When you think of public relations (PR), what comes to mind? Swanky parties of schmoozing and martinis? Or someone who makes phone calls to their friends to land big publicity for a business? Neither of these are what PR and integrated communications are about at their core.
Today our guest is Gini Dietrich, the author of international best-seller Spin Sucks, and the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, an integrated communications firm. She's also head of Spin Sucks Pro, and hosts the show Inside PR.
I brought her on because she is a bona fide expert on all things marketing communications; she knows more about it then most people on the planet! Today she's giving us the truth about PR, communications and what both will and won't do for a business. Listen in to hear all of that and more on this edition of Grow My Revenue.
Listen to this episode and discover:
· Why do most people think PR is about lying?
· When should you include PR in your marketing?
· What are the four components of an integrated communications model?
· What's the best way to show how great you are?
· What role does storytelling play a role in integrated communications?
· And so much more!
Episode Overview
Gini is a wealth of communications information, and today she explains the biggest mistakes people make regarding PR and communication, when you should or shouldn't start a PR strategy, why integrated communications is different than communications, and the steps you should take to properly implement this type of integrated communications in your business.
She said one of the biggest misconceptions about PR and communications that people hold to today is that PR people lie for a living! It's a myth perpetuated by stereotypes we all see in the media, from Samantha Jones on Sex and The City to movies about "spin doctors" in politics.
And one of the biggest mistakes she sees is that people believe – and they must be learning this somewhere – is that PR solves all their problems. For some reason many business owners believe that if they could just be featured on the cover of The New York Times, all their problems would be solved! They think a feature like that will help them sell out of their products, and their businesses will flourish.
When I asked her what makes communications integrated versus simply communications, she explained the four components of an integrated model. There is paid media (which is email marketing, social media advertising) and earned media (an example is being quoted in articles). The last two pieces are shared media (social media shares) and owned media. Owned media is the center of everything because without that, you don't have anything to email people or for people to share.
When working with a communications firm, you want them to include all four components, and they must also have a way to measure sales as a result of those four components. Measurement is key, and must answer questions such as: is this driving qualified leads to your site? And: what are they doing once they get there?
Before beginning to work with a firm like Gini's, there are certain indicators that show you have a need for an integrated communications strategy. With all of these you must be innovative, interesting, and offer a unique perspective; otherwise nobody cares, Gini says! Nobody wants to hear you talk about how great you are – but they will listen to your employees or customers share stories about how great you were for them.
For full show notes, please visit: http://www.ianaltman.com/podcast/gini-dietrich/
On this episode of Grow My Revenue, you'll also hear Gini share the one piece of advice she'd give everyone, and why she gave up on becoming a prima ballerina. Tune in and get ready to enjoy this edition of Grow My Revenue with Gini Dietrich and I!
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