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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.

Does PR Take Long to Show Results?

by Mangal Karnad | Nov 29, 2016 | Public relations

Ways to ensure PR gets the results you deserve

Are you a PR professional who has to show results on your Public Relations efforts? Are you struggling to answer ‘How long will it take for PR to show results?’

Are you tired of explaining how media works, what it takes to reach out to journalists, the cost of PR etc.?

Well, You are in the right place! This blog aims to answer precisely these questions.

I can almost hear you thinking, but, my sales head will ask me ‘How many sales can you assure me? What are the returns from the PR spend?’…

Allow me to quote Bill Gates, “If I was down to my last dollar I would spend it on PR” – Tweet that

If certain best practices are followed, your release might land on the right desk. If you’ve taken the effort to be persistent in your reach-out, the editor of a mainline might meet your spokesperson for a no-obligation interview! And Voila! Your company is covered in the most circulated newspaper or magazine!

While I can’t tell you how long it will take, or the exact number of conversions PR will get you, what I do know is following some of the steps listed below will take you a notch closer to the result you seek.

Build your relations with key media

This means making a list of media and the reporters and reaching out to them. Carry out repeated interactions, share content on a regular basis with them and help them understand your domain. Once they realise that you are a domain expert or that you’re showing early success, they will write about your company (and you) in their article or industry story.

Patience and perseverance

It may not be easy to get covered in the biggest mainline, you may not be that popular yet; sometimes just a mention might work well for you. Till then keep writing content and publish it on your blog, in a trade publication. Keep pushing your spokespeople to speak in events. This effort will pay-off by creating thought leadership!

Set Clear Goals

Build relations with media people

Follow the journalists on the social platforms and get to know their style; comment and communicate with them regularly.

Cast your net of influence

Some of us not good writers, but we are quite sharp & witty, or good with a particular sport, or have a passion for a superbike. Take to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, a Leader is also looked up to for his social skills and lifestyle – a well-rounded personality.

Listen to your Customer

Meet your customers regularly, get to know if someone is willing to recommend your product or service to his local business community. Or is she willing to speak at the event where other business owners gather?

PR does work, in fact, it works wonderfully well. – Tweet that

Most times, it is more effective than advertisements (read more- Advertising v/s Public Relations) – because an Influencer (media person) with credibility is writing about your product or service either by experiencing the product or by researching well about it. There is an authenticity to PR which gets past all the noise from advertisements.

How to Develop Key Messages?

by Mangal Karnad | Oct 10, 2016 | Public relations, Influencer Marketing

A couple of days ago, we had a sales call with a successful business owner.

How am I defining success?

The company, a start-up, have recently raised sizable funding and embarked on their marketing journey –PR engagement, participation in events, presence on multiple social platforms etc. Needless to say, they have received a decent coverage in media too.

During our discussion, I wanted to know what their USP was, as the messaging was not clear. The CEO, a dynamic IIM graduate responded saying that it was pretty much the same as their competitors. When we indicated that the messages were not consistent in the coverage, the team went on to blame the media to have picked what suited them from the usually longish interviews. Our questions regarding the differentiation didn’t get any serious consideration.

When someone says that media has interpreted or written what suits them, it is the key message which is not articulated properly. When the founder is not clear about the messages or the USP and is unable to back it, how will the media, their customers or anyone else get it?

“Key messages are vital to Messaging or Communication with the internal and external stakeholders” – Tweet that

However, there are a couple of aspects to be looked into before we get down to key message creation. One needs to:

Relook at ‘the why’ or ‘the purpose’ of the business
Think of the unique value proposition or the differentiator, especially if the business has a lot of competitors
Set a clear business goal that you want to achieve with the messaging

Once you have done that, try to make the key messages:

Strategic – so that they differentiate and establish your leadership.
Crisp and clear – when you speak it, it should not sound pompous.
Simple, Memorable and Relevant – use simple language and be truthful.
Authentic and compelling – yet they should motivate all stakeholders – both internal and external.

Once you create 3 or 4 key messages,

Support them with stories which touch the target audience emotionally
Support them with information/explanation which can be substantiated. If possible back it with research, statistics and case studies.
Try to answer as many questions that might arise regarding the messages.

Key messages help describe the business, product or service, or the value system of the founders. They can also focus on the benefits – your unique value proposition for the target audience.

Key messages help create a perception in the minds of your target audience. They help the customers remember and brag about you. They enable media and influencers to write or say the right things about you.

“Developing clear, succinct and precise key messages needs careful thinking and deliberate effort” – Tweet that

It is imperative to craft your key messages before communicating with the media or your target audience.

Why is Public Relations more effective than Advertising?

by Mangal Karnad | Sep 7, 2016 | Public relations, advertising, infographics

Facts about Advertising and Public Relations

This post is for those start-ups or entrepreneurs who are spending a sizable chunk of their marketing budget on advertising but not focusing on Public Relations. It is also for the sceptics who say – Can you show me the ROI on the PR spend?

Dear reader, I would like to draw your attention to the old saying – Advertising is what you pay for, Publicity is what you pray for.

Paid, Owned & Earned Media

The main difference between Advertising and Public Relations is that, advertising falls under ‘Paid Media’, whereas PR is ‘Earned Media’.

“A 2015 Nielsen report states that Earned and Owned media fare better when it comes to consumer trust than Paid Media.”
It shows that earned media written by a credible third-party is the most effective, in impacting and influencing customers.

Owned media like the company website or own content and collaterals comes next in terms of effectiveness.

Advertisements stand the lowest in terms of credibility.

In other words, the more a brand actively engages in media outreach, it will see greater consumer impact than relying on advertisements or even content marketing.

The Key Differences

When it comes to advertisements, the company has complete creative control over the content and the frequency. In PR, the media mention depends mostly on the media professional. A company can insert a clear call to action in an advertisement, it is recommended for effectiveness; in PR it is not permitted.
When it comes to PR, the chance of the company getting mentioned in media increases tremendously with a well-written, no-nonsense article or a release note. It also depends on the quality of the interaction or credibility of the news or quote. Media is not obligated to publish the press releases that are diligently created and shared by the PR team of the company.
An advertisement has a longer shelf life as it can be repeated multiple times based on the budget, while ‘news’ has one-time value. Today’s consumer is discerning and understands that the company is selling to him. An editorial article has huge credibility.
While the role of the advertising professional is to plan and buy ad space, the role of the PR professional is to connect with and build rapport with media professionals.

Advertisements are meant to sell, PR creates awareness & credibility among the target audiences – Tweet that.

This is not to say One or the other is bad. This only indicates that credibility is an important factor of communication.

Public Relations (PR) – What are Key Messages?

by Mangal Karnad | Aug 30, 2016 | Public relations, Influencer Marketing

What are key messages? Does one need key messages in PR? Do they help?
What happens if you don’t use key messages in your communication?

“It is not the beauty of a building you should look at, but the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time” – David Allan Coe

Allow me to share with you this anecdote.

I was once referred to this US returned smart young entrepreneur by a friend who works with a wire service. My friends brief was simple, the founder is very sharp when it comes to Tech but he does not have a clue about PR!

I thought it was an exaggeration by my friend but one meeting with this young man was all it took to understand the fact that the art and science of PR was lost on him.

While I was trying to understand the key messages he was too impatient and wanted to know precisely which publications will I get coverage for his Mobile App. He even expressed his concern about me taking too long as Start-Ups don’t have the luxury of time!

On my way back from this meeting I decided to write this blog. To explain why it is important to spend the time to develop key messages? To answer someone (probably a start-up who is in a hurry) who might ask “Is it really worth the effort?”

My response would be: “You bet! Key messages are the foundation for great PR. If you want to communicate the right message, then get your key messages right. Think it through, bounce it with a couple of friends and strengthen your supporting content too!”

Creating key messages helps to:

Ensure clarity & consistency
Measure and track success
Stay focused during a media interaction

Key Messages help branding efforts. With repeated usage in every written and spoken communication, Key messages stay in the minds of people much longer.

If your business should be perceived in a certain way then your key messages need to reflect it. If customers need to remember your business and refer you to their friends, then key messages come into play. If you want to establish employer branding then your employees need to believe it and repeat it to their friends who may want to join your company!

So to sum it up, key messages can be described as:

An elevator pitch – it is the essence of what you want your business to be known for.
It is something which engages people.
It sums up what your business does and what your values are

I hope my friend the young tech start-up CEO understands the need for Key messages and creates them!

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