Still within the first few months of my PR career and I just thought I’d share some observations. After all, that’s what I do, make observations. I’m sure the other newly employed PR flacks can join in here, the seasoned can attest, and the students can learn from my misjudgments.

Dusk. Dusk is a pretty good transition. From the bustle of the busy day to the quiet of the sleepy night, dusk gently leads us from one to another. And, really, it’s your perspective of day and night that changes your opinion of dusk. From good to bad, from bad to good, or just from one stage to another. Your call.

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Owen Lystrup has written a post about media relations over at Into PR that has stirred up some really valuable discussion. He’s presented the following question:

When pitching a journalist on a story, do you call after sending an e-mail and release, or wait?

And several people have taken the time to contribute some really insightful answers via comments. I do believe the overall consensus is “It depends.”

As I noted (and I know this thought is shared by many) you should most certainly start with doing the research to make sure you’re sending it to journalists or bloggers who would actually be interested in the information. Plus, I feel that while it’s your job to present your client’s angle … you’ll certainly get better results if you take the journalist’s perspective into account as well. By thinking your pitch (or your follow-up) through from their perspective, you’ll be able to present it in a way that will be more appealing and yield better results. Quite frankly, if a journalist hasn’t responded to a pitch you sent … and when you stop and think, “If I were this person, would I care about what I just pitched?” … and the answer is “no” … don’t follow up!

On the other hand, if you know that journalist would genuinely be interested in that information and you’re honestly concerned that the email got lost in his/her Inbox or whatever … then yes, you could consider giving them a call. (Also factor in any previous relationship you or your client has with them.) Furthermore, as Todd And suggests in a comment:

The trick is never to say “I’m just following up to make sure you received my release.” That’s the fast track to the reporter’s bad side. Instead, I prefer to add a piece of information or a fact not mentioned in the press release. If I can give the reporter something they don’t already have it will demonstrate value and increase my chances of arranging an interview (and therefore increase the odds of placement).

But read Owen’s post and the ensuing comments to get the whole idea.

Technorati Tags: pitching, media relations, blogger relations, pr, public relations

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NBC is in hot water after a short video to open the Emmy Awards on Sunday. The video was of a plane crashing and its intention was to spoof the ABC television show Lost. But hours earlier a plane had crashed in Lexington, Ky., and killed 49 people.

NBC apologized for the video saying it was prerecorded and it was not meant in any way to poke fun at those killed in the plane crash in Kentucky. But while its intentions were good, the final outcome was not.

Many believe that the video should have been scratched from the opening of the awards ceremony. But others were not so offended because they clearly saw the ties to Lost and not to the Kentucky plane crash.

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This past weekend I headed out to Wee Waa (deep in NSW cotton country) visiting a good mate of mine. He’s also a media grad, but he’s back working the family farm.

We had an extremely interesting conversation about job satisfaction – and more importantly where that satisfaction comes from.

As we drove around his property, he’d point out to me the products of his labour. Crops planted, fields ploughed, metal welded, etc. His point was that he gets a great deal of satisfaction from being able to look at the work he’s done and see the final result of his labour.

He works with his hands to create something real, and he can look at the final result of his labour with satisfaction. Meanwhile, I work with my mind to create ideas and influence – and the end result of my labour will occur in someone else’s mind.

While I can see some of the outputs I create in my work: media releases, podcasts, successful pitches – I can’t see the final outcome. If I’m trying to influence someone else’s thinking, I can never actually see this happen. I guess it’s tied in with the fact that we can’t really measure PR, there is no black and white way to see the end result of our work.

At this stage I do get a great deal of satisfaction from the work I do. I get a buzz when a story gets picked up, I’m proud when I clearly communicate something difficult, getting positive feedback on a podcast puts a smile on my face. But, will this last? I’m sure my 500^th media release won’t be as exciting as my first, so what measures can I take to be sure that I’ll remain satisfied with my work?

This is more of a question for our Forward investors and experienced types who visit the site. Where does your job satisfaction come from? Is it a positive media hit? Is it a happy client? Or is it a measurable strategy where you’ve reached your objectives?

Technorati Tags: PR, public relations, job satisfaction, career advice

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To refresh your memory from my last post, behavioral interview questions will be much more specific than traditional interview questions. Interviewers have chosen specific competencies that are key for success in that position. He or she then asks the interviewee very specific questions that address those skills. As promised, I am providing additional sample interview questions for this type of interviewing. This is a terrific opportunity to use these sample questions that you are very likely to hear in behavioral interviews to practice and perfect your answer. Remember to use the STAR method (Situation-Task-Action-Result) as I mentioned in the last post. Tell the interviewer the specific situation you were facing, the task(s) needing to be accomplished, the specific actions that YOU took, and the result of those actions. Answer these sample questions using the STAR method and you should be well-prepared should you face a behavioral-based interview. If you are unsure of certain answers or have any questions, feel free to ask me. You will find that some of the sample questions are very similar. Remember that you will have similar questions if they are addressing the same competency.

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By Brian Solis

In the last article, I discussed the challenges that are facing PR professionals when it comes to tracking and reaching the incredibly vast universe of bloggers. And, as Jeremy Pepper pointed out, I referenced mostly elite bloggers, which may have provided an incorrect reference point for the importance of bloggers in your target markets.

A few were simply referenced to demonstrate the power of influence that is possible to attain through blogging. Some overnighter citizen journalists are even rivaling traditional news and publishing outlets. The true point of the article though, was to encourage PR pros to

1. reach out to appropriate bloggers as part of their day-to-day PR program and
2. do their homework to figure out which sites, blogs, etc. matter to their company and to their clients.

This article (and the series) will provide background, supporting info, and helpful tools to help you do that easier - with what’s available today.

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As the online springboard for students and young PR professionals, I thought I’d kick start my Forward “investment” with a lil’ ditty I call “The Product Is People.”

Corporate marketing executives hire PR agencies for their people. They look for the best and brightest agency people to represent their company and counsel their executives - the people with the best track record, the most brilliant ideas, the best understanding of their business and the best cultural fit. People win the agency business and make the agency money. Just like other service firms, at a PR agency, the product is people.

Unfortunately, people can also threaten and lose business for the agency.

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Education goes against nature. The new year starts just when the leaves are beginning to turn on the trees.

Despite my two decades in the real world of work, where each year was punctuated only by a summer vacation and an enforced slowdown around Christmas, I still find the academic year to be second nature. Progress was so easy to measure then: new year, new uniform, new class, an inch or two taller.

How to continue measuring progress - other than the extra inch on the waist - once you’re outside the academic world? Because learning doesn’t end with your degree qualification. Not if you want to develop as a professional and as a human being.

That’s why I’ve decided to sign up to our professional body’s continuous professional development (CPD) scheme, Developing Excellence. This challenges me to improve in three areas: professional practice, education & training and personal development. (For a full-time educator, this should come with my job description, but doing your day job properly doesn’t count for CPD credits.)

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Forward welcomes a new contributing investor: Todd Andrlik (you may be familiar with him from ToddAnd.com). I’ve included his bio below, but you can also view it and all of our other contributors’ updated bios at our new and improved contributors page. (The rest of the site has been updated some, as well. This is what happens when Erin finally gets a free weekend!)

Todd Andrlik is a seasoned marketing professional with an award-winning PR portfolio and significant agency experience. He authors “Todd And - The Power to Connect,” a new blog about all things marketing (www.toddand.com). Over the years, Todd has consulted more than 100 companies and individuals, including many Fortune 500 firms, and ‘rock star’-caliber executives/lawyers. He’s developed hundreds of integrated campaigns, managed major crises, coached spokespeople, built brands and generated news. His body of marketing work has won numerous awards, including the coveted PRWeek Award for Campaign of the Year.

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That is the sub-headline for an Associated Press article by David Bauder I found called, “Fox News handles PR like it’s a contact sport.”

Catches your attention doesn’t it?

The gist of the article is that Fox News has a very unconventional way of responding to attacks on their network.

After very negative comments from Ted Turner, calling the network propoganda and relating its popularity to that of Hitler’s in Germany before World War II, a Fox spokeswoman, Irena Briganti replied, “Ted is understandably bitter having lost his ratings, his network and now his mind. We wish him well.”

In a reply to George Clooney’s criticism of Bill O’Reilly, the network responded, “We are disappointed that George has chosen to hurt Mr. O’Reilly’s family in order to promote his movie. But it’s obvious he needs publicity considering his recent string of failures. We wish him well in his struggle to regain relevancy.”

Ouch, huh?

Bauder says at the beginning of his article, “If someone at Fox News Channel wishes you well, watch your back. The seemingly benign sentiment is a creative signature of Fox’s public relations, usually accompanied by a kneecapping. It’s something like a kiss from a Mafia don.”

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