USA Weekly: Interview with Jodi Amendola, CEO at Amendola Communications
http://usaweekly.com/2018/01/interview-with-jodi-amendola-ceo-at-amendola-communications/
Crisis planning can ease tensions during actual events
A week doesn’t go by without news of a hospital or health system affected by a cyberattack or some other crisis. Coupled with an always-on news cycle and social media ecosystem, a crisis can destroy reputations. While the incidents themselves aren’t always preventable, organizations that thoughtfully do some advance crisis planning can emerge with their brands intact.
The ability to respond promptly to disasters or damaging reports can build confidence in constituents that the organization is on top of the crisis and a leader in its sector.
One thing to consider is that crisis plans should make very clear who is responsible for what. Here are several recommendations for consideration to help your organization keep pace:
- Prepare in advance with inputs from the organization’s functional areas. The time to plan for a crisis is long before it hits. A well thought-out crisis plan is designed to help an organization communicate internally and externally with clear, succinct and timely direction. The goal is to minimize confusion and maintain confidence whatever crisis may occur.
- Identify stakeholders. Designing an effective crisis management plan also requires an understanding of stakeholders and their roles. Stakeholders are all those who have an interest in the outcome. For a health system, the list is generally long and can include patients, governments, administrators, board members, clinicians. Each might need slightly different things during a crisis, and they should all be considered as separate audiences.
- Identify a communications chain of command. Crisis plans should in advance identify all of those who will be involved with managing a crisis, what areas they are responsible for and who is ultimately responsible for making decisions. Then, all of those involved should receive the training they need to be effective in their roles. For example, specialists from all functional areas of the organization should be available to lend their expertise should the need arise, and executive spokespeople should receive media training.
- Create real-world tools that can be modified later. One of the most valuable things to have in a crisis is a head start. Messaging, scripts and spokespeople should be prepared in advance. The communications team can later assist in adapting standard scripts to specific situations the organization encounters.
- Ensure that crisis management messaging addresses various aspects of the crisis. When communicating bad news or another type of crisis, it is imperative that the organization’s spokespersons do the following:
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- Elaborate with the “what” explain what happened with concise language, together with the organization’s position on the issue
- Educate with the “how” explain how audiences should respond to the situation and how the organization is responding
- Engage with the “why” explain the impact the situation has on operations so that impacts are not blown out of proportion
By giving thoughtful consideration to the development of a crisis management plan, organizations are more likely to be able to recover from bad news. In some cases, they might even exit the crisis with stronger brand relationships.
Going in AP Style
One of the core tenets of journalism (and public relations, which at most colleges is part of the School of Journalism) is the use of AP style when writing. AP, of course, stands for the Associated Press, whose manual and rules are drilled into journalism students from the day they begin writing for their school newspaper (or whatever aspiring writers write for in school these days).
For a PR professional, use of AP style demonstrates that you are a journalism insider. That’s very important when you’re pitching a byline article, or a press release, or some other piece of content that needs to be reviewed and approved by an editor. It gives you a certain level of credibility, or at least signals to an editor that he or she won’t have to spend untold hours bringing your writing up to par.
Failure to use it, on the other hand, is generally seen as an admission that you are an ignorant hack whose writing skills would be best applied to warning labels on pet supplies. No one wants that.
This, of course, is the reason Amendola Communications is very careful about conforming to AP style. It benefits not only our agency but our clients.
Still, for those who aren’t familiar with AP style, some of its peccadillos can be a bit off-putting. They’re not used to seeing things written that way, and their preference for the approach they’re used to can become a bone of contention that slows down the writing and approval process.
Here’s the reality of the situation. When you are writing for your own blog, or marketing materials, or internal memos, etc. go ahead and let your preferences dictate the style. But when you’re writing something you’d like to have published by an independent media outlet, it’s important to follow AP style.
So what does that mean from a practical standpoint? Glad you asked! Here are five examples of the differences between regular people style and AP style. Those of you who are familiar with it please feel free to add additional common uses in the comments section.
Capitalizing corporate titles or not
This is the one that probably causes more consternation between Amendola Communications account managers and clients, so let’s start there.
Most people are taught in business writing courses to capitalize someone’s title, such as President, or Chief Medical Officer, or Vice President of Some Made Up Area that Sounds Good on LinkedIn. It’s viewed as disrespectful not to capitalize the title.
That is not the case in AP style. Titles are never capitalized, unless they are used as part of the person’s identity. Which means you can refer to President Trump with capital letters, but you would write Donald J. Trump is president of the United States.
This, by the way, is one of the easiest tests for editors and journalists to see who knows what they’re doing. Get it right in your press release and you’ve removed a barrier to publishing.
Spelling out acronyms
While the healthcare industry loves it some acronyms, AP style is not as much of a fan. So while you may believe everyone you’re communicating with knows EHR stands for electronic health record, AP style still demands that you spell it out anyway.
Usually, you will spell it out first, then put the acronym in parenthesis afterward, i.e., electronic health record (EHR). The exception is in quotes, which means if you’re going to use an acronym in a quote try to spell it out ahead of time, just to be safe. Of course, some acronyms that are widely known, such as FBI or CIA, do not need to be spelled out. But if you’re writing about them and you work in health IT, you probably have bigger issues than AP style facing you.
Bonus fun fact #1: According to the AP Style guide, using the initialism CEO by itself is acceptable, although they still recommend spelling it out somewhere else. Other titles, such as CFO or CMO, must always be spelled out because they are less universal.
Writing out numbers
This is another of those interesting AP style oddities. When writing out single numbers from 0-9, AP style dictates you spell out the number rather than use the numeral. So zero for 0, one for 1, all the way up to nine (9). Once you’re in double digits, you use the numerals, so 10, 11, and so forth.
That also applies to numbers used in combination, which can get very awkward. You would write “there are 10 three-bedroom homes on this block” or “Put the three of us down for 12 medical devices each.”
State abbreviations
The AP has its own set of state abbreviations that are preferred, especially for use in a dateline. They are different (and longer) in most cases from the more-familiar postal codes, so it’s worth looking up. Or, you can just follow this link, although they’re not laid out quite as nicely as you might like.
Here are a couple of examples. The postal code for California is CA, but the AP style abbreviation is Calif. The postal code for Arizona, where Amendola Communications is headquartered, is AZ whereas the AP style abbreviation is Ariz.
Two-word states tend to get different treatment. While New Hampshire uses an N and an H for both, the postal code is NH while the AP style abbreviation is N.H. The extra periods make a difference.
Bonus fun fact #2: When you’re in the body of a press release, AP style stresses spelling out the name of the state rather than using abbreviations of any kind.
Bonus fun fact #3: Certain large cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New York, don’t require a state at all in the dateline. In fact, including a state again makes you look like you don’t know what you’re doing.
Other types of abbreviations
For pretty much any other type of abbreviation, you’re always going to use periods after each letter. That includes professional credentials (M.D. instead of MD, Ph.D. instead of PhD) and time designations (p.m. instead of pm, E.S.T. instead of Eastern Standard Time).
Yes, it can be very odd-looking, especially when you say an event will begin at 1:00 p.m. E.S.T., and yes, all those periods kind of get in the way. But that’s the way, uh-huh uh-huh, they like it. (Sorry, channeling my inner Kate Donlon there.)
So many rules
This is just a small sampling of some of the most common issues that seem to crop up from time to time. There are many more. In fact, the AP puts out an entire manual with everything you could possibly wonder about, which they will be more than happy to sell you if you’re interested. It’s available in both paper and electronic form.
Or, you can just count on your friendly neighborhood PR pros to get it right for you. It’s all part of the service.
Tradeshow Trauma: Why “booth traffic was slow” is a lame excuse and how to prepare for conference success
As a marketing and PR professional who has spent countless hours in tradeshow booths and walked more than 20,000 steps at the HIMSS conference while wearing heels, I’ve experienced both the glory and the defeat of being an exhibitor. And while there is no better feeling than packing up your boxes, tearing down the booth and heading home after a job well done, there is also no greater pain than realizing that your company’s precious time and resources were virtually wasted because your conference strategy fell short.
After every tradeshow, it’s common to speak with exhibitors who complain that “booth traffic was slow” and cite that reason as the root of their conference failure. But let’s be honest — that’s a lame excuse. It’s the easy way out to blame poor performance at the show on exhibit hall organizers rather than reflecting on how your team may be at fault, or at least largely contributed to the problem.
In fact, upon much-needed reflection, those complainers would see that they are likely committing the cardinal sin of tradeshow marketing. They’re only focused on the conference. They’re not focused on the holistic strategy that enables the smartest, more successful companies to succeed at conferences again and again and again.
To avoid this tradeshow trauma and emerge triumphant in 2018, it’s critical for companies to have a three-pronged approach that includes not just a conference strategy where you show up and wait, but also and even more importantly a pre-conference strategy and a post-conference strategy.
Here are 4 insider secrets to help you get started:
#1 Never rely on booth traffic
Sure, booth traffic is nice and we all want it but it’s even better to drive traffic to your booth in advance. As savvy marketing professionals know, the best tradeshow marketing strategies start early and establish a regular cadence of communication. Most companies find that implementing a targeted email campaign starting 6 weeks in advance of the show is ideal but some may find that 8 weeks or 4 weeks works best for their audience.
These emails should be geared to both sales prospects to schedule meetings or demos and current clients to have a face-to-face touchpoint and determine cross-sale opportunities. As always, the top-performing emails are brief and targeted to attendees by role and job setting. It’s also best to have a form where attendees can schedule time and then receive a confirmation with a calendar invite. Why is that so important? It gets you on attendees calendars before they arrive at the show and are overwhelmed. Also, then your team can send them reminders about the scheduled slot or reach out if they don’t arrive as planned.
#2 Winning is great but winning isn’t everything
Pre-conference email campaigns can also invite attendees to activities in the booth such as speaking events or games instead of just meetings and demos. They can also offer attendees “a chance to win” and highlight big prizes, but they must not rely on the allure of a gimmick alone. There are few too many promotions for your giveaway to break through the noise. A pre-conference strategy that shares quality content, in addition to touting “a trip for 100 around the world” is the safest, most effective way to not only illustrate thought leadership but also to create brand awareness of your company as leader and innovator that offers far more than just a chance to win ““ but rather real ROI.
#3 Think like an attendee
Spoiler alert for those many hours spent in the booth. Nobody wants your marketing brochure! It will end up in the next trash can even if they take it, and if it makes it back to their room, it will end up in the hotel trash can. They also really don’t want a folder with multiple product one-pagers and a recent press release about your new product. Please note that this realization also spares your marketing team and admin hours of folder stuffing. Yes, you’re welcome.
The big idea here is to remember why attendees are at the conference. Most attendees are there to learn, not to purchase your “ground-breaking, best in class, fully integrated solution.” So, give them what they want like client case studies with real-world insights and thought leadership that demonstrates your knowledge and unique perspective. That’s the true value proposition that won’t get throw in the trash.
#4 Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up
It’s great to have a successful show, but it’s what companies do afterwards that matters most. It’s all about the follow-up communications, which should include a series of e-blasts, with the first prepared ahead of time and sent within 1-2 days of show close. The post-show e-blast should provide an opportunity to continue to engage with your company by downloading a new piece of content, registering for a webinar, or scheduling a full product demo for their broader team. However, the e-blast is not enough. To see results, it must be complimented by personalized follow-up from the sales team where there is even a small percentage chance of generating new pipeline. Without this timely and dedicated post-show communications, it’s impossible to reap the benefits of your hard work pre-show and at the show.
Remember, it doesn’t matter how many people attend the tradeshow. Only that the right people make it to your booth.
Instead of leaving success to chance, put together a three-prong plan that will tip the odds in your favor. It sure beats coming up with lame excuses later.
6 Pitfalls of Email Pitching
Clients often wonder how a PR agency can get reporters to read email pitches. It’s basically a combination of art, science, and alchemy definitely not for the faint of heart.
When I was the healthcare reporter for the Boston Business journal, I got an average of 300-400 emails per day. In the run up to a major conference, such as JP Morgan or HIMSS, that number could easily reach 500 emails per day. I couldn’t possibly read them all. I deleted more than half, and immediately read about a quarter of them. The rest I saved to read later. Maybe.
4 ways to lose a reporter in 70 characters
The biggest mistake you can make is failing to take advantage of the subject line to quickly convey the value of the company, product, CEO, or scientific advance. Here are a few common types of subject lines that won’t get reporters to read pitches:
- “Heads up, big news from Health Inc.” – A lot of companies waste valuable space in a subject line with phrases designed to get reporters attention. “Heads up” is really useful only if you are a TV cameraman reviewing video and the President walks into the room. Simply state the news, in the format, “Who is doing what and why.”
- “Introducing CEO Bob Smith“- A lot of companies write to offer the expertise of their thought leaders, and that’s great. But this doesn’t give me any information about Smith’s areas of expertise, or whether he’ll be a candid, interesting or thought-provoking interview. Give the reporter some insight into your expert’s point of view and, if possible, his or her personality.
- “Health Inc. tops sales projections for the third year running” – This kind of blatant promotion will immediately be deleted by most reporters. First of all, where’s the story there? Secondly, whose projections are we talking about, the company’s? Reporters need independent numbers.
- “Health Inc. to revolutionize health care“- Subject lines that are intentionally vague or seek to tease the reporter and pique their interest can backfire. This particular one is too broad and strains credulity. I would probably give it a pass. It may be necessary to keep the news under wraps until, for instance, a reporter agrees to an embargo. But try to give as much detail as possible, so he or she can make an informed decision.
2 ways to lose a reporter once they are on the hook
OK, so you’ve survived the subject line gauntlet, and the reporter has clicked on your email. The next challenge is to get him or her to read the whole pitch, or most of it, and call for an interview. Here are a few Don’ts:
- Don’t overload the reporter with background – Keep it simple. A two- to three-line pitch explaining what the news is and why it’s important is best.
- Don’t abuse embargoes -Embargoes may be necessary for a variety of reasons for instance, the news is tied to a JAMA article that has not yet been published. But putting an embargo on news to try to inflate its value may backfire. Reporters are willing to abide by embargoes as long as everyone is on the same playing field with the same rules.
If you can avoid these six pitfalls you will be well on your way to hearing the sweet sound of your phone ringing with reporter interest.
Have you ever fallen prey to one of these pitfalls? Do they ring true? What other pitching best practices have you discovered?
