This past weekend my sister and I took my niece to one of Winnipeg's finer clothing establishments in search of a dress for the grade eight grad dance. We had a lot of fun oohing and ahing over the fabulous dresses at Swank Boutique - mostly because every single item my niece tried on looked amazing on her. But what made it even more fun was the customer service we received while at the boutique.
Randy was the guy who helped us out and he was doing what most of us strive to do every day in our working lives - communicating. First, he observed our shopping 'style'. Neither my sister nor I, nor my niece for that matter, like to have sales clerks in our face or stalking us while we try to decide if there is anything in the store we want to take to the dressing room. Randy gave us space while we toured around, pulling out various dresses for my niece to look at.
Once we had a couple of possibilities, Randy immediately set us up with a changing room and then offered his opinion when my niece tried on the first dress (it looked fabulous, of course). He asked a few questions about what the dress was for, observed how she seemed to be feeling in what was picked for her, and then he started bringing a variety of other dresses for her to try on. Notable in this was that he mostly stuck to the sales racks, which is where we had focused our initial search. I don't know how he did it, but he found great dresses that we completely overlooked.
Then, once she was down to just a few choices, he made it about her. Not about mom. Not about auntie. About the 14 year old who was going to be wearing the dress and what did she like and how did she feel. I was really impressed. We left the store with a dress that my niece absolutely loves and that she can wear for more than the one occassion. It wasn't the dress I would have chosen - good thing since I'm 30 years older than her! But she's happy and that's because Randy at Swank used excellent communications skills to provide outstanding customer service.
The moral of this post is that communications is EVERYWHERE and something we should all be striving to master, not just those of us who have the word 'communications' in our job titles.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
We want a pitcher...not a belly itcher!
Okay so this blog post has nothing to do with baseball other than it is being written during baseball season and it's about pitching. Pitching news stories that is.
There may have been a time when there were so many reporters working at the various media outlets that getting them to cover your story was like, well, shooting fish in a barrel. Not the case since I've been working in communications. With so many cut backs in news departments across the country, most reporters are expected to produce multiple stories every day in multiple formats (think tv and web or radio and web or print and web). Reporters simply don't have the time to research stories from idea through to three minute feature anymore. In fact, 90 seconds is the maximum story you can expect on tv news broadcasts and 20 seconds is exceptional for radio.
That's why professional business communicators (like me) are so important to helping getting an organization's stories into the mainstream news. And that's where putting together a solid pitch comes in. It has nothing to do with throwing a baseball, but you are lobbing a story idea across the home plate to the reporter. It's important that your pitch is well developed and provides the reporter with not only the gist of the story, but statistics or any other back up research to support your claim, a list of potential interview subjects that you have confirmed are available and for television especially, a list of visuals that will support the story being pitched.
If it feels like you're doing the reporter's job - yes, in many ways you are. But if you don't do it, they won't likely cover your story unless it is a bad news story. Good news stories need you to do the legwork so that the reporter can come in, get the goods, get out and get it published.
Pitching your story starts with building a relationship with the right journalists in your community. Once that relationship is established, the journalist is more likely to receive your pitches with enthusiasm rather than skepticism. I find the best way to start making a pitch, once I've got the story already developed and researched, is to call the journalist and tell them you have an idea, give the gist and promise to follow up with a more detailed email. That detailed email is what your journalist is going to use when he or she pitches the idea at their news meeting, so you want it to be very appealing and very well developed.
Sometimes there is just too much other news happening on the day you pitch your story so you'll be shelved. Don't give up! Ask the journalist if there was interest and if the next day or later in the week would work better for them. You'll know if interest isn't there. Remember though - if you pitch a story to one journalist, you can't be pitching it to all and sundry hoping it sticks with someone. That's burning your contacts. However, if there is no interest from your original contact you are free to move on to your next contact to pitch the story. Just always remember that different media have different audiences so make sure what you're pitching is appropriate to that journalist's audience.
Warm up, windmill, spit ball, slider, knuckleball - whatever pitching terminology you go for - get out there and start pitching and quit belly itching (where in the world did we come up with that chant when we were kids?)
There may have been a time when there were so many reporters working at the various media outlets that getting them to cover your story was like, well, shooting fish in a barrel. Not the case since I've been working in communications. With so many cut backs in news departments across the country, most reporters are expected to produce multiple stories every day in multiple formats (think tv and web or radio and web or print and web). Reporters simply don't have the time to research stories from idea through to three minute feature anymore. In fact, 90 seconds is the maximum story you can expect on tv news broadcasts and 20 seconds is exceptional for radio.
That's why professional business communicators (like me) are so important to helping getting an organization's stories into the mainstream news. And that's where putting together a solid pitch comes in. It has nothing to do with throwing a baseball, but you are lobbing a story idea across the home plate to the reporter. It's important that your pitch is well developed and provides the reporter with not only the gist of the story, but statistics or any other back up research to support your claim, a list of potential interview subjects that you have confirmed are available and for television especially, a list of visuals that will support the story being pitched.
If it feels like you're doing the reporter's job - yes, in many ways you are. But if you don't do it, they won't likely cover your story unless it is a bad news story. Good news stories need you to do the legwork so that the reporter can come in, get the goods, get out and get it published.
Pitching your story starts with building a relationship with the right journalists in your community. Once that relationship is established, the journalist is more likely to receive your pitches with enthusiasm rather than skepticism. I find the best way to start making a pitch, once I've got the story already developed and researched, is to call the journalist and tell them you have an idea, give the gist and promise to follow up with a more detailed email. That detailed email is what your journalist is going to use when he or she pitches the idea at their news meeting, so you want it to be very appealing and very well developed.
Sometimes there is just too much other news happening on the day you pitch your story so you'll be shelved. Don't give up! Ask the journalist if there was interest and if the next day or later in the week would work better for them. You'll know if interest isn't there. Remember though - if you pitch a story to one journalist, you can't be pitching it to all and sundry hoping it sticks with someone. That's burning your contacts. However, if there is no interest from your original contact you are free to move on to your next contact to pitch the story. Just always remember that different media have different audiences so make sure what you're pitching is appropriate to that journalist's audience.
Warm up, windmill, spit ball, slider, knuckleball - whatever pitching terminology you go for - get out there and start pitching and quit belly itching (where in the world did we come up with that chant when we were kids?)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Big Bad Reporter
Jerry Seinfeld and his pals made a show out of nothing. Unfortunately, there are some reporters out there who think they can make a story out of nothing. These reporters are the worst to deal with and if I was a mean person, I would say they're not really journalists at all - but I'm not a mean person so I'll just say that they are 'desperate' journalists.
Let me explain. Imagine a reporter sitting at the round table for the morning news team meeting. Everyone on the team is pitching their story ideas for the day and one by one, the eyes are slowly swinging around the table to our desperate journalist. Desperate has no solid leads. No real story. Nothing to pitch. But he (or she) heard a rumor, read a blog, had a random thought or feeling about something in the past week. He grasps at it and before we know it, he is spinning out a fabulous story pitch about something that is made of nothing. The news director LOVES IT! Desperate is now committed to producing that story for the evening news (Desperate isn't always a television reporter but for this blog he is).
Now comes the rub. Desperate still has no solid leads or facts to support his story idea. But the story idea was so good, he's not going to let real facts get in the way of his pitch. So Desperate sits down and writes his story. Almost pure fiction but that's okay, because Desperate can find someone, somewhere to give him a quote that will corroborate his theory, he's sure of it. Once his story is written, he gets on the phone and sets up some interviews with whomever will talk to him on camera, on the record. And voila - he has his story for the evening news.
I admit that I am at a loss as to why an ethical journalist would do this but I have seen it happen quite a few times. I can actually tell during the initial phone conversation with the reporter when they have already written their story and are now just looking for someone to give it a 'credibility quote'. I don't know if it is desperation, stubbornness, or pure ego - but it is virtually impossible to get Desperate to hear the real facts and follow that story, rather than the one that is already written in their mind or on their laptop.
So what do you do with this kind of reporter? Well first you have to get enough experience to know when you're being used by one. Then all you can do is keep reiterating the facts and be very, very prepared not to be sucked into saying something out of context during an interview. It's hard - sometimes you will know that the story is pre-written but you don't know WHAT the pre-written story is - so all you can do is hope for the best, and hope that the journalist suddenly realizes what they are doing is wrong, and that they need to do what they were trained to do and listen to the facts so they can do a solid, quality story. And don't despair - there are only a handful of journalists that pull this crap and once they've done it once - you'll have them pegged.
Let me explain. Imagine a reporter sitting at the round table for the morning news team meeting. Everyone on the team is pitching their story ideas for the day and one by one, the eyes are slowly swinging around the table to our desperate journalist. Desperate has no solid leads. No real story. Nothing to pitch. But he (or she) heard a rumor, read a blog, had a random thought or feeling about something in the past week. He grasps at it and before we know it, he is spinning out a fabulous story pitch about something that is made of nothing. The news director LOVES IT! Desperate is now committed to producing that story for the evening news (Desperate isn't always a television reporter but for this blog he is).
Now comes the rub. Desperate still has no solid leads or facts to support his story idea. But the story idea was so good, he's not going to let real facts get in the way of his pitch. So Desperate sits down and writes his story. Almost pure fiction but that's okay, because Desperate can find someone, somewhere to give him a quote that will corroborate his theory, he's sure of it. Once his story is written, he gets on the phone and sets up some interviews with whomever will talk to him on camera, on the record. And voila - he has his story for the evening news.
I admit that I am at a loss as to why an ethical journalist would do this but I have seen it happen quite a few times. I can actually tell during the initial phone conversation with the reporter when they have already written their story and are now just looking for someone to give it a 'credibility quote'. I don't know if it is desperation, stubbornness, or pure ego - but it is virtually impossible to get Desperate to hear the real facts and follow that story, rather than the one that is already written in their mind or on their laptop.
So what do you do with this kind of reporter? Well first you have to get enough experience to know when you're being used by one. Then all you can do is keep reiterating the facts and be very, very prepared not to be sucked into saying something out of context during an interview. It's hard - sometimes you will know that the story is pre-written but you don't know WHAT the pre-written story is - so all you can do is hope for the best, and hope that the journalist suddenly realizes what they are doing is wrong, and that they need to do what they were trained to do and listen to the facts so they can do a solid, quality story. And don't despair - there are only a handful of journalists that pull this crap and once they've done it once - you'll have them pegged.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Relations with Media
A major aspect of working in marketing and communications is working with the media. For most people in this role, it's just an everyday part of the job and not much to get worked up about. For many of us, we started our career as journalists so we know that other news people are just that, people. What we need to remember, however, is that it isn't an everyday part of the job for our co-workers - many of whom we call upon to be experts to speak with the media.
I do believe that having experts from your organization trained and knowledgeable about the area in question are the right people to speak to the media. Having me be the spokesperson about genetic makeup of linola seed (for example) makes no sense. However, my responsibility is still crucial in this dialogue between journalist and seed researcher. Let me tell you how:
First, I have to build relationships with the journalists who are likely to be interested in covering any kind of news about my organization. That means knowing who they are, what particular interests they have, how they like to receive information, how to best get hold of them and MOST IMPORTANT returning their calls and respecting their deadlines. Building this relationship is not something that can be done overnight - it takes time, patience and a good attitude. As much as I am proving my reliability to the journalists, they are also proving their reliability and ethics to me in how they treat information I provide and how they cover stories.
Second, I have to ensure my team of experts are trained in media relations. Not just once, but at least annually, they need a bit of a refresher since after all, this isn't something they deal with daily. It's like my ability to speak French - it gets so rusty from disuse that when I do go to have a conversation it is pretty squeaky. People who haven't had any exposure to media will benefit from a one or two day intensive training course. Then they need to be eased into the role of expert spokesperson. My role here is sometimes to provide the training, if budgets are tight, but always to provide insight on my organization's media interview philosphy, even if I'm not the main instructor.
Third, I have to make sure my expert spokesperson, especially the new ones, are sufficiently prepared for the interview. I'm not talking about putting words in their mouth - they know the information, they ARE the experts. I just want to make sure they've thought about what kinds of questions they're going to be asked, thought about what their answers are, practiced them a bit on a friendly face, so that when it comes time for the in-person interview they aren't struck mute. That would be a waste of time for them and for the journalist who wants some quotable quotes, whether for print, radio or television. Preparation is key to a good interview.
Finally, I follow up with the journalist to see if they got all the information they needed for their story and usually just to give one last delivery of my organization's brand message. Very often a reporter will get back to their news room and realize they need a statistic or a spelling or something to round out their story. I'm there to track it down for them and provide it. I try to make their job easier so they're more inclined to cover my organization's good news and I try to make my expert spokesperson's job easier so they are more inclined to enjoy the media relations experience and do it again, and again, and again!
I do believe that having experts from your organization trained and knowledgeable about the area in question are the right people to speak to the media. Having me be the spokesperson about genetic makeup of linola seed (for example) makes no sense. However, my responsibility is still crucial in this dialogue between journalist and seed researcher. Let me tell you how:
First, I have to build relationships with the journalists who are likely to be interested in covering any kind of news about my organization. That means knowing who they are, what particular interests they have, how they like to receive information, how to best get hold of them and MOST IMPORTANT returning their calls and respecting their deadlines. Building this relationship is not something that can be done overnight - it takes time, patience and a good attitude. As much as I am proving my reliability to the journalists, they are also proving their reliability and ethics to me in how they treat information I provide and how they cover stories.
Second, I have to ensure my team of experts are trained in media relations. Not just once, but at least annually, they need a bit of a refresher since after all, this isn't something they deal with daily. It's like my ability to speak French - it gets so rusty from disuse that when I do go to have a conversation it is pretty squeaky. People who haven't had any exposure to media will benefit from a one or two day intensive training course. Then they need to be eased into the role of expert spokesperson. My role here is sometimes to provide the training, if budgets are tight, but always to provide insight on my organization's media interview philosphy, even if I'm not the main instructor.
Third, I have to make sure my expert spokesperson, especially the new ones, are sufficiently prepared for the interview. I'm not talking about putting words in their mouth - they know the information, they ARE the experts. I just want to make sure they've thought about what kinds of questions they're going to be asked, thought about what their answers are, practiced them a bit on a friendly face, so that when it comes time for the in-person interview they aren't struck mute. That would be a waste of time for them and for the journalist who wants some quotable quotes, whether for print, radio or television. Preparation is key to a good interview.
Finally, I follow up with the journalist to see if they got all the information they needed for their story and usually just to give one last delivery of my organization's brand message. Very often a reporter will get back to their news room and realize they need a statistic or a spelling or something to round out their story. I'm there to track it down for them and provide it. I try to make their job easier so they're more inclined to cover my organization's good news and I try to make my expert spokesperson's job easier so they are more inclined to enjoy the media relations experience and do it again, and again, and again!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
To Get Inspired
I haven't been particularly inspired to post on my blog this past week or so which got me to thinking about what does inspire us? Specifically, what inspires us to write? Okay, besides the fact that for communicators the difference between writing and not writing is often a pay cheque. But I'm not being paid for this blog and YOU don't want to read my ramblings about the weather, home repairs and dog walks.
And yet - those are the things that often inspire me. A sunny day, a refreshing walk in the park or a successful repainting of a room in my house make me want to be creative. Writing is about being creative. It's easy to forget that part of it when you're stuck writing in formula - news releases, speaking notes, ad copy - all of it is often formula. Even worse, sometimes you can dust off a news release from two or three (or five) years ago, update a few names and it still works. How challenging is that? It's not something I recommend doing, I'm just saying that it can be possible.
I think the way to get inspired when writing something routine is to visualize someone in your target audience reading it. Imagine that written piece inspiring them to take action. Better yet, imagine them taking exactly the action that is the point of the written piece and then write to persuade that action. No action required? Then why are you writing that piece? Unless it is a blog, where people like me get to write for the sake of seeing my own words, you should have a purpose to your written pieces. Inform - yes. But being informed without feeling an urge to take action is just more white noise. Give it a try.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Follow Your Bliss
Sometimes I am amazed at how lucky I am to be doing for a career what I want to be doing. Sure, there are days (sometimes lots in a row) that I hate my job for whatever reason, usually because I'm dealing with people who I can't mind meld with. But those bad times are made up for by the many, many good times in marketing and communications. In fact, most people want to be doing my job so much they try to do it for me.
It seems very romantic to be involved in creating television and radio advertisements and to work with the media. Creativity is exciting and can be very refreshing. However, to get to that really incredible finished product, like the ads created for St-Boniface Hospital, takes a lot of work, negotiation, input from the agency, input from the client, input from people who are considered stakeholders (see my blog on research). When it all gels - you get a product like the Hope and Healing campaign.
Other times my job is about sending off copy and design instructions and then waiting for something to come back to review, then sending changes, then back, then forth, then back, then forth. Lots of that goes on. Lots of phone calls to get information. Lots of meetings to confirm information. Lots of sales calls from vendors who want us to try their product or service.
As much as I love writing and really enjoyed having that as a big part of my job in the past, as I've advanced in my career writing has become a bit of a luxury. It requires concentration and being able to set aside chunks of time for interviews, research and then actually sitting down and writing. Fortunately, there are a number of really good freelance writers available to help with the bigger projects. I still get a real sense of satisfaction when I write something, review it and realize, "Hey, I'm darn good at this." Then I move on to the many other demands of directing a marketing and communications department.
For someone who is trying to decide if marketing and communications (public relations, public affairs, media relations) is something they want to pursue as a career, I would suggest they ask themselves three questions:
1. Am I interested in other people and what they do?
2. Do I like feeling the stress and thrill of having to meet deadlines?
3. Can I rise above being told by everyone from the janitors to the accountants telling me what will work in order to get to what my education and experience has taught me WILL work?
If you can answer yes to those three questions, you could be on your way to enjoying a fulfilling career in marketing and communications.
It seems very romantic to be involved in creating television and radio advertisements and to work with the media. Creativity is exciting and can be very refreshing. However, to get to that really incredible finished product, like the ads created for St-Boniface Hospital, takes a lot of work, negotiation, input from the agency, input from the client, input from people who are considered stakeholders (see my blog on research). When it all gels - you get a product like the Hope and Healing campaign.
Other times my job is about sending off copy and design instructions and then waiting for something to come back to review, then sending changes, then back, then forth, then back, then forth. Lots of that goes on. Lots of phone calls to get information. Lots of meetings to confirm information. Lots of sales calls from vendors who want us to try their product or service.
As much as I love writing and really enjoyed having that as a big part of my job in the past, as I've advanced in my career writing has become a bit of a luxury. It requires concentration and being able to set aside chunks of time for interviews, research and then actually sitting down and writing. Fortunately, there are a number of really good freelance writers available to help with the bigger projects. I still get a real sense of satisfaction when I write something, review it and realize, "Hey, I'm darn good at this." Then I move on to the many other demands of directing a marketing and communications department.
For someone who is trying to decide if marketing and communications (public relations, public affairs, media relations) is something they want to pursue as a career, I would suggest they ask themselves three questions:
1. Am I interested in other people and what they do?
2. Do I like feeling the stress and thrill of having to meet deadlines?
3. Can I rise above being told by everyone from the janitors to the accountants telling me what will work in order to get to what my education and experience has taught me WILL work?
If you can answer yes to those three questions, you could be on your way to enjoying a fulfilling career in marketing and communications.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
