A study conducted by software designer, Glide Technologies, has found that most journalists prefer social media news releases over traditional news releases and that most practitioners are not sending them. The results of this survey are very similar to a survey that I conducted as a group project just a few months ago.
Journalists receive hundreds of press releases everyday. So, it is important that your piece stand out. Social media news releases are just the way to do this. These releases make it easy for journalists to cover your story. They might not admit it, but the less work they have to do; the more likely they are to publish your story.
With this being said, I am finding it hard to believe that practitioners are not utilizing this new medium. There is obviously a demand. Journalists look for these types of releases and admit that they are more likely to publish information that is presented to them in a social media news release than a traditional one. Software has also been created to make creating these releases very simple. I am sure that this is why Glide Technologies conducted the survey I mentioned before.
The research is out there, the technology is out there. What are you waiting for? It is time for practitioners who are living in the Stone Age to get with it. I think Will Ham-Bevan, deputy editor of Telegraph Create said it best when he stated,”For a press release to stand out, it really has to make a song and dance.†If your releases don’t sing and dance, you may be missing out on great opportunities.
Today’s top story on odwyerpr.com is about PR issues in the Nixon administration. An article called Nixon Blamed Poor PR For Image Woes outlines Nixon’s suggestions on changes that needed to be made so that he might be viewed more favorably. I found the article to be interesting, because it gave me an idea of what Nixon believed needed to be communicated to the public and also how prominent PR is in today’s campaign arena.
In a memo, written by Nixon in 1970 and released just a few days ago, Nixon expressed his concern with having too few experienced PR practitioners on his staff. He also outlined how he would like to fix his image. Honestly, I was surprised at how much time he had spent studying his image, creating ideas on how to alter it and outlining these ideas an 11-page memo.
Reading the article also made me think about how much things have changed. Twenty seven years ago, the president of the United States was thinking about impression management and outlining his own PR strategies. Today’s candidates have huge, highly paid staffs that work on these types of things all day long.
The 2008 presidential candidates know exactly how they are viewed, what their strengths and what their weaknesses are. They have very detailed public relations strategies and work constantly on impression management. Today’s candidates know the importance of public relations in today’s society and work to manipulate and alter their image in ways they deem necessary for public approval.
A Cone survey that came out earlier this month found that consumers prefer organizations that support worthy causes. This is no great surprise. We all like to think that our money goes to help others, not to greedy, environmentally destructive companies.
I hope that this survey will be effective in influencing more organizations to take part. Consumers believe that businesses have social responsibilities and it is time they start accepting them. This brings me to the most important part of the plight. Consumers must hold organizations accountable!
I work in local government and nonprofit sectors. My work lets me see first hand, who in the community is willing to give and who is not. I work with community projects that are given very little funding. I am always begging for something. There are organizations that call to ask what they can do for me, and always give me more than I need. There are others who are not willing to do even the smallest thing. For example, I was once told that I could not have three plastic, carry-out cups! I stood there in amazement.
Since I am familiar with who the local Scrooges and Givers are, I try to avoid and support accordingly. I eat breakfast almost every morning at one of two of my favorite Givers restaurants. But at other times I don’t make the best decision. For instance, I go to Wal-Mart from time to time. I am not proud of it, but it’s true. I allow myself to be tempted by what is easier or less expensive.
I am writing this as a reminder to you and to myself of the importance of supporting Givers. Take the time to find out who they are, even if it is just on the local level. They are easy to find. There are banners and tee shirts everywhere that give credit to supporters. Take the time to read them. Then, when you are trying to decide where to eat or where to pick up laundry detergent go to a Giver. You may even want to tell them what brought you there and that you appreciate what they do.
It is vital that we are responsible consumers. When we are, we will see an upsurge in socially responsible businesses and we will all be better for it.
*A list of Givers in my area is available by request.
When reading about the new Casio cameras designed specifically to create YouTube video, I began thinking about the relationship between social media and technology. It seems to me that new technology creates social media and then social media creates more technology.
Think about it. New technology created the social media trend. Social media tactics are now a huge part of society. With more people utilizing social media the need for new technology is greater. So, manufactures create it. This fuels the cycle even more.
As people become more familiar and comfortable with technology, they are more likely to use it. In relation, the more people use it the more likely the industry is to create new, easy to use versions making is so that anyone can take advantage of the medium.
Today, just about anyone can utilize social media. Creating your own website is easy. There is no complicated code learn or any training required to create a Myspace site. I own a video camera that allows me to click one button, record, plug it into my USB and bam, it’s downloaded to my computer. A great portion of the pictures and videos posted online were taken by cell phones.
These advancements are proof that social media has become ingrained in our culture…Like it or not.
Blogs can get you into trouble…especially when you are the CEO of a large company. Last week the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey was outed. It seems that Mackey, better known as Rebodeb to Yahoo! Bloggers, has been posting freely about the whole foods industry for several years now. Rebodeb is a strong supporter of Whole Foods, and ironically enough, he despises Wild Oats, Whole Foods competitor.
Mackey was unmasked in light of Whole Foods recent attempt to acquire Wild Oats. The offer sparked criticism from the Federal Trade Commission. When sorting through legal documents provided by Whole Foods the Federal Trade Commission discovered the truth.
I had never heard of Mr. Mackey before the story broke. Apparently, he is an interesting and unconventional individual. According to the New York Times, Mackey has set his annual pay at a whopping $1. Yes, that is a one with zero zeros behind it. He has also been an avid blogger for several years and says that he used an alias because it was fun.
As the popularity of blogging and online marketing has grown, the question of morality has become more and more prominent. We have all heard of organizations paying or rewarding bloggers and have our opinions on the morality of it all. The fact of the matter is bad bloggers are out there. As practitioners we are utilizing it more and more. Modern business depends on internet word of mouth to succeed. This may not be a good idea.
The more stories like that get coverage the less credible online forums will be. Eventually, people no longer trust or read blogs. I think that this shift will happen quicker than anyone will expect. Proactive practitioners must stay ahead of the curve if they want to succeed, and I think letting go of the blogosphere may soon be part of staying on top.
It was nice to read the article Cycling tackles doping head-on today in PRWeek. After a 50 percent decrease in viewing, the Tour de France has launched a new campaign to help rebuild the credibility of the sport.
They are addressing the issue of illegal drug use in a straight forward manner that I think will be effective; in the long run, anyway. The use of steroid drugs is a huge problem in all professional sports. Cycling, like baseball, has experienced a backlash from spectators that has tarnished its reputation, as well as, its bottom line.
The sport of cycling has chosen to address the issue by tightening up restrictions and focusing on building respect. By working to create an image of noble competition, I think that they will slowly begin to rebuild trust. The road to recovery will be much like the Tour itself, long and strenuous with a lot of ups and downs, but I think cycling has a chance to make it.
Other sports, particularly American ones, should look at the example being set by cycling organizations. Taking responsibility and working diligently and publicly to clean up your sport will help feed healthy competition. We all want to see a hard-working underdog, not a cheater, win.
I love my TiVo. I don’t know if I can live without out. You think I am kidding, but I am serious. Have you tried watching TV without it? It’s torture. This is because I have learned to ignore almost all advertising. Commercials – I fast forward past them. Print ads – look right over them. Radio spots – flip as soon as the songs over. Because of modern technology I can now live a life with minimal intrusion from advertisers.
Today, I gained even more admiration for TiVo and its predecessors. I descovered that they have killed advertising. This in result, has fueled PR industry growth. Public relations is the only way to reach people now. People avoid advertising like it is the plague and respond to PR. It is the only way to make people notice what you are doing.
A great example of this was brought to my attention today on NPR. Steve and Barry’s, a little known fashion retailer, enlisted the help of Sarah Jessica Parker to get attention for their new women’s clothing line, Bitten. They avoided any traditional advertising and the results were remarkable. They got TONS of free publicity, including a spot on Oprah and an eight page spread in her magazine.
Steve and Barry’s saved more money and got more publicity than they ever imagined. This just goes to prove that advertising is dead and PR is king. Thanks TiVo for making my life oh so much sweeter!
“When the virtual world takes off, we are going to be there.†This was a statement made by Del Ross, VP of distribution marketing at InterContental Hotels Group. The group has recently created virtual conference rooms. Anyone can rent them.
Sounds great, right? If you are thinking that you will take that into consideration the next time you plan a conference or team meeting in some great city. You are wrong. The conference rooms are only avaiblable in Second Life. To utilize them, you will have to use real money to rent the virtual space. Then you will have to have your Avitar contact your boss’s Avitar to arrange the meeting.
IHG said they got the idea when they were having a meeting in Second Life. There they were distracted by all the other people running around and decided that there was a need for private space within the online community.
Am I the only one who thinks that this is insane? Do people really need virtual rooms so that they can carry on their virtual business in peace?
As disturbed as I am by this phenomenon, I want to commend IHG and other organizations who are trying to make it on the other side. They are leaving no stone left unturned and will reap the benefits for doing so. There is money to be made and those who, excuse me for being cliché, think outside of the box will be the ones to make it. There are Second Life millionaires for Pete’s sake!
Each semester I have at least one test in at least one class that asks me to define PR. These definitions vary from class to class, but they are all very similar. This semester it is, “Public relations is a management function that uses two-way communication to receive information from and give information to an organization’s various publics.â€
Seems easy enough right? The further I get into my campaign, the more I learn there is no set job description for a PR practitioner or definition of what PR is for that matter. Today for instance, I have been researching web design, website tracking software and search engine optimization. I always envisioned myself being an expert at public relations, not a jack of all trades. My books never mentioned that I would need to know these things.
Public relations is about knowing how to get it done – some way, some how. I am excited about learning the many facets of doing this. I hope that the more I get involved and work side by side with experienced professionals, the more proficient I will become. I hope that one day, I will be able to look almost any client in the eye and tell them I can make it happen.
This week’s edition of BusinessWeek will feature a report on the effectiveness of public relations. My first thought is “Are corporations this out of touch?†And then I realize, yes. It is 2007. PR is a necessity in our society. Are practitioners the only ones who know that?
Business owners don’t realize what effects a good public relations can have. They think that they do just fine on their own. They don’t want some outsiders coming in and telling them how to do things. What they don’t realize is that PR professionals are professionals. They are trained, knowledgeable resources. It is crazy not to utilize them.
The article offers great support for our cause by putting PR in business lingo. Peter Engardio and Michael Arndt show the relation of reputation to the bottom line. This is something that CEOs can understand.
The study featured goes so far to say that Wal-Mart’s market cap would be $10B higher if it had a reputation equal to that of Target. Those are rock solid numbers that are sure to turn some heads.
Even though I am always amazed at how far behind most corporations are, I am glad to see that some are taking notice. This article is definitely a step in the right direction.
