The PAGE Every Business Website Should Include

website public relations

If you already have a stellar website or still in phase one of building it, consider adding a press page. Whether you’re a service or product-based business, every website needs a strong press section. Read on for some of the “tricks of the trade” that we give our clients to help them make a bigger impact with their press pages.

Why do you need a press page?

A website press page gives you credibility 100%.

The first thing you want a potential client or customer to think when they log onto your website is “Wow, this is impressive!" The second thing is “This business is legit and I want to work with them.” Right?! Before investing in a high ticket item, potential clients do research. You want them to think that you are a reputable and highly sought-after product or service. Whether you have rave press reviews or are often featured on TV or podcasts as an expert source, a press page helps to give you credibility.

What to include on your press page?

Up-to-date press.

Make sure to include press placements that were published within the year, not from 1989. You want to show potential clients that you are a featured product or brand on a consistent basis and that you are updating your website to reflect that.

How should your press page be formatted?

Front and Center.

OK, now that you’re convinced of how important it is to add a press page, here’s the how-to. I highly recommend that you add the logos of the top media outlets you’ve been featured on to your home page in an “as seen in” format. Here’s an example of a website we built with homepage logo placements. If they are legit publications, the logos should be front and center so that they are easily visible as you scroll through the homepage of your website. This will immediately build credibility. You can then link the logos to your main press page so they can then view the full TV segment or article feature. Be sure to include either the photo or logo on your main press page too, linking it to the actual publication.

Without a doubt, in this digital age, having a kick-ass website and press page with your most recent features should be a priority for you as a business owner. It may take an hour or two of your time to do, but it can have huge results!

If you need help building a website, press page, or getting highlighted in the media (public relations), we can help! Email us at natalie@retromedianyc.com

Tune In: PR Nation Interview on The Power of Public Relations

Our #PR campaign and media outreach for our clients Bobby Van’s Steakhouses in NYC helped push a legislative agenda, bringing hope for much needed financial relief to NYC restaurants! With new COVID guidelines and winter weather brewing, the Restaurant Act is essential for the livelihood of restaurants and employee jobs throughout New York City.

Publicist and CEO | Founder of Retro Media NYC Natalie J. Maniscalco shares how communications advocacy moved the needle in PR Nation’s latest COVID-19 case study conversation. Click below to listen in!

How to WOW a Sponsor for Your Next VIRTUAL Event

Screen Shot 2019-07-18 at 6.13.42 PM.png

When it comes to events, most can’t rely just on ticket sales to sustain the profitability of an event. You need sponsorship from brands that connect directly with the demographics of your attendees and the theme of your event. While we’re all going through uncertain times and most LIVE events have been put on hold for at least 2020, brands are still looking for unique ways to connect with their audience online.

While you begin to create your sponsorship packages to pitch to brands, keep in mind these 6 key components that will provide an unforgettable brand experience.

  1. Event Production: How unique is your VIRTUAL event? Will your attendees be able to interact with the product brand in some way?

  2. Branding: What online branding opportunities are there? Keep in mind that brands want to see their logo placed on the website, invites, on social media etc.

  3. Marketing: What is your marketing strategy that includes the brand? Do you have a newsletter campaign in place that will include the brands logo or will you send out a dedicated newsletter campaign for the brand?

  4. Advertising: Are you advertising the event on traditional media or other websites?

  5. Public Relations: Will you be doing any press outreach to local or national media and how will the brand be included? Can you use a key brand executive as a spokesperson for your event?

  6. Social Media: Have you developed a robust social media campaign that includes dedicated posts for your sponsored brands? What about including a contest with the brand?

These are all important items you can use to not only create a unique brand experience, but to also leverage the sponsorship dollars for your event. The more you can provide, the more funding you can ask for, but remember, it comes down to how many attendees and eyeballs you will reach with both your marketing and day-of event attendees, as well as the demographics of your attendees. Brands are being more specific than ever on WHO they support, so make sure that you understand who they want to target from gender, age range, ethnicity and beyond!

For more information, please contact Natalie@retromedianyc.com and follow us on Instagram at @retro.media.nyc

Consider taking one of our bluePRint courses! Learn more

6 Effective Strategies to Attract Media Coverage of Your Event

Jennifer_Lawrence_at_the_83rd_Academy_Awards.jpg

The flowers are in place, the entertainment is booked and the food is piping hot, so what's next?  Ready to take your big-time event production to a whole new level?  If you don't have the budget to hire a publicist to do the heavy lifting, here are a few effective ways to help in attracting press coverage of your next big event. 

1.  Research your local press.  Most publicists have access to a database of media outlets through services like PR Newswire, Cision or Meltwater, but when you don't have the available resources, Google is your next best friend.  Do your own research and create a list of reporters to include names, emails and phone numbers of TV producers and reporters of newspapers, websites and blogs that would be interested in your event based on your audience.  Google keywords that pertain to your event and see what publications pop up.   Be patient.  This will take some time!

2.  Snag a celebrity host.  It's no surprise that paparazzi and news reporters love the glitz and glam of Hollywood, the latest celebrity gossip, and a red carpet event, so when you're looking for some media attention for your charity or news-worthy event, wrangling in an A-List celebrity will definitely help the cause.   Of course, that's easier said than done, but it's your shortcut to press coverage and bringing much-needed attention to your event.  Some celebrities will want to be paid and some may host or attend the event because they feel a connection with the cause.  Either way, it's a great way to garner the attention of your local, and sometimes national press.  You can research publicists who represent celebrities through websites called whorepresents.com and contactanycelebrity.com.  Both websites provide contact information for publicists and are a great resource to send personalized invites to celebrities and their publicists. 

3.  Create a media alert.  This goes back to elementary school when we had to figure out the who, what, where and when of news articles!  See....you didn't think that'd come in handy!  A media alert is a SHORT outline of what your event is, who is attending, the location, time and how to RSVP as a member of the press.  Remember, members of the press will expect to get in free so put aside complimentary tickets if your event is not free for all.  Once you have a media alert, send it out to your press list 3-4 weeks in advance as a save the date, and then again once per week following up to the event with updates on who is attending.  As you get closer to the event, you should send it out 3 days prior to, the day before and then the day of.

4. Follow up, follow up, follow up.  Anyone use a phone these days?  Put on your big girl panties and dial-up ALL those reporters with a friendly hello to see if they received your media alert and gauge whether or not they will be attending.   You'll have 30 seconds to get to the point as soon as you hear a voice on the other end, so keep it short and sweet when following up with reporters...and...if you have a celebrity attending, make sure to lead off with their name. 

5. Hire a photographer and create a press release before and after your event.  Yes, you'll want to create two press releases.  One before the event, which is a longer version of the media alert (keep it to one-word document) and often includes a quote from the organizer of the event or celebrity host.  Many reporters will ask for the press release prior to attending the event.  Once the event is over and you have those glitzy celebrity photos, send out a post-release with the photos to all your contacts.

6.  Create a social media campaign.  You'll need a bit of a budget for social media so pick one or two networks to help promote before, during and after your event.  Use the network to sell tickets and create buzz around the event.  Host LIVE Facebook or Instagram stories during the event, using key hashtags, and then post fun party photos after the event to show people what they missed.  Since social media is mostly paid to play, you'll have to put some money behind each of your posts and to building a following in addition to creating fun content.

Sounds like a lot of work?  Yup!  It definitely is.  Hopefully, you've learned some tricks of our trade, but for those interested in information about our event and public relations services, please contact natalie@retromedianyc.com

 

 

   

5 Tips on How to Prepare for a Press Interview

filler-words-resized-1.jpg

Being able to properly communicate during an interview or presentation is extremely important for businesses.  First impressions matter! Sometimes, you only get one shot to make a difference or positive image in the media and just one interview can drastically change the course of your business - both positively and negatively.  

As a publicist, I always recommend that clients go through media training prior to any interviews, especially if a business owner is not naturally a good communicator.  You will learn how to best be prepared, best techniques to avoid sticky situations and overall, how to feel more comfortable in front of a reporter or TV camera.  Learning the do's and don'ts early on in the game can make all the difference!  

If you decide to take our media training course, you'll learn in more detail our top tricks of the trade: 

  1. Stick to the K.I.S.S. rule - keep it short and sweet! Prepare and practice three key talking points that you want to convey in the interview. Keep them short but informational. Think about the call to action and what you want readers/viewers to do once they see your interview. This will absolutely impact the overall effects of the interview.

  2. Always be prepared. Don't go into the interview not knowing who you will be speaking to, what they are like and what the interview is going to be about. Make sure you prepare your talking points in advance and either read past articles or watch past tv segments of the reporter you'll be interviewing with to know how they are like.

  3. Pay Attention. Stay focused on listening and answering THE question that is being asked. When we get hold of an “important” ear, we tend to want to ramble on with every little detail, but much too often the core of the story can get lost. So listen to what the reporter is answering and if appropriate, answer the question directly without giving too much information.

  4. Avoid unwanted questions. For questions, you don't want to answer, be prepared with a very simple answer and detour. For example, if being asked about a personal issue that has no relevance to what you want to talk about, you might respond by saying, "While that may be interesting too, I really want to focus on what we are doing to impact the community in a positive way."

  5. Dress to impress. Always find out in advance how you should dress for the interview. Solid colors are always best. Particularly gray or navy blue suits for men and vibrant solid colors for women. Stay away from any busy patterns. Never wear white or black as it will look very stagnant on TV.

For more information about our media training course, please contact natalie@retromedianyc.com

Top 4 Ways To Create An Authentic Personal Brand

When it comes to personal branding, there's a fine line. Too little, and you get lost in the sauce of countless others trying to grab a piece of the spotlight. Too much, and people may think you’re just bragging.

Here are the top four personal branding tips: 

1. Dedicate yourself to two or three social media networks

Pick two or three platforms to concentrate on and really establish yourself, rather than trying to be on every network possible.  One huge mistake people make is spreading themselves too thin by trying to be everywhere. They try to be on every social media platform and soon burn out because they can’t keep up. It’s a recipe for disaster.

I chose Facebook, Instagram and Twitter because they are suited for the demographic that I want to target as well as my clients.  I also have a Linked In account but that's for professional networking.

Once you have mastered these platforms, then you can consider another platform.

2.  Build solid relationships with people

Blasting self-promotional posts to a complete stranger isn’t going to work.  Remember this rule: It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.  Start building solid connections with influential people within your industry.  Creating meaningful relationships will get you a lot further than having 20,000 fans on Facebook.  Invest your time in connecting with real people, real time.  Be authentic and allow people to get to know your personality and what you're about.  Don’t try to be anyone but yourself.  Take a genuine interest in what they do and show them how you could help them and in return they will want to help you.

3. People want to do business with people, not faceless corporations

It's all about creating an experience.  Personal branding is about showing that a real person is behind a business.  Don't just be a company, be the face of your company. People want to do business with people, not corporations.  It also helps in outwitting Google’s algorithms, because think about it, How many people in your industry have the same name as you?  Aside from the famous comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, I'm pretty much in the clear.

A social media post or blog article from the founder of a company is way more powerful than a post from a company profile, so get out of your comfort zone and don't hide behind your screen.

4. Dedicate yourself to your personal branding strategy

People tend to think that building a brand happens over night.  I assure you that is not the case.  Building a social media presence takes a lot of time, some money and effort.  You really need to put aside a solid amount of time each day to your social media networks.  Connect with your fans, respond to posts, comments and create engaging content.  Connecting with the right people will definitely open doors and support your personal branding efforts. 

To sum it all up, personal branding should always be about being authentic and providing a real life experience. You want to really show your followers your dedication, authenticity and most importantly your PASSION for what you do. He was passionate about connecting with people. He loved every bit of it.

 

4 Ways to Launch a FREE Public Relations Campaign

- Natalie Maniscalco

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, finding the budget to launch a savvy public relations and marketing campaign can be a challenge; however, I cannot deny how instrumental it is in creating a successful and long-lasting business.  If you do not have the budget to hire a publicist (like moi), which can often be quite costly, I’ve put together a few effective ways you can do on your own.  But before you embark on your launch, first develop a strategy and a schedule to help manage your time.  Execution and management of a PR and marketing campaign takes time (a lot of time for that matter) and in order to do it right, you must create a plan of action.  First, think about your audience and your objectives or goals.  Write them down and specifically answer, “Who do you want to reach and what do you want to achieve?” Once you have these in place you’ll be able to smoothly dive into these four ways to promote your business on a non-existent budget.

1.  Create a news hook.  Reporters are looking for good stories with a good angle.  If you're just looking to publicize your product or business, then take out an ad, but if you're looking to provide an experience or a human element to your business, develop a story idea that your audience will want to read.  The way I explain it to clients is, you have a square, but in PR, you need to create a circle, and a triangle and all other different shapes from what appears to be in front of you.  Really think about what makes you unique.  It could even be a personal triumph on how you started your business.  For example, maybe it’s a rags to riches kind of story; a pivotal moment or struggle in your life that brought you to where you are today or you can even hook it to a specific holiday.  Think outside the box.  Once you have a news hook, you can then pitch your story to reporters and producers.

2.  Develop a nose for news.  Read the news every day and know what's going on in your industry.  Best way to find the right reporter to connect with is to google key words about your industry or business, hit "news" and search through the variety of articles that pop up and are relevant to your business.  Once you identify a reporter that covers your industry, check to see if you can find their email address.  Sometimes it's located under their names or at the bottom of the article.  If not, google them or search for them on Twitter where most journalists post their stories. You can even connect with them on LinkedIn, an excellent networking tool that will give you complete background information on the reporter.  Once you have defined your news hook, email the reporter and make sure to reference the article they've written and include why they would be interested in you as a feature story or even why you might be an excellent source for their next article.

3.  Be organized and respond quickly.  Once you've initiated a relationship with a reporter or producer of a TV show, do everything in your power to make THEIR lives easier.  Provide them with expert quotes or information that are clear and concise; check spelling and grammar.  The easier you make their job, the more often they will want to continue to work with you and with time will start contacting you directly for help, whether it's for a TV spot or to act as an expert source on a relevant news story.  These are both excellent ways to build your brand and image.

4.  Connect with celebrity publicists.  If you manufacture a particular product the fastest way to garner awareness is to get a celebrity endorsement.  More often then not, many celebrities want to be paid for their endorsements but every so often you may get lucky!  You can research publicists who represent celebrities through websites called whorepresents.com and contactanycelebrity.com.  Both website provide contact information for publicists.  You can reach out about your product and see if they are willing to accept a free sample.  Politely ask if they are willing to post a photo up on social media and if there's room for some budget, you might want to invest in a legitimate celebrity endorsement.

Get Social to Build Your Business or Brand

Hiring a PR or marketing company to help build your brand or business can be costly, but if you’re looking for free ways to get yourself out there without breaking the bank, get typing and get social!

(Of course, you can always hire us www.retromedianyc.comfor all your socially driven needs) :)

We put together some pretty good social media tips to help get you started:

· Be visual. Use pictures that your audience can associate with. This also is helpful with headshots. People like to see who they are dealing with. Show them. And tell them your story. Make it personal and warm. Draw them in.

· Create mobile friendly searches. Many more people are using their mobile devices to click on links seen in their Twitter and Facebook feed. Be sure that your website is in synch with mobile devices and applications to make the viewing of your business clear and concise.

· Be careful of how you use hashtags (#) on Twitter and Facebook. Hashtags are searching tools, in addition to identifying groups and topics. Be sure that you are using the best key words and phrases to optimize searches.

· Facebook constantly changes their rules and regulations. Be on top of the changes, and be strategic on how you use Facebook.

· Encourage customers to “Google” your information, instead of typing in the direct website. This will increase SEO (search engine optimization) and increase your online rankings.

· Stay focused on content. Keep the message and branding on point. Avoid unnecessary wording so that you capture your audience quickly, and can draw them in.

· Try to always think as if you are the consumer. How much time are you going to spend reading a post? A few seconds? A few minutes? Be creative, but again, on point with your messaging. And use tiny URL’s. This helps keep the word or character count down, and is easy on the eyes and fingers to click upon.

· Don’t be afraid to interact or work with bloggers. Many people follow bloggers and trust their opinions and feedback. Treat bloggers as you would any other media outlet, such as a magazine or newspaper.

This all may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but start with one social media network and work your way through the rest.  Before you know it, you’ll be generating business leads, followers and fans!

HOW TO GET ALONG WITH AN INTOLERABLE BOSS OR COLLEAGUE

Have you ever worked with someone you just couldn’t get along with?  Or had a boss that was simply, intolerable?  Yup, me too!  The workplace can often be a highly competitive environment and with that, comes a clash of varying personalities.  However, we’ve all learned as a kid (or hopefully that is) that it takes a team to win a game, so the professional thing to do is, put all bad feelings aside and learn to work together to better serve the company or organization. 

So, how can we make this happen and understand the personalities of our colleagues better? We found this test called, The MBTI, or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which is used to pinpoint your personality based on how you like to look at things and how you make decisions.  If you can recognize your personality tendencies, you can then recognize those of your coworkers or even your boss, and hopefully understand how to foster better relationships with them.

Here’s how it works:  There are four different categories within the MBTI, which are: extroversion versus introversion, sensing versus intuition, thinking versus feeling, and judging versus perceiving.

Extraverted people tend to focus on the outer world of people and things, while introverted people tend to focus on the inner world of ideas and impressions.

Sensing individuals tend to concentrate on the present, focusing on concrete information. Intuitive people focus on the future, looking toward patterns and possibilities.

Thinking personalities tend to base their decisions primarily on logic. They use objective analysis of cause and effect in making decisions. People who score higher on feeling tend to make decisions using values; they use subjective evaluation, focusing on person-centered concerns.

Individuals who scored higher on judging tend to prefer a planned and organized approach to life; they like to have things settled before moving on to another issue. Perceiving people tend to have a flexible or spontaneous approach to life; they prefer to have their options open. 

Use these descriptions and consult the MBTI to identify some varying personalities you see on the job and hopefully, it helps you to work along with some of your most uncompromising of colleagues. 

3 Things I Learned from Dr. Seuss

Industry News:  While keeping up with the daily news and articles in the public relations and social media industry, we pulled out a fun  article on how to be true to your social media postings and image.  We can all think back with fond memories of reading Dr. Seuss books, but who knew we’d learn a lesson or two from him as an adult!

Written by Pam Moore for PRDaily.com, check out “15 Social Media Tips from Dr. Seuss”

The older I get, the more I realize how smart my mother and Dr. Seuss are.

Dr. Seuss may have some crazy rhymes and guys drawn in his books, but if you look at the core of his thoughts and words, the man was brilliant. He can even teach us some nice lessons in regards to social media.

1. “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”

Authenticity and transparency in social media are the “green” in the green eggs and ham. I like realness, Sam I am! Don’t be a different person offline than you are on Twitter and Facebook.

2. “Be who you are and say what you feel because those that matter don’t mind, and those that mind don’t matter!”

Stop worrying about what everyone thinks of you. Build your plan, work it and get out there. Yes, you will need to manage your brand, reputation and online image, but make it real.

3. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

Did you get laid off or fired from the corporate world, or did you just plain quit? If you’re out of a job, quit crying. It’s a blessing. Get on with your life and build a new one in your own way.

To read all 15 tips, click here for the full article on PRDaily.com http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/14065.aspx

How To Avoid Speaking TOO Much During An Interview

For every interview we coordinate for our clients, whether it’s for a LIVE in-studio TV segment, phone interview or TAPED segment, we make sure to fully prepare them so that they feel 100% comfortable and ready to offer straightforward answers.  However, some folks may get a bit tongue tied or lose focus on what they really want to say.  Sure, you can blame it on the journalist’s (who we always “try” to prepare as well) lack of preparation or weird phrasing of a question or simply, our client did not prepare him/herself!  But whatever the case may be, we recommend that you stick to the K.I.S.S. rule - keep it short and sweet!  Always prepare but never memorize 3 KEY talking points and stay focused on listening and answering THE question that is being asked.  When we get hold of an “important” ear, we tend to want to ramble on with EVERYTHING and ANYTHING the project has to do with, but much too often the core of the story can get lost. 

We found this great article on PRDaily.com for a How To for publicists but we also thought this was great advice for clients or anyone who is under pressure in an interview.  

To read more visit:http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/14075.aspx#

And for more info on media training services, please contact us at www.retromedianyc.com or natalie@retromedianyc.com 

K.I.S.S.

10 Things Smart Entrepreneurs Never Leave Home Without

We were quoted in an article of 10 Things Smart Entrepreneurs Never Leave Home Without in today's Business News Daily based off a list of 8 conventional and unconventional things we pooled together.  Click the link to read the full article on Business News Daily and peruse our list for some extra tips!

1. Business Cards.  You never know whom you are going to meet and what opportunities may come your way. In those chance encounters, you’ll need to whip out your card and give it to a potential client.

2. Your phone & charger. You’re lost without your phone so don’t leave it behind at any time and always double check that you have it in your hand or bag before jumping out of a cab.  Being that most phones don’t last a whole working day, always bring your phone charger for a quick reboot.

3. Something to read.  Sure, if you have an iPad or iPhone with you, you’ll have a plethora of things to read from the internet, but sometimes you need a good book in hand for recreational reading while waiting in between meetings, on the subway or in a cab.  It also shows that you’re not stuck in constant work mode, but that you are well rounded and well read.  Just don’t pick something like 50 Shades of Grey to carry along - nothing like soft porn to kill your image!  

4. Gum. Mints. Toothbrush.  Pitching your business in person is your best form of advertising, but nothing kills the moment than having bad breath.  Be sure to have fresh breath during networking events or meetings.  

5. Lipstick.  This is something I learned from my mother.  Ladies, if nothing else, always wear lipstick.  It will brighten your face and you can even dab a little on your cheeks for blush.  First impressions do matter in business and it’s important to always put your best face first!

6. Dress to impress.  Zuckerburg may be able to get away with wearing Adidas sandals and pajama pants, but let’s face it; we’re just not there yet.  Show off your own personal style and dress the part.  It does make a difference. 

7. Water.  Keep hydrated by carrying around a bottle of water.  It keeps your mind clear and will help you to stay focused.   

8. Gym clothes.  It’s important to keep yourself healthy as a business owner because we all know that taking sick days just don’t happen.  If you’re sick, you don’t get paid so it’s important to keep yourself in shape and to care about your overall well-being.  It improves your level of production, memory, energy and confidence!  Before you head out for the day, pack a bag for the gym so that you’ll be sure to swing by for a workout before, during or after your work day.  

Top 10 Reasons To Hire A Publicist

Public relations and marketing are one of the most important aspects of any business and can essentially make or break your brand.  However, some small businesses don’t take in account the cost and sometimes the value of hiring a good publicist.  Here’s 10 reasons why you should hire a publicist:

1. Determine what stories are really pitches, press releases, or none of the above, as well as what’s news and what’s not.


2. Identify the right media outlet, producer or reporter to pitch and secure a story.


3. Communicate and connect with reporters as well as influencers in a way that will create long-term relationships.


4. Identify and create campaigns that will really make an impact and drive awareness to clients, while knowing what works and what does not.


5. Come up with ways to decline requests that aren’t right for clients without burning bridges or sending up red flags. 


6. Find or create the real story inside the company, not just the sales pitch, but find the news hook that will really peak interest with the media.


7. Teach executives and clients how to engage with media in order to really tell their story, not just “sell” what you do.  We also make you look handsome and pretty too :)


8. Multi-task like you’ve never seen before, juggle quick deadlines and not miss a single beat. #gijanestyle


9. Offer 10 different ways to repackage a single piece of content that will translate into an event, social media, or PR campaign


10. Create opportunities and collaborations between clients, media and other companies that will further the impact and awareness of the client 

For more information and a pr quote, please contact natalie@retromedianyc.com