PRSAY – What Do You Have to Say?

Friday Five: Nonprofits Plan for Success With Social Media

Nicole Castro — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:32:00 +0000

People passionate about a cause and eager to bring about social change connect through social media. It is imperative that nonprofits learn how to become visible in social media by using the right medium for the task at hand. Social media are a low resource but not a “no resource” way to connect through trusted [...]

Public Relations and Social Media: Are You a Tech Tester?

Deirdre Breakenridge — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:07:03 +0000

Social media has expanded our approach to public relations, giving us an opportunity to apply what we know in new ways. One of the greatest opportunities we have is in technology — a field we used to acknowledge as separate and distinct from our own. Public relations professionals now are becoming public relations technology (tech) testers, which requires us to have a slightly different mindset; one that embraces technology and motivates us to use new tools and tactics to carry out our daily roles and responsibilities. The more we immerse ourselves in the different platforms and applications currently available, the more we’ll realize that technology provides incredibly efficient ways to build relationships. It allows us to target particular groups directly, to create more customized and meaningful stories, and to measure our communications with greater accuracy. Are you a tech tester, too?

Friday Five: The Information Overload Age

Nicole Castro — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:28:20 +0000

For all the benefits of the information technology and communications revolution, there exists a well-known dark side: information overload and its close associate, disruptive technologies. The amount of online content out there is simply too much to handle, and it’s constantly growing. Some people are so afraid of missing something that they feel compelled to [...]

Stop Selling. Start Listening.

Mike Neumeier — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:19:40 +0000

Public relations and marketing, no matter how good, cannot make a buyer buy. This is especially true in BtoB environments, where purchasing decisions often are made by committee, impulse buys are rare, and emotion — though a factor — is secondary to more rational considerations. Understanding what makes customers tick is more essential today than ever, as the Internet and social engagement have brought about buying-cycle changes that give buyers even greater control the sales process. However, as BtoB communicators, it seems we’ve lost sight of this fundamental point. It’s time to reorient ourselves and our organizations. It’s time to stop selling and start listening to the buyer. It’s time to embrace buyer-driven communication.

Friday Five: Measurement as a Second Language

Nicole Castro — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:06:03 +0000

In the past 10 years, public relations professionals have discovered that when it comes to measuring public relations strategy and tactics, volume metrics alone don’t tell the full story. The problem with relying solely on volume metrics is that they don’t tell you whether your program is delivering the right message, bringing the right kind [...]

Why Professional Communicators Should Care About CISPA

Kathy Stershic — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:26:09 +0000

Cyber security is a big and growing problem. CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, would allow private corporations to monitor anyone’s email and online activities and, acting in good faith, share this information with the government. While removing some barriers to sharing cyber-attack information certainly will help to address some serious problems affecting our country, CISPA also could mean a radically different online world from the open Internet we grew up with. Here's why professional communicators should care if CISPA is enacted.

Friday Five: Advertising Faces Challenges in a Digital and Social Age

Nicole Castro — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:22:52 +0000

The advertising industry has been and continues to be an industry in the midst of radical transformation. Traditional mass media advertising is augmented by nontraditional approaches, such as product placement, viral marketing, direct marketing and virtual community marketing on the Web. Given these dynamic changes and the increased reliance on social and digital media, practitioners [...]

Friday Five: Key Learnings in a Social Landscape

Nicole Castro — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:21:22 +0000

We hear a lot about the diverse use of social media in the public relations world, but how are other industries leveraging the power of social media? Companies in the health care and sport industries are beginning to understand that their richest source of insight, ideas, data and information is within their business-to-consumer (B2C) engagement [...]

No Grand Slam for Miami Marlins’ PR Practices

RFiske — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:01:55 +0000

When Ozzie Guillén, manager of the rebranded Miami Marlins, inserted the proverbial foot-in-mouth during an interview with TIME magazine, where he stated, “I love Fidel Castro,” I immediately began to question the Marlins’ management strategy. I thought, “Clearly this guy has no understanding of local politics. Clearly he has no understanding of what so many [...]

Friday Five: Offer Meaningful Content and Leave Your Audience Wanting More

Nicole Castro — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:41:00 +0000

When you water down your content to try to appeal to a mass audience, you are doing a disservice to your pitch, your messaging and your potential reach by way of earned media. You are trying to appeal to everyone and, in the end, you reach no one. Today’s public relations professional has become somewhat [...]