Rae Hostetler

Words make your brand

Rae Hostetler · Jan 11, 2011 ·

I confess! I’m a geek. I read promotional materials, FAQs, website copy and more. I like to see how people write and couple words together for maximum effect and impact for their brand. Do they really say who they are or do they use buzz words? Alliteration is one of my favorite devices to use in writing… for those scratching their heads that’s when you put words together that start or end with the same letters. It makes an elegant effect.

Anyway… because I like reading various words and copy, I tend to notice words and phrases that are overused. One of my favorite pet peeves is the word… solution. Everyone has one… and apparently every company thinks we have a problem they can solve with theirs. For every person I tell about this phenomenon, they come back to me within days and say, “Wow. You were right. Everyone’s got a solution.”

I also don’t like words and phrases that are under delivered, which could go one of two ways.

1) You’re talking to yourself. Too many business owners write their own copy for letters, brochures and other promotional stuff. They end of writing in their own jargon… often customers and prospects don’t understand what they’re reading and why they should care.

Look around my website. It’s designed to make fun of the words the public relations profession uses. We talk about “pitching” the media. That means selling them a story idea. Not throwing a ball for them to hit. And yes, I do find myself using that word in client meetings. YIKES.

2) Your words represent the real company. There are many business owners who work hard to write their own promotional materials, but realize they don’t know what to say. So they make it up. Problem is when customers are asked if their statements are really true… they find out the truth– maybe not. The word use PR people use there… authentic. Is your brand authentic to your customer? On the flip side some business leaders are humble and don’t want to talk about their expertise and/or successes. It’s ok to talk about yourself.

So what’s the “solution” to these problems? If you’re a non-PR person reading this blog… it’s called messaging. Us PR people are great at helping companies through research methods to determine what’s real and what’s not. It’s so important to weave a real story and run it through every piece of communication the same way. It’s just like using your logo and company colors the same way and place on every piece of marketing material printed. It’s the words that help communicate your image as much as the graphic image. And that’s why I love words!

Make sure you can fulfill your marketing…

Rae Hostetler · Nov 18, 2010 ·

I’ve seen it happen too many times. Companies and business owners want more business. So they embark on a marketing/communications program BUT they aren’t prepared for what happens next. Customers!

Hopefully by now you’ve heard of Groupon. It’s a simple social media marketing idea that’s taken off. Business owners partner with Groupon. Groupon sends out a daily email with the business offer specific to your region. If so many people buy, “the deal is on!” Last week a local restaurant was featured on Groupon. A group of friends bought and went to dinner. The restaurant wasn’t ready. Bottom line, after sitting for an hour and a half… one of four couples got their dinner. The rest were left to their own hunger watching two people eat. Bad news for the restaurant because this group came to a party of about 50 to 60 people. They were hungry and frustrated. They shared the experience with everyone, including me. Now I’m sharing it with you. I will leave out the name of the restaurant hoping they fix the err of their ways.

Conversely, we worked with a client for about two years to market and brand his company. We used a host of tactics for his marketing campaign: internal communications, media relations, website, email marketing, direct communications for referral groups and more. The client business boomed once systems were in place and chugging along. We could see further growth and expansion. The client said “uncle.” We basically worked ourselves out of a job. Good and bad news for us. Bottom line … this client knew when and how he could fulfill customers generated by his marketing. He knew if we kept going customer satisfaction could become at risk.

If you’re thinking about a public relations or marketing/communications campaign, whether it’s through our firm or another, I encourage you to think about results and would-if scenarios. Would if you generate too many calls and appointments? There’s nothing worse than putting yourself out there, generating business traffic and then not being able to fulfill the customer’s expectation.

YIKES! Talk about poor public relations timing

Rae Hostetler · Oct 1, 2010 ·

Earlier this week I heard a radio commercial for the Get Motivated Business Seminar. The commercial had a too-good-to-be-true offer–$1.95 per person OR send your entire office for $9.95. Motivational speakers include Zig Ziglar, General Colin Powell, Terry Bradshaw! Nice!

I was driving to a business meeting thinking what’s wrong with that offer? But I quickly dismissed it moving along to the course of everything happening that day.

The next morning, while sipping coffee and getting ready for the day, I pulled up the local news online. What popped up in the headlines was a story by one of my reporter friends Dana Hunsinger at The Indianapolis Star: Get Motivated! seminar has hidden cost: sales pitches. Interesting… so I clicked. The story said in between bits of wisdom the audience was pitched real estate and investment advice.

ICK! I worked in timeshare years ago as manager of RCI’s PR office. I know the sales stuff from timeshare and its bad wrap. Maybe you’re ok with being pitched, but my mind went immediately to the traditional timeshare sales guy. Then I thought… AH HA! I knew it. Too good to be true.

I can only imagine how much the organizer spent on marketing… radio ads, direct mail and more. Only to have a reporter do a little digging to figure out the trick. Bad timing because the same day I read the story, I got a direct mail piece. It’s a fancy dye cut, plastic and four color. I kept it. Not to buy a space at the event for me or my whole office. No, it’s going in my samples and examples file of what NOT to do when you’re promoting… meaning be honest about what you’re promoting and what your audience could/should expect.

It’s good karma! And we all know that comes back around.

Honesty in public relations

Rae Hostetler · Sep 10, 2010 ·

I was intrigued to find a story a few weeks ago saying that a new study shows how to figure out if bosses are lying. Two guys from Stanford reviewed transcripts of nearly 30,000 conference calls by American chief executives and chief financial officers. They reviewed their “tells” to figure out what words and phrases indicate deception. What peeved me as a public relations professional is that at the end of the online article at The Economist the writer says: “This study should help investors glean valuable new insights from conference calls. Alas, this benefit may diminish over time. The real winners will be public-relations firms, which now know to coach the boss to hesitate more, swear less and avoid excessive expressions of positive emotion. Expect “fantastic” results to become a thing of the past.”

Wow! Does he overestimate public relations professionals? Honestly, we aren’t that calculating to coach our clients and bosses in this way. The best and most respected public relations firms are ethical and honest PR professionals that subscribe to the Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics. It’s posted online. Check it out. Among the guidelines: Be honest and accurate in all communications; disclose financial interests in a client organization and decline representing clients/employers requiring actions to the contrary of the code.

We live in a time when businesses and professionals are reinventing themselves to keep businesses afloat and stay ahead of the ever changing communications curve resulting from online public relations. That said, maybe some are cutting corners. Many of my Indy PR colleagues are not. Honest public relations professionals, like myself and my friends, are plentiful in Indianapolis. Ask if your communications team adheres to the PRSA Code of Ethics. Those pr agencies that do provide the most effective and above board public relations counsel and services. I promise you’ll be in good hands and never regret doing the right thing each and every time you communicate to employees, your clients and anyone else you need to talk to about your organization!

Is your communication clear and consistent or confusing and time consuming?

Rae Hostetler · Aug 16, 2010 ·

It’s back to school time here in Indianapolis. Last week was maddening for many of us parents. As our family prepared for our son to move into the middle school preparation was difficult. Not in terms of prepping our son, but in terms of getting everything he needed together.

It went something like this.

Monday afternoon we finally got our “team” assignments for teachers. Only then could we get our long list of school supplies, which the kids were supposed to have by Wednesday orientation. That afternoon the kids got to roam the hallways, open lockers and more. That was two and half a hours plus coming home shopping at Staples.

At Wednesday’s orientation, with every fifth grade child and one parent packed in the school hallways, we were told what to do with the vast amount of supplies. The instructions provided that night featured building a binder. Now how the heck were we to do that with packed hallways and excited middle schoolers?It was loud, chaotic and confusing.

Many parents, including us, opted to come back another day.

On Friday, when we returned, we sat down in the middle of the hallway and prepared for Monday. Only then did we see that there were needed supplies not listed. Back to the store for more that was carried in a backpack this morning.

Point here… how often does this happen to your employees, customers and clients. Do you provide a clear line of communication the first time that allows people to get the job done once? Or do you have them come back several times to get something done? Our family spent hours last week preparing for school. If we’d know the first time what we needed to do, we could have gotten it done right the first time.

We know we’re not alone as a parent prepping for the school year. As a business owner and counselor to business owners, it’s a good lesson learned. Think through how you communicate your directions. Are you confusing people or professionally explaining what’s needed to streamline efforts in your business operations each day?

I hope it’s the latter.