The “Heart Attack” ad is a first from King Pharmaceuticals, which is sponsoring the American Heart Association’s high blood pressure Web site. The ad is also a first for the Superbowl by Glow Worm, a Publicis Health Care Groupe.
The Chevy college ad competition winner was probably the funniest commercial of the day. Yay for good student work. Laugh out loud funny!
And Prince rules. He is one sexy little man. I am dying to go to 3121.
My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?
I’m not sure if I’m pleasantly surprised or embarrassed…
Last night, Todd Defren of Shift Communications joined my Advanced Public Relations Writing at the University of Oregon course via telephone to talk about the social media press release specifically and all things social media more generally.
My students have been assigned a client for which they are creating a “virtual press kit” for the client’s online newsroom. One of the pieces they include must be a social media press release. So they had questions ranging from “what does this look like when implemented?” to “how do you control the chaos of social media?”
Todd had five points – I hope I got these right – around why SHIFT initially came up with the template and its philosophy about PR’s role in social media.
1. The SMPR helps to democratize access. Company information should not be the exclusive domain of traditional media. Social media and the SMPR provide more access to more people, which, Todd argues, is a good thing.
2. Participating in social media, including issuing SMPRs, helps ensure accuracy. Providing access to official logos, photos and videos helps ensure the right ones get used.
3. The SMPR embraces context. Yes, social media requires companies to relinquish control – something that Todd admitted has been very difficult – but he emphasized the importance of being proactive. Setting up a purpose-built del.icio.us page provides the reporter or blogger context to your release or announcement making their jobs easier – and ultimately, it’s that facilitation that helps build relationships.
4. These tools help to build community. By allowing the community to do what they want to do with your content, you’re ultimately facilitating relationships with cohorts of journalists or bloggers that you’d otherwise not have time or knowledge to reach.
5. To build community, you must create shareable content. Build great content that can be broken up into smaller pieces and used in a way the community sees fit. Including Technorati tags helps facilitate the other four points.
To do social media “right” from a PR perspective it can take more time and money: more expensive to issue SMPRs through a wire service and more staff time to create and maintain the sources necessary to fulfill the purpose (not to mention client education).
Todd provided a good deal of background and context for the SMPR. So not only do the students understand the “how,” but have a better understanding of the “why.” The students certainly appreciated hearing a different perspective than mine (thanks, Todd, for reinforcing many of my points, by the way!) and enjoyed the conference call.
The Buggles song was the first played on MTV on August 1, 1981.
ABC’s 20/20 asks if privacy is dead.
There’s no denying that instant video has changed the media landscape. Celebrity, politics, law enforcement… and you. Search ‘nose picking’ on YouTube.
Jeff Jarvis, media blogger, calls it “small tv” and suggests that beyond the “flaming farts” there are video gems that are being overlooked.
What does this mean for communication professionals?
It’s important to understand the implications of viral video:
Anything remotely interesting can show up on the Internet and be shared and viewed millions of times over.
There seems to be no limit to what we (as a society) are interested in watching. Saddam Hussein’s hanging – in full – was available within 24 hours of his death. More than 1500 videos are available.
We must be prepared, as PRos, to help clients and companies navigate the new media landscape. And to do that, like any channel of communication, we must be consumers of that media. We must understand how it works and who uses it. Uses and Gratifications Theory is a whole lot more complicated than it once was.
Guest Post from Erica Harbison, Waggener Edstrom and member of the PRos in Training “advisory board”
It’s almost a new year – perfect time to resolve to learn more about blogging and bloggers.
So you’ve been hearing a lot about the rise in influence and importance of bloggers, eh? I’m here to tell you that from a PR perspective, what you’re seeing and hearing is true.
Bloggers are here to stay for the foreseeable future and they (we) are powerful. I say “we” because if you haven’t gotten on the blog bandwagon by now, you’re already behind. Being a blogger, as Kelli has evangelized many times before, is the first step in knowing how to reach bloggers. If you’re driving a PR campaign, it’s nearly always appropriate to think about how to reach include bloggers in your strategy.
Your first piece of homework is to research bloggers who are writing about your client / product / industry. How do I do this, you say? Check out Technorati
Now reaching bloggers via traditional PR tactics is a tricky business. They are not like reporters who want to be “pitched.” The rules are completely different. The agency I work for has been trying out different strategies to reach these guys and it seems to be working (hosting special blogger-only events and organizing suites for bloggers to post/podcast at tradeshows). The key thing with bloggers is they don’t want to be PR’d. Here are some things I’ve learned:
photo: Kelli & Erica, January 2006
With the new year, comes a new term and a new chance for students of all kinds to think about how to be better.
1. Be Curious: Read, ask questions, find out everything you can about your chosen profession. In public relations that means reading the industry blogs (I recommend Communication Overtones, PR Squared and On Message), paying attention to industry news (PR Tactics, PR Week and Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog), talking to local professionals in your community and being an avid consumer of media.
2. Be Engaged: Beyond curiosity, engage your mind. What are the greater implications of what you’re reading, listening to or talking about?
3. Be Empathetic: To succeed in public relations, you must be able to put yourself in another’s shoes. Practice now! How did your teammate come to that conclusion? If you were a member of a particular target audience, how would a company or organization reach you? As a client, how often would you want a report and what information would be important?
4. Be Active: Active involvement in pre-professional organizations is an excellent way to be involved on your campus and in your community and make connections for your future at the same time. At the University of Oregon, PR students are involved in PRSSA and Allen Hall Public Relations, the student-run public relations agency.
Start your own blog, make connections via social networks like MySpace or Facebook. Find a new site like Zaadz, 43things or even Dogster.
5. Be Responsible: Your actions, your education and, yes, your grade are your responsibility. Your instructors (hopefully) provide the direction and the tools. But if you’re serious about your education and your future career, personal responsibility is essential. If you need help, get it. If you have a question, ask.
6. Be Confident: As you mature into a young professional, trust your instincts and your ability to find a great internship, offer counsel to your brother’s friend’s start-up company and generally do good work. The balance, of course, is to be confident and humble. Know when you are in over your head and get help.
7. Be Passionate!: The beautiful thing about choosing a career in public relations is that you can find the industry that makes you passionate about communicating. Maybe it’s performing arts? Or high-tech? For me, it’s nonprofit work and social change. Find your passion and shout it from the rooftops!
In 2007 these six “be-attitudes” will be, in many ways, easier. We have greater access to information and resources that help us achieve to our maximum potential.
This post is part of the ProBlogger group writing project.
Sometimes it takes me a while to get in the holiday spirit. I blame 5 years of working in retail and hospitality.
The worst of it – having to listen to holiday music for 6 weeks straight.
But what if Christmas was your JOB. And no, I don’t mean working as the jolly man in the red suit.
The National Christmas Tree Association is the trade association for Christmas tree growers.
Obviously its busiest time of year would be right about now. The Association does a nice job of providing lots of resource information via its Web site for news media. The Web site’s not slick, but it’s useful.
Highlights:
What would you add? What would be a fun way to promote real Christmas trees?
Happy Holidays!
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| From PRos in Train… |
As a woman who is relatively “in tune” with her body, I can tell you that hormones certainly have an influence on the ebbs and flows of mood, comfort, social aptitude (and attitude) and creativity (among other things). An e-zine, www.fourweeksmag.com is taking this idea to a new level.
I watched a National Geographic or Discovery Channel show many years ago that showed that women who are ovulating are more likely to dress and act in a way that might “attract a mate” – stripping us down to our primordial urges. I think the examples were that she might wear more revealing clothes and play with her hair (a grooming ritual). I am fascinated by that stuff. I think I was an anthropologist in another life.
So today, I was cruising PRWeb (don’t ask…) and came across tips from www.fourweeksmag.com about how to use your natural monthly rhythms (women) and daily hormone cycles (men) to be a better shopper.
As a consumer, a communicator, a woman and a mother I dislike the idea that anyone would be a slave to their hormones (any more than one might be a slave to the alignment of the stars and moon). But what the writer argues is certainly interesting.
From the press release:
Save money by… Avoiding impulse items like bath products, gadgets and anything next to a cash register. Rising testosterone this week makes women more likely to splurge on small items not on their shopping list.
So. As a “mom and pop” store, would you position yourselves as comfortable and familiar in your advertising, PR and marketing? I’m not sure there’s any deep application to our craft – but what do you think?
photo by: pintong
Leo Bottary, one of my favorite bloggers, offers 10 tips for agencies pitching new business. His tips, as always, are terrific. And even though I don’t do a lot of new client pitching on a scale that would require a formal “presentation” – I am responsible for an inordinate number of presentations on a weekly basis. Comes with the territory of being a university instructor, right?
So, taking Leo’s tips and applying them, not only to business pitches, but to my lectures, I find myself coming up a little short. I fear I may be responsible for a large number of presentation sins.
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| From PRos in Train… |
My favorite tip:
Now, in my defense, in a class of 100+ students, engaging in actual conversation is very difficult. However, in my senior seminars – with 16 – 20 students – can easily be directed with conversation, not PowerPoint.
Rather than my capabilities, as an instructor, I would tend to focus on specific skills or the golden nuggets of knowledge that I need to impart to these sponge-like minds that sit before me. Sure, my students have a need to know. But there are ways to accomplish the course objectives by collaborating and joining in a conversation – can I practice the “two-way symmetrical” model that I teach?
I am jazzed about next term (starting January 8), not just to improve my lecturing skills but I get to teach a brand new class. That, to me, is usually a good motivator. I’m always up for a challenge.
