MediaFirst PR - Atlanta - Public Relations

What is your Public Relations Strategy?

Becky Boyd — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:13:50 +0000

Public relations is used in managing how information moves between an organization and the public. It makes use of a number of public relations strategies to control the disbursement of various types of information to the public with the aim of convincing them about various issues concerning a company, or an individual, or a company's products and services.

There are many public relations strategies that have been used over the years. Some of them include knowing the market. This is basically concerned with being in the know about developments that happen in a company's market. You should know what is making news and be able to act appropriately for the benefit of the client. It is also very important that you consider monitoring the web as a public relations strategy. This is a very helpful strategy if used because it allows a company to be informed about what people are saying about its products in various blogs in the web. It is helpful to monitor these conversations and to implement any change of messaging and other strategies that will create favorable comments.

The other public relations strategy that you can use is employing the services of the media. The media is one of the most used public relations tools as it covers a large area thus making it easy for information to be disbursed. It is therefore advised that a company should maintain good ties to the media as this will play a major role when it comes to running campaigns.

The use of technology in public relations is also another important public relations strategy, though it has been ignored by many players in the public relations field. Various technology developments, especially in the social media, are constantly being developed. Most social media outlets have a vast audience and massive number of users, making it an easy and quick way to spread your messages.

Why Should I Hire a PR Firm to Help With My Company’s Exit Strategy?

Becky Boyd — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:23:55 +0000

Smart executives hire public relations firms that have experience and expertise in their target markets, such as MediaFirst has expertise in the open source Drupal content management system, telecommunications, manufacturing, health care, IT, retail, and supply chain/logistics/transportation/warehousing.

PR can accelerate an exit strategy if executives are looking for that. Last year, we had 4 clients acquired by much bigger firms. We call that a success!

Here’s how PR can be used to accelerate an exit strategy:

- A successful PR Program can generate leads, which drive sales and build revenues. Bylined articles, case studies, or features on a company, its products and services, its customers, or its management philosophies give third-party endorsement of your offerings and capabilities.

- PR can build brand awareness and spread news to your target audience, be it prospective customers or investors. For one client who wanted to be acquired, we developed a growth-related campaign that targeted multiple cities across the US. This helped the prospective buyer understand that this company had a stake in more regions of the country than just its headquarters area. We also publicized new practice areas that few IT firms offered, making them even more attractive to the prospective buyer, which was Microsoft.

- PR turns your executives into thought leaders, making them more valuable to potential buyers.

- PR showcases your uniqueness. Successful PR campaigns need to include your value proposition, your unique positioning in the industry and over your competitors, and your sustainable, innovative skills. Potential investors or buyers want to know that your company is invaluable and that your offerings are needed and going to be around for a long time.

- PR engages with your target audience through social media and drives traffic to your website. It helps potential buyers find your business – and better understand your value and worth.

Making Press Releases Twitter Ready

Becky Boyd — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:20:47 +0000

Remember when you were a child and you sat in a circle and one person whispered something into the ear of the child next to them and this continued around the circle until the message came back to the original speaker? Was the message ever the same? Rarely!

This is what happens sometimes when we issue a press release. Journalists may trim your press release to a few sentences. With twitter, well-intentioned followers will reinterpret your release into less than 140 characters, potentially causing the message to be garbled and lose its full meaning.

What can you do to make it easier for people to pass on your message?

Suggest a Twitter-Ready Post by adding a set of words to the bottom of your press release that enables tweeters to pass on your message without distorting the meaning.  

Some tips for writing these Twitter-Ready Posts:   

Forget the flowery language – concentrate on the facts  
Use an appropriate hashtag  
Include a url pointing to the full copy of the media release  
Keep it to 120 characters in total to allow for unedited retweeting  
Don’t be afraid to use abbreviations – speak the language of your Tweeps.

Social Media: The Difference in Small Biz & Big Brand Social Media

Becky Boyd — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:20:29 +0000

With all this socializing going on, the challenge of coordinating and integrating messages across multiple social networks platforms has become top-of-mind. Businesses, large and small, are using social media platforms – but for very different reasons.

According to Erik Qualman’s book, Socialnomics – How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, “If Facebook were a country it would be the third largest country in the world behind only China and India. Yet, some of the core marketing and business principles of the last few centuries will still apply; whilst other basic practices will become as extinct as the companies that continue to try to force them on the unwilling public. Businesses don’t have the choice on whether or not they do social media, the choice is on how well they do it.”

Studies show that the integration of multiple platforms collectively boosts the chance that a message will reach its target. But, first, marketers need to begin with their business objectives – Do you want to drive awareness or create engagement?

Small businesses generally use social media to drive awareness. Measurement is in the form of tracking website visitors, leads, and fans or followers. Small businesses aren’t really focused on engaging in conversations. Rather they prefer to generate awareness of their offerings in hopes that this will create a lead that will lead to a sale.

Big brands prefer to create engagement with social media with the goal of building quality contacts. Marketers want to stimulate conversation and will present the same message differently on the various social media platforms. Measurement is in the form of positive mentions in mainstream media and improved sentiment analysis.

Whether you are a marketer in a small or large company, the key is to take the plunge into social media, and to use social media across all platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more.

Public Relations of the 21st Century – moving to influence individuals via social media and blogging

Becky Boyd — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:36:51 +0000

Moving from relations with the public to relations with individuals

It is crucial for any business to run a public relations campaign in order to keep a positive image in the public eye. However, the traditional modes of running such a campaign are slowly becoming obsolete. That is why it is necessary for businesses to update their public relations campaigns for the 21st century, and tackle the new methodologies & tools, which include blogging and social media.

Social Media allows companies to open up and establish a more transparent, personal and sincere communication with their audience. Welcome to public relations in the 21st century, where the move from relations with the PUBLIC to relations with INDIVIDUALS has established a horizontal multi-way model for public relations. This model is more evolved and social than the original symmetrical model presented in 1984 by the father of the contemporary public relations, Jim Grünig.

The model is horizontal in concept and multidirectional in execution.

Social Media has accelerated the understanding and development of this model. Traditionally, organizations have barely paid attention to the opinions of their public, but the speed, quantity and quality of the information issued, nowadays, is causing companies to fully adopt “horizontal” dialogue. We are seeing how “Unity (of individuals) makes strength. "This is leading large companies to undergo a radical shift in their thinking and abandon their one-way asymmetrical policies. They are beginning to truly “listen” to individuals (people), their public, seeking a sincere dialogue, promoting conversations, and valuing their active participation.

The establishment of this horizontal relationship implies that there is a balanced distribution of power among or between the participants and the organization and vice versa. If you want to know more about social media, contact MediaFirst.

Blogging, MediaFirst, PR, Public Relations, Social Media

Public Relations Agency Secret: Consistent Process Creates Great Results

jimcaruso — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0000

The value of your business increases as your audience reach and recognition expands. Create awareness, investor interest, and competitive advantage. Select Media First to help achieve success, funding, IPO, or acquisition. We work together to attain goals of:

Targeting and reaching the audiences that purchase your hardware, software, or services
Generating awareness and interest in your venture, through PR to these target audiences
Crafting the value proposition of your offerings and firm
Writing Press Releases that are compelling - and in the language of your audience
Blending these efforts with integrated marketing and your overall corporate strategy
Accomplishing goals to create new customers, grow revenues, and raise valuation

A business’ perceived value is increased by the third party endorsement of key business and technology media outlets (Online, Print, TV, Radio, Newsletters, Blogs, etc.).

Proposal and Agreement

Company principals, who are personally involved with and responsible for your success, listen to your goals and constraints. They price a package of PR, speaking opportunity management, analyst relations, or marketing services to fit the specific goals of your organization. The agreement states the rights and responsibilities of each party, including a balanced non-disclosure agreement.

PR Agency Plan - Your Plan

MediaFirst prepares documents that cover the strategic and tactical plans for your publicity, detailing: key messages that you wish to convey - by audience; corporate positioning - especially desired, future position; spokespersons; potential Press Release topics for the next 90 to 180 days, etc. Also, we agree on related tasks, such as Speaking Opportunity Management, Analyst Relations, Blogger Relations, inbound marketing, blogging, integrated marketing and PR efforts.

Editorial Calendar (EdCal) - Editorial Opportunities Where Your Company Deserves A Say

We develop an Editorial Calendar (EdCal), identifying upcoming stories that should include your firm. About six months in advance for monthly publications, we contact editors to fit you into key stories in targeted publications. This is a very forward-looking effort that pays off well for our clients. The number of publications targeted is proportional to your fee.

Press Kit

A Press Kit explains why your spokespersons and firm are well qualified to comment to the press. Common elements include Press Releases, bios of each spokesperson; a corporate profile or backgrounder; possibly supporting corporate collateral; explanatory bylined articles or white papers; other supporting bios - if desired, such as the Board of Directors or a Board of Advisors; all packaged and contained within a simple presentation folder.

Media Outlets List, Which may Include Bloggers for Blogger Outreach

Together, we select media outlets (magazines, radio shows, TV, and web news sites) with a readership (listener/viewer base) that reach your target audience. We combined our prior media contacts with any new research to find the the media contacts, reporters and editors, on the beat covering your technology or industry. This list builds upon our proprietary list of media contacts, through whom we established a long track record of success.

Press Releases - These Are Of The Latest, Search Engine & Social Media Press Release Design

We write press releases on the subjects of your deals, new product or service offerings, hirings, and office locations. These are subject to your review and final approval. We also employ an unique tactic of writing issue-based press releases, which position you as an expert and cite your vision of industry changes or reactions to breaking news. These issue-based press releases propose story ideas for reporters/editors, provide them with useful commentary on today's issue, or supply surveys. To distribute your news, we call reporters, send e-mails, transmit faxes, and - when warranted - use news wires.

The Interview: Teeing You Up For Press Opportunities

We uncover opportunities to be quoted, mentioned, or covered in detail. The secret is to be available, timely, interesting, informative, and quotable. You are the expert. So, help the reporter understand industry issues and developments. Regard reporters as an influential conduit to your audience. Our mutual goal is to get you in the story. In some publications you are quoted straight from the press release. Most often, your press release gets your foot in the door, but the reporter wants an interview. You are most responsible for getting quoted. Allowing us to schedule interviews works best and lets us coach you on what the reporter wants.

Web posting and updates: Press Releases, media coverage, etc.

Online, news-related information may be presented as:

"Press Releases" issued by your venture
"In The News" (Media coverage)
"Articles": White Papers or bylined articles
"Press Kit" page (or area within "Press Release" page)
Blog Posts covering, e.g., industry trends, market issues, your company initiatives, etc.
Related pages, such as: "Industry Analysts", your "Events", or the firm's "Newsletter"

Briefing Book

When you attend trade shows or industry conferences, we leverage your presence by scheduling press interviews with attending press. To support you, we documenting your on-site interview schedule, including a bio of the reporter and thier currenty story assignments in a "Briefing Book". We are available to attend trade shows to leverage industry contacts, work the booth/stand, facilitate press interviews, research competitors, & uncover industry issues

Monthly Report: Process Guarantees Delivery Of Results

The best measure of press, media coverage, is seeing your firm's name in print. Therefore, we concentrate on creating results, not reports. The Results/Status Report lists the articles in which your firm will appear or appeared, date of issue (forecasted or actual), title, reporter, and interview date. Reports typically list the opportunities pursued, interviews secured, award applications filed, byline article submissions, or other task status of both parties.

Forecasting Provides Confidence Of Success

We forecast your PR results by maintaining a list of reporters with whom you interviewed. We track the projected future date that your name will show up in print. Often, the forecast looks six months ahead, because of the long editorial lead times of monthly print publications.

These days, comprehensive measurement of PR placements (hits) includes the extended reach of social media via social networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube. Tools, such as social clipping, online and print clipping services, and the very many alternative Web-based search tools can provide some measures of press coverage. These sweep virtually all online activity. Print clips are available from larger publications. Most tools track Web links, but capture a lot of meaningless information if poorly configured.

If you understand this PR process and maintain realistic expectations, you will be very satisfied and well-rewarded with great press coverage.

Blogger Relations, media relations, PR, Public Relations, Public Relations Agency, publicity, Social Media, Social Networks

Grow Mindshare & Valuation

jimcaruso — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:24:04 +0000

MediaFirst is a high-tech, public relations and marketing services firm with unique abilities that best publicize and promote the business of your technology. MediaFirst draws on a depth of technology business experience that other PR and marketing firms just do not have. This powers great strategy, positioning, marketing, publicity, writing, and guidance. We get you more press coverage by better serving the media, reporters and editors, and your firm, customers, and partners.

We exceed expectations for media coverage through better service to the media, you, and your audience. The valuation of your business increases as we expand targeted audiences of prospects, customers, analysts, employees, alliance partners, investors, and the media. Steady increases in awareness generate sales leads, investor interest, and competitive advantage.

Clients enjoy combining PR with services that win speaking opportunities, gain industry analyst praise, draw consistently better media coverage, and garner significant industry awards.

Hot tech ventures, such as Aether, Bradley Ward, Canvas Systems, Extreme Logic, Frontline Selling, Gideon Technologies, Industrial Computer Corp., Insight, LeanLogistics, Optiant, Optimus, and many others select Media First PR - Atlanta on their way to success, funding, IPO, acquisition, and exit.

To accomplish your goals, we craft programs that:

Create Awareness In Your Targeted Audience
Build Mind Share
Impart Knowledge of Your Value Proposition
Establish Customer Loyalty
Synchronize The Marketing Attack
Secure Executive Thought-leadership
Engage Media & Analysts
Outmaneuver & Outshine Your Competition

Hybrid Approach to PR – Social Media vs. The Wall Street Journal

Becky Boyd — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:38:45 +0000

In the age of Twitter, does a mention in The Wall Street Journal, or a similarly respected business publication, carry the same weight anymore?

Perhaps.

Everyone wants to be able to say, "We got in to the Journal."

For many, this holds more of an allure than, "We're up to 253 followers on Twitter!"

Can your public relations efforts really be effective in a 140-character context?

Yes they can!

But traditional media mentions can be just as effective provided you maximize their effectiveness by:

1. Posting the article to your website. Post an abstract, with a link to the article, or obtain permission to post the article in its entirely on your public website.

2. Circulating the clip internally. As with the posting of the article to your external website, your internal audience is still important for brand awareness.

3. Tweeting about the article on Twitter, providing a link. Write something that draws attention to the article and then add the shortened URL. For maximum promotion, ask colleagues, coworkers, vendors and others you work with to re-tweet your posting.

4. Joining LinkedIN Groups and Sending News. LinkedIN has thousands of groups made up of your target audience. Join these groups and then you can add a link to the press mention within the Group News section. Monitor your posting for feedback and comments.

4. Asking the sales team to forward to clients and prospects. Having a mention in a top-level business or trade publication helps communicate your company's value proposition to your prospects and clients. Forwarding a media clip via email is a great way of sending a heads up, a way to check in, and also a way to tacitly inform their audience that, "Hey, we know what we're doing—we even speak to reporters at The Wall Street Journal."

PR Really Helps Clients During Bust Times - Outsource PR Instead

Becky Boyd — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:10:02 +0000

Early on, companies tend to cut marketing communications (marcom) staff, often a little too deeply. Then they realize that there's still a lot of work that needs to get done to maintain or establish a market presence. Public relations and other marcom services are essential to creating awareness, connecting with customers, building brands and driving sales. Outsource your PR instead to a boutique PR firm who eliminates the traditional, large agency inefficiencies by running lean, fast, and smart! No more retaining a "brand name" PR agency with a posh downtown address. No more paying for the name of a CEO who doesn't work directly on their account, and who typically hasn't contacted a reporter about a client in years. Here are some tips to finding the perfect PR team (like MediaFirst PR): • Make sure that your agency has a conceptual understanding of your company, the technology and your marketplace—but don't look for a clone of yourself. Can they communicate with your target audiences? Their business acumen and life experience will compliment your pedigree. • Location, location, location is out: You want to pay for results, not the view from your agency's office. • Agencies love to drop names of contacts, but these may not be the right reporters, editors and analysts for your company. With downsizing and media mergers, journalists change jobs and beats frequently. Experienced pros develop new relationships as needed. • Ask what they've accomplished for clients that are about your size and budget. The people showing you these results should be the same people who will do the actual work on your account. • Chemistry counts—you'll have regular contact with your agency. Nobody will ever provide a bad reference, so trust your gut instinct. Marketing communications is an investment. Selecting a source that matches your company's culture and personality is likely to give you the best return. • Make sure they're not just a recent victim of downsizing. Beware of someone taking on project work until a job offer comes along, or you risk work stopping in the middle of your project.

Market Smarter - But Keep On Marketing!

Becky Boyd — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:51:23 +0000

Per a recent survey from Alterian titled, "Marketing: The Year Ahead," marketers, in 2009, will focus on delivering programs that save their organizations money, while attracting new and repeat business using focused engagement strategies. One key point of the survey is that in previous downturns, the firms that learned to market smarter have fared better than those that decreased their marketing budgets. The following top 10 predictions fall under a broad theme of focusing more on existing customers, being more innovative with marketing, and using technology to make marketing more effective and accountable. Marketing: the Year Ahead-10 Predictions for 2009 1) Smart organizations will continue to market throughout the downturn. 2) Marketing activities will be increasingly under the microscope and marketers will now be held accountable for the success or failure of those activities. 3) Marketers will turn to their website as the single most important and flexible lead generation and customer engagement channel. 4) Marketing programs that do not show a return quickly are not going to make it. 5) Mobile marketing has had a tough 2008, so 2009 will be a make-or-break year. 6) Marketers will act on a need to get more value from their existing CRM systems. 7) Marketing will not be about just creating content for the people; it will be about getting content to the people, meaning multichannel, social networks, and consistent marketing. 8) Companies will shift focus toward increasing revenue from current customers. 9) Digital media and social networks will continue to provide cost-effective delivery channels for customer messaging, but will be most effective when integrated with other marketing channels. 10) With consistently tighter budgets, it will increasingly fall to marketers rather than IT staff to drive marketing technology. This will change the buying process for such systems and will favor suppliers that have marketer-friendly software with a quick implementation time. So, how can marketers make their budgets work harder? - PR is one of the most cost effective marketing activities you can do to generate leads and build your brand - Expand PR beyond the traditional newsroom to social media outlets

8 Ways To Use PR to Reach Your Target Audience

Becky Boyd — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:40:15 +0000

Excellent PR is more cost effective than other marketing activities. Keep these tips in mind to help weather the downturn when each minute and nickel count. PR can be key to increasing your mindshare - until good economic times return.

1. Align PR tactics with business strategies - Understand your organization’s strategic business objectives. Focus on those PR initiatives that will directly support the business and marketing strategies your company has adopted.

2. Focus on revenue-building opportunities - Develop lead-generation PR tactics and campaigns that directly support the sales team and help them keep existing customers happy, identify and qualify prospects, and close new sales.

3. Know what story you plan to tell - Think like an editor and make sure the story you are telling is as good as or better than the ones they are already working on. Keep pitches simple - A good headline and sound bite will either get a positive response or not – without wasting your time or the editor’s.

4. Look for high-percentage opportunities - Pick your shots carefully. Some stories are easier to tell than others. Go for the ones you are most confident will deliver near-term results.

5. Recruit, train and promote PR evangelists from within - Every organization has a tremendous pool of intellectual capital. Cultivate PR evangelists who know that a little media exposure can go a long way toward their own job security during an economic downturn.

6. Cut expensive events and promotions. Costly and time-consuming PR events are great “want-to-have” but not “must-have” investments in a recession. Personal contact with your target editors can result in almost as much exposure as a far more expensive press conference or press tour. Also, it is increasingly possible to create much more cost-effective, virtual events utilizing webinars, podcasts and video.

7. Confront bad news head on - An immediate response to bad news is a lot less time-consuming than days spent dodging or deflecting questions. Be open about the market and economic challenges. The media will cut you a lot of slack in a downturn, especially if you are forthright about the problems you face and forthcoming about the solutions you have planned.

8. Be ruthless about your PR priorities - Before undertaking any task, carefully consider whether it is essential to your success or whether it may prove to be a diversion. Time wasted is money lost, which is a quick road to disaster in a downturn, whereas time well spent may be the key to an early recovery.

media relations, PR, Public Relations, Target Audience, PR evangelists, business strategies, PR tactics, lead-generation

This Isn't Your Grandmother's PR - Today Use Social Media

Becky Boyd — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:31:53 +0000

Today’s PR agencies are forging new paths with social media and achieving excellent results. More than ever, marketing and PR division lines are blurring, as old school PR becomes more engaging and interactive.

So PR practitioners need to help clients create and produce original content for blogs, white papers, case studies and more. Craft stories that allow your clients to engage directly with their target audiences via social media. Help them identify whom to target in social media conversations, how, where, and why. Engage more often than the weekly press release and use a multitude of available social media paths to get the word out.