Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
A deck on scoring old and new earned media coverage with limited resources. Packed with tips for small businesses!
Citation preview
Scoring coverage for cheap
Jackson Wightman
FAIT ICI
Bio
• Director of Communications at Causeforce• Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend to End Women’s Cancers• Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer• The Underwear Affair
• Entrepreneur • FAIT ICI – local focused, organic store in Montreal
www.faitici.ca
• Contributing Editor at PR Daily• www.prdaily.com
• Blogger • www.jacksonwightman.com
Outline
• Background on FAIT ICI• PR and social media as marketing channels• Getting to know the tribe • Listening first• Using social to get coverage
– Twitter: a media relations dynamo– Blogging – Ici et here
• Hosting a PR event• Results• Summary
Background: FAIT ICI
• “Urban general store” in SW Montreal– 5 product categories, unique mix
• Local focused, organic– Name means “made here” in French
• 9.5 months old as of March 2011
• No budget for ads (or much else)
• PR guy doubles as broom sweeper
• 25+ media hits for under $500
Target Media
• Major (traditional) media outlets in MTL
• Mommy bloggers
• Montreal “city” bloggers
• Foodie bloggers
– Gourmet people
– Nutrition people
– Ethical food people
• Greenies
Owned media?
PR and Social Media as channels
• PR and social media are inseparable
– Not about where “social” is housed, it is just an integral PR tool
• Many similarities:
– ‘Free’ BUT with ‘costs’
– Time is the main cost
– Patience is a requirement re returns
NEED TO HELP OTHERS BEFORE ASKING FOR HELP!
You need to know the Tribe
• Not just who, but what:
• What norms?
• What language?
• What generates reactions?
• What gets shared?
• What media do they like?
Listening: how, why and for how long?
• Old days: buy a media list and blast
Listening: how, why and for how long?
• Now: internet and social allows for careful observation, monitoring and tailored targeting
Tips on listening and learning about the Tribe
• Who’s blogging what– you build a blog list by digging and uncovering (MTL food community as an
example/illustration)– Importance of blogrolls
• RSS/email subscriptions to blogs– Subscribing is the key – don’t miss a thing
• Google alerts and culling info• Twitter
– Seeing who follows who– Why not follow others’ lists? Helped us discover people we did not even exist– Monitter.com – monitor keyword use by geo-location– Nutshell Mail for social media monitoring – Tweetbeep– google alerts for twitter– Social oomph – schedule tweets/monitor
Lessons on listening
• No one likes a blowhard
• Listening for AWHILE is critical when you are playing in new realms that you do not know – At FAIT ICI we listened for almost two months before actively speaking
• Especially critical when dealing w/ a group you don’t know well
• Key to putting you in a position to give before asking
• Listening can be free
Social media and coverage
• Old and new is a silly distinction
• But “the new” can get you coverage in either realm
• Social is inseparable from PR – no matter where housed
Twitter: a media relations dynamo
3 key PR problems:
1) Show media you know their beat/interests
2) Help them/express opinion on their work
3) Be seen to share their work
PR people used to have to spend time/money on these things
Twitter: a media relations dynamo
• Twitter solves all 3 probs with a mouse click
• Also allows you to respond and help in real time
• Your retweets are remembered and a platform for beginning dialogue
• Lists allow for careful tracking
• Twitter also has cultural particularities that can help you get covered
• 85-90% of the press at FAIT ICI is via Twitter relations.
• Both old and new media are in this space
• Cost = $0
Twitter: Tips and Lessons
• Retweet others’ content and add your own commentary
• Thou shalt follow often
• Follow others’ lists
• It is fine to disagree – in fact good sometimes
• Use #followfriday wisely
• Respond quickly
Blogs and Blogging to get covered
• Again here the mantra is give before asking to get
• Start EARLY – we had blog up and running 3 months before store opened
• Subscribe via email or RSS those you want to cover you
• Set a goal of 2-4 meaningful comments per week– What is a meaningful comment?
– Began this initiative early – 3 months before we needed anything
• Link a lot – gets you noticed – currency of the internet
• Link love posts
Guest blogging
• Going to others or having them come to you is great
• Exposure goes both ways
Guest Blogging – Case Study
• 1 week; 5 posts; 5 people
• Selection criteria:– Knew them
– Liked them
• Goals:– Generate long lasting, good content for our online
community
– Solidify relationships with the participating bloggers
– Expose new people to our blog and brand
– Increase traffic to our blog
– Help us learn a few new things about food and food issues
Guest Blogging – Case Study
• What happened?– Traffic increased 300%
– Shares and retweets increased 30%
– Great content that lives on
– Solidified relationships (bloggers are tighter than ever w/ us and talk about us in social spaces)
– 2 major print hits (in both languages)
– 1 national print hit about the initiative
– COST: $0
Guest Blogging – Case Study
• Lessons from a week of guest blogging:
– Go with who you know
– Right mix of writers helps
– Release control
– Let other press in the space know
• Group blog – 52 posts, 52 weeks, 52 people
• On the ‘interplay of food & life in Montreal
• Food bloggers, journalists, Hollywood actress, NYT
bestselling author, chefs, etc.
• Generate earned media via creating owned media and
bringing influencers
• Content for other owned media properties
• Score traditional media coverage
• Help build community
Who cares about a store opening?
Relevant PR events for cheap?
• Don’t events have to cost whacks of cash?
– Swag
– Production
• Immensely valuable
– Relationships
– Ability to say what you want
PR events on the cheap
• Key is to situate PR event in a broader context– Not just a store opening but an info session– Suppliers involved as speakers – media opp for them– Swag donated
• One day for media, one day for friends and family• Coverage of launch in 6 places• Key is to make it worthwhile for everyone• Ensure you have a decent online newsroom for afterward
– Backgrounder– Bios– Images, Video
• PR does not end after event
Results
• Over 35 press hits in 9 months
What did it cost?
• Flip cam - $200– Highly recommended
– Video is “ultimate social object”
– Culture of imperfection aka “authenticity”
– Easy to publish and quick
• Press materials (printing etc) - $100
• SWAG - $0 – donated by suppliers
• Time, sweat, blood, tears - $0
• Total - $300
Summary
• PR not a voodoo priesthood • Nor does it need to cost a zillion• Listen before talking • Give before asking• Old and new media media is a red herring• In 2010, PR needs to know social• Social not a panacea for getting coverage
– Takes loads of time to show returns
• Blogs– Find and subscribe– Set goal for meaningful comments– Link lots
• Use Twitter to find and get noticed by influencers– Solves old school PR problems quickly
