Keeping Up with the Phelps’s

Keeping Up with the Phelps’s

On a recent flight bound for Casablanca, Morocco, I read an interesting article in the MIT Sloan Management Review.  The article focused on how small companies can level the playing field with much larger competitors using social media and Public Relations. I compare this to providing the underdog with a way to keep up with the Michael Phelps’s of the competitive arena.

The article entitled, “Using Social Media in Business Disputes” focuses on a defensive strategy that author David Orozco dubs “lawsourcing.”  The author spotlights how smaller agile competitors are using social media and PR to generate and focus public support in disputes against larger well-funded enterprises.  He cites companies such as Chik-fil-A, Tesla and vegan mayonnaise producer Hampton Creek Foods as successful examples.  He notes that effective law-sourcing strategies typically include the following:

  • A compelling story
  • Strong social media campaigns
  • Engaged social media constituencies
  • Direct appeals for public support
  • The ability to leverage social media for news exposure

Three interesting questions that are worthy of consideration include:

  • How should enterprises determine what’s a compelling story?
  • Where do the most compelling stories come from?
  • How can enterprises cost-effectively leverage the story for news exposure?

How to Determine a Compelling Story?

At Axiom, our team of former broadcast and print journalists helps clients identify stories that are worth sharing.  They use questions such as those listed below to evaluate and prioritize just how compelling a story may be.

  • How many people are affected by the story?
  • Has the story been covered by social mediums and/or news mediums? If so, how?
  • Why would people remember or share the story with others?
  • What are the human interests to the story?
  • Can the essence of the story be communicated in 60 seconds or less?
  • Can the story be easily told with pictures?

Axiom has several proprietary market research tools that help clients measure just how compelling the story really is. For example, our TexTonics tool helps us understand on a global perspective what word patterns consumers are using to describe key issues impacting their lives.  Developed by Mark Kennedy, associate professor at Imperial College of Business, this intelligent software tool reads and analyzes search engine findings, news media coverage and social media posts and provides details about market velocity.

Where do Compelling Stories Come From?

As you’d expect, the most compelling stories often are grassroots in nature.  The stories come from customer service organizations, field sales, social media posts, online contests and a plethora of other sources. The real question is how to allow the best stories to quickly rise to the surface before they’re old news.  The answer almost always involves spotlighting the factors that make for a good story, providing an easy way to catalog the story and rewards for taking time to record and transmit the story.

Axiom CTO Rob Beachy has long advocated technology solutions for the above issues.  One of the solutions he developed is a proprietary database tool called “Reservoir.”  The goal of the interactive database is to allow global client teams to record customer stories, new product ideas, and unmet customer needs with a short email or text entry.  Once it’s sent, the email is automatically catalogued in the database and becomes a point-of-record for the enterprise.  It includes dynamic search functions for quick and easy queries and is typically hosted on our client intranets.

How to Cost-effectively Leverage the Story for News Exposure?

The real key here is to think like a journalist.  (See the above list of factors that makes a compelling story.)  A second success factor is to clearly understand those reporters and bloggers who are most likely to cover the story.  A third success factor is to provide resources that causes them to be interested in the story and enables them to complete a story that generates lots of clicks and reader/viewer responses.

If you’re part of an organization that doesn’t have an internal communications team or a PR agency, don’t despair.  There are plenty of technology tools that you can use to get your story out.  These include:

  • Vocus/Cision – a software suite specialized for PR, social media, digital and more
  • HARO – a service providing journalists with a robust database of sources for upcoming stories and daily opportunities for sources to secure valuable media coverage
  • Twitter – a social vehicle used for content marketing, brand building, relationship growing, and so much more…but we didn’t need to tell you that.

For more information, please contact Mike Reiber at mreiber@axiomcom.com.

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