Social Media

Three Ways to Stay Informed in a Busy PR World

Jess Noonan 1 Comment

blog6Pitch targeted media. Handle company crises. Prepare media materials. Tweet, post, pin – then do it all again. Side note: You’re on deadline. Side, side note: The company’s reputation is in your (probably trembling) hands.

Ahh, a day in the life of a PR pro. And, on top of those responsibilities – and many more – you must find time to keep up with the latest trends and news about, well, everything.

Yeah, I guess that whole “PR executive is a top five most stressful job” is true after all. But it doesn’t have to be.

With the right mix of media – and some high-quality multitasking – you’ll be consistently on top of your game. It took me upwards of two years to perfect my “mix,” but I think I’m finally getting somewhere in the busy world of PR. Here’s how:

Email newsletters: If it’s in your inbox, it’s more likely to be read. That’s why I love my email newsletters. One note of caution, though: Don’t sign up for too many newsletters. You’ll end up overwhelmed, deleting them all before reading. (As someone who loves a clean inbox, I initially drove myself crazy).

But now I’ve narrowed it down to three newsletters. And yes – I read them all:

  • The New York Times features a comprehensive news-of-the-day overview with top headlines from all sections and short excerpts.
  • Social Media Examiner sends social updates as they happen along with tips for using the latest tools.
  • PRSA Issues & Trends compiles all the PR industry news you need in one place.

Aggregated news sites: With all the news sources around us, we could spend eight or more hours a day just reading. But with a full-time (ahem, top five most stressful) PR job, who has time for that?

No one. That’s why I love these aggregated news sites.

  • Alltop Social Media displays top headlines from hundreds of social and PR news sites.
  • Circa is an app that combines popular news headlines for on-the-go reading. I especially like to scroll through this in the morning before I start my day.
  • Facebook Trends turned out to be more helpful than I initially expected. It’s quick, comprehensive and features the most talked about news – from pop culture to politics – in one place.

Podcasts: If you’re like most new pros, you have several mundane – yet still important – tasks on your to-do list. Why not get some additional education during those tasks with a good podcast in the background? Here are my recommendations.

  • Inside PR features notable PR pros discussing the latest industry trends.
  • Brave Ad World gives a quick look at the changing social and digital media world.
  • NPR is probably a given – it has hundreds of podcasts to choose from based on your interest areas. If you can’t decide, try the Shuffle podcast. It randomly chooses the content for you.

Since our digital world is constantly evolving, this resource list is nowhere near complete. As new PR pros, we should always be on the lookout for the latest time-saving tools. But remember: These resources can only get you so far. It’s your job to use them for information gathering regularly.

How do you stay updated on breaking news and industry trends? Share your tips and tricks for new pros below.

Stephanie Vermillion headshotStephanie Vermillion is an account executive at Wordsworth Communications, a public relations agency in Cincinnati. She is on the PRSA Cincinnati Leadership Team and is part of the PRSA Cincinnati New Pros Committee. Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn and Twitter (@SMVermillion).

Top 10 Comms Conferences to Attend in 2014

Jess Noonan Leave a comment

With nine months left in 2014, what great conferences and networking opportunities can you attend?

membership_feb2014_245x245In the communications industry, events are happening all the time. So how do you know which one is best for you? Whether your job is in social media, public relations, marketing or a combination of the fields, these 10 events can add value to your current strategies.

Bonus: If you can’t attend a conference, follow along with the included hashtags!

  • MozCon
    Focus: The digital landscape– SEO, social media, community building, content marketing, brand development, analytics, etc.
    Location: Seattle, WA
    Date: July 14-16
    Hashtag to watch: #MozCon 

  • Content Marketing World
    Focus: Social strategists who focus on content marketing and execution.
    Location: Cleveland, OH
    Date: Sept. 8-11
    Hashtag to watch: #CMWorld 

  • Inbound
    Focus: Connecting customer buying behavior to your business in an evolving digital world.
    Location: Boston, MA
    Date: Sept. 15-18
    Hashtag to watch: #Inbound14 

  • PRSA International Conference
    Focus: Addressing trends, new technologies and strategies for public relations practitioners of all sectors.
    Location: Washington D.C.
    Date: Oct. 12-14
    Hashtag to watch: #PRSAICon 

  • Social Brand Forum
    Focus: “Designed to help marketers at organizations small and large build better brands online through social media content, conversations, and community.”
    Location: Coralville, Iowa
    Date: Sept. 25-26
    Hashtag to watch: #SocialBrand14 

  • Social Shakeup
    Focus: Experienced social media marketers who are ready to ‘shake up traditional organizations and communication channels to create a brand new form of business: the Social Enterprise’.
    Location: Atlanta, GA
    Date: Sept. 16-17
    Hashtag to watch: #SocialShakeup 

  • SMX Social Media Marketing
    Focus: Making the most of social marketing strategies– going beyond implementation to proving results.
    Location: Las Vegas, NV
    Date: Nov. 19-20
    Hashtag to watch: #SMXsocial 

  • Social Media Strategies Summit
    *There are six Social Media Strategies Summits in different locations throughout the rest of 2014. Check the website for a location closer to you.
    Focus: “Building, managing, and analyzing successful social media strategies and campaigns.”
    Location: New York
    Date: June 12-13
    Hashtag to watch: #SMSsummit 

  • B2B Marketing Forum
    Focus: B2B marketing strategies to optimize your business– “inspiring, relevant and new content” every year.
    Location: Boston, MA
    Date: Oct. 8-10
    Hashtag to watch: #mpb2b
  • Social Fresh Conference
    Focus: One-track social media conference discussing success stories and useful tactics.
    Location: Orlando, FL
    Date: July 17-18
    Hashtag to watch: #socialfresh

headshot2Lauren Rosenbaum is the PRSA New Professionals Social Media Co-Chair and Co-Founder of Soversity, a public relations and digital marketing company. You can connect with her on Google+, LinkedIn or Twitter.

A New Pro’s Guide to To Starting Your Own Blog

Jess Noonan 4 Comments

By now, you’ve probably heard all of the reasons why you should start a blog. Maintaining your own website and blog helps you further develop your personal brand, improves your writing skills and can even lead to new career opportunities and freelance gigs.blogging-blog2 But what you might not know is how to start a blog.

Here are six steps to help you launch your own blog:

1. Select a topic (or don’t pick one at all). Before you begin blogging, you should have a general idea of what you want to blog about. Many pro bloggers advise new bloggers to select a niche for the best chance at getting noticed in a sea of other blogs. I personally ignore this advice. When I started my blog almost two years ago, I knew I wanted to blog about many topics: PR, writing, running, yoga, personal branding. Instead of picking a niche, I selected a more general theme (Get Gutsy) and have been blogging successfully under that umbrella topic ever since. Don’t feel pressured to pigeonhole yourself into a niche you may lose interest in a couple years down the line. Think long-term.

2. Choose a platform. WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr…the options for choosing a blogging platform are endless. However, if you ask me, the choice is simple. If you have any interest in using your blog to make money at any point or simply want a more professional presence, go with WordPress. WordPress.com is completely free and even allows you the opportunity to buy your own domain (i.e. JessicaLawlor.com instead of JessicaLawlor.Wordpress.com). When you’re ready, you can upgrade to WordPress.org, which allows you to self-host and gives you access to many more design and plug-in options. Still not sure? This The Next Web piece can help you select a platform.

3. Make it pretty. Of course, your blog’s content should shine, but aesthetic is important, too. When someone stumbles onto your blog, a visually-pleasing and easy on the eye design will help them stick around to consume your content. WordPress.com offers many free themes with limited customization. That’s a great place to start. When you decide to get more serious about blogging, you may consider hiring a web designer for a more advanced and professional presence.

4. Help readers find and get to know you better. Before your blog launches, there are a few very important things you should have in place to allow your readers the opportunity to get to know you and your blog.

  • About page: Develop an “About” page where readers can learn more about who you are and what they can expect from your blog. Down the line, you may also use this page to direct new readers to some of your most popular posts.

  • Portfolio: If you’d like to use your blog to attract potential career or freelance opportunities, be sure to showcase your resume or links to guest blog posts or other writing and work samples.

  • Contact: Be sure to make it easy for readers to contact you! I personally have a tab on my site called “Contact” with a form

  • Social media buttons: Help your readers connect with you on other platforms by including social media buttons on the main page of your site.

5. Pick a frequency. Many people don’t start a blog because they think if they don’t have the time to blog every day, it won’t be worth their while. This is completely false! There are many, many successful blogs out there that don’t post as often as you might think you need to post to make a splash. Pick a frequency you can commit to; maybe that’s once a week, maybe it’s just twice a month. Whatever your frequency, stick with it, so your readers know when to expect you!

6. Get started! What are you waiting for? Many people wait for the *perfect* time to launch their blogs, but in reality, there is no perfect time. It’s challenging (especially for us Type A PR pros) to start something without a solid plan in place, but know that your blog will always be a work in progress. My site has been live for almost two years and every day, I make tiny tweaks to it to continue improving my reader’s experience. If you start now, you will reap the benefits much faster.

Have other tips for starting a blog? Share them in the comments below!

Jessica-44Jessica Lawlor is the marketing and communications coordinator for Visit Bucks County, the official tourism promotion agency for Bucks County, PA. She serves on the PRSA New Pros executive committee as a PRSSA liaison. In her free time, Jessica is a freelance writer and blogs at JessicaLawlor.com about getting gutsy-stepping outside your comfort zone to reach your goals. You can connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Interested in freelance writing and personal branding? Jessica Lawlor is teaching a session on personal branding for freelance writers in an online course called Launch A Freelance Writing Career. Click here for more details.

PRSA New Pros Teleseminar: March 13 on Real-Time Marketing with Arby’s

Lauren Gray Leave a comment

Josh Martin, Social Media Manager at Arby’s, will host our first PRSA New Professionals Section Brown Bag Discussion of the year. Josh gave us a preview of what you will be able to learn from his teleseminar on Real-Time Marketing Done Right. Register for the March 13th teleseminar today.

Screen Shot 2014-03-06 at 9.43.54 AM

How would you personally define real-time marketing? 

To me, real-time marketing is simply making timely responses to mainstream events.

What are some notable differences when executing RT marketing with an agency vs corporate?

Agencies bring a lot of creativity and strategic thinking to the table when it comes to RT marketing. Corporate lives/breathes the brand on a daily basis and often has a better understanding of what will work with their audience. The magic happens when both agency & corporate can work together seamlessly.

What are some of your goals when planning/executing RT marketing? 

My goal for RT marketing: Don’t do anything stupid. RT marketing is about two things: listening and engaging. We want to make sure we’re listening first and understand the conversations that are taking place. If we decide to pursue an opportunity, our goal is for the content to not feel forced and stays consistent with our brand voice.

What advice do you have for brands/companies that don’t have a budget to promote/push out their content?

Brands can still be effective in social media, even with a limited budget. They need to be laser-focused on developing a content strategy and be patient with results.

In your opinion, is there a good ratio to be used of pre-planned content and real-time content?

Specifically during a major event, when brands are trying to stay relative. It’s important to have pre-planned content at the ready so you can move quickly during a major event, but it’s as equally important to be flexible and pivot to real-time content when an opportunity presents itself.

Want to learn more from Josh? Register here.

 

Get Social with Your Next Pitch

Jess Noonan 1 Comment

Social media has changed the way we do a lot of things. Instead of instant messaging and emailing friends, we’re more likely to send them a Facebook message or a SnapChat. Instead of buying magazines to keep tabs on our favorite celebrities, we follow them on Instagram and Twitter. And instead of spending hours on hold with a customer service hotline, we send a tweet to the company’s customer support account (my personal favorite).

If social media has changed all of these things, shouldn’t it also change the way you interact with reporters? According to Vocus’ 2014 State of the Media Report, 91% of reporters still prefer being pitched via email, so those days aren’t completely behind us. But that doesn’t mean social media shouldn’t become part of your pitching strategy.

Here are three ways it can help you land that next great piece of coverage:

Before the pitch: Foster name recognition

We all know that journalists receive a ton of pitches, and seeing a name they recognize in their inbox could be the difference between landing in their email’s trash folder and becoming their next story. But if you’ve never met or worked with the reporter before, how can you make that initial introduction?

Start a relationship on social media. Follow them on Twitter and retweet them, share their stories mentioning their handle, etc. The Cision 2013 Social Journalism Survey found that 80% of the journalists that responded used social media for professional networking at least once a week. This is a great way to start a relationship and increase the probability that your name will stand out in their overflowing inbox full of pitches.

A helpful way to keep tabs on reporters in your niche is to put them all into a private Twitter list or Facebook Interest List and check them each at least every few days. Interact with those you already have a relationship with, and make new connections that could be beneficial in the future.

During the pitch: Conduct reconnaissance

While flattery definitely won’t ever get you everywhere, as the adage goes, it can definitely get you somewhere. Not only does letting a journalist know you follow their work help in that regard, it also shows that you’ve done your research.

Set aside 15 minutes before writing your pitch to go through the journalist’s social media updates. What have they written about recently? What’s their opinion on a recent piece of big industry news? This information can be helpful when writing your email’s intro. Diving straight into the pitch might be quicker, but you want to foster a relationship, not throw information at them.

After the pitch: Follow up

One of the things journalists hate the most is a phone call saying “Did you get my pitch/press release?” or a another email asking “Did you get my email?” For your follow-up, try going a less invasive route.

When it’s time to follow up with a reporter, try reaching out on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. If they haven’t seen your pitch yet, it’s likely because their inbox is so crowded. By comparison, their mentions stream on Twitter is probably a lot emptier.

I frequently follow up with reporters via social media and am met with a much quicker response than sending another email. Even if it’s a rejection, at least I know that the pitch was seen and not lost in cyber land, and I know not to follow up a second time. If I had emailed them, I likely wouldn’t have seen a response.

While journalists will probably prefer being pitched over email for at least the next few years, there’s no reason your online communication with them should be limited to just email. Reaching out to them on more than one channel will add a depth to the relationship, which can help all parties down the road.

Have you had any success pitching journalists via social media?

 

710T3ue1Brittany Berger is the Content Marketing Coordinator at eZanga.com, a search engine and online advertising company in Delaware. Connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.