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 »

Martin Waxman, Joe Thornley, and I are finally getting our chemistry down (it only took something like 12 weeks) and we’re having a blast recording InsidePR! Well, I’m having a blast because I get to make fun of Joe’s slight accent (aboot instead of about) and Martin’s “step forward” when he delivers a punch line. They might not appreciate it, but you are sure to enjoy it!

On today’s episode, we received a question from Jody Koehler, a PR pro and agency owner in the Netherlands, who asks whether or not you need to really understand PR 1.0 before you can consult on PR 2.0.

You can listen to the episode and our debate by clicking here. Be sure to listen to episode 2.14 for July 28, 2010.

What we didn’t discuss on the podcast, but what I’ve been thinking about since we recorded (we always record on Monday nights), is this is becoming the age old question about whether or not you let interns run your social media program. 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 »

I know none of us want to give any more ink to LeBron James, but I have something to say about the PR nightmare he created for himself.

Look, I wanted him to come to Chicago just as much as the next guy (but maybe not as much as Philip Nowak). I wanted him to take the challenge the Bulls created, with help from Leo Burnett, to fill Michael Jordan’s shoes. Heck,  I would have even been happy had he filled them AND won more championships in a Bulls jersey. But now, like most NBA fans, I don’t care who he is, what he does, and I hope the Miami Heat never win a championship with him there (however unrealistic). Continue Reading »

A lot of people have asked me what I think about Tiger Woods and the apology he gave on Friday. I’m never one to react with a knee jerk. I like to let it all soak in, discuss opposing sides, and then tell you what I think. But this one is a little bit different…mostly because the incident happened three months ago (so I’ve had plenty of time to let it sink in) and my opinion of how he should have handled this is no different just because he read a scripted apology on Friday.

Continue Reading »

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from my friend Arik Hanson. He had an idea that he thought would help out-of-work PR professionals network with the jobs that are becoming more readily available at both agencies and companies.

The big idea:

On Friday, February 19, from 10 am – 2 pm CT, PR bloggers, agency leaders, and PR professionals from across the country will donate their time and talents to help fellow PR pros connect with employers as part of the first-ever “Help a PR Pro Out” day. 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.”

A few weeks ago, my friend Steve McKee wrote in his BusinessWeek column about companies doing their growth a big disservice in a down economy when they cut their advertising and PR budgets. You can read the article and comments here.

Then, when I asked each of you what you’d like to read about in future blog posts, my friend John emailed me and asked, “Why is it that during tough economic times, most companies reduce marketing budgets? If marketing is of real value to a company and if marketing works for that company, wouldn’t you increase spending in tough times?”

This brings me to one of my favorite case studies: How Kellogg won the cereal wars of the Great Depression. Forbes, The New Yorker, and several other national media highlighted this story earlier this year, when it looked like the economy wasn’t likely to get better anytime soon. Following is an expert I refer to a lot when people ask me the same question John asked.

In the late nineteen-twenties, two companies—Kellogg and Post—dominated the market for packaged cereal. It was still a relatively new market: Ready-to-eat cereal had been around for decades, but Americans didn’t see it as a real alternative to oatmeal or cream of wheat until the twenties. So, when the Depression hit, no one knew what would happen to consumer demand. Post did the predictable thing: It reined in expenses and cut back on advertising. But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies. (Snap, Crackle, and Pop first appeared in the 1930s.) By 1933, even as the economy cratered, Kellogg’s profits had risen almost 30 percent and it had become what it remains today: The industry’s dominant player.

With social media you can now heavily push your brand, your company, your service, or your product at half the cost of traditional methods. If you listen, build your communities, let your brand ambassadors spread the word, and provide value, your business will come out of the Great Recession as a dominant player, no matter your size.

So my question for you is: If you decrease your spending and no one knows you’re still in business, which creates a drop in revenue and profits, doesn’t it make sense to spend money and time on the new forms of marketing, advertising, and PR?