Staying Ahead of the Digital Curve: The Point of PR is Not PR [Podcast]

A Frustrated CEO Podcast interview with Leb Tannenbaum, Patrick Lyons and Patsy Feeman

Amy had the opportunity to be a guest on The Frustrated CEO Podcast with hosts Leb Tannenbaum, Patrick Lyons and Patsy Feeman. She shared how to leverage current news and employee passions to position a company’s core values and culture, connect with internal and external audiences, elevate visibility, and position industry thought leaders.

After listening to Amy share her advice and tips, The Frustrated CEO gathered actionable steps for staying ahead of the digital curve. See our favorites below:

• The 4th Quarter is when to create your marketing plan for next year. Like each of the other critical functions in your business, it’s important to plan for how you’ll market and brand your business in the coming year, and the 4th quarter is the time to do it. As Amy Rosenberg said in the episode, don’t overthink or overcomplicate it. Focus on what’s going on for you and your audience, then how and when you want to communicate about those things. If you need help, check out Amy’s blog post here, which gives more context and offers a simple grid to complete. 
• After you’ve built your marketing plan, schedule a year’s worth of monthly meetings to keep you on track and help you execute it. If you’re not meeting rhythmically – at least once a month – to check in with your team on the marketing plan, your chances of fully executing it greatly diminish. And some would argue if you’re not going to execute the plan, why bother wasting valuable time and money creating it in the first place? If you want to realize any ROI on your marketing plan, you need to come together to review your strategy, adjust it as needed, review drafts of future communications, and identify potential PR emergencies that you should begin to prepare for now.
  • PRO TIP: If your organization doesn’t have its PR or marketing team, you can still accomplish this by engaging others close to you, either inside or outside the business, to help you strategize and create a plan. Look for someone detail-oriented to assist in creating the plan, while someone more creative might be better suited to help shape and craft the messages you publish. 
• Do this to take your marketing to the next level. Identify the top 3 audiences that align with your top 3 goals, then be specific in your marketing plan about how you’ll communicate with and engage those audiences. You likely already know who those audiences are. Be intentional about who you tailor your messages and content to. Just don’t overthink it. Go with your first instincts.

• You can attain thought-leadership status. According to Amy, all it takes to become a recognized thought leader in your space is taking everything out of your head and creating content with it. It’s that simple. Start by creating content from what you already know. You don’t have to know the most; just be willing to share what you know. It’s not only good for your company, but in time it will position you as a thought leader in your space, all for just talking about what you know.
• Let your Core Values guide your marketing and PR. You have core values for a reason, and this is a great opportunity to show everyone they’re not just words on the wall or in the handbook. Let them be the filter through which you create and review your messages, craft your responses, position your brand, and engage with your customers. Be sure to lean on your values when responding to hot-button issues or landmine topics that are difficult. If your core values are considered in all these scenarios, your marketing and PR will be authentic and consistent. 
• Toot your own horn once in a while. Congratulations! You or your company have won an award or been recognized for something positive and good! Now it’s time to share the good news with the world. Don’t be afraid to share news of the awards you’ve won, testimonials you’ve received, community involvement you’re engaged in, or any other way you give back or have been recognized. You likely don’t realize how often the good things you do go unannounced to your employees, customers, and the community at large, and each of those is a missed opportunity to highlight the good things you do.

• Your culture and purpose are interesting to the outside world. If you’re looking for more topics to use when creating content, don’t forget to post about your company’s purpose and vision for creating value in your industry, community, and world. Your culture and core values are also great topics that tell the world about you and can serve as your differentiator or competitive advantage when attracting new talent. Consider highlighting your employees who exemplify the culture, core values, and company purpose. Let them tell your story in their own words. These are popular business topics today, so don’t be afraid to create content around them. 
• Your clients and customers can also make for great content. You’ve got great customers, people and businesses doing cool things. Use your marketing efforts to highlight them and tell their stories. Making others look good always reflects well on you, so include your customers in your marketing plan. 

• Be strategic and intentional about being in the press. Some have said that any publicity is good publicity, but anyone who has navigated through a crisis knows some publicity can be painful and damaging. Therefore, be thoughtful and planful about when you want to be in the public eye and when you don’t. You don’t need to weigh in on everything or be always visible. Let your Core Values guide your thinking, and know when to say yes and when to say no to being in the press. The more intentional your strategy and aligned your team is around it, the more likely you are to control the messaging out there about you.
  • PRO TIP: Use this same approach when deciding which social media platforms you’ll engage with. You can’t do everything, so be strategic and thoughtful about where your customers are and what you can handle. Rather than do everything with moderate success, know when to say yes and when to say no to certain platforms, and then give it your all to be a strong presence on whichever you’ve chosen. 

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This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.