Tag: tech pr

A Journalist’s POV: Questions From A NY PR Firm

Posted on by Marijane Funess

In the hectic world of consumer and tech PR, finding journalists you can have a relationship with — who will read your emails, respond, and whenever they can, say “yes” to your pitch — is a gift. Liz Brody, Glamour‘s News Director, is one of those journalists. Previously she was news and health director at O, the Oprah Magazine, and a blogger at Yahoo’s Shine! She’s a nutter for dogs, guitarists, and the back of a Harley—and then there was the year she spent playing a breakdancing Alvin the Chipmunk! She also cut her teeth in public relations so she knows the business. She graciously agreed to sit for our “Journalist’s POV” and we let her answer four questions since her input is so valuable.

What’s a big challenge you regularly face as a journalist that a PR person can help with? Finding amazing human-interest stories that have never been told. If a PR person can come up with an exclusive real-life story that is somehow related to the project/product she’s pitching, and she can offer it to me exclusively, I swear I will always answer her emails.

What one piece of advice would you give to a PR rep pitching a story? This is embarrassing to admit, but if she’s read some of my pieces and is familiar with the kinds of topics I’m drawn to, that will give her an edge. So she might be able to say, “I know you wrote about a sex trafficking last year, I am working with a new campaign that I think will interest you.”  Also, once again, if she’s giving me an exclusive idea—just for me. What’s disturbing is when I know she’s pitched the same thing to my five competitors. This comes out in conversation and I know it’s part of the job, but once again if a PR rep is familiar with writers’ work, they should know when a pitch should at least come first to a particular person.

What makes a good / bad interview subject for you? Good: Funny, quirky, open, emotional. When you can just have a conversation.
Bad: When you can feel the talking points talking. And they won’t get off the script.

What about a subject line will compel you to read it? Unless you have something really funny or genuinely intriguing to say, don’t try too hard to dazzle me into opening. I have seen variations on this that sometimes actually work against the sender. You know what works? If you can reference a colleague who knows me well and knows my interests, simply say “Sally Smith thought you might be interested.”

Six New Words To Liven Up Tech PR 

Posted on by Michelle Han

Inspired by a crowdsourced list of “new words we should add to a dictionary,” here are some of the words we’d love to christen for use in tech PR, and our reasons why.

“Textpectation“ — (noun) The anticipation felt while waiting for someone to respond to a text. You know the feeling — you’ve been texting with that tech journalist when things go quiet. Or you’re expecting an important communication from a client giving you the go-ahead on strategy. Textpectation can be a real nail biter, especially when working on a deadline.

“Cellfish“ — (adjective) Being rude and inconsiderate of others by talking or texting on one’s cell phone. It’s so disconcerting when your audience starts checking emails while you’re trying to hold their attention! Whether it’s a client, colleague or prospect, it’s so prevalent we’ve (unfortunately) all been there.

“Internesting“ — (verb) The act of swaddling oneself in cozy blankets and pillows to settle in for some quality time on the Internet. No doubt many hours have been lost to, uh, research, here.

“Netflixing“ — (verb) Often concurrent with Internesting, Netflixing is the act of watching the entire season of a show in one sitting, a not uncommon occurrence (especially when certain shows reach the Netflix queue) that is a telling trend about how we consume video entertainment today.

“Unkeyboardinated“ — (adjective) Being so uncoordinated with a keyboard as to continually make mistakes while typing. This one is not acceptable for communications professionals, although some think a disclaimer in your email sig – i.e. Please excuse any ‘swypos’ (another hybrid word!) – can help. Discuss among yourselves.

“Nerdjacking” — (verb or noun) Nerdjacking happens when someone starts talking passionately about one’s (usually highly technical) interests in the presence of non-techie people. It can be an endearing term when used among insiders, but leaves lay people feeling as though a different language is being spoken.

Pump Up Your Website’s PR Potential

Posted on by Marijane Funess

As a consumer and tech PR agency, we sometimes field journalist questions on matters that should be on a client website, or we actually get media complaints about the site. So we have to ask, is your website helping your PR efforts? Are you getting the results you need? Have inbound inquiries steadily risen? Is content generating engagement?

Like fashion, websites become dated, and when that happens, it discourages interest. And just like home redesign, your site may just need a “fresh coat of paint” or a total “tear-down.”

Here’s what to consider when pondering a site refresh, reface or redesign. An industry rule of thumb is to redesign roughly every two years, but it’s wiser to look at what the site is delivering to determine what, and if, you need to change.

When to refresh. If the site is performing well, consider cost-effective ways for incremental improvement. Remove dated posts or promotional offers and ensure you constantly add fresh content. These could be new products or services, timely and provocative blog posts, or media coverage. If search engine optimization is your main concern, then a change or upgrade in technology on the back end will provide the update you need.
A good first step is to put yourself in the mind of a journalist or customer and go through the entire site to see how appealing it is aesthetically, how easy it is to navigate and whether there is any incorrect or outdated information. Often a refresh is as simple as adding fresh case studies, personnel bios and head shots, or upgrading your site photography – all information that will interest customers and help PR efforts.

When to reface. Start with an audit to see what works and what can be improved. A reface is recommended when the template for the site is considered sound but certain strategic and creative changes are necessary to make the site work harder for your marketing and PR. It’s smart to begin by partnering with your PR team to re-examine core messaging to develop the clearest and most accurate version.

Next a website designer will go page by page through the site to help edit or replace existing content, particularly with new images (original or royalty-free stock) and sometimes with navigation. Often the mission of your site has evolved and it may now be important to explore a shopping cart plug-in or other interactive sales or data-gathering tool.
Part of the design partner’s creative outline will be a vision for the restructured sitemap that will be more appealing to all audiences – customers, potential business partners and press. Once the creative and strategic recommendations are accepted, the programmer will make the necessary changes.

When to redesign. A complete website overhaul is necessary when your company’s mission has drastically evolved, you find your site is “out of touch” or is simply not performing by expected metrics. For example, how busy is your site? Have reporters contacted you in frustration looking for basic info? Are your SEO/SEM efforts just not working?
Start by mapping out the goals of your website – to generate more visitors, leads, customers, media attention, etc. Put all pertinent info into a business plan for the site. Once committed to the overhaul, look at websites you admire and seek out the design talent behind them. Talk to trusted advisors and other business partners. Discuss both budgets and timing frankly, since both can throw major curve balls at your day-to-day operations.

But go for quality! Resist the urge to hire “my nephew who’s home from college and very good with computers” or say “maybe we’ll just design it ourselves, how hard can it be?”
Remember, if your business is being judged by your website (as so many businesses are) and the site is giving the wrong impression about your company, this is a prime reason to talk redesign.

Want more tips on how to make your website more PR savvy? Download our tipsheet — it’s free!
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The Summer PR Internship: Best Practices

Posted on by Marijane Funess

A summer internship can be a stepping stone to a brilliant PR agency career. We’ve hired some of our interns as full-time staff and are proud that our program helps identify future consumer and tech PR stars!

In fact, we’ve been spot on in selecting candidates who’ve provided real value to our company, and the feedback we get from these summer employees has been very positive as well.

As the newest crop of fresh-faced recruits comes aboard we’d like to share some of our best practices and strategies that make the summer PR intern experience beneficial for all.

Carve out discrete roles ahead of time. Determine a project roadmap with responsibilities and reporting structure as early into the internship as you can. Be very clear about start/end dates, office hours and expectations. Leave room for changes and course corrects, but the more “black and white” the assignment is, the easier it will be to create a successful routine.

Assign individual and group projects. At Crenshaw, we typically have three summer interns. We seat them together so they can brainstorm and collaborate. Although they will each have individual duties on particular accounts, we assign a group project to be completed during their tenure. Typically, this is a research, pro bono, or new business proposal that the group prepares together, or a company marketing assignment like an overhaul of our agency content. Young PR talent thrives on this combination of individual and team-building exercises.

Plan a field trip. Getting out of the office is a great way for interns to get to know senior staffers in a less structured yet still “educational” way. We like to provide an inside glimpse into key areas of importance for anyone considering a career in PR.  In the past, “field trips” have included coffee or drinks with a media contact, a visit to Conde Nast and other media outlets, as well as field research on client competitors! This summer will likely include a visit to a major NY media outlet.

Get interns involved in plum PR assignments. To augment the more rote, daily tasks of a PR intern such as media monitoring and list development, we like to involve them in some of the more exciting work we typically do. Summer interns are always invited to work on (and attend)  whatever events our company is planning – a technology expert panel discussion or new product launch, for example. We also help interns get real experience by shadowing a desksider tour, media training or broadcast interview.

Encourage intern feedback. At the end of the program, we look to our summer staff to tell us what worked and what could be improved. Much of the feedback we’ve received has helped us hone the “group assignment” dimension of our program which continues to be a winner with each summer’s new interns.

Decoding Tech PR Jargon

Posted on by Michelle Han

Tech PR professionals, like all PR people, love their jargon. With its highly technical applications, products, and services, the world of technology startups, ad tech providers, and enterprise “solutions” is ripe with opportunity for creation of buzzwords that can leave non-techies baffled.
Planning a tech PR program means not only mastering what these terms actually mean, but knowing when to use them and when to translate into more plainspoken language. Here are some of the most commonly used tech terms, and our tips on when (or whether) to use.

SoLoMo. An inclusive term for three trends — social media, local commerce, and mobile apps — this term has relevance within the niche world of digital marketing, and continues to be a favored strategy for many adtech companies and startups. The term is believed to have been coined by venture capitalist John Doerr. Use it sparingly, and only when addressing digital marketing and adtech insiders.

KPI. A term that’s been around for a while, “Key Performance Indicator” has become shorthand for a measurable value that helps gauge how a business or program is performing, and is still widely used. Its use extends well beyond technology PR into the business world at large, and most business professionals should be familiar with it.

IoT. Most who toil in tech PR are familiar with the “Internet of things” and its acronym, IoT. It annoys some due to heavy usage in tech circles, but given the boom in businesses built around sensor and software-driven connectivity; the ever-growing interest in the data patterns associated with IoT; and the social impact, we think it’s one that’s here to stay. 

Growth Hacking. There are several ways to define this term. We prefer the one from Tech.Co (formerly Tech Cocktail):  Growth hacking is the “lean startup” term coined by Sean Ellis for using conversion marketing tactics like content marketing, A/B testing, and analytics to grow a company quickly and efficiently. A favored term by techies and entrepreneurs, it’s often used loosely and has the potential to lose its edge, just like the overused terms “innovative” and “disruptive.” Since there is a lot of cross-over between growth hacking techniques and common marketing activities, use it only when truly accurate.

Disruptive Innovation. Invented by Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen 18 years ago, the term has been resurrected by the current tech startup boom and overused to the point where it’s nearly meaningless. One acclaimed artist recently created an entire body of work around the term in his latest exhibition, The Innovator’s Dilemma (the name of Christensen’s book describing the concept). Steer clear except in the rare cases where it is actually true.

Gamification. Gamification is the use of game thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users and increase user contribution, according to Wikipedia. Applicable in many disciplines, the term has become popular in education circles and even lands in a U.S. News and World Report headline (the publication deems it one of three top emerging trends in online education). As mainstream media adopt the term, we’d say that’s license to use it when appropriate.

Tradigital. The meaning here is pretty clear, given that it’s a blend of the words “traditional” and “digital,” and in PR it typically refers to media or media-driven program components. But given that most clients have made the transition to digital and the lines between on and offline has blurred, we find ourselves using this term rarely.

Digital Tools No Tech PR Team Should Be Without

Posted on by Marijane Funess

Technology public relations isn’t rocket science (okay, except when it is!), but soaring past the competition is easier when you have the right tools. They can improve every aspect of tech PR, from wooing and winning over the CEO to achieving and reporting top-notch results. Want to make a quantum PR leap? Try some of these.

Beyond PowerPoint and Prezi. Set your presentations apart with dynamic alternatives to the same-old, same-old. PowToon brings animation to your deck. Haiku Deck is customizable for iPad, and Sparkol works best for online video presentations.

Budget better. And plan and forecast better as well. With easy-to-use online software package planguru, your tech PR team can take some of the pain out of budgeting and plan more realistically.

Make your writing pop. As any PR pro will tell you, writing well for all platforms – blogs, byline articles, pitch letters – is at least half the battle in gaining earned media attention for your product or service. The best way to be a better writer is to write, but there’s no harm in getting help when you need it. We recommend Grammarly for quick editing beyond Spellcheck. Readability-Score is also very helpful in determining how clear your writing will be to your intended audience. Finally, Grammar Girl provides easy tips to ensure that, for example, you’d never say “insure” in this sentence.

Power up your pitching. Why not arm yourself with all the tools in the toolbox? You’re probably familiar with Cision or similar databases for list creation and Muck Rack for homing in on journalists “socially,” but have you tried Pitchrate, which likens its platform to — wait for it — match.com for media and sources? We also like PitchEngine, which microtargets bloggers and journalists with content from platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Vimeo.

Soup up your analytics. PR measurement and results reporting have become very sophisticated, and there are tools that help PR pros tell the most complete story. This includes Google Analytics, of course, but others as well. For example, CustomScoop provides customized monitoring and analysis reports. NOD3x  identifies influencers and assesses sentiment and BuzzSumo ranks content based on number of shares generated. The insights can help the PR team with content promotion, curation and article development. Talk Walker is also great for gathering social data with a “Google Alert” type system.

Technology PR Tips From CES 2015

Posted on by Dorothy Crenshaw

When it comes to generating positive PR for technology products, the Consumer Electronics Show is the year’s first big battleground. CES 2015 didn’t disappoint. From the spectacular – robots, self-driving cars, and drones — right down to the tacky (belfie sticks!), it gave some of the year’s thousands of tech products their 15 minutes of fame or more.

But every CES sets off a struggle between stressed-out PR professionals and the equally harried technology journalists who try to cover the top trends in just a few days. What does the annual gadgetfest teach us about technology PR tactics?

We monitor an email box for a leading tech publication and know firsthand how important a well-crafted email pitch or timely phone call can be for story placement. Here are the team’s tips.

Don’t pitch, start a negotiation

Technology media in particular are transactional. They need to break news, even if it’s a fresh data point or an exclusive demo. A one-on-one with a CEO of a me-too company about the state of the industry isn’t going to cut it. Go news or go home.

Lose the jargon

Instead of leveraging the “unique, industry-leading disruptive solution”, try stripping the buzzwords out of the pitch and focusing on the human factor. Technology is developed by actual people, for other people. Tell that story in simple terms.

Organize your assets

Make sure you have the most concise press backgrounder, highest-quality images, and most well prepared executive spokesperson to do show and tell. There’s no time to scramble for materials and very little margin for error. Bulletproof your product demo to avoid the buggy software review or glitchy product story.

Be visual

Images are hugely useful, particularly when it comes to explaining a complicated service that isn’t a gadget. If the product isn’t physical, consider a graphic or animation. It will make a world of difference, and a strong visual is the best antidote to the tech jargon problem.

Solve a problem

Technology for its own sake can occasionally draw attention at a venue like CES if other elements are on display, but it doesn’t cut it in the longer run. The strongest technology stories are those that solve problems, save time or money, or help us glimpse an emerging trend.

Look at the bigger picture

All good PR professionals know to position their client as part of a broader trend, but the impulse can get lost in the heat of battle. The most compelling tech products or services are part of a larger story about connectivity, the Internet of things, our increasingly “smart” environment, or the very human struggle to master technology before it masters us.

What Apple Knows About Great Tech PR

Posted on by Dorothy Crenshaw

As both a business and a brand, Apple is frequently invoked as a role model for design, technology innovation, and, yes, public relations and marketing. Its “1984” campaign is still regarded as a watershed moment in advertising, and more recently, its marketing and PR are credited with producing glowing reviews, long lines at stores, and sold-out production runs.

Among PR professionals and journalists, Apple is also known for creating its own tech PR playbook. It’s been feared, scorned, and emulated by technology journalists and PR-watchers who marvel at the success of its corporate communications machine over the years.  In fact, Dan Lyons, the journalist behind the FakeSteveJobs blog, posted an awestruck tribute to its departed head of corporate communications this past spring.  The post was more entertaining than instructive, since it assumed that any brand can follow the Apple PR map to success.

Apple isn’t just any brand, of course.  And it’s also not immune to missteps that result in negative PR coverage or social media buzz.  Look no further than the social flurry around #bendgate, or the iOS 8.0.1 update, which was quickly yanked.
But even in its mistakes, Apple commands attention.  And there are some lessons for professional communicators in Apple’s long and successful PR history.

Five Things from Apple about Tech PR

Details matter.  Whether a one-on-one with a journalist or a carefully choreographed product launch, brand perception can be shaped by the finest of fine points.  Apple is famous for its attention to detail in product design, but the same holds true for the device unveilings that create pent-up excitement and push emotional buttons among users. An Apple product launch is like a theatrical production where no expense is spared and no detail overlooked, and that is where the PR magic happens.

Limiting access enables message control (within reason).   Apple is known for its tight hold on access to company executives and product details, and for favoring those journalists who will “play ball” and offer favorable coverage.  In fact, under Steve Jobs, it may have gone too far in punishing leaks and withholding access.  The Tim Cook regime seems to have adopted a more balanced and less tight-fisted way of dealing with media, which is a useful model to companies who simply can’t afford to play “hard to get” (see below).

Scarcity is powerful.  This applies to executive interviews, as noted, but also to product availability, particularly when it comes to advance reviews and early access by journalists and bloggers.  Apple favored specific reviewers and rewarded them with rare review models in advance of other media.  Among consumers, the cachet of being among the first new device owners has led to a nearly foolproof and very powerful bandwagon effect.  Think that’s limited to iconic brands?  You don’t need to be Apple to market scarcity.  Consider the launch of Mailbox, which leveraged a strong influencer outreach and reservation system to create the image of scarcity and prestige.

Less can be more.  Dan Lyons urges PR pros to follow Apple’s example of “playing hard to get.”  In my own view, that’s not possible or even advisable for businesses that don’t already enjoy a stellar reputation.  Yet, like Apple’s sleek design and famously pared down marketing messages, less can also be more when it comes to PR materials and media contact, and the principle applies to almost any company.  A media relations strategy that focuses on truly innovative or substantive announcements, coupled with savvy use of the media “exclusive,” can work very consistently, even for brands which aren’t yet well known. Don’t clutter the journalist’s inbox until and unless you have something to say.

The user experience trumps technology.  Getting tangled up in the technology is all too common among tech companies, whether early stage businesses or established brands. Certainly there are specialist media and geek bloggers who care about how the sausage is made, but the overall story is always more resonant and more adaptable to different market segments if it leads with the product benefits and makes the user the hero.  Apple has been masterful at telling a story that goes beyond the technology, and that’s probably its single greatest communications lesson for other brands, whether they are in Tech PR or not.  Don’t sell the technology; instead, show a lifestyle.

This post originally appeared on October 1, 2014 on MENGBlend.

Top Five PR Mistakes To Avoid

Posted on by Dorothy Crenshaw

This is not about PR or reputation catastrophes, like the NFL’s fumbled  response to its domestic violence problem, or even Mike Tyson’s recent profanity-laced on-air meltdown. Maybe they don’t grab headlines, but the everyday PR misses are far more likely to result in underperforming campaigns or even the occasional publicity backfire. I’m talking about a sloppy tech PR launch, lost new product opportunities, or flawed PR planning.

Here’s my list.

Absence of strategy

It’s good to have clear goals and deliverables, like elevating the CEO’s reputation or boosting traffic to a commerce site. But in the absence of a real strategy for how to achieve those outcomes, much time and energy can be squandered, and PR can even end up fighting with other elements of marketing or communications. The strategy and the road map that flows from it should always be a first step.

The jargon-filled mission or message

PR pros, let’s unite and declare a war on jargon. It’s particularly common in technology PR, but confusing, insidery language is by no means limited to tech categories. And it’s easy to understand how certain terms become second nature. It’s insidious; after sitting through many Advertising Week presentations this week, words and acronyms like “RTB”, “native mobile”, and “programmatic premium” are actually rolling off my tongue. An “outsider” perspective is often needed for foundational message documents.

The late start

Getting practical, timing is also a huge factor when it comes to generating earned media. Whether procrastination, ambivalence, or ignorance, if I had a dollar for every prospect who has contacted us on the eve of a big announcement, I could probably retire. Lead time affords so many things – proper planning, message vetting, story research, and conversations with appropriate media. Sufficient time can even nudge a mediocre story into the winning column when other circumstances are right.

Uninspired writing

Ever read a press release boilerplate? It ranges from boring to incomprehensible. When something is drafted and edited by committee, it shows. All the color, life, and story is drained from the narrative, and the reader has to search for the news bits. A close second is empty, overhyped language replete with tired and meaningless descriptors like “unique” and “leading.”

Overreliance on press releases

It’s not just the news release contents,  it’s the way in which they’re used, or misused. More press releases simply doesn’t translate to more coverage. A release is more likely to be used if it has a well-written headline and a compelling lead, but at the end of the day it must contain some news. If there’s no news, it’s a waste of time and money.
There are many more ways to be sidetracked or thwarted in our business, so I’ll be adding to this list in a future post.

When PR Pros Pitch Media: Do This, Not That

Posted on by Marijane Funess

With apologies to the popular Men’s Health “Eat This, Not That” column, here are some tried and true strategies to employ when pitching a story on behalf of your latest B2B, tech or consumer PR client.

Pitch in private, not in public. In other words, by email, text, or phone, not Twitter or Linked In. However, you can use those to start a relationship based on favoriting a tweet or commenting on a blog post.

Pitch facts, not fiction. Now, this is not to say that you shouldn’t embellish a pitch to make it interesting, but don’t oversell or unrealistically hype what you have. When a good journalist digs into your pitch, the curtain will get pulled back and it may not be pretty!

Draft a personal note, not a mass-produced missive.  Not always doable, we know, but when you want to get through to a journalist with an overflowing email box, anything you can do that shows care and attention to detail may see your pitch rise to the top.

Pitch less, communicate more. As you build a relationship with a media contact, find ways to reach out that have nothing to do with a client. Compliment a writer’s story or provide a contact with information on a subject that you know is of interest. Simple gestures like that can create a better working relationship all around.

Be persistent, but not a pest. If your angle is good and you know the perfect person to do the story, be politely persistent. Tweak the angle and re-send if you don’t get an initial response, but let the contact know that you crafted this pitch with her in mind and what a great story you think she could produce. Then be a terrific resource providing not only your client, but other SMEs and content as well.

Support good journalism. Once a piece has posted or a segment has aired, thank the journalist and do your part to spread the news – share, comment, link, blog – whatever you can do to promote. This benefits everyone – your client, your contact and you!