Strategic Press Releases Will Help You Beat Your Competition

 

Ever wonder why some companies are always in the news or how they succeed on the Internet? It’s a good bet they have a good PR consultant or have mastered the art of writing press releases.

You can level the playing field with effective press releases. They should be part of your marketing mix.

A press release that gets the attention of the media in your marketplace serves as an implied testimonial – a marvelous center of influence. But you have to make a good impression on journalists so they’ll be motivated to act on your press release instead of discarding it.

Remember if you have a story to tell, it has to be newsworthy. Topics can include salient business events, achievements, awards, financials, management changes, market expansions, product launches, special sales, and events to benefit your favorite charity.

Press releases are also valuable in crisis management. 

But press releases aren’t necessarily for journalists in this digital age. Bloggers might also be interested in what you have to say. 

Press releases are also effective in search engine optimization (SEO) with the right keywords to promote your Web site’s prominence and to give you more mentions on the Internet. Even if you can’t get the media’s attention, your press release can still directly speak to your prospective clients and customers.

In my three decades+ experience, I’ve seen both sides of the equation. As a broadcast journalist, I was asked to consider press-release submissions. As a Biz Coach columnist, I’m lobbied for publicity all the time. I’ve also written press releases to promote my clients, my firm and my employers (prior to becoming a business-performance consultant).

So for maximum impact, here are eight basic tips:

1. Brevity – write one page with an economy of words – 300 to 450 words – to explain relevance or benefits. Occasionally, it’s OK to make it longer with an attachment for a white paper or a research study.
2. Use good grammar to insure confidence among readers. (See: 25 Best Practices for Better Business Writing.)
3. Remember the acronym, “WIIFM”, or what’s in it for me. Journalists and other readers want to know why they should pay attention to your press release.
4. Use a proper focus. A press release should be informative and not read like blatant advertising copy. Forget the puffery. Keep it professional. Don’t exaggerate. By nature, and not to be critical, journalists are cynical.
5. Make sure it’s timely information.
6. Use journalistic style – make your release resemble a news article. Answer these questions: Who, what, when, where, why and how.
7. Include salient information with facts or data in an easy-to-understand manner. Newsworthy quotes or statements by well-known people and you are helpful, too.
8. Insert multimedia content. (For an explanation, see: Inspiration from Raymond Loewy for the Best Business PR)

Keeping in mind the eight basic tips, search-engine press releases should follow this  procedure:

• Unless you know how to submit a press release to Google, Bing, Yahoo and others, you’ll have to use an online press release service. For maximum circulation in the search engines’ news and Web-search sections, expect to pay hundreds of dollars. There are also free press-release companies. You won’t net as much prominence, but if the company has a good Google Page Rank, you’ll enhance your SEO. 
• Write a motivating headline. Use a factual, but brief headline with an action verb in present tense whenever possible.
• Follow it with an overview — two sentences – to inform readers what to expect in the press release.
• The body – the content – should effectively tell your story. The lead paragraph should capsulize your points with pertinent information.
• At the bottom should be a brief profile about you and your company followed by contact information.
• Incorporate SEO elements. Insert relevant links to your Web site — it’s best if your Web address is inserted in the second paragraph. Use a maximum of 10 relevant keywords that will attract Internet surfers. It’s best to insert the most important keywords whenever possible in the headline, overview and last sentence.
• Promote your press release in all your social media.

You can see samples of my press releases here.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are three relevant resource links:

• Getting the Most from Your PR Requires 5 Basic Elements 
• Need PR, But No Budget? Here’s How to Leverage News Media 
• Fact Check on PR Newswire Advice – Some Inaccuracies 

“Always be sincere, even if you don’t mean it.”

-Harry S. Truman

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

Study: HR Pros Fall Short as ‘Strategic Business Partners’

 

Human resource professionals are holding both themselves and their employers back, according to a 2012 study by global management consultants, the Hay Group. Hay research indicates “inefficient processes and disconnected disciplines” are the primary causes – why HR professionals aren’t providing a noteworthy role to position their companies for the future.

“…the emerging HR concerns for the years ahead lie around developing the workforce and ensuring the right people are in the right roles and doing the right work,” according to a Hay Group press statement.

Hay’s study included 1,400 responses from both senior executives and HR professionals. Of which, just 34 percent concluded HR has made a strategic contribution to their employers.

About 60 percent could be characterized as doing a so-so job in achieving performance and growth results.

In a sense, Hay points out the expectations of HR in recent years have been myopic.

“As market demands continue to change, organizational success will hinge on HR’s ability to connect human capital decisions with business strategy,” said Phil Johnson, Hay Group’s global head of work measurement. “HR will need to stop clinging to traditional processes and inefficient silos and move toward an integrated approach that links work and people to business results.

More study results:

• Only 40 percent say work measurement and talent management processes are closely aligned
• Even fewer (36 percent) say talent management and organizational effectiveness are closely aligned
• Slightly more than one-third (39 percent) say they have moved away from traditional silos, but this leaves 61 percent that haven’t – or worse still, are unsure.
• Despite 76 percent of respondents saying they use a formal work measurement system, the research suggests that many organizations are not seizing upon the full potential or making the most of their investment.

“The research highlights how HR will lag behind management expectations if a holistic approach to people management – based on a framework of understanding work – is not adopted,” according the Hay announcement.

“Organizations are largely limiting work measurement systems to the setting of base pay and for grading purposes,” said Mr. Johnson. “We’re starting to see more companies use work measurement to support succession planning, career pathing and other talent management decisions, and as a job and organization design diagnostic – but most are missing out on its true value. Used to its full extent work measurement can feed enormously powerful information into strategic decisions and improve the overall efficiency of the organization.”

So, the key to be considered a strategic business partner is to have a leadership grasp of employees and their work.

From the Coach’s Corner, see:

• HR, Marketing Pros: 4 Keys to Marketing Your Ideas to CEOs
• 10 Key Differences between Leaders and Managers
• 6 Steps to Implement a Cultural Change for Profits
• Trends in Human Resources Management – Wharton Study 

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?”

-Benjamin Franklin

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Football Lessons For Growth – 9 Steps For Strategic Alliance Success

 

En route to the first two Super Bowl wins in the 1960s, I recall three factors about Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers – they were intense, skilled and balanced.

A fourth factor – they kept it simple. Even as a kid watching them on TV, I could almost anticipate most of their plays depending on the situations they faced.

Those days for me, they were the most exciting team to watch on TV. That was also thanks to the few words of minimalist sportscaster Ray Scott: “Hornung…touchdown…Green Bay!”

Paul Hornung was a complete player – a star halfback who also kicked field goals and passed for touchdowns.

Called the “Golden Boy,” he was a source for great metaphors in business. He was called to duty in the U.S. Army in the 1961 season. But somehow he was able to play on Sunday. In the NFL championship game vs. the New York Giants, he was named the game’s MVP.

Later, we learned why he was allowed Army leave on Sunday to play football. Coach Lombardi knew President John F. Kennedy. The legendary coach never seemed to overlook an opportunity in order to win.

Two years later, the flamboyant star was suspended indefinitely for gambling on games. But Coach Lombardi’s influence in the league and a contrite Hornung made his return possible the next season. Again, it was a lesson in networking for businesspeople.

As often is the case, sports offers lessons on strategic management and planning.

The NFL provides great metaphors for business success. Many businesspeople also know the importance of becoming stronger by teaming with others. By combining resources, companies succeed in meeting the needs of customers.

All such traits – passion, best practices, simplicity and strategic partnerships – contribute to winning in business. That’s why success stems from what you know – and whom you know – helps a business to be stronger in taking advantage of opportunities for growth via management, marketing and stability.

Naturally, to attract strategic partners, it’s important to be an attraction.

Here are nine steps:

1. Take an inventory. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, which have to be improved upon. You should demonstrate positive financials, stability, and vision.
2. Analyze your potential partner’s and alliance opportunities and threats.
3. Develop benchmarks. Determine in advance how you will measure success.
4. Be cautious and detached. Take baby steps – get engaged – don’t get married right away. As in marketing, remember this tenet about your prospective relationship, “test…test…test.”
5. Consider it an investment of your time and resources. Remember the Golden Rule. Take it seriously if your partner is to take you seriously.
6. Create a paper trail. Both parties must know what’s expected, how they’ll benefit, and if they do.
7. Leverage expertise of outside participants. That includes a mentor and professionals who understand the industries of both partners.
8. Make communication a key component of the relationship. Not via e-mail or telephone, but in-person visits.
9. Seek constant, ongoing improvement. Fine-tune as you go.

Oh, and make sure your strategic partner adheres to the nine standards.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are related resource links:

• Planning – Need a Game Changer? Ford, Seahawks Are Good Case Studies
• Helpful Career, Biz Tips from UCLA’s Longtime Broadcaster

Winners don’t wait for chances, they take them. 

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.