PR Tips

PR Tips | Let’s Not Call It a Sales Pitch

February 5, 2013 Laura Bentz

Selling your product is a crucial part of any business -- and the process often starts with the "sales pitch." Although I don't think of selling that way. For starters, the very term "sales pitch" carries a stigma. It makes you think of cheesy salespeople desperate to "close the deal." Selling is my job, but I try not to pitch. I don't want to create awkward pressure. Instead, I remind myself that the sales call isn't salesy at all -- it's simply a casual conversation introducing my product and my company to someone new . . . so they know I'm here and understand my product. Because I have a good product, there's a high chance that the person I've called will eventually need what I'm selling, even if he doesn't need it right now. (This assumes I've done my research and called the right person.) My job is to let him know that my product exists and, if he's interested, to help him understand its benefits.

PR Tips | Avoid Beercan Prose

January 15, 2013 Sam Ryan

Avoid beercan prose, especially if you're writing content intended for publication in the news. Do you know what beercan prose is? Of course not. That's because the word "beercan" tells you nothing. It's an ambiguous description that doesn't convey any real meaning. So an easy way...

PR Tips | The Fine Line Between Persistent and Obnoxious

January 2, 2013 Kristen Thomaselli

In public relations -- and life in general -- there's a fine line between regularly contacting a person and annoying the heck out of someone. I reach out to dozens of reporters and editors every day. So I’m constantly straddling this line. When pitching a story, how many times should I follow up with a journalist? How frequently should I call or email? There is no simple answer to these questions. But here’s what I’ve learned in the course of doing it on a daily basis: The hotter the story, the more aggressive the pitch. If I’m pitching an oped by Joe Biden on how he negotiated the fiscal cliff deal, I’d be doing editors a huge favor by calling them every hour, because I can guarantee that every editor in town would kill to have that piece in today’s paper. Alternatively, if I’m pitching a story about a new flavor of dog food, I’ll be far more selective and careful not to annoy journalists who aren’t interested. Either way, most people don't mind an occasional "follow up." But when they’re busy -- especially editors at top publications -- following up too frequently could put your name on the X-list. And your client's piece in the trash bin.

PR Tips | Hit the Refresh Button

November 19, 2012 Alyssa Peck

We just redesigned our website here at Keybridge Communications after only two years. Why so soon? For us, there were several reasons.

First, we recently expanded our core services to include Web Development, Graphic Design and Social Media -- and these new services needed to have their own place on our website.

Second, our original website was created in Flash, and with the ever-changing technology on phones and tablets, we needed to stay up-to-date.

Third, we felt that our business, clients, potential clients, and followers would benefit from a blog.

So how do you know when it’s time for a website makeover? Here are a few questions to ask yourself that might help you decide:

PR Tips | Writing An Effective Press Release

October 30, 2012 David White

In addition to my work at Keybridge, I'm the publisher of Terroirist.com, an award-winning daily wine blog. So when I'm not at the office, I'm immersed in the world of wine -- attending and hosting tastings, reading and writing articles, and browsing other blogs. One of my favorites is Fermentation, published by wine industry insider Tom Wark, a veteran wine marketer and publicist. Last summer, Tom wrote a blog post detailing how to write an effective press release. While Tom's focus was wine, the lessons are universal. So if you work in PR, it's well worth reading. The key takeaway? "The one thing that anyone writing, receiving, or reading a press release needs to be able to do is understand what 'news' is and if the press release contains any." Too often, public relations firms are guilty of sending out press releases devoid of news. When writing a press release, you must have a sense of what 'news' is -- to journalists, not your client -- and if the press release contains any. A good PR professional should be able to take virtually any story and make it newsworthy. All that's required is creativity and media savvy. Consider a fairly typical assignment for our firm, the release of a new think tank study. Let's think about a few possible headlines:

PR Tips | Home runs don’t just happen in PR, either

October 29, 2012 Robby Schrum

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval inscribed his name in baseball's history books Wednesday night by hitting three home runs in Game One of the World Series. With the feat, he joined some illustrious company. Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols are the only others to do the same. To casual baseball fans, Sandoval may seem to have appeared out of nowhere. But he's actually been toiling in the Giants organization for over eight years. Sandoval had to log more than 2,200 at-bats in the minors -- and another 2,100 at the major-league level -- before slugging his way into baseball immortality. Similarly, folks looking to increase their media footprint generally need to notch a number of solid-if-not-sexy placements before they can reach a million readers with one op-ed or feature article.

PR Tips | The Process of Creating a Logo

September 27, 2012 Alyssa Peck

Creating a logo -- or any unique design -- might seem like a daunting task of open-ended creativity. But here at Keybridge, we've developed a step-by-step process that makes design projects manageable and fun. In short, our process ensures that clients are happy with the final product because their preferences are incorporated into the design at each step along the way. Kim Brodie, Founder & CEO of Educational Digital Solutions, was kind enough to let us use her logo to demonstrate how our process works. We don't just create logos from thin air. First, we ask the client a series of questions to get an idea of what he or she wants: What should the logo say about your company? What feelings or emotions should it convey? Do you have a symbol or font style in mind? Do you have color preferences or aversions? Etc.

Review | Online Surveys — Create Your Own In Seconds

September 12, 2012 Sam Ryan

There are companies out there that will charge you $50,000 to conduct a survey.

Or you could conduct your own for free.

With easy-to-use online tools like SurveyMonkey and PopSurvey, it takes just minutes to create surveys that can be embedded into websites or emailed to large sample lists. You can even buy inexpensive lists directly from these companies.

Will you get more accurate results from a qualified polling firm?

Absolutely.

But you can save a ton of time and money by conducting your own poll -- and you can discover any number of fascinating things while you're at it.

For example, we wanted to confirm our suspicion that we're the best PR company in the world. So we put together this one-question poll using SurveyMonkey's free version. It took us less than 5 minutes to create -- seriously.

Does Your Organization Have a Professional Voice?

September 11, 2012 Sam Ryan

In this age of do-it-yourself podcasts and videos, it seems like everyone is producing their own audio. But the true professionals stand apart. We received this demo from a "commercial voice" today and our ears perked up. This is exactly the type of voice-and-production talent we look for in our audio. If you want your organization to have a professional voice, then hire a pro. It's surprisingly inexpensive. And the quality speaks volumes about your organization. Check out this clip to hear for yourself.