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Turn Your Bass Drum into the First-Chair Violin

As a small to medium business on the verge of a major company or product/service launch you can find yourself the conductor of a large orchestra of business elements that all must come together at the same point to ensure success.

The public relations component of your launch is sometimes perceived as the big ‘ole bass drum in the back. It’s frequently silent and sometimes forgotten. When it kicks in it is clear, rhythmic, and unmistakable in its resounding contribution to the orchestra. Yet, it simply provides rhythmic emphasis at key points in the arrangement.

A good public relations program should be considered the first-chair violinist who comes out on stage and fine-tunes the orchestra before the conductor arrives. When he steps on to the podium, the conductor is assured the orchestra is in tune, ready to perform, and only awaits the dramatically controlled downbeat of his baton. Throughout the movement, the head violinist passionately plays the highest melodic notes, the fastest segments, and measures of heartfelt solo. At the end of the concert, the conductor bows, acknowledges and shakes the hand of his violinist.

Often businesses will wait to start their public relations program until the last minute before a launch. The PR contributes—it makes its mark—but like the bass drum can at best only provide a supporting emphasis.

On the other hand when a public relations program starts early, like the lead violinist, it can fine-tune many of the other elements of the business to bring continuity of message, provide harmonious cohesion to an integrated marketing program, and beautifully perform an aggressive and strategic PR campaign.

Following the launch, the results become all too clear—an audience has been served.

Plan to bring your public relations program in sooner than later.

Are we Utilizing Technology or Hiding Behind it?

Social media, email, texting—they all have their place. But, have we lost our ability to communicate without them? Now don’t get me wrong- I realize the irony of a PR professional seemingly discrediting the very tools we encourage our clients to embrace. That’s not what I am doing at all. My observation is merely that we, as a society, seem to be unable to communicate in the traditional, ‘old school’ ways. Case in point- when pitching a story idea to an editor, our first arsenal is typically to email them and wait for a reply. What about picking up the phone and calling? Do you experience the panic that goes through you when someone actually picks up their phone and you were rehearsing your voice mail message in your mind and now can’t speak coherantly?

I think we have trained ourselves to assume technology will take over and don’t have the comfort and ease to just speak! The interaction with another person is intimately different when you hear their voice or see them in person. We encourage clients to go on press tours and meet members of the press in person for that very reason—relationship building. The ease and simplicity of electronic communication has definitely made it a part of our professional and personal lives, but it shouldn’t be our only way.

I realize how busy we are and how much easier it is to post something to your blog for your family to see, or send a quick text or email to a friend, but don’t completely eliminate a quick phone call or in-person visit. Technology is available to enhance our ability to communicate, not eliminate the direct interaction between people. Use the tools available to further your message, but don’t forget that your smartphone can still function as a telephone!

Learning From Your Mistakes

I came across an article that asked the question, “Should you admit a mistake?” at work. It intrigued me to see what the response was. The subhead rang true- If you do admit an error, you can start looking for solutions. I think too many times we are worried about covering our tracks or consumed by the notion of how to get out of the mistake, we do not focus on a resolution.

I am not claiming to be all-knowing by any means, but I can say the transition from my 20’s to my 30’s really changed my perspective on many things. I feel like a lot of what the article stated was tips I have learned in the process of maturing personally and professionally. Here are two key tips I thought were worth sharing.

1. Own up to your mistakes and come with a resolution. Don’t pass the buck or be defensive- just admit it, accept it and move on. I know that sounds simplistic, but in reality, it can be. So much of our situational stress and heartache is self-inflicted. I have been amazed at how quickly we can resolve a situation and it becomes old news if we just deal with it.

2. Move on. Prove it was a mistake and not a pattern. Most often, your team will forgive a mistake, especially if it is out of character or an obvious slip-up. However, if you continue to do the same thing, people will begin to second-guess your decisions and abilities.

I always find it funny that we often disregard the simplest tips and things that seem like common sense. I am guilty of it myself. But, at this point in my career, what do I have to gain by hiding behind someone else or dodging the truth? Making myself invaluable to my company and upholding my integrity is far more important than not fessing up to something I did.

Companies Benefit From Becoming Their Own Media Outlet

I was browsing through FoxNews.com the other day and saw an article about the conniption fit the Washington media has been having lately over the White House press office acting more and more like its own media outlet, bypassing traditional news avenues in “favor of releasing its own ‘exclusive’ video, voicing administration opinions on its official blog and blasting out updates via Twitter.”

According to the article, President Obama is conducting fewer press conferences, instead leaning more on internal media to distribute White House news—Press Secretary Robert Gibbs in some cases breaking news on Twitter.

As an example, the article points out that President Obama has conducted significantly fewer “question-and-answer” sessions with the media in his first year in office than his predecessors—47 to be exact (compared to 147 by George W. Bush and 252 by Bill Clinton).

Politics and Washington media aside, the White House is simply doing what most companies and their PR execs need to be doing—creating their own content for distribution through a variety of online, print, and broadcast sources.

The White House Press Corp, used to having access to the President’s Press Secretary, may disagree, but more and more the media is expecting companies to provide their own content and distributing it through those same online and traditional methods.

Companies who see themselves as their own media outlet will have a significant advantage with the media over those who don’t.