027: IKEA Profits From the New Rules of PR and Media Relations – and You Should Too!

06/30/15 • 21 min

Everyone’s a publisher today, but not everyone is an expert at earned media. In my Chicago agency days, I sold news. I was considered a PR flack by the journalists who hated me (yes, they really did). Each of us newbies had to call George Lazarus, may he rest in peace, of the Chicago Tribune advertising column and feel his wrath. After that, we had arrived; but I digress. IKEA announced it has added veggie balls to its menu, and in the Wall Street Journal a tremendously large photo of the new menu item was featured alongside an equally large story. Why was IKEA, a privately held Swedish corporation, featured so prominently? Because it has all of the elements required for an international story in tier-one media, including: 1. international scale 2. Data and research in multiple countries 3. Trends (foods going vegan) 4. Size of company and revenue 5. Futures perspective and roll-out Other news stories may not have these elements to become hot news; however, when you’re exploring distribution of a news release, many of these factors should come into play. As my co-host, John Gregory Olson of JGO Digital said so eloquently, “Public relations is no longer about seeing a company’s thought leader on TV, it’s about buyer connectivity.” That’s the crux of the disruption in public relations that I’ve been living and breathing since 1984. It’s always going to be an exciting time in marketing, so carpe diem and put your best foot forward for yourself and your company. About the Co-Hosts I am Jayme Soulati, president of Soulati Media, Inc., a blended public relations marketing firm with national clients. I am a message mapping master, professional blogger, writer and strategist, John Gregory Olson is my co-host on The Heart of Marketing podcast, and he is the consummate digital marketer and keen strategist and planner. He has corporate and agency experience and now as CEO of JGO Digital, John rescues organizations from poor marketing. Resources IKEA Media Relations on a Slow News Day

Previous Episode

026: SlideShare for B2B Lead Generation, Branding, SEO

Once LinkedIn bought SlideShare several years ago, the social sharing channel became a bit forgotten. LinkedIn doesn’t do much with it beyond allowing the embedding of decks into LinkedIn posts; yet, SlideShare offers high-end versatility as one of the most versatile social media sharing platforms around.

In this episode of the Heart Of Marketing podcast, John Gregory Olson and Jayme Soulati share their experience with SlideShare.

Download and listen in for many of the following tips:

‘Deck-ize’ anything you want and post it to SlideShare.
Use a call to action at the back of your deck a a lead generation tool
Sleuth on the competition and see what’s being shared and what topics are current with companies in your industry and network.
Hear about where and when to embed decks for larger opportunities with branding and SEO.
Get energized to expand your social network using SlideShare and become an authority and influencer.

You can follow influencers on SlideShare and learn from what each is delivering, and you can power up the brand and SEO at the same time.

Resources

Jayme Soulati Slideshare example:

Savvier Social Media Across The Marketing Blend

SlideShare: The Quiet Giant, Forbes

About The Hosts

John Gregory Olson is a digital marketer and direct marketing professional who rescues companies from poor marketing. As a professional blogger, he offers counsel to brands as they navigate the disrupted technology space. Jayme Soulati is president of Soulati Media, Inc., a virtual blended PR firm offering strategy and messaging to amplify voice. Each has been in their respective positions for more than 30 years.

Next Episode

028: Protect Your Website from Content Thieves [Content Scraping Case Study]

In Episode 028 of The Heart Of Marketing, Jayme Soulati, president of Soulati Media, Inc., shares the current and actionable state of affairs about copyright infringement for a client website and a South Korea startup.

The company in South Korea blatantly republished some 80 reference points from Jayme's client's niche website in a specialty medical field.

You will learn about

The Digital Millennial Copyright Act
Whether to hire a lawyer
What steps to take when and if contemplating legal action or DIYing the situation

This episode moves quickly and is highly informative.

John Gregory Olson shares information about how to determine if a website has had content stolen. Jayme talks about her course of action to manage this unfolding situation.