Last week we posted a terrific HRmarketer case study for EmployeeScreenIQ, one of our PR Services clients. Ever since the company signed on with HRmarketer.com in summer 2009, they’ve enjoyed a steady stream of brand visibility and media coverage. At this year’s SHRM Conference in San Diego (where their COO Jason Morris was a featured speaker), one of their competitors remarked that EmployeeScreenIQ was “everywhere.” For this PR veteran, you can’t hear a sweeter story from your client.
So what’s their secret? A better question would be, “what’s their story?”
You see, media relations is all about storytelling. Early on, Nick Fishman (EmployeeScreenIQ’s chief marketing officer) and I put our heads together to come up with potential story ideas that would not only attract media attention but also make great material for white papers and content marketing campaigns. Being a background screening company, they had lots of juicy material to talk about: resume fraud, workplace violence, and HR managers’ risky over-reliance on social networking and credit checks. These were timely issues and exactly the kind of trend-based story topics that editors are looking for.
In the past year EmployeeScreenIQ has authored articles for Human Resource Executive, Talent Management, and TLNT.com, and they’ve been featured in the Associated Press and Workforce Management—plus newspapers, e-publications, and other media outlets. We’ve enjoyed strong responses to content marketing campaigns using HRmarketer.com's own list of 100,000+ HR professionals and we’ve teamed up to produce podcasts, webcasts and a major survey on background screening trends. Using HRmarketer.com software, our media database has been smoking with activity as we distribute a parade of press announcements and story pitches on behalf of our client. And we’re not stopping there.
Teamwork is another key ingredient of successful media relations, and EmployeeScreenIQ understands the client-agency dynamic. They make themselves available for our questions and they respond quickly to media opportunities. Plus Nick always makes for an engaging interview.
Clear messaging, strong content, serendipitous timing, persistence, and responsiveness—all are essential elements of a stellar media relations campaign. Combined with HRmarketer and our vast media relations tools, the sky’s the limit. Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?
Labels: case study, media placements, media relations, public relations
