Tag Archives: PR

Joy to the Media

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Jobless since June, Brian and Salena Smith currently live in the garage of Salena's mother with their two children, Isabella, 4, and Nathaniel, 2, and what possessions they could fit. Photo Credit: Dan MacMedan USA Today

As a member of the media, I’m often having to defend its merits and at times, it is a bit hard to do so when sensationalism runs rampant and ethics are called into check.  But, last week, I got a great personal Christmas present – all due to the goodness of the media.  This post is for everyone out there who is a bit jaded about the goodwill of media. It’s for those who have turned off their evening newscasts and stopped reading the newspapers because they are sick and tired of hearing about horrendous acts of violence.  This is a story that you will love — so sit back and enjoy this delicious cup of egg nog.

PR GOODWILL TOWARD ALL MEN

A couple of weeks ago I was able to help Cathy Lynn Grossman, a reporter at USA Today, find interview subjects for a cover story she was writing about joblessness at Christmas time. She was specifically requesting to talk to a husband and wife who both had lost their jobs. She also wanted to speak to church pastor who is involved in helping those unemployed.  I was thankful that she called me for I was able to connect her with my church, Whittier Area Community Church and also with Tim Tyrell-Smith, a national career development expert. From there, she was able to create her piece about being without work during the holidays.

THE POWER OF THE PRESS

The cover story ran Wednesday, December 22 and you can read it here, however, this post is not about the article… it is about the power of the press. For you see, from that article, the featured couple, Brian and Salena Smith, were rewarded for sharing their story with the world.  Within hours of that paper’s delivery, calls were received at both the church and USA Today’s offices from compassionate readers who wanted to financially help the couple.  People specifically contacted these organizations and made personal donations to this weary family.  When I heard this news the following day – I cried tears of joy for I had forgotten how much good can come out of what we do. I think I too had become jaded for most of my past PR experiences have been centered on raising ratings for television shows.  I had never experienced helping to raise the spirits of those less fortunate.  How incredibly wonderful that some concerned citizens in states outside of California shared their wealth with this family of four during the holiday season.  All because of a newspaper article. How wonderful is that! These simple acts of kindness restored my media soul.

I needed this good news about the “news” and perhaps you do too.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to ALL,

Cindy

Foursquare Needs Some PR and PC Cleaning

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Foursquare is getting a potty mouth

How were you punished when your mom caught you saying a “not so nice” word? Did she make you wash your mouth out with soap? Did you get sent to your room or were you grounded for a week?

FOURSQUARE’S BLUE-NESS

As I was using the geo-tagging, hyper-local service Foursquare today, my eyes stumbled upon names and words that I normally do not like to read – and I was offended.

I know some peeps will call me old-fashioned with this post – and I do understand freedom of speech – but I never expected to see what I read today and the volume.  For you see, I simply wanted to check into my local grocery store this afternoon on Foursquare and in doing so I had to scroll through so many crazy dumb names before I landed on Vons.  Such places were listed like “Whore House,” “Sexy room,” or the “Sex Cave,” etc., etc., etc. I even noticed that someone in my vicinity listed her home as “the town drunk lives here!” What’s wrong with people?

I’ve noticed this happening for some time, but it wasn’t as prevalent as it is now.  Try searching the word “whore” on Foursquare and you’ll be astonished what comes up! You will see what I mean.

There's Always Some Rotten Apples that Taint A Good Thing

With potty mouth taking over this platform, I would like to recommend Foursquare start to enforce some policies where certain terms (i.e., whore) are not appropriate and thus are banned from the service.  Other services do watch what’s posted, like Facebook and myspace. Sometimes we have to police people for themselves.

I do like Foursquare and have enjoyed it, but if it continues to get more and more vulgar, I will stop and recommend others do so as well.  It’s getting quite the potty mouth lately.  Have you noticed it too?

FOURSQUARE MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR BUSINESS

I have a been a giant fan of the application and think it is a tremendous service for businesses. I would hate for it to become a place where childish blue humor hangs out.  I’m all for creativity…but seeing ho and drunk and sex all over the place isn’t good for business. For what business wants to be listed being near “the town drunk?”

Note to Parents: In addition to checking in on your kids Facebook comments, also check about how they have listed your crib on Foursquare.  You may be surprised what they’ve labeled your lovely home as and more specifically, their bedroom.

I wish Foursquare would issue a badge for good behavior on Foursquare! Now that’s an idea I would endorse.

Cindy

PR AND SOCIAL MEDIA GO HAND IN HAND

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Social Media Conferences Provide Valuable Education

I’ve been asked to join a panel on Saturday at ProductCampSoCal addressing this particular topic: Social Marketing Panel: The Social Spectrum- Social Strategies for Both Large and Personal Brands. I am joined on this panel with some of the industry’s best brand practitioners, including Scott Schang of Broadview Mortgage; Stacey Harmon of Harmon Enterprises, Kirsten Wright of Wright Creativity and moderator Mel Alcaro, author of The Social Media Marketing Essentials Guide For Small Business Professionals.

In preparation for this panel, we gathered together last weekend to talk about what we wanted to address and as such I wanted to give you all a little precursor to what I would like to convey in the hour discussion.  I will be speaking from the point of view that public relations is an integral part in any branding process. That’s the hat I’ll have on Saturday and it’s one I’m comfortable wearing.  But, from what I experienced from our pre-meeting is that this is going to be an information-filled panel chock full of valuable take-aways. It will be a panel not to miss.

Did you know that if you participate in social media, then you are also doing the function of PR?

Yep, that’s absolutely true.  By putting yourself or your company out there, exposing it to the public (consumers) and allowing them to comment back…you have now opened yourself to handle customer service and public relations. Whereas, a few years ago, if a company wanted to advertise say either on radio or TV, an ad would run and it would be static.  The call-to-action was simply buy the product, not comment on its performance.  With social media, you are now giving your customers a pipeline to express their views and opinions about your efforts. And when social media is done right and people become engaged that’s when you need to ask yourself if you are ready to hear what they have to say, even when it isn’t nice or sometimes untrue.  However, once a comment appears that is negative against your company, that’s when you need to put on your PR hat and ask yourself questions such as:

  • How are you going to handle the complaint if its legitimate?
  • Will you take the comment offline?
  • Will you remove it completely?
  • What will you do if it becomes viral?

Social Media Isn’t for Everyone

I believe a company, nor matter the size, needs to take a hard look at whether or not it has the bandwidth to take on social media.  Social media isn’t just having a Facebook page and updating it occasionally. To do it well,  a strategy must be made, social policies need to be thought out (i.e., how you will handle off topic comments, trolls and negativity) and a staff must be in place to “listen” to what others are saying about your company online. It’s not something you simply can assign an “intern” to handle. It must be supervised by an employee who understands your product and one who understands messaging.

The Internet is Chock Full of Helpful PR and Social Media tips

If you are not prepared to start interacting with your customers online, then its best not to utilize this communication platform until you are ready.  By not entering into social media at the moment, it one of the wisest decisions you can make until you feel confident.

Social media isn’t easy and one that requires a learning curb. However, to help you understand if its for you there are workshops, meetups, clubs and camps like ProductCampSoCal that can help you navigate these waters and often at no cost.

It’s well worth the investment.

If you are attending the conference, be sure to say come and say “hi.”

Socially,

Cindy

RELAX INTO YOUR PR PITCH

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Huff believes relaxed teams win - that's true for PR too.

No Job Is Worth Stressing Over

Since the best PR practitioners are those who can land a major media pitch, I thought it was fitting that today’s topic was a result of a Wall St. Journal article I read this morning about the thong-wearing first baseman of the World Series San Francisco Giants Aubrey Huff.  The article did get my attention because it was about a thong-wearing MLB player, but the “undies” issue was not what sparked my interest. It was this quote he provided.

Huff said, “I never really heard of an uptight team that wins.”

Huff’s statement is true in so many regards and applicable to many professions.

You can’t argue with the fact that people do their best work when relaxed. I know I do, don’t you?

With that being said, in the public relations field it is extremely valuable when a person is pitching that the pitch should be in a cool, even tone as opposed to a fast, rapid fire, loud breathless ramble. The latter is usually conceived as one of a desperation. And that’s not good for you or the reporter or the client you are representing.

STYLE COUNTS

We’ve all been thrown pitches that we are not familiar with from time to time.  This often happens when we’re helping out a co-worker who has a giant list of calls to make, and therefore, we innocently “pitch in.”  We have been prepared with a script of what to cover and we make our calls.  And usually, on these calls, we may come across as yes “reading a script.”  This isn’t good either.

And as I’m writing this I saying to myself that I must remember this tip as well.  The best service you can provide your client/company is when you are comfortable with what you’re communicating and can do it in a relaxed manner.  Even though you may have over 100 calls to make by noon – each call needs to appear fresh, enthusiastic, unique, interesting, etc.  You need to present an up beat tone throughout the entire phone process even when you hear that dreaded beep meaning that it goes to voice mail.  If it goes to voice mail, it’s a long shot if it will be get heard – but your chances of having a reporter listen to it greatly increases if you have a vibrant, welcoming pleasant tone.

How do you do in this area? Are you relaxed when you make your best sales? Or do you sometimes let the stresses of your job pressure your performance?

I think Huff’s on to something here. This calm attitude sure worked for his team in the first game against the Texas Rangers. The Giants clobbered them 11-7.

Can you guess which team was more relaxed?

A PR Act to Remember – Cirque du Soleil Media Relations

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Blogworld Expo Updates (#bwe10)

Last week I attended Blogworld Expo 2010 in Las Vegas and although my intent was to gain knowledge and insight into the latest practical utilities for social media, I also was there to observe public relations applications.  I saw some interesting PR practices and integration at this conference and will blog about them in further posts, but today I would like to highlight one of the best. It came from Cirque du Soleil’s Social Media Manager Jessica Berlin (@jessberlin.)

Jessica posted the following information on the Blogworld blog prior to the start of the show.

It’s almost here, my favorite time of year in Las Vegas – BlogWorld! Personally and professionally, BlogWorld has been a wonderful event and I know this year will be even better. For the past two years I’ve loved showing off our Cirque du Soleil shows to attendees, we have seven shows in Las Vegas now! So again this year I would like to invite bloggers to attend one of our shows in exchange for writing a review. Whether you’re experiencing Cirque for the first time or the tenth time, your Vegas trip is not complete without hitting one of our incredible shows.

To see the complete sign up registration process, click here.

So I took her up on it. I had a couple hours free most nights before the late night parties and I have always loved Cirque’s events, so it was a win-win for me.  I went to two shows while in town, KA at MGM (I went as a guest of another blogger) and Viva Elvis at Aria.Awe-inspiring

Yes, the shows were magnificent, entertaining, memorable, show-stopping but, so was this promotion.  I wanted to go on the record pointing out the brilliance behind this astute “freebie.“  Blogging kudos to Jessica for recognizing the power of bloggers.  For a mere price of ticket, Jessica received press attention for her shows.  Jessica is one of the few media relations executives who understands that in this day and age bloggers are media members. Each has a distinct audience of followers (readers) and she knew the value that bloggers provide in increased awareness.

Story-telling at its BestNow, I don’t know Cirque’s social policy outside of the convention, but, Jessica understood that this conference is the only one in the world like it. Conference attendees are comprised of the top bloggers and podcasters in the world who each are dedicated enough to pay the pricey fee to attend Blogworld. This just wasn’t any conference, but the conference with the top mommy, non-profit, military, medical and tech bloggers.  This was very smart – congratulations again Jessica.

Also, I would be remiss to point out that with this practice reviews keep remaining fresh on shows that are pretty much evergreen.  Reviews normally only hit when a show is launched and after that, it’s pretty quiet in the media blogosphere.  But, by offering free media passes throughout the year, these reviews will keep the show fresh even though they have been in the running for years.

And if that wasn’t enough. Jessica made the whole registration process easy and unobtrusive.  We didn’t have to fill out lengthy forms or send several messages. She jumped on the comments immediately and gave us thorough instructions. It was painless.

A beautiful social media strategy which got this blogger to review two events and spread the good news about these two shows.

Well done Cirque du Soleil – even your social media is a class act.

PR and Social Media are Powerful Together

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Actioned Packed Day at Blogworld Expo 2010

I truly witnessed something new in PR at the Blogworld conference.  It happened at yesterday’s keynote Blogworld Expo session featuring moderator Brian Solis and Content Producer Mark Burnett, the guy behind such hits as THE APPRENTICE and SURVIVOR.

Mark Burnett Productions is producing a new documentary series for Discovery’s TLC channel focusing on Alaska as seen through the eyes of Sarah Palin called SARAH PALIN’S ALASKA.  With that being said, I don’t which came first – Burnett accepting to speak at Blogworld or TLC pitching Burnett to speak.  I’m guessing Burnett agreed to speak and TLC found out about it and then took that opportunity to promote the new series at the conference.

Whatever the case, I thought it was brilliant.  Excellent work from a cable network’s PR department. Hats off to the executives who engineered this event.  It was a spot on tie-in and worked well within the session.

Burnett Stole The Show with Exclusive Footage

Burnett talked about his entire body of work and career and then at the end brought up this new series.  Moderator Solis told us that we were going to be given an exclusive. I’m used to this sort of thing since I am in the TV business, but the others thought it was a real cool moment.

The exclusive was seeing the first video from the series.  Since Blogworld is streaming its keynotes, they do not want attendees to stream live – for that reason and because it slows down the wi-fi.  So it arranged for @stevegarfield to post the first video of the show on his YouTube channel.  We were asked to all tweet it.

Here was the tweet – RT @stevegarfield: Sarah Palin’s Alaska on TLC from Mark Burnett http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7xnvXMHxGE #bwe10

My fascination with this story wasn’t the exclusive video, but was the statements Burnett said afterward. He said he didn’t know if he would be able to provide the exclusive for as you know, TV use vs. Internet broadcasts are entirely two different beasts with different rights issues. When he said that I immediately knew that he has been having a legal nightmare for weeks trying to promote the series on YouTube.  For you see, the music rights became the issue.  It’s extremely difficult to buy the global rights to commercial music.  And likewise, I’m sure TLC really wanted to break the video on their air. So I bet there were many lively debates inside TLC.

Stickers a TLC Rep handed out to the audience

Nevertheless, it happened and it was marvelous. Kudos to Burnett and TLC for taking the risk on this endeavor. It’s wonderful that a cable network understood the power of social media and the power of a roomful of bloggers.

Now that’s what I call great PR. Let’s hope more exclusives come to the web.

GOOD PR STARTS AT HOME

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The Best PR Starts at Home

Do People Feel Welcome Working With You?

Imagine knocking on a friend’s door and your friend just opens the door for you to walk in. They don’t say hi to you nor call you by name, they just let you in and walk away. No, hellos. Nice to see you. Thank you for coming over. Nothing.

This is what happened to me recently when I volunteered at a major conference. I volunteered to work the event for a rather long time period. For this duty, the volunteers would be furnished lunch…it all sounded good to me and I was happy to be of some help.

But….as soon as I reported to duty things went awry.

I was told to be there very early in the morning and thus, was the first one on the scene. The staff I reported to showed up a hour later. And if that wasn’t enough, they never said hello, or thanked us for volunteering nor did they even care to know our names. And lunch, forgetaboutit. One of the volunteers had to remind them of their offer so they ordered a pizza.

This poor experience reminded me of this hard fact - the best PR starts at home. Here’s what I mean by that.

1) When working with volunteers – it is imperative that you make them feel welcomed and valued. They are as important to your event as the event. Without them, you would not be able to produce the event on a shoestring budget. So do your best to make them feel special.

2) PR people need to be friendly. I am embarrassed that I even have to write this statement. But, I am mortified to meet other colleagues that are not friendly to the press nor to people around them. Being relational in this field is a must.

Are you really Friendly

Are You Friendly or Just Appear to Be?

So, this little lesson isn’t just applicable to working with volunteers, it also applies to your Facebook page, website and reactions to the media.

Therefore, when people visit your Facebook page – do they feel welcome there or do you turn your back on them? Do you know their names? Do you not only listen to them, but do you truly hear them.

When a visitor lands on your website, how are they greeted? Can they easily access the information that they need most like how to contact you. Is your phone number prominently displayed or are you just selling them something?

As you can see a friendly welcome will go a long way in life and business. Check your attitudes online and in-person to make sure you are putting your best foot forward.

There’s no risks involved in being friendly and it all starts at home. Make sure when you put your feet on the floor to start the day, that you remember a warm hello and greeting will go a long way.

Thanks for reading and I hope you know that you are always welcome to leave messages or comments or can contact me directly. If I can ever be of any assistance, I hope you know my door is always open. You will always be greeted!

Thanks for the read.

Cindy

AlwaysOn OnHollywood Day 2 Update

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As the second day of the Always On & ETC OnHollywood conference draws to an end – on this day I gathered a few great nuggets of interesting info as the event took a peek into the future.

Some of the take-aways included:

  • The Economy is Coming Back-The conference featured several Los Angeles based equity investors with available money to support business opportunities.  There is VC money not just in Orange County, but also in Hollywood! That’s good news for all.  Apparently, the Silicon Valley is the best hotbed for engineering talent, but LA has a diverse workforce to pull from. LA is a great place for starting up companies in gaming, Internet, analog and content.  Not a great place for enterprise. Another tip is stay local for your investments.
  • Mine! Mine! Mine! - Yeah, it still appears that large content corporations want to keep their product on their own portals and are not willing to give it to distribution partners outside their walled gates.  They call this managing their exclusives.  I am not a fan of this practice, but corporately I understand it.
  • Smarter is Better - Yesterday I learned that all life will be done on our mobile phones, but today I heard about Smart TVs that include a hard drive and include widgets and apps.  Not only will our TVs get more robust, but I love that web content producers are cutting deals directly with smart TV hardware companies to provide their content.  This new approach bypasses the service provider.  What an amazing shift and change.
  • No More Flops - As someone who worked in the online gaming space for a number of years, I was blown away to hear that online gambling will soon become legal in this country.  I never thought the day would exist and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I mean I know there are ways that people have gone around these laws and have gambled online…but, opening it up means that more people will be able to lose whatever money they have. I believe that when this happens there will be another surge in popularity of online poker.

    Do you think it will be good idea to legalize online gambling?

  • It’s Not About the Money - I was excited hearing that web broadcast is a hard business and that if you’re in it for that reason, then that’s not the right reason. We can’t assume that the traditional broadcast model should be applied to new media. It’s apples to oranges.  They are radically different.  We are in the pioneer stages and it’s a wild, but adventurous frontier open to all.
  • Social Role Model - I’ve been meeting superstars in new media on a regular basis, but I haven’t met a female yet whom I thought was a definite rock star.  Justine Bateman blew me away today. She possesses the same philosophies as I do and had me captivated and in awe with this answer. She told a person in the audience that just because you aren’t getting traction pitching cable development executives, doesn’t mean that you should pitch online distributors as a default. She said you should pitch online if you live online. I so agree. I always say you shouldn’t hire a social media/pr consultant unless they practice social media themselves.
  • Branded Entertainment - Well, there’s no way it’s going away on broadcast nor web. Drats.  The motivation is too great to not employ these techniques online as well. In web, they see it as brand extension. It’s about efficiency, reach and deliverables. It is just in the infancy and it has tremendous growth.
  • Kangaroo TV – Steve Ross, owner of the NFL Miami Dolphins apparently gives a interactive hand held device to some of his season ticket holders that allows them to see different camera angles to the game as well as watch the other NFL games going on at the same time.  What a game changer. Brilliant idea Mr. Ross.
  • In-Home – You will start hearing this phrase more and more (In Home) entertainment. What this means is that is that this phrase means content provided to you at home via another service other than your cable company.  Also, keep an eye out for web content to be on their VOD channels as well. How cool will that be!

  • The Open Media Revolution is Over: Are We Better Off? Session (L-R) Jonathan Aronson, Tony Perkins, David Wertheimer

    Tony Perkins – I want to send a giant thank you to Tony Perkins, Founder and Editor of AlwaysOn, and his entire team for organizing this conference as well as the others.  He webcasts each one and for those of us who are not able to travel or pay for these cutting edge and topical conferences – this is a priceless gift.  I know I am smarter because of these conferences and more knowledgeable about areas I would have never been exposed.  So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for the opportunity.

Citizen Reviewing (Food Blogs, Etc.) and PR Practices

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Always fess up when you are reviewing food at a restaurant. Photo credit: celinabean.com

Today I am attending a session on food blogging…my attendance was due to the fact that I would like to work with restaurants in the future and as such, I wanted to understand this new growing phenomenon. But, something was said during the session that got the attention of my PR antenna.  It was recommended that you do not need to disclose that you are reviewing the food when at a restaurant. When I pressed further on this subject, the food blogger here today said she wanted an organic experience and did not want to receive special treatment.

I understand that point – however, I think it is only fair that the restaurant is aware that you will be reviewing its experience. It is only fair that the restaurant be made aware of your intention. I do not believe in personal ambushes.

Here’s what I would recommend to be the best practice for Food Bloggers – my approach is one that will build their integrity, reputation and brand in the food community.

1) Have a business card made that promotes your food blog. Have the back side contain blank lines where you can fill in the date that you intend to post your review and how the restaurant can contact you other than commenting on your blog post. These cards should be like those doctor and dentist appointment cards.

2) You don’t have to tell them you are a food blogger until after the meal is done and you have paid your bill. As you get ready to leave, give your card to your server and tell him/her you are going to blog about your experience.  He then can either tell the owner or have owner come over and see you.

3) I highly recommend that you find the owner, if he/she is present you can personally introduce yourself. Remember social media is about relationships and not about ambushes.  You do not have to tell them what your review will say and if they press you, you can just say benign statements like “it was interesting.”

By being direct and upfront about your business as a food blogger, you will build your reputation in this close community. Believe me, establishment owners belong to the same circles.  And if you treat them with respect they will tell other proprietors about you.

Your brand is extremely important and one you need to keep an eye on as well.

Remember – just as one bad review can take down a restaurant, one bad review about you as a reviewer can do the same. Once your credibility is lost, it’s difficult to regain it once you are in the crisis communication mode.

In summary, be straightforward; provide outlets for rebuttal; be professional and knowledgeable without being snarky.  And don’t ambush anyone.

Build your brand with integrity wherever possible.

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