As PR professionals, we’re keen to stay abreast of new marketing channels and trends, new beat reporters and media outlets, as well as explore innovative ways to raise visibility for our clients. Making a fresh assessment of what matters most to our clients and their expectations of our firm is an important part of this process, too. While some rules of engagement and expectations of companies’ PR firms have changed, some things still hold true year after year.
Partnership – A client once told me that we treat their firm like it was my own -- perhaps, one of the most significant kudos we’ve received. But it affirmed once again a value I hold dear – your business, your crisis, your marketing needs, are ours. I think and speak in terms of “we” not “you” when addressing a client about a new opportunity or pitch an idea. That is because we are genuinely vested in our client’s success, whether it is a great media placement or their new customer win or major industry recognition. If our clients see us as their partners, not as a vendor or a service provider, they will include us in the most important strategic decisions and conversations at the highest levels. This not only facilitates good communication in both directions, but it also allows us all to be most effective and deliver our best work.
Honesty – I firmly believe that clients pay us to tell them what we truly think they need to hear – the good and sometimes the difficult. They want honest BUT productive counsel about their PR needs and strategy, as well as transparency in terms of how our team is staffed, how we bill and how we report our activity. If something isn't working with a client’s messaging, the quality of the content they write or they are considering sending their team to an industry conference that really won’t support their business development initiatives, we tell them. But we also offer solutions and alternatives to consider at the same time. And, of course, respectful communication (in both directions) is paramount to lasting honesty.
Be part of the conversations - It is our job to get a handle on what a client’s target audience or customer is concerned about, talking about or planning for. We need to be voracious readers, stay on top of a reporter’s editorial priorities, industry events and webinars. PR professionals should serve as their clients’ objective eyes and ears for what their industry is talking about. That includes monitoring the competition as well. We also need to delve into the topics of conversations our clients are having with THEIR customers -- a great barometer for what our clients should be talking about in the press. Then it is our job to find the best avenues for helping our clients to become part of the conversation or even better, to lead the conversation in new directions.
Creativity - Whether we are developing story ideas or sharing information about new channels and outlets for visibility or offering fresh takes on more evergreen story ideas, it is our job to look at ideas differently, explore innovative tactics and evolving formats, and develop exceptional copy that is interesting to read and gets an editor’s green light. I love brainstorming with our team. No idea is off the table. And then we sift through the collective “brain dump” and strategically explore those ideas that best align with the client’s business, marketing objectives and budgets.
Earned Media Rules – Affiliated marketing, sponsored content, social media campaigns, video -- all of these tactics are trending right now among marketers and each delivers results. One tactic which consistently remains at the top of clients’ lists is earned media - media coverage in key national business, trade and regional publications. The ability to secure media coverage for a client’s area of expertise, products or services, for example, is still central to any strategic marketing communications program because that “third-party endorsement” that comes with this kind of editorial coverage is unmatched.
If these values are central to your PR approach, we’d love to hear from you.