Hiring a PR firm? Ask these questions first!

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Michelle Damico

Beautiful crocuses

Crocuses and snowdrops popping up in my garden signal spring’s arrival. I also know it’s spring because the phone is ringing — a LOT! Now more than ever, organizations such as tech start-ups, entrepreneurs, non-profits, and corporations are reviewing their 2013 marketing and PR needs and deciding whether to hire a PR pro to help elevate their market position.

Here at Michelle Damico Communications, it’s Spring-Into-Action-Time, providing answers about how a company’s product, service or cause might benefit from my PR, messaging, and interview training services. So as a service to all future clients, here are things to ask before hiring a PR firm. (Note: There’s a special bonus for readers who make it to the end of this post!)

Six Questions to Ask Before Hiring a PR Firm

How deep is your PR firm’s media relationships? How often do reporters CALL YOU seeking sources? Every good PR person will tell you they regularly connect with reporters via email, phone or tweet reporters. The strongest sign of a deep media relationship is when reporters call PR pros they trust, seeking experts – I know because it happens to me weekly.
Tell me about your experience as former journalist? Many PR pros claim they used to work in journalism. But a closer look may reveal they wrote for their college newspaper and switched to business or marketing as their career. You can’t really understand the pressures professional journalists face without walking in their shoes and dealing with the stress of regular deadlines and surly editors. So check their LinkedIn profiles to learn what positions they held before landing their first PR position.
Can you provide examples of how media placements led to more business or lead generation? Is their coverage relevant to clients’ target audiences? PR initiatives are typically targeted at two segments: consumers and business people. A technology start up with a just-launched app for doctors will target media outlets quite different than a start-up serving consumers’ health and fitness needs.
Does your PR firm have a solid web site, or a strong social media presence? This should be a no-brainer, but surprisingly it’s overlooked. A PR firm that participates in dynamic content creation will stay on top of digital media developments and appreciate the challenges of engaging with customers in the 24/7 digital communications world.
Can one easily view the most recent headlines secured on behalf of clients? The stock and trade of any great PR firm is the news hits or coverage they’ve landed for their clients. Is the coverage recent? Is there a steady stream of client news placements demonstrating consistent outreach?
Does your PR firm’s web site include a blog or dynamic posting feature? Any PR firm worth its weight is staying on top of digital PR trends and practicing them through their own digital properties. Actively blogging and sharing client case studies and insights about the current world demonstrates a PR professionals ability to stay on top of their industry.

If you took the time to read this entire post, here’s a nice little April 1st Thank you, with photos!

Press releases can STILL pack a punch

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Michelle Damico

If you follow me here or on my LinkedIn profile, you probably know I’m a strong believer in the effectiveness of a well-written press release. In an earlier post, I mentioned that press releases have the potential to go viral and become an excellent lead generator. Recently, I had a media relations experience that perfectly illustrates my point!

Continue reading →

Find Rewards by Mining Your LinkedIn Profile

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Michelle Damico

This post appeared originally on Carol Roth’s Business Unplugged Blog.

If you noticed someone peeking through the front door of your business, would you ask “How can I help you?” You’d be silly not to make that personal connection; especially as businesspeople, we’re always looking for that next customer.

There are probably at least a half dozen people peeking through your business front door – your LinkedIn account – on a daily basis. Are you reaching out to them? Too shy? Don’t know what to say? Don’t want to give the impression that you’re spying on your visitors?

Today, I want to embolden you and arm you with the steps needed to make those valuable connections with potential customers, because I’ve learned this past summer that with the right approach, you CAN get meaningful business leads and valuable connections.

STEP 1. Start off with the front page of your LinkedIn profile. You’ll find a box that says “Your profile has been viewed (number) times in the past 14 days.” Check this page at least weekly and preferably daily. Most of the time, you will see the identities of your LinkedIn visitors. Members have the option to have their name displayed, have their title/industry displayed without their name, or remain anonymous. Many members choose not to hide their identity. With the paid membership, you can see all of the viewers of your profile, not just a select few.

I make this visit to my profile page a daily routine and it has been well worth the investment of my time.

Proof Point 1: This summer, I noticed a former client was on my page, someone I hadn’t spoken to in 10 years. I checked his recent job history, sent an email and started a conversation about what he’d been up to. I researched his new firm, checked recent news and sent him a message saying hello and congratulating him on his accomplishments. That led to a string of emails, lunch, and now, I am in conversations with his CEO for possible PR work. I landed a quality lead based on my relevant media relations work experience and didn’t have to make one annoying cold call! Pretty nice, huh? And SO easy.

STEP 2. If folks visiting your profile aren’t easily recognizable, check out their pages if you can and your connections to them. LinkedIn etiquette suggests that you request an introduction from a current member of your network. That works fine, but may take a while. However, I have found that new visitors to your profile don’t mind your direct outreach, as long as it’s not repeated and annoying. But DO be sure you do some homework before trying to connect. Also, remember to include the reason that you are reaching out and why they might want to connect with you. (See example below.)

Proof Point 2: A recent visitor to my LinkedIn page was the Director of Marketing from an MBA school at a major university. LinkedIn requires that you should have a business history with the person you’re messaging. In many cases, I haven’t done business with these people, but I have never been caught by a “LinkedIn cop” for violating the rule. And none of my InMail recipients has ever told me to stop messaging them. Hey, if I don’t get a response, I don’t bother them again. In nearly every instance, I have gotten a response. I’ve never heard of anyone being bounced from LinkedIn for the occasional InMail infraction against someone they don’t know. (If you know of someone who has been ejected, please do share!) So, when you see the LinkedIn prompt asking how you know this person, use your current firm as your reference and check we’ve done business together. If you are in a group with the person and don’t know them, you can use that option instead.

STEP 3. How to approach that visitor scoping out your profile? Here’s the gist of an InMessage I sent to that CMO of a major university:

“Hi NAME, I couldn’t help noticing that you visited my profile this week. Is there something that I can help you with or perhaps offer a recommendation for a candidate whose name we might have in common?”

I received a reply saying that he was looking for a communications person to elevate his school’s social media presence. He complimented my PR and social media credentials and indicated that he was looking for a more junior level candidate and so, I offered to aid in his search. I made a valuable connection and feel totally comfortable reaching out to him again, if needed, in the future.

What’s the lesson here? Do your LinkedIn homework every day and see who’s checking out your profile. Look for ways that you might help those people and do the research to ask intelligent, relevant questions. You just never know where that conversation will take you and your business.

Is this something that you have used successfully in your business? I would love to hear about your experiences or suggestions.

Don’t Be LinkedIn-Lazy — Use it for Business Intelligence

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Michelle Damico

By regularly nurturing your LinkedIn network, you can get valuable business intelligence that can open doors. It happened to me and I want to tell you how.

LinkedIn MerlinWizard (Photo credit: Adriano Gasparri)

If you’re like most of my friends, you treat LinkedIn as an online resume-storage box. You probably devote most of your social media time sharing information with friends on Facebook or Twitter, and rarely visit or update your LinkedIn profile, seek recommendations, join groups, list accomplishments or even add a profile photo.

If you’ve been LinkedIn-Lazy, it’s time to change your ways. It’s the first place recruiters do their hunting; it’s a place where it’s totally cool to strut your stuff, and your achievements get showcased in a nicely organized way.

What’s most important to me? On LinkedIn, you can easily gather business intelligence by learning about nearly everyone who is sizing you up on a daily basis.

That little bit of information — above all else — is LinkedIn’s most valuable benefit to my business.

I treat LinkedIn as my little treasure hunt in reverse. The treasures aren’t hidden. They are in full view EVERY DAY. Every single day I find valuable gold nuggets for my business — the names and companies of those who’ve visited my profile page.

It’s my free business intelligence about who may be looking for a PR or social media consultant. It also tells me who’s trolling for possible partnerships or internships. With a little chutzpah, you can connect with those people and see what unfolds.

Here’s a nugget that recently dropped in my LinkedIn lap. I noticed a few days ago that a marketing exec from a major university visited my page. So I took the initiative to send this message:

Dear PERSON, I couldn’t help but notice your recent visit to my LinkedIn profile. Please let me know how I might help you or whether any potential job candidates have listed me as a reference. Enjoy your summer!

The next day I received this response:

Thanks for the note. I am looking for a XXXX to take XXXX to the next level. Ideally I am looking for INDUSTRY X, Y AND Z who can help to further raise our profile and engage prospects. (TEXT ALTERED BY ME)

By simply checking up on my LinkedIn profile visitors, I now have a continuing conversation with someone I might never have met. A door opened for me and I didn’t even push. I’ll let you know if it leads to business.

Having a solid, 100% complete LinkedIn profile is a must for any professional, whether or not he/she is looking for work. And it’s equally important to make daily trips to LinkedIn to see who’s scoping you out.

It also helps to take the initiative (or maybe, audacity) and let LinkedIn visitors know that you’re looking at them while they’re looking at you. As long as you can do it in a welcoming, helpful, non-creepy sort of way, you have nothing to lose and some valuable business intel to gain.

Happy Reverse-Treasure Hunting!

Post happily written by Michelle Damico

Debate on Press Release Demise Continues!

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Michelle Damico

PR pros will be debating this topic forever; I’m convinced of it. The debate rages on between members of my LinkedIn Groups as well. In fact, many public relations professionals have commented on my post “The Press Release is NOT Dead” and it spurred a nice LinkedIn conversation that’s worth sharing. It started when Melissa Bleasdale, a member of the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) Technology Section shared her insights. See it below, and then read my reply.

Melisa Bleasdale • When we say the press release is dead, which it is, we are not saying that we don’t send them out, because we do – mostly out of habit and because our clients like it. However, in my 20 year career in PR, actual articles have only ever been written because of one-on-one communication with editors and journalists, which does, at some point, involve saying, “I’ll send you the press release” aka synopsis of what the news is. We use Marketwire and it’s not inexpensive and PR profs have to show ROI in the form of actual coverage and not mere pickups and regurgitation of press releases. I can’t speak for everyone of course, but this has been my personal experience as a tech PR rep in the Bay Area.

Michelle Damico • Hi Melisa, thanks for the comment. I only write/send out releases when they fit the client strategy. I mostly use well-written pitches to reach journalists. However, when appropriate, I use releases to make sure the journalists have ALL the info they need in one doc. When I pitch them & they’re interested, they often ask for a release, which I translate into, “Give me the background I need.” I contend, the release is NOT Dead, because it provides valuable info to time-stretched journalists AND it has the opportunity to go viral and become a lead generator– which it HAS for two of my clients!

I really appreciate that you took the time to comment. Have a great weekend.

Here’s a different perspective from another member of LinkedIn’s PRSA Technology Discussion Group:

Marie-Dominique Bonardi • I completely agree with you Michelle. The press release gives a great structure to the message. The structure of the press release make the message clearer and stronger. It is really important, all the more when you have customers with weak messages. It is a support of the PR activity, it does not replace the relationship with the reporters, it never has.
You can change the way you send it, the way you post it, it is still a great basis for the PR pitch and it allows the customer to keep an historical track of PR activities. To me the “press release is dead” message is a marketing way to position some agencies as “trendier” than other. This is just PR marketing.
We all use the new tools which are great to connect to reporters. But the core of our job (messaging and relationship) remains the same.

Michelle Damico • Thank you Marie-Dominique for your excellent comment. It’s a great contribution. Have a great Friday and Mother’s Day, whether you’re a mom or not!

If you have witnessed the value of spending your time writing press releases, I’d love to hear anecdotes about how they worked to generate awareness and boost business leads. I’d also love examples of when a press release flopped. Why didn’t it create the buzz, attract the attention you thought it might? I’ll dig through my files and see what I come up with as well!

Post happily written by Michelle Damico

Great Tool to Follow Journ Tweeps

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Michelle Damico

Image by The Next Web via Flickr

If you are a news junkie and a Twitter fan, you will want to check out this directory of journalists on Twitter, listed by their media outlet. It comes from Muck Rack, which follows what journalists are reporting and talking about on social media. It also ranks the most active journalists on social media on the Muck Rack Leaderboard, which is a great way to follow trends and developing news.

Muck Rack is a fantastic source for anyone interested in news and communications. It was started in 2009 with about 150 journalists on Twitter and now lists thousands of reporters and editors who are active on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Quora, Google+, LinkedIn and more. What’s best is that the list is actually fact-checked by a team of editors, so you know you’re getting great info.

If you want to get even closer to the action, subscribe to the Muck Rack Daily email to learn on a daily basis what journalists are saying. This is a great resource for anyone who is trying to promote their own business, or who is doing PR and Media Relations on a shoestring! If you subscribe, let me know what you think.

Kicking off December with Thanks to You

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Michelle Damico

This is a great time to say thank you for following my blog and participating in great conversations that (I hope) have helped you realize your PR goals and your business dreams.

This year has been tough for nearly every organization seeking to boost sales or increase awareness through traditional media such as print and broadcast, or word-of-mouth platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

In 2011, professionals were faced with a double whammy: shrinking marketing budgets and trying to follow and adapt to an ever-changing media landscape. We’ve all had to learn a lot of new rules and tools to stay on top of social media marketing.

As my way of saying thanks, I’d like to share a few timesaving tools and resources that kept me on top of my game this year:

1. PR Daily: A fantastic eNewsletter for PR and marketing professionals following traditional and social media trends and topics.

2. LinkedIn’s Answers: Saves countless hours researching an infinite number of topics or challenges. Why start from scratch when you’ve got experts eager to help on any topic for any industry.

3. Google Docs: Invaluable for collaborating on projects. Edit or create documents on a Google Doc and use Google’s chat tool for instantly discussing or improving upon your changes. It’s simple and elegant.

4. Join.me: Share your computer desktop view with others remotely for presentations or collaboration. Others can view your desktop presentations or follow as you navigate web sites by simply clicking on a link to Join.me.

5. Highrise Contact Management: Following-up with the reporters you pitch, or the prospects you’re trying to reach is easy with Highrise. It helps you track all emails and phone calls and sends reminders about the tasks related to those contacts. An easy way to create, organize and monitor all your customer info, emails and notes.

Give these free tools a try and tell me what you think. And if you would like to review your PR efforts this year, or want to discuss your 2012 strategy, don’t hesitate to contact me through the form here on my blog or at michelle at michelledamico dot com.

Wishing you happiness in the Season of Giving and lasting prosperity in 2012.

Enjoy these photos as a gift from my personal collection.

Gifts from an ice storm, by Michelle Damico

A visual feast is often the next best thing, by Michelle Damico

Your passion will take you there, by Michelle Damico

Sweet! Great PR results by simply following a blog

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Michelle Damico

Most business people I know are active on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but the majority don’t follow blogs or write their own. “There’s no value,” they say, especially since social media already is a time drain.

What if, by subscribing to just ONE blog, and interacting with that blogger you’d get a free ad seen by tens of thousands of Chicago Tribune readers?

It happened to me today and it’s the perfect example of why every business short on PR resources should follow at least one blog. Not just any blog, mind you, but blogs about topics that interest you (that’ll keep you coming back), and that are supported by a local newspaper. Most newspapers have bloggers. Many Chicago Tribune reporters are bloggers, and the Trib also owns the ChicagoNow network of community bloggers. I follow ChicagoNow bloggers Catherine Morgan and Judy Marcus.

Besides loving PR, I also love to eat, cook and create sweet things. So when I heard about Judy’s Sugar Buzz Chicago, I became an instant follower. I subscribe to her blog and receive emails about new blog items. I send her ideas all the time, and after mentioning that my sister opened Jam ‘n Honey, a new breakfast restaurant in Chicago’s trendy Lincoln Park, Judy wanted to learn more.

Yes, it was wonderful having Judy blog about the restaurant, which is only weeks old and already has lines of diners waiting for tables. But here’s the icing on my cake: The blog’s parent company — the Chicago Tribune — began sprinkling links to her blog within the online version of the paper. Here is a screen capture of my sister’s restaurant posted adjacent to a local story that attracted tens of thousands of readers today.

The headlines lured readers to a news story and then drew them to valuable real estate about Jam ‘n Honey Restaurant. How long did that info remain on the news page? Maybe about eight hours today (the ChicagoNow promos interchange regularly online). But hey, eight hours of free PR hours is far better than zero hours of free PR!

By having fun and by staying in touch with people who write about my favorite things, this local restaurant received valuable exposure to thousands of readers! PR doesn’t get any sweeter than this!

Social Currency: Is your wallet ready?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Michelle Damico

Image via Wikipedia

Google+, Groupon, Spotify, LivingSocial Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media networks may be capturing headlines, but there’s a quiet revolution going on that could change the way the next generation buys consumer items and transacts business. It’s the movement toward Social Currency, a development that is taking shape through corporate leaders such as American Express or small start-ups like Pegmo.com, based in the Chicago area.

Here’s the premise behind social currency: The best way for a business to strengthen customer loyalty and spread valuable word of mouth is to reward customers for engaging with them. American Express is trying this experiment in Isreal, where its Rewards customers earn points by engaging with AmEx on its Facebook Fan Page.

Chicago-based Pegmo is focussed (for now) on the shop local movement, rewarding creative “Pegs” when you Tweet, post a comment or photo, like, or check-in to the social media property of your favorite restaurant, store, or other local establishment. Collect enough pegs and you’re eligible for $5 to $20 gift certificates from your favorite merchants.

Chicago entrepreneur innovations expert Noel Burkman says social currency is the future, and he believes it will be the next big disruption to the way we interact with businesses. Burkman points to the start-up GiftRocket. Who needs to shop for gift cards when you have GiftRocket?
Burkman says you just visit the site and create a gift card for any establishment, which your friends and love ones can redeem through their mobile devices. Provide the name of a business for which you want to give a gift card. I love a Barrington, Ill. gourmet bakery called Ambrosia Euro American Patisserie. My husband can go to Giftrocket and purchase credits for me an Ambrosia Lemon Charlotte cake for my birthday.

Ambrosia’s not required to be part of any GiftRocket membership plan. They don’t have to be a part of anything. GiftRocket finds Ambrosia on Google maps, specifies the gift amount I’ll receive and sends me an email that I’ve got Ambrosia money in my pocket (well actually in my email). The next time I’m within 20 yards of Ambrosia, GiftRocket will deposit $20 in my Paypal account and I’ve got a decadent cake with my name on it waiting for me in the showcase at Ambrosia’s welcoming cafe. How easy is that?

Who needs cash when you’ve got Social Currency? Will you? How far will you go to engage AND transact socially? Would love to hear your thoughts.

And if you’d like to read more about it, check out these links.

Five Job-Hunting Tips for Grads

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Michelle Damico

Image via Wikipedia

In this tough job market, candidates need to use every tool at their disposal to find work. Using social networks is a natural, because you can reach many, target niche audiences, and mine your friends and family for contacts.

You rarely find a job from someone you know. It’s more likely that someone who knows a friend or relative will connect you to your next employer. That layer of connections is the magic potion that social media provides. How do you dive into those layers to make sure you’re searching every available corner for work? Here are five tips to get you started.

1. Start with family and friends.

Call them first and let them know you’re in the market for a job. Ask if it’s OK to email your resume and a short cover letter that spells out your value to a future employer. Provide succinct bullet points about your strengths and why those strengths matter. Your resume should tell a future employer what YOU can do for them. Ask your direct contacts to forward your resume to those who might be interested.

2. After you’ve made the rounds to friends and relatives, use your Facebook account to reach those acquaintances (or those you contact less frequently) and tell them you’re hunting for a job, are seeking suggestions and are eager to hear their words of wisdom. Direct them to your resume on LinkedIn (include the URL on your Facebook page).

3. What? You don’t have a LinkedIn Profile? Are you crazy?

If you are hunting for a job, you MUST get on LinkedIn ASAP? Why? Most recruiters (85 to 95%) surveyed say they go to LinkedIn first before anywhere else to find talent. It’s THE leading professional network. LinkedIn offers a variety of ways to showcase your skills, personality and experience. While most counselors will tell you to limit your resume to one page, there’s unlimited space on LinkedIn. So spell out the activities that are relevant to your job search. Mention your rank on the Dean’s List and include the job at the off-campus pizza parlor that helped pay your way through school.

You can fill your LinkedIn profile with as much information as possible to give that prospective employer a complete view of why you’re their perfect candidate. Plus, you can ask people to post letters of reference so that all those bosses and colleagues who loved working with you can tell others why they should hire you.

4. If you happen to have a specific area of expertise, you can elevate your profile with LinkedIn “Answers.” There are people who make it their goal to answer LinkedIn queries posed by others. What’s beautiful about this? The LinkedIn rating system: Answer many questions and have your answers rated as the most helpful, and you’ll be rewarded and acknowledged for your expertise on LinkedIn. So when a recruiter scopes out your profile vs. another job candidate, you’ll have an extra boost thanks to your efforts trying to help others.

It’s easy to see the questions and answers being posed every minute on LinkedIn. They’re categorized by industry, so look up the industry that interests you, and follow the conversations.

5. Make the most of that Q & A.

I have made great connections with people who have answered my LinkedIn questions. I dutifully rate the best answers, and I immediately send an invitation to connect. Doing so further widens your network, and only brings more good karma to the job search. And when it comes to social media and job hunting, karma is one of your most valuable assets. Job hunting, like social networks, follows the same dictate: “If you give much, you will get much in return.” It’s a great rule to follow in the job search and for the rest of your life.

Michelle Damico Communications

Chicago-based PR Expert for Excellent News Coverage

Tag Archives: LinkedIn

Six Questions to Ask Before Hiring a PR Firm

Post happily written by Michelle Damico

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