Public Relations Blogger

PR Definitions | Public Relations, Marketing, & Customer Service

2010-07-30T12:26:00.001-07:00

Public relations is becoming a catch-all term. In talking with customer service/loyalty experts over this past week, I've learned that what I advocate for people to do in PR, they advocate for their clients to do in the customer service activities. It's also what I've heard marketing professionals tell their clients to do, and there are countless books and posts on why marketing and PR are more and more related today than they've ever been.

Is there a reason the three areas of a business are still divided in most companies? Wouldn't things work better if they were more integrated, if customer service talked to the PR team, and if the marketing team saw what the customer service department was up to? I think so.

"What are you hearing," you ask, "that makes you think PR=Customer Service=Marketing?" The strategies are all the same. The end goals are the same. And the road to which they reach these goals (the tactics) are also the same.

The Goal. To increase awareness, mind-share, and overall buy-in for what the company is offering, advocating, selling, etc.
The Strategies. To make their brand easily identified, to make their cause easily accepted and identified with, and to create a loyal customer base.
The Tactics. Connect with customers on a personal level, offer a two-way line of communication, answer questions, offer solutions, just be there.

The tactics usually include the following:

Using social networking platforms. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, foursquare, etc. These are all online tools companies can use to get more in touch with their customers, create a more personified brand image, and share information about the firm.
Sending press releases. Though tied to PR for the past few decades, this is also used in marketing. Press releases are great ways to alert people of new things happening, and great ways to pitch the media.
Having a blog. If companies would rather not pitch the media and communicate with their customers through this and social networking, blogs can be a great outlet for information sharing.
Hosting forums, chats, chatrooms, etc. This is a way to provide a way for customers to contact you with complaints, concerns, questions, etc. Customers will talk about you anyways, and with the availability of places for them to do so, they have no reason not to. Why not provide the space for them, so you can more easily monitor and respond to potential crises?
Being more personable. This can be hard to fake, so it takes actual effort, time, and energy. The company needs to utilize the tools above and actually be available and accessible.
Going above and beyond expectations. This is something used in customer service, but in PR, you can do the same thing. If you use social media, don't just use it as a way to share your new product, use it to offer great customer service to change the minds of upset customers, creating loyal advocates. Customers are used to companies doing the minimum to satisfy our needs, but satisfying and creating loyal customers are very different tasks.

Do these not all sound like solid ways to reach your PR goals? What about your customer service goals? And your marketing goals? Why, then, are we making the distinctions?

Why Care About Public Relations?

2010-07-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Because your customers care. Your competition probably care about it, too.

For companies of any size and most life-stages, public relations is something businesses should not ignore. (For reasons I say most life-stages, check out 4 Reasons Public Relations (Not Advertising) Builds a Brand.)

Public relations can do so much for a company, and yet, like social media, larger companies may see PR as an alternative to what they can already afford in advertising. (It is not an alternative to advertising.) PR is better than advertising. (Yes, I'm probably a bit biased.) It may take a bit more creativity and elbow grease, but the rewards and benefits of PR far outweigh advertising or marketing activities.

The tangible evidence of reduced costs is probably the one most used when trying to create advocates for PR, but there are more, intangible results that a PR team/firm can share with it's company/client. Those are:

Increased awareness. (For less money.)
Increased trust. (For less money.)
Increased loyalty. (For less money.)

I think you get the point. How does PR attain the above? By being the contact person of the company. By being aware of customers online. By being responsive to those customers online. And by being truthful, transparent, and engaging. With things like social media use, press releases, websites, blogs, etc., companies can be more connected with their buyers online, be more personable, and more personified.

As has been said time and time again, PR is more trustworthy than advertising. However, with the changes in technology, companies are more in control of their PR and are able to be more involved in the public relations process. In the past, companies were reliant on the media to cover them in a publication, and that was PR. This sort of PR was more credible than advertising because it was coming from another source.

The same is true today: advertising doesn't instill credibility or trust. In fact, it can often do the opposite. See the comments here about Toyota's attempts to rebuild its brand after their safety fiasco. What was a valiant effort to say "we're making a change" came across as a rather money-wasting endeavor. Had they simply shared with others, done interviews, and communicated with their customers online about this change in spending to increase safety, WOM (word of mouth) may have done more for them than a costly TV ad.

Even though Toyota (and BP) can afford advertisements, showing us the difference in ways other than a TV ad (like through PR) can be much more successful, and much more trustworthy. (BP's ads don't make me trust them more; it makes me wonder, "why tell me you're doing something, instead of simply doing it?")

As can be seen above, public relations today involves more things than simply getting mentioned in a publication. It involves social media, where a company can represent itself and be its own identity there. Companies can also have a blog, where they write about their company, their industry, etc., and try to set themselves apart from the crowd as a trusted source of information. This is also referred to as the process of positioning oneself as an authoritative figure. Over time, if you write on a subject, share information, or offer advice, people being to trust you and see you as a knowledgeable, go-to source.

Take this blog, for example. I often get emails asking for advice because of the success I've had in PR. I have little experience in PR, but my knowledge base is rather large due to the fact that I've been writing on the subject for so long. Surprised? Don't be. I don't pretend to be a PR expert with years and years of experience, but I do accept my role as a source of PR information.

So, as a company looking to increase followings, entice buyers to switch to your brand or become a loyal customer, or to simply share what you have to say, know that PR can be a great outlet because of the many, many places you can talk, communicate, and converse.

What's your take? Why care about PR if you can afford advertising?

Public Relations Myths | Any PR is Good PR

2010-07-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

False. (I also think the image is false, but it makes a point.) Public relations of the negative variety can be destructive, brand tarnishing, and irreversible. As can be seen in recent developments with a little company known as BP, any PR is definitely not good PR.

Now, I suppose this myth could hold some truth if you (as a company, brand, person, etc.) are not concerned with people liking you, buying your products or services, or advocating you to others. If you are concerned with those things, not all PR is good PR (and I assume you're in this latter category because you're here).

As I mentioned in a recent post, negative PR can spread far and wide (and quickly, for that matter) with the new and improved methods of communication the internet provides. Everyone and anyone can be an advocate for your brand, or an opponent. This negative PR makes the public relations team work harder to not only preserve a brand but to also anticipate and try to diffuse a crisis online.

This is precisely the reason that not all PR is good PR. The reason for this myth being true in the past was that, despite the information going around being negative, people were still aware of you. (If awareness was all that mattered, we'd all be PR pros.) In order to generate interest in your company, to create buyers and loyal customers, your PR has to be positive. Negative PR may get people to your site, but it won't make them jump on board with whatever you're selling (product, idea, or otherwise).

Public Relations may differ from sales or marketing in a few ways, but the main reason may be that PR is concerned with the end result of the entire campaign. If the end result is not positive, though you may have had marginal success in some of the tactics employed throughout the plan, the campaign was not successful. The end result needs to be positive and successful. (To gauge that success, be sure to create benchmarks to set your plan's results against.)

So, how do you ensure that most PR is good PR for you and your company? Take responsibility, and act. (It's all the way you react and respond to a crisis.) If you see some negative PR buzzing around cyberspace, do something about it. Can you remedy the situation by offering an opposing thought? Can you change the minds of the negative WOM (word of mouth) spreaders by sharing information/facts/data? Can you offer a solution to an unhappy customer? I'm sure you can do all of the above.

The most important thing to do, however, is that first step aforementioned: take responsibility. No one cares if it's not your fault; if the media is building you up to be the big bad wolf, that's what you'll be. Apologize regardless of ownership of the problem, and get to work on telling of and creating a solution.

What do you think, is any PR good PR? They're talking about you at least, right?

Public Relations Materials | 3 Tips for Creating a PR Brochure

2010-07-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Like most materials used in the public relations world, brochures are used to inform, engage, and call people to action. A brochure is a piece of paper (or digital copy) that is usually folded into three sections with information inside and out about an event, company, brand, etc., that the company wants to share with the public and buyers. The PR brochure can be a regular company brochure, but they can be more successfully targeted. More effort should be put into those that are being used for a specific goal and purpose as a part of your PR campaign.

The PR brochure is different than a sales brochure. While most of PR aims at getting support, donations, buyers, etc., the PR brochure can be seen as more of an informational piece of marketing/public relations materials. Like the press kit, you can still instill trust, persuade people to support, or share accomplishments. The difference here is that PR tactics are usually less in-your-face and less sales oriented.

A PR brochure is an effective way to share a lot of information in a quick and easily digested form. Companies can also make these brochures registration/donation/opt-in forms that readers can send in. Brochures can be used year-round, but as mentioned above, create specific and targeted brochures for your fundraising (or other special) events.

To create an successful brochure, you must include the right information that will get people interested and acting. Just like website copy, a press release, or media pitch, a brochure needs to be newsworthy. (For tips on being newsworthy, check out: PR Writing | 5 Tips to Making Your News Newsworthy.) Just like a blog post, media pitch, or press release, yours won't be read if it's not interesting or newsworthy.

Brochures can be used offline and online, so be sure to optimize them for keyword searches if you plan to publish them to your website as well. Google indexes PDFs as well as webpages, so use links, keywords, and other calls to action there to get the most out of your brochures.

To get you started, here are a few tips for creating a PR brochure:

Create a brochure that fits your company identity. This means that your brochure needs to not only reiterate your identity, but also be in line with your representation elsewhere. If your company has chosen an identity of being young, fun, and spontaneous, make sure your brochure shares that same feel. Utilize the motto and mission statement your marketing team has already created, and be sure to include the company's philosophy. If the company's aim is to make the world a better place, tie that into your event. So long as it helps to emphasize the company's mission (instead of opposing it) share that with your audience.
Create a newsworthy brochure. As mentioned above, newsworthy makes or breaks the success of your brochure. The main components that make up a newsworthy brochure are: relevant, timely, and significant. The brochure will generate no interest if your targeted audience does not find the information contained therein to be of importance to them. Why does the information in your brochure matter? Are you helping the community, changing things? Then say so! Customers/buyers/readers care about things that are important to them and affect their lives in some manner (hopefully positively).
Create a brochure that stands out from the rest. The standard (and boring) brochures we see in community place, like the grocery store, are just that: standard (and boring). Create a brochure that is not only newsworthy but also aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching. Look into colors that makes sense to use; utilize your logo/brand; make the brochure "pop". If you need help in this area, get it! That's what the experts are for.

Lastly, be sure to include the following components:

You logo and company name.
Your company info; your mission; your goal.
The reason for the brochure.
Why that reason is important to the reader.
Next steps (calls to action).
Contact information.

After following the tips above, ensure that your brochure has well-written copy that is proofread and revised, and then proofread and revised again. For the clients who notice and look for it (and even those that don't), a typo can ruin the entire brochure. You want it to be successful, so reread your work to make sure it is devoid of error, especially if you're sending it to print; it's much more difficult to go back and change an error once you've printed.

The Public Relations Formula | Is There Such a Thing?

2010-07-26T11:54:00.001-07:00

Long answer short, no. There are many reasons for the answer to the question posed in the title to be no, but the main reason: not all firms/companies/brands are the same. Additionally, the formula would need to change on an almost daily basis to accommodate the changing industry and PR world.

There are firms that recognize this need to do away with the cookie-cutter form public relations can take, but then there are also firms stuck in the past conducting PR activities as if nothing had changed. How can that be successful? (Hint: it can't be.)

In order to create the most successful public relations campaign/plan, you must tailor it to the firm, the firm's target market, and the firm's buyers. That's not to say, however, that you can simply change the name of the firm, their target market, and their buyers in a preset plan. No, more things have to change in order to be tailor made.

How does one do that? Well, you can:

Do your homework. This is a phrase I use a lot. It's still as important today as it was the first day I mentioned this vital step in PR planning because it plays a role in the planning process that affects the rest of the plan's success. Conduct research in order to create a plan that will work for your client and their target market/audience. Learn who both parties are so that you can not only tailor their plan, but also tailor the tactics they use to reach their audience.
Define strategies from the company's goals. Whether in-house or PR firm, the PR team's responsibilities include creating plan goals. These should be based on the company's overall goals and objectives, otherwise you will have little strategy, and the tactics you create from these goals will not produce the results you were hoping for.
Avoid using the plan they/you used last time. Just like you wouldn't use the same plan from company to company/client to client, you should not use the same tactics/plans for a company, even if the situation, goal, and objectives are the same. The industry, the target market, the economy, can all change, making your plan destined to fail this time around. Just because it was successful in the past does not guarantee its success this time. Be sure to create something tailored not just for the company but also for the changes seen outside the company.

There are component lists and outlines you can follow to ensure that all of the right aspects are included in a PR plan or a media kit, but each component needs to be different, and each PR plan cannot contain the same strategies and tactics. Those that work for one company cannot be guaranteed to work for another. Like #3 above states, you cannot even guarantee the success of tactics working for the same client from one period to another.

The important thing to remember is that there is no magic in PR. There may be some optical illusions or smoke and mirrors, but PR should be more about being transparent and providing a relationship with the public, as that's what public relations is all about. That "public" can change depending on who you're targeting, though; for example, if your target market is businesses, your B2B model will affect the way your PR is done, so be sure to take that into account.

If you feel you need assistance creating your own PR plan, or do not want to use the services of a public relations firm/boutique, be sure to ask for help. Internally or externally, you will need the help of someone to give you the best picture of who your target market is, and how you should reach them. This crucial component and piece of information, knowing how to reach your target market, is the reason there is no magic formula to PR.

Public Relations Crisis Management | It's All in The Response

2010-07-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Crisis management is a vital component of (and perhaps the second half to positive) public relations. As with all aspects of PR, marketing, and advertising, the internet is changing things up, making them easier and more difficult at the same time. Professionals and companies in all industries are now able to conduct their own PR through the new vehicles provided by the internet, like social networking groups, blogs, websites, and press release distribution. In the same sense, consumers/buyers are also able to contribute to the PR surrounding a company through WOM (word of mouth), reviews, etc., making crisis PR more difficult for companies.

This latter characteristic of PR today means one important thing for companies: a crisis can grow, and fast. There are things that a company can do to help prevent a crisis from growing too out of hand in the first place, though. One example could be creating and maintaining relationships with consumers, so that when a crisis does arise, buyers know and are perhaps advocates for a company. Companies can also try to diffuse the damage of a crisis as it is taking place. With correspondence, action, and taking responsibility, a company can help to halt the spread of negative WOM a crisis can generate.

Though these things may help to prevent a crisis going too far, there are others who say that a crisis is uncontainable online, and will only spread like a wildfire through cyberspace, destroying any good branding in its path. A crisis today means you're done for; people knowing of the crisis means it's already too late to do anything about it. Examples, of course, are BP, Tiger, and Toyota. But those that have come out alive (barely, perhaps), like Toyota and Woods, took action and responsibility for their actions.

BP never fully accepted responsibility; they spread the blame and opted to do nothing for some time. Now, their solutions are simply causing more negative WOM (because of the side-affects of their actions) and are further feeding the flame. More important, though, is the actual damage they've done to others and the environment, not just their own brand or company. This physical damage reflects where their brand is going.

With examples like these that we've seen in the past few years, it's hard to imagine that any company can come out of a crisis, but it really comes down to how they respond. A crisis can most definitely get out of control if the company let's it. Poor response PR makes for a great breeding ground for negative WOM. This can take place on Twitter, Facebook, even things like foursquare, where consumers can share their frustration, distaste, hatred, etc., for a company, and if enough people agree, the idea can spread far and wide. Take for example BP's alter-ego Twitter account; though hilarious and often spot on, it did nothing beneficial for BP's brand or image, and only helped to reiterate the places where they fell short.

It's easy to agree that a crisis today can mean the end of a company. People are so willing to share their bad experiences. Moreover, for a company that continues to carry on with the same actions, crisis PR is pretty futile. In order to be successful with Crisis PR, a company has to see what caused it (monitoring their actions), what's being said about it (monitoring their brand and WOM), what can be done about it (actions to remedy the situation), and finally has to respond, and quickly.

What do you think? Is it too late for a company to recover if the crisis is already known around the internet?

Public Relations & Social Media | 5 Tips For Pitching Bloggers

2010-07-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

When pitching anyone, bloggers especially, you need to be prepared, thorough, and smart. Pitching has turned into something relatively negative, however; most people pitching companies, media, journalist, bloggers, etc., really don't seem to care if they strike a cord with you or not. They certainly don't care enough about you to read your website, take the time to see what your blog is actually about (try reading the title of the blog, perhaps?), and they definitely don't take the time to figure out your name.

But, conversely, being a blogger and someone who also pitches other bloggers to collaborate, exchange links, guest posts, whatever, I also know how difficult it can be as the other person doing the pitching. If I can't find your email address let alone your first name, I'm probably not going to take the time to get in touch with you.

Now, I know more often than not, that's not going to be a negative thing to most bloggers. But, say I have something of value to provide them? My blog is pretty successful in terms of traffic, information getting passed along, etc., and I'd like to think I'm a semi-educated, intelligent, and enjoyable person to get to know and work with. With that, I think there is much I can offer in the way of collaboration, publicity, and the sharing of information/links/etc. So, would it be that bad to get a pitch email from me?

I often don't pitch other bloggers with a story or press release about the company I work for. I more specifically pitch them for the things aforementioned: a guest post, a link exchange, and just recently, to see if they'd be interested in doing an interview with me. I had a 37% response rate, and a 30% agreement rate. (They have yet to take place, but I generated interested and got people to say yes; that's something.)

How did I do this? Well,

I first ignored the process that I was taught: send out as many as you can; more is better, right? Wrong. I sent out 30 emails. That's it. How many have you been suggested to send out? Probably a lot more. Did you get a 30% success rate?
I took the time to read their blogs, see what they do in their professional lives, and what they do elsewhere. Is the blog I'm pitching their personal blog? If so, I need to know what their professional publications look like.
I took that information, and made my "pitch" relevant, related, and clear that I took the time to get to know them before I spammed them.
I made a point to (or tried to) explain my position and my objectives. Unless this is clear (and the point below) no one is going to listen to you.
I also made a point to (or tried to) explain what I can offer to them in return. Again, having a blog (and other blogs) that are huge traffic generators, I could hopefully offer them something in return, like publicity for their book, their website, services, etc. Most seemed to take that as a good thing, and replied.

I don't use this analogy to sound like I know everything or that everything I do is right, but I hope that I made a point: taking that little bit of extra time to research and personalize can make all the difference. In the scope of things, though, I probably spent just as much time as someone who researched 100's of blogs and sent out just as many untargeted emails.

I personalized each email. Granted, I did copy and paste the company schtick, but the part where I talked about their blog and the work they do was most definitely derived from the time I spent on their websites/blogs.

This may include a bit of common sense too, though, as it really does seem more natural and definitely makes much more sense to send an email to a person, not 100 at the same time. My favorite pitch email received so far:

I’ve been looking at PublicRelationsBlogger.com and wanted to send you a blog to consider adding to your blogroll. Check it out. Hope you find the postings interesting. Please let me know if this gets added to the blogroll.

She worked for the company that she was referencing; I'm sure I wasn't the only one she "pitched" (that's not pitching, that's spam). I replied and said I would be interested in a reciprocal link exchange, and that I've found success in offering that to bloggers I pitch. I didn't get a response, and I didn't add the blog to my blogroll. (Surprise!)

Though the above can be helpful for you, there is no "right" way to pitch a blogger, though I think my methods work pretty well. Each blogger is different. If they need a different sort of pitch, try to infer that through your research, which you should be doing in the first place. Research is the key to successful pitching, so be sure to take the time to evaluate each blogger so that you can create the right pitch for them.

So, what does your pitching method look like? Are you spamming bloggers? How's that working out?

Public Relations Results | Measuring & Determining Value

2010-07-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

Measuring the results of your PR campaign seems to be a difficult task for many companies, and is often something that is not agreed upon. Some companies or public relations firms put more value on something like media coverage, and others may see social media as a more important measurement.

To spearhead this confusion and differing opinions, delegates from 33 countries got together in Barcelona to put together a declaration. Here is some key information from the AMEC (International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication) website:

The ‘Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles' to achieve a global standard for the measurement of communications programmes has been created at the 2nd European Summit on Measurement.

The Declaration was created by delegates from 33 countries meeting in Barcelona, after the leaders of five global PR and measurement and evaluation bodies and 200 delegates voted overwhelmingly to adopt seven key principles. The ‘Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles' are:
1. Goal setting and measurement are fundamental aspects of any PR programmes.
2. Media measurement requires quantity and quality – cuttings in themselves are not enough.
3. Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) do not measure the value of PR and do not inform future activity.
4. Social media can and should be measured.
5. Measuring outcomes is preferred to measuring media results.
6. Business results can and should be measured where possible.
7. Transparency and Replicability are paramount to sound measurement.

Many of the things above I've mentioned here on PublicRelationsBlogger (specifically, PR Tools | 7 Ways to Measure the Effectiveness of Social Media and 6 Characteristics and 7 Components of a PR Plan That Works), but seeing them agreed upon in such a large way is amazing. Companies and PR agencies can forget the importance of going through the above principles, and simply do things because everyone else is doing them (like social media, for example). This is a big step for public relations, and can greatly increase the value of PR for companies still on the fence about it.

This declaration also helped to address another issue with PR: companies are often only concerned with how PR is replacing their advertising costs, and assign value to PR efforts with the same mindset. Public relations is not advertising, and it should not be considered a replacement for advertising activities, as companies need both to be successful, especially depending on the company's life-stage. (For more information on why advertising is still important, check out: 4 Reasons Public Relations (Not Advertising) Builds a Brand.)

A great line from a PowerPoint presentation on the declaration in regards to why the summit was taking place: "A lack of clear standards and approaches to PR measurement results in the profession not always being taken seriously; it doesn't count unless you can count it." This is so true in the world of PR! You must be able to look at results, analyze what's taken place, and create a report of sorts to share with others. This sharing is what brings people on board and helps to reiterate the importance of PR.

What do you think this declaration means for the PR industry? Will this make it easier for PR agencies or public relations departments to share the value of their PR activities?

Public Relations Tactics | What is Copywriting?

2010-07-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Copywriting is a term I hear often in the marketing and PR world, one that I even use to describe my own job duties, but what does it mean? (I also get this question from time to time when I use the term to describe my daily activities to someone else.)

Copywriting can be an umbrella term of sorts that can encompass a lot of what marketing and PR professionals do in their everyday tasks: writing. It is the process of, well, writing copy (you learn something new every day, right?).

This can be the writing of website copy, press releases, sales pitches, media pitches, etc., and while writing can be a rather mechanical task that anyone can learn to do, it's the way the copy is targeted that makes all the difference in the world.

Copywriting is meant to attract and create interest in a company's product, brand, idea, campaign, etc. This can also be done through things like advertising in magazines, on television, billboards, or radio. As with most (if not all) marketing and PR efforts, the goal is to persuade, convince, or otherwise gain the support of buyers for whatever your PR or marketing campaign aims at doing.

Anyone can copy a website, press release, or blog template and hope that things go well. Depending on the template they choose to copy, success may come, but most likely it won't. The reason being that a template may not cater to your specific needs or the needs of your target audience. The only reason copy can be successful or effective is if it is targeted, relevant, and interesting, all at the same time.

Take PublicRelationsBlogger, for example. I'd like to think this content here is marginally interesting, if not just targeted and relevant. I take the time to research what people are looking for online (targeted) and what other people are writing about, a trending topic if you will, (relevant). I do this so I can create copy that will, theoretically, be read, enjoyed, and passed along.

If I were to write a blog for another company with a different target market, like engineering students and recent graduates, my research would lead me to a very different writing style. All of the components of being interesting, relevant, and targeted would all still need to be there.

Everyone can learn how to write a press release. (I showed you how to do so here: 3 Important Things to Consider When Writing a Press Release.) But writing a press release that is read and considered important to the target audience requires more than simply copying the "press release formula". It means knowing why what you have to say is important, and how it affects your targeted audience, which includes the journalist/media professional and the end-readers.

More important than creating awareness with copywriting, though, is the creation of results; your copy should encourage people to act (referred to as a "call to action"), encourage them to download your book, buy your product, or tell others about you through social media, etc. What are your efforts telling people to do? If the answer is unclear, it may also be unclear for your buyers.

Public Relations & Marketing Careers | The Changing Industry

2010-07-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

The public relations industry is very liquid, one such that is greatly affected by the changes in marketing and advertising; it is also affected by the changes taking place in the technological world. That means, then, that the responsibilities and job titles of the people involved in these departments and industries are also changing to keep up and to keep ahead of the curve.

With those changes in duties, responsibilities, and job titles, PR continues to grow as a field. As such, the demand for experienced PR Specialists (or managers, directors, whatever you want to call them) also continues to rise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted:

Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow 24 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. The need for good public relations in an increasingly competitive and global business environment should spur demand for these workers, especially those with specialized knowledge or international experience. Employees who possess additional language capabilities also are in great demand.
The recent emergence of social media in the public relations is expected to increase job growth as well. Many public relations firms are expanding their use of these tools, and specialists with skills in them will be needed.

Employment in public relations firms is expected to grow as firms hire contractors to provide public relations services, rather than support more full-time staff when additional work is needed. Among detailed industries, the largest job growth will continue to be in advertising and related services. (source)

The caveat to go along with that information, however, is that while employment is rising, so is the number of qualified applicants. The BLS also noted that the number of applicants will exceed the number of available jobs, as has been a trend for the past few year; PR is no exception. The growing concern and awareness for the need for good PR may help to decrease the gap between the two groups (applicants and employed).

If you're looking to get into the PR industry, you will need to be versed in areas other than just PR, so be sure to learn things from other areas; as a part of your undergraduate studies, you should be learning about things from all aspects of business. If you don't know much about PR or marketing, consider taking additional training courses or further education. Many PR tasks done for PR efforts can also be done in marketing for marketing efforts.

While the name or department ownership of the task may be different, the outcome may be exactly the same. This means that there is a growing need for applicants to be knowledgeable in other areas and flexible enough to move through different departments. They must also be comfortable working with other departments; the collection of minds between the marketing and PR departments can greatly increase chances of the company's success.

What's also important is your experience. Does your marketing experience relate to the company you are apply with? Does it relate with PR? What about your PR experience in relation to marketing? Know what the company is looking for, and make your skills applicable to the position, the company, and the industry they work with.

Will you be part of a marketing or PR team? Is there going to be a need for distinction in the future?

Public Relations Events | How to Create Successful Event PR

2010-07-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Every public relations professional has a bag of tricks available to them. While some PR pros use more smoke and mirrors than others, these "tricks" can include very legitimate tools or events to inform the public, share ideas, or to simply address buyers and the media. Special events or press conferences are two major ways that a company can get involved with or inform their community.

The press conference is the main PR event that is strictly used to promote PR efforts. There are also things like PSA (public service announcements) and media addresses. This post, however, is going to cover the PR needed to generate interest and awareness of an event a company is hosting, planning, or sponsoring.

When promoting a special event, or a not so special event, there are some guidelines to adhere to in order to ensure success. The first is to include your events in your PR plans. If you hope to create a beneficial and effective event, it must be planned and it must tie into the company's overall objectives and goals. (Remember, tactics must be created from your well defined strategies.)

The purpose of a special event may differ from company to company, but the purpose of the PR surrounding it is the same: to generate interest and to interact with the public. This means that your PR efforts need to be targeted, clear, and newsworthy. But, if your event is irrelevant, the PR created for the event will also go unnoticed, so be sure your event is relevant and important.

You can evaluate your event's newsworthiness and create a more successful event by first planning, and planning well. Be sure to reiterate your strategies (those of the company) in this event plan to ensure the event is in line with the company's goals. Additionally, ensure that this tactic will actually help to achieve the desired goals. If it doesn't, the event will be a waste of time, resources, and PR that could have gone to other company goings-on.

When planning the event, be sure to cover all of your bases. This means that all of the planning details need to be addressed. Who is the go-to person for problems? Who is staffing the event? Who is in charge of the volunteers? What's your time-frame? Most events seem to encounter problems, and things are done last minute, so create a time-line in the very beginning, and stick to it. Realize deadlines for media, catering needs, decorations, etc., so that you can plan well and still respect their needs as well.

When planning an event, be sure to talk with others in the company. As the PR team, your job is to create that awareness and interest, but you have to know the whole story in order to share it with others. Knowing this information, who the event's target audience is, and what the company's goals are can greatly increase your chances of success. More importantly, it helps you to determine which tools to use and which to avoid.

After planning an event, the key to it's success is to create and maintain interest up to and following the event. This is referred to as the drip-drip-drip technique of publicity, and is essentially the constant release of relevant information to really generate and stimulate interest from buyers and the public. "The drip-drip-drip technique builds anticipation and demand." (This technique and more information on it can be found in Larry Litwin's text, The Public Relations Practitioners Playbook. You can also check out his blog here.)

Having helped with event planning in the past, things can get pretty hectic. Get help where you need it, and be sure to evaluate what went right and what went wrong. This is a vital part of any event, campaign, or plan. You must measure and analyze results to better plan next time, and to be able to report to people who are vested in the success of these events and PR campaigns.

What are some tips you have for successful events?

5 Tips For a Successful Public Relations Campaign

2010-07-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Public relations isn't a game, though many companies like to play pretend involved. (There is so much more to PR than simply sending out a press release, which is where this "play pretend" analogy comes from.) It is, however, a contest. Though you can stay internal and look only at your numbers, it's also important to know how you're doing in comparison to your competitors. (If you're not looking at your own numbers, though, and only concerned with replicating what your competition does, you're also bound to be unsuccessful.)

In order to be a threat to your competitors, you have to have something they don't, and if all else is equal, a great PR campaign can be that differentiator you need. There are many ways a public relations plan can go wrong, so be sure to start off on the right foot. It's always less painful to create a great plan in the first place than it is to retract, erase, and start over. Often times, the damage a bad PR campaign can do can never be eradicated or forgotten. (For a current example, see BP Oil Spill.)

I want you to be successful, though, so I've compiled some tips for you. Here are five things to remember when it's time to create that PR campaign:

Be smart. Not only smart in the sense that you think logically, but that you also follow the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines of creating goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals are the ones that will make you most successful in your public relations efforts. More importantly, though, be sure that your goals are relevant and tied to the company's overall objectives, and that your tactics are tied to your goals.
Be educated. This can go along with #1, but this adjective is also tied to your knowledge of your target market, the industry, and your competition. It's important to pay attention to all three entities, especially the first two. You need to know what your target market looks like so that you can properly target them and create materials and messages that really speak to them. You need to know what the industry looks like to create the products/services in the first place, and knowing what the market is up to can greatly help you to find that ignored niche.
Be creative. This means not only thinking about things in a different way, but also being different. Don't do things the same way you've always done them! If you were successful in one area or in a past campaign, success is never guaranteed by doing the same things again. Create a new plan for each new campaign, and be sure to use the first two characteristics to create the most relevant and effective plan to reach your target.
Be integrated. Integrate yourself in the lives of your customers. This doesn't mean you should go to their homes or find their place of work. (I think that's considered stalking, anyways.) Instead, when they come to you with a concern, question, comment, or simply the desire to feel connected with you, connect with them! Answer and engage them. PR is amazing in this respect because you can actually connect with people without it being solely a customer service initiative. Another way you should be integrated: throughout the PR plan. If you've created S.M.A.R.T. goals and objectives, your tactics had better be tied to them to ensure your efforts are spent in ways that make sense. Integrate all of the activities you and your team plan in your PR campaign to create a synergistic and collaborative blueprint.
Be attentive. Monitor that word of mouth (WOM)! Be aware of what's happening in the online world, and what's being said about and to you. This is an easy way to avoid/avert/diffuse a crisis of sorts, and even better, you can create loyal customers who feel like you know them and value them as such. This also ties into being educated and knowledgeable; know what your customers want so you can cater to them. Also be aware of your competition and what they're up to; this can save you from being side-swiped with a surge of switching customers. Most importantly, though, is that you are attentive to the results your plan generates. Were you successful? Did you meet your objectives? Measure results in whatever way you see fit, just be sure that you're paying attention to what's happening.

Another important aspect of PR is your media relations. Be the same with the media as you are with your customers; the media plays an integral role in your success with customers. Know that you need to offer them value just as you would your customers. Otherwise, they have no reason to feature your news or tell others your story.

Lastly, know that it's never a bad idea to ask for help in creating your PR plan. If you're a small business or a large corporation taking on the task of creating that PR campaign, remember that there are people who have done this before who are willing to help you to create your own success. You may have to pay them for their advice and planning assistance, but again, it's always less painful to pay the costs in the beginning to create a great plan than it is to pay out cash to remedy a crisis.

What do you do to ensure your PR campaign is a success?

Public Relations Agencies | What Does Their Future Hold?

2010-07-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

Though I'm no fortune teller, it's easy to see that the times are a-changin'. Not only are things changing for consumers and companies online, things are changing for the PR professionals who work in the PR agency/boutique/firm world. With things like social media, two-way communication, and the mass amount of available information at our fingertips, consumers are more informed than ever, and companies are more strapped than ever to get their attention. (Check out The Changing World (& Responsibilities) of PR for ways to keep up with the change.)

Social media, for example, makes it easy to forgo the use of the public relations firm to conduct your own PR. Without the need for that middle man anymore, what reason is there to utilize the public relations firm? In an interview with Ann Smith of A. Wordsmith, she reiterated to me that while things can be done without a PR firm, you still need the expertise, advice, and overall knowledge that a PR firm may have. More importantly, that firm may have more connections with media and have stronger strings to pull in order to get your company noticed.

If companies can do their own PR, can publish their own information, and create their own relations with the public, why would there even be a need for the media anymore? The biggest reason: people still listen to and care about the media. Having media tell me about your company, especially a media source I trust, will carry more weight than simply reading it on your website. Much like PR for a company, media is a credible and trustworthy source of information.

In the past, you had to pay or pray that your story was picked up. Traditional advertising doesn't work as well anymore, and why companies continue to spend millions on something that doesn't need more investment than a few thousand dollars is beyond me. But I digress.

With so many options available for companies to speak to their consumers, companies decide to take the route that people ignore most, that is the most invasive, and that interrupts their customer's daily lives. This negative result of advertising is another reason why companies should continue to invest their time in PR. To garner the best results through PR efforts, experts should be consulted. (For more on why PR is better for building brands than advertising, check out 4 Reasons Public Relations (Not Advertising) Builds a Brand.)

"Why not just conduct my own PR?" you ask? Though I do encourage you to take stock in how your PR is done and to really interact with your audience, I know that there are many ways you can mess things up. This isn't to say that I don't trust you; it's not that at all. I simply want you to get the most from your time and resources, and utilizing the knowledge that someone else has already spent their careers acquiring is the best move to make. There are plenty of things that you can maintain on your own after you get the advice and guidance you need, like maintaining your social media accounts, implementing your brand throughout your company, and having better media relations.

As the PR firm, you also need to adapt and change with your changing environment. Because companies can do things on their own, you must sell your expertise in areas that need it. For example, many companies decide it's best to not implement tactics tied to strategies. Be the consultant they need on board. Additionally, learn about the new tools, get to know them, and use them. More importantly, position yourself as an authority in those areas. Write about them on your website, create a blog, and make use of social media. And, if you preach to companies to use them, be sure to use them yourself.

This change isn't something that happened overnight. It can feel that way, but the Internet has long been paving the road to this transition we're seeing now. Consumers don't want to be advertised to, and companies are capable of being more personable, so it was semi-inevitable that this change is taking place.

How are you adapting?

Public Relations Success | Writing Content for Company Events

2010-07-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

A large part of the public relations professionals' role is to create content that is interesting, newsworthy, and share-worthy. Writing is such an integral part of the PR process; you must know how to write, both mechanically and aesthetically. People enjoy reading things that are not only written and executed well, but that also contain information that is enjoyable to read, valuable, helpful, or interesting.

Though most people know how important writing is for things online and off, some companies still forget to do this when the time comes to write content or copy for their websites, press releases, and blogs when an event (like sponsoring a fundraiser, hosting a fundraiser, or releasing a new product) arises. The most basic rule of thumb can be to ensure that you include the following 5 things to ensure that your news is newsworthy, relevant, and spreadable:

Who. Who is involved? Who are you? Who are you affecting with this event? Explain this first and foremost so you can grab initial interest and make the event relevant and timely.
What. This is somewhat self-explanatory, but know that the "what" is a rather important aspect of the press release. What are you doing? What are you releasing? While product specs and event logistical information is important, readers are more concerned with what is taking place and what it means to them. Talk about the benefits the product or new company executive will give to the community.
When. Also self-explanatory, be sure to include this information, and release the news with enough time for people to plan to attend or to accommodate changes. Be clear, and if you don't know when the change or event is taking place, share that information as well.
Where. Where is this event taking place? Online, offline? Internally? Share this information so you can encourage the most participation and engagement if your audiences are able to do so.
Why. Not just why, but why it matters. All of the above characteristics also need to tie into the why, and more importantly why people reading it (the public) need to be concerned with this information, why it matters to them, and what it means to their lives. Also be sure to explain why the company is doing what it's doing. This can greatly increase the chances of getting people involved and finding people to stand for your cause or to buy into what it is you do.

How are you writing?

For more on this topic, check out my fellow blogger at Webiquity. Tom's recent post was part of the inspiration for this post. For more on writing newsworthy content, check out PR Writing | 5 Tips to Making Your News Newsworthy.

Public Relations & Social Media | Why it Doesn't Work For You

2010-07-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Social media has become a popular and effective go-to tool of marketing and PR efforts, yet some companies still don't view it as as such for their marketing and PR campaigns. There can be many reasons why they have come to this conclusion, and most of them are affected by way they look at social media. More importantly, it involves the way they go about planning and preparing their PR and marketing activities.

Here are a few reasons social media might not be working for you:

Your audience. These people are pivotal players in the success of your campaign and PR plans. If you don't pay attention to this group, and the group that is your targeted audience, you really have very little chance of success. (If you do succeed, I have to give credit to luck, and I don't believe in luck.) When creating a PR plan or campaign, be sure to include these people into your planning process. Social media has little effect on things and can attribute little to the overall success of your PR plan if you are unaware of who you are targeting. What's more important here is that you use the right social media tools that reach your right audience. Some social media users prefer one method over another to connect with you.

Your strategies and tactics. Much like the target market and audience, your use of social media must come with reason. If you use social media for no reason, or worse, just because everyone else is, you could end up wasting a lot of your time, money, and effort. Worse, even, is the ability you have to damage your brand, your customer and public relations, and your overall image if you use it improperly or for the wrong (or nonexistent) reasons.

Your current marketing approach and PR activities. Just because you use it now and do things a certain way currently doesn't mean that they are the right way to do things. Get used to changing things, because the industry, the market, and the business world is changing, so you need to keep up. Many companies do the same things over and over and expect different results. (This is Einstein's definition of insanity, by the way.) Unless the market changes to your advantage, making your methods useful and successful (which is pretty unlikely), you need to change your methods to meet the needs of the market. This means that, although press releases through the media may have worked in the past, customers can now read press releases online, without the need of the media. Know what social media can do for you, and how it is changing the way companies communicate with customers.

You use it, sort of. Like I've mentioned quite often here on Public Relations Blogger, social media isn't a one-shot thing. It cannot work if you do not maintain it. You can't tweet once and expect things to suddenly change. You also can't just send out tweets, you must reply to the people who are trying to communicate with you. There is a big difference between setting up a blog and blogging. The most consistent and the more often you update your blogs, Twitter accounts, etc., the more likely you are to have success in your social media efforts. People get bored, so give them things to read, do, know, and share.

It just doesn't work. I'm afraid this isn't true. Social media cannot simply "not work". There is a reason. Figure it out! If it is one of the reasons above, great. You can work with that. Unless it is something you cannot change, like your target market (because I'm assuming you don't want to change your entire product or offering), you'll have to move on and look at your other options that have the potential to work. If it's something that you can change, like your use or your strategy definition, do it. It really is as simple as that. Put some effort into it and find the solution you need to get social media working for you.

Post use. Do you use social media, or do you engage, measure, and redefine your social media use? There's a pretty significant difference between just using social media, and measuring your results. The latter situation can make your social media efforts more successful. As with anything we do in life, if there is no reflection and no efforts to do better the next time around, nothing changes. Again, this is much like companies doing the same thing over and over while expecting something different to take place. You must measure the results of your efforts to see what was successful and what was not.

I've often heard and read that social media is useless. As you may have been able to gather from the above: social media is not. Much of the reasoning that comes with that stance is derived from things that the company itself can control, like how often they use social media to the review and measurement of results after using it. The only reason you shouldn't be using social media? Your audience cannot and does not want to be interacted with through it. Other than that, social media can only do good for your company; you simply need to use it correctly.

Public Relations Tools | What is an Editorial Calendar?

2010-07-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Public relations and social media offer a lot in the way of available tools and tactics. These tools and tactics can be implemented to help further increase brand awareness, increase traffic to one's site, and to, hopefully, increase the number of current customers/buyers/supporters.

One such tool can be the editorial calendar. As an intern at a non-profit, I was first exposed to the editorial calendar when assisting with event coordination. The editorial calendar is a tool publications (online and offline) use to indicate themes or stories that are planned and scheduled for the coming months. These are primarily issued by magazines, though changes online may have had an impact on how newspapers and online publications make their request for advertisements. The goal of these calendars is to attract advertising (the main source of revenue for magazines) based on topics they plan to cover.

This information can be useful to PR and advertising firms or in-house teams. Knowing what stories are being featured can assist in the selection of advertising space purchases. Additionally, it can also assist in knowing when to send a press release that may be related to the topics already scheduled to go live. This is a vital tool for PR professionals to send out relevant, timely pitches.

Some things to note about editorial calendars:

Not every publication issues one, but if they do it will usually feature scheduled publications for the next year and will be released sometime at the end of the previous calendar year.
Publications may be fearful of submitting one for public view because of competitors, so editorial calendars may not be available.
Some editorial calendars are available earlier than others, due mainly to the number of issues published and budget allocations.

Lastly, some tips to using an editorial calendar successfully:

Avoid spam pitches. Just because you can see the topics a publication plans to write on doesn't mean you can spam any and all journalists and writers who are writing something slightly related to you, your industry, or your product. You still need to do your homework and make a relevant pitch. (For more tips on pitching, check out PR & Media Relations | How Not to Pitch the Media.)
Pitch with their deadlines in mind in addition to your own. If you know what you're already planning to do in the coming months, great. Be aware of the publication's deadlines as well; this consideration and prior planning can greatly increase your chances of getting published. This means paying attention to their listed deadlines, and knowing that for weekly publications you should pitch at least 4 weeks in advance, and for monthly publications, perhaps 3 months in advance.

Be conscientious and courteous; you'll be amazed at how far you can go.

Public Relations Plans | 3 Tips for Defining Your Objectives

2010-07-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

A PR plan is a crucial component to conducting successful public relations activities, and having a successful PR plan relies on having well defined objectives and strategies. Public relations can be a tricky thing if actions are being conducted for no apparent reason, or worse, because it's just the way it's always been done. Things are changing, and your tactics need to change with them.

Let's first go over the difference between objectives and tactics. The main thing to note here is that they are not the same thing. One is an actionable item that is put into place to help achieve the desired objectives, which are an intangible item and goal.

How do you successfully create and define objectives for a PR plan? There are a few ways, and depending on the life-stage of your company, some of the below methods may work better than others.

Evaluate past performance. This is perhaps one of the best ways to create tactics and objectives going forward, and is one of the most important reasons advocating the measurement of the outcomes of PR plans that are put into place. Results can tell so much about what went wrong and what was successful, so use that information to see where you can improve and what your strengths are. Don't rely too heavily on this, however, as the market environment can and will change, making it wrong to repeat your last plan. Evaluating you past performance is meant to be an analysis, not a way to simply repeat what you did last time.
Look at the company's objectives, mission statement, and goals. Your PR plan objectives and goals need to be in line with these, so take a look at what the company has created and ensure that they are work toward the same goals. If they are not, your PR objectives and strategies are not going to do much good for the company and may in fact cause detrimental results.
Know the difference between tactics and strategies. Strategies and objectives can be used somewhat interchangeably, but strategies and tactics cannot. They are very much not the same thing (reasons can be read here and here). Your strategies, which, as noted above, need to be in line with the company's overall objectives, need to give reason to the tactics being implemented. Why are you using social media? Because the company wants to reach out to the community more, or because everyone else is doing it? Know why you implement a tactic. That "why" is your strategy, so be sure everyone is on the same page.

While this may be seem like a no-brainer, many companies seem to insist on implementing tactics without rhyme (objective) or reason (strategy).

More important than knowing how to create an objective, however, is to know how to measure your results, future and past. To create successful strategies and tactics, you must know how you will measure results, classify those as successful, and evaluate if it was worth implementing tactics for.

What do you think? How do you create objectives for your plans?

PR & Media Relations | How Not to Pitch the Media

2010-07-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Whether sending a pitch to a journalist, blogger, reporter, or all three, there are a few things your pitch needs to be for you to be successful. As a blogger who gets a pitch every now and then, I can only imagine the frustration a journalist of a well known publication will feel when those untargeted pitches come in in the hundreds.

So, to help you get the most out of your time spent pitching, and to assist you in getting your stories featured, here are some things to check for before you hit that send button:

Your pitch is relevant. Does it cater to what they write about? Is it new news? Is it newsworthy? If it's not, it's pretty irrelevant. (Here are some pointers for determining if your news is newsworthy: PR Writing | 5 Tips to Making Your News Newsworthy)
Your pitch is timely (also another word for relevant). This is a large part of being newsworthy in regards to the rest of the world, but if your pitch isn't sent at the right time for the publication you're pitching, it won't get much recognition. Deadlines, personal lives, holidays, etc., can all affect the time your pitch will be best received.
Your pitch is targeted. This should be #1, but relevance and being targeted are closely related. Your pitch must be sent to the right audience. Sending out a blast email to every email address you can get your hands on is not targeted. Don't do that.
Your pitch is (semi) personal. In line with being targeted, take a minute to at least type their name. I'm all for saving time and copy/pasting content, but if you mention a website, use their name, etc., make sure you change it for every person you contact and that you make sure you let the person you're pitching know that you've done at least a little searching into who they are as a human being. (Media are, after all, people too.)
Your pitch is succinct, yet descriptive enough. I don't want to read 3 pages about your pharmaceutical company. I write about PR, and I write a lot about it. Share with me why your content is relevant to me and my readers, and do so in 3 paragraphs at most, and I'll be sure to read it. Additionally, if you send me a one sentence email telling me I should check out your link (and link to it from my blog, which I've been told to do in the past), I and most everyone else will probably delete your email and not do what you so nicely asked me to do. The main issue here with that pitch: you didn't offer me anything that would make it worth my while. PR is a give and take.

It's a simple task to look at old posts, articles, and publications to see first what a publication features, and then what the writer you're pitching writes about. See what they are passionate about or talk about regularly; this can be a good indicator of what they are looking to write on in the future, and can help you to determine your pitch's probability of success.

From there, it's all about etiquette. PR gets a bad rep from people who spam pitch . If your pitch is not the things above, it's spam. (Sorry, but it is.) You may think your news is the best news there is to hear, and it may in fact be, but if you send it to people who don't care about your news (meaning they don't write about it, their audience doesn't want to read about it, etc.) , you're sending them spam.

To avoid being that PR person, try to do the following:

Use the checklist above! Enough said.
Send it, just once. I don't need to get your email 4 times throughout the day. I'll reply if I find it interesting, and often times I'll reply even if I don't find it interesting and tell you so. I even go so far as to thank you for the spam you've sent me, so don't worry, your reply is coming.
Give the person you've pitched some time. Like the above mentions, don't send me the pitch, a follow-up email, and then another follow-up email to see if I got your first three emails. Give me a day or two to get through what's on my plate and I'll let you know.
Refrain from calling, and emailing, and calling again. Just reiterating this point here, but seriously, I know you're busy, and you have got to know that I'm busy. If you don't, I'm not sure how you've been able to get a pitch picked up, ever.
Recognize deadlines (and not just your own). This follows with point 4: I have things to do, as do you. Notice my posting habits, and see that, if you need something posted today, and it's already 5PM, I'm probably not going to be much help because I post once a day, in the morning. Other journalists and reporters may have even more important deadlines (mines' not really a deadline...) that the rest of the paper/publication depends upon; these are important things to take into consideration.

Remember that as the PR professional, you are a representation of your company or client, and there's no better way to share with a media contact that you're not the right person to do business with than to spam them with your unsolicited and irrelevant information.

People who write online (like myself) really find it amazing when we get an email that is personalized, quick, and actually makes sense for me to have received it. Moreover, I enjoy it when they want to and I can find the time to carry on a meaningful relationship of sorts. That can simply be someone I talk to through Twitter, someone who will come to my blog and comment, or someone who shares my content and I theirs. These are all small things, but things that make me feel good about helping with their cause, usually the reason they first contacted me.

What are you doing to make your pitches successful?

Public Relations Today | What Hasn't Changed

2010-06-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Many things about public relations have changed in the past ten years, but there are still some constants. The main objectives of PR hasn't changed, but the methods certainly have.

So, what hasn't changed about PR?

The essential PR plan. No matter your objectives, planning is the first critical move that any PR team must make. Regardless of what tactics you choose and the methods in which you conduct your PR, a plan must first be in place to ensure that: everyone involved is on the same page; tactics are derived from strategies; target markets are understood; and budgets, implementation schedules, and responsibilities are determined.
The need to connect. Though connecting with the public is done in a very different manner today than it was 15 years ago, the point of conducting PR is still the same: to create a connection with someone, the customer, potential buyers, etc. In the past, this was done through the media. Today, this can be primarily done through two-way communication initiated through press releases that everyone can read (not just the media), blogs/websites, and companies simply talking to the public.
The necessity of the media. I know I just said that you don't really need media to connect to the public anymore, but you still need to utilize what the media continues to do. While you can do all of your communicating to the public without the use of the media, it would still serve you well to pitch the media for coverage online and offline. This sort of coverage is still seen as valuable because consumers still watch the news, still read the newspaper, and use the Internet for a source of new.
The value of a network. This can be a network online, a network of media contacts, or a network of companies in your industry. These networks will be indispensable, especially online. Social media is shaking up the PR world, and as a company looking for valuable PR it is important to connect with bloggers, influential users on the various social media networking sites, and other companies partaking in the online community.
The crucial act of crisis management. PR will always be the best source of information for the public in light of a crisis. As we've seen in recent events (BP, Tiger Woods, etc.), the PR team really needs to be aware, present, and fast-moving to take care of a crisis and to address the situation at hand. If they fail to do so, the company, brand, or image can greatly suffer. In most cases, PR simply needs to diffuse a situation; in other cases, it needs to serve as the formal apology, acceptance of responsibility, and revelation of plans to remedy the situation. The difference today is that a company really has no excuse to not take advantage of the many ways they address a crisis, answer a customer complaint, and even remedy a situation immediately before a crisis begins. Many companies ignore that opportunity, or don't see it as a necessity.

Things have definitely changed, and companies need to be more proactive in regards to the responsibility new opportunities present. Buyers expect a company to be responsible, accountable, and working for the good for all consumers, the community, and the planet. Technology has made things more transparent and customers know more than they've ever known. This makes it a necessity for companies to be more aware of their actions and the repercussions they can have, if not just to be a morally responsible company.

Public Relations Online | What is Internet Marketing?

2010-06-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

There has always been a difference between marketing and PR; Online today, however, that difference proves to be harder and harder to define. As such, Internet marketing and public relations are very interrelated and at times overlapping in terms of activities, strategies, and objectives. Both aim to increase readership, increase action taken by readers, and in turn increase sales (or buy-ins, whatever that buy-in may be).

First, let's define Internet Marketing. Definitions across the web will tend to differ, but in general they all define Internet marketing as an all-inclusive set of activities aimed at marketing a product or service online. Those activities will also differ from one set of definition to the other, but here are some that may be included or deemed an Internet marketing activity:

Search Engine Optimization. The optimization of your copy online for search engines. This can include things like keyword optimization, link optimization, and the use of images and interesting titles. These all interact together to create SEO.
Search Engine Marketing. This is similar to the above, but rather than hoping for some forced and free SEO, you can pay search engines, like Google, to link to your site when various keywords are searched for.
Copywriting. Essentially all the writing you do online, whether it be a press release, website body, or blog post. Copywriting is an important part of PR and marketing and requires excellent writing skills, and the integration of SEO.
Content Marketing. This is the use of things like article marketing (which is the process of spreading your content through different article sites like Ezine Articles) and social media (where you can also share your content). This is the marketing of your product or service somewhat inadvertently by offering things of value (through your content) and in turn gaining trust and goodwill by being a source of information and advice.
Educational Marketing. This is simply the latter part of content marketing where you share your knowledge for free. This is an effective way to share what you know to let others make the decision of whether or not to use your product or service. For example, you are a PR firm who specializes in social media. Create and update a blog on social media, sharing what you know about the market and the industry. This will show others, prospective customers perhaps, that you know what you're talking about. You will help them to make their decision, and they may in turn remember you when the time comes to finalize their move.
Email Marketing. As the name suggests, this is the tried and often times disregarded (by your customers) method of sharing information through email. The difference between using it for marketing/PR and advertising is that you do not send spam (advertising) but instead share information that is useful and valuable (Educational/Content Marketing).
Online Promotions. This could be a contest, a web-wide survey, a sale/free offering, or a promotion to get people to come to your website/store/location. This should often get people involved and be more than simply a promotion of a lowered price.
Web Aesthetics/Design. This is vital to the flow and feel of your website/blog. Readers will leave if they are turned off by a design. Conversely, if there is nothing interesting in an excellently designed website, they will also leave. Optimize your website/blog for the best flow of information, encourage readers to choose a link or to download an eBook or white paper, and make the content useful. This is the best way to create a successful and visited website.

A great comprehensive definition of the goal of Internet Marketing from About.com:

Internet marketing is using the Internet to do one or more of the following:

Communicate a company's message about itself, its products, or its services.
Conduct research as to the nature (demographics, preferences, and needs) of existing and potential customers.
Sell goods, services, or advertising space over the Internet.

Notice anything about the above information, strategies, and tactics? Well, if you missed it, allow me to help: they are all things that are used to define Public Relations Online. One could simply change the title of this post, edit the names of the activities above, and say these are all related to PR.

What's great about Internet Marketing and PR is that they are so interrelated. You can create a marketing campaign aimed at creating more revenue, but it really won't have much success unless you use some of the tactics that have been defined as public relations activities, like using social media and communicating with the public.

The definition from About.com is one that could also be used for PR, especially the first line: Communicate a company's message about itself, its products, or its services. This is the goal of PR. Whether it be conveying that message to diffuse a crisis or to share about a change in policy, public relations is about informing and communicating with the public.

What do you think? Are there more differences that I've missed here, or do you think the two are more related than most people know?

Social Media: Whose is it to Own?

2010-06-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Social media is a regular topic here at PublicRelationsBlogger, and it probably deserves the attention it gets. Some may find it overrated, but its popularity, plethora of uses, and overall simplicity make it a wonderful thing.

It is an ever available tool that anyone can use to convey their thoughts, share information, and find more information. Moreover, it is a way for people to get and stay connected with one another. It is also a place where people can get connected with companies who also use social media.

That brings about a question, though: who owns social media? Furthermore, does it need to be owned? Ownership may not be necessary, but there needs to be some sort of responsibility for it and what is said through it. It is a vehicle for communication, and while past methods of communication between company and consumer were constrained to one way communication, social media breaks those boundaries; when everyone has access to social media, things change.

The idea for this post came from reading a post from Frank's Sword and The Script blog titled Who Owns Social Media? It got me thinking. His post went over the question of ownership of social media within the company, more specifically, within the marketing and PR departments. Company departments were asked to define the ownership of social media, attributing ownership to "PR, Marketing, Both Marketing & PR, Customer Service/Support, Sales, Product Management, Other, No One, or Not Applicable." The results were very interesting. The overall consensus was that it was either owned by Marketing, PR, or Both Marketing & PR.

While I very much enjoyed his take on it and the point of view from which he wrote, I wondered if ownership could also be debated outside of the company. Do customers/buyers think that social media is something that companies should not/do not own? It's probably safe to assume that some consumers find social media to be something that companies should not own, let alone use. Do companies think they own social media? Should it be owned by someone at all?

As mentioned above, social media is open and available for anyone to use. There are, no doubt, companies that abuse that privilege. This can create animosity toward any company looking to use social media due to the large number of companies using social media as another advertising platform. (It is not another advertising platform.) What about the companies that use social media "correctly", or as the public relations world would see it be used? What if they are indeed offering things of value to their connections online?

What do you think? Do companies get to own social media like they do advertising? They are already interrupting our daily lives through commercials on the radio and television, billboards, and Internet ads. Who gets to say what goes in the social media world?

"How Media Consumption Has Changed Since 2000" | Pew Findings

2010-06-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

The consumption of media, and really the consumption of all information, has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. In a talk at the Newhouse School’s M.O.B. (“Monetizing Online Business”) Conference, Pew's director Lee Rainie gave a presentation on the latest data and trends in regards to that change.

Here are some of the highlights:

There is one main change agent: the Internet. Some of the attributing factors include:
- 79% of adults use the Internet (opposed to 46% in 2000).
- 59% connect wirelessly (0% in 2000)
- The Internet was slow, stationary, and relied on the connections built around the computer. Now, the Internet is faster, mobile, with connections built around outside servers and storage.
- 62% (vs. 25% in 2000) use the Internet on an "average day".
- 82% own a cell phone (50% owned one in 2000).
61% of adults (18 years of age and older) use the Internet as a new platform on a typical day. This is more than radio and local and national newspapers.
On a typical day, 59% of adults get their news online and from at least one offline source.
37% of Internet users are contributors/disseminators of news, most often commenting on stories.
30% of Internet users get news on a typical day through their social networking site use, and 13% follow news organizations and journalists on social networking sites.

There is much more to read on the presentation that Pew made available here, but these points share something important for PR teams and professionals: more and more people are willing to participate in the news that they are more actively seeking. You should be taking advantage of that change!

Get in touch with media online if you have a relevant, newsworthy story, share your news through your social networking site use, and more importantly, give Internet users the opportunity to get involved, to contribute to news, and to disseminate it for you. To that end, ensure, too, that it is easy for them to disseminate that news.

What do you think? Are these numbers smaller than you had expected? Higher? What does it mean for you in your profession?

Public Relations & Your Customer | What's Service Got to Do With It?

2010-06-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

Quite a bit, in fact. Customer service (or customer relations) is something that an entire company should partake in. As part of the PR team, you should, on a daily basis, be communicating with your customers, the "public", as it is a vital component of crisis management, the fostering of relationships with customers, and the encouragement of positive WOM (word of mouth).

Here are a few ways that you can improve your customer service through PR:

Listen. Instead of talking endlessly about your offerings, take a second to listen. They may give you some helpful information. This information may let you in on their actual needs, not the ones the company executives think they have.
Respond. Even if you can't offer them a solution right away, knowing that they were heard is better than not having been replied to at all. Respond and acknowledge that their message was received. Tell them you're working on it and that a solution, answer, etc., is on its way.
React. Not defensively, but in a manner that addresses their needs and their current situation. They've started the communication with you for some reason, so pay attention. This could be a change in production, a solution tailored to them and them only, or a large scale action like a recall.

Seeing what your actions and responses should be should help you to address where you can improve in the future and what can be done immediately to remedy the situation and diffuse the potential crisis.

What's amazing about customer service is that the amount of feedback you can get from simply doing your best to listen and offer a solution. This feedback can be paramount to your success in the future and in your success at offering a product that people actually want.

So, the first step? Open up those lines of communication. PR offers you many great ways to communicate with buyers and the public in a method of two-way communication. Take advantage of that! The next step is to ask them for their opinion, of which you should listen to. And finally, your responsibility as the PR professional is to take that information and turn it into an actionable item that will offer the customers more value.

What do you think? Is PR responsible for customer service?

Public Relations Job Descriptions | The PR Specialist Job Overview

2010-06-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

There are many roles the PR professional may play in their career. As such, it's a bit difficult to narrow down what the title of the PR professional should be. There is the public relations officer, public relations manager, public relations director, among others. I think a good summary, however, would be the Public Relations Specialist.

This term appears to be somewhat agreed upon throughout various companies and websites; it also seems that many job postings, regardless of what the tasks actually involve, are geared toward finding a PR Specialist when dealing with PR.

So, who is the PR Specialist? Well, they play the role of the company's:

Liaison
Supervisor
Media relations manager
Customer relations manager
Advisor

For in-depth information on what these roles entail, check out Public Relations Careers | 5 Roles of the PR Professional.

Within the roles of the PR professional/specialist, there are many activities that need to be done. They include:

Cultivating Relationships
Maintaining Relationships
Using Technology
Communicating
Obtaining Information
Making Decisions
Thinking Outside of the Box
Scheduling
Delegating Tasks
Continuing Education

Those activities, then, mean that PR specialist must be comfortable with:

Identifying Problems - This means that the individual is able to recognize when things are awry and when a potential crisis is at hand. This means that the PR specialist needs to be receptive, aware, and involved in the company's brand outside of the company as well as inside.
Solving Problems - Once these problems are identified, the PR specialist must be able to implement a solution. This doesn't mean that they need to solve the entire problem themselves, but they must be able to delegate responsibilities to ensure that the problem is handled, the crisis averted (or minimized), and the public informed.
Public Speaking - To keep the public informed, to address issues, and to answer questions, the PR specialist will often need to speak directly to the public. This can include things like press conferences or PR campaigns where there is information to share.
Advising - Because the PR specialist may be needed elsewhere, or if their expertise is not in an area being addressed by the public, the PR specialist must be able to communicate through the executive or company figure talking with the public. This means that they must instill some sort of confidence in the company's executives who may need to communicate to the public, instead of the PR specialist, and they must be able to create scripts that help to answer the right questions.
Social Engagement - The PR specialist will likely be involved in much of the company's activities that include the public or the media, and because some of those activities include fundraisers, events, etc., they will need to be socially comfortable and well-spoken. This also involves engagement with company employees.
Communication - Whether it is verbal or nonverbal communication, the PR specialist must instill trust in the public and the media by communicating well. This means that they must be excellent writers and speakers. They must also be honest, and willing and able to do the right thing for the company and the public.
Time/Project Management - There will likely be many things going on at once in a company. This means that the PR specialist will need to be able to delegate and devote time to items that are of higher importance and ensure that there is enough time to get the other items completed as well. This will involve delegating activities to the PR team, too.
Persuasion - When speaking to the public or the media, the PR specialist will need to use a bit of selling and persuasion in their addresses. If needing to spin a story or encourage the support of a cause, persuasion will inadvertently be involved.
Decision Making - As with most of the tasks above, decision making requires a judgment to be made. The PR specialist will need to able to make important (and often not so important) decisions to ensure that tasks are completed and that questions are answered.
Critical Thinking - This goes hand in hand with decision making, and is a part of most of the PR specialist's daily tasks. There needs to be much thought put into actions in the PR department because much of the company's success relies on successful PR.

To carry out the tasks above, they must also be:

Aware
Perceptive
Cognizant
Good listeners
Coordinated
Excellent Writers

With all of the above required of the PR professional/specialist, it makes sense, then, that there are some educational requirements. In terms of knowledge (not so much the degree they hold), the PR specialist must have knowledge in the following areas:

Marketing - with so many changes taking place in marketing and PR, these two fields are now more closely than ever. Know marketing and the activities that take place there as they will invariably be related to those in PR.
Sales - basic sales tactics are used in PR, and they are essential to getting consumers to act. Know how to sell your services, how to get interaction, and how to engage your customers.
Media - the media, both in terms of the entity itself and the vehicle through which companies can communicate with the public, is a vital piece to the PR puzzle. Know the various types of media and how each works.
Consumer Behavior - what drives sales? What makes for a success presentation? This involves some psychology and the understanding of needs and wants, which is also an important part of sales, marketing, and PR. Invest some time in this subject as it will greatly help in communication efforts.
Technology - computers, smart phones, the Internet: these are all ways to interact with your customers. Know how these work, how you can reach your buyers, and what each offers in terms of available tools. Keep up with the changes.
Customer Service - customers can now communicate with the company more directly than a 1-800 number, and certainly more intimately than an advertisement. Two-way communication means that the PR specialist will need to be the customer service rep at some point through social media, press conferences, etc., so be aware of what your customers are up to.
Relations - media and customer relations are an important aspect of the PR professional's job responsibilities, so know to manage either relationship.
Communications - communications, whether with the media, with customers, or with the general public, are vital to PR working. Know the basics of communication.

The PR specialist has a hand in many tasks and activities, though, depending on the team you join, your tasks may differ or include others. The PR team is one that depends on the convergence of knowledge from all other areas of business, so any company would be wise to hire people who have studied things like marketing, sales, or consumer behavior, as these individuals will all contribute to the success of the PR initiatives.

PR & Marketing | Tactics Being Used Today

2010-06-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

In a recent post here, I mentioned my disbelief in the rising spending on advertising. To accompany my theory are some preliminary findings of the study I found on the Everything Technology Marketing blog. Here's what they had to say about that study:

The LinkedIn B2B Technology Marketing Community is conducting a comprehensive, vendor neutral survey of B2B marketing executives and professionals to better understand the state of social media in the evolving B2B marketing mix. The survey will answer questions about the latest social media trends in B2B marketing, what challenges managers face, what platforms and tools are considered effective, how companies measure success, and more.

The early findings, which can be seen below, show that, indeed, companies are spending less time using advertising and more time using social media. Logically, then, it would seem that companies are spending less on advertising and more on social media.

What do you think? Does it make sense that advertising spending should be going down if companies are using less and less of it?