Blum will focus on empowering the underwriter鈥檚 regional agents to grow their businesses.
海角吃瓜黑料mpany, the title insurer that is uniquely responsive to the needs of independent agents, is excited to announce that it has hired Christina Blum as Underwriting Counsel Southwest Region.
For over 11 years, Blum has been a fixture in the title industry. Her career began in 2013 when she worked in the claims center of a national underwriter. Starting in 2018, she served as underwriting counsel for two national underwriters and worked as a real estate and banking attorney for a large, regional law firm in San Antonio.
In her new role as Underwriting Counsel Southwest Region, Blum will focus on supporting 海角吃瓜黑料鈥檚 policy-issuing agents with their underwriting needs. This will include extensive research, risk analysis, and issuing insurance decisions, as well as creating and disseminating educational and underwriting materials.
鈥満＝浅怨虾诹� is well-known in the industry for the unique support it offers independent agents,鈥� Blum said. 鈥淗aving the chance to join an organization like this during a period of rapid growth is an exciting opportunity. I look forward to navigating the evolving and challenging real estate landscape with the rest of 海角吃瓜黑料鈥檚 expert team.鈥�
鈥淐hristina will be a major asset for our team and for our policy-issuing agents,鈥� said Jean E. Bailey, VP, Regional Underwriting Counsel at 海角吃瓜黑料. 鈥淪he brings significant experience that will enhance our operations, grow our footprint and assist our agents in addressing their most critical underwriting priorities.鈥�
In addition to her professional roles and responsibilities, Blum is highly active in the title community. She is a member of the Louisiana Land Title Association and the Texas Land Title Association. On the latter, she sits on the institute committee, the legislative committee and acts as a local legislative liaison. In addition, she is part of the Oklahoma Land Title Association, the American Land Title Association and holds membership in the Commercial Real Estate Women, San Antonio Chapter.
Blum received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Elmhurst University and her Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University. She lives in the San Antonio metropolitan area with her family.
海角吃瓜黑料 supports its independent agents by combining expert residential and commercial underwriting with a passionate heart for service. The company delivers uncommon help that promotes the well-being of agents and the communities they serve.
About 海角吃瓜黑料mpany 海角吃瓜黑料 is on a mission to empower independent agents while protecting property owners with secure title insurance. The company partners with its agents and never competes against them with direct or affiliate operations. 海角吃瓜黑料 serves thousands of title professionals as a licensed underwriter in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
In the battle for attention, here’s how your agency can stand out.
Our current media moment is defined by paradox. On one hand, there have never been more channels you can use to promote your agency. But on the other, it has never been harder to separate yourself from the crowd and gain media attention. There are multiple reasons for this, including information overload and a changing media landscape. This doesn鈥檛 even account for how algorithms prioritize content, preventing many important stories from gaining the coverage they deserve. Yet amidst these challenges, an effective use of earned media can break through the clutter and increase public awareness for your agency. Join us as we explore the details of what this looks like!
Earned media: what is it and why is it important?
As we鈥檝e talked about before, there are many different types of media that you can use to promote your business 鈥� each with its own pros, cons and tradeoffs.
First, there is owned media, which is any type of media that you control. This could include things like your website, your social media feeds or your email newsletter. Owned media offers advantages like creative control and cost-effectiveness but also requires continuous effort and delivers slow results.
Second, we have paid media 鈥� basically media you put an ad spend behind, like search, social and display ads. Paid media also carries significant advantages for business. For one thing, it can deliver quick and easy wins for a company, but if you鈥檙e not careful, those results can come with a sizable cost that harms overall ROI.
Lastly, we have earned media 鈥� publicity you gain from sources you neither control nor pay for. Guest blogging, podcast appearances and press release placements are all examples of earned media in action. Earned media is especially valuable because it often appears more trustworthy and less self-serving than other types of media. It can also deliver tangible benefits like improved SEO and greater reach. It has drawbacks as well, with lack of control and dependence on third parties being among them.
Create more earned media opportunities
With an understanding of the three main types of media, we can look at the top opportunities for generating more earned media coverage for your agency.
Human-interest stories: If you鈥檝e ever watched the news, you鈥檒l know how effective human-interest stories are at generating coverage. The reason is simple: People are emotional beings who respond to stories of human triumph and resilience. By tapping into this need, agencies can grow awareness for their businesses.
Novelty: Stories that introduce something novel can be just as effective as human-interest pieces. Pitching about new hires, products or business expansions all naturally lend themselves to potential pick-up in the media, as does staking out a position that runs contrary to the dominant perspective in your field. With the latter point, however, never try to gin up controversy just for the sake of it. People can detect disingenuousness a mile away, which will wind up hurting rather than helping you in the long run.
News jacking: As we鈥檝e discussed, there are more communication channels today than ever before. While this can be overwhelming, it also implies that there is no shortage of news stories in which a title agency could insert itself to offer its unique perspective and expertise. This is known as 鈥渘ews jacking,鈥� a straightforward process where you strategically align your brand with a trending news topic and position yourself as a subject matter expert. When done correctly, news jacking can increase your agency鈥檚 credibility, leading to more customers seeing you as a knowledgeable thought leader.
None of these techniques are easy to pull off, but each can help you overcome some of the barriers to entry that exist in the modern media landscape. No matter how many algorithms or communication channels we create, tailoring our stories to cater to human psychological needs will always be a powerful tool for achieving publicity. Similarly, news jacking can help you turn the deluge of daily news we all experience to your advantage, enabling you to hop onto an existing story or news cycle for maximum impact.
Spread the word far and wide about your business
The media environment today is challenging and ever-changing, with contours that are far more complex and fast-moving than they were even a few years ago. For many, this can feel like an impossible burden for gaining the recognition they need to succeed in an already difficult business environment. Even so, a well-planned earned media strategy that leverages human psychology and timely news opportunities can elevate your agency’s visibility, building the buzz necessary for both short- and long-term success.
What if doing a good business turn, expecting nothing in return, and doing it because it’s the right thing, brings in new business?
Everyone
preaches about being grateful during the holidays. While all of that is good
and well, the truth is that it can stretch us to the limit to give “yet
more and more and more time and with heart” to whatever cause(s) are
planted firmly in front of us.
But
what if giving is good business? What if doing a good business turn, expecting
nothing in return, and doing it because it’s the right thing, brings in new
business?
Science
now shows that doing “free business,” when it feels right, can for you and your
agency. Here are three true examples of doing work for others, when there
doesn’t initially seem to be much point (except that it’s taking time and
resources from my own business) 鈥� paid off.
It
does not matter that these three examples are purely public relations and
marketing “gifts.” The concept plays out across all industries.
You’ll know how to translate these examples into your own agencies.
1. Free Public Relations Because Your Product is Exceptional
A
local, very small brewery makes some of the best tasting beer in a state that
is renowned for world-wide, award-winning craft beers. There are too many
breweries (if there can be too many breweries) in Colorado 鈥� yet here they are 鈥�
two brothers, one a musician, the other a forced-to-retire geophysicist 鈥� now
both brew beer for a living.
They
stumbled into making “gluten removed” beer while they were crafting
excellent tasting beer. Anyone who has celiac disease, IBS (irritable bowel
syndrome) or any other gluten sensitivity has had to kiss beer good-bye or
drink awful tasting beer. Except these brothers craft over a dozen exceptional-tasting
beers.
I
arranged a radio interview for them, guided them on how to “social media
it to death,” and then introduced them to a celebrity chef-owned Colorado
restaurant owner.
I
expect nothing in return, not because I’m Mother Teresa or exceptionally
generous. I just felt like doing it and their hard work and excellent product
warrant the leg-up.
How
did it or will it pay off? It just feels right. That’s the pay off.
2. Sometimes You Just Want to Be Part of a Very Good Thing
I
sit on the board of The Chanda Plan Foundation because I cannot resist the
extraordinary CEO who happens to be a quadriplegic.
The
Chanda Plan affords all spinal cord injured people free health and wellness
services that have proven to dramatically improve their lives. The services
include nutrition, massage, chiropractic and primary care physicians.
The
clients pay nothing. Some of them go on to become fully mobile. All touched by
The Chanda Plan live better lives; the results, after a dozen years, prove it.
CCPR
dedicates free public relations and services to The Chanda Plan because it is
the right thing to do. It cannot be explained in a spread sheet, but it somehow
feeds Capital City Public Relations.
3. Scratching Each Other’s Backs Breeds Wonderful Friendships
CCPR
does free public relations and marketing for a neighborhood hairdresser; our
coifs look all the better for it. Another writer needs contributions to her
literary anthology and she’s getting one from me.
She’s
one of the best editors in the business and my copy reads better because of it.
CCPR gave another paying public relations client extra services over the past
few months because the boost will likely catapult that business into another
realm.
Where’s
the business sense in all of this? Where does the spreadsheet demonstrate how
the return on investment works?
There
isn’t one. Like the successful CEO that last week let me pick his brain over
coffee, when he is already working a 60-hour work week to keep his two
businesses running in the black, it just is because it feels right.
Perhaps
your business can go the extra mile, do a good turn, contribute to the
community in a new way. Perhaps you’ll never realize a dime in the action and
perhaps it will even cost you.
But
the truth is that these business relationships are truly friendships. And the
other truth is that it always pays off. Maybe it isn’t measured on the
calculator or within any traditional return-on-investment calculation.
It
does not matter if it cannot be laid out exactly, in numbers, how giving pays
off. It’s simply enough to know, in one’s soul, that it does.
When you or your clients see information about a product or service, do you know if the information is provided as advertising, or is it considered public relations? Knowing the differences can help you decide what might work best in your marketing efforts.
Advertising
Advertising is
described as a paid, non-personal, one-way public communication that draws
public communication towards a product, service, company, or any other thing
through various communication channels, to inform, influence and instigate the
target audience to respond in the manner desired by the advertiser.
Advertising can be
done through print ads, radio or television ads, billboards, flyers,
commercials, internet banner ads, direct mail, etc. Social media platforms are now
a major source of advertising. The advertiser
has exclusive control over what, how and when the ad will be aired or
published. Moreover, the ad will run as long as the advertiser鈥檚
budget allows or determines it is effective.
As advertising is a
prominent marketing tool, it is always present, no matter if people are aware
of it or not.
Public Relations
Public Relations is a
strategic communication tool that uses different channels, to cultivate favorable
relations for the company. It is a practice of building a positive image
or reputation of the company in the eyes of the public by telling or displaying
the company鈥檚 products or services, in the form of featured stories or articles
through print or broadcast media. It aims at building a trust-based
relationship between the brand and its customer, mainly through media exposure
and coverage.
Public Relations can
be called as non-paid publicity earned by the company through its goodwill,
word of mouth, etc. (It is often referred to as 鈥渆arned media鈥�). The tactics used in public relations are
publicity, social media, press releases, press conferences, interviews, crisis
management, featured stories, speeches, news releases.
Key Differences Between Advertising and Public Relations
Adverting draws public
attention to products or services through paid announcements. Public Relations
uses strategic communication to build a mutually beneficial relationship
between the public and the company or organization.
Advertising is a
purchased media, whereas, public relations is considered earned media.
While advertising is a
monologue activity, public relations is a two-way communication process. The
company listens and responds to the public.
Advertising is used to
promote products or services with the objective to induce the targeted audience
to buy. Public Relations aims to maintain a positive image of the company in
the media, with an indirect result of those effected becoming customers.
In advertising, the
advertiser has full control over the ad, such as when, how and what will be
displayed. In public relations, the company pitches the story, but has no
control how the media uses or does not use it.
In advertising, the ad
placement is guaranteed, but there is no such guarantee of placement with
public relations.
In advertising, as
long as you are willing to pay for it, the ad will be published or aired.
Usually in public relations, the story is only published once, but it might be
published in many media.
Credibility is higher
in public relations than advertising. This is because customers know it鈥檚 an ad
and may not believe it easily and be skeptical. For Public Relations, third
party validation improves credibility.
Advertising mainly
uses paid announcements (ads) to draw public attention to products or services.
Public Relations is the use of strategic communication that aims at building a
mutually beneficial relationship between the company and the public.
Advertising and Public Relations both use communication channels to inform and influence the general public. While advertising is a highly expensive marketing tool, it can reach a large number of people at the same time. Public Relations is 鈥渇ree of cost鈥� implied endorsement along with validation of the third party.
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鈥檙e 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 (鈥淟MK鈥� in lieu of 鈥淟et me know,鈥� 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鈥檚 properly
structured and flows with ease.
Don鈥檛 Pitch the Wrong journalist
You鈥檝e crafted a thoughtfully researched, compelling, error-free pitch and you鈥檙e 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鈥檛
write鈥攁nd will never write鈥攁bout the topic at hand. It鈥檚 imperative to do your
research, and that means reading a journalist鈥檚 work before you press the 鈥渟end鈥� button or pick up the phone.
There鈥檚 nothing that journalists hate more than receiving
useless information. If you鈥檙e going to pitch a writer, make sure it鈥檚 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鈥檚
important to respect their time off the clock. Weekend pitching has other
pitfalls: If you send an-mail on a Saturday, and it鈥檚 read, the journalist may
well have forgotten it by Monday morning. By then, it鈥檚 often buried beneath a
deluge of other pitches.
Every reporter and publication has different
deadlines, but according to a of more than 600 members of the media,
Tuesday morning is typically the best time to pitch a story.
