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April 12, 2012

What’s a Thought Leader, Anyway? How PR Can Build Yours to Drive Market Leadership (Pt. 1)

This Blog originally published on Commpro.biz.

Posted on Apr 3, 2012 in Corporate Communications, Media Relations | 2 comments

By Terri Douglas and Christie Denniston, Catapult PR-IR

We live in a world of continuous communication. Everywhere we go, we have access to and can communicate with colleagues, customers, employees, friends, family and the list goes on. While there is value in having instant access to anyone, anywhere, this results in a great deal of noise from a business standpoint. How do you break through this clutter and get noticed and, more importantly, how do you ensure your key messages are not only heard and understood, but, have impact on and resonate with the key constituents you are trying to reach?

This is the challenge of PR professionals everywhere. We have so many tools at our disposal – such as traditional phone and email and newer social media vehicles, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ with more being added each day.

However, there is a thread amongst all these tools that creates impact. It drives response, reaction and influence. The one thing that remains constant regardless of the medium or vehicle is the written word.

The Web is one of the greatest assets we have as communicators and we need to leverage and embrace it to its fullest potential. We live in a self-publishing world. . . one where we can control our content and ensure that our key messages are incorporated throughout everything we say, write, speak and share. It allows us to communicate directly – without any filters – the things we want to say to influence our audiences.

How great is that?!

So, what does this have to do with thought leadership?

What IS A Thought Leader?

A great quote that illustrates the mark of a true leader is one from John Adams: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

While most people may think this is more targeted to personal matters, it also applies to the business world. In order to be a true leader in whatever walk of life you choose, you need to be knowledgeable about your mission, passionate, driven and inspiring to those around you.

When we all think of market leaders, certain companies or brands, come to mind. Coca-Cola, Amazon, Apple, Hertz, etc. Why is that? What makes them stand out amongst their competitors?

Thought leadership. They have established themselves in the mind of their marketplaces as the market leader and driver. They shape the values, metrics and perceptions of their marketplaces. They are credible, they offer value to their communities and are perceived as the market drivers.

There are three key things that form the core of what makes a thought leader:

• Establishing a relationship with and delivering something of value to your stakeholders and customers
• That aligns with your brand/company value
• Establishing your brand /company as the expert in that field and differentiate yourself from your competitors

To be a thought leader, you need to voice your opinion, share your knowledge and provide value to the communities you care about. But, in order to do so, you need to first define your message, who you are targeting and then create *valuable and relevant content of interest* in order to engage and develop ongoing relationships with them.

Thought leadership isn’t about espousing the things that promote your company, product or service. It is about setting a standard of knowledge, sharing, value and excellence in what you communicate. Whether it is through speaking, blogging, tweeting, by-lined articles, news releases or other PR tools, you need a consistent voice and expression that conveys what you and your organization stand for — not only internally but externally. More important, you need to think beyond your own four walls and look at your industry and what matters most to it. Share your insights, knowledge and ideas. That is what engages audiences to keep them coming back for more and especially helps position a company or person as a thought leader.

What you do and say is how people perceive you. These are building blocks of creating a perception of what you (your company or organization) stand for. As the familiar saying goes, “perception is reality.”

Okay, so given that, what are the basic elements that define a perceived thought leader? It seems complex, but really it is not. It is based on some simple concepts:

1. Assets of knowledge and expertise: This can include knowledge of your product, service or offering. It can be knowledge of your customers and marketplace. Or knowledge of what your marketplace values and what your product or service is worth based on YOUR insights. It can be your multiple years of hands-on experience in the trenches living and breathing what you do every single day.
2. Confidence: As the saying goes, you learn something new everyday. As such we seldom take a step back to realize how much we do know. Knowledge can’t be traded or bought. It is something of value that is yours alone. Act, speak and look like a leader through your actions. Confidence goes a long way in building credibility with your key audiences and constituents. Remember, you know probably more than they do about your product, market and customer values. You are the knowledge expert on this particular subject matter and have something of value to offer.
3. Act! Execution is one of the areas where most people and companies fall flat. If you have the first two requirements down, then you (or someone else within your organization) needs to execute them by telling your story and leveraging you and your company’s assets of knowledge and credibility. Putting words and statements of confidence into real world action speaks more than anything else you can do. But, to establish your though leadership platform, you really need all three in harmony.

Despite the old adage, your thoughts are worth a lot more than a penny. Recognizing the value of innovative thought creates an atmosphere of leadership. Public relations can play a strategic role in positioning an individual, company or organization as a thought leader in its industry. Leveraging a wide array of PR tools to create a thought leader can help an organization demonstrate its expertise, increase customer satisfaction and profitability. Whether it’s entering a new market or geographical area, creating an exit strategy or just turning up the volume in an existing marketplace, there are a number of ways on how to craft and implement a successful thought leadership campaign.

The great thing about thought leadership is you can actually do it relatively inexpensively through PR.

In our next article of this series, we will explore exactly what those things are that you can do to move you toward becoming a sought-after thought leader.

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January 9, 2012

CONTENT REALLY IS KING

Years ago I was sarcastically referred to as the “Content King” around here at Catapult. Back in the day (yes, I’m old), developing content was somewhat secondary to the glamor of pitching stories, arranging interviews, hitting the road on press tours and getting placements in key technology publications like eWeek, ComputerWorld and InfoWorld.

However, as we head into 2012 good, solid content has become as valuable as pure gold. From where I sit the shifting sands of the marketing landscape seem to be settling around a central notion – that compelling and useful content is a true lynchpin to successful marketing. Consider how social media marketing has evolved and, without useful content, much of the initial efforts to “engage” and “join conversations” fell flat in the results department. Today’s advertisements are now limited without QR codes to provide additional information to foster engagement. And, of course, effective “traditional” public relations is increasingly dependent on strategic positioning and messaging that is conveyed not only through media coverage, but through the creation and placement of content, be it graphical, video or written word.

Don’t Wait, Self-Publish!

As we head into 2012 all of us within the PR and associated marketing practices should strive to harness the power and opportunity for self-publishing compelling content. From news releases, blogs and by-lined articles to white papers and YouTube videos, all of the content we create should be well thought-out and made easily accessible to the global community. Creating a content strategy as a means of being an active and useful member of your market is a practical way to convey an organization’s unique expertise, years of experience and willingness to share and give back to the community. Publishing useful content drives website traffic and builds awareness as a thought leader, and helps establish a library of useful information that should be displayed and easily downloadable from your organization’s website. Increasingly, social media favorites Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have evolved into content publishing portals – and they know a thing or two.

I am, and have always been, “all about the content.” Today, and for the foreseeable future, content will continue to provide differentiation, value and market impact for organizations large and small. Make this year the year of content, and you too can feel like a king (or queen)!

Stay tuned for my ongoing “High Tech PR Guy” series as I share my thoughts on how you can make sense of the dynamic, changing world of PR, and how you can turn useful content (and other strategies) into winning marketing results.

What are your views and best practices for creating and sharing content? ~Guy

November 13, 2009

Forgotten Tools of PR Trade

In an era of shrinking newsrooms and disappearing travel budgets, PR pros are increasingly having a hard time finding editors and reporters who have the time and resources to attend a tradeshow or visit a company’s headquarters.

What many PR Pros forget to remember is you have the ability to take your clients to the newsroom!

Once forgotten with the advent of ‘new media’ desk side visits are an opportunity to PR professionals and their clients to visit writers and reporters in the newsroom or magazine headquarters.

While these meetings don’t guarantee stories on clients, my experience has found them to be valuable and cost-effective relationship-building sessions that have generated increased media requests for interviews with clients who previously flew under the radar of most reporters.

Desk-side briefings are relatively easy to arrange,  however included below are a few do’s and don’ts: 

• DO time them when your client has news to break or opinions on timely topics.
• DO provide media training to your key spokespeople before the trip to hone your key messages. Even executives accustomed to talking to reporters have found the training crucial. It’s especially important when two executives are making the visits together to avoid embarrassing contradictions.
• DO provide background information on all reporters on the itinerary, including recent articles they’ve written. Reporters inevitably perk up when their work is cited.
• DO leave behind easy-to-access contact information and succinct background data, and follow up just as aggressively as you arranged the desk-sides. Otherwise, reporters are likely to quickly forget about your client when they turn to the next story.
• DON’T overlook the key trade media covering your client’s industry. Often several outlets from a common publisher work in the same building, multiplying the number of placements that result from the visit.
• DON’T fret if breaking news causes a reporter to cancel at the last moment. That doesn’t faze the client if you have a busy schedule of visits, and the reporter may be more receptive to your next call because they remember – or you remind them of – the last-minute cancellation.
• DON’T pack the schedule so tightly that travel delays, interruptions or longer-than-expected interviews put you behind schedule, jeopardizing key interviews.

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August 10, 2009

Social Media Tools and PR

Social media tools are crucial for PR firms to provide a fast, cost effective form of promotion. How to get started building online strategies? We’ve previously talked about listening, but worth repeating, to start there:

• Listening – Twitter, Filtrbox, LinkedIn, Google Reader (for blogs) help monitor the conversations circling their industry and the agency itself. Setting up search terms and reviewing them frequently can keep you informed and manage communications crisis quickly. Set up accounts and start listening.
• Contributing – to blogs, and responding to LinkedIn Q&A’s and news articles promote thought leadership.
• Publication – Tell your story. Create great content; publish releases, case studies and stories to the web via the wire and RSS feeds. One of our releases had 2900 hits on the feeds (as reported by Post Zinger). Online presence increases by tagging articles on Digg, Delicous and other sites.

Social media tools used to promote consistent, quality messaging are supplements to traditional PR methods. Excellent branding, positioning, writing and most important actual relationships with key influencers are still critical to brands growth.

July 10, 2009

Video on the Web – Are you Ready?

At Catapult, we have seen an increasing number of organizations start to inquire about our rich media webcasting services.

Interesting.

A couple years ago, we would get responses like “hmmm, that’s kinda cool.” Or “that’s “cute.”" Now, we are seeing savvy companies that are interested not only in saving money through the use of webcasting (an important consideration these and all days), but, that also are interested in taking it one step further by considering and using video as part of the webcasting offering.

YouTube has a lot to do with this. So does the increase in network bandwidth across most organizations.

But, most importantly, it has to do with leaders of companies who see an opportunity to position their organization in a more human way. By putting themselves out there for all to see. It helps distinguish them as leaders. As innovators. As forward-thinking companies.

We say it’s time to embrace this new way of thinking. Besides Catapult, there are many service providers who offer this type of service. Some are more affordable and flexible than others. But, all are worth exploring.

We invite you to learn more at our site and at others on the Web.

Because the next wave of communication is going to incorporate video.

Are you ready to fully embrace it?

Sample Rich Media Presentation:
New Media Tools for Investor Relations – Rimas presenting to NIRI

March 13, 2009

Keep the PR Fire Burning

Every industry is facing demanding challenges right now. The important thing for tech companies no matter what their size (small – big – start-ups) is to remain visible in 2009 through marketing and PR efforts. Such efforts will help you stay connected with the most important people, i.e., the users and buyers of your technology products and services. Instead, now is the time to actually increase your visibility through marketing and PR efforts for your company and products. The worst thing companies can do now is to go quiet. It can give potential customers, partners and other important constituents the impression that your company is *not* doing well (along with providing ammunition for your competition). Also, you lose all the mindshare and awareness you just worked so hard to create. Remember, perception is reality.