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 | 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!
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 21, 2013 | Public Relations
Today we have a guest blog post from Rosemarie Ascherl, PR Foreman at Sonnhalter, who recently attended the International PRSA Conference in Philadelphia to learn the latest trends in public relations.
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend a motivational week of education and networking at the 2013 PRSA International Conference. The entire three days of the conference I was bombarded with incredible amounts of expertise and thought-provoking ideas, but several of the impressions stood out.
We are in an era of change. It is time to think differently and recognize that to be successful we must discover new ways of reaching our audiences. We need to be open to change and figure out how to tell our stories, our experiences, to influence and change behavior. We need to evolve.
Measurement is important. While there are many schools of thought on PR measurement, one point is clear: measurement is important. If you aren’t measuring anything, you need to start. Measuring can get very complex, but if you start simple, and add additional metrics as you move forward, the value of your PR efforts can be better understood.
Traditional metrics of assigning advertising value equivalency (AVE), now better termed advertising cost equivalent (ACE), can be a good place to start, but there are many additional metrics that can be examined such as sentiment, social media engagement and search rank. Employing metrics to directly tie the results to business performance or sales is ideal and helps to build the case for PR delivering great efficiency.
The press release is not dead. Press releases are very much alive. They just need to adapt to the changing media models to generate results. One of the ways we can do that is to make the press release more compelling for today’s incredibly visual audiences using graphics, from high quality photos, videos and interesting infographics. With traditional media on the decline, we have to find other ways to get our information to our audiences and consider alternate uses for the press release—such as social media, websites and blogs. Our messages need to be effective for today’s environment.
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 31, 2013 | Public Relations
Today Rosemarie and Rachel from our PR department are sharing some of the aspects of public relations that can be the scariest to clients.
We find the realm of public relations to be fun, exciting and consistently fresh, but some areas of our field can be scary to our clients.
Here are the top five fears people have about public relations, and why you shouldn’t be spooked by them.
1. You can’t control what the media does with a story once you’ve given it to them.
“Earned media” is highly credible because readers know that you didn’t purchase the space to promote your company. Public relations and media relations professionals cultivate positive relationships with media, we work with these folks on behalf of multiple clients most of the time so we’ve built the foundation for positive coverage before they even get your story. In B2T public relations, we’re working with trade publications primarily and their goal is to be a source of helpful information for their readers.
It can be scary not to see the actual article before it’s published, but with long lead times of trade media, it can be a sweet surprise to see your words in print.
2. Negative comments on blogs and social media.
Your responses to negative comments offer an excellent opportunity to show off your wonderful customer service. Negative comments happen, and if they happen on your social media, you can control the outcome with your response and the community response from your other fans. It’s actually scarier to hide your head in the sand or cover your ears when it comes to social media.
3. Giving interviews is intimidating.
When we set up interviews with trade publications, they often send some sample questions ahead of time to help you prepare. Knowing how you would answer those questions provides a foundation of confidence. Media people are not out to get you, and by providing an interview you’re helping them educate their readers and they’re helping you get your name and expertise out there.
Think of interviews as a conversation rather than an interrogation. Sometimes our clients are even given the opportunity to review and approve their quotes! And they’re often surprised by how articulate their quotes sound.
4. Am I missing out on all of the new things that pop up overnight?
There is actually a name for this condition, it’s a condition called FOMO, Fear of Missing Out. Your company can’t, and shouldn’t, join every new platform or use every new tool that is introduced. If you’re suffering from a severe case of FOMO, work with your public relations people to set your goals and evaluate which platforms and tools are the best for us to get our hands dirty with and which ones would be a waste of time and resources.
5. I want to use the excellent testimonial from my customers, but I’m afraid to share customer information that my competitors will find.
When you’re confident with a customer relationship and know that you’re giving that customer the best quality and service, there’s no need to be afraid of telling their story. Testimonials are an excellent tool for building your credibility, when others read about what your company made possible for that customer, they’ll wonder what your company can do for them too.
When you feature a customer in a testimonial, you’re also helping them get their name out there and gain more visibility. And they’ll love you for that!
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 26, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Trends
Today we have a guest blog post from Rosemarie Ascherl, PR Foreman at Sonnhalter, discussing content marketing. Content marketing should be part of all B2B [and B2T] business’s overall marketing strategy.
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend a fabulous week of learning and motivation when I attended the 2013 Content Marketing World Summit at the Cleveland Convention Center.
Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior. It is an ongoing process that is best integrated into your overall marketing strategy, and it focuses on owning media, not renting it.
While the term content marketing has become popular in recent years, content marketing is a marketing technique that marketers have been using all along. Top B2B content marketing strategies are social media, articles on a business’s website, eNewsletters, case studies, videos and articles on other websites.
While there were many important takeaways from the conference, a couple stood out:
Content marketing needs a strategy
Before you dive into producing your content, you need to have a content marketing strategy. You need to establish your goals and mission, define your audience and establish your process. Content needs to be planned around a clearly outlined purpose. You need to establish the why behind your content strategy before you can begin to put together the how and the where.
Content marketing must be relevant
To establish authority and gain trust with your audience, your content must be valuable and relevant to them. This relevant industry information should provide insight or entertain them. Content must fulfill a need, be interesting and unique.
How can you create something meaningful for both your brand and your audience? Understand your customers, and try to find ways to solve their problems. Give them content that addresses their needs. Remember that it’s not about you—it’s about them. Ultimately, providing this type of content allows a company to steadily build rapport with its demographic and develop a loyal following.
If you find this post interesting, you may be interested in the following:
Manufacturers: What are you trying to accomplish with your content marketing?
Why do you use content marketing – Do you think it’s for branding or for selling?
