Can Public Relations Pros Prevent Blogs from “Brand Hijacking”?

The purpose of a personal blog is to provide a forum where its writer can complain, praise, and pontificate. A lone personal blog is one of perhaps millions out there, but like everything else out there on the internet, what’s written on even a personal blog has a sense of permanence. As anyone with a website knows, drawing traffic to a new property is a difficult proposition. Most people who read my personal blog seem to be one-time visitors. (Read more…)

Three Public Relations Pitfalls to Avoid

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…)

Public Relations Research Tools on the Web

Research obviously plays an important role when it comes to public relations. Yet it’s surprising how many folks who work in the PR industry seem unfamiliar with the most effective web-based research tools. The following is a list of a few general research tools, some better known than others, that are your best bet if you’re looking for information about a person, company, business sector, product, or competitor. Think of them as the basic online research tools in your public relations toolkit. (Read more…)