ZB Group

Public Relations

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How Podcasts Amplify Brands

podcasts While the Olympic swimmers have wowed us from Rio, Katie Couric, Hillary Clinton, Fortune and Bloomberg Media have plunged head first into waters of a different sort this summer – podcasting. Why the big interest now?

I wanted to find out more about them myself and did by attending a breakfast event this morning hosted by the Princeton Chamber of Commerce. David Bevins, COO of Connoisseur Media, a company which owns more than 30 radio stations in the U.S. and produces podcasts, discussed the brouhaha surrounding podcasting.

You may be surprised to learn that 6 billion podcast episodes were downloaded last year. *

Appearing on a podcast or hosting your own could make perfect sense for your PR strategy.

Podcasts, which are digital audio files, came on the scene about 10 years ago. Since smartphones are ubiquitous, (80% of consumers have one*) they are a convenient way to learn about favorite hobbies, stay informed or be entertained whether exercising, waiting on line, shopping, relaxing at home or commuting.

Subscribers download podcasts from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, via an RSS feed or from another provider, directly onto their mobile devices and listen when and where they choose. Most podcasts also offer the option to stream or listen online. There are thousands of niche topics to choose from depending on a consumer’s interests.

Podcasts fit beautifully into our on demand at-your-fingertips world, so everyone is getting into the game – small business owners, major media companies, universities, politicians, news personalities, professors, health & fitness influencers, celebrities, major brands, you name it.

Here are seven benefits intrinsic to podcasts highlighted during this morning’s presentation:

  • Versatility – share news, expertise, information and entertain.
  • Loyalty – listeners enjoy their favorite podcasts and hosts, so engagement is high.
  • They make information personal.
  • Connectivity with consumers to help develop trusted relationships.
  • Portability for on demand technology.
  • Easily woven into a social media marketing strategy to enhance digital presence.
  • Can be featured on websites, blogs or newsletters for an inside look into a business, brand, leaders, cause, event, industry trends, etc.

To learn more about podcasting from a business perspective, professional podcaster Steve Lubetkin has co-authored The Business of Podcasting, He says in The Talking Points podcast of which he was a guest, that a goal of podcasters should be to attract the right listeners to your subject matter and not to be concerned with acquiring a mass audience.

Some like NPR and Wharton have been at it for a while. I learned that NPR’s “Fresh Air” with host Terry Gross is the most highly downloaded podcast. Knowledge@Wharton produces many podcasts featuring CEOs, Wharton faculty and experts on business trends, breaking news and market research.

This summer Bloomberg debuted the “Game Plan” podcast exploring the workplace with two of their reporters as co-hosts. Fortune launched “Unfiltered” with Digital Editor Aaron Task as host featuring in-depth conversations with business leaders and the Katie Couric Podcast with big names in the news, politics and pop culture chatting with Katie just began.

Debbie Galant, former New York Times Jersey columnist and current publisher of Midcentury Modern on Medium, launched a new podcast, In the Attic about the things we acquire and the importance they hold in our lives (or not).

On August 12 the “With Her” podcast was launched featuring Hillary Clinton as a co-host with former journalist Max Linsky as a lead up to the November election.

Podcasts, whether as a host or by being a guest on one, are another effective business communications tool to consider in this digital age.

*Source – Connoisseur Media

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PR’s Place in the Multi-Platform Digital Age

PR Relevant in Digital AgeIf you thought the digital age was making PR irrelevant – think again.

The vast number of media outlets today has actually increased opportunities for PR. No longer are TV and radio programs heard or seen once on-air at a scheduled time or are newspapers and magazines just read in print on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. According to NiemanLab, more Americans today are working for online publishers and broadcasters than newspapers.

Content is posted or streamed 24/7 across multiple platforms consumed by individuals on their mobile devices, tablets, laptops and desktops to read, listen or watch live or on-demand. It is often shared, blogged, liked or tweeted about on social media. This means if you, your brand, event, products, book, organization, cause or services are mentioned in the media, it has a long online life.

News outlets large and small have become integrated multimedia informational platforms with complementary websites, blogs and podcasts. Their online counterparts usually feature video, images and feedback from readers and viewers about the content. You’ll often hear radio and TV hosts telling listeners and viewers to follow them on Twitter or find them on Facebook to foster two-way conversations and build a loyal community.

Programs Have Become Platform Neutral

People want to trust news sources for curation since there’s so much information available it’s hard to decipher what’s credible. As Chuck Todd, Host of Meet the Press on NBC explains, the long-running show has stayed relevant by being platform neutral in a 24/7 digital journalism world.

Bloomberg cites the top new media companies and why established media companies have invested in them. Here the Host of Bloomberg’s daily program “What’d You Miss?” explains how he sees the TV program as a source of online video content. Acknowledging that many people get their news from social media, Bloomberg Media will now live stream three shows on Twitter as well as their markets coverage.

SO, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PR?

New Opportunities for Building Relationships and Reaching Your Audiences

The digital age provides new opportunities for all kinds of experts to comment, weigh-in and be featured on-air, in print, online or in a podcast. Visibility and credibility via third-parties in respected outlets or when featured by consumers’ favorite bloggers, influencers or podcast hosts, helps marketing efforts gain traction and be successful.

We read about publishers’ digital-only platforms launching all the time such as Sports Illustrated’s new tech vertical covering sports, tech and media to broaden its scope. Fortune Live, a weekly web show with guest interviews from Fortune Magazine, launched last year.

This WSJ piece discusses how the marketing and culinary manager of the Andy Boy brand hired PR and advertising agencies for a campaign with TV personalities, digital and social media influencers. Together they worked to raise the cool factor for broccoli rabe and its nutritional benefits targeting young, food and health conscious consumers.

There are myriad ways to use PR and media relations for reaching niche, local or broad audiences to influence those who matter most for your business.

Coverage in Business Media

Business focused media has evolved along with the new digital landscape to remain profitable and serve the shifting habits of their audiences. Regardless of the platform, interesting stories and experts that are a good fit for the outlet, will resonate with the right journalists. For Global Context we arranged media interviews that resulted in coverage in Bloomberg Businessweek, WCBS’ CEO Radio, BBC.com’s Capital, Crain’s and others.

Contributed Content Is Sought

Some editors from major news outlets to those at trade publications, seek outside expert sources to write contributed articles due to small staffs and the need to regularly post new compelling content. They welcome help from PR pros and their clients to contribute relevant interesting articles and offer a variety of fresh topics for their readers.

  • NJBIZ – This prominent New Jersey business publication features blogs such as Millennial Minded, Breaking Glass for women in business and Industry Insights. We placed a by-lined article by Bart Jackson about why he believes humor is important in the workplace for the Industry Insights blog.

Many things have changed in the digital age but as far as PR is concerned, the opportunities have only increased.

 

 

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How One Media Interview Led to a Fruitful Business Relationship

Bart Jackson, left, with Jacque Howard in Princeton, New Jersey
Bart Jackson, left, with Jacque Howard in Princeton, New Jersey

PR has many benefits and building lasting relationships with desired audiences is one.

Maybe you’d like to connect with buyers of your products and services who are young consumers, senior level business leaders, homeowners, health conscious parents or online retailers.

Perhaps you want to find new clients, business partners or trustworthy vendors to help grow your business or explore potential possibilities and ideas.

If so, public relations can help with all of the above whether your business is B2C or B2B.

Here’s the back story about how a collaboration was born out of a single media interview.

In our previous post an interview that we arranged for Bart Jackson on Jacque Howard’s show Trenton 365 was cited.

Jacque’s the founder of Trenton 365, a community building program promoting civic engagement with a focus on the Delaware Valley Region and host of a radio show by the same name. It airs on WIMG AM 1300 and is streamed live Tuesdays from 8 to 9 p.m., and on WWFM 89.1 HD2 and streamed live Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6 to 7 p.m.

We reached out to Jacque proposing Bart as an interesting guest and sent along copies of his books. Jacque agreed he’d be a good fit and we subsequently arranged an interview last fall at a cafe in Princeton, New Jersey.

Bart is a congenial, entrepreneurial multi-talented guy as is Jacque so they had a lot in common and enjoyed chatting long after the interview ended.

Synergy developed between them in the following ways:

These are gratifying results sparked by an initial introduction via a media interview.

Have any of your media interviews or news coverage led to fruitful relationships? If so, please share them as we’d love to know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Use PR To Tell Your Story and Build Relationships

How PR is Earning Its Place in 2016 was the subject of a recent article in Advertising Age. As reported, the changing media landscape is putting public relations in the limelight. Marketers realize the benefits a well-crafted PR campaign can reap for brands and services in an environment where consumers may choose to opt-out, skip and block their clients’ messages as they strive to grab their attention. Plus, many of the online ads purchased, people don’t see as reported in the WSJ on January 25.

One aspect of PR is media relations which focuses on working with journalists to garner positive earned media placements for whatever it is you’d like to promote such as your brand, services, new product, book or event – and build relationships. Your news is incorporated into stories in the form of TV or radio segments, digital pieces, newspaper or magazine articles or blog posts, which may also be shared on the outlet’s social media platforms or on yours. Earned media has valuable credibility because it’s reported by independent third party news professionals and sources who your audience knows, follows and trusts.

With that in mind, below are examples of how PR can help to tell your story. These represent recent media coverage we arranged for Stuart Friedman, the CEO of Global Context, who leads and founded a cross-cultural communications firm to help businesspeople work successfully with those from other cultures and Bart Jackson, CEO of Prometheus Publishing, creators of BartsBooks, and host of The Art of the CEO radio show.

Major Market Radio Interview – WCBS Newsradio 880, CEO Radio

Ray Hoffman, left, with Stuart Friedman at the WCBS studio in Manhattan
Ray Hoffman, left, with Stuart Friedman at the WCBS studio in Manhattan

CEO Radio is broadcast within the New York metro area featuring the experiences of chief executives and entrepreneurs. Ray Hoffman, host of CEO Radio, interviewed Stuart Friedman at the station. The interview, edited into nine different one-minute news features, aired December 14, 2015 – December 23, 2015. Each on-air segment is repeated four times a day. Listen to the full interview and the one-minute excerpts at the WCBS website.

Digital Marketing Communications Publication – Campaign U.S.

Stuart Friedman’s comments were included in the piece 20 Ways To Embarrass Yourself Around the World where he discusses what NOT to do in China and what TO DO in Sweden.

New Jersey Newspaper – The Cranbury Press

An Innate Craving To Create Things for the Good is the title of this half-page print story featuring Bart Jackson which was also posted online.

Community & Media Organization – Trenton 365

Bart Jackson, left, with Jacque Howard in Princeton, New Jersey
Bart Jackson, left, with Jacque Howard in Princeton, New Jersey

Jacque Howard’s Trenton 365 is a community building program promoting civic engagement. He interviewed Bart Jackson for his radio show Trenton 365 which is heard in the Delaware Valley Region.

Bylined Article – NJBIZ

Bart Jackson’s article, In Praise of Folly, was published in the NJBIZ “Industry Insights” blog sharing his thoughts about adding humor to the workplace.

Reach out if you’d like to learn how we can help your company, organization or brand get the attention it deserves, boost its image, grow business and build relationships in 2016 using public relations.

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Blatant Promotion – WSJ Columnist Features His Own Book

Article and ad for new book by Jason Gay
The Wall Street Journal, Sports, D5, November 3, 2015

Did you read The Wall Street Journal and see this on page D5 in Sports on November 3? Take a moment to click on the photo to see it better. In the print edition there was a column about a new book on the upper right hand side and an ad for the book on the bottom.

First, I found it strange to read an entire column by sports columnist Jason Gay touting his new book, “Little Victories: Perfect Rules for Imperfect Living” and secondly, it’s odd to see an ad for the book on the same page.

Seriously WSJ? A journalist was given carte blanche to use his column to promote his new book plus display an ad for it on the same page. Was he given a pass since he covers sports and not breaking news or business? I have no idea but think it’s a conflict of interest for a journalist and a news outlet the size and stature of The Wall Street Journal.

His column “The Best Victories Are the Little Ones” was laced with sarcasm and wit, so it was as usual a fun read. For example, citing his mother’s feelings about his new book he writes, “My mother has proclaimed it to be “Not bad.” In describing his new book he writes, “It’s a life guide for people who hate life guides” and “I want it to make you laugh – a lot.”

I enjoy Jason’s columns as they are usually light-hearted fare for this subscriber who is not well-versed in the world of big-time sports or knows a thing about fantasy football.

I get it. The lines between editorial and advertising are blurring with native advertising, brand journalism, branded content, sponsored content and paid posts all becoming more popular. Even Blurrier Lines on NPR’s On The Media show explores this trend.

Unfortunately we read about cuts everyday at news organizations grappling with how to stay profitable, figure things out and grow their audiences in the digital age. However the WSJ is not your neighborhood weekly where highly promotional pieces may appear that are sold as part of an editorial/advertising package.

Your thoughts? I’d love to know.