Guest post by Sharon Cain, managing director of Quest PR.

Compared to PR pros, are journalists quicker to adapt and embrace the wealth of opportunities that our vibrant new world of social media presents?

The dramatic evolution that journalism and PR have undergone since I was haring around the UK living on caffeine, adrenaline, and deadlines as an on-screen Sky TV reporter has been reinforced in Jeff Bullas’ brilliant blog on The 10 New Rules of PR.

As the UK’s first 24-hour station, Sky was hungry for its counterparts’ success – and its agility, tenacity, and speed (it reminded me of a voracious beast gobbling up my stories and instantly demanding more!) saw print journalists taking their lead from a channel that competitors predicted (wrongly) would go belly up. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Laura Scholz, president of Scholz Communications.

When you first start your solo PR practice, bartering services can seem like a win-win. You get amazing experience, exposure, and valuable services; your “clients” get your professional expertise at virtually no cost.

During the past three years, I’ve traded for web design, haircuts, Pilates and yoga classes, personal training, head shots, nutrition advice, office space, and more than the occasional meal. Having started my business with zero savings and zero capital — in the middle of a divorce, no less — these types of relationships were crucial to helping me manage my budget AND move my business forward. And I would say the same was true for those on the other end of the barter.

But as my business continues to grow and my time becomes more limited, I’m starting to question the value of trade for all involved. I think everyone enters trade with the best of intentions, but with never-ending to-do lists and nonstop schedules, you have to set priorities. And that means paying clients come first – often to the detriment of good relationships with quality people who have nothing but the best intentions. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Jeannie Walters, Principal at 360Connext.

Picture a CEO in a suit, with a cigar in his mouth, saying to his PR team: “Our customers don’t know what they’re talking about.”

I witnessed this reaction from a CEO (ok, sans cigar and suit) when he received unfortunate news from his PR team. Word on the street about the current customer experience was, um, bad. Really bad. Some tweets had recently tied the company name and “customer service fail” together. They were editing as fast as they could on the company Facebook wall, but it was hard to keep up with the influx of tirades.

This company was excellent at selling. They sold and sold and sold some more. They were growing – fast. But the dirty underbelly of all that rapid growth was a total lack of attention to their current customers. These customers were seen as practically pests – cogs in the wheel of their marketing machine. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Ryan Knapp, a recovering linguist

What if I told you there is an innovative communication tool that allows you to talk with millions of new people in a way you’ve never been able to before? What if I told you this new way to communicate would integrate seamlessly with all forms of social media you currently use?

What innovative tool would I be talking about? Continue Reading »

A few of you have been dying for today to arrive (cough, Courtney Dial and Valerie Simon, cough) and it’s finally here! Spin Sucks relaunches with a new design, look, and feel! But that’s not all…check out what’s to come!

As a recap, what you can expect to see every day:

* More content under communication, advertising, marketing, social media, SEO, and business growth

* Guest bloggers every day

* Expert Q&As

* Industry innovations

* Comment of the week

* Giveaways and contest

All of this will remain free, but be watching later this year for a subscription-based, behind-the-scenes Spin Sucks that will garner you access to more content, discussion groups, brainstorming, and access to experts.

Tell us what you think, what you’d like to see more (or less) of, if you know experts you’d like to see interviewed, if you’d like to guest blog, and if you’ve seen an industry innovation you’d like to see highlighted. This blog is evolving to help you do your jobs in the above six categories so tell us what you need from us.

And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter…we’re Spin Sucks!

Guest blog by Paige Worthy, a magazine editor for three horticultural trade publications

Remember Highlights magazine? It was in every single doctor’s office when I was kid. There was a black-and-white cartoon in each issue called “Goofus and Gallant” that was about two very different little boys. Goofus was bad: He pulled on puppies’ tails and played pranks. Gallant was great: He spent his free time helping old ladies cross the street. Goofus made Gallant look even better. And Gallant made Goofus look that much worse.  Continue Reading »

Today’s digital age is about connection, conversation, and candy. Alright, not candy. I couldn’t think of another C word and I love candy.

Connection, conversation, and engagement. Even transparency and honesty. Open your door, pull up your windows, let people in and take a peek around, and decide if they want to work with you or, better, want to refer their communities to you.

It’s changing the way media relations (or publicity) is conducted because no longer do clients have to rely on a PR pro’s Rolodex to get someone to pay attention to them. And no longer are the critics and influencers the traditional journalists. The critics and influencers are all of us – we can rate and review products and services online, we write blogs, we even write editorials that can be featured in places we garner a lot of attention. Continue Reading »

I have a long-standing relationship with Hotel Executive and write an article for them quarterly. Today I am grateful for my friendship with their editor and the opportunity to help educate their readers on the importance of communication in a businesses growth. Following is an excerpt from an article I wrote for them in July about how to prepare yourself for media interviews.

There are many reasons you should be prepared to talk to the media; a new opening, a new employee, an award, a new product or service, or some intellectual property; all of which give you plenty of time to prepare for a media interview. But what if the unplanned happens, such as a crisis? Are you prepared to talk with the media? Do your employees know what to do when a reporter calls?

Warren Buffet was quoted telling his Salomon Brothers employees, “If you lose money for the firm, I will be very understanding.  If you lose reputation for the firm, I will be ruthless.” Everyone in your business represents your brand, your reputation, so it’s important for everyone to understand who talks to the media and what the policy is should a reporter come knocking at your door.

A media interview is a great opportunity to tell the world about your business, through third-party credibility. But just like an employee handbook, a social media policy, and a business plan, it’s important to have a media plan in place that covers:

1. Who talks to the media? Designate a spokesperson. Usually there are at least two spokespersons – the CEO (or someone in the c-suite) and a senior-level communication professional (can be internal or can also be your PR firm).

2. What to do when the media calls, or stops by a location. The policy should detail how to handle the reporter’s request and list phone numbers and email addresses of the spokespersons.

3. Practice makes perfect – or as my piano teacher used to say, “Perfect practice makes perfect.” Practice different scenarios.  Make sure everyone knows what the policy is. Quiz them, if need be. Practice, practice, practice.

To read the rest of the story and find tips on practicing and preparing for media interviews, visit the Arment Dietrich PR toolbox. Scroll down to “Hotel Executive” and click on the second link, “Media Interviews: How to Prepare Yourself for the Unexpected.”

I’m having an identity crisis and I need your help.

It’s no secret we’ve changed our business model this year to incorporate social media into our traditional communication firm. All along I’ve been saying that PR deserves a place at the social media table, that so much of it is about relationships and messaging, which is what our industry has been doing for centuries.

So why is it, then, that the PR industry isn’t all over this? The global PR firms have begun to hire social media planners or experts to help them, but it seems like it’s just a “have to do this so we’ll hire someone” kind of thing. I’m not sensing a strategy or a change in the way the businesses operate, mostly because I think even the big firms look at social media like most companies – they don’t get it and don’t like giving up control of the message (which we know is just a perception).

Am I off my rocker or do we have a severe competitive advantage now that our business model completely incorporates social media….and has for a year?

I’m pretty sure it’s career suicide to take on one of the PR industry’s top media outlets, but you’ve never known me to back down from a fight, have you?

Jeremy Probert, a guest columnist with Ragan , yesterday wrote an article titled, “Why letting staff remark publicly is an idiotic idea.” When I read that title, two thoughts flashed through my brain: 1) Surely this title is sensationalism and I’m going to buy into it by reading the story and 2) The wise words of my friend Amber Naslund, “Why would you let your staff answer your phone, but not let them use social media?”

And then I read the story.

You simply do not allow employees free rein. You don’t; that’s accepted.

Then along come the social media strategists. “It’s all about content, it’s all about dialogue, it’s all about the quality of the      conversation”—free spirits in the digital age. Not for them the rules of the old guard—no, the rise of the Internet and Facebook and Twitter has changed the world, and we must move on or wither and die.

It appears that their lobbying—and the continuing spread of Shiny Object Syndrome—has convinced even the most conservative of organizations (Coke, anyone?) that they should be allowed to let employees post directly to the social media sites, without passing the sense/health check that is the PR department.

On first blush, it’s quite intriguing that a “20 year communication veteran” is so adamant against anyone not messaged or well briefed working with the media. That Coke and Ford would actually ALLOW someone not in the internal communication department to be brand ambassadors is insane.

And then I realized the poor man is old school.

He thinks people aren’t already talking about their company, their bosses, their peers, the products or services they provide and that those that do, publicly, have been messaged and briefed. And he thinks the social media strategists (some of whom ARE communication professionals) are advocating staff talking publicly because social media is the next new thing.

Here are the facts: Employees complain about their managers. Managers thinks executives line their pockets with what should be their bonuses. Customer service listens to customer complaints all day, every day. Some staff drink the kool-aid and believe strongly in the vision and the culture. Some don’t. But what all of these people have in common is they are brand ambassadors, the good and the bad, no matter if you give them “free rein” or let only those who are messaged and briefed speak.

They are telling their friends. They are telling their family. They are telling potential customers. They are telling potential colleagues. They are talking about the good and the bad. But now you have the ability to SEE and HEAR what they are saying.

Probert points to the Domino’s video incident from a few months ago as an example of what goes wrong when you let staff talk publicly. Those employees were not given free rein to speak publicly to the media. Their manager was not in the store. They created the video. It went viral. They got fired. Without social media and an easy way to upload video from a phone, this would have happened, but the only people who would have known about it were their friends. They would still have jobs and they would still be sneezing and spitting on your food.

I’m sorry Mr. Probert, we do not read your column and think you are “miffed that you’ve been edged out of the frame and that stuff is going on without you.”

Coke and Ford are two great, big corporations who know these kinds of things are already going on. Now they have the opportunity to decide what to do with the detractors (fire them?) and how to reward the brand ambassadors.  I think NOT allowing staff to speak publicly is idiotic.