Happy Birthday, HARO

HARO celebrated its one-year anniversary this month. In this time, the web site (which gets its name from the acronym for Help-A-Reporter-­Out) grew to more than 70,000 subscribers, posted nearly 25,000 queries from more than 10,000 journalists, and was mentioned in more than 500 print articles and blog posts. All great for founder Peter Shankman, but not bad for the TJO team and our clients either. As a result of this start-up web service that links journalists and PR pros at no cost to either party, we were able to build great relationships with new media contacts and score some serious coverage for our clients.

But the purpose of this post isn’t only to shower HARO with kudos. Rather, on this anniversary of HARO’s launch I think it’s important to realize that Shankman is truly living and breathing the key elements to a successful online presence. He’s creating valuable content, as well as building credibility with and a community for his key audiences. And while we’re constantly advocating these elements to our clients, it’s always nice to have one more solid case study to back up what we preach.

To PR and media folks, the HARO name is synonymous with credibility. We trust and respect it. That’s why reporters – once tried-and-true fans of the competing pay-for-play ProfNet service – quickly jumped on the HARO bandwagon. And it’s why PR pros don’t hesitate to reach out to new contacts in the media to discuss why a client would be a great fit for their stories. This isn’t something just anyone can achieve with a free service. It takes an expert voice using an honest and transparent approach, as well as a track record of results to get here.

HARO also does a great job of building a sense of community. From its start as a Facebook page to now providing urgent media queries via Twitter, member posts on LinkedIn, and three-times-a-day emails, HARO is a non-stop social media experience. The result? Members feel like they’re part of something. Something that’s cohesive and meaningful, despite the barrage of messages that flood the inboxes of the many online apps you’ve downloaded to your Blackberry or iPhone in an effort to keep up with the media’s demand for sources.

It’s this cohesive messaging that brings me to my next point: content. HARO is constantly generating new content across a variety of mediums – whether it’s online video about daily media happenings on WHOH.com (What’s Hot On Haro), blog posts about Shankman’s adventures at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin or teleconferences that connect sources with NPR and Crain’s New York journalists. The content builds on itself, while maintaining a clear message: PR folks and journalists can play in the same sandbox and enjoy it. That message is reinforced with continuous feedback from both PR pros and the media. It’s good content like this that informs its audience, draws them in, and tells them something they want to know.

So hats off to you, HARO, and happy birthday. I’m certain there will be many more to come.

Media's Mixed Messages Open Door for Direct-to-Consumer Communications

At Taylor Johnson, we believe media relations is a key component to a successful PR strategy, but we’re also strongly urging clients to integrate direct-to-consumer communications into their PR programs. This week’s contradictory and confusing news on housing is a prime reason why.

• From Terry Savage’s “Savage Truth Column” in the March 24 Chicago Sun-Times: “Can you expect home sales to rise? That remains to be seen, but it looks like we’re off to a good start. Sales of existing homes edged up to a surprising 4.72 million in February.”

• Very next page. Headline: “Home Sales Plunge in February”. Lede: Existing home sales in Chicago plunged 40.4 percent in February from a year earlier, and the median price dropped 24.7 percent, the Illinois Association of Realtors said Monday.

• Turn to the March 24 Daily Herald. Headline: “Local Home Sales Climb”

It’s easy to understand how someone who’s considering a major transaction such as a home sale or purchase could be confounded to the point of inaction. On one page we’re saved. On the next we’re doomed. And every day is more of the same. So people sit on the sidelines and wait for clear direction.

That direction must come from you.

About a year ago, when the housing market started to get really choppy, Doug Ayers, president of Koenig & Strey GMAC said something that really stuck with me. To paraphrase: ‘Don’t confuse information with knowledge.'

Today, there is no lack of information. But consumers are tired of information. They want knowledge. And who better to provide it than you? Who knows your product better? Who knows your market better? Who knows your customers better? You’re in a unique position to provide real insights; and, with the help of today’s new media tools, to facilitate a two-way conversation that will help your customers learn more about you – and just as importantly, help you learn more about your customers.

Here are a few tips for direct-to-consumer communications that should score with consumers looking for knowledge, not just information.

• Use data from a credible, objective third-party source, such as an industry trade association or independent research organization.
• Provide analysis to tell the story behind the numbers. Point out anomalies that skew data.
• Create opportunities for consumers to request more information – and funnel into your sales cycle.
• Educate, don’t sell. In the new-media world consumers choose you, not the other way around.
• Track the results of your campaigns with unique landing pages and analytics tools.
• Time is of the essence. Respond to news and events as they unfold so you can help your customers form opinions or determine what it means to them.
• Target your message to your audience. That's something the mass media can't do, and it's the whole point of direct-to-consumer communications.

The Story Behind Stories

I want to tell you a story.

It’s a story about a kid from Massachusetts who goes to Washington D.C. and becomes one of the most influential voices in American politics by the age of 27.

Interested? Chances are you were before you ever read the first word of the second sentence. That’s because storytelling is one of the most powerful communications tools we have and one to which humans are automatically drawn. Just reading or hearing the words, “I want to tell you a story,” is enough to make most of us perk up, if only for a second, to find out what’s coming next.

OK. So many of you know the story referenced above is that of Jon Favreau, President Obama’s chief speechwriter. Not coincidentally, it’s storytelling that got Mr. Favreau to where he is today. In a profile in last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune, Favreau, who doesn’t give interviews, is purported to have told his friends his simple approach to successful speechwriting: “Tell a story. That’s the most important part of every speech, more than any given line. Does it tell a story from beginning to end?”

The lure of the story lies deep in our subconscious, and its value as a communications device is well documented. Researchers and authors, Chip and Dan Heath, identify Stories as one of the six rules for lasting and effective communications in their best-selling book, Made to Stick, which has become a bible of sorts at Taylor Johnson. (I cannot recommend this book enough). The Heath brothers say a story “provides simulation (knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act).” In other words, stories generate action.

For the Obama-Favreau team, the most dramatic action to date was a vote. For those of us in business, we hope the action is a phone call, a visit, a click, a sale and – after the sale – a referral.

So make sure stories are a part of your communications repertoire. Are your stories engaging? Are they relevant to your audience and the problems your audience face? Are they getting out through the right channels? And are you backing them up with a parallel customer experience? If you’re answering these questions in the affirmative today, then chances are you’ll have an even better story to tell tomorrow.

You Mean This Stuff Actually Works?!

Just returned from a client meeting with some good news. A recent media placement generated a record turnout over the weekend at the Kohler Waters Spa at Burr Ridge Village Center, which is owned and managed by our client, Opus North Corp.

Here's how it went down. Last fall, Taylor Johnson & Olesker Account Executive Morgan Brickley attended a PR-media networking event where she met Janet Davies, veteran Chicago news anchor and host of the popular TV show "190 North". Morgan pitched Janet a tour of the new spa, and the segment finally aired on Sunday, March 1. The following Saturday, March 7, Kohler had a record 105 appointments - more than they booked for Valentine's Day, which was also on a Saturday! Despite the economy, despite the fact that it was just a regular old weekend, the success of this pitch proved that if you can reach the right audiences through the right channels, you can achieve positive results.