Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
JUST LIKE A FABULOUS garden attracts positive attention for its owner, a solid program of press relations can enhance your company’s reputation, improve employee recruitment and reassure clients and potential clients that you’re a strong company worthy of their business.
Here’s a step-by- step plan to ensure positive results for your publicity efforts.
Gardeners apply fertilizer and eradicate weeds to get the soil in prime growing condition. You need to “prepare the soil” for your media relations program by thinking through what your company is about, clearly defining your value proposition, and understanding your position relative to competitors.
The tangible result of this work should be a basic press kit, which includes background information about your company, such as revenue, number of employees and key markets; biographies of key managers and their areas of expertise; as well as information about your products and services.
Just like you wouldn’t blindly throw random seeds in the ground and expect positive results, your media program should be carefully planned to make sure you are approaching the press in a logical and effective manner. This means taking the time to obtain and evaluate publications’ media schedules for the year, with an idea toward topics in which representatives of your company could provide pertinent information.
Encourage managers to stay on top of evolving business trends and to seek opportunities to speak before industry association groups. This builds their credibility with customers and the press. You should also read the various publications you’re targeting and get familiar with regular columns and feature stories. Also, look for opportunities to provide bylined articles, which can be written by your president or CEO.
Many companies blast out press releases like tossing garden seeds into the wind, with correspondingly meager results. Regular press releases about company developments are a good idea, particularly if you post them on your Web site. Just don’t expect major news coverage about minor news.
The savvy publicist instead takes the time to learn what topics are really of interest to key editors and reporters and seeks to tailor specific story ideas just for them.
How many novice gardeners have marveled at glossy photos of exotic plants or flowers in national gardening magazines, only to discover that those specimens won’t survive in our unforgiving climate? The same principle applies in publicity. A small start-up company will not warrant major feature coverage in a large urban daily newspaper, which focuses on its region’s Fortune 500 companies and major local employers. But knowing your zone doesn’t mean you’re condemned to anonymity until your revenue hits $25 million. Look for pockets of opportunity, such as a regular columnist who focuses on small business and pitch your story in terms of a larger business trend if possible.
For example, the fact that you’re developing software in a foreign country may be interesting to you but itÕs not exactly breaking news. Pitching that story to a reporter who writes business case studies, however, could be your ticket to many inches of positive press coverage.
Remember that the press serves its readers, not your business interests.
This is the critical juncture where many well-planned publicity programs fall apart. Imagine spending weeks cultivating your soil, carefully planning your garden, and then planting that garden Ñ only to abandon it weeks before anything is ready to harvest. Not a likely scenario.
Even novice gardeners know that results take time, with plenty of weeding and watering in the interim. Think of your publicity efforts in the same way. Once you’ve prepared your press materials, developed a plan and begun contacting journalists, you’ve only just begun.
Positive media stories can take weeks or even months to bear fruit. And if you really want to reap the rewards of positive press coverage, you should commit to an ongoing media relations program. Only time will allow you to gain the trust of key journalists and build a reputation as a trusted media source.
[contact] Cindy Bielke is president of CAB Communications Inc., an independent communications consulting firm specializing in marketing communications and media relations: 651.683.1910; ca*@******mm.com
