soulati.com

Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging

Soulati-'TUDE!

GoPro Is Perfect Example of National Media Pitch for PR

By

I looked at the byline of the reporter; was I reading this amazing story in Fast Company? Close, but not. Tom Foster “has been an editor at Men’s Journal and Fast Company. This is his first story for Inc.”

My two all-time favorite ‘zines for business news, company innovation, entrepreneur success, and so much more. This story, “The GoPro Army—How a scrappy little camera company turned its customers into a stoked sales force and became a $250 million industry leader.”

Crumbs. You can’t beat that headline; it tells the story right there (and it took the whole page with 16 images from GoPro cameras to illustrate the first spread of the article). In true Fast Company form, the first two pages are in its style, while the last four are Inc.-esque.

What’s needed to get this kind of coverage money can’t buy?

Before I go into the elements for a national story pitch, I want to reference my message mapping articles again, and for good reason. I started writing this with the angle of “backing into a message map” because I had no idea this company existed (I’m not an extreme sports fanatic, nor would I ever consider the daredevil stunts GoPro does). As I was reading the first two pages with every line circled in three out of four columns (as blog fodder), I saw what the reporter told me come to life, “GoPro is a company that’s deeply invested in storytelling (primarily in the form of extreme sports videos.”)

As the reporter told his story beginning with hair-raising visuals as a passenger skedaddling through the Santa Cruz mountains in a Ford GT40 replica Le Mans racing car with GoPro CEO at the wheel, I was hooked. Not only was GoPro being acknowledged for its storytelling finesse, a master storyteller in Editor Tom Foster was recanting his personal adventure, too.

Just read the article, OK? You’ll get what I’m saying spot on.

Story Elements for National Media

So, let me try to share the elements you need for your company or client to be considered by national media.

The basics in this story are covered well.

Zany and photogenic CEO under 40-years-old

Proven profits and exponential company growth

Successful product with adoring consumers

Market monopoly (90% market share)

Industry everyone and anyone will drop jaws about.

 

The added bonus to making the pitch all the sweeter:

Product Line.  It’s a suite of “wearable, mountable and affordable HD video cameras that make all kinds of previously impossible shots much easier to capture. …they pack a surprising amount of power and versatility, especially for their $300 price tag.”

YouTube Views. The writer references three YouTube videos shot with GoPro cameras each with 12.4 million views, 2.8 million views and 2.1 million views. These postings are part of the arsenal of video posted to YouTube every two-to-three minutes (either by customers or the company’s 20-person in-house media team).

Industry Analysts. While it’s not always up to you to include industry analysts in your pitch to national media, it is an added bonus. “IDC estimates GoPro’s revenue at $250 million, on sales of 800,000 cameras world-wide. He (industry analyst) calls GoPro “the fastest growing camera company in the world.” (Redirect to sentence above – “coverage money can’t buy.”)

Customers/Users. GoPro has a Facebook fan base we can all drool over. “In 2011 alone, Facebook fans grew from 50,000 to more than 1.3 million.” (Gasp, who manages that community?)

Customer Engagement. Using the BARE (brand audience rate of engagement) score to track activity on Facebook, the CEO mildly states, “I think we have the most socially engaged online audience of any consumer brand in the world.” Indeed.

Social Brand. Read those words again. What do they actually mean? When you have a tiny video camera (any large corporation could’ve made, right?) you can wear, a global army of camera users is created every single day. Their videos of bungee jumps, an Alpine downhill, a coral reef exploration, or a kid’s race track excursion are all posted to YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Tumblr, Twitter, Google+ and every limitless social media channel imaginable. Globally. This exponential, ubiquitous growth is unimaginable, but here it is right in front of us being presented by an upstart. (Is this CEO the future Steve Jobs?)

I’m blown away. No way in my lifetime will I ever get the chance to pitch a company story like this, and I’ve been pitching media too many years to count. I’ve had success with national media, for sure, and I know what it takes to see it through (sweat and tears). I also realize the challenges media relations professionals face to tell a story like this.

Here are my summary tips:

Get your message map(s) in order and tell your story. Put them into a format that lends itself to storytelling and not just word reading. Words on a page must come to life with passion.

Not involved in social media yet, Company X? OHMYGOSH! If this story is not your kick in the pants, nothing is…Get on it. I cannot tell you how serious I am; look at the fan engagement and the social branding (that alone rocks) behind GoPro success.

This story is a perfect example of what national media want to see in a perfect national story – social media engagement on a variety of channels along with this BARE metric. (Don’t worry,  I bet only the top 10% of companies are likely to have that metric clocked with any margin of influence.)

Engage with industry analysts. This is an aspect of public relations often ignored. It’s called industry analyst relations…simple. It’s different than investor relations and important for privately held companies that hold market share in their respective verticals.

This story is both an inspiration and a freak (no accident). As a public relations professional, work hard to touch upon these elements and show proof points in as many as you can. I’d hasten a guess this company is a media darling and one in a million, but it’s sure exciting to wonder what it’s like to be in the media relations and social media hot seats for GoPro.

(Image courtesy of GoPro Facebook page.)

PR V Marketing: Same Goals, Different Tactics

By

(This post is going to have too many first-person references for my liking, but it’s a relevant discussion and one I can’t make well in the third person; my apologies in advance!)

When I discuss differences between public relations and marketing, I cause trouble. People have a difficult time understanding what all the fuss is; I’m not here to exacerbate that, I’m trying to clarify. The best way I can do that is via my experience.

I have worked in PR 27 years as an agency brat (18 years spent in Chicago) my entire career.  After a stretch, PR began to evolve; practitioners knew that marketing was where the profession was integrating. I made it my goal to become more marketing-esque, and when a recruiter from a large PR firm told me my resume looked more marketing oriented, I was happy (she wasn’t).

In a recent conversation I had with Scott Quillin of New England Multimedia, he made a spot-on statement. I have to share: In order to understand the differences between marketing and PR, you have to have solid experience in both. Indeed.

I work as chief marketing officer for one client and as a brand marketing manager for two others. The core of what I deliver each day, however, is derived from public relations — my profession.

I caused a bit of trouble recently over at Shakirah Dawud’s house in a guest post in which I suggested marketing writers and PR writers offered two different styles of writing. That article was re-posted twice on Ragan.com, and the comments were intense.

A commenter at Shakirah’s said, “Personally, I think we should stop talking about marketing vs. PR in regards to…pretty much anything.”

I respectfully disagree. I do so because my feet are firmly planted in both disciplines working every day in both. And, I asked my new client several days ago, “Which hat do you want me to wear for you, PR or marketing?”

Because the deliverables are different; the thinking is different but the outcome is the same. Regardless of whether you work in PR or work in integrated marketing, the end game is ROI, measurable results, business goals, sales, leads, and more.

My approach to get there is what may be a tad different, depending on which side of the aisle I’m walking (the right, the left, or in the middle). Do these examples below help or hinder an explanation?

A software developer wants to push its software to accounting firms.

As a PR person, I would:

  • Hit the product team to find new features about the software that differentiate it from the rest of the industry
  • Hit the industry to find data and research to support my new product
  • Interview the chief spokesperson for a really good quote
  • Draft a news release/story
  • Identify some outlets that may cover my story
  • Pitch my news with industry trends.
  • Distribute an online press release to further news distribution.

As a marketer, I would:

  • Invite a client to join a panel on a webinar
  • Invite attendees to this free event by an email marketing campaign, newsletter, or a LinkedIn group announcement;
  • Interview a consultant or other client to draft a white paper for download and lead gen on a website
  • Prepare spokespeople for the upcoming tradeshow event to meet customers during a breakfast.
  • Polish the product literature and deliver it in time for booth training at the tradeshow where we will hawk our software to prospects.

While these lists may not sound so terribly different, in the corporate sector, each is the purview of a separate department. I do both and I tip my hat in either direction because my core training drives my deliverables.

Have I caused more confusion or per chance was this helpful?

 

Blogging Under A Rock

By

I hope these key words in this headline don’t draw more readers…no one wants to blog under a rock, least of all moi. But, that’s what I’m accusing myself of absolute – I’ve been oblivious to anything outside of my immediate purview – client billable work, drafting content for my blog and a few guest posts, too, and that’s about it.

Here’s what prompted this post (and Steve Farnsworth and Paul Roberts thought I was kidding):

On Friday afternoon Steve tweeted me this awesome PR33 Blogs List from Paul Roberts’s blog. I thought, cool, I need to see this; thanks, Steve. Lo, I read the list to find myself included, much to my utter amazement. (And, thus the over-the-top thank you in comments that likely included my embarrassment at being late to the party.)

You see, I had not previously met Paul Roberts (that I knew of; unless we had drinks one night, Paul?), and here he had amassed an incredibly influential list of PR bloggers with insightful comments about each. (Again, thanks, Paul.)

AND, I DIDN’T KNOW IT!

So, I’ve been blogging under a rock, and that rock has bashed my head. Here’s what I’m guilty of and will attempt to change:

Problem: I use Triberr religiously to comment on bloggers in my tribes, and rarely do I hit others’ blogs to extend my reach. (I still like Triberr, and we’ll address that topic another day.)

Change-Up: Form another tribe with new folks and interact with their writings as much as original tribes.

*******

Problem: I go to familiar blogs with familiar communities who frequently come to my house and return the comments in familiar ways.

Change-Up: Get out of your comfort zone, Jayme! This becomes too routine; change it up, Girl!

*******

Problem: I realize the labor intensivity of extending blog reach, and while I sometimes comment on new blogs, it’s often isolated and not consistent.

Change-Up: Quit your whining and add “subscribe to comments” on all those blogs to keep you engaged.

*******

Problem: I go where I’m invited;  if you ask me to come, I’m there.

Change-Up: That’s not a problem; just stop waiting for an invite – insert yourself on more occasions.

********

Problem: I am failing at a consistent focus on Facebook community building, and now that Google has slammed all of us with forced participation, I’m worried how I’m going to manage enhancing all these channels.

Change-Up: Anyone got a solution to this one? I’m overwhelmed and want to go back under my rock.

********

Problem: I’m a Twitter girl to a fault; I keep it open all day long, attempt to work the stream and open new conversations on occasion, yet my faves column is filled with just that – faves! Twitter is my first love, my first channel (even before a blog), and I won’t let go of it, but maybe a little less here and more elsewhere?

Change-Up: Hah. Yes, create a new column called “Tweeps To Know” and head in their direction each day.

What problems and change-ups might you include to ensure you’re not blogging under a rock?

Bloggers On Pedestals Revisited

By

This post first appeared at Ken Mueller’s house at Inkling Media. It is one of my all-time favorites and highly received by Ken’s community (and 323 Tweets later…uhh, what the heck am I not doing at my house?).  I’m swiping a trick I’ve seen Laura Click of Blue Kite Marketing do – re-post her guest posts on her own blog. I think this is a swell idea because why shouldn’t I actually capture my writings should other bloggers decide to remove their shingles?

The premise to the story below is that it’s lonely at the top for bloggers…see if this material is still relevant after having been published August 25, 2011.

I’ve been feeling and seeing some angst on the blogosphere lately. Some folks are having a bit of confidence issues; blogs are folding, people are saying their writing does not stack up, and some wonder if being a power blogger is attainable.

What I’m also seeing is that the power bloggers — those who rank higher than the Ad Age Power 50 – are distinctly on a pedestal put there by their peers, themselves, or others in their communities.

This is not intended to be a negative; it’s a fact and it’s what the blogosphere thrives on — leaders. But sometimes leading bloggers are regarded so highly that new bloggers struggle with that influence also wondering whether they can stack up.

If your goal is to become a power blogger, take a look at those who have earned their position. These bloggers are rightly on pedestals. I am always amazed when I see another level of giving, counsel, time, and sharing that is delivered to complete and total strangers in the name of building community, brand and business.

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mark Schaefer, Jay Baer, and Gini Dietrich IRL (in real life), and I feel like I’ve met Danny Brown (he is very accessible). These four peeps are to be congratulated for their positions as leaders on the blogosphere. (Since I wrote this, Marcus Sheridan has burst onto the scene; his writings are indeed powerful.)

There is no guidebook how to be a power blogger; ithappens over time and with a lot of hard work. In fact, I would suggest power bloggers’ blogs are true extensions and representations of their businesses. When you reach that level, monetization of a blog is moot; it happens automatically, and the blog is the business.

I know how competitive we humanoids are — we want to have the best blog with the most readers, comments, RTs, and highest rankings with awards badges in the margin. We want to have authority and influence, and we want to change the world with our insightful content. I’m certain that each of us will eventually get there, but only if we want to. It’s OK not to be a power blogger, but if you want to be on a pedestal, let me offer you some perspective.

The next time you’re chastising a power blogger for his or her comments, thoughts, opinions, articles, or the way they conduct themselves in their own house, know this:

  • It’s lonely at the top.
  • What I said above–there is no mentor for them to follow and fashion a set of rules after; each of them is writing their own guidebook.
  • We are like paparazzi to them; everything they say, write, do, eat, share, photograph, we want a piece of. They are in the limelight because they sought that position and have earned it.
  • When you feel like attacking as a troll or someone having a bad day, think twice about blogjacking the tone with your drivel.
  • If you’ve ever left a snarky comment, ask yourself whether it was because of envy or jealousy?
  • How many times have you learned from these people about new trends in social media, new apps, new tech, new devices, copied their blog design, or received your invite to Google+ or Spotify? It’s real easy for me to sit back and wait for a power blogger to do the work first with a post that paves the way.
  • Lastly is simply about thanks. Have you ever genuinely recognized a blogger leader for their time, commitment and dedication to teaching you what they know? Thank you is a wonderfully unexpected two words.

I’ll say it again, folks, it’s lonely at the top and showing the love is one small courtesy to bloggers on your pedestals. Whether the bloggers you follow have a badge of honor or not doesn’t mean they are any less influential or authoritative. A pedestal can be as short or as tall as you deem.

 

Message Mapping Revisited

By

If I was an analytics girl, I’d be all over this topic like icing on cake. Alas, I’m not and that’s why it’s taken me so long to return to this highly popular subject.

(Here’s a quick story about what nudged me…I was at a corporate marketing meeting on a recent January Monday and introduced myself. Later that day a man I never met approached me to say my name had sounded familiar, and sure enough, he checked his bookmarks and noted he’d used this for his training session. How ridiculously cool is that?)

I digress.

Message mapping is something I do and get hired for. I lend my 27 years of core public relations blended with marketing to develop a company’s story. Not the type of storytelling story marketers are used to uncovering, but the factual, media type stories for delivery to all external audiences required by the PR team.

Messaging, regardless of whether you use a map format, is the single-most critical strategy for all companies in this post-social media era. (Heck, it was even the single most, blah, blah when social media was a big trend.) Without approved messaging for spokespeople to deliver to external audiences, the PR and communications teams cannot amplify the brand, position thought leaders, promote areas of excellence, and the like.

It’s never too late to start a exercise because core facts about a company don’t change yet outside influences do adjust the story. A formal messaging process ought to happen:

>>Every two years with the executive team

>>Every year with the communications team

>>Whenever a launch, business decision, acquisition, etc. changes the core messaging platform

 

Step One to Create Message Maps

In the beginning, I’m not concerned with how the message will be delivered or on which channel, I’m only interested in what we’re going to say. The “to whom” isn’t even a requirement at first; we uncover the basics and cascade from there.  Here’s how I approach message mapping:

>>Gather executives from the C-suite or other high-level positions in a room.

>>No advance prep required, but ask for a three-hour commitment.

>>For those you really need to focus, ask for undivided attention.

>>Facilitator (someone like me) from outside company begins the open-ended questioning about the company.

>>Describe your company; what do you do? For whom, when, how, how much, competition, industry, accolades, staff, etc.

>>Invariably, no executive says the same thing; everyone has a different descriptor or thought about the company.

>>The facilitator’s role is to capture all the words on sticky notes and come up with a draft messaging platform.

>>The draft messages are bucketized by category with statements under each.

>>Upon that organization, the header/descriptor of the category is simplified for all audiences.

>>Clients/internal teams approve the messages in a Word document; consensus is critical in some fashion.

Once messages are approved internally, a map can be used to capture all the messages on one page. I use PowerPoint with a home-base message square in the middle. Circling the center message are four-to-five categories that describe the company. Within those second-tier messages are bulleted lists to describe the company further.

The facilitator doesn’t need to have industry experience; in fact, it’s often better if the session leader isn’t in the know about the company. That way she can ask the open-ended questions and it’s more acceptable from an outsider. The trick is to hire an engaged facilitator who can get those who don’t wish to speak to speak.

More on this topic will appear about creating maps specific to business units and sales and how thought leaders can use message maps to advantage. What experience do you have with , message maps, of other tools you prefer to capture the corporate message?