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Editorial Calendars: The Endless Search Yields Valuable PR Lessons

Editorial calendars are a vital part of a successful public relations campaign. They give PR practitioners like me a glimpse into the future, granting us some foresight as to what opportunities for coverage we may be able to leverage for our clients that year.

Gathering them for review is absolutely critical, but I think I speak for most PR practitioners when I say that they are also a total pain to obtain. They are often difficult to locate on Web sites and posted at different times of the year by each publication, thus requiring an ongoing, repeated and tedious search.

Fortunately, my ongoing effort to attain editorial calendars has also been a surprising source of enlightenment. As I reflect on my first three months working at Articulate, I am struck by how much I have learned through this basic task. Here are just a few of the lessons that I feel will serve me well in all of my future public relations endeavors that I have learned through my labor:

• Go after every opportunity: While some editorial calendars are much easier to find than others, and it is often tempting to ease up on those that seem impossible to capture, I have realized it is necessary to pursue them all because you never know what opportunities you could find for your clients.
• Pay attention to detail: Many publication’s Web sites seem to almost hide their editorial calendars, burying them deep within the site’s content. But, if you carefully sift through, paying close attention, what you are looking for can often be discovered.
• Be patient: Not every publication releases their editorial calendar at the same time but most will eventually, so patience is key.
• Be persistent: If at one point you are unable to locate the editorial calendar you are looking for, don’t give up! Check back often to see if things have changed.
• When you need help, ask for it: Sometimes, despite your best efforts, an editorial calendar simply eludes you. In this case, contact someone at the publication or enlist the help of a coworker in your search.

These lessons correspond to the work we do for our clients at Articulate. We expand our horizons, looking for creative opportunities. We are detail-oriented from the planning process through execution and measurement. Where some PR professionals could become frustrated with the learning curve for our client’s technical subject matter, we love the challenge. Finally, we embrace team structures, understanding that not one individual could achieve the success that we do as a team.

While the seemingly never-ending search for editorial calendars will likely continue to mildly frustrate me until I am able to collect them all, I am thankful for the valuable lessons that the task of their collection has afforded me and I look forward to pursuing all of the great media opportunities they have indicated for 2010!

By Bess Hammitt

Pearls of Wisdom: Social Media Strategy

We recently partnered with a very smart guy named François Gossieaux of Beeline Labs on behalf of client CT Wolters Kluwer to discuss social media.  We’ve started a rudimentary social media awareness campaign for CT and some other clients, namely nascent broadcasting of company news and insights via Twitter and LinkedIn communities and becoming more actively engaged in online discussions.  François’ insights were geared specifically toward how to build on that foundation and use social media as a true “platform of participation” to make customers front and center. 

A few of François’ pearls of wisdom:

• “The key is to be customer-centric, not company-centric.” Social media is about communities, specifically your customer community. Social media enables companies to make their customers’ voices and opinions front and center. It first and foremost is a fundamental shift in how a company views its marketing, sales, nurturing, prospecting, employees – in short, every aspect of the company can truly be about the customer.
• “People are only going to belong to a certain number of communities.” It makes sense, doesn’t it? You only join so many clubs or read so many newspapers. Online, it’s going to be the same way. So be smart about “building your own vs. buying into an existing.” Look for synergies with existing communities, blogs or groups to see if you can achieve scalability there before trying to go it alone. Look at small-business sites – Staples and HP tried, but only American Express Small Business has succeeded. Engage where your customers are today before trying to build a new place for them to come.
• “The most successful groups are those with a common set of characteristics.” Look to build your own groups and communities around basic characteristics like chemistry, commitment, passion and pride. Unite around a common purpose or goal, measure and evaluate the group’s progress and build a community around people with a vested interest in making themselves and the group successful.

In sum, and as I’ve said before, look at social media as part of your entire arsenal for customer delivery.  After all, if they’re happy, you’re probably making money.

By Laura Grimmer

We Are Professional Communicators, But Does Anyone Understand What We’re Saying?

Earlier this week, I completed the second-to-last semester of my master’s program at NYU, with a group presentation of a strategic communications plan for the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).  Beyond acclimating myself to working on group projects again, this semester’s assignment reminded me that as much as we as PR professionals may complain about the jargon thrown around by our clients, we in the PR world have our own jargon that we often forget about.

When presenting to a group of individuals who are not involved in PR, it’s too easy for us to use terms that we are used to hearing on a daily basis:  media monitoring, live-Tweet, trends pitch, etc.  How often do we stop to explain these terms, making sure that our clients understand what we plan to execute and the outcomes they can expect?

The first draft of our presentation, looking back, was crammed with PR jargon.  After much tweaking, we presented the plan in layman’s terms.  During the Q&A session it was obvious that we had gotten through to the UNGC.  The light bulb had gone off and they understood the tactics they could implement to make their event successful.

This opportunity to present to a non-tech audience allowed me the opportunity to step back and understand that the basic element of PR is communication.  We should not just aim to communicate with journalists and analysts, but with our clients as well.  During this time of the year we are planning with our clients for 2010, and communications becomes more important than ever.  As we develop our plans, we are not only planning on achieving our client’s business goals, but ensuring that they are also easily understood.

A former president of Yale University, Kingman Brewster, Jr. said that incomprehensible jargon is the hallmark of a profession.  While we like to think here at Articulate that we are some of the leaders in our profession, PR jargon is one hallmark that we are happy to reject.

By Ashleigh Egan

The Holiday Slowdown? Never Heard of It.

Now that the holidays are finally upon us, it’s time to sit back, slow down and take stock of all the things we’ve learned over the past year.  With holiday parties gearing up, visions of shiny gifts dancing through our heads and the prospect of a little time off becoming ever-more realistic, work is supposed to start winding down so we can enjoy some of this stuff, right? 

Not even close. 

Here around the Articulate offices, you’d swear that December was any other month in the calendar year.  Teams are continuing full steam ahead on 2010 planning, strategic outreach campaigns, meetings with terrific current, new and prospective clients and scoring big client successes (witness Antenna Software and Cycle Computing in this year’s just-announced InfoWorld 100).  Make no mistake, we’ve certainly got a sweet holiday party on the horizon (hat tip to the boss – a.k.a. @lauragrimmer – for that).  Of course we’ll also be conducting the traditional Articulate Holiday Gift Exchange, as it really wouldn’t be December without it.  Other than this, though, it’s pretty much business-as-usual around these parts.

This is a good thing.  The holidays are a wonderful, joyous time and using this month to take stock of the previous year is a perfectly noble intention, to be sure.  Yet it can also distract us from the task at hand, and when it comes down to it, the thing that truly makes the holidays feel special is the feeling that we’ve earned them. 

Here at Articulate, we’re earning every bit of them.  The gifts will be given, the trees will get decorated and the eggnog will be drunk – for those who like that sort of thing.  But finding the balance between revelry and the satisfaction of a job well done is what ultimately makes for a truly Happy Holiday. 

By Mark Van Hook

What I’m Thankful for this Year … my Clients (and the Dallas Cowboys)

It’s that time of year – time for the obligatory Thanksgiving-related post.  What am I thankful for?  Of course there are the go-to responses:  my family, boyfriend, friends and health.  (And of course, for the yearly Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game!  How ‘bout them Cowboys?)  Also, in my everyday life, I’m thankful for my clients.

Every agency employee has come across the bad client – the one who doesn’t return your phone calls, has stale ideas and (gasp) refuses to follow AP style.  Here at Articulate, I’m happy to say that our clients are completely different:  they are innovative, have great ideas and are excited about telling their stories.

One example is Cycle Computing.  Last week, the company’s founder and CEO, Jason Stowe, attended the SuperComputing 2009 conference in Portland, Ore.  During his four short days in Portland, Jason told the Cycle Computing story (the company provides HPC and open source solutions in the cloud) to no less than six journalists and five industry analysts.  Why do these influencers want to speak with Jason?  His company’s technology is hot (cloud computing was recently named one of the top strategic technologies for 2010 by Gartner) and he has a passion about the topic that comes through in his interviews.  Cycle Computing has worked with clients in multiple industries and Jason is not hesitant to speak about these experiences, linking his technology to the trends and high-end business goals in each industry.

Jason is just one example of the many great clients we have at Articulate, and we are proud of all of our client’s successes.  These are the successes that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving – the ability to work with such passionate people and share their stories with the outside world.

By Ashleigh Egan

The PR Job Hunt: Not as Scary as It Sounds

This past Friday evening, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the NYU masters in public relations and corporate communications program about building careers in communication.  While listening to the panelists, including Articulate’s own Laura Grimmer (@lauragrimmer), I looked around the room at my fellow students and thought, especially in this poor economy, how in the world will they make themselves stand out and find a job?

When asked their one point of advice to job seekers, Laura said “look at our Web site.”  Seems like an obvious point that wouldn’t need to be said, right?  We are currently looking to grow our team at Articulate (check out our job listing), and it’s surprising how many inquiries we have received where it’s obvious the candidate has not taken five minutes to browse our Web site.

A candidate does not have to be a technology whiz to join Articulate.  However, showing an interest in our field, or any job you apply to, is crucial.  Looking back, I was not the obvious candidate for my first PR job, which focused on financial technology clients.  At the time, I was working at a non-profit organization, with a bachelor’s degree in politics and journalism and my only connection to PR being an acceptance letter to NYU’s masters program.  When applying for the position, I read about the agency and its clients, and made sure to connect my current talents to the skill set they were looking for.  Did I know the difference between buy side and sell side?  Not at all.  But I did have a background in writing and organizational skills that I had picked up in college, and I made sure to stress these skills in my cover letter and interview.

Competition for jobs is much tighter than when I applied for my first position – but the process should be the same.  If your talents don’t fit the criteria 100 percent, stress the connections that do exist.  Show interest in the work the agency does (because if you’re not really interested in B2B technology, we’ll figure it out pretty quickly).  Finally, if you think you’d be a good fit here at Articulate, reach out and let us know!

By Ashleigh Egan

Remember: Always Do Your Homework

The PR world is fast, always changing and demanding results.  In an industry where some wish for more hours in a day and more days in a week, it is imperative to fully evaluate each and every task to ensure the maximum amount of value is derived from every assignment. 

Last week I sat in on a great PRSourceCode Webinar with Brian Watson, editor in chief of CIO Insight. Although the days of lugging around textbooks, college-ruled loose-leaf paper and No. 2 pencils are long behind us, the Webinar reminded me to uphold the one basic principle of any good student:  do your homework.

We often forget the little things such as how to share or the ABC’s we learned in kindergarten.  Brian stressed that it is essential to understand what beat reporters cover and recognize what the publication is focused on.  Seems like simple enough advice, but I’ve seen many fall victim to pitching out news to the wrong reporter - or to the wrong publication altogether - in a failed and frantic attempt to rack up some extra coverage. 

So ask yourself these questions:  Are you really ensuring the best use of your time e-mailing reporters who would not cover the topic at hand?  Wouldn’t it be a better use of your time to research the publication, determine its focus, find the right reporter and start to build a lasting relationship? 

One of the benefits of working at a boutique agency is that we have a focus.  Our clients are business-to-business and technology companies, and by having this focus we are able to build better relationships with the media and industry analysts who focus on these areas.

Some other key points Brain touched upon in regard to increasing the chance of inclusion in a publication include:
• Monitor the publication’s Web site to determine the kind of content it publishes
• Know if the publication accepts product information or vendor news 
• Wait a few days for a reporter to get back to you; do not spam them with follow-up e-mails and phone calls
• Determine the executive level the publication prefers to speak to
• Identify any ongoing topics or reoccurring editorial sections

 Or, for shorthand – consider these quick ABC’s I like to use when pitching:
• Always be prepared – know what and to whom you’re pitching
• Be aggressive – follow-up with reporters but don’t spam
• Continue to monitor – new opportunities present themselves in different mediums; it’s all about how you look at them

Remember:  embedded so deeply in the world of messaging sessions, coverage reports, news analysis, media training and tight deadlines, we often forget and lose sight of the one task that’s gotten us all so far; doing our homework.  Sticking to the aforementioned tips may not guarantee you a hit in BusinessWeek or The Wall Street Journal, but it will definitely bring you closer to your goal.

By Danielle Mandragona

A Mobile PR Firm

As a PR pro in the B2B technology space, I’m exposed to many new and exciting technologies that my clients create to help businesses operate more effectively.  I have a good understanding of many of these technologies from my close interaction with clients, reporters, analysts and co-workers, but it’s rare that I ever get first-hand experience using them. 

One technology that I’ve been lucky enough to use for the past few years as a result of working at Articulate is the smartphone.  This past week, we switched over from RIM’s BlackBerry to Apple’s iPhone, and it got me thinking about how lucky we are to have these great devices in the first place.

While it’s common for top executives at agencies in the PR industry to have company-issued smartphones, it’s rare for every employee to have his or her own device.  Not to sound immodest, but this is one thing that sets Articulate apart from most other agencies in the business.  It illustrates the commitment our Leadership Team has to providing all employees with the tools needed to serve our clients to the best of our abilities. 

In an industry that increasingly requires real-time response to reporters, bloggers, analysts and other industry influencers, it’s crucial for us to have the ability to stay connected throughout the day when we’re not at our desks.  This connectivity opens the door to an array of opportunities that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to pursue.  Our clients ultimately benefit because it results in more visibility for them.

By Jonathan Klein

The Press Release is Not Dead … but We Need to Ask: “Who Will Read It?”

I read an article on Ragan.com that highlighted a survey of communicators about the usefulness of press releases in today’s PR environment.  Below are some of the highlights:
• 49 percent of respondents said press releases are “as useful as ever”
• 33 percent said they are a necessary evil that won’t go away soon
• 64 percent target press releases most often to print outlets
• 45 percent said press releases are losing relevance because of the rise of social media

As a younger member of the PR community, I do not remember the days of faxing press releases and then following up via phone (yes, there were days before e-mail).  True, the rise of new media and a 24/7 news cycle may be decreasing the value of the lengthy, traditional press release to certain audiences who are social-media savvy. On the flip side, my parents remember the old days and have no idea how Facebook works or what a Tweet is, and they do not want to know.  A demographic still exists for the traditional press release.

In the end, the critical question you need to ask is:  who are your audiences?  Are your buyers reading blogs and creating lists on Twitter?  Then you need to alter your outreach to reach the writers on these networks.  However, some B2B decision-makers have The Wall Street Journal delivered to their front door and pick up BusinessWeek at the newsstand, so these are the outlets where they need to be reached.

At Articulate, we are looking to the future and different ways of communicating our client’s messages.  Smart PR pros (and we like to think we’re smarter than the average bear) need to get creative about their role not only within the realm of PR, but within the sales and marketing spectrum.

By Ashleigh Egan

Doing Business in 2009

At Articulate, I and the other members of the Articulate Leadership Team (ALT) present a company update every quarter, and we did the Q3 review this week.  At the first-half update in July, we actually upped our company success metrics based on trends we saw heading into the third quarter.  And we’re ahead of our goal so far, a fact that we are all quite proud of.

A few observations:

• Our current clients are stable and looking toward more aggressive marketing in 2010.  Six Articulate clients actually increased their PR spend in the third quarter.
• We’re continuing to build on our long-standing relationships with our clients, adding seven former clients back to the roster so far this year.
• Five new companies signed with Articulate in the third quarter – we’re seeing strong growth from marketing services companies and financial technology firms this year, a testament to our ability to quickly ramp and excel in new industries.
• The depth of our work has shifted as well this year.  We’re doing more strategic and consultative projects, from message development workshops to media and presentation coaching to Social Media 101 seminars, and we look to expand these capabilities in 2010.

There was a report this week that the recession is over.  I’m not so sure that means recovery yet, but there are strong signs that technology and B2B services firms are more hopeful that 2010 holds plenty of opportunity, and the smart companies are getting ahead of the pack by maintaining and growing their investment in PR to outpace their competitors as other industries begin to renew their spending.

By Laura Grimmer