what-you-wish-for dot-com Super Bowl ad, very quickly the number of article views grew at last count, it was up to 6,800 online views, per the ticker on the Forbes site for that article. Seemed like a perfect opportunity to milk the PR machine.
In a call with our client after the Forbes article hit, we explored what the client could do to leverage this hard-earned placement. Nonplussed, the CMO turned to her social media director, who replied that the Forbes article did not align immediately with the calendar of themes they were planning in their integrated digital marketing plan.
It is amazing, and extremely frustrating for all parties involved, how often this takes place a great placement finally hits the web or print edition, and then it gets lost in the ether-nether digital filing cabinet, never to be seen again.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Yes, we encourage our clients to develop integrated digital campaigns that leverage all of the various content assets being developed. But some things cannot be anticipated, and one of those things is when the national media will decide to run a story on your company. Don’t let it go to waste just because the calendar doesn’t have a placeholder for it.
To avoid such painful conversations from taking place in the future, here are a few tips for optimizing your media coverage for sales, marketing and lead generation regardless of what campaign you are currently working on.
Leveraging earned article placements
When a quality bylined article placement, award or other newsworthy item hits expected or not expected there are several channels you can leverage to compound the interest among your target audiences.
One of the most effective ways is to immediately review the coverage and then list it on your company’s and executives’ Linked In profiles under publications. Over time, the list of articles will grow this is important because these proof points can be used for award nominations, speaking abstracts, and effectively demonstrating your company’s and executives’ track record, all made quickly available by clicking on a simple hyperlink on a LinkedIn profile.
Your sales team should also get in on the act and proactively promote the article placements, blog posts, awards, speaker nominations and other PR activities. This is to their advantage, as it helps soften the sales cycle by positioning your company and executives as industry thought leaders both for prospects and existing customers.
One way to quickly accomplish this is to draft an email “wrapper” for the sales team that they can then distribute to their contacts through sales force automation tools, such as SalesForce.com. (Your PR firm can help with this.)
And last but certainly not least, be sure to display your PR hits on your web site, adjacent to the online pressroom. We advise clients to keep media coverage separate from company press releases by calling it “XYZ Company in the News” or “Media Coverage of XYZ”. If you get lots of hits and this becomes too much of a burden (a nice problem to have!), there are electronic services available that will automate the newsfeed selection and posting process for you.
Leveraging speaking engagements
So you’ve been accepted to speak at an industry conference. What’s next? Don’t wait until the conference is over to harness the power of social media. Have the speaker and your company Tweet about what an honor and thrill it is, ask if anyone else is going and invite them to attend your session.
Here are a few more practical ideas on promoting your conference workshop or concurrent session:
Arrange for a meet-the-speaker hour at your booth following your presentation.
Send e-blasts to your customers and prospects with details about your session. Even if they don’t attend the conference, it’s good for your image to make them aware that you were selected.
Take the extra step to print flyers to hand to people when they stop by your booth.
These are just a few ideas for milking the PR machine. Have you seen other ideas that have worked well?
In this vlog listen to Marcia Rhodes, Regional Managing Director at Amendola Communications, explain why preparing a PR crisis plan is as important as planning a fire escape route.
Over the last couple of years there has been a significant shift in the way consumers approach healthcare. Rather than viewing it as something to consider when they are sick or injured, more and more they are taking control of their own healthcare choices and focusing on wellness as well. Smartphone apps and watches (or watch-like devices) continue to grow in popularity, raising consumer awareness about their health in general. Changes in insurance are also driving healthcare consumers to look at healthcare differently. A majority (74%) of U.S. workers now face a waiting period before employer provided health insurance coverage is available. Waiting periods are a specified length of time “usually two months” after beginning employment before employees are eligible to enroll in health benefits. Higher co-pays and deductibles also have consumers looking for less expensive alternatives.
These factors have led to the explosive growth of retail healthcare over the past few years. This phenomenon has manifested itself in many forms, including chiropractic clinics, urgent care centers, walk-in medical clinics, as well as facilities that specialize in dialysis, infusions, mammograms, MRIs, neurofeedback and other consumer-focused services.
The consumerization of healthcare means more and more providers are marketing and selling their services directly to consumers. Many choose to bypass insurance companies and accept only cash payments to keep costs down as well as make it easier for the public to do business with them. But without the name of a big hospital or health system behind you, how do you build credibility with your target audience?
Here are 5 tips:
Comply with FTC Rules and Regulations
You may truly believe that your product or service can fix a whole host of maladies, but the FTC has strict guidelines on truth in advertising and marketing. Don’t claim a cure-all. For instance, if you are a chiropractor, refrain from stating that spinal adjustments can cure obesity or infertility. It’s safer to say that a healthy spine protects the central nervous system which then enables the body to heal itself. Comply with FTC rules for health and fitness marketing; never, ever make product claims without competent and reliable evidence to back them up.
Use Plain Language Not Medical Jargon
Few consumers know what “subluxation” means, but most will understand what you mean if you simply say “misalignment of the spine.” Instead of MTBI which stands for mild traumatic brain injury, say “post concussion symptoms.” Do your homework: a quick SEO search may reveal that consumers search online for chiropractors using the key words “back pain” and not “spinal alignments.”
Be Specific
If you run a cash-only healthcare business, be sure your web site states that you take cash, credit and FSA debit cards. Consumers tend to take things at face value so if you only mention cash, they will mistakenly assume you don’t take credit or debit cards. Make it easy to find your business hours, and include a map that shows your location. If your office is near a well-known local landmark include that in the description as well. If you only offer a certain subset of normal services associated with your area of healthcare, be sure that is spelled out as well so consumers aren’t disappointed when they can’t get what they need.
Designate a Clinical Spokesperson
In cases where the healthcare business owner is not a licensed medical professional, it’s best to reserve him/her for media interviews about the business. For consumer media it’s better to have a licensed professional as your spokesperson. Consumers care more about who will be providing their care than who is operating the clinic. This is especially important in “PC States” or Professional Corporation states and SMO (Service Management Organization) states where the corporate practice of medicine is banned and only licensed healthcare professionals are allowed to own a clinic.
Think Hyper-Local
Everyone wants to be in the Wall Street Journal but articles placed in the local and hyperlocal press tend to be more effective for patient recruitment. After all, consumers prefer to get healthcare within a 5 mile radius of where they live or work.
Announce clinic openings in the local community by reaching out not just to business and healthcare journalists, but also lifestyle, wellness and even real estate reporters. Create a campaign where you give back to the community. For example, The Joint Chiropractic invites firefighters and police to walk in for a free adjustment during First Responders Week around September 11 each year. Virgin Pulse organizes National Employee Wellbeing Month in June to raise awareness of the importance of workplace health and wellness. Amendola Communications retail/consumer healthcare experience includes managing PR programs for The Joint Chiropractic, Dermacare and Scottsdale Weight Loss Center, to name a few. To request a meeting or a capabilities overview, please complete this brief form.
