See & Be PR

Twitter ISN’T a Threat to Journalists

Dec 242012

When it all started, some could have seen this as the end of their careers. What is the point of journalists if you have real people telling you the news all day long?

Where newspapers are once a day, Tweets can be round the clock. Surely you would rather join Twitter than pick up a daily, right?

Hold on, before we throw them away entirely, we have to remember that people want a ‘dependable’ source of information. Anyone can go on Twitter and shout out the news, but journalists and organisations that have been doing this for years have the upper hand when it comes to a serious audience.
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Blogger Break Down

Advertising Vs. PR, Marketing, Media Training, Press Releases, Public Appearances, Public Relations No Responses »

Aug 292012

The demands for coming up with something creative and interesting on a regular basis has increased tremendously in recent years. The race to keep up can seem like an uphill battle sometimes, but the question remains:

Where do good ideas come from?

They don’t always come out from thin air, and they could take months or years in order to develop, but for now: look at the world around you.

Find inspiration from others and find inspiration from within yourself. Have a crazy idea? Right it down; who knows when it might come in handy later.

Good ideas become great with maturity. They need time to grow into what they were meant to become.

Do you have a good idea?

The Real Power of Social Media

Social Media No Responses »

Aug 272012

We talk about it and we do it all the time, but every now and then we get a little reminder about how powerful social media really is.

This is one happy tale; about how social media transformed a Canadian city from backwater to celebrity. On Facebook, the city has racked up thousands of likes and on YouTube the city’s videos have been viewed in the tens of thousands.

Their success is so much so that officials have been asked ‘The city has racked up those numbers in just under three years of having a social media presence. Its success has been so stunning that officials have been asked to write about their experiences in Municipal World magazine and have spoken at national conferences for city administrators.’

It all started as an experiment – one that asked if they could get more people involved…and it worked.

Isn’t social media beautiful?

Should social media be censored?

Social Media No Responses »

Jun 062012

What is your view on censorship? More so what do you think about social media censorship? How do you react when your message is not posted, or worse is deleted because it does not meet someone else’s sensibilities and idea of what is acceptable and what is not.

It definitely is a debate that has found resonance among millions of social media users, some for and others against it. A good example is the discussion on the following link.

Is social media censoring a good or bad idea?
Are you of the school of thought that thinks of censorship as a person or group is trying to ‘maintain decency’ or ‘hide the unpleasant’? Some view it as a way to introduce personal biases to, ‘dumbing down of’ and deciding for you what message you should get. Maybe you give a thumbs up for virtual policing? Continue reading »

Confidence and Compassion; the trick to PR

How to, Media Training, Public Relations No Responses »

Mar 272012

According to Beth Monaghan co-founder of InkHouse Media + Marketing, Confidence and Empathy are two essential traits that PR professionals should have to succeed in their work.

I totally agree. Dealing with your clients and the media can be very similar to being a salesman at an electronics shop; your client is the customer that walks in knowing that he wants to buy a digital camera, but doesn’t know which model to get for his requirements. A confident salesman will be able to clearly identify the customer’s needs, give the customer a sense of ease and comfort and therefore win the customer’s trust in his advice.

In PR, you need to be confident and compassionate, but how do you achieve that?
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Good Pitch/Bad Pitch to Journalists

Do's and Don'ts, How to, Media, Press Releases, Product Launches, Public Relations No Responses »

Feb 062012

Why didn’t they pick up my story?

If you’re in PR, you think you hate journalists but it’s not them it’s you. Imagine how they feel every time they open their Inbox to a swarm of emails, some straight to the point and some just a big hot mess? Instead of secretly wishing they would die, why not make their lives easier (and in turn, maybe they’ll make life a lot easier for you)? Continue reading »

Now Press Release, play nice with Twitter…

Public Relations, Social Media No Responses »

Dec 192011

You’ve written the press release, taken into account SEO, now what are you doing to make sure it gets found on Twitter? If you’re still not on Twitter, you really should consider it, since it’s more effective in driving traffic to your press releases than Facebook.

How do you best go about tailoring your press release for Twitter?

Great Headline

There’s still the problem of SEO and making sure that the title is self-explanatory, but I personally suggest making it catchy and interesting. If it sounds so boring that you want to die just reading it, chances are people aren’t going to be clicking on the link. Continue reading »

PR stunt gets a little fishy in 2011

Public Relations No Responses »

Dec 132011

PR is an interesting game of moves and counter moves. Where genius publicity stunts have generated brand value and free publicity worth several millions, there have also been disastrous attempts that taint the industry. The latest addition to the PR hall of shame is the case of the Australian PR firm sending dead fish to media.

The idea – that was meant to use the gold fish as a promo gift to encourage media agencies to promote South Australia – ended with several dead fish and a very foul smell.

Advantage SA and its co-brand Advantage Adelaide delivered 55 goldfish in a bowl with the text: “Be the big fish in a small pond and come test the water,” as a promo gift to encourage media agencies to promote South Australia. Continue reading »

Is this how you report the news, or isn’t it?

Do's and Don'ts, Media, Public Relations No Responses »

Nov 292011

Is it me or is every country in the world going through the same thing at the very same time? First it was the financial crisis, then who had the best fireworks and now mass protests seem to be the order of the day. Without getting too into the nitty gritty of it all, could it be the way we report?

Is it just a coincidence or are we going back to being primates, imitating what we see? Maybe the answer lies in this very interesting explanation by Charlie Brooker, and his special dose of humour.