Congratulations to the Class of 2013 and best of luck to our #PRStudChat graduates!

The Mashable article, “The Big Word That Means Very Little,” written by Lauren Hockenson states, “You can’t get through a communications think tank, social presentation or even a press release without seeing the word “engagement. And, while the word has been firmly fixed in the communications lexicon since the mid-2000s, if you ask a professional in the industry what everyone means by ‘engagement,’ you get quite a surprising answer.” The author concludes that the word engagement has not really been defined.

It’s true … the word “engagement” is used in many different circles and carries a variety of meanings, from conversations and comments to sharing content and crowdsourcing. There’s also high impact to lower level engagement in web communities. On Wednesday, May 22nd at 8:30 p.m. EDT, the #PRStudChat community will explore the meaning of engagement in more depth. We’ll ask our community members to share their thoughts on:

• The different ways people are engaging through social media
• The best way to create opportunities to engage
• How engagement strategies vary on different social media platforms
• How communications professionals are measuring engagement

If you have any questions around the topic or thoughts you want to share, in advance of the session, feel free to DM us or post your questions in our LinkedIn Discussion Group.  We hope you’ll join us for a dynamic Twitter chat session focused on defining engagement and moving toward more of a standard meaning.  We look forward to “seeing” you on the 22nd!

A Little More About PRStudChat:

It began with a simple question asked by Angela Hernandez, then President of PRSSA at Central Michigan University (CMU). “Is PR Right for me?” A follow up blog post by PR 2.0 expert Deirdre Breakenridge inspired a series of direct messages on Twitter between Breakenridge and fellow PR industry pro, Valerie Simon. This was an important question and one that should be explored beyond one student or one blog post. Why not build a community to help students across the country, and even the globe, learn from the experience and perspective of industry professionals … A community where everyone can learn and grow together. Read more

A Guest Post By Brad Phillips, Author, The Media Training Bible

You may have heard this expression: “When a crisis strikes, you need to communicate immediately.”

That piece of crisis communications advice is a perennial favorite from PR professionals, a nugget of irrefutable wisdom that few people dare challenge. I regularly give readers and clients the same advice.

But as I look back at that sentence, it strikes me as incomplete and in need of further explanation.

Here’s the problem with that sentence: It doesn’t define what a “crisis” is. Does that advice mean that you should respond to every allegation some random dude hurls at you on Twitter? Or that you should respond immediately to mini-crises that may never be known to more than 12 people? And how can you tell the difference between a true brewing crisis and a small annoyance that will quickly flame out on its own?

To help answer those questions, I reached out to four respected crisis communicators. They offered smart suggestions to help guide you in the earliest moments of a “crisis.”

Melissa Agnes, a crisis professional who blogs at MelissaAgnes.com, distinguishes between a crisis and “light buzz.” For a crisis in which “the word is out and people are talking, you need to release your statement ASAP,” she writes. But if there’s only “light buzz,” where there’s “a possibility that it might just die down on its own, you have room to monitor and wait to see if a response (and what type of response) is really necessary.” She rightly points out that “responding too quickly might provoke a crisis that otherwise may not have happened.”

Jeff Domansky, known as The PR Coach, agrees, saying that, “Reacting too soon, or over-reacting, can accelerate a crisis unnecessarily….try the RSP approach. Ready. Set. Pause. Get the facts. Prepare key messages. And then use your judgment on when it’s best to speak.” But Domansky also says there’s a major exception to that rule: “If there’s further risk or danger to others, you must respond.”

Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, concurs, writing: “Warning signs of crises do not necessarily require an immediate response, but they should be monitored closely.  The perceived credibility of online chatter is as or more important than its frequency.  An organization needs to assess on a case by case basis whether the volume, variety and credibility of online chatter has moved a situation to the level of imminent or actual crisis and respond accordingly.”

And Josh Cobden, a senior vice president with Toronto-based Environics Communications, says: “While crisis management always requires ‘on the spot’ assessment and strategy, some of the heavy lifting can be done in advance by defining markers or thresholds that govern how/if one responds. This can take the form of certain issues that always require a response (e.g. the suggestion that a product is unsafe), or volume levels (e.g. a certain number of posts on Facebook). The biggest issues all of us PR pros need to come to terms with is that the speed and ease of digital communications today presents new challenges — a spark can become an inferno, both because of what you don’t do (respond when necessary) or do (over-react, react too quickly).”

All four crisis pros are exactly right. Responding “immediately” is almost always the right call for crises in which reporters are already calling you in droves. But for smaller “crises,” sometimes it’s more important to be ready to respond than to actually respond.

The Media Training Bible is available from Amazon here and for the Kindle here. For other eBook formats and to read free sample lessons, click here.

A Guest Post By Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA

I’ve been feeling a little reflective for all kinds of good…and not-so-good…reasons. Don’t want to dwell on the “not-so’s” today…weather’s too nice and the semester’s winding down…so I’ll get right to the good stuff.

I got the go-ahead from one of my PR superstars at Curry College, where I oversee the undergraduate public relations concentration and teach most of the PR courses, to formally announce that, one week after she walks across the stage and gets her diploma from the president, she will start her new full-time position as Special Events Coordinator for the ALS Association/Massachusetts Chapter.

She’s walking out of Curry with three very successful internships under her belt, the distinction of having been the first Curry College Communication student to have received the PRSA Boston Educational Grant, and the confidence that, regardless of the challenges that she might face in the course of her career, she has the willpower and stamina to face and to overcome whatever life throws her way.

Obviously this sequence of events got me thinking about any of us who have “adopted” the public relations profession as our career path and the challenges and opportunities that cross our paths.

Life simply isn’t a neatly-arranged sequence of events that wander our way and patiently wait for us to figure out how to meet them successfully.

Some things we deal with quickly and efficiently. Others, we have to regroup and strategize ways in which to address them.

Edward L. Bernays had this to say about the public relations profession: “…public relations does not mean selling a product, an idea, or a personality. Instead, it depends fundamentally on doing – action and deeds that are geared to public understanding and acceptance. Words are only incidental to the process.”

Our profession is not a clearly and cleanly defined “job.” Ours is a glorious amalgam of positive as well as negative opportunities and challenges that we have to identify, prioritize, and address. And, as many of us have learned (often the hard way), rarely are two situations the same, which means rarely are the solutions the same.

But we do solve or resolve them. And we then are able to reflect on the professionalism with which we achieved that success and find satisfaction in the warm glow that comes with pride of accomplishment.

Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA, is Associate Professor of Communication (Undergraduate) at Curry College in Milton, MA. He also is Visiting Lecturer, Organizational and Professional Communication (Graduate), at Regis College in Weston, MA. Prior to his move into academia, Kirk practiced nonprofit and government public relations and marketing for more than 35 years in the US as well as Asia. Accredited by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Kirk is a former member of PRSA’s national Board of Directors and has held leadership positions with PRSA Educators Academy and PRSA Northeast District as well as with the Boston and Hawaii PRSA chapters.

When I asked Sarah how #CommHacks came to fruition, she explained, “We created the hackathon because there’s no reason to keep doing things that don’t work. The communications industry has so many nuances and it’s a time intensive role, especially for those who create content. With the advent of social collaboration, we can host this communications hackathon virtually and share the wisdom with the masses.”

I couldn’t agree more. We need to collaborate and share and then learn together. Here are the details, so you can get involved:

Anyone who works in the PR, marketing, journalism or content space is eligible to participate in #CommHacks and doesn’t need formal training as a developer.  It’s a hackathon based around #workhacks, or things that make a frequently used communications task easier, more efficient or, perhaps, eliminated altogether.

The hackathon went live yesterday and runs through Sunday, May 12. Tracky has partnered with sponsors, like Sincerely, Inc. (Postagram), Casetagram and Pitchengine to offer a wide range of prizes to five winners. Top prize receives an iPad Mini along with other perks. All of the best #workhacks will be packaged together in a free e-book following the end of the hackathon.

Hackathons are typically associated with computer developers or those with a deep knowledge of software, but #CommHacks encourages virtual collaboration to improve the entire communications industry. If someone created something from scratch, hacked together two or more tools or used an API to create something new, then they’re eligible to submit an entry.

You can submit #workhacks for one, or more, of these “Areas of Need:”

1. News
2. Community relations
3. Government relations
4. Media relations
5. Content marketing
6. Editorial calendars
7. Monitoring
8. SEO
9. Social networks
10. Overall communications (e.g. internal, email)
11. Wild card

Here’s where you can find out more about #CommHacks:

• Announcement post: http://sarahsfav.es/2013/05/02/commhack/
• Overview page: https://tracky.com/commhacks
• Submission page: https://tracky.com/commhacks-submit

Good luck and have fun with your #workhacks!

My media training clients often tell me they don’t trust reporters because they use “sleazy” tactics to coax information from them.

When I hear that, I ask my clients this question: “Are there ever times you tell your colleagues something behind closed doors that you’d rather not share with the reporter?”

They always say yes.

That’s when I remind them that a reporter’s job is to find out what they’re saying privately. Journalists want to know the things you know but would rather not tell them. It’s not necessarily sleazy. It’s just their job.

Of course, your job as a spokesperson is different. You want to enhance your company’s reputation, sell more products, advocate a point-of-view, or pass a new law. Your goal is to say enough to maintain your credibility, but not so much that you do yourself harm.

Below are five intimidating tactics reporters use to get information out of you – and five ways to defeat their cleverly-laid traps.

1. “I’m On Deadline and Need an Answer Now”

Reporters know that the more time you have to prepare for an interview, the less likely it is you’ll say something damaging. So they’ll try to catch you off-guard, calling you 30 minutes before their “deadline.” They’ll say they need an answer now – and if you refuse, they’ll unsubtly threaten to tell their audience you refused to comment.

Don’t bite. Calmly tell them you’re eager to cooperate, but that you’re in the middle of something and need a half-hour to finish. Spend those 30 minutes crafting your messages and anticipating the likeliest tough questions before returning the call.

2. “It’ll Look Bad If You Don’t Tell Me”

Reporters may try to intimidate you by inferring you will look guilty if you don’t share confidential information with them. To be sure, there are times they’re right.

But there are many legitimate reasons to withhold information: Companies may withhold proprietary intellectual property (Coke has never revealed its formula), private firms can withhold specific financial data, and many organizations can refuse to disclose personnel records. Just avoid saying the words, “no comment,” and tell reporters why you can’t go into greater detail on those topics instead.

3. Dead Air

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who just keeps looking at you when you’ve finished talking? If you’re like most people, you feel awkward and start talking again to fill the silence.

Reporters bank on that awkward dynamic and know you’ll say the most damaging things after you’ve finished your “official” answer. Instead of falling into this trap, just remain quiet after your official answer, or say something like, “That’s the main point. What other questions can I answer for you?”

4. Accelerating the Tempo

In an attempt to force a mistake, reporters may try to increase your stress level. They’ll start the interview slowly with the easy questions, then gradually (and somewhat imperceptibly) quicken the pace until you feel stressed and out of control.

There are two things you can do to help control the tempo. First, pause for a moment before answering each question. Second, if you’re being rushed, tell the reporter, “That’s an important point, and I’ll need more than a couple of seconds to answer it.”

5. Space Invaders

For in-person interviews, reporters may invade your space in an effort to fluster you. They’ll move their chair within inches of yours, stand nose-to-nose with you, or use a height advantage to make you feel small.

Survive the space invader simply by recognizing the tactic for what it is. Remember that your conversation should be with the audience – not a physically imposing reporter – and direct every word to the man watching television in his bedroom or the woman watching from her living room sofa.

Brad Phillips is the author of The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview. He also writes the world’s most-visited media training website, Mr. Media Training.

Internships offer students the opportunity to learn on the job and to prepare for their careers ahead. The April 25^th session will give students a chance to learn first hand from other students and professionals who will share their internship adventures. A great internship experience is the key to starting out with good insight into the field of PR.

A few of the topics we will explore that night include:  What makes the best type of internship experience? How do you make yourself stand out as an intern? What do you need to know before you start your internship experience? Who can you rely upon as a mentor when you are interning and will it possible to find a mentor as a part of the internship program? Will I have a full-time job as a result of my internship?

Please join us on April 25^th at 8:30 p.m. ET to find out the answers to these questions and more.  Get ready to share your internship experiences and how they helped you to become the professional that you are today.

Don’t miss a night of internship experiences with our PR community.  If you have any questions about summer internships, in advance of the session, feel free to DM us or post your questions in our LinkedIn Discussion Group.  We look forward to “seeing” you on the 25th!

A Little More About PRStudChat:

It began with a simple question asked by Angela Hernandez, then President of PRSSA at Central Michigan University (CMU). “Is PR Right for me?” A follow up blog post by PR 2.0 expert Deirdre Breakenridge inspired a series of direct messages on Twitter between Breakenridge and fellow PR industry pro, Valerie Simon. This was an important question and one that should be explored beyond one student or one blog post. Why not build a community to help students across the country, and even the globe, learn from the experience and perspective of industry professionals… A community where everyone can learn and grow together. Read more

We had what was, for the City of Boston, “major breaking news” recently as four-term Mayor Tom Menino announced he would not be seeking a fifth run at the City’s highest elected office.

The media, predictably and logically, went nuts. Breathless reports flooded all the television news programs, and print reporters frantically scurried to and fro in desperate search of “something new” to add to their columns.

Ironically (or maybe not in today’s world), the news was broken by a fellow…former reporter….on his blog.

Although I shouldn’t really be surprised, I still have to confess I was a smidge. I’m still very much a traditionalist. I get most of my news from paper newspapers and commercially broadcast newscasts. Granted, I do supplement that with online news services, my Twitter feed, and countless other platforms. But traditional news providers are my primary “go-to” sources.

This got me thinking, as a public relations professional now teaching the next generation(s) of PR pros, “Who’s on first?”

We always have been challenged by our clients or employers to be ahead of the news as much as possible…to anticipate events and proactively address their impact on us or our influence on them…to be first with our side of the story.

But things (obviously) have changed. We are not the only ones watching our business, and we’re certainly not the only ones with an opinion about our organization’s purpose and activities.

Most of us realize this. Not all of us accept that this is so.

We like to believe that we are the experts, and that others (read: “media”) should come to us for the “story.”

Quoth the Raven: “Nevermore.”

As Mayor Menino’s situation ably demonstrates, there’s always someone else watching and waiting for the opportunity to break the story…to beat the others to the punch…to “be on first.”

So here’s the takeaway for me: accept that this is so, build your communication strategies taking the unavoidable-ness of the situation (is that a word?!?) into consideration, and educate your boss/client on this reality.

I, for one, am energized by all this. It takes me back to the “old” days when we knew who covered our business and who the opinion leaders were. We were able to anticipate their reaction an event and to communicate (or at least try to communicate) our organization’s side of the story.

While it was comforting to think that I might have some influence on a story, it also was a “routine”: break out the media lists, contact the reporters who covered our industry, get “our” story out.

Not to sound too blasé about this, but “ho-hum.”

That part today hasn’t changed…but the need for speed in response, and the challenge of determining who is talking about you and reaching out to those individuals…or preempting their inevitable commentary with your own story…has.

David Meerman Scott addresses this in his excellent book, “Real-Time Marketing & PR.” To state David’s premise very, very simply: “In today’s mega-wired world where seemingly everyone is online and talking nonstop, he who hesitates is lost.”

React…respond…recover. It starts with an understanding that, when the story breaks, the “winner” will be “who’s on first.”

Will it be you? Or your competition?!?

Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA, is Associate Professor of Communication (Undergraduate) at Curry College in Milton, MA. He also is Visiting Lecturer, Organizational and Professional Communication (Graduate), at Regis College in Weston, MA. Prior to his move into academia, Kirk practiced nonprofit and government public relations and marketing for more than 35 years in the US as well as Asia. Accredited by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Kirk is a former member of PRSA’s national Board of Directors and has held leadership positions with PRSA Educators Academy and PRSA Northeast District as well as with the Boston and Hawaii PRSA chapters.

A question posed by a webinar participant really stuck in my mind. She asked if there was a place to find a PR checklist of important skills. I use my eight new PR practices as a checklist of both skills and new responsibilities. However, if I were hiring a “Universal PR professional” to guide strategic communications in 2013 and beyond, here are some of my best practice tips to shape that PR person’s role:

1. Be proactive and don’t wait to be asked. Today, we are looking for people who will raise their hands to get involved. For example, with the development of a social media policy, training initiatives and governance (new responsibilities that require PR to participate).  You should never wait for someone to give you the assignment, especially if you identify an area in your department or company that needs support. Propose new ideas, do the research, and offer your assistance. The initiative you take will make you stand out among all the rest.
2. Start with good communication on the inside. Take the time to discover how to be more efficient and productive with your teams. Make suggestions beyond simply using email communication on how to finish your projects on time and under budget. Use social collaboration tools on the inside of your company for better internal communications and then take the time to educate your peers on new ways to work together to increase overall productivity.
3. Test technology … always. Don’t be behind the curve, instead stay ahead for advancement. Be ready to answer those leadership questions asking “why” and “how” your brand should participate in new social communities. Take the time to “Tech Test” in different areas including collaborative platforms, applications, monitoring software, influence tools, etc., which will make you a more valuable asset to your organization.
4. Listen to be heard and to be relevant. Gathering customer intelligence is the best way to internalize information and then use it to communicate with meaning, through offline and new media channels.  Since I started in PR, I was always told to listen first to solve problems. This is much more apparent today, as a result of social media. By truly “listening,” we can help people and build stronger relationships with our constituents.
5. You are always on! Social media doesn’t sleep, so your organization’s readiness is key. Creating the social media crisis plan (integrated into an overall crisis plan) requires knowledge and skills. It’s imperative for you to build a system that catches negative sentiment early on before it escalates, and to put processes and people in place for different levels of escalation through new media channels.
6. Build relationships by giving.  And, sometimes realize you have to give more. PR professionals have always been known for building relationship pre-Internet and social media. Today, the ability to cultivate a relationship with new influencers and customers where they congregate is both an art and science. Knowing how to strategically grow mutually beneficial relationships, whether they start online on Facebook or offline, is an essential part of the PR person’s role.
7. Live the brand to protect the brand. PR professionals who are more involved in the development of the brand experience, and who understand how the brand voice translates into the social media brand voice (with personality and transparency), are in a position to educate others.  With this understanding you can help to build an army of champions, who can better protect and maintain the brand’s reputation at every touch point.
8. Be accountable with all of your communications, including social media. It’s important for you to understand the different metrics whether they reveal community growth, reputation issues, increased awareness, or engagement with high-level impact. We also have to use social media analytics, paired with other data, to show Return on Investment (ROI), knowing that our communications cannot work in a vacuum and must be integrated with marketing and other areas of the organization.  Of course, we also have to ask, “Why?” and then make sure the outcomes we are trying to achieve track back to our program objectives, which we measure over time.

What helpful tips would you add to shape the role of the Universal PR professional of tomorrow? And, when you describe your own role, what do you think are the most important skills?