How Hurricane Harvey Could Have Damaged This Website
by MGB2B
While they have changed it as of late, the image above was the lead message on the Walter P Moore website a few days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Walter P Moore is an engineering firm headquartered right in Houston. When you click on the slide, it takes you to a blog post from May about building structures that are resilient in the face of hurricane season. Which was all well and good in May.
On September 1, however, it was a little alarming to see this image without a community outreach message accompanying it. Other Houston companies like ConocoPhillips and Amegy Bank had this type of message of encouragement within a few days after the storm hit.
To be fair, Walter P Moore seems to have (rightly) placed more importance on getting into the trenches and helping out the city right away than they did on their website. It was encouraging to see a new lead slide when I returned to their website.
What We Should Have Seen on the Website Right Away:
Branding after disasters – whether natural or manmade – can be precarious. (Some are downright tasteless.) But there are a few guidelines you can follow. Doing so can ensure your business is regarded as a caring, socially responsible member of the community.
Here’s a Quick Guide to Website Updates after a Natural Disaster:
- Have a Contingency Plan. Most of the time, your website won’t have any content that will offend your target audience. But when a disaster happens, that can change in a second. Make sure someone in your organization is in charge of reviewing dynamic site content regularly. This comes in particularly handy after natural disasters or major world events. This person should know your brand and business well and have direct access to your website so they can make edits. The key is to have an alternate person in charge in case Person A is unable to update your site.
- Make Sure Your Website Can Be Managed by Your Staff. If you’re not already using a CMS (Content Management System), you might want to change that. Using one makes it easy for you to follow Rule #1. In a pinch, you’d be able to have any (trusted) colleague go online and make changes to your site.
- Don’t Use a Disaster-Response Message to Sell. When you do post something on your site responding to a hurricane, a terrorist attack, or any type of disaster, make sure your message cannot be seen in any way as selling your products or services. This may seem like common sense, but a lot of brands ignore the rule. Don’t be one of them.
- Be Sensitive to the Emotional Needs of Your Community. This should go without saying. If you can’t come up with something on your own, find a good writer to carefully craft the message you want to appear on your site. Let the community know that you are with them. This can take the form of a letter from the CEO or a simple visual that links to a blog talking about the disaster aftermath and the need for help. If it’s not your community and you want to help out, you can include a donation button on your website, so that anyone who visits can help out through your site. There are many options available.
Walter P Moore redeemed itself with both its actions and its new lead website story. Your brand can be a step ahead of the game by following the advice above. Instead of responding, just be ready for whatever might come down the pike. These days, it could very well be anything.
In the meantime, let’s send out our heartfelt support to the communities affected by both Harvey and Irma in the past few weeks. They are going to need all the help they can get.
Continue ReadingB2B Monday Myth: All I Need Is a Press Release
by MGB2B
The Myth: All I Need Is A Press Release
The Truth: The PR Landscape Has Evolved, and B2B Brands Must Evolve with It
The nature of public relations has changed. The truth is, traditional PR cannot exist on its own anymore. Your company cannot skirt by with just a press release, hoping that newspapers, television, and radio will pick up your story. Technology and the rise of digital marketing have forced both B2C and B2B brands to broaden their PR strategy. The way information is shared is different, and your business must adapt if you plan to remain relevant and get your stories out to the right people at the right time.
The Integration of Different Departments
In the past, PR would have its own separate silo. When social media first blossomed, it was largely separate from PR. Now, public relations must integrate with social media and other digital marketing efforts for more engaged customers and better results.
SEO is also an important part of public relations today. Your press releases can go much further with the right links and keywords. These tools also give you the ability to better target your prospects and track results. This way, you can find out which stories resonate most with the audiences you’re trying to reach and back your decisions with concrete data.
Increased Speed of Communication
Information today moves faster than ever. Gone are the days when drafting and distributing a press release was a multi-day process. Companies today benefit from preparing stories ahead of time and developing a cohesive strategy for distributing them through multiple channels and media.
Public relations, at its core, is still very much about building and nurturing relationships. Going the extra mile to write in a form that is easily convertible for your contact, who will (hopefully) be publishing your work, will go a long way and get your stories out faster. Let them know where they can find more information, such as on your website or social media channels to speed up the process and keep your company top of mind.
A Bigger Network of Storytellers
Today, people aren’t solely relying on national publications and TV news channels as the only important and credible source of information. With the rise of social media, there could be any number of people talking about your company. Identifying influencers in your industry, whether they’re respected bloggers, YouTube personalities, or trusted trade publications, can help you shape your stories and who you want reading them. Engage and cultivate relationships with these influencers and you could see your stories reaching their networks of dedicated followers.
Improve Relationships With Trade Publications
Print is not dead. Which is why it’s important to cultivate good relationships with trade publications for editorial preference and customized digital opportunities. Leveraging a media buy and keeping up your advertising with a specific trade publication is a great way to get better PR for your company.
As the public relations landscape continues to change, it will become more critical to stay on top of digital trends and maintain valuable connections. While B2B companies should not overlook traditional media and trade publications, you should look for ways to stay connected online and make your PR content even more shareable. Telling your brand’s story is an important part of connecting with your audience and reaching new ones.
Continue ReadingNever Mix Your Politics with Your B2B Publicity Stunt
by Vin DiGioia
Want to generate some positive PR for your biotech brand and endear yourself to the local workforce? Here’s one way not to execute a B2B publicity stunt:
Recently, here in Connecticut, a local biotech manufacturer actually decided to halt its proposed expansion plans in the state simply because – whether intentionally or not – Connecticut’s governor didn’t use their product.
As the story goes, Governor Dannel Malloy received a flu shot made by an overseas company instead of an alternate flu vaccine developed by Meriden, CT-based Protein Sciences Corp. In response to this, Protein Sciences Corp’s president Don Adams went on the record, claiming “the governor’s actions have left Protein Sciences no choice but to go to New York.” Sounds like a joke, right? It’s not. He’s serious.
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