Katrina Dene

A 5-minute litmus test to determine your company or protocol's North Star messaging. Ask your co-founders, CTO, CMO, etc. to dash off a three-sentence explanation of “what we do as a business what we hope to accomplish.” Ask them to give it no more than 1 minute of thought. Then, compare. The difference in answers might shock you. 

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Pro PR Tip 💡 Build media connections and relationships before you need them. Disinformation is a growing problem and having reporters who already are on your side and know what you stand for is the best way to combat the Internet trolls - which seem to be everywhere (even in places you'd expect to be credible). It's much harder to get your commentary placed in the midst of disinformation if they've never heard of you before -- but if they've covered you before and trust you, they'll continue to trust you. Because while you can't totally avoid the dark side of the Internet - repeating your values publicly, prioritizing a positive message and stacking reporters who champion your work will always help you come out on top. 🔥 P.S. If you'd like more easy and actionable PR advice that is designed to help you get more media coverage right now (and just in time for the biggest PR season of the year!) make sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter Fintech & Friends. #pr #pragency #publicrelations #startups #fintech #media

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Kudos to Eleanor Hawkins and the Axios Communicators team for their "1 big thing" visual of the day. Yes, it's reductive guidance on when to speak out and when not to, and yes, you should think through it with more nuance and specificity to a situation at hand, but these are great questions to start with when you're wondering how to communicate through murky or uncomfortable events. Some other questions to consider: ▶ Do we know enough about this situation? If not, do we have a sense of timing for more information to come through? ▶ Can we meaningfully influence the situation by speaking out? ▶ If we are communicating about this, who is the right person to serve as our voice?

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Communications best practices apply to IR, just as they do for all strategic communications. Learn more about IR website essentials in the in-depth guide from PR Newswire ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e9wW2QaH #IR #InvestorRelations #Comms

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You and your team need new headshots. AI CAN actually help with this. Learn how in our latest article from Meghan Jordan / Ashley Przybyla for Firebrand Communications

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Join our experts as they dive into PR Newswire's groundbreaking AI innovations. We'll explore: ✨ How AI is revolutionizing #PR & comms ✨ Our unique solution that leverages historical data to offer press release insights ✨ Findings from our State of the Press Release Report on how PR pros are embracing #AI Save your spot now and join us as we drive the AI conversation forward!

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Good article on the value of original quality content and risks of GenAI’s generics & distortions today when AI volume is everywhere online. The image simulation is cool example!

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I asked media for their PR pet peeves. Here is what Dan Ackerman, Editor-in-Chief of Micro Center News (and former Gizmodo EiC, CNET Editorial Director), shared: ☑ Get to the point: Reading through a long email or press release to figure out what the "new" information or announcement is can be a pain. I love seeing an executive summary at the top—this is what's new, and these bullet points are the key takeaways. As I've said to a few colleagues over the years, the operative word in "News" is "New." ☑ Time zones: I deal with a lot of embargoed information. Please, please, please, make sure to include important dates and times in EST and/or PST. Don't ask me to calculate what Central Time is in NYC or to figure out which countries use CET vs. CEST (Central European Summer Time). ☑ Avoid AI: I'm already seeing the dreaded spammyness of AI-generated copy sneaking into press releases. AI tends to deliver an extra-large serving of word salad. Don't feel like you have to pad a word count with AI—shorter and more direct is better. ✅ Bonus: A reverse pet peeve! I hate to give this secret away, but following up works. I can have thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) of unread emails. If you follow up, it's statistically more likely that I'll see your email and devote a few minutes to reading through it and considering it. If you don't hear back from a likely candidate you expected to hear from, there's at least a decent chance the email just flew by in the daily torrent. [EiC (Editor-is-Chase) note: Be sure to check out this tech ex-EiC roundtable featuring Dan, where they discuss the state of tech journalism in 2024: https://lnkd.in/gi7Utihb] ✍ 🚘Media drive-by takes on PR #pr #publicrelations #communications #mediapov

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The evolution of influence - how is public relations changing? The new Notified/PRWeek report examines this very question. We surveyed 155 leading PR pros to learn how to build stronger trust with stakeholders, the best ways to combat misinformation and how corporate storytellers feel about AI in 2024.   Get the findings now: https://lnkd.in/gayFpq9J #PublicRelations #PR #AI

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Almost every PR measurement effort that is… ·      Impressions-stacking ·      Clip-counting ·      Ad-value-equivalency (AVE)-using ·      Mentions-hunting ·      Newswire-pickup-toting ·      Basic AI sentiment-tracking ·      Releases and pitches-sent focusing ..Is not a metric to show impact to someone. At best, you might be trying to show hustle of potential exposure. Often they’re used due to not fully being aware of, understanding or maximizing modern PR measurement. Or it’s a frustration of not knowing where to begin. Or worse, because they or their bosses or clients don’t care and like pretty clip books with big numbers to say ‘look what we’ve done.’ Do you need to know a starting point on where to begin? Yes. You’re not going to reach for a tool in the garage before you understand what you’re trying to accomplish. Brand exposure metrics are not inherently bad. But if ‘a billion’ people ‘saw’ your announcement that season tickets are on-sale and your phones are not ringing off the hook and your office does not have a ‘sold-out’ sign up, then I’m not sure impressions alone are the right way to look at success. Start by looking at: ** Audience awareness: Define your audience (not “everyone”) and use aided/unaided awareness surveys. ** Audience attitudes: Track sentiment shifts with surveys or early indicators like appointment requests or intent to act (the steps before actually ‘doing the thing.’) ** Audience actions: Identify what you want them to "do" and craft communications to move them toward that goal. And, to round it out en route to the above: Outputs and outtakes help guide strategy and are good leading indicators but aren’t the final proof of impact—don’t confuse them with end-stage success of changing how your target audiences think/feel/do. “But Tim, why push for more if earned media clips are all that’s expected from my brass in sports PR?” Because senior leadership demands -- or will soon start to demand -- higher ROI and modern PR measurement is crucial. That’s why I make my students learn it. Those who connect audience-focused objectives to business outcomes will thrive. Yes, there are tons of tools. It can be overwhelming, but start by defining what success looks like—your champagne moment, as my friend Katie Delahaye Paine calls it. Then work backwards to select tools to measure (and please don't forget to set those related measurable objectives). 👀 The biggest truth: you have to start to learn. And if you never begin to properly measure (many, many times), you’re not going to cut it. #PR #CommunicationStrategy #DataDrivenCommunications #linkedinsports #sportsbiz #publicrelations

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The October monthly episode of our For Immediate Release podcast explores critical communication trends. Shel Holtz, SCMP, and I discuss six compelling topics, including Reddit's potential for crisis comms, the state of blogging in 2024, ethical concerns in celebrity news coverage, workplace connection challenges, and AI's impact across industries. In a blog post, I've set out some key takeaways that present opportunities for communicators, including leveraging Reddit for stakeholder engagement and preparing to guide organisations through AI adoption. Read more and listen now for valuable perspectives and insights on navigating today's complex communication landscape. https://lnkd.in/e5_CcMR2

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🚨 Ever feel like we're in a forever crisis? Hotwire's Joanne Denyeau and my new friend Lauren Condoluci are digging in and sharing their insights in a webinar you won't want to miss to help you learn: 📝 how to rewrite the comms playbook to embrace disruption, challenge conventions, and deliver meaningful messages Join the free webinar on May 16th, "Focus Amidst the Frenzy: Communications Strategies in a State of Forever Crisis", to explore scenario planning and crisis management for our current 🌎. Embrace the uncertainty & secure your spot ↙ https://lnkd.in/ekk94Hmi #webinar #innovation #CrisisComms #PR #comms

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Our 2nd annual Evolving Role of Comms report is out! My 3 standout findings this year: 1) The clear shift in reporting structure. It's no longer a split between the CEO and marketing -- there's a clear winner. 2) Comms teams are not prioritizing changing perceptions. Instead, they are sticking to key messages. (A lesson learned in this year's Crisis Index too!) 3) Agencies are focused on contextualizing successes over just securing hits.

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The Highwire team put AI writing to the test. Sure, it's fast and easy, but does it deliver the best business results? Spoiler alert - it could be doing more harm than good. Read on for where to use and not use AI in content marketing - https://lnkd.in/gkixqe89 #PR #DigitalMarketing #content #AI

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There's so much talk about using AI to generate content, especially now that tools like ChatGPT make it look so easy. But is that coming at a cost to the reader experience? I'm a huge fan of (properly using) AI. It's been great at summarizing meetings. I use it sometimes to generate headline ideas or to generate a first draft of social media copy. I'm legitimately amazed at how fast this technology is developing. But as someone who has been "generating content" for newspapers, websites, blogs and social media since MySpace was the dominant social platform, I see far too many companies rushing to adopt AI for content generation without question. It seems so easy — because it is. Upload some reputable, trustworthy data sources (at least, please tell me you're doing this), click a couple buttons and you've got a story ready to go! Unfortunately, going this route ignores a lot of success factors. - Is it going to rank on Google? (No — the algorithm wants human experience and expertise that AI can't magically generate.) - Is it something that will add value for your customers? (People don't really want to read awkward AI copy, and will just bounce.) - Is it going to read well? (Unless you're also a robot ... no.) Instead, use AI to *assist* human writers. It's great at summarizing interviews, gathering key data points and helping you brainstorm. It can generate a first draft that gives you a structure to work with, if you're stuck. AI is a wonderful tool as an assistant, but it's not a long-term content strategy. While the technology changes over time, one thing doesn't — people want to trust that the article they're reading will help them out. Seeing how often people add "Reddit" on the end of their Google searches just confirms this. If you really want to stand out among your competitors and get long-lasting results, don't use AI as a content generator. Use it to help your human writers and editors do their job better.

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🥵 Hot take: Comms people make the best dinner guests. 🍽️ That’s it, that’s the post. - we know “enough to be dangerous” about a lot of different (sometimes random) topics - we like to talk, but more importantly, we like to listen - we’re just a bit weird (but weird is the new cool if you ask me) So, who’s hosting the next dinner party? #communications #pr #hottake

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My early takeaway from PRSA Oregon #CommCon2024 is that the public is facing a real trust issue when it comes to innovations like AI and other emerging tech (and in general). Which raises the question: how do we address the trust crisis in a way that is both authentic and effective? #communications #publicrelations

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Our Data team here at Mission North has had a busy month! From election anxiety to lunch breaks, we've helped clients bring some incredible stories to life in October. Read on for more: 🥗 ezCater's annual Lunch Report surveyed full time office workers nationally and in 10 key cities across the country. This year, while almost all those employees (98%) said a lunch break improves their performance, 49% told us they skip lunch once a week, with GenZ the most likely to skip lunch. Back-to-back meetings and not enough time to generally finish tasks are getting in the way of this important break. You can read more about it in Fortune, Newsweek, Axios and more: https://lnkd.in/gKhFmdFY 📬 With the election around the corner, SmartNews polled average citizens about misinformation and fake news. They wanted to understand how residents in different cities consumed news and how misinformation affected them. Overall, they found 85% of adults are concerned about attempts to mislead voters this election season, and 58% are *extremely* concerned. Check out the local SF data in Axios: https://lnkd.in/gp7Gy9sW 🧠 LifeStance Health dug even further into election anxiety with a survey analyzing how it impacts people's everyday lives. The mental healthcare provider found that 79% of folks experience election anxiety, with over half of people thinking about the election daily. What's more, over 4 in 10 Gen Zers have postponed life events like moving or getting married due to political anxiety. Fox News Media featured the results: https://lnkd.in/gZstERJ9 🤝 And finally, a Canva report out early this month highlighted employees' desire to feel more appreciated at work. Only 46% of people feel appreciated on the job, and this should be a big wake up call to employers -- because 94% of employees who feel highly appreciated loved their workplace, and 91% said they loved their job. Read about it in Newsweek: https://lnkd.in/gSDHtVyu I'm always happy to walk through our Data team's process and capabilities. Hit me up! Big shout out to Donato Casarella, Shara Seigel, Laura Scott LaRosa, Sam D'Addario, Laura Leinbach, Chanel Sedeno and everyone else from our client teams who brought these to life

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