Lisa Johnson

“I just need a few key messages that I should hit.” It’s a common request that every communications pro has encountered many times ahead of a media interview. And if you’re anything like me, you roll your eyes. Why? Because key messages are fine and good, but only if they are used to form a broader narrative. More often than not, they’re seen as a license to be repetitive, robotic and focused only on your own outcome. Brute-forcing key messages down a reporter’s throat doesn’t help them do their job. Media opportunities are a two way street - you give value, share expertise and contextualize whatever you’re talking about in exchange for the profile the media outlet can give you and your business. The best and only way to respect this duality is to shape a simple and memorable story which contains the messages you want to hit, and which shows instead of telling why what you’re discussing is important and meaningful. I used to keep a folder of video clips that could’ve been titled “when key messages go wrong” - often depicting some hapless executive or politician stumbling through a repeated response straight from the message sheet he or she was handed. They universally looked silly and unprepared, and the interview did nothing but undermine trust and damage the speaker’s reputation. Next time, before the camera starts rolling, think about a story instead of a key message. Your brand will thank you.

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"Can we chat about internal communications?" When Shareen Pathak asked me if I could chat with her about internal comms, I jumped at the opportunity. Internal communications—or, employee communications, as I prefer to call it— is the underappreciated backbone of the comms and marketing team. I'm so glad to see more attention paid to this topic and this vital role. Employee communications can't be an afterthought. It's not a "nice to have" (though it's almost always treated as such, especially in smaller organizations), and it's incredibly strategic. Shout out to my internal communicators! I see you, I know your importance, and I will keep singing your praises as long as I have breath in my lungs. Check out this Toolkits.com article for more.👇 ## Does your company have a dedicated employee comms team, or is it part of another role (aka an afterthought)?

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Promoting #tech products is a difficult task. While they're easy to make look cool (I still remember being wowed as a kid by each year's #iPhone unveiling at the Apple events), it can be hard to show off your product in a way that makes consumers see how it can fit in with their lives. But, seeing as a big part of #PublicRelations is telling stories clearly and effectively, it's important to keep that in mind when showing your products to consumers. And that's in part what Daniel Roberts spoke to my class at New York University with Professor Michael Kaye about today. I asked Daniel about an article he was quoted in by Ewan Larkin, for PRWeek, which I've linked below. In the article, Daniel emphasized the importance of highlighting how technology can impact people's personal lives, as opposed to their broader implications. For example, people are more likely to buy electric vehicles if they can see how #EVs can be helpful and convenient for their lives. Even though consumers might be enthusiastic about the environmental impact of the vehicles, they're going to be hesitant to buy one if they like long road trips (and aren't aware that the GPS technology in EVs charts its route based on the proximity to charging stations along the way). "What you really want to do is find someone to carry the message for you," Daniel said, giving the example of having a social media influencer make a video series where they go on a road trip with an EV to show consumers what that experience would actually be like for them. This is something that has continued to remain relevant to Daniel, from his time at General Motors to his current position at Meta. To keep it simple, when promoting tech products and services, ditch the jargon and large-scale metrics and make it personal instead. Thank you Daniel for speaking to our class today. I really enjoyed hearing about your fascinating career story and learning from your unique insights! And thank you to Michael for setting up this event for my classmates and I.

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If you think as cellular as an enterprise connection failover, you are thinking so 2020. Secure and simple. Cellular. If fiber can’t connect it, cellular can. Edge computing, AI, IOT, OT. Connecting, analyzing and improving processes and experience. Listen to Will Townsend insightful view of the industry.

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Ready for the real on integrating #AI? Listen to this insightful conversation between Meerah Rajavel, #CIO of Palo Alto Networks and Information Security Media Group (ISMG)'s Michael Novinson on how #AI is revolutionizing cybersecurity and operational efficiency. Gain valuable insights on leveraging AI for enhanced employee experiences, streamlined workflows, and effective defense strategies. #AI #Cybersecurity #Innovation #womenincyber #securethefuture #prepareforabrandnewfight https://lnkd.in/gtiKftdu

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On this week's #MetricMonday we're looking at sentiment, a tricky data point to come by, but an inherently critical one to understand #crisiscommunications challenges in real-time. First, let me say that NO algorithm or tool allows you to push a button and get a perfect sentiment analysis – it just doesn’t work that way (i.e. "cool" means something different to a fashion brand than it does to an HVAC company). However, in most cases, you can train tools to give you relevant directional data on sentiment based on publicly visible conversations. Once you have a well-trained monitoring tool in place, the granular approach to assessing individual posts matters a lot less than how you plan to use the data. Typically, I'm using sentiment data to: 👉 Determine the scale of an issue: While sentiment tells you the balance of negative, neutral and positive conversation, it can also showcase how much of each can impact your reputation. For example, if there are 10 product reviews on an item with 2M SKUs sold, does it matter that 6 of those reviews are negative? Perhaps, but it's worth noting how big or small an issue is relative to the conversation volume. 👉 Understand trends over time: Net sentiment is typically driven by events in a company's history. A positive net sentiment can change overnight on the whims of a bad newscycle. Analyzing sentiment before, during and after a critical issue will typically indicate whether the issue will persist or dissipate, helping you determine what the proper next steps might be. ��� Understand topical relevance: Within all the comments and reposts are natural indicators of what topics are driving sentiment. The public will usually TELL you why they feel the way they do, and thus give you data on what the proper response might be, what channel to share it on, and how that statement might be received. Example: If your brand experiences a wave of negative comments on Instagram, does it make sense to issue a press release to tamp down the noise? Perhaps, but there's a case that it might not work based on where the conversation volume originated. If you’re planning to issue a response during a crisis that doesn’t include the trending keywords among negative responses, how might that message be received? Hard to say for sure but your odds of shifting the narrative are narrow without letting the data guide your hand. In all, sentiment is a great signifier of brand health, but as with all metrics, it's only a good tool if we use it to full capacity. And one more thing...can we not use neutral sentiment as a leading insight? It's perfectly fine to note that your audience isn't impassioned at a given moment, but neutral sentiment is easily the least impactful metric when facing a public issue. If it's all you have, shrink the data set and retrain your monitor based on influencer, channel type, publication or post type. There are insights there somewhere, sometimes you have to hunt for them.

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In my marketing career within regulated environments like telecom, I've always been cautious of government oversight. However, when it comes to the security and resilience of our critical infrastructure, the stakes are too high to overlook. Check out this blog by Eric Boger to grasp the latest change impact from the National Security Memorandum issued last week. #CriticalInfrastructure #Everbridge #Resilience #Compliance #InfrastructureSecurity

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AI is changing the world as we know it. And while it can do incredible things, it can also make terrible mistakes. So, how as an industry, do we make sure we're keeping up with the pace, but critically, acting on the right side of history? On Wednesday 19th June, I'll be facilitating a panel conversation, to talk about: The evolution of AI in comms: Facing fears and harnessing hope Come along, to join me and these brilliant experts: 🔷 Allison Spray, Global Head, Intel and Tech Innovation, Hill & Knowlton 🔶 Holly Mercer, Global Head of Communications, Logically 🔷 Nicola Koronka, Co-founder and Chief Client Officer, Missive 🔶 Amber Ellis, Senior Account Executive, CCGroup - B2B tech marketers Where we'll dig into topics like: 📊 The state of play: Where AI is bringing value to our work, and where it isn’t 📿 The pursuit of truth: How misinformation and disinformation are impacting business’ reputation ✳ The risks of AI: Will technology and tools make the industry less ethical? 🤼 Talent: What skills are needed for now, and the future? 🗺 Grayling, Holborn Gate, 26 Southampton Buildings, Holborn, London WC2A 1AN 📅 Wednesday 19th June ⏲ 5pm - networking, drinks and snacks       6pm - Panel and Q&A session       7pm - more networking, drinks and snacks Register here: https://lnkd.in/d6Mc9_nf

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AI Killed Writing Tests So How Can You Evaluate Editorial Talent?

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In the latest episode of CRN In Depth, CRN cybersecurity reporter Kyle Alspach discusses hot topics from this year’s RSA Conference, like generative AI’s role in cybersecurity and why solution providers need to improve long-term planning. Watch on CRNtv 👇 #RSAC #GenAI

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“Considering that performance of our major units, including #Samsung Electronics Co, fell short of expectations in 2023, we are introducing a six-day work week for executives to inject a sense of crisis and make all-out efforts to overcome this crisis.” While employees under executive level are not expected to work six days per week, can you imagine the mood and morale amongst the executives who are receiving this mandate? And we all know that executives set the tone of the company. If you are a seasoned professional in the #US or #Canada with an annual salary of $150K+ and looking to transition because you are no longer in alignment with your employer, visit www.kltracy.com for a free resume review. #careertransition #Careertransitions #Resume #resumes #careerchange #thebigquit #greatresignation #careerwithpurpose #career #outplacement #employment #workplace #workforce #returntowork #layoff #layoffs #quietquitting #unemployment #Google #Microsoft #Meta #Amazon #Spotify #CSuite #goldmansachs #Blackrock #Citi #morganstanley #Boeing #Disney #DocuSign #Walmart #McKinsey #Ericsson #Twitter #Starbucks #QVC #siriusxm #Apple #Starbucks #Lucid #McDonalds #Merck #Lyft #3MersUnite #Intel #Ford #GM #IBM #Telecommunications #tech #AmericanFamily #Pfizer #HR 

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Curious what this week's HYCU, Inc. news with Dell Technologies means? Ajay Naha on Acceleration Economy summed it up pretty nicely! "The two firms’ integration work ensures customers benefit from HYCU’s application awareness, agentless, driverless architecture with built-in multi-tenancy, and its management capabilities. These features facilitate management of multiple data sources and easy migrations across different clouds, as well as on- or off-premises hypervisors." You can read what else Ajay had to say in his full summary 👇 #DellTechWorld #moderndataprotection https://lnkd.in/e2b7-5qw

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ML’s Monday Morning Musings – 3.5 Reflections from 3.5 Days with IABC Comms Pros “Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” -- Henry Ford Thanks, Henry. Even with 30 years of experience in internal and change communications at global companies, I’m not too old to learn. Last week, I spent 3.5 days with top professionals in the communications field at the IABC World Conference in Chicago. Nearly every speaker told a story of a situation they overcame that I could relate to and learn from. While there were many takeaways, a few reflections stood out for me. If you want more, follow IABC, and attend next year! 💓 1.    Let Your Heart Lead Oscar Munoz, former CEO of United Airlines, told the story of his first 37 days there, which he spent talking with employees in every part of United’s operations. His first priority was to regain their trust. Under pressure, and after suffering a near-death heart attack, drawing inspiration from his grandmother (who raised him as a boy and served as his role model), he led United with heart through one of the most successful turnarounds in modern business. Check out his book, “Turnaround Time.” 😩 2.    Avoid Burnout Carolon Donnally PCC,MSOD, spoke of living with habitual burnout, an experience which took her two and half years to overcome. She reminded me of times in my career when I experienced burnout and shared strategies to avoid it, like having self-compassion and remembering to BARK: B-oundaries (set them) A-dditional identities (you are not only your job) R-est and relationships (see item #3) K-nowing and addressing burnout stressors 🤝 3.    Build & Nurture Relationships I met and reconnected with professionals who, like me, want to keep getting better at what they do, like Steve Crescenzo and Cindy Crescenzo. I first met Steve at an IABC conference where he gave a keynote on making corporate communications simpler. I later hired them. More than once. A former Bayer colleague, Alexandra Borchard (She/Her), and I joined the Crescenzos for dinner because that’s one way to nurture relationships. We had a blast, and I’m working with them on another project. You get out of relationships what you put into them. 🧐 3.5   Have Sponge-Like Curiosity. Be open-minded to new ways of thinking, approaches, perspectives, and technologies. AI and how to leverage this fascinating technology to augment your communications work had its own track. For many, it represents a big change. DM me to learn how to better manage change in your career or life. More at www.helppeopleprosper.com. Listening (another great session) to the challenges and opportunities facing communicators today renewed my faith in knowing that these are the people who create lasting positive change happen, and they are the ones who know how to inspire that change in others.  Thanks Kim Clark, for that reminder. To your prosperity! #IABCWorldConference #change #communications #relationships #burnout #values

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"It all starts with being brilliant at the basics. Because in the long run, if you don’t get the blocking and tackling right, you won’t have permission to introduce new ideas and innovations to your customers, no matter how advanced and valuable they are." 💡 Learn how Carrie Palin has curated Cisco to be "the most valuable B2B brand on the planet" in this Forbes article➡️ http://cs.co/60485aZH2

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The press release is not dead, it's just evolved. When I first started in #communications, nobody ever questioned the purpose of the press release. It was just assumed that every big announcement would lead with an informative press release designed to start a dialogue with journalists and control the narrative. As the world increasingly moved online over the last decade or two, folks have debated the relevance and usefulness of this steady companion. After all, it's much quicker and easier to both distribute and find information on the interwebs. As such, many #PR folks declared the press release passé. But there's so much more to the press release than simply making an announcement, and if you neglect it, you're missing out on heaps of opportunities. Like the opportunity to support your SEO efforts, generate backlinks, and drive referral traffic. Or to use it as a jumping-off point for a comprehensive content campaign that spans blogs, newsletters, social media, contributed content, email marketing, ads, events, and customer stories. Or to support your friends in sales to help them engage customers and leads. Or to drive awareness, build credibility, and support conversations with current and prospective partners and investors. Or even to support HR with their employee recruitment and retention strategy. Don't neglect the trusty press release. When designed and leveraged well, it truly is a jill of all trades.

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What are some of the driving factors that are motivating enterprises to adopt of private #5G networks? RCR Wireless News breaks down what’s fueling #privatenetwork adoption according to an F5 executive. Read what he had to say here: https://lnkd.in/eE-fNMtU

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