Deirdre Breakenridge

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'It’s the end of the summer and fall marks the busy season for professionals, as well as PR educators and students who are back in school. Gearing up for a productive fall means having the most efficient tools in your PR and communications toolbox. There are SO many tools that I’ve “ Tech Tested ” in 2014. Here are nine resources (both free and paid tools) I’ve discovered that have the power to enhance your communications program in a variety of ways. 1.

Communications 383

Communications Tools Google Resources 383

Ronn Torossian

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

'It’s a question every career oriented professional asks when entering the workforce. And it’s a question every employer needs to have an answer for: How do you get a job that requires [.]. The post The Role of an Internship in your Business Success appeared first on Ronn Torossian 5WPR CEO Blog - 5W Public Relations PR Agency.

Agency 296

Agency Blogging Publicity 296

Flack's Revenge

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'When giving advice, it generally helps to have real credentials, such as professional experience in a field. But I have noticed a trend in which armchair flacks such as VCs , journalists and CEOs spew forth about PR (saying things like you don’t need PR, or an agency, or you’re doing it all wrong, etc.). The straw that broke the camel’s back was an article in the NY Times , by Robert Moore, CEO of RJMetrics (which my friend Judy Gombita shared).

Skype 266

Skype Pinterest Agency Social Media 266

Melissa Agnes

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

'Though Facebook isn’t a leading source of information dissemination in a crisis , it is an important channel to communicate on if your organization has a strong Facebook following that will turn to your fan page for updates and to express themselves and communicate with you and others. Facebook is always changing their algorithms which impacts the reach of your updates, so it’s good to stay as on top of these changes as possible (though not to depend on them).

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Crisis Communications Facebook Crisis Communications 265

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Internal

Rock the Status Quo

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

'I don’t know about you, but I’m always having to Google the size of images for various social media platforms. To make my life easier – and maybe yours – I’ve put together a quick social media cheat sheet of image sizes for Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube. I’ll do my best to keep it updated, so feel free to bookmark the link!

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Social Media Pinterest Media YouTube 236

Deirdre Breakenridge

SEPTEMBER 26, 2014

'Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting my PRSA friends in Rochester at the PRSA Northeast District Conference. Together, we were blurring the lines and carving out the Modern Day Communicator. We set aside the hype and buzzwords and focused on strategic communications and technology to advance the practice of public relations. It was a day full of questions, ideas and forward thinking for the PR industry.

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Interviews Energy Meeting Conference 375

Ronn Torossian

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

'When an Atlanta homeless shelter was in danger of having its water service terminated, an Atlanta area charity known as Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless stepped up and delivered hundreds of cases of bottled juice and bottled water to the shelter. Sure, they could have tried to raise the money [.]. The post The PR price of doing what needs to be done appeared first on Ronn Torossian 5WPR CEO Blog - 5W Public Relations PR Agency.

Agency 191

Agency Blogging Publicity 191

Flack's Revenge

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

'It is an old saying in PR: “there is no accounting for taste.” Said another way (as we teach in media training), in any market, one company will rise to the top, fueled by “story energy” The media will inexplicably latch on and just fawn. These thoughts crossed my mind as I read NY Times Media Equation columnist David Carr’s excellent analysis of the media fascination with Apple in light of last week’s “Applemageddon” news orgy.

Energy 196

Energy Analysis Media Retail 196

Melissa Agnes

SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

'When you hire a crisis management professional or firm, whether prior to or during a crisis, expectations of both parties need to be clear. Surprises are not something you want to experience while managing a crisis, the crisis will present you with enough of those on its own! That said, I thought I’d provide you with some qualities and strengths to look for in a crisis management professional/firm, as well as a baseline of what you should be able to expect from the professional or team yo

Crisis Management 264

Crisis Management Crisis Reputation Resources 264

Journalists receive an overwhelming number of press releases daily, making it hard for your news to stand out. While some news is valuable, most is not.

Media

Rock the Status Quo

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

'Until last week, I was a staunch supporter of iStockPhoto.com. At three credits for a low-res image suitable for blogging, it was my go-to resource for stock photography. Depending on how many credits I purchased at a time, it would run from $1.59 to $2 per credit – so my image would cost $4.50 – $6.00. Not too bad. I can live with that.

Pinterest 202

Pinterest Content Marketing Resources Software 202

Shift Communications

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

'Photo Credit: Benny Mazur. As part of the AMEC Measurement Week, I’ve been asked to prepare some quick thoughts on how to explain PR metrics to stakeholders and executives. Rather than get highly technical, I thought I’d share a story about apple pie. Imagine that there were two grandparents and a grand-daughter named Mary that made and sold apple pie at a roadside stand.

Publicity 167

Publicity Data-Driven PR Measurement Data 167

Deirdre Breakenridge

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'If you haven’t checked out theSkimm, I encourage you to take a look. I recently wrote about the daily email newsletter in my blog post, What’s in your Fall 2014 Communications Toolkit? ” For me, theSkimm is an essential resource. For those of you who are curious about theSkimm and how the newsletter came to life, here’s a Q&A with theSkimm co-founders, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg.

Interviews 329

Interviews Social Media Technology Resources 329

Communications Conversations

SEPTEMBER 26, 2014

'After just a quick peek at the Microsoft Stories site, you can’t help but be impressed. Clean. Easy to scan. Big, popping visuals. It’s a pretty slick site. What’s more, dig in a bit, and the content is every bit as good as the wrapper it comes in. For example, take the post about Microsoft’s “Garage” concept (titled “Inside Microsoft’s 24-Hour Idea Factory” ).

Storytelling 165

Storytelling Web Case Study Branding 165

Speaker: Michelle Garrett, PR Consultant, Author, Speaker

Yes - press releases are still relevant in the world of public relations! 🎯 Ever wondered how to write a compelling press release, or what are current best practices for pitching your news to earn media coverage? In this exclusive webinar with Michelle Garrett, PR Consultant, we’ll cover tips and advice to help you get the most out of each piece of news you pitch!

Pitching

Ishmael's Corner

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'With the story “ The Invasion of Corporate News , The Financial Times became the latest publication to skewer brand journalism. I suppose the FT figured a headline along the lines of “You’re Too Stupid to Figure Out Journalism from Propaganda” might alienate readers. Because that seems to be one of the themes in the FT piece. Stepping back for a moment, I’m still perplexed by the rancor that publications dish at brand journalism.

Journalism 150

Journalism Branding Brand Publicity 150

Melissa Agnes

SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

'Welcome to episode #015 of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, with Melissa Agnes and Chris Syme. The fact is that monitoring social media and the search engines needs to be a part of your corporate culture. It needs to be second nature and integrated into your daily (and nightly) activity. But what differs between everyday monitoring and in-crisis monitoring?

Social Media 249

Social Media Crisis Media Pinterest 249

Rock the Status Quo

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

'SMACK. POW. Right where it counts! Nope, not on your kisser but, even worse, in your wallet. Agencies, PR and marketing professionals, bloggers and anyone doing social media (who doesn’t?) are unwittingly putting themselves at risk. The lesson can be expensive, with lawsuit costs and fines stacking up in a horrifying way. What am I talking about?

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Blogging Agency Social Media Content Marketing 194

Shift Communications

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

'With all of the recent chatter and excitement about Ello , it’s been a great opportunity to pause and consider the business model. As a review, Ello’s manifesto states that the site will not be ad-supported and will not share users’ data. Those are the two main points of its business strategy. Many are welcoming this (although a number of people are skeptical about the likelihood of that business model being sustainable and even dismissive of the founders’ effor

Course 166

Course Data Strategy Facebook 166

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Brand

Deirdre Breakenridge

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

'Where did the summer go? It’s September, which, for most, marks the busy season. Vacation is over and our students, educators and pros are either back in the classroom or busy at work. On September 9 th at 8:30 p.m. ET, the #PRStudChat and #PR20Chat communities will gather for a joint Twitter chat discussion on finding the most effective resources to include in a “Back to School #PRToolkit.”.

Twitter 324

Twitter Community Ethics Resources 324

Communications Conversations

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

'I get it. Millennials are the best thing since Harrison Ford flew the Millennium Falcon (wait, Millennial friends, you do know who Harrison Ford is, right? RIGHT?). I get it. Your generation will comprise 99.9% of the workforce by 2025. I get it. Your generation shares more, consumes more and is more digitally savvy than any other generation. Ever.

Marketing 162

Marketing Media Leadership Trends 162

Stuart Bruce

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'‘Should the C-suite tweet?’ was the question at the recent CIPR Corporate and Finance’s group seminar. The unequivocal answer from the panel of experts was maybe! The expert PR panel was made up of: Stuart Jackson, former director, CEO Office, EE, now CEO and founder of UP communications. Jon Sellors, RSA Group, UK head of media relations.

Social Media 150

Social Media Twitter Radio Sports 150

Melissa Agnes

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

'Preventable gaffes give you a bad rep for no reason. I realize that real-time is of the essence, but it’s better to take an extra 10 seconds to understand what you’re posting, then to make a mistake that gets written about for days to come – and makes you look insensitive and foolish. From Union Street Guest House , to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and British Airways , to US Airways – and the list goes on and on, preventable gaffes happen to far too many.

Twitter 249

Twitter Case Study Analysis Study 249

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Crisis Management

Rock the Status Quo

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'The more I work with digital agencies, the more I’m noticing a few trends in common across all of them. 1. While they want to be a full service digital agency, they tend to excel at one thing, not everything. 2. Some are repackaging services under new labels and jargon, but what they deliver hasn’t changed. 3. They are frantically trying to hire, but can’t find the right combination of skills. 4.

Agency 188

Agency SEO Advertising Advertising 188

Shift Communications

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

'“If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around, does it make a sound?”. The same could be asked about a blog: If a blog is written but has no readers, does it exist at all? Without readers, no one is listening and nothing will come as a result – no leads, no traffic. Don’t let your blog fall into the cobwebs of your website. Give the following a little TLC to help encourage people to read.

Blogging 161

Blogging How To SEO Analytics 161

Ronn Torossian

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

'There’s no doubt that technology is both the blessing and the curse of modern life – and modern consumer PR. Ronn Torossian says the latest brand to learn this lesson the hard way is Home Depot. The home improvement giant certainly benefits from allowing customers to pay with plastic, as [.]. The post Home Depot Breach has Customers Checking their Wallets appeared first on Ronn Torossian 5WPR CEO Blog - 5W Public Relations PR Agency.

Technology 150

Technology Consumer Agency Blogging 150

Communications Conversations

SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

'OK, I know what you’re thinking. He’s writing a post about a significant industry thought leader in hopes of landing a RT or share. I would have been guilty of that charge…5 years ago. Now: I could care less if Jay reads this post (no offense Jay, if you do in fact read it). What I do care about (and continue to be astonished by) is the way Jay creates, curates and distributes content on a daily basis–better than almost any brand.

Video 158

Video Strategy Conference Interviews 158

Speaker: Shawna Bruce, Director of M.D. Bruce & Associates Ltd.

Are you ready to face the unexpected? When the stakes are high and the pressure is on, there's no time to waste - you must be prepared to communicate clearly and confidently. In today's unpredictable world, mastering the art of crisis communication is a must-have skill for any public relations professional. Whether you're facing a weather disaster, a cyber attack, or a PR nightmare, knowing how to craft a clear and compelling message can mean the difference between chaos and calm, confusion and

Crisis

Ishmael's Corner

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

'The influence of journalists remains as important today as when I started in the communications business. While the Internet has commoditized news announcements, what appears in publications still impacts a company’s brand and reputation. That’s why I was intrigued when I heard that Muck Rack (in cooperation MDC Partners) surveyed a cross section of journalists — newspapers, magazines, trade publications, etc. — to learn how they like to be pitched.

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Pitching Survey Storytelling Newspapers 146

Melissa Agnes

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

'I get asked this question often: “How can I convince management that it’s in our best interest to invest in a crisis plan?” It’s hard to be the middle person, especially when you see the value in something and know it would be in the organization’s best interest, but have an uphill battle in trying to help upper management see that same value.

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Crisis How To Crisis Management Case Study 243

Rock the Status Quo

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

'“Don’t be irrelevant, poorly written, too lengthy, boring and annoying. PR people, please understand who you are pitching, sum up your thoughts in less than four sentences, use spell check, entertain me, and ditch the buzz words if you want your emails to stay out of the trash can.” ~ Erica Swallow, Mashable Erica’s quote is wonderful and something ALL of us should take to heart.

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Pitching Guidelines Creativity Media Relations 174