The Public Relations Blog

October 2022 – Corporate Comms Strategies to Use in Unprecedented Situations

A slew of recent headlines has showcased a unique challenge for PR teams — how to approach bad publicity and what to say when there is no precedent to take. We’ll look at two examples, one bad and one good, of how to shape your communications strategy in unprecedented times.

When seeking earned media coverage, show PR agencies why journalists will take interest in your story.

Your company might rely on hiring a PR agency to be your fast-track ticket to a spot in a top news story. However, it’s not always as simple as buying guaranteed news media coverage. While a PR agency can certainly connect your brand with newsrooms, your company must be newsworthy if you want to earn a spot in the news. We have established relationships with many different newsrooms and can pitch to relevant ones, but we cannot guarantee you media coverage in a specific publication.

When you reach out to a PR agency for earned media coverage, come prepared with the reason why your company deserves it. Being a successful company isn’t reason enough for newsrooms to run a story about you. Think of how many other successful companies exist —  they likely all desire earned media coverage too.

Spear-phishing is an extremely dangerous and targeted form of phishing. It differs from phishing because a seemingly trusted source targets a specific person to compel them to reveal confidential information.

A quick guide to adding your social media agency and/or team members to your company's Pinterest account

Companies need to use social media to stay accessible and up to date with their consumers. With all the different social media platforms out there, it can be difficult to keep track of everything going on. That’s why you should give multiple team members access to your company’s social media accounts. This prevents sharing company passwords and personal passwords. It also helps you avoid being locked out of your accounts.

Let’s explore how to add a social media content manager to a company’s Pinterest account:

Earn more news media coverage by pitching stories with conflict.

Everyone loves drama. Yes, even you. Look at the news — story after story includes some sort of physical or emotional conflict, from sports rivalries to company comparisons to celebrity face-offs. The truth is that news consumers love reading about drama, which is why conflict can add great news value to a story.

When a story has more news value, it becomes more newsworthy, meaning news consumers are more likely to care, interact, and engage with it. Newsrooms look for stories with great news value, so it’s important to incorporate elements of news in your pitches when trying to gain earned media coverage.

In this episode, Michael Port, CEO of Heroic Public Speaking, joins host Jason Mudd to discuss the art of public speaking. Tune in to learn how to express yourself onstage, the different types of speaking events, the four categories of a keynote speaker, how to prepare a speech, and much more!

The quick, step-by-step guide to adding administrators to your company's Instagram page

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms out there. Because of Instagram’s reach, it’s wise to promote your company on it. To use it efficiently, you’ll need to give your content managers access to your account. Content managers might be your internal employees or perhaps your social media agency. And how do you do this without sharing your login information with your social media helpers? Follow along to see how you can add different page roles to your Instagram account.

To interest journalists, pitch stories with news that will greatly affect target audiences.

When you think about what you see and hear in the news, you may generate a negative image. Extremely serious and urgent news stories often find priority in the news cycle, and these stories can often leave an emotional impact on news consumers. One reason for this emotional impact is because news consumers recognize that these stories carry consequence. When you know that something could change your life, in many cases negatively, you’re more likely to care about it and pay attention.

Effective communication fosters solid relationships and ensures customers fully understand your products and processes – naturally, it is a vital part for all players in the insurance industry.

However, only a handful of carriers take this seriously by employing effective communication strategies with their clients. 

How to guide your consumer on their buying journey

You need to help solve the character’s problems. Don’t completely fix them, though, because your character in this StoryBrand (or consumer of your company) needs a guide.