Tag: tech pr

Showtime! How Working In PR Is Like Playing In A Band

Posted on by Matt Herman

Working at a top B2B tech PR firm rocks. But for me, that’s doubly true because I’ve been able to pursue music as a fun side hustle. In most cases, agency PR is a typical office job and being a musician is about performing live in front of people. But there are surprising parallels. In fact, my day job can sometimes feel like playing in the band. What’s more, I’ve been able to use the experience from each role to enhance the other. Here’s what I’ve learned as a musician and PR professional.

Know your audience

Whether you’re writing a byline or preparing for a gig, it’s important to understand your audience. Ahead of a live show, I always check out other bands on the bill to understand what kind of music they play and who will have the biggest draw. I’ll use that information to cater a setlist that will resonate with that audience while staying true to my band’s persona. This kind of targeting translates into PR-driven content, too. A bylined article for a tech or business publication, for example, must be written with the right audience and end goal in mind. A highly technical martech piece would be placed where a savvy mid-level executive would see it, not a consumer with no technical or martech experience. Keeping the audience in mind makes for an easier drafting process and a seamless pitch effort — or performance.

It’s showtime, so expect the unexpected

As PR professionals, we’re constantly on calls with clients to discuss any ongoing initiatives and brainstorming how to move a campaign forward. Sometimes, I find myself on the spot, when a client needs real-time advice, a course-correction during an interview, or a solution to strategy problem. I’ve learned to think on my feet and pivot where necessary. Sometimes we have to improvise in PR, and occasionally those work scenarios are actually similar to technical issues on stage. There may be a piece of gear that isn’t working in the middle of a performance, or one of us might forget part of a song. I’ll need to quickly troubleshoot to get the performance back on track, and most importantly, get on the same page with other musicians on stage to support them in a tricky moment.

Relationships make the difference

A huge part of working in PR is developing relationships with relevant journalists. Finding success as a musician rests on similar principles. For example, a client working deep within the XR/Metaverse space will likely have a steady stream of announcements and proactive topics they can discuss with media. Having relationships in place with key reporters makes pitching as simple as a ‘hey, check this out’ email as opposed to a long-winded pitch explaining every aspect of the story. It’s similar to a musician’s role, because we create momentum for our band by forging connections with our peers and other industry figures. Posting on social media about a new song is one thing, but physically going to a venue where we know like-minded musicians can net new gig opportunities, or a relationship that’s fruitful down the line. You never know how a reporter or fellow musician can help in the future, and it’s important to approach all situations with an equal amount of respect and optimism.

A Day in the Life Of A Tech PR Executive

Posted on by Krystle Cajas

8:30 am While the work day won’t officially start until 9 a.m., I’m skimming my Twitter feed for the latest news. Since many of our PR clients are high-growth technology businesses, it’s essential to know what’s trending.

I set lots of Twitter notifications, so I get an alert each time Axios, TechCrunch, Forbes, Bloomberg, CNN, CoinTelegraph, and others tweet. I ‘ll also do a quick google search for context on some of the topics I spot, especially when they’re relevant to our clients. Today I notice that a new virtual reality game using spatial audio has launched. I’m instantly intrigued and refer that tidbit to my client, an expert in the metaverse and AR/VR world. He’s uniquely qualified to comment on the news. I’m always looking for breaking items we may want to “newsjack” by having our clients quoted on the record. Today is off to a good start when he responds that the item is right in his lane and he’s available to comment on email. We have a brief exchange about the direction of his response.

9:00 am I review emails, scan the weekly planner and check my calendar for today’s goals and deadlines. Once I know the shape of the work day, I note my top three priority tasks and make a tentative timeline to complete them, noting that the day has several half-hour client meetings.

9:30 am I prep for my first meeting by checking our quarterly PR plan and updating the agenda to send off before our weekly sync, making sure to add recent media inquiries and responses. The agenda includes a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) index so clients can measure progress against goals. Next is my favorite task – I finish the list of recent media coverage to share. Our clients are busy, so we make an effort to keep them updated in real time. I shoot the document link to my supervisor with ample time for additions or edits before it goes to the client. I feel good about the meeting because our media outreach has gained lots of momentum, and we have a lot to report.

10:00 am I study a report on a client competitor that shows three media mentions for the month. We’ve vowed to stay well ahead of the competition, so we want to ensure our client is included in double the number of top-tier stories for the same time frame. So far, we’re fine, but I note the competitive mentions for our monthly report.

10:30 am Client meeting. Today the client tells us about a new product launch scheduled for early next year. It’s exciting, and we discuss dates for a full briefing with the product team. Then we review our weekly progress — what’s working, what’s not, and what we need from the client for media opportunities, planned pitching, and future news. I note action items for both my team and the client, using only the code name for the new product launch because it’s highly confidential. It feels a little cloak-and-dagger.

11:30 p.m.  I reconvene with my team, we go through priorities, and my supervisor assigns tentative deadlines for each. While we’re constantly communicating through Slack, setting a designated time with each team makes it far easier to review our work. Today I’m tasked with drafting a quick pitch on the Wintermute Hack for a client who specializes in cryptocurrency and web3. Then I customize a media list of tech reporters planning stories on Quiet Quitting for another client, prep an abstract for a byline on sales enablement technology, and research a few topics for future content. The time flies.

3:00 p.m. Our client contact has an idea for thought leadership commentary by the CEO, so I go through our database to see which media might fit the topic. It’s a slightly unusual subject, about how a first job influences your career later, so I cast my net widely. Next, I uncover a potential media opp for a different client. I’m not 100% sure about it, so I flag it to the team to get a swift consensus. They agree it’s a good prospect, so I quickly contact the client with full details on the outlet, its monthly metrics, the reporter, and how we should contribute to the piece. I make sure to include a deadline, then I edit or rework it, share it with my team, and send it off to the reporter. Two days later, it comes up in a Google alert, and I feel a shot of adrenaline – another hit!

4:30 pm I finish up last-minute tasks and send off a final draft that need to be reviewed for tomorrow morning. Just as I’m wrapping up, we get an inbound media query from a Forbes writer doing a story about the future of work and the role of technology.  The deadline is tight, so I drop everything and respond with some background on our client. It’s not a perfect fit, but to my surprise, she’s interested. I quickly line up a call, mentally preparing the briefing sheet I’ll make for the client to give him context for the conversation.

6:00 p.m. Time to log off. Sometimes that doesn’t happen until a little later, depending on the day’s workload. But I feel I’ve been very productive —  three great meetings, several media placements, two reports, and some good ideas for the week. I go through my emails one last time and call it a day.

Three Ways To Change Up Your Social Media Strategy

Posted on by Ilana Weinberger

Every PR team knows that social media is more than simply a nice thing for companies to have; it’s an imperative. Fifty-three percent of customers who follow a business are likely to be loyal to that business, and 63% of consumers who search for goods and services online are more receptive to those with an engaging social media presence. 

While it’s important to identify and stick with a consistent brand personality for social content, there are times when social content becomes stale. Or, the social content strategy may lag behind trends. In addition to general social media tips such as posting at certain times for maximum views (we like 11:00 AM or between 1:00 and 2:00 PM), PR and social media pros are regularly challenged to tweak social media strategy to increase engagement and attract followers. Here are some ways to do exactly that. 

Mix up your posts

Part of any successful social media strategy includes drawing your audience in through a visually appealing, constantly changing page. If your posts are starting to sound a little repetitive, mix things up. Although voice and messaging may be a constant, one way to keep content fresh is by varying the type of media posted. Alternate between accompanying your post with images, gifs and videos. Definitely change up the images you’re posting on Instagram since it’s such a visual platform. Consider alternation coloration or tone – go black and white, or minimalist or psychedelic. 

Also keep in mind that short videos can be highly effective in engaging viewers. For example, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn native video in 2017, in an effort to expand from being just a long-form content site. With native video, you can record on your phone or computer and then upload recordings to the site. As LinkedIn video continues to grow in popularity, 87% of LinkedIn video marketers say it’s been an effective channel for them. In PR, we make sure to post earned media stories to amplify their reach and to keep our posts interesting – which is effective since LinkedIn posts with images, videos or links get 39% more engagement than text-only posts on LinkedIn. Since 57% of all engagement on LinkedIn is via mobile, the content has to be mobile-friendly – i.e., short and sweet.

Another idea is a social media takeover. If it fits with the tone of your page, have an employee run the social page for a day. Or, consider jumping on the ephemeral content trend, and create content that is scheduled to disappear after a certain amount of time. Ephemeral options are widely available on platforms including Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Facebook. In 2019, TechCrunch reported that there were 500 million daily active users of Instagram’s Stories features. By simply changing up your posts, you will notice an increase in engagement and followers. 

Give a go at interactive posts

As we saw in several Super Bowl ads this year such as Mountain Dew’s “Major Melon” ad offering $1 million to the first viewer to tweet the exact number of bottles in the ad, people like free stuff and competitions — and brands should deliver. An interesting way to maximize engagement is to run a contest or giveaway on your page. According to data from social media scheduling tool Tailwind, 91% of Instagram posts with more than 1,000 likes or comments are related to a contest, and accounts that run contests on a regular basis grow 70% faster than those that don’t. Or, consider creating a survey on your company’s Instagram page’s story, and keeping followers posted on results. Of course, having interactive posts also includes maintaining your company’s page by regularly responding to DMs and comments. 

Another great way to be interactive is with livestreams or Q&As, whether on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Livestreams, or online streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real time, are a great way to highlight news for short, high-profile announcements or milestones. They work particularly well if a brand has an influencer or celebrity-driven initiative. Consider a Facebook Q&A, or going live on Instagram. Showing a face can make the brand come across as more authentic, and it will amplify your story. Remember to promote who is going to livestream and when, through banners on social media, email invites or paid ads on LinkedIn or Facebook. Since you have less control over livestreams than on other forms of social media, you will want to prepare for possible questions ahead of time. You can even ask viewers to send in questions beforehand. In 2018, HBO announced the air date of Game of Thrones season seven via Facebook Live – and attracted around 3.5 million viewers.

Be timely

Although a social media strategy requires advance planning, some of the best engagement may result from day-of content that reacts to real-time news events. Try ranking scheduled posts on a scale of importance from one to three, and then overriding some of the threes with more relevant content from that month, like responses to news stories, reposts, or other timely content. Remember, not all of the content on your page has to be generated by you! Peppering in timely retweets or partners’ relevant announcements will not only prove timely, but also help mix up your page’s content. It may be worth delaying that evergreen photo in favor of more pressing news, whether in the news cycle or from within the company. The goal is to maximize engagement and earn new follows. Jumping on relevant news is a great way of doing that, even if it means pushing off posting some of your planned content.

When social media users choose to follow your account, or when existing followers read and engage with your posts, they are giving you their time, even if it’s only a few seconds. Therefore, if you’re managing a social media page, it’s on you to make the content worth their time. When it comes to social media, the secret sauce is having both quantity and quality for the highest engagement. Meaning, post frequently but make sure frequent posting doesn’t come at the expense of quality content. By incorporating these tips into your next social media strategy, you can create a high-quality social media page that really stands out. And don’t forget to track social media engagement stats so you can figure out what works, and where you can improve next time.

10 Tech Buzzwords PR Folk Should Avoid In 2021

Posted on by Erica Schain

Unique, disruptive, innovative. From Silicon Valley to New York’s own “Silicon Alley,” PR people tend to use these tech buzzwords in press releases and marketing materials. They wind up in pitch decks, tech journalists’ inboxes, and in business meetings. We’ve all used them at one point or another — but shame on us. 

Tech culture is well-known for its overuse of buzzwords. And, although buzzwords can serve as convenient shorthand for complex thoughts, it’s not long before these terms become tired and worn out. They can even become obnoxious. 

Here are 10 of the most eye roll- inducing tech buzzwords and marketing speak that PR folk should try to avoid in 2021.

Disruptive – In a technology PR context, disruption is not only overused, but misused. The problem? Few of these technologies or products are actually disruptive. And, the truth is, a company can be extremely successful without being disruptive. The word is used to imply success, but that implication is often incorrect.

Big Data –  Big Data is overused because it’s so often used to describe any kind of data. Technically it refers to a set of data so large that traditional technology is unable to analyze it. Data about shoppers’ click actions on a large retailer’s website (think Amazon or Alibaba) would be a good example. The abuse of this term in business meetings, pitches, and press releases has turned it into nothing more than a cliche. As the words are coming out of one’s mouth, the receiver has already begun to daydream that they’re somewhere more interesting. 

Artificial Intelligence – The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) is thrown around quite a bit. It’s important to note that AI is a broad term that refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The word may also apply to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind such as learning and problem-solving. With that said, however, AI has suffered from being overextended and overmarketed. It should be used only when AI is truly a key feature of a product or service, not to refer to a little automation. 

Groundbreaking – Much like “disruptive,” the word is tired and often inaccurate. Very few products or technologies are truly groundbreaking. And, that’s because not many actually create a new market where none existed. Some of the technologies that have earned the right to be considered groundbreaking include the telephone, personal computers, electric cars, and… you get the picture. 

World’s leading – Straight up hogwash. This is a buzz phrase that tries to imply something but actually says nothing. It’s as puffy a term as one can get.

Innovative – Innovative is one of the most overused terms in PR, marketing and business. Its overexposure has probably caught more attention than actual innovative technologies themselves. Plus, as a negative result of our overuse of the term, there’s been a loss of understanding when we say that more innovation is needed in a particular field or industry. Actions have consequences, people. 

Ecosystem – The word “ecosystem” actually has a pretty rich meaning. It is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are linked through nutrient cycles and energy flows. However, thanks to its constant use as a buzzword in tech marketing, PR and business, it has lost all meaning. 

Next-generation – This phrase is used to describe a product that has been developed using the latest technology and will probably replace an existing product due to its technological leap forward. Yet, again, overuse has made it confusing. Most of us are now unsure when something is actually next-generation, or if it’s just the current generation trying to be cool. 

Actionable Insights – This is often thrown out in discussions about Big Data, but it doesn’t add much clarity. It refers to data that a company can then use to take concrete action, usually to identify causes of problems and their solutions. Yet there must be a better way to communicate what a company is doing with data and analytics. These words imply that lots of data is useless, and considering that businesses pour millions of dollars into data collection and analysis, it seems a poor choice of words at the very least. 

Leverage – Did you know that the term leverage actually has technical definitions in science as well as finance? You can use it in everyday speech and people will understand that you’re not actually referring to mechanical advantage, of course. But, the word is now becoming so common as a synonym for “use” that it has lost its true meaning. Let’s breathe life back into the word before we totally kill it off with our overuse and misuse. It can be your good deed for 2021. Instead, opt for a simpler word or phrase, like “use,” “learn from,” or “take advantage of.” 

——– 

Buzzwords appear in all work sectors, but there’s something about tech PR and marketing that seems to make them more common. Let’s work together to come up with fresher, more powerful and more precise language that will actually be more meaningful when communicating about our clients.

Tech Companies Concerned About Diversity — Here’s How PR Can Help

Posted on by Chris Harihar

One of the top challenges tech PR people are helping clients with today is attracting and maintaining a diverse workforce. In particular, the artificial intelligence (AI) sector is facing deserved and overdue scrutiny about its commitment to diversity and inclusion. As companies continue to talk about their AI, machine learning and data science capabilities, journalists are asking tougher questions about the way these technologies are built. How many people of color, women and other underrepresented groups are part of the development of these tools? How involved are they? Unfortunately, the data isn’t positive.

According to a recent study by New York University’s AI Now Institute, the AI industry is overwhelmingly white and male. Just 15% of the AI team at Facebook are women. At Google, it’s just 10%. Meanwhile, less than 3% of Google’s workforce is black, with Facebook at 4%. These are embarrassing numbers. 

Not to pick on Google, but as a leader, they should be a role model. Google’s ongoing AI ethics council controversy is another example of the AI industry’s diversity problem. The company was criticized — and rightfully so — for a laughably bad rollout that saw no meaningful diversity among council members. Since then, the ethics council has been disbanded, and the reasoning behind the decision is even more controversial.

Why does this matter? Well, these issues aren’t just bad optics. The lack of representation can lead to deeply ingrained biases in AI offerings that limit their overall efficacy and success. Take, for example, facial recognition technology that cannot interpret a black or brown face. Or a “smart” algorithm that predominantly serves housing ads to white audiences. A dearth of diversity in AI can directly impact business outcomes. 

Fortunately, PR teams can support AI organizations by asking tough questions before a journalist does. These questions not only inform PR and marketing strategy, they can also influence how the client hires, change the way a product is being developed, and more. Strategic communications, if done right, has a lot of power here. To take advantage of that, AI companies need to work with partners that will push them to create meaningful responses to the challenges in AI ethics and diversity. 

But that’s easier said than done. How can AI companies that might face tough questions about their AI build a PR apparatus that can effectively shepherd them through that? Here’s what you can do to optimize chances for success. 

Hire a diverse PR team

If you’re concerned about the lack of diversity in your ranks and how it might impact market perception of your product, seek out a PR team that is credibly and authentically diverse. This is critical. A PR team comprised of underrepresented talent is better equipped to consider challenging questions regarding AI ethics and diversity from key media. This must be a proactive effort, however. During the RFP process, research diverse PR agencies and practitioners. You can even note diversity as an important focus in your RFP to ensure that a potential partner offers a diverse team. 

Be open and honest

With a new PR team on board, AI companies should have candid and open conversations about the diversity of their staff and how it might impact the way their products work. PR and other relevant stakeholders from HR and other departments can come together to have honest workshopping sessions about these challenges and their solutions. Together, team members can determine the best way forward relative to positioning, messages, and more. 

Listen to your PR team

PR needs to pose tough diversity questions to AI organizations. For example, a client once told me they built an AI that could determine a person’s gender using an image, and wanted to promote it. Knowing the sensitivities regarding gender identity, I asked tough questions, and we decided the product wasn’t ready for prime time. The client listened instead of pushing for a premature rollout that would’ve likely created questions and controversy. For AI companies concerned about AI ethics and AI diversity, it’s imperative to listen to your PR team when they make a recommendation. 

PR Lessons From The Bubble

Posted on by Dorothy Crenshaw

The 90s tech boom is back –  in a way. Last month I was at a fascinating discussion about that infamous period and its parallels to the cryptocurrency bubble of late. It was based on the National Geographic series Valley of the Boom, about some of the heroes and villains of the early days of the commercial internet, and it sent me on a trip in the PR agency Wayback Machine.

For those born after 1970, working at a tech PR agency during the dot-com era was nearly as wild as the start-up scene then, especially if it was your own agency and a startup, too. It was a time of easy money, market exuberance, and a drive toward the big score.

If you couldn’t be a successful VC or a techpreneur who cashed out at the right time, the next best thing was to have a PR or marketing agency when the dot-coms came knocking. They burned through lavish funding at a frightening rate with their eyes on an IPO. Part of the winning formula, of course, was a splashy PR campaign. It was an extraordinary period when my startup agency routinely turned down clients who had less than $30,000 a month to spend, scolded CEOs for a sloppy brand narrative, and spent far more time looking for staff than we did clients. Those things aren’t normal.

Like all bubbles, it burst in a cruel and messy way. My agency was lucky in that we had four years under our belt and several ongoing companies as clients –  digital extensions of media brands and ecommerce portals for established retailers. But it was an astonishing ride with plenty of lessons. Many may apply to today’s darlings — bitcoin, other cryptocurrency, even cannabis. Here are my takeaways.

Beware the easy money

It always comes with a downside. First, there are likely to be extraordinary expectations on the part of the client, and you’ll kill yourself to exceed them, risking other, more “normal” client relationships to satisfy an unreasonable (or unreasonably funded) one. Then, too, many booms bring a scarcity of talent. The very skills and experience you need to take advantage of the opportunities come at a premium, or in some cases, are just impossible to find. Which leads to my next learning.

Loyalty is underrated

But maybe it shouldn’t be. 2019 feels like a full-employment economy, and recruiting top people is challenging, but today’s environment is nothing compared to the labor market back then. Because a barely experienced tech PR Account Supervisor could command a large salary and impressive perqs at the obscenely funded dot-coms, agencies had to offer signing bonuses and crazy benefits to compete. And as every employer learns, if someone takes a job purely for the money, they’ll soon leave it for even more money. It was a nightmare of employee churn. The moral of the story is: take care of the staff who helped you get where you are.

Chances are you can’t pick the winners

I remember being obsessed with the cool kid of the day, Kozmo.com. We pursued it but were never successful. It sounds nutty, but Kozmo’s business model was free delivery of small items within an hour of purchase, mostly by bicycle messenger. Don’t laugh – it had partnership deals with Amazon and Starbucks, and it raised $250 million. Yet Kozmo was out of business three years after it launched. If we’d won it, my agency would have probably been left with a fractured reputation and a stack of unpaid bills.

The point is, if Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures couldn’t choose the winners, how could I?  Today we make decisions based on how successful we can be in reaching a client’s goals, rather than grabbing at the next trophy. If all else fails, at least we’ll have a solid case history.

Don’t buy the hype, and don’t spread it

My friend Bob Pickard underscores this in an interview about the booming cannabis market, which may be another analogy to the dot-com frenzy. Overpromising client results, or, worse, misrepresenting claims to media, can result in disaffected clients and ruined reputations. In some cases there may be legal jeopardy. At a road show for a dot-com entrepreneur who also happened to be a friend, a board member pulled me aside and warned me not to speak on the record for the company. It seemed he didn’t fully trust the founder’s numbers.  Yikes. You can sell “vaporware” once, but there’s no fallback after that.

Gravity

It’s real. What goes up will eventually come back to earth. It isn’t a PR learning, of course, but a market and business fundamental. Like any boom, you’ll need to take advantage of the opportunities while preparing for the next down cycle. That means not stopping the marketing and SEO machine, maintaining a healthy client mix without too much concentration in one area, and even turning down business that you just can’t handle.

Challenger Brands: Here’s How To Win At PR

Posted on by Chris Harihar

Regardless of the industry, a challenger brand can have a natural PR advantage. Challenger brands can shake things up through unique points of view, innovation or a better story. Media like underdogs, whether they’re Casper challenging the mattress industry, TikTok going after Facebook or the Dollar Shave Club taking on Gillette.

But many brands don’t have Casper’s $240 million venture funding. And to raise visibility with press, it’s not enough to simply be a successful challenger. Your brand needs to do more than that to build inroads and tell your story effectively. Here are some tips based on tech PR experience.

Be bold.

Dollar Shave Club didn’t build a billion-dollar business and sell to Unilever in 2016 without throwing a few bombs. Everyone remembers their viral, bro-y YouTube ad in 2011, for example. It helped the brand build a billion-dollar business by being bold and aggressive, highlighting the pitfalls of the traditional razor industry and punching up at massive CPGs like Unilever and P&G. Gillette, a P&G brand, even sued them in 2015, citing patent infringements. This allowed Dollar Shave Club to be even more aggressive in positioning its brand against CPGs, claiming that the incumbents were out of touch and threatened by change.

Previous Crenshaw client Sundial Brands, makers of inclusive personal care and beauty products, is another example. Sundial (marketers of  the Shea Moisture and Nubian Heritage lines) identified an underserved market and developed products for it. Equally important, the brand spoke out about CPGs overlooking women of color. They also made the story bigger than the company — broadening out to themes on inclusion, gender, and more, which can be controversial. Rather than compete with Sundial, Unilever went the Dollar Shave Club route and acquired them. If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.

Show the receipts.

Media are naturally skeptical of commercial claims — and for good reason. They’re always getting pitched by PR people who say they represent the next Facebook or WeWork or Airbnb. More often than not, these claims are wildly embellished or even fabricated. The last thing a journalist wants is to bring a bogus challenger brand story to their editor or readers. So, if they express any interest in hearing more, challenger brands need to anticipate probing questions about scale and growth. That means being prepared to “show the receipts” and peel back the curtain. It will inspire confidence with media and create credibility for the brand.

For example, our tech PR team at Crenshaw supported the U.S. launch of WeTransfer, the popular file-sharing service from the Netherlands. As part of our strategy, we went after market leaders like Dropbox and Hightail. In stories we pitched to outlets like Business Insider (“This Dutch startup is designing a plan to beat Dropbox — and it’s already profitable”) and Forbes (“Dutch File-Sharing Startup WeTransfer And Its 80 Million Users Are Coming For The U.S. Market”), for example, we talked up WeTransfer’s start-up persona and its appeal to the “creative class” versus bland competitors, but we made sure to mention its 80 million users and status as a profitable business. We had to if we wanted to be taken seriously.

Take advantage of social media. 

For challenger brands, social media can offer powerful PR and marketing opportunities, particularly when it comes to real-time marketing responses to news events or competitive moves. Smaller brands are usually more nimble and faster to pull the trigger when it comes to social content because they don’t typically have teams of lawyers approving every tweet. Savvy challengers also use social media to capture audience attention in innovative ways, interact with press on a one-to-one basis, and create a distinct voice and brand personality compared to category incumbents.

Take Taco Bell. It has built an outspoken and irreverent social media persona across a number of platforms, from Twitter to Snapchat. As a result it’s created a foothold with younger consumers while more dominant QSR players like McDonald’s have failed. Away, the luggage company, is another example. In just four years, it has used social media, particularly visual storytelling on Instagram, to create a globally-recognized travel lifestyle brand. The team clearly realized that the luggage industry had become too commoditized and built an identity that sets the brand apart. Their sales are now surging and longtime market leaders like Samsonite are feeling the pressure.

Challenger brands might think that, because they’re challengers, big PR wins are harder to generate. That’s largely true when it comes to most challengers. But there are storytelling opportunities that the incumbents don’t have. All it takes is a creative team, a willingness to take risks, and serious commitment to PR.

3 Social Platforms Tech PR Pros Need To Know

Posted on by Chris Harihar

If you’re in tech PR, you try to know a lot about every social media platform. You have to — either for research, to promote clients, for personal branding, or to connect with journalists. Still, it’s a challenge to keep up with the latest social sites and services, because every day brings something new. With that in mind, here are three up-and-coming social media platforms tech PR pros need to know and use in 2019.

3 social platforms tech PR pros need to know

TikTok

The Atlantic’s Taylor Lorenz has an excellent explainer on TikTok, so check that out. But, in a nutshell TikTok is a short-form video social network for Gen Z. Users post 15-second clips and the content ranges from vlogs to (mostly) musical performances to brain teasers, and beyond. I’ve seen everything on TikTok (follow me at @bravacadotoast). The content is hilarious and weird. For tech PR pros, TikTok is an opportunity to research content preferences among younger audiences and identify nascent memes that could be useful for marketing campaigns. For tech brands interested in a unique marketing channel, it’s also ripe with potential. TikTok campaigns have built-in PR value simply because the platform is sexy right now. Take advantage.

Imgur

Imgur is a personal favorite. Look at the site. It looks like someone vomited memes on a page. That’s what makes it great. It’s an image and photo hosting and sharing site that has actually been around for 10 years. At one point it was a platform for image hosting, and the social piece grew out of that years later, popularized through Reddit. According to SimilarWeb, Imgur gets 500 million monthly visits. It’s insanely popular and a great place for tech PR pros and brands to research memes, get inspired by content and understand what young men in particular are thinking. From the always incredible Kerry Flynn: “More than 80 percent of users are male, and more than 50 percent are millennial male.” As a more tactical use case, it can host press images for you if you’re in a bind. But make sure to only use it to host something you are okay with being public.

Houseparty

Launched three years ago, Houseparty is another video-powered social network, but with a different use case. I like Business Insider’s description of it as “a group video-chat app most easily described as FaceTime but with more people.” Users are typically in the early 20s, so they’re a bit older than TikTok. While its popularity has stalled a little as wealthier competitors like Snapchat and Facebook have taken it on as competitors, the user numbers are still impressive. Today Houseparty says 20 million people spend an hour on the service every day. That’s a captivated and engaged audience that tech PR brands — particularly on the consumer side — can potentially connect with through influencer marketing or even sponsored chats. Tech PR pros need to use the service to identify opportunities and guide clients who want unique activations.
What sites did I miss? Let me know on Twitter at @chrisharihar.

Tech Trends Media Didn’t Care About In 2018

Posted on by Chris Harihar

In tech PR, the only constant is change. Every year, we see new trends in technology emerge that can inform our programs, content, or even real-time newsjacking. To make way for the new trends, others that have had their time in the spotlight may fall out of favor. As tech PR pros, we often have an inside track on what those are. Why? Because our job is to stay up-to-date on what media cover and care about. This intel guides our pitch angles, plans, bylines, conference submissions — basically everything.
With that in mind, here are a few of the most notable tech trends that went away or simply became less important in 2018, based on story volume or media interest.

Internet of Things

IoT didn’t go away in 2018. However, the category’s “newness” has worn off, and media are less likely to be interested in a story simply because it’s tied to IoT. Just a couple of years ago when IoT was still a relatively new concept, you would see flash-in-a-pan startups that were offering IoT-enabled curtains or toothbrushes drive legitimate story volume. Media thought they were intriguing IoT applications and often had great visuals for a story, even if not very practical. That alone made them coverable. That’s no longer the case. Also, as the IoT category has matured, security and privacy have become key concerns. The coverage has fundamentally shifted from “look at this cool tech” to “look at this dumb IoT device that may have security flaws — is the risk worth it?”

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding in tech is here to stay, but as a publicity angle, it’s long over. The rise of Kickstarter and Indiegogo created a new era in tech PR, with pre-revenue businesses tapping PR to pitch crowdfunding campaigns so that they could get coverage and raise money. Rinse and repeat. Let’s be honest — media don’t want to cover startups that have no capital and no scalable product. Every tech journalist was pitched thousands of crowdfunding campaigns in the last five years — many of which were terrible and raised nothing. Others raised money but never delivered a product. So, media aren’t inclined to cover these campaigns anymore. There’s too much risk and uncertainty. Oculus Rift, which famously launched on Kickstarter in 2012 and broke records, was an anomaly, not the norm.

Crypto

If you’re a cryptocurrency startup, I will happily take your money for PR. But note this — crypto as a tech trend, like Bitcoin’s value, is cratering. Like IoT and crowdfunding, these are innovations that have had and will continue to have a massive impact on the technology space over the long term. But media are less likely to care about your crypto exchange or your Ethereum-based chat platform in 2019 as the category’s shine has worn off. A higher bar is required to drive any positive coverage around a crypto startup or storyline, since months of bad news have shut off opportunities. This is also why you’ve seen the rise of crypto-focused media outlets. As general tech media have narrowed overall coverage of the category, these trades are stepping in to take on the stories like new company announcements that might not otherwise find a home. Here, if you got in early, you may have captured some great coverage about the technology’s promise. Now? It’s an uphill climb to generate a positive story.

These are some of the tech trends I think went away or were minimized in 2018. Am I wrong? Right? What else am I missing? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @chrisharihar.

7 Must-Have PR Tech Tools

Posted on by Richard Etchison

 

Web 2.0 has made the daily nuts and bolts of public relations work unrecognizable from a decade ago. Now, every public relations team needs reliable tech tools for media monitoring, instant messaging, task management, and media-list building, just to name a few. PR people routinely use apps for document design like BeFunky, the industry standard software Cision, and a wire distribution platform like PR Newswire. Some in our agency swear by sanity-preserving apps that have nothing to do with daily business, like Spotify and Calm (for meditation, which we still aspire to!) Apps and web tools come and go like Silicon Valley startups, and the choices can feel endless. Here’s our must-have list.

7 great tools for the tech PR workshop

Wunderlist

Crenshaw partner Chris Harihar swears that Wunderlist is the next best thing to having an assistant (insider tip: PR people do not typically have dedicated assistants). Wunderlist is pleasing to the eyes, and more user-friendly than Outlook’s “tasks” bar. It’s synced across all devices so it’s readily available to check at all hours of the night (insider tip: PR people work nights). Plus, it allows you to separate work lists from others like travel, chores – whatever the user deems necessary to keep life from spinning into chaos. You can toggle seamlessly your grocery list and the Q4 PR plan. Also, if you’re collaborating on a project with a coworker – as we always are – we can share lists using the app.

Mailtester

Cision’s media contact information should never been taken as gospel, since journalists, outlets, and email addresses are constantly in flux. PR pros can verify a reporter’s email address quickly by typing it into the single bar on the website www.mailtester.com. If the contact is elusive but you know the domain, you can test address combinations. Most domains allow access for this type of testing, although a few do not. Mailtester or one of the similar apps like EmailHunter is a lifesaver for most PR people.

Techmeme

Techmeme is a favorite news aggregator website for tech PR people. Every pro has her go-to channel for tracking news developments in technology. A quick glance at Techmeme.com or its e-newsletter brings you up to speed on trending conversations from outlets like The Verge, ArsTechnica, and Financial Times – as well as a list of upcoming tech conferences and events. Our own account supervisor Erica Schain says it’s the best place to get a summary in real time of what’s trending across the tech blogs, offering a bird’s eye view of what reporters are writing about. As a bonus, Techmeme launched its own podcast earlier this year, hoping to duplicate the roaring success of The New York Times Daily, a top podcast since 2017.

BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo remains a go-to tool to assist PR pros in keeping track of who’s writing about what topics, and the resulting social engagement from each placement. This tool is key for sniffing out gaps in the narrative that allow PR pros to find the right story angle to pitch. BuzzSumo pro plans allow one to identify influencers’ shared content, find backlink opportunities, and monitor brands and competitors’ content. A quick search returns a list of influencers on any given topic, along with several telling statistics, including domain authority and share percentage. Cost ranges from $79-$499 per month.

Slack

While heavy hitters like Microsoft (Yammer) are racing to develop applications to compete with Slack, and competitors like BaseCamp and Trello offer solid alternatives, it remains the best option for the Crenshaw Communications team for internal collaboration. We have separate channels set up for each client, and we can swiftly share links, images, and documents. Like many companies, we even have a dedicated channel for non work-related chat, where we might share a ridiculous pop culture story or gossip. Though Slack hasn’t yet unclogged email inboxes, it helps us make things happen faster — an absolute must in the world of New York tech PR.

UberConference

Remote voice and video communication are critical to PR work, from client meetings to media interviews. Every PR agency needs a versatile solution for meetings. UberConference allows for easy connections without pin codes and app downloads, and can be integrated with tools like Slack and LinkedIn. With the UberConference Business upgrade ($15/month), participants from 50 countries can call in. Further, the cloud software allows meeting participants to collaborate on documents during the call. Clearly, one of the great advantages of technology is its improvement of collaboration not only in PR, but all industries.

Survata

We encourage clients to tell data-driven stories that are mediaworthy and verifiable. Survata is an affordable market research company that advises on and executes surveys using its network of publishers and partnerships with research panels. An SMB can conduct market research with unlimited survey questions at a reasonable cost. We’ve found it a useful resource among the many options for customers surveys and newsmaking B2B opinion research.