The Matchbox.

Mar. 26

When PR Isn’t Enough 

PR pros are on the frontlines in good times and bad.  We are here to trumpet corporate achievements and mitigate reputational damage. However, in some cases, PR isn’t the silver bullet to deeply rooted organizational issues or product flaws that can’t be fixed overnight.

We often hear the phrase, “It’s just a messaging issue,” and perhaps there is some truth to that but you can’t rely on your communications team to message their way out of an issue when that same team is kept in the dark. A strong and consistent PR strategy begins with treating them as a valued asset to the organization with in-depth knowledge of business goals and objectives, product, client and partner issues and sales successes and failures.

Without that critical knowledge, any message crafted is half-baked and may come off insincere at best or at worse a flat out lie that does more harm to the business. PR can help sidestep issues or promote other parts of the business when areas are underperforming, or time is needed to resolve an issue. But by keeping us in the dark, the lights might go out on everyone.

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Feb. 23

Cultivating B2B Influencers

While traditional media relations remains vital to a company’s public relations campaigns, the impact of B2B influencers is growing quickly. Word of mouth influences over 90% of B2B transactions, so it’s crucial to leverage influencers including advocates such as business partners, clients, and employees.

Encouraging influencers to share news, opinions and even successes on platforms ideal customers already engage with allows for more organic introductions to the business.

Before incorporating B2B influencers into your PR strategy, here are some considerations:  

Media channels: LinkedIn makes it easy for potential clients to connect with influencers  and allows posts to reach larger audiences with more fluid dialogue. Industry-related influencer blogs and podcasts also can be great avenues to find a more specific market segment with greater conversion probability.

Key performance indicators: Before engaging with an outside partner or industry influencer, determine the influencers’ engagement and follower levels and then establish realistic goals for the campaign. Quantify expectations to understand impact on the partnership’s leads, sales, and impressions goals. 

Look beyond traditional influencers: The best B2B influencers are only sometimes industry thought-leaders with hoards of social media followers. Often, existing customers, employees, and prospects can share word-of-mouth recommendations that organically attract new clients.

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Jan. 30

Maximizing Content Marketing through PR

Despite the rise and influence of content marketing among B2B marketing programs, there still is often a separation between content and PR programs. Although the tactics and tools are often different, content marketing and PR collaborations can maximize brand visibility, audience engagement and strategic positioning. As organizations build out 2024 marketing plans, here are some key considerations for combining both efforts into one powerhouse approach:  

Amplifying Content through PR

PR can amplify content marketing in a variety of ways. Some PR teams share content across social media and bring interaction to ensure visibility. PR teams can also share content with reporter connections for story consideration.

Consistent Messaging Across Content

Since PR touches a variety of content –  awards, case studies, thought leadership articles –  it is often the center of the organization’s internal and external messaging – or at least should be. Tapping into the PR team when drafting sponsored and other content ensures branding and language is consistent across all sources and platforms and provides an opportunity to extend content visibility through earned media.

Improved SEO

PR can improve the SEO of web content through high-profile media placements and associated backlinks to relevant content.

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Jan. 08

Y&A Spark: 2023 Reflections; Trend Predictions; Maximizing Content Marketing

Cheers to the New Year! In our most recent edition of The Spark Newsletter, we announced two new clients and shared tips for New Year’s predictions and how to maximize content marketing. Make sure you also check out Principal Meggan Manson’s “My Two Cents”, which reminds us all to reflect and recharge when spending time with family and friends.

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Nov. 06

New year, new event season. Plan ahead.

As we turn the calendars from pumpkin spice to eggnog season, marketers are planning for 2024. And with that comes the rush of industry events in Q1. Now is a good time to revisit media opportunities at conferences and put some critical dates on your calendar. Trade shows are a great opportunity to connect with the media face to face. This helps with relationship building as well as priming the pump for upcoming trend and news-based media coverage.

To help ensure you can find a few valuable media contacts to connect with, remember these tips.

1) If you are exhibiting or sponsoring, request a media list to see which reporters and editors have committed to attending.

2) Reach out to a few priority media contacts at least 2-3 weeks in advance of the event to get on their calendars – their schedules fill up fast.

3) Have 2-3 trends, client use cases and/or product announcements (and marketplace value) ready to share.

4) Make sure to ask what they are interested in and covering.

5) Don’t forget to connect on a personal level as well as that will make a lasting impression from the many other meetings they have.

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Sep. 27

Getting In Over Your PR Skis

I know, it’s a mixed methaphor. But here’s the point. While it may seem advantageous to jumpin on the hottest media trend (think DEI or AI) to garner media coverage, trying to force fit an organization into a topic that the company’s products or solutions have little to do with can be fruitless. 

Tech B2B companies may face skepticism when attempting to align their products’ PR with media trends. This doubt arises from concerns that companies are simply jumping on the bandwagon to appear socially responsible or hanging their hat on the next big tech wave without genuinely embracing or offering it. 

Marketing and support may be able to provide a forum to address these topics as industry contributors but offering up a news story idea where there is little tie may result in being misrepresented in earned coverage or left out altogether despite the best efforts and intentions of the team. 

In the digital age, the old adage of all PR is good PR no longer rings true. Meaningful, well-placed coverage isn’t contrived.

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Aug. 09

Y&A Spark: New Client; EdTech Award Wins and Avoiding Contrived PR

There’s a lot to celebrate in our recent issue of the Spark Newsletter. Y&A welcomes a new client and congratulates edtech clients for their achievements in the industry. Also, read Principal Jennifer MacLeid Qotb’s “Two Cents” on maintaining genuine messaging amidst pressure to connect with the newest PR trends.

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Jun. 27

Taking Advantage of Midsummer PR Planning

While midsummer can be slow, it is often a time when companies gear up for their Q4 plans to close out the year strong. Here are a few ways to keep the media relations momentum in step with end-of-year planning.

What’s Ahead – Work closely with your customer success team to determine what newsworthy projects clients have coming up for the fall. For example, a client that has just finished a successful implementation may be able to comment on its experience. 

Brainstorm – Take the time to brainstorm thought leadership topic opportunities and develop content for trade publications like “Letters to the Editor.”

Celebrate Media Wins – Spotlight client media coverage garnered to keep brands top of mind and in the news as leading industry experts.

Using the summertime to focus on these opportunities will help set your business up for a robust end-of-year finish. These create a solid brand awareness and recognition foundation, bolstering your Q4 campaigns.

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May. 17

Avoiding a Brand Identity Crisis

As tech business and consumer buying patterns shift based on market trends, new innovations, and general fluctuations, it can be easy to fall into the trap of shifting the core identity messaging to capitalize on those patterns.

Often sales leaders rely on marketing and PR to lead that charge with new announcements directed at reaching buyers with a new flashy solution. This may seem like a great idea to reach a captivated audience in the short term, but long-term, making repeated changes to the core company identity and offerings, e.g, who you are, can be detrimental, leading confused buyers, investors, media, analysts, and partners to question the stability of the organization and its leadership. 

Trying too hard to be the next big thing in an often-crowded market is certainly appealing but taking stock in the very reasons your current customers have stuck with you, and why new customers have joined the ranks, is critical before making any sweeping changes. Certainly, companies can and should innovate in order to flourish in a hyper-competitive landscape but taking time to determine market positioning and involving key executive stakeholders will avoid possible impulsive moves.

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Apr. 05

Friend or Foe: ChatGPT and PR

There’s been a lot of hand wringing since the launch of ChatGPT/AI-authoring tools for PR and marketing pros. Fear quickly bubbled to the surface that entire professions would be eliminated or at the very last downsized. Even some of our own clients have suggested “just plug it into ChatGPT.” Well, thank heavens it isn’t that simple. And no one’s work should sound like a high-schooler’s essay.

But ChatGPT isn’t all bad, and for the savvy, smart PR and marketing pros, it can be used for good. 

Inspiration Vehicle: We all get stuck from time-to-time and ChatGPT can often be a good creativity or inspiration booster giving content strategists and writers a thread to pull on. 

Research Assistant: Working for an agency, we are exposed to new markets and technology solutions almost weekly. ChatGPT is a great resource to grasp the basics, just be careful you also use other resources as well. 

Pitch Support: Media database tools have improved greatly but incorporating ChatGPT and Bing into those efforts has yielded new reporters to connect with 

AI is evolving at a lightning speed pace but embracing the technology to support your PR and content efforts can be a helpful productivity boost while also recognizing there are both nuanced limitations and ethical concerns. 

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