Dell Richards PR Blog

The worst time to pitch a reporter is

2012-01-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

People sometimes call us because a competitor has a story in the media.

It’s great they want publicity, but they’re not going to get an article from that source, which is usually what they’re after.

To paraphrase Jeff Haden, a columnist at Inc.com, “If I just wrote about the subject, I’m good for the next year or so.”

Luckily, there are always other media to approach.

If the article was in the local daily paper, we could pitch the local business journal, the local weekly or monthly magazines.

We could go for broadcast media: television and radio appearances or quotes in Internet stories.

We could target trade journals—not the ones clients themselves read—but the ones read by their clients.

To do so, we come up with angles focused on the specific media.

That way, a missed opportunity becomes a way of creating a broad-range public relations campaign that delivers long-term results.

For more information, contact Dell Richards Publicity at 916.455.4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

How to handle a crisis

2011-12-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

When people ask us about crisis communications, we tell them to prepare for the worst by creating a plan. If you wait until you have a crisis on your hands, it’s too late.

Here what to do:

Have one spokesperson and one spokesperson only. Send all media to him or her, even if it means being on call 24/7.

Figure out what you’re going to say before you talk to the media. Think of the worst questions imaginable. Answer them as honestly as possible.

Never say “No Comment”. It implies guilt, sounds like you don’t care and are arrogant.

Say you’re doing everything possible to find out what’s happening and to fix the problem.

Tell the media you’ll let them know as soon as you can. Then do it.

Say you’re sorry. Show empathy for injury and suffering. Do not get defensive, no matter what anyone says.

Never lie. Journalists get people to spill their guts just by lending a sympathetic ear.

What say to the media and on social media networks in the first hour is crucial.

Having a plan is the basis for handling the pressure of a crisis if you ever face one.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at 916-455-4790 or visit www.dellrichards.com.

Websites make updating news easy

2011-11-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

The other day I grabbed a handful of hand-outs as I rushed out the door to a speaking engagement and didn’t realize I had the wrong one until it was too late.

I used it to talk about how public relations has—and has not—changed in the past few years.

The most revolutionary change is that company news sections now replace press kits.

A well done newsroom lets journalists scan what they need faster than a brochure, press release, backgrounder or business card.

Unlike printed material, news pages can be updated instantly—at much less expense—with as many pages and links as the company needs.

We tell clients to place articles prominently as they have more credibility than press releases.

We also suggest that clients get reprints of articles and quotes to link to the news page. Ditto broadcast appearances.

Reprints let the company add their logo and contact info to the story while still maintaining the integrity of journalism.

Press releases also can be used in the newsroom, but they don’t have the implied third-party endorsement of expertise that media recognition does.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at 916-455-4790 or visit www.dellrichards.com.

How to succeed in business

2011-10-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Many business books focus on passion, commitment and giving more than you get.

Certainly legendary visionaries like the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs epitomize that sense living your dream.

But what if you’re not passionate? What do you do then?

A former client, whose business brings in $12 million a year, lived by one creed: Show up, look like you mean business and do the job.

He said that being there every day and being serious about the work was the secret for him.

He also had another mantra that helped him cope: If it can go wrong, it will.

While he always tried to fix the system when it was at fault, he usually took problems in stride, rarely blamed anyone and was pleasant to work with as a result.

Yet he demanded enough of himself that others wanted to live up to his standards.

This approach may not be an eat-sleep-dream your business of many entrepreneurs, but it does work.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

Why wire service releases don't work

2011-09-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Business people often use wire services for press releases.

If you want the information added to the Internet, it’ll do that.

If you want the story picked up by a mainstream media outlet, don’t count on it.

Wire service material often goes into a catch-all mailbox no one checks.

If you luck out and someone opens it, most journalists only scan the first sentence or two.

If the first words say the company is announcing something instead of saying what's going on, they’ll probably delete it.

Releases must have newsworthy information up front—what makes the new product unique or what makes the services utterly different.

Don’t fool yourself. Journalists get hundreds of pitches daily.

Send them what they need or don’t waste your time and money.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

Listen to your customers

2011-08-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

There are many different responses to customer and staff complaints—some better than others.

Over the years, we’ve seen people who wanted to incorporate every idea that came their way to ones who wouldn’t listen to a word anyone said.

In the past, an unhappy client told some 10 people about their negative experience.

Thanks to the Internet, if someone hits a nerve today that 10 people could be 1,000, 10,000 or more.

For one city in California, two complaints is all it takes to get someone’s ear.

For one state, it only takes five letters on a particular subject.

For forward-thinking business people, one complaint—one person upset enough to make waves—should be enough for the company to question how to do it better.

When people are willing to listen to their customers, it not only creates better service—or a better product—but keeps up with a fast-moving market.

Because if your business doesn’t do it today, someone else’s will tomorrow.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

Use your USP in your public relations

2011-07-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

When I first began doing public relations, I had got a lot of dentists as clients.

At the time, dentistry was an even harder sell than it is today. To cope, my staff and I looked at what made the dentist really unique—not just in their work, but in their life.

Tying the hobby to the work, we pitched the dentist whose eye for detail showed up in his award-winning duck decoy carvings as well as his cosmetic dentistry and another whose drive for excellence led to four black belts in martial arts—and a reputation for being on the leading edge of his field.

We got a ton of press from this “Hollywood-style publicity,” more than we would have pitching sealants and implants.

Even though this type of marketing worked for others, we never used it for ourselves.

We were very creative people with many unique interests, but we concentrated on our professionalism, not our USP.

When I began studying fire arts, I never dreamed I’d be using fire as a unique selling point.

But, then a mutual friend introduced me to a member of the mayor’s staff because we both loved fire.

The connection opened a whole new realm for us, not only in our work, but in our marketing.

For the first time, we realized we should be publicizing our own unique interests because doing fire arts shows I’m disciplined, fearless and creative in a way that words never could.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

Mistakes that wreck credibility with journalists

2011-06-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

Journalists use a very specific writing style. Errors will wreck your credibility.

Here are some of the biggest mistakes people make and how to fix them:

First references always include the title. Obama may be used in a headline, but not in copy. The first reference is "President Obama".

Everyone else needs their full name and complete title: “Rachel Iskow, Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association Executive Director”.

Another example: “Mary Smith, a Sacramento resident”. The explanation depends on the subject of the story.

After that, use “Iskow”, “Smith” or ”S|YMHA”.

Description: For nonprofits and companies, you also need a sentence that explains what it does. Keep your audience in mind, however.

For trade journals, S|YMHA would be “a multifamily developer”. For mainstream media, it would be “an affordable housing developer” or “a housing developer for modest-income families.”

The most common mistakes are errors of upper and lower case. Use lower case for everything after the first reference: The “executive director” or “the nonprofit”.

Two other common errors:

“Over and “under” are for objects; “more than” and “less than” are for numbers.

“Last” is for the final one. “Past” is for this past week.

If in doubt, use the Associated Press Stylebook.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

Good article on handling social media crises

2011-05-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

Since we recently wrote about a client who was concerned with Internet users posting information about them, even positively, we found this interesting article from LinkedIn on how to deal with social media issues, especially negative ones that apply to all media, including print and broadcast.

Some of the tips from "How to Deal with a Social Media Crisis and Prevent a Catastrophe," by Juan Sanchez, community manager at Waggener Edstrom, were:

Monitor your brand constantly,
Figure out what's going on before you react, but
React within 24 hours using the same medium, and
Have the CEO or someone responsible do it, and
Get the help of influencers.

Also, use SEO to push the good links in other media and, finally,
Think opportunity to engage with your fans.

For the full article, visit http://tinyurl.com/3zpk8ee.

For more information on our services, visit Dell Richards Publicity at www.dellrichards.com.

Give great word-of-mouth

2011-04-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

We are currently doing publicity for a local event—pitching stories to editors and producers of print, television and radio as well as handling advertising content and a special supplement for the local weekly.

Due to budget constraints, we chose not to handle the social media, but we are involved with most of the media content.

On Wednesday at 4:15 p.m., a Facebook event page went out to 18 people, who shared it with 2,000 friends.

By 7:05 p.m., we got invited to the event, completing the circle.

On Thursday morning, a little more than 12 hours after, 194 people had responded “yes,” they were attending.

Twenty-four hours later, more than 3,000 people had been contacted with 400 responding “yes” or “maybe”, 114 saying “no” and nearly 2,500 awaiting response.

Less than one week later, the contact numbers were up to 4,000 with more than 1,000 replies.

With a usual event attendance of 8,000, it will be interesting to see what the Facebook numbers are by the event six weeks from now.

When an social media takes off, inviting guests and checking on responses creates word-of-mouth that reinforces interest and excitement.

While Facebook does not necessarily work as well for issues such as credibility, it can be a very useful tool if people get involved.

For more information, call us at 916.455.4790 or visit us online at www.dellrichards.com.

The Internet means interaction

2011-03-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

A client recently told us someone posted a video on YouTube of their event without telling them.

While pleased they got the extra mileage, they were wary that they hadn’t been able to control the information.

This brings up two points, tracking and the nature of the Internet.

For tracking with Google, keywords need to be broad enough to include your company when the name isn’t complete.

To filter out unwanted info, negative keywords also can be set up.

That said, companies spend tons of time and money creating platforms to get people involved.

Look at the Ford Motor Co. Facebook page.

People post photos of their cars and trucks—and more than half a million “like” Ford.

Posts about the company on the Internet are what most businesses want.

The only way to control what’s out there is if no one cares—and that’s the last thing anyone wants.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at 916-455-4790 or visit us online at www.dellrichards.com.

Expected to work for free?

2011-02-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

I had just written an article on internships when we were asked to volunteer first so the people could “get to know us and our work.”

At the meeting, I had expected to firm up details on a Request for Proposal.

While saying “yes,” I couldn’t help mulling over the irony of seeing the internship article become part of my expectations at this stage of the game.

Then the local paper had an article about a state government agency asking for bids on tech services for free.

While companies sometimes test systems through pilot projects gratis, putting it in an RFP apparently went beyond the pale.

Appalling as it seems, maybe it’s for the best.

In the past, we would have served on boards—strategizing, volunteering our services and raising funds—in hopes of getting public relations work.

At least being asked to volunteer to show our stuff is more direct and, hopefully, more efficient for everyone.

For more information, contact us at (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

Say something relevant when following up

2011-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

We worked with a business coach who wanted us to call sales leads on the same day every week.

Since 88 percent of leads are never followed up on, getting into a regular habit sounded like a great idea.

But, for us, it didn’t work.

We just weren't comfortable calling unless we had a reason.

We ended up setting a goal of calling weekly, but working diligently to find a reason to do so.

If we couldn’t find something, we decided to use our intuition as a guide of when to make the call.

I recently needed to follow up on an introduction.

I could have called to talk about a common interest of ours, but I wanted to tie it to work.

I looked at the name on the "To Do" list every day, but did not call until there was an article in the news that directly related to business.

As a result, we ended up meeting the next day so we could share ideas for public relations.

Not only did I follow up, but I felt good about the authenticity of the process, one we also use effectively with reporters, editors and producers.

For more information, please call us Dell Richards Publicity, 916- 455-4790, or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.

Disabled by the Facebook virus

2010-12-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

I was recently disabled by Facebook. No reason given and no way to contact them except through their Q&A, then email.

I followed the instructions, but was informed I had a fake account and was permanently barred with no appeal.

Because I don’t take “no” for an answer, I immediately opened another Facebook account with a different email address, a placeholder account. (I later learned this is typical of teenagers: one for friends, another for family.)

The situation was frustrating, annoying and time-consuming. Was someone targeting me? Or, worse, was someone trying to steal my identity?

A few days later, I learned of the virus that targeted women—and asked them to send a copy of a government-issued I.D. to prove who they were to a “Facebook” customer support site.

Even though I got my account back, I couldn’t help questioning what was going on. How many women had given vital information about themselves to a hacker, an identity thief or worse?

Executives at Facebook said only a “small percentage” of its 500 million users were targeted, but even one percent could have been 5 million women.

Don’t get me wrong. I love connecting with the real world through the virtual one. Because I created a network of bird guides worldwide through Facebook, I not only enjoy stunning photographs daily, I know where my next big bird-watching trip will be.

Even before this latest virus, Facebook and other gargantuan social networking sites were becoming the domain of spammers, viruses and malware.

Now we have a virus that disables accounts and asks for personal identification. As far as I know, there has been no explanation of who received the identification papers. Facebook or someone else?

Ironically enough, Facebook executives announced they were creating a platform for email, etc. on the same day they had to admit there was a virus. Given the timing, perhaps Facebook itself was the target.

Being disabled from virtual friends for a few days was bad enough and cut off from the Dell Richards Publicity page for a few hours was unnerving.

But being cut off from email by a virus—with no way to phone customer support and get it fixed immediately—is my worst nightmare.

For more information, contact Dell Richards Publicity at 916. 455.4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com

EEGs tell us if ads work or not

2010-10-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

We were familiar with EEGs (electro- encephalographs) from public relations for a clinic that used quantitative EEGs to diagnose attention deficit disorders in children.

It was fascinating for us to hear that companies now are using a similar technology to check their advertising.

The technology still is not accepted by insurance companies—even though qEEGs can successfully diagnose various mental illnesses.

But cost doesn’t hold back businesses when EEGs can be used to make sure money spent on advertising gets the biggest bang for the buck.

Asking people questions in a qualitative focus group is notoriously dicey.

The target audience has to be determined in advance and the right people found to bring in.

Even then, people are loath to hurt feelings or be too different from the group to be completely honest.

Researchers also have to be careful not to sway the discussion or allow people with the strongest opinions to railroad others.

With computerization, people watch ads while their eye movements are tracked by means of 64 sensors attached to a cap they wear.

Pulses on a line graph show varying responses to the three most important sales points: attention, emotional response and memory retention.

Companies claim they can pinpoint sections that work—or don’t—without even asking the person what they thought.

For more information, please call us at 916. 455.4790 or contact us at our website: www.dellrichards.com.

Qualify leads so you don't have to make good as often

2010-09-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Clients rarely tell others they’re satisfied, but they tell the world they’re not.

That’s why making good is essential if a client is dissatisfied.

Whenever we’ve had to make good, it hurts.

Especially if we did what we said we’d do.

We’ve discovered that, generally, if we had qualified the client better, we usually wouldn’t have had to make good.

We know the profile of the company that fits best with us.

With very few exceptions, when we take a client who doesn’t fit that profile, especially one who can’t really afford a public relations firm, we’re more likely to run into problems.

We’re firm believers in giving back to the community by doing pro bono PR.

When it comes to profit, stick to your parameters. That way, you won’t have to make good as often when you’ve done excellent work.

For more information, please call us at 916. 455.4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.

How to listen as a sales tool

2010-08-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

In the 1950’s, they used to say to catch a man, you had to be a good listener. “Ask questions and he’ll think you’re a wonderful conversationalist.”

That advice has fallen by the wayside in the marriage market, but it’s still good advice in sales.

So much so, a business coach of ours used to say “…the art of sales is the same as courtship.”

In order to find out if you have enough in common to create a working relationship, you have to ask relevant questions, listen to the answers and ask careful follow-up questions.

In sales, the questions relate to the need and elicit information targeted to service or product you’re offering. Ask about past experiences, present use, immediate plans and future goals.

Find out what they expect and what the budget is.

In other words, see if you can deliver what they need, want and expect at a cost they’re able to pay.

Today, when the art of dialogue is all but dead in any situation, creating a useful conversation is an important sales tool.

For more information, please call us at 916. 455.4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.

Always follow the market

2010-07-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

We always tell clients “follow the market,” but we recently had a prime example of it.

We are doing the public relations campaign for a hand-washing monitoring company, a company whose service could be used in a number of industries.

The service was invented because 125,000 people die annually from heathcare-associated infections (HAIs), more than 50 percent of which are cause by lack of hand-washing before and after touching patients.

Other markets—such as restaurants and hospitality, grocery and education, even day-care—were included.

In researching the grocery industry, it became apparent that few items in the store actually were touched by anyone. Most items were processed and packaged elsewhere.

For the website and brochure, we used statistics on food recalls that were pertinent to both industries.

Even though it hadn’t been part of our initial plan, once we saw the statistics, we updated our contact list for food processing and packaging trade journals, revised the release to target that industry and sent it to those editors.

Voila! Calls started coming in. As many, at least, as the client was getting from the initial market—even though only 5,000 people die annually from food poisoning.

Thanks to barcodes, though, food-borne illness from grocery items is easy to track while HAIs are much more complex.

Whether this will become a major market for the client remains to be seen, but it is one we will continue to target.

For more information, call us at (916) 455-4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.

Comments tell you about the person

2010-06-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

Despite years of zip code, demographic and in-depth research on predicting behavior, a person’s reaction tells you as much about them as you.

I am often amused by facebook comments, especially recently.

I posted an item about sleeping on the porch because of out-gassing from an old paint—a perfect match for a touch-up—but alkyd-based.

There were five responses, four facebook comments and one phone call.

One said it sounded lovely to sleep in the open on the porch.

Three told me I should use water-based paint.

One called to offer the guest room.

Family dynamics would tell us:

A few romantic, child-like ones are going to sail through life, seeing the bright side and enjoying your product or services with few problems.

Others are going to be “parents”, no matter what their age, quick to point out flaws and make suggestions.

A few will be activists, offering a solution to the problem and often leading others.

How people respond to you is often as much based on a role they learned as your product or service.

It’s still valid, but it’s only one viewpoint.

For more information, call us at (916) 455-4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.

The little things make a big difference in customer service

2010-05-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

In the past, when someone was unhappy with a business, they told 10 people.

Not anymore. When someone is unhappy now, they post it on facebook, twitter tons of followers, rail about it in a blog and visit a website specially designed for complaints that hundreds, if not thousands, of people see.

If you think that service has to be really bad for someone to get riled up, think again.

A series of little snafus can cause as much anger as a big one--the work order that doesn't go through, so the system crashes almost as soon as it goes up. Or the tech guy who doesn't know there will be downtime during the transition.

Or take doctors. At most offices, you sign your name and wait until called 10-15 minutes later.

The receptionist who doesn't look up, smile or even acknowledge your presence is taken for granted in healthcare.

Nevertheless, I left a dentist who ran late for one who doesn't. Quite frankly, the new dentist may not be as good as the old, but I don't care.

My time is as important as my teeth. When they say it will take 30 minutes, I can plan on spending 30 minutes there--and no more.

In the end, it's the little things that make all the difference.

For more information, please call Dell Richards Publicity at 916-455-4790 or visit our website at http://www.dellrichards.com/.