The Future of Brands – Forbes Analysis

In the future, brands will not look anything like they do today. Yes, we will have names like Coke, Netflix and Starbucks but their upstart competitors will have a huge advantage when it comes to the world of digital competition.

In the 1990s and earlier, it took years to build a brand. But today, you can build a brand in days with strategic help from search engines.

Think about it: when you’re looking for a restaurant near you, you probably go right to your phone. We don’t need to remember brands anymore. Instead, we search for “best restaurants near me” — and Google provides the list.

Continue reading “The Future of Brands – Forbes Analysis”

Forbes Analysis – Emerging Customer Behavioral Trends

January is always a great month to assess business goals and trends. Forbes recently reached out to me and other entrepreneurs, asking for some insight on customer behavior trends. What are the big trends we can anticipate this year?

You can read here. If you’re short on time, here are some of the bigger trends I think we will continue to see with consumers, staring with the advice I offered Forbes.

Continue reading “Forbes Analysis – Emerging Customer Behavioral Trends”

Thought Leadership in Forbes – What Houdini Teaches us about Selling

By Mark Macias

One of the most exciting parts of my work is learning from experienced entrepreneurs and CEOs from all walks of life. The proximity to these entrepreneurs has given me a unique opportunity to observe thought-leadership up close.

I recently wrote an article in Forbes – What the Great Houdini can Teach Us about Selling. The entire story was inspired by a CEO who was a magician before his career in finance took off. He always shared stories with me on how magic is related to business. We need to captivate the buyer and never reveal our industry secrets, he would say.

I turned that thought leadership into thought leadership for Forbes. Here’s an abridged version of that article.

Continue reading “Thought Leadership in Forbes – What Houdini Teaches us about Selling”

How Much Does PR Cost?

It’s a common question every business owner wants to know. How much does PR cost?

There are many factors that determine the cost of a public relations campaign. How difficult is the campaign? What kind of resources will be needed to pitch reporters? How much time will it take to explain the story to each reporter? The PR industry is no different than accounting. Complexity and resources factor into the final bill.

MACIAS PR has created an online tool to help you get a PR estimate quickly. You don’t need to spend hours on the phone, explaining your product or waiting for a call back. If you’re curious about the cost of PR, just answer a few questions by clicking here

How Free PR Quote Calculator Works

The free PR quote calculator integrates critical questions to help us determine the cost for any campaign. We use this information to better understand the cost and complexity of every customized PR campaign. It takes less than 30 seconds to fill out. A PR estimate and proposal is sent out within 48 hours.

This virtual tool consists of eight questions regarding information about your company and your company’s goals.

  • Do you want to reach local consumers or customers across the country?
  • Is this a B2B or B2C campaign?
  • How unique is your product or service?
  • Does your business have a great story to tell?
  • By filling out the online questions, everyone saves time and knows what they are getting before they even hop on a call.”
Want to learn more? Click here:

About MACIAS PR

MACIAS PR was founded in 2009 by Mark Macias – a former executive producer with NBC, senior producer with CBS in New York and author of the business books Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media and The Tao of PR. In 2017 and 2018, MACIAS PR was named the Strategic PR Firm of the Year by marketing peers. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year based on their media deliverables, expertise and innovation in PR.

As a journalist, Macias was nominated for five Emmys in the categories: News & Public Affairs, Features, Business/Consumer, Documentary Programming, Religious Programming. He won an Emmy in News & Public Affairs. MACIAS PR has run branding, media and crisis campaigns for tech and healthcare organizations, financial groups, nonprofit organizations, politicians and trade organizations. The firm is based in New York City.

How to Motivate your Publicist – Tips to Get the Most from PR Teams

By Mark Macias

I recently wrote a column for Entrepreneur Magazine on the importance of getting your publicist on your side. The editors must have liked the editorial because they published it behind their paid wall.

You can read the column here, but if you don’t have a subscription, I’ll share a little more on how to get the most out of your publicist. It’s something I not only face daily with my own team, but also experience first-hand from clients who want the best PR campaigns for their brands.

Here’s an abridged version of my Entrepreneur column on how to get the most out of your publicist.

Continue reading “How to Motivate your Publicist – Tips to Get the Most from PR Teams”

Why Fear of Failure Destroys the Best PR Campaigns

              

By Mark Macias

Fear is an attitude that can never be associated with public relations. A creative media strategy requires confidence in an idea and strength with the execution.

The best publicists know they can’t be afraid of creative ideas when pitching reporters. The only thing more dangerous than fear? Complacency.

If your PR firm hasn’t succeeded recently with media outreach, it’s time to assess their level of fear. How far will they go to push your ideas and angles? Are they pushing stories that are already in the news, or are they conceptualizing new ideas that leading publications will want to follow?

Here’s a look at what separates the best PR firms from the agencies that never succeed.

Continue reading “Why Fear of Failure Destroys the Best PR Campaigns”

Tech Publication Grit Daily Asks MACIAS PR for Advice for Startups

The popular tech publication, Grit Daily, recently turned to MACIAS PR for PR advice. Their editors said they wanted to help their readers, entrepreneurs and startups who were struggling to find the best PR agency for their business.

You can read that full Q&A here.

If you’re short on time, here are two questions that our founder, Mark Macias, answered about finding the best PR agency for your business.

What should you look for when hiring a publicist?

MARK MACIAS: I’ve found the best publicists have a deeper understanding of how the media works from the inside. They have an intuition that spots trends and news stories before others.

A great publicist also understands the nuances of the media – because messaging is always a subtle sell around news. Experienced editors and journalists can spot an advertisement within seconds of hearing a pitch, and if it remotely sounds like a commercial, they won’t run it. The best publicity campaigns are able to weave themselves into the news fabric or pop culture.

Intuition is another overlooked factor. Journalism is usually centered around human behavior. It’s about connecting the invisible dots around people to form a story. And that’s not reading tea leaves. Intuition is a component of behavioral science.

How much should a startup pay for PR?

MARK MACIAS: Prices and approaches vary by firm, but it helps to understand how the payment plan works. You can pay by the hour, by the media placement or under a retainer.

I’m a firm believer that nothing is free in life, so if a publicist claims you only pay if they make a placement, I’d ask a lot of questions. It costs time and money to generate organic (earned) media. And a press release does not fall under that definition. It takes time to write a successful pitch and find the right reporters, and resources to secure the story. If someone offers to do work for free, I would question their experience and PR understanding.

Paying a lawyer, consultant or publicist by the hour scares me. If a story isn’t catching on, it’s easy to add more time – and under this payment plan, hours add up quickly. Personally, I prefer retainers because the cost won’t fluctuate, even when unexpected issues arise. And if the firm or consultant is reputable or cares about your business, they will likely add extra hours to ensure they meet your expectations, regardless of what happens.

MACIAS PR has a free PR calculator to help you get a real idea of how much PR would cost for your business. Click here to go to that calculator.

Does Performance based PR work? MACIAS PR Forbes Analysis

By Mark Macias

Every once in a while, I’ll get a request from a potential client asking if my PR agency would work off a performance-based structure. 

It happened again recently and inspired this thought leadership article I wrote for Forbes.

In theory, a performance-based model sounds like a great idea. The client doesn’t pay for anything unless the PR agency succeeds. Of course, as most entrepreneurs learn, if any deal is too one-sided, you lose money.

I don’t think many entrepreneurs really understand the depth, strategy and resources required to run a successful media campaign that leads to earned media — and I’m not talking about a press release. I’m talking about a bonafide news story or feature in a publication that you read.

You can read my analysis in Forbes here. If you’re short on time, here’s an abridged version of my thoughts on performance based PR.

Continue reading “Does Performance based PR work? MACIAS PR Forbes Analysis”

Entrepreneur Editorial – How the Pandemic is Shaping PR

Entrepreneur Magazine just published my editorial that takes a deeper look at how the pandemic is shaping PR.

You can click on this link to read more on the story, but if you’re short on time, here’s a quick synopsis to help with your future publicity campaigns.

This thought leadership was inspired after I read a post in a private Facebook group with reporters and publicists where we exchange ideas. Someone asked if PR was dead.

PR has definitely evolved since I entered this industry after my career with NBC and CBS. But this last year has accelerated even more changes in PR.

It’s even harder today to navigate the media landscape. A lot of journalists lost their jobs because of COVID. In addition, the competition for eyeballs is getting tougher as more online news sites pop up. And we can’t dismiss the consumer market, which is getting more fragmented.

All of these headwinds make a targeted media and communications strategy even more critical.

Here’s a closer look at why I wrote that why experienced strategic thinkers will become even more valued, and more scarce in the coming years.

Continue reading “Entrepreneur Editorial – How the Pandemic is Shaping PR”

Media Training – Common Mistakes with Reporters

Speaking with reporters requires a much different approach and style than holding a conversation with your friends. Your friends will be more generous with your time, allowing you to meander from thought-to-thought.

But it doesn’t work like that with the media. You need to be concise and tight on messaging. If you veer off from the story line, most reporters will tune out. And if you’re speaking with a TV producer or reporter, it’s even more paramount to stick to the script.

During my time as a producer for NBC and CBS, I had to listen and log many interviews that went off track. The subject veered to a different topic, taking double the amount of time as I listened to it in person and on tape. As I became more experienced, I brought the interview subject back to the story. But in today’s world of journalism – where reporters are younger and younger – you might not get the chance to get guidance from the producer.

I wrote a story for Forbes last year, outlining the 5 biggest mistakes I saw leaders make during media interviews. You can read that story here, but if you’re short on time, here’s an outline of the tips.

Don’t Start the interview Chronologically

It’s our nature to want to tell a story from the beginning, but this approach doesn’t work with reporters. It’s critical to get to the story point quickly during any interview. 

It might not be in our nature to start a story with the end-result, but this approach will keep the interview more focused. If a reporter knows within the first two minutes where the story is going, he’s more likely to follow it.

Reporters want to understand quickly what the story is – or they will get lost. If you start the story chronologically – and it’s a long story – every additional minute of talking is another potential minute at risk of losing the story. 

Focus on the Sell

It’s critical to communicate to reporters why their readers will care about your story, product, concept, idea – or whatever you’re selling. You don’t have to be overt with your sell, but the story sell must be expressed somewhere in the interview.

All reporters are writing for their readers. And that means they need a payoff for their readers. If you don’t communicate the payoff in the interview – also known as the sell – the reporter won’t have a story.

Add Insight to the story

Reporters don’t write about information; they write about angles. The news angle is all about how you frame the story and support it. As a CEO, you have industry knowledge reporters want to hear. Facts and figures are not part of that knowledge.

A common mistake from many CEOs and CTOs is to jump into the facts or data without providing insight or color on what it means. Don’t diminish your expertise or knowledge by quoting industry stats or data points. Instead, tell the reporter what they suggest or reveal.

Take Time to Breathe

Many business leaders know they have a few minutes to tell the story to reporter so they try to compress a 30 minute thought into 10 minutes of run-on sentences. 

I have a general rule that I tell clients. Don’t speak for more than 2 minutes without checking in with the reporter. Ask if he’s following along. Of course, it’s a general rule so there are exceptions. When you’re speaking with an industry reporter who wants to take a deep dive, then the old rule of checking in doesn’t always apply.

Don’t talk about Yourself

Unless you’re getting interviewed for a profile story, stay away from situations where you talk about yourself. Sure, you can provide insight on what you’re hearing from the industry. Or you can give your opinions on the latest trends you’re seeing. But those situations are different from blatantly talking about yourself. 

ABOUT MACIAS PR

Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017-2020 Strategic PR Firm of the Year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. City & State Magazine named him a PR Political Power Player in 2021.