Archives for February 2013

How a $50-Per-Article Blogger Can Damage Your Brand

Posted on: 02.28.13 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

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Last week, a blogger for a national news website wrote a hit piece on one of my clients.  Without getting into the details, the story was riddled with a nasty mix of inaccuracies, poor reporting and marginal grammar – as well as a number of typos. My client is in an industry that is no stranger to attacks, but this one was particularly troubling not because of the message — but because of the medium. 

One of the downsides to the Internet’s democratization of journalism is that nearly anyone can act like a journalist.  While this is a tough reality for actual journalists and PR people alike, the economics make it even rougher.  As we dug into the background of this particular blogger, we learned that she was a fairly new contributor to the outlet, and we also found out how she was compensated.  In black and white on the organization’s website, I read (I swear in genuine horror), that this blogger was probably paid about $50 for the article.  For fifty bucks of short-shrift work, she did harm to my client’s brand. 

At a mere fifty dollars per article, one is automatically incentivized to produce quantity over quality and therefore good writing, actual reporting and solid journalism get lost.

If you write one article a day, that means you earn $250 per week – which is less than minimum wage if it takes you all day to do it.  One can only assume that bloggers for publications like this are pumping out as much content as they can each week — grammar and accuracy be damned.

Later that same day, I had coffee with another PR professional, and we had a conversation about crisis communications.  Of course, we talked about Carnival and its poop cruise, but I decided to add in my recent experience with the fifty dollar blogger.

Naturally, cruise ship fiascos, product tamperings and kids in harm’s way are the most read-about PR crises.  But I suggest that almost every high profile company should have a plan in place to not only deal with possible human tragedy but also Web journalism miscues.

What is a PR crisis anyway?  Does it have to be as big as Carnival, Lance Armstrong or Penn State?   For example, I believe that when a business has to lay off 50 people, that’s a crisis.  If an employee is victim of a random act of violence, that’s also a crisis. 

If an under-compensated blogger inaccurately rips your brand with a piece that gets syndicated nationally, then guess what, you have a crisis on your hands too.

What to do about it
Keep a lookout.  If you aren’t already monitoring your company’s media coverage through Google alerts and other web searches, hop to it.  Make sure you do everything you can to see coverage of your company the moment it hits.

Articles can be corrected.  Fortunately for the client I mentioned earlier, we reached out to the outlet and they made a number of meaningful corrections.  Pre-Internet, you had to live with errors and fight publishers for a correction.  Today, web-based publications can make changes after the fact, so the offending copy doesn’t have to live online forever.

Figure out who to complain to.  This can be tough.  We had a similar issue with a blogger a few years ago, and I truly felt helpless.  If you are dealing with a well-known publication, then you will have a better chance of securing changes.  If not, you have to find your way to the original author and make your case.

Take the right tone.  Lay out your options and consider your tone before deciding to “rip ‘em a new one.”  Most reporters want their stories to be accurate, so I believe in taking a softer approach.  A strategy that includes pointing out inaccuracies and incorrect inferences usually works better than harshly demanding a correction.

Get legal, if you absolutely have to.  Honestly, this is a last resort in my opinion.  In many instances, reporters make mistakes but it’s rare for them to break the law.  Believe me, some reporters are unethical and slippery, but I have never had a client sue one.

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This and That.  If you like learning about marketing from some of Florida’s top advertising, branding and marketing minds, check out a new e-paper called Florida Marketing Groupie.  We just launched it.  Subscribe (it’s free) and I’ll be your best friend.

Have you ever been burned by a blogger?  Is any PR a good thing, as long as they spell your name right?  Let me know what you think.

—John

www.miamipublicrelations.com

Author: John P. David

Turn Your Oreos Into News

Posted on: 02.22.13 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

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While the lights were out at the Super Bowl, Nabisco sent out a tweet with an image of an Oreo cookie and the caption: “You can still dunk in the dark.”  The free tweet garnered as much post game attention as many of the million dollar commercials and also showed how quick and clever social media marketing can outpace the most expensive mainstream campaigns.

While I can’t say I have ever made national news from a clever, well-timed tweet, I can say that one can regularly get news coverage by jumping on a trend or taking advantage of breaking news.  It’s actually a cornerstone of media relations, and one PR professional recently coined a term for it: “Newsjacking.”

Marketing guy David Meerman Scott wrote a book on the topic and also talked about it at South by Southwest (SXSW), the film, interactive and music festival/conference that takes place every spring in Austin, Texas.  He defines it as “the process by which you inject your ideas or angles into breaking news, in real-time, in order to generate media coverage for yourself or your business.”  You can buy his book at here.  Most interesting to me was this graphic which shows the best time to capitalize on a breaking news story.

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Most media relations pros have been newsjacking for decades.  A couple years ago, we were discussing the latest happenings in the automobile dealer world with our client, attorney Alex Kurkin of Kurkin Brandes, and he mentioned that he was swamped with calls from his dealer clients who were confused about the “Cash for Clunkers” stimulus/rebate program.  We jumped on the case and pitched his perspective to reporters around the country.  We ended up securing several interviews for him, and he was widely quoted in the New York Times.

Last year, as Facebook was slowly rolling out its Timeline feature, we learned from our client The Lifeline Program that its senior citizen Facebook fans were up in arms about the change.  Lifeline had switched its Facebook page to Timeline early to try to prevent confusion but instead got hit with blistering complaints from angry octogenarians (some of them can swear with the best of us).  We quickly pitched this story to tech reporters who had been monitoring the big switch to Timeline, and a journalist from the San Jose Mercury News interviewed Steve Terrell of Lifeline.  The story was picked up by dozens of newspapers around the country including the L.A. Times, Kansas City Star and Chicago Tribune.

And I did some newsjacking of my own recently.  After writing a blog post early on about how Lance Armstrong could mount a comeback, we pitched our PR expertise and landed an interview with Metro in London.  The reporter’s story was picked up by a number of outlets online including Spiegel in Germany.  Call it an international newsjack.

My Keys to Newsjacking
In the interest of complete disclosure, I haven’t read Scott’s book.  (It would probably just upset me that he thought of it first.)  But I’m confident that I can offer some tips that can help anyone newsjack a national story.

Be quick.  As Scott’s diagram shows, you have to identify a trend that you think will be national news before it reaches the top of the arc.  For example, Lance Armstrong announced his intention to come clean on a Friday afternoon.  I saw the story over the weekend and got inspired to blog about it.  Our news release on the topic was distributed shortly after the news broke that he would appear on Oprah.  We had some credibility because we had already posted about the topic, and we were ahead of other PR people with the same idea.

Use real examples.  It’s not good enough that you are an expert on a topic.  Wiggling your way into a big story requires you to have an opinion and hopefully some real world examples.  For our client Alex Kurkin, he had firsthand experience with the chaos being created by Cash for Clunkers.  Steve Terrell of Lifeline had been deleting expletive-laden comments written by angry seniors from his Facebook page.  The examples give a story color, and an expert needs to talk specifics, not just generalities.

Take a position, now’s your chance to give your opinion.  When major news is forming, people are starting to take sides.  If you are on the “less popular” side, you have a better chance of getting coverage.  I’m not suggesting you always look for the contrarian position, but it helps if you can make arguments for either position.  Whenever I ask my commercial litigator brother Chris for his opinion about a legal case in the news, his answer is always the same: “What side am on?”  Having a counter-balancing opinion can pay off.

Keep pushing.  The PR game is a marathon, not a sprint.  If you feel as though you can be an expert on short notice for national media, keep pushing for it.  New stories come along every day, and the media’s attention shifts like the wind. 

Have you ever newsjacked a national story?  And more importantly, do you dunk your Oreos?  Let me know.

—John

www.miamipublicrelations.com 

Author: John P. David

Reality TV is None of Your Business

Posted on: 02.13.13 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

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It’s nine o’clock on a Sunday night and my wife and two children are watching the season finale of a reality show on Bravo called “The Shahs of Sunset.”  For some reason, the show has been on television in my house all day, and quite frankly, I’m waiting for all three of my kin to wander out with their gray matter actually oozing from their heads due to an overdose of brain-melting vapidity.

This particular show features an ensemble of fabulously wealthy Persians in Beverly Hills.  Scantily clad girls in heavy make-up and “manscaped” dudes in designer threads, the “Shahs” party hard and, in general, create drama by taking major offense when a member of their group does anything annoying – real or imagined.  Today, I watched two instances where cast members “uninvited” another cast member to two separate events.  Think about that: They picked up the phone and called a girl and said “Hey, we decided we don’t want you at the birthday party tomorrow.”  Then they did the same thing in the next episode, to the same girl: “Hey, we are uninviting you to the trip to Mexico.”  Cold-blooded.

In my opinion, so much of what is on reality television is just so wrong.  From the plastic surgery overdoses to the manufactured conflicts to the gratuitous displays of wealth (without evidence of employment), reality TV is actually mauling our sense of, well, reality.  (Also, it has led to the likely permanent destruction of the word “fabulous.”) 
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Aside from showcasing a whole lot of non-reality to our young people, reality TV has changed how one becomes famous in America.  Sure there have always been people who were famous for being famous: Think about half the “stars” on game shows when we were kids.  For example, I don’t think the regular judges on “The Gong Show” were Oscar winners.  Today, however, hundreds of people are famous for seemingly no other reason than they look good in a cocktail dress and know how to sling a good insult.

If I had my own television network, I would implement some programming guidelines that not only apply to improved reality shows but also to good business and marketing.  Here are the programming rules of JohnTV:

Do an Actual Job Well 
Sorry, on JohnTV, being a Hilton is not a job, nor is being an NBA player’s ex-wife.  If you want to be on my network, open a real business, add to the economy, showcase your expertise and pass on your knowledge.  Ratings winners: “Pawn Stars,” “Oddities.”

Do It Better or Cheaper
If you know how to remodel a home or save a business, then you are a candidate for JohnTV.  If you are house flipper who creates artificial emotional conflicts or a star chef who enjoys berating his employees, take a hike.  Show me how a business can improve or how to remodel on a budget and I’m sold.  Ratings Winners: ‘Restaurant Impossible,” “This Old House,” “Undercover Boss.”

Teach Me Something
We are big fans of Food Network, but any show where people merely talk about the best thing they once ate has no shot on JohnTV.  Show me how to make perfect lasagna, how to stop my dog from chewing-up the sofa or how to escape a world-class jam and I’m all ears.  Ratings Winners: Cooking shows where people actually cook, “Man vs. Wild” and “Dog Whisperer.”

Make Money
Sure your hobby may be interesting, but if it doesn’t generate income, JohnTV will respectfully pass.  If you can finance the purchase of a commercial fishing boat, fend off icebergs, dodge flying metal, outflank competitors and actually make money, your show is a contender.  If you can rummage through someone else’s junk and figure out a way to earn a living, I’m watching.  Ratings winners: “Deadliest Catch,” “Storage Wars,” “American Pickers.” 

So there you have it, core values for business, marketing and my network.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for entertainment on television, but on JohnTV, we want more than ratings for ratings sake and fame from being famous.  Now, can anyone help me find re-runs of “The Gong Show?”

Which reality shows do you think teach business skills and lessons?  What would you put on your TV network? 

—John

www.miamiublicrelations.com

Author: John P. David

Check out this link to an old Gong Show clip.  Can you find the young David Letterman?

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Write The Book On It

Posted on: 02.08.13 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

Writing a business book offers many marketing opportunities: It adds credibility, speeds-up the author’s chances to be a media source and creates a marketing platform.  If you add-in that publishing your own book has never been easier and that we typically hold authors in high regard, it clearly makes sense to be the one who “wrote the book” on a topic.

Right now, I know several executives who are either writing or have finished books on subjects as diverse as small business loans, branding, IRAs, cruise line safety and financial planning.    

Be the Expert
While there are millions of books on the market, your category may still be open.  For example, my friend and client Chris Hurn of Mercantile Capital Corporation wrote his book “The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth” about a little known U.S. Small Business Administration loan program which helps small business owners grow their wealth by owning, rather than renting, their commercial property.  Hurn was already regarded as a media source on SBA “504” loans, but publishing the book cemented him as the leading expert.  He also has effectively boxed out his competitors, who may have thought about writing a book but are now likely discouraged.

Credibility
Friend and branding expert Bruce Turkel has written two books: “Brain Darts: The Advertising Design of Turkel Schwartz & Partners” and “Building Brand Value: Seven Simple Steps to Profitable Communications.”  When I asked him about the benefit of writing his books, one of his first answers was credibility.  “They’re the best business cards ever designed as they provide almost instantaneous credibility,” he said.  Turkel has spoken about branding around the world and has recently been a guest on a number of cable news shows.  Being an author is another valuable line on his resume.

Differentiate
Another client is working on a book for the reasons mentioned above but also because it will help differentiate him from his competitors.  If you are in a business with an 800-pound gorilla, then writing the book offers a way to be viewed as an expert despite the long shadow of a competitor.  I recently advised a young entrepreneur to consider writing a book about her nascent industry.  While her market isn’t crowded, one major competitor secures a big share of the publicity.  If the new kid on the block can “write the book,” then she has a credential that can be used to differentiate her company from the more established competitor.

Marketing Platform
For Mercantile’s Hurn, his book has been the cornerstone of his company’s marketing in 2013.  He has done a number of local and national television appearances since his book was published last October as well as dozens of radio interviews to go along with blog mentions and other press coverage.  Hurn talks about his book but also the commercial real estate market, and his company gets a favorable mention too.  And for his PR team, the credential of being an author adds to the strength of media pitches.

Education Curve
Upon further discussion with Turkel, I learned of yet another benefit.  Your book can educate your prospects and directly aid your sales process.  “If our clients or potential clients read the books and use our nomenclature when they’re discussing branding, it makes it much easier for them to understand what we’re talking about and to hire us,” said Turkel.  Just imagine the value of a prospect “already speaking your language” before you even start your sales pitch.

“Amazon Democracy”
While the actual act of writing a book hasn’t gotten any easier, getting published certainly has.  I call it “Amazon Democracy.”  A quick search online will find dozens of book publishers who can not only help you write your book  but also secure distribution through Amazon.com and other online booksellers.  Getting into brick and mortar bookstores still remains a challenge, but sadly those companies have their own issues to contend with.

Let me know if you are interested in writing a book for marketing purposes.  While I haven’t written mine yet, I have heard a lot of war stories and can probably help you avoid some pitfalls.

Both Hurn and Turkel are active bloggers and social media heavyweights.  Visit Hurn’s Amazon.com page at http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Hurn/e/B0096D6PWY, read his blog at www.504blog.com and follow him on twitter at @thechrishurn.

Visit Turkel’s Amazon.com page at http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Turkel/e/B004SH42WS, read his blog at http://turkeltalks.com and follow him on twitter at @BruceTurkel.

—John

www.miamipublicrelations.com

Author: John P. David