This week we were informed by Ben Bernanke that Friday’s report will show the June unemployment rate is once again on the rise. Naturally this points out that there are new laid-off employees or new jobseekers, who failed to be placed this past month, yet I fail to understand why when unemployment rises, companies cut their marketing and PR budgets.  Will new business arise from the sky? Where will brand awareness come from?

I represent many small businesses from all professional fields at 5W Public Relations. I find them to be the most “hungry” for success and passionate about what they’re doing. In fact, those companies of any size who are that eager to “make it” are the ones who need PR the most, and will go a long way to get it, especially in this economy.  We are proud to have a reputation of “fighting to get our clients results.” Why fight? Well, when you manage a small business, fighting is the ONLY way to get great results. 

Small businesses in their initial phase don’t always naturally create news, attract news – or to put it bluntly – deserve news. It takes a PR pro, strategy and expertise to challenge that notion. A small business can definitely find its niche in the media pending you know what you’re doing! The essential fact that the business started and the innovation, spirit, inspiration, and the message of “change” that it brings among many more attributes, is what the media can pick up when pitched properly. That’s where the fighting comes in. 

PR can garner the early coverage that provides the branding leverage and attention that would have taken longer for a small business to get on its own, if at all. As opposed to what many people think of the PR business, it holds one of the highest and measurable ROI’s today. Running effective social media campaigns, getting daily, weekly and monthly media “hits” as well as engaging in creative events and product launches that reflect your passion and energies are some of today’s PR best practices. 

In order to achieve these goals and get your small biz running and kicking, I recommend you spend some time and resources on PR. A tendency I found and leveraged in my own endeavors, but many  “self employed individuals” or “small businesses” have not realized their need for PR, let alone the initial notion of the great difference a professional PR agency can make for them. 

That said, we have had tremendous success with these types of companies, and share their happiness for every success milestone they approach. The key here: connect to the passion that started the business in the first place and we will fight for you in the PR space to get the desired results.

So it’s the time of year when many new college graduates are looking for jobs…. Some will seek full-time employment in their respective fields while others will make do with whatever they can get.  I vividly recall graduating college in June 1995 and having no clue what to do for a living. I also remember how thrilled my mother was when I told her I would deliver pizza while I “figured it out.” Delivering pizza lasted little over one year (and I loved it), and then I went to a MBA program in Israel—which I dropped out of after less than a week.  I ended up working in politics in Israel, loved it, and stumbled upon a PR job.  Then, at the age of 25 I returned to the States for my first PR agency job. 

Much like Today’s generation of blogging, micro-blogging, facebooking, spacing out on MySpace, digging in on Digg and mainly – relying entirely on information one gets on Google and Wiki means people don’t like going the slow way – Entrepreneurship allows people to do it how they see fit.  I realize today how competitive the job market is for everyone, and particularly for those seeking to enter the very difficult field of Public Relations. There are also those who will try to embark on a different path: the path of self employment. And for many, it’s a great option. I know it was very compelling to me less than 8 years ago, and I do not regret a minute of it since.

I am an entrepreneur; but not just any entrepreneur—rather one who chose a PR career through self-employment. PR is fast. PR entrepreneurship is WILD fast. And when you run fast you naturally focus on reaching your goal, which for me was and has been growth and success. You don’t see each and every stone that may trip you. And boy do they!

Growing quickly, I made many mistakes, said things I wish I hadn’t said, did things I wish I hadn’t done, but it has been my choice to ‘hit the ground running’ in PR and do amazing work for our clients through the years, which we have been blessed to do. At the age of 35, with a daughter at home, I am blessed to better understand my business and the world around me far more so than I did when we started. We are very proud to have been named the fastest-growing PR agency in the US 3 years in a row, and on the INC 500 list of fastest growing companies in the US.  Just this year, I was named a semi-finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. That’s been gratifying. 

In recent weeks, I have held a series of meetings and meals with other PR agency owners to better understand the role of PR in business, and 5WPR’s role in the greater scheme of the PR world. This way of life has brought both rewards and obligations, commitments and prices to pay. Those happen, too, when you choose to run your own business.

Some personal reflections (offered twitter-friendly and in 140-character max – Follow me @Rtorossian5wpr)

1. With email and the Internet the world moves very very fast.  Know the values and consequences of that.
2. Focus on what you want to achieve and not on possible obstacles. It is guaranteed that whatever you focus on will materialize faster
3. Care about your staff and your clients.  Treat people as you’d treat your own family.
4. Run tactically but think strategically. Just running won’t get you far. You’ll hit the wall. Strategically you’ll find a way around it. But don’t over plan without doing.
5. KNOW you will make mistakes on the way and don’t be afraid to make them.   
6. Put past mistakes behind you, and just try and grow from them.
7. Do what makes you happy. YOU. Not your environment, social circle, or external surroundings. You will never regret doing it your own way
8. Stop to reflect on daily, weekly, monthly and periodically actions of yours. Sometimes even a 1 day trip can allow clarity.
9. Be a good listener. Take advice and don’t feel you’re too smart to apply it to your business
10. When someone criticizes ask yourself does this person care about me (or my business), and if they do then listen.  If not, then don’t.

The word on the streets in Manhattan and inside my network of CEO’s is that the Venture Capitalists are back. They collected their gains from 2009 which ended strongly and started off a robust Q1 2010. With funds starting off 2010 with $5 billion, -a 41% increase from 2009- venture capital funds have more to offer early-, mid- and late-stage companies — great news for technology and web startups. How will your startup stand out THIS early stage in order to get some funding? Spend some time on PR and see how VC’s find it easier to reach you. Pitch investors as if you’re the next ‘twitter’, ‘Facebook’, or the next great telecom solution.

Venture Capital funds have learned their lesson. In 2004 they raised around $20 billion, increased to $36 billion in 2007 and, well… you know what happened next. With this in mind, $5 billion of course is put in some perspective. The point being, it’s much more competitive out there. If you know you truly deserve it, follow these next steps to gain vantage point when they seek for new opportunities.

The one concept is the creation around buzz – the need to fund your company, That is,  the solution, the lack of alternatives, and finally – the promise coming through innovation. A few concrete ideas:

1. Blogs: start 2 or 3 blogs around the topic. Join existing blogs which cover your field. Start raising the issue. If your startup is solution-based focus on the problem first. Don’t reveal your product, and don’t push the problem too much either. You don’t want to lead anyone towards the solution. Be personal and introduce yourself using your ‘elevator pitch’. It’s a good practice.

1. Social Media: with the problem-solution model in mind, you can join LinkedIn groups; create your social network with people on the provider, manufacturer, analysts and finally investment guys. In addition repeat advice #1 on relevant groups in LinkedIn. Integrate your group posts with your blog posts and vice versa. Its very effective for SEO.

1. Twitter: in contrast to what you may think, twitter is NOT a popularity test for brands and people. It’s a practical marketing and business tool. Use it wisely. Open a twitter account both for yourself and your brand as well as for each of your team members. Use it to create conversations frequently over the solution you’re offering as well as the need for it in the markets. Tap both the markets as well as circles around financial and investment operations. Choose your followed twitters carefully by relevance. Sign your account up on twitter directories for the fields your startup is catering to. End-users as well as developers, programmers, marketing and all players in the tech field.

1. Media relations: this is probably the most challenging for startups but also one of the most effective way of attracting funding opportunities. It’s especially difficult if you don’t really have a PR firm taking care of you yet. The logic behind it is obvious: you want to throw the word out there that you exist, that you are relevant and that you are highly needed to fill up a gap, a social and technological demand etc. In order to have YOUR product answer these questions you need to strategically plan your way in advance. This requires frequent communications about trendy and timely issues that revolve around your startup.

1. Integration: No, not the technological term “integration” but the PR concept. You just have to lead the choir in perfect harmony. Your website, blogs, twitter, social media sites, and various publications should all be well connected. THAT’s the essence of a buzz. Make people from different sources reach the same conclusion: brand ‘X’ is the solution to problem ‘Y’ that we have. I guarantee that if followed correctly, the media will pick up on the buzz themselves. The conversations you lead on twitter, the insightful posts on your blogs, and the presence of your brand and yourself in social media and of course the opportunities granted by media placements all have a crucial role when it comes to the investor.

Venture capitalist read newspapers on the way to work. They have a social-media life too. They seek information online through search engines. And rely on industry analysts. These analysts put a finger up to feel where the wind is blowing. Make sure you blow that wind when they do.

There’s many different styles of management, and many different styles of pitching and creating new business.  Owing a PR agency, I am a CEO who likes old-fashioned hard work – I admit I am more likely to be behind my desk than at a cocktail reception.

Similarly, I respond to emails, phone calls and inquiries very quickly – I believe in acting and responding.  Therefore, I wasn’t surprised to hear of the following study on the power of speed, and how it influences sales (and I am sure similarly it would influence relationships and other business aspects).

Leads responded to within one minute improve sales conversions by 391%? Leads called within one to two minutes of their being born convert 160% more often than the average – 88% of leads that close are those called within 24 hours. Be prepared to grow – Sometimes the fight is simply showing up and bringing your A-game.

Speed counts as I have said over and over…. And one of my favorite business books is recommended to remind you of the essentials:

It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small…It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Truth is, ‘positive thinking’ is immediately associated with the ‘self-help’ shelf in your closest Barnes & Noble, but it is much more practical than you might think. My experience in business, and in life makes me more confident on how positive thinking can get you where you want to go.

It is said on Sir. David Ogilvy that during the early days of founding the legendary Ogilvy ad agency he’d go in the office and ask: “Well? Did Coca Cola call already?” Every single morning. Until they actually did. Coincidence? You may think so, but also in this Public Relations business, I can testify: positive thinking integrated into our lives can make a difference.

Here are 5 suggestions:

1)   The power of imagination. It is taken for granted, not fully utilized and seldom used to leverage your professional direction. The truth in contrast is, – imagination is the very first –and very far- achievement towards where you want to get. It could be picturing yourself with a new client, picturing your new office, imagining a media coverage piece on recent major achievements of yours. Anything you picture on a daily basis consistently can materialize physically.

2)  Act as if you already possess what you want. Sometimes we hold back on actions or emotions just because we “aren’t there yet”. A simple tip: Pretend you are there and you’ll find yourself happier, and more fulfilled with what you are currently doing.

3)  Communicate positively.  People are often skeptic of their abilities, and great PR people (and generally business people) recognize that passion is key. It is crucial not only to be passionate about your own job, but on the brand, firm, personality you’re representing. Your positive passion on a product can radiate far, and will be genuinely reflected in your media pitches, releases and placements.

4)  What you give out is what comes back. You claim you can’t do something? It’s certainly harder if you don’t try. Express positive outcomes to ideas, initiatives and efforts. Don’t look for why it WOULDN’T work. It is well reflected in the methods of professional brainstorming. You do not rule out ANYTHING that is brought up. Apply it to something in your life.

5)  Communicate. Yes, it’s a funny tip to offer communicators and public relations practitioners but it’s easily forgotten and is being deserted. Pitching the media? Connect over the phone. Following up? Give ‘em a call! When we express ourselves verbally (and positively) we attract better results. Less space for gaps in mutual understanding, and better personal relationships.

Avoiding Crisis Management – 7 Useful Tips: From Blackwater to Main Street

In what are probably the latest developments in huge declining reputation trends, we read of the up-for-sale of “Blackwater Xe”, the private security firm.  Combine that with the increasing calls on the CEO of BP Energy to step down as a price for the oily mess. These result in a price tag for bad publicity, damaged reputation, and lack of control over brand positioning.

Even the most perfect cross-industry brands and fans of Corporate Social Responsibility companies are not immune.  Patriotic, job generating and substantially-contributing companies may find themselves facing a public fiasco without proper prior warning. It can even apply to “country-brands” like Israel who stand up for many things, but cannot sufficiently channel the limelight towards those advantages when crisis knocks on their doors.

Sometimes you feel you are operating in an environment where you cannot afford to disclose operational secrets, structures, financials or policies. But it’s vital to find focused messages on what you COULD reveal, clarify on, and interact with the public asking for input too.

Ed Murrow, CBS journalist and one of the early directors of the United States Information Agency during the Kennedy years and facing the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 said: “if they want me in the crash landings, I better damn be in on the take-offs”.

Here are 7 reasons and ideas to shift your PR from crisis clean-ups to a management function TODAY:

Having a PR rep in a meeting on policy initiatives can be leveraged for brand building and positioning, both pre-emptatively and for positive impact.

Good reputation management begins early on. Not when damaged reputation requires fixing. Reputation is identified and managed well during decision making processes

Control. Early PR gets the messages YOU want to disseminate to your publics in advance so you won’t have to deal with rumors and blog-standard sources which take all your Google-results space during a crisis.

The key to every PR story a.k.a “the angle” should be pulled from management functions which PR professionals are ear-sensitive to find and pick up

Attending management decision making processes can help create plan B’s and C’s and placed in a drawer for stormy days.

Interaction with key figures on a board can generate new ideas and key messages from various company divisions’ execs used as extra PR “bonus points” in building clarity, integrity and reputation for target audiences. Who knows where your next positive news item placement will come from ?

Most important: realizing PR is a two-street which can be utilized to also receive information from your key publics via PR research on their preferences, tendencies and views of your brand. This can imply on decision making in the boardroom and can prevent the next bad turn by the person on the wheel

Avoid the next bad decision snow ball. You don’t want to find yourself in blackwater mud.

As published by Odwyers PR Report -

TECH TRENDS TO STRENGTHEN PR, MEDIA BOND

AT&T’s move on data pricing and Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ commitment to monetize content will strengthen the marriage bond between PR and media. 

The sum of both requires some real thinking on traditional PR and how messages are communicated.

If you thought AT&T’s timing for coming out with their cancellation of the unlimited data plan was arbitrary, you can’t be more mistaken. Just the previous day during Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital Conference in California,  Jobs clearly stated that he’s strongly passionate and confident about Apple’s role in turning online content to a service-for-fee.

Combine the two trends in our content world, and what you get is the change not only in telecom, content and the journalism arenas – but also in the communications and PR world, where we will gain even more authority. I would argue that in the near-future PR firms would need to adapt to even more sophisticated ways of reaching publics who will become hesitant and selective of their content providers.

The PR helm will be taken back in full from the hands of novice individuals (i.e. bloggers), back to strategic planners.

In his talk to a content-thirsty audience, Jobs said he was concerned we were almost turning to “a nation of bloggers” and that in his opinion “we need editorial oversight now more than ever. Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will help them get paid, I am all for.”

Here is my “two cents” of analysis to the new double-tactic around content: on the one hand I agree with AT&T which states in their late-clarifying press releases that more subscribers will join the new data plans since the entry price would be as low as $15 for 200MB as opposed to the unlimited plan today charging double. 

In contrast, those who are used to getting their content, information, and interaction with the world via online content will not settle for entry level. They will go with the 2GB and up, reaching high volume of browsing and potentially high rates – which will lead to the creation of very selective content consumers.

What are the practical implications? Consider today’s very active consumer: he constantly checks social media accounts over any mobile device and gets push-based news items of her choice.  Each of the above channels them to second and third party links, pages, videos and images. Would you give up on half the fun?

In the media world, the last three years have brought major transitions to the pace and communication pipes over which messages disseminate to publics, and back.  PR firms have pitched the media with the most innovative channels including social media for reputation management purposes, crisis management, and of course strategic branding and communications with publics. This includes consumer, corporate, and fashion companies concerned with their online presence.

The PR dance with the media over the “online floor” which now will require a fee, -in addition to the fact that access is paid for- sets a high bar for content quality, reliability and credibility.

On the other end with 57.1 million mobile subscribers in the U.S, taking a data “free lunch” off the menu will create a huge population holding on to very smart and advanced devices which allow high capacities of data to stream up and down when necessary. In fact, the trend benefits mobile devices manufacturers and service providers since the content consumer is deserting his desktop at home and relying on multiple mobile solutions such as a BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone and notebooks.

What does it require from PR & media pros? First, the realization that content is profit-sensitive. With advanced phones all around wireless carriers have seen $41.5 billion in revenue just from data use in 2009. And this will grow with the new data plans. Content vehicles such as online news sites will be extra careful and more committed to quality and credibility with the information they choose to offer subscribers. Not everyone is a subscriber, nor is every info valuable enough to be offered for a fee.

On the upside, we will witness better monitoring and profiling of target audiences which adapt to the new way of getting news, info and online access. Today, we find it more difficult to know exactly what the profile of online readers of New York Times online is. With paid content structures, the Times will make sure to get accurate subscriber data, which can allow a customization of the news items offered to these demographics. See it as a “you pay – you decide what you want to read” type of arrangement.

Public relations processes will become more sophisticated so a story can be pitched to the right outlet, for the right key publics, with a better measurement of effective results on placements.

To that end, I project that news and content websites will adapt quickly and begin a process of selection of what goes online and what doesn’t. Media & PR strengthen their bond in search for quality, reliable, clarifying content on both streams between the audience and their input sent back. Ultimately, media focuses and offers its receivers content people specifically want and at almost harmonically PR will make sure to well tailor its pitches accordingly in service of all parties: clients, media and target audience.

A good PR manager who wishes to do it all for his client will make sure to get that story out there in a smart weighed manner which reflects the latest spin on 21st century journalism. After all, PR and journalism feed each other in a sense, and good PR adapts fast.

I simply cannot understand why companies spend so little on Public Relations:

        -A recent client who spent $1 Million on advertising over a short term period complained constantly about the $20K they spent with us over a 2 month period… This despite the fact that they agreed we did great work and had a major impact on their business.

        -Too often I get calls from multi-million dollar brands who want to spend a few thousand dollars a month after having had bad experiences with other pr agencies.  Let me understand – You have failed with other PR agencies to date by spending so little, and now want to continue to spend very little, but expect your next PR agency to succeed? Could that be part of the issue? Succeeding requires time (and therefore budget).

       -Companies spend hundreds of thousands on trade shows, but don’t spend on their PR firm to support them at the trade show.

        -Many companies spend tens of thousands of dollars on an advertorial, but won’t spend those fees on a 6 month campaign because there is no guaranteed ROI.  Of course, there’s no guaranteed ROI on advertorial either, and multiple opportunities to succeed with Public Relations… but “Oh, well”.

        -Companies spend thousands of dollars to develop logos, color schemes and graphics… but won’t spend for anyone to actually hear of the company in the media.

Public Relations done right is a vital component in corporate success, but needs to be afforded proper resources and respect to win the right way. PR is often the most cost effective and reliable way for a company to utilize marketing dollars, but allow your PR firm the resources to win.

Ronn Torossian 

@RTorossian5wpr

5WPR

As featured in today’s Bulldog Reporter, the following Op-Ed:

http://tinyurl.com/295rph3

Social Media Relations Sinners or Winners? Hospital PR Pro Behaved Appropriately in Viral Video — But M.I.A.’s Tweet Missed the Mark

By Ronn D. Torossian, President and CEO, 5W Public Relations

Public relations professionals walk a difficult tightrope between serving clients who pay our bills and satisfying the media whom we usually have to convince to write about our clients. This is a delicate balance, and sometimes PR agencies (although we don’t often discuss it) are hired to keep our clients out of the media or deflect negative stories. We believe clients often hire us to protect them from the media, much as they would hire an attorney to protect them in legal proceedings.

A recent video making the rounds online—and attracting controversy—features an ABC San Francisco reporter, a PR representative for Laguna Honda Hospital (both male) and another hospital employee (female). The PR professional is being widely condemned for his behavior. I strongly disagree. Watch the video, and consider the following:

The reporter, a man, stands directly in the path of the shorter hospital administrator as she enters the room, and again as she tries to leave the room.

Using a camera as his bully pulpit, the reporter disrupts a planned meeting and follows the woman throughout the room and the hospital facilities as if he owns them.

If someone repeatedly blocked your way at work, what would you make of it? Additionally, both before the meeting and after, the reporter talks loudly over the woman, forcing her to repeat seven times that she is not available for an interview.

The PR pro appears to be doing his job: He didn’t raise his voice and, to my eyes, did all he could to deflect the reporter’s attention to himself. The PR professional is clearly an annoyance to the reporter. In the end, the PR person seems to have shut down the reporter’s planned ambush. (And doesn’t the reporter display a certain haughtiness?)

The spokesperson seemed to be protecting his staff (similar to how a good attorney would), and I for one fail to understand why one assumes that the media has the right to question people. Do people not have the right to “defend” themselves?

A completely separate controversy now surrounds the musical artist M.I.A., who was profiled this weekend by the New York Times Magazine in an article by Lynn Hirschberg. She subsequently tweeted to her over 111,000 followers the journalist’s cell phone number to express her displeasure at the reporter’s clearly negative story.

Wow! This is clearly harsh, and one can understand why M.I.A isn’t happy with the story. I’d ask why she did an interview regarding these issues? What was the artist trying to accomplish by allowing herself to be interviewed? I’d have suggested if she is concerned, why do the interview with the same journalist that wrote an extremely harsh article on Courtney Love (which also stirred up quite a bit of controversy)?

Clearly, this article will do quite a bit of lasting damage. Does M.IA. have any proof that the article is biased? Did she or her assistants record the interview (as we often do if we are entering sensitive interview ground)? If they did, they could then release interview segments showing its inaccuracy.

When dealing in the world of crisis communications, consider taping the interview and discussions for yourself (to guard yourself against a reporter’s possible agenda).

Understandably, Lynn Hirschberg called M.I.A.’s tweets “fairly unethical” and “infuriating.”

M.I.A. clearly misstepped. As an artist, M.I.A. may indeed have stepped over the boundary, but one wonders what the next moves from her PR team will look like.

Ronn Torossian is president and CEO of 5WPR, one of the 20 largest independent PR firms in the U.S. Named one of the top “40 Under 40″ by PR Week & Advertising Age, Torossian is a semi-finalist for Ernst & Young 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and his PR agency works with a roster of iconic brands.

At 5WPR, every staffer actively pitches the media regardless of title because we believe it’s the bread and butter of PR. There are two types of media pitching (…that work).  Proactive media relations, and reactive, rapid response which is dependent on the news cycle.

 A friendly TV Producer passed along a tip today – “It’s the pitch, the timing and the face when it comes time to pitching TV for media interviews.”

It’s the pitch (What Is your guest going to say on the topic)?

It’s the timing (24/7 news cycle means real time, and yes media still runs after 6 PM and on weekends). Now is now, not after your conference call with a client and coffee.

It’s the face (Is your guest good looking? A Female or African-American? (pluses to resonate with audiences who aren’t all white males)… or does your guest have a face more suited for radio?)… In which case you may be better off pitching other outlets, or not including a picture with the pitch in the hopes that you get your guest on the air and he’s a star they invite back).

 Always remember the basics.
Ronn Torossian

5WPR