In addition to exposure generated by articles, PR delivers a number of benefits:

• Better search results. Positive exposure in the media expands keyword search results. After a year of solid media relations, one of our clients went from page 18 on Google to page 1.
• A shorter sales cycle. Greater awareness of your company can significantly shorter a sales cycle and make prospecting easier.
• Material for content marketing. Good articles make terrific content for blogs, social media and other channels.
• Exposure to analysts and conference coordinators. Being quoted frequently in articles and contributing byline articles raises the exposure of both companies and executives. This is especially important in industries that are covered by analysts and for companies wanting to score speaking invitations.
• A history for awards applications. Most business awards ask about thought leadership. PR gives executives a bank of articles that can demonstrate this.
• A ticket to future article opportunities. Executives who can deliver a good interview and meet a reporter’s deadline, will make it to a short list of trusted sources. This in turn leads to even more media opportunities.

Finally, don’t get discouraged if an interview doesn’t amount to anything. Chances are the reporter will use your comments at some time.

Recently, a client did a strong interview with a high profile reporter for a national publication and he was anxious to see the results. Time went by and the reporter never wrote about the topic. Finally, nearly a year after the interview took place, our client was featured in a story written by the reporter.

Our answer: PR programs that fail usually do so because of a lack of information from the client.

Most companies hire us to build brand awareness and help drive sales leads, which is something we’ve been doing successfully for many clients. There’s no magic behind what we do: we succeed mainly because of hard work, a good understanding of how to build trust with reporters, and the ability to package good stories based on information we receive from our clients.

And not necessarily in that order.

In many ways, we are information brokers. Our ability to succeed depends on a good flow of company and product information, customer use-cases and executive thought leadership. If information dries up, the program will fail, regardless of how hard we work.

We have regular meetings with clients to learn what’s new and to discuss strategies for using the information, but often it’s the off-the-cuff remarks that result in some of the best coverage.

For example, a client mentioned during a call that she was headed to California because she had the opportunity to land on an aircraft carrier and spend the night on the vessel. What?! We got really excited about this and told her to get a good photo of herself on the ship.

When she returned, we discussed what she learned and how it applied to her business. Within a week, we secured a byline article for her on this topic in her local business weekly.

So when a client says he’s not sure how much information he should give us, we always respond, “More is better!”

Here’s how to develop a use-case that will stand out:

• Begin the use-case with a summary or background that gets right to the point. This should be one paragraph that succinctly states the problem the customer faced and the specific benefit of working with your company. Use metrics such as money saved, time saved, sales increases, etc.
• State the challenge. Next comes a description of the customer and the challenge he faced. Be specific about what the customer’s life was like before he hired your company or bought your product. Use metrics to illustrate the challenge: how many people were needed, how much time it took, what it cost.
• Describe the solution. Now’s the time to discuss how your company was able to solve the challenge. What did you do that’s different? Why did your solution work? What product features contributed to the customer’s success? Compare the challenge metrics to what what you accomplished.
• Finish strong. The final step of a great case study is the outcome. Provide a “before and after” contrast. Use detailed metrics to paint a picture of how much easier, cost effective, efficient or successful your customer was because of you and your company.

Finally, make sure the customer approves the use case before you share it with anyone.

The trick is finding a customer with a good story who is willing to tell it to the media.

Here are some ways to entice your customers to tell their stories:

• Ask them! When you make a sale or finish a project, email the customer and ask what they liked about working with you and what you could do differently next time.
• Put a sign-up form on your webpage. Let customers go to a specific success page where they complete a form and tell you about their triumphs.
• Use a survey. If you distribute an e-newsletter, embed a short survey designed to elicit comments.
• Get social. If you have a Facebook site or use Twitter, ask your customers what they are doing that is new, unusual or successful.
• Run a contest. Ask customers to send in their best story. If you use the story for marketing purposes, the customer will receive a gift card.

The skills needed to succeed today include much more than writing and critical thinking. Here’s what we look for in good candidates:

Curiosity. Someone who asks “why” or “what’s new” tends to uncover more and better information that will help get our clients ink.

Quick thinking. It’s important to be able to think on your feet and have the rhetorical skills to back it up when calling reporters and dealing with clients.

Vision. The difference between a good PR person and a fantastic one is vision. Being aware of trends and how they can impact clients is a valuable trait.

Flexibility. The PR industry is constantly changing. Being able to keep up with changes  and to move from one client to another is important.

Knowledge of how news works. There’s no better experience for a PR person than having worked for the media. Knowing how reporters think and what’s important to them will make you more successful as a PR practitioner.

Ethics. There’s no substitute for a good moral compass. PR practitioners rely on their reputation with both the media and clients to be successful, so knowing what’s right and having the gumption to do it will make you a trusted resource and partner.

Like seasonal allergies, these pesky awards applications seem to come on strong in March and April. As much as we’d like to just ignore them and get back to regular business, there are some compelling reasons why awards are far more valuable than the trophy that comes with them.

Awards help drive sales. The third-party credibility that comes with receiving an award can drive sales leads to your company and also can help reduce the sales cycle. This is because the award serves as an endorsement.

Awards help with recruitment. Everyone wants to work for a strong and innovative company. Awards show prospective employees that your company is financially strong and going places.

Awards open doors. Winning an award can result in speaking invitations, interview requests and a seat at the table for larger deals.

Awards help you see opportunities. Filling out an award application provides a rare opportunity to slow down and evaluate your business. Areas that are being ignored or where your company is weak tend to show up, giving you an opportunity to address them.

Now that marketers are engaging social media, the next question is how to measure its success. Most companies measure their success based on how many followers or “likes” they have. However, there are better ways to measure ROI.

As with any marketing tactic, social media must be measured based on how it advances the company’s marketing goals. These goals can be things like increased sales, brand awareness or customer engagement.

Here are some ways you can measure the effectiveness of your social media program:

Fan engagement. Look at engagement metrics, such as the number of shares, retweets, forwards, comments and other interactions. What is the sentiment of these interactions? Are interactions growing over time.

Branded content. Are followers reading your branded content? How much time do they spend with it, are they downloading it and sharing it?

Track sales. Use data analytics to determine how prospects are coming to your company. Look at prospect behavior before they enter the sales funnel. Did they download a white paper, attend a webinar, interact on social media channels?

How do you track the success of your social media program?

Clarus is tasked with increasing brand awareness for Right On Interactive and helping to drive sales leads through public relations.

“Right On Interactive is unique in the marketing automation space because we help companies build customer engagement throughout the lifecycle of every customer and prospect,” said Troy Burk, founder and CEO of Right On Interactive. “Clarus Communications will help us educate marketers about our holistic view of customers, build our brand awareness and drive leads through public relations.”

“It’s exciting for us to work with a company like Right On Interactive, which is doing something unique in an established industry,” said Mara Conklin, president of Clarus Communications. “Being able to articulate the difference is crucial, so messaging is an important component of our public relations program. Since Right On Interactive is a high growth company, we are anxious to use public relations to help fuel the company’s growth.”

About Clarus Communications

Clarus Communications is an independent, business-to-business (B2B), public relations firm that specializes in delivering measurable results and driving revenue for companies. Clarus Communications’ programs create sales opportunities for clients by helping them focus their message, engage with more prospects and strengthen existing customer relationships. Clarus has offices in Chicago, Philadelphia and Bentonville, Ark. More information is available at www.teamclarus.com, on Twitter @TeamClarus or Facebook www.facebook.com/ClarusPR.

About Right On Interactive

Right On Interactive is a customer lifecycle marketing automation software company that helps organizations win, keep and grow business. Right On Interactive’s solution drives prospect and customer engagement throughout the entire lifecycle of an individual’s or organization’s relationship with a brand. Right On Interactive serves clients of all sizes in various industries, with a focus on the technology, finance and retail sectors. Founded in 2006, Right On Interactive is privately held and is headquartered in Indianapolis. For more information, visit www.rightoninteractive.com or follow on Twitter, @roi_marketing.

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This classic bait-and-switch happens frequently when the agency VP or president is highly engaged during the pitch phase and then contributes very little in the running of the account.

In today’s business world, hiring experienced people is even more important. Here’s a few instances in which experience counts:

• In message development.
• In social media posts and interactions.
• When talking with your customers.
• When representing your company with reporters.
• During strategy sessions.
• When measuring what’s important.

More thoughts about How to select an agency.

Right On Interactive (www.rightoninteractive.com) offers a customer lifecycle marketing software solution that helps organizations win, keep and grow customers. Yes, “win, keep and grow” is an integral part of their messaging platform.

We were thrilled to see so much of the messaging language on their new website.