Ask a barber, and he’ll tell you yes, you need a haircut. Ask a videographer if you need to hire an experienced professional to help produce something compelling, and they’ll usually answer in the affirmative. That’s our business, right? But these days, the question can be a little harder to answer.

You might choose your nephew – armed with an iPhone, Chromebook and a love for John Wick films (I haven’t seen the new one, so no spoilers!). This amateur videographer might produce a clip that accomplishes everything you desire. Alternatively, you could take tens of thousands of dollars to a production house that creates something that would be at home on the big screen.

It’d be easier if those were the only two options, but today, there are a range of videographers and production companies in between. At NP Strategy, we produce nearly all of our client’s content in house, but there are times when the answers to the following questions mean connecting our clients with a trusted vendor. How do you know what avenue is right for you and your organization?

Consider your options by answering these questions:

1. Who’s your audience, and how will they view your video?
High school students watching on iPhones? Potential donors watching during your presentation on stage at a charity luncheon? The right videographer knows how to speak to the audience you’re targeting. Answering the audience question is the first step as you layout production.

2. What’s the story you’re trying to tell?
This question is fundamental to any production, and while it might sound simple, the answer can be complex. If your goal is meant to trigger an emotional response or compel the viewer to respond to an ‘ask,’ look for a company that’s demonstrated a strong ability to tell a story with subtlety and humanity; one that might not be as A-Z as a viewer would expect.

3. What elements do you have to work with?
What are your ‘ingredients’? Are there interview subjects already waiting in the wings, or is there legwork involved in helping compel people to talk? An established, experienced vendor will have more experience helping you get people to the table comfortably and collaboratively.

4. What’s your deadline?
If it’s tight and must be met (what other kinds are there, right?) you don’t want to put your fate into the hands of someone without a demonstrated ability to meet deadlines. This is another one that sounds basic, but I’ve witness firsthand clients who have come to NP Strategy because they’ve been burned by missed deadlines.

5. What’s your budget?
In an ideal world, the answers to the questions above would dictate how much money you spend to produce your video, but we all know the answer to THIS question is usually the deal maker/breaker. More expensive does not always mean more effective, though. Pay attention to the answers from 1-4, before using the budget answer as the end all be all.

You have more options than ever when it comes to producing video, but the basics of storytelling and client services haven’t changed. Take the time to answer these questions, and your path will become clear.

Or, feel free to just give us a call. We’re professionals you know…

Taylor Kearns is a filmmaker at heart and a professional communicator by trade. Ever since he got his hands on the family camcorder as a child, he’s been using video and sound to tell stories. In college, he turned that love of moving pictures into a career in broadcast journalism. He went on to earn two regional Emmy awards for his work. With seven years’ experience as a photojournalist and reporter, Taylor sought out the feature stories he knew would resonate with viewers.

Business is about relationships, both good and bad. Successful organizations must be constantly aware of who will help move the organization forward, and those who will hold the organization back. Creating a stakeholder map that outlines who will be an ally or foe can be one of the most effective tools for making short-term decisions and meeting long-term goals.

NP Strategy has outlined a suggested approach to stakeholder mapping and management, so you may already know how to build your list.

But do you know why a comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan benefits your business?

1. Education

Communicating directly with a stakeholder allows you to learn not only their perspective, but can provide new insights on a product or issue to help you gain a competitive advantage. Be sure to include diverse perspectives in your outreach to ensure you are hearing from all angles. You never know what you may learn! 

2. Effective Decision Making

The education gleaned from the fresh perspectives described above may change your mind on an issue and allow you to make a more informed decision. Or better yet, hearing from your stakeholders may reinforce a decision you’ve already made. It never hurts to consider a problem from a different approach, and an informed decision should always be the goal.

3. Trust

When you reach out to stakeholders, you are letting them know you value their perspective. This collaborative approach helps build trust and goodwill toward you and your organization. This can be especially useful if you’re working in the wake of a crisis; rebuilding trust can be a long, arduous process, but it starts with making sure all of your stakeholders feel like they have a seat at the table. 

4. Cost Savings

Engaging with stakeholders can ultimately save time and money. Data shows that companies who engage stakeholders improve their chances of finishing a project on time and on budget. That savings can come from the elimination of roadblocks, and the mitigation of surprises that can slow your organization’s process.

5. Risk Management

Groups and individuals may help you identify potential risks before they become threats to your project or organization. Preventing these threats also eliminates the harm (budgetary and otherwise!) they can bring.

6. Accountability

In the end, engaging with groups and individuals is key to improving accountability within your own organization as well as with external audiences. Transparency is important – be clear about the outcomes you are hoping to achieve and the steps you are taking along on the way. Don’t forget to follow up with your stakeholders to let them know how you are doing!

Effective stakeholder management can make or break a project – and it all begins with your plan.

Jean Cecil Frick has built a career out of trusted relationships. She is a veteran of the private, public and non-profit sectors driven by helping individuals and organizations achieve their goals. Today, she serves as a senior strategic advisor at NP Strategy where she helps clients connect with the right people and get their message across to key audiences.

We receive bad news almost every day. It comes to us indirectly through the news and social media, or directly in emails, letters, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations.  Bad news can be global or individual, life-changing or trivial. We receive the bad news of a security breach at a bank, for example, very differently depending on how closely we are affected. A cybersecurity breach that impacts individuals in another state won’t receive the same reaction as a breach that led to the loss of our hard-earned dollars.  It doesn’t only matter what we find out, though; it also matters how we find out. In the case of fraud, for instance, customers will react more negatively if they receive the news from a breaking news story instead of directly from the bank.

As a business, it is practically guaranteed you’ll need to share difficult information at some point – perhaps a quarter with low profits, a reduction in services, an increase in pricing, a change in policy or even a leadership termination.

When bad news develops within your organization, it’s usually best that you, the leader, share the news. It’s always better to be the bearer of bad news yourself. If you don’t develop the surrounding narrative, someone else will – and you’ll lose control of what’s said about your business. Develop a narrative and create a plan for sharing it: emails, letters, or phone calls can all be acceptable methods of delivery, depending on the scale of your organization and the severity of the news.

Below are four more components to consider as you craft your message:

1. Start with the right structure

Briefly set the stage of why you are reaching out by providing essential background information. Then, in the first paragraph, if not within the first three sentences, share what happened. Immediately after, offer reassurance. This could be providing a solution if you are able, or may simply state that the situation is your top priority, you are devoting all the resources needed to the resolution and that you will remain in contact on a regular basis.

2. Set the tone

You’ve worked incredibly hard to develop a successful organization and good reputation – so the crisis you’re in or the bad news you have to share may truly feel like the end of the world. You want to show your emotional connection and establish common ground… but be careful – going too far will backfire.

3. Be accessible

Set up a dedicated email or phone number, because it’s inevitable that your audience will have questions. Even if you aren’t allowed to share such information due to regulatory restrictions, it’s essential to provide a venue for questions to lessen the number that appears on your social media channels, Google reviews or in the comments of a news article.

4. Find the right length

There isn’t a specific word count or page length that applies across the board – but most printed, mailed letters should fit on one page. Strike the right balance of concise yet informative, and factor in the severity of your subject matter. State all the relevant information, offer reassurance at least once and include contact information.

Last but not least, know when to call in support – a crisis communications team can review messaging, craft your response strategy or help you rebuild after the crisis. An outside, objective partner with an understanding of the audience and necessary next steps can lessen the long-term impact.

On Monday, July 22, the NP Strategy team held its inaugural Volunteer Day at Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia. The 14-person team, covering both Carolinas, filled over 300 mobile food pantry boxes in under two hours. The shelf-stable boxes will be distributed to individuals and families in need throughout Harvest Hopes’ service areas in South Carolina.

The perfect job can be described as the combination of your passion with your potential. Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with interesting and inspiring people and experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities along the way. Above it all, though, I am most proud of the work that aligned with my values and groups I passionately support.

Since 2011, I’ve partnered with an incredible group of women at Winthrop University through the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy and NEW Leadership.  It has put me in the position to speak to and mentor college-aged women interested in public service. Since 2015, I have planned the ‘Columbia day’ for the 25-30 women looking to embark on their journey into public service and politics.

In June of 2015, only two weeks back from maternity leave, I awoke in the early hours of the morning not to infant cries, but to phone calls and texts bringing horrific news from Charleston. I worked for Congressman Jim Clyburn at the time, and immediately began the drive down to Charleston where we spent the next few days reeling from the Mother Emanuel massacre. 18 months later, I assisted with the development of a non-profit to encourage dialogue and civility rather than divisiveness and negativity. Without question, I jumped at the chance to honor the victims and survivors while providing a platform to make our community a better place through solution-based conversations. That year, the Charleston Forum was born.

These two examples, while different, both provided an amazing outlet to match my professional skillset with my personal passions. Finding your passion in work isn’t just about tolerating the day-to-day grind, it’s about maximizing your impact in the lives of your clients and customers, their passions, and your shared community. I’ve been fortunate to work with a group of communicators at NPS who’ve arrived at their jobs because of a similar desire to make connections and help others succeed.

The hard part, of course, is finding that magic combination of passion and profession. It’s a mixture some will be fortunate enough to nail early on, while others will march through a series of jobs, narrowing their search by learning what they are not passionate about. Consider increasing your community relations time commitment, or – if you’re in a leadership position – an internal engagement campaign to find out where your team’s true passions lie. Serve on boards, join leadership groups or talk to people from different generations.

I have always said you can’t complain about politics if you don’t vote, and I believe the same theory applies here. Don’t just get upset that women aren’t being treated the same as men in the workplace – work with women to help them understand their true potential. Don’t just hope inequities will go away – do something to help find solutions to some of our communities biggest problems. It can be a difficult process, but the adage about loving your job and ‘never working a day in your life’ is true – and worth the investment.

Amanda Loveday,  Associate Director of NP Strategy, has a passion for meeting new people and building relationships. It is what has made her a powerhouse in politics and communications. A decade of experience taught her the importance of getting to know the community and how to interact with people, especially those with different personalities and backgrounds. Get in touch with Amanda at (803) 540-2190 or amanda@npstrat.com.

Jean Cecil Frick, a senior strategic advisor with NP Strategy, successfully completed the Spring 2019 Midlands Class of the Riley Institute at Furman’s Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI), becoming a Riley Fellow.

Over the past five months, Frick joined thirty-eight classmates for monthly in-depth discussions on sensitive issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.

“The DLI classes opened my eyes on effective ways to have conversations around controversial issues,” said Jean Cecil Frick. “I am grateful to have a new perspective on how to bring people together to solve issues whether within an organization or in our communities.”

The Riley Institute launched DLI in 2003 to provide participants greater understanding of their own diversity and inclusion “blind spots” and how to mitigate assumptions. Participants gain focused decision-making skills and deeper knowledge of how to effectively manage and lead increasingly diverse workers, clients, and constituents.

“NP Strategy serves a diverse client base and to provide valuable advice, we must continually strive to better understand our work environments,” said Heather (Hoopes) Matthews, director of NP Strategy. “We are fortunate to have Jean Cecil on our team and we know her DLI experience will enhance her ability to solve problems and serve people.”

Frick is a veteran of the private, public and non-profit sectors driven by helping individuals and organizations achieve their goals. As a senior strategic advisor at NP Strategy, she helps clients connect with the right people and get their message across to key audiences.

In all my years as a journalist, it never failed: 5:50 p.m. and my work phone would ring.  Did the caller not know we had a 6 p.m. newscast?  During the decade I spent working for a variety of television stations, the ‘show stopping phone call’ was one of the recurring mistakes people made when trying to reach members of the media. These landmines are easy-to-avoid IF you are aware of them.  So in the spirit of the 10-second soundbite, here are the four most common mistakes:

• Do not call close to deadlines

Yes, news is now 24-7, but there are still general deadlines for print, digital and broadcast journalists.  Educate yourselves about the medium and consider when might be best to call.  If you are unsure, research or ask.

• Limit your word count

I rarely had time for lunch – or even a trip to the restroom – so I definitely didn’t have time to read a long, detailed email (or field a long, detailed phone call).  Brevity is best.  Your subject may be complicated, but for my initial engagement, I needed clear, concise communication.  Quite frankly, “you” were one of a dozen people A DAY trying to pitch stories.

• Ditch the blast email

Email software is helpful, but it often ended up in my spam folder.  I would only realize that when a contact would follow up with a personal call asking if I had a chance to consider covering the upcoming event they emailed me about last week.  “What email? What event?” Although the methods and tempo of news has evolved, personal connections remain critical.

• Know your journalists

Speaking of personal connections: the people who caught my attention had clearly done their homework and knew a little bit about me before they reached out.  If nothing more, they were familiar with the story I covered the day before.  Or, in some cases, that I was from Kansas and graduated from the journalism school at the University of Missouri.  Too many others assumed I was a Gamecock or from South Carolina …

Landing media coverage is valuable to your company and to your awareness, branding and public relations efforts.  The potential upside is well worth the upfront time investment to prepare your pitch, and avoid these common pitfalls.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions.  Our NP Strategy team of former journalists can help you navigate what may feel like uncharted waters. And, since we’re free of our old daily deadlines, we’re available to take your call at any hour. Well, just about.

Heather Hoopes-Matthews is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience in South Carolina. A graduate of the prestigious University of Missouri-Columbia journalism school, Heather has delivered live news from the center of hurricanes, worked with “The Capital Gang” at CNN, and conducted investigative reporting that changed a South Carolina law to protect children.

Companies throughout the nation invest millions (or billions!) in their brands – from research and communication strategies, to analytics and more. But ultimately, the key to your brand’s success has always been and will always be your employees. So why do businesses neglect this important branding tool?

For perspective: organizations measure outcomes to ensure they have a strong, competitive external (customer) brand. They willingly adapt to the ways people communicate to build that brand. According to a March 2019 report from eMarketer, advertisers are expected to spend $129.34 billion on digital ads – the first time that the US ad market will spend more on digital than on traditional media.

But, on the other hand, the recent Gallup report State of the American Workplace shows only 13% of employees strongly agree that the leadership of their organization communicated effectively with them.

A possible solution? Today’s leaders should begin to apply the same ever-evolving techniques and strategies they use to communicate externally, internally. That means embracing the ways information is currently shared – Facebook messaging, project management software, streamlined apps, among many options.

Following are five suggestions to improve your internal communications strategy:

1. Treat your employee brand as well as your external brand –  Sixty percent of organizations don’t have a well-considered internal communications strategy according to a 2018 study from Arthur J. Gallagher & Company. Put a specific individual or department in charge of internal communications. In many companies, the human resources department is responsible for employee communications but others may use marketing or public relations teams.

2. Conduct a communications audit – Conduct an internal audit of the communications methods, preferences and tools used by employees. This research will serve as a benchmark to identify if a problem exists before defining specific goals. An internal communications audit is the foundation of a successful internal strategic communications plan.

3. Know your audience – Business may have up to four generations of employees working together (boomers, Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Z). While this diversity drives innovation, it also demands businesses understand their audience and how they communicate. Balance traditional communications (print, phone and email), with face-to-face communications, videos and podcasts.

4. Create a two-way communications strategy – Listen to employees. Employee feedback should be acted on with the same urgency as customer feedback. According to The Idea Driven Organization by Dr. Alan Robinson and Dr. Dean Schroeder, up to 80% of an organization’s opportunity for improvement comes from front-line employee ideas. Employee suggestions can benefit your productivity and bottom line, while also building stronger relationships internally; your team becomes invested in your company and serves as your best brand ambassadors.

5. Measure your results – Focus on the outcomes, not the output. Measuring outcomes can help you identify which messages and channels are having the greatest impact. Armed with this information, organizations can adjust to meet the needs of their employees.

Are you truly investing in a strong customer-facing brand that turns your associates into advocates for your company? If yes, congratulations. If not, now is the time to take the first steps.

Small businesses often find themselves in a difficult position with social media marketing: on one hand, many feel like their current revenue streams aren’t profitable enough to justify adding a marketing professional to their staffs, while on the other, many intuit that one of the best ways to grow is by expanding awareness of the business through social media. It’s no surprise, then, that many small businesses try to compromise by dispersing social media marketing responsibilities amongst the employees they already have.

It’s easy to think of social media responsibilities as simple, maybe even trivial, but there’s a reason why a growing number of businesses have added a ‘social media professional’ to their rosters: social media marketing and branding can be deceptively difficult.

Imagine, for example, that your firm has an event fast approaching. Nothing can cause an event to fall flat quite like a thin crowd, so you decide to leverage social media to drum up interest. Not wanting to make a big deal of the task, you ask an employee to create a nice graphic for the event and post it to your Facebook page.

We’ve seen firsthand how “simple requests” like these can lead to major headaches. Your employee might find the perfect image online and make it the foundation for the event graphic… only for your firm to receive a copyright infringement notice a few weeks later. Perhaps your employee dodges this landmine by utilizing custom or public-domain images but doesn’t account for resolution when adding your firm’s logo and text; all of the sudden your “nice graphic” becomes a pixelated mess (and, probably, next week’s trending meme).  . Improper sizing, font choice, and color selection can all sink an otherwise sound social media marketing post, and, even worse, cause your company to been seen as dated or ambivalent to the way modern consumers communicate.

At NP Strategy, we often come across clients and prospective clients who have dealt with situations just like those described above. In a perfect world, you’d have the budget to engage a marketing professional to run an effective campaign, but if you aren’t quite ready to make that leap, there are a few basic steps you can take on your own to execute social media marketing in a more professional manner.

Establishing brand standards and compiling a portfolio of approved base images will go a long way towards protecting your firm from legal issues and instilling a sense of professionalism in your media presence.

Your brand standards should include:

• Specific colors (just “red” or “blue,” but six-digit hex triplets used by graphic designers)
• One or two fonts, preferably with sizing standards
• Cleared images (either those that you’ve bought the rights to or those you’ve created yourself)
• Language guidance (phrases, slogans, hashtags)

Every social media post – whether it’s promoting an event, a campaign, or simply reinforcing your brand – is a very public, very permanent statement. At the end of the day, it’s your identity – handle it with care.

In the last 20 years, a horde of social media platforms has emerged. Odds are you’re an active user of at least one platform; between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit and the rest, a vast amount of online time is spent on social media.

With employees averaging hours of screen time daily, businesses are asking team members to use this to their brand’s advantage by engaging with them on social media.

The question is: how do you get your colleagues on board with using social media for business? Here are our favorite tips to strategically engage your employees on social media:

1) Find where your people already are

Most of your workforce will already be on a number of social media platforms. Once you’ve decided which platforms to use, simply forward the announcement to your team and ask those already on those platforms to follow your accounts. This helps expand your company’s network and can help spread your message quickly.

2) Have a clear content strategy

It sounds simple, but it works: engaging content elicits engagement. If you post content your workforce is proud to share, they’ll share it. Share business accomplishments, meaningful charitable initiatives, quality pictures, or impactful videos. It’s good to show your human side, highlight your workers, or even take a stand on important issues. The more authentic you are, the more authentically your workforce will engage with the content. Plus, you can tag your colleagues so that they know they’re a part of the success you’re having.

3) Consistency is key

The hardest part is sticking to a consistent posting schedule. This will keep your brand at the top of people’s minds when they’re on social media. The more you post, the more visible you are. Once you send out a post, make sure your team knows it’s out there so they can share, like, retweet, comment, and tag others.

4) Involve your employees

The more that you can impart a sense of ownership of your organization’s social media presence to your employees, the more likely they will be to engage enthusiastically. Allow your employees to be storytellers: encourage them to develop social media content and feature their work often across your platforms.

5) What’s in it for your employees?

This comes in two parts: first, employees deserve to understand why their role with social media is important, and second, they need to be rewarded for their efforts. Analyze your social media metrics and share the data regularly across your organization. Identify opportunities in incentive plans or employee appreciation plans to say thank you to social media supporters.

Getting employees on the same page when it comes to social media will spread your company’s message further, faster. It’s (basically) free advertising, so gather up the team and start brainstorming fun ways to engage those who are looking at your pages.

Originally posted in MidlandsBiz on April 25, 2019.