Kellee Bradley

Yes, Communications Professionals (AKA the "Itty Bitty 'Make It Pretty' Committee) should have a support group. Depending on the size of the team, Comms professionals often take on the following: - Visuals (infographics, photos) - Presentations - Stakeholder relations - Speeches, videos ...and so much more. Hug your Communications Professional today!

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This is it. This is the battle between so many comms professionals and their clients. If you’ve hired us to help you get coverage, to get attention, believe us when we tell you: you gotta do something. If we are telling you that the thing that *you are* doing is not going to get attention, remember you are paying us to know that and to help focus your efforts and dollars accordingly. (It’s why you should bring your comms team in at the beginning, during ideation, so that we can pressure test it alongside your creative and account teams.) Newsrooms are decimated. People’s attentions are divided not just by apps and platforms but by issues and culture. You have to have a plan and you have to do some heavier lifting to get your brand or messaging to break through. (Hit me up if I can help you figure this out!)

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Another truth nugget about gatekeeping and Internal Comms: Keep your audience and key messages in mind, and advocate for them. Not every bit of feedback should be implemented because doing so fractures and dilutes your message. But be prepared to justify (nicely) why you're not incorporating input and close the loop so people don't angrily ask you why their edit wasn't included in the final communication. If they understand your reasoning, they're more likely to respect your communications judgment.

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Having a strong on-camera presence can make all the difference in how your message is received. As a former TV anchor back in the day (seriously, it's been a while), I know firsthand how critical it is to engage your audience with confidence and authenticity—whether you’re delivering the news or building your brand. I share a few of my favorite tips in the blog below :) #VideoStorytelling #OnCameraSkills #BrandBuilding https://lnkd.in/gTPWu6fQ

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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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William Shakespeare said that expectation is the root of all heartache for communications professionals. Wait, he didn’t have those last three words? Well, what I’ve seen over and over is that expectations indeed create misery for those in communications. This realization re-smacked me over the head in a communications workshop I was facilitating. The comms team was struggling. Was it writing? Planning? TIme? Need for training? Those were all the assumptions we had going in. Turns out, it was expectations that created heartache. The CEO had different expectations for what the communications efforts would look like, the tone/voice and the outcomes --  and the team didn’t know those expectations. Naturally, when those expectations aren’t met, there is tension. Following that workshop, the topic of expectations became a first step in every workshop, communications assessment, CEO coaching/messaging, or fractional/gap-filler guy work. One of the most important jobs for any communications professional is to get in the heads of leadership teams and align on expectations. A few ways to do so include: - Series of questions for leaders on what trying to accomplish, the desired outcome, and what want to see in writing. When is deadline? Try to understand their expected end result. - Also try to understand the strategy and why important: what is the “wow,” how fit with organizational plan, what does it mean for organization? - Try to head misalignment off at the pass. What are the CEO must haves/what is not optional or can’t be changed? Likewise, same questions for legal, marketing, etc. Sometimes a CEO wants something and legal/other disagrees, and you're in the middle. - If time allows, prior to writing, share an expectation overview. Here’s what I heard you want, here’s what we must include, here are legal parameters, here’s the SME that will review the technical details, etc. If time doesn’t allow, drop that in front of the document they will review. If we can align expectations and reality, we won’t have as many heartaches. Curious if others have ways to align on expectations when it comes to driving communications for a leader and/or organization?

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🤔 Absolute Craziness… What kind of press release question is this?!   🎉 I'm always thrilled when we receive a call about our press release offerings.   What's less thrilling is the occasional misconception that we can perform magic to guarantee media placement.   📞  Just today, my partner fielded a call that left him quite unimpressed.   👂 I overheard his response, and it was clear he had to clarify a common confusion.   📰 The caller was curious about which publications would guarantee coverage for their press release.   📈 He took the opportunity to explain the crucial difference between "syndicated, pay-to-play news" and "earned media."   PR Karma stand firmly in the latter category. We are not ‘pay to play’.   🤝 Our commitment is to authenticity, not paid spots.   📝 When our clients make the news, their stories are not presented as sponsored content but are crafted uniquely by journalists.   🎲 While not every release will grab headlines, those that do, the results (including SEO) are spectacular. Some grabbing multiple pickups from different media outlets.   ✅❌Sure – it may not happen every time, every second or third time but when it does happen, is magic.   Remember, not every story fits every publication, and that's okay.   🛑 Don’t be discouraged by the "pay-to-play" model.   🏆 Keep striving for real, earned media—it's worth it when it happens! #PressRelease #MediaRelations #EarnedMedia #PRtips

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It's a great privilege to be able to share all the innovative work our internal IT Communications team is doing to connect with our employees here at Microsoft. Sarah Lundy, Victoria Martinez, Melissa Cafiero, and team use our technology and their general all-around awesomeness to push the envelope on internal communications and I get to share their story with customers! The top tool they use to communicate with employees is Viva Engage. Recently Sam Crewdson and team were able to add Engage into Viva Amplify here at Microsoft. Amplify is our newish product that allows communicators to send out messages to employees across many channels at once. This is the story of what our internal IT team is now able to do with Engage added to the Amplify mix. Here's a summary and link to the story: Learn how we’re using #VivaAmplify and #VivaEngage to communicate with our employees about #Microsoft365Copilot internally here at Microsoft. #MicrosoftDigital #CustomerZero #Microsof365 #Copilot

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⚠️ Comms Pros: I need your help! ⚠️ I'm speaking to a group of up-and-coming communicators about a career in corporate communications. I'd like to create a leave-behind with some top advice from those who have blazed a trail in communications. Can you help? 🙏 If you have 2 minutes to complete the below survey, I'd be hugely appreciative. It's just ONE question, plus a couple qualifiers (industry, title, etc.)… Link to Survey: https://lnkd.in/dj97Nzgj Thanks so much! You totally rock 👊 #corporatecommunications #branding #mediarelations #pr #pragency #communications #internalcommunications #executivecommunications

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Frank Dias is on the cutting edge of using AI to advance your corporate comms career. His three-part series for Mister Editorial (part one out now) is an investment in your future, one that embraces the human+AI approach to getting things done. (In this case, his example is how to effectively run an employee engagement survey using #AI.) https://lnkd.in/d45byv-e

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Imagine a PR specialist at a government agency facing the challenge of communicating the aftermath of a missile strike. Words often feel inadequate, and emotions can run high. In such moments, professionalism, deep understanding, and empathy are crucial. This scenario underscores the importance of emotional intelligence and resilience in a profession where every word can impact a wide audience. Here are some strategies that can help anyone who works with emotionally challenging topics: 1. Awareness and Understanding of Your Own Emotions Begin by recognizing and analyzing your emotions. This is the first step in developing emotional intelligence. For example, a PR professional covering a tragic event should first understand their own emotional response to it. This self-awareness helps prevent personal emotions from influencing professional communication. 2. Develop Empathy Try to view the situation from others’ perspectives. This enhances your understanding of the audience’s emotions. During a conference on disaster aftermath, it’s crucial not only to convey information but also to empathize with the victims and their families. Sharing specific stories that highlight the human aspect of the tragedy can be very effective. 3. Take a Short Pause Before Reacting Avoid making hasty decisions or statements. Practicing mindfulness can help. When emotions peak, a brief pause allows you to calm down and make thoughtful decisions. For instance, before responding to a journalist’s question on a sensitive topic, take a few deep breaths to collect your thoughts. 4. Practice Mindfulness Incorporate meditation or breathing exercises into your routine to calm your mind and body. Regular mindfulness practice helps maintain composure in stressful situations. Before an important meeting or briefing, spend a few minutes on deep breathing to emotionally prepare yourself. These practices help manage emotions in challenging moments. Remember, empathy and understanding are key to effective communication, especially on topics that touch our hearts.

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Comms Pros know - more than most - words matter. But sometimes, we use language that undermines our value. In-house stakeholders aren’t “clients.”  → We’re shoulder-to-shoulder partners. P&L centers shouldn't be called “The Business.”  → We're part of the business, not a subordinate function. Reinforcing an "us'" and "them" mindset is a disservice: It positions us as a less strategic function and makes us less effective. Ultimately, our job is to protect & promote brands and reputations. - Our roles are critical. - Our opinions are essential  - Our voices / expertise truly matter. We're Strategic Partners, not Service Providers.

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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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This perfectly sums up the full internal and external organizational impact of strategic communication teams (this also encompasses: teams of 1, communication consultants, the person who "wears the communication hat"--by the way, don't make this happenstance). Make sure they have a seat at your Cabinet table, make sure to engage them in intentional ways, make sure you're not strategically leaving them out of the conversation, make sure you know their value. I have mentored too many talented and skilled communications professionals who have felt undervalued by their organization's leadership and left out of important conversations and not invited to the table--and have left their organizations as a result. They're an integral part of your organization's infrastructure and need to be treated as such.

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With a lot of layoffs in tech and other sectors, it's hard on both the person laid off as well as the team left behind. Regardless of whether it's layoffs or just a trusted team member moving on, losing quality people from your team is never easy. But, it occurred to me recently that those tough departures -- especially early on in my career -- provided me with new roles and holes to fill ... holes that weren't there before. 👉 One example that comes to mind -- there were furloughs (and eventual layoffs) in 2020 due to the pandemic where I worked at the time, which included the person who managed our Intranet. Now, I'm not going to sit here and suggest that it was fun to take on -- it was not. But in reflection, I learned a lot of random technical skills and because of that additional aspect to my role, I was included in meetings I wouldn't have otherwise been in -- and that gave me more intel and generally, helped me see the forest from the trees in other aspects of my position. 👉 Another example from many MANY moons ago -- the person who led our employee recognition "Shout Out" program left, so I stepped in to take over. At this point I was still pretty junior in my career, and it was during that time that I realized how much celebrating people -- and their quality work -- filled me with purpose and joy. It was a major moment for me in understanding how I'm motivated and what keeps ME going day in and day out. And it led to me eventually taking over the professional development/training efforts for our team too. My point is that while you're "mourning" those losses, also take it as an opportunity to evaluate your strengths and identify areas of growth where you might newly flex -- and/or hone -- a skillset. You might realize you have even more to contribute -- and make yourself that much more valuable and uniquely *capable* in the process. #b2b #tech #communications

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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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#communications pro survey: What prevents us from writing well more often? One thing I’ve recently relearned is allowing our writing to be overly influenced by what can get approved, rather than what will effectively communicate with the audience, is a misstep. To be sure, few of us can simply ignore our approval chains. But, as with many aspects of life, finding balance between often contradictory perspectives is what brings success. What do you think?

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DENVER

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