PR TIPS: Working Your Media

May 14, 2013 Leave a comment

Screen shot 2013-05-13 at 5.42.20 PMOnce you’ve landed some media coverage, whether it be print, TV or radio, make sure that you work it.

For example, let’s say you were featured in a newspaper story and – nothing happened.  No one called.  No offers came in.  No interest was generated, at least as far as you could tell.  To start, you don’t know what will eventually come from that one placement.  I’ve seen cases where months down the line some amazing opportunity arose because of one story.  But, for argument’s sake, let’s say nothing happened.   It’s still remarkably valuable.  You just need to work it.

Become the story’s distributor – and I mean distributor in the most basic sense –

  • Circulate your story
  • Feature it in all of your social media platforms.
  • Spread the word.
  • Mention the story in your biography and fact sheet, use it when pitching other stories.
  • Let other media outlets know that you were featured in the article.
  • Duplicate it and use it as a press sample.
  • Use quotes from the story in your mailers, newsletters, ads, and marketing.

I understand being temporarily depressed if you don’t get a decent response to a story, which is why it is so important to understand exactly how media placement works.  One story does not make for a PR campaign.  By understanding the process, you turn what appears to be a lost opportunity into a tremendous advantage.

Make a list of the various ways you can utilize your media, on social media, in ads and newsletters, emails, etc.

Don’t let your failed expectations cloud your business sense.

Don’t waste opportunities due to short sightedness.

Be imaginative, inventive.

Think.

Be creative…

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2013

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PR Tip of the Day: Brainstorming & Outlining your PR Objective

March 2, 2013 Leave a comment

why-social-learning-benefits-your-business-e638abeebfBefore you launch a PR, social media or marketing campaign, you want to make sure that you’ve outlined your objectives and thoroughly mined your stories.  One of the best ways to do this is to set up a marketing brainstorming session.  To start, sit down and make a list of objectives that you want to achieve before starting the process.  You don’t want to limit your ideas, but you do want to define objectives you’re setting out to accomplish.  When it comes to PR and marketing brainstorming, your goal is to come up with a list of the most important story ideas including new business concepts, the unique value you offer, important information you can give your, and anecdotal stories that illustrate how you  work.  Also spend some time focusing on how and why you can present yourself as an expert in your overall field.  The media needs experts and talking heads to explain various fields.  Present yourself as that expert.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2013

 

 

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Why Effective Communication Can Make All the Difference in PR & in Life

October 19, 2012 Leave a comment

Sometimes being the best in your field isn’t enough.  For example, your company might make the best products, or you could be the perfect candidate, or you service might be the best in your field, but if you’re not able to articulate your message and connect with your target audience, you’re in trouble.

Most people think that they don’t really need effective interview skills; as they view it, that’s a skill needed by celebrities or politicians, or sports figures.  It’s not something they need to master.  Wrong.   If you’re launching a public relations or media relations campaign, you definitely need to master this skill.  But regardless of whether you’re launching a PR campaign or not, learning how to effectively communicate with the media, your clients, your prospects and your target audience is an essential skill. It’s an important skill for anyone in business, whether it’s an entrepreneur discussing a new product, a job applicant going on an interview, or an employee hoping to move up the ladder within a company.

This is a skill everyone needs to master, whether you’re launching a new product, discussing your company, your film, you artwork or your expertise, how you present yourself can make all the difference.  The information is important, no doubt about that, but the words you choose, the tone of your voice, your delivery and how you carry yourself will a all play an important part in how your message will be received.  Although an interview on CNN is different than a speech at a business meeting or an interview for a new job, in essence the basics of effective communication remain the same.  So, regardless of whom you’re speaking to, or the message you want to impart, the following are some basic communication tips to keep in mind.    

1)      Don’t decide to simply wing it.  Prepare.  Review two or three most important points that you want to get across.

2)      Never anticipate questions.  Wait until the question is asked and make sure you fully understand it before responding.

3)      Practice your delivery.  Give your presentation to a friend, or record it and listen to it objectively.

4)      Be aware of your body language.  Be aware of your posture.

5)      Relax.

Remember, you are the messenger and your delivery can make or break that interview, sale, presentation, or business opportunity.  Learn how to effectively communicate and you’ll be positioning yourself for success.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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Why Hospitals Need Media Relations

February 27, 2012 Leave a comment

Health and medical stories are major topics in the news on a daily basis.  Whether a news story has to do with the distribution of health care or with a new medical breakthrough, medicine and health care command the media’s attention.  Health care is a business and for it to be effective it needs to be treated as one.  This has always been true, but never more so than in today’s insurance and reimbursement environment.  Because of that physician, health care and hospital marketing is more critical than ever.  Effective media relations and PR is a necessity to help ensure continuing viability of hospitals, medical centers and medical practices in the local level and to provide the high quality of individual health care Americans expect.

The world of health care and medicine is changing and to remain effective and successful hospitals and medical institutions need to change with the times.  As major changes take affect in the healthcare environment, medical providers need to understand that they are subject to the same media and market pressures and changes as any other business.  Those who will succeed will understand that the landscape has changed, and they will effectively react to those changes.   Marketing is a necessity if a hospital or medical center is going to succeed.  There is a definite need for scrutiny, strategic planning and communication programs in order to most effectively utilize the limited resources while providing top of the line medical care. This is where hospital media relations and PR come in.

Media relations and community relations, both fall under the umbrella of public relations.  Although they are often confused, they are very different processes.  Each has its own objectives and focus.  Media relations includes but is not limited to, developing targeted media lists, the writing and distribution of  news releases, the distribution of information and releases  to the media, and arranging press, radio and television interviews

Media relations is particularly important in the medical field.  Patients choose a hospital or medical provider based on trust.  Even in the case where the medical provider is chosen for the patient it is important that a sense of trust is created.  It is precisely because the trust factor is so important that PR is the most effective form of marketing available for hospitals and health care providers.  Unlike advertising or direct marketing, public relations is the only form of marketing that offers the credibility and validation of being featured in the news.  The public learns of most new medical breakthroughs, studies, or procedures from the media.  The physicians interviewed, or hospitals that are featured benefit from that coverage.  PR needs to be an integral part of any hospital’s business plan.  A successful media relations campaign not only educates and informs. Used effectively, PR can not only build a hospital’s brand and patient base, it can usher in new concepts and perspectives and shape the ideas of a community.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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The Reason Why: Facts Tell, Stories Sell

January 9, 2012 Leave a comment

People love stories.  Stories are how we communicate.  Storytellers are revered in many cultures, and in the western world the writers and directors of films and TV are generally quite well paid both financially and status-wise.  Stories are our currency of communication, yet when it comes to marketing, most businesses forget about the story and focus on the facts.  By doing that they lose the impact that a compelling story brings.

PR and media relations is all about effective storytelling.  For example, when launching a public relations campaign for a physician, I realize that what’s going to benefit him or her the most is not to primarily focus on their credentials and medical savvy, but to emphasize impactful and compelling patient stories   A tale of how a patient went from pain and suffering to living a healthy fulfilling life is one that we can connect with.  It’s much more compelling to tell a vivid and compelling patient’s story, than to explain exactly how a particular procedure or medication technically worked.

People identify with the patient, not the physician; they commiserate and root for him or her.  They’re emotionally involved in the story from beginning to end, particularly if the story somehow personally affects them or someone they know.  If the time comes when they need to seek out the services of a physician who works in that field, guess who they’ll most likely turn to?  You got it; they’re going to want the doctor who helped turn that patient’s life around in the story they heard.

Facts and figures are great.  They give us information and they help give credibility.  But facts and figures alone will seldom result in a sale.  A laundry list of facts offers very little call to action.  And even if a fact list does inherently have a call to action, chances are there is no emotional resonance to it.  The information may be factual, but, unlike a story it is not always emotionally believable.   Stories are evocative; they bypass thought and go directly to feeling.  They shoot past the cynical adult and go right towards the child in each of us.

It’s the story that awakens interest.  For example, when we launch a PR campaign for beauty products spas or beauty salons, our focus is not on the ingredients that the products contain, or precisely how a procedure is performed, or the exact technique that a particular stylist uses; our emphasis is on how the client looks, feels and changes when using that product, going to that spa, or visiting that hairstylist.   Our focus is on how the client’s life is transformed.

The personal journey in the story told might be major or less dramatic, but it is the transformation that will affect the reader or viewer, or listener.  Just as in real estate the saying goes that it’s location, location, location, in promotion, marketing and PR, it’s the story, the story, the story.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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Patient Stories and Medical Media Relations

December 14, 2011 Leave a comment

When it comes to PR and medical-oriented media relations, remember, your best stories are patient success stories.  Yes, as the physician you’re the expert and the educator, but it’s your patient stories that in turn will tell your story.  The media is looking to interest their audience, whether that audience is readers, viewers or listeners and what’s going to grab their attention is going to be stories that affect them.  Although the audience is going to be interested in your expertise and information, what is going to impact them on a visceral, emotional level is going to be patient stories that they can identify with.

Make a list of patients who have interesting, impactful stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how lives were changed or transformed.  Contact the appropriate patients, explain how their stories can help educate and inform others who are dealing with similar problems or issues. Explain what would be involved and how this would be an important outreach to the media.  This is not just a way to sell a patient on appearing in the media.  Patient stories educate and inform the public.  That is generally how the public learns about new procedures, treatments, and options.  We’ve worked with physicians where the patients were more than willing to tell their stories because they wanted others in their situation to be able to benefit from their story.  There are patients who will have no interest in speaking to the media, preferring to keep their story private.  That is something to be respected.  But let patients know that you are collecting anecdotal stories and that you’ll be presenting some of these stories to the media to explain and educate the public on your work.  You may be surprised at how many will be willing and even eager to tell their story.

Once you have patients who are willing to tell their stories, match the various patient stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example a story about the latest breakthroughs in back surgery, would be pitched differently than a story about hormone replacement therapy.  A story on a ten year old dealing with food allergies, would need a different approach altogether.  If your stories include before and after photos, make sure to get images that are as professional as possible.  Be sure to have your patients sign a release form.

Once you have patients who are willing to tell their story to the media, meet with them to review the questions that the media could ask them.  Make your patients as comfortable as possible with the process.  Remember, these patients are not only telling their stories, they’re representing you and your practice.  You want them to be articulate and the presentation to be accurate and appropriate. Utilizing medical-oriented public relations can serve several purposes, it can build your practice and educate and inform the public.   By getting this information to the public through the media you can improve and, in some cases, save lives.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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Successful PR Pitch Examples

November 10, 2011 Leave a comment

The media wants stories.  Producers and editors want journeys that offer a strong narrative, something that will capture the public’s attention.

There are hard and soft news stories.  Unless your story is timely and generally relates to a breaking news story, chances are your pitch is going to fall in the soft news category.  Hard news stories cover such topics as a war zone, or a political race or a natural disaster; soft news focuses on human interest oriented stories, such as a new technology product, or a story on a disabled runner participating in a marathon.  The following are some media stories we pitched that worked.  Each illustrates a different way of landing a story.

1) We worked with one client who was down to her last few dollars.  She had developed some fashion-oriented products.  It took some time, but they began to sell.   She made it through the rough patch, built her business into a million dollar enterprise and created an amazing story that resonated with both the media and the public.  Stories on her and her products, boosted sales, but they also gave entrepreneurs, particularly female entrepreneurs hope.  This is a “yes you can” type of story that gets people excited about what the human spirit can accomplish.

2) We also placed a story on acupuncture facelifts.  This was a more fun upbeat story.  It combined health and beauty, offered TV a good visual and offered the acupuncturist an opportunity to discuss some of the other more health-oriented acupuncture treatments she offered.  Unlike traditional facelifts the procedure was non invasive and made for a good TV segment.

3) There was also a story where grade school kids from a local elementary school “adopted” seniors who were living at an assisted living facility.  This was a feel good story about kids giving to seniors and shattering the age barrier.  It offered some good visuals, but also made for a good print feature story.

4) Still another revolved around a cosmetic company that made a product that camouflaged tattoos.  We placed stories on how grooms use the product at their weddings and prospective employees use it at job interviews.   This offered great visuals and allowed us to tailor the pitches to the specific media outlets we were approaching.

These generally fall into the soft news category.  The following is one that is more in the hard news arena:

5) We pitched a story about a physician who was working on clinical trials for a new treatment for pancreatic cancer.  The hospital was looking for people to participate in the trials.  The stories reviewed what the treatment entailed and the type of trials they were running.

Public relations can be the least expensive and most effective means of getting your message to the public, policy makers and  investors . But to be effective you need to recognize what a good story is and then create news stories related to your work that appeal to the media and the public.  So study the media, learn the types of stories they run and pitch them accordingly.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

 

 

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When Should You Launch A PR Campaign?

August 5, 2011 Leave a comment

If you’re reading this in real time, it’s early August, the talk shows are gearing up and getting ready to start production and the monthly magazines are turning their attention to their holiday issues.  There is no greater time to launch a public relations campaign than now.  But what if you’re reading this in December or early June, should you wait, move forward? What is the best time to launch a PR campaign?

The answer is, it depends on your specific needs.  Unless I’m dealing with a seasonal or holiday oriented product, I seldom decide when to launch by looking at the calendar.  What I focus on are my client’s needs and objectives.  If you have a product, or service that is ready to launch, do it now.

If you’re a larger company and are launching a fashion line or new toy line, your timeline is different, you want to launch in time to hit whatever your primary season is, or your industry’s particular timeline.  But if you’re a newer company, or are launching your first PR campaign, your primary focus should be on establishing your presence.  At this point, forget what the big players are doing, your focus and your intent is different.  If you’re a new clothing line, your PR strategy should not mirror that of Ralph Lauren.  That company is currently on a different trajectory than yours.  It has different goals than yours.  If all goes as planned you could be launching that style of media relations campaign in a few years, but for now focus on your own unique objectives.

That can be confusing, because chances are the feedback you’ll get from others will be based on what other companies are doing.  Remember, right now chances are you’re not competing with Paramount Pictures, Facebook, Harry Winston or Revlon.  You might be playing in the same arena, but you’re playing a different game.  Don’t get steered in the wrong direction.  Chances are you’ll end up wasting quite a lot of time and money.

If you’re launching a new product or service, or are a relatively small company and are doing PR for the first time, your objective is to get yourself on the map.  You want to establish yourself and your company.  With that in mind, unless your product is specifically seasonal or tied to a particular holiday, your focus shouldn’t be on when you’re going to launch your campaign but on whether you have your stories, release, media list, bio, pitches and game plan ready to go.  Your focus should be on starting your campaign now.  The media never stops.  They are always looking for new stories.  So, put the calendar away and get ready to launch.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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Why Physicians Need PR

November 8, 2010 Leave a comment

Physicians, more than most professionals, need to be aware of how they are perceived by the public.  A person’s health is his or her most valuable asset, and to most there is nothing more important than picking the right healthcare practitioner.  No one wants to put their health in the hands of someone they don’t trust.   This is one reason why (in the health and medical world) although advertising and direct mail promotions can be successful, they can also backfire.  A prospective patient does not chose a physician,  healthcare provider, or a hospital, the same way he or she chooses a new Smartphone or a new set of tires.

Marketing a medical practice via a print ad or TV commercial has inherent risks.  A physician does not want to be viewed as though he or she is actively selling; no prospective patient wants to be sold.  Patients want to see someone they trust, someone they feel is the best in the field, and that’s why a well planned public relations campaign is so very important to building a medical practice.

The healthcare field is learning how to utilize public relations and social media as ways to connect with and communicate to the public.  In over two decades working in the healthcare PR field, I’ve seen first hand how important media coverage is to physicians and hospitals.  We’ve placed physicians and healthcare practitioners in a wide range of media outlets including Time, Newsweek, Oprah, the Today Show, the Wall Street journal, the New Your Times, the BBC and hundreds of other local and national media outlets.  Those placements have helped build practices and establish medical experts.

On its own, the media has a tendency to run with the “if it bleeds it leads” stories.  That’s not only true in medicine but in all fields.  It is up to physicians, hospitals and medical professionals to offer the media instructional, educational and (yes) entertaining stories; compelling anecdotal stories that offer options new approaches and also appeal to the emotions.

People turn to experts in time of need.  They look for those they can trust, and being featured in Time, USA Today, the Today Show, CNN or the Wall Street Journal, helps give the public that sense of trust.  In the medical field, it’s not the physician or medical center who can buy the biggest ad or run the most commercials who get patients; it’s those that can tell the most compelling and educational human-interest stories.  Stories on the newest medical breakthroughs and the newest trends and studies attract media attention.  Stories on restoring someone’s health or saving the life of a loved one touch a basic human chord.

To succeed in the media world, it’s important for physicians to learn know how to speak the media’s language.  They need to learn how to establish themselves as the “go-to” doctor in their specialty, and to let the media know how to contact them when they need a quote about a medical issue.  They also need to learn how to reach out to media outlets, establish themselves as an expert and pitch compelling medical stories.  None of this was likely taught in medical school, but as more physicians are learning, as a marketing and educational tool, nothing compares with a well thought out PR campaign.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

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Making Money in an Economic Downturn

October 2, 2008 Leave a comment

Recession. Economic downturn. Tough economic times. Makes you want to hide under the covers until the storm passes, right? Maybe, but that’s the wrong approach. Let’s move from fear to facts. A number of studies show that companies that continue or increase their marketing and public relations efforts during tough economic times consistently outperform those who slash their marketing efforts during rough times.

Think about it. If most companies are reacting in a turtle-like fashion and hiding in their shells until the sun comes out again, there’s less competition out there; less companies are launching PR campaigns, fewer are reaching the public with effective marketing efforts. Suddenly you have media outlets that are looking for stories, particularly some good non-doom and-gloom stories. If you’re a savvy business person you know this and understand that this is precisely the time you can have a greater impact and get a bigger bang for your buck. So, look at tough times as your chance to reach your target market and build your business.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
For further information visit:
http://www.AnthonyMora.com

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My Book’s Self-Published Can I still get Media Coverage?

October 1, 2008 Leave a comment

When it comes to media placement, it just doesn’t matter anymore whether your book is published by a major house or is self-published. In the last few years, only once have I come across an objection to running a story because an author’s book was self-published.

A few years back a story we pitched was rejected by CNN, because the author we were
pitching had self-published his book. We pitched it three times and received three passes.
Well, we had also been working on other media fronts, and a few weeks later called back
explaining that the author and his book had been featured in both Newsweek and USA Today. Three hours later we received another call from CNN stating that they had thought it over and wanted to move forward with a segment. The author was interviewed on CNN. The moral is, if you get a “no,” keep working it and offering different angles until you turn that “no” into a “yes.” A self-published author’s real struggle has to do with distribution and marketing. When it comes to media relations, if you do it right, you can play in the same ballpark as the majors. As a matter of fact, I sometimes think that self-published writers fare better than their house-published counterparts because they are under no illusions. They don’t assume that some big entertainment conglomerate is going to use all of its muscle and turn their book into an overnight sensation. They realize that if success is going to happen, they’d better get to work, and fast. Your book was written to be read. Use the magic of the media. Get it out there.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
For further information visit:
http://www.AnthonyMora.com

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