Spotlight PR brings quality public relations assistance into reach for mission-driven causes as well as socially conscious entrepreneurs, celebrities and executives.

Tag: public relations

Spotlight PR LLC Celebrates New Clintonville Office with Open House

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Spotlight PR LLC, a crisis communications firm, recently held an open house at its new office location, 4041 N High Street, Suite 204. The company previously had a small workspace in Westerville, and is now firmly rooted in Clintonville. The firm works with leaders and organizations to help them develop their platforms and protect their brands.
 
Founded in 2016 in Northern Virginia by Jennifer R. Farmer, Farmer relocated the business to Ohio, where she is from, in 2020. The firm specializes in public relations with an emphasis on crisis management, publicity, ghostwriting and PR Coaching. It also offers a host of resources such as workshops, videos and blogs to help clients communicate more effectively and navigate a host of public relations issues.
 
“I founded Spotlight PR because I wanted to build a culturally competent public relations firm that would support good people in the important work they were leading,” said Farmer, aka “The PR Whisperer®.” “I am excited about the opportunity to support those on the frontlines of movements for racial and social justice.”
 
Farmer has more than 22 years’ experience in strategic communications and politics. She has worked with some of the biggest names in the racial and social justice space including the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of Repairers of the Breach, Pastor Michael McBride of LiveFree, former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, and Grammy Award Winning rapper Michael Render, pka Killer Mike.
 
Current and former clients of Spotlight PR include CLLCTIVLY, the Decolonizing Wealth Project, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Florida Rising, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Race Forward, the Raising Child Care Fund, The Heart Nest Center, United Women in Faith, and more.
 
“We are excited to close out the year in our new office and anticipate what is to come in 2025 and beyond,” Farmer said.
 
Visit Spotlight PR’s contact us page to learn more.

What Makes A Good Spokesperson?

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If you’ve ever been enthralled with a news program or advertisement, it’s because the person delivering the message or the message itself captured your attention. Once your interest was piqued, you couldn’t turn away. This begs the question, ‘what makes a good spokesperson?’ In this video, I share a tips to help you become a great spokesperson.

First, a good spokesperson knows their audience. Before they speak, they know who they’re communicating to, and what their audience needs to hear.  When they receive interview requests, they vet the requests from the standpoint of who is the audience and is this an audience I should be communicating with; or is someone else better positioned to do so. Good spokespeople do not speak just to be speaking, but rather to deliver an impactful message.

Next, a good spokesperson avoids jargon and speaks in plain language. Do you have a friend who loves the ‘big words?’ In his book, “On Writing,” author and screenwriter Stephen King advised writers to ‘never use a big word when a small one will do.’ I agree with the sentiment believes it applies to writers as well as communicators. Jargon or poorly selected word choices – when your audience doesn’t use those words – could complicate understanding. Since we communicate to be heard, its important to eliminate anything that makes it harder for our audience to hear us. Why? Because in organizing, we want our audience to hear us and then act. So, make it easy for them to do so. 

A good spokesperson understands that its not what they say, but what their audience hears that makes a difference. They take time to research their audience as well as the current political environment. They are mindful of the contemporary meanings of words, and how those words can trigger support or upset. They speak so that their audience understands and hears.

For other tips, see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFD-IuFz1fY&t=10s.

Be sure to go to this YouTube page and like, subscribe and share if you find this content helpful.

In 2022, Newsletters and Newsletter Curators Will Be a Communicator’s Best Friend

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By Jennifer R. Farmer

Years ago, communicators focused on sharing a client’s message with the media and the media alone. More recently, communicators have learned that to deliver a message, they must communicate with members of the media as well as bloggers, podcasters, influencers and micro-influencers. But once again, communicators are needing to be creative about how to communicate a message or amplify a cause.

The media has been contracting for years and that contraction presents an opportunity to rethink what we mean when we say “media.” As the media contracts, journalists are under increasing pressure to cultivate loyal followings. Publications not only want journalists to write well and to write expeditiously, they also want them to garner likes and follows on social media. The more traffic a website receives, the more the outlet can charge for advertising. And as journalists are asked to do more to lure in readers, the people who engage journalists will also need to do more.

Why Is This Happening?

The shift to a 24/7 news cycle has meant that media outlets must constantly produce content and do so while keeping costs as low as possible. Additionally, the switch to digital versus print means that outlets have lost valuable advertising resources. That has led to cuts in newsrooms across the country.

That leaves people who love to write and tell compelling stories in a challenging situation; their passion must be split between the newsrooms that employ them and their personal brand. In today’s media landscape, a personal brand is like insurance. It will protect you from storms and unforeseen emergencies. Therefore, the currency for journalists is no longer how well or how quickly one writes but rather the expansiveness of their brand and network. That makes journalists even more concerned about building their platform.

One of the ways they’re doing that is by identifying their audience, curating email and text lists, and distributing newsletters and other communications. They are going directly to the consumer. In fact, I can think of several journalists who no longer work for media publications but instead produce and distribute their own newsletters.

For people who want to amplify critical work, it is no longer enough to rely on the media in the traditional sense. They must focus on communicating with anyone with a platform, whether they work for a mainstream outlet or a fledging personal enterprise. In 2022, newsletters and newsletter curators will be a communicator’s best friend.

Download Our Crisis Communications Checklist

In an era of instant information, accusations can spread like wildfire. Even if claims are unfounded, your brand can take a hit; especially if one is a public figure. Download our crisis communications checklist to begin thinking about crisis management.

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