TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

1 Why PR is All About Content

2 How Industrial PR is Different

3 How to Measure PR Effectiveness

How to Pitch Your Company to the

4 Media

5 How to Prepare for Media

Interviews
 Introduction
We’re sharing a quarter century’s worth of public relations
secrets!

Since 1993, our firm has represented business-to-business manufacturers and

given them the recognition they deserve. Today, manufacturers are living,
breathing and selling in a digital world. If you’ve read our page on 
inbound marketing, you already know why manufacturers need to devote their
time and talents to inbound marketing.
However, manufacturers shouldn’t discredit the power of traditional publicity
tactics; as well as advertising and trade show marketing. In this eBook, learning
our tips to improve your public relations efforts and how they marry perfectly with
digital marketing to increase lead generation and customer acquisition.
-The Felber PR & Marketing Team
 Chapter One
Why PR is All About
Content
 PR is NOT Advertising
The distinct difference between printed and placed content

“That press release does not read like an article.” Or “We’ve placed ads so why
doesn't the editor call me back?” These are two of those most common phrases
we hear from owners of manufacturing companies.  To be blunt, Advertising is
NOT PR!

Let’s explore three key definitions to explain how advertising is not PR focused on
business-to-business manufacturers.

Advertising = the paid placement of a message. Simple, right? Today, this can
include ads in printed trade magazines, newsletters and show guides. Digitally, we
can see online ads, pay-per-click, website banners and so forth. Also included are
trade show banners, floor graphics, event sponsorship displays, etc. You get the
picture.

Public relations = nonpaid, editorial coverage. The result of professional PR

tactics is often seen as case studies, news briefs, company feature articles, and
‘how-to’ pieces in industrial trade journals.

Advertorial = The paid placement of articles, often appearing similar to editorial

(with/without an accompanying print advertisement.) If it sounds too good to be
true, perhaps it is - Terry Bradshaw did not seek out your US manufacture for a
free video expose. The fees are usually $15-30,000! That said, there is a place for
advertorial. We view this as paid advertising just in a different format. Bottom line,
if the intended audience (buyer persona), sees your message, takes action and
becomes a converted lead, that’s the goal. Yes, the budgeted return on investment
has to be in line with the expected number of converted leads.

Want to explore the options in your marketing and advertising plans? Check out
this “out of this world” case study from Fabrisonic
that explores using direct mail to create media relations and engage reporters to
write editorial features.
 Content is King
How to develop the right content for the right context

Business people are consistently bombarded with the idea have to “publish
content” in order to be successful in the digital business space. Manufacturers
blog, post, tweet, and even develop infographics and compelling visuals.
Producing a high volume of content is what will take you to the lead generation
promise land! However, that is not exactly true. Content without context is just
unfocused blathering. The right message, to the right person, and at the right time
IS effective. Check out  
Why Developing Buyer Personas is Invaluable for Manufacturers for insight on
how to determine what content is best for your ideal customers.

It is essential not to only have digital branding on your website and social channels
but also partake in industrial public relations to ensure you manufacturing firm is
presenting the best image, brand, and culture of a manufacturing company via
trusted publications.
Developing Content From a Sales
Perspective
Creating a public relations strategy with lead generation
in mind
Focused, well-written and highly useful stories attract prospects and customers
alike. When you are in  a one-on-one meeting with a prospect, you have the
opportunity to educate them about your company and how you are different than
the competition. When you end your meeting, no matter how well it went, you
still have only reached one targeted prospect. If your same message, for example,
the case story you relayed to your prospect, is now seen by 25,000, then wow,
that’s market penetration. Lead generation happens naturally when the reader
sees the solution to their problem in the story.

PR has always been about targeting a message to the correct prospect (e.g. reader,
viewer), delivering the message via a trusted third party medium (e.g. printed
industry magazine, website), and at the correct time (e.g. prior to a trade
conference, around an important milestone). Remember the “right person?”
Publications are written for and consumed by a very specific audience.

With your freshly documented prospect persona in hand, research industry

publications with the same readership persona and deliver useful content they
really want. Whether your material is a how-to video, a well--researched white
paper or simply an infographic that takes a complicated procedure and clarifies
the message, that’s PR content.

This bears repeating, focused, well-written and highly useful stories attract
prospects and customers alike.
 Chapter Two
How Industrial PR is
Different
 Industrial PR
The differentiator between industrial PR and business to
consumer PR

When most folks hear the term publicity or “PR” for short, they often think crisis.
Oftentimes, images of the White House press room and swarms of aggressive
microphone wielding reporters asking outrageous questions is what people
envision hearing those terms. However, industrial media relations cannot be
farther from this scenario (unless you embezzle, blow up your factory or really do
something your mother told you not to do).

Daily and weekly newspapers cover news differently than industrial trade
publications. Their space as well as time is limited, hence they may just cover a
topic briefly, focusing just on the main news items in a story. In business-to-
business manufacturing, like other industries, there are countless trade
publication and associations reporting on the news and advancements in your
field.

Some of the key differences from daily or weekly news publications include:

• Articles are more technical

• Story development may take months, not hours
• Reporters want to be partners not adversaries
• They love case studies
• Stories are pure journalism, not pay to play articles
 Industrial PR
The ‘why’ behind PR for manufacturers
As you can see, the opportunities for engagement are multifaceted. Want to learn
how to do this yourself at a trade show? Check out part one and part two of How
to Attain Media Interviews at Trade Show. Also this case study
Media Appointments That Are Out of This World – Case Study, Fabrisonic LLC.

Why bother collaborating with media to tell your story? Think about how many
sales call, and  one-on-one meetings you have with prospects. You are probably
telling your brand’s story countless times every week.. When you tell your story
to the media, they may choose to publish it and share it with their entire
circulation of  20,000, 50,000, or 100,000 readers who trust them. Having a third
party, like an industry publication, share your story proves to your prospect that
you do what you say and are an expert in your industry.
 
Often times, manufacturers are daunted by talking to the media and making sure
they say the ‘right things’. Yes, engaging media is a learned skill. Just remember
most editors and reporters are people too! Tell them how your process is better,
stronger, different more effective. Tell them about your amazing case studies
(better yet, let your customers sing your praises.)

Learn how to determine which content you should right in order to drive lead
generation and sales: Why
a Biannual Content Audit is Essential for Sales Effectiveness

Also check out:

Why Manufacturers Still Need Traditional PR & Marketing in a Digital World
Photo Credit: 3Dprint.comn

Helpful Tip:

If you are consistently writing great content, include industry

media on your blog email list. An editor from 3Dprint.com read
our client Fabrisonic’s blog and share the story in their
publication.

Now, the story will have even more readers. ROB PLEASE
INSERT EXAMPLE OF # OF READERS IN CIRCULATION
 Crisis PR Planning
The finishing touches for a great interview and article
Often times, manufacturers have a PR strategy to promote their latest project or
increase brand awareness. However, most manufacturers don’t have a PR strategy
for crisis situations. Business crisis today comes in many different forms and levels
of severity. Examples of potential crises at manufacturing companies include
hazardous materials spill, fire or industrial accident or a product recall, sexual
harassment claim or disruption of your supply chain. It is essential that
manufacturers prepare now or suffer the consequences.  

How to Start Your Crisis Planning Process

Assembling your team and appointing roles is the first step to crisis planning.
Besides owners and officers, consider the legal, accounting, and human resource
roles that should be included in the process.

Once the team is in place, establish a communications chain of command. Who is

the spokesperson for the company? You chosen spokesperson should consider
your varied audience. You may have more interested parties than initially thought.
Besides local and industry-specific media, consider government officials and local
safety forces. What about employees and their families? Prospects, customers,
investors and even competitors. Everyone has an interest in how a crisis may
affect them as individuals.
 Crisis PR Planning
Continued…
Next, prepare, prepare, prepare. We cannot say enough about preparation.
Besides pre-planning as many scenarios as you can consider, there is also the
matter of being media trained. Consider using professionals, often PR crisis
experts and former media executives, as trainers. They have seen it countless
times and undoubtedly can recall those crises that were poorly managed.

Routinely Evaluate Your Plan

Practice and update your plan. Table top exercise complete with recording of mock
interviews work especially well. Just in sales, the first time you say something
shouldn't be in front of a reporter or an editor.

Preparation also means having visuals, graphs, videos, and charts at the ready. You
want to convey your message, not the message left unsaid or in a vacuum. The
wrong message  will certainly be filled by the media should you not provide
accurate, well-formatted and timely information. And, should you not have access
to your computer, server or even your office, make sure to store all plans in the
cloud and other locations (such as your attorney’s or PR team’s office).
 Chapter Three
How to Measure PR
Effectiveness
 What Should I Measure?
Determining how to measure PR effectiveness
Defining  what to measure must first start with a goal. If your ultimate goal is
impacting revenue growth, you must quantify those goals. If your goal is to repair
or minimize impact to the company's reputation as a result of a crisis, that may be
a completely different measurement. You may already have the tools to measure
goals. With reputation, perhaps you routinely survey your customers on
satisfaction. Reviewing the data during and after a crisis can provide insight into
just how effective your were at managing the company’s reputation. This article is
not about goal setting but be SMART about your goals. The SMART acronym
stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and lastly the Timeline.
 What Should I Measure?
Determining how to measure PR effectiveness
If revenue and sales are your objectives, tracking every step of the sales process is
critical. Many times, manufacturers are trying to measure their sales efforts.
Perhaps they are using an excel spreadsheet or a CRM to track interactions with
prospects but many times, they do not know which tactics really made the
difference and allowed them to close that sale.  When working with a new client,
we tell them to consider the stages of their pipeline and how the deals are moved
through the pipeline.

The question all manufacturers should be asking themselves is “can we measure

the sales behavior, tactics and activities that impact the outcome?” If the answer
is “no”, then there is room for improvement. Having this data available, often on a
live day-to-day, week-to-week dashboard, provides the critical information to
answer the CEO or Sales Manager’s question, “How are we looking this quarter?”
Wouldn't you love to have the chart and data that answers that question
immediately?
How to Know Your PR Efforts Are
Working
Combining PR & Digital Marketing for Ultimate Success
A key component of measurement of your newly established goals is having a
system in place to track the data. For sales, deal pipelines, and sales team
behavior, we love HubSpot. Prospect and customer behavior is tracked as well in
one streamlined system and provides an “under-the-hood” view of how the entire
process is (or isn’t) working. While manufacturers often separate PR and inbound
marketing efforts from one another, the two tactics marry well together.

The inbound methodology is composed of four stages: attract, convert, engage,

and delight. Inbound businesses use the methodology to build trust, credibility,
and momentum. It’s about adding value at every stage in your customer's buying
journey.

Public relations aids in the first step of the inbound marketing process: attracting
people to your brand. Adopters of inbound marketing utilize an inbound
marketing platform (we recommend HubSpot),  to track prospect and customer
behavior throughout your various marketing efforts, including social media, email
marketing, and website.

An inbound marketing platform also does a great job of measuring referral traffic
from specific websites like the publications featuring your business. And, your
sales team will be thrilled at the great job your CRM will do at defining who those
individuals are once they visit your website.
Helpful Tip:

Having your story featured in a reputable industry

publication attracts more prospects to your brand.
Then, by utilizing inbound marketing and lead
nurturing tactics, you can build a relationship with
those new prospects and turn them into customers.
 Chapter Four

How to Pitch Your

Company to Media
How to Attain Media Interviews
Use Tradeshows As Your Catalyst
Many manufacturers find tremendous value attending and exhibiting at trade
conferences. Bringing an industry together in one location creates a constructive
environment for building relationships with new prospects, and strengthening
bonds with existing customers and suppliers. However, not enough
manufacturers are using tradeshows to improve their media relations and PR
strategy.

Benefiting from being featured by your industry trade publications can often lead
to a steady stream of new inquiries from qualified prospects. The more features
on a regular basis, the more a company’s reputation is boosted and the stronger
the sales pipeline.

So, why do so many companies fail to engage with the media at tradeshows?

Today’s media has adapted and now, the reach and format is beyond print.
Publications utilize videos, Infographics, webinars, surveys, blogs, and more to give
their readers the most value for their subscription. Often the editorial calendar
dictates when and if your topic is featured. PR can be a short cycle, such as a show
daily feature the afternoon you speak to an editor, or even a year later. Remember
it’s the media’s timeline, not yours.
How to Pitch Media to Interview You
at Your Booth
Trade shows, especially industrial shows, are the perfect place to begin building a
relationship with editors and reporters that cover your industry. Follow the
steps (and bonus hints) below and you will soon see your company featured.
Remember, editorial coverage means thousands of eye balls on your article which
will bring them to your website and ultimately, capture their information in 
lead conversion.

Part One: setting the stage for media relationship success

Pre-game: Before you begin, have the end in mind. Think about your prospect and
what you want them to know about your company. Align the right media
publication(s) with both their readers (your prospects) and their editorial direction
or coverage. Then, have something to say. Have press materials, photos, charts,
infographics at the ready should they be interested.

Obtain the media list from the show organizers. Show organizers may have last
year’s list but what you really want is the current and registered media. These are
the folks already credentialed and confirmed they are attending. You may have to
ask for several updates to this list, as media may registered up to the last minute.
You may have to do some research, securing email addresses and mail address as
this is often not provided.
Simple Steps to Pitch Successfully
Our 4-Step Method

Trade shows, especially industrial shows, are the perfect place to begin building a
relationship with editors and reporters that cover your industry. Follow the
steps (and bonus hints) below and you will soon see your company featured.
Remember, editorial coverage means thousands of eye balls on your article which
will bring them to your website and ultimately, capture their information in 
lead conversion.

Setting the stage for media relationship success

Pre-game: Before you begin, have the end in mind. Think about your prospect and
what you want them to know about your company. Align the right media
publication(s) with both their readers (your prospects) and their editorial direction
or coverage. Then, have something to say. Have press materials, photos, charts,
infographics at the ready should they be interested.

Step one: Obtain the media list from the show organizers. Show organizers may
have last year’s list but what you really want is the current and registered media.
These are the folks already credentialed and confirmed they are attending. You
may have to ask for several updates to this list, as media may registered up to the
last minute. You may have to do some research, securing email addresses and mail
address as this is often not provided.
Simple Steps to Pitch Successfully
Continued…

Step two: Peak the media’s interest. Mail something ahead of time with both
information about the company and a request to meet while at the show. We
actually create a schedule and book set times for meetings. 90-100% of the media
appointments booked are honored with on-time interviews (So, have your experts
in your booth!). Here’s a cool dimensional promotion we sent prior to a rapid
prototyping conference for our client www.fabrisonic.com

Step three: Make the call! Yes, pick up the phone and actually speak to the editor.
Tell them why it is worth their time to meet your company and employee experts.
Have your top three message points and your schedule for interviews at the ready.
Often, they will pick a time right on the phone.

Step four: So, you were given unlimited access to their voicemail. Don’t fret. Send
a detailed follow up email referencing your succinct voicemail, again with your
reasons to meet. We often use the words ‘media’ and ‘the trade show name’ in
the subject to get their attention.
Photo: Dimensional campaign we sent to media prior to RAPID
2016.

Helpful Tip:
Sending media a themed dimensional mailer is a
great way to cut through the clutter. The example
above with ‘red hots’ is to promote client
Fabrisonic’s work with heat exchangers and
encouraged media to book appointments at the
booth for the upcoming show. Fabrisonic booked
8 media appointments resulting in 5 editorial
features as a result of this campaign.
 Chapter Five

How to Prepare for

Media Interviews
How to Prep for Your Media Interview

You’ve scheduled your media appointment at the booth.

Now what?
Want to take advantage of this opportunity to impact lead generation and revenue
growth?

They like you, they really like you. So, you have a reporter or editor interested in
speaking with you about your work and company. Perhaps he/she responded to a
press release, met you at a trade conference or your agency arranged the
conversation. Preparing for the interview and obtaining just the right coverage
is critical. In this article, we will discuss the strategy you should take for nailing
media interviews.

Note, in this article, we are talking about a typical media interview NOT a crisis
situation or the dreaded “ambush” interview with a reporter shoving a
microphone in your face. How to handle a crisis or “ambush” interview will be
discussed in a future article.

For your typical interview, you should have a strategy for these five steps:

1) Know their audience

2) Research the reporter and their history

3) Have your facts straight, 4) know your desired outcome

5) Have your art ready.

How to Prep for Media Interviews
Simple steps for a pain-free interview
First, are you familiar with the publication? You need to know who they consider
their audience and if there is a fit with the content you hope to convey. Research
their website, peruse past issues, and look at their media kit. The editorial
calendar is of particular interest. These are the “big rock” issues they will be
covering editorially. If you can align with a proposed topic, you will be doing
yourself and the reporter a huge service.

Second, get to know the reporter. Read articles they have written. Pay attention
to tone, depth of technical expertise and look for any bias the reporter may have,
especially if that could either help or hurt your cause. By demonstrating your
familiarity with both the publication’s editorial direction and the reporter’s work,
you are also showing you have respect for their organization.

Make sure that you are well versed in your subject matter. Whether you are
meeting in person or over the phone, make sure you know the facts about your
organization. While you cannot anticipate every question, you should know your
content cold. If you are not the expert, either get briefed by one prior or better
yet, have them participate in the interview.
 What to Provide to Media
The finishing touches for a great interview and article
Now that you have your facts and message points ready for your interview, know
exactly what you want to get out of this interview opportunity. It’s perfectly
acceptable to ask the report how their story will be used. Is this a feature on your
company or are you being included in a larger piece? Is this a sidebar to a separate
story or simply a product mention with a photo and caption?

Lastly, have graphics in the form of charts, photos or infographics ready and in the
proper format. When you reviewed the publication, you already made note of the
“art” they publish to support their content. Make sure your supporting graphics
are ready to be emailed or uploaded. If this is a print publication, they will
undoubtedly want the highest resolution photos or graphics you can provide.

A jpeg off your website will usually NOT work. We have seen time and time again
our client’s interview featured simply because we had the best and most readily
available supporting graphics. Just as important, relax. You are prepared and ready
for this opportunity. And, if you string a few of these together, you will certainly be
viewed as an industry expert.
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