If you are a longtime reader of PR Breakfast Club, you might remember our popular Dear Flack column.

After a brief hiatus, we’ve decided to resurrect our advice column so we can answer all of your pressing questions about the public relations and social media world.  From co-worker crises to career changes, we cover it all.

In the past we’ve tackled topics such as PR dry spells, fashion choices, and how to develop leadership skills.

If there’s something you’ve always wondered about, or wanted to ask, e-mail dearflack@gmail.com. Advice is based on both personal experience and input from members of the PR Breakfast Club, as well as our extensive network of expert sources.

Please note: We take privacy very seriously and all names, companies, and locations will remain confidential.

So send us your questions, and let Dear Flack take care of the rest.

A few weeks back, I sent out an innocent tweet about a new poll that showed PR pros preferred using Facebook over Twitter. Fellow PRBC-er, Jeff Esposito, read me the riot act about how he was sick of PR people taking ourselves so seriously.

Here I will quote Mr. Esposito: “I am sick of the self-promotional BS spewed lately. Last I checked our job’s function was to make co’s look good.” I tried to rack my brain about what my link had to do with this topic. After a bit of back and forth, we discovered Jeff mixed up my tweet with someone else’s and now he owes me a drink.

Yet, in the confusion, he did make a point. Do PR pros have a tendency to throw a pity party for ourselves? Recently, CNBC called Public Relations the #2 most stressful job in America (obviously, they did not fact check the salary portion). When I heard this news, I was ready to pop open a bottle of tequila and wallow about how bad I have it, how difficult my job is, and so on.

Popping my own PR bubble, does our job REALLY rank at the top of the list? Yes, with the introduction of social media, PR is more a 24/7 job than ever before. I also agree sometimes we’re at the beck and call of our clients. But when comparing public relations to other jobs, I would think a surgeon or even a police officer could be more frazzled than us.

As PR professionals, we like to wax poetic about the industry; the hardships of the profession, the challenges we face on a daily basis. It can almost become second nature to complain. So before your write the next “woe is me” post, take a few steps back and ask yourself: “Do we really have it that bad?”

Did I lure you in with my snazzy headline? Yes? Okay great. Now I’m going to spend the first few sentences using buzz words so that you will keep reading my social media post. Then after you’ve gotten through the first couple of paragraphs, I’m going to provide you with these awesome bullet points packed with information that you already knew.  Lastly, I will summarize the topic which pretty much has nothing to do with my headline that I created for SEO purposes.

Does this situation sound familiar? Every day my inbox and RSS feeds pile up with articles about social media. The articles seem to always be about the same topic but recycled, rehashed, rewritten – they are offering me nothing of value. If you are like me, you’ve probably about had it.

Therefore, I’m calling a ban on any blog posts written about the following social media topics:

• Facebook Fan Pages – Holy crikeys! Look, unless Facebook changes the fan pages once again, there is no need for any more posts about how to manage a fan page, what you should have on the page, things you should be doing on the page, how to engage fans. There is enough fodder out there already. When (because we know it will happen) the pages are changed again, you will now only have two days to write up a blog post about the topic showcasing your brilliant knowledge of Facebook.
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Twitter: This is like a never-ending playground fight; I’m calling recess here folks. Let’s just agree to disagree that we are all going to have different Twitter best practices, okay? I pretty much guarantee that this topic has already been covered 350,000 times so let’s just look at what’s already been written before drafting up another one of these puppies.
• Bloggers are influential: Seriously, can we study something else? I get it that bloggers is a hot topic (I write about it often) but do we need really any more studies that proves bloggers are influential?
• How businesses need to be on social media: I could write a post about how my son’s day care refuses to get a web site and what a stupid decision that is, but honestly I can just look up one of a bazillion posts on the topic, print it out and give it to the director. We get it folks! Social media rocks, businesses should be there. Point made.
• How to market your blog:  Gah! How about instead of spending all of this energy recycling the same ideas over and over again about what bloggers can do to market their own blogs; focus on the blog content. Trust me folks, amazing blog content wins every time.

Now if your fingers are itching to type up a blog post about one of these aforementioned topics, then at least consider the following:

• Add a unique twist.  No, seriously, you better put a truly different spin on the topic.
• Use case studies. Case studies rarely get old because us social media folk enjoy reading about what other companies have done and/or are doing in the space.
• Headline appropriately. If you title a post “How to measure tweets” and just talk about how important Twitter is without ever telling me how to measure it, you will make my inbox very, very angry.
• Poll your audience. If you are totally stumped on what to write about, ask your audience. They might have a burning question they need answered and therefore you know your post is relevant to their needs.

Okay, it’s your turn. What social media articles are you tired of reading?

• 24 May 2012 : Value of a Facebook Fan – Still Worth Considering?
• 23 May 2012 : Why Viggle Will Change Television
• 22 May 2012 : 10 Ingredients to Make Your Event Execution Easy
• 21 May 2012 : Stop Being Idiots -or- NATO and Perspective
• 18 May 2012 : Facebook Research: Brand-Related Posts Drive Most Engagement

I’ve wanted to tackle the subject of social media and profanity for a bit now, especially when I read this post about the persuasive power of swearing. When you are communicating in an open platform such as Twitter and you are a representative of your company, when is it okay to swear…or is it ever?

As the post and a book that I will be reviewing next week (hint) both demonstrate is that there are indeed positives to using expletives from time to time.  For example, light swearing can show your passion for a particular subject and draws in your audience to pay attention. You might also find yourself in an argument and have to use stronger wording to express your point of view.

In person, I’m unfazed by people that swear up a storm.  However, when I see someone send out a tweet using a naughty word, my eyebrow raises a little. Not because I’m offended but I wonder if that person just turned off his/her audience. It seems that the more we tweet and update our Facebook statuses and develop deeper personal connections, the result is that we have the tendency to act more casual.

What sometimes gets lost is the fact we forget we are also representing our companies, brands, and businesses on these platforms. So although swearing might not anger your friends, it could annoy your broader audience.

Awhile back there was brouhaha over a webinar invite that went out entitled “WTF Tumblr.” Many PR pros were up in arms over the use of “WTF” and barked that it was completely unprofessional. Yet, others thought the name was eye-catching and a smart title. Even though “WTF” are only initials for a profane expression, it still turned quite a few people off.

So before you drop the F-bomb, here are a couple of things to ask yourself:

• Who is my audience?

• Is there another word that can demonstrate my point of view without risking backlash?

• Does the situation warrant the use of profanity?

• Is it worth the risk?

Readers, what do you think about the topic of social media and profanity?  Chime in below.

Famous actor is seeking a new publicist who must be able to bring it. The right individual will have tiger blood and Adonis DNA, and also ready to win at every moment.

Daily responsibilities include and are not limited to: corresponding with actor’s goddesses, managing actor’s Twitter and Facebook feeds, reciting Eminem’s poetry and drafting press releases.

Self-described as a “winning client” and “goddamn bitchin’” this experienced PR pro should be well-versed in crack cocaine, bad comedy sitcoms, late night drinking binges, hatred towards AA and comfortable working with a warlock.

This high-profile position will require you to work with a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a seven-year-old. There will be some travel required such as rocket trips to the moon.

This highly desirable opportunity will be unpaid to start as the famous actor is currently underpaid. All applicants should have a success rate of 100 percent and be able to make a long-term commitment as this actor is still alive which is “pretty cool.” Vatican assassins need not apply.

Since actor does not have an attention span for resumes, please include your brief cover letter below to be considered for this prestigious position.

Oh yes, it’s that time of year where thousands of contestants try out to be the next American Idol. There are some great singers, some really awful ones, and then there are those that are a little ‘pitchy.’

I’ve been getting a lot more pitches lately that are starting to remind me of Idol contestants. They aren’t necessarily terrible but they aren’t that great either.

Do you want to wow the judges (the media) with your next pitch audition and get that golden ticket to Hollywood? Think of me as a sort of Marie Seacrest but taller; grab a Coke glass and sit back as we break it down for you.

The “Tease”: You’ve seen the judges when a hottie walks in with a ton of star potential and then the person starts to sing. The judges give each other that look that says “Man, we wish this singer was a little bit better than he/she actually is.” The pitch can work the same way. For example, I was sent a pretty interesting pitch and the publicist offered to send me a press release if I was interested. So now I have to respond to say that I am interested, wait for the publicist to send me the release (which in my experience takes a day or two) to see if it’s even something I want to cover. Why not just include the release at the bottom of the e-mail or send me a link to a press release online? Don’t tease the media; give them the tools they need to make a decision.

The “Over-the-top”: Like some contestants that don’t understand that there can be too much of a good thing, there are some pitches that suffer the same demise. This can be the type of pitch that when you look at it you start to get dizzy because there is just too much information. Part of you knows that there is definitely a good story in there somewhere but it’s been buried under useless facts and pontifications. Don’t confuse the media with TMI, get to the point, capture their interest then supply them with all the factoids when it’s time.

The “Uh, I forgot the lyrics”: Usually the kiss of death on Idol is when a singer forgets the words to the song. If you are going to pitch someone, call them the right name and use correct spelling – at least! Recently, I received a pitch that said “Dear Mom.” Now as far as I know my 7-month old has not yet mastered the art of typing. This is by no means is unusual because I hear about bloggers complaining about this all of the time. Look, I don’t care if you e-mail blast me; I have more important things to get all riled up about. Granted, I’ll pay more attention to a very personalized pitch but that’s beside the point. Do not use generic intros like “Dear Sir/Madam” (yes, I got this one too), use real names. If you don’t have the real name, find it or e-mail the writer first and introduce yourself. Please, please, please, I also beg you, spell correctly.

The “Not quite ready for this competition”: Yes, these are the singers that show a great amount of potential but they aren’t quite there yet. They need more practice, more showmanship, etc.  Pitches can work the same way. Practice, practice, practice. Read the pitch out loud to see if it flows, makes sense, or needs some tweaking. If your gut is telling you the story isn’t quite strong enough; try doing more research.  Latch on to a trend, dig deeper, make it better. That way when you are up to bat again; you have a stronger shot at making it through.

The “Wait, can I try a different song?”: There are times when a singer should  just not quit his day job.  You know the one that keeps belting out different songs hoping the judges will change their minds, and instead gets escorted off by bodyguards? Publicists can fall victim to this as well. If you get a firm “no,” avoid harassing the reporter. Wait until you have something new or a different angle, and then feel free to go back to the person.

• 24 May 2012 : Value of a Facebook Fan – Still Worth Considering?
• 23 May 2012 : Why Viggle Will Change Television
• 22 May 2012 : 10 Ingredients to Make Your Event Execution Easy
• 21 May 2012 : Stop Being Idiots -or- NATO and Perspective
• 18 May 2012 : Facebook Research: Brand-Related Posts Drive Most Engagement

With Rupert Murdoch’s much ballyhooed iPad-only daily newspaper, The Daily, now up and running, it’s time to consider its potential impact on the PR industry. Below is a series of thoughts and insights from various PRBC bloggers that we curated via e-mail conversations Wednesday.

Keith Trivitt: The Daily is like any other new publication that comes out: It’s incredibly exciting to see the new product, particularly the flow of news, who’s writing what, the columnists, etc. I’m a news junkie, so I love finding new publications.

As for the PR value of The Daily … eh, only time will tell. That’s waffling, I know, but we have to keep in mind that right now, it’s only available on the iPad (though reports have it soon branching out to other tablets and e-readers eventually), it’s not searchable on Google and the iPad still hasn’t reached a critical mass. Despite 15 million iPads sold thus far globally, that’s still nowhere near the mass distribution reach that, say, a new online-only newspaper could hope to reach.

The Daily won’t be a boon for PR until its distribution is broadened to more platforms and Google eventually starts indexing content from tablets and eReaders. Until then, it’s an exciting time for media because it means our overall business is starting to come out of the recession (though one could argue that at a $30 million initial investment, Rupert Murdoch would fund the space station if it meant beating his rival, The New York Times). I’m excited about the product, but not yet sold on its opportunities for PR pros.

PRCog: Another outlet to pitch (particularly one backed by Murdoch’s dollars) is always a good thing.  Then again, with a max reach of 15 million and news readership in the U.S. generally being pretty lousy, how many are going to spring for and bother reading it? Only time will tell.

Further, how many of us really need to pitch a national outlet. The great majority of businesses are small businesses, with a local focus (Keith: Great point. SMBs make up something like 97% of all American businesses …). Time for dollars comparison, and if I were a client, I’d rather have my PR agency hitting my audience, which is probably not the jet-setting, iPad-sporting, crowd.

Marie V–B: Magazines are also jumping on the iPad bandwagon. Parenting Magazine now has its iPad exclusive content with “Seasons,” which also features a different editorial staff. While I’m always excited about new PR opportunities for clients, I’m definitely keeping a close eye on how successful these launches really are. Right now in my household, the iPad, aka the other woman in my marriage, is being used more for “Angry Birds,” rather than an e-reader.

Keith: Tonya Garcia at PRNewser brought up an interesting question yesterday in her post about The Daily. She asked whether there might be opportunities for PR pros to “pitch multimedia content in addition to text stories and images.” That would be a novel idea. For the longest time, we’ve basically had text, images, video content and other semi-multimedia. But a truly multimedia product as part of a pitch could help bridge the gap between traditional media relations and the so-called social media press release that continues to languish.

So there are the thoughts of some of the PRBC bloggers and editors about the potential opportunities of The Daily for the PR business. What do you think? The comments are yours.

• 24 May 2012 : Value of a Facebook Fan – Still Worth Considering?
• 23 May 2012 : Why Viggle Will Change Television
• 22 May 2012 : 10 Ingredients to Make Your Event Execution Easy
• 21 May 2012 : Stop Being Idiots -or- NATO and Perspective
• 18 May 2012 : Facebook Research: Brand-Related Posts Drive Most Engagement

For those of you that are enduring what seems to be the never-ending onslaught of snow, then you are probably becoming increasingly familiar with the “snow day.”

Perhaps you live in the suburbs and all forms of public transportation have been shut down – or, maybe schools are closed and you have no childcare back up – whatever the case may be, you find yourself in quite the snowy predicament.

Yet, even when Mother Nature comes screaming, we still need to work. What does this mean? It’s means working from home.

As some of us here at PRBC find ourselves snowed in and forced to work from home, we thought we would put all of our heads together and share our best tips for getting the job done…even on a snow day.

Prepare ahead of time.  If you’ve tuned in to check out the latest weather forecast and you see nothing but snowy days ahead, chances are you are probably in for it. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you are prepared. Bring work home that needs to get done and make sure you have remote access to your work computer and e-mail.

Get dressed.  Wake up like it’s any average workday.  Shower, get dressed, put on make up, make coffee, etc.  This will help you get in the mind set, instead of wanting to crawl back into your pajamas and nap on your lunch break.

Find a quiet place. Turn off the TV and find a comfortable place that you can get some work done. If other people are home that have a non-working snow day, don’t let them distract you.  If you and your spouse both have to work from home with a child, take turns and help each other out so that both parties have the opportunity to get tasks accomplished.

Check in with coworkers.  If there are people on your team that made it into the office that day, make sure you check in with them. Let them know you are around and what you are working on. Try to co-work with anyone else in your hood who may also be stuck, makes it a bit more pleasant without being burdensome.

Don’t forget the phone. Setup a Google voice account that forwards to your home/cell phone, so if you need to receive phone calls you don’t have to give out your real number.

Take lunch. You’re still allowed to go to the bathroom, get and eat lunch and not have your boss pester you.  If everything’s closed because of the weather (e.g. daycare), tell your boss that you may be away from your keyboard occasionally because of that.

Clock off. Just because you may not have a commute, work ends when it ends. You don’t have to keep working until the point you would normally be home.

If you have any work-from-home snow day tips, please share them below.

I’m first and foremost a publicist, but as you know these days, we need to know a lot of stuff. I spend most of my energy focusing on trends in public relations and social media, and I understand the basic gist of mobile marketing, but it’s definitely an area I’m a bit fuzzy on.

Why do I need to know about mobile marketing? Well, when you are strategizing and creating campaigns for your clients, you need to think about the “big picture.” I’m not a developer by any means; however I do need to understand the basic concepts about what would work for my clients.

Last week I attended a fantastic panel “What’s Hot in PR: Brand in the Hand — How Location-Based Marketing is Shaping the Future,” sponsored by AWNY. The panel included the likes of Jack Bamberger (Apps Savvy), David Berkowitz (360i), John Puterbaugh (Nellymoser), Jared Hopfer (Mobext) and Barri Rafferty (Ketchum).

Brands are experimenting in the mobile marketing space more than ever before. From Foursquare to Scvngr to QR codes, it is an ever-evolving space – and an exciting one at that.

Here are a few takeaways from the panel for those of us that are not necessarily entrenched in this world:

Start with a strategy.  The concept might seem basic but a lot of brands are tempted to “jump in” without one. Technology can be tempting but strategy and purpose matter in this space. However, if you don’t have a strategy, then how will you achieve your goals? As John Puterbaugh stated during the panel, your goal can be as simple as being cool or being one of the first companies to do something, but have a strategy first so that you can get real, measurable goals.

2010 was about being there; 2011 is about ENGAGEMENT. Social can be the core of your consumer experience, but you need to start by figuring out what value are you providing the consumer. When Foursquare first started, the novelty was all about folks checking in to say “hey, I’m here.” Now one of the challenges facing brands today is: How do you keep consumers engaged with your brand via these mobile platforms? From developing incentives like coupons or freebies, companies are looking to not only drive sales but encourage retention. Companies can also use mobile marketing to do some good. For example, a store can make a donation to a charity for every check-in.

Drive awareness without owning the location. Even though location is the core of mobile marketing; it’s not everything.  There are brands that are using this space to primarily drive awareness without sending a customer into a store to purchase a specific product. For example, Bravo used the FoodSpotting app and partnered with local locations to drum up excitement for the launch of Just Desserts by getting users involved in a free cupcake day.

QR codes and the mobile marketing marriage.  While I still have mixed feelings about QR codes, there are some interesting ways they are being put into use – or could be put into use.  Whether you scan a QR code on a catalog and get a direct line to the customer service department, or use the QR code at a retailer and automatically see reviews and price comparisons, the possibilities are astounding. With the use of QR codes there can be a way direct mail and magazines can work together with location-based marketing.

Measurement. Yes, yes, it always comes down to measurement. Mobile marketing offers some great opportunities for research. From CRM data to shopping behavior, the more brands are entrenched in this space and the more people that utilize these technologies, there will become a huge opportunity to study the behaviors and lifestyles of consumers.

I want to thank the great panelists for shedding light on this area, and making me look at my new Android phone a little bit differently.

• 24 May 2012 : Value of a Facebook Fan – Still Worth Considering?
• 23 May 2012 : Why Viggle Will Change Television
• 22 May 2012 : 10 Ingredients to Make Your Event Execution Easy
• 21 May 2012 : Stop Being Idiots -or- NATO and Perspective
• 18 May 2012 : Facebook Research: Brand-Related Posts Drive Most Engagement

Editor’s Note: Some of you may have seen a different headline earlier today and in our daily mailing.  We’re terribly sorry about that.  We found out that there was a book in development with the same name as our headline and didn’t want there to be any confusion so changed our headline as soon as possible.  The content of the post remains the same however. (1/26/11 10:03 am Eastern).

Can you hear that sound? It’s the sound of a blogger revolution ya’ll! That’s right the blogging world is changing and I predict that this year we will see some things really come to surface. From money to marketing, bloggers are savvier than ever before and we all need to get with the program.

I spend quite a bit of time reading tweets, blog posts, etc. which are all about the blogger/public relations dynamic. After covering this territory for years, here’s what I think will go down in 20-11:

Blogger Bombardment – Stealing from my own comment that I left on our very own Danny Brown’s blog, he suggested I coin the phrase “blogger bombardment.” So, consider it coined. The truth of the matter is that now traditional media is downsizing at a rapid rate, and PR pros are scrambling looking for new places to get their clients visibility. That’s their job. The result: blogger bombardment. Bloggers are getting just slammed, and sometimes too much of something is not always a good thing.

Goodbye Reviews, Hello Viewpoints - It takes a good hour plus to write an excellent product review. That is a heck of a lot of time. What I’m noticing is that a lot of bloggers are scaling back on “reviews” and focusing more on unique content that dives into trends, their personal lives, issues and so forth. Does this mean product reviews will disappear? Not by any means. However I do see bloggers becoming choosier about what they review vs. what they won’t review.

All about the “niche” – An overriding theme that I’m sensing in the blogging community is all about discovering your niche. Is it regional blogging? Is it politics? Is it parenting?  More and more bloggers are going to try and define their slots in the blogger universe.

Show Me the Money – This topic has been beaten to death with a very large stick, so I’ll spare you all of the long-winded details. Essentially, there are some bloggers that want to get paid, there are some that don’t. The definition of “payment” varies so it will be up to the blogger and the marketer/publicist to define that term. However, you will see more bloggers asking “I know what’s in it for you. What’s in it for me?”

Less is More - I think companies are going to slowly move toward blogger outreach with the “less is more” approach. This means that companies will focus on working with just a select number of bloggers rather than trying to strive for the masses.

Content Provider – What do bloggers do best? Provide content. I predict that you will see more and more bloggers providing content for company’s web sites and communities; not just for their own sites. Oh, and they will more than likely get paid for it too.

Blogger Marketer and Marketer Blogger – Yes, I’ve blogged about this topic before and every day I see more and more bloggers defining themselves as “marketers.” They are creating businesses and promoting themselves as a voice-for-hire. Whether it’s Twitter parties or brand ambassadorships, they are dipping their hands in the marketing pot. And vice versa. I think you will see an upswing of publicists and marketers taking a stab at becoming bloggers. As I always say the quickest way to understand a blogger is to become one.

Downsizing of Blogger Sponsorships – Last year I got the feeling that bloggers struggled with finding “sponsorships” for conferences and events. Sure there were those that had no problem securing payment to attend these happenings in exchange for promotional support. However, brands will start scaling back on these types of opportunities because they are having a hard time getting an answer to: What’s in it for them? Instead I see companies sponsoring the actual conferences rather than individual bloggers.

Do you have any other predictions for the Blogger Revolution of 2011?

• 24 May 2012 : Value of a Facebook Fan – Still Worth Considering?
• 23 May 2012 : Why Viggle Will Change Television
• 22 May 2012 : 10 Ingredients to Make Your Event Execution Easy
• 21 May 2012 : Stop Being Idiots -or- NATO and Perspective
• 18 May 2012 : Facebook Research: Brand-Related Posts Drive Most Engagement