Getting you story out: the FT alone won’t do

At least once a month, we hear a Brussels-based communicator state that their goal is to get their organisation’s story into the Financial Times. I get it, and I agree to the extent that if I had to choose to have my best story appear in just one place, it’d be the FT. Please don’t think “mission accomplished” if your story gets coverage in FT though, or any top-tier publication for that matter. It’s simply not enough; people – and this includes legislators – need more: individuals view 8 sources of media per day and on average need to hear a story 3-5 times to believe it (Richard Edelman.)

So what do you do about it?

• You open your eyes and acknowledge that the list of credible news sources has grown exponentially, and it’ll often include people you’ve never heard of. Edelman speaks of dispersion of authority, meaning that figures of authority aren’t just main stream media and the like anymore, but also other experts or aficionados in any given sector or issue who might not reach 100,000s of readers like the FT, but will reach everyone who matters within their niche.
• You extend your monitoring so that it refelects this shift to niche content providers, whether online (usually) or offline.
• Extend the scope of your editorial work so that you’re present in all the spaces that matter. Whether that means responding to blog comments on someone else’s blog or writing your own tweets doesn’t matter. What does matter is that your editorial plan reflects “dispersion of authority” and the shift to niche.
• People don’t find information by having it sent to them or by picking up a paper. They look it up on Google, so you really need to have a search strategy in place. It’s the dullest part of the job but arguably the most important (remember: +90% of MEPs use search daily!) Get an SEO agency in to help you, and produce content that will mean people find you online when they look for information on whatever issue you’re working on. Tip: publish far more press releases on your site and on eWires only than you do at present as it’ll mean you provide more good value content and improve your search engine ranking without bothering journalists. For more on this, I’d recommend David Meerman Scott’s eBook, New Rules of PR.

Substance beyond storytelling

An after-thought to a previous post – Storytelling over big budgets – which I’ve just re-read. I implied that companies need to tell a good story rather than just rely on facts and figures, but I want to stress that storytelling alone won’t do the trick. It might if you’re an organisation that is highly trusted by the public e.g. an NGO but not if you’re a corporate player, with trust in industry far lower than even back in the Enron heyday.

Ever looked at an old ad? First thing that comes to mind is often: “can’t believe people were so gullible back then.” Same holds true with PA/PR now. You look back 5-10 years (I was a student then, so this is an assumption!) and it’ll likely look hollow compared to what’s come to be expected now.

Which is what? That companies are real, open, honest and transparent. That their stories are rooted in action not spin, and that they engage closely with stakeholders and respond actively to their queries and concerns – hence the shift from Public relations to Public engagement. A large part of this engagement needs to take place online. It’s a natural fit: the web – social media in particular – represents a communications model that defines the new era of public engagement; one where companies are more decentralised, they inform the conversation rather than leading it, and they engage with stakeholders of all stripes (not just a chosen few.)

I’d stress thought that what’s required to keep this all together is a set-up that goes way beyond communications and right into the core of how a business operates. Communications alone can not turn a dud into a winner. Success requires real business commitment to “do the right thing” in anything from reducing carbon footrprints to keeping employees healthy. And if it’s being done half-heartedly, it won’t work; people are too smart.

What’s more, to make the the two parts come together and really work – the business and communications – further work is required. Silos need to come down; communicators need to tell business units how they shold operate in light of PR best practice anno 2009 while business units should be loud and proud of their initiatives, at least internally.

Edelman’s lessons in public engagement

For all the talk of PR becoming obsolete, some of those on top of the food chain certainly are adapting to the times. I’m a big fan of Richard Edelman’s 6 A.M. blog, and in this recent entry on the increasing confluence of strategy and PR, based on a recent lecture, he runs us through what he sees as the four main attributes of companies’ and organisations’ public engagement anno 2008:

1. Be democratic and decentralised: people should be empowered by communications, not just be told things. They should be able to contribute to a story and spread it.
2. Inform the conversation: as it’s much easier for companies and other organisations to publish, they should grasp this opportunity and produce good material and be seen as an authority in their subject area.
3. Engagement with influencers of all stripes: everyone is a potential influencer, so a broader set of stakeholders expects to be involved. It’s your task to keep them happy.
4. Reputation is built on policy and communication: playing a positive role in areas which are of public interest e.g. sustainability, and if need be, engaging with the other side to reach mutual consent.

Points 1 to 3 are of course in great part affected by the web’s role in lowering barriers of entry to the realm of communications. Result? People feel empowered and the role of PR is not so much to mould and control a message in order to influence public opinion, but to listen to the multitude of different voices out there, make sense of it all, and then try to contribute to the conversation in a manner that’s humble and constructive.

Another point I’d add – linked in some way to all of the points above – is that of showcasing real people. These days, hardly anyone trusts companies and most organisations (except NGOs) in large part due to the fact that these have forever been hiding behind advertising, corporate taglines, and over-stylised messaging. People are far more likely to appreciate one-to-one communications, perhaps direct from a CEO him/herself, as in Edelman’s case. Why? Trust is garnered when people feel you’re being candid, are yourself talking directly to them, and seem to care what they think. They’re far more likely to get this impression if you show your face (not always literally – a blog would for instance do), than if all they get is an over-stylised brochure or a jingle.