Archive
Why PR in a Vacuum Sucks
Some interesting conversations came from last week’s assertion (by me) that PR in a vacuum sucks, so let me clarify a few items. While the main point was pretty straight forward, it left a few questions unanswered.
So, what is so bad about operating in a vacuum anyway? Well, nothing I suppose. There are plenty of opportunities for PR folks and agencies to represent clients that desperately need some PR help – even if (maybe especially if) these companies don’t know how to help themselves. This post isn’t about trashing companies that don’t commit to their own PR program, nor is it about criticizing agencies for taking on these clients. This is really designed to shed some light on the fact that as much as we (the PR industry) like to discuss the power of PR and what it takes to be a good client, we rarely discuss the consequences of a program that is operating in a vacuum. This leads to the next obvious question. Read more…
Is Social Media Good for PR?
Recently, the case was made (by me) that social media may be bad for PR (agencies). The premise – which I still stand by as valid – was that social media would be run in-house and that would lead to more companies moving their entire communications’ departments (including PR) in-house.
But, because I don’t even agree with me all the time, here is an alternative look at the impact of social media on public relations.
Premise: As social media becomes more important to business communications, organizations will turn to professional communicators to navigate this rapidly evolving channel. The professionals most applicable to handle the task may just be PR agencies.
Is social media important to business communications? Yes, of course, and its impact and importance are growing everyday. Even for B2B technology companies – by many accounts the late adopters of social media – having a strong social presence is akin to having a website in circa 2000. If all your competitors are doing it, and your customers expect it, then adopt or be left behind. Read more…
Is Social Media Bad for PR?
Most of the space on this blog has been taken up defending old-school public relations. I’ve argued against those that declared the death of the press release and the demise of public relations, (although I have admitted that I’m no longer in public relations) but there is a current trend that has me wondering if we are nearing the beginning of the decline – not of public relations, but of – outsourced public relations.
Now, I’m not smart enough or connected enough to the PR agency business leaders to have the insight to present credible data or point to the industry trend lines, but you’ve come this far, so stick with this premise for a few minutes (and questions) and tell me if you think I’m off base.
Premise: Social media is important to business communications and as organizations build their communications department to adapt to the need for integrated communications, we will see a shift toward more in-house public relations.
Is social media important to business communications? While everyday there are new articles, blogs and stats about the ROI of social media, the larger question has been answered. Sure, social media engagements and strategy is still in its infancy stage for many organizations, but the bottom line is that it is too powerful and ubiquitous to ignore. Answer: Yes, social media is important to business.
Companies Too Dependent on PR Agency?
As a PR professional for over a decade and a half – mostly on the agency side – I’ve represented lots of companies from early stage start-ups to well established brands. Through no fault of PR, many of the companies I’ve represented no longer exist – some have been aquired, some have reinvented themselves, others have closed thier doors and there are probably others that I just don’t remember.
On a whim I recently searched (Google News) for four of my of my past clients – all of which are still in business – and there was one result. Not one results each, but one results in total. One guest written article. That is all.
When working for these companies the results varied, but safe to say each saw a significant amount of coverage. None of the relationships ended due to lack of coverage. During the engagements I feel like I did all I could to educate the client regarding strategy and tactics necessary for a successful PR program.
Yet none were able to maintain any media visibility. It is sad to see a company completely fall of the map, but part of me feels proud because these results proved that securing coverage for some clients is really really hard. Mostly I wondered WHY these companies were not able to maintain some momentum from their successful media relations programs. Read more…
PR Agencies Fail to Walk the Blog Talk
As a gift to the folks that happen to stop by this blog from time to time, here is a guest post by Craig Pearce , a public relations professional who runs his own PR consultancy, Craig Pearce Strategic Communication. For more from Craig visit his blog – Public Relations and Managing Reputation.
I was shocked and appalled to discover that most Australian PR agencies do not have blogs. Yet you can bet your bottom dollar that many, if not the majority, of these PR agencies are espousing their clients get on the social media bandwagon (doubtless based on a sincere belief in their clients’ best interests, but also doubtlessly to turn a buck for themselves). Read more…
PR Industry Shouldn’t do ANYTHING to Help Clients
I will not do ANYTHING to help my client. There I said it.
Those of us in the PR industry all (hopefully) agree that there are ethical lines in the sand that we as PR people shouldn’t cross, but there are a couple of gray areas that deserve discussion. When it comes to Reader’s Choice awards and (non-PR) industry surveys, PR’s job is to Promote not Vote.
Occasionally we see stories like PR firm got caught astroturfing the App Store, that remind us that making ‘false representation’ is not in our job description, yet ask a bunch of PR people if they think voting for clients is wrong and I bet you’ll hear answers like: ‘no, it isn’t wrong it’s PR’ or ‘I never really thought about it being wrong.’ Read more…
What Role Should A Communications Agency Play In A Client’s Social Media Program?
Part three in the four part 4/4/4 Four Communications Issues. Four Perspectives. Four Weeks blog series brings us to – What Role Should A Communications Agency Play In A Client’s Social Media Program?
Honestly, this topic could be career suicide for a PR agency flack that believes social media content needs to be driven by internal resources. This could also be seen as very self-serving for an agency type claiming that an outside resource brings an independent perspective that is required in social media. Read more…
Your First PR Job Shouldn’t Suck THIS bad
Touchy PR Guy Did His Job
Did you see the video of the touchy PR guy (Mark Slavin) that can’t keep his hands off the TV reporter?
Did you agree that he was a horrible PR guy who should lose his job?
Well, you are not the only one. I’ve read lots of people commenting about what a terrible PR guy (he is actually director of community relations, but whatever) he is, but maybe, just maybe, we’ve been too hard on this guy and he may actually deserve some credit for a job well done. Read more…
Perspective is (Still) Everything
Blogging Lessons Learned by Not Blogging (Part two of two)
I stated in my previous post that taking a month off from blogging provided some interesting perspective of the value and act of blogging. So here is some more insight that I’d offer to clients / prospective bloggers - assuming they were not already scared away by the previous blog post.
- Blogging isn’t work. Writing a blog isn’t writing an article of a college thesis – it is a place to make a point, but in a much more casual and personal way. While anything published on the Internet can be seen and preserved forever that doesn’t mean that you need to over think every written word in fear of changing your mind down the road. Read more…
