In today’s digital age, influencer marketing has emerged as a game-changer for PR professionals aiming to enhance brand visibility and connect with their target audiences. Discover the immense potential of influencer influence in PR campaigns and unlock its true power with these effective strategies.
Understanding the Impact of Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is now a vital component of successful PR strategies, owing to the evolving media landscape. Consumers increasingly rely on influencers they trust, favoring their recommendations over traditional ads. By partnering with influencers, PR campaigns gain authenticity and credibility, leading to improved brand perception and increased conversions.
Identifying the Right Influencers
Selecting the perfect influencers is the cornerstone of a winning influencer marketing campaign. PR professionals must conduct thorough research, considering factors like niche relevance, audience demographics, engagement rates, and alignment with the brand’s values. Often, micro-influencers with highly engaged audiences yield better results than macro-influencers with broader but less targeted followings.
Crafting Authentic Collaborations
Authenticity is key to successful influencer partnerships. Genuine connections between influencers and brands resonate more effectively with audiences. PR professionals should encourage influencers to experience the brand firsthand and allow them creative freedom to communicate their experiences in a way that connects deeply with their followers.
Integrating Influencers into PR Campaigns
Seamlessly integrating influencers into PR campaigns requires thoughtful planning. Consider involving influencers in product launches, event coverage, or cause-driven initiatives. This way, influencers become essential in extending the campaign’s reach and generating buzz among their followers.
Leveraging Multiple Platforms
Influencers have a powerful presence across various social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and blogs. To maximize impact, a successful influencer marketing campaign should leverage multiple platforms, reaching diverse audiences and delivering a cohesive brand message. Tailor content for each platform to ensure it feels native and relevant.
Measuring and Analyzing Impact
Measuring the impact of influencer marketing is vital to gauging campaign success. Keep track of key performance metrics, including reach, engagement, website traffic, and conversion rates. Additionally, perform sentiment analysis to gain insights into how the influencer’s content is perceived by the audience.
Maintaining Long-term Relationships
Nurturing long-term relationships with influencers yields substantial benefits for brands. Consistent engagement beyond one-off campaigns fosters loyalty and commitment, resulting in increased authenticity and stronger brand advocacy.
Influencer marketing has revolutionized PR, presenting unparalleled opportunities to amplify brand messages and forge meaningful connections with audiences. By understanding the profound impact of influencers, selecting the right collaborators, crafting authentic campaigns, and measuring results, PR professionals can harness the full potential of influencer marketing and achieve remarkable success in their PR campaigns.
Need further education on this topic? Check out Jelly Academy.
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In the digital news era, media relations and media training have a profound impact beyond their role in navigating the media landscape; they serve as powerful tools for promoting inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility within society. By leveraging media relations to empower minority voices, we can create a more representative and inclusive media environment. Here are four compelling reasons why media relations and media training are crucial for amplifying minority voices and fostering a more inclusive society:
- Shaping Accurate Narratives: Through media relations, minority voices can take control of their own narratives and craft compelling stories that authentically reflect their experiences and challenges. This empowers them to challenge stereotypes and fosters greater understanding and empathy.
- Driving Social Change: Media relations empowers minority voices to advocate for social change and address systemic issues that affect their communities. By strategically utilizing media platforms, they can mobilize support, raise awareness, and influence public opinion.
- Promoting Cultural Understanding: Media relations facilitates the sharing of diverse perspectives and experiences, encouraging cross-cultural dialogue and understanding. This creates an environment where individuals from different backgrounds can connect and build bridges of empathy.
- Overcoming Underrepresentation: Media training equips individuals from marginalized communities with the necessary skills and confidence to effectively engage with the media. This ensures that their perspectives are heard, challenging the historical underrepresentation of minority voices in the media.
By recognizing the pivotal role of media relations in promoting inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility, we can empower minority voices to share their stories, challenge stereotypes, and advocate for positive change. Elevating media relations skills and providing quality training to empower minority voices is a vital step toward building a more equitable and harmonious society for all.
Default to trust. Most people’s natural inclination is to default to mistrust and demand their people prove their worth. Trust that you hired the right person for the right job, with the right talent and values, and that this professional will do their job (better even!) even if you’re not there to oversee them.
Match your words and actions. We all know that not doing what we say we will do is one of the fastest ways to erode trust, in any situation. Follow through with meaningful actions and behaviours that align with your words and show you mean what you say.
Be vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to try new things, allow your people to take risks, or to have difficult conversations. Vulnerability is critical to effective, open communication and, if you live this value, you, your team and your business will reap the benefits.
Keep an open door (and an open heart) policy. Have an open door policy and follow through with it but also have an “open heart” policy. By this I mean listening to understand and not jumping immediately to solution mode. When you listen to understand, you learn how to empathize with and motivate your team, and effectively address any challenges or conflicts.
Role-model the behaviour you want to see. Don’t be a leader who believes the “rules” don’t apply to them or that you’re too senior or too experienced to work alongside your team, supporting their strategy and tactical work when necessary. Be sure to follow the same stipulations, policies or procedures you set for your team.
This is how it’s done.
A conversation I had the other day caused me to start ruminating again on allyship, what that looks like, and how important it is to continue to move toward diverse representation of BIPOC voices in our local communities and beyond.
“Paint done,” as Brene Brown has said, is a phrase I’ve kept with me for years. One that helps me visualize the end state, and then the long-term goals and the tactics to reach that. We have a long way to go before we reach any kind of end state in terms of equitable representation in the communications and marketing field, and beyond. And if we’re honest, there will always be more to be done.
But if we visualize that end state, what that looks like, and each take personal responsibility and appropriate action to get there, we can guarantee we will leave this world, and our industry, in a better place than we left it.
So what is allyship? In a nutshell, it’s creating spaces for marginalized peoples to be heard. But that doesn’t do it justice. It’s also helping to ensure those voices are listened to. To be a good ally, I know I need to listen to understand, act on what I learn, and step aside to give those a platform to share their own stories and lived experiences. And then, when appropriate, amplify those voices of marginalized groups. It requires vulnerability, commitment to action, and a humble approach.
BIPOC individuals are grossly underrepresented in communications and marketing. The majority of professional communicators specifically are white women. As one, I have the privilege and space that I can leverage to help raise up others so more of their stories are heard.
A recent study called “Visible & Vocal,” undertaken by People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing (POCAM), states:
“More than 80 per cent of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour working in the advertising and marketing industries have experienced microaggression in the workplace, and 30 per cent have reported negative mental health impacts from workplace experiences. These are just some of many disturbing findings of a recent survey on the impact of racism in Canada’s creative industries.”
We need to do better, and we need to be better allies.
Ben Borne and I, in part, founded SymmetryPR, a majority-Indigenous owned business, to help do just that – help to lift up Indigenous and other BIPOC voices. We call on others to advocate for BIPOC individuals in the workplace and support their career journeys in the creative industries so that we can become stronger together – as peers and colleagues – and as communities.
One specific way we’re able to contribute is through our expertise in media relations. Being powerful storytellers with the inside know-how of how to amplify those stories is an incredible skill set and a rewarding aspect of the work we’re privileged to do.
So I challenge you to look at your values, your preconceived notions, and opportunities for actions you can take to become a great ally and to help create more inclusive, diverse and responsible communities.
The learning never stops.
I was shoulder-tapped in 2017 to join the Board of IABC Saskatoon. This isn’t unlike many of my acquaintances who have volunteered on this Board and others. While this was the impetus for my volunteer journey with IABC, there were a number of reasons why I decided to give my time.
For me it had nothing to do with beefing up my resume but I was definitely in it for the networking. And my pals convincing me delivered a strong argument, focusing on the community found with this professional network of volunteers and the leadership experience that could come locally and at other levels of the organization.
And I may have been wooed with the promise of social events… and wine..
Aside from the desire to give back to our community and IABC, which had provided significant value to me throughout my career, there are a number of benefits to joining a chapter board.
Advance the profession. Contribute to local, regional, national and even global efforts to foster trust in and demonstrate the value of professional communicators. Collectively, we work together to elevate professional communicators to be recognised as strategic advisors. One of the most rewarding opportunities for me was to judge IABC’s Silver Leaf and Gold Quill Awards.
Develop your skill set. Take the opportunity to try something new and expand your areas of specialty, or hone your existing skill set! We encourage others to try new things and, bonus, if you pursue the Board leadership track (VP-> Prez-> Past Prez), there are many great PD opportunities sponsored by the regions.
Maintain certification. If you have obtained your CMP or SCMP certification, acting as a Board Director for IABC counts as 10 points toward your certification maintenance! And the commitment can be as little as 6 hours per month (including Board meetings). Easy peasy right?
Help steer the ship. In my early years as a member of IABC, I recognized an opportunity to help the local chapter provide more value for members. This was a big reason I agreed to participate – to contribute to the chapter’s direction. Here’s your chance to help shape IABC’s strategic plan and offerings that will provide the most value to you as a member, and to others.
Belong to a tight-knit community. The biggest selling point for me to continue volunteering with IABC was being part of the IABC fold. Through various conferences, collaborations and professional development events solely for Board members, I’ve expanded my professional network significantly – but more than that, I’ve made a lot of new acquaintances and dear friends – and I’ve had a lot of fun.
Of course, before embarking on any new opportunity, you should ask yourself – what am I looking to get out of this and how can I contribute?
Click here to apply for IABC Saskatoon’s current Board opportunities.
This nerd loves an excuse to talk about concise writing and lives for proofreading. So I’d be remiss not to celebrate National Proofreading Day (March 8) with tips for clean and concise copy.
I like editing and proofreading others’ work, more than I enjoy writing if I’m honest. Let me start again. I like to edit and proofread others’ work…
There’s a lesson tucked in there. 🙂
Use infinitive verbs over longer forms when possible. Change present participles or, in the case above, gerunds (“editing” and “proofreading”) to the infinitive form of the verb (“to …”) for a shorter, cleaner sentence.
Write in the active voice. You may have noticed I began my initial sentences with their subjects, using subject + verb + object. This construction makes your writing less wordy, easier to read, and creates stronger statements. Of course, the passive voice has its place but should be used sparingly and only in appropriate contexts (see what I did there?). To spot the passive voice, look at the main verb of your sentence for a form of “be” (am, is, are, was, were) and a past tense verb (often ending in -en or -ed).
Omit unnecessary conjunctions, qualifiers and modifiers. Did anyone catch the missing “that” in “You may have noticed I…” as opposed to “You may have noticed that I…” The word “that” in this context is superfluous. Scratch non-essential “that”s to streamline your writing. Also watch for qualifiers and modifiers already present or implied (qualifiers add more information to adjectives and modifiers to adverbs, respectively).
Example: I took all possible eventualities into account before deciding to move.
Revised: I took all eventualities into account before deciding to move.
An eventuality is in its definition “a possible outcome,” so using “possible” in this sentence is completely unnecessary (as is “completely” here ;)).
Limit use of prepositional phrases. Heavy use of prepositional phrases (those beginning with “in,” “over,” “through,” “for”…), for what reason one would do this I do not know, can make sentences unclear, awkward, and longer than needed. “For what reason…” is one of these. Spot this by circling prepositions in your writing to see if you can omit prepositional phrases or replace them with a single word without losing your meaning.
Replace phrases with a single word. I find these most often in formal writing:
“For what reason” → why
“Based on the fact that” → because
“In the event that” → if or should
“For the purpose of” → can often be replaced with an infinitive verb (“to…”)
“In order to” → to
“It is necessary that” → must or should
“At the present time” → now
I could go on. If you find replacing such phrases with single words challenging (or any of these tips), consult your favourite style guide for assistance. Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is an oldie but still a goldie (thank you first-year English professor and all-around brilliant human, Susan McDonald, who taught me a TON and is the grammar queen).
Change negatives to affirmatives. When you express ideas in negative form, readers need to work harder to decipher your meaning (and you’ll use more words). Unless you’re using a negative construction strategically to create more impact, stick to the positive.
Example: If you do not have the minimum buy-in required, do not show up to play if you have not already spoken to the game host. Revised: Those with the minimum buy-in required can show up to play without speaking to the game host.
Omit redundancies. While I’ve addressed this somewhat, there are some common redundant phrases I feel I should call out here: each and every, first and foremost, true and accurate, etc. Let’s just pick one or the other eh?
Now, I realize my hook was National Proofreading Day and not “write more concisely” day, so here are my pro tips for error-free copy.
Proofread backwards, letter by letter, sentence by sentence. Always proofread on paper. Read your content at least once aloud. And of course, do not rely on spelling and grammar checkers to do the work for you. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? P.S. If you want to learn to use proofreading symbols for more efficient editing, get in touch! I’m happy to share.
Should you require professional editing or proofreading services, contact me. I’ve edited academic papers, MBA theses, corporate annual reports, draft non-fiction books, website and social media copy – essentially anything you may be looking to produce for public consumption. Happy proofing!
It’s a lesson I learned very early on in my career, as a green producer cutting my chops in television news – words matter. Nuances of words matter. The placement, prominence and delivery of your words matter.
As February was IABC’s Ethics Month, I started to ponder the ethical implications of editorial decisions, and the shared ethics and responsibilities of journalists and communications practitioners.
The gravity of our editorial decisions was a frequent discussion between myself and my co-producer in the newsroom. Building a show… determining the news of the day… the angle… the lead. It’s a tremendous responsibility when the information you communicate, how you communicate it and the order in which you communicate it impacts how those consuming the news perceive any given story and the gravity of that story.
It was something that weighed on me as I navigated my career through various producer roles before leaving journalism for public relations.
These same considerations apply to communication professionals in their day-to-day work, though they may not have the same stage and prominence as a news program.
Recently, working with a non-profit client, this discussion came up in light of many of the negatively framed campaigns they’ve witnessed targeted at the individuals they serve. We were tasked with creating an impactful campaign with positive language that doesn’t do further harm toward stigmatizing the people affected.
Similar to journalists, as communications professionals and leaders, we have a responsibility to take the utmost care with what we put out in the public realm. In line with the Canadian Association of Journalists Ethical Guidelines and IABC Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators, communicators and journalists alike must:
Be truthful and accurate. We communicate facts and immediately and transparently correct any mistakes or misinformation.
Do what we say we will. Just as journalists must keep promises to sources, we must do the same with those we serve. This includes not over-promising on what we can deliver.
Give credit where credit is due. We always cite our sources and give appropriate credit to others’ contributions.
Respect diversity. We listen to, respect and strive to include other viewpoints in our stories that are representative of diverse values and perspectives, and are sensitive to cultural differences and beliefs.
Avoid conflicts of interest. Unless we can get express consent from all parties involved, we avoid situations where there are competing interests.
Ultimately, we must be accountable to those we serve, just as journalists are accountable to the public. This includes holding ourselves and others to account when missteps are made (and they inevitably will be). What we do when missteps happen, will help to set us apart and foster trust for the profession.
When in doubt on any question of ethics – consult the full IABC Code of Ethics or digest the many resources they put together for Ethics Month here.
In our last two blogs, Ben and then our good friend Roland Pajares, approached discussions around data in different ways – first its importance as a foundation for strategic decision making and then how one can go about collecting such data and testing ideas and messages to achieve the most impact.
Given today is Data Privacy Day (January 28), we determined it prudent to also talk about the ever-important topic of data privacy and management, with a specific focus on that sometimes headache-inducing Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). Despite the fact it’s been in place for many years, I frequently still receive communications I did not sign up for and, with COVID and a heavier reliance on digital technologies, this should be top of mind for organizations doing email marketing.
I had a colleague, in the not too distant past, who argued tooth and nail against the procedures I was enforcing to ensure we complied with CASL. Their thought was that forcing customers to opt in to email marketing would mean less reach among potential customers, less marketing wins for their portfolio and, ultimately less revenue for the organization.
They were right on one point. We’d be reaching a much narrower audience. And my response was, “good.” By recording express consent (hint: pre-checked boxes are not express consent), we were in a position to learn what our contacts were truly interested in, be able to really segment our audiences and impact consumer behaviour. Having multiple areas of interest stated on the form that opt-inners can check or not may also help identify new marketing opportunities and refine even further how you target specific content to specific groups.
By only sending tailored content to groups who have signed up to receive it, you’re going to improve your click-through and conversion rates. That actually translates to more marketing wins through very precise and targeted email marketing. It also translates to higher quality data and collecting more reliable information on different audiences’ interests in topics.
Of course, critical to having this improve your data quality is the data management aspect. It’s important to invest resources in omitting duplicates in your CRM system and in keeping contact information up to date. Duplicates and outdated data often lead to compliance issues as well as headaches for end-users. And that could mean huge repercussions as fines for CASL violations for organizations can be up to $10 million per infraction. While these fines are complaint-driven, that’s not a risk as a business owner I’d be willing to gamble on.
Focus on complete, accurate, single records, and it will support making your CRM work for you and help to strengthen your business outcomes.
Not sure where to begin? Reach out to us with your email marketing or CASL questions. We can help!