1. What SOPA Means for PR Professionals (Ragan’s PR Daily)

SOPA was a major industry topic this week, with a large amount of websites, including Wikipedia, protesting the act. It’s interesting to see how this act influences public relations. For example, did you know that if you represent a client with a non-U.S. website that hosts offensive content, Google will be required to exclude the website from their search engine?

2. PR: The Best Insurance in a Crisis? (PR News)

After the sinking of a Carnival Cruise ship off the coast of Italy, there was a lot of discussion on how large companies should handle this type of crisis. PR News wrote an interesting story explaining that many insurance companies are partnering with public relations agencies to offer crisis management services to businesses.

3. Interview: Mark Cuban On PR’s Value For Startups (PRSAY)

Last week, Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, wrote a piece in Entrepreneur advising startups on how to have a successful start. One of his rules was to “never hire a PR firm.” After receiving a large amount of feedback on his advice, Mark Cuban spoke with the PR blog, PRSAY, to provide more details on his response.

If you find any additional great public relations articles that you’d like to share, get in touch in the comments section.

Back in September the PR firm came under fire after the LA Times uncovered that Coghlan was affiliated with fake news site, News Hawks Review, and had been shamelessly promoting their client Central Basin Municipal Water District of California on the site. Coghlan has an agreement between Central Basin’s public affairs office which promises promotional stories “written in the image of real news.”

This couldn’t be a more blatant violation of PR ethical standards.

Following the LA Times’ expose, PRSA weighed in condemning Coghlan actions and the industry rags were all a flutter with disapproval. You would think, given the public outcry, Coghlan would amend its ways. Quite the contrary. The LA Times reported Tuesday that the fake site, News Hawks, was publishing stories by “journalists” that didn’t exist. Since being called out on this, they have taken down their staff bios. PR Daily outlined the full details of their actions.

Of course, this is something that shouldn’t be breached and Coghlan did so intentionally, which is an issue. But here are three tips to make sure you’re on the right side of the ethical line, when doing PR for a client:

Don’t Pretend to Be Something You’re Not: You should never misrepresent who you are, or who your client is.

Transparency Is Key: Be honest and forthcoming about all relevant aspects of what you’re doing when personally promoting a client and you’ll avoid potentially hairy situations.

If  Your Stomach Hurts At The Idea, You Probably Shouldn’t Do It: The situation with Coghlan serves as a scary reminder to do a gut check every now and again when you find yourself in a hairy situation.

It’s a hilarious – and also scary – take on how many of us PR professionals are dumping the word “excited” into each press release. And I won’t lie (because the internet lives forever), I’ve also used the word “excited” in releases from time to time.

So while it’s tempting to simply now offer a few thesaurus-ready alternatives to “excited“, I think what we (myself included) really need to do is re-evalaute the way we write quotes in general. As such, here are a few things to consider before falling into the age-old, “We’re so excited to….” quote:

• Can you skip over the excitement all together? Often, we’re opening with “we’re so excited” as way to stall the quote. Write the quote, then cut out the “excited” clause – the rest of the quote may work as a stand alone.
• Quotes are most effective when they sound like they were actually spoken by the attributed executive. Consider that executive’s “voice” and consider what they may actually say about the announcement (and I’m willing to bet few can’t wait to tell you about how “excited” they are.)
• Write down the top messages you’re trying to get across in the release. Are you missing any of them? Make that message the quote, and get straight to the point.
• Quotes are a fantastic tactic for when you want to insert opinion into a news release, and can’t simply type up a statement about your client’s perspective in a raw paragraph. Use the executive quote to put the opinion at the forefront. For example, “We’re the only company leveraging this technology to do X”, or “Our software is matchless in its ability to Y.”

Any other strategies for avoiding seeing your press release on the Everyone’s Excited in Press Releases blog?

How does this relate back to PR? Well…recently, I was in a rather observant mood and started noticing the “handout” techniques promoters were using. Some loudly called out the name of their companies; some interrupted groups of people asking what their plans were for the day. Others took more creative approaches. I remember seeing promoters dressed up as brides to snag viewers for the premiere of Who the [Bleep] Did I Marry? There was even someone singing who managed to draw a small crowd. But there’s one tactic I will never understand: the people that just stand there. Arms outstretched with flyers in hand. Saying nothing. Telling you nothing about the company they represent. I’ll let you guess who has the most flyers left at the end of the day.

The point is, we can all learn a thing or two from flyer distributors about connecting with customers. Here are just a few things that come to mind:

• Know your core buyers – People giving out flyers for Empire State Building tours were talking to families and other tourists carrying cameras outside of Grand Central. Salon promoters were chatting up young men and women outside of H&M. Identifying places to best reach your target audiences can help you focus your sales efforts.
• Communicate what you offer - What makes you different from the five other people who just tried to sell me a tour to the same NYC landmark? Markets are crowded and the ability to quickly communicate your differentiators helps potential buyers distinguish your company from the competition.
• Demonstrate your skills – People working for comedy shows will tell jokes on the street to sell tickets. Software companies offer subscription trials to new customers. Giving potential customers a taste of what they’ll get helps influence purchasing decisions.
• Offer up knowledge - Even if someone has passed on tickets to the latest Broadway show, most vendors are happy to give directions to tourists, or offer up suggestions on other activities to try out. Providing potential customers with valuable knowledge about your industry in general, even if someone isn’t buying, is a way to cultivate market leadership and brand recognition for next time.

Visitors to New York – have you purchased tickets to top sightseeing destinations, shows, etc? If so, what was it about your salesperson that convinced you to buy?

A PR or Advertising person attending Internet Week walks into a bar…. No, it’s not necessarily a joke that requires a fill-in-the-blank answer.

There were many of us PR/Advertising-savvy types at Internet Week (#IWNY), and after the sessions and panels had wrapped, many of us did continue our networking and socializing at the bar parties afterwards. Need proof? Checked Twitpic or Facebook lately?

All kidding aside, there were some rather serious business-oriented lessons to be had from this year’s Internet Week. I’ll share a few of those with you here, keeping with a “bar” theme. (I’ll take some poetic license with the “bar” thing, so just work with me here, OK?)

“Bar” #1: Storytelling, Humor and “Touchy-Feely” Moves to B2B

It’s very clear at this point that “THE BAR IS RAISED” regarding engaging in an effective and relevant way via social media, and that’s no longer limited to B2C companies, but also B2Bs as well. After all, companies are made up of people, and those people have emotions that (whether they are conscious of it or not) are driving many decisions. At Internet Week, there was great emphasis on using strategies in corporate communication efforts that only a few years ago, some might have dismissed as too “touchy-feely” for business.

This year amongst business types, there seemed to be an increased appreciation and perceived business value for reaching out for that emotional connection. There were many mentions of “storytelling”, both auditory and visual, within a corporate context. There were a lot of discussions about how “humor” is important and can not only help connect with an audience, but also may help a brand diffuse a situation if there is some unwanted brand-mocking going on.

“Bar” #2: There’s a Social Media Strategy for Every Business (You Just Have  to Figure it Out)

“BAR NONE”, today’s companies, B2C or B2B, can certainly benefit from some type of social media presence. Of course, you didn’t really need to attend Internet Week to know this, but it was certainly reinforced as to how many different shapes, flavors, and textures that social media presence can have and that there is a strategy out there that will be a good fit, if only you just dedicate some time to figure that out. There are so many options, formats and mediums available when it comes to social media, and a much larger price to pay in abstaining. Authenticity resonates, so it’s also important, whatever the approach/strategy, that the social media presence be true to the “voice” of the company/brand.

“Bar” #3: Messages have to Be Crafted With Two-Way Communications in Mind

“DON’T BAR-K”. (OK, so “bar” is in there. It counts!) This year’s Internet Week attendees realize that the era when only one-way communication was sufficient is over.  Barking at people about what your company feels is important with timing of your company’s choosing will no longer cut it. Companies can still craft messages, but that they also need to listen, engage, and do it all in a timely, relevant manner. Just as it wouldn’t be a good idea to crash a bar party and thrust your business cards into everyone’s hands suddenly without an introduction and some conversation, this holds true for today’s online business presence as well. Also, timing is important. Even if you love animals, if you’re not expecting a dog to bark, and he does suddenly, it can be startling. If in real estate, it’s “location, location, location”, then in social media it’s “timing, timing, timing”. People and companies are surely more receptive when the timing is right.

Hope these 3 “bar” tips I’ve shared here are helpful and satisfying. Speaking of satisfying, all this “bar” talk is making me crave a bar of a different kind. (Hmm. Should I go with milk or dark?) It must be Internet Week sweets truck withdrawal.

-Stephanie Grayson (@Critiques4Geeks)

Stephanie Grayson is an experienced corporate communications professional in New York who sometimes guest-blogs on PR and Advertising when cool people ask her to.

On Wednesday, an employee for the Secret Service — thinking they were logged in to their personal account — posted a tweet to the Service’s account that read, “Had to monitor Fox for a story. Can’t. Deal. With. The. Blathering.” The tweet created quite a buzz before it got deleted, as it got passed around Twitter through numerous retweets and screen shots.

Fortunately for the Secret Service, they handled the mishap as though they’d been dealing with the social media platform for years. Their response was quick and to the point. They deleted the tweet almost immediately, and quickly followed that by issuing a formal apology for the tweet. In their apology, the Service indicated that the user no longer had access to their official account due to the “unapproved and inappropriate tweet.”

Despite their best hopes and efforts, this story gained a lot of attention on Twitter and beyond.

Since no sensitive information was leaked and thousands people were made aware of their new account, the incident may actually prove to be a boon for the Secret Service’s account moving forward. As a result, they have accumulated more than 23,000 followers in less than eleven days since the account launched – stats countless companies would love to duplicate.

All in all, they handled their first Twitter crisis in the appropriate manner, but it’s instances like this that illustrate the importance of having a social media usage policy in place before venturing on to new platforms. It’s vital that companies of all sizes are prepared to handle crises like this to mitigate potential damage.

What do you think? Was the Secret Service lucky this wasn’t a bigger issue?

1) Plan Your Intro. When approaching someone you don’t know, think about an opening line (just don’t ask them if they come here often). A tried and true approach is to inquire about their connection to the organization hosting the event.

2) Engage the loner. Have you ever been at an event where you know no one, and are tempted to hide out near the buffet table, but then someone approaches you and makes an introduction? Now think about how grateful you were that someone engaged you. The loner nursing a beer and scanning his BlackBerry in the corner may in fact be a great contact for you.

3) Ask compelling questions. Take the conversation beyond small talk, and ask them interesting questions that aren’t too focused on business, but could lead to a lively discussion. For example, you may ask, “have you read any books or articles that really stuck with you recently?” or  “did you hear that a couple in Israel named their child ‘like’ in an homage to Facebook?”

4) Plan an escape route. There is nothing wrong with bowing out of a conversation that has run its course. At any point, you can simply say, “it was great to meet you. Keep in touch, here’s my card.” They will probably be relieved to move on as well.

5) Follow-up is key. The day after an event, examine your stack of business cards. For people who would make a good addition to your network, drop them a casual, non-salesy email. Tell them you enjoyed meeting them and note one personal piece of your conversation. Consider adding them to your network on LinkedIn and following them on Twitter as well.

There are scores of articles published offering their own set of networking tips. The best one I’ve found is a compilation of crowdsourced tips (read it here). My favorite – never use the word “I” until the third sentence.

I’ll no doubt be using these strategies at Affect’s office warming party tonight, where we will show off our sparkling new space to friends, clients and partners.

Do you have any tips to share?

Image courtesy blog.larrybodine.com

#1. Have an actual story….about topics they cover, not just about your client

#2. Send a quote…they don’t have the time to interview your expert, so just send what they’re going to say

Seems simple enough, but apparently they’ve been getting a lot of mass, widely irrelevant emails from PR people about the awesome story ideas and experts they have to offer. Personally, I appreciate it when journalists or publications are up-front about the best way to work with them to elicit a mutually satisfactory result. Even though being this specific may pigeonhole the organization’s story leads, it’s helpful to know how to make it past the automatic delete.

To get the full scoop from The Business Insider, check out their post here.

As a PR professional, I’m always interested in how news is communicated and especially the ways in which it is communicated through social media platforms. I ran across a thought-provoking post on GigaOm entitled, “The 7 Stages of News in a Facebook and Twitter Era” that examined the way the news spread via Facebook and Twitter in what was described as a “compressed news cycle.” Below are the stages the blogger identified about how people reacted to the bin Laden news in a viral environment.

• Excitement
• Uncertainty
• Searching for Validation
• Confirmation
• Jokes, Profits and Platitudes
• Action
• Real Analysis

Again, wearing my PR hat, I thought about whether this would be similar to how company news and announcements are consumed virally. After some consideration, I concluded that it’s a pretty fair assessment about how journalists and bloggers consume information. So, the next time I’m developing clients recommendations on digital strategy I’ll take a peek back at these stages and consider how to craft content that lends itself to the various stages of this life-cycle.

What do you think? Does this model hold true? Is this different than the news cycle in more traditional media? I’d love to know your thoughts.

Photo via timesunion.com

Given my obsession with the royal wedding this week (well if I’m being honest, the past three months), it only made sense for me to find a way to actually learn from the event that has taken over every news medium across the world. As I sit here and consistently refresh the homepages of several news sites, I have been wondering what it is about this wedding that has the entire world, including myself, so invested. What makes this event different from all the other important, if not more important, situations happening around the world?

While I don’t have the answer completely figured out, the PR side of me has definitely picked up on some of the strategic moves made by the royal family that have made this wedding an event to remember. I have also realized that these strategies are the same ones that make a brand successful.

Here are just five of the many takeaways from the royal wedding that brands can implement in their everyday strategies:

1)   Love is in the details. From the impeccable timing of the ceremony to the meticulous preparation for the reception, the attention to detail is what makes the royal wedding unlike any other event in the world.  While the extreme measures taken to ensure that things are perfect may seem unnecessary, this attention to detail allows the royal family to express how important and special the event is to them. Whether it’s a large-scale event or a simple report you are sending, paying attention to the details of your presentation are key to winning the hearts of your clients.

2)   Be relatable. In the weeks leading up to the royal wedding, there was much speculation as to how the bride-to-be would act during the actual ceremony. While many suspected that she may be as reserved as brides in past royal weddings, Kate actually proved to be quite animated and engaged. She acted the way any other modern bride would act, making her relatable to the millions of women watching her in awe.  Expressing a human element can be just as beneficial for a brand as it was for Kate Middleton.

3)   Give back when you can.  When executing such an extravagant initiative such as a royal wedding, one of the first thing critics look at is the budget. Is it responsible to indulge in such luxury and excess when we are still making our way out of a global economic crisis? By asking well-wishers to donate to select charities in lieu of gifts, Kate and William were able to still have their dream wedding without coming off insensitive or inconsiderate. So next time you are planning a major campaign or big idea, be sure to consider how to incorporate social good at the same time.

4)   Keep your audience in suspense. There is no doubt that the most highly anticipated moment of the royal wedding (and the reason I woke up extra early this morning) was the unveiling of Kate’s wedding dress. These days, keeping any details of an announcement or event from leaking is nearly impossible given the extremely viral nature of today’s media. However, taking the extra measures to keep just one important detail top secret creates even more buzz, increasing awareness and excitement around your brand or event.

5)   Keep it classy. From Kate’s weight to William’s dating history, the couple has been inundated with more scrutiny and criticism than any other celebrity couple. However, despite the harsh comments and invasive questions, the couple never faltered and always maintained composure when speaking or interacting with the media. There are certain company spokespeople that can learn a lot from the royal couple’s tasteful approach to dealing with negative press.

What have you learned from the royal wedding? Leave a comment below!