PR practitioners have long sought to prove their worth to the C-suite by generating return on investment. To this day, the primary way for PR pros to demonstrate ROI is through sales.
Some things have changed, though. New channels and measurement tools can more effectively link PR and sales and, in some cases, PR is directly driving sales. Social media is a catalyst for this connection, but traditional PR tactics are not lost in the shuffle.
Diane Thieke, director of the global public relations enterprise media group at Princeton, N.J.-based Dow Jones, is working toward better synergy between her group and sales and is looking to leverage all that social media has to offer. “With social media, you have much more of an opportunity to link to sales,” Thieke says. “And with new measurement tools we can better correlate our PR efforts with the actual data.” Thieke sees real opportunity for PR to better prove its worth through sales.
PR/SALES COLLABORATION
PR is now better equipped than ever to assist sales teams. “In many cases, sales maintains some very large social networks,” says Thieke. “If you have a good-sized sales team and you’re using the two-way conversations of social media, exploiting those networks can really drive leads and sales.”
Close collaboration with the sales unit is required, says Thieke. Such integration may be a tough nut to crack, but it is improving. The age-old conundrum of optimal marketing and sales linkage still exists, but PR could be the force that brings the two closer together.
Kipp Bodnar, who leads b2b social media efforts for Raleigh, N.C.-based agency Howard, Merrell & Partners, says his clients are just beginning to use social media tactics for lead generation. “We’re educating and training sales teams in the use of social media to reach current and potential customers,” says Bodnar, who adds that the new platforms used by PR create huge opportunities for lead generation and sales. The end goal is to tie social media into the overall marketing mix and to create opportunities throughout the entire sales funnel, he says.
It’s a matter of getting sales up to speed on social media techniques and how to tie them to conversations and transactions, says Bodnar. “PR has to take responsibility to let sales teams know what is available to them, and it may be as simple as teaching them how to use Twitter search.”
DIRECTLY DRIVING SALES
PR has always had success in driving sales directly, but even more so today. In the digital world, there are myriad ways to engage and generate sales. Thieke outlines the steps to tailor PR strategies for sales success, with digital platforms out in front:
â–¶ Understand the buyer and the buying process. “Segment your customer targets and build out buyer profiles and buyer personas,” says Thieke. “Then, research what the buying cycle is for each segment—how do they use the Web and social media?” Thieke gives an example of a teenager buying a song. They might first hear it on Internet radio, then go to YouTube and watch the video, then ask their friends about it on Facebook and finally go to iTunes to purchase the tune. Understanding your audience needs and how they make buying decisions helps tremendously with creating messages that resonate, she says.
â–¶ Create integrated campaigns. For many of Dow Jones’ campaigns, combinations of print, social media and the Web are used. “We’ve found that each of these channels has an impact on buying decisions,” says Thieke.
â–¶ Develop direct-to-customer content. Understanding and tapping customer interests are key, says Thieke. “People are less interested in marketing speak and more interested in certain features of product or service,” she says. Develop conversations around those interests and try to engage your experts, such as the product development team, in customer conversations.
Finally, make sure your message adds value. “If it appears that you’re selling something, it won’t work,” she says. “Helping people with their interests is creating value.”
â–¶ Tie efforts back to sales. Once the message is honed, you’ve got to point people toward the sale, says Thieke. Consider the following actions:
• Include a call to action (a sale, an offer, a free white paper download, etc.).
• Link consumers to the point of sale.
• Create a unique tracking code for each activity. These codes reveal which channels work the best, allowing you to change your tactics on the fly.
• Measure Web traffic and leads generated.
SALES-OPTIMIZED SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE
When done right, another effective PR vehicle to drive sales is the social media release. To gain a competitive advantage, Thieke has sales send tweets out to their networks teasing the release message, which “seeds the market.” Here are specific tips from Thieke for a sales-optimized social media release:
• Design a release landing page with the customer in mind.
• Use bite-size content and make the release easy to share and download
• Put the full press release at bottom of page.
• Encourage the customer to connect with you by including links to all of your social media landing pages.
• Add presentations, photos and video. People are reading less and watching more online.
• Share links with sales and marketing. A sales-optimized social media release is a great way to engage and collaborate with the sales force.
• Optimize the release for search.
• Include a link in the traditional press release to your social media release.
“The great thing about a social media release is it’s direct to the customer, fosters immediate brand awareness and provides content that can’t be delivered by a traditional press release,” says Thieke.
FINE-TUNING THE PR/SALES ENGINE
Organizational collaboration is the key to enabling sales through PR efforts, says Thieke. Working closely with marketing, the Web team, subject matter experts and, of course, sales is crucial for success.
It’s a process that is constantly evolving, says Bodnar, but that’s the challenge, and the satisfaction. PRN
CONTACT:
Diane Thieke, [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected].
Excellent suggestions!