Tag Archives: PR

ABC’S of PR: One Student’s Wide Angle View

Magan JenkinsI met Magan online last week when she wrote this fabulous blog post on PROpenMic, a social network for PR students, faculty and professionals. I loved her creative approach to the practice and wanted to share it with my audience.

Magan is a senior at University of Georgia. As a PR major, she is in love with all things New Media and is working for a special certificate in that area of study. Her favorite color is lime green and her favorite foods are salads and French Fries [of course lots of salad so she can eat the fries, I imagine 🙂 ]

ABC’s of PR

by Magan Jenkin

Since I am a senior this year I thought it would be fun to go back to the basics and remind myself of my ABC’s, only this time within the world of PR.

A- Audience, Always make sure any all plans, press kits, news releases, etc are aimed at your target audiences.

B-Business etiquette, the best way to learn is to OBSERVE- Guest speaker Joan Collins

C-Create social networking accounts i.e. Twitter, Facebook, PROpenmic, Blogging, etc.

D- Develop plans and strategies that will be most effective

E-Elements of a Crisis- Surprise, Lack of information, Loss of control, Outside scrutiny, Time pressure

F-Focus Groups, a great way to gather information on your audience

G- Google yourself to make sure your Web presence is a positive one.

H- Hear, Keep your eyes and ears open for any internship opportunities that may present themselves.

I- Interview a working PR practitioner, an assignment I was able to do in in my 5920 class. I learned so much from Melissa Libby from Melissa Libby and Associates

J-Join PRSSA, UGA’S Public Relations Student Society of America

K- Key Message, always make sure your key message is clear and directed to their right audience

L- Look for AP mistakes in any print material you are sending out

M- MBO, Management by Objectives, process of agreeing upon objectives within an organization so that management and employees agree to the objectives and understand what they are in the organization.

N-Networking, an important skill to develop to help build strong relationships.

O-Opinions, get to know the opinions of your target audience and the local media. By investing time with the media the more likely they are to run your releases.

P- Press kits, puts forth key information about its business or product in a convenient, cohesive marketing package with the goal of attracting further attention.

Q- Questionnaires are a great way to conduct research on your target audiences.

R-Relationships with Journalists- very imporant to develop and maintain healthy relationships with journalists

S- Southwest Airlines, a truly unique airline who has mastered Public Relations

T- TQM, Total Quality Management, business management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality

U-University of Georgia’s Grady College, Public Relations is the hardest major to get into. Remember how all your hard work and be proud of your accomplishments.

V- Vs, Public Relations Vs. Journalism, an on going battle between the two majors, and jobs. Either way both professions need one another and its a good idea to develop healthy relationships.

W- Willingness, always have the willingness to participate and be effective.

X- X-Factor, when applying for internships or jobs show your potential boss that you are of value and will bring something different to the table

Y-You can do anything. Stay positive and be confident in all your work.

Z- Catch some zzz’s, sleep is very important in any profession it provides a practitioner with energy!

Is Social Media THE ANSWER when traditional marketing “sucks”?

Five incredibly talented and deeply entrenched social media THOUGHT LEADERS fielded questions about “How to get the word out” and win more business now that there’s so much FREE stuff out there.

THE VENUE: Grand Hyatt in San Francisco

THE SPONSOR: San Francisco chapter of the American Marketing Association

THE “WHY”: To discuss whether or not today’s marketing and PR “sucks,” and, if so, What To Do About It.


THE PANEL OF NOTABLES
:

Moderator & Alltop creator: Guy Kawasaki

The Silicon Valley Blogger: Louis Gray

French entrepreneur: Loic Le Meur

Community builder: Renee Blodgett

LinkedIn Sales VP: Steve Patrizi

Super Tweeter Guy Kawasaki
Super Tweeter Guy Kawasaki

QUESTIONS POSED TO PANEL MEMBERS:

  • What would you do if you had a great product in a niche and zero dollars in marketing?

  • What would you now do if you now had $10,000 in marketing? How would you put it to use?

  • What is the role of agencies in today’s environment? Should companies simply do their own marketing?


Headlines from the discussion:

PR NEEDS A NEW NAME

NO TRUST IS OBSTACLE FOR PR & ADVERTISING

CROWDSOURCING IS THE NEW INFLUENCER

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO BE

BECOME AN EXPERT IN A UNIQUE NICHE

“TRUTH IN MARKETING”: [Who’d a thunk?]

EVERYONE IN YOUR COMPANY WILL BE FINDABLE

BE YOUR OWN MOUTHPIECE

PR AGENCIES ARE PASSÈ

Selected clips from the discussion

Silicon Valley blogger Louis Gray
Silicon Valley blogger Louis Gray

“For marketing on a shoestring: Tap into personal network for word of mouth. Leverage the people who are your biggest fans.”

Seesmic founder: Loic Le Meur
Seesmic founder: Loic Le Meur

“The problem with old styles of marketing is No Trust. What I trust are my friends telling me about products they like.”


“Twenty years ago there were 20 influencers. Today there are 6,000.”

“When you engage with customers on Twitter, you can learn what problems need to be resolved.”


“Social Media Marketing: Find the fight people in the right places and offer the right message.”

Steve Patrizi and Renee Blodgett round out the panel of experts
Steve Patrizi and Renee Blodgett round out the panel of experts

“Online Social Media: No difference between personal and professional.”

“Professionally distributed news releases may only be necessary with major launches.”

“Break out of old marketing by teaching your people to LISTEN and then to RESPOND.”

“The speed of innovation is directly related to the speed at which we are sharing information.”

“Rules are different for social media platforms: MySpace is like your neighborhood bar. Facebook is the backyard BBQ. LinkedIn is your office. You’ll need to act accordingly.”

WHAT DID THE ATTENDEES HAVE TO SAY?

Bill Sanders, VP Real Branding, SFAMA Exec Board
Mark Evans, SFAMA President

Marketing is going through a revolution. The SFAMA is here to embrace this change and help bring together all the moving parts. — Mark


Julia Francis - Ubiquity PR, Wendy Fisher - Moxie Mtkg, Sharon Lee - Shamiko Design, Kelly Connelly - Kelly Connelly Design
Julia Francis - Ubiquity PR, Wendy Fisher - Moxie Mtkg, Sharon Lee - Shamiko Design, Kelly Connelly - Kelly Connelly Design

MARKETING AND PR “SUCK”? — People will always need them, suck or not. It depends on the approach for them “not to suck”: Change the name of PR to a more friendly and real term like SOCIAL CONNECT, for instance. — Sharon


Bill Bralye says SM is excellent augmentation to traditional marketing
Bill Bralye

After listening to the panel, I want to devote more time identifying best practices used by companies that are effectively widening their marketing tactics by adding social media to the mix. — Bill


Deb Kockos believes Twitter et al are more tools for the toolkit
Deb Kockos

I can tell you that most people do not spend their day online exposed to ads or blogs about certain products. Most of the world doesn’t even know what Web 2.0 means. When referencing a conversation on LinkedIn during a recent presentation, the audience looked at me like I was nuts. No one even knew about LinkedIn. We’re definitely in the early adopter stage here. — Deb


John Meyer - UC Berkeley, Laura Dantes - Engagement Strategies
John Meyer - UC Berkeley, Laura Dantes - Engagement Strategies

We do need to filter the Hype and remember basic marketing principles. As Renee put it, “What is the problem we are trying to solve?” Focus on strategy, messaging, and reaching the right stakeholder groups using multiple channels. I don’t believe the zero budget Twitter solution is sustainable. — Laura


Cory O'Brien said the panel reconfirmed his opinion that marketing has changed dramatically
Cory O'Brien

Marketing and PR don’t suck. They’re just changing rapidly, and the companies that can’t keep up with the changing environment are using marketing and PR methods that “suck.” Social media has closed the gap between the company and the consumer, and there’s a level of speed, honesty, and transparency that is required to play in this field that many companies are not yet comfortable with. — Cory

FOR THOSE WHO’D LIKE TO VIEW GUY’S QUESTIONS AND THE PANEL RESPONSES AND DISCUSSION:

Here are links to several short YouTube videos:

Do Marketing & PR suck? Guy Kawasaki introduces panel.
Louis Gray says BE YOUR OWN MOUTHPIECE
Loic Le Meur says problem with ads is LACK OF TRUST
Renee Blodgett advises companies to ask What They Want to Be
Steve Patrizi says that companies still need ads
Guy Kawasaki asks panel How to Market with $10,000
Renee Blodgett has tip to spike video views
QUICKY: Not much can be done with $10K
Louis Gray says, YES, $10K can fund successful marketing plan
Are PR agencies still necessary and relevant?
Steve Patrizi: Companies will continue to need help getting the word out
PR needs a New Name, according to Loic
TRUTH IN MARKETING: Who would have thought of those 3 words together?
What if your customers are not on Twitter?

San Francisco AMA members: Please add your comments below, and everyone else “out there”: DO YOU THINK TODAY’S TRADITIONAL MARKETING SUCKS, and WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT?

Can’t get enough of thought leaders in panel discussions? Here’s my report on Steve Rubel, Michael Brito, Richard Brewer-Hay, and Angela LoSasso discussing “Beyond the Hype: Roadmap for Social Media”

Next post: HOW TO CONVINCE YOUR BOSS TO GO SOCIAL