’MazingYou 2017 Women’s Conference

50 Tips from the PR Pros

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How to share!

Facebook: MazingYou Leadership

for Women;Word’s Out PR

Insta: @Mazingwomen; @WordsOutPR

#mazingyou#salemconference#womeninbusiness

#womenempowerment

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Your PR Maven: Ms. Nicole Miller

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Today’s expert team of women

Laura Luthi

Dena Weigel-Bell

Brooke Schelar

What IS PR? Not HR

Not advertising

Behind-the-scenes; building connections between organization and its publics

Communications director, pitch stories, write speeches, create news releases, manage social media platforms, plan the social responsibility campaign

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Why does PR matter?Investment in your reputation & the reputation of your organization

Good PR: Improved visibility and good positioning

Crisis is chronic

PR speaks the truth and people want the truth

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PR Part 1: Media Relations

Nicole Miller & Laura Luthiwordsoutpr.comWordsOutPR@wordsoutpr

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POP QUIZ! What are some of the job functions of

a person in PR?

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1. Be strategic

Communications approach should be directly tied to your vision and goals

Well-planned communications will achieve better long-term results

Proactive vs. reactive

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2. Include PR at executive level

Obtain info directly, from the most credible source

Direct access offers insight and foreshadowing of future events

Enables PR to strategize and develop communications directly tied to your organization's needs

We can’t do our jobs in the dark!

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3. Develop key messages

Differentiate from the competition

Stay on topic

Define your brand

Establish the reputation you want for your organization

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4. Know your audience“Target publics” - you have several

Consider where to find your publics

Always research the media outlet and media contact before pitching!

Who are their readers/listeners/viewers?

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5. Make it compellingPersonalize to the outlet and person—keep it genuine

Intrigue the editor or producer

Be conversational

Tie to industry trends

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6. Write impressive news releaseUse a mix of the traditional “Inverted Pyramid” + new techniques, too.

Used to be written for the journalist, now it needs to be written for the public, as well.

Ann Wylie’s "X, Y, Z, A formula”Benefits of your product or service. It looks like this: X (users) who have struggled with Y (problem) will now be able to Z (benefit), thanks to A (product or service).

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Commuters who now spend an hour each day driving from Tualatin to Portland will soon be able to make the trip in 15 minutes, thanks to a new bridge that ABC Company will build this summer.

People with skin that is showing signs of aging, including wrinkles and age spots, will now be able to reverse the signs of aging in as little as four weeks with Timeless Age-Defying Serum by ABC Company.

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🤔For example…

News Release Format

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7. Create stand-out subject lineThink of your subject line as your pitch

Pique curiosity: New, Local, Exclusive, Data

Be clear “News Release re:”

Keep it brief “10 Tips to Avoid Dry Rot”

AVOID spammy, sales language “free” “% off”

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8. Serve it on a silver platterInclude the whole package in your pitch, making your story ready-to-go and more appealing than the rest.

• AP Style

• Photos, video

• Spokesperson

• Industry data

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9. Follow-up (in a helpful way)

Every great PR person follows up

A call and/or e-mail that is quick & to-the-point is often what lands the story.

Follow-up an average of 3 times

When they say they don’t want follow-ups, it’s really that they don’t want crappy follow-ups.

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10. Leverage the exposure

Use it or lose it, sister!

Share on Facebook

Publish on LinkedIn

Your e-mail list

Industry specific social networks

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11. Relationships, relationships!

Public relations is about building strong, respectful relationships

Provide valuable, relevant information

Best PR people are resources to the media; strategic consultants to the exec team.

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12. Stay on offense

Anticipate problems and opportunities

Find spontaneous PR opportunities

Go for the gold

Be creative!

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PR Part 2: Social Media for Business

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Nicole Miller wordsoutpr.comWordsOutPR@wordsoutpr

POP QUIZ! Who’s on…

Facebook? Instagram?Pinterest?LinkedIn?Twitter?

Snapchat?

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1. Choose the right platformsSo many options, limit to 3. Quality over quantity!

Choose based on your target audience

Is yours a B2B or B2C biz

Go to conversationprism.com

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😱

App for sending

videospicturesthat disappearafter being viewed

Social Sitethat is all about

DIscovery

Largestopportunities

users are:usersshare

67 MillionTwitter users

There Are over

micro bloggingSocial Sitethat limits each

mobile isfacebook’sCash cow 140

PINTEREST twitter facebook instagram Snapchat linkedin

post to

everysecond

characters

1 MILLION Links

social sharingapp all around

most followed brand is

and now 60 secondPictures

#

videos

and

social networking site

businessoriented

travel

beauty

stylefood

home

million150

20%male

millionactive usersactive users active users

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6,000 tweets

millionactive users

300million106billion

2.01Millionactive users

700

many brandsare participatingthrough the use of

brands that areparticipating

& connect

giving potential andcurrent associates

are

a place toin theUS

hashtags

picturesand posting

consumerscan relate to

corporatebrands

network

EVERY 20 MINUTES

roughly

80%female

70% ofusers are female

happen

MONTHLY

1.15billion Daily active mobile users

most usedplatform among 12 - 24year olds

is the most common age demographic

at 29.7% of Usersage 25 to 34

on av e r a g e

monthly active users

+

billionvideo views daily

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Statistics as of 8.25.2017 Designed by: Leverage - leveragenewagemedia.com

70% users are outsidethe U.S.

of

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2.Post at the right time Know when your audience is online Consider the demographics Schedule your posts via Hootsuite or Facebook scheduler

Hootsuite > Instagram, LinkedIn, TwitterFacebook > Facebook

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3. Follow the 80/20 rule!80% of your posts should be non-promotional. Interesting, sharable content.Info, tips, humor, conversation, quotes, news, questions. 20% of your posts promoting your business or cause; including calls-to-action.

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4. Envision you’ve just entered a party…

Use the same etiquette you’d use in-person at a social event

Respond to comments, inquiries

Get off your soap box

Don’t get political, religious

Whether or not to “friend:” Would you engage w/ that person in-person?

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5. Build relationships!

It’s a conversation, encourage dialogue

Phrase your post as though you’re talking with, not at, someone

Tag people and other businesses

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6. Social media cannot exist in a vacuum

Point to your social media pages outside of that social media platform

E-mail signatures

Website header, blog

E-newsletters

Real-life signage

Contests!33

7. Use images, esp. video

74% of all Internet traffic in 2017 is video

Photos, videos are an extension of your brand

Should be professional, yet not too formal.

Don’t upload too many pics — pick the best and use those

Add humor: ecards, memes, quote generators

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8. Recognize personal vs. businessThink about what to post on your personal pages vs. your business pages.

There is an overlap of our personal and social worlds

Listen to your inner voice as to where to draw the line

Personal account is spontaneous, business account needs more thought, a plan

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9. Lift each other upTag other businesses, people, organizations

Promote what others are doing

Share your “kudos”

Provide reviews on Facebook, Google +, Yelp, etc.

Help out a budding page by commenting, not just liking their posts

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🙌

10. Do not over-sell or brag! That will turn people off !

It’s a communication platform, a community-building platform, a customer service platform... Have you ever been in a conversation where someone talks about themselves the whole time?

... unless, you use the appropriate tools such as ads or sponsored content. Or if you tactfully craft in the 20% portion.

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11. Grammar matters!

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PR Part 3: Blogging for Business

Dena Weigel-Bellwww.denaweigelbell.comDWBBrandJournalist

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POP QUIZ! Who has a personal blog?

A blog for business?

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1. Content is KingContent Marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and sharing valuable, relevant content that does not explicitly promote a brand, but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.

1. Blogging

2. Vlogging

3. Social media posts

4. Expert articles

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2. Design & format for readability

Keep target audience in mind

Key messages/take-aways as subheads

Widgets and added features for easy navigation!

Plugins: SEO analysis tools, backups, Google Analytics

Organize your content into 3-5 topic categories

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3. Create content that mattersCreate great content that readers will enjoy, make it visually appealing

Consider the audience

Editorial calendar for balance

Keywords to capture audience

Think about tone/formality

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4. Prioritize SEOIncreasing your “searchability” on search engines is the best way to bring customers to you

Use focus keywords/phrases

Sprinkle your keywords throughout

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POP QUIZ! Google yourself!

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5. Use specific keywords instead of general keywordsLong-tail keywords (key phrases)

Searchers verbalize their problem “Local Plumber Salem Oregon”

Brings in the most relevant, qualified leads

Use throughout your content

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6. Locations w/ keywordsIf you sell products or services specific to a particular region, you’ll want to include the location in your keyword phrases. Especially in your meta description!

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7. Use keywords in headlines

Place keywords at the beginning (and end) of your headline

Place keywords in sub-heads

“6 Floor Plans for a Perfectly Modern Kitchen”

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8. Insert meaningful linksInbound Links:Come from another site to yours!Membership organizationsCommunity, industry partnersSharing partners

Internal Links:Link within your own site to keep them on your website longer.Preferred by GoogleMust be relevant

Outbound Links: Link to other relevant pages to build goodwill. However, this sends visitors away from your site.

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9. Promote your blog

Have a checklist handy about where you will share your blog posts once they’re published!

Plugins such as:

Facebook

LinkedIn

E-mail, e-newsletter

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Activity: Think of how you’d blog for business

1. Brainstorm a blog topic.

2. Share your blog topic with your table members.

3. Keyword/key phrase challenge! Table members help come up with a keyword search term for your blog post.

4. Select one blog topic from your table to share w/ us (and its corresponding keyword/key phrase).

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PR Part 4: Visual Storytelling

Best Practices

Brooke Schelarthewildferncreative.com WildFernCreative@wildfern_creative

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POP QUIZ! What is the call-to-action on this web page?

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1. Leave white space

Give your visual elements and messages space to be seen and heard. Forcing multiple messaging into one area and cluttering your visuals leaves people feeling overwhelmed and makes it hard for them to soak up the main message.

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2. K.I.S.S.(Keep it simple, stupid!)

Did you know?80% of people choose a product, service or company over a competitor because it had a better website

Simplicity is key

Entice the customer

Save more info and extra photos for another space/page if needed

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3. Use visual hierarchy …and subheads are important, too!

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38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content/layout is unattractive. 

Define the importance of what you're trying to say and present the information accordingly.

4. Clear call-to-action

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What do you ultimately want people to do? Make this clear.

Attention spans are short. You have to help guide the viewer to act on something. Make it easy for them.

Buy now, submit, click here

5. Use color with purpose

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Use color to make specific things stand out in your visual design.

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Be true to your brand and your values. Don't pretend to be something that you're not. Share your true brand and core values with your customers. Fake isn't relatable.

6. Authenticity is crucial

InauthenticStock images

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Show your genuine values through custom visuals & words

Break out of the mold

Did you know? We are incredible at remembering pictures. Hear a piece of info, and three days later you'll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you'll remember 65%.

7. Customize to stand out

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Define a set of rules and guidelines for your brand and stick with it.

Consistent brands are easily recognizable and can truly develop a personality of their own.

8. Customers need consistency

9. Tell a story

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A compelling brand story gives your audience something to connect with.

At the end of the day, you're dealing with people.

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62% of consumers say that they are more likely to buy from a brand that they follow on social media

Out of sight = out of mind.

Build credibility by having a web presence:

Website

Social media

10. You’d better be online

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Social Responsibility

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~ Because being a good person matters ~

1. Bring your values to lifeBeyond a donation

Making alliances, partnerships to address deeper social issues

Strategically aligning your organization with agencies for social change

Exercising your values

Mutually beneficial

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2. Choose a cause that aligns with your values

55% of consumers willing to pay more for products from cause-supporting brands

Tie to your mission and values

Education

Health & social services

Community & economic development

Do your research

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3. Do your due diligence

Interview your top charities

Look at their annual reports

How do they measure their progress toward goals?

Listen to your inner voice

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4. Use clear messaging

Do you have your elevator pitch? 25-50 words

Be concise

Easy to understand: Could a 10 year-old understand it?

Focus on one thing at a time

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5. Motivate EmployeesEncourage & promote employee participation. Their relationship with the company is strengthened when they are engaged!

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6. Make it social

Create a hashtag #DalesPaintsPink

Tag your partners

Opens up employee and partnership engagement

Share journey in real-time

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But most importantly…

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Embrace being the expert

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Invest in relationships

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Know who to turn to!