The difference between doing public relations for a private company and a handling PR for public company is the difference between watching your kid’s little league team and then taking a major league game. Read More
PR is an intense and difficult job that can be rewarding and disappointing. It can be exciting, and mind-numbingly boring. PR, more often than not, is misunderstood by people outside of the industry. Read More
It’s almost hard to believe that a little less than a decade ago, you could actually keep up with the blogosphere. In the years between the dot-com bust and the Web 2.0 explosion, you could count the number of blogs devoted to, say, music or movies on one or two hands. A few years ago, as blogging exploded across the Internet, many companies saw an in-house blog as a cheap and easy way to promote their businesses. Read More
A friend of mine called recently, looking for a public relations firm to handle a new project. He had already interviewed a few potential firms, and he wanted to know if I would sit in with him during a second round of interviews. What we learned should provide entrepreneurs and start-up companies alike with some helpful tips when they decide it’s time to take their public relations strategy to the professional level. Read More
Event planning is a difficult process, whether you’re a layperson or a public relations pro. Schedules need to be coordinated, collateral material needs to be assembled, and presentations need to be prepared. Entertainment and catering services may need to be booked, and guests must be attended to. Securing a site for an event can prove troublesome depending on the budget, and setting an agenda can be a pain when too many people are involved in the planning process. But as I learned recently, sometimes the biggest secret to successful event planning is having a contingency plan. Read More
I’ve spent the better part of the past ten years working from the comfort of my home. I’ve had offices, and I’ve worked in a newsroom. But more often than not, my own dwelling has doubled as my office. The main reason I’ve been allowed to work from home is that, in general, my work has involved a lot of writing and a lot of phone calls. These are two things that public relations reps spend a considerable amount of time doing. That’s why I feel that companies should allow public relations staffers to telecommute. Read More
1. The Friday Afternoon Bad News Press Release
For decades, the White House has used Friday afternoon as a time to release bad news to the media. The rationale is that the media is wrapping up a busy week, Saturday newspaper circulation and readership is lower than any other day of the week, and the public is just plain tired and ready to relax. The linchpin to this strategy has been the newspaper. Times, however, have changed. Read More
Sometimes a public relations rep sends a journalist a press release that is “under embargo.” This means the reporter can’t publish a word regarding the contents of the press release until after a certain date and time. But in this day and age, journalists and public relations professionals alike may find that a press embargo isn’t as secure as they might think. Read More
A press release is not an advertisement. A press release is a subtle piece of advertorial: a combination of advertising and editorial content. The point of advertising is to bring a product, service, or cause to the attention of a consumer, voter, volunteer, or contributor. It involves matching the right content with the right audience. A press release is in one sense an advertisement, but in this case your audience is the media. You’re selling them an idea for a story instead of a product or service, though, and it’s crucial you understand what journalists don’t want to hear. Read More
In the world of journalism, every so often a reader will send in a tip that is worth a reporter’s time. Usually the reader has uncovered something about a company or individual that isn’t quite right. And that discovery can turn into a public relations nightmare for the company or individual in question, especially if it involves lying. Let the following story be an example an example of how a little white lie can quickly snowball into the worst kind of publicity. Read More