Photo: Ekaterina Bolovtsova for Pexels
Unprecedented. Uncertain. Extraordinary. It’s safe to say you can’t scroll through your news or social media feeds without coming across at least one of these coronavirus-related buzzwords. Of course, these terms are completely justified seeing as we’re in the midst of a global health crisis of unparalleled proportions, however, it does beg the question, how do you stand out amid the coronavirus headline saturation to get your brand’s message heard?
To gain insight into how brands can lead with humanity, stay relevant, and be of service during the COVID-19 crisis, we tapped some of the leading public relations and digital marketing pros in the industry and asked them to share their #1 tip for cutting through the noise. From setting up virtual desksides with media editors to re-engaging existing customers in new ways, keep scrolling for their innovative and mindful tips—you’re going to want to write these down.
Melissa Davis
Founder & Co-Owner, Ruby Press
Experience: 19 years
The Tip: Make it relevant and solve a problem. Many of us are working from home, many of us are concerned about finances, and we are all concerned about staying healthy. While my agency represents lifestyle brands, there are many stories we can share with the media and influencers that are very relevant to the current situation.
Why It Works: While we are all keeping up with the news about the pandemic, we need some good news too. It's a balance. Those fun, light-hearted features are also important right now—but they need to be sensitive to the current state of the world. The best results we have seen from outreach over the best couple of weeks have been surrounding positive, problem-solving stories.
Benjamin Almeter
Founder & Managing Director, Dispatch
Experience: 7 years
The Tip: Lead with authenticity.
Why It Works: Speak to what's most authentic to you and your brand, that's where you'll organically resonate and find the most success in growing your community, standing out and driving conversion. Now, more than ever, we're surrounded by brands pushing product and leaning into a timely conversation where they're not always the most relevant. That's off-putting to consumers, easy to spot, and can have long term negative effects on your brand’s perception.
The Tip: Don't undervalue your existing community.
Why It Works: We're always focused on ways to engage and acquire new customers—now's the time look back and reengage your existing customers to do just that. Utilize your existing customers as a tool to share your brand’s story and introduce the product to their community. Consumers highly value the opinion of those within their direct communities.
Kamari Guthrie
Founder & CEO, Kamari Chelsea
Experience: 15 years
The Tip: If you're looking to make headlines right now, your brand has to tell a story about one of the following: novelty, altruism, practicality.
Why It Works: I use the acronym "NAP" to help people remember this, but don't be fooled by the name. You'll have to put in work.
Novelty: Is your brand saying or doing something new right now that no one has ever heard of? For example, are you offering a unique service to help women-run small businesses survive? Or, are you launching an at-home manicure kit that creates salon-perfect results right at home for half the cost? Be honest with yourself about whether your brand offers something new, unique, and essential that people need during these times. And if so, pitch it as a novel solution to the many new challenges people are having.
Altruism: Maybe you don't have something to offer that fits within your business model, but you have extra cash to donate or a robust and influential network. Mine your business for resources that you can give to those who have lost everything. For example, you can start a new campaign with your brand's influencers or extra cash to help fund and inspire those who are struggling. Then, pitch it to the media to get the word out that you're offering support.
Practicality: If your brand has a utility or a good use that can be applied to support those impacted by COVID, double down on telling stories about that thing. For example, if you're a designer and you can design masks—talk about it! Or, if you're running an accounting business, offer to write an op-ed or pitch a podcast interview, where you will provide tangible advice to companies and employees who've lost revenue and income.
Meghan Donovan
Founder, mmd communications
Experience: 13 years
The Tip: My goal is always to be a helpful resource for editors, and now is no different. I am, however, being extra sensitive in my pitches and also more cautious in follow up. There's so much more at play in the world right now than beauty and wellness, and so I think the majority of publicists are trying to be more in-tune with the stories that make the most sense given the current climate.
Why It Works: I got into PR because I value communication and relationships. Now, more than ever, we need to be resources for one another. I always tell the brands I represent that my style is not mass-pitching or trend pitching but rather I want to meet the editors where their needs are and try and tell the best stories.
This is more important than ever as—work aside—we're all human and we're all trying to manage both stress from working under new constraints but also managing our new normal in the world. I think we all feel stress and anxiety at how our lives are evolving and no one needs overly zealous or tone-deaf pitching in their inboxes. (I've seen a few horror stories circulating that exhibit that!)
Jaspre Guest
Founder & CEO, NOISE 784
Experience: 9 years
The Tip: At NOISE 784, we are focused on keeping positive momentum through this uncertain period. I believe you need to be open to shift strategies by changing the narrative. When everything changes the ability to pivot quickly is almost the surefire way to be still standing when the dust settles.
Why It Works: During this unprecedented time, consumers are craving direction. We are meeting a need. One of my mantras is to find the hole and go through it. Currently, there are a ton of holes. You just have to reframe the situation. We are highlighting how our clients' expertise can provide guidance to consumers on how to thrive despite the circumstances.
Simona Rozhko
Founder & CEO, evna media
Experience: 8 years
The Tip: My number one tip for standing out during this time involves a two-step approach. First, you have to quickly let your clients know you're aware of the climate and that things are rapidly changing (for them and for you). Setting up a dedicated call and agenda regarding the situation is crucial so that the next steps can be created to navigate together.
It's an important time to let the world know that brands are still okay, given the circumstances, and that we're in this together. There are many questions that arise week after week, so the client-publicist conversation should remain a two-way street—what changes are we experiencing in PR should the client know about? What changes is the client experiencing that PR should know about?
This leads me into the second step, which is to identify that a pivot has to be made as well as a plan to restrategize for the next TBD period of time featuring new goal-oriented programming for the client. For evna media, it was moving current and future initiatives into a digital-first protocol and making sure we could support our clients beyond PR if need be.
Some initiatives were easily applied to a digital version while others needed more definition and finesse. These initiatives included meetings, product launches, events, desksides, social media, and of course pitching-- heavily monitoring the news cycle and checking in with editors. We were able to quickly create meaningful moments with media while connecting with widespread communities and supporting our clients through this unusual adjustment.
Why It Works: Relying on digital tools and virtual workshops has worked pretty seamlessly for us because the majority of the world is checking the news, universal updates, stats, government regulations, etc. on our smartphones already. We're creating content in real-time while everyone's user-activity is surging.
On top of that, we are working from the comfort of our own homes, which creates much less physical effort for someone to attend a virtual event or make time for a digital meeting. I think there are going to be many permanent changes post-COVID-19, not only in the PR but across all industries. Some of the tools we're using now that maybe didn't have a place before—because of the forces of innovation—will carry over when we're all back in our offices.
Megan Bell
Senior Account Executive, Sharp Think
Experience: 7 years
The Tip: Be human! It’s important that we’re compassionate and socially aware during these uncertain times.
Why It Works: The current COVID-19 crisis has impacted all of us on both a personal and professional level, causing us to rethink how we’re communicating with our clients and the media. A sense of compassion for all and sharing relevant, impactful news are the driving forces for our current strategy. We’re checking in with our media contacts to see how they are holding up and asking how we can be most helpful with their editorial plans—after all, we’re all in this together!
This way, we can be sure that we’re sharing the most relevant, topical news to meet their needs. We’re providing solutions for their readers to help tackle everyday issues, from financial anxiety and coping with the changes to our everyday routines to providing a temporary escape through virtual experiences that readers can enjoy from their living rooms. We’ve seen great success in highlighting these much-needed topic areas and feel that our media contacts appreciate this approach.
With the state of the media landscape changing on a daily basis, my team has made it a priority to check-in with our clients regularly. We’ve shifted our status calls to video conferences for some much-needed face time, which allows us to have a more open and organic dialogue while strategizing. We’ve been nimble and thoughtful in providing creative recommendations for clients, with a primary focus on consumer and community needs. My team is implementing virtual experiences in lieu of in-person meetings or events, and we are crafting solution-based pitches for our product-focused brands.
Now more than ever, we need to prioritize collaboration with our client partners and journalists, as we’re all working towards a collective goal!
Beth Bassil
Co-Founder, b.good PR
Experience: 7 years
The Tip: Keeping it real. It's not about being self-serving right now and worrying if your brand is making sales or included in every single story. We are encouraging our clients to focus on rebuilding community, take this time to network and collaborate with one another.
Connecting with your network on another level. B.good PR has been hosting virtual coffee meetings where we ask for 15 minutes to meet with our media contacts to learn more about them, the work they do and to pump some fun into our days—it's not all business.
We consider our media relationships like an extended family. In exchange, we share virtual gift cards to their favorite coffee or juice shop to help support local businesses during this time. The response has been so positive—it's really nice to see we're lifting people's moods during this time.
Why It Works: Through the virtual meetings, we're able to connect on a whole other level—learning fun personal quirks about each other, too. We're able to share what our clients are doing during this time to help spread positivity and bring communities together… by keeping it real we've actually landed a lot of opportunities for clients through these meetings.
Up next: How to Adjust Your Media Strategy and Connect With Customers in a Crisis
MORE ON THE BLOG
Missed out on Gina Bianchini’s incredible session from our Offsite? No worries! We’re sharing her insights on building a thriving community that feels like a real network, not just an audience.