Raise your hand if you are sick of hearing “it’s all about the relationship.” When it comes to producers, reporters and bloggers, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that it all comes down to relationships. Yet, as many times as it’s been said, it seems no one talks about how to create those relationships.

Whether you are just starting out in PR, or you’ve switched focuses, media relationships can prove to be a tricky thing. How do you establish a relationship? How do you maintain the relationship? Furthermore, how do you prove you are an actual person rather than just a flack robot?

With such hefty questions to tackle, I thought I would poll our PRBC family to get their advice and perspectives on everything having to do with relationships. Read the rest of this entry

In a recent post from blogger Complicated Mama, she talked about a few encounters she had at last week’s Toy Fair. In a surprising turn of events, she was confronted with rude company reps that wanted nothing to do with bloggers. What was even more interesting is that in addition to writing for her own blog, she was also writing for a toy industry trade publication. Oops!

I know from personal experience that trade shows, especially ones as large as Toy Fair, can be incredibly hectic and exhausting. Camera crews, journalists, reporters – there are hundreds of companies all vying for the attention of the media. PR reps go to great lengths to set up appointments beforehand, create attention-getting stunts and more. Read the rest of this entry

Dear Telephone,

Times have definitely changed. We used to talk with each other every day, seven hours a day, five days a week. During those moments, I couldn’t bear the sight of you.

Currently with the popularity of e-mails, Twitter, Facebook and text messages, it seems we rarely speak anymore.  Please don’t be sad. It’s because of all these other forms of communication that I’ve really grown to miss our relationship.

Remember the times we used to talk with journalists and reporters? Sure not all the conversations were glorious, but the point was it was a conversation – there was a hint of a personal connection. Read the rest of this entry

As you might have heard, Cision recently announced its new agreement with Sarah Evans, new media consultant and founder/moderator of the increasingly popular #journchat.

According to the press release “Cision will provide transcripts of every #journchat, the lively weekly Twitter chat for PR professionals, journalists and bloggers… It will work with her to produce white papers, webinars, conference and seminar discussions, and other thought leadership initiatives that explore the impact of online communications and new media.”

If you aren’t familiar with #journchat, every week on Twitter, the media and PR community come together via the hashtag #journchat, to openly discuss a number of topics and share ideas with each other. Read the rest of this entry

Editor’s Note: Two of the #PRBC, Sherri Haymond and Marie V-B, teamed up to live-blog the premiere of Bravo’s new PR reality show “Kell on Earth.”  Below you’ll find their impressions and responses to the show as it aired. Read the rest of this entry

Just the other day, a friend suggested I become a fan of a Denver Yoga Group on Facebook. First, the one and only time I tried yoga, I spent the whole time trying not to laugh as those around me meditated – yeah, relaxation isn’t really my thing. Secondly, I don’t live in Denver, so why would this group be relevant to me at all?

Every day it seems that someone is suggesting I become a fan of something or inviting me to an event on the opposite coast. Maybe they assume that because I’m their pal, I’ll do whatever they want. Then I’ll pop onto Twitter and witness people begging for more followers. From fans to followers, it appears there are those in social media land that are obsessed with the numbers game. Read the rest of this entry

Let’s get this out of the way first: I’ve had an unnatural obsession with Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins since the 7^th grade.  Sparing you (and me) all the potentially embarrassing details, let’s just say everyone who knows me, knows this little factoid.

As you can imagine, anytime there is a “news” item involving Billy Corgan, I hear from people I haven’t heard from in years. Recently, I’ve been flooded with e-mails, Facebook messages, tweets, IM’s – all asking if I’ve heard about the “news” and what do I think of the whole thing. Well duh, of course I have and here’s what I think. Read the rest of this entry

Each area of public relations, from crisis to consumer, fashion to technology, all have their own specific rules and methodologies. I kicked off my PR career in the music industry, and I continue to have a strong interest in this particular sector.  I left music in the midst of the exploding blogosphere – where music criticism was in question, magazines were folding one by one, and bloggers were becoming the new tastemakers.

I thought this would be the perfect time to take a look at what’s going on in the music PR world and see what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what the future holds. Read the rest of this entry

I was having a conversation with fellow PRBC-er Jess about our mutual Twitter dilemmas.

There doesn’t seem to be a week that goes by that I don’t hear “Hey Marie, you really should get a personal Twitter account.” But, why is that?

If you don’t know by now, I tweet from my work account. When tweeting on behalf of a company, you have to be mindful of what you are putting out there for public consumption. Read the rest of this entry

Those of us that work in social media typically spend a majority of our time reading, researching and analyzing blogs. This task might sound like loads of fun, and it is for the most part, but there has been one particular thing that has been irking me lately: blog domain address names.

In a recent article from Blogging Teacher, the author looked at what the top 100 blogs can teach us about domain names. Overall he found that a shorter name is better, .com is awesome, and sub-domains prove difficult to remember.

Your domain address has the ability to make or break your blog.   Read the rest of this entry