Author Archive
PR Buzzsaw's YouTube Debut at Blog Potomac
Posted by: | CommentsWe recently attended the Blog Potomac “unconference” (i.e., t-shirts and shorts, no PowerPoint, happy hour during the ethics session) and were among 25 bloggers interviewed by Li Evans, owner of Search Marketing Gurus, on why we love blogging. Here’s our answer, provided by Jeff:
You can also check out answers from fellow conference attendees/bloggers, including AOL’s Frank Gruber of the Somewhat Frank blog, Debbie Weil of BlogWrite for CEOs, David Parmet of Marketing Begins At Home and Jared Goralnick of Technotheory.
Li asked each person at the Falls Church, Va. event: “So what’s your name? What’s Your Blog? and… Why Do You Love Blogging?” ”The answers and responses we got were amazing and it was a lot of fun to do,” she says. “I felt like I now expanded my realm of blogs to read immensely, while also wanting to make sure the SMG audience knew about all these folks where we so passionate about blogs and the topic of their blogs!”
Check out all of the Blog Potomac interviews here!
Media Training Tip #30: Counting Down Helps to Stay in Control
Posted by: | CommentsCounting down is an easy and effective technique to use to stay in control during a media interview.
For example, count down the number of points you wish to make and use your fingers to do so. It will help you to stay on track and signals your agenda to the reporter.
Also, you’re less likely to be interrupted when you count down.
Media training tips can be simple, but in order to master them, it’s best to rehearse in front of a camera.
Cookin' Up Another Issue of Buzzcuts
Posted by: | Comments
Buzz here, putting together another issue of Buzzcuts. I promise, no blathering about new clients or booooring PR case studies. Not in my newsletter! Just 90 seconds worth of practical tips. Promise. Look for it just after Memorial Day weekend. Not signed up? You’ve been missing out! Go to www.sawmillmarketing.com and click on the Buzzcuts sign-up link. Now!
From the “lessons learned” PR crisis communications department, look how the media reacted to – and praised – Delaware State University for its quick response to last year’s shooting incident that left two Washington, D.C. students wounded and a third being sought as the alleged gunman.
Next-day media coverage focused on the response time, earning the Dover, Del. university high marks in crisis communications rule #1 – respond quickly. Not only did administrators immediately place the campus in lockdown mode, but they dispatched representatives throughout the campus to knock on doors to deliver personal warnings, as many of the students were likely not at their computers or checking text messages just after the 1 a.m. shooting.
Don’t just take our word for it! Here is a sampling of actual newspaper headlines to prove the point that media will emphasize response time in its analysis/coverage:
“Quick Lockdown After College Shooting” (The Washington Post)
“DSU spread word quickly on campus” (The News Journal [Wilmington, Del.])
“Delaware State officials say Virginia Tech inspired fast response” (San Diego Union Tribune)
“Del. college reacts swiftly to shootings; Lessons of Va. Tech brings fast warnings after 2 students hit” (The Baltimore Sun)
“Delaware State’s Quick Response to Shootings Praised by Safety Experts” (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Compare these headlines to the ones generated after the Virginia Tech shooting and you’ll see what a premium the media places on response time. We can’t think of a more compelling reason to make sure your crisis communications plan enables your organization to get the word out quickly – to protect the public as well as your organization’s reputation.
There’s been quite a controversy brewing in the “mommy” blogosphere over how Johnson & Johnson tried to reach out to mommy bloggers to promote Camp Baby, an all-expenses-paid event in New Jersey designed to promote J&J products to those who might spread the message through their blogs.
Let’s just say the outreach had a number of glitches, beginning with which bloggers made the cut to the fact that babies weren’t welcome at. . .”Camp Baby.”
I won’t rehash all the details (you can read all about it here, and here) – so let’s jump to a few of the lessons learned, straight from one of the blogging mommies left rockin’ the cradle at home. A lot of PR people are contemplating blogger relations programs, so these lessons can apply to just about any industry:
“This is certainly not how you handle hormonal, tired, frazzled new mothers,” one mommy blogger told PR Buzzsaw. “It’s certainly an interesting study in reaching out to bloggers in the wrong way…what would I have done differently?”
1. The PR rep invited many of these bloggers in their comments, not privately via email. Most bloggers have email contact. That’s the equivalent of passing around party invitations in school in front of kids and only certain ones get them and others don’t. Causes huge resentments.
2. Make it clear this is a mommy only event. The name was a bad choice. Camp Baby and you can’t bring your baby? How about Camp Mommy?
3. Make your intentions clear. Explain on a website why the certain people were chosen (loyal customers, part of blogging incentive programs, etc.) Explain what is expected of the moms beyond just blogging about the camp for advertising for J and J. Explain that babies and children cannot attend – moms only. Make communication VERY clear up front.
4. Include a link on the site saying something like – We might not know about your blog! Please email and tell us about you and if you’d like to be considered for future promotions and events. Never let other bloggers feel less important because they aren’t ‘A’ List yet. The unknown mommy blogger today may be on Oprah tomorrow.”
To their credit, J&J has acknowledged some of the mistakes and promises to make changes for next year. But the amount of ill-will flying around this huge niche audience will take a while to go away and it demonstrates how an attempt at “blogger relations” can backfire. Yes, most of us are well beyond “Dear Blogger” outreach; now it’s on to the next lesson.
Here’s a valuable media training lesson straight from a national TV producer and reporter who spoke to a group at the National Press Club: Before you pitch your client to a national televison show make sure he or she is ready for prime time, or you risk getting blackballed yourself.
The national media demand assurance that your spokesperson is comfortable in front of the camera, said Meet the Press Executive Producer Betsy Fischer and NewsHour with Jim Lehrer reporter Michael Melia. If time permits, they’ll want to see tapes of previous appearances or Web sites with video links to see how your spokesperson will do.
In other words, a live interview on Today isn’t exactly the way to “see how it goes” in front of a national audience. That’s not the time to do media training. If your client is suggesting his story would be perfect for Good Morning America, you better get some professional media training – and local TV airtime – first.
And here’s what’s in it for the PR people pitching TV guests for national shows: if your spokesperson screws up and you presented someone who was obviously not national TV material, then they’re not likely to trust your “news judgment” again.
Media Training Tip #27 – Don't Mess with a Natural
Posted by: | Comments
In all the years we’ve performed media training for clients, we’ve seen just about everything. From the supposedly calm and cool CEO and CTO who couldn’t even answer the most basic questions with the camera rolling, to the marketing manager who felt compelled to rehash an old controversy – without even being asked!
Another thing we’ve experienced – twice in the past month – is the CEO who “gets it” and only needs some light fine-tuning. Any attempts to script or mess with a natural can be dangerous, so when we recognize we’re “training” someone of this caliber, we immediately shift to a different approach so the media training session doesn’t un-do a good thing.
If you are thinking of media training for your CEO or spokesperson, keep this in mind, and be prepared to shift the agenda accordingly.
Buzz attended yet another new business meeting the other day and had one more glimpse into how some companies are dealing with crisis communications – and it’s not by updating their existing plans!
Nope. Buzz will now call it the “Eric Clapton response.” When the topic of crisis communications comes up, the confident exec extends a fist and calmly knocks on the (wooden) conference room table, saying something along the lines of “we’re in good shape there and really don’t need a crisis plan, but let’s talk about your publicity services.” This was the second time in the span of a week Buzz has heard this response.
Yikes! That means when the crisis does occur (and, yes, all companies experience at least one unplanned situation at one point or another in their lifetimes) Buzz will be called upon for his expertise, but without a plan in place. Talk about expensive!
One more piece of advice from the Clapton song, “Knock on Wood.” Here’s the first line:
“I don’t want to lose this good thing that I’ve got. If I do, I would surely, surely lose a lot…”
Eerie, isn’t it?
Buzz Says: TV Reporters Need to Pitch Stories, Too
Posted by: | Comments
Buzz had dinner with two TV news reporters (and members of their camera/production team) the other night and in between “please pass the salt” and an insider’s discussion about newsroom politics, he had to ask about pitching stories. As it turns out, it’s just as hard for TV reporters to convince “the desk,” as they call it, that an idea is newsworthy as it is for those on the PR side.
They talked of meetings where their enthusiastic story suggestions fell with a thud and the familiar editor’s deadpan “that’s not a story.”
But they still suggest going straight to a reporter – “it makes us look good…that we have sources,” rather than heading straight to the assignment desk. So often they’ll be at planning meetings and seeing the big shots from “the desk” flipping through page after page of emails and press releases. You’re better off having a reporter advocate for the story, they counseled.
Buzz has had success on both sides – going to the assignment desk as well as directly to a reporter – but it’s always helpful to hear it straight from the source. In this case, real-world TV reporters who are in the trenches and always on the lookout for a good story.
