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. 

9 Ways to Up Your Business Social Media Game

When you are running a business, it is pertinent that you are on social media. It is a great franchise PR tool that is pretty easy to do and can help you gain some popularity. Now, your social media may not bring in a lot of sales, if any; however, social media can help with your customer service and build brand loyalty because you can instantly converse with people in minutes.

So, you have your business listed on the major social media platforms… now what? Merely posting at random times, posting random things, doing random everything will not garner the followers you deserve nor get you anywhere good. Be intentional on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, etc. Have a strategy.

Here are 9 tips for creating a good social media plan:

1. Have a voice and personality on social media that people want to be around. It's better for people to see that the brand is human and that your brand social media is not run by an automated robot. It is much more authentic and people love connecting with brands. If people can enjoy seeing your brand's social media posts and want to share them with others, that's awesome. 
2. Make your team visible. You probably don't have anyone in your company named "admin" or "Rep" so why list them as that on social media? Part of making your brand human on social media is to feature the humans behind the brand! It's good to occasionally post photos that are "behind the scenes" and say the names of your team (maybe just do first names). As a franchise PR agency, we often share photos of the team on our Facebook page and will mention the name(s) of those in the photo. 
3. Know your customers/followers. Know what makes them tick, what interests them, etc. You want to post content that they find interesting. If your followers are mostly stay-at-home moms, then posting content about plumbing or how to write a perfect expense report will probably not interest them too much. 
4. Listen. Invest in learning and listening about industry and what your followers have to say. Do that a lot. 
5. Avoid constantly promoting yourself like a press release. While promoting your business on social media is great, constantly doing so will get tiresome with your followers. Instead, try to post things that are meaningful and will tell a story, people love connecting with stories. Give information that people can use, like tips. Oh, look what we're doing! 
6. Be conversational. You don't sit down with another human and just say things randomly and don't actually engage in conversation, do you? Like sit in Starbucks and randomly say, "We're having a sale! Then they reply, "A sale for what?" *silence* 5 minutes later, "Don't forget to come to the sale!" "A sale for what???" *silence*…. No, you converse, so do that on social media too. Don't spam either. 
7. Give credit. If you find something awesome online that you know your followers will like and want to share it, awesome. Just remember to mention who created that work. 
8. Be careful with the hashtags. This is a biggie since so many social media platforms allow hashtags now. You don't want #every #single #word #to #be #hashtagged. That was annoying, right? Well, the optimal hashtag per post is 2 or 3 so don't do more than that. 
9. Look at the real metrics. You might have a lot of followers and likes but if you don't get engagement, follow-up, or lead generation, is your social media actually working? You might need to change strategy. 

Social media can be difficult if you don't know what you're doing. If you need help with that, then contact All Points PR, we are a Chicago PR agency.