The Future of Public Relations and Social Media This series is supported by Gist. Gist provides a full view of the contacts in your professional network by creating a rich business profile for each one that includes the most news, status updates, and work details. See how it works here. Public relations specialists were some of the first people to embrace the power of social media, and as a result they are often the ones leading the way in the social space, whether they are consulting with clients from an agency point of view or strategizing on an in-house PR team. In the past decade, the Internet has had a huge impact on how PR professionals function. The Future of the Press Release The first press release was created during the fall of 1906 by Ivy Lee, known by some as the founder of modern public relations. During the past few years, we've witnessed a shift towards what some are calling the "social media release." "While I don't believe the press release is dead, it has been transformed, to become this living, breathing thing.
Writing - DIY PR If you can't afford to pay for a big-time publicist, or aren't seeing the results you'd like from your own very expensive publicity "expert," blogger Nettie Hartsock recommends seven smart ways to kiss a PR professional goodbye. Here are a few of Hartsock's suggestions: Become a bona fide news outlet. "Look at your site as though it's a real publication for both your peers and the media to source for news," she says. "Build an editorial calendar for all your online tools including Twitter, Linkedin.com (status updates), Facebook and make sure you're congruent in your content and your expertise." Link to news sources and journalists who cover topics relevant to your product or service. Get to know a journalist's tastes and interests by creating Google alerts. → end article previewRead the Full Article Membership is required to access this how-to marketing article ... don't worry though, it's FREE!
NYT Media & Adv Speak Media Blog: A Very Bad PR Pitch - What Not To Do When Pitching Media Customer Relationships - The ROI of Real-Time Marketing and PR In a world where speed and agility are essential to success, most organizations still operate slowly and deliberately, cementing each step months in advance, responding to new developments with careful but time-consuming processes. The Internet has fundamentally changed the pace of business, compressing time and rewarding speed. Real-time means news breaks over minutes, not days. It means ideas percolate and then suddenly and unpredictably go viral to a global audience. Real-time is when companies develop (or refine) products or services instantly, based on feedback from customers or events in the marketplace. My first job was on a Wall Street trading desk in the 1980s. It has taken a quarter century. We can all react instantly to what's happening in the news, just like a bond trader. But we've got to develop a business culture that encourages speed over sloth. As financial market players know, advantage comes from reacting to news first. The Fortune 100 and Speed (or Lack of It) Hello,
PR 2.0 Checklist I’ve mentioned before that I’m a huge fan of National Public Radio (NPR). I listen to “The Takeaway” and “Morning Edition” every day driving to work. NPR keeps me company as I sit in traffic for over an hour driving up the Garden State Parkway. I heard a great segment the other morning. The radio interview continued with the discussion of how the checklist of questions, or things that you need to do, can prevent emergency situations. This PR 2.0 checklist is a working document and will grow over time. Hopefully, this checklist will help you prior to the start of your PR 2.0 initiative. Public Relations - Talk to Me: 10 Tips for Translating PR Results Into the Language of Business As communications experts, we should find it easy to convey the value of our services to the business managers in our organizations. Yet many public relations (PR) professionals struggle with expressing results in a way that allows senior executives to easily recognize the impact that PR has on the success of the business. Having explored the perceptions and attitudes of PR professionals and senior executives toward the impact of PR on business success, I've compiled a list of best-practices for translating intangible PR results into demonstrable success, and reporting PR measurement to business execs. PR Measurement and Metrics If you doubt the importance of measurement and metrics, consider the results of a recent Gallup Poll, which showed that executives spend 24% of their time on "plan measurement and monitoring," second only to "strategic thinking/planning." Consider how each function in the executive suite adds a tangible and measurable value to a company's success. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Required Reading for PR Professionals Valerie Simon As interns head into the office for the first time this fall, eager to make a good impression and begin a successful career, wouldn’t it be nice to be given a reading list…a list of books that hold the secrets and lessons to give you that extra advantage? I decided to ask a few leaders in the PR industry, “Is there a book you’d consider ‘required reading’? Beyond How-to and PR 2.0“I think better than any how-to or PR 2.0 book are business bios that inspire,(e.g., Howard Schulz, J. Good for All LevelsStephanie Smirnov, president, Devries PR suggests “Making News in the Digital Era” by David Henderson. Global Clientele and Mega TrendsAlex Aizenberg , group manager, Weber Shandwick: “Hot, Flat, and Crowded” and “The World Is Flat” both by Tom Friedman. Must ReadsRichard Laermer, founder and CEO, RLM Public Relations: “Elements of Style” by E.B. As for my suggestions? “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.
Public Relations - Seven Ways to Gain PR Campaign Momentum Consider this scenario: Your client's product or service is working for customers, but the publicity campaign that the client originally showed enthusiasm for isn't moving as it should. Because PR pros execute campaigns with their clients—not apart from them, as with some other promotional forms—it can be especially frustrating when client contacts or management team aren't responding to you or aren't engaged in your campaign. Public relations is a management function. However, when you're consistently facing problems like these, they can throw your program off track and prevent the successes you know are possible: Your vice-president of marketing is always on the road and won't answer your questions.The CEO, who said he would be interested in and available for interviews, is a no-show.The product manager who requested a news release takes weeks, not days, to get back to you with copy approval. So, how can you get the team to move more rapidly? 1. 2. 3. 5. It's not your PR program. 7.
5 Dos & Donts For Getting Blog Coverage | Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends As a small business owner, you know the importance of blogging. You also know how important it is to get coverage from other blogs. But getting blog coverage means knowing how to pitch. As a blogger and a SMB business owner, I’m constantly getting and sending out pitches. Know Who To Contact: Businesses quickly get in trouble when they create a rudimentary press list and then mass email everyone on it. Be insulting: Don’t tell me (or anyone else) how ‘widely read’ or popular my blog is. Pitching bloggers and media outlet is an important marketing strategy for getting coverage.
Journalists on Twitter - Breaking News, Politics, Opinion and more - Muck Rack Best Social PR Guides and Tips of 2010 So Far September 1, 2010 Social media has fundamentally altered the practice of public relations. And as any blogger can tell you, PR pros understand this, as witnessed by the incredible increase in blogger outreach “pitches” from corporate PR departments and firms over the past two years. Of course, there’s more to (successful) blogger outreach than just pitching, and there’s more to the new practice of social PR than just blogger outreach. Will Traditional, Social Media Blend? Writing that “The most productive PR path…is a blended approach to social and traditional media,” Len Stein offers a quick but valuable process for obtaining and promoting old and new media coverage using multiple tools like social bookmarking sites, internal company distribution, your own website, marketing emails and more. Pros & Cons of Applying Social Media to Traditional PR Campaigns by Howell Marketing Strategies How Is PR Changing? Trail of Breadcrumbs by PR-Squared How to Reach Out to Bloggers by Chris Brogan
When Clients Want “The Truth” What do you do when a client wants “the truth?” What do you do when the client wants to know what you really think about how their in-house PR manager is doing, or howcum their story isn’t getting more ink, or whether their strategy is off-kilter? You wouldn’t think “the Truth” could be such a sticky issue, but it certainly can be, due to the lopsided nature of the relationship. Truth exists only when there is some level of equality. If the PR pro’s mortgage payment depends on the client’s happiness, they won’t tell the client a truth that will make them unhappy. Ultimately this means that the client’s program will go off the rails, and the PR pro will get blamed for it. When the client asks for the Truth, tell the truth. It’s better to say to the client, “We have had some difficult moments with your PR manager recently. The clients pay the PR agency not just for “ink” but for the benefit of that agency’s experience — including the foul-ups we’ve witnessed or caused!
Publicity Is Not PR. PR Is Not Publicity. If you don’t know Sasha Muradali, go on over to her blog, Little Pink Book PR. That is where this post first was published and it came to life because we are both huge Mad Men fans. If you already read it there, by all means, ignore me today. If you didn’t read it on Sasha’s blog, welcome to my obsession of Mad Men. While, I love the series, the first episode of this season really rubbed me the wrong way. If you are, however, caught up and saw the first show of this season, you’ll remember Pete fretting to Peggy about losing the Sugarberry Ham account. Peggy suggests they hire actresses to fight over a ham in the grocery store, in order to create a sense of urgency to buy one. Pete, liking the idea of generating news coverage from the “event,” dismally proclaims that publicity stunts aren’t billable. However, he reluctantly agrees to go ahead with the stunt only to be pleasantly surprised when Sugarberry Ham sales are up…though not even the client knows the reason. Publicity is not PR. “OH!