Posts Tagged ‘ communications ’

You know you’re a PR professional when…

Are you constantly finding typos in magazines and newspapers without even seeking them? Have you ever created a mental media training report card for celebrities or politicians to judge how well they spoke in an interview? Do you triple proof every email you send out…and then proof it one more time before sending it? If you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions….you might be a public relations professional.

Last week, PRDaily.com published a story by PR practitioner Lauren Fernandez in which she listed 11 signs that indicate someone works in public relations. Check out the list below.

1. Your day starts and ends with a cup of coffee.

2. You can power-walk in 5-inch heels with your laptop bag while checking your BlackBerry.

3. Inside jokes with your colleagues will get you through the day—especially the insanely stressful ones.

4. You constantly engage in “PR is dead” and “the press release doesn’t have a place in business” arguments.

5. You are so used to putting the client first that you usually forget to eat lunch.

6. It’s detrimental to your health and workday when you forget your headphones.

7. You can toggle among a PowerPoint presentation, a press release, Twitter strategy, and PSA outlines—all in an hour.

8. You recite billing codes in your sleep.

9. You preface Happy Hour with: “Sorry, I need to keep my phone on the table. I have to be connected to email and phone just in case.”

10. You know more about AP style than Microsoft Office. Because of this, you’re a regular in the IT department.

11. You proudly put “PR pro” in your Twitter bio, knowing it’s the one place you don’t have to explain your job.

Well, does the shoe fit? If you are like me and answered “yes,” you’ll probably get a kick out this extended list created by PRDaily viewers who read last week’s blog. Feel free to add to it by leaving a comment below!

42 more signs you work in PR

2011
04/28
CATEGORY
communications
Marketing
PR 101
public relations
Social Media
TAGS







1 comment

Spin doctor? No. Just call me “a revolving physician.”

Spin doctor, spin doctor, spin doctor!! Is your blood boiling yet? Are your ears bleeding? If you are like me, hearing these two words together to describe people in my profession (public relations) is like listening to nails screeching down a chalk board.

In 2008, I was honored to have the opportunity to attend the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) International Conference in Detroit, Michigan. One of the keynote speakers repeatedly referring to what we did as “spin.” She was, and is, a well-known speaker and entrepreneur. For that reason, she shall remain nameless.  Attendees were so offended that the current PRSA president interrupted the speaker in the middle of her speech and politely asked that she not refer to our work as “spin.” The crowd, of course, went wild.

Spin. It’s the four letter word of our industry. PR people have fought long and hard to clean up our own image.  We are not spin doctors. Believe it or not, it is NOT okay to be manipulative or disingenuous.  When working ethically; we address facts and truths. As professionals, we are ambassadors of public relations and it is important to reiterate our purpose. It is not our job to simply do what the boss or client says. Part of our job as public relations professionals is to act as a consultant. If your client/boss wants you to spin a response in favor of the company, let them know the value of truth, honesty and transparency to the company, its audiences and stakeholders. They should also be aware of the consequences of spin as well. Once your organization has been blackballed as a spin machine, it will be hard to gain that respect back.

As much as we fight to prove this perception wrong, there are plenty of professionals who are perpetuating the stereotype.  How can we put an end to this? Should there be more/better education in the J-schools so that we are “raising” ethical, young public relations professionals? Should we press our public relations organizations to be more vocal when those in the media refer to our group as “spin doctors?”

What are your thoughts?

 

How ethical are you as a public relations professional? Take this quiz to find out!

2011
03/09
CATEGORY
communications
PR 101
public relations
TAGS





4 comments

My Thoughts: 5 Essential Skills for Public Relations Professionals

PR Daily recently posted an article titled, “5 Skills Every PR Professional Needs.” Although I think this article does a great job covering the basics, I would like to add five more essential skills to that list.

  • Multi-tasking: As public relations professionals, we often wear many hats. We are graphic designers, writers, editors, event coordinators, webmasters, copy writers…the list goes on. It is important for us, whether on the agency or in-house side, to multi-task. Being able to multi-task well can definitely work in your favor. But, it can also be your downfall.  A good multi-tasker is organized, first and foremost. Need help decluttering your life so you can restore organization? Check out a post I wrote about decluttering your work life.
  • Researching: Public relations professionals need to be great researchers. In order to provide the WIFM (What’s In it For Me) factor for journalists, we must be able to provide the adequate research that lets them know why our news is important, why it’s important for the journalist’s audience, what our news could mean for the industry/community, etc. Research is also important in other areas of public relations, including speech writing, media or interview prepping and backgrounders.
  • Adapting: As marketing and public relations professionals, we must know how to adapt to our environment. Whether through the way we speak to consumers and the media or the extra roles we may take on, we have to be flexible at all times.
  • Understand the business: It has been said that communicators make poor business people and vice versa. Let’s dispel that myth. Communicators need to have a seat at the board room table. When making your communications or public relations plan for the year, you should be using your company’s business goals as a guide. If you can prove how public relations helped the business grow or generate revenue, you are essentially proving your value to the company as well.
  • Understand new media: Online video, podcasts, social media, QR codes, mobile and group coupons…have I lost you? Trends in communications are continuously evolving. As public relations and marketing professionals, we must have a thorough understanding of new media. It’s not necessary to be expert in every form, but we need to understand the uses and appeal of each.

It is important to remember that some skills may vary depending on the industry. So, what are your thoughts on this list? Anything you’d like to add?

2011
03/07
CATEGORY
communications
Marketing
PR 101
public relations
speech writing
TAGS










2 comments

Brands work to strengthen their relationship with the social consumer in 2011

According to research conducted during the October 2010 Pivot Conference in New York, marketing and adverting eyes are on the social consumer. With 58 percent recognizing the social consumer as a pivotal element to the brand, marketers and advertisers understand the value and power of the social consumer. In addition, 84 percent see social consumers as a primary or secondary target market this year.

Who is the social consumer?
They are tech-savvy consumers who speak to brands through social media. They “like” brands on Facebook and will retweet your brand’s newest promotion on Twitter. They will let all their social friends know they are spending some time with your brand when they check-in on Foursquare and spread online coupon love with your brand through Groupon.

Businesses keep social media management close to home.
The survey found that 52 percent of respondents run their social media efforts in-house, while 19 percent use full agencies and another 15 percent rely on specialized agencies to lead their social media efforts.

Among the 700 marketing and advertising professionals surveyed, 90 percent recognized social media as a marketing function. Public relations followed at 64 percent with sales not too far behind at 46 percent, and customer service at 39 percent. When asked what roles or functions they oversaw, the majority (64 percent) were responsible for social media marketing with brand management following closely at 58 percent.

So, how will marketing and advertising professionals divvy up their time in 2011?
The survey provides a quick breakdown:

  • Social Media. Marketers plan to increase usage of social media by 75 percent. Only 19 percent will remain at current levels, while one percent of respondents actually plan on decreasing usage.
  • Mobile. Apps for iPhone and Droid will see a rise of 62 percent, 21 percent will remain constant and 1 percent will decrease.
  • Microblogging. More than half of marketing and advertising professionals, 61 percent, will increase use of streaming apps such as Twitter and Yammer, 27 percent will stay the course and 5 percent will reduce current usage.
  • Video. At 55 percent, a little more than half of marketers will increase video production and distribution with YouTube, Vimeo and the like, 31 percent will continue as is, and no one plans to decrease their efforts in this category in 2011.
  • Blogs. Contrary to a recent story in the New York Times insinuating that the statusphere would spell the end of the blogosphere, brands will increase their focus on top tier blogs to reach customers and peers by 52 percent, with 35 percent staying constant and 5 percent reducing focus.

Social Media ROI
Such a hot topic in the world of social media for business, isn’t it? According to the survey, the majority of respondents are measuring social media success against internal goals and objectives. Of those who measure, 73 percent find social media useful, however; four percent say it hasn’t been all it’s cracked up to be.

Hmmm…Interesting…
As the survey proves, social media use will definitely grow this year. On the contrary, certain platforms won’t be receiving the same love. Geo-location networks such as Foursquare and Gowalla and Review sites will see a 10 percent retraction in focus this year. However, brands will increase usage of virtual worlds such as Second Life by 11 percent.

For the complete Pivot Conference social media branding survey, click here.

2011
03/03
CATEGORY
communications
consumer trends
Marketing
public relations
Social Media
TAGS








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