Building solid relationships with the press is the golden
ticket to getting that story published. Here are few tips to help you become a
trusted member of the media:
Be Mindful of Language Blunders
Spelling counts, as does grammar and professionalism. You’re not sending a text to your best friend, your kid or your mom. One of the biggest pet peeves of journalists is misspellings, text abbreviations (“LMK” in lieu of “Let me know,” for example) and incorrect grammar.
These blunders spell laziness in the mind of a journalist.
Take the time to run a spell check; use Grammarly, on online tool that
essentially proofreads your copy and alerts you to errors; and read your
e-mail, press release or document out loud to ensure that it’s properly
structured and flows with ease.
Don’t Pitch the Wrong journalist
You’ve crafted a thoughtfully researched, compelling, error-free pitch and you’re anxious to see the fruits of your labor in print or on a website or blog with a robust, high-traffic readership.
And then you send it off to a journalist who doesn’t
write—and will never write—about the topic at hand. It’s imperative to do your
research, and that means reading a journalist’s work before you press the “send” button or pick up the phone.
There’s nothing that journalists hate more than receiving
useless information. If you’re going to pitch a writer, make sure it’s someone
who covers the relevant subject matter.
More important: Make sure your pitch is newsworthy. Another
tip: read mastheads of magazines, newspapers and digital sites to determine the
beat of their writers.
Avoid Pitching Stories on Weekends
Unless you know for a fact that the reporter is a weekend writer or editor, avoid sending communication on Saturday and Sunday.
Journalists, like the rest of us, have lives, and it’s
important to respect their time off the clock. Weekend pitching has other
pitfalls: If you send an-mail on a Saturday, and it’s read, the journalist may
well have forgotten it by Monday morning. By then, it’s often buried beneath a
deluge of other pitches.
Every reporter and publication has different
deadlines, but according to a Business
Wire Media Blueprint survey of more than 600 members of the media,
Tuesday morning is typically the best time to pitch a story.
Despite the
rising threat, recent survey results show a surprisingly small number of agents
are prepared, as most do not have a written cyber security and response plan.
A
cyberattack is a malicious and deliberate attempt by and individual or an
organization to breach the information system of another individual or company,
seeking benefit from the disruption, ransom, or theft of data – and such
attacks are increasing in numbers and complexity.
Despite the
rising threat, recent survey results show a surprisingly small number of agents
are prepared, as most do not have a written cyber security and response plan.
A written
cyber security and response plan is essential to be prepared, organized and to
execute appropriate and prompt actions when an attack occurs.
The plan
does not need to be complex. To be effective, it should be simple and clear and
present key information. It should also be built commensurate with the size of
the organization.
Key
elements of the plan must include:
Perform a risk analysis to mitigate all risks, covering administrative, technical, and physical controls. Simply put, this is what could be vulnerable, what could go wrong and what is or should be done to try to avoid or contain the threat(s).
The cybersecurity program must protect the security and confidentiality of nonpublic information, protect against threats or hazards to the security or integrity of information, and protect against unauthorized access.
Define a schedule for the retention of data and a mechanism for its secure destruction when data is no longer required.
Designate an individual, third party, or affiliate who is responsible for the information security program.
Be sure existing controls in place – access controls, authentication controls, and physical controls to prevent access to nonpublic information. Encryption (or an alternative, equivalent measure) should be in place to secure data stored on portable electronic devices and for data transmitted over an external network.
Identify and manage devices that connect to the network – a simple inventory.
Adopt secure development practices for in-house applications if applicable. Alternatively, obtain this assurance from your service provider that performs the development for you.
Use multi-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized accessing of nonpublic information.
Regularly test and monitor systems for actual and attempted attacks, maintain audit trails, and implement measures to prevent the unauthorized destruction or loss of nonpublic information.
Keep up-to-date on emerging threats and vulnerabilities and provide ongoing training to employees to be sure they understand existing controls and why they are important; employees must know how to recognize and report threats.
The
response plan must include the following elements to be effective:
Date of the cybersecurity event.
A description of how the information
was exposed, lost, stolen, or breached,
including the specific roles and responsibilities of third-party service
providers, if any.
How the cybersecurity event was
discovered.
Whether any lost, stolen, or breached
information has been recovered and if so, how this was done.
The identity of the source of the
cybersecurity event.
Whether you filed a police report or
notified any regulatory, governmental or law enforcement agency and, if so,
when such notification was provided and by whom.
A description of the specific types
of information acquired without authorization, which means particular data
elements including, for example, types of financial information, or types of
information allowing identification of the consumer.
Time period during which the
information system was compromised by the cybersecurity event.
The number of total consumers
affected by the cybersecurity event, or a best estimate.
The results of any internal review
identifying a lapse in either automated controls or internal procedures, or
confirming that all automated controls or internal procedures were followed.
A description of efforts being
undertaken to remediate the situation which permitted the cybersecurity event
to occur.
Don’t wait until an event occurs. It’s a chaotic time full of financial
and emotional high stress. Do it now and provide yourself the peace of knowing
you are prepared.
Gone are the days
when branding was limited to simply promoting a product or a business.
Today, companies are
increasingly being challenged to incorporate a meaningful purpose into their marketing
and advertising campaigns.
According to
research, 75 percent of consumers – here and abroad
– expect businesses to contribute to their personal wellbeing and quality of
life, while 84 percent expect brands to provide content that entertains, tells
stories, provides solutions and creates experiences and events.
Purpose is especially important when marketing to
millennials, 71
percent of whom say they’re
partial to brands that implement environmental and social change into their
campaigns.
A new biometric
research report from Porter Novelli/Cone, published earlier this week, goes
even further in suggesting that purposeful content should lead the narrative of
your business.
“Purpose ignites physical and
emotional responses: Purpose-driven
advertisements were more effective in two-out-of-three brand categories tested,
with higher levels of attention, emotion and arousal from these advertisements
overall,” the study found.
In
other words, businesses that are searching for ways to build – and
maintain – customer loyalty would be wise
to focus on purposeful messaging that supports, for example, responsible
business practices, a charity or a social cause.
Purpose builds deeper bonds
Other key findings
in the report suggested that purpose builds deeper bonds.
A whopping 79
percent of Americans, noted the study, said they feel a deeper and more personal
connection to companies with values aligned with their own. Moreover,
respondents said they’d be more likely to feel better about brands with
meaningful messages.
And that’s not all:
“Purpose inspires
brand advocates and amplification,” research showed.
After
viewing purpose-driven advertisements, those who were surveyed also said they’d
be more likely to talk about the advertisement and the brand with friends and
family and share and discuss the advertisement on social media.
Perhaps
the biggest takeaway, though, is this: Nearly 73
percent of respondents said that given the current social and political
climate, they feel an urgency to support social issues, while 76 percent noted
that businesses dedicated to addressing social and environmental issues helps
them feel like they’re doing their part.
About the study
The research combined an
online study of more than 1,000 American adults with the results of biometrics
testing among a select group of respondents.
It measured facial, heart
rate and skin conductance impulses that captured levels of emotion, attention
and arousal/stimulation upon viewing a randomized set of advertisements.
Respondents viewed two ads
from the same brand: a Purpose-driven advertisement (e.g., support of a social
issue, responsible business practice) and an advertisement focusing on the
functional attributes of the product (e.g., performance, features or
specifications).
The research found that purpose-driven
messaging has a greater ability to capture the physical and emotional attention
of respondents compared to functional narratives.
If you’re exploring the rental market, it may be time to lower your expectations when it comes to landlord discounts, gift cards or complimentary amenities, writes Diana Olick, real estate correspondent at CNBC.com
As the rental market heats up and home ownership cools, rent prices are rising and freebies are falling out of favor.
Listings on HotPads, Zillow’s rental website, that mention at least one concession are down nearly 30 percent from the same time last year, and just one in 100 rental listings currently show any kind of move-in special.
Remember the days prior to social media? Nor do we. Just
about every business – big and small – has a designated social media manager or
consultant that’s responsible for tweets, content posts, audience engagement,
follows, shares, comments, insight and data reports and messaging.
It’s a big job that goes far beyond those “likes” and
shares. To be a social media pro, you’ve got to master some skills.
Be creative: To stand out among your competitors, you need to create a dynamic and persuasive visual content across all your social media platforms.
Images, polls, invitations, posters, graphs, videos and
illustrations don’t have to be in every post, but the eye loves visuals, and
the more visuals you incorporate into your posts, the better chance you have of
being noticed in what’s becoming an increasingly crowded field.
Inspire conversation: Interacting
and engaging with your audience (think potential clients) is crucial to social
media success – and that includes responding to comments in a
timely manner.
Whether it’s a simple
acknowledgement of thanks to someone who has responded positively to a post, a
call to action for someone posing a question or a conversation starter that
opens dialogue, you need to know how to foster communication.
That, in turn, encourages
your audience to share your content, which increases your post’s longevity. And
sharing content grows you audience and results in leads and “likes.”
To post engaging ads, take
advantage of Facebook’s Ads Manager, a powerful tool that enables businesses to
launch campaigns that reach a large audience.
Live video has the kind of human
touch that doesn’t exist in text, and social media audiences can’t get enough
of them.
Shooting spontaneous short
videos on your smartphone and streaming them live on your social media
platforms has become easier than ever with recent technological advances, and
the content can range from entertaining to informative (or both).
Live streams tend to be more personable and
authentic than text posts, and studies have shown that social media audiences
overwhelmingly prefer live video.
Sixty-five percent of homeowners nationwide view buying a house in their zip code as a “somewhat good” or “very good” financial investment, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Housing Expectations.
As well, existing homeowners are eager to
invest more in their homes, says the report, noting that the percentage of
homeowners expecting to invest at least $5,000 in their homes over the next one
to three years continues to increase.
A national survey of title agents conducted by the American Land Title Association shows that our industry has farther to go when it comes to formalizing cyber and escrow security plans.
Results of the survey also hint that the threat landscape is
becoming increasingly perilous for title agents, consumers and others involved in real estate transactions.
Of the survey’s more than 750 respondents, 63 percent said the number of cybercrime attempts targeting their company increased between 2017 and 2018.
Roughly one-third of respondents also observed increases in fraud attempts targeting buyers, sellers and real estate agents over the same period.
Many title agencies have sought to combat the worsening cyber and escrow fraud threat by means of employee awareness.
More than half of respondents said their company reminds employees about the need to remain vigilant on about a weekly basis. More than 25 percent said those employee reminders are made on a monthly basis.
However, more than 20 percent of respondents reported that their company offers no training at all on cybercrime trends or red flags.
More troubling, however, is that despite the apparent increase in fraud attempts, just 62 percent of respondents said their company has a written cybercrime response plan.
Smaller agencies — those with gross annual income below $1 million — were also somewhat less likely to have formal cyber response plans, wire retrieval plans or training programs than were larger agencies.
Survey results also show that cybercrime insurance coverage among title agents of all sizes is not as prevalent as one might expect given the apparent increase in fraud attempts. More than 27 percent of respondents said their company does not currently have a cybercrime insurance policy.
While most industry participants have made strides when it comes to protecting escrow funds and sensitive information, the survey clearly shows that gaps remain.
The survey also provides an opportunity for all of us to redouble our efforts, particularly when it comes to formalizing cyber response plans.
To help, we’ll be posting a blog series in the coming weeks that will provide simple, actionable tips for improving and formalizing response plans, as well as plans for wire retrieval and staff training.
We’ll also talk about the importance of cyber insurance and provide insight on how to get the right coverages for your business.
In the meantime, check out the growing library of cyber fraud resources on the Alliant National Education page. Alliant National agents can also watch our brand new Texas Continuing Education webinar on information and escrow security.
This blog contains general information only, not intended to be relied upon as, nor a substitute for, specific professional advice. We accept no responsibility for loss occasioned to any purpose acting on or refraining from action as a result of any material on this blog.
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