Pierpont Communications, Inc.

All public relations professionals know the importance of securing good speaking opportunities for their clients. Speaking opportunities can provide clients with positive exposure and position them as thought leaders – people who can be looked to for knowledge and guidance within their industries. They can also be great avenues for growing business and meeting new contacts within the industry.

But how do you go about getting these opportunities for your clients? It’s not as easy as it may seem.

Here are some general rules to follow when you’re trying to secure speaking opportunities.

Determine what your client can speak about. Figure out where your client’s strengths and expertise lie. The client will be more interesting to the audience if speaking about topics he or she is passionate about. If the subject is too narrow, try and broaden it a bit. Or, if the topic is too broad, see if you can hone in on something more specific.

Research, research, research! Before looking at potential events, get a good grasp of your client’s topic of interest. Learn as much as you can about the topic so it is easier to find relevant speaking opportunities. A strong understanding of the topic will help you look beyond the “obvious” opportunities and find more niche ones that may be suitable.

Find good opportunities and make great contacts. After you’ve figured out your client’s topic, look for good opportunities -- publications (especially trade journals) and industry organizations are a good place to start. Don’t be afraid to look beyond the obvious opportunities, and never underestimate a good Google search! Once you have found good opportunities, call the conference administrators and build a good rapport. Remember – they need speakers too, so more likely than not, they will be happy to assist you in any way they can.

Make sure the conference is reputable and has a relevant audience. The last thing that you want is for your client to be at the wrong conference with the wrong audience. Research the conference itself, the sponsors, other organizations the conference administrators are affiliated with and past speakers. Ask yourself if your client will be speaking to the right group of people. If the answer is yes, move forward. If not, keep researching more opportunities.

Stay ahead of the game. Speaking opportunity work is never done! Always be on the lookout for good conferences for the coming months and following year. Many conferences open up their speaking proposals for the next year almost immediately after the conference is over. Be ready to turn in your proposal faster than you can say keynote speaker!

What are other tips you follow when securing speaking opportunities for your clients?

Hurricane season kicks off June 1 and this year’s predictions, according to the National Weather Service, forecast 12 to 18 named storms. Of those, three to six have the possibility of turning into major hurricanes.

Houstonians know the tremendous effects a hurricane can have on our city. Many are still feeling the impacts of 2008’s Hurricane Ike, the third costliest Atlantic hurricane of all time, only surpassed by Hurricane Andrew of 1992 and Hurricane Katrina of 2005. Pierpont also has first-hand experience dealing with the aftermath of these devastating storms through our work with the Harris County-Community Services Department, which is in the midst of its Disaster Recovery Program, and the Harris County Housing Authority. Nearly three years later after Ike, the memory of that storm is still a vivid one for hundreds in Harris County who continue to try and rebuild their homes.

So with hurricane season days away, now is the time to prepare. Whether you are a homeowner, business owner or anyone in between, a hurricane of any magnitude can have devastating effects that last long after the storm has passed. The planning process is so important, President Obama proclaimed this past week (May 22 - May 28, 2011) as National Hurricane Preparedness Week.

So what can you do to ensure your home, your family and your business is safe from an impending storm? The first step is to develop an emergency plan now, so that if a hurricane hits, you will be ready.

Here is what we recommend:

Be sure you have plenty of supplies on hand. A flashlight, batteries, bottled water, non-perishable food and a first aid kit are all a must.

Once you have the right supplies in hand, review insurance policies to ensure there is adequate coverage. For instance, does your insurance package include wind/storm coverage? What about flood insurance if you are located in the floodplain? For businesses, does your insurance package include liability coverage for injury to employees?

Gather important papers, files or keepsakes and find a safe, dry place for them. Many Katrina victims were left with no personal papers after their homes flooded and they were permanently displaced. For homeowners, things like your passport, birth certificate and mortgage papers will be important to have close by in the aftermath of a storm. For businesses, ensure all important documents such as accounts receivable, client records, tax records and other personnel and administrative documents, are away from windows or better yet, put in a safe storage spot—perhaps out of the path of the storm.

No matter what category the hurricane, these storms cause mass destruction. Protect your home and your business by planning in advance. This hurricane season is predicted to be a busy one, so don’t get caught unprepared.

Companies are embracing and promoting their “company culture” through advertising, marketing and PR efforts, but do people really care whether companies sing “Cumbayá” every Monday with their employees?

While corporate cultures may not matter to everyone, they certainly make a difference to a company’s success and long-term survival – both internally and externally.

For example, did you know that the book “Firms of Endearment” found that companies who focus on culture experienced a 1,025 percent return to their investors over a 10-year period, compared to only 122 percent for the S&P 500?

Those are amazing numbers! And what’s even more amazing – companies experience increased employee productivity and boosted morale!

Do you want to join in, but you are not sure what your company’s culture is or how to promote it? Well, don’t worry – just follow these tips to help you on your journey:

Identifying
- Look at the company’s mission statement and promotional material – what do they say about your company and who it is?
- Examine staff behavior – what they do and say makes up who your company is.
- Ask employees their thoughts and opinions to help you. What do they want the company to be? What culture do they see in the company?

Adopting and promoting
- Once you identify your culture (and hopefully you’re happy with it!), adopt and promote it. This can be done through the company newsletter, blog, social media channels and website. Let people know who your company is and what it stands for.
- For example at Pierpont, we promote our corporate culture via social media with posts about our blog entries, company outings, internal celebrations and employees’ professional and personal achievements. This is just one of the ways we’ve been nominated – several times – as a Best Place to Work in the Houston Business Journal.

Keep it interesting
- Don’t be afraid to have fun. Include postings about birthday celebrations, happenings from around the office, successes and lessons learned or even a random fact of the day. Anything that shows what your company represents is useful.
- That said, don’t be TOO casual – remember that your culture should enhance your business’ marketing and promotions.

The main point is to not just know your culture but embrace and stay true to it. Can you think of any other ways to promote a company’s culture or additional benefits of doing such? Leave your thoughts below!

Now will you listen to me that LinkedIn is important? It’s “$8.9 billion valued” important. It’s “find a job, client, service and contact” important. It’s “time to update your profile you haven’t looked at since LinkedIn started” important. Find out more about LinkedIn’s IPO over at the New York Times. In the meantime, who wants to lend me $100 to invest?

And now for the “Digital Influence Weekly”….



I am a longtime reader and fan of Beth Kanter who works with non-profits to develop their online experience, including social media. She recently blogged about safety issues in social media concerning the posting of photos of children for certain events. Unfortunately, there are people who can identify others based on details in pictures and use that information to take advantage of others. This certainly applies to everyone, not just children.

However, your organization or company may thrive on posting these kinds of pictures. Beth’s post gives some great examples of how to manage this safely for everyone included.

Some of the nonprofits we work with put us in the same position of having to be aware of these safety procedures. At a recent, private event we wanted to document our client’s volunteer efforts for internal records, but still wanted to maintain the privacy of the non-profit clientele participating in the event. We usually follow these guidelines when taking pictures we plan to use later for such events:

• Focus on the faces of volunteers, city officials, representatives and others whose identity does not need to be protected.
• It’s ok to show backs or blurry images as long as you show activity.
• Take all the pictures you can at an event and then crop out or edit what you can’t use.
• Stage the photos. There is no reason you can’t direct others on how to pose even if they don’t face the camera.

Follow these and other guidelines from “Beth’s Blog” and you’ll be sure to keep everyone safe while sharing community and corporate culture with the public.