LT Public Relations Services: Blog Strategy and Ghost Blogging

Top reasons you should be blogging:
Reason #1: Blogging helps the business find its voice. Blogging puts you in the driver seat, showcasing your business on your own terms.
Reason #2: Blogging is a great PR vehicle – Blogs open conversations with key audiences – 21st century PR magic.
Reason #3: A blog connects you with people, ideas and opportunities you would otherwise miss.
Reason #4: Rich content creates trust – People take the time to comment on good and interesting content, engaging with the company.
Reason #5: Search engine optimization – If you want to raise your business’ Google Ranking, blogging is an excellent way to do this through content management systems used for blogging, such as WordPress.

LT Public relations helps companies get started with blogging by creating a blog strategy to ensure high quality content, frequency and a strong, unified voice for the company.
Ghost-blogging
LT PR provides ghost-blogging and blog strategy services, crafting content based on the ideas and vision of the client-company’s thought leadership.
Contact LT Public Relations today for more information: 503/477-9215
www.ltpublicrelations.com
email: pr@ltpublicrelations.com

LT Public Relations Tackles New Financial Reporting Standards

Demand for greater transparency and communication strikes chord with customers

 PORTLAND, Ore., May 14, 2012—LT Public Relations, a communication management firm for the financial services sector, announces the expansion of its investor relations services to address the rising importance for higher reporting standards and increased demand for transparency heralded by the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act (2010).

“We are helping businesses turn the obligation of financial reporting into an opportunity to communicate their stories clearly and effectively,” says Casey Boggs, president of LT Public Relations.

Investor relations as a discipline is about building the vision, personality and culture of the business into communications with investors and the communities the business serves. Today, the traditional annual reports (Form 10-K), quarterly reports (Form 10-Q) and proxy letters have become vehicles of communication not only to investors, but to a much broader audience.

Investor Relations (IR) Services LT Public Relations Offers:

• Annual Reports (Form 10-K)
• Quarterly reports (Form 10-Q)
• Investor Relations websites
• Corporate social responsibility
• Shareholder meetings
• Crisis management
• Press conferences
• Media Relations
• Private investor meetings
• Presentation and call support
• Investor custom publishing
• Design and photography

 “Ultimately, the story is the business, not the stock price,” adds Boggs, noting that Investor Relations is just one part of an overall strategy for perception and reputation management that includes communications to both internal and external stakeholders.

About LT Public Relations

 LT Public Relations, LLC is a full-service communications firm specializing in financial institutions, professional services and non-profits. Based in Portland, Ore., the firm serves clients throughout the United States.

LT Public Relations Welcomes New Account Manager, Kurt Heath

Communications strategist and former congressional press secretary joins growing Portland-based public relations firm to support clients’ traditional, social media and crisis communications efforts

PORTLAND, Ore., April 30, 2012—LT Public Relations, a comprehensive communications firm specializing in external, internal and crisis communications, welcomes Kurt Heath as account manager to its growing team of professionals.

In his new role, Heath will manage the day-to-day activity across several key accounts and work with stakeholders to plan and execute tailored PR strategies for LT PR clients.

“At LT Public Relations, we look for versatile employees with the experience and know-how to meet the different communications challenges our clients face,” said Casey Boggs, the firm’s founder and president. “Kurt’s diverse background in business, government and non-profit communications will prove a great asset to our current and future clients.”

Heath brings nearly a decade of strategic communications experience to LT PR, including several years as a media strategist, spokesperson and writer for two members of Congress. He’s also worked in the non-profit sector and has recently collaborated with civic non-profits and associations on a range of communications projects and major events. Specializing in earned media campaigns, crisis communications and issue messaging, Heath has authored numerous articles on behalf of clients, as well as successfully pitched stories to The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Washington Post, ABC, CNN and CNBC, among many others.

An Ohio native and lifelong Buckeye fan, Heath graduated from Wheaton College and now lives in Portland with his wife Jayna and their three children—Maddie, Jackson and Charlotte.

About LT Public Relations

LT Public Relations, LLC is a full-service communications firm specializing in financial institutions (e.g. banks, credit unions), professional services (e.g. investment advisors, law firms) and non-profits.  Based in Portland, Oregon, the firm serves clients from across the United States, providing individualized communications strategies and developing relevant, results-oriented public relations initiatives for its clients.  More information is available at www.ltpublicrelations.com.

LT Public Relations‘ college credit summer internship program is now accepting resumes (pr@ltpublicrelations.com).

Each year LT PR offers a great opportunity to gain professional experience in a communications career-related field.

Requirements:  Ideally the intern will have at least 85 credits completed and be in good academic standing.

• Majors:  Communications, Business, Marketing, Journalism and Public Relations.
• Hours:  9 – 18 per week  (9 hours per week for 3 college credits/18 per week for 6 college credits).
• Days:  Monday – Thursday

This is an unpaid internship.

Internship Description:

The internship is structured to meet the goals and expectations of the student, university and LT PR.

Working directly with an LT PR account manager, the intern will  receive orientation, training and feedback.

Duties include campaign support, social media monitoring, media database management, online research and writing.

Please send resume and tailored cover letter to pr@ltpublicrelations.com.  PLEASE NO PHONE CALLS.

Getting started with social media

By Sherron Lumley

Over the last couple of years, social media has become a part of our everyday lives.  As people become increasingly connected through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, influence is transferred from traditional media to the recommendations of peers.

When it comes to developing a social media campaign, LT Public Relations first explores what the big picture goal is – what the company wants to do.  For example, the purpose of the campaign may be to build brand awareness, communicate with a key demographic, increase sales, talk about the firm’s community involvement, or a combination of all of these.

LTPR then customizes the social media to be developed around content-driven communication. What this means is that when companies communicate with their clients through social media, they must have something to say, delivering value-rich messages that create strong engagement (attention + interaction) and maximum impact.

First, know your audience

The platforms, technologies and strategies LTPR recommends to its clients vary considerably from client to client based on the audience. Knowing who you want to communicate with is the first step to take when developing a social media campaign.

Second, figure out where these people hang out – online, that is

Next, you need to know where the audience you wish to speak to goes for information and social interaction online (hence the term “social” media). If it’s Facebook, that will be a crucial part of your overall strategy. However, based on the demographics of your audience, there may be other tools that are more effective. If your audience is a little older and more affluent, something like LinkedIn may be best.

There’s enough demographic information about the major social media channels to make an informed decision. Take for example, this education distribution chart from the Pew Research Center:

Third, define your success. 

Your success will be unique to you and your company. It’s important to balance the hard numbers (such as “likes” or “friends”) with less tangible takeaways such as reputation, trust-building and overall satisfaction level.

Fourth, go mobile

Mobile technology has already become a big game changer making social media campaigns far more effective in reaching people. The top U.S. mobile ad firms by revenue are Google ($2.5 billion in annual revenue from mobile advertising), Millennial Media, Apple, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Jumptap, according to 2012 global mobile statistics.

Social Marketing for the B2B crowd

The B2B crowd, or business to business, is an area where social media can really level the playing field for small to mid-size businesses, so don’t overlook this area when putting together a social media strategy.

If developing a customized social media strategy is of interest to your business, please contact LT Public Relations to discuss. Tel. 503/477-9215 or email cboggs@ltpublicrelations.com

LT Public Relations Welcomes New Writer/Editor, Sherron Lumley

Financial journalist and former ABC News writer joins growing Portland-based public relations firm to support clients’ traditional, social media and crisis communications 

PORTLAND, Ore., April 4, 2012—LT Public Relations, a progressive communications firm specializing in traditional, innovative and crisis communication management for the professional and financial services sector, welcomes writer and editor Sherron Lumley to the Portland-based firm.

In the writer/editor role, Lumley will be responsible for overseeing the editorial quality for all LT PR’s financial and non-profit clients across multiple communications platforms and media.

“Sherron comes to us with an extremely strong background in journalism and public relations that will prove to be a valuable asset to our clients,” said Casey Boggs, president of LT Public Relations. “Her experience with crisis management and expert level writing and editing for local, national and international media outlets is an excellent complement to the communications services our firm offers.”

Prior to joining LT PR, Lumley worked for ABC News as a booker and writer for the national breaking news division and wrote for the live national morning news shows World News Now, World News This Morning and Good Morning America.  She specializes in media spokesperson training, financial news and crisis communications.

Lumley holds a Master of Science in Journalism from Columbia University in New York and a Bachelor of Arts in International Business from the American University of Paris.  Her hometown is Tigard, Oregon.

About LT Public Relations

LT Public Relations, LLC is a full-service communications firm specializing in financial institutions (e.g. banks, credit unions), professional services (e.g. investment advisors, law firms), and non-profits.  Based in Portland, Oregon, the firm serves clients from across the United States, providing individualized communications strategies, developing relevant and results-oriented public relations initiatives for its clients.  More information is available at www.ltpublicrelations.com.

BREAKING NEWS… Your company has a major announcement it needs to report immediately that will affect many of the company’s key audiences.  Although, the first things you may think to do is draft a news release and disseminate it instantly to the target media, this is not necessarily the best course of action.

LT Public Relations, is often contacted by businesses in the midst of making a significant announcement.  Sometimes the news is positive; such as the announcement of a new product or service, but often this breaking news is negative (e.g. a crisis).  The knee-jerk approach used by most businesses is to issue a press release ASAP.  Stop!  At this critical communications point, we call an immediate time-out.

Communicate the news to internal audiences first

Although it is important to communicate to the media (and promptly), we wholeheartedly counsel our clients to communicate the news internally first, followed by other key stakeholders of the company.  Communicating the news internally is an important first step to control the message and an opportunity to address questions or issues relating to the news.  When employees learn company news from the media or social media, this builds confusion from within and is a sure fire way to convolute the key concepts of the announcement.

The desired outcome is management of the message.  If the media (and social media) are given control of the news first, the information is in jeopardy of misinterpretation by internal audiences.

Although each business is different and communication methods vary, LT Public Relations recommends the following general reporting order to communicate breaking news:

• Internal (Executives, Managers, Staff)
• Shareholders and/or Board Members
• Clients/Customers (and prospective clients/customers)
• Vendors
• Constituents (e.g. company advocates)
• Community leaders (political, Chambers, etc.)
• Family and Friends
• Social Media (depending on the nature of the news, social media should be closely monitored)
• Media

*DISCLAIMER: If there is one particular medium or media outlet that predominately reaches your target audience, give it priority for a first look at the news.  This provides more time and access to research and report the news accurately.

Does your company have breaking news?  Need a strategy on how to best approach it?  Contact LT Public Relations via email at pr@ltpublicrelations.com…we’ll be happy to handle the news and help avoid the breaking news from being, well, broken.

LT Public Relations

*A PRogressive Communications Firm

www.ltpublicrelations.com

pr@ltpublicrelations.com

POSITION AVAILABLE: Public Relations Manager

• Full-time position
• 40 hours-a-week…Monday-Friday

DATE NEEDED: As soon as we find the right person.

COMPENSATION: Competitive salary—but will be determined on experience and candidate’s direct match with job description/qualifications.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE SENDING INFORMATION:  If the job description seems to be a fit, please send a tailored e-mail description of your public relations experience, along with a tailored resume to pr@ltpublicrelations.com.

OVERVIEW: LT Public Relations is always looking for the right people with a passion for communications to join its ever-expanding team.  We’re not looking for just anyone—but the right one to grow with us and support our clients.

As we develop tailored PR programs for our clients, we are looking for someone who is diligent in the way they approach each opportunity—including their inquiry for this position.

LT Public Relations is a progressive communications firm specializing in financial institutions (e.g. banks, credit unions) and professional services (e.g. law firms, investment advisory firms).

Based in Portland, Oregon, LT Public Relations utilizes the most relevant and current communications tools—with a hybrid of traditional and new media approaches—to develop and execute strategic public relations initiatives for its clients.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Please note: THIS IS NOT AN ENTRY LEVEL POSITION

Collaboratively lead the day-to-day relationship with select LT Public Relations’ clients

• Possess EXCELLENT writing skills (e.g. copywriting, editing, proofreading)
• Manage relationships for clients with target media, bloggers and other influential mediums
• Strong background and acumen with all social media mediums (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, blog)
• Ability to manage multiple accounts (3-4 clients at a time)
• Take leadership role in strategic agency business planning, as well as account staff development
• Proactively craft and place stories, shape broad industry themes and story lines, and negotiate client inclusion in coverage
• Identify broad trends among media and related online communities and translate significance to team and staff and clients
• Provide strategic communications counsel to executive-level clients and serve as a strategic resource and champion to clients
• Manage client relationship and client satisfaction
• Hold regular meetings and maintain regular contact to keep senior-level clients apprised of LT Public Relations’ work progress, address issues that appear and solicit feedback from clients
• Assess PR results against client expectations
• Forecast, propose and track budgets

 QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or above in communications, journalism or related field preferred
• 5-7 years experience in PR – in an agency and/or within related financial services field
• A sufficient understanding of the financial industry is preferred
• Established and foster strong relationships with business, industry trade media, online community and place stories.
• Background in PR management, crisis management, and execution experience, including developing plans, client management, launch strategies, product positioning, pitching stories to the media, negotiation, budget responsibility, media training a client, messaging and creative tactical ideas

STILL INTERESTED? Send tailored e-mail and resume to pr@ltpublicrelations.com.  PLEASE…NO PHONE CALLS.  We’ll acknowledge reception of each inquiry received. Thank you!

What makes a business “good?”  Many would say exceptional customer service and  a superior value, or giving back to the community and being environmentally conscious. Those are great attributes for a company to have, but are commonly touted and often difficult to determine the depth and relevance of those claims. Soon consumers will have a more tangible method of determining the truly “good” companies from the standard.  You may have noticed the increase in national coverage of Benefit Corporations. Locally, the Portland Business Journal has been covering efforts to get a hearing for legislation supporting the legal formation of Benefit Corporations in Oregon.  So what are they? Benefit Corporations (or B Corps), are a new type of corporation. Unlike a traditional corporation that gives priority to financial profit, B Corps actually use the business to address social and environmental issues.

A traditional corporation will typically focus on increasing shareholder profits, sometimes without regard to how that affects other stakeholders and the community. This can lead to unlivable wages for workers or a lack of regard for the environmental impact that the company may be causing, as those costs can otherwise provide profit back to the shareholders. Conversely, B Corps are committed to taking social and environmental interests into account when making business decisions.

According to B Lab, a nonprofit organization that certifies B Corporations, a certified B Corps must meet “rigorous and independent standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.”  Essentially, when a company becomes certified as a B Corps, that company’s practices have been vetted by a third party, similar to a product being certified as “organic” or “fair trade.”

Public relations and community outreach opportunities for companies with a B Corps status are endless and some companies, like Seventh Generation, have already begun touting their status. Consumers like to spend their money at places that are up front with the contributions they make to the community and if publicizing the new B Corps status is done effectively, it will no doubt drive sales and increase traffic.

LT Public Relations is eager to see which local companies will make the transition. In a place as socially and environmentally conscious as Oregon, we could soon be seeing an influx of the B Corp logo. This new status is truly changing the rules and creating a new model for how businesses can be different. We are standing by to see how the early adopters will use public relations to tell their B Corps story.

I read on an almost daily basis articles online about things PR people do to make reporters crazy. (These articles are second only to the “Is PR still relevant/necessary” topic of discussion) The articles are often culled from an interview with an veteran reporter who’s offering tales of horror about abuse that’s been heaped upon them over several decades by assorted PR professionals. I’m often left with the impression that all reporters receive 100 emails a day and 99 of them come from PR professionals spamming them with useless and irrelevant press releases filled with misspellings and other misdeeds. If those reporters and articles are to be believed, it’s worrisome to say the least. While the transgressions often described by reporters undoubtedly do happen, I can only hope and pray that the stories they share are the exceptions and not the rule. There is no excuse for misspellings, sending irrelevant information, or other such PR crimes. Fortunately, most PR professionals I’ve encountered would be mortified to find themselves guilty of such unprofessional behavior and erroneous mistakes.

But do all of us PR pros really make all journalists crazy? Are all our press releases and phone calls unwelcome? I don’t think so. I’ve worked with hundreds of journalists over the years and most all have been a pleasure to work with and effusive with their thanks when I help them land a story. Below are a few thoughts/suggestions/tips that I hope with help offer some insight into why PR pros do the things we do and how we can better help out our reporter friends:

We want to help you- We really do! One of the most satisfying parts of my job is helping a reporter get their story. It makes the reporter look good, the client look good, and if I’m lucky I look good too. While we’re often required to make you jump through a few hoops or wait longer than you’d prefer, in the end my number one goal is to help you out.

Help us find you- Despite living in the age of information you’d be surprised how difficult it can still be to find the proper media contact at a particular publication. Contacts and beats change constantly. No question that it’s our job to make sure you’re the right contact, but if you’ve been the metro reporter and now you’re the film critic, please have your IT person update it on your website. Not all PR pros subscribe to media data bases and your website is often the first place we’ll go for  research. Many media outlets still don’t list their reporter’s contact or beat information on their websites and phone calls often end up in a confusing phone tree. Why make it hard on us or yourself? Give PR pros a clear and easy path to find you and what you’re interested, or not interested, in covering.

 We’re your ally- There is often the misconception that a PR pro will get in the way of access to a desired interviewee. On the contrary, as a PR pro I have far better access than most anyone in the company your desired interview subject resides. Ever try getting a few minutes with the president of your own company? Most places I’ve worked it can take days or weeks to get a meeting time. As a PR pro I can jump you to the head of the line and cut weeks down to days, and days down to hours. I’ve been able to get my interview subjects to cancel meetings, call from their cars, homes, airports, and even vacations to accommodate an interview request.

Please don’t be silent-Want more or less information than you’ve been receiving? Hate it when I call on Wednesdays? Love the follow-up call or hate the follow-up call? Let me know. I know you’re busy but I hate to waste your time just as much as you hate me wasting it.  I’ll promise to do everything I can on my end to make sure I know everything about you and your beat, but I can’t tell you how helpful it is to get a quick note letting me know if something has changed, your preferred method of contact, or just simply if you’re not going to cover a particular story.

I enjoy my role as a facilitator—one who’s eager to let you in and point you in the right direction. I hope these insights offer at least a bit of helpful perspective from the PR side of things.I look forward to helping as many reporters as I can in 2012…and staying on your good lists!