There’s no doubting the power of the spoken and written word. PR has based an entire industry on it. However, over the last few years the PR industry has suffered from victimisation – the culprit – a certain Spin Doctor.
“You brought it on yourselves” I hear you say, and there’s truth in that. Particularly in the political arena, where we’re all in a complete whirl from spinning so much that it’s now difficult to truly believe anything you see, hear or read.
In the slightly less heady world of B2B PR it’s still a tough battle to completely conquer spin. Naturally a client always wants us to put across the best side of a story and there’s no harm in that. Nevertheless, our ethics should not, and in Leapfrog’s case will not, allow us to embellish the truth.
With our 24/7 news cycle and mind-boggling internet technology, life in today’s fast lane is almost completely transparent with few boundaries and very little privacy. Facts can be checked with the click of a button. Make no mistake – there’s always someone out there who will be quick to flag up any deliberate deceit hidden cleverly in your latest blog/press release/tweet.
Persuading the client that total honesty is the best policy may not always be music to their ears. However, we stand firm and insist on integrity. It’s a policy that pays dividends in both the short and long term.
Good writing is all about spelling out the facts, minus the fluff, in an easy-to-read way that captivates your audience from title sequence to final word.
B2B PR writing done this way is extremely beneficial. It will earn the respect of trade editors. They will quickly discern that you’re telling it straight down the line.
Once you’ve gained their trust you’ll begin to reap the rewards. You’ll see media coverage of your PR articles, with very little changed, both online and offline. Not only that, but you’ll also start to receive requests for your opinion on forthcoming articles. An ideal opportunity to portray your company as an industry expert in its field.
Telling a story in a positive way is the building block of our business and a completely different path to spinning a story. As a reputable B2B PR agency, it’s our duty to firmly draw the line, refusing to cherry pick the facts and spread deception.
When your business is built on getting good media coverage for your clients, the very worst scenario would be to get caught out spreading blatant untruths. That would most definitely be bad news.