Wayfinding: Public Relations & Influencer Workshop

Public Relations & Influencer Workshop

See Monterey PR Team

Lindsey Stevens Vice President Marketing Communications

Emily Evans PR Director

Sandy Huerta Communications Specialist

Lou Hammond Group See Monterey Team

INFLUENCERS Vetting | Contracting | Hosting

Influencers What is an Influencer?

An influencer is an individual or group with a significant following on social media platform(s) in a particular industry.

The following allows the influencer to affect opinions, behaviors and purchasing decisions of their audience.

Despite being compensated, influencers are often seen as credible, knowledgeable and trustworthy resources.

Influencers Types of Influencers

Micro Influencer

Mid Influencer

Mega Influencer

Under 100K, hyper-niche

100K-700K, specific audience

700K+, broad appeal, often

with broad appeal

celebrities and industry leaders

Vetting Engagement

Quality of Followers

Engagement is the level of interaction and interaction quality

A critical consideration when vetting influencers. It's

between an influencer and their audience. Use Engagement Rate to assess the effectiveness of an influencer.

not just about large number of followers but about the characteristics and engagement of those followers.

Engagement includes: •

Likes: Is a good indication of initial level of engagement.

High-quality followers can be more valuable than

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Comments: High number of comments indicates the content resonates well.

mega influencers with an unengaged audience.

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Shares: Deeper level of engagement, as audience is actively sharing.

•

Any other form of interaction: Call-to-action, click-through links.

Beware of Bots!

Look out for generic or repetitive comments, highvolume engagement in short time, followers with low-quality profile (Social Blade, Hype Auditor).

Additional Considerations: •

Demographic

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Conversion Potential

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Brand Alignment

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Contracting & Asset Management

Contracting Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate Paid or Trade

Account Tags & Hashtags

Always ask about a trade, or part paid and

Include appropriate account tags, location tags and

trade partnership!

hashtags.

Deliverables & Scope-of-Work

Prepaid vs. Reimbursement

Clearly outline the influencer's responsibilities, deliverables and timeline in the contract.

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Content Creation: Raw/edited photo and video, blog content, pre-approvals.

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Usage Rights

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Posting Schedule & Frequency

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Performance Metrics

Agents Influencers with agents often have higher partnership fees.

Agents ≠ Higher Quality Influencers

Reimbursement helps limit the influencer's expenses when experiencing the destination.

Always outline the timeline in which the influencer must submit their invoice for out-of-pocket expenses.

Payment State when the influencer must submit an invoice for the partnership fee following the trip and obtain their W9 for accounting.

Cancellation Clause Recommended cancellation clause for non-refundable expenses to the business (airfare, high-season,

event tickets).

Hosting Best Practices Accommodations & Upgrades • Wow factor & visual appeal.

• Encourages additional content creation beyond SOW.

On-Site Contact Determine on-site contact who will greet and serve as point of contact for requests.

Welcome Amenity

Itinerary Planning • Activity, meal, transportation suggestions.

Great opportunity to remind the influencer of account and hashtag!

• Greeting note

• Insider recommendations

• Branded swag

• Consider niche & following

• Locally made food and goods

• Concierge

See Monterey will provide an amenity package to all influencer partnerships we help arrange!

See Monterey Influencer Programs Participation Opportunities Influencer Partnerships • See Monterey's ongoing influencer partnership program & collaborations with Visit California • Pre-vetted influencers with set deliverables • Member pays no partnership fee Local Influencer Program • See Monterey's program for local content creators to obtain raw and edited content • Distribution on creators' & See Monterey channels • Receive unlimited rights to content to use for marketing purposes

How to Work with See Monterey How Can You Participate?

• See Monterey leads from public relations team • Hotel room rates, comps, upgrades • Experiences, activities, meals • Inform us of new or timely programming that is highly visual for consideration • Local content creator suggestions welcome!

Public Relations Lead Times | Hosting | Relations | Event Listing

Lead Times Editorial Calendars & Internal Planning Internal Calendar Editorial Calendars • Annual calendars with content topics, publication dates and content types.

• Released in Q1.

• Found through media outlet's website or by contacting the organization directly.

• Go through each calendar on a regular basis to decide what's applicable.

• Create an internal calendar with submission requirements and deadlines.

• Note: Evergreen content may not be reflected on all editorial calendars.

Internal Planning • Consider adequate time for program planning and asset development.

• For evergreen content, plan to submit 4-6 weeks ahead of publish date for online articles and 4-6 months ahead for magazine.

Media Hosting Vetting & Hosting Media Vetting • Determine the ask.

• Determine the risk.

• Questions to consider: - Is this a confirmed story?

- What publication is this for?

- Is it a single feature or a round-up?

• Free resources: Muckrack profile pages, Google News and journalists' web pages.

• Questions about readership? Ask us!

See Monterey Leads • Leads from the public relations team vet all opportunities!

• Offer your best and final.

Media Hosting • On-site contact & tour.

• Showcase best product.

• Alert necessary staff.

• Authenticity!

See Monterey will provide an amenity package to all media visits we help arrange!

Anatomy of a Pitch The Mechanics of Crafting a Pitch Rule One: Your subject line is your first impression.

Pro Tip: Start with your target instead of your story focus, i.e., if you'd like to appear in Outside Magazine, first think of the perfect editor or freelancer based on reading the pub, and then define the angle that fits them best.

Rule Two: Utilize a ”qualifier” sentence.

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Be Specific – I’m writing today about THIS idea, for this section/publication, and I chose to pitch you because you’re the perfect fit because…

Be Succinct – The fewer words, the better.

Rule Three: Consider Your Competition, and WHY NOW?

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Competition – Your destination, attraction or company versus every other competitor.

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"Why Now? What’s New” – These are ALWAYS the first question via media, so be prepared to answer, or better yet, position it in your initial outreach.

Pro Tip: If you don't have anything new, manufacture it.

Rule Four: Be prepared for success. Make your story bigger, or part of the lead, through compelling assets.

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Asset Prep – if you receive response, you need all necessary assets asap. This includes: Photography, Video, Potential Hosting Budget (for on-site visit).

Pitch Examples How to Craft a Compelling Pitch

Media Relations Reactive v. Proactive, Pitching, Lead Sources Proactive

Lead Resources

Proactive; Your team reaches out to journalists directly with targeted story ideas, news releases or pitches without waiting for specific media requests.

Several ways to receive leads:

Why?

• Qwoted

• Story development, narrative control

• Media newsletters, substack, social media

• Relationship building • Timely and relevant Reactive React to opportunities presented by the media rather than initiating contact.

Why? • Relationship maintenance

• See Monterey public relations team • HARO

Deadlines • Adhere to deadlines set by journalists for wide leads.

• For requests from journalists, kindly request for a reasonable extension if absolutely necessary.

Free Event Listings How-to, Approval Process Free Event Listings are self-submitted events that appear on media outlets How To: 1. Write clear and concise copy

Where to Submit Monterey County • See Monterey site: Extranet or contact Mary Kelley

2. Have an image on hand; images > flier; learn how to resize images

• Monterey County Weekly

3. Create a free account on each site

• SF Gate

• SF Station

• Kron4

• FunCheapSF

4. Submit event as far in advance as possible.

Approval Process Websites have an internal approval process. Some sites have a calendar editor who reviews events content and image requirements. You will receive an email once approved.

Bay Area

• BayArea News Group • San Jose Inside (SJ Mercury News, • Events.com East Bay times) Earned Media Event Features Pitch certain outlets events directly to the journalist, 7x7, San Francisco Chronicle

Value of PR & Influencer Marketing Examples of Featured Members

Ensure your current PR contact is correct!

Discussion Questions, Additional Thoughts?

Reach out to public relations team any time at Media@SeeMonterey.com