The Details Count

Our increasingly fast-paced world is one where communications are exchanged at the speed of light. Sometimes it seems that we are in a race to announce our news. . . and completely oblivious to the need to be an active listener and an engaged communicator.

In today's PR world, churning seems to be the new norm. Speed is the new motivator. Information comes in, strategies are hatched, messages get packaged and out the door a release goes — faster than ever.

Frequently, that also means that there are communications casualties along the way.

And the biggest casualty of all is attention to detail.

Stop and think. . . Are you seeing more misspellings in the written communications that you get?

Ever received an events list that includes events that occurred days before the list was released/dated? Yes, that's before, meaning the event you're encouraged to attend is long over when you get the news it's going to be held. We actually saw that not once, but twice, last week.

How about missing words? Incomplete sentences? Let's not even talk about punctuation — it seems to be a lost art.

Excellence in PR is not just about the ability to get good publicity for your clients. It's also about looking professional and literate. That builds credibility with your readers.

The little details count in PR — no matter how fast-paced your world.

Living With Clients

Clients are the lifeblood of any business. But they can also be speed bumps along the road to publicity.

We recently came across this highly relatable post about how clients can drive PR firms crazy.

Sometimes the "crazy" happens because an agency is hungry for business, rushing into a relationship without getting to know each other. And, sometimes, the client just has an impossible dream.

Searching For A Way To Track What's Said On Social Media? Try This Free Tool.

If you're frustrated trying to track what's said about you or your clients on social networking sites, here's a tool you might want to try. Collecta.com is a relatively new search tool for cruising the social networking sites.

It will cough up results from blogs, articles, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and lots more. You can even filter your search for results by articles, photos, videos, and comments written about blog postings or articles.

Collecta, unlike other search engines, remembers your searches for future use. Searches yield results quickly and the results are updated in real time for as long as you keep the site open. Best of all, it has a leg up on a lot of search engines in that it remembers searches and that makes it easier the next time you use this tool.

Give it a try.

Facebook Should Be Inclusive, Not Exclusionary

When unwelcome postings begin to appear on your business' Facebook page, what's your first reaction? For many, it's to remove the unwanted postings.

But remember that Facebook is all about gathering fans, not alienating people.

Sure, there are clear instances where you should quickly remove postings. Pornography is one. Or when a person posts info and/or pictures that are clearly outside the intent of your FB page and/or offensive. Don't ever let your business be linked to a page that could be seen as offensive by the majority of people — and you'll know that sort of thing when you see it.

But think before you delete. Stop and consider a link that you might not be crazy about, that maybe brags on a competing business in a competing town, or offers a deal that you can't match for a product just like you are selling. Judge each of those types of postings on a case-by-case basis and use common sense. Could that link bring you more business or more fans?

What about criticism of your business? If it's legitimate, respond. If it isn't, say why. But don't hit the delete button. You never want fans to see your site as one that sanitizes. Or that only carries praise for you. That's not authentic, and soon your regular fans will realize that.

And they will go away.

Facebook is where like-minded people can gather. If managed well, it can have your customers doing the selling for you, heaping praise on your products, and supporting your sales goals.

If your FB page is exclusionary, word will get around. Like any “in-crowd” that becomes disillusioned, your fan base will start to head for more authentic pastures where social networking discussions feel more genuine.

Top Three Things To Remember When Answering An RFP

Request for Proposal. Anytime you're dealing with a government agency or big company, you're likely to compete for the business through an RFP process. In an RFP, the client describes what is needed, and details expectations like what specifically needs to be delivered, a prescribed budget and a timeframe.

It's human nature to zero in on the substantive points that are requested like your credentials, rationalizing why you're the best to take on the business, and trotting out those beautiful case studies and kudos from past clients. But while you're doing that, don't forget the top three things that anybody doing an RFP response should consider.

The basics really do count. But they're easy to mess up.

KEEP THE FOCUS ON WHAT THE RFP IS ASKING FOR. Follow the format laid out so that it's easy for the reader to see that you're addressing all the points in the RFP. Submit case studies that focus specifically on what the RFP needs. Don't describe a great grand opening when the RFP is focused on a seasonal campaign. Provide examples that illustrate the client's need. ONLY.

PROOF, PROOF, PROOF. It doesn't matter how beautiful the RFP looks or how smart your clients say you are if the document is peppered with typos or words are missing. Even a few typos serve as speed bumps for a reader, and send the subliminal message that the responder lacks attention to detail. And clients like to think that you touch all the bases and handle the details. After all, one of the reasons they farm out work is so they don't have to obsess about things like that.

TURN THE RFP RESPONSE IN A DAY BEFORE IT'S DUE. Don't work on your response until the eleventh hour. Rushing to finish is the number one reason that errors occur. Plan your own response timetable as well as you plan the content, format and design. And submit it a day early. Who knows what could happen on deadline day to make you miss the deadline all together.

Facebook Goes Down. Businesses Panic.

A Forbes Magazine blog reported that when Facebook went down this week, any number of businesses became invisible. No Web presence. No opportunity to showcase their wares and converse with their customers. Panic ensued.

While social media is an important part of an overall communications strategy, no company should rely solely on it to communicate. And to rely solely on Facebook is so short-sighted as to be crazy.

It's understandable for small companies looking to spend zero on marketing. There's always a tendency to gravitate toward free media like Facebook. Let's face it, the only investment with Facebook is time. No big ad bills. No creative to pay for. But a social-media-only approach is not a clever communication strategy. It's more of a desperation strategy.

Social media has undoubtably helped many small businesses to grow and become better known. It's helped several larger businesses bond better with their supportive customers and soothe the savage beast in the unruly ones. It's even boosted sales so that some companies have parleyed social media into big rewards.

But this week's Facebook outage should be eye opening. A wake up call. Not because it was Facebook, but because a strategy that relies on one communication channel rarely works in the long run. As the old saying goes, don't ever put all your eggs in one basket.

Reports: Are They Really Worth The Time?

Client reports. Those monthly catalogues of what we did and did not accomplish for clients.

Are they fun to do? No.

Do all clients read them? No.

Then why do we need to spend precious time doing them?

Many client interactions are via email, leaving an electronic trail (stream) that can chronicle activity and results.

Post-it notes serve as handy reminders.

What about the highlights of important conversations jotted down in a notebook?

With all that information floating around, is it really worth the time to do monthly reports?

Absolutely.

A monthly report consolidates all of the month's activities in one place that's easy to reference if the client has questions.

More importantly, it can be a quick source of answers to questions that come up months down the road (who wants to sort through 20 emails trying to reconstruct what happened six months ago?)

A report can provide you with much-needed historical reference when staff has departed.

As a concise summary, it serves as an overview of activities, client approvals and outcomes. Your back-up includes the emails, little post-it notes, and notebook jottings carrying the daily details.

So what should go into a monthly client report?

The time you've put in on the client project. The results of that project. The steps you took to get there and your next steps. The media you contacted and the outcome of those interactions. A summary of other relevant business.

While you may hate reporting, it's a tool that turns out to be important when you least expect it to be — like when a retainer client has questions about direction, performance or approval.

That's when those dreaded monthly reports may just save the account.