Hire A Fractional CCO Today
Does your company need a Chief Communications Officer, but not full-time? Let the team at Selsi Enterprises help your organization reach its goals by bringing in executive-level brainpower not only to achieve but also exceed your 2024 goals.
Here are a few reasons why you should hire a fractional CCO:
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Cost-effectiveness: A fractional CCO provides organizations with access to top-tier communications expertise without the burden of full-time salary and benefits. This can be particularly beneficial for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets.
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Strategic guidance: A fractional CCO can bring a fresh perspective and strategic vision to an organization’s communications efforts. They can help develop and implement a comprehensive communications plan that aligns with the organization’s overall goals and objectives.
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Expertise in specific areas: Fractional CCOs often have specialized expertise in certain areas of communications, such as public relations, crisis communications, or social media. This can be invaluable to organizations that need help navigating complex or challenging communications situations.
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Flexibility and scalability: Fractional CCO arrangements can be tailored to meet the specific needs of an organization. The CCO can provide as much or as little support as needed, and the engagement can be scaled up or down as the organization’s needs change.
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Access to a wider network: Fractional CCOs often have extensive networks of contacts in the media, public relations, and marketing industries. This can be a valuable resource for organizations that are looking to expand their reach and build relationships with key influencers.
In addition to these benefits, fractional CCOs can also help organizations:
- Improve employee communication
- Enhance brand reputation
- Manage crises effectively
- Attract and retain top talent
We know that organizations have evolving needs, and the communications landscape has changed significantly post-COVID. Set up a discovery call with one of our representatives today, and let’s assess if a fractional CCO is what your organization needs in 2024.
Your Mental Health Matters
As Mental Health Month comes to an end, my hope is that we do not stop focussing on our mental health. This year living through a pandemic has been tough on many of us. Many lost loved ones, lost jobs, and had to adjust to a new normal. Although we have found ways to connect utilizing technology, there are many that are left out of the technology bubble that would allow them even that bit of connection.
So, when we ask people how they are doing, let’s not rush by as if we do not want to hear the answer to the question. On the flip side, when someone that you can consider has your best interest ask you ‘how you are doing,’ let them know the truth. People can not help you if they do not know where you are hurting.
There are a few free options that are very beneficial to calming our minds. Meditation, yoga, journaling, and reading a good book come to mind. For some, they also enjoy exercise, gathering with neighbors, cooking, and so much more. Your charge today is to figure out what brings you peace. What is that you can do that will allow your mind to wonder ad not think about the trials and tribulations that you may be going through at the moment.
Remember, someone would love to be in your shoes even with the problems that you think that you have to carry on your shoulders.
Resources:
Call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger or go to the nearest emergency room.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255); En español 1-888-628-9454
The Lifeline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Lifeline connects callers to the nearest crisis center in the Lifeline national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889.
Crisis Text Line
Text “HELLO” to 741741
The Crisis Text hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the U.S. The Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, connecting them with a crisis counselor who can provide support and information.
Veterans Crisis Line
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press 1 or text to 838255
The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource that connects veterans 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a trained responder. The service is available to all veterans, even if they are not registered with the VA or enrolled in VA healthcare. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can call 1-800-799-4889.
Disaster Distress Helpline
Call or text 1-800-985-5990
The disaster distress helpline provides immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. The helpline is free, multilingual, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency.
View the NIMH 5 action steps for helping someone in emotional pain infographic to see how you can help those in distress.
Find a Health Care Provider or Treatment
Treatment for mental illnesses usually consists of therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Treatment can be given in person or through a phone or computer (telemental health). It can sometimes be difficult to know where to start when looking for mental health care, but there are many ways to find a provider who will meet your needs.
Primary Care Provider: Your primary care practitioner can be an important resource, providing initial mental health screenings and referrals to mental health specialists. If you have an appointment with your primary care provider, consider bringing up your mental health concerns and asking for help.
Federal Resources: Some federal agencies offer resources for identifying health care providers and help in finding low-cost health services. These include:
National Agencies and Advocacy and Professional Organizations: Advocacy and professional organizations can be a good source of information when looking for a mental health provider. They often have information on finding a mental health professional on their website, and some have practitioner locators on their websites. Examples include but are not limited to:
State and County Agencies: The website of your state or county government may have information about health services in your area. You may be able to find this information by visiting their websites and searching for the health services department.
Insurance Companies: If you have health insurance, a representative of your insurance company will know which local providers are covered by your insurance plan. The websites of many health insurance companies have searchable databases that allow you to find a participating practitioner in your area.
University, College, or Medical Schools: Your local college, university, or medical school may offer treatment options. To find these, try searching on the website of local university health centers for their psychiatry, psychology, counseling, or social work departments.
Help for Service Members and Their Families: Current and former service members may face different mental health issues than the general public. For resources for both service members and veterans, please visit the MentalHealth.gov page Help for Service Members and Their Families page or the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ mental health page.
Reference: National Institue of Mental Health
How COVID Changed Marketing
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!