SHIFT Communications

While there's been tons of discussion in the news around how each candidate may impact the economy, industries and businesses, businesses have mostly been quiet. For many, that's smart. For some, it's a missed opportunity to not engage audiences on potential impacts of legislative and regulatory changes. What's right for each business is different, but we uncovered some trends in how companies are approaching election-related communications this year, via our pulse survey of 270 marketers and communicators. Highlights ⏬ below. Full findings ⏩ https://bit.ly/40nKOCS. #communications

Today Axios's Eleanor Hawkins pointed out how the press release’s true purpose — to inform reporters and stakeholders of news that is relevant to an industry or market (at large) — has been confused (and even abused). Despite how contested their relevance is, press releases have their place. Counsel on when and how to use them remains part of being a good PR partner. So is when / when not to 𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 themand alternative ways of getting out a message. These are some common scenarios where we advise against a release (barring when public companies are legally required to report something): ❌ 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀/𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮 “𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀.” Syndicating self-serving information through press releases is a harmful tactic to deploy – to your digital footprint and to the stakeholder / media relationships you’re trying to build. Instead, you should leverage paid media. ❌𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. News is something that you’ve launched, built, executed, uncovered, etc. that will shift your market and business. If it only matters to your clients or your executives, it’s NOT news. Instead, write a blog you can leverage across social channels. ❌ 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲. We’ve seen clients disguise bylines as press releases with lengthy self-serving stories that aren’t news at all. Instead, pitch your POV / content (if it’s timely, unique and vendor neutral) to a contributing editor. What are some other press release red flags you’ve seen? Are you funneling "softer" messages into alternative communications vehicles? Original Axios post ⏩ https://lnkd.in/gpJj3cQ3

We're using #FeelGoodFriday to share the wonderful work of Yes SF, who we began supporting this year. Their mission is personal to many of us — to revitalize downtown San Francisco and to set a precedent for sustainable urban living worldwide — and they make constant strides against it, including the recent grand opening of their new HQ. 📸: SHIFTer Kelsie celebrating that milestone with members of the Yes SF team. If you want more feel-good stories about positive change in your feed, we encourage you to connect with Yes SF and follow what they're doing (in partnership with organizations including Citi, Deloitte, Salesforce, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the World Economic Forum) on LinkedIn or at www.yessf.org.

We wish we had a tally of how many times a client has reported a flurry of notes from customers, prospects, investors, employees and partners after seeing their executive quoted in a media outlet. Stakeholders want to be inspired and reassured, and an executive who speaks out (on their vision, on issues of the day) does that. If boosting executive visibility is something you're working on, this 9-step process is a good one to build or reassess around. 👇🏽 #executivecommunications #PR #thoughtleadership

These words our VP Rebecca Pocock recently spoke about thought leadership really hit home. It's one of those things that most every company wants but few achieve, partly because of the boldness required and partly because of the work and creativity needed to continually activate it. Thought leadership only rises above its competition with these must-haves that she references: -A unique and ownable POV -Insights and assets that support and draw attention to it -Trend and news alignment that continually adds relevance -Frequent distribution If thought leadership is a strategy you're pursuing, this can help you understanding how to create an effective platform ⏩ https://bit.ly/3TUvCZD

In B2B tech, it feels like someone is always nipping at your toes. That’s why products and features aren’t the story. A vision and a narrative are. That’s how Talkdesk, who’d had AI-powered solutions for years, combatted competitive creep. As a slew of AI news from competition hit the market, we partnered with Talkdesk on building an ownable narrative around “responsible AI” and executing it across original data, thought leadership, rapid response and product announcements. It made an impact — as strong positioning and narratives usually do — reinforcing its category leadership in more ways than one.

Let's hear it for the working parents 👏 Parents, make up ~75% of our staff at SHIFT and Padilla, and today we are celebrating all that they give to us, our clients and their families! We're super proud that the flexible environment we work hard to maintain lets our people be great in their jobs and at home.

We just opened up some account coordinator roles on our tech team 👀. What we offer ⏩ mentorship, learning opportunities, social/DEI/wellness programs & events, competitive benefits. What we're looking for ⏩ https://bit.ly/4d9n2Nj #prjobs

At some point in most companies' journeys, they transform, and so too must their story. If that's in your future, this issue is for you. Our VP Darren Weiss wrote up some of what he's shared with the handful of companies who've asked him for guidance on this in the past couple months. A few strong case studies (our clients + others) are also in here. We hope it helps anyone looking to shift away from a legacy narrative and toward a new one. ↗ #businessstrategy #communications #PR

Thought leadership may seem like a simple activity where business leaders just tell us what they want to talk about and we magically secure coverage around said topic. The truth is that it's much more complex. It requires a unique vision and narrative supported by data, insights, proof, news and ongoing content creation paired with really good media relations, writing, rapid response, proactive storytelling and much more. If one of your 2025 goals (because yes, it's 2025 planning time) is to be a leading industry voice and shine a light on the issues you're solving, we’re sharing some of the principles we've developed over time and live by ⬇. #thoughtleadership #communications #PR