When working with a tech pr agency developing a communications strategy, many organizations come up with initiatives relating to product announcements, company news, scheduled media opportunities and press pitches. However, with the immediate nature of online publications, blogs, Tweets, Facebook and other social media updates, incorporating a rapid-response plan can position your organization/brand as a thought leader in front of key audiences and media targets.
Such a plan offers insights and fresh perspectives on current stories, while positioning your company as a media source for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). In addition, your comments on, say, articles and blogs will direct readers of the blog to your website and/or blog for additional insights.
Here are five key aspects to use when developing a rapid-response plan: Discover, Identify, Implement, Monitor and React.
- Discover: Seek out key publications and influencers and determine sources you should follow on a regular basis. Decide upon topics that are most relevant to your organization and look for the experts who regularly write about that topic.
- Identify: You probably have more than one person internally who commands insight into the latest trends and issues in your industry. Organizations must develop a staple of internal thought leaders that can comment upon and provide unique perspectives on a variety of topics. Compile ideas and content so that it will be easier to draft comments the moment that blogs and articles are posted.
- Implement: Implement techniques for following key blogs and trends. This can be done simply through the use of RSS Readers for blogs and email alerts (like Google Alerts) for insight into the latest stories and trends.
- Monitor: Devote time every day to monitoring articles and blogs in which your organization could contribute comments. Make sure that you determine which outlets are – and aren’t ‑ pertinent to your organization. There are more than 170 million blogs out there, according to BlogPulse. So focus upon only those that deliver impact that serves your interests.
- React: Once you identify an article you want to respond to, you must move immediately. Go to the appropriate internal resource and help them come up with the comment. The longer the delay in posting a comment, the fewer the readers that will read your perspective, and the less relevant it will become.
As one of the leading technology PR agencies, we implement this rapid-response plan to ensure that our client organizations are staying engaged with media, influencers and your customers. It’s about showcasing leadership and offering expertise – all of which adds value to your communications strategy.
Joyson Cherian is an account director at Welz & Weisel Communications.