Shaking It Off and 3 other PR Lessons to Learn from Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is constantly in the media, usually for good reasons. Within the last couple weeks, she has been all over magazines, talk shows, etc. discussing and promoting her latest album, 1989.

This past week, she faced off with popular music streaming site, Spotify. Spotify fired shots at T-Swift about taking her sweet time getting the new album on Spotify; in response to this jab, Taylor removed all of her music from the site.

Taylor certainly is not afraid to defend herself and be who she is. It is definitely admirable. Here are 3 things to learn from Taylor Swift that we can apply to franchise PR. 

Shake it off. The hit single from 1989 has taught us something special. You have to shake it off. You have to be you and do what you know is best for your company and your consumers. There will be those out there that disagree but the reality is that you can't and won't s
atisfy everyone. You also have to acknowledge what people are saying about your business so you can deal with it in the best way possible.

Know who your audience is. Taylor is known for her songs about heartbreak and you know what? They are always hits! Why? Because T-Swifts primary audience is between 13-26 and that is a prime age range for people to go through breakups & heartache. They can relate to her songs with words they could not come up with but Taylor did. Granted, not every person in her audience has had the fortune of dating a heartthrob celebrity but you take what you can.

Have a theme. With each album, Taylor has a theme that carries through each song, video, and image. With 1989, she has images look like Polaroids with handwritten messages. It gives a certain tweak to the messages that she sings about. When it comes to your business, have themes for franchise public relations campaigns, ad campaigns, social media, etc. Themes give a certain cohesiveness that is not achievable via random efforts.

Show your audience they are loved and appreciated. Taylor obviously cannot respond to each tweet and comment on Instagram but she does respond when she can. When Taylor is able to respond, you can see her responses are genuine and meant for that person, not like it is generated by some auto-responder. When it comes to your business, do things that show consumers that they are fully-known and fully-appreciated. It will definitely get you some PR results.

Whether you are a Taylor Swift fan or not, you can't deny her ability to be who she is and succeed at being an entertainer.

Does your business need promotional success like Taylor? Then chat with All Points PR and see how we can get you to be known!

PR Tips: Doing Public Relations in Real-Time

Did you know that athletes, firemen/policemen, pilots, stock traders, and franchise public relations professionals all have something in common? It might be hard to figure out…unless you read the title. That's right, they all have to act in real-time!

Until the last few years, when social media in business really took off, public relations was not a profession that would be included in the list where every second counts a franchise PR professional, you have to respond to breaking news within 24 hours.
nd reactions to be made instantly. When you look back at the days when the newspaper was the prime source of news for people, decisions and reactions had to be made prior to the deadline; today, as a

The concept of real-time communications is amazing. We are able to engage with our audiences instantly, without delay; part of this is accomplished via social media. We scroll through our newsfeeds and networks to understand what is going on in the world and hear/see what people are saying. This really helps with "newsjacking"-- being able to put your own spin on a breaking story to get attention from the media and generate interest and business.

News no longer takes hours or even days to break, it can take a mere minute, maybe two. Response to these stories requires great speed and agility. This is just one of many reasons why public relations in 2014 is much different than public relations of the past.

Does your business need a franchise PR agency that is able to react in real-time? Do you need a PR agency that is able to recognize a good opportunity for you the moment they see it? Then contact All Points PR, we are a Chicago PR agency. 

What George Washington Taught Us About PR

George Washington was the 1st President of the United States, as we know; however, as a man of the battle field and politics, he gained quite a bit of wisdom. Now, he didn't actually teach us things about franchise public relations but he did have quotes that are very applicable for PR.

1. "To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." The idea of being ready for war is not only applicable for a nation and a military but also is great for business. Every business will have some sort of crisis, some are big & make the news, while others are never heard of. Regardless, every business will have one and therefore, it is wise to be ready for it, whatever the crisis may be. Having a crisis communications plan in place is essential for a business; if you do not have one, the time you need one will be too late. 
2. "It is better to be alone than in bad company." Being the 1st POTUS ever, George Washington had the huge task of defining the role of the office; this meant that he had a large reason to be careful in public. People were likely excited about what the President was doing at all times because he was the first. He understood that the people you keep around you will be a direct representation of the person you are. Brands in today's world recognize this too, especially when they look at their social media presence. 
3. "Truth will ultimately prevail where there is [sic] pains to bring it to light."One of the roles of franchise PR is to protect the image of a company or person. Images and reputations can be damaged by false accusations from other companies or individuals (defamation, libel, slander, etc). This can tie into a crisis communications plan as well. 
4. "Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all." When in the PR world, being disciplined is key; this does not necessarily mean being dull and legalistic, it means being focused and not compromising on what you believe to be true. It can be easy to fall to "shady" behaviors, especially if they are lucrative, such as bribes and such. Also, PR requires good creativity and persuasion, one must be disciplined to succeed at these. 

Look around, there are PR lessons everywhere, at least our Chicago PR agency thinks so. If your business is looking for a PR agency to help it grow and protect it, then contact All Points PR. 

NFL PR Dept Enduring Nightmares

The bad news is relentless for the NFL in the past few weeks. It all started with Ray Rice getting caught for domestic abuse and then several other NFL players, including the all-star running back, Adrian Peterson. Aside from the domestic abuse cases, some players are being charged with felony assault. Certainly, this has been quite a difficult period for the franchise public relations dept. of the NFL.

The nation's most popular league has suffered many franchise PR blows; the league has been under a lot of pressure from the public, media, and law to discipline the players who have been caught. So which players have been caught of wrongdoing?

Adrian Peterson. One of the best players in the NFL was accused of child abuse in Texas. The Minnesota Vikings player has not been suspended.

Greg Hardy. The defensive star for the Carolina Panthers has had many legal troubles. He has been convicted of misdemeanor assault charges for allegedly threatening to kill his then-girlfriend.

Jonathan Dwyer. The Arizona Cardinals running back has allegedly assaulted a woman and her child. He has been deactivated from the team.

Ray Rice. We have all likely heard about this one. The Baltimore Rav
ens RB knocked out his then-fiancee, now wife, in a NJ casino elevator. He has been released by the Ravens and indefinitely suspended by the league.

Ray McDonald. The San Fran. 49ers defensive tackle was arrested due to accusations of felony class domestic violence. The league's new rule states this results in a 6 game ban, unpaid.

Quincy Enunwa. A member of the NY Jets' practice squad was arrested for assaulting a women in a hotel.

So, as we can see, the NFL has quite the crisis communications situation in its hands at the moment. One possibly positive move they recently made was hiring a woman as the league's Chief Marketing Officer.

Certainly, the NFL did not see this coming, however, they likely had a PR plan in place. Does your company need help putting together a plan in case of a crisis? Maybe updating that plan? Contact All Points PR, a Chicago PR agency, to get your company prepared for any potential issues. A crisis will happen and you must be prepared for it. We can help.

5 Tips For How to Deal With Media as a Business

When you have a start-up company, you don't have much time for things like PR and dealing with the media. This means that when there is a complaint or something else to be resolved and the media knocks on your door, you're on your own and don't know what to do.

One of the worst things to do is say, "No comment" since this is often interpreted as a confession that you're guilty; however, you don't want to give anything away. This is a great reason to hire a franchise PR agency, however, if you insist on defending yourself, then here are five tips to help you.

1. Remain composed & factual- Don't try to be the funny man here, be professional about it. Humor can help relax tension, if you do it wrong, then it backfires. They are there to make some news so if your joke fails, then that's fuel for the fire. Don't make things up or manipulate facts and be calm while you do it. A reporter will fact check and find out when you lie and they can tell when you're nervous. Even if you have to fake confidence, that is a big help in crisis communications. 
2. What you say will be published. Don't say anything that you don't want to be published and (probably) used against you. When it comes to talking off the record, some reporters do not oblige by that rule and will publish anything you say (remember, these are not legally binding terms and there'd be no proof it was said, anyway). Any information you spill to them, they are legally allowed to publish in the story. Consult with a franchise PR firm to get tips about what to say. 
3. It's likely you're being recorded. Some states require that both parties have knowledge of the recording but up to 33 of the states do not require that; this means that only one person has to know. Often times, that one person is the reporter. 
4. Get information. If there is something going on, then you need to remember to ask questions and get information as well. If the reporter comes to you, then you'll want to have information in your back pocket as well. You can also request a day or two to respond to all the questions you were asked so you can give great responses. 
5. Squash the news. A good job of franchise public relations is to deal with the problem so well that the problem is gone, not just covered up. Sometimes this means giving something away; if you sell furniture and someone has a complaint about a chair, would it be the worst thing to give them a free chair to replace the other one? This would kill the complaint and squash any story for the reporter. 

Now, the best solution would be to hire a franchise PR firm, especially a Chicago PR agency but if you must defend yourself, then at least be equipped. If you have any questions or would like to talk to us about services, then contact All Points PR.