Images, photos, illustrations and visuals – they matter now and, the fact is, they mattered back in the “old days” too. When I worked for Maclean’s magazine, standing over the light table going through images was an important part of the storytelling process. You didn’t just hand that off to a photo editor or photographer (no matter how smart or talented that person was). You were involved because you knew that a great photo drew people in to the story; that it communicated what you were trying to share in a different way. And today, some of our strongest assets at our PR agency are our relationships with exceptionally talented (and reasonably priced) photographers, illustrators and videographers. These creative professionals are an important part of our AHA crew.
These days, images are crucial to telling the story of your organization. Not only do they tell the story in a different way, they help you to humanize your organization, show behind the scenes and engage with your community in a different way. And, if you embrace this approach, your community will use images to communicate with you. It really is a two-way street. User-generated content is incredibly informative and valuable.
On Wednesday, I will talk a little bit about the different ways you can incorporate images (still and video) into your communications initiatives, including when it’s important to bring in the professional photographer, illustrator or videographer.
USA Today ran an article recently that focused on the Public Relations Society of America’s new pilot project that will be launched at five business schools. This project will teach MBA students how to manage crises and preserve corporate reputations. While teaching corporate communications is not new, this approach has quite a few updated elements along with some new areas. I haven’t seen more than this article, but I think it’s a great idea. The more business professionals understand the value of corporate reputation and the role of public relations, the better.
When the senior team of an organization or business has an understanding of public relations and its value, there is a different mindset and culture. In my experience, even during an issue or crisis, a senior executive who respects communication and understands that it is a strategic role has a better opportunity to manage the reputation of the organization – or at least, mitigate the damage. Those who don’t understand the value of PR seem to underestimate the value of consistent and regular communication with stakeholder groups. They seem to discount the power and reach of their community and this can create a great deal of damage to their organizational, professional and even personal reputations. Poor communication can hurt profits and growth – and that impacts the future.
There are many senior executives who see PR as “spin.” That is a battle that we, as communicators, often have to fight. I recently had a senior level professional refer to me in a meeting as “the spin doctor.” And he was serious. His perception is that what we do is to “massage” information so it is more palatable. I respectfully (and with humour) corrected him, explaining that we refer to ourselves as communicators and that if he was looking for “spin,” I was in the wrong room… But I am not sure that he really understands what we do and I don’t think he really cares to learn more about it – which is unfortunate. However, in this case, there are other individuals on the senior team who completely “get it” and are committed to increasing and improving internal and external communication at this organization.
One of the best quotes in the USA Today piece came from a public relations professor who said: “It’s not about sugar-coating and preserving happy images and smiling faces.” And I think that’s an important message to share regarding public relations. Often, we are involved in sharing the good news and the positive stories, but that is only one component of the role we play. If the organization is smart, there is a strategic communications professional at the senior table. And when there are issues such as layoffs, restructurings, a bad quarter or year, a lawsuit or any one of the dozens of other operational challenges that organizations face, the communications person is a key participant in the discussions.
When an organization faces a crisis, a smart CEO, president or chief administrator works closely with his/her communications advisor. And the role of the communicator, in my opinion, is to help make things right and to communicate so that the people involved or impacted are aware of what is being done, why, when and how. Not everything is the “fault” of an organization, but it remains important that there is leadership during a challenging time (no matter who is at fault) – that someone in a senior role assures stakeholders and communicates clearly about the situation, how it impacts them and what is being done.
There are times when things go wrong. When someone (or many people) at the organization makes a mistake and there are serious consequences, the leadership team has to step up and explain what happened, how it happened, what is being done to make it right and what is being done so it will never happen again. Reputation management isn’t just about making sure the organization’s image appears intact during an issue or a crisis. It’s about doing the right thing and sharing that information consistently so the organization maintains a good reputation. Most people will support an organization that steps up, that is accountable and responsible, and that apologizes and explains what they are doing to make things right. It’s when they try to downplay their role, hide their mistake, “spin” their part in it or refuse to be accountable for their actions that things can go sideways fast.
I think the more business students know about public relations and the strategic role it plays, the better companies will respond to stakeholder and community expectations and to issues and crises. What do you think?
At AHA, we’ve known about the value of video for quite some time. Our AHA Fast Take Fridays are popular and have been successful in opening doors to many new opportunities for us. A great deal of the brand journalism work that we do has video components. And, of course, many of our clients have embraced video and make regular and powerful use of it.
Video allows you to tell a story using words and visuals. It is a highly popular medium and it can be quite budget-friendly. People make a different emotional connection with video than they do with an article or other written information. It can be a straightforward message from the CEO or president or a fun lip dub-style video that showcases the people behind the scenes at your organization.
There is a human quality to video that makes us feel like it is more personal and less corporate. You can see the person and what’s going on with their emotions; you get a feeling from their body language and from their tone and style. It is a very effective medium.
Having said all that, it has to be done well. And I am not just talking about production values – a quick Flip-style video done well can create strong results (in the right context). I am talking about the content.
We had a client many years ago that wanted to try video, but they had real challenges in getting it right. I think one of the first mistakes was that they created a committee to provide input on the video creative. Unfortunately, there were a lot of individuals on the committee who wanted to focus on creating a Hollywood movie rather than an internal video and there was a huge shift from how this video was initially planned to how it ended up.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that being inclusive is a good idea and we have client committees that provide incredibly valuable ideas and input in many cases. In this case, however, the professionally developed video idea morphed into something very different. Several people revised the creative to a point where it was almost unrecognizable and the message was getting lost. Unfortunately, many of the people on the committee didn’t fulfill their role of providing feedback and input. There were strong suggestions for dream sequences, more people in the video than should have been in it (to keep it short and entertaining) and more locations than were reasonable given the budget and timeline. When we put forward the concerns and challenges, it became evident that the now smaller committee was committed to their concept. We had lost them – and they had lost the original objective. They also weren’t willing to listen to the professional video producer and our crew.
This video didn’t get traction. It was too long, there were too many people in it, too many locations and the storyline got skewed because of trying to be too inclusive. With all the people and locations, this should have been a different type of video (a lip dub or a flash mob), not one with a linear storyline. But the committee was… well… committed to their concept and wouldn’t consider a revision to the approach.
At the start of the project, it’s really important to outline what you want to achieve with your video. What message are you trying to get across? What do you want to communicate and how will you do that? Does the creative concept meet the communications strategy? How long is your video? (With few exceptions, if it is longer than three minutes, you will lose a large part of your audience.)
It’s important to listen to the people you hire to work with you on the video. They know what they are doing; they have an in-depth understanding of what works and what doesn’t in the medium. If there is something you want to do, talk to them about the best way to do it. It should be a partnership. I always worry if the client wants control of the entire creative concept and how it could be produced.
Video is a great medium – if it is done right and the client-agency team is truly a partnership.
I came across an interesting piece on Ragan.com with tips on how to produce a good video. It’s worth a read.
This post is somewhat of a follow-up to my last post. At AHA, we have had several meetings with potential new clients that required an explanation of the process of public relations and what they might expect when it comes to return-on-investment.
Even with a range of variables, depending on the organization and the objectives, there are clear components to a PR campaign. They are:
Exposure
People learn about your organization and its products and services through a range of mediums: traditional media, online (websites, SEO, etc.), social media, community events, etc.
Engagement
People sign up for information, they visit your website, they post comments on your blog, they join the social media conversation, they read/watch/listen to media coverage, they tell their friends and colleagues, they share information, they search for information online, they attend events, they recall and retain the messages you are sharing, they are interested in what your organization is doing, etc.
Influence
People consider participating, purchasing or connecting with your organization; they recommend it to family, friends, colleagues; a relationship is beginning (or continuing).
Action
People actively participate, purchase or connect; they contact your organization; they attend an event as a supporter; they sign petitions; they write letters to the editor; they show their support for what your organization stands for; they are connected to your brand and actively participate.
Each of these components is like a building block. They support and leverage each other and they build momentum. There are times (for which we are always grateful) that you can make an announcement and it happens to hit a trend or immediately fill a need and people jump from discovery (awareness) to action. However, this is a rare occurrence. And it is not sustainable unless you continue public relations in a consistent and strategic manner.
One of the challenges of explaining what is needed to develop, execute and measure a successful PR campaign is that many people don’t realize that it takes time and ongoing effort. Often, people see a campaign and it looks a little like an overnight success – when, in reality, it took weeks, months or even years to get to that point.
Public relations is an important and valuable component of an organization’s marketing efforts and it can create exceptional results – with adequate resources and effort.
As communicators, we are tuned into several areas of communication. There is written, verbal, non-verbal (body language, what is left unsaid, etc.) and there is silence.
Today, I am going to talk about silence. There are many aspects of it in our world. There is the “in-person” silence – where the person doesn’t respond. This can happen in a meeting, in a brief exchange in the elevator, and while a broadcast journalist is interviewing you. Doing this during an interview is a great way to get people to blurt something; just look at them and don’t say anything. Most people will feel uncomfortable and try to fill the space. And then there is the phone call or email silence – which, I have to admit, is a personal pet peeve of mine.
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