The Public Relations Blog

5 questions to ask your PR firm to initiate a measurement conversation

When you bring on a public relations firm, one of your first conversations should be about measurement. This helps both parties identify the need for a PR campaign and the overall goal for your organization. In order to establish collaborative goals and a shared vision for your campaign, you need measurable objectives in your communication plan.

Axia Public Relations covers 15 mistakes companies make when hiring a PR firm, and not having a measurement conversation is mistake #14. It’s important to have the measurement conversation with your PR firm in the initial steps of planning your PR campaign.

Don’t waste the media’s time with non-newsworthy details.

There’s a difference between internal news that you share with your employees and your company’s board of directors, and external news that’s worthy of a share outside the walls of your company. As a public relations firm, we work hard to educate our clients about what news they should share with the media. Expecting your PR firm to pitch media outlets stories that aren’t newsworthy is mistake #13 on Axia Public Relations’ list of 15 mistakes companies make when hiring a PR firm.

Be the company that journalists want on their team to gain positive news coverage

You want to increase media coverage for your company, yet you’re afraid or reluctant to share specific details, such as sales, revenue, contract value, client names, costs, etc. Your fear is understandable, as you have to worry about maintaining an edge over your competitors and keeping control of your information. The media experts at Axia Public Relations have some sage advice for dealing with this conundrum: Get over it.

In every relationship, there has to be give and take, and media relations is no exception. If you want your company to receive great media coverage, you have to share. Cooperating with journalists is crucial for the success of your brand.

Prospective clients ask us on a regular basis, “How do you get to know our company, and how do you use that information to generate earned media coverage?”

We love educating business people about the power of PR and how we help companies earn media coverage.

Recently, one of our clients made an impromptu business trip to do a news interview. Our client was the top expert on the subject of the interview, and this was an opportunity for him to be the spokesperson for a major news story. The interview went well, however, the reporter ultimately decided not to use it in the piece. This was quite a bummer – and a reminder that the news business is fickle and you shouldn’t take things personally when dealing with journalists.

A successful media interview provides a huge boost to your company’s reputation and brand. It’s a way to get your name in front of your target audience as a thought-leader in your field. You’re adding value to consumers’ lives without trying to sell your product. With so much at stake, it’s quite a letdown when things don’t go as expected or your interview gets dropped. Instead of vowing to never do another interview, learn why interviews sometimes get cut, how to handle it and why it may be an advantage in disguise.

One reason companies hire a public relations firm is to raise awareness about their products. When you’re ready to gain media coverage for what your company offers, it’s critical that you provide samples of your product for media representatives to try. You should also be sure to ready your spokesperson for interviews.

When a company is unwilling to share product samples with media or to give the media access to certain people within the company, it's making mistake #12 of Axia Public Relations’ 15 mistakes companies make when hiring a PR firm. Don’t let this be your company. Educate yourself and prepare before you hire a PR firm. Here are four factors to consider when you’re ready to launch a campaign for your product.

How to cultivate long-term relationships with journalists

Navigating relationships with newsrooms and media contacts is challenging sometimes. Journalists play an important role in sharing your company's story, which, in turn, helps to build your credibility in the marketplace  and attract more customers. Journalists are a key audience for your company, and your success depends – in part – on them.

Working with the media is all about relationships — mutual trust, respect, meeting deadlines, and occasionally making friendship. Here are three important ways trust plays a key factor in building successful, mutually beneficial relationships with reporters, editors, bloggers and producers.

Prospective clients often ask us about news wire distribution services as part of their public relations campaigns. We find that many companies are using these services incorrectly. If you aren’t using a distribution service the right way, you aren’t receiving the full value of the news release and that could be hurting your brand.

To that end, we created a list of how, why and when your company should use a news release distribution service.

3 tips to help you prepare

News headlines are regularly peppered with fear-instilling stories of data breaches and cybersecurity threats that riddle us to the core as we consider how our personal and private information is vulnerable to hackers.

These same issues should concern companies even more. Large corporations like Uber and Equifax have already fallen prey to cyberattacks, and health care is the most hacked industry to date. Cybersecurity is no longer an issue exclusively for individuals who fear identity theft. It’s a rampant concern for companies as well. In addition to customer data, company trade secrets, patents and proprietary algorithms are vulnerable.

Axia Public Relations encourages its clients to regularly review and update their crisis communications plans. As more headlines spotlight cybersecurity concerns, adding steps and protocols for a cyberattack is prudent. For those that don’t have a cybersecurity plan in place, here are three steps to consider as you prepare:

Shared coverage doesn’t have to be bad

So, the journalist you’ve been pitching finally decides to write a piece on your company. Thrilled, you update your team, alert your spokesperson and send the reporter all the necessary photos and information.

Then, at some point during the process, or maybe even once the story runs, you find out that your competitors appear in the piece too – perhaps with more prominence than your company. When this happens, PR pros will certainly be bummed, even bitter, upon learning they’ll share the spotlight with those they compete so hard against.

Don’t see shared coverage as a loss. As long as the coverage for your company is positive, it’s still a win. Here are some tips to consider when you learn your media coverage includes your competitors.