Category Archives: Kelly Byrd

Defining The Roles of PR Professionals and Their Partners

After reading Jen Pedde’s post “What Buy kamagra cheapnity-manager-is-not”>a Community Manager is Not” – especially the comments – I started thinking about the grey areas between the roles of PR professionals and those under the departments and titles of

A Guide to Infographics

Infographics are gaining popularity and are being used more frequently as a complement to thoughtful content and to increase SEO.

Since infographics usually present complex information or data visualization quickly and clearly, they are popular with PR professionals and a great resource for journalists.

As some journalists are still new to utilizing infographics, talkTECH Communications (for which I consult) wanted to show how it really is as easy as 1, 2, 3… and so, of course, made an infographic: Continue reading

PR Does Not Stand for Press Release (and Other Misconceptions)

Speech Bubble © by Vectorportal

I recently had a discussion with a man who is building a business that is aiming to help PR professionals with their biggest workflow issues.

He was very kind, and was asking me informed questions regarding the common issues I have and have seen coworkers deal with, when he said,

“We want to help press release… I mean PR professionals…”

Before answering his question, I clarified,

“PR does not stand for press release, it stands for public relations.” Continue reading

The Power of Advocates

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.”  Continue reading

How Do You Stay Well Read

The Guardian recently published an article arguing that digital news offers a choice in reading topics/sources, but that print “…offers something extra: stories that people didn’t know they wanted to read until they had read them.”

Although the article brings up good points about the importance of diversifying one’s reading material(s), I beg to differ. Continue reading

Klout Konundrum

Since the launch of their products-to-influencers Perks program over a year ago, Klout has done 100+ deals with brands, but, as Ad Age Digital reported yesterday, “…such tactics are subject to [Federal Trade Commission (FTC)] disclosure regulations and the program could potentially have legal implications.”

The catch – The FTC’s 2009 revision regarding testimonials and endorsements in advertising: people posting about such products must disclose that they received them as incentives. Continue reading

If You Build it, Keep it Up

Monday, will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas wrote a blog post for AdAge entitled “What Does ‘Communiting’ Mean???” In the post, he challenges marketers to make conversations, not ads. I couldn’t agree more.

As he notes, and all PR pros know, we have been and are in the midst of a major shift in the way businesses communicate with their target audiences, and vice versa.

He analogizes the similarities to the 1600s race to discover the new world, placing the major US-founded global technology companies in the roles of world-conquering European countries; “the ocean is the internet and computers and software are the ships…” Continue reading

Reminder: The Importance of Research

We’ve all been told since our first day in PR to make sure to do your research before pitching.

But how often is it overlooked for the sake of getting a pitch out before [insert deadline from supervisor]?

Case in point: The Bloggess vs. Brandlink Communications.

Jenny Lawson, aka “The Bloggess” posted about her receipt of an irrelevant pitch more than once, and replied with her standard response for pitches sent from people who clearly did not do their research. Continue reading