The world of public relations (PR) has transformed in the last 25 years. When I first launched Calysto Communications – a global marketing and PR agency specializing in the wireless and telecom industry – back in 1999, we pitched media by calling them, faxing them and emailing them. We usually faxed press releases and put them on the wire. And we documented media coverage in huge binders, complete with printed out stories.
When the Calysto team traveled to a trade show to support a client, we would haul huge three ring binders with us. These “briefing books” contained pages upon pages of information designed to help our clients navigate the dozens of in-person interviews with press and analysts that we had scheduled for them at the show. I often carried multiple briefing books for different clients, and my back hurt for days after I got home. 😊
The Power of C2: Content and Connections
In today’s electronic world, paper no longer rules the world. But one thing has not changed: The importance of developing relationships with the right industry influencers – and creating compelling stories that target their audience and capture their interest.
Don’t get me wrong. Today it is MUCH easier to communicate directly with customers in addition to influencers. In fact, Calysto has developed successful social media strategies and blog campaigns that allow our clients to not only target influencers but also to directly appeal to customers, prospects, investors and partners.
But while communicating with customers is a big part of PR today, reaching the right influencers is still critical, particularly for business-to-business companies. In fact, developing content and building connections (I call it C2) are still two of the most important tools in marketing and PR today.
Of course, when I say influencers, I’m not talking about people like Kim Kardashian and Logan Paul. In the AI, IoT, mobile, wireless and telecom industries – the type of businesses that Calysto has successfully served for 25 years – influencers are the media, analysts, consultants and bloggers who hold credibility and connections.
At Calysto, we don’t EVER underestimate the power of influencer relations. Because strong relationships and focused campaigns that target the right media and non-media influencers can put your company on the map.
In fact, Calysto has some clients who focus not on getting covered by the media but specifically on developing relationships with industry analysts. For example, Calysto created a targeted industry analyst campaign for its IoT MVNO client Soracom that yielded more than 70 briefings with industry analysts in 36 months. As a result, Soracom has been recognized many times for market leadership in multiple analyst reports, including the Gartner Magic Quadrant, the Forrester Wave™ Report and IDC FutureScape as well as many smaller analyst profiles. Soracom still dedicates the majority of its PR budget to building relationships with industry analysts today.
Why Your Message Still Matters
While developing the right connections is critical, your connections won’t pay off if you don’t communicate a compelling message. Because even if influencers agree to talk with you once, they won’t waste their time again if you have nothing interesting to say.
So when you consider hiring a PR firm, don’t just ask them to provide specific names of whom they would pitch your story to – make sure you ask if they work with you to develop the right message and will continue to help you perfect it.
Your PR firm should not only be scheduling briefings and interviews for you, they should also be listening to your important interviews and coaching you afterward on how to do better the next time. If that is not part of their practice, you need to find another PR firm.
Of course, your company’s message isn’t the only thing that helps you succeed in connecting with influencers. Building your personal brand helps too. So here’s a little bonus PR tip: Before you even think about scheduling briefings with key influencers, make sure you take a good, hard look at your LinkedIn accounts. Because analysts and media will review it before they talk to you – and having the right connections and information on LinkedIn helps you build a more personal rapport with the influencers you meet.
Building Connections Pays Off
When I launched Calysto 25 years ago, I spent my first week making phone calls to my connections in the mobile, wireless and telecom industry to tell them about my new venture. Many of the people I called that day have become lifelong friends and colleagues, and nurturing those connections has helped my clients, benefited my business and most importantly enriched my overall life.
In the last 25 years, I’ve worked hard to build a seasoned Calysto team of industry insiders who are the most knowledgeable and well-connected in the industry. And that’s a big reason why Calysto is so successful in getting results for its clients. I’m proud that Calysto is celebrating 25 years of business this year, having helped more than 315 clients build their companies using marketing and PR strategies that leverage both insider connections and compelling content.
You can check out some of the results we’ve delivered here. And we hope you enjoy the infographic we created at Calysto to showcase how PR has changed in the last 25 years.