Securing Outstanding Global PR in the Security Space

If you represent (in house or agency side) a security company, then chances are you’ll already know how dynamic the security market is and the hunger of start-ups and established security vendors alike to build a global brand.  As with any booming market, competition is fierce and the need to partner with genuine security PR experts is the only way to guarantee success.

While technology is global, it still takes a ‘think global and act local’ approach for successful PR campaigns. So, what are the noticeable differences between launching a company in the US and Europe?

Find out more in under two minutes:

To find out more on how NettResults can launch your security brand around the world, you know how to reach us.

Why PR Professionals Love Pandas

If you’re in the world of PR and you haven’t hugged a panda bear in the past 30 days, you’re missing a very big opportunity.

Panda 4.0 is the latest change to Google’s algorithm, the ‘secret sauce’ that determines which pages will feature in search results and how highly they rank. And these updates, along with many smaller iterations, are a key part of the search engine’s armory as it seeks to continually improve its ability to provide searchers with the most relevant results, pushing poor quality, spammy content lower down results pages.

Now, let me hear you roar like a panda, if you deal with companies that really don’t care about their Google ranking?  Over the sound of crickets all I can say is that I’m not surprised.

So, why the sudden love of Pandas from the PR community? Read on to find out why.

According to Google, what are the characteristics of a high quality web page? Well, some of the main characteristics that Google feels are important to the quality of a web page are; trust, value, written for searchers (rather than second guessing what might rank well), comprehensively covering a topic and originality.  These are elements most of searchers would probably use to define a quality page.

Since May, Google has introduced Panda 4.0 and it greatly benefits web sites that have solid public relations and professionally written content. The sites that are going to rank better keep their blogs updated with valuable content and are using social media to keep the conversation original, current and relevant.

Google is making strong writers the real heroes of the new online world. More than ever, the focus is on what’s interesting - funny, weird, horrifying or uplifting - rather than a bunch of arbitrary words that don’t have anything to do with your brand or business.

What makes your story unique and newsworthy? Whatever the subject of your press release, ask yourself why people should care. No longer can you get away with cramming words in the release, hoping people will get tricked into noticing your story. You have to write a great press release about your product/service so it spreads around the web on its own.

What’s truly interesting about your piece? Is it really news, or just fluff? If you don’t know, you’ll find out soon enough when your press release spreads or flops.

In short, like no time before in history, search engine optimization falls to the realm of public relations.  If you work in public relations today, not only should you be measured on quality, targeted published messages, but you can also, for the first time, be measured on Google ranking improvement.

Not only is the work of a public relations professional all about getting those killer articles, it’s now very clearly integrated into online marketing success.

Thank you Google, ranking now make sense to everyone who searches (especially the ones among us that appreciate good writing).

How to improve your PR

Or pretty much anything such as an employee problem or any area of your business. The system is simple and can be applied to anything.

Business is continually evolving, so too should your business. You need only concentrate on three elements to work in harmony to make improvements. Improvement requires systems, accountability and motivation

1 - Systems:

This is, what is needed to do the task.

Results – clearly define what the desired result is (e.g. what is the desired end result)

Documents – ensure that what we want done is documents (e.g. Word / Audio file)

Tools – helps employees do the work (e.g. computer, software, phone, coffee)

Ask yourself these questions –

Are there documented systems to deal with this?

Are the systems accurate and up to date?

Have responsibilities clearly been defined?

Do people have the tools they need to succeed?

2 - Accountability:

Making sure that you are accountable to a third party – ideally as a public relations executive, you report to your public relations manager. Your team need to be accountable to you if you want to improve your PR.

Trust – trust allows for open communication (trust must be bi-directional)

Education – team receives suitable education & training to carry out the task

Follow up – when delegated, there is follow-up to ensure it is completed on time and on budget as expected

Ask yourself these questions –

Are results being measured?

Is training being provided to teach correct actions?

How consistent and effective is the follow-up?

Are 1:1 meetings being held?

Does the employee trust their manager?

3 - Motivation:

Comes from within – so it’s he manager’s job to connect the task to the person:

Vision – business vision that is clear and can be communicated

Values – what we believe in – integrity, ethics etc

Cause – greater than money – why in business and why going to work

Ask yourself these questions –

Does the employee want to work at your company?

Have the company values been defined?

Does the employee believe in the company values?

Does the employee have a vision for their career?

Symptoms

Do you know what needs to be corrected? We’ve looked at this a lot, so I can tell you that the following will help you cut through the clutter:

Compliant – Good system and accountably – Poor motivation

Erratic performance – Good accountably and motivation – Poor system

Performance degrades over time – Good system and motivation – Poor accountably