Getting Ink: 5 Ways to Increase Presence

NOTE from Phil: what follows is a guest article from Wendy Serafin, Principal Owner, Nifares Group. While this article is geared toward IT organizations and IT managers, this is fantastic information for ANY non-production manager, or anyone looking to make a name for herself or himself.

Long gone are the days when CIOs were cloistered in back-room operations, you are now on the front lines with customers and in the boardrooms talking strategy. Fierce competition, increased innovation demands, complex compliance and regulatory requirements, and cost efficiency and performance pressures from customers have pushed the role of CIO into an external-facing leadership position.

Now, CIO’s now find themselves in a new, public spotlight. Customers look to partner with proven innovators; employees want to be a part of a technology leader, and new talent tracks search engines and blogs to research the who’s who in IT. If your IT organization is your company’s best-kept secret, you may want to include some publicity in your 2009 strategy.

One place to start is increasing your IT organization’s presence in industry publications.

Here are 5 great ideas to get you started getting ink!

Join the conversation

Participating in articles start with participating in the conversation. Editors always look for new sources and perspectives to include in their features. Reach out to a writer about an article and tell them you enjoy it and provide your own perspective on the topic. Introduce yourself to journalists through e-mail, by phone, or at a conference, and offer yourself as a potential resource on a few key topics. It takes time to cultivate relationships with journalists, but it can deliver great value through the eyes of your employees, potential new talent, customers, and your industry. It also provides great material for your sales team!

Check out editorial calendars

Every publication has a yearly editorial calendar outlining topics for each issue. It is primarily used for advertising purposes, but it is a valuable tool to see what editors are researching.  Case studies that support the topics are always a valuable “in”. Just pitch wisely, and provide a concise and valuable summary on the topic to the editor, preferably through email. Providing first-hand perspectives and results you achieved are helpful. Most editors assign stories at least two months prior to the issue date, so plan ahead. And be ready to interview when they respond.

Quality, not quantity

Editors receive hundreds of emails, phone calls, press releases, and product announcements each day. To cut through the noise, focus on the quality of your pitch. Offer yourself as a resource, someone who is willing to help the journalist with the topic. Stay on topic and provide examples, like detailed case studies of a successful (or not so successful) project or implementation, innovative technology user stories, lessons learned, significant business results, or business and technology challenges you face as an executive.

A good idea or source will not go unnoticed by a journalist. Depending on the story of the day, your pitch may get filed away for future opportunities. It is good to follow-up, but be cautious to not overdo it with multiple follow-ups. Don’t get discouraged; it takes time to develop the relationships.

Participate in industry awards

Many technology publications have established award programs. Awards such as the CIO Magazine’s CIO 100, InformationWeek 500, ComputerWorld’s Best Places to Work, and InfoWorld 100, provide credible, and powerful ways to showcase your organization’s successes. These awards not only provide positive publicity for your company, but can be a great motivator for your IT organization, and beneficial in recruiting new talent.

Get on social networks

As a CIO, you need to look at social networks as part of your strategy, or at a minimum, try them out. They have become new dynamic networking tools to connect with business thought leaders, editors, and technologists. Journalists are very active in the social networking world. They post topics they are researching, provide commentary on what they are hearing in the industry, and interact with their sources. It is an easy, and dynamic way to get involved in the conversation.

Bottom line, increasing your presence in industry publications, award programs, and speaking venues, will deliver value to your IT organization. The third party validation and credibility are assets that can be hard to match in this competitive marketplace.

What are YOUR best tips to get ink and make a name for yourself?

Wendy Serafin is the principal owner of Nifares Group (www.nifaresgroup.com), a thought leadership and public relations firm specializing in technology, financial services/insurance, healthcare, and business consulting industries. She primarily works with executives to build industry recognition, thought leadership, and brand awareness for their organization and company. Contact information: wserafin@nifaresgroup.com.

Photo credit to Flickr