B2B public relations 101 presentation, delivered to the Tooling & Manufacturing Association in Chicago. Describes what public relations is, why it matters, how to develop a public relations strategy, how to measure PR success. Stresses the importance of developing an integrated communication program in which public relations supports marketing and vice verssa

1. PUBLIC RELATIONS:
CREATING AWARENESS,
MAKING AN IMPACT
April 19, 2012

2. BlissPR Overview
BlissPR is a full service communications firm that helps B2B companies
differentiate themselves through ideas & thought leadership
leadership.
 Founded in 1975
Our Practice Groups
 Offices in New York,
 Financial services
Chicago, St. Louis and
Atlanta  Professional
services
 Members of WorldCom,
largest independent  Healthcare
network of PR firms
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3. Today s
Today’s Agenda
• PR Myths
• How does PR work?
• Building brand awareness
g
• Tips for media success
• Developing a PR strategy
p g gy
• Where do you go from here?
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4. PR Myths
• PR = Press Release
• You can turn to it sporadically when there’s time
• The media never gets it right
• You should see immediate results
• It’s impossible to measure its effectiveness
• You can offload PR to an intern
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5. What is PR?
“Public relations is a strategic communication
Public
process that builds mutually beneficial
relationships between organizations and
their publics.”
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6. PR: Old vs. New Approach
By Bruno Clement, Workstream
•6

7. communicating with target audiences
wherever they may be listening, talking
Traditional
Your own Exhibitions
Media
M di Blogs,
website, (on-site media
(print, online, communities &
newsletters, interviews,
broadcast, social media
communities events/demos)
radio)
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8. PR leverages a variety of tools…
Core C t t
C Content
Speeches, Social Compendia:
Bylined
B li d Events Webinars
W bi media:
di
Interviews, - News feeds
articles (in-person, and Twitter,
quotes - Microsite
and posts associations, podcasts Slideshare,
digital) communities - Report
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9. Maximum Impact: Integrated
p g
Piece of
Content
C t t
Blog Press New Biz
White Paper
Comments Release Support
LinkedIn Client Expert Bulk Email News Bylined
Twitter Webinar
Q&A Newsletter Commentary Alert Pages articles
Influencer Video Interview SEO/Landing Email to
Outreach Series Page Prospects
Successful integrated marketing campaigns often center around
content that can be leveraged across multiple channels.
The ability to develop clear and compelling messages backed by
realistic and impactful marketing strategies is the key to
any successful public relations program.
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10. Why Does PR Matter?
Amid pink
slime,
consumers
want details Goldman
about their Sachs and a
food culture-
culture
–USA Today
killing
lesson being
ignored
–Fortune
•10

11. PR Moves People to Action
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12. PR Builds Trust, Credibility
• Builds relationships, not contact lists
• Creates dialogue, not email chains
• Fosters peer to peer interaction not vendor to
interaction,
customer transactions
• Highlights specialized expertise not silos
expertise,
• Showcases thought leadership, not marketing
spea
speak
• Demands ongoing engagement, not
p j
project or sales mentality
y
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13. Why Does Trust Matter?
13

14. What Do People Trust?
p
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15. Developing a PR Strategy
Analyze
Media
Landscape:
Research Compare Competitive audit,
Internal Against Media trends
Dynamics: External
Dynamics
• Interview TMA Develop
board & key • Competitive
landscape Audit Social integrated
committee
members review Conversations: Develop content
• Review existing g • What is your o eac g
overarching
market
k t Social chatter,
chatter initiatives
marketing
materials, plans, position? primary influencers, program & timeline
digital news, SEO
website • Where is there
keywords
messaging
• Identify key opportunity? • Multi-platform
business • How do others • Audience-
objectives and
j currently
specific
differentiators perceive you?
• Conduct
Survey • Trackable
content audit Stakeholders &
Prospects: Set goals,
Interview current and metrics
potential members,
i l b
relevant 3rd parties • Measurement
dashboard
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16. Key to Success: Focus
Find your sweet spot and make it central to y
y p your
strategy
Optimize that in as many ways as possible
y y
Center your plan on a few key themes that
address your members’ needs and support y
y pp your
brand
Unify members around brand attributes &
messages; without their support, your efforts fail
Set goals and reasonable timelines, but have the
flexibility to adjust as you go
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17. Tactics & Tools Come Last
Don’t spray your message!
Have clear objectives, goals, benchmarks
for each platform and each campaign
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18. Developing Media Relationships
• Strategic targeting: do your homework
• B clear about your expertise; diff
Be l b t ti differentiate
ti t
• Have a timely purpose for calling (and
understand media definition of “timely”)
timely )
• Appeal to human nature: compliment; mention a
recent story
y
• Be a resource: what can I do to help you?
• Balance your agenda with theirs
y g
• Be responsive; respect deadlines
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19. Measuring Success
Prioritize which marketing goals matter most for the program.
Then, identify the right data to measure, including evaluating:
Awareness: number of media mentions, surveys, website
traffic/new visitors, SEO keywords, views of content, social
t ffi / i it k d i f t t i l
mentions, influencer activation, Klout score
Relationships/Loyalty: consistent presence in key media, RSS
/ SS
subscribers, membership renewals, active members, repeat
visitors, increase in social conversations
Sales (or related actions): social-only offer clicks/redemption,
registrations, event attendance, new members, donations
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20. What Are Your Options?
Agency
• Retainer, Project
Freelancer
• Retainer, Hourly
Full-time Staff
• Salary, Benefits
Grad Student
• School Credits, Hourly
Credits
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21. Next Steps
Listen • Set news alerts and social listening program
for keywords & your organization
• TMA is an expert resource on _____
Answer • W want members/prospects to ____
We t b / t t
• Your top priorities
Y t i iti
Think
Thi k • What you want to change
• The type of help you most need
About • External trigger points
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22. Final Thoughts: PR Success
People want to know about people
(all content should tell a “people” story)
Integration maximizes content impact
(existing & new)
Laser-focus on goals and metrics
(what do you want people to do)
Be nimble
(revisit refine respond)
(revisit, refine,
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23. Questions?
Kellie Sheehan
kellie@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kshe
Phone: 314-993-2117
www.blisspr.com
Blog.blisspr.com
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