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Succeeding on Facebook When Space is Limited
Speaking at a health care conference earlier this month, I was asked how companies and campaigns can best use Facebook as an advocacy tool. Many conference attendees vocalized something I’d been hearing for a while, that Facebook was losing its effectiveness in spreading a message. It’s true: Studies have shown that organic content doesn’t have…
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The Art Of The Pitch
Pitching reporters – aiming to get a tailored message across to a target audience – is one of the most vital facets of public affairs campaigns. A pitch is your initial means of communicating your argument, insight, scoop, etc. If your pitch is a dud – meaning it lacks newsworthy, compelling substance – it will…
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Repeal & Replace: From One Republican To Another, How Did It Fail And What Can We Learn?
Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly referred to as Obamacare, went down in flames this past month. But, why did their efforts fail? What lessons did we learn from this failure? And how can those lessons learned be applied to current and future advocacy campaigns? You Must Own Your Message From…
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Asking For a Friend: Do Op-Eds Really Matter Anymore?
Let’s talk about the opinion editorial, or the “op-ed.” It’s the publication of an individual opinion in response to the writings of reporters or editorial boards; the classic way to exert written thought leadership on a particular issue or news item; the tried-and-true tool used by public relations consultants and in-house communications experts alike to convey…
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Outside In: What are Americans Reading About NAFTA?
When the notice to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went to the Federal Register on May 18th (to be posted on May 23rd), it stated: “The United States intends to commence negotiations with Canada and Mexico regarding modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The NAFTA was negotiated more than 25…
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Building A Message That Resonates Across Party Lines
The Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard came out last week with an interesting look at FTP client North America’s Building Trades Union, who hosted President Donald Trump on Tuesday at their annual legislative conference despite endorsing and advocating forcefully for Secretary Hillary Clinton during the ’16 presidential race. But as Bedard noted, NABTU president Sean McGarvey said in his…
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Outside In: Are We Just Talking To Ourselves Inside The Beltway?
Last week, Americans from coast to coast tuned into the cable news shows of their choice, and inevitably noticed coverage focused on one item above all else: the new Republican health care proposal, the American Health Care Act (AHCA). If we turned to national outlets or Beltway publications, it felt like health care entirely consumed…
