Rising Above The Noise - Developing a Communications Strategy That Works

Rachel Cossar: Hello, everyone, and welcome to another conversations in the future of work. I am your host, Rachel Kusser, and I am thrilled to be focusing this session on the PR and communications space, and we’ll have a very special focus on how AI is coming into that space disrupting it or elevating it, what to be aware of. And then, of course, if you are a small business or startup, CEO founder owner, we’ll be touching on some of the things you can think about when you’re early on in that company’s journey. So without further ado, I would like to introduce our speaker the incredible Lori Sussle Banani. So if you want to just quickly introduce yourself, Lori and share with our audience some of the main main facts.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: Well, Rachel, thank you so much for having me. So I am the founder and Consultant communications consultancy. I say that I build and grow companies’ reputations to increase awareness, business results, and credibility. And based on my background, I have nicknamed myself a nontraditional publicist, and I partner with companies as early as fast growing funded startups and established as Global 500. Awesome. Great.

Rachel Cossar: Well, we’re so excited to have you on the show. And selfishly, I’ve been really looking forward to this conversation because I am in that kind of early startup stage and PR has just like always been one of those things that I struggle with. So bringing our first question in, What what’s your advice for how small business owners and founders should be thinking about their communication strategy? Sure.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: So that I love this question because most people are like, I wanna be in the New York times. And it’s like, well, first, you have to build that. So one of my, visual explanations of this as a roller coaster. So as you’re going up the roller close coaster, you’re slow and steady. So that’s building your thought leadership. Right? Who are you? Why do people wanna hear from you? Are you writing on your company blog? Are you posting on LinkedIn and other socials? Are you getting quoted in some publications that are relevant to your industry? Just slow and steady. We’re not looking for, nobody might not have news at this point. It’s just who are you and why are you an expert. And that can come in many different ways. Then you get to the top and you have some kind of news to drop eventually. Right? You’re launching. You are you’re announcing a a funding round announcement. You, have some kind of news. Like, you can answer the question. Why will people care? That If Zach can get answered and it’s truly newsworthy, you’re dropping your news. And then you are gonna maintain that momentum as you go down the roller coaster. Right? How can you keep that momentum up because if somebody’s Googling your company, whether it’s a potential partner, a potential client, a potential employee, And that news that you launched was 3, 4 years ago, and there hasn’t been anything with your company since. You know, what does that like, it sort of looks like you haven’t really maintained that momentum. So initially, I would say that, you know, what is the purpose and values of your company, what why are you, you know, mission, vision, values, and all of that and understanding who your audience You know, we talk all the time and is your message resonating with your targeted audience? And not only is it resonating, is it reaching them? So understanding that. And one of the things I find with a lot of founders and small business owners as they wanna be on every platform. And every platform is great if it you can handle it, but wouldn’t you rather be really great at one thing than, like, mediocre at a lot of things? And so really narrowing down. Where is your audience? And you don’t need to be on the newest latest channel just because you think you should. Is there a business reason in a business case for that? And that’s something that I help companies, decide, you know, what what makes the most sense. Because the other piece is consistency. If you’re gonna have channels and you’re gonna be posting in it’s so far and few between doesn’t make sense for you to be on that channel. Totally understand people wanna have that channel and secure their name, and that’s all great. But direct people to where you really are having that conversation. Right.

Rachel Cossar: Those are such good points. I find you know, with our own journey, your point about, like, where are you getting the most resonance according to the channel is a really good one because very tempting to just be blasting content out on all of these different social media oriented channels, you know, we at virtual Sapiens are very much beautifully focused. Yeah. And LinkedIn has been our most powerful social media specifically outlet. And, you know, so we’ve just been doubling down on on that one. But it is. It’s tempting to be like, well, you know, maybe we should be trying TikTok and Instagram and we did try them, but it became pretty obvious pretty quickly almost in, like, a validating way. Like, this isn’t where your audience is. Yeah.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: Then I am also b to b. So the LinkedIn for me is is really where it’s at. And I think, it’s a conversation for another day, but Twitter, and it’s former form was also somewhere that was helpful for me to be, but, I’m a writer. So to me, being on Instagram with visual content doesn’t make a ton of sense. So thinking that through for for different companies is is is really the first piece of it because somebody’s like, well, we should be there because everybody’s there, but is who who’s everybody? Because you want your customer. You want your potential partner. And I’ve followed companies that are on different channels, and it should be different content or at least a mix of them. And instead, it’s just the same content repurposed And that’s not really going to help move the needle either because if you have people who are on different channels, They might be there for different reasons. Right? Right. Right. But then, going back to the question about communication strategy, the other piece is you know, being adaptable. Right? Like, what’s working, what’s not, you have to be really nimble about that, and you can figure out really fast with working. And so I think in terms of that strategy, just having that roller coaster analogy kind of breaks up the pieces of you know, where are you communicating, and it’s not all at once. Right? Like, that slow and steady can take some time, and you might not have that news to announce, because nobody writes about you because you exist, you know, that’s called advertising. And so It depends where you wanna spend your money. Yeah. No. That’s super helpful.

Rachel Cossar: So complete, thinking about, like, it sounds like, right, especially on that beginning early part of the roller coaster. Right? There’s a lot of work that companies and founders can and should be doing themselves but at what point do you think it makes sense to maybe start investing in support when it comes to some of this PR work.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: Oh, it it’s gonna differ. But I would say I have worked with companies that are so super early, getting everything organized and ready for a full time hire to take over. Has been One Avenue. Another avenue is me personally. I offer, like, this power hour kind of building you a to do an actionable to do list that you could either hire someone much less expensive, but they have plan to go after or break it up among your founding team. And I’ve done that before, and I’ve built the strategy for clients and then they go and execute it. So more of a DIY approach, but having an actionable to do list, not just, oh, yeah, you should post on LinkedIn. It’s, like, very specific and it takes into account, you know, answers to a questionnaire and conversations. And then the other time is when you have actually have news. Right? So there’s a lot of pieces that go into dropping that news. And so when you are launching a product or service, you should be looping in your communications team early on. Not, oh, we’ve got everything ready to go. We’re launching next week because There’s a lot of work that can be done on the back end to help secure that process. Mhmm. But I would say to answer this specifically, what condition I would say launching a product or service, handling a crisis, which we can talk a little more about. If you’ve secured funding or any kind of investment, even milestones or industry thought leadership Are you looking to be placed in different outlets? You know, maybe you don’t have news, but you have, hey, I’ve written these, you know, pieces, and I’ve got, like, a series and I don’t want it just on my LinkedIn or my website speaking to my echo chamber. I want to expand that audience. Right? But also if you’re targeting a specific audience, How do you get into, industry publications, you know, national publications, all of that? And, you know, if you don’t have a comms team or you have a marketing team of 1 or 2, thinking small businesses and startups, having that extra, you know, brain power on your team to take things off of your plate or to put things on a plate that people are not already qualified to do, or just don’t have the bandwidth for. Yeah. But certainly investing in PR isn’t just, hey. We have an announcement Let’s do it, which certainly is a piece of it, but there is a lot that could be built up in advance of that announcement, and comms is usually brought in too late. So I would give it at least, you know, 6 to 8 weeks before you wanna do something. You don’t need to have the engagement that long, but at least to be thinking about, okay. We are spending all this time and effort on launching it. Yeah. You know, how do we launch it to people that aren’t already in our echo chamber. Totally.

Rachel Cossar: That’s if, man, it’s such a hard I feel like it’s really hard to know how to get beyond your your own, as you say, echo chamber. One of the other questions I had about this specifically is like you know, we’ll be reached out to frequently with these like pay to play, opportunities. You know, and like we’re I’m like a we’re absolutely not gonna do that but like what do you think about those? Is that like What do you think about all those? I’d be very careful.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: So so I think a good example is this. And and I will say this. There is a time and a place for a press release news like, a press release to go on a newswire. There is absolutely a time and a place public company making announcement, financials, whatever. You know, and it’s great for SEO. However, and I will age and date myself right now. Used to send press releases on fax machines, and somebody would be at the other end in getting the the faxes of the press release And then, you know, a journalist would be like, oh, I’m gonna write about this one. I’m gonna write about this one. Now it obviously comes to an inbox. And they just get posted. Right? Nobody is sitting and reading business wire or PR Newswire or any of these other smaller news wires.

Rachel Cossar: Nobody in your industry is just sitting there like, what might come up on the wire today? Right.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: They’re reading publications in their industry. And while it does sound overwhelming and, like, how do I get it into these? It’s just easier on the wire. When you are putting stuff on the news wire, it’s going on to websites that might be temporary. They’re going on to sites that post every press release So there’s a time and a place. Yes. And would I recommend it as the first way to get your news out? No. And so That is very much pay to play in a different sense of it. But wouldn’t you rather see your article in a industry publication or national publication where potential customers are actually reading your potential employees, And so it hurts my heart when I see somebody, like, announcing, you know, a new product or service or new geography or a partnership or some kind of collaboration or anything. It hurts when I see. And it’s like a newswire release they’re sharing because There’s so much out there in terms of targeted pitching that could really make and move the needle. Know, to make the difference for you. But to answer the pay to play, is the time and the place? Is the best answer, and I would vet it really well. And I would see where that lands. You know, does it get you high up on Google? Is it worthy you know, for you to be on, like, the big thing, you know, I learned a long time ago, right? You’re judged by the company you keep and, you know, when you land that pay to play feature, where is it? And does it does it look like somewhere you wanna be? Yeah. No. Absolutely.

Rachel Cossar: I I think for startup founders, it’s also really tempting to, like, try to be placed on these like like lists, you know, and I think you’re absolutely right that the question one should be asking are really like, first of all, who is even paying attention to this list? Yeah. And who else is on the list. And be because at the end of the day, like, these things take time out of your day and you as is, like, the leader of a company like this. You just don’t really have time to be wasting on something that’s gonna be low ROI or and or could be potentially a little damaging to your presence. Right? Like, as if people, like, know that that’s a bogus site and you’re just like, yay. Look at me. People are like, oh, this person is like, is not paying attention. Yeah.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: Well, and, like, I’ve gotten invite. I mean, I I can give you a laundry list of the things. You know? Here comes speak at this phenomenal conference in, you know, wherever, and it’s you know, $8000 to be considered. Or, you know, here’s this really cool article and you’ll be on this site and it’s, like, it’s been dormant for 6 months. Like, just really knowing what that looks like. And so when my clients send me these things all the time, Is this something we should do?

Rachel Cossar: And, you know, I’m like, I don’t wanna bother your bubble, but, you know, we shouldn’t. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. No. That’s if you wanna spend money, for my recommendations. Like Yeah. Totally. So what are so we talked about this. Like, you’re ramping up, you know, your your spending the right amount of time and focus really building your brand and your thought leadership. But let’s say, like, you do want some of the top media outlets attention? Like, is there a way to do that well, or is it just kind of what they’re looking for at the time?

Lori Sussle Bonanni: So remember when I said a little bit ago about, you know, when you want, you want that 6 to 8 week run way to think of, you know, to bring somebody in comms on. So, you know, what is the headline? What is your target audience? Who are the reporters that write about this? You know, what is your pitch? Why why do people care? Like, I do that a lot with clients. Like, oh, you want me to pitch this? Like, so what? Tell me why. I why would people care? But also knowing who that journalist is. And I mean, we’re recording this before this goes live, but there has been, you know, pretty much, you know, journalists have been essentially, there’s been massive layoffs. Right? And so the journalists that you think you may have been reaching out to on their beat, they might not be there. So really staying up on where people are landing, where they’re going, has their beat changed is really important because, you know, I’ve secured you know, media in Forbes, and I have contacts at Forbes and using this as an example. And so I have gotten media placed about health care and entertainment. So if you come to me I guess, health tech and entertainment. But if you come to me with a CPG brand, Yeah. I’ve gotten coverage and Forbes, but those aren’t the reporters that are gonna write about it. It’s not like, oh, that’s not your beat, but can you do me a favor or write about it anyway? Like, no, that’s not how it like, find that reporter that writes about it and then pitch that reporter because they’ll care. And so Capturing the media’s attention, I would say the number one thing is make sure you find the right reporter, the right journalist. That would be the first thing. And you know, knowing who your, target audiences, but also knowing that, you know, you’re not gonna be able to read the article before it goes live. You’re not gonna be able to do any of that. And I get asked that all the time, but, it’s it’s earned media. Like, it’s not paid, and so you have to trust that that story is going to be written you know, with the information that you gave, and that’s how it’s going to be reported. It’s not it’s not exactly, you know, it’s not advertising. So it’s not totally in your hands. And so understanding that and thinking about all the ways to to capture attention. One of the examples I give a lot is like a hub and spoke model. So Let’s say you have a food brand, and that’s in the middle of the hub, and you’re pitching food magazines, food publications, food writers, But let’s talk about, you know, each publications. Is there something healthy about it? Now you can go into health magazines. Does it travel well? Now you can be in publications around tourism and travel and how does that, you know, things to pack, you know, for your next flight and You know, is it kid friendly now? You can get into parenting magazines. Are there cool partnerships? What supermarkets might you be in? You know, what what is that look like. And so you’ve now expanded just going from, you know, CPG and and consumer publications to now you’re expanding it to supply chain, manufacturing, travel, you know, so that audience really can vary. And so to capture the media’s attention, you’re not gonna write the same pitch for a supply chain uh-uh reporter as you are going to for, like, a general consumer interest story. Mhmm. So making sure that your pitch lines and you’re not just, you know, copy pasting, the pitches because it’s different for each audience. Right.

Rachel Cossar: But so in that case, in that sense, if you’re doing your research, you’re making sure that you’re again, messaging is aligned to the person within that publication who’s most likely to be interested. Submitting those proposals is can work. Like, it’s not like they just sometimes it feels like they go into these voids, but it must, like, do those actually work? Yes. Yes.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: Well, when I work with different, brands, Sometimes they overlap, and sometimes it’s the same journalist. And sometimes it’s totally a new you know, might be a new geography. It might be, you know, yeah. Well, there’s I work with a lot of technology companies, but am I going to write to the same reporter that covers SaaS as I am for a hardware, like, it’s gonna be different. So, as long as you have a good solid pitch that’s relevant to that journalist. Right. You know, then it’s up to what’s breaking, what’s on their plate, are are they still at that company, you know, as is are they on vacation? Is there, you know, another breaking story? And and there’s other things that you know, could happen, to push it. But if you know that what you’ve written is solid and in their inbox, it might not be tomorrow that you get a response, but maybe for a story later. I’ve that’s happened before. I’ve pitched people and then, they’ve never even reached out. And then I see them in a roundup story later. I had a client that Sure. I had landed a lot of press for on, a series a funding announcement and they were in, menopause and sexual health space and a couple weeks after that. One of the publications, you know, they announced the raise, and we you know, there’s a couple of great articles. And then couple weeks later in TechCrunch, They were writing about menopause start ups and why they’re not getting funded. And my the company that I mentioned was in there, and So my pitch was good enough. They didn’t even need to reach out for more information. They were able to include enough in that roundup. So sometimes you could be surprised too. Wow.

Rachel Cossar: Well, that’s, I mean, that’s very inspiring. Now let’s move on to the last question here. Right? Which is interesting because I mean, AI’s been affecting every industry differently, and I’d I’d love to hear your thoughts on how is AI being applied and used within this space and then what are some things people should be aware of either in their capacity as, you know, a a startup founder or small business owner who’s looking to leverage some PR, but maybe he’s looking at AI. Like, what is going on with AI and PR comps?

Lori Sussle Bonanni: Well, as a, excuse me, as a writer, I have been, given a lot of writing that is very clearly AI. So I would definitely know that it’s being used, you know, maybe to write pitches or emails or whatever. But how personalized does it? Like, take a look at it before you send it, because that customization is huge. So, And you can also tell, you know, I, as a writer, can tell if something has been written by AI, but journalists certainly can and they have, you know, things that they can run everything through. So I think from writing, that’s a big one. Obviously, there’s chat bots, you know, for inquiries and and customer service. There’s some social media listening, what they’re doing, and, you know, translation and and different languages, you know, speech and and image recognition. So there’s lots of ways that AI is being used. And while I do think it will be applied positively. There’s a lot. And, I’m a member of the PRSA, which is a public relations Society of America, and they recently released on a report that was fascinating all about the ethics of AI. And so I think there’s going to be a lot coming out of that as it evolves. And I think, you know, for brainstorming, for, you know, you know, drafting things. I think it it could be useful, but I find more often than not if I put something in and I’m plopping it in trying to play with it. It’s like, I need to rewrite it. But I’m also coming as a writer. Right? So to me, I know what I’m capable of. And, you know, sometimes for writing, writing’s not people’s thing. Right? Like, it’s almost like, I’m not great at math. And so, you know, I’m gonna use a calculator. Right? But I think that, you know, different AI algorithms are coming into SAS products that are in the PR space. And so Yeah. Still testing some things out. So I I am intrigued to see how it evolves and and, comes up with these efficiencies. Knowing that there’s still a need for this personalized communication. And and I think, you know, on the journalist side, something that’s really huge is, you know, AI, the one thing it can’t do is interview. Right? And so when I’m writing, when a journalist is writing, a lot of that comes from like crafted questions that follow a conversation and, you know, bring out some more information from the the source. And so I think that that is, it will evolve, but I just don’t think it’s it’s there yet. Yep. I mean, that makes a lot of sense.

Rachel Cossar: I think at least in my experience, you know, AI can be helpful if you are looking for kind of a quantity of ideas. But almost always as like a point of curiosity, like a a jumping off point of curiosity, which you would then take and hone and really make your own or inspire into something that you might You know? Yeah. For sure.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: Like, I feel like if I, for example, ask it, you know, give me a couple of, you know, topics on this that could be explored. And, you know, it’s gives me headlines or whatever. And I always find that, like, if I see I never have found something that I’m like, oh, I wanna use that, but it, you know, gets the mind. Like, what else could you use? Or you know, oh, that’s no good, but, you know, something like this could be. And Right. And so thinking about that. But I think, Yeah. It a lot remains to be seen and the ethics around it will be interesting. Absolutely. Who owns what? Absolutely. Yeah.

Rachel Cossar: Well Laurie, thank you so much for being on the show and sharing so much super useful feedback in terms of understanding the space and the timeline and the effort that really goes into it. Would you mind sharing with our audience how they can get in touch with you if you have a, like, a power hour schedule that they can be aware of. Sure.

Lori Sussle Bonanni: So I can be reached on through my website, elsys.com, which is elsslikesamus.com. I can also be reached on LinkedIn, Lori Sussle Banani. And if you go on my website and services, you can click down and there is power hour, and I help you with a clear road map with action items that you can start doing immediately. But I would say, you know, going back to where are you on socials? And I would say LinkedIn is definitely where I am. And if you reach out, just let me know that you saw me here so I can make the connection and I look forward to hearing from your listeners. Awesome. Great.

Rachel Cossar: Well, thank you so much. And, of course, thanks to everyone for tuning in. Laurie, I’ll see you in the greener. Thank you