Why Optimize Press Releases?

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As a franchise public relations agency we know how much time and effort goes into making a press release perfect.  We know what it takes to make a press release more powerful than the words itself, and that is by optimizing the content.  To get the most out of a press release in terms of it reaching a large audience it is crucial to optimize the content so it can be found online.

Before writing the press release, we recommend that you come up with a minimum of five different keywords to use throughout the press release and link those keywords back to a website.  Keywords do not only make the reading easier for the reader, but it makes the search engines understand that the article is talking about.  When our Chicago public relations franchise uses keywords, we do it to make sure that people can easily sum up and remember what the article discussed whether they read one paragraph or two pages.

It is also important to make sure that the keywords are relevant to the content and that they are all scattered throughout the article.  Our public relations company likes to keep the press release visually balanced and we like to include links to our website and the franchise PR website. 

Also, if you want to make the press release more visually captivating, it is critical to use images in the release.  Not only that, but you can link the image so it sends the viewer back to a website.  What our franchise PR firm loves about linking images is that when you search the keyword in the Google images, the image will come up under the keyword.  This is very important because it gives ownership to the image and this way people can site a source instead of stealing images online.

Don’t let your press release get lost in cyberspace.  Use keywords in your press releases and link them back to credible sites.  If you are in need of assistance writing press releases or optimizing content in general, please contact our firm for franchise PR consulting or comment below.

Social Media Policies For Franchises

As experts in franchise PR consulting, we know that social media policies are not usually the first thing to straighten out when it comes to a social media marketing strategy.  However, we really believe implementing social media policies is one of the most important things a company can do.  Without social media policies set, social media marketing plans are unsustainable for any franchise public relations agency.  It should be a goal to engage with as much of the audience as possible, but if there is no reach, there ultimately is no engagement and vice versa. 

We understand that drafting social media policies may not seem as important as the content you are creating and sharing, but after a lot of experience in franchise PR consulting, we have learned otherwise.  Our PR agency knows that your market of employees, resellers, members, etc. will be much less likely to participate and engage with social media if a clear and easy social media guideline has not been defined.

In order to be heard, it is important that you allow our social media consultants to show you how to get others to like, comment, retweet or share your content.   We will show you how to get people talking about your business online and engage the markets that are interested in your success.  Adopting social media policy is the first step to promoting the widespread of the information.  

It is also critical when implementing a PR campaign that you consider what you are asking of the audience.  In order for the audience to engage with the content, they need to feel they can trust you and it is a safe topic or place to discuss the information. Whoever is responsible for maintaining the social media platforms needs to know how to handle the difficult or controversial questions that may be asked.  Because our PR firm knows that most employees are not trained in public relations, it is important that professionals come in and teach what the best processes for a situation could be.

All Points PR, a public relations franchise company, does not want individuals or businesses to be scared of social media.  We think it is a wonderful medium that should be embraced by all.  However, this does not mean that everyone know how to use social media correctly which is why we recommend that our public relations company guides you through creating an effective social media policy.

If you have any questions about social media policy or are interested in speaking to one of our social media experts about franchise social media, please comment below or contact our PR firm today.

Franchise Marketing

As a franchise PR firm, we know how appealing it is for individuals to start their own franchise.  Although owning your own franchise seems to be a promising way to ensure financial success because many are successful elsewhere, it truly is not guaranteed.  A great franchise does not rely on its reputation on other locations to bring money in.  A great franchise considers various efforts to market themselves to grow.   With that said, our franchise public relations agency has some great tips to market your franchise. 

Know the consumers:

As experts in franchise industry PR, we know that you probably decided to open a franchise based on its success from other locations and its potential for success.  However, no matter how good of an idea you think your franchise is for the area, you need to know the needs of the area and the wants of consumers.  If you do research as to what local consumers like, dislike, want, need, enjoy, and prefer, you are heading in the right direction for franchise success.  Not only that, but you need to make sure your franchise is not slacking in keeping up with current trends.  As a franchise, our public relations firm knows that keeping up with trends means more money, but your dedication to maintain your franchise will pay off.  Don’t ever forget to target your customers. 

Effective Website:

Having a website, web presence, and social media are crucial to gain your franchise any credibility.   Consumers trust businesses with websites.  Consumers also trust businesses with reviews visible on Yelp or testimonials on the website.  Ultimately, consumers want to see what your franchise has to offer and our PR agency can help your franchise effectively communicate your marketing efforts after some franchise PR consulting. 

Use Promotions:

After your have targeted your consumer it is important that you create and provide promotional incentives to get consumers into your franchise.  There is a great list of places you can advertise your promotional offer(s) such as: television stations, television commercials, radio commercials, internet advertising, direct mail and email.  Pushing your products or services through these outlets in conjunction with our franchise public relations efforts will help provide you success in any promotional campaigns. 

 There are several steps to ensure franchise success.  Our Chicago franchise public relations firm can guide you in selecting your tactics and vehicles to create an effecting marketing plan.  If you have any questions for our franchise public relations agency, please contact us today!

Tips For Posting on Social Media Accounts

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As a Chicago Public Relations Company know the dos and don’ts of social media use.  We are social media consultants who know how fast word can spread online.  Social media allows information like tweets, Facebook posts, etc. to be shared through online word of mouth like rapid-fire.  It is important that you share and post about specific topics for your social media campaign to influence a lot of conversation and influence. 

Here are some tips on what you should share via Social Media:

Infographics- Our public relations firm thinks that Infographics are great because they are fun!  Infographics are an excellent way to share information in a way that is not so black and white.  Following a graphic chart that will show a map of progression is very appealing.

Newsletters- Our Chicago PR Firm knows that not everyone wants to subscribe to a newsletter to receive special offers or exclusive information.  When a newsletter is attached to a tweet, it allows the individual to read it while they are on the go.  If they like the newsletter, they can retweet it, and your newsletter can gain new followers instantly. 

YouTube Videos- Many people are visual people.  By including a video, you are stimulating a part of someone’s brain that does not require them to watch, but they can still listen.  This is especially important because many YouTube videos are clips providing information on how someone can build, cook, or create something on their own (DIY). 

Photos- People want to see what you are up to, where you are, who you are with and what you know.  A picture can say a thousand words and strike up a variety of conversations.  Including an image in your post makes is makes it simple for individuals to know what is going on in their social media feed without having to read.

Press Releases- Our PR Agency encourages our clients to share a press release about their brand wherever possible.  Sharing a press release about your company through your social media accounts will provide your audience with new exciting news. 

Lastly, our social media consultants advise that you remain personable through your social media use.  Share your humor, your music (as long as it’s socially appropriate and not controversial) and share any new or exciting things your learned about, read about, etc.  Make sure that you leverage your posts because if you post too much of the same content, it because white noise in news feeds and your information will just be scrolled over and scrolled by.

The Importance of Graphics in Social Media

The Importance of Graphics in Social Media

As a Chicago Franchise Public Relations Firm, we know how social media has exploded in just the last few years and created a very curious society.  Social media is a way for businesses, organizations, and individuals to communicate what they want their audience to know or think is important.  With that being said, there is more to creating a post with perfect diction or syntax.  Social media is not solely to increase your followers or fans, it is not just to vent opinions and beliefs, it is there however to help tell a story whether it be textually or graphically.  With the drastic growth of social media, it is important that tweets or status updates do more than just spell out the story.  Tweets and posts should include graphics.  After all, not everyone is textual, some people are visual.  Here are three key reasons to incorporate graphics for your PR agency.

Graphics Help Establish Your Brand

Whether you are starting a new franchise public relations agency or maintaining the image of an already established company like All Points Public Relations, the company name or logo needs to stand out.  As a Chicago Public Relations firm, having a great logo or image helps define a brand and create awareness of the company or organization.  A goal of the company should be for individuals to see the logo or a symbol from the company and identify who it belongs to immediately.  This kind of recognition is what helps generate business and drive traffic to the company or webpage.

We Have Short Attention Spans

Graphics can help to tell a story and eliminate the use of text.  Social media users are developing shorter attention spans.  Twitter aims to catch the attention of the reader in 140 characters or less.  We know most stories cannot be told in a line or two.  But with the ability to add a link or attach an image to the tweet, 1000 more words can be added to the 140-character tweet by painting a picture to finish telling the story.  People nowadays want instant gratification.  Consider Instagram, if you can master an appealing title or a trending hashtag, you can lure in an audience to view your image and many more.  That is how you create a loyal following and brand for Chicago Franchise Public Relations.

We are Over-Stimulated

There are great benefits to utilizing graphics in social media in a PR campaign.  Graphics are appealing to the Chicago public relations professionals who are over-stimulated by the black and white text of their email or textbooks.  Rather than read, people scroll through popular social media sites like Pinterest to add color and variety to their life.  Even with all the clutter of the Pinterest pin-board, it has grown into one of the most successful social media platforms in a very short amount of time. We are so over-stimulated by text in our every day email that images give the eyes and brain a break.  Use graphics to entice your audience and keep their attention.

Getting a Reporter’s Attention

Lets face it, one of the most important parts of franchise public relations, or public relations in general, is getting media attention.  You’ve got a great a pitch, fantastic story, well that’s just great, but what good will that do you without anyone to pitch it to?  Not much.  How do you go about getting the attention of that reporter that you just know will be the perfect one to pitch your story to?  Here are a few tips on getting that much needed reporter attention: 

1- Do your homework before hand:  Before you even think to pitch to a reporter do your homework.  Find out what the reporter typically covers.  You don’t want to be pitching a story about your client that is an author to a reporter that only covers sports.  Do some digging before hand to ensure that the reporter you choose to pitch to will be one that will at least have some interest in what you are about to pitch that way you will increase your odds that the reporter may at least be interested.

2- Check out the reporter’s blog:  If the reporter you are wanting to contact has a blog, consider posting a comment to their blog before your big pitch.  Show some interest in the reporter you are seeking to be in contact with and perhaps they'll show some interest in you.

3- Drop some of your expectations: Don't expect a reporter to give you coverage right away.  It might take longer than you may anticipate.  The best thing you can do is keep in touch regularly. If you are in public relations you know that that is just part of the PR job.  If you are doing PR for your own company or franchise or just starting out in PR remember not to get too ahead of yourself and expect coverage too fast.  It takes time, so do the follow ups and when the time is right you'll get some coverage.  

4- Consider the timing: As a franchise public relations firm we know that timing is everything.  Timing out you pitches is crucial.  To better your chances of a reporter covering your story you should consider approaching them on a Monday or whenever they tell you there is a bit of a news hole to fill.  That will just improve your odds of getting coverage.

5- Meeting with a reporter: These days we all rely on technology to connect with and contact one another.  When it comes to get attention from a reporter, nothing beats some face-to-face interaction if at all possible.  If a reporter says yes to meet for lunch, breakfast or even just for coffee, soak up all the time you can get.  A face-to-face meeting will help you form a better connection with that reporter.  It does guarantee you the coverage, but it surely increases your odds.  

Looking for more tips on getting a reporter's attention?  Feel free to comment below or contact us. 

Preparing Your PR Team for 2013

We are a franchise public relations firm that never stops planning.  2013 may already be here, but we are still strategizing, planning and preparing for this upcoming year.  We are striving to have our best year and hope that we will be able to help our clients have a successful year as well.  In order to have a great year, we need to keep planning and our franchise public relations team here at All Points PR must prepare. 2013 is just beginning, so what are you doing as a franchise public relations firm or really, a PR firm in general, to better prepare your team for 2013? Here are a few things to keep in mind to help your PR team prepare for 2013:

1- Increase your outreach efforts: Let the beginning of the year be a good time to increase your outreach efforts as a PR team.  Have your team reach out to reporters that they worked with in 2012.  Remind reporters that you still have experts that are available to add to breaking stories.  Depending on which publications your PR team typically works with it never hurts to send out a quick "Happy New Year note" and re-introduce yourself a bit, which will serve as a reminder of how you can be of service to them.  Remember, journalists get pitched to by numerous PR professionals, so you have to do your part as a PR team to stick out in their minds and increasing your outreach efforts could help you and your team do just that.

2- Spend more time researching: Let your PR team know how vital researching is when it comes to PR.  Have your team make a list of all the publications that are of interest and review their editorial calendars for 2013.  Create a master calendar for all of the publications you selected so that you don't miss any of the important dates or topics.  This master calendar will help you and your team stay ahead of schedule and know when dates are coming up so that you can pitch in advance.

3- Do some training drills: Preparing for a crisis is just a part of the PR game, so help your team get prepared for 2013 by doing some practice crisis drills.  Give them a crisis scenario and have them act out how they would go about solving the crisis.  If their solutions are less than desirable, let them know what you would do to better address the situation.  Training drills are another great way to strengthen your team for 2013.

4- Check out associations: Is your franchise PR firm looking to land a client or two in a specific industry?  Have your PR team review the target list of your potential clients and have them take a look at the associations in which they participate in.  This gives your a team a great way to get their foot in the door and learn more about the client's industry.

5- Review your contacts: Have your team go through all of their contacts and do some updates.  All of your PR team members probably have long lists of reporters in their contacts, so go through their contact information first and verify that it is correct.  Reporters have a tendency to change their role quite often by moving to a new beat or even working for a different publication.  You could have your team go through each publication's website and review their staff list to ensure you have the correct contact information.  Reviewing contacts will ensure that you have the right information so that when you go to pitch a story you'll be pitching it to the right reporter.

Looking for more tips on preparing your PR team for 2013?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.

Tips for Your Social Media Strategy in 2013

Are you looking for a little extra power for your 2013 social media strategy?  As a franchise public relations firm and as social media consultants we are ready for the new year, are you?  We’ve got a few great ideas we’re willing to divulge to get your social media wheels spinning, here they are:

1- Check out new blogs: If you have been reading the same blogs for the past few years why not try out a few new blogs.  If you're a franchise owner, start reading industry related blogs just to see what else is out there.  New blogs may give you new ideas or new places to connect with others in your field.  

2- Utilize new social media pages:  As a franchise public relations firm and as social media consultants, we cannot stress the importance of social media enough.  If you have been solely using Facebook for your franchise or business, why not consider branching out and utilizing a few new social media pages for 2013.  Open a Pinterest account or try out Google+.  All social media pages are not created equal.  Each one has its own style and benefits, so your best bet is to open up a few new pages to try them all out and see which ones you like best and start using frequently.  

3- Forge social connections:  In a world where consumers are very unlikely to believe the advertisements they see on television and online, you must find another way, as a company or franchise, to break through all the ads.  Consumers may not take very well to ads, but they do take well to what their friends and family members have to say about companies, products and services.  Use that to your advantage.  Forge more social connections in 2013 and gain consumer trust in a personal way rather than through sticking up a bunch of ads.  

4- Rely on pictures:  When it comes to social media remember that your audience is motivated by pictures.  Consumers today would rather see pictures than read, perhaps it's because we are always busy or on the go, but either way, strive to give consumers information in the way they wish to receive it in.  Doing so will help you reap the biggest benefits out of your social media.  Rely on powerful pictures to capture your social media audience's attention in 2013.

5- Consider all devices:  Consumers get their information from a variety of different devices and 2013 will only make this ring more true. Captivate your consumers where you know they get their information from the most.  Create a mobile strategy to ensure that your consumers can access your website from your social media pages regardless of whether they are on their computer, tablet or smart phone.

As a franchise public relations firm with social media consultants, we work heavily with social media, we are always full of social media tips.  Looking for more social media tips for 2013?  Feel free to leave us a comment below or contact us.