Mangal Karnad, Author At FableSquare

Public Relations as an Influencer Marketing tool

by Mangal Karnad | Jan 5, 2017 | Influencer Marketing, Public relations

Wikipedia defines Public Relations as ‘The practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organisation and the public’.

Simply put, PR is getting media to write stories or articles about your company, products and services on a positive note so that your prospects get to know about it. These stories or articles are not paid for.

The stories get written when the reporters get to know you and your company and see the value your products and services can provide to their readers. A good reporter will also research on his own, to ensure that their readers get authentic information.

PR is an effective influencer marketing tool for quite a few reasons:

Newspaper reading is habit forming. Most people tend to stick to a certain publication. They form their preferences for reporters and feel that if the reporter is writing about your company, you must be doing something worthwhile. Media and reporters rank highly as Influencers. It is the credibility of the publication and the reporter which makes the article authentic.

PR has high credibility – Tweet that.

PR has a greater shelf life – longevity. An article gets shared and referred to if it strikes a chord in the reader.

PR has a wide reach – Sometimes, your story which appeared in a local publication might get picked up by a trade publication or national media and get wide visibility.

PR is almost free – The cost incurred is for the resources. It is the manpower and time dedicated to researching the right kind of publications and getting to know the reporters of those publications. An investment made also to create content to be shared with them.

There are also spends – for hiring a good PR consultant, to create ‘news-worthy’ stories, press releases dissemination, to meet and greet media etc.

PR is also called Earned media. It helps establish you and your company as subject matter experts. It helps create awareness among prospective customers who read about your company in media.

How can a start-up or an SME practice Public Relations?

Great PR requires creativity, careful planning & persistent effort – Tweet that.

You don’t need to be a large corporation to invest in Public Relations. Even a start-up or an SME can practice PR by following the steps listed below:

A simple approach to practice PR:

Get a good understanding of the publications and reporters that write about your industry.
Read the articles/stories written by the reporter you are pursuing. If you like his stories, let him know by either writing a mail or commenting online about it. Follow him/her on social media. Share the article with your prospective customers if relevant.
If you have a good idea for an article, create a short but concise note on the idea and reach out to a reporter. There is a possibility that your story idea will be turned down. Try to find out the reason and improve your pitch for the next idea. You may succeed eventually and the same reporter might end up treating you as a source of reliable information on an ongoing basis.
Most reporters work against a tight timeline. If and when the reporter reaches out to you for a story or a quote, be sensitive to timelines. If, for some reason you are unable to provide the information, keep the reporter informed in advance.
Be persistent without being a pest. Understand what’s the right time to call the reporter. Know his pressures and be of help.
Remember to thank a reporter when he writes about you or your company. Share the article on your social platforms. Share it with every stakeholder to ensure it reaches everyone that matters.

PR can be more effective then advertising. PR is an effort intensive but high return marketing tool.

We provide PR as a service or provide consulting service to ensure quick and definite results!

The Power of Social Proof

by Mangal Karnad | Jan 5, 2017 | Influencer Marketing, Marketing

Your product or service might be the best in the world, even then it is not necessary that people believe you when you talk about it. However if a satisfied customer refers you to 10 or 15 of his friends who are also business owners and if most of them buy your product, then it is a testimony to how great the product truly is!

An Influencer

Let me introduce you to H V Shiva Kumar, Proprietor of Geetha’s, an 18-year-old multi-brand inner-wear outlet on DVG road, Bangalore. He is an Opinion Leader among the retailers on DVG road – one of the older, traditional markets in Bangalore. Shiva Kumar is convinced that his usage of technology – Tally, is making him look like a ‘Guru’. According to him, Tally is taking him one step closer to his dream of being a profitable retailer who is looked up to by the brands he is working with.

His position as an authority – a ‘Guru’ gets confirmed when other retailers seek his advice.

His firm belief is that a businessman, that too a retailer has to grow with the help of technology in today’s highly competitive environment.

Why Shiva Kumar refers so many businesses to Tally?

To be clear, we asked Shiva Kumar the reason for referring so many businesses (to the software he uses) and he gave us the reason:

He was happy with the value Tally had given him and he was sure it can help his fellow retailers.
He was creating a community of Business (Tally) users who can support each other with the usage of the product.
By doing so the dependency on the Technology company will reduce and they will be self-sufficient (as a community).
His status as an expert in Business and Inventory management gets established among peers and also with the brands he represents.

We subsequently came across a retailer in HSR layout (Rangalakshmi & Sons) who was also introduced to Tally by Shiva Kumar, via a Connector* – in this case, a sales executive of an innerwear brand.

One of the beneficiaries, in this case, is also Chethan Kumar of Infolink Business Care, a sales & solution partner of the software company, who is servicing Geetha’s for many years. Says Chethan, “Once Mr. Shiva Kumar refers a customer, I only have to install the product, there is no need for lengthy demos or negotiation. I wish I had more customers like him”.

What Is Social Proof?

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people imitate the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behaviour for a given situation.

Simply explained social proof is the need of an individual to check out a restaurant on Zomato or go through the review on amazon before making a purchase decision. It is to see if someone else has already done what one considers doing.

Have you considered going for a show just by seeing a long line of people waiting to get into a theatre? Have you ever tried to plant your friends among the audience to simulate laughter at a Humorous speech contest? In that case, you will intuitively know what Social proof is!

Why would a business owner like Shiva Kumar go out of his way to refer a technology product to a fellow retailer? Why does the retailer buy without negotiating? The explanation is quite simple – if Shiva Kumar, an influencer and someone who’s seen as a progressive business owner, has to recommend a product risking his credibility, there must be some merit in what he says! And that is what convinces the retailer to buy…

The explanation is quite simple – if Shiva Kumar, an influencer and a progressive business owner, has to recommend a product risking his credibility. People tend to think that there must be some merit in what he says! And that is what convinces the retailer to buy…

A recommendation from an Influencer reduces the sales cycle! – Tweet that

Influencer marketing is a subject we understand very well. Call us or mail us today, for more information on how we can help.

* Connectors are people who have incredibly widespread “social networks.” They are often successful businessmen or politicians and play an integral role in the spread of ideas.

In this case, the person is a sales person, who due to his profession, is in touch with a large number of retailers. Read more about Connectors in Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point.

Public Relations (PR) for Individuals

by Mangal Karnad | Jan 5, 2017 | Public relations

I remember how we childishly used to refer to any excessively friendly person as a PRO (Public Relations Officer). This was common practice years ago while I was a young professional in a public sector. It was never said as a compliment.

PR is an essential tool to succeed in the highly competitive business arena for both individuals and organisations. Public relations is not an option anymore.

PR is an essential tool to succeed in the highly competitive business arena – Tweet that

In the eighties, a modest person was not expected to brag about oneself. If the compliment (for the great work done) came from a third party, to graciously accept was the norm. Things have changed. A savvy person today ensures that he or she gets all the credit he or she deserves in the workplace. They even ensure that they receive recommendations and compliments on a social platform, so it reaches their network! It is seen as personal branding or reputation management – however, reputation needs to be built and managed carefully, with a well thought through plan.

Aren’t we all familiar with the maladies of the review mechanism adopted by online platforms? While good reviews are accepted as a norm and flaunted, a client who shares a bad review gets managed! The back office of a business swings into action and tries to identify the issue faced by the client and addresses it. It is always a demanding client who helps us improve our products or services! Read more about Earned Media here

Social media provides each one of us with a powerful platform to showcase our subject matter expertise. While people in the business of fashion, artists, writers & media use Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, professionals and business owners adopt LinkedIn & Twitter. YouTube is a very powerful platform to share videos.

Do you want to establish thought leadership – create visibility of your technical /business expertise, management abilities, or coaching skills? If so, having a focussed plan helps achieve good results. Start by putting together a calendar of activities and start implementing it. In any case, you need to establish awareness among prospective clients.

Create key message

What are the 2 or 3 key messages that will establish your credibility or expertise in your domain? Craft them carefully and be sure they are true.

Target audiences

Know precisely who you want to communicate these messages to. The better your understanding of your target audiences, the better it is to create communication material for them.

Identify topics you are passionate about and love to speak on

Identify 2 or 3 topics that you are a domain expert in and create your content around those. We often make the mistake of throwing in facts and figures that are easily available on the net. Instead, speak from your experience; this will be unique.

Don’t use publicly available data points in your speech, speak from experience!– Tweet that

Look for speaking opportunities

Start small. Look for speaking opportunities in local business communities, clubs, management colleges, etc. Seek feedback from your audience and keep improving your delivery. Once you are confident about your delivery, start recording (video) and share them online.

Start writing blogs & articles

Start a blog either stand-alone or on your company website. Share your posts on the social platforms you frequent. If your experience shines through, sooner or later, digital media or local publications will approach you for content. They are always in need of experts who can provide insight.

It takes time and effort to establish credibility and a personal brand. The above approach will work for both – an individual or for the leadership of a company.

Public Relations for individuals is a subject we understand very well. Call us or mail us today, for more information on how we can help.

Customer Success story – How to create one?

by Mangal Karnad | Jan 5, 2017 | Marketing

Customer Success stories or what are referred to as case studies – are a very useful marketing tool, especially for a B2B business.

A Customer success story or a case study is one of the most effective collaterals. A case study helps to tell your prospects a real-life example of how your product or service was able to solve a customer’s business challenges and help them benefit from it.

In this context, a case study is a report of the usage of a product or solution by a client organisation.

A typical case study has 4 sections:

A brief description of the client organisation
The business challenge faced by the client
The solution provided
Benefit accrued

To make sure the case study serves its purpose a couple of steps can be followed

Interview a customer

Most often the marketing teams resort to heavy usage of technical jargon in the case study and tend to make it very boring. A good customer success story can be crafted by meeting and interviewing a customer – Tweet that. It will not only help you understand the nuances of the customer experience, it will also help you craft the story in the language your target audience speaks & understands. Meeting with the customer will also strengthen your relationship with them.

Create a crisp document

While the language and the tone of the customer needs to be captured, the document needs to be crisp yet provide all the information. It is not needed to quote the customer verbatim!

Add a photograph

Who doesn’t like to see themselves in media? Take a high-resolution photograph of the customer if he or she is willing, this along with the quote makes the document very very authentic! It is great to have a professional photograph but taking one with your own camera or smartphone can serve the purpose equally well.

If the customer is not too keen on providing his photograph, one of the office premises is also fine. A link to the customer website or their logo on the case study helps.

Spell out the benefits

The clearer your articulation of the benefit statement, better will be the impact. Make it explicit if the customer is willing to oblige: what was the money earned or saved? How did your solution help the customer grow his business? Did it impact the top line or bottom line? Did it bring down the operating expense?

Take a sign off!

It is imperative to get a sign off on the final case study document. It is also advisable to get the customer to understand the ways in which you intend using the case study – posted on your website, as a collateral or probably even as a news release! This effort can go a long way and avoid confusions at a later point in time!

Consent from the customer for publishing the case study is essential!

We offer case study writing as a service, call us or write to us if you need one!

Leaders aren’t born, leaders are made

by Mangal Karnad | Jan 5, 2017 | Design

Leaders aren’t born, they are made.#Motivation #Leadership

I feel sometimes the crisis or hardships one faces in life make them into leaders. When a calamity befalls someone, there are people who respond with – I’m helpless, what can I do? This is my fate! Then there are people who turn the situation into an opportunity and come out winners – Leaders.

Two individuals come to my mind:

Saalumarada Thimmakka: First one is a lady from Karnataka: She is known as Saalumarada Thimmakka, for her contribution of planting and nurturing 384 banyan trees. Saalumara loosely translates into trees planted in a row. She and her late husband (Chikkaiah) planted these trees over a stretch of 4 kilometres.

The couple tired of the social stigma attached to being issueless, spent their own meagre income to plant banyan saplings and nurtured them. Treated the saplings as their children.

She has been conferred many awards, one among which is the National Citizen’s Award of India (1995). Now the management of the trees is taken over by the government of Karnataka. I only hope they will not be cut down in the name of development.

Jadav “Molai” Payeng: Second (not in effort or achievement) is Padma Shri Jadav “Molai” Payeng (born 1963).

Over the course of 3 decades, he planted and tended trees on a sandbar of the river Brahmaputra turning it into a forest reserve. The forest, called Molai forest is located in Assam and covers an area of about 1,360 acres.

It all started in 1979 when floods washed a large number of snakes ashore on the sandbar. One day, after the waters had receded, Payeng, only 16 then, found the place dotted with the dead reptiles. That was the turning point of his life. The snakes had died in the heat, without any tree cover. When he contacted the forest department, he was told nothing will grow there and was suggested to plant Bamboo. He did plant Bamboo and later proper trees. He watered the plants and nurtured them without any help or aid from the government. Soon enough it attracted wild animals!

When a herd of 100 elephants entered his forest the Locals, whose homes had been destroyed by them, wanted to cut down the forest, but Payeng prevented it. In 2015, he was honoured with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.

Timmakka and Payeng are forward thinking and believe in doing what they think is right. They are the true thought leaders!

Source: Wikipedia and publicly available information.

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