Harnessing The PR Power Of Twitter
Twitter has exploded into one of the most rapidly expanding social platforms in the world, with over 200 million users to date. In an industry where one wrong tweet can compromise a company’s image, how can you use Twitter as a force of “PR good” for your client? We all know to monitor conversations about […]
Read MoreWas The Murdoch’s "Humble Pie" Good PR?
As he prepared to face a day’s worth of questioning by British lawmakers about the News Corp. phone-hacking crisis, Rupert Murdoch was set to serve up a carefully crafted statement that began,”This is the most humble day of my life.” But Murdoch was rushed into questioning and had to wait until later to try to […]
Read MoreAll Facebook "Likes" Are Not Created Equal
Even before Facebook popularized the “like” button, there’s been online discussion about the value of a single Facebook fan, or, now, a “like.” Some is pure speculation, while some is more research-based. Last year, social measurement firm Syncapse put the revenue potential of Facebook fans for certain brands at an impressive $136.38. More recently, revenue optimization […]
Read MoreHow To Dress For (PR) Success
In the New York PR world, being fashionable and dressing appropriately needn’t be mutually exclusive. In my experience you should treat your work wardrobe like a PR campaign: first, know your “target audience!” Do you work for a very corporate company that demands formal dress or a funky downtown firm that appreciates the fashion-forward? Get […]
Read MoreWhat We Can Learn From Horrible PR Bosses
Psycho. Maneater. Tool. The descriptions of the bosses in the new summer movie got me thinking of those I’ve had in my long PR career. Google “horrible bosses” and you get no fewer than 19 million hits. Need to vent? Share your stories of chumps in charge on blogs like http://reallybadboss.com/ and now, of course, there’s […]
Read MoreRecipe For A Twitter Fail: Was Entenmann’s #Guilty of Hashtag Hijacking?
Call it a half-baked attempt to be topical…or perhaps, just a mistake. As Twitter erupted following the surprise guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial, Entenmann’s adopted the rapidly trending #notguilty hashtag to tweet a whimsical update about “eating all the tasty treats you want.” The tweet lasted only minutes. Someone realized the juxtaposition wasn’t […]
Read MoreCraft Beer Fight Over B-Word Rages, With Good Press On Tap
The Bitch is back. That’s Flying Dog Brewery’s Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA. Now maybe the name should offend me, but it doesn’t. I don’t actually have a dog in this fight, but I do think it’s fitting that on Thursday, just in time for the July 4th weekend, the state of Michigan reversed a decision […]
Read MoreDeclaration of PR Independence
“A press release should never be more than one page long.” “The ad and editorial departments are completely separate.” “Media contacts are too busy for ‘clever’ pitches, just the facts please.” Above are just a few examples of long-held PR “truths” that shackle creative practitioners to outdated axioms and methods that just don’t get results. […]
Read MoreAre There Just Too Many PR People?
PR people have taken a beating in the past few weeks. Currently, it’s due to our increasing numbers. A recent example, among many, is a May piece in The Economist subtitled “Flacks Outnumber Hacks.” It compares PR professionals to “urban foxes” and calls us “slime-slingers,” among other things, while, oddly, positioning bloggers as the new […]
Read More