The Public Relations Blog

Shared media is social media. It’s evolving and continues to build beyond just marketing or the customer service teams using it. Organizations have begun to use it as their main source of communications internally and externally. Shared media includes publishing to social sites, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

The term earned media describes news content featuring or sourcing your brand, products, or services. Earned media coverage comes from media relations when an outlet includes your company, product, service, expert, opinion, or ideas in a news story (online, print, radio, TV, podcast, etc.). It’s when a newspaper or industry trade publication (blog, magazine, or website) features your brand or quotes your expert. It’s appearing on a TV morning show or the evening news. It’s what most people think of when they think of PR. Some might call it “publicity.”

Traditional public relations isn’t working anymore. Fewer Americans rely on TV news, while nearly half of all U.S. adults get their news from Facebook, according to surveys conducted by Pew Research Center. PR professionals must adapt to the ever-changing social and digital age. Here’s the opportunity most PR pros and their PR agencies are missing: the social media news desk.

Why customer reviews on social media are more important than ever

Today, almost everyone has a Facebook account. For companies, this means huge opportunities to connect with audiences, promote products and services, and gain reviews. Facebook’s review system has become a respected source for online reviews over the years. We’ve recently learned that Facebook may have a new rating system in the works that could change the way it calculates review scores. Here’s what we know.

3 tools we recommend to create the content you’ll use to pitch

Most news outlets have a social media or digital desk, and they’re always looking for great content to publish. Turn a news release into a short video or infographic – or grab the reporter’s attention with a corresponding GIF. News outlets are more likely to publish high-quality content on their social media platforms, and the results are often even greater than TV or newspaper (earned media) coverage. Think about it: Social media coverage has the potential of reaching thousands and even millions of people. Your local TV station’s 6 p.m. segment might not.

Use these steps to evaluate how well your social media strategy is working

A social media audit is an evaluation of what’s working and what’s not working with your social media strategy and what you can improve. Additionally, it takes inventory of all your accounts, messages, and materials and their reach. It functions within a communications audit to measure the success of the messages your company sends out.

Why your company needs content every week

It’s a well-known fact that blogging is the key to a successful content marketing strategy. Blogging has become a great way for companies to improve their search engine optimization, get their message out, and establish themselves as an authority in their industry.

What you should know

Recently, journalists from the print, TV, radio, and magazine world attended a “media mashup” professional development event for those in the PR industry, which the Florida Public Relations Association hosted. These professionals all understand that getting the media’s attention isn’t as easy as one may think.

Download a complimentary template to help plan your public relations campaign

Identifying all your organization’s target audiences is a key step during your communication planning. Target audiences are part of your PR plan’s inputs. You can use this tool for communication, marketing, and PR strategies because it helps identify what specific audiences need to improve your company’s communication methods.

It’s not good enough to have a public relations campaign. You must have a goal for your campaign and metrics to prove how it will benefit your bottom line. Measuring the success of your PR campaign proves the worth of the campaign and why it matters. However, measuring incorrectly could really do some damage, so make sure to avoid the three biggest measurement mistakes made in the PR industry.