Commentary:
Transperfect CEO Liz Elting is hard at work becoming
the executive with the most visibility in the
translation business. The September 2005
issue of Oprah Magazine (the most popular
women's magazine in the United States) profiles
Liz in a story series titled "Your First
$1,000,000." Last year, Elting was named
Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year by Entrepreneur
Magazine. Wearing the same red power suit, she
was also featured in an online advertising campaign
for American Express Corporate Cards. Whoever
does Transperfect's public relations (PR) should
get a raise.
In our workshops and consulting projects we tell
clients that a good PR strategy buys a lot more
exposure than a big advertising budget. Why? Readers
remember stories about people while they gloss
over advertisements. Profiles like the ones of
Elting in national magazines such as Oprah and
Entrepreneur are the holy grail of PR, especially
since those titles have the potential of lying
around a doctor's office or vacation home for
years. Stories in national or regional newspapers
-- such as a July story about AAA Translations'
Susanne Evens in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
-- have a shorter shelf life, but are nonetheless
desirable placements for a company.
Public relations goes far beyond issuing press
releases and getting them into paid newswires.
A good PR professional understands what is newsworthy
from the media's point of view and pitches stories
that will attract the attention of potential customers.
In service industries like translation and localization,
public relations efforts can yield better results
than pure marketing. After all, when someone else
talks about your company, it adds to your credibility.
The same holds true on the client side for CEOs,
CIOs, and VPs of marketing who may benefit from
increased exposure of their globalization initiatives
in the media, as case studies in business books,
and as conference keynoters.
The next time you think about issuing a press
release describing your vastly improved website
or the new painting on the walls of your office,
stop! Find a human interest story instead. If
your tale of rags-to-riches sounds like something
out of Horatio Alger,everybody in your office
is a working mother, all your project managers
volunteer at the local AIDS hospice, or your partner
trekked to Nepal with 5 tons of textbooks for
local schools, your story may have a better chance
of being picked up by the media -- and read by
potential clients.
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