Posts Tagged ‘Business’

WestmorelandFlint folks attend Duluth Days at the Capitol

By Andy Reierson, March 8, 2010

Last week marked the 13th annual trip to the Capitol for the Duluth Days. The event is an opportunity for citizens and businesses from northeastern Minnesota to join their colleagues, friends and representatives in lobbying on behalf of projects that could have an enormous impact on our region.

Why is this important? Well, if you read the news at all, you are well aware the 483832047_dd9d46a5bdstate is facing challenging times and balancing the budget means many cuts and compromises between legislators. As citizens, showing up to the Capitol to discuss projects that are important to invigorating Duluth’s economy brings a breath of fresh air to legislators who are used to seeing professional lobbyists on a regular basis. It also shows them that we care; we care about their decisions, we care about our state, and we care about our community.

As a local business, this is a great opportunity to show our support for clients, friends and the community. Do you think the business community in Duluth is as involved in efforts like this as they should be? In what other ways should they offer support?

Photo by FaceMePLS

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Tips on public relations: pitching to journalists

By RaeAnn McLean, February 8, 2010

Think it’s impossible to get a reporter’s attention? Think again. As newsrooms are increasingly overworked and understaffed, public relations professionals, businesses and organizations may actually have more opportunities to successfully pitch their stories. At the same time, getting the attention of very busy journalists requires that you do your homework, take a strategic approach and work hard to give them good stories. There is more to it than simply sending out a news release and crossing your fingers (although we do still cross our fingers!).

From flack to friend

photo by jgodfrey13 on Flickr

photo by jgodfrey13 on Flickr

In this day and age of so much information—much of it unsourced—reliability is a major concern. Far from being the stereotypical flack of bygone days—the one who showed up with a story idea and bottle of liquor—PR professionals are increasingly viewed by time-pressured reporters and editors as valuable resources who can help them do their jobs.

According to a recent survey, most journalists turn to public relations professionals for assistance in their primary research. Editors and reporters surveyed said they depend on PR professionals for “interviews and access to sources and experts” (44%), “answers to questions and targeted information” (23%), and “perspective, information in context, and background information” (17%). Clearly, PR professionals have an increasingly valuable role to play when it comes to getting media attention and maintaining media relations.

Think before you pitch

The principles of good media relations haven’t changed: build relationships and connect with the right reporter on the right topic with the right information. Don’t waste their time—hone your message before making contact. Do your homework to ensure:

  • the topic is relevant (of interest to the reporters you have selected)
  • the story idea is sound (demonstrate why their readers/listeners/viewers would want to know this information)
  • the background information you provide them is useful and accurate (anything that helps them write the story and makes their jobs easier)

Use all the tools to make it easy for busy reporters

The avenues to communicate with reporters increase every year. Just think—not too far in the past we sent all our news releases via a fax machine. Now, it’s best to send your news via email, the delivery mode preferred by most reporters. If they’re interested, they’ll want to find out more and they’ll use the Internet to do it. A new survey revealed “89% said they turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging sites (think Twitter), and 61% use Wikipedia.”

This means you need to go one step further before sending your initial news release via email, making sure you post the news in your company’s online newsroom, send it through a wire service and post it on other sites that allow free postings (www.i-newswire.com). This tiered approach will give you multiple connection points with the journalist. Then follow up to find out if they got your information and if there is anything more you can do to help.

Listen to them, they’ll listen to you

Bottom line: find the people who fit the pitch, determine how that reporter wants to get information, then make it easy for them to get what they need. Everything from the content to the delivery to the follow-up should be customized to that reporter. Build relationships with reporters. Be a part of their world, be where they are and know what they read. Don’t expect them to want to listen to you if you aren’t listening to them.

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Doing your best work where you are

By Jodi Duncan, January 19, 2010

Over the holidays, my brother and I fell into a serious discussion about the challenges of people management. He works in the auto auction business, which is a pretty far stretch from the agency world, but he has many of the same challenges, especially when it comes to staff.

He was particularly frustrated by some employees that left work early in the afternoon to go to a bar/restaurant, leaving work undone and customers without service. “Why don’t people feel accountable?” he asked.

I guess I’m not sure.

bethepersonI’m excited to come to the office every day and face whatever challenges are in front of me. I love to work. I’m excited about the company I work for. I appreciate the nuances of each client and each day.  I wish everyone could feel like that, but I understand that some don’t.

Many times, the solution boils down to better communication and better attitudes. Management can communicate better by keeping everyone informed on critical issues, delivering frequent team updates, conducting open-forum activities, etc.

Better attitudes? Well, that’s entirely up to the individual.

I had the privilege of working five years at a business software company with Doug Burgum, a talented businessman and successful leader in his industry. At the first company meeting I attended, he said something like this: If you don’t like it here, leave. If you spend most of your day complaining about your job, find something else to do.

He frequently talked about this, and the point was, only you can do something about your work situation if it’s not what you want. That’s the ultimate in accountability, isn’t it?

He wasn’t trying to be trite or mean or even accusatory. The philosophy is simple. If you can’t do your best work here, find a place where you can. I think this is a powerful message, but people never really see it in themselves.

At Flint, we have posters throughout our office that say “Be the person you want to work with.” Most of us think a little differently: everyone else should work like me.

We form teams with different personalities and talents. We have to keep that in mind as we look around at the people we work with. Different people, naturally, work differently.

  • Maybe someone you find difficult to work with will bring a fresh perspective to a problem.
  • Maybe the person who barely speaks in a group setting has brilliant ideas if you let him or her write them down on paper first.

If you’re open to other points of view, if you try to help instead of criticize, and if you try being the person you want to work with, others might follow your example. Even if your job isn’t your passion, you can still make the most of it by having a good attitude, and being grateful to have a job in such a tough economic climate.

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4 things to consider when issuing an RFP

By April Steffan, December 9, 2009
want

photo by jaygooby on Flickr

RFPs (Request for Proposals) are a funny thing. From the agency perspective, it’s very exciting to get one. With it comes an opportunity to work in a new industry, with new people and marketing challenges. However, responding to an RFP is a big undertaking that utilizes many agency resources. It’s an investment. So before jumping in, we need to make a choice – either commit whole-heartedly or don’t respond at all.

From the client perspective, here are four considerations to make when preparing your RFP:

  1. The Fit. Agencies start by determining if the RFP is a good fit for their business. Provide some background on your company. Direct us to where we can learn more about you. At Flint, we like to understand how you do business, so we can determine if it would be possible to have an open, honest and mutually respectful relationship with you.
  2. The Goal. Be clear about what you hope to accomplish with an agency relationship. It won’t help you to get a general capabilities overview from each agency that responds. We want to know your goals and objectives – so we can be sure to tell you about which capabilities are most appropriate for reaching those goals.
  3. The Proposal. If you don’t want lengthy proposals, be specific about the scope of work. However, if you are looking for a good read, let us describe all of our capabilities. Also, it’s fine to ask us to demonstrate an understanding of your business or industry. However, don’t ask agencies to include new recommendations, strategies or tactics in the proposal.
  4. The Pitch. Give us an agenda outlining what you expect our presentation to include. Would you simply like to see a person presenting the information in our proposal, enabling you to attach faces to names? Or are you looking for more? Be careful about asking agencies to make recommendations for new strategies or tactics. You’ll get some flashy creative or ideas with a WOW factor. However, these pretty pictures will likely be missing sound strategy.

An RFP is an investment for you as well. If it’s clear, complete and concise, the responses you get will have better information. You’ll be better equipped to weigh your options – and you’ll find a partner who can deliver exactly what you need.

Do you have any tips for preparing a good RFP? How about suggestions for responding to RFPs? I look forward to hearing your suggestions!

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A Communications Lesson from Mr. Rogers

By Roger Reierson, October 20, 2009

“People do not want to hear about simple things, they want to hear about great things–simply told.”

- Mr. Rogers

bwsweep

One of my most admired philosophers was Mr. Rogers (I must admit the name attracted me). He came across as a simple man, but his life lessons were full of great insight. The quote above is one of my favorites. It certainly defines the job of communications professionals and the role performed daily by many of my colleagues in the Flint Group.

It is important to start with comprehensive, accurate information and an in-depth understanding of your audience in order to properly develop your story. Of course integrity in the message is paramount, but the bigger the message, told in an easy to understand manner, the more impact it will bring to your brand.

Sounds simple right? Then why do so many companies fail?

(Photo from Wikipedia)

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Is the Agency Going to Eliminate MY Job?

By Jodi Duncan, October 13, 2009

Early on in my career, I was a marketing director at an insurance company. I did a little bit of everything: copywriting, graphic design, budgeting, planning, speaking, co-op programs, speech writing, etc. I wasn’t particularly good at any of it. And I was just flat-out bad at some of it!

I was familiar with some of the communications agencies in town, but didn’t consider using them. I didn’t understand that an agency can make you look really good – and that it can help you be smarter about your budget.

It seems a little counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Use an agency. Outsource internal work. Pay “big bucks” to do stuff that’s in your job description.

But when you work with an agency, you are really managing your responsibilities better. You’re getting superior creative executions. You’re poised for better results. And you’re getting more mileage out of your marketing budget.

I still cringe at the thought of some of our self-produced videos and television commercials. It doesn’t have to be like that. Now I have some solid experience behind me. I’ve worked with some very intelligent people. And today, I clearly see the value that an agency brings to the client.

I’ve spent much of my career on the client’s side of this kind of this kind of relationship – so I know exactly the dilemmas and challenges of working with an agency. Here are some things that I have learned:

An agency doesn’t want your job. I guarantee it! We want to work for you and with you. We want to make you look good because that makes us look good.

An agency doesn’t want to do everything. We know our expertise and our limitations. We work best when we offer up the things we are best at. Your internal team can execute on the things that they are best at.

A good agency delivers a clear perspective. No matter how well you know your audience, your knowledge is skewed by how your audience interacts with your brand. An agency can, and should, spend a great deal of time understanding your audience with a fresh and unbiased perspective.

An agency wants to be an extension of your team. We feel great pride in helping you achieve your goals. That’s a big deal to us. That’s how we measure our success. The state of your business keeps us up at night too. We want you to do well; that’s the center of our motivation.

We listen. If we are doing our job, we may not always give you exactly what you ask for. Knowing what we know about your audience and about communications, we feel it is critical to our relationship to look out for your best interest. That may or may not mean doing exactly what you say. If you aren’t being challenged by your agency, you might want to look for a new agency.

An agency is broad and deep. Now that I’m on the agency side of communications, what I appreciate most is that you tap into a lot of smart people who concentrate in communications disciplines. This is huge. Who, honestly, can keep up with how quickly our world is changing? One person can’t possibly know everything necessary to make good decisions – or create effective communications.

So… are you concerned that working with an agency will be your downfall? Think again. It just might be the smartest decision you make.

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Mining Internet Connectivity for Alaska Business

By Colin N. Clarke, August 30, 2009

FacebookPDAThe level of ‘connectivity’ in Alaska is pretty amazing. WIFI access, web enabled handhelds, digital mobile service and more. I guess I wasn’t surprised when I stumbled upon the most recent census stats for connectivity and found that Alaska is the second most connected state in the U.S. by household (behind New Hampshire only).

It’s no secret that Alaska is geographically isolated, but the people who live here are worldly and connected. They are very much in tune with the latest happenings around the world, and with the proximity to the Pacific Rim, Asia and Russia, their worldly nature seems to come naturally. Mix the geographic isolation with an inherent curiosity and you end up with a population that likely makes use of the Internet more efficiently than most areas of the U.S.

Businesses Lagging

So with such a ‘connected’ population, why are Alaska-based businesses lagging in their digital communications with Alaskans?

It’s true, most Alaskan businesses sport a website (it’s an expectation here). But when it comes to personal and social connection, Alaskans as business patrons are far ahead of the places they do business with. Alaskans love to be heard (just look at the comments section of any local article at ADN.com). They are passionate people, and they are voicing their opinion on message boards, wordpress, blogspot, flickr, twitter, facebook, ning, bebo, myspace and more. Want proof? As of the August, 2009 there were 174,240 Alaskans over age 18 with a Facebook account. That is more than one third of the total 18+ population of Alaska!

Missing the Conversation

So with all the conversations being held by Alaskans, do you suppose at some point they are talking about YOUR business? And when they are talking about your business, how do YOU know? What if they are saying something inaccurate about your company? Or worse, something damaging? If you are not actively participating in the conversation, how would you ever know? And how much damage could be done to your company reputation as a result?

Mining for Growth – Strategically

With internet connectivity and the growth of social media, the basic tenets of brand management have changed tremendously. A recent article describes managing your brand with social media. The article on Brand Bytes (an ADN.com blog about digital connectivity for business) describes how brand management has changed and the importance of having a social media strategy in place to help you manage your brand image in the digital world. And a recent AP article describes how businesses are connecting with their customers via social media. A quote from Alecia Dantico of Garrett Popcorn (@garrettpopcorn), “The conversations were already happening. My job was just to join them.”

It’s time for Alaskan businesses to begin engaging with customers in the digital world on a more social and personal level. Monitor a conversation, join a conversation, lead a conversation. Your customers are already here, it’s time that you start mining Alaska’s connectivity for your company’s growth as well.

 

AadlandFlint and the Flint Group has more than 50 professionals trained  in social media strategy and development. Follow just of a few of our digital professionals on Twitter at @jlysne, @fijens, @areierson.

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