PR advice from a former journalist turned PR pro

Creating close connections with journalists is the path to solid results

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Do you ever feel that your day is a constant struggle with members of the news media?You talked to a journalist who didn't include your quote in his article. You've left an anchor three messages, and she still hasn't gotten back to you. You can't comprehend why none of the 500 outlets you pitched is running your press release.
The lack of response from the news media is enough to make you pull your hair out. As PR pros, we are trained to believe that our potential story is the story that journalists should be begging to use.
A few tips from a former TV reporter/anchor turned PR pro might be all you need to keep you sane (and with a full head of hair).
Don't use PR-speak. I know all PR pros have a lot of information to get across in a short amount of time. We're concerned with making sure the people we're pitching know the who, what, where, when, and why as quickly as possible, but when pitching, step back from PR language and speak like a journalist.
I once worked with a news director who would green-light only those stories that reporters could summarize in one short, concise sentence. Long pitches get ditched, and lengthy email messages will likely be deleted. Be clear and concise; reporters need that brevity in order to get their boss to buy in.
Think about their audience. Your goal is to get strategic media coverage and exposure for your clients or company. Sometimes we lock in on a pitching target and can't break away long enough to think about their goal: informing and entertaining viewers or readers.
As a journalist, if I didn't see the reader/viewer benefit, I would pass. Journalists don't need to hear about how desperately you need to get your CEO's message to the masses. Audience interest takes priority.
Walk the thin line between your needs and their needs. Securing big news coverage can be an exciting time. Everyone in your office is celebrating the national coverage, but then you realize the reporter didn't even mention your company.
For the journalist, this is no big deal—they have a great news package in the can. For your client or company, however, this can be extremely disappointing. As PR pros, we must strike a balance between what a reporter needs to accomplish and what we need to accomplish.
Don't be afraid to check and double-check job titles with journalists. Generic titles are often the result of a journalist's simply not knowing a person's official designation-or not realizing that it matters. Make sure they have the correct information before and after the interview.
Visit a newsroom. Just as journalists have no idea the amount of work we do on the back end, most of us don't realize how much time and effort goes into crafting a solid news story—including what might get edited out because of space or time constraints.
Ask to a take a tour of one of your local newsrooms, and visit the people whom you email regularly. Make sure that your visit is just for learning purposes—don't take any pitches with you. (Hint: it helps to take treats like cookies or candy. Journalists rarely have time to walk to the vending machines.)
Visit during hours that do not fall into the Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 timeframe. Reporters and producers often have more time to talk during odd hours.
I worked in a newsroom for years, but with the way the business keeps evolving, I learn some new nuggets of information every time I visit.
These tips won't keep you 100 percent stress-free, but they will alleviate some frustrations you might be having with the news media. There are a lot of ways we can make our jobs and journalists' jobs easier.
If you take these steps to remove the unknowns, you might be surprised by the amount of coverage you are able to secure. Sometimes it's just a matter of striking the right dynamic that allows the two parties to work together efficiently.
Lisa Arledge Powell is the president of MediaSource, a multimedia production and media relations company that works with hospitals, health care organizations, and other brands.

Why Providing Free Content Gets More Return Visits

I was reading an article online, and came across this:

 

I guarantee you I will not be visiting this website again (even though they have awesome sloth advertisements). A big yellow box telling me that I only have so many free articles left makes me feel trapped. And on the internet, that is the last thing I want to feel. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ”full access” subscription plan is making this website’s visitors run away in droves.

After all, whenever a website tries to make me pay for content (or take dumb surveys to see the rest of the article), I can’t hit the back button fast enough. For every one website that is subscription only, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of websites where its writers and creators are offering the same perspective and story for free.

There are several other different ways to generate income instead of forcing people to pay for your content. Advertisements, monthly sponsors, and even a donation button (possibly not surprisingly, this works better on me than trying to rope me into a payment plan) are just some ideas.

I am a big believer in putting forth your best foot forward content-wise, sharing what you know, and then being prepared to take in the interest and income as it comes. In order to charge for something, especially content, websites need to offer something unique that isn’t easily duplicated hundreds of times over for free.

If I am a comic book collector and you are offering a subscription to view exclusive interviews with Stan Lee or the artists of the new Batman that won’t be found anywhere else, then you might start bringing in the dough. Otherwise, give subscription plans a rest and just enjoy the traffic.

How to create an intranet employees will love

Your company’s intranet doesn’t have to be ‘fun’ to make your workforce happy. Include these four things, and your colleagues will thank you.

 

By Bas Zurburg | Posted: October 12, 2012

 

 

There are many theories on how to motivate employees. I definitely do not want to interfere with these discussions, but for this article I selected four general, more or less accepted motivators

• Money : Employees expect fair financial compensation for their effort.

• Creativity : We are all unique human beings, and we all want to put our personality and ideas into our work.

• Recognition : A shoulder tap is, in many situations, worth more than a financial raise or bonus.

• Future : Is the job secure? What are the options for growth in the organization?

Let's apply these to intranets.
Money
Employees are paid with money: compensation, bonuses, expenses, employee benefits and promotions. Employees’ salaries are not related to the time they spend on the intranet.
Make sure that all salary-related information can be found on the intranet, such as:

• When employees will be paid (online access to salary slips)

• How the company calculates variable pay

• An overview of timesheets (hours worked)

• Salary matrices (These should be up to date, otherwise they are worthless and seriously harm employees’ trust in the intranet.)

• Information about profit-sharing

There are things other than salary that are related to rewarding. The following tasks and procedures are perfect for automating on your intranet:

• Employee benefits (e.g. group insurance, cheap loans, day care and other perks)

• Declarations: Make it easy to submit expense declarations, and make it clear when they are paid

• Bonus calculation forms

• Provide access to current procedures and policies. If you can, automate the procedures in online forms, and provide automated feedback of the latest status

Showing the latest status of a transaction—e.g. “waiting for approval”—can be of great value. I once waited for someone to pay a declaration for over two months, only to find out that the manager who needed to approve it was on maternity leave.
Make the procedures clear and transparent: "The amount will be transferred to your account within two weeks after submission."

Each organization rewards employees differently. See what your organization does, and provide this information on the intranet. Make sure that all possible questions are answered, and make the procedures as transparent as possible. Having outdated information is almost a mortal sin.
Creativity
Companies expect employees to express creativity in their work and not on the intranet, unless their job involves the intranet.
It is important for employees to be able to access the information they need to do their job on the intranet. Quick and easy access to this information is a key factor for the success of the intranet. It improves the efficiency of the organization and makes employees happy.
But this is not creativity. Creativity involves original thinking and producing, and the intranet is the ideal platform to share ideas and knowledge.
"Collaboration” or “social" tools best facilitate creativity. Empower employees by providing a space for open communication. Create forums, wikis, blogs and project areas on the intranet where employees can share their ideas, visions and creativity. Some tips:

• Create a space where employees can ask questions to solve a difficult case and to get creative answers from colleagues.

• Blogs from colleagues inspire more creativity—the posts and their feedback are often good food for thought.

• Open communication will encourage interaction among employees and take away traditional information/knowledge hubs.

Recognition
Organizations often limit employee recognition. The lack of recognition is what employees complain about most.
Some hints for building recognition on your intranet:

• When developing employee profiles, give employees the option to complete their own details.

• Put some effort into linking people to content, content to people, and people to people on the intranet.

• Creativity on the intranet (see above) can also result in recognition for employees. It is a double-edged knife: When employees are creative on a social intranet, others will recognize them.

Employee recognition is a difficult topic because it needs to fit in the corporate culture—or not!
Future
The intranet cannot guarantee job safety. The job outlook will continue to be uncertain in the 21^st century. On the bright side, there are many opportunities to take control of your personal development.
Intranets can help employees to make better choices with respect to their future career with:

• Career paths

• Online training programs and access to training material

• Knowledge management

• Up-to-date skills matrices

• Vacancies

• Job descriptions

• Success and non-success stories about the company in the real world. Don't be surprised that many employees don't know how or what the company is actually doing

• True and open information on the corporate strategy (as much as possible)

A good intranet will make any organization better. An organization can only be successful when it is organized well internally.
Be open and transparent, and demonstrate that to the employees.
Final thoughts
I bet that most intranets do not have all of this information or the recommended tools. Does your organization care about its employees? Can it look them right in the eye? If not, make the suggestions I recommend to your intranet. It will give your intranet a higher value, and happier employees in return.
I know it is a challenge to keep all of the information on the intranet up to date. Pay attention to the information architecture. It would be a good idea to link the information on the intranet directly to the real information. People often have to write content twice—one time for their records and another time for the intranet, and the latter they will often “forget.” This is a classic recipe for intranet failure.
This all sounds so obvious, so get it on the intranet!
Bas Zurburg is a freelance Web developer with a focus on internal communication. He blogs at BasZurburg.com, where this article originally ran. This article first appeared on Ragan.com in June 2011.