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Caution Ahead: How a Good PR Pro Helps You Avoid Trouble

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The benefits of having an experienced PR pro on board – be they a team member or a hired hand like a consultant – are clear.

We help brands build, maintain and promote their reputations by sharing news and information via a variety of channels.

But, beyond the initiatives that skilled public relations practitioners generally handle, they bring something else to the table.

How a skilled PR consultant can help keep you out of trouble

 Whether they know it or not, companies without PR counsel are taking a risk. They could be one bad decision away from a crisis.

If you work with a public relations consultant on a regular basis, he or she can help advise you on any number of matters. And avoiding trouble is always better than trying to do damage control.

Here are some examples: Continue reading Caution Ahead: How a Good PR Pro Helps You Avoid Trouble

How Social Media Lurkers Can Boost Your Business

lurker

Tracking the effectiveness of social media has caused many a marketer to shake his or her head in frustration. How can we PROVE it’s effective so that clients will see the value?

While much has been written about tracking its value, I’m going to make another argument – maybe the most significant benefit of social media comes from the views we CAN’T track. I refer to these as “lurker” views. Lurkers – you know, the people who see and read your content – they just don’t like it, comment on it or share it.

While that can be frustrating, its benefit still needs to be taken into account. Why? Because the lurkers may be the ones hiring you or buying your products or services.

Why should we care about social media lurkers?

Continue reading How Social Media Lurkers Can Boost Your Business

How Contributed Articles Can Boost Your PR Program

contributed articles fortune

When considering a public relations approach to get your company in the news, you may focus on newsworthy announcements. Initiatives like product launches, customer wins and new hires have traditionally been popular topics for press releases. But what do you do in between the news peaks?

One option is to pursue contributed articles. What’s a contributed article? Unlike an article written by a reporter about a company or its products, contributed articles are written by the company and are meant to lend a vendor-neutral perspective on topics relevant to a publication’s readers[i].

What can contributed articles do for you and your company? They can:

  • Position you as a thought leader
  • Help you be seen as the expert
  • Increase your visibility
  • Lead to other opportunities – speaking, more opportunities to write articles, be quoted in roundups and so forth

And with media publications continuing to downsize their editorial staffs, many are looking for contributed content to help fill their digital and print pages. Continue reading How Contributed Articles Can Boost Your PR Program

How Talking TOO Much Can Create a Crisis Where There is None

Media interview tips

Some people just don’t know when to STOP talking.

Lately, there seems to be no shortage of folks who seem hell-bent on creating a crisis for themselves, simply because they seem not to know when to be quiet.

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen several examples of public figures who would’ve benefitted from talking a little less.

Now they’re are embroiled in crises of their own making.

This phenomenon has many PR pros shaking their heads. A question some of us find ourselves asking: Why create a crisis for yourself? Continue reading How Talking TOO Much Can Create a Crisis Where There is None

7 of the Best – and Worst – PR Plays in 2018

Best and worst PR moments

2018 held lessons for all of us in PR. While we can look to brands who did PR right for inspiration, sometimes we learn as much from the fails as we do from the wins.

As we look back on a year filled with brilliance – and sometimes ignorance – we consider what made these brands and their choices unforgettable.

Here are my selections for some of the best and worst public relations moments of the year. Continue reading 7 of the Best – and Worst – PR Plays in 2018

5 Public Relations Trends to Watch in 2019, Starring AI, Ethics and More

2019 public relations trends

The times they are a-changin’. Never have these lyrics rung as true as they do when we look at the way the PR profession is evolving.

Of all the things PR pros can expect in 2019, change seems to be the only constant.

Keeping up with the vicissitudes can be difficult for public relations practitioners no matter what stage of their careers they may be in.

As we head into a new year, what trends should PR pros be watching to try to stay on top of all this change? Here are a few. Continue reading 5 Public Relations Trends to Watch in 2019, Starring AI, Ethics and More

What PR Pros Need to Know About AI: A Conversation with Christopher Penn

AI and PR image

While talk of artificial intelligence, or AI, permeates the public relations world, there’s little understanding of how it’s impacting what we do now – and what we’ll do in the future.

Christopher Penn, THE person you should follow to get smart about AI, and I had a chat recently about how PR pros can expect AI to improve their job functions, and what they can be doing right now to prepare for the future. Here’s a recap. Continue reading What PR Pros Need to Know About AI: A Conversation with Christopher Penn