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In the News
A recent article in PR News emphasized the importance of properly written news releases. “The quality of writing has gone downhill in the last few years,” wrote reporter Matthew Schwartz in a recent article in PR News.
Schwartz added: “Rife with misspellings and typos while the real news tends to be buried underneath flowery quotes from the CEO, press releases are a sore spot for many communications executives. Too often they’re crafted by committee – with no regard for AP style, or any style for that matter – and pushed down to inexperienced PR executives who have no background in journalism.”
The article included a case study of a well-written news release and the media coverage that it generated. The release, written by Thorp & Company’s David Schull and Yolanda Balido, resulted in the publication of feature articles on the front pages of The Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s business sections and other local media outlets.
Schull was quoted as saying that “good PR teams have a formal editing/style system in-house for all press releases. Before putting pen to paper, Thorp & Co. executives outline the content for the release, come up with an execution plan and then ask: What’s the news?”
To read the entire article, click on this link.
In a recent article in Practical Accountant, reporter Jeff Stimpson wrote that marketing and public relations are “perfect together, if accountants realize the differences between the two methods of getting the word out.”
Stimpson added: “Patricia Thorp, president of Thorp & Company, a Miami-based public relations firm that has represented accounting firms from national to professional staffs of two, acknowledges that both marketing and public relations for firms hinge on bringing in business and enhancing revenue, but she believes that CPAs need to recognize and understand the differences between the two to use either effectively.”
Thorp outlined the most common misconceptions of PR that accounting firms, like many other professional services firms have, including:
· Assuming that hiring a PR firm will immediately bring new business. “Much of a general PR campaign helps raise awareness, create a brand, or close a sale,” Thorp said.
· Believing that regional firms don’t deserve national media coverage. “Those firms should be reaching out to the national trade press in the niches they serve,” she said.
· Hesitating to participate in networking and speaking engagements. “At bigger firms, you may have those who’ve moved up through the ranks and are technically brilliant, but who don’t know how to network a room or give a speech. But those are skills, and they can be learned,” Thorp said.
To read the entire text of the article, click on this link.
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