Media Training Secrets for Business Success

December 16, 2011 Leave a comment

When I began in the public relations world over twenty years ago (that’s daunting), I quickly realized that landing an interview or a story for a client was only a part of the process.  Early on that first part of the process was my primary focus.  My job was to garner media coverage for my clients on TV, print or radio (this was actually pre social media days) and that was that.  Well I soon learned there was a huge difference between simply landing an interview and having the client give the media a successful interview.

Clients need to be prepared to speak to the media.  Although the best interviews seem like conversations, in fact they are not.  Both the interviewer and the interviewee have an agenda.  The interviewer wants to interest his or her target audience; the interviewee wants to get his or her message across, which should include a call to action.  Interviews work when the questions and answers flow and the agendas don’t clash.  But this is easier said than done.  After having producers and editors give me some tough but needed feedback about clients who were either boring or were too pushy, I realized that in order to achieve real PR success, media training was needed.

That’s when I brought on Ann Convery.  Ann has served as our media trainer since then.  She is now an international speaker, seminar leader, trainer and author who has prepared clients for interviews on Oprah, CNN, 60 Minutes, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, as well as hundreds of local, regional and trade-oriented media outlets.  Ann’s gift is to teach clients how to distill their message and speak to the media in a way that meets the media’s needs but also meets the client’s needs.

For a PR or media relations campaign to be successful, landing interviews and media coverage is not enough.  Clients need to be able to deliver their message in a clear, succulent, informative and entertaining manner.  Easier said than done, but it is a skill that can be learned.   For years Ann has prepared our clients to do just that, deliver effective and successful media interviews.

But her real genius was her ability to connect the dots and realize that the ability to effectively communicate with the media could be just as powerful and effective when communicating in the business world.  Using her media training skills and techniques, she developed Speak Your Business in 30 Seconds or Less.  Speak Your Business is a system that shows you how to find very specific words and numbers – found only in your business – so that you are effortlessly speaking and writing directly to the hidden, hungry “buying” brain in your prospects, every time.  Utilizing these tools, many of Ann’s clients have generated up to thousands of dollars in business within months with her Signature Series program, “You’re So Brilliant. Why Don’t They Buy?”

The bottom line is if you’re going to launch a public relations campaign for you and your business, you first need to master the art of effectively communicating.  Just last month a client who assured me he had been media trained and was set to do interviews, came off looking like a deer in the headlights when we landed him a spot on a TV news program.   Believe me, media training is a skill that will serve you well.   More importantly, as Ann teaches, these communication tools and skills work whether you’re talking to the media, delivering a speech, networking or making a phone call to a prospect.

For more information visit:   www.annconvery.com     

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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You Don’t Have to Be in a Major Media Market to Benefit from PR

December 3, 2011 Leave a comment

If you’re looking to promote your business, company or product and you’re not in one of the major markets such as Los Angeles or New York, PR should be high on your marketing to do list.  Public relations is a way to position yourself as an expert in your field and to gain the credibility and validation to allow you to compete with the competition in larger markets.

This type of media coverage can benefit you in several ways.  It can garner you media coverage in your target market, it can establish you as an expert nationally and locally and it can gain you the same credibility as your larger competitors.  If you’re a small business, chances are you could never compete with your larger competitors when it comes to traditional advertising or direct marketing.  Doing so is just too cost prohibitive.  But media relations can help level the playing field.  Being featured in a newspaper, magazine or TV segment presents you as the expert, and your company or product becomes the news.

The upside is that a public relations campaign offers you an affordable option to take your message directly to your target market.  If you’re in a smaller media market, and you professionally present your story to the local media, your chances of landing a story are maximized.  The large markets have heavy competition.  Everyone is looking for coverage there.  By initially focusing on the smaller markets you can gain local coverage and start establishing your business.  You can then take that media and magnify it online.  Post it on your blog,  Tweet the link to the article, post it on Facebook and other social media sites.  The internet allows you to turn a local story into an international story.

You can then use your local media to pitch the national outlets.   Once you’ve landed local media coverage, you are legitimately a story.  Use that initial coverage to position yourself as an expert and pitch your story to larger media outlets.

If you have a locally based business, the local and regional  media reaches your market.  It speaks directly to your clients and customers. The national media then offers your business the validation and credibility of the major players in your field.  Both have their uses, but by combining the two approaches you’ll get the most bang for your PR buck.  Remember, media begets media.  It’s a cumulative process.  Start local and then build.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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Tips for Using Social Media to Boost your Traditional PR Campaign

November 23, 2011 Leave a comment

There are times you can reach the traditional media using some nontraditional means.  Blogging, social media and online wire services can offer unique approaches to garnering coverage in print, TV and radio.  For example, sometimes the best way to contact a writer, editor or producer is through the back door.  For example, if you’re looking to garner a placement in the Wall Street Journal or Time Magazine, an approach could be to blog on one of their stories.  Newsweek and other publications have added blog round up boxes on their sites.  What they basically do is report on readers who have blogged about one of their articles.  Try picking a publication that’s of interest to you and blog on one of the articles.  Now link it using a backtrack line and then submit that to Technorati.com.  If all goes as planned, your blog will be reported and they in turn will link to you.  At least that’s how it should go.  If you’re up for a new approach, give it a shot.

Another way to keep in touch with, or at least in front of journalists is via social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Twitter can definitely be useful since it moves so quickly and new information is constantly being posted.  Some journalists will tweet when they’re looking for experts to interview.  They’ll also post articles that they find of interest or previous articles they’ve written.  This is a great way to get a real sense of an individual writer’s interests, likes and dislikes.

Twitter Tips
You can also be proactive in your approach.  Tweet stories that aren’t necessarily direct pitches but that show your interest in that particular field.  If you find something that will possibly interest a particular journalist, Tweet it.  And when he or she Tweets something you find of interest comment on it or reweet in.  Interaction is fine, just don’t spend your time trying to sell or pitch. When you find something you think a journalist might enjoy, share it. And when he or she shares an interesting article or tweets something entertaining, feel free to comment and interact.  Remember the name of the game here is connecting and sharing – not selling and pitching.  Still, on those occasions that you do find that perfect story to pitch, go for it, but present it in a way that you’re bringing value to the table.  Do not use social media as a way to constantly pitch.  You’ll quickly overstay your welcome and lose a valuable connection.

Sharing Your Press Release
Using paid wire services isn’t something I generally recommend, unless your story is amazingly timely, has a celebrity tie in, or has to do with a breaking news story.  Your best approach is to send your press releases to a targeted media list and following up with phone calls.  Still, posting your releases on free wire services, and (judiciously) posting your release on social media sites can help.  If your release has enough useable information on it, you might find that some media outlets as reprinting your release as a short article.  Articles that offer tips, or secrets or bust myths can be the most effective.  For example: 5 insider tips to a perfect body or 5 secrets to perfecting your golf swing, or The Skinny on 5 weight loss myths.  Something else to consider is offer 7 insider tips, only cover 4 of them in the release and end it with the link to your website or blog to find the rest of the tips.

All of these are different ways to get your message and pitch in front of your target media.  Using trial and error, find the methods that work best for you and then stick with them.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, traditional media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why You Should Launch Next Year’s PR Campaign this November

November 4, 2011 Leave a comment

You want the fourth quarter to end on a strong note, which is why it’s so important to launch a media relations campaign for the holidays, but even if your end of year plans are set and you’re looking to launch in a big way for the upcoming year, you need to start your PR and marketing no later than November.

There are a few practical reasons for this. To start, if you’re looking to place stories in any of the national monthly publications, keep in mind they work on a three to four month lead time; which means, at least as far as those media outlets are concerned, you need to pitch them in September or October to have any chance of landing coverage in January. Although other media outlets work on much shorter lead times, you want to place stories during the end of the current year to help build your brand going into the new year. You also want to start pitching in November to get on the media’s radar for New Year-oriented stories. January is going to be filled with stories that have to do with new gadgets, diets, approaches, products, and services that can help people get a fresh start in the new year.

Remember the media is looking for a hook and an angle that works for them, so approach your pitch from their perspective. For example, if you’re an accountant your pitch might be:
5 Insider Tips On How To Start Your New Year Accounting And Bookkeeping On The Right Foot,
or 5 Tips To Prepare For The Upcoming Tax Season

If your in the beauty, fitness or weight loss business, focus on such pitches as
How To Achieve Your Optimum New Look For The New Year


Focus on what makes your business, service or product special. Is there a different approach you use that can help people start the new year right? What problems do you solve? How do you, your product or service differ from others in the field? Maybe you’ve updated or modified your product or service for the New Year. Look at it from all angles; is it smaller, larger, brighter, less expensive, more user friendly, or more effective? How could you present what you do or sell in a way that’s different, offers a story and ties in with the New Year theme?
And don’t forget the most important focus; how does your business or product affect others? How has it helped change people’s lives? What solutions does it offer? Does it make life easier? Does it make people richer, thinner, smarter, faster, or happier? Perhaps you have clients who would be able to tell their story to the media? The most effective PR campaigns are those that tell transformational stories. If by launching an effective public relations campaign you can illustrate how your business has positively affected the life of others, people who see read or hear your story will want to know if you can do the same for them. And your phone will start ringing.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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Why Your Customers Can be Your Best PR

September 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Your best stories might not be your product or your service; your best stories illustrate your value.  Where most people get lost when trying to come up with story angles or media hooks to launch their PR campaigns is that they focus on what is important to them, as opposed to what would interest the media.  It’s an easy trap to fall into and one that railroads most public relations campaigns.  So what makes for a good story or pitch idea?  Remember, your focus is on the media and the media’s focus is on their readers, viewers or listeners.  If you can pitch a writer a story that is going to interest their readers, or a TV producer a segment idea that is going to hook their viewers, you’re going to succeed.

But again the most difficult part is being able to step back and come to terms with the possibility that the story that you want to get in the media may very well not be the story that the media is interested in.  So, for now, forget your product or service and focus on your value.  How to you impact people’s lives?  Do you help people make more money?  Do you save them time and effort?  Do you help them lose weight?  Do you make them healthier?  Focus on what you do for your clients or customers.  Keep in mind that your best stories are often your client success stories.  Make a list of clients or customers who have interesting impactful stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how lives were changed or transformed by working with you or buying your product or service.

Contact the appropriate clients, explain how their stories can help educate and inform others who are dealing with similar problems or issues.

If the stories include before and after photos, make sure to get images that are as professional as possible.  Have your clients sign a release form.

Match the various patient stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example a story about weight loss, would be pitched differently than a story about a new financial product.

Meet with the clients and review the questions that the media could ask them.  Make them as comfortable as possible with the process.  Remember, these clients are not only telling their stories, they’re representing you and your business.  You want them to be articulate the presentation to be accurate and appropriate.

When talking to a client about the process, explain what would be involved and see if they’d be willing to talk to the media. Keep in mind that often this can amount to free PR for them, so it can be presented as a win-win arrangement.  The media gets a good story, your client can often mention his or her business and you are presented as a solution to a problem.  Not a bad deal.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, Media, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creating a PR Pitch that Works

September 7, 2011 Leave a comment

An effective public relations campaign can reach your target market, establish you as an expert in your field, and offer you validation and legitimacy that comes with being featured as a news story.  That’s great, right?  But how do you come up with the right pitches and ideas to grab the media’s attention?  You can send out press releases and media blasts all day long, but if you don’t have a compelling story that meets the media’s needs, your PR campaign is not going to work for you.  So how do you go from concept to actually landing TV and print stories?  Brainstorm.  Think like a journalist, not like a business person.

  • Set up a brainstorming session with your PR consultant, or, if you’re doing this in-house, meet with members of your staff that understand your practice.
  •  Allow everyone involved to speak freely.  Start with a list of the obvious stories, then drill down to more unique stories or review different ways to present stories.
  • Think out of the box.  Be creative.  Remember you don’t have to use all of these stories, but the deeper you drill, the better the chances of finding a great story, so let the ideas flow-freely.  You’re pitching TV, so think in terms of the strongest visual stories you can present
  • Divide the stories as per the various media outlets you’ll be approaching.  There will be some stories that are timely, others that are seasonal and others that are evergreen.  Come up with a schedule of when to pitch which stories
  • Divide the stories into local, regional and national.  Different media outlets have different needs.  You want to pitch towards their specific needs.

You want to illustrate why your story and pitch is a perfect fit for their readers or viewers.   You want them to see the value in your story.  To do that you have to come up with a pitch that speaks to each media outlet’s specific audience.  You very well could pitch Vogue, the Today Show, the Wall Street Journal and your local newspaper the same story, but you’d have to tailor you pitch to meet those outlet’s specific needs.  You’d need a female angle, a visual angle, a business angle and a local angle.

Remember, your job is to present yourself and your product or service as a story the media will want to cover, not to do a sales job.  As soon as you try to “sell” a producer or an editor, you’ve lost.  To interest the media don’t pitch your product or your service, pitch a story; pitch your value.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, news, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Tips to Creating An Effective PR Campaign

September 2, 2011 Leave a comment

Whether you hire a public relations firm, a PR consultant, or try a do-it-yourself media relations approach, the following is a quick outline on how to create your own public relations campaign.  If you’re working on a shoestring budget, or are launching your campaign on your own, remember what you don’t know definitely can hurt you.  Study the media and do your homework before trying to land media placements.  The wrong story idea, pitch or approach can end up doing you more harm than good.

If you’re working with a PR firm, do precisely that, work with them.  You know your business better than they ever will, but they know the media.  Working with each other and bringing your various strengths to the table will help ensure your success.  You’re job isn’t to give your public relations firm marching orders, but to work hand in hand with them, help them develop story ideas, and involve yourself in the process.  It works best when everyone is a part of the creative team.

Once you’re ready to move forward:

1.  Hold a brainstorming session to develop pitches and angles

Remember a good PR campaign comes down to having good stories to tell.  Have a brainstorming session where you come up with anywhere from five to seven different PR hooks or story ideas.

2. Create a list of compelling anecdotal stories.

If you offer a product or service, come up with anecdotal stories that help illustrate what you do and how you affect people’s lives.  Your journey, how you started the company or created your product could offer a compelling angle.

3. Create a list of potential stories and match them to appropriate media outlets.

Remember not all stories or pitches will fit each media outlet.  Study the various magazines, newspapers, TV shows and radio programs.  Now work to match your pitch to each media outlet’s particular needs. Make a list of appropriate media outlets and write a one-page press release that you can modify to fit the needs of each specific media outlet.

4. Review various ways to present yourself in order to establish yourself as an expert.

Work on presenting yourself as an expert in your field.  Is there a news story that you can comment on?  Can you explain how your business or field works or how it impacts people’s lives?

5. Develop different story angles for print, TV or radio.

Remember TV is a visual medium.  Try and come up with visually oriented stories that you can pitch to producers.  Print and radio generally offer you a bit more time to tell your story.  Develop strong transformational stories that are interesting, compelling and informative.

PR is the only form of marketing that can reach your target market, establish you as an expert in your field and offer you the validation and legitimacy of being featured as a news story.  It’s an amazing marketing tool.  Whether you hire a PR firm, a public relations consultant or launch a campaign in-house – start now!

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

 

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Small Business PR Success Tips

August 27, 2011 Leave a comment

Brad Pitt’s publicist’s job isn’t to pitch him to the media, but to coordinate media for him.  Brad Pitt commands media because, well, he’s… Brad Pitt.  He’s a star and the media is going to cover him or his new film, whenever he’s willing and ready to talk.  But if John Smith is starring in a new film, that’s a whole different story.  No one knows who John Smith is, except for maybe his friends, family and Twitter followers.  So John has a different job cut out for him, unlike Brad whose main job is figuring out what media interviews he wants to do, John needs to convince the media that it’s worth their while to run a story on him and his film.

As a small business owner you’re in the same position as our friend John.  He has a great film that he can’t wait to promote, you have a great business product or service that you want media coverage for.   And, like John, you’re not Brad Pitt, which means you need to come up with a compelling reason why the media will want to cover you and your story.

The first thing you want to do is figure out what your main stories are.  Reviewing the following check list will give you a good start.

1)  How do you present that in a way that separates you from the competition and makes for a good news story?

2) What makes your story interesting?

3) What is it you do that solves problems?

4) Do you help people lose weight, make money, save time or find a relationship?

5) Do you have a strong local angle you can pitch to your local media?

6) Is there a national story you can tie in to.  Can you discuss or address a story that’s already in the news?

Effective public relations all comes down to effective story telling.  Remember you’re not pitching you or your product, you’re pitching the media outlets a story that will interest their readers, viewers or listeners.  You want to entertain, teach, instruct, or solve problems.  The last thing you want to do is try and sell the media, because the media doesn’t want to be sold.  Media coverage not only reaches your target market it offers you the  validation and credibility that no other form of media can offer, which is why it’s so important that you present the media with a news story and not a sales pitch.

Being a small business doesn’t have to be a PR liability.  It can actually work in your favor if you think creatively and come up with interesting stories that solve problems, educate and inform.  Focus on your strengths.  You don’t need to be Brad Pitt to make it onto the evening news; you just need to learn to be media savvy.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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Talk Shows Rule Daytime TV – Now Learn how To Book Yourself

June 29, 2011 1 Comment

Recently ABC announced that it was canceling its long-running soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live and replacing them with two new one-hour daytime talk shows, The Revolution and The Chew.

All My Children premiered on the ABC Television Network on January 5, 1970, as a half-hour show; seven years later it expanded to an hour. “One Life to Live” debuted on July 15, 1968 and marked its 10,000th episode on August 17, 2007.   But times have changed and now reality-oriented talk shows rule the daytime.

The Revolution will be a weight-loss show co-hosted by “Project Runway” emcee Tim Gunn. The Chew have a food slant and will offer a “rotating cast” of hosts that includes chef Mario Batali, Top Chef’s Carla Hall, chef Michael Symon, nutrition expert Daphne Oz, and entertaining expert Clinton Kelly.

These two shows are just some of the more current offerings to an already crowded daytime lineup which will also include such newcomers as Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, Rosie O’Donnell and Fran Dresher.  Add them to such returning old guards such as Dr. Phil, Ellen The Dr. Oz Show, The Gayle King Show, The Talk, The View, Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart and you have a pretty full day of talk.  Chances are not all of these shows will survive and they will all be fighting one another for the elusive ratings.

This time around there is no Oprah in the mix.  For the first time in decades, a new show truly has a chance to jump out of the pack and claim the daytime crown.  So, if you’re an expert in your field, or someone who has written a book or have a service or product that fits one of the shows’ target markets; get ready to start pitching.  The shows don’t start until September, except for a few such as the Revolution, which is scheduled to launch in January.  But by late July producers are setting up their booking schedules.

Don’t make the mistake of blindly pitching every talk show the same way.  Study each show and see what type of segments they run; then tailor your pitch or press release to meet those criteria.  Remember  follow-up calls are important. They’re the only way to know that your press release has actually been read. And, just as important, by following up, you can find out if the press release did its job and generated interest. If the release didn’t do the trick, you can now add the human touch. If the response is no, you can offer other angles, but do it lightly and then exit gracefully. Don’t waste your time trying to convince the media why you are right or trying to make a hard sale. Your objective is to meet their needs and not by pitching a product or a service, but by giving them a good, compelling story.  Work on your PR pitch before you call. Do some pitch practicing, even if it’s just with a friend. Record a call and listen to how you sound. Don’t sound intimidated and certainly don’t try to intimidate. Be upbeat and polite.   Remember study each show and pitch towards their needs.  It might take some time, but if you stick to it, brainstorm and come up with some creative pitches – we’ll see you on the talk shows.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under soap operas, Talk Shows, target audience, traditional media, TV, tv interview, tv shows Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Illuminative Marketing: Creating Business By Offering Benefits And Solutions

April 12, 2011 1 Comment

How do you respond to cold calls, ads, direct marketing pieces, email spam?  Exactly.  Now why would you expect your prospects to react differently?  Generally people either run from or lash out at aggressive hard sell marketing,

Although they can work, traditional promotion efforts have a poor return on investment.  Most prospects turn and run when they feel they’re being sold.  Overt promotion is considered intrusive, overly aggressive, and unwelcome.  Approaches such as cold calling generally induce reactions such as irritation fear, impatience, annoyance and anger.  Not the reactions you want to illicit in a prospect.  These approaches trigger people’s fight or flight responses.  Your prospects either want to argue with you, or they want to slam the phone down in your ear.  Not a good way to start to a business relationship.  There is a reason why cold calling and direct marketing have such low rates of closing.  These approaches set you up as the adversary, the enemy.

To market effectively, attraction should be your focus.  You shine a light on your prospective client’s problems and offer solutions; which in turn draws prospects and clients to you.  Illumination equals attraction.  The trick is to shift from a traditional marketing approach to one that focuses on your value; the standard dynamics of marketing are upturned, as your focus moves from promotion to attraction.  Doing business with you becomes appealing, desirable.  You and your business are sought after.

This is where a combined approach that includes PR, media relations, blogging and social media, can be so effective.  For this to work make a firm connection with your message and your audience.  Your approach needs to be in alignment with your core values and your true skill set.  Focus on illumination and attraction rather than on selling; you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, Business Strategy, Marketing, social media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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