PR Success: Meeting the Media’s Needs

January 19, 2011 Leave a Comment

You have a busy schedule, you have a job to do, a business to run, products to sell. Your time is valuable.  Sure you want media coverage, but who do they think they are telling you when and where the interview is going to take place?  Well… they’re the media.  Sure, you want press coverage, that’s why you’ve launched your public relations campaign.  Working on their schedule might be inconvenient, you might think it’s not fair, but it’s reality and if you play it smart, it can pay off for you in a big way.

Although you will often have time to plan and arrange your schedule before an interview, there are going to be times that the media wants to do an interview immediately, or wants to schedule it at a time that is inconvenient.  Even worse there will be times when the media reschedules an interview at the last minute, forcing you (once again) to change your plans.  One PR client told me that he was willing to appear on the Today Show, but that they had to come to him and that the only available time he had was between 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Needless to say, he and I had a long talk.  He did the Today Show and not on a Saturday.

There may be times that you’re just not going to be able to accommodate the media’s schedule. There are going to be some interviews that you’ll have to miss. But only miss an interview if it’s completely unavoidable; the plague, an alien invasion, you get the picture. You may be annoyed, and you may be angry at having to revolve your day around their schedule, but if you can possibly arrange your schedule so that you can make the interview, do it. The press isn’t purposely trying to inconvenience you. I’ve worked as an editor and a producer and wouldn’t believe the amount of times that journalists have to switch from one story to another on a moment’s notice. A million things can come up that change their schedule; a fire, an international breaking story, a Presidential speech, any number of stories are going to change their day, and yours.  This is just the nature of the business. It happens all the time.

It does you no good to take your anger out on the interviewer or the producer. It was not done to harm you. The decision was circumstantial. Always keep your objective in mind, which is to establish your brand, build your business and create success through media exposure. You’re going to accomplish your goal by reaching as many people as you can. Your objective is to do those interviews, not to alienate the press. Remember, press begets press. Every interview you do is helping to pave your way to greater success.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, Media, Press Release Writing, Public Relations Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Your Gratitude To-do List

December 28, 2010 Leave a Comment

“The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now.  And the more grateful you are, the more you get.”  So says Oprah.  Now whether you are an Oprah fan or not, one thing you have to give her is – she knows how to succeed.  So maybe there is something to this gratitude business.  At the very least, it’s worth a try.  We’re taught to strive, struggle, plan, work, toil… you know, all that fun stuff,  Then we focus on making as much as we can, The one with the most toys wins, or so the saying goes.

It’s easy to get lost in the struggle and spend the rest of our time resentful that we’re not accumulating as much as we want, or as much as we feel we deserve.   But in between the struggle and the accumulating we often forget the best part.  We forget to enjoy, to relax, to appreciate, to be grateful.

Generally I write about how to pitch your product or service, how to actively grow your business, and how to use social media and public relations to establish your brand.  Important stuff; useful stuff.  But that’s just a part of the equation.  A gratitude how-to list is the business focus for today.  To grow your business you have to not only actively work towards your goals, you also need to learn how to let go, relax and be grateful for what you already have.  It sounds counterintuitive, but think about it.  When driving a car do you simply push harder and harder on the accelerator in order to reach you destination?  There is a certain recipe for failure, to put it mildly.  If you’re smart you speed up, slow down, stop, look around and enjoy the scenery as you travel towards your destination.  If you’re really smart, you’re grateful that you even have a car and if you don’t have a car, you’re grateful for what you do have.

We’re generally going through the motions in our day.  Our actions become route robotic, or anxious and frenzied.  We are so firmly focused on where we’re going we forget to pay any attention to where we are.  We are so focused on what we perceive as the final goal or the brass ring, or whatever we choose to call it, that we forget that the journey truly is the destination.  We never arrive at that magical “there”, because that place doesn’t exist.  We move through a series of destinations; but the sad part is we generally ignore or minimize them because they are not “the” destination.

Just as launching a marketing or PR campaign takes some work, research and brainstorming, so does learning how to practice gratitude; so, for now forget about your business plan or your marketing plan or your to-do list.  Make a different list this time.  Make a list for everything you have to be grateful for.  And don’t be stingy here; be lavish, extravagant.  If you end up with a small list, go back and add some more points.

Your next assignment is to find signposts that remind you to practice this.  There is a tree that stands on top of one of the hills in Griffith Park, not far from my office.  It stands by itself.  To me, there is something magical about it.  I see it about once or twice a day as I’m driving.  It’s my gratitude reminder.  Not only am I grateful that that tree exists, it reminds me to be grateful for everything else I have.  So that’s the last item on your gratitude to-do list.  Find your tree

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

 

Filed under business, gratitude, Marketing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brainstorming Secrets for Success in the New Year

December 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

Start the New Year with a new attitude and a new marketing plan.  The best way to do this is to step back and look at your business in a whole new way.

Set up a Brainstorming Session Time for the New Year.  Block a couple of hours, or better yet half a day and invite your marketing team or PR consultants to look at your business in a whole new way.  If you don’t have a marketing team, that’s fine, you are now your official marketing team.  Invite your employees, associates or anyone you trust, who you feel has some understanding about your business.  This is not a “business meeting”.  This is to be a fun, adventurous time to play with ideas, options, feelings, new approaches, and interesting story angles.

The purpose is to come up with new, unique ways that you can market your business and tell your story.  Remember the best marketing campaigns tell good stories.  You don’t want to simply say “buy my product or service because it’s good”.  Everyone says that and because everyone says it, no one listens to those messages, or at least very few people do.  You want to use the Brainstorming Session to help you go beyond that roadblock.  Don’t hold back; be creative.  Remember you don’t have to use all these ideas, but if you don’t allow yourselves to really let the creative ideas flow; you could end up missing out on some of your best marketing and media relations stories.

Look at your business, product or service from all angles.  Is there a story in how the product or company was founded?  Is there a unique journey story that tells about how you came to develop the product or service?  Maybe you started the company because of a personal experience you had.  Did you jump from one career track to follow the road less traveled?  What type of challenges did you encounter?  What inspirited you to start your business?  Was there an “aha” moment that changed your direction in life?  There is a whole range of human interest stories that can connect with the public.  By telling a compelling story you get others to listen, to understand and bond with you.

And what about the business, service or product itself?  Is there a different approach you use?  What problems does it solve?  How does it differ from others in the field? Has it been updated or modified in any way?  Is it smaller, larger, brighter, less expensive, more user friendly, or more effective?  How could you present it that’s somewhat different?

And don’t forget the most important focus; how has your business or product affected others? How has it helped change lives?  Has it made life easier?  Has it made people richer, thinner, smarter, faster, or happier?  Do you have clients who would be able to tell their story to the media?  The best public relations campaigns are those that tell transformational stories.  If you have some that illustrate how your businesses has affected the life of others, you’re on the right track.

Awhile back we represented a long term health care center.  The basic stories there had to do with the various aspects around that type of care, along with the challenges of caring for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s. One day while I was visiting the client, we held a brainstorming session.  While we were meeting, I noticed that there was a small dog that followed one of the nurses form room to room.  Something clicked and I wrote a press release about the dog as one of the facilities’ favorite employees.  The dog didn’t see old age, didn’t care whether someone was in a wheelchair, or had memory problems.  The dog loved them all the same.  By presenting it this way, I was able to shift what could be seen as a depressing story to a warm and fuzzy tale (so to speak).  It worked.  We were able to land coverage in Time, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, NPR, NBC, ABC, the Discovery Channel and other media.  Without the brainstorming session, none of that would have happened.

So block some time, have fun with it and have your own Brainstorming Session. Believe me; it’s worth it.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

Filed under Marketing, New Years Resolutions, PR Campaign Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

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