When to ignore a "critic"

We usually tell clients to make good and then answer critics on social media.  

Recently, a fan who didn’t like a change, turned on one of our clients.   

She called and called—and called.

Even though the client talked to her, it made no difference.

When we got press, she added comments—pages and pages of comments.

Because we didn’t want “He said, she said”, we advised the client to ignore it.

Luckily, the length and belligerence of the comments made them suspect.

As it turned out, no one took her seriously from the media to other customers.    

And after that one intense outburst, we didn’t hear anything more from her.

For more information, contact us at Dell Richards Publicity, www.dellrichards.com.

How to handle a negative review

Nearly a quarter of small and mid-size businesses monitor reviews.

Some use Brandify, a free service launched by Microsoft, paid reputation management companies or Google searches to show Yelp, Angie’s List and other major sites.

Because dissatisfied customers tend to tell more people than satisfied ones do, getting a negative review can be hard.

Use complaints for quality control.

If you can access the person, contact them and offer to “make good”.

Then, ask them to write a good review that says what you did to fix the problem and remove the bad one, if possible.

Most people will be impressed that you were willing to go the extra mile for them and will be happy to comply.   

Angie’s List says they will contact the reviewer and investigate if a business complains about an unwarranted review.

Ask all satisfied customers to give reviews to balance—or even bury—the less-than-glowing ones.

Reviews are not as important if businesses have a website, a blog and social media to create ongoing stream of good press.

For more information, contact us at www.dellrichards.com.

Why marketing relates to string theory

Clients mainly come from publicity, referrals, networking and Internet searches.   

Because we’ve cast our net so wide over the years, it sometimes feels like they come out of nowhere.  

We’ve had clients save a column on public relations and call us years later.

Or a decade later, the cousin of a consultant we did a radio show for calls and wants PR.

So much so, we say it’s energy that brings in clients, not marketing.

“You put out energy, you get back energy” may sound New Age, but not if string theory is true.   

In string theory, everything is a vibrating possibility until transformed into  reality.

While we have the present moment, the future is filled with possibilities that come from the past and the present.  

Publicity and marketing all keep those strings vibrating. 

For more information, contact Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit our website at www.dellrichards.com.

Mistakes that wreck credibility with journalists

Journalists use a very specific writing style. Errors will wreck your credibility.

Here are some of the biggest mistakes people make and how to fix them:

First references always include the title. Obama may be used in a headline, but not in copy. The first reference is "President Obama".

Everyone else needs their full name and complete title: “Rachel Iskow, Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association Executive Director”.

Another example: “Mary Smith, a Sacramento resident”. The explanation depends on the subject of the story.

After that, use “Iskow”, “Smith” or ”S|YMHA”.

Description: For nonprofits and companies, you also need a sentence that explains what it does. Keep your audience in mind, however.

For trade journals, S|YMHA would be “a multifamily developer”. For mainstream media, it would be “an affordable housing developer” or “a housing developer for modest-income families.”

The most common mistakes are errors of upper and lower case. Use lower case for everything after the first reference: The “executive director” or “the nonprofit”.

Two other common errors:

“Over and “under” are for objects; “more than” and “less than” are for numbers.

“Last” is for the final one. “Past” is for this past week.

If in doubt, use the Associated Press Stylebook.

For more information, call Dell Richards Publicity at (916) 455-4790 or visit us at www.dellrichards.com.