As a public relations professional, I am responsible for 3.26 million things. Serving as a travel agent, staffing back-to-back weekend conferences, presenting corporate responsibility presentations from bean bag chairs … I’ve done it all in the name of client service.

Want to know something else I’ve done in the name of client service? Diversify client outreach.

The fact of the matter is that we all should be seeking out diverse audiences whenever we have the opportunity. When we include diverse audiences in our outreach, our messages can go much further much faster, and they have the ability to make their way into networks that we may not be able to access easily.

Continue reading " Three Simple Ways to Discover Diverse Audiences Online "

Part II (cont.)
Click here to read “The State of PR, Marketing, and Communications: You are the Future (Part I)”

Public Relations Is So Much More Than Media, Analyst and Blogger Relations
 

Credit: Ghedo

The business of public relaltions slowly evolved away from public interaction and eventually transformed into a mechanism of media, analyst and blogger relations to instill messages and attempt to manipulate public behavior.

Public Relations = Publicity

Continue reading " The State of PR, Marketing, and Communications: You are the Future (Part II) "

Social media is increasingly influencing public opinion around corporate brands and dramatically changing the landscape in which every company operates. While a growing number of companies are embracing the change head on, there remains a fair amount of skepticism among some businesses regarding the tangible benefits of “blogging” about industry trends or “Tweets” about what the company is up to at this very moment.

Continue reading " Put Skeptics to Rest: Social Media Impacts the Bottom Line "

Click here to view Sergio’s 2009 Digital Impact Conference presentation Social Media’s Role In Building Your Brand: Your Brand Is What “They” Say It Is.

Whether you are fortifying your brand to endure the economic downturn, or repositioning your brand in preparation for the economic rebound, consider this:

Your brand is no longer what you say it is, it’s what “they” say it is. And the social media marketplace is where “they” – customers, prospects, journalists and other influencers – are talking about your brand. They are forming and sharing opinions that will impact your brand at the speed of light, and you need a clear strategy to effectively foster these conversations. You also need to get it right the first time by understanding which tactics will help you control your brand before “they” control it for you.

We, at MarketingSherpa, recently conducted the most comprehensive study of social media marketing and PR practices to date.  1886 social media practitioners participated in this study.  When we asked them which strategic communications goals social media has been most effective at helping them accomplish, more than 90% said it was brand building. They also told us which tactics rated highest, not only in achieving their branding objectives, but in producing a favorable marketing ROI.

Continue reading " Social Media’s Role in Building Your Brand "

Educational psychologists talk about six levels of thought that are known collectively as Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation. For public relations professionals, utilizing social media requires all of those skills. Monitoring blogs and social networks for mentions of our brands, and responding when appropriate, is a new challenge for the public relations community. It requires new tools and an attention to the unique cultures of social destinations online. But all of that falls in the categories of Knowledge, Comprehension, Application and Analysis that have always been integral to public relations.

What many people find most intimidating about using social media for professional communications is the idea of creating content: blog posts, videos, podcasts, widgets, microsites and more. That’s Synthesis, and while it may seem scary, it presents enormous opportunities for us to bring our messages directly to clients and consumers.

Continue reading " Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Power of Pull "