AsianEdge

Surviving media interviews in tough times

techsailor — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:36:26 +0000

The media is out for blood. In every crisis, the natural human reaction is to look for someone to blame and the media in Asia is no exception. Reporters are looking for culprits in the global financial meltdown.

Don’t let that keep you from giving interviews. It’s a great time to get your company’s name in the press and demonstrate your own leadership.

Here are some simple rules to help you not just survive tough interviews, but to get the most out of them.

1. Know the audience and figure out how to give them some really useful information. What trends do you see and what do you know about your industry that could be interesting to the audience.
“Over the next few months, there will be some significant consolidation among Asian suppliers.”
“The three things managers in our industry should do right now are…”

2. Plan your core messages so you can weave them into your answers seamlessly. You can’t get away with PR spin anymore in Asia and don’t memorize long messages so they sound rehearsed. Plan and practice those core messages.

3. Always use your company name at least once in the interview. A lot of people listen to rather than watch business TV.
“At ABC Software, our focus right now is Asia.”
“Customer service is vital and that’s our primary goal at 123 Corp.”

4. Keep it simple. Each answer should stick to one main point. Speak in clear, simple language without jargon or corporate buzzwords and keep your answers to 30-45 seconds. Your goal is to be clearly understood.

5. In print interviews, pay attention. Don’t open your email or scan the newspaper when you are talking to a reporter on the phone. Stay focused on what you are saying.

6. Don’t surprise your employees. Don’t tell a reporter something that isn’t known within your organization. You don’t want your staff to learn that there will be layoffs from a newspaper.

In Asia, companies used to hide from the media in down cycles. But increasingly companies in the region view interviews as good for the organization and good for your career. Watch other interviews and see what works for you as a viewer. Then practice, practice practice.

In challenging times keep focused on your audience

techsailor — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:01:14 +0000

The economy is challenging so now is the time to keep your communications laser-focused on your audience.

Executives often ask me how to get stories in the media. What companies and executives need to remember is that the content has to be interesting to the audience, or it’s just not going to get picked up by the media, especially by my former employers at The Wall Street Journal or CNBC.

Just because an event or announcement is important to your organization doesn’t make it important to anyone else. You have to have useful content and direct it to your real audience.

This is where new media and Web 2.0 tools can help companies stay in touch with their customers get immediate feedback.

You can easily monitor coverage in many publications through Google Alerts to see what’s getting media coverage and what isn’t. You’ll know how the media and bloggers write about your company and your competition.

You can engage in conversations with your customers and tailor announcements to offer the news that’s really interesting.

The press release is for your web site and the PR Newswire. If you want your story to get picked up by old or new media, you actually have to pitch an interesting story angle that matches the media and the audience.

Tailor your message now more than ever.

How to jump start your business in new media

techsailor — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 05:31:25 +0000

Executives frequently ask how they can use new media to boost business. They’ve been paralyzed by conflicting advice and horror stories about corporate mistakes online. Here are a few easy ways to get started.

1. Start reading. Find blogs that interest you and read them regularly. Read the comments. Get familiar with the format and the style. Then start exploring for more.

2. Start monitoring. Begin monitoring what’s being said about your company. You can do this internally or outsource it.

3. Watch the trends. The most important feedback from monitoring are the trends rather than any individual complainer. The trends are a remarkable source of free information.

4. Watch your competition. Monitor what your competitors are doing in the digital world and what is being said about them. What are they doing well, what are they doing badly.

5. Set clear goals. Develop communications goals that further your business goals. Research ways that new media could help you reach those goals and help you reach your customers.

6. Time it right. Jump into new media when it makes sense for your business not just because it’s cool. New media will require an investment, so spend time and money for the right reasons.

7. Be ready to engage. New media can be a powerful way to reach your customers and learn from them, but be ready to engage in 2-way communications.

8 Ways To Get Staff Involved In Communications

techsailor — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:32:10 +0000

At a conference in Singapore this week, I was asked how to get employees to contribute to company wikis and websites. After so many years of training staff not to speak up, they are wary of jumping in.

Here are 8 ideas to get staff involved:

1. Incentives - Could you offer a $20 gift voucher at Starbucks or a local department store? It doesn’t have to be expensive, but offer a reward and people may start contributing.

2. Make it fun - Start by creating a fun place on your intranet or wiki where staff can share office photos with funny captions, stories about their recent holidays or snaps of their new baby. When they get comfortable, they may be willing to contribute on more serious topics.

3. Go first - Have you or the CEO written an honest and open story about your first day on the job or lessons you’ve learned at work? Show your staff how to contribute.

4. Games - Trivia, games and competitions are big on the internet, think of ways to let your staff have a little fun as a way to start.

5. Ask them - Could you turn the site over to the employees and let them decide what to put on it? You can set sound ground rules such as no profanity and no cyber bullying, but then ask the staff to come up with a plan for internal communications.

6. Generosity - Could you be more generous about lavishing praise on the staff? Everyone likes to see their name, so maybe the company wiki or intranet is a place to recognize employees.

7. Complainer zone - create a place for people to post complaints. This is scary, but answering some legitimate complaints may win you a lot of good will. And most people will get tired of the chronic complainers.

8. Give back - Start by using the site to chronicle a company charity or volunteer effort. It’s great for team building and it makes good copy for your internal communications.

Other ideas?

Communications and business goals have to match

techsailor — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:16:52 +0000

Too often communication goals and business objectives are hopelessly out of alignment. It’s a vicious cycle where PR professionals work hard on a campaign, but it misses the mark or they can’t demonstrate the value of the strategy. Then communications becomes an afterthought for business managers and PR teams are left out of the loop.I hear PR teams complain that they don’t get respect, but with goals like “more stories in the mainstream media,” what can we expect? Our goals have to boost sales and we need to be able to prove our value. As communications professionals we have to start setting goals that match business goals. We have to talk like business professionals and we have to step up and demonstrate the value of what we do by measuring it. Only then can we expect a seat in the boardroom.

Communication in the new media world

techsailor — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:25:07 +0000

Tagging, ping, social bookmarking and virtual worlds: new media can be overwhelming and communications teams already have a full-time job.

What’s important to remember is that the technology is just a tool. Good communication can be the result.

This new technology is not about putting the same old press release or marketing messages on your corporate website or worse in some new media world.

Communications professionals have to consume new media along with a healthy dose of traditional media so they understand their key audiences and then customize their message for each constituency.

A lot of people want to bury their heads when they think about creating different versions of the same information and having to interact with new media players. But the fact is, the old way isn’t very effective.

Companies that are succeeding in the new realm are reaching out and creating opportunities for a 2-way conversation.

Don’t let the technology scare you. Don’t let the idea of a 2-way interaction scare you. It will improve your communications.

Proving the value of communications

techsailor — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 02:06:45 +0000

“Honestly, I don’t know what my PR team does.”

That’s what one executive said to me this weekend and I’ve heard this many times before. There is a gulf between business managers and communications teams and that’s our fault.

We need to speak the language of business and align our goals with corporate objectives. That means we need to thoroughly understand the business and the industry and layout our communications plans against that framework.

Getting media coverage is only a small part of the story. We need to be able to demonstrate how communications is a powerful tool to drive brand recognition and corporate reputations. Ultimately, we need to show how we impact revenue.

Recent studies show that PR has a far better ROI than marketing or advertising but unless we can translate what we do in a way that resonates with executives, managers and other departments, we aren’t going to get the respect we deserve.

Communicating without a map

techsailor — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:50:09 +0000

Communications is at a crossroads in Asia and the opportunities are limitless, but everybody is looking for a map.

Just last week, I was talking to the head of a multinational company and to a group of students from my class at the National Unversity of Singapore. They were asking the same basic question: how can you reach your audience when there are so many avenues available?

The manageing director wanted to know how much of his budget he should allocate to new media. The students wanted to know which medium to choose to get their message across.

Traditional print and broadcast or Web 2.0 and mobile? These are tools that make it easier for savvy public relations teams to achieve their goals and to match those goals to larger business objectives. PR professionals need to understand the tools and adopt those that make sense for their business or group.

Communications is still about knowing your organization, your industry and the world around you and creating real relationships with the media, the public, customers and colleagues. It’s still about communicating. It’s just about communicating more effectively.