As a public relations firm, we customize a public relations plan that is tailored to your goals. It draws on a wide range of services that puts you closer to your customers, contacts, prospective clients, referral sources, news media, online, and social media audiences. Your team at BoardroomPR sits with you to develop a strategy that draws on our three decades of experience.
That approach in hand, we guide you on which of our public relations offerings the ones best suit your goals and needs. Then, we initiate and coordinate an integrated plan that uses traditional, social, and digital channels to secure a high-level presence for your organization, products, projects, issues, and execs:
Public Relations, Thought Leadership, and Publicity:
There’s still nothing like the credibility of being interviewed by respected members of the media.
We position you as a respected source of information and analysis through authored articles published in traditional and digital media, including newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, trade journals, newsletters, and influential blogs.
Your BoardroomPR team develops a sound, and topical story ideas have them professionally written and edited, and then places them in critical media outlets. You can then leverage the published content for exposure on social media, your website, and as thought-provoking elements of your marketing kits.
Press Releases:
Your press releases become a useful tool to communicate important messages from your organization. They include expansion, new product or service offerings, new trends, legal victory, a successful transaction, significant new hire, or an award. These positive news reports are shared with your customers, prospects, and the public at large.
BoardroomPR’s seasoned writers, many of them former journalists, craft compelling narratives that get the attention of reporters, editors, and influencers. Through our personal media contacts, we create a custom distribution list most likely to share your news. Once we send a release, we follow up to get your news placed.
Community Relations:
Giving back to the community is another excellent way to get your organization’s name out there for a nominal investment, while also achieving the goal of helping others and creating new relationships. Our senior management team is very active in the communities the firm serves. We can help guide your firm to the “right” places to make the best business connections. Just provide us with an idea of the causes you care about and the types of people you want to meet, and we’ll create a customized community involvement plan for the company.
New Business and Relationship Development:
We are very adept and conscious about connecting our clients to build relationships or do business with one another. We regularly make introductions at an event, by setting up a lunch meeting, or by setting up a continuing education presentation. We make our connections your connections.
Copywriting:
BoardroomPR has a highly experienced team of accomplished writers for your branding ads, brochures, direct mail, website, and blog copy.
Industry Relations:
Boardroom is very knowledgeable about various industry-focused associations and will assist you in making the right choices. Whether it is a new trade show booth, event selection, or marketing strategy, we have the experience to help make your trade show investments pay off with new relationships and hopefully, new business.
Crisis Management and Online Reputation Management:
Our time-tested strategies help companies, firms, and individuals respond sensibly and effectively to the worst situations. When your organization or individual is thrust into a crisis situation where it must deal with a sudden, significant, and unpredictable negative event, we dispatch our senior executives to provide counsel. We help your senior executives and spokespersons prepare and deliver speaking points for conversations with the media, the public, or stakeholders.
Our seasoned digital and social media pros regularly manage ORM for many of our clients. Services including review site, directory, portal, social media, and traditional media monitoring. In the event a business or individual receives a negative review, damaging online comments or disparaging news stories, our professionals jump right in to help either minimize the damage, turn a negative into a positive or place positive posts and stories to displace negative ones on the search engines.
Media Training:
We train organizations on who is not to speak with the media, who is – and when. In addition to traditional media, BoardroomPR’s crisis management professionals cover all of the bases including social media, internet review sites, employees, customers, and other stakeholders, regulators, and the community at large. We also conduct Media Training in which BoardroomPR’s media veterans train your spokespersons on how to talk to reporters and the public on camera, at press conferences, and in one-on-one situations. We prepare them for tough interviews and opportunities for positive media exposure. We do the advanced work with reporters and editors to minimize the possibility of any surprises.
Other PR Tools:
Our public relations firm’s services include Expert Sourcing that puts your executives in the news as subject-matter experts. They become integral to attention-getting news stories and are cited as knowledgeable, credible sources that align with the company’s key areas of expertise. In many instances, your top people will be interviewed on news stories regarding trends that most affect your organization. BoardroomPR’s efforts help build your brand and raise the professional standing of your leaders. Reacting to Breaking News: BoardroomPR will your firm and its professionals to comment on important news angles related to your business.
Reporter Relationship Development:
As one of the top South Florida PR Firms, BoardroomPR will set up meetings and interviews with key reporters based on your priorities to help you develop the media relationships you want and need to ensure your story is properly reported.
Guest Column/OpEd Placement:
Guest columns are a tremendous credibility builder. We will identify opportunities for your company to submit columns to daily newspapers, business journals, trade media and influential blogs.
Awards and Lists:
BoardroomPR is a top public relations firm, and consistently assists with nominating clients and specific individuals for various awards and recognition that come out regularly. Our submissions are well-written and often result in excellent recognition and media.
Editorial Calendar Monitoring:
We conduct extensive research in editorial opportunities by tracking planned stories and special sections in business and trade publications, daily news reports. And our Photo Captioning service generates interest in your people in local, regional and targeted trade publications, your social media and website. Whether for lifestyle magazines, society pages or legal publications, BoardroomPR uses its connections to get your photos placed in the publications your audiences read the most often.
1) What local and local market media should a Florida PR firm target for its clients?
There are a number of print, broadcast and online media outlets that are critical when you select a PR firm. Among the highest priorities are the following
a) Knowledge and contacts in the major Florida newspapers, magazines, and portals. Florida-based companies need PR firms that can generate media in the Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald, Tampa Times, Palm Beach Post, Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Naples Daily News, Lakeland Ledger, Florida Times-Union, etc. Without the ability to get into the major dailies, a PR company cannot be successful. Whether it is the business page, city desk, community or opinion-editorial page, there are numerous opportunities to have your news published in the form of a feature article, news brief, byline article, letter to the editor or OpEd.
b) Knowledge and contacts of South Florida, Central Florida, Florida’s Gulf Coast, Southwest Florida and national trade journals. Companies benefit tremendously if they are visible in their own trade/industry media. Construction marketing should be in Construction Executive. Restaurants owners should be in Restaurants and Hospitality, medical professionals must be in South Florida Hospital News or Florida Health Industries while real estate practitioners would appreciate being in stories in The Real Deal, Florida Realtor or Southeast Commercial Real Estate.
The benefit for Florida’s for-profit and not-for-profit businesses to achieve PR coverage in key journals is the ability to stay on the radar of your important customers, prospects, members and the community at large.
c) Knowledge and contacts of major market Florida TV and radio stations and their digital departments. Awareness through electronic media is extremely valuable and providing opportunities on television and radio reaps enormous benefits. From local stations such as WPLG, WFLA, WINK, NBC6, WLRN and WIOD radio to network news including CNN and NPR, these outlets can produce a tremendous reaction.
Knowledgeable PR companies in South Florida, Central Florida, Gulf Coast, and Southwest Florida should have key contacts such as news directors, assignment editors, TV and radio reporters, and special project and segment producers so they can call on them when they have clients news to pitch.
Also, most stations have locally produced shows that local Florida PR agencies can book guests who have a story that might fit the shows’ format and audience.
In addition to having a great story with a visual angle, today, most of Florida’s TV and radio stations have blogs, online newsrooms and active social media platforms they can call on for news items that may or may not make the evening, afternoon or morning broadcast.
2) How can a company evaluate the Return on Investment (ROI) on their traditional Florida Public Relations campaigns?
Public relation is an essential element in a business’s marketing plans. A Fort Lauderdale PR, Tampa PR or Orlando PR firm may work in tandem with a company’s in-house Florida communications and marketing team and possibly other marketing vendors such as graphic designers, digital ad agencies, web developers and out-of-town strategic communications departments. Or, a PR firm can provide all the elements in one place. Once a campaign unfolds, clients will recognize increased visibility through various elements — media, word of mouth, greater interest in the company or business and a general acknowledgment of improved awareness. ROI is difficult to determine but easy to feel.
3) What PR skillsets should a business or not-for-profit organization is looking for when selecting a PR agency?
The best Florida PR firms combine talents in various fields. Seasoned public relations professionals who may be former print, digital or television journalists have many of the top PR skillsets such as written and verbal communications skills and excellent relationship development talents as well. Recent grads from the University of Florida, FIU, UCF, FSU or University of Miami might be a good fit along with a firm’s experienced publicists. Professionals with graphic design, website management, social media, and video production skills are all important. Most essential, however, is getting a team with a passion for providing the best opportunities for its clients, people who will make the investment in learning your company and the industries you compete in.
4) What Florida cities are most important for a PR firm to be based on?
A good firm with excellent contacts can do business throughout Florida. It is often valuable to have permanent PR staff on the ground in the major cities including Orlando, Tampa, Naples, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. Nothing can take the place of strong media and community relationships.
5) How important is hyper-local media in a Florida PR campaign?
Hyperlocal media is tremendously important. Most Florida businesses, small and large, gain valuable exposure in media where their headquarters are located as well as other cities and towns where they have other facilities, people and customers. Prominence in glossy magazines such as Plantation Lifestyles, Weston Gazette, Sunrise Forum and The Parklander, Boca Magazine, Coral Gables Magazine, Orlando, Tampa, Naples or Florida Trend magazine can work wonders to help improve business throughout your Florida markets. There is a wide variety of local publications in towns such as Davie, Cooper City, Lighthouse Point, Pompano Beach and the City of Fort Lauderdale that offer wonderful opportunities for increased visibility. Throughout West and Central Florida, dozens of hyper-local papers are looking for good news stories. North Florida and the Panhandle also have a good assortment of media opportunities. The circulations may be smaller than the dailies, but the readership is often more attentive.
6) How long should a PR campaign take to begin seeing results?
Clients vary and so do their campaigns. In busy metropolitan areas such as Orlando PR, Tampa, Miami PR and Fort Lauderdale PR, a good campaign should last at least six months and it is best to give it a year to gain traction and momentum. Then continuation is vital – start and stop campaigns can immediately dissolve the progress. In smaller areas such as Naples PR, Ocala, the Keys, a four – to – eight month program could be successful to penetrate the media and the mindset. Again, continuity is important.
7) Can a PR firm help with corporate networking?
Absolutely. Lawyers, for example, can be guided into the right committee of the Florida Bar Association or Broward Bar, Hillsborough or Orange County Bar or other regional association. A good statewide Florida PR firm will provide insight for a human resource professional to join SHRM – The Society for Human Resource Management or HRACB – Human Resources Association of Broward County. PR firms know organizations for accountants such as SFAFP – The South Florida Association for Financial Professionals. Public relations professionals guide their clients in the right direction. Hiring a local Florida PR agency will help make their connections your connections.
8) Can a PR firm help establish community relations or outreach campaign?
Similar to professional organizations, good PR firms find the right match for clients in the civic and charitable arena. Whether it is joining the Heart of Florida United Way or Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County or Legal Aid that does so much good in Florida, there is a myriad of organizations that a client can be advised about where they share a passion for the group and a knowledge of the cause.
Many Florida entrepreneurs and executives and their employees enjoy giving back to their respective local communities by supporting local charities, charity events such as walks, runs and bikeathons, galas, fishing and golf tournaments and other types of fundraisers. You not only give back to these excellent charitable causes, but your company’s reputation also benefits from being viewed as active in local causes.
Another way to channel your company’s outreach is to join committees and boards of directors of local charities.
9) How involved does a business have to be in order for its PR to be effective?
PR Firms cannot work in a vacuum. But if you are a Florida Business, looking for excellent PR, a good firm can move forward with weekly calls and general emails. Meetings are important to maintain facetime but not without a good reason. As we say in the PR business, public relations is a participation sport. The more involved you and your team are, the more impact your Florida public relations campaign will be. It also promotes employee morale and helps build brand and reputation.
10) Where can I learn more about various firms?
O’Dwyer’s Directory is an excellent place to get a general knowledge of PR firms. But equally easy is to google Public Relations firms within your geographic area, say Fort Lauderdale Public Relations, and find out who comes up. The ones that rank high are taking the time to make sure their websites are easily located – that kind of attention to their own business is important – it’s a sign they’ll do similar work for you. There are other lists of top South Florida, Central Florida, Tampa and Jacksonville PR agencies in places like local American City Business Journals, Florida Trend, the Daily Business Review’s “best PR Firms,” and by getting word-of-mouth recommendations from people you respect.
