The Public Relations Blog

By Alexandria Easland

As a public relations student at San Diego State University, I am interested in the ethical issues that arise around the profession. To that end, I recently spoke with Jason Mudd, CEO and president of the Axia Public Relation firm. Not only did Mudd reveal how he got interested in and involved with the profession, but also the standards he holds himself, his employees and his clients to in terms of ethics. Below is my interview with Mr. Mudd.

The travel/tourism industry offers numerous opportunities for businesses to gain traction. Axia Public Relations offered up a few key tips on the subject in Part I, and we’ve got even more for your consideration here:

Use all available tools – old and new – to stay ahead

One age-old tool can spark monumental, industry-wide change. If your company website isn’t mobile-friendly, you could face serious consequences. It’s time to have an honest talk about your strategy and your future.

Do you own a hotel or resort destination, or are you perhaps a member of a local chamber of commerce seeking to attract more visitors? A consistent flow of tourists and travelers can make all the difference, and travel industry veterans understand how much time, money and effort it takes to build and maintain that consistency. In fact, many travel and tourism-focused outfits earmark large marketing budgets to further establish brand or locale identity. Looking ahead to the busiest domestic travel season of the year, summer, it’s clear that to be competitive, travel and tourism-oriented businesses can achieve more with expanded marketing programs that include public relations. But what are the best tactics to deploy in such a highly competitive industry?

When you have a great business, franchise it. When you want to make it greater, use PR.

Franchising your business can be the best of both worlds: You get to extend your winning business plan to different locations without having to run all of them. For many – both franchisors and franchisees – this represents the ideal business model.

Still, every kind of business needs to grow, manage its brand, raise visibility and handle potential crises. This is especially true for franchisors, and good franchise PR can help.

Find out how to maximize your media relations efforts

A new survey has found that the majority of reporters are displeased with the quality and content of materials they receive from PR professionals. For the survey, ISEBOX.com, a content distribution and tracking platform, interviewed numerous journalists and media professionals about their views on PR and corporate communicators.

Let PR show you how to make sure the public sees you as the superhero, not the villain

A crisis can occur in any company at any time. This is one area where size does not matter. While there’s no way to truly plan for every type of disaster, there are actions you can take today to help prevent a crisis tomorrow. One way is through reputation management.

When a crisis occurs, it can damage your brand. Part of your brand is your reputation. With help from PR for reputation management, you can protect your company and control your image.

By Wendy Bulawa Agudelo

Lately, Starbucks has been earning headlines for its Race Together campaign, designed to stimulate dialogue about the controversial topic of race relations. Americans immediately took to social media with unrest, questioning why a coffee behemoth would take on the dialogue – and, more importantly, why it would use handwritten #racetogether scribbles on disposable coffee cups to engage customers on a topic so controversial.

Would you like a discussion about race with your latte this morning?

By Lisa Goldsberry

You’ve probably seen all the news reports and social media posts about Starbucks’ latest PR campaign. In case you’ve just emerged from a deep cave and missed it, here’s the gist: In order to spark discussions about race relations between employees and customers, the world’s most famous coffee chain has begun writing “Race Together” along with customers’ names on their coffee cups.

If you ignore Google, it may ignore you!

By Jason Mudd, APR

Your company has followed all the smart advice about making the most of social media for business. Most likely, you have hired a social media manager (or outsourced one) who ensures that you have a constant presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and maybe even Instagram and Pinterest. You may also have some videos on YouTube. What about Google+?

Many companies have neglected Google+ because they feel it’s still new and unpopular. However, there are several reasons why you need to give this platform more than a passing glance. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Google+ should move to the front of the line when it comes to the social media focus for your business. Here’s why: