Insights and updates from The Recognition Group
Marketing
Public relations
Social media
Culture
Gaining buy-in for PR
As a marketing professional, you may be convinced your organisation needs help from a specialist PR agency. But how do you convince senior managers, who may not fully understand the role of PR and how it can help the business?
Make your first journalist meeting one to remember – for the right reasons
Meeting a journalist face to face, while becoming a little harder to arrange as the media sector re-configures itself, is still a crucial component in any strategic media relations program.
Ten tips for a successful phone interview
Increased time constraints on journalists means they are more likely to suggest phone interviews rather than agree to face to face meetings.
How to pitch stories to journalists
Knowing what is newsworthy and what journalists need in order to develop stories are essential qualities to have before you start thinking about contacting journalists to pitch or contribute to stories.
How to write media releases that work
A media release should provide journalists with information that is newsworthy, accurate and relevant to their readers. Once those three boxes are ticked, you should make sure that the headline is simple and informative.
How to get journalists to attend your event
So you want to run an event to get media coverage. You’ve got a high-powered international executive lined up to do the talking and you’ve booked an exclusive venue in the city. The last step is to get journalists to come along, and then write an article. Should be easy, right?
Media coverage: three ways to get more positive exposure for your business
If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, does it make a sound? You could ask the same question about brands and products that don’t get enough exposure to potential customers.
How to create attention grabbing content
People continually change their habits, including the way they access information. More and more, people want to see even complex information at a glance, preferring visual dashboards or videos instead of long written pieces.
Being productive: do you have a plan or just another forgotten resolution?
We’ve all been there. The end of another day when we only completed a fraction of the items on our to-do list. The ideas we come up with in the shower but forget to write down.
Six ways to become a trusted advisor
In the simplest terms, professional services organisations exist to give people advice that will help make their lives better or their businesses more successful. Too many professional services firms fail to understand the importance of building trusting relationships.
Thought leadership – what you need to know
Thought leadership has become a buzz word over the last few years. Reputation and influence are the new business currencies of the 21st century.
Enough with the mumbo jumbo!
What springs to mind when you hear the term ‘plain English’? Do you think ‘straightforward’, ‘basic’ or ‘old-fashioned’? In the world of PR and marketing it is crucial that the audience, including journalists, get what we write about on behalf of our clients.
Media training 101
Forget the negatives you hear about media training – without it, it could cost your business. Having a meltdown on camera is never cool. It makes great TV for viewers, but it destroys your message.
You snooze you lose
It often surprises the team at Recognition PR how frequently we line up a media interview, or the opportunity to write a by-lined article, only to have the spokespeople query the deadline and ask for extensions. Why, they wonder, does it need to be so soon?
Why media deadlines are serious
One of the common causes of conflict between journalists and companies that attempt to engage them is the definition of the word ‘deadline’.
Industry Awards, great for your brand but are they news?
Everybody loves to get awards. Being named vendor of the year by a magazine or having a leading analyst house name you the most innovative brand in your marketplace (for example) is an extremely positive experience.
Instant gratification – why short term gain doesn’t always work for the long term
Social media, email, mobile phones and credit cards have no doubt contributed to the current culture of instant gratification! I know I do it myself. I’ll send a quick text or email anytime rather than waiting, I’ll tweet or Facebook my thoughts from my mobile rather than waiting to share with someone in real life. We get pleasure from doing something now and getting instant feedback and results. What’s wrong with that?
Why sending media releases is a dying art
Companies regularly ring us to price ‘sending out a media release’, and in almost every case, we explain the chances of receiving coverage is unlikely if this is their only tactic – unless the media already has an interest in them.