4 Tips to Develop a Clear and Concise Company Message

One of the first things a reporter asks in an interview is for a description of what your business does.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, sadly, for many it’s not as easy as it sounds. It should be, but more often than you’d think, it’s not.

In my opinion, the reason is simple.  People think it’s so easy to explain what they do that they don’t actually take the time to think about it beforehand to know how they’ll describe what they do when the opportunity presents itself.  I once had a job recruiter tell me that something like 70-80 percent of job applicants blow the interview with the first interview question.  The first question in a job interview is similar to a media interview, tell me about yourself.  It should be easy enough, right?  But think about it.  If I asked you right now to tell me about yourself, could you describe yourself with something intelligent that accurately portrays who you are?

Now, if I asked you to tell me about your business, could you?  Could you tell me in one sentence or a couple sentences what you do in a way that I would instantly get what your business does?

If you can, congratulations, you’re among the elite.  I’m basing this off of years of experience and of helping clients identify their key messages and an accurate elevator pitch that concisely describes what they do.

Many companies don’t know or can’t communicate effectively what they do.  It’s also fairly common for teams to be on different pages as to what it is that their company does.  The result of this inability to describe what they do or the confusion created because they’re on different pages results in a mixed message.  When enough mixed messages are disseminated through the media it makes a company look bad, unorganized and unsure of what they do.

It’s important to decide what are the most important messages you want to convey.  From a PR perspective, what does the reporter need to know in order to understand what your company does or the benefits your product or service provides.

Media messaging and positioning creates a communications platform that will drive all communications from the company for each segment including industry thought leadership and expertise. It helps decide key target audiences, and overall corporate position.  It is incorporated into content creation, media relations and editorial support, the company website, the company blog and social media.

This is where a good PR person or team comes in.  The words don’t always have to be the same, but the overall message should be consistent and accurate.  Listed below are four key elements to focus on when determining your company’s message.

• Elevator pitch:  In 25-50 words what does your business do?  This description should be clear and concise and free of any hyperbole or jargon.  The person hearing this should be able to have a clear understanding of what your company does and the value you add.
• Supporting messages:  These messages support the elevator pitch. Supporting messages can be more descriptive and add more context to the main message conveyed in your elevator pitch.  These messages will provide more insight into the value of your product or services as well as key things you want others to know about your business and what you do.  These messages can and should be broken up by vertical markets if you serve more than one industry or market.
• Tagline:  A tagline is something that can be easily remembered and that when heard conveys a positive message about your business. A tagline is typically only a few words but can convey a powerful message and be an influential association with your businesses brand.  It should be clear and concise and match up with your overall message and elevator pitch.
• Competitors: Everybody has a competitor or at least somebody that does something similar to you. Clients say all the time, “We don’t have any competitors.  We’re so unique or do things so different that there aren’t any competitors.”  If a reporter thinks you are similar to another company or your product or service is similar to another they’re familiar with then you have a competitor.  It’s important to know who your competitors are and what separates you from them.  In developing messaging for your company you should identify competitors and the things that differentiate you from them.

Having a clear and concise message will help prepare for media interviews and will allow you to have something to fall back on so when you are asked and nerves kick in, you know exactly how to respond. It’s important to know the messaging and how to effectively communicate it.  It doesn’t mean you have to repeat the words verbatim and sound robotic, but it’s important to communicate the right message.

When a company has a clear, concise and streamlined message that clearly tells what the company does consumers, clients and potential partners don’t have to waste valuable time trying to decipher and understand what you do.  They can simply make their decision to purchase or become a client.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Eight Tips to Contributing Content and Becoming a Thought Leader

One of the trends I’m seeing in public relations is an increased need for and a greater opportunity to contribute content.  In my industry this is significant as it provides new ways for PR pros to secure coverage for clients as well as to have clients educate the market on their industry and to be viewed as thought leaders.

If you’re going to contribute you have to be willing to do a few things.  First and foremost, the content needs to be compelling and the writing needs to be of the highest quality.  From there, if you’re going to write you need to be open to criticism, challenges from others with differing opinions and open to sharing your expertise and your own opinion.

A lot of people think it’s cool to blog or to see their names in a newspaper or magazine.  Often people want this but don’t realize the commitment it takes or the confidence in your knowledge and expertise it takes to lay it all on the line and share for everybody to see.  If you want to contribute, here are some steps to consider making it successful and gaining the full benefit the opportunity provides.

• Know the issues/trends, what makes it an issue or trend and what it means.  By knowing the issues and trends you can establish yourself as a thought leader and demonstrate that you are an expert in your industry.  Your understanding of key issues and an ability to discuss these issues will build credibility and help make you a trusted source for the media.
• Have an opinion and be willing to share it. There is a difference between knowing the issues and having an open and compelling conversation about them.  If you know the issues but won’t talk about them, nobody will care how much you know.  If you’re willing to discuss the issues and can add some expertise or some interesting insight into the topic people will listen and want to engage you in a discussion.
• Explore and consider both sides of the issue. It’s important to know and understand both sides of an issue.  Most reporters will want to know what both sides are and will be interested in what your take is or what your argument is for a competitor or perceived competitor.  If you can’t or don’t know the competition and what sets you apart you’ll have a difficult time convincing people to your way of thinking.
• Have a solution.  If there is an issue or challenge you’re writing about, don’t be afraid to share your thoughts, ideas or expertise on how to solve the problem.  It’s easy to simply point out or discuss the problem but another all together to provide a viable solution to the issue.  In my opinion, when somebody just complains about an issue but can’t provide a solution or alternative approach it makes the issue worse and causes frustration.  I compare this to a situation everybody has encountered at one time or another, lunch with a group of friends.  One or two people will make a suggestion, the majority of the others will agree to it, but one or two friends will not like the suggestion.  Those one or two people who don’t like the suggestions are happy to share their dislike or disregard for the restaurant choice but offer no solution or alternative.  Don’t be the person that simply complains.  If you don’t like something, have a solution or alternative recommendation.
• Practice.  The more you write the easier it becomes.  A good writer is always on the look out for potential topics and is thinking about the next article.  The more you write the quicker you’ll be able to discover your own style and your own voice.
• Read other good writers.  Years ago at a PR conference, a former editor recommended attendees find other good writers or other publications that are well written and follow/read them.  She had a list of five or six publications she read daily, weekly or monthly depending on the outlet and frequency.  Some were publications that she had no interest in, such as Sports Illustrated. In the case of Sports Illustrated she read it simple because the writing was so good. Her theory, and I agree with this, is that you can learn a lot by absorbing and reading other well-written content. It rubs off and you become a better writer through osmosis.
• Set aside time to actually write.  I know a lot of people that want to be recognized as a contributor or blogger.  It takes time and discipline to write on a regular basis.  The more you write though, the easier it becomes and the quicker you become.  When you start blogging or writing, set aside time each day to write.  Keep to that schedule.  Consistency is critical when first starting to write.  It’s easy to become discouraged with the amount of time it may take but if you set time aside every day it will quickly become a habit and will be easier and take less time to write.
• Find a trusted editor. Every writer should have somebody they trust read their writing.  This person should be somebody that has your best interest at heart and isn’t afraid to be honest and give feedback about the quality of your content.  Most of the time, my wife is my editor.  She’s smart, articulate, understands editing and isn’t afraid to challenge me, ask questions or flat out tell me if something is poorly written or doesn’t make sense.

Opportunities abound to contribute content. If you get the opportunity to contribute content it can pay dividends to our business and to your own personal brand.  However, if you commit to doing it, you need to do it well so you can build confidence with the publication or editor and establish yourself as a thought leader and an expert in your industry.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

10 Steps to Conducting Successful Media Interviews

Interviews with the media look fun and when done right can be hugely beneficial.  A good interview looks easy but in reality there is a lot of work that goes into conducting a successful interview.

Securing and interview takes a lot of work and expertise.  Once the interview has been secured, it doesn’t mean that the work is done.  On the contrary, once the interview is secured the hard work of preparing for the interview begins.

I can’t tell you how many times over the coarse of my career I’ve seen somebody be excited for an interview, think they can do it no problem and then when the moment comes they freeze.  Most often this happens when it’s a broadcast interview and a microphone is put in their face or the cameras turn on.  It’s normal, but can be avoided by following a few simple steps.

It’s also fairly common for people to forget in the moment things they want to be sure and say or include as part of an interview.  Everybody has probably experienced this one time or another.  If not in a media interview then in a job interview where you walk out of the interview and start thinking about or remembering things you wanted to be sure and mention but forgo to in the heat of the moment

Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can do before an interview to prepare and make the most of the opportunity, including:

• Research the publication.  Know what the outlet covers and its format or style.  Doing this will help you get a feel for how the interview will go. It will also help you determine what messages to share and which will be most relevant to the outlets target audience.
• Research the reporter.  Read some past stories or related content to get an idea of the reporter’s style.  Knowing beforehand a writing style can help you shape your responses and understand the prior level of knowledge or expertise the reporter does or does not have.
• Know what you want to talk about. Decide what are the most important messages you want to convey.  What does the reporter need to know in order to understand what your company does or the benefits your product or service provides. Don’t go into an interview expecting the reporter to have or know all the topics or to be an expert in your industry.  If you can educate them and help them understand the facts, data and trends you’ll become a valuable resource for them and will build a relationship of trust that will keep them coming back to you for more expertise. A reporter may not ask the exact questions you want to be asked, but you can always steer the conversation in the direction you want by the way you respond to the questions being asked.  If a reporter doesn’t ask you the question you want to be asked, respond to the question you want asked or answer the initial question and as part of your answer take the opportunity to basically ask yourself the question you want and answer it.
• Practice. Think of the questions you may be asked and practice answering questions about your company, product or services.  You don’t have to memorize the answers, but by practicing you’ll have an idea of what you want to say so when your nerves kick in you’ll be able to fall back on what you practiced.  Record yourself, either with the tape recorder on your phone or on video answering the questions and then listen or watch yourself to see how you did.  You can do this multiple times until you’re satisfied with your responses.
• Know the top 10 questions you don’t want to be asked.  These questions may not come up, but be prepared to answer them just in case.  If you prepare in advance and they come up you’ll be better equipped to answer them and won’t come off as surprised or flustered when the questions come up.  Your reaction to questions can be incorporated into the story and if your reaction is negative or unpleasant it could play into the story or called out as part of the story.
• Know the competition.  I run across this all the time, but every business thinks they don’t have competitors. You may do things differently than others but that doesn’t mean you don’t have competitors.  If a reporter thinks you have a competitor, then you have competitors.  You should be familiar with them and be able to explain what sets you apart from them.  Don’t bad mouth or disparage the competition but be prepared to demonstrate and explain why you’re different.  In one instance, I was with the CEO of a client interviewing with the Wall Street Journal in Washington, DC and the reporter asked a question about a competitor, specifically about how my client differentiates themselves from this competitor.  The CEO couldn’t explain the differences because he wasn’t even sure exactly what the competitor did.  Suddenly the interview turned to trying to discover why he didn’t know the competitor and what they did.
• Be on time. Nothing screams indifference more than not showing up on time.  The reporter is giving of his or her precious time to talk to you.  Return the favor by being on time and keeping to the agreed upon schedule.  I tell clients all the time if a reporter is late that’s one thing and we’ll work around it.
• Adopt appropriate posture. Don’t slouch or use the table as leverage to crack your back.  This may sound obvious, but in one interview in New York, my client’s CEO sat down and slouched as if being there inconvenienced him.  He later used the table as leverage to crack his back as the reporter was asking questions.  Doing these types of things is inconsiderate and demonstrates a lack of interest on your part.
• Pay attention. In the same instance referenced in the point above, this same CEO wasn’t paying attention.  The company’s Vice President of Marketing was participating in the interview with us and started the interview off by giving some background on the company and the new product we were there to brief the reporter on. When the VP of Marketing turned the time back over to the CEO, he stopped cracking his back and launched into an explanation of the company background.  He said virtually the same thing as the VP of Marketing and made it obvious he hadn’t listened to a thing anybody had said.  It’s critical that you pay attention to and listen to the interviewer and others involved in the conversation.
• Speak clearly.  Be precise.  Enunciate your speech so it’s clear and easy for the reporter to understand.  Avoid using jargon and hyperbole. Don’t assume that the reporter will know everything you do.  Explain what you’re talking about and use simple, easy to understand words.  Nobody is going to care if you use big words if the reporter doesn’t understand what you’re saying and as a result doesn’t write about you.

Interviews are an awesome opportunity to share your expertise and create awareness about you, your company and its products or services.  Don’t go into an interview thinking that coverage is in the bag.  Prepare and follow these steps and you’ll significantly increase your chances of landing the desired coverage.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Passion’s Power

I had lunch with some friends last week and was impressed with how passionate they are about their business, what they do and the services they provide to their clients.  It was evident in the way they talked how much they enjoy what they’re doing and the success they’re recreating for their clients.  They are enjoying tremendous success and it’s evident why, because of their passion for what they do.

Their passion shows and I recognized it immediately. it was refreshing and exciting. I’m sure their clients, partners, employees and everybody else they work with notice it immediately as well.  I’m also convinced that these same groups benefit from their passion.  In fact, in talking to some of their employees, their passion for what they do translates into the effort they give on a daily basis and as a result, their clients and employees are more engaged and get a better Return on Investment (ROI) as a result.

I believe passion is good when channeled in the right way.  I also believe that it can be detrimental to success when channeled the wrong way. Allow me to illustrate what I mean.

In relation to my lunch companions the other day, they’re passionate about what they do and it shows.  Their clients recognize it, as do their employees.  In the case of these friends, they are both commitment to learning, leading and success is evident in every aspect of their lives and it’s contagious for those they work and associate with.  My friend believes that when people are passionate and committed to their careers and jobs it reflects in their performance and attitudes.

This passion has enabled my friend to successfully grow a business that has allowed him to land a number of successful projects and clients, including the opportunity to consult on social media and SEO for New York Comic Con.  With another client, he was hired based on his marketing, social media and SEO skills to be a global director of business development for a multinational company in Australia. He was originally hired to oversee all of the North American operations but after six months his role was expanded and he assumed the role of Director of Global Operations.  Under his direction, his division was the most profitable division for company.

In a separate example, another friend, Ty Kiisel is passionate his motorcycle riding hobby.  He’s taken his work expertise as a marketer and content creation expert and utilized this expertise to share his passion with other motorcycle enthusiasts.

Every weekend Ty hits the road on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.  He rides around the state of Utah and into other surrounding states.  He finds peace and solitude on long rides and enjoys the scenery and opportunity to go out and experience the beautiful scenery our country has to offer.

As he rides, Ty takes pictures and video, often point of view videos from his Go-Pro camera.  He is also looks for interesting places to stop and eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.  In fact, he’s developed a strategy for deciding which restaurants he should try in the small towns he rides through.  According to Ty, “In small towns I look for the restaurants that have the old pickup trucks parked outside.  If the locals are eating there it must be good.  This theory has never let me down and has introduced me to some pretty amazing restaurants.”

Ty has created his own blog called the Quiet Rods blog.  After each ride he writes blog entries about his rides.  In the blog he includes the route he took, who he rode with, what he saw, where he ate and other interesting tidbits about his ride.  He reviews restaurants and gear and shares his thoughts about what he saw while riding.  He also includes photos that he takes along the way as well as video from the ride, often set to his favorite 70’s music.

The passion Ty has for riding and the passion my friends have for the their business and the services they provide their clients is all very positive.

Where passion takes a wrong turn is when it’s channeled incorrectly.  Take for example, Dez Bryant, a standout wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys.  In a recent game against the Detroit Lions Bryant exploded on the sideline, screaming at head coach Jason Garret and Quarterback Tony Romo.   Media and fans were up in arms about the sideline meltdown.  It turns out Bryant was screaming encouragement, but as the announcer in the video I hyperlinked to says, you’ve got to find a way to get temper tantrums like this under control because they serve no purpose.

Regardless of what Bryant meant to do, there was a definite disconnect between that and what actually happened.  His teammates were upset and reacted negatively to his actions and the team as a whole was criticized for the outburst.

Bryant claims his yelling and actions are the result of passion and a will to win.  This outburst, regardless of intent caused more harm than good.

When channeled properly, passion can lead to tremendous success.  It opens doors that might not have been available without the passion.  People recognize this passion and want to be a part of it and want to help contribute to its success.  On the flip side, when passion displays itself negatively it creates confusion and can be a polarizing emotion that drives people away and serves no valuable purpose.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+