Khalid El Khatib

🥐 A little food for thought from Eleanor Hawkins. 🥐 This story illustrates both the necessity for and tension between comms and marketing. Brand reputation is critical. It takes just one misstep to cause irreparable harm (or at least significant damage) to a brand. The good news is that a healthy partnership between marketing and comms leaders, along with connection to the whole org, can impart strength and creativity within an organization.

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The reinstatement of Net Neutrality regulations got buried under news coverage of the TikTok “ban” bill, but last week’s FCC decision shouldn’t go unnoticed by marketers. Affordable, accessible bandwidth is essential to our business and our clients’ business. The video and tech heavy experiences that have come to define so much of modern PR and marketing rely upon broadband. I’ve long been a proponent of a broadband program similar to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (which helped get bypassed Americans on the power grid). While we aren’t there yet, restoring Net Neutrality and looking at broadband through the regulatory lens of public utilities will likely speed infrastructure expansion. To use a railroad metaphor: the fastest train in the world can only run at the speeds its track allows. Comms and PR people can create the most innovative experiences, but they will always be constrained by bandwidth. The more that true broadband coverage is available, the faster our ideas will run. NPR published a great primer on net neutrality last week that is worth a read if you need to get up to speed: https://lnkd.in/ecNp9vmf #broadband #netneutrality #PR #digitalmarketing #bandwidth #FCC #BidenAdministration #ruralbroadband #InternetAccess

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Avōq just released insightful research into the changing media preferences of D.C. policy insiders. LinkedIn is up, Twitter is down... but there is a lot more to it than that! To get a deeper look, download the topline and schedule a full briefing to learn what these changes mean for your policy communications strategy: https://lnkd.in/eMpRhMZh

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An evolving digital landscape has led to some new stategies for how communicators can most successfully manage the reputation of the brands they represent -- Ronn Torossian, 5WPR Chairman and Founder, 5WPR https://odwpr.us/44DT29H

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✨ "Data tells, but stories sell." ✨ Imagine harnessing the true power of #storytelling to ignite passion and drive innovation within your organization. That's what I discussed with host Nikki Lewallen Gregory on the latest #FRINGE podcast episode. 🎙️ Here are Key Insights for #Innovation Leaders: 💡The Sensory Connection: Engage your audience on a deeper level by activating all five senses in your storytelling. 💡The Billion Dollar Storytelling: my upcoming book after a four-year journey promises to reshape your narrative skills. 💡Memory-Making Devices: Stories are not just tales; they're strategic tools for deepening relationships and enhancing recall. So, if you're eager to explore how a simple story can rally a team around innovation or transform a client meeting into a memorable experience, this episode is a not-to-be-missed listening experience. And while you're here, share with us ⬇️ a moment when a story profoundly affected your leadership or business strategy. #podcast #leadership

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Sure, you can use #AI to crank out corporate blog posts at lightning speed. But should you? Without some safeguards, you might find your performance, and even your search rankings, plummet just as quickly as those articles are produced. The amazing Highwire content team (particularly Sarah LeBoeuf and Sam Prell) conducted a controlled experiment in the effectiveness (not just speed) of AI-generated content compared to human writers, and the results are essential reading for anyone in #marketing or #pr looking to use AI wisely. https://lnkd.in/engRHqYf

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Is this the tipping point for online news outlets? Google's evolving #generativeAI tools that can summarize stories published by the news media are creating increased anxiety for the Fourth Estate. It will be interesting to see whether such technological advances reduce or increase traffic to news sites and whether such algorithms violate the rights of news publishers and copyright law.

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Flashback Friday ⚡ If you missed "5 Ways to Grab a Journalist's Attention (and 5 Mistakes to Avoid)" you'll want to read it. Our team at Si14 Global Communications dives into best practices when pitching media...and warns of the ways startups tend to annoy reporters (you don't want to be THAT startup!) And after you read this blog post, check out the other videos and articles on our PR Academy for lots of valuable tips from our team and successful CMOs, VPs of Marketing, and CEOs. https://lnkd.in/d7YVQrbV

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Internal comms seems to have gotten a refresh. As communicating with employees becomes a critical priority for companies, many are looking for internal communications talent who have an editorial bent. -- Amazon is looking for a leader for its workplace and operations executive communications team -- Law firm Latham & Watkins is hiring a director of internal communications Goldman Sachs is looking for a VP-level role to lead internal communications -- Notion is looking for an executive to lead content and communications for its workforce and employees -- Fintech startup Ripple is looking for an internal communications manager who will “own” the editorial calendar -- Understood.org is looking for a director of internal communications who will be responsible for creating content for internal channels. -- McCann Worldgroup is looking for a manager who will run newsletters and content across communications teams Companies increasingly view employees as they do external audiences: As people to be engaged with, courted, and communicated with regularly. As a result, a growing number of organizations are developing editorial content aimed specifically at internal audiences. That means content responsibilities are increasingly becoming part of internal communicators’ job descriptions. “One of the big reasons we’re seeing more internal communications and content roles is culture wars,” said Kate Meissner, co-founder at D.C.-based Velocity Partners and a former EVP at Edelman. “People now want their workplaces to be places that institutionalize their values.” “I strongly believe it should be called employee communications,” said Becca Chambers ✨, chief communications officer at ControlUp. “Employees are less engaged and they don’t know how to reach them. That means internal communications needs to be about engagement, culture building, employer branding, and crisis and change management as well.” Will drop the full story in comments below.

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This is such an under-discussed topic relative to CX efforts. Natalie Alms reports on the implementation of the IDEA Act, and quotes Jonathan Finch thus: But a major challenge has been “demystifying this question of who owns digital experience,” said Finch, noting that the interaction someone has with a government agency on the Internet might involve technology, communications, operations and customer experience teams. The proliferation of Chief titles -- CIO, CTO, CXO (customer experience), even CDO, not to mention heads of digital service teams and program owners -- can make it harder, not easier, to make the decisions needed to improve customer experience. More people on the hook is not better, the same way several load balancing tools don't balance a load better. And accountability without authority is really not helpful. https://lnkd.in/ggvXJSzm

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PRWeek's great 2024 Business Report highlights the key challenge facing our industry. Communications is more important than ever. Comms and policy leaders are being asked to play far larger roles as business partners supporting ever more stakeholders. So why did the industry suffer so much in 2023 after many years of growth? As an sector, we are not adapting fast enough to the needs. Organizations are desperate for help but also under tremendous financial strain. They now need both senior level counsel and advisory support as well as deep domain expertise to actually produce. By and large, our industry is still split by this chasm - between strategic and tactical. Clients cannot afford to separate these, either in time or money. At Bully Pulpit International our goal is to bridge this divide, building a team that can both 'think and do' at the highest levels. It's not always easy. Last year was a challenge. But if you share this vision for the future, please check out some of our open roles: https://lnkd.in/dGQwJUSG

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Start-up and scale-up founders, CEOs and CMOs can save themselves a lot of heartache if they assess their company's readiness for corporate communications before they bring on an expensive corp comm leader. By identifying where the requisite building blocks for success already exist, executives can develop the function in a way that impacts business results by making better hiring decisions, understanding where to expect results near and long term, and strategically planning their investments in the function. Looking for a guide to help you do this? Drop me a line. As a 25-year veteran leader who has helped a number of start-ups and scale-ups build their corporate communications departments, I can help you figure out if you are ready to add this strategic function. #CorporateCommunications #ScaleUp #StartUp #PublicRelations

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Me and a couple of partners founded ScoopFindr back in 2021 as an app alternative to the old-school newsletter format...I've worked in tech PR for most of my career, but it was my first time on the other side of the fence--experiencing the "build" process as a tech founder. Full disclosure: It has not been easy! Huge learning curve, especially when it comes to balancing two businesses. BUT, I feel like the timing is finally right to accelerate our efforts given what's happening in the world of media relations right now: -High media turnover + a growing economy of freelancers who are craving expert sources -An continuously increasing ratio of PR pros to journalists (which continues to overwhelm email inboxes) who have stories to share -Ongoing changes/frustration with cluttered social platforms like X / LinkedIn I believe we need and deserve a new, niche, easy-to-use platform that offers a seamless way to exchange information that benefits all parties--so we built it for iOS to start, and are looking for honest feedback! In order to do so, we're seeking journalists to test the app so PR pros can prove their value. Please tag your favorite writers here! Download the app for free on iOS today (turn on notifications), and feel free to shoot me a DM with your notes: https://scoopfindr.app/ #publicrelations #HARO #mediarelations #journorequest #media #techstartup #PRweek

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As ever, a lesson in starting with the outcomes you want to achieve, not the platform. Workplace *seemed* like an obvious copy and paste into the world of work. Plug and play, right? It’s never that straight forward. If you want to hear about our seven steps to digital enlightenment or how to navigate your migration away from Workplace, just send us a friend request* #employeeengagement #employeeexperience #workplace #digitaltransformation *don’t do that… just drop us a line or call

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We started a #substack newsletter! Pace Public Relations latest newsletter shares new studies, viral news and social trends--along with our clients who are available as expert sources. If you're a #reporter looking for new sources subscribe below! #lifestyle #lifestylepr #newsletter #pr #publicrelations #media #mediarelations

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My best *BAD* Comms advice: 1. Be “delighted” and “thrilled” in *all* quotes. → Sounds natural. 2. Redline articles; send to news editors. → Really strengthens relationships. 3. Announce layoffs in December. → Makes holidays special. 4. *Only* use stock photos. → Really resonates. 5. One-way broadcast, always. → Engagement is overrated. 6. Google alerts > internal comms. → Builds trust reading in the news first. 7. Spill “off the record” beans. → We're friends, right? 8. Only measure 'impressions'. → *Super* actionable. 9. Promise *excellent* coverage. → You're a wizard. 10. Accept all stakeholder edits → Simplifies. Sounds better. 11. Always pitch *full* media list. → POWER move. 12. Skip training/prep sessions. → Practice ≠ perfect. 13. Keep PR mysterious. → Education is overrated. What have I missed? 🤣

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🎙 We've just launched #FromWordToAlgorithm: Understanding Public Opinion with AI at #LLYC. Our first audiobook dives into real-world cases, showing how public conversations have evolved and impacted media. Discover our unique method for analyzing digital conversations, spotting sentiment, and finding opportunities for brands and clients. Ramon Gonzalez, LLYC's Editorial Consultant, shares vital insights from our digital conversation analysis studies. Take a listen to the audiobook 👉 ow.ly/X5UL30sBI9T

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The Highwire team put AI writing to the test. Sure, it's fast and easy, but does it deliver the best business results? Spoiler alert - it could be doing more harm than good. Read on for where to use and not use AI in content marketing - https://lnkd.in/gkixqe89 #PR #DigitalMarketing #content #AI

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My recent Creative Differences newsletter, comparing human marketers' writing to LLMs got me a ton of responses. Several marketing friends made the entirely fair point that they just don't have much autonomy in the messaging and that it is difficult and unrewarding to push anything other than the most mundane writing through the system. That's fair. I should have been clear that the marketers know their market. Executives too often have a very uninspiring view of what good comms and good writing look like. Here, are two questions ... Is there a word - not a brand or trademark or new coinage, but a plain word - that you can find in your writing that your competitors do not use? Most likely you can't think of any. Carl Buehner famously wrote, "They may forget what you said — but they will never forget how you made them feel." How do you want your readers to feel, reading your work? Intrigued, surprised, optimisitic? Even a simple set of installation instructions can impart a feeling: confidence, for example, that I can now straightforwardly achieve the task ahead. Rather than endlessly noodling on the exact phrasing that will convey the technical, or business, nuance of the product or service, pay some attention - even just a little - to how you want your readers to feel. https://lnkd.in/gz-KhmK2

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