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PR is Changing: Change with It

When I look at the PR landscape and the reach of traditional media, I can’t help but think about how the average small business owner, nonprofit, or even the big well-known brands will continue to garner media attention and develop their communication strategy in 2019 and beyond. Newsrooms are continuing to shrink and people’s attention is now scattered in an infinite number of directions. From social media to traditional media, the communications landscape is changing. The exciting part about all of this change is that those of us that work in the field of communications are sure to be employed for many years to come.

Let’s talk about the changes that we must address…

Traditional Media Wanes

This is the most obvious trend that can not be denied. When you look at the dramatic numbers that occurred so far this year in layoffs in media spaces, one has to realize that pitching will have to change as it relates to digital media. As communicators, we may have to do a lot more writing of stories, verifying facts, and finding appropriate imagery for stories to even get considered for publishing.

Recently, I was working on a USA Today article that changed forms three times. The editor asked for a change in direction, rewrites, and exact verification of the stats included in the article with each rewrite. This is becoming the norm and is something that those of us in the field of communications will need to adjust to in this new realm of what it takes to reach our audiences.

The Power of Storytelling Deepens

PR is now more than just one press release about a particular issue pitched to select journalist via a wire service. Audiences want to hear and become a part of the story. Content will need to be dripped out to audiences on a consistent basis in order to create brand ambassadors, encourage action of some sort, or even to continue the positive feelings about a brand.

Storytelling will need to be done in interesting and engaging ways. Introduce your audience to the important characters in your brand’s life. Show some of the behind the scenes and jump in on relevant conversations. But, remembering all the while to be authentic. Show through the power of story how your brand is able to solve the problems of the target audience.

Become Your Own Media House

Why wait for a major media outlet to bless your story when you have the power to share your story in so many formats today. Whether you are a politician creating your personal brand or trying to grow interest in a product, this basic principle applies to all categories.

Create a piece of content like the piece of content you are reading right now. Post the piece in its entirety on places like your own blog, your Medium page, or your LinkedIn page. It all depends what it the appropriate place to reach your target audience. Create a number of social media post for the week that relate to the long form piece of content that you posted. Remember to lead people back to what you would like to consider your home base. Rinse and repeat!

Now, I have simplified the process, but ultimately the idea is to repurpose your content. You do not have to create all new content for each post. Big brands do it all of the time. If you do not have a team of people to help you create content, repurposing content is one of the best strategies that you can use in order to share content on a consistent basis.

The Lines Between Marketing & PR Blur

In recent years, The Marketing Department and The PR Department have run in silos. For many companies, they still do. This is a model that will not be able to continue and still prove to be successful. Marketing and PR need to operate as if they are performing in the symphony. If one is operating on in the key of B flat the other one should be too.

If you are the senior communicator for your brand, you have to step back and create an integrated communication plan. You may not understand the intricacies of making each element work, but you do need to know how each of the elements is going to work together for the good of the brand.

The Marketing and PR goals should be similar in an effort to better track what is working and what is not working. Your metrics from all of your communication efforts are going to tell you if you are moving in the right direction or if you need to tweak something that you are doing. Luckily, with social media and the internet, it is extremely easy to pivot if that seems to be the best step. Be sure to evaluate it carefully because there may be times that you need to stick to the course of action in order to reach your goals.

If I worked in an organization, I would make sure that these departments answered to the same person that would be able to have oversight of the appropriate long term goals. If I were working with an individual that was concerned about their personal brand, I would make sure that we created an integrated communication approach so that the effort of Marketing and PR worked in tandem.

Understanding and acting on the idea that Marketing and PR work best when they are in sync will change the power of your messaging.

The Relationship Between the Leadership Team and the PR Pro is Vital

In year’s past, the communications leader was not always given a seat at the table with corporate leadership. This meant that the information that was given to the communication team was second-hand information based on the strength of the leader. The leader whose role it was to communicate with the communication team may or may not pick up on topics that need to be communicated to the various target audiences.

More and more we are seeing that the director of communications is right beside the CEO or executive leadership team member. This model gives the communicator background knowledge and the ability to phrase content properly without getting the messaging wrong or saying something that may have been interpreted wrong.

The key here is to keep your communication expert close. Do not hold back on sharing information with this individual. You will be surprised how much the quality of your communication will go up if this person is given all of the information instead of bits and pieces. You must hire a communications person that you can trust with all of your information. It’s not fair to judge this individual on the quality of his or her work if they have not been given full access. PERIOD!

Reflections From The Front Line

By: Morgan Johnson 

On May 24 we hosted The Front Line at Ponce City Market, a panel discussion that was open to
the public. At this ͞fireside chat͟ event we had a very interesting and insightful time where we had an opportunity to discuss some real issues of media in our society. For both topics we discussed that evening, each of the eight panelists had many unique and valuable points.  

The first topic on the table was the popular discussion of fake news vs. real news. The panelists that spoke about this with us were Yalanda Lattimore, Melissa Carter, Nicole Smith and Jovita Moore. Considering their different media backgrounds, a passionate discussion arose regarding their views on the definition of fake news, as well as their perceptions on where the responsibility lies. As far as the definition of fake news is concerned, the general consensus  seems to be that fake news typically comes with an agenda from the source putting it out.  

Different opinions started to become apparent when we tried to figure out the source of the
fake news issue. One half of the argument seemed to believe that deciphering real news was the responsibility of the audience, while the other half believed it was the job of the media to do their research before putting out media. 

Overall, I learned that it is important to be thoughtful in the media outlets we choose and be patient and trusting, instead of skeptical and  not willing to wait for accurate and thorough information.  


The second conversation revolved around social media for social good. Our four panelists, Karin
Lopez, Jen Cox, Lynn Medcalf, and Pamela Booker all use their social media platforms to make the world a better place. They offered very useful advice on how we can do the same. There I learned the importance of starting at home with something you believe in and then sharing it with the rest of the world. It is important that in the age of social media, that we use our  accounts to further society like the women we heard speak. 

SE Welcomes Intern Morgan Johnson

Selsi Enterprises would like to welcome our new PR intern, Morgan Johnson. Morgan is a student at Samford University majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and Spanish. She is a member of Alpha Lambda Honor Society and is an active member of the PRSSA Chapter at Samford.

We knew from our first phone call with Morgan that she would be a perfect fit for Selsi Enterprises. For that reason, we are planning a unique experience for Morgan this summer as we have redesigned our internship program for 2017. She will be the first to participate in our PR Immersion Summer Intensive. This program is designed for students to not only work on real world projects, but also meet and make real connections with people that work in a variety of PR roles around the country.

CEO of Selsi Enterprises, Nicole Henderson, stated, “Internships have the ability to shape the futures and career paths of the students that participate in them. We take our internship program extremely serious. As a product of top-notch internship opportunities, I feel responsible for providing great opportunities for those that choose to intern at our company.”

Continue to watch our blog for further updates from Morgan’s experience with Selsi Enterprises.

Entrepreneurs Think Tank – EP 4 – What had happened was….

Having an idea for a podcast and actually launching the podcast are two entirely different task. Especially when you are teaching yourself how to do everything. Not because you have to teach yourself, but because you know in the long run it will pay off to know how to do it.

We lost a show! It was devastating to have to accept that there was nothing that we could do to save the episode, but it was a great lesson. Things do not always go smoothly….even when you plan them out “perfectly.” As an entrepreneur, you just have to be able to roll with the punches. That is exactly what we are doing.

Listen to this episode about the loss of episode 4 and let us know what you think in the comments below. Have you ever lost something like this? How did you react?

Blogging and Vlogging – Just Do It!

 

As I speak with potential clients from around the world, it is amazing how similar we all are in the desires that we have to grow our businesses. One of the biggest challenges we see our entrepreneurs struggle with is deciding on the content that is appropriate for them to share. Generally speaking, there is always great content around you as it relates to your business. You simply have to bring that in to a format that others can consume as well.

Easy for us to say, right? We eat, breathe, and sleep content.

I think that you can acquire this skill in some part too. Create an avatar that is the ideal client for your business. Define everything that you can….age, life style, income, likes and dislikes. And then speak directly to this avatar. Think about how you bring this person value. How what your share could help them get past a pain point in their business or personal endeavors.

Then, start blogging and vlogging. Yes, blogging and vlogging. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be consistent.

Here are some interesting stats:

  1. 47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep.
  2. The average word count of top-ranking content (in Google) is between 1,140-1,285 words.
  3. Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to achieve a positive ROI on their efforts.

We are living in an era where your customers want to see you. They do not want to see your logo or your pushy, salesy content all of the time. You have to earn the right to sell to your customers in today’s marketplace. Blogging and vlogging will help in so many ways. Not only does it help you to keep current information out in the universe, but it also allows you to get seen as an expert by media.  If you continue to prove that you know what you are talking about, then you will start to see the fruits of your labor.

It is a marathon not a sprint! Start today and take a look at the results that come in month over month.

 

 

 

Creating a Strategy to Win in 2017

As we wake up in this New Year, I wake up with purpose.  What I mean by this is that I know that we are all here for a reason. I personally know that as the CEO of Selsi Enterprises that I am called to help female entrepreneurs grow their businesses exponentially this year.  My business goals all center around this mission. I also know that I need to lend my voice to the platform of education in two ways. ONE, we need to rectify this school to prison pipeline immediately and TWO we need to revamp the outdated system that we have in the US starting TODAY. These are all big initiatives, but that does not mean that I need to ignore my calling.

Several of my clients have been thinking about what they want to accomplish in 2017.  We have been talking a lot about the power of DOING and not staying stuck in trying to reach PERFECTION. I am guilty of this myself. I will go in to a place where nothing gets done because I am waiting on it to be perfect. Fortunately, we are living through a time where DOING trumps PERFECTION.

So, in 2017 I challenge you to DO SOMETHING! Even if you do not know what your calling is, DO SOMETHING that you think may be your calling and you will be surprised at how PURPOSE shows itself. You are doing yourself an injustice if you do not live out your full potential.

We are on DAY ONE of a NEW YEAR. Here is our advice for success in 2017:

  1. Let go of 2016 and the things that may not have gone right. Focus on what it is you need to change going forward.
  2. Surround yourself with people that can lift you up. These people should be able to help you with the areas of your business that you are not strong in at the moment. Not that you will be looking for them to do it, but that you may need someone to ask for advice.
  3. Study success! Do not take advice from people that think that they know what to do about a situation. Take the advice from someone who has been through it or someone who may have been close to a similar situation. It is also good to recognize that successful people have a lot of the same habits.  Determine how you can apply those habits to your business.
  4. It sounds cliché, but follow your passion! Your passion will drive you and allow you to keep moving forward when the journey gets difficult.
  5. Hire a great publicist! (We just had to add it in.)

Has Ryan Lochte Damaged His Brand for Good?

The Ryan Lochte story has received a great deal of press.  Unfortunately, this is not the first time that we have see an athlete completely, publicly tarnish their image.

In case you missed it, Lochte stated that there were guns drawn at the heads of he and his teammates while they were in Rio for the Olympics. The video surveillance footage now shows a very different story and everyone from the US Olympics committee to the brands that he was associated with are now second guessing their relationship with Lochte.

According to US Weekly, Lochte has lost all of his sponsorship’s and is now scheduled to appear on the TV show Dancing With The Stars. We find this quite interesting.  This is obviously a PR stunt to improve the damage that has been done to his image.  His PR team probably wants him to come across immature, but still someone that can be adored.

This story has brought about a lot of emotion. Check out this exchange between Al Rocker and Billy Bush on the Today Show:

From a PR standpoint:

If you find yourself on the PR team of Ryan Lochte, how do you fix this situation?

Step 1: He has to own it! Live streaming would actually be his best friend right now.  He needs to authentically come out and consistently apologize. Live streaming would force him to answer some very tough questions from the public, but this will allow people to get their frustrations out and move on.

Step 2: He needs to go back to Rio and apologize face to face to the security guard and to the officials that may have been involved.

Step 3: He also needs to personally visit and apologize to his teammates. This scandal stayed in the media circuit and has really taken away from what the Olympics should have been.

Step 4: He should do some PSAs directed towards kids on why lying is bad and look at the consequences that he had to suffer.

Remember, when a brand looks to bring on a spokesperson, they do not only look at their past…but they think 3 to 4 years in advance on how the consumer may view this individual.  They put their brand image on the line when partnering with any type of influencer. When this person tarnishes their public perception, it has been proven best for the brand to cut ties (at least for a couple of years).

The lesson for us as entrepreneurs, public figures, and brand managers is that we must ALWAYS protect our brand.  It is the legacy to which your consumers will stay loyal to you.

What suggestions do you have for the PR team of Ryan Lochte? Leave your feedback in the comments below.

4 Reasons Why the Pokèmon Go Craze is GREAT for Entrepreneurs 

People have been found playing PokemonGo in the delivery room.

App developers around the world are sure to be in awe of the Pokèmon Go craze that has excited people around the globe. No one could have predicted the volume of interest in a gaming app even if they had the best predictive data of all time. The game has nostalgia, challenge, and a little bit of new technology all rolled in to one. This seems to be a winning combination!Here are some recent facts about the game:

  1. Initial release date was July 6, 2016.
  2. The game was developed between a partnership with Nintendo and Niantic.
  3. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokémon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in ten languages, and made seventeen feature films over the past two decades.
  4. Pokèmon actually means Pocket Monster.
  5. In less than a week after its release, Pokémon GO is reportedly bigger than Tinder in the US.
  6. According to SimilarWeb the Usage Time of Pokémon GO is taking up a lot of its user’s time. On July 8th, the app was being used an average of 43 minutes, 23 seconds a day. This is higher than other popular apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Messenger.
  7. In less than a week, Pokèmon Go has had 6 million mentions on Twitter. (Adweek)
  8. According to Spreadfast, the most popular cities for the game are Culver City, Calif.; Houston; Chicago; San Antonio; and Manhattan were the buzziest locations, according to the company.
  9. Several brands have been caught tweeting about the game. Check out tweets from Southwest Airlines, KFC France, Sprint, Walmart captured in the article from Adweek.
  10. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokemon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in 10 languages, and made 17 feature films over the last 20 years. Time will tell how Pokemon Go matches up to those numbers. (Pocket-Lint)

If you are confused on how to play and the terminology being used, Pocket-Lint has the best write up I have seen to date. Spend a few minutes here to get a better understanding.

If you are an entrepreneur, here is why you should pay attention to this phenomenon:

  1. Follow The Eyeballs – As Gary Vaynerchuck says, you have to figure out how to Day Trade Attention and at this moment, the world is paying attention to this game at the moment. This is one of the best news jacking opportunities that a business owner can jump on at the moment. Remember to add the hashtag #PokèmonGo to your post.
  2. Promote!  Promote! Promote! – You can create a promotion around the Pokèmon brand and get awesome reach without having to pay to boost your post. Many are advertising the fact that they have a Pokèmon stop near their business.  The discounts that they are giving to patrons are extremely creative and a lot of fun. This type of promotion is a great way to introduce yourself to a new audience.
  3. Market Research – The Pokèmon craze gives you a sense of what those around the globe are finding interesting.  Game play, nostalgia, mobile, getting outside, learning about a variety of landmarks, and the list could go on and on. Take note of how you could apply this to your business. Do you have an app that you are creating? Can you incorporate some of these elements in to your app? Can you add some sort of game play to a promotion that you are running? Now is the time to think out of the box and capitalize on this new platform that is only going to grow.
  4. Stand Out From The Crowd – Pokèmon Go is one of the first virtual reality mobile games that have been successfully created. This is the first of many more to come. To date, we are already seeing some copy cat apps trying to ride the wave. If you feel something in your gut, go for it.  Pokèmon Go actually started from employees at Google working on their side project.  Ultimately, Google decided to let them go because they thought that it would be better for the growth of their company to be a stand alone.  As they say, the rest is history.

Pokèmon Go is actually celebrating 20 years.  Be sure that you check out their celebratory website and post your favorite memories from Pokèmon over the years using the hashtag #Pokemon20.

Take a look at this video from The Verge that will really take you back through the Pokemon history.

Periscope Summit Will Be Here Very Soon

periscope speaker adjustedThe Periscope Community Summit will be here very soon. If you are not familiar with this event, take a moment to look at their website by clicking here. This event will bring together many of the top Periscopers from all around the world. Although the programming is sure to be interesting, I am most excited about connecting with other individuals that are as passionate about live streaming as I am. If you are passionate about what live streaming can do for your brand, I hope that you will join me in San Francisco.

PURCHASE TICKETS BY CLICKING HERE

Be sure that you are following me on Periscope to catch all of the latest news and information on live streaming and how to #GetNoticed in your business. @Selsi_Ent

Are you in?

Yes, that is the question of the day! Are you in?

We have issued a challenge to all of you that are brave enough to take it! We want you to Scope EVERYDAY! Yes, EVERYDAY.

The reason for this challenge is because the number one question that we are receiving at our agency is….’How can I grow the following for my brand?’ The answer. There is not magic bullet to grow your following, but Scoping can help speed the process. Well, if you put out GREAT content, consistently.

Here are the rules of the challenge:

1. Use the #SED16 in your title
2. Sign up for a Katch account at www.katch.me
3. Sign up for our eNewsletter by clicking here.
4. Scope EVERYDAY. There is not time limit on your scopes. The idea is simply to hi the Start Broadcast button.

Winners will be chosen randomly by the team at Selsi Enterprises as prizes are available.

Have fun!