Pirozzolo Company Public Relations

Yes, You Can Get International Press on a Budget

Part I of a two-part series covering global media relations strategies and tactics 

Want to get press for your trade fair booth in Jakarta? Did your company do a deal in Tokyo that would be news in Asahi Shimbun? Is there an international angle to a company achievement here in the States?

 If you think it takes a big international PR firm to generate international media coverage, think again.

PR pros who have an international orientation can launch successful global media campaigns. It takes developing word-wide relationships with local PR firms and journalists outside the US, along with a few unconventional approaches and a lot of legwork. For example, we were named the Boston affiliate of HFN Komminikation in Frankfurt a few years ago and maintain ties with PR firms in the UK, Tokyo, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong. Additionally, the personal relationships we've nutured with correspondents from Agence France Presse to Japan's NHK and Qatar's Gulf Times have paid off in news coverage around the world.

PR firms in foreign cities are often willing to work on an ad hoc basis – say for a trade fair presence or CEO visit, which keeps the scope of work and budget sharply focused. If you are starting from scratch, PR networks, alliances and individual firms are easy to find using LinkedIn, Google or references.

United Kingdom-based Ranbir Sahota, for example, works with us on overseas projects.  Sahota knows the media terrain in the UK, Europe and India. Her Vitis PR, Ltd.(www.vitispr.com) is part of a network of independent PR firms such as Globalcom and ECCO international Communications. 

 Where to Start

While alliances are extremely helpful there are other avenues available to generate international press coverage.

A good place to start is with the US State Department’s Foreign Press Centers in Washington, D.C. and New York.

Contact the media liaison sections, which will, depending on overseas news value, contact the foreign press corps for you. It’s not automatic; one needs PR skills to persuade the State Department’s media liaison people that the event, issue or news will interest the foreign press.

The State Department is particularly keen to promote US events with an international angle rather than, say individual media interviews. For example, the State Department helped marshal the foreign press corps for  us when we promoted a news conference on Carbon Offset Trading in New York that had international implications and the International Boston Seafood Show that draws government-sponsored exhibitors from 95 nations.

 Tip – For stories with a public policy angle, contact The Washington Foreign Press Center, National Press Bldg., Suite 800. For business stories – since New York is the media and financial center of the nation – contact the New York U.S. Department of State New York Foreign Press Center 150 East 52nd Street, Fifth Floor

                
        Pirozzolo Company promoted US-Vietnam trade. (Dick Pirozzolo © 2010

Outside New York and DC, The State Department has International Press Centers in Chicago, Seattle, Houston, Atlanta and Cleveland that will help facilitate foreign journalists' coverage of the American scene. Visit http://fpc.state.gov for State Department contact information.

Another approach to kicking off an international PR campaign is to contact the foreign consulates in major cities. The consulates promote economic activity and cultural exchanges and can be a treasure trove of introductions to journalists from their respective countries.

Other ways to build overseas press relations include contacting the local bureaus of major international outlets such as Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters and ask for the names of the bureau chiefs and contact information for their overseas offices. Most news agencies are glad to help.

Don’t forget old-fashioned legwork. Check the online telephone classified listings in New York, Washington and Los Angeles for foreign news bureaus, usually listed under news agencies, news bureaus and TV broadcasters. Doing so will provide contact information for the major US bureaus of Agence France Presse, BBC, Japan’s NHK Broadcasting, Wall Street India and numerous other international news outlets. Typically the bureau chiefs and editorial staffers will be more than willing to introduce you to their counterparts back home.

With ingenuity you can generate media attention anywhere in the world – without busting the budget.

Check back next month for Part II covering more international media relations tactics and journalism traditions in Asia that can help break through the PR clutter.

This article by Dick Pirozzolo, first appeared in its entirety in PR News Media Training Guidebook - Volume 4.  Pirozzolo Company Public Relations (www.pirozzolo.com) offers global Public Relations services and PR executive training in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the US. Pirozzolo Company represented the Vietnam government during reconciliation and Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the US. Other international engagements include serving clients in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Germany, the UK and China as well as Japan, Singapore and Indonesia.

Best Advice on Networking – Ever

I've read countless articles on networking and more specifically on social media networking. By far, 5 Steps to Connecting with the Movers and Shakers on LinkedIn by David Johnson is the best advice I have ever read on the subject.

David is principal and founder of Persuasive Concepts (http://www.persuasiveconcepts.com/) and a leading authority on advanced sales techniques, Internet marketing and social media. Here is his recent article on networking reprinted with permission.

5 Steps to Connecting with the Movers and Shakers on LinkedIn

Finding, Connecting and Building Win-Win Relationships

Networking is the cultivating of positive, give-take relationships between two or more people that are beneficial to one another. In the past you had to set aside specific time with which you could network with a group of people, think Chamber of Commerce mixers, industry get-togethers, and conferences.

With the onset of web 2.0, a plethora of social networks and the desire to become more connected, networking can now be an everyday occurrence. One of the major draw backs with using social networks to connect and build mutually beneficial, win-win relationships is the fact that it's almost too easy. In other words people collect followers, likes, connections and friends as if they were baseball cards; what that really means is most people put very little value on those connections.

Having said that, it's not too difficult to stand out from the crowd if you follow my suggestions in this post. The following process has been adapted using Bob Burg's amazing book, Endless Referrals. Much like in his book, Endless Referrals, this post will push forth the idea of being a giver. By being a giver you will be able to create an endless stream of referrals through the law of reciprocity. One caveat though, do not be a giver with the intention of just getting. Be a giver because it's the right thing to do; even if the idea behind being a giver is to be seen as the type of person that deserves to receive referrals. In other words, be genuine.

Step 1: Finding The Right People To Connect With

While what I'll be covering in this post can be used on other social networks, with slight modification of course, I will be talking in terms of LinkedIn. If you don't have an account yet I highly recommend that you get one.

First, make sure that your profile is completely filled out, with no typos or grammatical errors. If you're like me, you may need somebody to edit it for you. Once your profile is filled out completely it's time to go searching for the right people. Also, keep in mind that you're about to go big so it's important that you've defined your personal brand.

When searching for people to connect with, look for and search out the centers of influence. These are the people that have a lot of connections, a lot of recommendations, give out a lot of recommendations, engage in groups and use LinkedIn fairly consistently.

Complimentary Businesses

When looking for people to connect with, try to find people that compliment what you do, people that would be a good referral source and work with the same clients that you work with. An example would be that if you were an automotive insurance agent you might want to connect with people that work at a car dealership, or if you're a cake decorator, it might be a good idea to connect with wedding planners.

Using LinkedIn's advanced search you can search by geographical area, group affiliations, job title, company, industries and even school. Once you have narrowed down the people you want to connect with make sure that you read their profile, some of their group posts and maybe even their website. With the internet you never have to go in "cold."

Other Services

We're going to talk more about this in step 4 but it's also a good idea to connect with anybody that can benefit from receiving a referral themselves.

Step 2: Connecting With the Right People

First, and most importantly, it's important to note that you're not trying to collect a huge number of connections, but are instead looking to create mutually beneficial win-win relationships. Also keep in mind that LinkedIn doesn't like you to connect to just anybody, so it's important to have a reason for doing so. An idea would be to look for local groups, on LinkedIn, that you can join. Once you join the group, LinkedIn will allow you to chose which group you and the person you're trying to connect with have in common.

Another idea would be to join the group of the person you are trying to connect with, before you attempt to connect with them. Group affiliations are usually on their profile and will usually help to establish a sort of social proof. Just make sure that you comment or start a discussion in the group beforehand.

Stay Away From The Default

The default connect message on LinkedIn is: "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn."

Stay away from it. It doesn't set you apart from everybody else and it sure won't help to establish yourself as a person with whom the person you're trying to connect with wants to connect to. Instead use something like this:

"Hi Mark. My name is David Johnson, we're in the Cool People That live In Colorado Springs group together and I'd be honored to connect with you here on LinkedIn. Also, I really enjoyed your comment on connecting with your customers on Facebook, I will most definitely put that to use! Talk to you soon."

- David

Again, the idea is to stand out from the crowd, to say something that requires thought, not just the click of the mouse. Of course this will take more work, but what's three minutes of your time compared to the obvious benefit of connecting with the movers and shakers? Also, not everybody will accept your request to connect, that's okay, but if you word your initial message correctly your chances skyrocket!

Once they have accepted your request, take another look at their profile and think of a few questions that you can ask them. Usually they will respond back if you worded your request correctly, in that case just reply to their message.

The questions you are going to ask, maybe just one or two, should be open ended and all about your new connection. Remember, you're a giver and your new connections favorite topic will always be themselves. Below are a few questions you can ask:

How did you get your start in the widget making business?

What advice would you give to somebody just start out, advice that you wish you'd have known when you first started?

How does Widgets For Hire stand out from the competition?

For more question idea grab a copy of Endless Referrals.

Warning: Don't just ask the questions above, give reason for asking them, say something like:

Mark, I'm a new business owner and would love some advice from somebody that has been there, somebody such as yourself, that I can no doubt learn from. What advice would you give to somebody just starting out, advice that you wish you'd have known when you first started?

Questions phrased like that will be answered, will hopefully start a conversation and will set you apart from everybody else. Remember to keep the conversation on them and their business, then ask the question that Bob Burg says will separate the pros from the amateurs:

How can I know if someone I'm speaking to is a good prospect for you?

This one question will set you apart from everybody else, I've used it religiously for years and have had really great success with it, it shows the person you are talking to that you trust them enough to send them your valuable referrals, they will want to reciprocate.

Now it's time to do something so far out there, so crazy that you will forever be etched into the mind of your new best friend. I want you to send them a note card. That's right, not an email but a note card and if your new connection is local they will more than likely get it the very next day.

Think about it, you met through a social network, which makes things very easy to communicate back and forth with, but instead you take the time to hand write a note, stamp it and place it in the mailbox. This will set you apart! Again, in Endless Referrals, Bob Burg gives this example of what to say on the note, with slight modification:

Hi Mark, thank you. It was a real pleasure chatting back and forth with you on LinkedIn. If I can ever refer business your way, I certainly will.

Step 3: Give, Give, Give

Now that you have connected, started a conversation and sent them a note, it's time to give! If you feel comfortable enough with your connection I want you to consider leaving them a recommendation on LinkedIn. One, this is giving and two, your new connection will be influenced to do the same for you.

Now, I know that you may or may not have done business with this person or their business before; in that case leave them a character recommendation. In other words say something about how helpful they were in answering your questions and how much you learned from them.

If done correctly the odds are very much in your favor that they will write you a recommendation as well.

While you're out and about, surfing the web you will no doubt come across an article or video that may be of interest to your connection, share it with them . Don't do this every day of course but by sharing things with your connections that will help them in their business they will come to see you as a valuable friend and will also help to keep you top of mind.

Step 4: Be A Connector

Over time you will, while growing the number of people you're connected to on LinkedIn, see opportunities to connect two or more of your connections. Do it. Do it as often as possible. This helps to establish yourself as a center of influence and goes back to you being a giver.

Other Services

I like the idea of being able to refer somebody in my social graph for everything, whether it's a plumber or an electrician, a chiropractor or a mechanic. Which is why I recommend that you use what you have learned in this post with as many different industry as possible. That way if your best friend mentions that he is looking for somebody who can paint his house, you know somebody. If you hear of a person, while standing in line at a grocery store, looking for a mechanic you know somebody.

Be a connector. Give.

Step 5: Don't Be A Single Serving Friend

Don't be on one day then off for the rest of forever. Relationships take time. I'm not talking about talking to every one of your connections everyday but intermittently you should pop your head in and say hi, virtually of course. Comment on their threads in LinkedIn groups, or even on their status updates.

Always remember to add to the conversation, never take away from. Give, give, give.

Conclusion

Yes, what I've outlined in this post will take time. But it's well worth it. Put it this way, it's much better to be connected with 20 people that send you referrals, than 1000 people that don't even know you exist. Build quality connections. Ones that are mutually beneficial and win-win. Remember, success takes work, success takes time; in other words put in the time required to be successful, along with the things that need to be done and success will be yours!

 

McCain Tweet Shows Social Media not Just for Kids

 

A few days ago, US Sen. John McCain tweeted his support when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a "birther bill" that would have required presidential candidates to show their birth certificates.

“Proud of @GovBrewer for her veto of the ‘birther bill’ -- it was the right decision,” he posted on Twitter.  His tweet was picked up on MSNBC and dozens of political blogs.  

More telling, this party stalwart chose social media  to drive a wedge between the GOP leadership and birther crazy talkers. 

McCain is not alone. Do a keyword search for "tweet" on Politico (http://www.politico.com/) and you'll see that dozens of political figures and Presidential hopefuls, rely on Twitter to present their case – Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Chuck Schumer and the the undaunted Sarah Palin to name a few.

So much for Social Media being a playground for 18-25 year olds and so much for its dubious impact. Even the less-well known have discovered the ripple effect of Twitter.

Point --  social media cannot be evaluated using the same rubric as TV Nielson ratings or newspaper circulation figures Doing so is a losing proposition. It puts social media at a distinct disadvantages and misses several benefits of participation in Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Blogs.

Consider these benefits.

Social media is often used by TV audiences and readers of the old media to pass along stories, which implies their endorsement. Studies show that I am more likely to read and act upon an article if I receive it from a friend who I consider a leader in the field. It's the two-step communication model being played out in public.

Social media allows us to bypass the gatekeepers -- sometimes you need to get your message out now – unchanged, modified or interpreted by the editors or talk show producers. This is something we used to achieve with mat services that provided press-ready articles to newsrooms around the country.

Social media frees us from putting enormous effort into communicating routine news. For example, in the dark ages, we used to spend an inordinate amount of time on executive hire news releases, striving to get the  "Who,What,Where" editor to run a line or two of a 300-word release. Now, we simply post these releases online and on social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn where the handful of people who matter will see it. And the editors are freed up too because they don't have to waste time sorting through, "I'm so exited to be joining Bloviation Incorporated..." releases.

Social media gives us fast feedback -- best bargain in market research and far more instantaneous than the old days of Broadway when the stage manager and actors waited around for the reviews to come out in the early edition of the Times.

Social media sites such as YouTube, democratize video by giving smaller companies the opportunity to demonstrate complicated products without incurring high production costs. And... the value of positive video produced by customers showing our products in action is priceless. We once worked with a defense contractor who sent DOD officials, YouTube postings by soldiers in Iraq who were using its product because the customer produced video demonstrated "force protection" benefits in such a personal way. Powerful stuff!

Social media puts us all in the conversation. The CEO who posts to his own Blog items gets direct feedback from customers --  unvarnished by PR or marketing staffers.

Social media gives the old media – as well as emerging new media outlets – ongoing access to us and our clients. The amount of time I spend calling editors (outgoing messaging) to pitch stories today is less than a tenth of what it was in the old days.

Today my job is to get the editors to come to us and I use social media to do that job.Editors who are looking for story ideas and sources troll social media sites for what they need when they need it. The more we establish our presence, the more calls we get from reporters looking for a source. It's simply the Internet version of Woody Allen's advice about showing up.

Lastly, we don't know where Social Media is going or how it will develop as a way we communicate with one another any more than we could predict the impact of the Xerox machine, Faxes and PCs during the 80s and 90s. I bet Public Relations Founder Ivy Ledbetter Lee and his pals debated the efficacy of carbon paper and the telephone when PR was in its infancy. About this there can be no debate: it is our job to be experts on communication strategy, tactics and emerging tools and that includes social media.  

And besides, social media is fun, so like the old Alka-Selzer catch phrase... "Try it. You'll like it!"

 

Statue of President Barack Obama at the grammar school he attended when he lived in Jakarta, Indonesia. Children at the school today. © 2011 Dick Pirozzolo

Want More Sales Leads? Integrate PR with your Website

Too often, PR professionals focus on media relations, speaking engagements, white papers, bylined articles and other reputation-building efforts, without fully incorporating the Website into the public relations program. 

It is certainly okay to have PR professionals and Web professionals focus on their respective areas of expertise. But they do not work as a team, the missed opportunities will be too great to overlook

Harry Bartlett, of Bartlett Interactive in Concord, MA puts it this way, "PR can generate high-quality links to your Website that will boost your position in Google searches."

Adds this greater Boston Web design and marketing expert, "I emphasize quality over quantity. Ten articles with links to your URL appearing in online media such as Forbes.com, Bloomberg.com and CNBC will generate more traffic than 100 paid links in what I call black hole sites and dubious directories." 

Your Website is the front door to your organization. You let customers in, but your Website has to welcome journalists too. A few questions to ask: Are you making it easy for reporters and editors to find latest news about your company on your Website? Is the PR and IR contact information easy to find? If a reporter is on deadline, could he or she quickly find the biographies of senior managers to include their background in a news article and confirm the spelling of names? Would a journalist visiting your Website come away thinking that at least one or two people in the organization are "thought leaders" who could discuss broad industry-wide issues?

Since 1998 Bartlett's firm has developed and enhanced hundreds of Websites for a wide range of industries including clean tech, bio-pharma, software and non-profits. "Keeping the Website fresh is a challenge," says Bartlett adding, "A regularly updated dynamic Website with content that is both interesting and current will generate visitors and encourage journalists to check out your organization for article ideas. Managers always promise to update the Website in-house but get waylaid by other responsibilities. Too often the person charged with the responsibility has to go through a cumbersome process to get new information posted. The key is to develop and fund a mechanism for regular updates. If need be, use outside specialists to get the job done."

Online Newsrooms

 To keep the company's face in front of the media, some companies, such as Intel, have turned to stand-alone Websites (blogs) that function as online newsrooms, offering the kind of information journalists want. Check out the Intel Newsroom.

Making your Website interactive or offering something of value -- such as current financial data or research on timely topics – keep people coming back.  For example, Fast Company created a Word Cloud for the State of the Union Address and compared the words the President used this time with his previous address as well as the words US Rep. Michelle Bachmann used in her rebuttal. Visit bit.ly/fvIKBi

Bartlett Interactive developed an online eValuator to keep people coming back. The eValuator is self guided and assesses the effectiveness and health of any website using a range of indicators -- search engine rankings, technical issues, marketing components and the inclusion of analytics to name a few. 

Give the Bartlett eValuator a try at: http://www.bartlettinteractive.com/evaluator/site/

If you are disappointed with your results, Bartlett offers seven ways to boost your Website's impact and visibility; many of them rely on integrating the management of your PR program with the management of your Website.

1. Use paid syndication services to distribute news releases and be sure to include the URL of your organization high in the release. The leading services are PRWeb, PR Newswire, Business Wire, and Send2Press. Each service offers special plans and can tailor releases to specific geographic regions. Numerous add-on services such as inclusion of photos, Twitter feeds and PRNewswire's ProfNet boost effectiveness.

2. Participate in Social Media -- Create a blog and keep it fresh with valuable content. Include a link to the blog on your Website to cross-reference the entries. If the CEO cannot do this, get the PR Director or agency involved. It does not take long for a skilled PR writer to capture and write in your CEO's "voice." 

3. Establish one or two people within your organization as authorities on subjects relevant to your mission or industry. Produce white papers, commentary and op-ed pieces on current issues. Have your PR department scour the Web for opportunities to comment in other respected blogs with expert comment and opinion to generate links back to your organization’s Website.

4. Embed video in your communication whenever possible. Video increases the number of viewers and the number of times the viewers will take the action you desire by 50%.

5.  Send regular email blasts to stakeholders with links to your Website and include video in your email communication to enhance impact.

6. Reinforce all news releases on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

7.  Include an RSS FEED.  An RSS or "Really Simple Syndication" feed is an excellent way to share news and content from your site with others, extends the reach of your content and increases Internet visibility.

Some of the more technical ways to enhance your Website are to include an XML Sitemap, up-to-date analytics and indexed pages, says Bartlett.

No matter what you do technically though, remember your information has to be compelling, interesting, current and relevant. In a nutshell, says Bartlett, "Content is king."

Harry Bartlett and his team of Interactive media experts can be reached at:

Bartlett Interactive Communications, 152 Commonwealth Avenue, #5, West Concord, MA 01742 USA 1 (978) 369-2472. www.bartlettllc.com