by Terri Pollock | Sep 2, 2020 | Blog
Unless your organization happens to have an office in the Washington, D.C. bubble, engaging in federal policymaking can seem like a daunting task. Many organizations will understandably dismiss the opportunity to get involved in policy discussions because they simply just don’t know how.
Perhaps a congressional hearing is held on a topic that’s important to your organization, legislation is introduced that could significantly impact your business, or the Administration proposes sweeping regulatory changes to Medicare. You’re wondering, “What do we do? How do we have our voice heard without lobbyists or advocates? Where do we even begin?”
I’ve got news for you: you can influence policy without a lobby shop. Here are the first steps.
Find the right news sources
Before trying to engage in policy conversations, it’s essential that you educate yourself and stay up-to-date with policymakers relevant to your organization. First, scope out your primary sources: your congressional representatives and policymakers who sit on key committees. Follow them on social media, sign up for their e-newsletters, and perhaps most importantly, find out who works for them. Many people don’t realize the authority held by congressional staffers. They have an incredible amount of decision-making power and should not be dismissed as potential gateways into policy influence.
Next, find the most apt secondary news sources. Identify the trade, national, and local publications that frequently publish policy analyses, breaking news, or commentary (both critical and favorable) on your industry niche. Sign up for their e-newsletters or follow them on Twitter. Then, find and follow the journalists who cover policy happenings that align with your organization’s interests. With the constantly changing policy landscape and the increasing volatility of the media market, this is an ongoing process that requires dedication.
Lastly, get to know other key players in the industry. It’s important to keep tabs on organizations on the opposite side of a given policy issue, but it’s equally as important to build strategic alliances. Follow both the organization and its thought leaders on Twitter and sign up for their e-newsletters.
Build your network
It may seem difficult to build meaningful relationships in the middle of a pandemic, but that’s where soft skills come in handy. Get creative with your public relations efforts. Social media and email are your friends!
Once you’ve sufficiently tracked down all of your target policymakers, journalists, and stakeholders on Twitter, it’s time to start engaging. Build separate lists for each category. Devote time each day or every other day (even just 10 minutes) to reviewing your list feeds, retweeting, replying, and liking Tweets that are timely and relevant to your organization.
This can be done from an organizational account, but it’s far more effective and impactful if done from one or multiple thought leaders’ accounts. But remember – everything on Twitter should be considered on the record, particularly when you’re interacting with journalists. This shouldn’t deter you from engaging, but be cognizant of how your Tweets may be perceived.
Perhaps the most conventional way to make connections is via email. This tried and true method is even more common now that we are living in a largely digital professional world. Introduce yourself by email to your target stakeholders and set up a call to hear about their advocacy initiatives and various experiences and connections with policymakers. You may learn that there’s common ground for partnership or a larger alliance, or that certain policymakers are amenable to certain policy changes.
Before you can take the next step with policymakers and journalists, you must get your organization’s ducks in a row. Develop your policy position and strategy, prepare your spokespeople, and identify your allies and opposition. This can be an arduous process, but this critical foundation – on top of your policy knowledge and strategic connections – will pave the way for your organization to have a voice in policymaking.
Many organizations don’t recognize the value of a multifaceted public relations strategy. With public relations as a key component of your communications plan, your organization has the potential to penetrate the policy world through thought leadership, social influence, and earned media. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to increase brand awareness and industry visibility while improving your organization’s policy influence.
by Philip Anast | Aug 26, 2020 | Blog
The Roman statesman Seneca once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” This is a sentiment executives must keep in mind as they prepare for media interviews. And the key word here is preparation.
As busy as everyone seems to be in the era of COVID-19, media interviews – much like any formal presentation – cannot and should not be treated as something to be checked off a list.
A lot goes into preparing company messaging and positioning an organization. Getting third-party validation for a company’s value proposition can go a long way toward softening the beachheads for sales leads and building industry leadership and brand awareness.
But how should one prepare for a media interview? Here are six techniques to consider:
- Review the reporter’s coverage and publication to best understand the audience and how you need to communicate to that audience
A PR/marketing agency such as Amendola Communications prepares briefing sheets with details of reporters, their backgrounds, messaging and any caveats. While the PR pros can guide you through the process, it also makes sense to read the reporter’s last three to five articles to ascertain trends or patterns in coverage. Doing so may reveal something you can share with the reporter to strike a chord during an interview.
- Write out your key messages and envision the headline you want to read
Again, your agency is doing a lot of the leg work already; however, homing in on the three key messages you want to share during an interview goes a long way toward ensuring one stays focused and doesn’t stray into unchartered territory. A reporter has only so much time, so you want to maximize your time to deliver your key messages and get your points across. Furthermore, think about the headline and story you want to see resulting from the interview, and figure out how you’ll get there.
- Consider the types of questions that can lead to minefields
Along with No. 2, your agency should caution you about the types of questions that will take you off the path of a productive interview for your organization. Those questions may involve competitors, controversies or unpopular opinions. That’s not to say you shouldn’t address them or consider being provocative. But it’s best to practice your responses ahead of time and test them with key colleagues and your communications advisors to ensure they are the types of messages that will have the intended impact. And if you don’t want to answer certain questions, using bridging techniques can help you get back on track.
- Practice in front of a mirror to gauge body language
While this technique is especially important to prep for broadcast or Zoom interviews, it’s also valuable in general because it speaks to whether you believe what you’re saying. Are you credible? Are you passionate? If your responses fall flat to you, consider what a reporter will take away. Using a conversational style while conveying insights the reporter can use begets future interviews.
- Ensure any product messaging is grounded in business benefits and not conjecture
While it’s important to demonstrate the success of your products to key influencers, the best way to do so is to substantiate with industry facts, e.g. time and dollar savings, patient/staff safety, industry awards and the like. Of more importance is citing key statistics or anecdotes from key customers. You’ll want to confirm that those customers are referenceable in any media interviews. Your PR agency can help you sort through those details.
- Block off 15-30 minutes prior to an interview to put on your game face
While competitive sports seem like a distant memory during the pandemic, those pre-game rituals still hold a place close to our hearts. Instead of rushing to a media interview, it’s best to block out some time for mindfulness before the interview. Doing so elicits focus and can make your preparation bear real fruit.
Media interviews often seem to be over in a flash, but the outcomes can have a long shelf life. Taking time to properly prepare can elevate your own brand and help your organization flourish.
by Grace Vinton | Aug 19, 2020 | Blog
Many healthcare technology companies are choosing to rebrand because of the impact that the novel coronavirus has had on the healthcare ecosphere. Capabilities or focus points which may not have been on the forefront before this year-long industry earthquake are now front and center. Clear company identities and market differentiators have never been more important.
When rebranding, there are 5 strategic public relations best practices that you will want to make sure you are clear on before finalizing your overall rebranding
marketing efforts and plans.
Messaging. The most common misunderstanding I have come up against when working on rebranding a company from a public relations perspective is that many communicators – even long time marketing seniors – are entirely unaware that there is a difference between marketing messaging (often, product messaging) and public relations messaging. They are sisters, not twins, folks!
Some questions that I often ask to get to the bottom of the public relations messaging rebranding efforts include: What is it that you want to convey from a
thought leadership level to the public? How does this back up your business goals and objectives and overarching communications goals and objectives?
Typically, when these questions are answered, it can be a fairly simple process to start development on a “moving” public relations messaging document that will grow and evolve as the company grows and evolves.
Audience. Do not forget to think about the people who will be impacted by your rebranding. It is important to get the message into the right hands and ears.
Who are your customers? Who are your customers’ customers? What matters to them? How are they acquiring information? Social media? A certain publication?
Being clear on the answer to these questions can help promote a strategic public relations strategy when rebranding. Showing in-depth knowledge of your
customers and customers’ customers pain points on a public scale can be impactful for building the overall credibility of your rebranded company in the
public’s eye.
Thought Leadership. What can you speak to other than your business offerings that props up the depth and breadth of your company’s position in the market?
In this vein, I often recommend that clients take time to work together to articulate which areas of the market their products impact indirectly that can be a strategic topic of reference for the company to react to on a public scale. It really helps to get specific here. Listing thought leadership topics and corresponding messages that support your company’s overarching messages can be invaluable to being ready and able to pursue high impact reputation building messages in front of the public’s eye. Be willing to tell the story of “why” the rebranding was important given the current state of the industry.
100% Buy-in across company segments. You need to make sure every sector of the company is very clear on the new messaging and branding statements. It is vitally important to get buy-in from each segment on every word and punctuation mark.
Once you do, offering each segment of a company a document or visual on how the new branding impacts how they talk about the company or how they will do their job moving forward can be helpful in getting everyone on the same page.
Buy-in needs to happen on every level from the CEO to the janitor. Each employee needs to be clear on what the company does and the best way to explain that to
whoever they need to explain it to.
Pipeline tactic development: Once you have rebranded, you also need to take good look at current tactics and pipelines to determine if they are supporting the new look and/or descriptors that you have chosen for your company.
Old communication, marketing, public relations tactics may have worked for your old way of thinking about what you did, but there may be pivots you need to take to
support the updated messaging and overall look of the company. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard about rebranding where major sales documents were
not updated, yet still used, mostly due to confusion on the branding, how it effects the company, and why it matters.
Each sector of the company needs to look at the way they are doing their jobs in light of the rebranding efforts and determine if old ways of thinking need some
updating. Keep these recommendations in mind when developing your public relations strategy during a company rebranding effort. All healthcare
technology companies should take a good look at their company identity in this season.
Whether or not your company is taking on a full-on rebranding effort, it’s helpful to keep these best practices in mind.
by Morgan Lewis | Aug 5, 2020 | Blog
Stats and other evidence can look great at first, but after a little digging…not so much
A big part of the content we create for clients, whether it is a blog post, bylined article, white paper, or even an infographic, is research. It can be a collaborative process where the client will recommend statistics or a recent study they have discovered and want to highlight, but often it will be up the writer to unearth interesting data on their own.
Anyone who’s spent time researching online knows what an exhaustive process it can be. When searching on PubMed, for example, a writer can spend hours scanning study after study and still not find enough relevant data for the article they’re writing. Either the nature of the research does not quite relate to your content, it’s too dated, or it says nothing conclusive other than “more research is needed.”
Searching for recent results from a non-scientific poll or survey can be even more fruitless and risky. Part of the reason is healthcare information technology is at least a $227 billion industry, and it can be difficult to generate media and industry awareness of your company (unless you have a great partner like Amendola). That is why many companies will conduct their own survey or poll to generate media interest.
More often than I would like, while researching for one client I will discover the enticing results data was from a survey commissioned by a competitor. Such a conflict makes those stats, while tempting, off-limits. (But I am surprised how often I come across competitors who will cite one another’s research in their content.)
To avoid these mistakes and ensure the research you use in your content is relevant and accurate, consider these tips:
Get to the Bottom of it
I came across this stat recently that was perfect for a writing project I was working on: 85% to 99% of medical device alerts are not clinically actionable. I saw it cited in numerous medical journals and even in books with different attribution, with many citing it from The Joint Commission.
Although TJC did reference it, the stat originally came from a 2011 report from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, which cites that figure to a study conducted by Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. I highlight this example to illustrate how challenging, but also how important it is, to identify and link to the original source of the stat.
Not only is it the most accurate way to present the data, but you may discover that by getting to the root of the source it may not be reliable or from an organization (i.e. competitor), that you want to draw attention to in your content.
Find the Context
Avoiding information from a competitor is an excellent reason to scrutinize the source of data. But after you determine where the information is coming from, the writer should also investigate the context around the data so you can further evaluate its credibility.
Some organizations will issue press releases, or mention in blog posts or bylined articles, “astounding” results from a survey or research they’ve conducted. In reading the full report or study it came from, you will learn that its PR or marketing materials carefully omitted important context, which creates a misleading perspective.
For example, you may find survey results that show “90% of physicians are considering retiring within the next five years.” However, if you dig deeper into the survey, you may find that the survey question was only conducted on physicians age 65 or older. While that may be an exaggerated hypothetical scenario, it shows how risky it is to feature data without investigating the context.
Science or Pseudo-Science?
As New York Times reporter Carl Zimmer pointed out, thanks to COVID-19, many more people are reading scientific papers, but are finding them difficult to understand. Although I’ve been reading these studies for many years, I, too, occasionally struggle to interpret findings that I can incorporate in the content we create.
Fortunately, article abstracts typically offer enough information to help decide if you should keep reading. Abstracts also provide insight into the scientific rigor behind the study, such as if it is a randomized controlled trial, which is the gold standard for medical research.
Even in such trials, if it includes only a very small or narrow population of patients, it may not apply to what you’re writing. The publication itself should also be considered. A peer-reviewed publication is ideal, as is information published in prominent journals such as JAMA, Science, The New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet, although even some of these journals have taken some credibility dings lately in the rush to publish COVID-19 research.
You are the Gatekeeper
Regardless of the quality of the data or the publication, you are the ultimate gatekeeper: Do you find the information and publication credible? Will it be meaningful and interesting to the prospective reader of the content? If so, then include it.
The great part about finding lots of meaningful research data is that it can help accelerate the writing process. With lots of information to include, it is just a matter of organizing and presenting it compellingly…but that’s for another post.
by admin | Jul 29, 2020 | Blog
Despite all of the metrics and data at our fingertips these days, public relations is still more art than science when it comes to attaining the ultimate goal: media coverage.
Sure, reports that show impact after the fact are indispensable and all the information at our fingertips has made the task of gathering this analysis much more comprehensive. The number of unique visitors per month (UVM) to news sites, conversion rates, click-throughs, etc. are all important. But what it is measuring and analyzing is the media placement the PR team has earned.
When it comes to media outreach, it is all about the intangible ability of the PR specialist to communicate a story, pull someone in, and generate enough interest that the journalist wants to learn more. There is no algorithm or artificial intelligence that has cracked that code.
In the media relations world, you need to master subtlety, conciseness, creativity, patience, and common sense. Who are the reporters you are contacting?
What is their preferred method of being contacted? What’s their beat? What have they written about recently?
Yes, we have tools that make this research much easier than it used to be. Honestly, I can’t imagine doing this job 40 years ago. The legwork had to have been exhausting. But, when it comes down to it, you are the one making the connection and, hopefully, securing the interview and/or placement.
As any PR vet will tell you, there is one thing serious reporters hate: spin. It’s an easy trap to fall into. The cliché among reporters is that anyone contacting them on behalf of a company, be it for a thought leadership article or an interview, is trying to use them as a mouthpiece for the company, product or executive they represent.
While your job is certainly to raise awareness for your client, you cannot be a part of their sales team. You are telling their story and demonstrating what makes them relevant and interesting. Members of the media will automatically roll their eyes at hyperbole, spin and overt self-promotion.
During my years in PR, I have seen examples of this plenty of times. You work with a client who insists on promoting a product launch to a reporter at a national publication, who inevitably responds (if they respond at all) with one word: “pass.”
The same goes for thought leadership. If you offer an interview by saying, “Ms. XYZ can talk to you about how their widget is revolutionizing the world of widgetry,” any reporter worth their salt will hit delete immediately.
If you say, “The world of widgetry has faced a multitude of issues during the past year due to end users dealing with (for example) data breaches. Ms. XYZ can offer concrete steps these companies can take to become more secure,” now they’re listening. If you can recruit one or two of your client’s customers to attest to the effectiveness of this approach, it drastically increases your chance of garnering interest from the media.
When it comes to byline articles and op-eds, the same rules apply. If Ms. XYZ writes a piece littered with references to how great her company and its solutions are, it’s not going to fly with most publications from trades to large national publications. I have seen self-promotional op-eds turned down many times. I have also seen them rewritten with the self-promotion removed, and that same publication reversing course and running the article.
This is all a balancing act. You have to meet the journalist’s standards and the client’s expectations at the same time. For both, it comes down to clear and honest communication.
You need to be armed with the reasons a reporter should be interested in your pitch, and you need to make sure your client understands that issue-driven not product-driven coverage is what will give them credibility in the industry.
Maybe someday companies will be able to enter information into an AI platform that writes the perfect pitch. Human-to-human media relations will become a profession of the past.
But let’s not dwell on that. I don’t want to give Zuckerberg any ideas and I want to keep my job.
The bottom line is we are storytellers, not spinmeisters. It takes nuance and authenticity. If you can pitch substance over spin, the results will speak for themselves.
by Administrator | Jul 22, 2020 | Blog
The phrase “thought leader” is one that is thrown around a lot in public relations. And it’s understandable: For any public-facing organization or business, it’s important to have experts on hand who can speak to the public.
However, as someone involved in day-to-day media relations operations at an award-winning PR and marketing agency, I have a major gripe with thought leaders, and I wrote this blog specifically for them and their coaches. In short, my gripe is this: You need to be able to talk about something else other than your products and services. You must be able to speak about something other than your business and your brand.
If you can’t do it, you’re not a thought leader, you’re a spokesman. And there is a difference.
Meet Marc, Human Person
Let’s turn our attention to Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, a cloud computing giant operating out of San Francisco.
Marc founded the company out of his apartment. It has since grown to be a publicly traded technology leader, with a soaring stock value
that has catapulted Marc onto the list of American billionaires.
As you can imagine, Marc has appeared in a number of media outlets. In fact, practically every mainstream news outlet you can think of has
interviewed him at one point or another.
Sometimes Marc is on Mad Money talking about the latest Salesforce contract. But, more often than not, Marc is sitting down to talk to the media about the issues that were always important to him: homelessness, the changing face of capitalism, the failure of technology companies to support their communities, and how CEOs have an obligation to think about how their companies impact social order.
Much of this can be summed up in an interview he conducted with CNBC early in 2020, where Marc emphasizes “stakeholder return” as being of more value to society than shareholder returns.
Considering federal law mandates all CEOs of publicly traded companies must maximize profits, this is a particularly bold statement. It’s also only one of many that Marc has made over the last decade.
“Capitalism as We Know it is Dead”
What does Marc talking about the issues above have to do with Salesforce? Nothing. But, I bet you’ll remember his name and be curious
about what his company does.
Sure, he plugs Salesforce now and then, but mostly Marc talks about his personal views. To back those up, Marc’s non-business philanthropic endeavors match the socioeconomic issues he talks about, culminating in the portrait of a genuine character – or, from a media relations perspective, a genuine thought leader.
Anyone who works in PR or content marketing (or politics for that matter) is aware of the concept of the “soft sell” – an indirect link created between an issue and a person that circles back to what’s being sold. Often this is something crafted deliberately by a media strategist or savvy marketing person.
Even if crafted by a genius, anything crafted is doomed to fail as the world changes. Instead of creating thought leaders, maybe it’s time we task PR professionals with finding them and adding a little bit of polish.
As the economic and government systems in the world evolve, we’re seeing more and more evidence that the public is done with scripted information. In other words, that old “soft sell” carries less weight in 2020 than it did even a few years ago. Sure, the soft sell allows a potential “thought leader” to avoid controversy. But, that’s the problem. You can’t avoid controversy anymore.
Speaking in platitudes and avoiding a conversation about serious issues is a product of the old political and corporate class – a class, I would argue, that is fading rapidly.
I do declare! That is unbecoming of a CEO, good sir!
No one cares. Hate to break it to you, but short of being racist, homophobic, or a closet abuser, no one is judging your lifestyle or personal opinions anymore. And if they are, they’re part of an old guard that is on the way out.
Elon Musk – one of the richest men in the world who may change transportation forever – smoked one of them jazz cigarettes on a comedian’s podcast, where he and host Joe Rogan talked about artificial intelligence conquering all human life.
Other than some fake outrage from the old guard, no one cared. Tesla’s stock is higher than ever, and Elon is still a renowned thought leader, interviewed on a wide variety of topics.
Granted, he does say extremely stupid stuff all the time, but since it’s harmless and he’s just genuinely being himself, the public mostly loves him. And so do his shareholders.
In 2020, thought leaders are people with real ideas who aren’t afraid to be themselves, kind of like Marc Benioff. I don’t know about you, but I would love to sit down with that guy, have a few beers, and talk candidly about how to fix the world’s problems.
Yes, of course Elon is invited, especially since I know how much he and I share a love for video games. It’s BYOB around here though, Elon. I’m not made of money.
Tl;DR
If you want to craft a thought leader to garner media interviews, don’t craft them at all. Instead, start just by encouraging them to be themselves.
Encourage them to talk about the issues that are important to them, even if they have absolutely nothing to do with the business they’re in. Lastly, tell them not to be afraid to let their personality shine.
If they’re smart, genuine, and have unique ideas, they’ll be a hit. The new public values people, not corporate magnates.
