Public Relations Success

How to Tell Your Story

To Your Audience

Public Relations Success

Reaching the right media

with the right message,

at the right time

with the right pictures

Success Tools

1) Plan for Success

2) PR Tips

3) Social Media

Plan for Media Success:

1) Objective

2) Strategy

3) Checklist

4) Communication

Plan on Media Success Objective

• What do you want to achieve?

• What specifically is your message?

• If you don’t have a reason to communicate, don’t.

Plan on Media SuccessStrategy

• Deliver great content. You can’t force the media to come to your story.

• Know exactly why the person you are ‘pitching’ needs to share your news with their audience

• Find common ground

• Become a trusted source

• Establish a level of trust, confidence and professionalism that gets your message heard

Plan on Media SuccessTactics

• Target the right person.

• Package your story for the reporter, not for you.

• Tell them why you are emailing

• Write a 5 word headline

• Craft a lead with punch

• Don’t attach, include

• Offer options

• Follow-up . . . but don’t harass

Basic Press Release• Contact Information

• Use a (City, State) Month XX, 2011

• Grab attention with the first sentence

• Keeps sentences and paragraphs short – no more than four lines per paragraph.

• Always answer who, what, when, where, why and how?

ATTENTION: EDITOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2011

CONTACT: Kathleen Hassinger 610-444-3040

Kathleen@gardenmediagroup.com

Suzanne Arca Wins “Designer of the Year” Award from the Association of Professional Landscape

Designers

Principle of Albany, California Based Company Also Wins Gold Award for Residential Design

(Harrisburg, Pa.) – Suzanne Arca, ASLA, CLCA, APLD, of Suzanne Arca Design,

(www.suzannearcadesign.com), an Albany, Calif. based landscape design/build company, has

been named International Landscape Designer of the Year by the Association of Professional

Landscape Designers (APLD). The esteemed panel of judges called Arca’s Lafayette, Calif.

residential meadow garden entry “a stunning

masterpiece with strong curves winding through

areas of masterful planting design.”

With just under one acre, Arca and her team were

challenged with designing a child-friendly space

with adventure areas, boulders to climb and open

spaces for ball games. She also wanted to give

the young parents “grown-up” outdoor rooms for eating, entertaining and a casual aesthetic

that wed the natural Lafayette backdrop of oak woodland and scrub with sustainable plantings

that require low water use and maintenance. The transformation included removing a sea of

4305 North Sixth Street, Suite A Harrisburg, PA 17110 Phone: 717-238-9780

communications@apld.org www.apld.org

Typical topics• Announcements of the

receipt of an award

• Announcements of major contracts

• Announcements of events

• Pictures of community outreach

• Publishing of a book or white paper

• Recent newsworthy development or garden trend.

Plan on Media SuccessChecklist

Make a list of reporters/editors

Write a brief email pitching your story

Include 1 or 2 pictures in the email

Include a phone, email and website link

Make a spreadsheet with reporters deadlines and dates of correspondence

Follow up – but don’t harass

PR

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PR Tip1: Think Like a Reporter

• Supply great pictures

• Answer a question

• Provide well written copy

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PR Tip 2: Tell A Story

• Before and After pictures

• Take pictures with a story in mind

• Drama or a key focal point

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PR Tip 3: Rookie Mistakes

• Don’t blast mass news releases

• Don’t send incomplete information

• Don’t send big attachments, long emails or longer voicemails

• Don’t be a pest

Let’s Create Some Buzz

In Break Out Groups

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Brainstorming

• What do your customers want to know about?

• What are some ‘how-to’ story ideas?

• What tips from the pros can you offer?

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Brainstorming

• Group 1: Post-Conference Press

• Group 2: Exciting Projects

• Group 3: Trends in Landscape Design

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1. Who are you targeting?

2. What is your angle? The hook?

3. How are you going to get noticed?

4. Write your headline

5. Write your lead paragraph

6. Write your quote

7. What pictures do you need?

8. How can you repurpose for social media?18

HOW ARE YOU USING SOCIAL MEDIA ?

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How does social media fitinto all of this?

• Social media is the new public relations

• Repurpose traditional PR releases and post on Facebook, Twitter, and your website,

• Turn your news into a blog posting

• Develop a social media action plan with dates and topics for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Your New 10 Minute Schedule 3 minutes • Check for Twitter chatter about

your company and its competitors.

2 minutes • Scan Google News and Blogs

Alerts for important articles.

3 minutes • Filter and flag relevant

industry-related LinkedIn and Quora questions.

2 minutes • Log in to Facebook to scan

your wall and comments.

What is Social Media?• Social interaction

• Web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue

• Encourages the creation and exchange of user-generated content.

• Blends technology and social interaction to co-creation something of mutual value

Social Media Tools

• Facebook • Twitter• LinkedIn • YouTube• Blogger

• Flickr • Instagram• Cinch • Ustream• Pinterest

• Something new every day!

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Social Media Do’s

Social Media Don’t’s

Top Ways to Use Social Media to Win the Mind of Your Customers

1. Making a 1st Impression

2. Be a Thought Leader

3. Be a Buzz Agent

4. Serve the Customer

5. Help Others

Monitor Your Reputation

• Google AlertsGoogle Alerts will send you a daily digest email anytime your search terms come up in blogs, news, or other websites.

• Twitter SearchIf you want to know real time what people are saying, you can setup a Tweetdeck mention columns, include searches for your company and business owner.

You Are An Expert• Use your blog and

Facebook page to promote yourself as an expert

• Toot your own horn

• Tell your story, tell it often.

Be a Buzz Agent

• Actively talk up something

• Seek online opportunities to build your name recognition

• Be a reliable source

• Make connections

Help Others

1. The best way to be popular is to help others

2. Get the reputation of answering others questions

3. Become a mentor

Target the right media

with the right story

at the right time

and your story will be told

to the right people -

Your potential customers

THANK YOU !

I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON!

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