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Content creation in the form of curating content, your own and that of others, is the hot new trend  in the digital world. Notable platforms have emerged which cater specifically to this form – YouTube playlists, Tumblr blogs, and, of course, Pinterest.

Tuning the content you’ve created is a bit of a different beast than doing the same thing to content you’re curating.  When actually creating new content there’s a built in system to avoid creating too much irrelevant content (at least for good writers and self-editors).  You’ll know if you’ve done something before, and if so from what perspective and tone. Read the rest of this entry »

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“People forget we’re a new company. It’s one of those things where, OK, we’re still growing up as a company. Now that we figured that out, there’s no reason to think it’s going to happen again.”

So said a Groupon exec in response to a Financial Times reporter asking about accounting irregularities that have plagued the recently IPO’ed tech startup. 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 »

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Lightning © by veggiefrog

Lord Tim Bell, head of the U.K.-based PR firm Bell Pottinger, thinks so.

That’s what he told a crowd gathered in Dubai for the recent IPRA Public Relations World Congress and reiterated in an excellent interview with The Holmes Report.

Lord Bell is asked why he feels that public relations has become a “lightning rod for mistrust.” His response is intriguing inasmuch as it provides a nuanced view of a much broader issue afflicting the profession: its reputation within business and society.

Lord Bell sees “no solution to [the] issue,” of public relations’ reputation challenges, he tells The Holmes Report’s Arun Sudhaman, believing that “We [have] become the lightning rod for that mistrust. It is something we have to learn to live with. That makes us an easy target for the media.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Running an independent PR agency can be a rewarding, yet risky business, with a variety of personal and professional challenges, adequate to fill a lifetime of sleepless nights. These include:

• Constant, relentless price-cutting competition from multi-national agencies with deep pockets and a New Biz funnel that extends around the world;

• The need to be a trend-spotting, trendsetter, always paving the way at the cutting-edge of PR best practices;

• Learning and improving your business leadership skills, while trying to balance your business and personal life;  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 »

Is it me or is PR not actually evolving and instead completely disappearing? It’s safe to say that you can start calling all PR people “marketers.” Why? We’re all about marketing strategy now; we’re not just relating to publics but trying to learn how people tick, how they’ll be moved to purchase or pass along something – based on research and continuous analysis found in deep dives into social networks and by reading a vast amount of blog posts on the topic. The practice of PR has traditionally been built upon persuasion, but persuasion isn’t accurate. Read the rest of this entry »

If done strategically and creatively, targeting influencers can have great business value, but is more for creating short-term buzz than sustainable growth. Targeting influencers should be done in conjunction with connecting with your advocates.

Advocates are not necessarily buying your product or service. As Simon Sinek notes in Start With Why:

“Though products may drive sales, they alone cannot create loyalty. In fact, a company can create loyalty among people who aren’t even customers.”

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A peculiar thing happened to me last week. Something that caught me off guard and made me wonder if the majority of us truly understand the value that people place on following up. I attended a career fair on behalf of my employer to collect resumes and meet prospective job candidates who were seeking employment. At the end of the day I had in-depth conversations with about 35 potential candidates (some of whom were working and others who were currently unemployed) and handed my business card to each one noting that our company vigorously participated in social media and I was the point of contact for follow up. Following the conversations, every single one of the candidates firmly shook my hand, looked me in the eye and said they were very interested in working for my company. Nearly a week later, I have received follow up messages from exactly two of the candidates via email. Two. Read the rest of this entry »

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Do you know the history of your company? Aside from the date it was founded, do you know when the important milestones occurred? If you don’t, use the new Facebook for Timeline feature to find out!

You company has a rich history and your clients (fans in Facebook lingo) most likely don’t know about all those great things you did in the past. This is an opportunity to politely brag about your past accomplishments and reiterate to your customers that you are around for the long haul.  Read the rest of this entry »