Tag Archives: relationships

Dash THIRTY Dash

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Newspaper fire orange © by NS Newsflash

In New Orleans there is always news. From football to festivals, from Mardi Gras to music and from cuisine to crime the city is always buzzing. But things are not so easy in the Big Easy for PR pros.

There is a shift happening in the media landscape. The major daily newspaper is no longer going to be daily in just 30 days. The Times Picayune has been bringing the news to New Orleanians for over 175 years. The owners of the newspaper, have decided to cut down the distribution just three days a week and focus on digital.

In a city that is based on traditions and a rich history, change is not always embraced or accepted. There are yard signs throughout the city in front of homes and businesses demanding daily distribution. Many city leaders and notables have written open letters to the owners demanding they sell or reinstate distribution. Continue reading

5 Essential Characteristics of a Successful PR Pro

In order to be successful in the modern world of PR, there are certain essential characteristics that one must possess to fight adversity, capitalize on opportunities, maintain a positive image, encourage word of mouth, and build strategy. When initially coming up with the idea for this post, I jotted down 17 must have characteristics. Here are my top 5: Continue reading

Why Journalists Need PR People

In these days of shrinking newsrooms, there is an increasing overlap between the worlds of PR and journalism. And old PR joke is reporters always hate PR professionals, until they need a job.

I have noticed that as journalism jobs are eroding, many reporters are turning to PR and public affairs positions with mixed results. There are so many unemployed PR practioners on the market, that there is fierce competition for these jobs. PR agencies are now looking for applicants who can do more than write well. They also have to be able to pitch, take pictures, do social media, and shoot and edit video. The video after the jump sums up my thoughts. Continue reading

Breaking Up is Hard to Do…

It happens in every job, usually in January and June, sometimes at random times throughout the year, but it always happens. I mentioned in my last post that it’s hard not to develop a friendship with coworkers and sometimes it’s better that way because all good things come to an end. You know what I’m talking about, the departing of a coworker at your company.

Whether it’s your partner in crime, your mentor, or someone you absolutely hated and wanted to push them out the door, there is now a void in the atmosphere every day. That last two weeks with them can be an emotional time, especially if you have worked with someone for more than a year or they were your neighbor. Do you talk about it? Do you take offense to it? How is one supposed to cope with this? Continue reading

You’re Only as Good as Your Clip Book…

Full 3-Ring BinderTrue or False?

Over the past few weeks I’ve been discussing this statement with a bunch of people in the industry. From entry level to senior level. A lot of people in the PR industry have differing views about it. I’m not exactly positive of which way I lean, as I’m relatively new in PR…but I sure do have a hell of a clip book – not the point of the post, but had to throw that in there…

What is the perfect clip book? Bulk? Features? Mentions? A clip book is a great representation of a person’s skills (or luck in some cases) as a publicist. Someone I spoke with mentioned that a good balance and variety is really the best kind of clip book there is. It shows that someone can handle almost anything and be able to know how to pitch a feature, a commentary, placement, etc. Some people I spoke with even judge people entirely on their clip book. Obviously quality is way better than quantity, but is a clip book really that important? Continue reading

Is Your Media List for Sale?

Hands writing grocery listNothing irks me quite like receiving SPAM touting the fact that the e-mail sender has media lists for sale. Now, I’m not talking about companies like CISION and Vocus, which are tried and true media databases. What I’m referring to are these “companies” that are selling already-formulated media lists. Let’s see, you can buy a family/parenting list – or, how about a technology list?

Let me just say this: You can buy a media list but the relationships aren’t for sale.

Supposedly, these media lists are for people that can’t afford a publicist. I understand a publicist can be pricey, but you are paying for more than their media lists. You are paying for their knowledge, guidance, relationships, creativity, strategic planning – things that a pre-made media list lacks. Just because you purchase a media list, doesn’t mean that you’ll magically get publicity from it. Continue reading

Go Where Nobody Knows Your Name

Two handsHow many conferences/seminars have you been to this year?  How many more do you plan on attending?  How many of those seminars/conferences are for PR professionals?

If you need two hands to count I suggest you stop.  A wise PR professional once said (during one of those redundant PR conferences) to stop going where the PR people are and head to the trenches.  Go where the journalist are and get to know them.  Last month I had the opportunity to attend the 2nd Annual Travel Blog Exchange, a two day “conference” of travel bloggers/writers looking to learn from each other and share their experiences.  Overall it was the perfect chance to meet some of the people I’ve gotten to know via Twitter, just like every other conference, but more importantly it also gave me an inside look into the life of a travel writer.  In case you’re unaware, this is important to me as I recently started my career as a travel publicist. 🙂 Continue reading

Where Do You Sustain Relationships

Two businessmen in a meetingSome people thrive on face-to-face interaction. Grabbing coffee, lunch, drinks with anybody and everybody. Others prefer to email and text. Many congregate on Facebook and Twitter. There’s no question that there are plenty of people embracing each of these mediums to establish relationships. But where do you build your relationships? Transition from acquaintances to strategic partners or friends?

I recently read The 5 Keys to Building Relationships on the Web, which indicated that entertaining, exciting and engaging with people was key to building web-based relationships.  My immediate response was that these rules were equally relevant to IRL interactions. If we are using the same tactics for creating relationships – informing, entertaining, building trust – whether it is through web-based communications or real life interactions, does it matter where you start the relationship? Does its point of origin directly correlate with the relationships value and longevity? Continue reading

Tradeshow Aftermath: What Not to Do

Businesswoman standing with arms crossedHaving spent last Thursday at a Business Expo, it has become evident that the days of building personal relationships have come to pass.  It seems as though people have become so intently focused on generating business transactions, that they have overlooked the importance of building and sustaining individual relationships.  The importance of the ‘Hi X,’ the ‘I enjoyed meeting you at the breakfast/luncheon/booth/event.’  While it may seem inconsequential, something as simple as a personalized salutation can mean the difference between ending up in the junk mail folder and converting a prospect into both a client and lead agent. Continue reading

Twitter: Creating Social Media Clones

Genetic cloning montageFinally, the ability to be two places at once! For a while, Hootsuite users have loved the ability to schedule tweets and now the new Tweetdeck is taking it one step further by including scheduled tweets and Foursquare check-ins. Correct me if I’m wrong, but how can we check-in via Foursquare if we’re not physically there? How do we engage conversation without being around to respond? Tweetdeck has given us the opportunity to have a social media clone ensuring our presence is still in our community without physically doing the work.

Last week during the #u30pro chat, hosted by Lauren Fernandez, David Spinks, and Scott Hale, the group discussed pros/cons to scheduled tweets and many users chimed in. Here are some reasons members dislike the feature: Continue reading