The Public Relations Blog

We are looking for experienced public relations professionals who are also great writers to guest-write for our high-traffic PR blog. This is a great way to build your personal brand and thought-leadership skills in the public relations industry.

We are seeking a savvy wordsmith to join our blogging team as a guest blogger. Articles must address one topic and one topic only per post. Topics will be quickly and easily approved by us in advance, based on our clear and reasonable guidelines of target audiences and preferred topics/direction.

Public relations is often confused with marketing in the business world. However, while the two may be similar and have comparable objectives, there are several distinctions that set them apart. Often handled by the same individual or department in a company, public relations and marketing usually go hand-in-hand. One strengthens the other, making them both more effective and beneficial to company leaders. Public relations is just as vital as marketing, and management-level employers should take it seriously.

Websites like Google provide prime digital space for unsatisfied customers to voice their opinions with little accountability. Whether or not these posts are honest, research reveals that 72% of visitors said they believe the reviews posted online.

This can be very good for a business if the review is positive. However, a bad review can hurt a business’ image overnight – an image it took years to build. Negative reviews, truthful or not, ruin a business’ reputation and require immediate action on the part of the business owner.

They know who we are. They know what we like. They know what we watch, and where we shop. (The companies we buy from, that is). That data in and of itself is be very useful for both companies and consumers. However, OfficeMax’s recent PR blunder demonstrates important lessons in the challenge of maintaining quality control with data, and shows how not to deal with a PR crisis in your organization concerning data.

In light of recent data problems from major companies, let’s get down to the heart of the matter from the angle of PR and responsibility.

You could say snooty is the new strong, taking an example from the luxury car industry. And it’s OK to be snooty, if that’s what your audience resonates with and responds to.

Forbes recently named Rolls-Royce the king of luxury car sales for the past year, as it’s seen record-breaking numbers and been called stronger than ever. Sales are rocketing in part because of the moxie of Richard Carter, the driving force behind the brand’s communications. Carter shook up the year by dissing the L.A. Convention Center during the Los Angeles Auto Show, and instead hosted a VIP auto event at a mansion in nearby Beverly Hills.

Forget TV. Just stream it, baby. The Internet has nudged many viewers to seek programming on their time and from whatever device they choose. Recently, a company called Aereo began offering network television programming to consumers over the Internet. But it’s not that simple, and it involves a pending Supreme Court lawsuit case. What will the implications be for ad revenues and PR campaigns?

Aereo’s technology utilizes antennas that pick up the networks’ signals, which can be directed through the Internet to Aereo’s paying subscribers.

News releases can be like a bungee jump: Once the leap has started, there’s really no going back. You may feel somewhat around and endure quite a bumpy ride if news has gone out without proper permissions ahead of time.

In fact, the best solution is prevention. If you manage your organization’s PR, you need to be certain that the information in news releases is correct and all the parties involved have given their permission before the news is sent. If you work with a professional PR agency, it will already know that consent is essential ahead of time.

NEW YORK - Axia Public Relations developed a scholarship program through a strategic partnership with the Public Relations Society of America and its PRSA Foundation.

Know the difference between paid media, earned media and owned media

Audiences have turned their backs on traditional marketing tactics. They increasingly find advertisements on the radio and TV annoying and interruptive. Online advertisements are even worse, and the ads that aren’t annoying are often missed completely because people are focused on the content, not the ads.