An Ode to AP Style

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By Molly Borchers, Sr. Communications Strategist

As an ode to Associated Press (AP) style, I thought I would write this lovely haiku:

What is red, white and…

Every journalist’s best friend?

The AP style guide

Bad haikus aside, more than two million AP Stylebooks have been published since 1977, and for good reason. AP style provides guidelines for newswriting and is the de facto standard for newspapers, magazines and other media. Originally, it was intended to offer short-form advantages to save scarce print space, such as dropping the Oxford comma (don’t hate) and using figures for all numbers above nine.

ap styleAnyone who works in a journalism related field, public relations professionals included, should be familiar with AP style. You know this already, but unless you curl up with the AP style guide every Friday night over a glass of wine, I bet you could use a refresher.

Here are the most common AP style mistakes we see in press releases:

socks in sandals

  • Capitalizing job titles after a person’s name – that’s a big no-no. AP style dictates that you only capitalize a title used before a person’s name, not after.
  • Using two spaces after punctuation (seriously, if you’re still doing this, stop immediately!)
  • State abbreviations: Did you know that California is Calif. and not CA? If not, you do now.
  • Using Oxford commas – give them the boot!
  • Percentages: To spell out, or not to spell out? According to AP style, write out “percent” in news releases, but using the % symbol is OK in financial tables.
  • While we’re on the subject, the word “okay” should be spelled as “OK.”
  • Numbers: Write out numbers one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and higher. Also, always write out numbers when they begin a sentence.
  • Time: Time should not be spelled out, except for noon and midnight. Using :00 for on-the-hour times is not necessary. Finally, use a.m. and p.m. lowercase.
  • Do not hyphenate a compound modifier when using adverbs that end in -ly, such as a beautifully-decorated cake. It’s correct to say “a beautifully decorated cake.”
  • Dates: Keep it simple – there’s no point in writing “Wednesday, May 13th 2015,” when “May 13” will do just fine.
  • Months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec., and spell out when using alone or with just a year.
  • Seasons: We don’t see much of winter or fall in San Diego, Calif. Yet, we do see seasons capitalized all too often. Although months are capitalized, seasons should not be.
  • Addresses: St., Ave. and Blvd. are abbreviated when referring to a specific address. Road, Court, Drive, Lane, Way and other forms of addresses are not abbreviated.
  • Dimensions: Spell them out. Depending on your choice of measurement, a football field is 100 yards, 300 feet or 3,600 inches long.

A Few Tricky Words

  • dictionaryToward: The car comes toward you, not towards you. You can walk forward, upward, backward and downward, but never forwards. If you’re following me, these words do not have an “s.”
  • Farther vs. Further: Farther refers to distance, while further refers to time or degree. “I walked farther in order to further my geographical studies.”
  • Email: This word recently changed spelling, but if you’re using a computer, you should know that “email” is no longer spelled “e-mail.”
  • WWW: The Internet and Web should still be capitalized.

I don’t have room in this blog post to list all the rules, but hopefully these helped you correct a few mistakes. If you want to master writing for the media, dust off your (up-to-date) AP Stylebooks for a refresh!

 

Four Press Release Best Practices

By Danielle Cobb, Communications Coordinator

Every couple of years the press release is declared dead. Yet the thousands of press releases issued over newswires each and every day are proof that its obituary hasn’t been written yet. Companies don’t need to issue press releases to get media coverage, but doing so has its benefits:press release seo

  • Establishing credibility
  • Showing business momentum
  • Search engine optimization
  • For public companies, communicating valuable information to shareholders

Press releases get a bum rap because some companies issue them to announce trivial things like new websites, minor upgrades to products, and other things that frankly, no one cares about. That said, if your company has important news to share, the press release is still the best vehicle to get the word out.

Your press release is a direct reflection of your brand. You don’t want it lining your media contacts’ trashcan, do you? Are you making press release writing mistakes that you don’t even know about?

Here are four press release best practices:

Give Your Headline Some Sizzle

I hate to say it, but most press release headlines are boring. This is your opportunity to bring the reader into your world. Don’t squander it! It’s a cutthroat world out there and the headline might be the reason someone decides to give your story a chance…or look the other way. Powerful adjectives and active verbs are a great start for eye-catching headlines.

As a rule, the headline should be simple and short so people (and search engines) don’t get lost. Clear language is essential, and avoid jargon at all costs. Make it interesting and always consider the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?).

Take the Leadinverted pyramid

It’s a best practice to write press releases in the “inverted pyramid” style. That’s why the lead is so important. It’s the first thing people see (after the headline, of course), so the most important details should come first. Also, it should be engaging enough to capture the reader’s attention.

Creativity is key here. How many times have you heard a boring, static lead that reads, “Today, company X is excited to announce…?” And that’s supposed to be enticing? Think again!

After you’ve written your standout lead, the first paragraph should cover all the bases – the 5 W’s: who, what, when, where and why.

It’s All About the Verb, Baby!

Press releases are different from an article in that you aren’t trying to paint a picture, but rather give a piece of news with all the facts. You need to be clear and concise, but also keep it interesting. A good way to do that is to use active rather than passive voice. There’s a big difference between “Molly ate the pizza” and “the pizza was eaten by Molly.” An active voice is more engaging and brings your verbs to life.

Another important element to consider is “person.” Person shows who or what does the action. Never use the second person, “you.” Always write in the third person. (i.e, “the reader,” “the buyer,” etc.)

Let Your Creativity Flow with Quotes

ideaJust because a press release provides serious facts doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with it. Every press release needs a bit of excitement, and quotes are a great way to add some color. A best practice for quotes is to limit them to two – three sentences. They should also be written more colloquially than the rest of the press release. Here is the standard format for quotes:

“This is the first sentence of my quote that should introduce the big picture idea,” said Danielle Cobb, communications coordinator, (W)right On Communications. “The second sentence validates the first sentence of the quote. The third sentence can provide supporting facts or an emotional appeal to back up the big idea from the first sentence.” Finally, keep in mind that the punctuation should always be placed inside the quotation marks.

These are just some of the guidelines we follow when drafting press releases. If you have any other best practices, give us a shout in the comments below!

 

Must-Use Strategy: Instagram Influencer Marketing

By Chris Jensen – Jr. Communications Coordinator

My colleague Erica Schlesinger shared in a recent blog post that we remember 80% of what we see, compared to 20% of what we read and 10% of what we hear. So, it makes sense that we gravitate toward photos and videos over text.

As a general rule, social media posts perform better when they’re accompanied by a visual. Visuals, like photos and videos, score more likes, follows and comments. For these reasons, more companies are steering toward Instagram as a key marketing platform.

Instagram only recently allowed advertisements in the feed, so influencer marketing has been the primary way for brands to market to consumers on the app. Instagram differs from Facebook as ads are reserved for large companies who are willing to shell out around $350,000–$1 million a month. For smaller brands that wish to reach a niche group, influencer marketing is the way to go.

Instagram-300-million
300 Million Users = Bigger than Twitter

Instagram: Best Social Network for Engagement

The true power of Instagram is the high rate of engagement and active user base of the mobile app. Studies have found that Instagram engagement rates are up to 58 times higher than that of Facebook and 120 times higher than Twitter.

Forrester analyst Nate Elliott once stated, “On six of the seven social networks, the brands we studied achieved an engagement rate of less than 0.1%. For every 1 million Facebook fans those brands had collected, each of their posts received only about 700 likes, comments, and shares. On Twitter, the ratio was about 300 interactions per 1 million followers.” Instagram is the outlier with 4.21% engagement. Although that may sound low, it’s significantly better than Facebook’s .07%.

Why Influencers Matter

Influencer marketing is all about relationships. Brands can benefit from developing relationships with popular influencers who have extensive reach and are willing to vouch for their product or service. When a tastemaker you trust recommends a product, it’s likely that you’ll listen.

In fact, when a consumer is contemplating a purchase, they look to more sources than the brand itself. A Nielsen study found that 84% of the public trusts recommendations from people they know and 68% trust consumer opinions posted online. In today’s digital age, many people treat social media the same way they would a face-to-face interaction, therefore putting trust in the individuals they follow.

Finding the Right Influencer

Most people wouldn’t trust an athlete to review a new software program, yet they will probably listen to his or her opinion on sportswear and nutrition products. Vice versa, a tech guru might not be your best bet to market a new fashion line but would be the ideal candidate to test and share a new app. It’s key to not only find an influencer with plenty of reach, but the type of reach you’re looking for.

A brand doesn’t need celebrities and athletes to promote their products; a “normal” person with a broad reach will do just fine. There are thousands of people with a variety of interests and large followings on Instagram. Targeting the right ones is the important part.

Forbes contributor Kyle Wong uses the following equation to determine how to choose an influencer:

Influence = Audience Reach (# of followers) x Brand Affinity (expertise and credibility) x Strength of Relationship with Followers

You can find influencers through hashtag research, skimming related profiles or navigating the ‘popular’ bar. Keep in mind their followers should be similar to your target demographic. If possible, reach out via email to your choice influencer. If email is not an option, a direct message on Instagram should work just fine.

Once you find the right influencer and settle on a deal, they will typically share images of the sponsored product or service with their Instagram followers. The approach is almost always organic and natural, rather than a blatant promotion. Sometimes, the product is not even mentioned.

While many companies have found this method successful, the nutritional supplement company SHREDZ stands out as a leader. SHREDZ only made $90,000 in 2012, but after partnering with a little-known fitness model, Paige Hathaway, the brand jumped to $5 million in gross revenue by the end of 2013. SHREDZ achieved these numbers with just a small team and digital promotion. At the beginning of the partnership, Hathaway had 8,000 followers; she has grown to over 1.8 million in a span of three years.

Screen Shot 2015-04-17 at 8.23.47 AM

Poler Outdoor Stuff’s Instagram is another prime example of non-invasive influencer marketing. By incorporating their backpacks and products into posts sporting the scenic and outdoorsy persona they strive for, the company successfully reaches thousands of like-minded consumers. They have teamed up with dozens of influencers, such as photographers and action sports athletes, to subtly showcase their products. With the help of these “insta-celebs,” consumers from around the globe see their products being used in the outdoors, encouraging a purchase that’s inspired by a lifestyle.

Screen Shot 2015-04-17 at 8.37.45 AM

Instagram boasts an engaging community with a wide variety of easily accessible influencers. If you’re looking to improve your social visibility and drive consumer product sales, Instagram influencer marketing can be a powerful tool.

Let us know if you would like some guidance with your own “Insta-Marketing.” (W)right On is glad to start or assist in an Instagram campaign.

 

Why PR is Becoming a Visual Game (and How to Win)

Wonka meme

Remember when you were a little kid and your parents asked you to pick out a book to read? Did you gravitate toward the one that was a sea of black-and-white letters, or the cool one with lots of colorful, eye-catching photos?

In high school geometry, which was the better textbook? The one that wrote out how to determine the surface area of a trapezoid, or the one that showed you?

Even now, are you more engaged and likely to retain information with presentations that are strictly verbal, or ones that have graphics and charts?

It’s a fact: human beings are visual creatures. As a general rule, we remember 80% of what we see, compared to 20% of what we read and a small 10% of what we hear, a New York University psychological study found.

Applying this to PR, an industry in which the main objective is to communicate positive messages about a brand or person, Wharton School of Business researchers determined that presentations based on visuals were found more compelling and convincing than those that were only verbal.

Furthermore, 67% of the audience in the study said that merging visuals with verbal aids were all the more effective. So how can we, as PR professionals, leverage these findings to the advantage of our brands?

Get Social

With the popularity of visually-driven social media networks like Pinterest and Instagram, there’s no time like the present to socialize your PR strategy.

pinterestPinterest is especially great since a pin can link directly back to a website. If you pin a PDF of your fresh press release and put some compelling preview text in the description, your audience will not only want to read that particular release, they’ll be taken to your news room, blog, etc. and likely read many more. And check out your team. And explore your website.

In an industry like hospitality, make sure to load your website and e-menu up with lots of great photos showcasing your space, food and amenities. With one click, users will be on your site and one step away from making reservations.

instaInstagram isn’t to be forgotten, though. Although it lacks the referral power Pinterest has (at least for now), it’s a great vehicle for furthering community relations efforts or raising awareness of your brand offerings.

For example, nonprofits can benefit immensely from showcasing their volunteer efforts and positive impact in real time, while a fashion line can post sneak peeks of their new collection and the behind-the-scenes design process to get fans excited to buy.

With a few well-placed hashtags, even non-fans will be in on the action. Networks like Facebook and Twitter, as well as outlets like blogs, can also add to your visual storytelling power in their own unique way.

Create a Better Press Release

Notice I say “create” rather than “write.” That’s because although words still rule in PR, the changing face of the industry requires a little something extra for maximum connectivity and traction from both consumers and media.

As mentioned last year in our piece on putting together a great press release, adding just one photo to a release will increase views by 14%. Applying elements like more photos and video continues the upward trajectory, culminating in 77% higher consumption when visual education tools like infographics comepolaroids into play.

This all depends on the industry, too. B2C brands will do well with high-quality photos of their products or properties, while B2B people may be more receptive to charts and graphs.

As with any PR effort, think about your target audience when adding visual elements to collateral like press releases.

Get Ready for Your Close-Up

If you’re not sprinkling video into your PR plan at least occasionally, you should be.husky

ComScore found that in the US alone, people watch more than a billion online videos every day. Why?

They’re dynamic, typically easy to consume and people equate them with entertainment. Video makes it simple and fun to showcase brand philosophy, spread the word on updates and give a glimpse at the human side of a company, which consumers love.

If you’re trying to rebrand a respected, but traditionally conservative corporation, try a regular feature showcasing employees doing volunteer work or shadowing them for a day on the job. If you’re a tech-savvy company, dabble in mixing up your written press releases with video ones.

Video is also a great tool for media relations. At (W)right On, we’ve had great success creating client b-roll and sending on to news stations for high-quality, late-breaking event coverage – plus, it allows you to pick and choose the footage you want to show off. And, video is a fast way to introduce people to who you are as a company, piquing the interest of potential customers, media influencers and even investors.

What other ways have you found visuals instrumental in a successful PR program? Tell us in the comments or find us on Twitter.

In Communications, the Only Constant is Change – Part 2

communcations

communcationsby Grant Wright @grant_wright

If you read my last post, you know that I like to partake in my version of crystal ball reading. In part one of this two-part post, I floated predictions of Facebook and Youtube’s dampening, social media specialists displacing all-knowing gurus and a positive trend of increasing two-way brand communications but through paid channels. In this second part, I branch past social media to communication change applications in society with three more predictions for the near future:

Social Media in the Election Process

obamaWith the increasingly obscene amount of money flowing into the election process, candidates in the 2016 race will use social media unlike any campaign we’ve seen. In 2008, President Obama began a new era of integrating social media into the political process. Some argue that his comprehensive and strategic social media campaign won him the election. He gained the support of American youth by reaching them where they are most active, and this engagement continued in the 2012 election cycle.

With recent news of the Koch brothers alone committing to spend nearly $900 million during the 2016 campaign cycle, I think the Republican Party will be readying to deploy social media to an entirely new level. Although a record setting $5.6 billion was spent by the parties combined in the 2012 election, we ain’t seen nothing yet.

As expenditures are expected to top a staggering $8 billion in the next election, it boggles the mind what this will do for the social media landscape. Oh, to go back to the simpler days of the 80s and 90s when a mere $20 million waged a Presidential campaign.

Wearable Tech

While the social media run-up will start this year to a crescendo in the next, something that will truly become mainstream this year is wearable technology. Whether it’s the Apple Watch or Fitbit, we’ll all be wearing some sort of tech device soon, even if it’s just a self-adjusting belt.

apple-watch-6_1The Apple Watch’s release date is scheduled in April and I foresee 2015 being the first year we see technology incorporated rightinto clothing fabric like Vivir apparel. There are smart socks, replacement soles and an array of “e-textiles” to come. Textiles expert Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman says, “what makes smart fabrics revolutionary is that they have the ability to do many things that traditional fabrics cannot, including communicate, transform, conduct energy and even grow.” Future high technology will literally be worn on our backs.

 Interactive Video

As Internet bandwidth continues to increase, data storage costs decrease. Smartphones and simple editing software put a movie studio in everyone’s hand. Platforms now enable free and easy video hosting. All of this will lead to the continued shift from 2D content (like this post you’re reading) to visual content, particularly video and multimedia (like the new Vlog series we’re developing at (W)right On – stay tuned!)

In the next stage, video will move from the passive state it’s in today to an interactive state through embedded code technology. amazon_droneSay you’re watching a music video and see a shirt worn by your favorite artist. Hit pause, touch the screen to order, wave your smartphone by your Apple Pay enabled TV receiver, and voilà! An Amazon drone will arrive soon thereafter bearing said shirt. With this technology in combination with others like 3-D printing, the age of access will only accelerate.

While these are just seven visions swirling in the ball, in some form or another they may already on their way to reality. Separately and combined I think they’re all positive, for where there’s change there’s opportunity, and opportunity is a constant that feeds our soul.

What do you think? Enablers of the Age of Abundance? Harbingers of humanity’s doom? Comments are always welcome!

In Communications, the Constant is Change

Extreme_Crystal_Ball

by Grant Wright @grant_wright

At (W)right On, among our Values is to ‘embrace and lead change’. We keep current with and help define new best practices in communications. For example, in 2012 I wrote of smartphones surpassing PC sales for the first time and the rise of the Virtual Web. With consumption occurring from smaller and smaller screens, this has important bearing on how we might design a Client Partners’ website, for example. Jump to the present, and as I just tweeted about Apple selling 34,000 iPhones an hour, 24 hours/day for every day of the most recent quarter, we’re well on the way to a smaller-device world.

A year ago, Molly Borchers predicted six trends headed our way: pay-for-play social media, branded journalism, wearable technology and the Internet of Things, collaborative economy, anticipatory computing and super fan marketers. I’d argue she’s six for six.

So with 2015 well underway, in this first of a two-part post here are my crystal ball thoughts on how things might unfold in 2015.

Facebook ‘Dampening’

FB thumbI almost said ‘decline’ and maybe I should. As I talked about last March, with Facebook’s algorithm now rendering organic views to about 5% of the potential audience, it’s become harder for businesses to find their way onto people’s newsfeeds. For businesses that have, say, 8,000 followers yet only 300 of them interact, it’s much less worthwhile than before to invest the needed resources for good content absent a comprehensive communication strategy. A Facebook spokesperson said, “We’re getting to a place where because more people are sharing more things, the best way to get your stuff seen if you’re a business is to pay for it.” However, I think businesses will pay-for-play of Facebook posts less and less.

This leaves non-business Facebook use, and while Facebook is a behemoth, the next generation seems less enthused about it. In his social media analysis paper, a University of Texas student sums it this way, “Facebook is something we all got into in middle school because it was cool. But now it’s seen as an awkward family dinner party we can’t really leave.”

While it may currently be the most used platform, people aren’t interacting on Facebook at the rate of other social networks. While my evidence borders on spidey sense, I think Facebook may well become a MySpace to an alternative, any alternative.

YouTube ‘Dampening’

With the proliferation of video across other platforms like Facebook that no longer require content to be hosted on Youtube, I believe the site could take a serious hit this year.

As Business Insider notes, “In November, Facebook’s share of video posts uploaded directly to Facebook Facebook-Video-Hand-Pressing-Playovertook YouTube’s videos on Facebook for the first time.” The upside of this is that Facebook video views drive more engagement than Youtube, but then more of something that could be on its way to a nothing (as we know it today) for a new generation still gives me pause.

“Social Media Expert” Goes Dodo

My third premonition is that the title, “social media expert” will disappear as the proliferation of platforms makes it increasingly difficult to be an across the board expert. Instead, we’ll begin to see specialist experts as platform use continues to fragment and businesses become even choosier as to which platforms they expend energy. Relating to this, we may also see a resurgence of businesses strengthening their owned online presence including websites and blogs as this remains the only way to truly own one’s audience.

Increased Conversations

As 2015 progresses, brands will continue to move from thinking of social media as one-way flow toward a two-conversationway flow and relationship building opportunity. And for reasons touched on earlier, the framework for this interaction will increasingly necessarily be through paid visibility. I hope when this happens that we see a more organic conversation between brands and their audience. This is beneficial for both parties, although it takes more commitment on the side of the brand to maintain a conversation.

Facebook and YouTube dampening, specialist experts and increased conversations via paid infrastructure are among the things I see in the year to unfold. Stay tuned next week for Part Two of this post in which I see three more potential trends swirling in my ball.