What’s the one thing that any PR professional absolutely needs to have to be successful? If you ask me – it’s the ability to write well. Almost everything we do as PR professionals centers on writing. Which is why I was rather surprised to read in a blog titled 2012 PR Prediction: 5 guaranteed (ways) to affect your resume, which implies that the ability to write is overblown.

In bullet point No. 1: PR skills will move beyond media relations, an excerpt from the blog says:

While a press release does not necessarily need to be well-written, a PR professional must now be able to ghost author a blog in a CEO’s tone and style. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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I just wrote a news release for a client that’s 113 words long. Clearly that’s too short – right? Or is it? Granted, it’s lean, but after reading it a second and third time (which is always good advice), the release is sound and ready for review.

It’s important to keep in mind that when writing for a B2B audience, news releases should be fairly straight forward, non-promotional and to the point. Readers and editors alike are looking for facts: what makes the product different from others; performance specifications; how it works, etc. Leave the fluff, and flowery adjectives behind – nobody cares about those things. That about sums it up – in exactly 113 words.

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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Air traffic controller

Police officer

Our military fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan

These are three occupations I would consider to be fairly stressful – more stressful than my job as a public relations executive. Don’t get me wrong, the job certainly does have its loosen-the-collar moments when things do get hectic in the world of B2B PR. But in general I think most people would rate the three occupations listed above as high stress for all the obvious reasons. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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Chris Hippler writes an informative article on how to craft an online press release in the August issue of CAM Magazine. Many of the tried-and-true rules for press release writing remain the same for online releases versus traditional print releases. The main difference between the two is including using words for search engine optimization, including multimedia links for video, images and PDF documents, and posting the release on your company website so it can be easily found.

One additional point I’d like to add that people need to be cognizant of is doing follow up with the media – specifically being careful not to over-do-it. In general, editors hate to be bothered by people checking to see if they’ve received your press release. B2B editors are a busy group that receives hundreds of press releases a month. Calling up every editor to check the status of a release is a waste of your time, a waste of their time and diminishes the chances that your message will receive ink. If there are one or two key publications that the release message has a strong, direct connection to their readers, a follow up phone call or email is okay. But be very judicious in doing this – resisting the urge to call everyone will result in better coverage.

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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In the weeks leading up to a tradeshow I recently attended with a client, I began Tweeting on their behalf. Using the show’s hashtag, I drummed up some pre-show interest, and even caught the eye of an attending editor, who wrote a blog about our client’s product that was going to be on display.

When I arrived at the show, live Tweet boards throughout the exposition allowed people to post comments. Although I continued to Tweet and promote my client, very few others were using this platform. In fact, the number of exhibitors who were also using the Tweet boards was less than 10. And this was a fairly large show with several hundred exhibitors and thousands of attendees. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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Being a former reporter, I’ve seen my share of press releases. Now that I work in public relations, I’ve certainly written a few as well. But the release I saw recently takes the cake. Take a look at an excerpt from the release – what do you think?

(more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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We just got back from the 2011 International Builders Show in Orlando. It was a great show for us with several good meetings and conversations.  The Orlando Sentinel reported total attendance figures to be 47,000. This is about 15 percent less than the 55,000 attendees the show organizers (NAHB) had projected, and significantly less than the peak attendance of 105,000 in 2006. 

While disappointing for the NAHB and likely many of the exhibitors, it turns out this isn’t all bad news.  One of our clients commented that booth traffic was definitely slower, but considerably more qualified. Booth visitors were walking up with specific direct questions and in some cases, actual building plans in hand, wanting to know exactly how to work the product into their designs.  These are people that are going to buy, rather than simply being causally interested or worse yet, looking to fill their bag with free pens and literature. (more…)

Judson Luke | Post a Comment

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There may be no better way to get to know someone or to improve a business relationship than by breaking bread together. Earlier this week, our client, Dorner Manufacturing, broke a lot of bread with 14 trade press editors at Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse in Chicago.

The dinner, coinciding with Pack Expo, was Dorner’s way to thank the press for their interest and coverage of its product line over the past year. There was no selling or pitching, just a relaxing evening with good food, good conversation and good friends. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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In recent weeks I have made a concerted effort to talk with government agencies, schools and other non-profits about our agency’s capabilities on the training front. Media training is a good example of this outreach.

We have a valuable service to present, especially for small businesses, entrepreneurs and technical professionals who have never considered marketing voodoo at the forefront of their business proposition. On the services side of the fence, we know it’s critical. But if you’re an entrepreneur digging for VC funding in the sand all day, a stray conversation with a blogger at a trade show doesn’t seem like that big a deal. (more…)

Steve Wilcox | Post a Comment

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Media training is like milled corn to a rodent, one time at the trough is never enough…or something like that.

The art and science of media training is the healthy respect that comes from knowing that the mic is always hot and that the reporter (or blogger) is not your long-lost buddy from college. It’s about understanding the 24-hour news cycle and knowing how you fit into it. And the focus is on getting as much value out of the media confab as possible. (more…)

Steve Wilcox | Post a Comment

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