Category: Communications Strategy

Shrinking attention spans and your public relations

Posted on by Wellons team

People are paying less attention to what you say. It’s not because what you are saying is not important. It is because what you have to say must compete in a rapidly changing, communications environment that is shortening people’s attention.

That means in today’s overcrowded communications landscape, you need to convey your ideas in an instant.

Online media is rapidly becoming the most important messenger

Step back for a moment and remind yourself how information consumption is undergoing significant change.

Newspapers and magazines are morphing into websites. Over-the-air television is turning into streaming as a means of presenting information.

Online communications have stepped to the forefront in terms of how people are looking for information.

According to Cision, a comprehensive communications platform that top PR firms, (including Wellons Communications) rely upon, “Journalists’ concerns about audiences’ changing media consumption behaviors are top of mind in 2025. More than 2 in 5 reporters (42%) named this as one of the biggest challenges for journalism in the last 12 months.”

Not only is media consumption changing, so are attention spans

 The average human attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8 seconds today.

That’s shorter than the attention span of a goldfish.

To get a greater appreciation of what’s happening with attention spans, take a listen to what Gloria Mark, PhD, the chancellor’s professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has to say here.

So, what does this have to do with your public relations? 

First off, it means that you have to adjust to how communications are changing, not only in how information is projected, but in how it is received.

And that’s where Wellons Communications enters the picture.

We recognize the changes media are undergoing, and we know how to adjust your public relations and publicity program to keep pace with how communications are changing.

We use up-to-date distribution services to target who is receiving your publicity communiques and add our own know-how to bolster these services.

We advocate for the use of high-impact visuals to cut through the communications clutter and get your idea across in an instant.

And for media, who are overloaded with pitches from folks like us, we make it as easy as possible for them to recognize the news value of your story and how to tell your story as concisely and clearly as possible.

In short, call us and we’ll start cutting through short attention spans

We recognize the challenge telling your story with brevity and how to package and distribute your story in a way that is useful for what media want and need.

Call us at 407-339-0879 or email us at will@wellonscommunications.com and let’s start getting past those short attention spans.

Using Artificial Intelligence in Public Relations

Posted on by Wellons team

The onset of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating information about virtually anything has been sudden and enormously impactful.

If you feel your understanding of AI may be lacking and how it is transforming business, you have plenty of company. It feels like AI has arrived overnight…so fast that it has all of us feeling our way forward to adjusting to what seems to be morphing into an Artificial Intelligence business world.

In particular, the marketing and public relations industries are on the front line of industries feeling AI’s influence and how it affects marketing programs like yours.

Getting comfortable with Artificial Intelligence

If you feel you need to get better acquainted with AI, here is some information that will help you better understand AI and how it is changing how we are doing business:

A great place to start is Microsoft’s AI for Small Business: A Beginner’s Guide.

More in-depth drives into AI and where it may fit into your business:

  • McKinsey & Company Quarterly Five Fifty Real World AI offers hundreds of examples of how AI is being incorporated into business management and marketing
  • Everything PR News offers insights on AI’s role in PR in The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Public Relations
  • Forbes business writer Ali Payani provides a thoughtful analysis of AI’s impact on marketing in Embracing the Future: How AI Is Revolutionizing Marketing and Sales

So, how is Artificial Intelligence affecting public relations?

AI is enabling PR practitioners like Wellons Communications to more rapidly and analyze data quickly and accurately.

It helps identify trends and insights. It influences development of develop targeted messaging and campaigns, including what is already being said about you and your competitors.

AI is improving the accuracy and efficiency of media monitoring and analysis.

Can AI replace the need for public relations practitioners?

Nope.

AI is a big help to PR professionals, but it lacks the humanity necessary to gauge or “read” public opinion and what matters to people. It can assemble and organize information, but it lacks the creative spark that can point that information toward an original, productive marketing campaign.

What AI does do for PR agencies like Wellons Communications to more rapidly and analyze data and ideas quickly and accurately. It helps identify trends and insights. It influences development targeted messaging and campaigns. AI is also improving the accuracy and efficiency of media monitoring and analysis.

AI is particularly helpful in media monitoring; analysis of what media is saying and how that information might affect your industry or your business and providing.

The final decisions on what you could or should do, in response to AI analysis, however, still requires a human touch and sound decision making.

Can small businesses like yours use AI in their marketing?

AI-driven personalized marketing campaigns can help build stronger connections with customers and increase brand loyalty.
Also, AI-powered content creation tools can accelerate and streamline the content creation process, saving businesses time and money.

How does Wellons Communications use AI?

We’re already using AI to strengthen our clients’ public relations and publicity programs.

We use AI to transcribe interviews, capture notes and ideas, create content more efficiently and better predict the changes of a PR pitch earning coverage.

Using tools like Cision, Grammarly and Meltwater Propels “PitchPrefer,” we can play to media preferences in what kind of information they want to receive or what they seek.

Best of all, we can take advantage of AI’s power to work more quickly and efficiently, which means you get more from us in less time.

We would love to explore how we can harness the power AI to accelerate your PR and overall marketing program.

If you’re ready to put AI to put some kick into your marketing program but feel hesitant about what to do or where to start, give our PR firm a call and talk to us…in human (not AI) terms.

What’s your elevator pitch?

Posted on by Wellons team

Whatever product or service you are marketing, it’s the most important product service in the world…to you. That’s because your livelihood depends on successfully marketing it.

The importance of what you market brings us to attention spans; the all-important length of time you have to grab someone’s attention.

You have less than 10 seconds to capture and hold someone’s attention.

Try these facts on for size:

  • The average human attention span is only 8.25 seconds, which is less than the goldfish’s 9-second attention span.
  • The average adult internet user’s attention span is 8.25 seconds, influenced by the increasing distractions on the internet, social media, and the environment.
  • The average attention span of a human has decreased significantly over the years, from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2013.

With attention spans diminishing, the importance of keeping your message clear, simple, and direct has never been more important.

Seconds count: the importance of a good elevator speech.

If you had all the time in the world, talking about what you sell would be no problem. But you don’t. You are limited on time. There is no room for redundancy or lack of clarity.

In short, if you fail to capture your audience’s attention, the rest of your messaging may as well not happen

So…to keep up with shortening attentions, our answer is the elevator speech

An elevator speech is a short message conveying who you are, what you do and the value your product or service brings to your audience. It is one of the most effective ways to promote your personal brand and one of the simplest, most powerful tools for any marketer.

When you combine the importance of an effective elevator speech with the lessening of attention spans, it means your message’s first eight seconds are critical to connecting with your audience.

Wellons uses elevator speeches to pitch media.

At Wellons Communications, one of the first things we do for our clients is to create an elevator speech that we can use to pitch media about our clients. That’s because we only have eight seconds to get the attention of media, who are bombarded with pitches and story idea from folks like us.

While we have eight seconds to capture attention, we have about 30 seconds to augment what we have established in the first eight seconds.

Good news: the same elevator speech has greater value that simply pitching to media. It can be used to convey what you do (and why it’s newsworthy or important) to virtually anyone…particularly potential customers. 

At Wellons, we use elevator speeches to pitch media

Our first objective in pitching media is to ensure that our message has value to whomever we are pitching. Media want to hear pitches that are newsworthy and have some connection to the audience they service.  So…our elevator speech is tailored to the journalist we are pitching.

Here are a couple of examples of elevator speeches we use to pitch stories to media:

I’m Will with Wellons Communications, in Florida. I want to offer you a story idea that we believe will connect with your readers (or viewers or listeners). It’s about how technology is making it easier for attorneys to research information that can reduce hours and make it more affordable to clients to use their legal services.

I’m Lauren with Wellons Communications, an Orlando PR firm. We have come across a story idea that has characteristics that lend themselves to your news outlet. It’s about how changes in tourism in Florida have changed since the peak of COVID in 2020.

So, what would a typical elevator speech look or sound like?

A short elevator speech will include five key elements: an introduction, a definition of the challenges of the target audience, a reference to how to solve the challenge, why you are best suited to solve that challenge, and a call to action.

Here are a couple of examples…in response to “What do you do?”

I’m with Daily Grind, a coffee marketer. We coordinate the delivery of high-quality coffee beans to coffee shops throughout North America. We save money for our clients by arranging transport of coffee beans from directly from growers who can roast coffee beans on site and ship them directly to the coffee shop.

I’m with Little Thrills, a recently opened tourist attraction in Florida. We offer guests more than 30 fun, totally safe, rides that are crafted to allow parents and children to both enjoy a fun experience together. It’s brand new and well within the budget of most families.

Both elevator speeches are short, to the point, and include a value proposition.

Work with Wellons to create your elevator speech

How’s your elevator speech? Do you use one? Do all of your employees know what it is? Do they use it too?

Our PR agency is happy to set you up with an elevator speech program that starts with an appropriate elevator speech and by expanding the elevator speech throughout your organization, ensuring that all of your employees to use the same elevator speech with consistency and pride in your organization.

Call us and tell us more about your business…and try your elevator speech out on us!

Are you capitalizing on your winning stories?

Posted on by Wellons team

“Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser.” –

Gen. George S. Patton

If you count yourself among the winners, then it’s the story of your successes, and what they do for your clients, is a story that you need tell….over and over.

“Facts and figures and all the rational things that we think are important in the business world actually don’t stick in our minds at all,” says Nick Morgan, author of Power Cues,” but stories create “sticky” memories by attaching emotions to things that happen. That means leaders who can create and share winning stories have a powerful advantage over others.”

Put away modesty

Your first thought may be “Well, telling our story is going to sound like bragging.”

Wrong.

If you don’t tell your story, nobody else is going to do it for you. In fact, others may take your story and define it in their own terms…and to their advantage.

It is solely up to you to identify your strengths and successes and then tell people about them. And that’s where public relations enters into the marketing mix of your overall communications.

Keep your customers first when you tell your story

Put your story in a context that puts your customers and employees first. Choose a framework that will resonate with your listeners and audience

For example, people don’t want to hear “We have lots of experience.” What they want to hear is “Here’s how our experience has led to successful outcomes for our clients and how our experience will lead to results.” And then back up your story by reporting some results.

According to the Harvard Business Review:

“First, companies should inventory their existing market research and customer insight data, looking for qualitative descriptions of what motivates their customers—desires for freedom, security, success, and so on.”

Second, companies should analyze their best customers to learn which of the motivators just identified are specific or more important to the high-value group.”

So, what kind of stories should I tell?

A story without a challenge simply is not very interesting. Good storytellers understand that a story needs conflict.

Define a challenge that confronted your customer. Then tell how your business solved the problem.

Here’s an example:

“After years of significant membership growth, the Society for Pet Adoption (SPA) began to experience a significant downturn in new membership. SPA needed to find a way to attract new, younger members to supplement the loss of aging and dying members.”

And then explain, in simple, basic terms how SPA reversed the trend.

“SPA augmented online communications to better reach and appeal to a younger family demographic. Their website added appealing visuals of pets in need of adoption and featured “New Surroundings,” showcasing how the adoption of a pet provided a common point of emotional connection that positively involved every member of both the immediate family and their friends. Media found the New Surroundings stories offered emotional appeal to their audiences and adopted some of the winning stories for features in their news reports.” The membership decline reversed itself within a nine-month period”

The formula 1. Problem. 2. Solution. 3 Results.

Let us help you craft and tell your winning stories

As public relations practitioners, we are professional storytellers. We are also professional marketers.

We combine marketing and storytelling to help our clients more effectively reach their customers and potential customers.

We can help you clarify your strengths and how you are helping your customers. And, just as important, we can identify and share your story with powerful media sources who are always looking out for stories they can share with their audiences.

And, once we have crafted your story, we can develop ways and means to augment what you have to say. Powerful photos. Attention-getting video. Research that underlines your results.

We help media make your story become their story. Call our Orlando PR firm to help you put your story in the hands of media best suited to reach your key target audiences.

Give us a call. Share with us what kind of winning stories you want to tell. After all, like General Patton said so eloquently, “Americans love winners.”

And rely on us to help you develop the story of your brand and generate positive results for your business or organization.

What’s your plan for dealing with unforeseen circumstances in business?

Posted on by Wellons team

What’s your plan when a business problem pops up that is totally unforeseen? What’s your order of response to an event that is unanticipated, troublesome, and not even your fault?

Who steps up to represent your organization? Who determines how you are going to react? What are you going to tell your customers? What are they going to say when media comes knocking on your door?

Few, if any, really foresee a “black swan” event

Nobody really expects a “black swan” – an unpredictable event beyond what is normally expected of a situation and that has potentially severe consequences for one’s business.

What kind of “black swans” are we talking about?

Events like COVID-19, a workplace accident that results in injury or even death, the actions of a disgruntled employee who is identified with your organization, slowdowns in the supply chain that affect your operations, to name a few.

The event does not even necessarily have to be your fault. It can be something that affects your industry, like a slowdown in the supply chain, a weather event that disrupts flights and operations, or an economic event that has an influence in your business category.

Unanticipated events happen and you need to have a basic outline prepared to deal with them.

When was the last time you looked at your crisis plan?

Good news: most organizations already have crisis communications plans prepared.

According to a PR crisis survey that PRNEWS and CS&A International, a specialist risk, crisis, and business continuity management consultancy, conducted in late 2019, about 62 percent of companies have crisis plans.

The bad news is that once the crisis plan has been prepared, it is often jammed into someone’s file and gathering dust and forgotten. According to the same PRNEWS survey, “it’s uncertain how many regularly update them (crisis plans). In addition, few companies consistently practice crisis scenarios.”

Why are these plans forgotten? Primarily because no crisis has occurred and there has been no reason to look at the plan. Or because personnel change and no one can remember who wrote the plan or where they put it.

No matter what the reason the plans “disappear,” crisis plans can easily become outdated or misplaced. And that puts you and your business in peril.

Crisis plans need to be reviewed annually…even if it takes only 15 minutes

Overseeing a crisis plan doesn’t require an entire day of your organization’s time.

In fact, it can take about 15 minutes a year once it has been prepared.

Your review needs to address questions like:

  • Is the general plan still current?
  • Has the contact information in the plan changed?
  • Who oversees the plan?
  • Do we know how to find the plan when we need it?
  • Has our industry or situation changed so that the changes require us to modify our plan?

Who’s in charge of your crisis plan? And who keeps it updated?

Theoretically, your CEO or COO is responsible for your crisis planning and response.

In reality, someone in the lower ranks, or an outside resource, is responsible for crafting the plan, testing it out, and keeping it updated.

It’s important to ensure that someone in, or connected to, your organization is clearly in charge of crisis communications planning and stays in touch with its basic response actions. This same person should be the one to review the plan and call management’s attention to any changes that require the buy-in of the entire organization.

So what does Wellons Communications have to do with crisis planning?

Wellons Communications serves to write crisis plans, test them out, freshen them up when required, and, in an actual crisis, act as either the spokesperson for your organization or prepare your designated spokesperson’s response.

In short, we stand at your side and help guide your response so you immediately can communicate your side of a story to four key audiences:

Your employees: let them know that your only point of communication is whomever is designated as your spokesperson.

Your customers: tell them what is going on and what you are doing to address it.

Media: Identify one person (by name, title, and contact information) who is your spokesperson and how to reach them. And keep in mind that media includes both consumer media and trade media.

Your industry: if your business category is caught up in the crisis moment, let your industry association know what you are doing and who is speaking on your behalf.

Pre-empt crisis response now…by reviewing your crisis plan

Chances are you already have a crisis plan in place…or have, at least, thought about it.

If you have a plan established, look at it and update it. If you don’t have a plan formalized, put one in place, even if it’s only one page.

If you anticipate that you need—or may need—crisis planning assistance and crisis response assistance, consider our Orlando PR firm and let us help you put a plan together, conduct a run-through to see how it works, and stand by your side in the event you need to respond to a crisis.

And remember, those “black swans” are only a moment way…and you need to be prepared to address them if they occur.

Bios: Are you telling YOUR story on your website?

Posted on by Wellons team

How often do you look at your website from your customer’s point of view?

Marketers generally blast away with all the unique selling propositions that distinguish their product or service. They often focus entirely on telling their customers why their product or service stands apart from their competitors…or why customers need their product or service.

What websites often overlook is specific information about the people who oversee and deliver what your organization is selling…the folks behind the website.

Let people see and learn about who they are dealing with and buying from

To be clear, we are not talking about, to use the arcane language of website developers, “dynamic website personalization,” or creating a customized website experience that winds up being tailored to the wants of each individual visitor who comes to your web page.

We’re talking about posting information about the people who manage your business.

At first glance, this may seem like a terrifying notion. “What! I’ve been taught to protect personal information at all costs,” may be your first reaction.

What we are talking about, specifically, is relaying enough information to build trust and confidence in you and your business.

Biographies offer a way for your customers to better know you

Glance at some different websites. Find and click on “Who We Are.” In most instances, the information includes a business bio photo and a business-oriented biography that generally centers around the individual’s professional credentials.

We suggest considering a slightly different approach.

At our Orlando PR firm, we adhere to the notion that people like to learn about or read about people like themselves. Sort of like a conversation between the reader and the storyteller.

Why is that important? We believe it offers a more personal connection with the marketer and their customer. And that personal connection builds trust and confidence.

Just how personal are we talking?

As a digital marketing agency, we strongly subscribe to the notion of bridging the trust-gap between you and your customers… connecting with them, not talking at them.

Biographies do not always have to be dead-serious and dull. They can offer a means of personally connecting you with your customers

We’re not recommending in-depth information about individuals. Just enough information to convey a sense of professionalism…and personality. And prompt engagement.

Your bio, for example, can provide the reasons that led you to became involved in your profession. You can share what inspires you or what you want your customers to say about your product or service. Or simple information like what football team you like or your favorite movie.

Back up the bio with a photo…not in a stiff conference room setting, but in a site that positions you as an individual. A real person. The kind of person that your customers will say “I’d like to have these folks as friends.”

A creative professional bio photographer will know how to create a setting (e.g., outdoors, in front of your headquarters, or with some of your employees in an informal gathering) that brings your personality—and that of your organization—to life and underscores your willingness to connect with your customer.

Wellons Communications knows about personalization

Our public relations agency is comprised of communications professionals who work together. But, first and foremost, we are individuals, each with our own individual personalities and backgrounds.

We look at our clients in the same way….as individuals who have their own unique wants, needs and expectations.

Because everyone is unique, we believe personalization…right down to the bios that appear on your website and in your marketing materials…is critical to building a strong connection with your customers.

Take a second look at your overall marketing materials and ask yourself “Does my website provide my customers with the means of getting to know me (or us) better?”

If you’re thinking some personalization might be in order, call me (Will), at 407-462-2718. And, in the true spirit of personalization, I will personally answer your call. And I’ll be happy to review your materials and let you know if you can use some personalization that will let your customers get to know you better.

How to take advantage of trends to get attention for your business

Posted on by Wellons team

Ever think of yourself as a trendsetter? Have you ever wondered how you can supercharge your digital marketing program by capitalizing on trends?

It’s all too easy to say to oneself, “There’s nothing trendy about my industry.” But, when you step back and take a longer look at your industry, you likely will begin to recognize trends that have come and gone, trends that are emerging, and how trends have impacted your business, both positively and negatively.

Trends can offer substantial marketing upside if you can recognize them as they begin to emerge. Trends become news and, if you use your imagination and identify how a particular trend might affect your business, there is potential for putting yourself in the news as an expert in your field (what PR firms like to dub “authority marketing”).

Do you find yourself thinking, “but trends never happen in my business”?

There are always trends ongoing. You simply must keep an eye out for them.

At this very moment, in 2021, the real estate market is going through a trendy phase that is characterized by a lack of available home inventory and skyrocketing home prices.

Just a quick look at the news reveals other current trends:

  • Hotels are revising their operations to adjust to the post-COVID travel rebound. The lack of employees has forced hotels to cut back on guest benefits that were once considered routine, like free breakfast buffets, in-room guest bars and, yep, even daily room service.
  • The meetings industry is being forced to adjust its business model because of the impact of Zoom and other online meeting tools.
  • There is growing suspicion of Facebook, Instagram and other social media tools as a high-impact means of reaching one’s market.

How can you capitalize on trends?

Be aware of what’s going on in your industry. If you recognize a change in how you and your competitors are operating, be the first to identify the trend.

Make yourself available as an expert observer in your industry. If media know who you are and how to reach you, you have made their job easier and significantly increased your chances of being called upon as an authority in your market category.

Piggy-back on what others are offering about a trend. Offer an observation on a trend that someone else has already recognized. Media cannot simply take one person’s word that a trend is happening. Providing a second opinion, or an example that illustrates a trend, puts you in an advantageous position to generate media coverage.

Generate news that confirms a trend. If you recognize an emerging trend in your industry, explain it – and illustrate it – better than your competitors.  

Issue a simple chart, a photo, an online video, or even create a podcast to make trendspotting come to life and make a journalist’s job easier. The payback, of course, is when your organization’s name is attached to whatever you create to make a trend easily recognizable and more easily understood. 

How do you spot trends?

Look outside your business. If you recognize a trend in another industry, ask yourself, “How might this apply to us or affect us in our market category?”

Something that is happening in the food and beverage in industry, for example, might have a parallel impact on a totally different kind of industry.

Follow relevant websites and blogs. Journalists are constantly on the lookout for what is new and different. If you become acquainted with what media are looking for, you will position yourself to become a trend-spotter.

Remain connected with current affairs and news. When a trend hits the news, ask yourself, “how can I take advantage of this?”, if there is a fit.

An insightful 2015 article by Michael Noice in Entrepreneur provides a more in-depth look at trends and how you can recognize and capitalize on trends. Although the article is six years old, it stands the test of time in terms of its ideas on spotting and taking advantage of trends.

Wellons Communications can put trends to work for you

Our Orlando PR agency is trend-conscious. A key part of our job is to pay attention to what’s going on in the news. We have a responsibility to look for trends and come up with ways to make them work for our clients.

From putting your name in front of media as a qualified observer and reminding them how they can reach you (or us, so we can reach you) to creating vivid examples that explain a trend and where you fit in, we know how to help our clients take advantage of what’s trending.

Are you in a position to take advantage of the next trend in your industry? Or will you be reading about how your competitors are being quoted about what’s happening with the trend?

Start trending in the right direction by calling me and learning more about how we can put our trending team at your disposal and put you in the front of the news.

Crisis communications: How prepared is your business?

Posted on by Wellons team

clipboardWhen you hear “crisis communications,” your first reaction might be “It won’t happen to me.” After all, you’re just a business—not the target of something you’d see on the news.

And you’re right—mostly. While you probably won’t suffer some kind of incident that will make major headlines, the rise of social media has made it much more likely that your business will face some kind of crisis situation.

Because there is a possibility, you need to have a crisis communications plan in place now.

What kinds of crises are we talking about?

There are different degrees and types of “crises.”

Any one of them could have an enormous impact your business. Indeed, any of these types of crises could happen to you and they don’t have to make headlines to have a meaningful, negative, effect on your business. Here are some examples of impactful, but often unseen, kinds of crises that affect businesses with more regularity than you might suspect.

• Negative actions by a former employee. These can range from someone sending harmful emails to your key client database to someone going to the local media and spreading negative misinformation, creating a false image of your organization.

• Criminal activity involving an employee. What would you do if you discovered that one of your employees had been arrested for embezzling organizational funds? Or had been arrested for sexual abuse against children? How would you respond if an ex-spouse showed up at your business and took threatening action against their ex?

• Negative spotlight on your business category. How well prepared are you to respond to client or media inquiries about a sharp sales downturn in your product or service category? What about some kind of inquiry about the safety or reliability of products or services in your particular category?

It doesn’t have to be your fault to call attention to your business. Media often call on anyone in a particular industry to add context to a story.

Need specific examples? How about the safety of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder? Or the recurrence of E. coli or salmonella in Chipotle’s restaurants? If you market a product related to parents or operate a restaurant, there’s a good possibility you can get caught in the news fallout, even if it is someone else’s problem.

Need examples closer to home? How about the shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub? Or the disappearance of the 2-year old who was attacked by an alligator at Walt Disney World? What about the impact of hurricanes on Central Florida and their disruption of normal working cycles on businesses?

How to handle a public relations crisis

Thanks to the interrelationship of social media and mainstream media, an incident can morph into a full-blown crisis in just a few hours.

If you have a well-constructed crisis management strategy, backed-up by a regularly-conducted rehearsal program to test it out, you are in position to deal with the crisis.

Such a plan will enable to you quickly interact with your clients, the leaders and influencers in your category, media, and any other audiences that are important to you. Even a short, basic plan identifying your key audiences (along with their contact information) will position you to address an unseen crisis in a businesslike, responsible manner.

How do you create a crisis plan?

You can create your own plan.

Or you can call on the seasoned professionals at Wellons Communications to create a plan for you.

Our team members have served both sides of crisis management (the media side and the client side) and have first-hand knowledge of how effective a good plan can be. They have also seen the disastrous results that inevitably occur when a business lacks crisis planning.

We will be happy to provide you specific examples of the kinds of crises we have addressed in the past. More importantly, we will listen to you, learn about your business and better understand what kind of readiness you need to have to address a crisis situation.

Let’s discuss how we can ready your business to be prepared to address a crisis situation effectively and professionally—and before it ever happens.

Call us (407-339-0879) or email us at will@wellonscommunications.com to start on your crisis communications planning.

Are you too much in love with social media?

Posted on by Wellons team

Social media—and its hold on businesses that are seeking to sell to those millions of fans—has dramatically changed how we market to wanna-be clients.

Businesses like to call on social media because it is relatively inexpensive, allows rapid formulation of messages and makes it easy to distribute information.

But how effective is social media? Does it really sell things and ideas? Or is it more “white noise” in a world where communications have become overloaded?

Social media’s sheer volume offers opportunities to influence customers 

Consider this: According to Social Media Today, “…. (the) total time spent on social media beats time spent eating and drinking, socializing, and grooming.”

That’s a lot of time. And that huge chunk of everyone’s daily life offers a tremendous marketing opportunity. But simply lobbing information on an indiscriminate basis without an organized plan and strategy is not the answer.

Because social media is so prevalent, businesses in love with social media often spew out tons of information that may not, in fact, be “share-worthy” or even interesting. That leads to less-than-satisfactory (or no) results and wastes the time and energy of the business.

In short, there’s more to it than simply “Let’s post a lot of news, information, and graphics on Facebook and Instagram.”

Social media CAN work, but only if it is based on newsworthy information

Cision, who prospered for decades as a leading press release distribution company, has morphed to a distributor of information via electronic resources.

Even though the means of distribution has changed, Cision has never varied from its belief that whatever information is shared, it has to have some value to both the reader and the organization that is issuing the news.

Cision’s philosophy is encapsulated the still-relevant article 7 PR mistakes to avoid in 2017. The theme of the article can be summed up in two ideas: you have to distribute information to reach your audience and your information has to be relevant.

So how do we approach social media at Wellons Communications?

We still subscribe to the old 5 W’s—who, what, when, where, why and how—but supported by modern technology and adjusted to fit prevailing attitudes.

When you put the new technology and attitudes aside, it still comes down to  clearly identifying who can use your information, when they can use it, and clearly stating and explaining why your message matters.

How we go about that is more complex. How and what revolves around putting together a well-thought out plan that integrates messaging and timing and generates results…. all without breaking your bank

We certainly believe social media is paramount in today’s communications environment.

But we look at social media as a means of distribution, not the “magic bullet” that makes people buy products, services and ideas. Posting information on the Internet doesn’t necessarily mean sales will skyrocket. It simply means you have distributed information.

At Wellons Communications, we take a total approach to public relations. We recognize the power of social media, but we also understand the value of traditional public relations, marketing, content, SEO and more.

They all work together to move the needle for clients, and no one plan fits all. There is only one plan that works—and that plan is the one that is best suited to accomplish your marketing goals, within your budget, and delivering the kinds of results that will enable your profitability and success.

Social media is more than likely part of that plan—but if you’re only doing that, and if you don’t have a clear idea of why, it may be time to rethink the relationship.

As you plan ahead and seek to more actively involve public relations in your overall marketing, keep Wellons Communications in mind.

We’re mindful that you only have so much money to invest in marketing and eager to help you use PR to serve as an affordable and reliable means of augmenting and strengthening your overall marketing program.

How would Santa use public relations?

Posted on by Wellons team

Santa needs PR?

“C’mon,” you scoff. “Santa needs PR like I need a hole in the head.”

But, when you step back and think more about it, even Santa has a genuine need for public relations assistance, just like your business needs public relations to both build sales and address issues that potentially could get in the way of sales.

So what kinds of challenges might Santa face?

  • Start with the elves. Are they happy with what Santa pays them? And what if they go public with their salary concerns? How does Santa react? What does he tell the public? And how does Santa communicate how the elf challenge is being resolved in time for Christmas?
  • What about the reindeer? Animal activists may frown on how Santa puts the flying reindeer to work each Christmas. How does Santa treat the reindeer the other 364 days of the year? Are they overworked? Should they even be used to deliver gifts, or should they be retired in favor of advanced technical solutions for delivery?
  • Weather challenges. How will Santa’s journey south be affected by winter storms that may be lurking in his flight plan? Who will serve as Santa’s spokesman to relay reassurance that the presents will, indeed, make it to their rightful place under the Christmas tree?
  • Credibility. At what age will children begin to ask, “Is Santa real?” And what do parents tell their kids when it becomes obvious that they will be soon facing some tough questions?

How would public relations help Santa?

The world as we know it changes every moment, which creates ever-changing challenges.

A well-organized, thoughtful and up-to-date public relations plan backed by knowledgeable professionals provides a means of dealing with those challenges.

Santa’s brand image ranks second to none, and it would be PR’s job to keep it that way.

Because of his high visibility, everything about Santa – and we mean everything – is subject to public scrutiny. Santa’s PR team would need to anticipate the tough questions that potentially can emerge and be prepared to address them. At the same time, the PR team needs to find new and different ways to ensure that Santa continues to hold his leadership position.

So why do you need public relations?

As you prepare to address the 2019 business year, ask yourself the same kinds of questions Santa’s PR team would ask themselves as they look ahead.

Those questions would include:

  •  How can public relations help me market my product or service?
  • What kinds of newsworthy issues and challenges can hurt my business? And am I prepared to address them?
  • Are there newsworthy issues upon which I can capitalize?
  • Are my messages clear and understandable?
  • Will information about my product or service withstand intense scrutiny?
  • Am I missing an opportunity to affordably and effectively market my product or service by not including public relations?

Put public relations into your marketing mix for 2019

With the turn of the annual calendar right around the corner, now’s the time to look over your existing public relations plan and freshen it for 2019—or to create one altogether.

A practical action plan can be put into place to augment your overall marketing activities for a fraction of the cost of what you would invest in advertisements.

What’s more, when you bring an experienced, knowledgeable PR team to your side, you get considerably more than simply a publicity team. You acquire a team of marketing professionals who proactively help you sell your ideas while covering your back to fight off challenges that prove damaging to your enterprise.

Our recommendation: add PR to your marketing mix in 2019…think of it as a present for your enterprise.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a great 2019

At Wellons Communications, we have been fortunate to assist – and learn from – extraordinary clients whose successes we have been pleased to contribute to. We are, indeed, grateful for their business and we remind ourselves every day that it is a privilege to serve our clients and help them attain success.

We wish you the same kind of success for your business in the coming year.

Merry Christmas…and a prosperous and fruitful New Year.

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