Monthly Archives: June 2011

Jeff Esposito

What is Coverage?

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Over the past few weeks, I have really been questioning what is wrong with PR people. Now, I am no journalist and I’m not going on a rant about communicating with reporters. I am alarmed at two things: “the state of ME” and coverage.

The first is “the state of ME.” While social media is a really powerful tool that all PR pros should know, lately it seems as if folks in the industry have had their vision clouded by social media. Instead of making the company or client the story, many flacks have made themselves an integral part of the story.

Sure, we could easily say that the Brian Solises and Peter Shankmans of the world have fostered the appearance of PR pros turned media darling pundits, but that is just stupid. At the end of the day both Brian and Peter have busted their asses and I am pretty sure that when either worked on a client, they made sure that it was the client that got credit and didn’t try to make the success about them.  They also made it possible for many to see PR as an important corporate cog. At the end of the day, as a PR pro, you took a selfless job to make others see their name in print – remember that. The C-suite signing your checks surely will.

My second beef Continue reading →

Rebecca Denison

Measuring Your Consumers’ Worth

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The Economist Intelligence Unit recently released a report about how the value of customers is being measured. There are some important implications for businesses, and you can download the full report if you want to dig a bit deeper.

One of my favorite quotes from the report was the following:

…measures of customer value that focus solely on transaction activity capture only a fraction of an individual’s behaviour and potential value.

It’s so true. While we always need to tie metrics and measures of social media back to our business goals (and often the bottom line), there is so much more value to the new social customer than the $29.99 they just spent on your website. Continue reading →

Tina McCormack Beaty

Becoming Enchanted

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Recently Entrepreneur Magazine hosted Guy Kawasaki’s talk “Enchant and Engage More Customers with Social Media” just outside of DC. The session was based on Guy’s current book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. It was a great morning centered around a very charismatic speaker.  The event wasn’t your typical social media conference, which I highly valued, and it highlighted one core truth – no matter the tools or message the act of PR is enchantment.

This idea was solidified when post-event I started reading Guy’s book and saw that the first few chapters reinforced that enhancement is present whenever people are trying to make the world a better place. Making the world a better place is why we work with mission-driven companies and organizations here at CFox Communications. We tell our client stories as our small part in making the world a better place, and we can tell more stories the more enchanting we are. Continue reading →

Jason Mollica

The Benefits of APR

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Three simple letters can mean so much to a public relations professional. The letters stand for distinction in our field and the dedication to the profession.  APR, or Accredited in Public Relations, has set the bar high. The test is not easy and it challenges your knowledge of proper practices and strategic planning, among others.

There are some that debate whether APR is necessary and if it is even worth it. I believe it definitely is worth your time. I know because I have taken the test, but didn’t pass it the first time (I’m gearing up to take it again).  I’m a member of PRSA and hemmed and hawed whether I should go for accreditation. I ultimately decided to go for it because I wanted to challenge my PR knowledge and go to another level.

Here’s why APR can benefit you: Continue reading →

Matt Krautstrunk

Is Chivalry Dead in Corporate Communications?

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Are the days of “Dear Madam,” and “Sincerely” over? We already know that communicating with a human voice on social media channels leads to a higher retention rate, according to a University of Missouri study. But will this trend trickle down to other facets of corporate communication?

Now I wouldn’t stretch as far to say we will begin seeing LOLs and FMLs in press releases, but we may see more companies including the human element in other areas of their business. Without question, a PR professional’s job is becoming more difficult, as businesses try to incorporate the human element in communication while still maintaining professionalism. This is a difficult tightrope to walk for many PR pros because there are consequences for being “too human.”  Continue reading →

Manny Otiko

Four Interview Nightmares Guaranteed to Give PR Specialists Heartburn

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A few weeks ago, Ilyasha Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, the revered Civil Rights icon, was interviewed by Michel Martin on National Public Radio about a controversial new book, that claimed her father had at one time worked as a male escort.

When confronted with that very sensitive question Shabazz, simply got up and walked out of the interview. I said to myself, “I sure feel sorry for her publicist.”

Anybody who has worked in the public relations industry knows that this is a major faux pas that can do irreparable damage with the media, if you ever have to work with them again. Continue reading →

Rebecca Denison

Learn How to Measure What Matters from the Queen Herself

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I recently had the pleasure of reading Katie Paine’s latest book, Measure What Matters, during some otherwise long and boring plane rides. Through 14 succinct but detailed chapters, Katie walks you through how to get started with basic measurement and some good examples of specific situations or types of campaigns you may need to measure.

From tackling finding the right measurement tool to measuring the impact of a conference sponsorship, each chapter can stand on its own as a detailed and real-life example. One problem I have had with other books about measurement is the lack of real examples or instructions to help you go beyond the theoretical math. Not so here. Continue reading →

Michael Schechter

Pitch Problems

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I recently had the pleasure of seeing my two good internet buddies, Danny Brown and Gini Dietrich, try to get a room full of bloggers and PR folks to play nice. As someone working on the brand side, I was an impartial witness to what is clearly a big, heaping pile of infighting.

Clearly, the explosion of Social Media and blogging has changed the landscape, with bloggers looking to be taken seriously and PR reps not quite sure how to handle this new Fifth Estate. As an outsider in both camps, I wanted to share some unemotional insights into what is clearly a highly charged subject. Continue reading →

Rebecca Denison

Klout Adds Context to Automated Influence?

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Klout recently announced its latest feature: +K. Similar to Google’s +1, Klout asks that you give users a +K for each topic for which they have influenced you. In theory, Klout scores will now include context and topical relevance.

For example, if you look at my profile topics, you could give me a +K if I have influenced you on social media measurement or public relations. Each user gets five +K’s each day, which means you have to be registered to give others feedback and cannot give unlimited feedback. You can also give a +K to each topic for a person once each week. So if I give you a +K for social media on Monday, then I cannot give you another +K for social media until the following Monday. And +K’s will not last forever, they have an expiration date.

Klout explains that influence can change over time. While there are plenty of people who are influential about SXSW in the first few months of the year, there is hardly anyone talking about it right now. So I may give you a +K for SXSW in March, but a +K for summer beers in June. Influence can be fleeting, and it can grow and shift over time, and Klout is trying to account for that. Continue reading →