The Need-Like-Love Pinch Test

Proofing Your Public Relations Message

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? 

The newsletter story, industry article or Facebook feed that’s an endless blather of self-congratulatory product points.  You may not be expecting “War & Peace” over your a.m. coffee read, but you surely deserve better than a marketing brochure.

So, how do you make sure YOUR company writing doesn’t fall victim to the same “me marketing” blather?  There’s a three-part litmus test, plus a digital pocket of handy social tools to pinch-proof your thinking.

The Need-Like-Love Pinch Test

It’s true.  We’re all human, and as such, I believe there’s three key things to keep in mind when writing for humans:

·      We need to be educated

·      We like to be in-the-know

·      We love to be entertained

If your writing meets one of these three standards, you can safely bet that you’re out of the “marketing blather” territory and firmly on “great writing” solid ground.

Need to be Educated

Let’s take “education,” for starters.  We all need to learn, and to keep up to date with the world and our industry. Will your reader come away having learned something?  Ideally, it’s related to your industry or expertise, but it is not an information piece on your product or solution.  If you’re in the payments industry, an informative look at the impact of digital wallets is a great topic.  The fact that your payments solution is available on a trial basis is not.

Like to be in the Know

In-the-Know:  no one wants to be left out of the loop.  If you’ve got some news to share, or something that is material to your company that is safe, and timely, to get out to the public, that’s fair game.  The next industry trend, the great new statistic, who doesn’t want to be the person with the scoop? And, if you’re reaching out to a journalist, the in-the-know news is the catnip-scoop they’ll find hard to resist.

Love…Those Cat Videos!

Entertained:  there’s a reason cute cat videos are the top-searched item on the web.  We’re humans, and we like to be engaged.  If you can bring a fresh voice, a bit of humor, or, well, think carefully about deploying a cat video – you could get upstaged.  But entertaining news and insight is a great way to get your audience engaged while you get your point across.

Journalists, Social Sharing & the Trend Tools

The other way to dial-in your message so you’re in-synch and sympatico with your community is to dive into the social stream, and double-check journalists’ trending topics.  Why?  Journalist coverage and social trends are reflectors; they show us what we’re interested in and engaged about in today’s fast moving communications world.  The following is a short-list of tools you can use to see what’s going on in social and journalist writing worlds:

 Pinch Test:  Social Tool Box

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BuzzSumo

The Word Samurai to have in your corner when you want to see the social trends

   Muckrack

your virtual journalist coffee shop.  See what they’re thinking and writing about

   Social Mention

If it’s happening on social, it’ll be mentioned here

   Google Alerts

Stay on top of breaking news about your company, key terms and industry

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I know I’ve mentioned some of these tools in previous posts, but…I can’t help it!  I want to save you (and me, selfishly) from writing that fails the Pinch Test. 

Being in sync with trending topics, the top issues journalists are writing about, and keeping the Need – Like – Love formula top of mind is critical to success.

 Want to know more?  Feel free to find me on Twitter (@Pam_A), or reach out by email, pam@prapublicrelations.com, or phone: 503.298.9749.

It’s (Not) About You: Ten Tools for Media Mastery

Don't cry over your lack of good PR, get to work and master some earned media skills

You’ve tried everything to get digital media coverage.  You really worked to get important journalist from that top media outlet interested in your company news.  You’ve called. You’ve emailed.  Maybe even a little Twitter stalking went on.  Yet, no public relations-meets-media-coverage success has happened.

Don’t let your colleagues’ well-meaning sympathy steer your wrong.  It’s definitely you.  But it's not your fault.  Today's world of earned media coverage is a fickle and fast-moving place.

So don't give up,. and don't weep either.  Just read through these tips, help yourself to our free "Ten Tools for Media Mastery" download, and get to work on your earned media coverage success.

Keep on learning:  the Three Key Areas of Media Coverage

Read on for More tips...

New York Times: Looking for Love?

It looks like the New York Times needs to change its status on social channels to "in a relationship."  I for one humbly think it's  one of the smartest moves the venerable news institution has ever made.

The impetus for this announcement?  The paper's leadership recently issued a memo outlining the dollars-and-cents case for a new growth strategy:  commitment.

It turns out that fully 90% of the publication's revenues come from only twelve percent of its total readers.  So, as many a dating advice columnist has known for eons, things such as exclusivity, loyalty, focus and meeting needs matter.  It looks like  chief executive Mark Thompson and executive editor Dean Baquet see things the same, as well.

When it comes to news readership in a fast-changing digital age, the idea of cultivating relationships isn't simply emotional satisfaction, it is a prime strategic driver for survival and growth in an an era of highly customized, on-demand, digitized news consumption.

The fact that the Old Gray Lady has recently earned a landmark one million digital subscribers is solid testament to the strength of its strategy.

The truly fascinating aspect of this is the shift in priorities this represents.  As the memo details, many news outlets have focused on building audience and "uniques" (single visitor visits to sites/views of content) as a way of building advertising revenue.

The New York Times strategy represents a back-to-basic focus, in that it looks to build editorial relationships with highly-committed readers through delivery of exceptional news content.  These loyal readers do of course buttress advertising revenues, but they are also the readers that pay for access to content they value.  Loyal, informed and engaged, these are the readers who show up as advocates for the thought leadership, news and analysis they prize in their preferred publication.

As with most successful relationships, the New York Times has focused with determination on a critical goal.  Well, no, not necessarily winning the woman (or man's) hand, but in driving double-digit revenue growth through this relationship-building strategy.  The New York Times looks to jump from revenues of $400 million in 2014 to an audacious doubling to $800 million by 2020.  They aim to do this by growing the number of high-value, committed readers from twelve to twenty four percent.  

Not a majority readership, but an active and influential one.  If they achieve this target, the New York Times will have created an updated version of the  80/20 rule (eighty percent of sales from twenty percent of customers) that has guided the bottom line of many an enterprise.

The payoff for this revenue-driven tack is a heightened focus on outstanding editorial as the key to attracting and holding loyal readers.  In an era increasingly defined by re-purposed content, shrinking editorial staff and a rise in native advertising, a strategy focusing on production of meticulously-written, fully-researched and compelling content has a very welcome place in the digital news landscape.

Want to read all about it?  Full text of the news article is here.