EURSSMediaRelations

Speakers, turn ‘interruptions’ into opportunities

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:00:34 GMT

I recently worked with a young professional who was preparing for a major presentation at his company’s annual retreat.

He came to our training session well prepared. Not only had he thought through his entire presentation, completed his PowerPoint slides, and drafted his handouts, but he had also practiced the speech aloud numerous times. He took this assignment seriously, and it showed.

But when he stood up to practice his speech, I tried to throw him off. The resulting conversation produced an “ah-ha!” moment for me.

Here’s what threw him off: I raised my hand to ask a question in middle of his introduction. That clearly flustered him. He stammered for a few moments, then regained his composure and said, “I’ll get to questions a little later.”

When he concluded his talk and we debriefed about that moment, he said, “It really threw me off when you interrupted me with a question.”

That word—interrupted—struck me like a lightning bolt. It offered me a fascinating insight into how he had approached his presentation (as a monologue), and it told me everything I needed to know about the hazards he had created for himself by practicing so diligently.

[RELATED: Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training library for corporate communicators.]

Speakers who are operating on autopilot—“This is my speech, and I’m going to deliver it exactly this way in front of my audience”—aren’t truly in the moment. They greet audience questions as “interruptions” instead of as valuable opportunities to answer queries, correct misinformation, and address objections.

They aren’t reacting in real time to what they’re experiencing, but rather they’re continuing to pretend they’re practicing in front of their less communicative mirrors.

Of course, there are times when a speaker might want to hold audience questions to the end of the presentation or until the topic will be addressed. But that’s different from viewing those questions as “interruptions.”

If anything, questions you hear earlier in your presentation give you an opportunity to alter the way you speak about certain ideas as you press forward. So learn from his mistake. Re-label the phrase “audience interruption” as “audience insight.”

Brad Phillips is the president of Phillips Media Relations, which specializes in media and presentation training. He tweets @MrMediaTraining and blogs at Mr. Media Training, where a version of this story first appeared.

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‘Dumb Ways to Die’ wins Grand Prix in PR at Cannes

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:59:37 GMT

A campaign in Australia aimed at getting people to be safer around trains is getting a big boost from a viral video.

“Dumb Ways to Die” is a catchy song by Tangerine Kitty, and it’s been co-opted by the Australian Metro. (And it will stick in your head all day today, so beware.)

The song details several ridiculous ways to die, such as using your private parts as piranha bait or taking your helmet off in outer space. The song can be streamed below, or you can find the full Metro campaign at DumbWaysToDie.com.

The video earned Best in Show at the One Show, and it was a big winner at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, taking home the Grand Prix in both public relations and direct marketing categories.

[RELATED: Learn the 7 elements of storytelling with video at this one-day video boot camp.]

Watch the video below, and tell us if it makes you want to steer clear of train platforms:

(Image via & via)

6 public speaking lessons from Mick Jagger

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:54:39 GMT

We recently caught the Mick Jagger Show—or, the Rolling Stones—in Boston. It was a terrific show.

We used the show as a field trip to watch a master performer in action. And Mick Jagger is a master. There's no doubt anyone who speaks in public can learn from him.

As Nick says, "Any time I get a chance to see a legendary performer like Jagger, I jump at it, because it's a chance to learn stagecraft useful for public speakers."

Jagger has stagecraft aplenty. He owns the stage from the opening numbers ("Get Off of My Cloud" and "It's Only Rock and Roll") and never lets up, save a couple of numbers where he sits down to rest and lets Keith Richards sing and play.

What can we learn from the indefatigable performer?

1. Precision

Jagger knows exactly where he is at every moment. He doesn't waste a gesture, move or step. He knows where the other Stones are, where the spotlight is and, most of all, what the audience is doing. He's probably the most self-aware performer we've ever witnessed. He's a pro.

So many speakers resist rehearsal because they don't want to get stale. Jagger shows how counter-productive that attitude is.

2. Focus

Jagger's every gesture reaches out to the audience. When he is singing, every step is toward the audience. When he's not singing, instead of stepping back, he interacts with the audience.

Jagger's focus is unrelenting. It may only be rock and roll, but for him it's business, and he takes it seriously. He rarely smiled during the performance, and kept the between song chat minimal. He's self-aware, but always focused on the audience.

3. Emotion

Music—especially familiar music—fires up the pleasure centers in our brains. That's why we like it. Watching Jagger, we couldn't help thinking that he can fill a concert hall because music instantly brings pleasure. Speakers have to work much harder to achieve even remotely similar effects.

Every speaker should consider working music into his or her presentation because it's a shortcut to emotion. Have music underneath your introduction. Work a song into a bit of video. Close with a song that's relevant to your message.

Whatever relevant way you can add music, do it. It's an effective shortcut to a strong, emotional connection with your audience.

4. Fitness

Jagger is 69 years old, and he still has incredible energy. We've seen very few rock stars of any age who work a stage with such vitality.

In a recent interview, Jagger said: "I train five or six days a week, but I don't go crazy. I alternate between gym work and dancing, then I do sprints, things like that. I'm training for stamina."

There's no doubt that being physically fit helps public speakers. You can control your body better. Your breathing becomes more relaxed, and you can strut the stage without getting winded.

5. Technology

The Rolling Stones production is huge; it has more than a dozen 18-wheelers full of gear and hundreds of people backstage who make things happen. At large speaking gigs, the technology can approach this level with dozens of staff for sound, lights, video and staging.

Yet, most speakers don't take advantage of the opportunity to do a sound check. They don't meet with the production staff to discuss their speeches. Instead, they show up a few minutes before they go on and wing it.

Jagger is comfortable with his technology, and it was clear he rehearsed with it many times. Although it was difficult to see, we noticed he had a teleprompter available. As far as we could tell, he never needed to use it. But as a true pro, he knew where it was in case he did.

[RELATED: Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training for corporate communicators.]

6. Stagecraft

The tongue stage was a terrific way for Jagger to get out into the audience. And over the course of the two-hour show, he used the entire stage.

He stayed in the main stage area for the opening numbers, and then ventured over to the sides for a few songs. Finally, about 45 minutes into the show, he went way out into the audience. In other words, he held back a bit in the beginning.

Most public speakers stand in front of the podium, or if they venture out, just hang near the center of the stage. Some go back and forth to the corners like a metronome. True professionals work the entire stage like a rock star.

A version of this article originally appeared on David Meerman Scott's blog, Web Ink Now.

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Why you should pitch mid-level bloggers

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:48:03 GMT

If you look at bloggers as a spectrum and picture your mom's blog on one end and the most influential blog on the other, there is a plethora of bloggers smack dab in the middle. These mid-level bloggers can do great things for your brand.

With a balance of reach and influence, a mid-level blogger's recommendation holds a lot of weight.

Consider the results of a study in The Realtime Report. In working with 100 to 300 mid-level influencers, brands found they got 16 times higher engagement rates than if they were working with a small number of higher-status influencers. They also spent a lot less money on these campaigns.

Here are a few reasons why you should reach out to mid-level bloggers.

The smaller the community, the greater the influence

The results of an extensive study by Technorati show us that consumers believe a smaller audience indicates that the blogger has a greater level of influence.

A blogger with a small audience can engage on a more personal level, resulting in higher loyalty levels, which in turn gives recommendations from such bloggers more weight.

[RELATED: Hear how top companies adapted to the digital PR industry changes at this August event.]

Loyalty and context

Because many bloggers have a niche, their audience is there to read about a very specific topic. Thus, a mid-level blogger who shares your brand's niche has an audience comprising your target consumers.

Engagement should go both ways

It's not big bloggers' fault that they can't engage with every audience member; there just is not enough time in the day.

That's where the mid-level blogger comes in. Not only is that audience tweeting and posting their words, but they also have time to respond to those tweets, posts, and emails.

Consumers reach out to influencers for brand recommendations. If you have mid-level bloggers on your side, they have the time to respond with shining recommendations for your brand.

Easier to contact and easier on the budget

Because they are not inundated with pitches like big bloggers, mid-level bloggers' response rates are much higher.

When it comes to sponsored posts, product reviews, and other paid-for tactics, the mid-level blogger is going to charge a lot less than a blogger who gets a ton of paid media offers. Often, their mention is free, and let's not forget that free mentions are more sincere.

Kristen Matthews is the marketing and community manager for GroupHigh in Boulder, Colo. Contact her at Kristen@grouphigh.com, and follow her on Twitter @Kristenwords and @GroupHigh. GroupHigh is an option if you're doing a lot of blogger outreach.

How to deal with PR’s sweatiest moments

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:49:04 GMT

Public relations is a stressful industry, but some moments are clearly more “sweat worthy” than others. It’s these moments, though, that really keep PR pros on their feet and teach invaluable lessons.

After chatting with colleagues, I came up with some of the most sweat-worthy PR moments folks have dealt with, along with tips for overcoming them:

Late, late, late. While pitching a prospective client in suburban Atlanta, we got lost on the way to the office and were about a half-hour late to meet with C-level execs. The busy prospects glared at us through the meeting and cut us off early to show their displeasure. (Needless to say, we didn’t win the business.) If you’re unfamiliar with an area, consider doing a “dry-run,” including driving to the prospect’s office. Even the best GPS isn’t infallible.

Conference line conundrum. For a top-tier reporter interview with one of my clients, I circulated our conference line details without double-checking with the rest of my team to confirm the line’s availability. Six other team members ended up dialing in accidentally for a totally unrelated call, some even scolding me for not double-checking. Always check to make sure the conference line is free.

Promoting the “awkward” product. While pitching an “adult diaper” client, I was asked—in mixed company—my impressions of having “tried it out myself.” Oh, the discomfort! If you find yourself in a similar position, I recommend you take a deep breath and just go with it, despite the embarrassment; just keep it clinical and professional.

[RELATED: Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training library for corporate communicators.]

The forgotten presentation. When I worked at a previous agency, we were a finalist for a large account. We were even told that we were the clear favorites after the first round. The final presentation was to be mid-afternoon at the company’s HQ, so our team spent the morning and afternoon rehearsing, casually having lunch, and then heading to the office only to realize we had forgotten our presentation. We tried going with it, as though we’d always intended to present this way, but that didn’t fly. Since then, I’ve always made sure we have backup and more backup (sending via email, on extra thumb drives, saving in the cloud).

The speechless spokesperson. After coordinating a call with a reporter and a client, briefing the client as usual and confirming journalists’ questions, I got on the conference line and the client spokesperson went mute. He wasn’t able to answer any questions. It was clear the reporter was getting upset. Luckily, I was familiar enough with the issues to jump in with answers, and on those I wasn’t, I steered things in another direction. The lesson is this: Don’t take anything for granted, and for phoners, make a “cheat sheet.”

What’s your most sweat-worthy PR moment? Please share in the comments section.

Kaitlyn Kotlowski is a senior account executive at Crenshaw Communications. A version of this story first appeared on the agency's blog, PR Fish Bowl.

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6 reasons never to pay ‘by the hit’

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:48:54 GMT

All too often we hear from companies looking to bring on a PR firm that they will pay for “results.”

They wax poetic about how they are willing to pay top dollar or “market rate” for the best work—they just want that amazing work to be done without any guarantee of payment.

Their definition of paying for performance comes down to paying for hits. There are many reasons why you should never hire a PR team or contractor that is paid for “hits”—below are six of them:

1. You are motivating around the wrong thing.

Of course, you need media results, and ultimately your dollars should be spent on things that drive your bottom line. But positive performance doesn’t just mean hits in this day and age. (Frankly, I’m not sure if it ever did.)

Paying based on tactical outcomes motivates your team to simply drive tactics and ignore strategy. What if something not media related is a better use of time? What if meeting the right VCs or speaking directly to your community would better impact your bottom line? If you work in a pay by hit model, you could be out of time and money before you figure that out.

Even when it comes to actually driving coverage of your company, paying by the hit motivates quantity—completely ignoring quality. What about the slow-burn media opportunities that take time to foster and offer more than a quick news blurb? Depending on your business and goals, those are almost always worth far more.

Though a pay by the hit model may address a feature versus a news hit, the motivation is still way off base since working on the in-depth article is more time consuming and risky.

Just because it may not happen doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and paying by the hit makes taking the big swings (which could miss) financially imprudent for the PR person on the other end. Why would I be motivated to take a risk and get one big hit if getting three quick hits yields the same money and is less risky?

[RELATED: Learn how companies like NASCAR drive engagement with content marketing at Ragan’s Content Summit.]

2. You are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

The best people in this business get paid for their time and their craft. By hiring someone who is willing to only get paid when they secure media coverage you are likely going to get someone who can’t negotiate to save their lives (and negotiation and consensus building are core strengths in this business).

Even worse, you will probably get someone who is desperate for business and can’t demand actual cash for their services. Do you think you’d get the best designer if you told them you would only pay them once their product was live and it proved to drive conversion? Anyone worth their salt would run like hell from that proposition.

Vet the people you hire, talk to your network, get referrals, and protect yourself with 30-day cut/change clauses in contracts—but then go with your gut, and pay us for our work. You wouldn’t expect a high school teacher to get paid only if your kid got into Stanford—maybe your kid is just not that smart, and maybe your product is just not amazing enough to warrant top media coverage.

3. You can screw yourself financially.

You should plan for your PR spend and work with a firm you can trust (see above). The goal is to quickly find your maximum ROI point—that spending amount that most effectively leads to maximum results per dollar. (Note: This can and should change over time; find a partner you can trust to communicate that to you and adjust with your needs.)

If you have pay per hit PR help, they might get 50 local radio hits in backwoods DMAs across the country that drive zero actual value for your business. (Flip this analogy if backwoods DMAs are your sweet spot.)

If you pay even $500 for each of those hits, you owe $25k for one month of service that yields you nothing. The same could be true on a “big hit.” Say you have to pay $15k for a large national morning show hit, and I happen to get one as your pay per hit PR person. Let’s say it doesn’t move the needle at all, and it’s all I do over a two-month period.

I just made the money I need to pay my bills. You, unfortunately, got nothing other than a pretty clip to add to a brag reel and burned a large percentage of your budget. Ultimately, neither of us got strategic insight about your business and its needs for the future.

4. You will drive the wrong tactics, even if you attempt to control the strategy.

PR people can get coverage with news, and sadly even crap press releases get picked up somewhere. So, if you motivate me with pay per hit, I will push to make news out of every sneeze that comes out of your company. Even if it makes the company look bad, gives me and all PR people a bad name, and continues to degrade the value of the press—I get paid.

As many entrepreneurs know, sometimes you need more time—launch windows slip, user testing brings up things you didn’t think of, a key team member jumps ship completely obliterating the planning product roadmap. At times like this, marketing should be motivated to find other high value work that helps long term – not just get quick hits.

What about the times when you think you are ready and you are not? Your PR folks should be able to level with you and tell you to pause and make the product better, get more user interaction in or clean up your web site before you launch. Pay per hit PR people won’t be able to tell you because the second you do the smart thing, their opportunity to get paid disappears.

5. You will get the media I know, not the ones you should know.

Every PR person has relationships—some better and stronger than others, but we all have them. Those getting paid by the hit will pick the lowest-hanging fruit to make sure they make their monthly numbers, and can you blame them?

You’ll get hits from media they know best, not the media you should be targeting. They may even honestly be able to justify why those press outlets are a good fit for your story—and maybe they are. But they are certainly not the only outlets you should reach, and pay per hit compensation means putting food on the table for that PR person is tied to ignoring that fact.

6. Contrary to popular belief, PR people can do math—especially when there is a dollar sign in front of the number.

If you grow up in agency PR you live and breathe billable hours, forecasting documents, and budget versus actual check-ins. It’s part of the services business and there is no reason to apologize for it.

Unfortunately, with a pay per hit model, those math skills are used to maximize results around what the PR team needs to get paid to be profitable, not around your business needs or even your coverage goals.

For instance, if I know I can make my numbers most securely by getting you five tech blog hits, that’s what I’ll put my energy into—even at the expense of laying the groundwork now for a business press feature in two months and print coverage in a long lead holiday gift guide in six which may be a better use of time when it comes to your businesses long term needs.

Ultimately, if you hire pay per hit PR help, you are just giving your money away. Go ahead and burn your hard-won resources on something that is not tied to business objectives, not long term, not strategic and likely a total waste of time if it floats your boat, but don’t come crying to legitimate PR pros about how shady the PR business is after you get burned—you made your bed.

Julie Crabill is responsible for the overall vision and direction of Inner Circle Labs and its team. Before founding the company, Julie spent 10 years in agency side PR with SHIFT Communications, Edelman and Weber Shandwick.

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Sustaining client service from virtual offices

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:52:55 GMT

I wrote a blog post this month about the PR firm of the future. Clearly, it isn’t all worked out yet, but I do think the days of people sitting in offices from 9 to 5 (or 8 to 6 or 7 to 7) will soon be history.

As I do when I’m working out a new idea, I looked at it first from the perspective of an employee and whether the virtual company gives us a competitive advantage. Is it an added benefit most firms can’t yet offer?

What about as an employer? What about the client service issue, from a professional services firm perspective?

How might our clients feel about working with people who might not be full-time and might not live in North America? How might they feel about never meeting the team who does the work, relying instead on their account team lead?

Nontraditional work hours

Danny Brown commented on that post, saying we should take a page from startups and let people work when they want—meaning that if they can get their work done in two 15-hour days and take the rest of the week off, so be it.

I joked that I wish I could do that (maybe there is some truth to it), but when push comes to shove, we are a client service organization, so we need to be “on” when our clients are.

[RELATED: Hear how top companies adapted to the digital PR industry changes at this August event.]

So we have a virtual organization, and we hold a contest that requires my team to get up from their desks—gasp!—during the middle of the day, but people still work normal business hours.

Heck, they may work even longer. I know Lindsay Bell starts her day around 5:30 or 6 a.m., but she’s also the best I’ve ever seen at shutting it down and not coming back to it until the next morning.

Then again, she’s a full-time employee, and she’s (for lack of a better term) required to work every day.

The client service issue

Here’s the other thing I struggle with: If people aren’t full-time, or they work two 15-hour days (or three 12-hour or whatever works), who becomes the client-facing person? Because I’m here to tell you, clients don’t care if you work only three days a week. If they have a challenge or issue at midnight on Saturday night, they’re calling you.

What I’m really afraid will happen is I will become the face to all clients, which isn’t scalable—and, really, isn’t where I should be spending my time if I want to expand an organization.

Of course, now that I type this (and think out loud), I realize there are different incentives and different pay structures for those who work more-traditional hours than those who do not.

We’re not at a startup that is creating products or widgets or technology or software to sell. We sell our time so I think we have to work more-traditional hours—at least until our clients begin to make the shift.

As things evolve, stay flexible

As you can see, it’s not fully baked. Things continue to evolve, and none of us really has any idea where it’s going to go.

What we do know is that most millennials (and some Gen Xers and Baby Boomers) want the flexibility to work from home, go to family events, use the technology they prefer, and work the hours that fit their personalities.

I know that when I worked for someone, if I hadn’t had to be in the office by 8:30 a.m. and had the flexibility to work the morning hours from home and then stay later than 5:30 each day, I would have kissed my boss.

Sometimes that flexibility is more important than money or benefits or retirement funds or team parties or catered lunches.

We don’t truly know what the PR firm of the future will look like or how we’ll “fix” the client service issue if everyone wants to work fewer than five days a week, but we do know it’s evolving, and we should be considering work flexibility now.

Gini Dietrich is founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, Inc. and blogs at Spin Sucks, where a version of this article originally appeared.

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How to ‘fire’ an unwanted client

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:49:00 GMT

Recently I asserted that all service providers should fire clients who are uncooperative or unprofitable. Plenty of readers of The Savage Truth agreed, but many asked, “How do I actually do it?”

Fair question. It’s not easy, but there are two guiding principles for this to work out well:

1. Be up front and crystal clear about what you are doing, and why.
2. Be scrupulously polite, and always leave the door open.

First, before you sit the client down for a good firing, you must decide whether there are any circumstances under which you would do business with this client again. Usually such scenarios are possible, so it’s crucial to leave the door open for the relationship to be picked up again—if the circumstances are right.

[RELATED: Hear powerful case studies from The Coca-Cola Company, Walmart and Whole Foods Market in October at Microsoft's HQ.]

If the client has been obnoxious or dishonest, you might decide never to do business with that person again (a liberating feeling, I promise.) In that case, you can kill the thing stone dead, right there and then—but still politely. None of us needs an extra enemy.

So, how to do the deed?

1. If possible, sit down with your client face to face. If that’s not possible, then speaking over the phone is the next best thing. Email? Never works. Always ends ugly. Don’t go there.

2. Your tone should be collaborative. (Avoid revealing the anger, bitterness, hatred, frustration, and annoyance you really feel.) Be polite. Be respectful.

3. Then, it’s your time to explain to the client that you really do want to work with them, and you really do want to help them reach their goals, but that the status quo does not allow you to do that.

4. Then go through the conditions that prevail, and spell out everything you will do to assist this client get what he needs. Explain in detail your process, your commitment to quality, and everything else that makes up your service, as well as what you need to do to get the results the client wants. This might seem strange, as you are poised to sever the relationship, but what you are doing is laying the path for the client to be rehabilitated—either now in this conversation (unlikely), or sometime in the future when they realize they really do need your help (slightly more likely).

And then…

5. You shift the conversation to what the client must do to make the whole partnership work for his/her benefit.

You see what you have done? “I want to help you. This is what I do to help you, but this is what you need to do to help you.”

So you might say, “Mr. Client, you have heard me explain all the things I will do to solve your challenges, but that’s only half the equation. For this to work we need you to … be more responsive, be open to advice, be more flexible.” Or whatever it is the client is not doing.

6. Then say, “So this is how we can really get the result you want. Can you commit to working this way with me?” This is the “It’s my way or the highway” question. But you are doing it so nicely.

7. If the answer to that question is a flat “no,” just be up front. “Working the way we currently do, Mr. Client, does not get the results you or I want. Of course it is your choice how you work, so when you are ready to come back and work with me in a partnership model, in the way I have described today, I will be delighted to start working with you again”

Bang! That is a fired client.

The door is still open, though, and no one has been rude or insulted or humiliated. Keep polite, keep collaborative, and keep saying you want his business—on certain terms. Truthfully, once fired, how often does the client “come back into the fold”?

About once out of five times has been my experience.

That’s OK. The other four you did not want, and the one who comes back is like the prodigal son—chastened and grateful.

Greg Savage is the founder of leading recruitment companies Firebrand Talent Search, People2People and Recruitment Solutions. A version of this story originally appeared on the his blog, The Savage Truth.

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20 pieces of advice every young professional should follow

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:51:41 GMT

May 23 marked the 30^th anniversary of my first day in the working world.

That day in 1983, I started my job as a receptionist on Capitol Hill after a local congressman hired me, sight unseen, over the phone three weeks earlier. I had a head full of big permed hair, big expectations, and little idea of what I was supposed to do as an employed and responsible adult.

Looking back, I didn't have specific career goals in mind at that point, but I did know what I was good at and the type of work I wanted to pursue. Here, 30 years later, I've been fortunate to have a rewarding career that gave me 10 great years on Capitol Hill and took me back to my home state of South Carolina for jobs that combined my love of writing, communications, and politics with my curiosity about people and places.

[RELATED: Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training library for corporate communicators.]

In 1983, I never dreamed my work would give me the chance to travel with a congressional delegation to Taiwan; raise money for causes I believe in; lobby the legislature and Congress for millions of dollars; ride in a fire truck; bike the Golden Gate Bridge; get published in national magazines; pick tobacco; work with great South Carolina mayors; have my picture taken with famous people like Tip O'Neill and Mister Rogers; visit 38 states; work on national, state, and local campaigns; stand at the podium in the White House press room; or be in the State House dome the day the Confederate flag came down.

I've figured out a few things along the way that I wish someone had told that 22-year-old with big hair walking into her first day on the job. Maybe the thoughts below will help others just starting out. I write this with huge thanks to all the bosses, mentors, friends, family, and colleagues I have had the privilege to work with and learn from over these 30 years.

1. Establish your personal brand. Decide what you want your reputation in the workplace to be, and let your actions define you. Keep promises, and make deadlines. Under-promise and over-deliver. Avoid behavior in your personal life that could hurt your professional life (even more true today with all the risks of social media in the mix). Remember that details count, especially when getting the details right sets you apart from others.

2. Seek out a mentor. I'm guessing many busy professionals may say, "I don't have time to be a mentor," but most mentor relationships happen naturally rather than being established formally. Be on the lookout for them. I bet my best mentors probably don't know they even served in that role.

3. Keep up with the news every day. Read the paper, check news websites and blogs, listen to NPR on the way to work. Know what's in the news about your organization or industry before your boss or client asks.

4. Get away from your desk, and walk outside. Even if it's just to walk around the block or grab a sandwich, at some point during the day your brain needs natural light and a whiff of fresh air, and your body needs to stretch.

5. Plan the work before you work the plan. Having no plan gets you nowhere. Plans will change either by force or circumstance. Be flexible, but have a plan regardless of whether it's a work project, a trip, a major purchase, or an important life decision.

6. Don't pass up a chance to learn. Find out what your boss or leaders in your profession are reading (books, professional publications, websites, etc). Seek out professional development opportunities; pay for them yourself, if necessary. Join professional organizations, and get involved.

7. Go to your boss with a solution, not a problem. Your boss is solving problems all day. Make her life easier by presenting a solution when you present a problem. Even if it's not the solution that ultimately solves the problem, it keeps your boss from dreading the sight of you at the door.

8.Write thank-you and follow-up notes (handwritten, not emailed). Collect cards from people you meet at events, in meetings, or just out and about. A handwritten "nice to meet you" note will set you apart and help the people you meet remember you. Technology is good, but the personal touch still matters.

9. Travel any chance you get. Travel to small towns and big cities across the country and around the world. Don't put off travel. You'll never tell your grandchildren about that great trip you didn't take because you were too busy at work.

10. Be interested and inquisitive. Ask good questions, and ask them often. Young professionals have a great deal to offer a work environment. Speak up when you have something to offer, but remember to balance your enthusiasm with senior-level colleagues' experience.

11. Remember that everyone carries their own sack of rocks. You never know what type of personal issues the co-worker who missed a deadline is dealing with at home or with his family.

12. Create your own personal style. That doesn't mean wearing flip-flops in a formal corporate environment. However, you can set yourself apart from the pack with a twist on the ordinary. To each his own, but just find your own.

13. Stay in the loop, but avoid the gossip. Be a "boundary spanner"—someone who is respected and trusted by people in all parts and at all levels of the organization.

14. Look for "reverse mentoring" opportunities. You can be a resource to your older colleagues. Seasoned professionals can learn a great deal from their younger peers.

15. Looking busy doesn't equal being productive. The co-worker who crows about his heavy workload and long hours is probably much less productive than the one who is organized and prioritizes his days.

16. A good editor will make you shine. Don't look at having your writing edited as you would look at a teacher correcting a paper. Editing is a collaborative process, and there's always room for improvement in your writing.

17. Don't come to work sick. No one appreciates the stuffy-nosed martyr. That's why you're afforded sick days.

18. Cultivate contacts outside work. Your next job will probably come from someone you know through church, nonprofits, alumni groups, friends, and professional organizations.

19. Take risks. It's OK to mess up occasionally. No one can expect perfection. You can often learn more from mistakes than successes. Yes, really, you can.

20. Strive for work/life balance. The "balance" will probably fluctuate daily, but creative outlets, exercise, and hobbies make you a more valuable (and saner) employee.

Reba Hull Campbell promotes the interests of South Carolina cities and towns as deputy executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. She can be reached at rebahcampbell@gmail.com.

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3 mistakes that kill a media interview

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:47:47 GMT

Memory studies consistently find that people forget the vast majority of what they read, hear, or see, especially if they are exposed to the information just one time.

One early study by Herman Ebbinghaus, the 19th-century German psychologist who was among the first to examine human memory, found that it takes just a few days for people to forget most of what they learn. Although his pioneering research was conducted more than a century ago, it still rings true for those of us who can never quite remember where we left our car keys.

For optimum sticking power, your messages should be free of three key things: wordiness, jargon, and abstractions. The more a message tries to say—and the more abstractly it tries to say it—the easier it is to forget.

[RELATED: Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training library for corporate communicators.]

As a general guide, aim for messages that have no more than two commas, contain no more than 30 words, and evoke concrete images.

1. Too many words: Resist the temptation to jam everything you can into a single message—omitting minor details makes sense. If editors will include just two of your quotes in a news story, don’t you want them to choose your two most important messages? If the editor decides to run your fourth- and seventh-most important messages instead, I’d question whether your interview was a success.

2. Technical jargon: Our clients in technical fields—such as scientists, physicians, and engineers—are the worst offenders when it comes to jargon. In fairness, their professional lives are awash in technical gobbledygook, and their office conversations are littered with words rarely used and barely understood by the general public. In this era of information overload, complicated wording will muddle your message and render it easily forgotten.

Even if you think your audience will understand complex terms delivered “in context,” don’t use them (or at least define them if you do). They won’t hear the end of your sentence if they’re still processing the unfamiliar term you uttered at the beginning.

Here, as an example, is an actual quote from a press release:

“The gradualness (oriented primarily towards actual users) of the new Handy Backup is the succession of interfaces. With all the maximal simplicity and refined usability, the new one is designed to look structurally associative to the previous version…”

3. Abstractions: These broad concepts are difficult to visualize. “Justice,” for example, is an abstraction—just try conjuring a vivid image of that word. A more effective message about justice might mention the need to punish thieves who rob old ladies by imprisoning the crooks for 20 years. That type of concrete message is more memorable and therefore works better for media messaging than an abstract one would.

Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the excellent book “Made to Stick,” write that “trying to teach an abstract principle without concrete foundations is like trying to start a house by building a roof in the air.”

The goal of most communication is to move an audience from lack of awareness to awareness to action. The more unburdened your messages, the more likely you are to achieve that goal.

Brad Phillips is the president of Phillips Media Relations, which specializes in media and presentation training. This adapted excerpt comes from Phillips’ book, The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need to Know Before Your Next Interview. A version of it originally appeared on his blog, Mr. Media Training.

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Hey, communicators, let’s play, ‘Would you rather…’

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:46:00 GMT

Last week my kids were playing “would you rather” in the back seat of the car. For those who’ve never played, it’s a party game that poses a question beginning with, “Would you rather…”

It can be a choice between two good options or a true dilemma—one involving two equally unattractive options. Answering “neither” or “both” is against the rules.

With my kids, their questions mostly involved superpowers (Would you rather be able to fly or breathe under water?); eating things (Would you rather eat a rotten egg or stinky cheese?); and school activities (Would you rather go to phys-ed all day, or have recess all day?).

[RELATED: Link creative communications to the goals of your organization with this one-day workshop.]

Listening to their game got me thinking about “would you rather” questions for corporate communications professionals. So, PR Daily readers, would you rather …

• … go to that late-afternoon meeting on 401K investment options, or go to the dentist and have a cavity filled?

• … listen to a presentation filled with words such as “synergize,” “leverage,” and “implement,” or clean out the company refrigerator?

• … read a blog laden with clichés such as “kick it up a notch,” or “leverage cutting-edge technologies,” ask the IT department for help with your computer?

• … submit to big-brotherish health assessments at the office, or have your health insurance premiums increase?

• … write the CEO’s message for the annual report, or edit the annual report message that the CEO wrote?

• … explain Google Analytics data to your CEO, or edit an article written that the corporate attorney wrote?

• … write the in-house company style guide, or be responsible for enforcing the in-house company style guide?

• … have your mom read everything you write, or have your favorite J-school professor read everything you write?

• … work with a client who refuses to use social media, or work with a client who only wants to use social media?

• … debate a co-worker about the serial comma, or debate a co-worker about the proper use of hyphens?

• … write your next article with a pen or a typewriter?

• … be without Google Search for one day, or be without Facebook for one day?

• … dance in front of your co-workers at the company holiday party, or play softball in front of your co-workers at the company picnic?

• … teach spelling to first-graders, or teach spelling to accountants?

• … take the three-hour tour, or be stuck on the island?

PR Daily readers, any other “would you rather” scenarios you’d like to share?

Laura Hale Brockway is from Austin, Texas. She is the author of the writing/editing/random thoughts blog, Impertinent Remarks. And she would rather be stuck on the island!

Is the traditional PR pitch dead?

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:53:32 GMT

Ah, the good old days—when politicians held news conferences to announce plans to run for office, journalists knocked on doors for a story, and we relied on reporters to ask uncomfortable questions in a TV interview.

Thanks to the power of new information channels such as social networking, online video, and blogging, PR professionals can create and syndicate content at the click of a mouse. Forget a press conference or interview—instead, people and companies push out self-made online videos, blogs, and Facebook posts to avoid the hard questions and control their message.

You are your own media outlet—or at least you can be.

“Blogging, Facebook, and Twitter have made it so much easier to pitch the media. It’s real time, 24 hours, and easier to manage,” says Teana McDonald, founder of InStyle Diva. “It’s created many more opportunities for us to pitch our clients.”

Facebook and Twitter are now pathways to news, but their roles might not be as large as some have suggested. A January 2013 poll from the Media and Public Opinion Research Group found that about 31 percent of Americans get their news from cable TV, and 29 percent access news from network television. The Internet placed third, followed by newspapers and radio. So, social media platforms are additional paths to news, not replacements for traditional ones.

So, is it possible to practice PR without reporters? Sure.

Is it smart? Not really.

“This strategy lacks the third-party credibility that comes from media,” says Matt Braun, director of public relations at Hanson Dodge Creative. “‘As seen on Facebook’ just doesn’t have the same credibility as ‘As seen in The Wall Street Journal.’”

RELATED: Hear how top companies have adapted to digital PR industry changes at this August event.

“Social and new media have made it increasingly easy to put your unmitigated message in front of your audience, so in many regards, it definitely cuts down on the stuff you would typically think about pitching to reporters,” says Matt Krayton, founder of Publitics PR. “There is nothing quite like building solid relationships with reporters. They keep you honest and, as a result, provide a certain credibility.”

Each pitching strategy has its pros and cons. When you pitch to a reporter, for example, you’re at the mercy of a news editor and what he or she deems newsworthy, says Braun. You also risk having your pitch get lost in the newsroom abyss, says Krayton. The ratio of PR people to “pitchable” journalists is estimated at 4 to 1, resulting in email inbox overload.

“There are a lot of garbage, irrelevant pitches out there,” says Gail Sideman, owner and publicist, Publiside Personal Publicity. “Some PR people are so pressured by their clients or bosses to pitch stories with no real news value that they devalue themselves and leave reporters with a bad taste should they ever pitch another story.”

If you play your cards right, the relationship between PR pro and journalist is unmatched.

“Few know your audience better than a reporter who spends hours each day embedded with a topic,” Sideman says. “Relationships are certainly more challenging. Media staffs are smaller, familiar faces are gone, and PR people have the responsibility to communicate the most succinct, educated, and informative news possible, or [they] risk being ignored or disrespected.”

Conversely, social tools allow instant publishing and 100 percent control of the message, without having to inundate journalists with irrelevant pitches, says Tami Monahan Forman, director of global corporate communications at Return Path. “The downside is that the world knows you have control, so it’s less credible. But that is the downside to media relations—you get the story they write, not the story you want.”

Ultimately, your pitch strategy should depend on your client’s business goals, says Forman. “Any PR program that isn’t focused on driving objectives for the business is not going to be successful,” she says. “Best-case scenario, it will produce a bunch of activity [such as] clips, tweets, and blog posts that no one feels too great about. Worst-case scenario, it will just be an absolute failure.”

So, although PR and your clients still want—and warrant—a mention high on the media food chain, public consumption of information demands that, for better or worse, the smartest PR plans involve a mixture of new and traditional PR methods.

“A pitch is a pitch. It’s got to be short, to the point, and tell the reporter why they should care,” Braun says. “If you can do this in 140 characters and that’s how the reporter wants to get information, great. If not, pick up the phone and have a two-minute conversation.”

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9 non-PR skills every PR professional needs

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:52:10 GMT

Each week, Dear Gracie answers questions from ProfNet Connect readers with advice from the network of nearly 50,000 ProfNet experts.

Dear Gracie,

I teach a class on corporate communications and PR. Knowing how to communicate well is an obvious skill that every PR person needs—but what about the non-obvious skills? What do my students need to learn for PR that doesn’t come to mind immediately? In other words, what skills do they need to know to survive in the real PR world that we don’t normally associate with PR? How will it help them?

Superfluously Skilled

*****************

Dear Superfluously Skilled,

Eight ProfNet experts give it to you straight:

1. Management and teamwork experience

“If you run an account or a PR business, managing others is a huge part of the job,” says Jennefer Witter, president of The Boreland Group. “Knowing how to manage is an art.”

PR pros who do not know how to work with their team members to get the very best (in what we all know is a very stressful occupation) will suffer from a high churn rate, says Witter. PR reps need to earn team members’ trust and loyalty to make them stick around.

Instability within a PR team can impact accounts, says Witter—because who wants to work with a new face who has to learn everything from scratch every few months?

“Chemistry among team members is important,” Witter concludes. “One bad apple can upset an entire apple cart.”

2. Financial skills

The ability to price PR services is an important skill that often gets overlooked, says Witter. “Finances are the key to a healthy agency, and if you don’t price properly, you can lose income.” At the end of the day, PR reps don’t want to find themselves in debt.

“When coming to a figure, it’s important not to only look at the overall picture, but the granular details as well,” Witter continues.

One of the first questions Witter asks clients is: “What is your budget?”

“If the number does not meet my base, it’s best to be honest and let them know that a professional relationship, at that price, will not work out,” she says. Explain why, and offer solutions. Maybe the client could have a project-based account, or go to a consultant instead of a full-service firm.

To determine appropriate pricing, Witter says PR reps should consider questions like:

• How many hours will you and your staff put against the project?
• Will you need outside resources?
• Are you marking up expenses or funneling through as is?
• What expenses will the client not pay for?

3. Multitasking abilities

To be successful in PR, you’ve got to be able to multitask, says Jeremiah Sullivan, owner of Framework Media Strategies. PR jobs require agents to think on their feet and manage more than one project at the same time.

“To be a professional communicator working and living in a world where communication never stops, you’ve got to expect that your job isn’t going to be a typical 9-to-5,” he says. “No day in the office will ever be ‘boring.’ Different assignments call upon different skills sets, and different clients have different demands—sometimes at the same time.”

“I could be pitching four or five different story opportunities to journalists across the country, while also maintaining administrative tasks and managing social media,” says Sullivan. There will be different facets and nuances to understand on any given day.

4. Extraneous knowledge

“Study something in addition to communications,” says Doug Boyd, former instructor of a public relations writing course at East Carolina University in Greenville, and current medical writer and editor for the university’s Division of Health Sciences, as well as a campus research magazine.

Boyd encouraged his students to get a certificate, minor or bachelor’s degree in a non-journalism, non-PR or non-communications field (although they should still taking a few communications courses).

Certain skills from an avocation (like golf, volunteering with animals, etc.) or a former profession also help in PR, says Susan Tellem, partner at Tellem Grody Public Relations, Inc.

For example, as a registered nurse, Tellem uses her knowledge of medicine and science to relate to her healthcare clients faster and with more depth than someone who does not have that kind of training.

“We have retained clients many times because of my nursing background,” she says. “It shortens the learning curve and coincidentally keeps my nursing skills fresh because I learn new technologies and treatments.”

Similarly, Neil Gussman, strategic communications and media relations manager at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, served eight years in the Army as a tank commander before going to college. During his military service, Gussman worked on live-fire missile testing, gaining experience in electronics, chemistry and math. Afterwards, these skills got him gigs as a technical writer.

“People who could write about technology had permanent employment,” he says. “It turns out if you know calculus, and the tech jargon of a particular specialty, you can talk to experts in the field and write coherent prose.”

When he eventually crossed over to PR, his military experience helped him again by attracting tech clients. “I once got a client directly with calculus,” he says. “We were pitching a safety-equipment manufacturer for both PR and advertising. In one creative meeting, I pointed out that if someone falls four feet, they are going 10 mph when they hit—not bad if it’s feet first, but other parts get damaged at that speed.” The client was very impressed.

“People training for a PR career can take math, physics or chemistry as electives and be way ahead of their peers,” says Gussman.

5. Math competency

“People often joke that communications professionals got into the business because they didn’t like subjects like mathematics in school or have an innate fear of numbers,” says Sullivan. (He admits that this might have been true for him, too.)

“What is becoming a reality is the fact that numbers—more aptly referred to as the ‘thirst for data’—have permeated the PR skill set at an increasing rate over the last several years,” he continues.

With the rise of new media, communicators are being asked to adopt an integrated marketing communication mindset that brings it all—PR, advertising, marketing, new media, etc.—under one roof to ensure a strategic approach in this non-stop, instantaneous world we live in, says Sullivan.

“There is an enormous race to not only attain data from customers and competitors alike, but to also crunch the numbers and research the plethora of information ascertained from Web analytics to communicate better, smarter, and faster with target audiences,” says Sullivan. These days, being able to interpret data and statistics is essential.

Here’s a pop quiz: Boyd once attended a board meeting with an HR person who said that the company had 12-percent minority employment, but 18 percent was the goal. The HR person said that they were just 6 percent short of their goal. What’s wrong with this interpretation?

(The answer is at the bottom of the article. No cheating!)

6. Tenacity

“We all have a tendency to steer our efforts towards situations where we believe we’ll get positive reactions, but publicists don’t have that luxury,” says Todd Fraser, account director at INK Inc. Public Relations.

“Most any PR flack will tell you that they live in a world of ‘no,’” he explains. “How you respond to rejection will determine your level of success—and sanity.”

“You can’t be afraid of ‘no,’ or people who won’t return your calls,” agrees Brian Gross, president of BSG PR. When it comes to rejection, fearlessness helped Gross when he branched out to new industries and worked on his own clients, and eventually when he created his own company.

You build relationships with the media by making calls and not being afraid to discuss your clients with reporters, says Gross. “Sometimes the little things can lead to incredible opportunities.”

The job demands that you keep returning to the negative, in the hopes of grabbing at the positive, explains Fraser. “For every hit there will be countless misses. The trick is to learn to accept the rejection and alter the approach when necessary,” he says.

7. Discretion and good judgment

“Clients do not need to know every detail of what a publicist does on their behalf,” says Fraser.

It doesn’t mean being dishonest (because any PR pro knows that going down that road will invariably come back to bite you or your client); it means that clients do not need to know if they were an afterthought for a story, or if their expertise is constantly getting rejected, or if a TV producer was interested in them until they saw their picture.

“That’s why it’s important to keep as much information close to your chest, and just let the client know when to be available and what they’ll need to do an encouraging way,” says Fraser.

Likewise, encouragement and handholding is sometimes necessary, but don’t put big ideas into your client’s head when they don’t need to be there, adds Fraser.

Putting your client down or pumping them up ultimately doesn’t serve anyone’s best interests, he says.

8. Common sense, perception and intuition

PR professionals deal with the task of monitoring and advancing clients’ credibility and reputations (in addition to their own) on a daily basis, says Sullivan.

“It’s not just about ‘talk, talk, talk,’ and get the message out there,” he says. PR reps need to “do their homework” long before ever opening their mouths to share their thoughts.

“You’ve got to use a lot of common sense not to appear tone deaf or insensitive once you put your message out there,” Sullivan explains. (A few recent Twitter blunders by celebs come to mind.)

PR is about being strategic in communications and “connecting the dots,” Sullivan continues. And critical thought and common sense are key attributes of that.

“PR folks are like the matchmakers between information and information seekers,” agrees Vicki Rackner, executive director at The Pain Stompers Foundation, founder of The Caregiver Club and owner of Medical Bridges. Being able to read between the lines is another important part of this matchmaking duty.

For example, one time Rackner was invited to talk about “how to partner with your doctor” on a radio show about poker. She wondered: What’s the connection between healthcare and poker? Only after the interview was over did she discover the real reason she had been booked: the host had a vocal polyp and wanted information about it from her.

Another time, Rackner was interviewed for a story about “parents who date after the death of a partner.” The writer kept asking follow-up questions, even though Rackner had given her plenty of good quotes. The writer eventually said, “I don’t really know what the editor wants.” They discovered later that the editor’s father had started dating three months after the editor’s mom died.

“People care most about themselves; find the personal issues bleeding into professional efforts,” she recommends. Connecting the dots isn’t always easy or straightforward, so use your head.

9. Creativity

PR pros are always expected to have their hand on the pulse of their publics—no matter how many arteries there now may be, especially with the advent of new media, says Sullivan.

It’s not always easy to stay on top of every trend or innovation in an industry, but there are tools and programs out there to help PR pros streamline their duty of keeping tabs on clients’ interests as well as their own, Sullivan continues.

For example, crowdsourcing social networks and micro-blogs is a recommended tactic to capture the true pulse of the target audiences you aim to communicate with daily, says Sullivan. These tools only go so far, however, so it’s important for PR pros to have “go getter” personalities and a sense of creativity, he says.

It’s important to find new ways to promote your client, so creativity is an essential skill, agrees Gross.

Gracie

Pop quiz answer: The HR person was incorrect to say they were 6 percent short of their goal because they were actually 6 percentage points short of their goal. They were short 6 percent out of 18 percent, so that’s actually 33 percent short! *High five* if you got that right!

Grace Lavigne is a senior editor of ProfNet, a service that helps journalists connect with expert sources. Dear Gracie is published weekly on ProfNet Connect, a free social networking site for communicators. To read more from Grace, check out her blog on ProfNet Connect. A version of this story also appeared on the blog Beyond PR.

This story originally ran on PR Daily in February 2012.

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The 3 biggest PR measurement mistakes

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:48:25 GMT

Many PR pros struggle with measuring the success of their social media, marketing or PR campaigns.

A lot of them make mistakes—from measuring the wrong things to not building measurement into the program from the start.

The biggest mistake?

Not having a measurement strategy at the outset, says Sandra Fathi, president of Affect.

Find out what the other two mistakes are, and what you should be doing instead.

RELATED: Hear how top companies adapted to the digital PR industry changes at this August event.

10 tips for a great summer PR internship

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:58:45 GMT

Congratulations! You have started your summer internship. You should be proud of yourself. It’s a significant accomplishment to be working in the field before graduation.

I’ve worked with dozens of interns over the last 10 years. For the most part, I’ve encountered motivated, organized, and fun young people who have embraced challenges and have contributed to the team in a very short period of time.

Here are a few tips to kick off your summer work experience and get the most out of your internship.

1. Be humble. You have a lot to learn, so a cooperative and eager attitude is appreciated.

2. Listen more than you talk. My mom used to tell me that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

3. Contribute. In PR or in any other professional career, participation in meetings, in brainstorms, and just in general workday interactions is expected. Don’t spout every little comment, but offer carefully chosen remarks when appropriate.

4. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Internships are there for you to learn. If you don’t take advantage of the opportunity, you’ll be shorting yourself.

5. Mind the rules. Be on time. Don’t sneak out early. Clean up your messes.

6. Dress appropriately. Don’t be tempted to dress down just because it’s summer. Avoid clothing that does not completely cover your “business.” Also, beach-type flip-flops are never appropriate for the office, even if someone else wears them. I’ve had to send people home for poor fashion choices; let’s just say it’s not a great reflection on you.

7. Be curious. Intellectual curiosity is what separates good PR pros from great ones. Be interested in the world around you.

RELATED: Hear how top companies adapted to the digital PR industry changes at this August event.

8. Write. Blog for your employer or for yourself, or keep a journal. It will be great to reflect on it several years later when you can congratulate yourself for your progress, and it’s always good for managing emotions and feelings.

9. Get paid. If you’ve accepted an unpaid internship, you are shorting yourself. Unless your internship is for a government agency or a nonprofit, chances are good that it’s illegal for you to work for free. Go to the Department of Labor website or your state attorney general to file a complaint. And please—I’m begging you—never accept another unpaid internship. Fortune 500 companies who “hire” unpaid interns are committing a crime against you and your family.

10. Smile. Even if you’re having a bad day, take a deep breath and smile. This is just a trial run for real life. If you like your internship, great. If you don’t,you can leave at the end of the summer.

Good luck, and have a great time. You’re a rock star!

A version of this story first appeared on the author's blog.

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