PRBreakfastClub

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Being in PR means that you plan and execute events to perfection and no detail is forgotten. Each PR pro has their style for planning and how they work to get it all done. There is a recipe for event planning which includes a little creativity, a little OCD, a little leadership and a dash of caffeine. When you put it all together you get some pretty stellar events that PR pros pull of every day.

Behind the scenes of the seamless event that you have produced there is an army of details that get you through. Here are some of the secret ingredients that help PR pros pull off perfection: Read the rest of this entry »

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There are many articles out there on how PR professionals should seek, contact and engage with bloggers. We are focused on building a relationship with bloggers and converting them into brand ambassadors for our client. We hope that they will write amazing posts about our clients and it will spread through the blogger world like wildfire.

But as PR pros have we stopped to think about what the bloggers want from us?

I am a mom blogger, crawfishtales.com, and I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of the pitch. This has given me insight that I have used to mold the way that I, as a PR pro, engage bloggers. I constantly remind myself that bloggers are receiving multiple pitches just like a reporter and that I need to make my pitch stand out from the others. The best pitches are the ones that are thorough and have thought through the pitch from the bloggers prospective. Read the rest of this entry »

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Help a Reporter, as it says was designed to be helpful to both the PR pro and the reporter. I know that as a PR pro I have scored many cool PR opportunities for my clients by answering queries. As a contributing writer for PR Breakfast Club, I have often used this service to get quotes and answer topics for stories that I am writing.

Being the recipient of pitches has been very interesting to say the least. I have quickly learned that there is a huge difference between the helpful query response and the annoying query response. Read the rest of this entry »

In the daily juggle it is sometimes hard to remember to do it all. If you didn’t know it, PR pros are human too. I know that I cross my fingers and hope that when I do forget to do something it is more minor than missing a TV appearance or forgetting to meet a client deadline. “Organization is critical for success in public relations,” says Michael Hanson, Director of PR at The Modern Brand Company. “PR people are always on the go, juggling multiple pitches, refining infinite messages, brainstorming at all hours of the day, and so on. Sometimes the small things, do make a difference.” PR pros are constantly focused on big things such as a big media interview, a big event or a big client prospect. Sometimes the smaller things are the tasks that are easier to forget. Read the rest of this entry »

We have all seen a campaign launched for a competitor that is just brilliant and out of the box creative. You beat yourself up about why you didn’t think of that first or what you will say to your client or boss when the campaign is mentioned. You start racking your brain trying to think of what you can come up with to top it…and you can’t come up with anything. With multiple clients all wanting the next greatest PR strategy, it is hard to keep the creative juices flowing. Creativity doesn’t happen on demand and it usually happens in strange places, such as the shower or at the dry cleaners, when your mind is elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

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We all know there are good PR Pros and there are the “other” PR imposters. These imposters go around selling our profession short of what it is and throwing mud on the industry name. It is hard to show that you are not one of “those” to a reporter, client or boss who has been burned.

“Professionals have credentials and others merely have titles such as Vice President,” says Jeffrey Geibel, APR, Principal of Geibel Marketing and Public Relations. “An APR is a transportable credential such as an MBA. It goes with you, unlike a title.”

The APR is a hit or miss topic for PR pros. Some are die hard that you have to have it and others are waiting for the raise and the promotion to come along with the hard work that it takes to be accredited. Read the rest of this entry »

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I went to a great presentation this week by @jaykrall on Blogger Relations. He talked in depth about how PR pros can seek and engage bloggers with their brand. Great speaker if anyone is looking for one.

One thing he said is that bloggers know other bloggers. I guess I never really thought about it but of course they do. The challenge is breaking into that group. There are many similarities between bloggers and the cool group in high school. Read the rest of this entry »

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Determining the next move in your career path is a tough decision especially when changing from agency to in-house communications. While yes it is all PR and based on the same principles, strategies and tactics the daily work style, skill set and environment can be drastically different.

Often times the attraction to an agency is the multiple clients, the variety of industries, the camaraderie of other communications professionals and even the swank office. Agency PR pros are talking to media daily and don’t typically have politics to deal with since they don’t directly work for the companies they represent.

If you are considering leaving time sheets in the past, for stability, security and routine make sure the switch it is a fit for you and an answer to what you are trying to leave behind. The pros of working in-house does typically include better health benefits, more opportunity for advancement and fewer barriers to implement new PR programs. Read the rest of this entry »

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Public Relations practitioners are busy. We all know this and we all live this every day. With all the juggling that PR pros do it is easy for professional development to fall off of the radar. But to advance in your career you must have the personal drive to squeeze that luncheon on to the calendar, read industry blogs during breakfast and seek out the counsel of PR peers. Read the rest of this entry »

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In many fields including public relations, classroom knowledge can only take you so far. Internships are an important tool for getting the feel of the daily routine of a PR pro. But, a mentor is what separates a new professional in the fold.

I have reached a fork in the road of my career which takes me away from seeing my mentor on a daily basis. With that change I have been reflecting on the wealth of invaluable knowledge that I learned from my mentor. This knowledge is not just how to craft the perfect press release or pitch a reporter but how to conduct myself as a professional and the importance of being an eternal student of the trade. Read the rest of this entry »