The Public Relations Blog

PR can help pave the way to industry stardom

TED is a nonprofit organization whose wildly successful conferences are the holy grail for innovative and enterprising individuals looking to gain publicity and disseminate their ideas worldwide. Conceived in 1984 as a conference for ideas in technology, entertainment and design, TED is now the paramount platform for visionaries seeking a global audience to discuss virtually any topic.

Let PR show you how to handle the issue and still have a great event

Are you worried about members of the media attending your next event, shareholder’s meeting or public presentation? You should be; the media are a powerful component of our society. However, while you should be aware of them, you don’t have to fear them.

If there are media in the room, you should be thankful! They are trained and credentialed journalists who are there to get the story right. The truth is that, these days, there’s always media in the room – social media.

Media fame, whether or not it’s the result of a scandal, acts like a proverbial carrot dangled before business owners and investors who flock to it like moths to a flame. Intense paparazzi-style blitzes follow, especially when an ordinary organization takes on a high-profile staff member. Many companies fall prey to “hiring stunts” with very little actual return on investment beyond initial get-it-quick publicity.

Businessweek magazine is one of the world’s top business publications, preparing its readers to succeed in today’s complex economy. The magazine focuses on the most important news in finance, technology and economics.

Bill Gates’ phrase “content is king” has become a well-known mantra for all marketing professionals. To expand on that, great content is king, and it has its own stiff competition for consumers’ attention and dissemination to the right audiences through earned media.

Wikipedia defines “earned media” as “publicity gained through promotional efforts other than advertising.” In other words, earned media is online word of mouth (mentions, shares, reports).

Historically, headline-seeking journalists have struggled with reaching live spokespersons for interviews and with extracting necessary facts from press releases shared in newsrooms. Happily, though, times have changed, spurred on by the burgeoning digital realm and the creation of the online newsroom.

Big and small businesses alike can turn website real estate into useful bits and bytes for the press. Downloadable videos, news releases, photographs/executive headshots, biographies, movie trailers, application reviews and the like appear with ease online for immediate viewing and download. It is this website subsection that we refer to as the online newsroom.

Let PR show you how to make the most of positive news

You have achieved that coveted, all-important national news story about your company. Congratulations, you have another article for your clippings file. Now, what else can you do you with it?

If you are like most companies, you’re not content to rest on your laurels. You want more. Many companies believe that if one major news outlet was interested enough to cover a story, others will be, also. However, pitching the same story to other reporters by bragging about those who have already covered it is a big no-no in the field of journalism.

Let PR show you how to do it right

As discussed in our previous blog post, journalists receive between 25 and 100 pitches for every one article they write. Media coverage and media relationsare highly competitive ventures – and they’re also highly valuable.

Making the field even more cutthroat is the fact that the number of traditional magazines and other publications is shrinking. Therefore, it’s important to be extra adept when making pitches. Use the best and most appropriate PR tools and techniques to make your news or message more desirable and increase your chances for positive media coverage.

If you’re not getting the right kind of news coverage, PR can show you how to tweak your media efforts and get results

According to Business Wire’s new survey called“21st Century Journalism and Public Relations (the Evolution),” reporters are increasingly turning to press releases from companies to find the information they need.

Imagine if 200,000 people read your last blog post. Think how great it would be if your website got two million visitors in one month. That’s what it’s like when your content goes viral.