Navigating Conference Season: Take-aways from a Philly Cyber Risk Summit

Posted on October 9, 2024 by eileencoyne

It’s conference season and this week I was fortunate to attend an industry event with a global draw – without hopping on a plane or train – in my hometown of Philadelphia. Insurance carriers, brokers, cyber risk assessment, breach recovery experts, legal, security, privacy professionals and more traveled to the City of Brotherly Love for three days of discussions on cyber risk hosted by NetDiligence®. For me, the event provided a valuable opportunity to learn about trends and challenges in the ever-evolving cyber space, to connect with clients, make new connections and of course check in with and coordinate meetings with trade reporters and editors on site.

As a public relations professional who has spent years working closely with the insurance industry, I know enough about cyber risk and cyber insurance to be dangerous. However, the speakers at the conference offered eye-opening insights on challenges in the cyber risk space, emerging risks including artificial intelligence, new technology and best practices for risk mitigation. Now, I know enough to keep me up at night.

For example, top cyber scams noted by Experian Head of Global Data Breach Resolution Michael Bruemmer included those related to fake news (particularly bad during election season), natural disasters, charities, sextortion (which can even include a photo of the recipient or their house) and QR codes. What I learned about QR codes maybe should have been obvious – it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between a legitimate and illegitimate QR code with the naked eye.

For businesses, the top risk, according to NetDiligence, remains business email compromise. As to why the risk remains so high despite corporate teams working diligently to implement safety measures and train teams to spot these emails, Bruemmer said it’s the smart pitches from the criminals that appeal to human weakness. They just keep getting more creative.

Outside the sessions, I spent time roaming the exhibit hall and making new connections. Representatives were on site to talk about their cyber risk technology, mitigation services, cyber data mining services, e-discovery and more. While the usual water bottles, pens, mints and cozies adorned the tables, a robot, like a modern version of Rosey from the old Jetsons’ cartoon, roamed the floor proffering champagne from exhibitor KYND for attendees.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to connect a few clients with attending media for background conversations. At Kimball Hughes PR, we encourage our clients to leverage their attendance at conferences like this for potential media introductions or onsite interviews. Not only can conferences bring value in terms of continuing education credit, new business meetings and client relationship building, meeting with media members, who are often on-site at these events, can pay dividends in establishing you as a trusted source for future articles or even in a conference wrap-up piece.

We often suggest our clients bring us along to conferences where media is attending for boots-on-the-ground support. This way, we can coordinate additional on-site meetings, assist in fielding questions, assist in bringing trending conference topics to the conversation and seek out opportunities to comment on articles currently in the works.

While I’ll be happy to trade my dress shoes for sneakers in the days ahead, this industry conference, like so many others, was a fantastic opportunity to learn, further relationships and build new connections.

Stay tuned for more conference round-ups as members of the Kimball Hughes PR team continue to round the conference circuit throughout the month.

Recent DEI Shifts Draw Attention to the Importance of Creating, Sticking to Company Brand Values

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Hari Rajagopalan

Last month, Tractor Supply Co. announced a plan to retire all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals and eliminate all DEI roles at the company. The swift turn away from DEI came in response to a public social media campaign organized to boycott Tractor Supply for their DEI and ESG initiatives and goals.

In today’s social climate, we frequently see businesses pivoting quickly to avoid negative reactions and feedback from customers – whether we’re talking about shifting DEI focus, distancing a brand from a “cancelled” athlete or celebrity or something else. While in some cases, it may make sense to rush to adjust your company’s initiatives based on negative comments or a sudden social movement, some abrupt moves can lead to even more backlash and reputational damage.

Thoughtful planning, strategic thinking and consulting with legal and communications experts can assist your leadership in navigating a situation like this. But one of the best places to start, is to examine your brand values.

What are your brand values?

Brand values are the principles and beliefs of a company that leadership want to project upon consumers. Essentially, these are the key beliefs that guide the operation of the company and consumer perception of a brand. For example, if your business does work in the diversity, equity and inclusion space, then your core values may focus on respect, belonging and creating a culture focused on openness, innovation and handing the ladder down to create a more equitable workplace.

Before coming up with any new programs, creating content, running any media outreach, or organizing a strategic pivot, management should have clearly defined brand values that represent both the company’s goals and growth plans. These values should also align with your target audience and their interests and how you want your company to be viewed by them.

Citing another unfortunate incident in the DEI space, consider the recent controversial decision by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to remove equity from their DEI strategy. On July 10, SHRM announced it would be moving forward with a focus solely on inclusion and diversity, which came as a surprise to many organization members.

SHRM’s decision was immediately met with intense backlash. Many human resource professionals canceled their SHRM memberships, a petition was started to oppose the decision, and many speakers pulled out of their upcoming conference. Generally, HR executives have found the decision to be disconnected from the core concepts of DEI and feel strongly that SHRM needs an equity-based approach to address workplace issues.

This was a misstep that could have been avoided. SHRM’s data had shown that people were not confident in the direction for progressing certain DEI initiatives. As a result, they ended up pulling back the equity portion. In this decision, they failed to recognize that a large portion of SHRM’s audience is very DEI focused and had been supportive as SHRM played a significant role in expanding DEI efforts across the human resources industry. SHRM’s brand values historically had been aligned with promoting DEI. An abrupt decision to seemingly rewrite their brand values and goals around uncertainty in the direction of the broader DEI movement has led to continued frustration.

Keeping Brand Values in Practice

The loudest voice in the room can be distracting, but leaders need to be careful not to let it be the guiding force behind any decision-making. A company’s brand values should be at the center of any decision. The loudest voice is not always representative of your target audience’s key interests and changing direction rashly without careful thought and professional consultation can lead to reputational damage or ruin.

While society continues to be largely divided on a number of issues, we can likely agree that a decision made in haste without considering your core audience or values, is likely not a smart move.

Before reacting, stop, think and consult with communications professionals. Think: What key messages are we relaying with this move and how will our audience respond?

Public opinion will always shift. That doesn’t mean your brand values should.

The Power and Peril of LinkedIn for Professionals

Posted on August 22, 2024 by kimballpr

Donald Trump has done more for black people than Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. combined.

Joe Biden finally beat Medicare, so we don’t have to worry about senior citizens anymore.

If grocery stores want me to bring my own bags, they should pay me.

Pat’s is the only place to get a real cheese steak in Philadelphia.

Let’s consider the visceral reactions many would have to the above statements if posted to LinkedIn by their professional connections. The key word here is visceral.

In my view, LinkedIn is not the place for sensitive social commentary. LinkedIn was created to help people present themselves for career opportunities and for professional networking. It has evolved, becoming a venue for creative expression, sharing of expertise and insights, for calling society to action on issues of industry and enterprise, and for holding a mirror up to our workplace lives – all through the lens of the professional. It is not Facebook, where personal perspective, political ideology and countless memes are central. It is not X (formerly Twitter), where reactionaries, visionaries, citizen journalists, political and social elites and the opinionated co-mingle. Nor is it Instagram, where humor and snark co-exist with vacation photos and musical dance routines or humorous pet antics.

LinkedIn, for good or ill, remains a platform for professional discourse with a splash of the personal that should not veer into jarring zealotry. Authenticity is important, but not at the expense of alienating important audiences that might disagree with your personal, beliefs. Courtesy, respect and being a compassionate human must be central to interactions in any professional environment — virtual or in person.

You would not walk into a job interview and begin the conversation with your unsolicited views on abortion. A company-wide Zoom meeting where the boss, or anyone else, shares why her preferred political candidate is the only rational choice could constitute a hostile work environment. No sane person would begin a new business presentation by explaining why their religion is superior to others. And certainly no one enjoys that one uncle who comes to Thanksgiving dinner eager to share his criticisms of your parenting, lifestyle, romantic partner, personal finances or who also publicly shames Aunt Mable’s latest obsession with sequin holiday sweaters.

Many of us were taught that some topics are not appropriate in the workplace or even certain family functions. Most importantly, in professional circles would you want your hard-earned qualifications and accomplishments overshadowed entirely because of the personal beliefs or opinions you share that have little or no bearing on your performance in the workplace?

We counsel clients to always strive for an authentic voice on social media that best reflects the organization or individual’s values and professional strengths. No one should feel the need to contort themselves into something they are not, either in the office or on LinkedIn. However, we live in a polarized world. Adding to the cacophony of militant opinions or strident arguments in a professional setting serves almost no one. This isn’t to say social media can’t be a tool for advocacy; rather, it’s simply that LinkedIn is often not the appropriate platform.

Consider your strongly held views or opinions posted to LinkedIn may negatively impact your employer’s ability to:

Recruit talent
Retain emerging professionals
Win new business
Fundraise
Attract new vendor partners
Hold on to existing customer relationships
Maintain the respect and support of the communities and audiences important to them

Moreover, sharing your personal beliefs on sensitive social topics on LinkedIn might also serve to harm your career. What if employers and others believe those views, however well intentioned, might bleed into the workplace and create potential management challenges with you, your direct reports or with clients?

When you reach for that “Start a post” option on LinkedIn, remember to be thoughtful, kind and intentional. What and how you post on LinkedIn is a reflection of your character, comportment and professional judgement. If you assume future employers, employees, customers and others aren’t going to look at LinkedIn — and maybe do a lot more scrolling than you think before entrusting you with their reputation, careers, money or more — you would be mistaken. A LinkedIn post, especially one written in haste, can do considerable harm. Equally so, a thoughtful and professional piece of content shared on LinkedIn can benefit you, and your employer, greatly. Proceed with caution, respect and offer the grace and kindness you would seek for yourself when engaging on this most powerful of professional platforms. And remember, always, that nothing on the internet ever truly goes away.

If you are a business or nonprofit leader, get in touch with Kimball Hughes Public Relations to ensure you have a social media policy and protocols to protect the reputation of your organization and those to whom you entrust. And if you are facing a reputational crisis, prompted by social media or other factors, we also provide Crisis Communications services to help you as well. Contact us at info@kimballpr.com or call (610) 559-7585.

The Secret Sauce: How Video Can Spice Up Your PR Strategy

Posted on August 14, 2024 by eileencoyne

The dog days of August are here, accompanied by late summer vacations, back to school and, if you’re lucky, quieter workdays. This precious, less-demanding time of year when customers, clients and colleagues enjoy some much-deserved time off could be the ideal opportunity to explore ways to freshen up your public relations strategy for the final stretch of the year.

So, what do we see as the secret sauce to spice up your PR efforts before we close out the year?

Video.

HubSpot laid out the reasons why video is the future for marketing in a recent report. We’ll include PR under that umbrella for these purposes. The HubSpot research found 63% of customers surveyed in 2024 watched video content to learn about a product. They ascertained that 89% of consumers want to see more videos from the companies trying to reach them.

And video is not just valuable because people see it and digest it; brands love it because consumers pass it on. HubSpot found that people surveyed were 52% more likely to share video content than other types of content.

It’s not just brands that are noticing this growing consumer interest in video. Social media platforms recognize this too. Just this summer, LinkedIn beta tested a new video tab to piggyback on the popularity of TikTok and Instagram scrollable reels of video content. After testing out the new feature earlier this summer, digital transformation consultant and social media selling expert Ema Roloff wrote, “I can confidently say it will become the most used part of the LinkedIn mobile app. Just like Reels on Instagram, or Shorts on YouTube, the video tab is the spot to get your dopamine hit.”

She went on to explain the new feature will enhance user engagement and community building as users spend more time watching video, connecting with it and are presented with more opportunities to interact. Further, the easy-to-scroll set up encourages users to stay on the platform scrolling through videos and hopefully, sharing those videos.

Working It In

In the world of PR, video can be used to complement and enliven nearly any PR tactics. Consider the following:

Press releases and product announcements embody traditional PR. While a press release may still be needed for convenient text containing the who, what, when, why and where for reporters, why not make the news a bit more exciting for the consumer? Video can do just that and help to make a more memorable connection with your customer related to your announcement.
Thought leadership prepared as text can also be recycled into video to further the writer’s point either through animation or a casual short video on the topic. It can help to highlight the main points and draw viewers in to want to take a deeper diver and learn more. As much of what we do in PR is based on telling a compelling story for our clients, video can help achieve this goal as it can help to evoke emotion and more deeply engage the viewer.
Issue statements, a tool used by PR pros to get a leader’s expertise out to the media on a certain topic making headlines or breaking news, can also be supported with a video message. A recorded video message by the thought leader could not only be valuable to catch a reporter’s eye, but also for reporters to insert into segments, or to demonstrate the individual is TV-ready.
Social media posts can get a bit stale if a company is always posting the same types of content, whether its graphics, photos or even original articles. Short, original video can help to break up this content and keep the viewer engaged.
Interactive events like LinkedIn or Facebook Lives seem to be the modern press conference. These platforms allow users to host live webinar-like events that can be more easily found among your connections, shareable, cost-effective and a fantastic way to encourage user interaction and promote engagement.

Dos and Don’ts

So, you’re ready to tackle video for your company. What should you keep in mind?

Don’t worry about producing highly polished content. Do produce “relatable and authentic” content. HubSpot found 63% of viewers prefer this.
Don’t publish a full-on made-for-TV mini-series. Do create a brief, thoughtful video. HubSpot found 83% of marketers believe video should be no longer than 60 seconds in length.
Don’t commit yourself to one channel. Do explore and take advantage of the channels your key audience frequents, whether they include LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook.
Don’t assume you can do it all. Do consult a PR professional or agency. While video for these purposes should appear “authentic”, it should not appear sloppy or amateur. Work with PR pros who can help you, at minimum, with talking points, speech prep, with recording and conducting light edits on the video.

Video will play a key role in the future of PR and marketing. Freshen up your approach to PR with the latest channels to share your key messages and connect with your audience to help ensure your brand is meeting your customers where they are.

Shouting Your Next Big Media Win from The Rooftops

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Kate Glaviano

Imagine: Your company name is in the headline of an article on a reputable, national news outlet’s home page. Your colleagues and industry peers send a few emails in congratulations and maybe you even receive some inbound requests inquiring about your business, but the value seemingly ends there. How can you keep the momentum going?

Company leadership who are not taking full advantage of their media hits, or simply do not know how to amplify them are missing out on the exposure a reputable news outlet could offer.

Can I have your attention?

Whether the result of proactive media relations or an unexpected story, a media placement can help bring your business to the forefront of prospective customers’ and partners’ minds. If managed wisely and consistently over time, business leaders can enjoy a continuous flow of media hits that can lead to new business, help with recruitment and pique the interest of investors or other business partners. Consider the following tips to expand on your company’s next media win:

Share the good news internally: Your greatest cheerleaders should be your team members. Leadership should share media placements with team members and suggest convenient ways they can use it if they choose. Your communications team can be a great resource in crafting language to share with employees, including guidance on adding links to their email signatures.
Get social: As soon as a media hit goes live, business leaders should have a plan to share it broadly, tagging the outlet and – in some cases – the author as well. At minimum, social media posts should be scheduled for the same day the article is posted and a company’s website news page should be updated to include the article. Priority should be placed on interacting with comments on the posts and employees should be made aware of and encouraged to interact with them, if they are comfortable doing so.
Market it: Connect with your marketing team to see where else it may make sense to share the article, including newsletters or external email communications. Keep in mind the content is likely owned by the publication, not your company, so be careful not to cut and paste directly from the article or post without attribution. It could be seen as a violation of copyright laws.
Be strategic: As you spread the word through social media and marketing materials, be cautious not to spam your audiences with the same content. Find fresh angles where you can change up references to the articles in posts and marketing materials.
Don’t rest on your laurels: While a one-off media hit can lead to a nice boost for business and search engine optimization (SEO), without continued effort, it will likely be just that – a one-time thing. Engage your communications team to build a comprehensive plan for continuous, thoughtful proactive media outreach. Additionally, your communications team should be building and maintaining relationships with reporters who cover your business, leaving opportunities for you to contribute to stories in the future. Consider partnering with a public relations agency for an extra set of hands when it comes to media strategy and outreach.

Whether a feature article or a few quotes in a reputable news outlet, make your media win more than a nice-to-have article to frame on a wall. Media wins give a company credibility and a tangible way to demonstrate your leadership’s expertise. Essentially, unlike advertising, a media placement can offer third-party validation that consumers seek before placing their trust in a company. To make sure your company is more than a one-hit-wonder with the media, consider amplifying your coverage and building a long-term plan for consistent proactive outreach.

Fallen Arches: McDonald’s AI Failure Is a Caution for Business Leaders

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Rod Hughes

Not lovin’ it. That’s the takeaway from McDonald’s recent abandonment of AI for its drive-thru ordering. The fast-food chain’s decision to end its AI experiment speaks to the larger trend of AI not yet being quite ready to solve a host of problems for business.

Artificial intelligence offers the promise of a new and more efficient business environment … just not quite yet.

McDonald’s hoped its AI-driven drive-thru ordering would create more accurate and efficient ordering. However, the tech proved no match for humans in the wild. Background noise, the nuances of human communication and, I imagine, some of the hallucinations AI technology is famous for combined to generate customer-frustrating errors, including one infamous order for more than $250 worth of Chicken McNuggets. While the fast-food chain says it learned from and has plans for future AI implementations, the reality is the Golden Arches sees AI as a future state tool rather than a current operational solution.

Other industries are finding the same.

In an interview with Insurance Journal last November, Insurtech CEO Tim Hardcastle of INSTANDA discussed the challenges of AI transparency, saying the full transformational impact of AI in insurance remained a few years away.

What frustrates consumers — and many business leaders — about AI is really a perception problem. While companies boast about the promise of AI, the truth is we are in a state of ongoing beta testing. Even Google, the defacto leader in online search, is feeling its way through as end-users find significant inaccuracies and false answers to certain queries of its AI search tool.

Where does this leave businesses and the race to AI implementation?

We have been here before. In the late 2000s, businesses raced to adopt social media. “We have to be there” was the mantra, while the reasons for being on these platforms were somewhat opaque. We saw a similar approach during the rise of voice search and voice recognition. And I believe we are in a similar place today with AI.

Absent a new AI tool to promote, some business leaders perceive they are running behind. However, aside from some common and long-standing applications, AI is currently a solution in search of problems.

Don’t misunderstand me. I think AI will eventually change how business is done, radically in fact. Just not yet. We haven’t worked out the bugs. The guardrails aren’t in place. And we haven’t fully mapped the real, day-to-day challenges AI might address, although that has begun.

The perception problem extends to consumers. AI is seen as our flying car, and by God, it’s here and we want it to work.

Neither the technology industry nor others with have messaged appropriately on AI. They haven’t told us this is one big beta test. They haven’t cautioned us to expect errors. Sure, the media calls out egregious examples, but the businesses incorporating AI could also be more transparent. We haven’t set expectations appropriately; we talk about the transformative power of AI and consumers assume we mean now, not in the future.

When the problem is perception, you have to change people’s perceptions.

Business leaders — from fast-food chains and insurance providers to the financial services sector and big box retailers — would benefit tremendously from better AI messaging. Consider talking about what AI can mean for their companies as well as customers, but caution that this is a learning process. Survey your consumers. Offer research. Invite consumers to help you test your new AI tools.

I’m confident a majority of consumers would get it and many would be willing to be part of this great, new digital industrial revolution experiment. But we must call it what it is: an experiment. We must move consumer perceptions of AI as a current silver bullet to a potential, future game-changer.

There’s precedent for this: The Human Genome Project. The public conversation around this 10+ year effort was about possibility, potential and promise. Not a current-state solution to contemporary problems. The messaging, from the researchers, the media and governments, was clear, which set the expectations — and the perceptions — of the public.

We don’t have an AI problem. We have a perception problem, and we have the tools to address it. What we need is for better messaging to meet the moment.

Incoming Social Media Mandates: Bracing Your Brand’s Strategy and Uncovering Opportunity

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Kate Glaviano

Last week in a New York Times op-ed U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy suggested adding warning labels to social media platforms that would serve as a reminder to parents and teen users to monitor social media use. The Surgeon General’s suggestion is rooted in concerns about the mental health and perceived excessive use of social media by young people. Murthy’s suggestion took the nation by storm because, currently, the only two products in the U.S. with such warnings are alcohol and tobacco products. The immediate result leaves brand leaders to wonder what this could mean for their marketing and communications strategies.

“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Murthy wrote in the op-ed. “Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours.”

A year or so ago, Murthy issued an advisory on the topic that included specific recommendations for “policymakers, platforms and the public to make social media safer for kids.” Today, there is pending proposed legislation in 30 states and Puerto Rico with many of them already passed. While it’s difficult to tell just what impact such legislation or regulatory changes could have on social media behavior, brand leaders might want to reevaluate the stake young people hold in their social media strategies and how they target them.

Social media marketing & young people

In recent years, social media has taken over as a marketing powerhouse for brands, particularly for those looking to reach younger audiences.

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a 2022 study of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube found that almost $11 billion in advertising revenue was generated by users under 18. The study goes on to note that “Approximately 30–40% of the advertising revenue generated from three social media platforms (Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube) is attributable to young people.”

Concerns around the mental health impact of social media are becoming increasingly top of mind for parents of children and adolescents as well as lawmakers. Murthy notes in his 2023 advisory there is still much to be studied about the broad and nuanced impacts of social media on children and adolescents. For example, “studies point to a higher relative concern of harm in adolescent girls and those already experiencing poor mental health, as well as for particular health outcomes like cyberbullying-related depression, body image and disordered eating behaviors, and poor sleep quality linked to social media use.”

And while the issue continues to be studied, limiting social media use is reported to help with negative mental health symptoms. “Limits on the use of social media have resulted in mental health benefits for young adults and adults … limiting social media use to 30 minutes daily over three weeks led to significant improvements in depression severity.”

Lawmakers are working to make parents more aware of the impact of social media while urging them to restrict their children’s exposure to social media by introducing bills that would create task forces around the issue, set-up kid-friendly design codes, require age verification to log into social media accounts, establish digital literacy courses in schools and more. New York, for example, signed two bills into law last week to limit data collection on minors and to stop addictive feeds, or those designed to recommend content meant to keep a user scrolling.

Making adjustments

With all this discussion, possible change is afoot. Social media already requires brands to pivot constantly to platform updates, changes in behavior and internet trends. Potential legislative or regulatory changes could require even more adjustments.

In this evolving environment, brands might consider the following tips to stay ahead:

Stay updated: With so many looming laws around social media, brand leaders should take time to understand the pending legislation and the potential changes coming their way. Understanding how to stay in compliance and target social media content to younger demographics safely and responsibly will help teams develop a strong strategy that takes into account the principles behind new regulation or legislation.
Be creative: Social media offers brands a quick, direct line of communication with young people. As their behaviors on social media shift, communication may no longer be as streamlined, and some young people may opt out of social media altogether. Brand leaders may have to get creative to fill the gap.
Broaden your strategy: Consider the breakdown of your marcomm budget. In this new regulatory environment, could it make sense to shift dollars from social media marketing to public relations or digital advertising?
Take testing seriously: What works today on social media might not work tomorrow and this is especially true as efforts are made to restrict young people’s access to it. Brand leaders should be constantly testing elements of their social strategies to ensure they are effective in reaching the correct demographics and sparking engagement while remaining compliant with legislation.
Choose the right partners: Consider working with a PR agency that understands the landscape and how best to reach your target audience. An integrated PR campaign could supplement dialed-back social media efforts. Not to mention, a good PR agency will have a reliable crisis communications team ready to protect your brand should your company run afoul of any new social media requirements.

New limitations on social media marketing appear to be a growing reality. Brand leaders do not have to look at related legislative measures as a loss in their social media strategies, but an opportunity to find new, meaningful ways to reach young people. Consider taking a moment to research what social media legislative measures are being taken in the state(s) where your business operates and where your social media strategy or overarching public relations strategy might need adjusting.

Press Release Wire Services: What are They and Why Should You Care?

Posted on May 30, 2024 by Rod Hughes

Press release wire services are frequently seen as an essential tool for organizations looking to disseminate their news quickly and broadly to the media. To the uninitiated, they can seem like a home run. Perform a search for the company name after posting to a wire service and you may find two or three postings of the release on the first page of your search. But is that really news? Do actual humans see your release? Is it worth the expense? The answers are mixed.

How Press Release Wire Services Work

There are numerous press release wire services like PR Newswire, Business Wire, and GlobeNewswire, and others.

To start, a company must draft its press release and upload it to a wire service. Be sure you understand the guidelines of the wire service you are using. Some have character limits for headlines or require brief, word-count-specific summaries of the content of the release that must be distinct from the text of the press release itself.

Once uploaded, the wire service editorial team will review the content to ensure it meets the wire service guidelines. Editors might suggest edits for clarity, conciseness, or to enhance the overall impact. Additionally, some wire services now reserve the right to reject press releases if they are deemed overly promotional and lacking in genuine news value.

Once approved, the press release is scheduled for distribution to a network of media outlets, journalists, news websites, and other stakeholders. This network often includes both traditional and digital platforms. Please note, there can be a delay of several hours – depending on the service – between approval and actual distribution. If your company requires the press release to be distributed on a specific date or time, please check with the wire service well in advance to understand their specific process and timing.

These wire services will provide a report with analytics on the press release’s reach and engagement, offering insights into its performance and audience interaction. In my experience, few if any of these data points are demonstrably valuable. Look specifically for data that reflect direct interactions with your press release. If you have more than 10 direct interactions via a wire service, I call that a win. Other provided metrics are fuzzier and, often, less valuable.

Why Companies Use Press Release Wire Services

Company leadership will often point to press release wire services as benefiting them in the following ways:

Broad media coverage
Increased SEO for the company or brand
Efficient use of resources

Actual media coverage resulting from a press release wire service is increasingly rare. Journalists are deluged with press releases and pitches daily. Further, because wire services supply the same content to hundreds or thousands of news websites, the uniformity of that content tends to make coverage of the information in those press releases less valuable to journalists seeking their own original story.

The reality is most press releases distributed through a wire service become aggregated content gathered by website algorithms and posted to pages on those sites you would be severely challenged to find natively on those websites. In essence, those releases tend to go into a black hole and are rarely seen by actual humans.

While press release wire services can still provide a slight bump to your company’s search engine optimization, that reality diminishes every year. You see, Google and other search engines tend to downgrade or even exclude repetitive content online, which negates the desired effect of using a press release wire service.

Additionally, while a press release wire service can appear less expensive than an ongoing engagement with a public relations agency or paying for a full-time, in-house comms professional, the reality is wire services are often wire services are not targeted communications tools. While you might pay a PR professional more over time than a one-time wire service fee, the fact is your media coverage will be more targeted and, ideally, more beneficial than simply blasting it out to the universe and hoping someone who may be interested in your services sees it.

However, if your goal is greater visibility in front of the widest possible audience, then you can justify a wire service press release distribution.

Finally, sometimes your leadership team, board of directors or investors simply need to see that your messaging has “gotten out there.” Often, this is the number one reason I have seen organizations employ wire service releases.

Setting Leadership Expectations

Whether using a wire service or not, it is crucial for organizations to set realistic expectations about the impact of their press releases. Not every press release will make headlines or go viral. To maximize press release effectiveness:

Focus on Newsworthiness: Ensure the content is genuinely newsworthy and well-written.
Tailor the Message: Customize the press release to appeal to the target audience.
Follow Up: Supplement the press release with personalized outreach to key journalists and media outlets.

Press release wire services remain a useful tool for companies and nonprofits to distribute news. While they offer benefits, it’s essential to use them strategically and maintain realistic expectations. By balancing the use of wire services with direct media engagement, organizations can enhance their visibility. As a former journalist, I appreciate the convenience and speed these services appear to offer, but my peers in the Fourth Estate also value originality and quality in the content they receive.

Tampa: Hustle Capital of the Insurance Industry

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Rod Hughes

Target Markets 2024 Mid-Year Meeting in Tampa, Florida, made clear insurance is, and continues to be, a relationship business. This year’s mid-year meeting set a record with more than 1,300 attendees – more than double that of prior mid-year meetings for Target Markets. It was also my first time attending a Target Markets mid-year meeting.

I understand the attraction.

The first full day of Target Markets, Monday, May 13, was straight to business. Old friends reconnected while new acquaintances were made. Meetings were held over coffee, at breakfast, in break-out rooms and hallways, in the lobby, at the hotel Starbucks, over lunch, at the bar, across countless restaurant dinner tables and over drinks and at numerous private parties afterward. All this went beyond socializing as companies pitched, partners explored and new business partnerships were formed. The pace was hectic and heady, and it will be interesting to see if Target Markets offers an estimate for the business transacted in Tampa. The number of people who faced daunting schedules with back-to-back meetings, hoping to sign or write business, was impressive as they ran the gauntlet of two large Marriott hotels connected by a single third-floor sky bridge. The spirit of the 2024 meeting could be best summarized in a single word: Hustle.

Day two was a mix of the day before along with a series of programs and events that covered topics including a Lloyd’s Market update, a keynote speaker of remarkable tenacity embodied by Diana Nyad, a women’s leadership lunch, discussions on talent, the Target Markets’ new Program Business Professional designation and, of course, ample opportunities for networking.

The Target Markets’ hustle – on display from start to finish – also demonstrated the power and innovation of an insurance industry in growth mode. Seizing opportunities. Strengthening relationships. Getting business done.

Through all of this, I found myself among old friends I haven’t seen in years while sharing coffee and meals with new friends, potential business partners and – in my world – the all-important insurance industry trade media who were there to get the inside scoop on the issues, trends and insights of those who drive the business of insurance.

I applaud the team at Target Markets for putting together a productive event, and for those who grabbed the opportunity to move their business, and the industry, further into the future.

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