A word of advice: I am not a lawyer. Nor am I a registered financial adviser. This is my opinion only and should be treated as such. For guidance, consult your legal counsel.
If you are in PR, IR, corporate communications or social media, chances are you’ll run into fun rules such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Regulation FD and FINRA guidelines. One of these things these rules have in common is that they are behind the times.
But the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has taken a pretty large step in modernizing the rules that financial services companies must follow while engaging in social media and PR. You can download the FINRA social media guidelines as a PDF. Continue reading →
As a small business owner, I see customer service from a whole new perspective. When I opened my business banking account, I received exceptional customer service – far better than I had ever received before. Now, it could be this particular bank’s branch, but the cynic in me thinks reps cater more to the business owners than the individual with a regular account.
Businesses tend to prioritize their customers. It’s not unreasonable to think bigger customers get better service, right? But, by providing less-than-stellar service to a smaller customer, are you assuming that that account will always be “small potatoes?” Continue reading →
People made fun of me for weeks, months actually. I was like the kid that never got those sneakers with the lights in them when I was in first grade. I’ve dealt with a lot of laughs and the brunt of jokes, but I finally did it. I said goodbye to the 2005 flip phone, and finally got a smartphone!
A bit overwhelmed, and a bit scared at first, I opened up the box to the Droid and got a little bit weak in the knees, started to drool, and then realized I had a lot of work to do and couldn’t touch it till that evening. After figuring it out how to turn it on, it was an amazing experience. Continue reading →
January 13, 2010, Twitter users alerted their communities about an explosion at Grand Central Terminal. Grand Central Terminal was allegedly evacuated and shut down by SWAT teams. Subway lines, specifically, the 4,5, and 6 were completely bypassing those specific stops or shut down as well. I work in Manhattan and in relatively close proximity to the station. I have co-workers commuting daily through that station, and many others that use the 4,5,6 line to go home. This is what happened after digesting the “warning”: Continue reading →
By now we, as PR professionals, understand the dangers of social media when it comes to speaking your mind in the blogosphere, Twitterverse, or any other strange word that someone has coined to describe an online space. We know that talking smack about your boss on Facebook can get you fired and that it might be a wise idea to make your profile private if you plan on posting a lot of pictures of you drinking yourself into oblivion. Armed with this knowledge, an overwhelming amount of professionals are finding SOME way to make their mark in the social media world, even if it’s just so that something positive shows up when their name is Googled. Continue reading →
Lately there has been much more of a focus on public relations measurement, which I think is a great step for the industry. My concern with suddenly embracing measurement is that it’s a bit like Othello – takes a minute to learn the basics, but a lifetime to master.
Measurement is tough, and measuring PR requires a great deal of thought. There are many, many factors to consider when deciding what metrics to use and what exactly it is that you want to measure. Sometimes when folks rush into measurement, they only focus on metrics or media sources that they think are going to yield the best results. Why? Because it’s easy to get budget for a measurement project that is going to give you a pat on the back. Continue reading →
I’ve written before about my belief that the near constant bashing of media relations has to stop, and how yes, despite how much I love social media and how much I believe in the true good of what it is doing in the PR and marketing business, there still is a time, place and relevancy to traditional PR tactics, such as developing strong relationships. Today, I’m going to give kudos to another one those of traditional tactics that the “gurus” love to bash, but if done right, can still have a major impact in our business: the e-mail pitch. Continue reading →
To sum up this piece by Gemma O’Reilly, a number of PR professionals have endorsed a campaign to end the spamming of journalists. My first thought? Kiss-ups. If you really want to do your part in not spamming journalists, don’t do it yourself or put outrageous demands on your lower-level staff to land an unattainable number of media placements (note: this is not me accusing any of those PR people backing this initiative. I have no idea how they individually operate themselves, their businesses or their staff. Rather this is a call to all PR pros.) Continue reading →
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. Continue reading →
As a sports fan, you always want to see your team make it to the championship. Just getting to the game is good for community morale as well as local businesses. For fans of the New Orleans Saints, some of this goodwill and joy has lost its luster as the NFL and some members of Louisiana are locked in an ugly PR battle over two words – Who Dat. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the phrase, it has been the rallying cry of the Saints and their fans. It was also prominently displayed in the Super Dome following their NFC championship win.
Yes, there are other two-word phrases that are much worse, so why the focus on these two? One word answer – trademark – read merchandising. Continue reading →
A word of advice: I am not a lawyer. Nor am I a registered financial adviser. This is my opinion only and should be treated as such. For guidance, consult your legal counsel.
