EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY | BEING A RELIABLE
SOURCE of timely information
for busy editors and reporters can give a
CPA who is a sole practitioner or in a
small practice a significant marketplace
advantage. A practitioner can pursue this
opportunity by developing a relationship
with local media.
TO BECOME A KEY
LOCAL SPOKESPERSON, a CPA
must identify a target audience, have
something to say, establish contact with
media people who report for that target
audience, reinforce the connection with
frequent press releases and follow-up
phone calls and be available for
interviews on short notice.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO
READ the potential reporters’
published articles carefully to get a
feel for their style and to judge
whether their reporting is balanced and
trustworthy. A CPA should make sure his
or her audience is appropriate and be
comfortable working with it.
A CPA SHOULD
PREPARE A KIT for
distribution to the media that has
problem-solving articles in which he or
she is quoted or that are about or by
him or her. It’s a good idea to include
a biography and information about the
firm.
USEFUL PRESS
RELEASE TOPICS INCLUDE a
roundup of tips; an explanation of
financial procedures; case studies,
which are especially interesting to
readers if clients’ names are cited
(after getting their written permission
to disclose them); interpretations of
important new regulations; and forecasts
of future trends.
A CPA WHO WILL GIVE
AN INTERVIEW should ask the
reporter for information about the
questions that will be asked and
practice key message points so he or she
will be comfortable when it’s time to
speak “on the record.” It’s important to
use a simple vocabulary and to end the
interview on a constructive note.
| STEPHEN
GOLDFARB is a manager and LINDA DUNBAR is
director of public relations for the
AICPA. Their views, as expressed in this
article, do not necessarily reflect the
views of the Institute. Official positions
are determined through certain specific
committee procedures, due process and
deliberation.
|
uccessful businesses are built on
reputation, and in our media-saturated culture,
nothing confers as much prestige as being the
go-to person in your field of expertise. Being a
reliable source of timely information for busy
editors and reporters can give a CPA who is a sole
practitioner or in a small practice a significant
marketplace advantage. Practitioners can pursue
this opportunity by developing a relationship with
local media. This article will teach you some tips
for building such links with journalists, writing
press releases that will get published and attract
attention, and giving credible, authoritative
interviews.
IT'S WORKED FOR THEM
The process of becoming a
spokesperson in the media happens in
increments, but the basis of it is making
esoteric knowledge accessible. Because the
technical financial information of CPA
work is alien to much of the rest of the
world, translating it into everyday
language is a particularly valuable
service. Once a CPA’s name is associated
with solid, useful information in print—or
on the Internet, television or radio—it
validates his or her authority and becomes
a credential. Reporters are likely to ask
the CPA for background or a quote when
more input is needed to clarify a point or
give a future story heft or color. |
Hungry for Facts
Fifty-five percent of all
news is generated by public
relations. Source:
Credibility Marketing,
by Larry Chambers,
Dearborn Trade Publishing,
Chicago.
| |
Speaking on financial planning topics has
benefited Karen Goodfriend, CPA and personal
financial specialist (PFS) of Goldstein Enright in
Menlo Park, California, who has contributed to
stories in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today
and TheStreet.com. “New client prospects
often see me quoted when they do an Internet
search of my name, and a media presence gives me
peer recognition and generates referrals,” she
says. Laurence Foster, CPA, PFS—an
independent consultant at Richard A. Eisner in New
York City, who has been a source for Tax
Hotline and appeared on CNBC—says: “Your
peers look upon you as the expert in the field and
tend to leave that specialty to your firm. I get
referrals for PFS-related work such as insurance
consulting or estate planning from other CPAs.
Just as important, I retain those clients who
realize that I’m on the cutting edge of
expertise.” Edward Zollars, CPA and
Phoenix-based tax and technology specialist of
Henricks, Martin, Thomas and Zollars, is unusual
in having his first published quote appear in a
national rather than local paper. Investors
Business Daily found him as a result of
work he’d done for an AICPA tax committee.
Subsequently, he was a source for a Forbes
article, and the magazine has come back to
him for information several times. “They quote me
only about 40% of the time,” he says, underscoring
the fact that sharing what he knows doesn’t come
with any guarantees. But he has seen professional
benefits: “My clients’ confidence in me has grown
as a result of being quoted in the news. They
refer more prospects to me, and such referrals are
much more likely to become clients than those from
all other sources combined.”
THE NUTS AND BOLTS
Becoming a key local spokesperson in your
field won’t just land in your lap. You must
identify your target audience, have something to
say, establish relationships with media people who
report to your target audience, reinforce the
connection with frequent press releases and
follow-up phone calls and be available for
interviews on short notice (newspeople often have
very little time in which to produce stories).
Identify your target audience.
Is it individuals who earn more than
$500,000 a year? If so, find out what they read,
what they do and where they do it. Is it top-level
widget manufacturers? If so, become a source to
their information sources, such as brokers or
insurance people. Foster says: “After many years
of contributing to publications, I have narrowed
them to just a few that cover my geographic area.
I’m in New York, so a local paper out West won’t
help build my practice. I look for specific
technical content related to what I do to
determine whether I can be helpful to a
publication or other media.”
Have something to say and be ready to
say it. Most of what you have to
share springs naturally from knowledge already
basic to your practice. Familiarize yourself with
the concerns of your audience and address them.
For an unsolicited story, write about local trends
and how they’re either in line with or different
from national trends. Be clear about why the
information is important. It’s OK to learn more
about a subject to extend your range if you think
specialized information will increase your
chances. Foster advises CPAs who want to be go-to
sources to “become conversant in the area of
expertise in which you want to become an
authority. Get to know the topic as though you
deal with it every day, even if you don’t yet do
so.” It’s helpful to have on hand an
information package about you and your business.
Put together a publicity kit for distribution to
the media (see “ Learn More ”). It should
be an attractive folder that includes
problem-solving articles that quote you or are
about or by you, a bio, and information about your
firm. If you include a photo, make sure it’s in
color and has a more stylish look than a standard
business headshot (an art director can crop out
what she doesn’t need).
Learn More
You can get media relations training
from many public relations firms. Good
training will include interview
simulations and videotaping to help you
capitalize on your interpersonal
strengths. Entering “media relations
training” in an Internet search field
yields several research leads. Your best
bet though is often just to talk to
journalists themselves and ask them what
they need. Other sources of useful
information are
Credibility Marketing,
by Larry Chambers. Dearborn Trade
Publishing, Chicago, 2002.
Meeting the Media: A
Guide to Working Effectively with
Reporters and Public Relations Guide
for CPAs. This pamphlet and
videotape combination is available
through the AICPA (#890-931).
1-888-777-7077.
Public Relations Kit
for Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide
Inc., 2001.
The Public Relations
Society of America, www.prsa.org
. Headquartered in New York City,
the world’s largest professional
organization for public relations
practitioners has 117 chapters. Their
Web site can lead you to information for
getting started.
|
Get to know the journalists who report
for your audience. Home in on
publications or programs that focus on important
aspects of your business and address the audience
you would like to reach. Within that group,
identify competent reporters whose beats cover
topics that concern you and you are qualified to
speak about. Read their published articles
carefully to get a feel for their style and to
judge whether their reporting is balanced and
trustworthy. Make sure their audience is one you
want and that you’re comfortable with their
integrity and professionalism. Once you
have chosen one or two reporters whose work you
consider worthwhile, get to know them. Call them
when you have an idea to share. Be cordial and
avoid being too self-promoting. Respect their
public obligation to present facts fairly. Develop
a relationship of trust, so you’ll be the first
person they think of to call when they need
information. It’s appropriate to take them out to
lunch every so often. Media possibilities
cover a large spectrum, from your own Web site to
free local shopper publications—which are likely
to need content—to publications or programs
everyone vies to contribute to (see “ Put It in
Print ”). Foster suggests building press
credentials by starting small: “Send out the
firm’s tips, how-tos and alerts to local reporters
as well as to clients. Their coverage of your
material may lead to invitations to write for
local organizations or to contribute to your state
society.”
Put It in Print
Write frequently. You want readers
to move from mere awareness of your name
through acceptance of your expertise to
anticipating your message. Start by
finding a local periodical—such as a
municipal or county newspaper or
newsletter—that will publish your
information often. A regular column is
ideal. Other possibilities are to
contribute to online publications or to
add an information column to your Web
site. Make sure that your contact
information appears prominently.
On writing a press release
Organize the message you
want to send. It’s the best way to avoid
procrastination. Help motivate yourself
by crafting a simple outline.
Know your audience: What
kinds of jobs and which industries are
your target readers in? What information
will interest these readers?
Keep it short and simple.
Avoid jargon, long words and long
sentences. Make it as easy as possible
for busy people to read.
Your first draft might be
OK, but your second and third drafts
will be much better. Also, ask several
peers to proofread your work.
A good story
Has a catchy headline; it
should be provocative to grab the
reader’s attention.
Has a human-interest angle.
Focus on how what you say can help the
reader.
Includes facts and figures
and sources them properly. Do your
homework; it adds tremendous
credibility. Make sure you include the
five Ws when they are necessary: “Who,
what, where, when and why.”
| Zollars has
found online discussion communities a particularly
successful point of media entry. He moderates a
popular Usenet discussion group, and reporters who
monitor such discussions join in to ask him
directly for his opinion on tax technology issues,
he says. For those considering an Internet
presence, Zollars adds this advice: “Don’t submit
anything online you don’t want in print. Sometimes
reporters will pull ‘chat bites’ without checking
first, which is their right. Assume everything’s
on the record.” Participation in
professional organizations has enabled him to
establish rapport with reporters, too, Zollars
adds. “Being involved in my state society and the
AICPA led to speaking engagements that got me
media attention, enhanced my credibility and
developed into my being an ongoing source for
articles.” “Starting with a few good media
contacts has led to others,” Goodfriend says.
“Reporters have seen me quoted, and that’s
prompted them to contact me for TV or print
articles.”
Reinforce the connection with frequent
press releases. Be sensible
about how often to send releases to busy news
editors, however. Unless something exceptional is
happening, more than once every six weeks is
probably overdoing it. What material
should such releases cover? Write about
How to do something efficiently.
Offer a roundup of tips. Explain financial
procedures.
Case studies, which are especially
interesting to readers if clients’ names are cited
(get their written permission first).
Interpretations of important new
regulations.
Forecasts of future trends and
events. “Don’t step outside your area of
expertise, however,” Zollars says. “There’s
nothing worse than saying something that’s off the
wall. Reporters get hammered by their editors, and
you’ll end up on their blacklist.”
Follow up with phone calls.
Let reporters know you’re available
to clarify professional issues that are in the
news—or just schmooze if their time (and yours)
permits. Contact them if you know that an issue or
event is about to become hot.
Be available for interviews on short
notice. To establish yourself as
a viable media contact, you need to be more than
an expert—you need to be available when reporters
call. Respond quickly to their requests for
information. If you’re not responsive, efforts to
establish yourself as a media contact will be
wasted. Foster cites an extreme instance
of being available—as well as a very quick
study—when a desperate reporter with a
cancellation needed a source to answer questions
on a program that would air in 15 minutes. The
information to be covered was not in the financial
planning area, so Foster initially tried to
decline. He relented when the journalist said she
had no one else. He asked exactly what she needed
to know, located someone at his firm who could
fill in a few details and studied a printout in
the taxi on the way to the studio. He was
knowledgeable enough to do the job—and made a
friend of the reporter—but says he’ll never do
another favor of that kind. It was both
nerve-wracking and might have lost him clients had
he made a mistake. Zollars makes a special
effort to be accessible. Even on the road, he
stays on top of his e-mails and returns phone
calls quickly. He knows that if he’s not
available, others will be. “I work very hard to be
responsive, even when I get calls from reporters
at the most inconvenient times—yearend and tax
season!” Goodfriend says: “I try to return
the reporter’s call right away to set up a timely
appointment to discuss their story. I ask about
the story’s focus, so I can ascertain how detailed
to be and prepare some thoughts in advance.”
TIPS FOR AN INTERVIEW
If you are called on to round out a
reporter’s story by delivering background
information on a topic or giving a comprehensive
interview, do a few things to prepare:
Before the interview ask the reporter
to tell you more about the questions he or she
will ask. You want to be able to address the areas
the reporter is interested in and support specific
points he or she may want to make.
Find out who else (what other
sources) will be interviewed. This gives an idea
of how deep the coverage will be. You may be
called on to augment—or disagree with—information
from another source.
Know your key message points and
write down a list of possible questions. Then
answer them and practice what you’re going to say
so that you’re comfortable when it’s time to speak
“on the record.”
During the interview try to maintain
a consistent position on issues. If you change
your mind, make sure you say so and explain why
your opinion shifted. Respond to questions with
short answers and get to the gist; provide detail
only when asked to.
People remember the last words spoken
more than the first ones, so end the interview on
a positive note. Some subjects may be quite
serious, but being constructive is always
appropriate. Goodfriend says simplifying
complicated ideas helps to educate the reporter’s
audience. “During an interview, I make sure to
answer the reporter’s specific questions and I
also offer the thoughts prepared in advance. Often
the remarks are well received and may add a new
dimension to the discussion,” she says. “It’s
important to use a simple vocabulary—think in
terms of using language to convey concepts to a
client—even with highly complex subjects such as
the tax treatment of stock options.”
Goodfriend offers one more tip: “Be honest when
you don’t know or need to research an answer. It
gives reporters confidence in you about what you
do know.” If you have built a rapport with the
reporters you want to work with, you’ll be treated
more like a partner than an adversary.
SOME OTHER BENEFITS
Foster says successful public relations are
a bonus to the whole profession as well as an
asset to him. “You let the community know that a
CPA does more than prepare tax returns—and you
beef up your bio,” he says. Zollars says a
unique advantage from having an online presence is
the ability to have hyperlinks to both your firm’s
Web site and your resume/biography information in
the tagline to every message you send. “Include
your name and contact information everywhere,” he
says. Goodfriend appreciates the extra
business media exposure brings her, but she also
takes a lot of pride in its public service
aspects. “I’ve found it very rewarding to help
educate the public—and being a media resource is
one of the most efficient ways to share financial
planning concepts,” she says. Finally, in
exchange for your time and effort as a reliable
source, you increase your visibility, enhance your
image and that of the profession and acquire
high-potential business leads—always and forever
the key to new business. |