by tradesmeninsights | Jun 26, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Public Relations
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Engineer
Pictures are incredibly powerful marketing, PR and social media tools. Every single project that I work on for Sonnhalter’s clients involves some form of visual element… which is also one of my biggest challenges as a public relations professional.
Trying to wrangle high-resolution images for a project is tough because sometimes the photo well is just not deep. In our digital age, it doesn’t make sense to not have photographs of basically everything. There is no concern regarding wasted film because everything is digital.
Here are my tips on making sure you have an ample supply of good photos to accompany your marketing communications programs:
1. Think that everything your company does is photo-worthy.
If you host or attend an event, you should take pictures. That includes: Trade shows, customer events, employee events, seminars, etc. [Tweet This]
2. Take a lot of photos.
Not all pictures will turn out great, some will be blurry, someone will have their eyes closed or being making a horrible face. Take several pictures to make sure that you have useable ones. For example, for last year’s Sonnhalter Tool Drive, we took 50 photos and a couple of videos and only used 13 of them in our Facebook album from the event.
For events and trade shows, don’t limit your photos to just the pre-event set up. Capture some action, get people in your photos, both candid and posed. After events, people love to go back and see if they were caught on camera.
3. Assign someone to take photos.
Chances are there is someone in your organization who is pretty good at taking photos. Find that person and leverage their abilities. If you aren’t sure, ask for a volunteer to run around and capture photos. They don’t have to be a professional or even use a DLSR camera (although those will yield higher quality photos). It’s also okay to duplicate photos, so having more than one person taking pictures is fine.
4. Equipment doesn’t have to be complex.
For any photo or video needs, you don’t need professional-grade equipment to capture events. (If you’re putting together something like a commercial or instructional video, that’s a different story, and you should definitely engage a professional). For catching your company picnic three-legged race, an iPhone will do fine. Want some candids from a trade show? These days, most smartphones can yield high-resolution images or bring along a “point-and-shoot” digital camera.
5. Get high-resolution.
When I’m writing something for a print publication, high resolution images are often the biggest challenge. The standard for an image being “hi-res” is 300dpi (dots-per-inch) or greater. That means when supplying photos to your marketing team, agency or an editor, do not just click download from Facebook. Send them the original(s), even if you have to use a file transfer or sharing service such as DropBox or HighTail (formerly You Send It).
6. Use the photos you take.
Upload photos to your company’s social media accounts, provide them to your agency or editors for stories, share them with your staff on your intranet, etc.
Here are some general tips for getting good photos and videos:
- Keep your finger off the lens (also remove smudges)
- Don’t use the front-facing camera on a mobile device, these cameras typically take lower quality photos
- Take at least three photos for one group or individual pose
- Avoid shooting photo/video through windows or screens if possible
- Hold smartphones horizontally or in “landscape” to video instead of vertically, it provides a much better viewing experience later
- Be courteous to those around you when photographing for example, turn off flash for performances and speeches, and be extremely mindful if you must take pictures using an iPad or tablet as most who photograph with them block others’ views and are more disruptive (I highly recommend that you use a smartphone or camera and not a tablet)
- Try to avoid photographing/videoing people at an upward angle (it is unflattering to the subject) or with light behind them (try to have the main light source behind you and not the subject)
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 17, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Public Relations
Today we have a blog post from Rosemarie Ascherl, PR Foreman at Sonnhalter, discussing tips for successful media interviews.
Do you ever pick up an industry trade journal and wonder why your company’s perspective hasn’t been included? Editors often rely on “round-up” articles, which entail interviewing several manufacturers’ spokespeople to develop an industry trend story. The trick to getting your company included in these stories is to portray your company as a thought leader.
Proactively developing and leveraging relationships with the media to make sure your company is included in round-up articles is fairly easy to do. Your marketing communications firm has these relationships and can facilitate the media interviews with your company spokesperson.
Once an interview is scheduled, what do you need to do?
- If you don’t know the editor, familiarize yourself with the editor by reviewing past issues of the publication and checking out the editor’s LinkedIn profile.
- Make sure your calendar is blocked for the interview and you are in a quiet office where you will not be interrupted. Most interviews are conducted in a simple 15- to 30-minute phone conversation. Editors are always working against deadlines, so cancelling or postponing an interview could mean you’re not included in the article – or worse, your competitor gets included instead!
- Request questions prior to the interview. Editors sometimes provide you with questions to guide the conversation. Make sure you review the questions before the interview and give them some thought. It doesn’t hurt to talk them through with a colleague that may have additional input.
- Sometimes the conversation will veer from the questions, but know what you want to tell the editor. The editor should be able to walk away with three to four main points regarding the subject.
- Follow up, or have your public relations representative follow up, with appropriate press materials or graphics that you reference in your conversation.
- Do not tell the media anything you don’t want to see in print. Be honest. If the editor asks you a question you aren’t prepared to answer, tell him or her you’ll get back to them with an answer [and then be sure to follow up].
- Do not expect to see the article before it is published. Some editors will provide you with a chance to review your comments; however, this is merely a courtesy and should not be presumed. If given the opportunity to review the article, stick to checking the facts you provided and don’t attempt to alter the editor’s writing style.
- Thank the editor for the coverage. And of course, offer your assistance and time for future articles that the editor might need help with.
Once the editor knows you’re a well-prepared, reliable source, they will be inclined to request your opinions for future articles—resulting in more valuable editorial content for your company!
by tradesmeninsights | Apr 15, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Public Relations, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
When you’re planning your next new product launch beyond your traditional media lists that you send to, are you utilizing the Influencers in the market you’re going after?
Most times you don’t think about those bloggers out there that have big followings in the markets that you’re trying to reach.
An Influencer is someone who is able to mobilize options and create reactions when talking about a specific market or topic. They are the kinds of folks you want talking about you and your products. For example, if your target is mechanical contractors, you should be talking with John Mesenbrink from mechanical-hub. His blog is known throughout the industry and he’s a respected source of information.
Beyond getting them samples to try, they are looking for material you can provide so they can produce their own content. If possible, some exclusive little tidbits are always helpful. They can spread the word to a large number of your target audience in a short period of time…that’s the good news. The potential bad news is you can’t send them a press release and expect them to run it as is. Influencers make and have opinions, and we always run the risk that they may not be as kind as you would in evaluating the product. They will always be fair, but to some marketers, that’s a relative term.
Long-term strategy would be to identify and start-up a conversation long before you launch that new product. Get to know them and they you. Again, it’s about relationships.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 6, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Public Relations
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Engineer, Sonnhalter
I spend about 90% of my time in the office writing something – news releases, feature articles, testimonial stories, ad copy, social media updates, blog posts, emails, etc.
When you’re writing anything from a formal proposal to a memo or a social media posting, the best advice to keep in mind is: Choose Your Words.
When choosing your words, make sure that your message is clear and concise. Why would you write 50 words when you could write 5?
Keep it short and clear. Make your point and let your busy audience move on.
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 28, 2014 | Public Relations
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Engineer, Sonnhalter
Today is Fun At Work Day! Is your work fun? Do you have fun on the job?
Too often, we hear that work isn’t supposed to be fun, but a valuable part of internal communication is to help your staff enjoy their jobs and working environments.
One way to infuse a little fun into work is with internal events. Whether you do something semi-annually, quarterly or monthly, I recommend looking beyond a yearly holiday party.
Here are some ideas of employee events:
- Have a picnic or barbeque during lunch. Who wouldn’t want to have their bosses grill them a burger or serve them baked beans?
Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect, grilling up goodies
- Host internal competitions. Whether it’s a health initiative that includes counting steps or a simple tree decorating or pumpkin carving competition that lets your crew get creative. Every year, Sonnhalter has a summer photo contest and we submit photos from our summers that are judged by our Idea Builder for their composition and adherence to the theme. (You can see some of the winning photos in our Facebook album.)
- Celebrate strange holidays. At Sonnhalter, we celebrate National Tradesmen Day, World Toilet Day, Fire Prevention Day and many other trade holidays. Other companies celebrate the more obscure holidays like National Pi Day or Squirrel Appreciation Day.
- Go to sporting events. Build your team by cheering on a baseball, football, soccer, hockey, basketball or other sports team.
- Make something together. We like to get our hands dirty at Sonnhalter, so most of our events follow that theme including making our own pasta, painting pottery and glass blowing.
- Serve your community together. 2014 is the 5th year that Sonnhalter will hold an August Tool Drive to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Our team comes together for a good cause and we have a lot of fun doing it too. Even if a month-long event isn’t a good fit for your company, you can serve your community in other ways including having a volunteer day or having a charity walk team.
In ’13, Sonnhalter filled two trucks with community donations
Whether you do something as an entire company or by department, adding a little fun to work can actually make your people more productive.
How do you infuse some fun into your work environment?
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 23, 2014 | Public Relations, Uncategorized
Today we have a blog post from Rosemarie Ascherl, PR Foreman at Sonnhalter, discussing factory tours and how they reflect your company’s brand image.
Last month, Sonnhalter employees had the opportunity to get their hands dirty with a visit to a local manufacturer, Lincoln Electric, that designs, develops and manufactures arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, fume extraction equipment and plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment.
We were greeted by our contact, given “VIP” badges and ushered into a comfortable lecture room where each employee’s name was on a placard alongside a packet containing Lincoln Electric information, safety glasses and headsets. After a short greeting by our host, our group was invited to snacks and beverages while watching a short video that covered a history and overview of the company and safety rules for our tour. After the video, we were turned over to our tour guide, a long-time employee, who regularly conducts tours.
Sonnhalter’s experience at Lincoln Electric was a terrific impression reflecting professionalism, pride, friendliness and openness that ultimately mirrors the Lincoln brand.
Does your company have a factory tour policy? Is it an open-door policy? Or is your company one that refuses visitors for fear of losing carefully guarded company secrets?
How your company handles the requests for factory visits, whether it is by an interested community member or a potential customer, is a reflection of your brand.
And once you decide to let visitors in your doors, how you handle their experience is another reflection of your brand.
Suggestions for creating a positive experience:
1. Select knowledgeable, experienced, personable people as tour guides.
2. While tours should be flexible based on your audiences’ needs, provide consistency in the messaging that is being revealed.
3. Establish rules that management or ownership is comfortable with, i.e. no photos, no cell phones.
4. Remember safety at all times.
5. Be friendly.
Having a policy on factory tours is important, and how the tours are handled ultimately affects your company’s brand image. Make it positive!
