Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit

Transcription

1 Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Contents 1. Approved Messages Trademarks Writing Guidelines Press Release Headline Supporting Quotes Boilerplate...4 Additional Tips and Tricks for Public Relations 7. Making News That s Fit to Print - 10 Tips for Press Release Success Making the BEST first impression Integration with Social Media Sharing Your Press Release with Media & Influencers...7 Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Page 1 of 7

2 Welcome to the Intuit Developer Partner Program! Now that you are part of the program, you may want to issue a press release or share via social media to announce your involvement and the addition of Intuit Apps.com to your portfolio. These are Intuit s guidelines for public relations, which you must adhere to in order for Intuit to approve its inclusion in your press release. As with any public company, Intuit needs to review all press materials that are distributed with its name and products included. To streamline this process, we ve included helpful tips below that you should be aware of when writing, as well as naming conventions and guidelines that will streamline the Intuit approval process. 1. Approved Messages QuickBooks is the global leader in cloud accounting, with over one million subscribers worldwide. It is built to fuel small business success. Key features include: Automating Complex Tasks: Simplifies bookkeeping so that every time an invoice is sent, a customer makes a payment or an employee gets paid, the information is tracked and updated. Everything Works Together: Lets small businesses use multiple apps to run their business. As an open platform, QuickBooks ensures that different solutions work together seamlessly, providing small business owners with the vital information and insights they need, when they need them. Personalized by and for Small Businesses: Allows small businesses to customize QuickBooks to fit their type of business. The Intuit Developer Partner Program enables developers to integrate with rich QuickBooks financial and transactional data and offers unparalleled reach to small businesses through Intuit Apps.com. The Program helps developers grow app revenues, maximize marketing impact and reach targeted customers. The updated QuickBooks API eliminates connection fees for developers and simplifies third-party collaboration on Intuit s platform. The API offers developers the opportunity to build applications that integrate across U.S. and global markets and provides access to Intuit s customer base of over 1M paid subscribers. 2. Trademarks QuickBooks Intuit Inc. (no need for trademark symbol) Intuit Developer Partner Program (no need for trademark symbol) Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Page 2 of 7

3 3. Writing Guidelines There are a few key rules you must follow when writing public relations material that mentions Intuit or any of its products including press releases, case studies and fact sheets. These rules also apply when talking with reporters and industry analysts about your company s involvement with the Intuit Partner Platform. When you promote your company or your app, the following guidelines apply: Dos: DO: Contact Intuit before issuing your press release, as we will need to approve it. Send it to Steve Sharpe (stephen_ sharpe@intuit.com) and Zoey Farooq (zoey_farooq@intuit. com) at Intuit at least eight (8) business days prior to when you want to issue your press release. When sending the press release for review, include any other materials (logos, images, etc.) that you are interested including in your release distribution. DO: Accurately describe your company s relationship with Intuit, the Intuit Partner Platform and QuickBooks Online. You should describe yourself/company as an Intuit Partner Platform member, participant or a developer on the Intuit Partner Platform. DO: Clearly state which QuickBooks products, if any, your application shares data with. The Intuit Partner Platform API enables data sharing, data integration, data exchange, or data sync with QuickBooks Online. You may refer to your product as QuickBooks -integrated, or integrated with QuickBooks. DO: Confirm that your product name or feature name meets Intuit s Application Naming Restrictions. All applications created on the platform should be referred to as part of the QuickBooks ecosystem. The portal where customers try, buy and use Intuitapproved Apps should be referred to as apps.com The program and platform should be referred to as the Intuit Partner Platform. If applicable, describe the QuickBooks integration feature in your application as a QuickBooks link or QuickBooks sync. DO: Share the final press release with your network via the newswire, distribution or social media network that s best for your business. DO: Mention or tag QuickBooks in your social media posts (@QuickBooks). Don ts: DON T: Use language that reflects or insinuates that your company is a partner of Intuit. Note: You can say that you are announcing an alliance with Intuit or integration with QuickBooks. DON T: Make any specific representations that Intuit officially endorses or authorizes your company, or that Intuit recommends any particular developer company over any other. DON T: Say the Intuit Partner Platform enables a complete integration with QuickBooks. You cannot say that your application is integrated into QuickBooks. DON T: Refer to the Intuit Partner Platform as IPP. DON T: Refer to QuickBooks as QB. DON T: As described in the Application Naming Restrictions, your company cannot use QuickBooks, QB, Intu, tuit, Quick, or Turbo (or phonetic equivalents) in the name, name-phrase, or branding of the application or in your company name or trade name. DON T: Use the Intuit stock ticker symbol in your materials. DON T: Make unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of using your application with QuickBooks. If you make factual claims about your product (for example, Cuts data entry by 50 percent! ), the Federal Trade Commission requires that you have reasonable prior substantiation for that claim. For further information on this requirement, see the FTC Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation. If you make factual claims about your product (for example, Cuts data entry by 50 percent! ), the Federal Trade Commission requires that you have reasonable prior substantiation for that claim. For further information on this requirement, see the FTC Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation. If you do not have valid research to back up your claims, then do not make them. Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Page 3 of 7

4 4. Press Release Headline When crafting your press release s headline, position your company first. For example: Acme Announces SolveEverything App for Intuit Apps.com OR Acme Joins Intuit Developer Partner Porgram NOT Intuit Selects Acme to Develop for Intuit Partner Platform Summarize your story in a concise headline preferably 7 words or less that compels an editor to read further. 5. Supporting Quotes Due to the high number of requests and the time required to approve and research each release, Intuit may not be able to offer a supporting quote for each press release. Intuit will address supporting quotes on a per case basis. To request a quote, please contact Steve Sharpe (stephen_sharpe@intuit. com) or Zoey Farooq (zoey_farooq@intuit.com) at Intuit. To simplify the quote approval process, we recommend that you draft and submit a proposed quote which Intuit PR can react to. 6. Boilerplate DO NOT include the Intuit boilerplate statement at the end of your press release, unless approved by Intuit Corporate Communications. Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Page 4 of 7

5 Additional Tips and Tricks for Public Relations 7. Making News That s Fit to Print 10 Tips for Press Release Success Five seconds. That s how quickly an editor will decide whether to read or reject your press release. Less time than it took to read this paragraph. Journalists are bombarded daily by scores of press releases. Some of them good, many of them bad. One of them yours. Your job is to grab the editor s attention in those few precious seconds and make sure that your story stands above the rest. Here s how. Got News? Get Started. Before writing a press release, make sure you ve got news. Or at least something related to today s news. 1. Think Like a Reporter. Yeah, it s a scary thought. But remember, reporters want to write stories that will interest their readers and keep the editor off their back. As cruel as it sounds, it s not a reporter s job to help you succeed. So look for elements that will capture reporters and readers interest. Things that are relevant, new, trendy, unique or unusual. 2. Do Their Homework. Make a reporter s job as easy as possible. Provide the facts, figures and experts they ll need to make a strong story. 3. Be Timely. Reporters are often on deadline. If your news is outdated when it gets to an editor, it s destined for the trash bin. 4. Think Global, Write Local. Taking a national story applying a local perspective is a great way of garnering coverage in your community. That national story on job growth? It s probably got relevant local implications. Write On! Now that you ve got a story, how do you write it in a way that commands interest? 5. Headline. Summarize your story in a concise headline preferably 7 words or less that compels an editor to read further. 6. Sub-head. This is your opportunity to provide a little more detail. Keep it to 15 words or less and capture the customer benefit your app creates or problem it solves. 7. Opening Sentence and Lead Paragraph. Make them short. The first couple of sentences should summarize the news in your press release and give editors the essential five W s who, what, when, where and why that will help them determine how to pursue the story. Be careful not to cram too many disparate items into one release. 8. Inverted Pyramid. This simply means putting the important stuff at the top of your press release. The significant facts come first, followed by the next important, the next important and so on. Don t try to be suspenseful and save a vital element for the last paragraph. The editor may never get there! 9. The Rest of the Story. The rest of your press release should expand and explain the statements made in your headline and lead paragraph. This is where you use quotes or data to add credibility to your claims or to provide broader perspective. If you find yourself introducing a new piece of news or information in the body of the release, make a hard decision whether to cut it or find a way to introduce it in your lead paragraph. 10. Boilerplate. This is standard language that appears at the bottom of your press release. It s usually one or two sentences that describe your center and provide more information, such as your Web site address. Papers won t usually print it, but it serves two purposes. First, it gives the unfamiliar reporter a better idea of who you are. And second, it keeps you from cluttering the opening paragraphs with non-essential information. Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Page 5 of 7

6 8. Making the BEST first impression Giving a reporter a professional-looking press release adds to your credibility and increases its chances of getting published. Press releases have a fairly standard appearance, both in format and writing style. You ll see a format sample at the end of this tab. As for writing, newspaper style is different from business style, so adapt your writing accordingly. Size Matters. Keep it short! From headlines to overall length. Some guidelines: o Headlines: 7 words or less. o Sentences: 20 words, on average. That gives you latitude to establish a flow by writing both short and longer sentences. o Overall length: 500 words. If you need more than that, you re including too much information. Save something for the follow up call and interview. Hype-free Zone. Avoid hype. Provide reporters with specific numbers and facts that validate your story. If you have to resort to hype to make it interesting, you ll probably get referred to the advertising department. No Jargon. Plain English. Please! If words like bandwidth, leverage, bottom line, turnkey, best of breed, world-class, next-generation and mission-critical creep into your press release, you ve entered the jargon zone, where trite press releases go to die and reporters lose interest. Leave immediately. No Clichés. Avoid clichés like the plague. At the end of the day, we need to weigh in and stop beating a dead horse. Give it Style. Sloppy style undermines the best writing. Your press release should be both grammatically and journalistically correct. For grammar questions, refer to The Elements of Style, that timeless book we used in high school and college. For journalism questions, refer to the Associated Press Stylebook. Both can be found at local bookstores or purchased over the Web. Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Page 6 of 7

7 9. Integration with Social Media Social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) have become key resources for distributing news and building momentum when leading up to announcements. Additionally, through social channels, you can reach targeted audiences who are interested in hearing about the newest development in your space, or from your company. However, you have to be careful on when, and what you publicize through your social channels and it is imperative that you align PR, social and other marketing activities appropriately. We also recommend embedding hyperlinks within your press release (product page, company landing page, etc.) to help socialize the content more. This way, your press release becomes a one-stop shop for everything that is relevant about the App and your company. Here are some additional tips on using social media to promote your news: DO use multiple social channels, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook to generate buzz and share the news with your customers, to do this successfully you can: o Draft fresh content that will pique interest in your app create infographics, videos, etc. to share via social channels o Share media successes (articles, shout outs, etc.) through social channels o Send out pre-crafted social content company-wide so your employees can share through their personal accounts; remember to provide date/time when the information can be shared externally DO notify Intuit PR on your social strategy for the announcement; closer to the announcement date, provide sample content for social posts; PR will liaise with social teams to determine whether Intuit social handles will share/re-post any of the content DON T share your news through social channels beforehand, be very clear on the date and time of the particular announcement DON T delete content that you have posted. Doing so will hurt your credibility 10. Sharing Your Press Release with Media & Influencers In addition to pushing out your news via newswires, blasts and social channels, you should also have a distribution strategy for sharing the news with relevant reporters who are covering your space. Here are some high-level guidelines in media outreach for your announcement: Build a media list of the reporters who are covering your space and/or company; to do this, you can use a PR database (such as Cision) or conduct a news scan of reporters that are covering your topic simply through the Google News Search Engine. Reporters addresses can be typically found in their articles, publication s website or by calling the publication directly. Once you have identified reporters and their contact info, o them with a quick note highlighting the key points of your press release, and why the particular announcement is relevant/important to their audiences o DON T blast out a generic , that will not capture the reporter s attention or interest make it personal and relevant Distribute the press release to media outlets that publish Apps of the Week lists; each submission may have its own guidelines, so check with the publication s website to determine what you need. We suggest you look into these at least 4-6 weeks before as some outlets may have advanced submission guidelines. Intuit Developer Partner Program Public Relations Guidelines & Toolkit Page 7 of 7