I am writing with gratitude for the achievements and happy memories of 2023 and with anticipation for the year upon us. Last year, the Elmore team connected our clients to their audiences with clarity – successfully and purposefully amplifying their news, stories, and initiatives to earn impactful results. I encourage you to read some of those highlights here.

As we embark on a new year, my goal for 2024 is to provide increased clarity and meaningful context for your audiences.

The last several years have made audiences more discerning; the public want to know how – and why – things are the way they are and the potential impact or benefits to their lives. In other words, audiences now seek significant context in addition to facts.

We have found this applicable across the board, no matter the organization’s type, structure, size, or purpose. For example, when we are promoting the work of green space and parks organizations, the messaging is not simply about adding a particular number or miles of trails; it’s about improving park access and park quality for all.

In the commercial real estate realm, the messaging isn’t simply about bricks and mortar but about sustainability and the human experience in a space.

For educators and family services non-profits, the context supporting a decision is often tied to solving problems directly related to students still recovering from the pandemic or other significant life change.

And for arts organizations, we aren’t simply promoting programming, but how and why the art presented is culturally relevant and important in today’s charged social and political climates.

Context allows your public to understand your vision and to more deeply invest in your mission. In 2024, Elmore will lead with the context to build trust and gain buy-in from your audiences and to impart nuance in your messaging.

I understand 2024 will bring unique challenges and opportunities for all of our companies and organizations. New city leadership, a presidential election, and the constant polarization of values and opinions makes communicating with context more important than ever.

To our clients, we appreciate your continued trust in Elmore, and if we aren’t partnering with you yet, we hope you will let us help you articulate your vision and message to gain the trust and support of your audiences.

Yours sincerely,

Susan Elmore

The way your company and executive leadership team communicate with employees and external stakeholders, such as media, community members and industry peers, significantly impacts how these audiences perceive your business.

Elmore can partner with you to create a thoughtful and comprehensive communications strategy for internal and external audiences that will propel you toward your communications goals. Today, we’re diving deeper into employee and executive communications.

What are employee and executive communications?

Simply stated, employee communication is the flow of information to internal audiences — your employees. A comprehensive employee communication strategy involves multiple channels and types of messaging, ranging from culture-shaping communications that tell the stories of your people and programs, business communications that help reach organizational goals, and executive communications that engage employees.

Executive communication extends beyond internal audiences to how visible your C-Suite is with external stakeholders. This might be done through thought leader articles or op-eds in industry publications, speaking engagements, conference panels, social media content or award nominations, to name a few.

What are the benefits of employee and executive communications?

Employee and executive communications have never been more important than they are today. While communication keeps people informed, it can do so much more than that. Internal and external stakeholders want to feel a connection to your business. The right strategy can help build that connection. But there are other benefits, too:

• Reinforce key messages
• Showcase storytelling opportunities
• Enhance alignment with business goals and values
• Shape company culture
• Build trust and advocacy
• Increase engagement and morale
• Drive desired actions and behaviors
• Position your C-Suite and company as industry trailblazers

Why might you need an employee and executive communications strategy?

No matter your mission or size, your company can benefit from a deliberate approach to engaging with employees and the thoughtful positioning of your CEO, the primary influencer of your company.

If you are soon undergoing a rebrand, restructure or leadership change, now may be the perfect time to consider your communications strategy. Both internal and external audiences will be eager to hear from the people in charge about the vision for the company and what to expect in the future. A thoughtful rollout of such news, coupled with an adherence to key messages, will inform and increase buy-in from stakeholders.

In other cases, your company may be aiming to drive certain employee behaviors or generate awareness for company initiatives. Outlining the messaging, strategies and means by which you’ll share this information is part of a well-rounded employee communication strategy.

So, what’s Elmore’s approach?

Elmore begins with understanding your external strategy to ensure consistency and cohesion among all communications, no matter the audience. From there, we audit your existing communications efforts, reviewing your communications ecosystem, including channels, messaging and frequency. We’ll learn what your workforce looks like, and how they best consume information. We may survey or speak with employees to better understand their experience. We’ll also review what your leadership team has (or hasn’t) done to promote visibility to key stakeholders.

Then, we create and execute our strategy. This can be an evergreen, ongoing effort, or can happen around a particular initiative or moment of importance for your company. Whatever your needs, Elmore can help develop and implement employee and executive communications plans to exceed your goals.

Contact us to learn more or to get started.

Every day, people are glued to their phones or tablets, clicking and scrolling through social media platforms as a form of entertainment, a way to read the news, check-in with friends, and more. Within the last decade, traditional marketing has evolved to meet audiences where they spend the most time. Enter influencer marketing. Influencer marketing has become one of the most effective ways for brands to become household names.

Below is Elmore’s tried and tested guide to working with influencers.

Know your audience
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: you must know your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? What are their interests? There are influencer that specialize in every interest category imaginable (e.g., lifestyle, travel, hyperlocal, a particular hobby, parenthood, hacks, etc.), and knowing the general profile of your own audience will determine the type of influencers to partner with.

Research your prospective partners
For many, being an influencer is a full-time job. As such, there are analytics and metrics influencers can provide to illustrate their value. These are data points in addition to their number of followers including average engagement rate, average audience reach, subject focus, location, and more.

Once you have an idea of your target audience, begin researching influencers within your specified areas of interest and compile a list or spreadsheet of the potential influencers you’re interested in reaching out to.

Consider your budget
It is important to mention that most influencers expect to be paid. They have worked hard to build their following and earn the trust of their audience, and again, for many it is their full-time job. Thus, you should expect to pay some amount of money for your partnership. In some cases, influencers may accept a trade (an exchange of products for posted content, without money involved). Provide them with an estimated value of the items that you’re proposing to trade.

Establish your partnerships and develop an agreement
At least a month or so before your event or launch, reach out to your prospective influencers via their website or direct message (DM) to them on their most popular platform. Personalize your message and articulate why you are interested in working with them to promote your initiative or product.

If/once you’ve come to an agreement to work together, develop a contract. Include in the contract details like the number and type of posts required, the date or timeline of the posts, and any specific language or tags to include. Outline what you’re giving in return (the agreed-upon fee or value of trade) and the deadline by which you deliver your payment. This document will keep all parties on accountable.

Create an influencer toolkit
A toolkit will help the influencers best understand your intended message and visuals. Provide your influencers with photos pre-cropped to the dimensions of an Instagram story, Facebook Story or in-feed post along with talking points and hashtags to use as they’re promoting your content.

Check in and provide support
As your event or launch draws nearer, check in with your confirmed influencers to ensure they have the content they need, and if they have any questions. Be sure to keep track of their posts, screenshotting stories which disappear after 24 hours, repost any tagged posts on the organizations social platform, etc.

Evaluate the success
Once the campaign is complete, evaluate its success. Ensure your influencer fulfilled all elements of the agreement. These analytics include story views and engagements, likes on a static post, number of comments, and more. A best practice is to use a unique link or promotional code for the influencer to use when linking out to your website, so you can review the number of clicks or ticket sales generated from that influencer. These KPIs will help you determine the value of the partnership.

If you deem an influencer campaign successful, keep engaged with that person! If there is proven interest in your campaign from their audience, you’ll want to build and maintain that relationship as you consider working with them again in the future.

Influencer marketing can be a useful communications channel to have in your toolkit. Working with an agency who specializes in building these partnerships may help ensure that you understand the ROI of an influencer marketing campaign as a dynamic approach to drive awareness, engage audiences, and create lasting connections. Contact Elmore to learn how we can help you evaluate if influencer marketing is right for your organization.

Media pitching is an art, requiring excellence in clarity, research, relationships, timing, and coordination. Our skilled communications professionals have the experience and connections needed to earn you valuable media coverage with the following considerations in mind.

Planning is paramount
What does your organization want to say and who needs to hear it? Laying the groundwork by outlining your goals and defining your target audience(s) is key. For Elmore’s clients, this occurs during a strategic planning session. Also, at this time, we identify organizational milestones and the potential story angles to captivate our clients’ audiences.

Learn your audience
Where does your audience seek information? An arts patron may look to the Houston Chronicle or Arts and Culture Texas for what’s going on with their favorite local arts organizations, while healthcare audiences may read Modern Healthcare or other industry trade publications. Research where your audiences are getting their news. “Media” is a general term with breadth; at Elmore, we focus our efforts on targeted publications to maximize impact where your audiences are found.

Find your angle
Most stories are multi-faceted and have multiple components that may be of interest. By understanding the interests of the journalist you want to engage, you can shape the story angle to what is relevant to them and will entice them to cover your story.

In some circumstances, you may elect to offer an exclusive to one reporter or an embargoed story to one or more reporters in advance of an official announcement. Elmore has the expertise to help you determine whether this is the right strategy for your news and execute accordingly.

Crafting the pitch
The pitch, or initial outreach to a reporter to cover your news, is arguably the most critical element of media outreach. It is an art form itself. It must capture the reporter’s attention quickly and show relevance and timeliness. The pitch includes the news to be shared and describes the specific story angle of most interest.  It always extends an invitation for further dialogue, and usually offers an interview opportunity with a representative from your organization.

Be prepared
With a pitch or as follow-up to a pitch, you may also need to provide supporting materials like a press release, data points, additional images, and/or who will be the voice of the story for an interview.  If the person speaking on behalf of your organization needs to be trained, do this in advance of reaching out to any reporter. Elmore facilitates media training and can be a resource for you.

Follow up
Reporters may or may not reply to a pitch right away. They receive hundreds of story ideas a week, and often have to get buy in from their editor or producer. Follow up strategically and professionally and limit the number of times you reach out. When following up, be thoughtful in your approach and thank them for considering your story.

Be flexible
If a reporter shows interest in the pitch, the goal is to collaborate on a story that satisfies all parties. Sometimes a reporter has a different angle in mind, or, perhaps, rather than devote an entire article to one entity, they want to include multiple examples in one story to show a trend. It’s also possible they choose to use the spokesperson as a subject matter expert on a different story. Flexibility affords you exposure, even if the story looks different than originally imagined.

And while not every pitch will result in a published story, there is great benefit to the pitching process. The pitched reporter now has an awareness of your organization and may be more likely to follow future news or even cover a story in the future.

At Elmore, we pitch media with thoughtfulness and respect. We consider members of the media our partners in sharing stories that are meaningful to the right audiences. We have spent decades building relationships with various media contacts to allow us to share our clients’ stories. Let us know what stories we can help you tell!

In early July, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, launched Threads, its take on a public conversation and sharing app, ala Twitter. In just a few weeks, Threads has exploded in popularity with 100 million accounts created, with the New York Times dubbing it the “Twitter killer.”

So, should your organization or brand(s) be on Threads? Maybe, but maybe not. Before joining, consider the pros and cons of the platform and strategize with Elmore to determine if it makes sense for your brand to have a presence there.

The pros

• Because it is a new app, it’s a great place for business to experiment with content. Brands can have some fun testing which types of posts work and which don’t.
• Threads, like Twitter, is a text-based app and thus, very conversational. Brands don’t have to have the perfect picture or polished video to accompany a post.
• Threads was created to harken back to the golden age of Twitter, when conversations were engaging, positive, and fun. So far, the space remains that way thanks to Meta’s high community standards.

The cons

• If your company has high brand standards or a long chain of approval, this platform might not be right for you. Threads is meant to host quick back-and-forths with your followers, and waiting even a day to reply or get approval to post can mean you’ve missed the window of opportunity for relevancy.
• At this time, Threads has no way of searching by keyword, topic, or hashtag, limiting the number of people who can find and see your post to your existing followers. Thus, your ability to grow your audience on Threads is limited. If you have a very niche audience, Threads might not be the place for your brand, at least not yet.
• There are no available metrics to assess performance at this time. There is no easy way to answer the question “how are we doing on Threads?”. Posting on Threads in these early days is like planting seeds for future growth. You may not be able to see or evaluate success just yet, but consistency will pay off eventually.
• Threads is phone-based only. There is no web version or online publishing tools available yet.

Some considerations

• You currently cannot deactivate your Threads account without deactivating your Instagram account, so it’s important to be sure of your decision to join. You do not want to run out of things to say. Inactivity on a social media platform makes a brand look irrelevant, which has the opposite of our intended effect.
• If your brand wasn’t already on Twitter, it probably does not make sense to join Threads. Their purpose and function are virtually the same, so if you’ve intentionally chosen not to be on one, it doesn’t make sense to be on the other.
• Does your brand have an early adopter attitude? Can it not take itself too seriously? Is your brand nimble and responsive? If so, Threads might be a great place for you. Otherwise, it’s ok to take a wait-and-see approach. Threads is new, and its functionality as well as its audience will evolve over time. It is ok to watch the app change and perhaps join in a future iteration.

If you are thinking about joining Threads, consult with Elmore to develop a plan first. We will outline what you want to say, your tone of voice, the frequency of your posts, the timeline and chain of approvals, and develop categories of content to have at the ready. Reach us here. We look forward to strategizing with you about Threads and all other social media platforms.

So you’re planning a public event? Congratulations! You are doing big things and it’s time to get your supporters involved!

We at Elmore thrive on connecting our clients to their audiences. Read on below for a few considerations we evaluate when developing a communications strategy to promote your event.

First, what type of public event are you holding? Is it a larger event like a grand opening or annual festival? Or is it something hyper-local, like a community meeting or groundbreaking of a local amenity? The type and scale of the event will help guide our strategy and timing for promotion. The sooner the concept and details of the event take shape, the more time we will have to promote. Our planning lead time can be anywhere from three to 12 months, depending on the unique aspects of the event.

Promotion usually means strategically leveraging a combination of earned media, owned media, and paid media to get your event known by the right audiences. “Earned” media are news stories generated from pitching reporters; “owned” media include your website and social media channels; and “paid” media include ads, whether in print, on air, or online. Elmore can assist with your paid digital advertising strategy, and help identify a third-party partner for traditional media buying.

These outreach elements often happen in tandem, though typically, Elmore first focuses on earned media. Being able to engage with press first can add a dynamic layer of excitement and build momentum.

As the event draws nearer, we execute our digital strategy, pushing event details to your already engaged followers with a combined use of website, e-newsletter, and social media channels. We also empower event partners and sponsors to have them amplify social media posts that the event is happening. Additionally, this is the time to consider a further push to a bigger audience through ad buys.

The week of the event, we give the strongest promotional push, coordinating advance interviews and ramping up social media promotion to generate buzz. In the few days preceding the event, we determine the most engaging window of the event and invite reporters, photographers, and videographers to attend and gather footage and interviews.

On the day of the event, Elmore connects with reporters, ensuring they get visuals and interviews they need to put together impactful stories. To ensure media outlets have footage and photos of the event, even if their reporters do not attend, Elmore recommends hiring your own videographer and photographer to document the event. Elmore can then distribute those assets with a recap press release to help generate more mentions, even from outlets who did not attend the event.

Crafting the right promotional plan for your public event is critical; you cannot have a successful public event if your public does not know about it. With decades of experience promoting public gatherings bolstered by strong relationships with the press, Elmore can be your trusted partner to ensure the right audiences learn about, are excited about, and attend your event!

Welcome back to the continuation of last week’s article on the Dos and Don’ts of Social Media. Read on for more insights and strategies on effectively utilizing the dynamic and ever-expanding possibilities of social media in your media plan.  

In our more than a decade of helping clients of all sizes and types develop and maintain their social media presences, Elmore has learned a thing or two about what does and does not work online. And while every social media strategy is as unique as the client we are serving, we have found there are some universal dos and don’ts which we encourage all organizations to consider. If you are ready to take your social media strategy to the next level, check out the conclusion to our tips series below and contact us to get started.

DON’T: Jump on the latest trends (unless that is part of your plan all along).
Social media trends can be entertaining, but not every trend is going to be appropriate or relevant for your organization to participate in. Before jumping on the bandwagon, ask yourself, “how will participating in this trend help us reach our outlined goals? How can we participate in a way that makes sense to us and is authentic to our voice?” Additionally, trends pass as fast they arrive. Consider if your organization is nimble enough to jump on a trend while it’s still timely. If it takes multiple days and many legal hoops to get clearance, you may have already missed the window of opportunity.

DON’T: Join every social media platform in existence unless you have a strategy first.
Yes, TikTok is huge right now, but does it make sense for your brand to be on it? Before creating a brand account, it’s important to have a strategy in place that answers questions like, “What are our specific goals for this platform? What would our brand voice be on this platform? Do we have the mechanisms in place to post on this platform regularly? Is our target audience even on this platform?” If, after answering these questions, your organization still wants to have a presence on a new platform, Elmore will help you strategize an impactful debut.

DO: Budget for ads and promoted posts.
The reality is, spending money on digital ads has become a critical component to expanding your reach on social media. Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and others have become “pay to play,” rewarding brands that spend money on the platform by showing their organic posts more often.

DON’T: Discount LinkedIn.
Especially for B2B and nonprofit organizations, LinkedIn is a powerhouse for getting your organization in front of the decision makers and donors you are looking to connect with. The platform has incredible targeting, along with great analytics and lead generation. It may not be new and shiny, but it’s reliable.

Social media is serious business, and an experienced strategist can navigate you through the digital waters. Elmore offers digital marketing and social media services in conjunction with our other firm services to ensure clients have a consistent, fitting, and engaging presence online and off.

Community engagement, or establishing and maintaining an honest, intentional, and ongoing relationship with a target audience, is not always easy. Every community is different, which means every community engagement effort requires strategic thinking and a custom plan. Over the past three decades, Elmore has supported clients in managing complex issues with clarity and sensitivity to audiences connected by geographic location or special interest. As engaged representatives of our clients, we work with key stakeholders to unite the goals of an organization with the needs of the community.

So what does a high-performing community outreach effort look like? At a high level, Elmore employs the following process:

• Look at the big picture. Determine the need to inform, educate or solicit feedback from specific publics about a topic, project, or campaign, and consider how the situation may be sensitive or potentially divisive due to disparate points of view.
• Dig a little deeper to:
  • • fully grasp the situation at hand;
    • conduct research and identify stakeholders and target audiences; and
    • develop a plan and timeline for outreach.
• Craft messaging tailored to specific audiences, anticipating concerns and questions (especially the hard ones) the public might raise.
• Implement the plan to communicate regularly with key stakeholders, often other governmental agencies and partner organizations who have a vested interest or involvement in the project, to ensure everyone remains informed and utilizes consistent messaging.
• Most importantly, train organizational leaders to answer questions authentically, clearly, and with empathy.

While every community engagement campaign is unique, all require thoughtful consideration of audiences, viewpoints, messaging, timing, and troubleshooting. Elmore is honored to be our clients’ trusted partner throughout the process; working together to clearly communicate with, earn, and keep the trust of everyone involved.

Work Example: Harris County Engineering Department 2022 Bond Propositions Public Meetings

Elmore partnered with two communications firms to assist the Harris County Engineering Department (HCED) in a public engagement campaign for the 2022 Harris County Bond Propositions, where Elmore was primarily responsible for developing the messaging. We crafted a key messages document to ensure consistency across communications channels and created training materials with best practices to help county staff respond to community questions. Other responsibilities included drafting the press release announcing the public meetings, writing the script for the virtual meetings, and preparing our client in advance of radio and television interviews, including the Houston Newsmakers segment on KPRC-TV. The input received from residents will be used to help prioritize public safety facilities, roadway infrastructure and greenspace projects.

Work Example: Harris County Flood Control District

While some community engagement projects have tight timelines, others are in the works for years. For instance, Harris County Flood Control District hired us more than a year ago to begin preparing a community outreach campaign to educate reporters, elected officials, and the public on an additional new concept for flood mitigation. The Flood Control District is considering adding deep underground stormwater tunnels to the existing stormwater management system. We spent many months with engineers learning and breaking down the technical concepts to develop educational materials lay audiences could understand. These communications tools were then used to educate reporters and elected officials on the concept of these underground stormwater conveyance channels and to articulate their benefits. Elmore facilitated a virtual public meeting with more than 600 people in attendance, and presentations to stakeholders continue as the Flood Control District pursues the final phase of the study process. We continue our community engagement plan with a tunnel specific website launching soon and will keep the conversation with Harris County residents ongoing through online channels for the next several years.

Work Example: Hemwick Place Asphalt Roadway Reconstruction Project

Consider the award-winning community engagement campaign Elmore completed for Harris County Engineering Department (HCED) in Spring 2021. HCED would lead the Hemwick Place Asphalt Roadway Reconstruction project, repaving approximately two miles of roadway from the service road of Highway 290 into the Hemwick Place neighborhood, all in the path of 84 homes.

Elmore was hired to facilitate a virtual public meeting about the project with the goal of providing impacted residents with more information on the upcoming roadway reconstruction, giving them an opportunity to ask questions about the improvements, and articulating Harris County Precinct 3’s ongoing commitment to improving area neighborhoods.

Utilizing purposeful outreach and thoughtful messaging, and through the planning and facilitating of the successful online public meeting, Elmore guided our client to earn the trust (and ultimately, cooperation) of the 84 impacted households. Genuine communication had been established between Harris County and these residents, providing a positive experience for all parties involved in an otherwise inconvenient situation. This work won Elmore Best of Show at the Houston-area International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) awards, and a regional award of merit from the IABC Southern Region, in 2022.

Healthy relationships are built on a foundation of trust and accountability. Friendships and intimate relationships thrive when each person feels heard and held. Connections flourish when expectations are established and met over and over again.

We believe the same is true in our professional relationships with our clients and colleagues. We want these relationships to be long-term and prosperous, made possible by sincere connection and confidence in us. When you are seeking a consultant, and especially in the case of a communications adviser who must understand your business and how you want your business to show up in the world, you need them to be an extension of your team. To achieve this, it requires complete trust in that relationship. For us, that trust is earned, in large part, by our commitment to accountability.

Best-selling author and lecturer Bob Proctor famously said, “Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the result.” We are kept accountable by account management best practices including bringing detailed agendas to our meetings, delivering consistently on action items, and developing recap reports comparing our results to the goals we outlined together in prior strategic planning sessions and the resulting framework plan. Regular check-ins allow us to apprise our clients of campaign progress and fine-tune our strategies based on our clients’ updates.

Active listening is another way we remain accountable in our relationships day-in and day-out. By taking the time to listen empathetically, repeat what has been said and provide opportunity for clarification, we ensure everyone leaves a conversation or meeting on the same page, with the same expectations. By asking the right questions, we gain the context needed to do our work effectively.

These accountability measures are a key part of our success and result in a deepened trust in the client-agency relationship. As you seek opinions and guidance on a sensitive matter; as you impart confidential information before it is made public; and as you trust communications consultants to act as your representatives in meetings or with media, you want to have the utmost confidence in your partner. The trust imparted to us is a signal that we have earned the confidence of our partners. The most important indicator of our clients’ faith in our expertise and guidance is when they embrace and follow our strategic communications recommendations, and together we build a partnership that lasts for many years.

Having mutual trust is paramount, and accountability is the conduit by which we nurture that trust to accomplish communications goals together. If you are one of our partners, we are honored to have the opportunity to serve as a trusted member of your team. If you are not, we would love the opportunity to earn your trust.