Category: General

PR Miscellany – September 1 2009

A post containing some interesting PR-related content that I’ve stumbled upon…

Do you have your PR skills?

Dave Fleets offers 14 key skills for “new” PR professionals (via Neville Hobson) and thankfully he does point out that just because there are some new skills required doesn’t mean we should neglect the traditional skills.  I’m a firm advocate of the importance of mastering the basics.

Yes, there’s a new game to play (in my opinion), but the old game is still there too. PR pros still need the basic attributes and skills that they’ve always needed.  Try launching something using social media alone and you’ll appreciate the gap that traditional media can leave if it’s lacking.

Stop (PR) thief

Another interesting court case involving a PR person who (may has/allegedly has) exercised poor poor judgement. Like, really poor judgement, in fact I’m not sure we should use the word “judgement”.

 

Blogging about (business) blogging

Ragan offers ten tips for a better business blog.

Ford Motor Company doesn’t have a blog, but its director of new media, Scott Monty, has one—The Social Media Marketing Blog. It precedes Monty’s tenure at Ford, which means it has an audience and a solid reputation.

On occasion, The Social Media Marketing Blog addresses issues at Ford. It spreads news about the company and the CEO, and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in Ford’s communications department.

Consider finding a trusted employee at your organization to dedicate posts about your company to his or her personal blog.

 

Ahhh… the old chestnut… measurement

Katie Delahaye Paine is a guest writer over at Brian Solis’ blog and has penned a post on the need for a new mindset around PR marketing measurement.

While exposure to your brand certainly is a factor in decision making today, the reality is that in today’s environment, most decisions are influenced to a much greater degree by whatever your followers on Twitter, friends on Facebook recommend or what Google search delivers than they are by whatever ads pop up. Trying to decide what flat screen TV to buy, where to go for vacation, what movie to see, or where to make reservations for dinner, chances are you’ll either ask your friends on Facebook or Twitter for advice, or search on Google for reviews.

Thinking about Social Media

Jennifer Van Grove offers five ideas to consider in social marketing. As always “clear PR/marketing objective” discretion is recommended.

Should you find yourself in a social media marketing lull, we think you can take inspiration from these five innovative and fresh ideas currently making their mark on both the online and offline worlds. The important thing to keep in mind is that whether you’re trying to engage a unique audience, tailor deals using location, advertise in new ways, go bold, or tackle your Twitter fear head on, you’re likely to find the most success if you can shake things up a bit.

Forecast: Numbers entering PR as a career to decline (sharply)

When a few poor lost souls occasionally come to me to ask about a career in PR, I always preface any remarks by telling them that I am probably the worst person on the world to give them advice.

When I was in college I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I definitely knew what I did not want to do, and there were two areas at the very top of the list:

  • Public Relations
  • Computers

Given the fact that I have spent the past seventeen years working in PR in the technology sector I think that precludes me from positioning myself as a career guidance guru. When I think back to why I shunned those two areas, computers was obvious, at the time it was a career that required you to be at least mildly-intelligent, something (my family would agree) that excluded my participation.

The dislike for PR is less obvious. But my only perception of PR at the time came from the BBC TV series Absolutely Fabulous which presented a view of Public Relations that was an absolute anathema to me. It was only a TV sit-com but that was what formed my opinion.

I fear that the news that broke yesterday, namely that Kim Kardashian is planning a new reality show on Public Relations will turn a whole new generation off the career, or maybe even worse turn a whole new generation on to Public Relations!

The proposed series follows Kardashian’s pals, PR gurus Jonathan Cheban and Simon Huck of the bicoastal agency Command Public Relations. A pilot for the show, which has been viewed by PEOPLE, has been shot and an undisclosed cable network is eyeing the series for a 2010 debut.

I am dreading watching this, but I know I will…

 

Update:

  • Shel Holtz has a great post and unlike me a great suggestion for the PR industry on this program.
  • He also managed to find their “web site”

PR has reputation issues?

It’s not terribly busy in the PR blogosphere today, two items for your delectation….

1) Morgan McLintic ponders why PR has such as bad reputation (PR Week Insider blog). (Obviously there’s enough fodder there for a couple of books, but Morgan is restricted to a blog post):

The PR sector has been reputedly dead, dying, or making a mess of it for at least the last decade. We’ve all read the ‘PR people don’t get it’ tirades. Many of them are valid. It’s a perennial story, but why?

I meet a lot of PR executives who are passionate and smart. So why does the industry keep coming in for a hammering?

 

2) As many of you know, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz host the twice weekly For Immediate Release PR podcast.  I’m not sure where they get the time or the energy, but they produce a great show and provide it to the PR community free gratis.

They are currently polling listeners to gauge potential interest in attending a FIR conference. Given their contribution to the online PR community, the least you can do is vote.

If you haven’t already subscribed to the FIR podcast, then do yourself a favor and do so!

The Personal Press Release

Paul Simms offers his own take on the “Personal Press Release” in The New Yorker:

Tim Williams, a member of the company in varying capacities for five years, has been promoted to Best Friend, and he will report directly to Kerner in all friendship-related matters.

“Tim has proved himself to be a solid guy who’s always up for whatever,” Kerner says. “During the past five years, I’ve watched him excel in every position he’s occupied. From Mere Acquaintance to Periodic Dinner Companion to Frequent Midweek Business-Lunch Cohort, Tim has consistently shown himself to be just the kind of person we’re looking for in a Best Friend.