Sign up for the inaugural Edelman Digital Bootcamp!

Where: University of Georgia

When: Saturday, March 1

Why: To gain practical, hands-on experience with researching, planning and executing a social media communications campaign.

The cost is minimal ($25 for students, $40 for educators) and that goes to cover the costs of materials and food — both of which will be provided at the event. Attendance is limited, so I encourage you to register online today! (Ahem, I don’t see any Auburn students signed up yet. I’m just sayin’.)

Okay, now that all those essentials are out of the way, I can talk about what this event means to me and why I’m so excited to be a part of it …

Right at the end of 2007, I had the pleasure of having lunch with Kaye Sweetser of UGA. We had a great conversation — chatting about social media best practices, the challenges of practicing and teaching online tactics, and some interesting case studies. We also talked about how GREAT it would be to do some sort of “social media bootcamp” to expose students and educators to social media and teach them the basics. Well …

A few short months later … here we are!

I think it’s clear that it’s a passion of mine to further the adoption of new media in the public relations curriculum. That’s why I started Forward. And even though I’ve been too busy to contribute as I should (sigh), I still think the great work that Paull and Luke do with the podcast contributes to the site’s mission. The PR blogosphere as a whole does an excellent job of evangelizing social media best practices. There are numerous events every year that serve to educate communicators on this new and growing medium. I hope that the Edelman Digital Bootcamp serves to advance this larger movement, as well.

I encourage you to visit the event’s site to learn the whole story about the event, grab a badge or widget to show your support, read the blog (written by students - so drop in and say hello!), and see who’s going to be there — both as leaders and participants. Oh, and don’t forget to join the Facebook group.

But I’d like to close this post giving kudos to the top-notch group of students working on this event. Dr. Sweetser set me up as a “client” for her campaigns class, so we’ve had a group of students working to plan and execute the logistics, publicity, Web strategy — everything! They’ve done press releases (both traditional and social), a media plan, communication strategy, arranged for lodging, the venue for event and reception, created the Facebook group, set up Flickr and Twitter, drafted Web copy and blog posts … you name it … they did it or are doing it!

So kudos all around. Just a few more days till the big event. If you know any students or educators who might be interested, pass it along.

Technorati Tags: pr, public relations, pr students, edelman digital bootcamp, uga, edb, ugaedb08

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Tuesday, Nov. 20
1:30pm ET
Listen here

For those of you who don’t know, our very own Luke Armour likes to spread his podcasting talents around … and he has his own weekly podcast at BlogTalkRadio. “The Rundown,” as it’s called, airs live every Tuesday afternoon and features Luke — entertaining as ever — and a guest or two discussing topics relevant to PR, marketing, the Web, etc.

Well, tomorrow, I will be Luke’s guest as we chat about Forward, PR, things I’ve learned during my first few years as a professional, and whatever else Luke chooses to ask me about. So if you’d like to listen in (and surely hear some audible LOLs from me, as I tend to laugh a lot when speaking to Luke), join us at 1:30pm ET tomorrow.

updated 11/26 with audio

Technorati Tags: pr, public relations, pr podcast, the rundown, blogtalkradio, luke armour, erin caldwell

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 The Rundown with Erin Caldwell: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3563)

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Guest post from Auburn grad, Evyan Mischke …

Last Monday marked my second month at Evins Communications and looking back, I can’t believe I’ve only been here for 60 days. I feel like the advice I’m going to give to college students I heard over and over, but never listened to. The best word I have for the last two months is “whirlwind.” I thought I knew so much after my internship this summer, but that internship only skimmed the surface of public relations in NYC.

It’s important to keep in mind that the agency I’m at is small and my role here is a little untraditional. Technically, I’m supposed to work 50 percent on clients and 50 percent on social media. Finding the balance of this has been a little more difficult that I had anticipated. I’ve been thrown pretty quickly into two accounts and have been working on social media things on the side. However, my focus lately has been a lot more on social media and the company plan for 2008.

What does this mean for students who are about to be young PR professionals? To me, it means to give it all you can give. One thing I have learned is that it’s ok to be wrong, and it’s ok to ask questions (actually, a tip: I think they like it when you ask questions).

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Earlier this year, the Council of Public Relations firms published a white paper on the evolving role of public relations in the age of social media. It’s an interesting and often frank report on the state of public relations. The report’s authors describe the “current communication landscape” as the “wild west, as the advertising agencies and other marketing providers deliver services that, in the past, have been the domain of the public relations industry,”

After reading through the report, I spoke with Matt Shaw, Vice President of the Council of Public Relations Firms, to get his take on the white paper and to ask a few questions about the changing landscape of public relations.

Here’s a snapshot of our recent conversation:

John: The report predicts that “[h]ybrid compensation models are likely to develop that are more closely tied to audience engagement than hourly revenue. This new model would be based partly on an hourly basis, on project deliverables, and measurable outcomes. Clients often are measured and compensated this way in their own businesses, so metrics will become increasingly important and sophisticated within public relations.”

If this is the case, it seems that tools like Google Analytics and Technorati’s authority rankings will become increasingly vital to PR professionals. If this prediction holds true, then will these tracking tools surpass the more traditional PR Trak in terms of how we justify ROI and ultimately develop business?

Matt: It’s difficult to predict how and when PR firm business models may change, but I would agree with the author’s findings that clients are looking at new ways to work w/their firms in this area (PR and ad agency alike). I’m sure there are many PR firms that are talking with their clients today about how to best measure newer social media programs. Measuring the many new forms of “engagement” should only grow in importance, and the good news is that these things are indeed measurable.

Another thing to keep in mind: An under-appreciated element in the overall measurement conversation is the fact that when PR has been measured, in mix marketing models or communications optimization models for example, it performs quite well, and generally comes out on top of other marketing disciplines. The P&G study of ’05 is the best-known case, but it is happening consistently, in all types of industries.

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In 2006 Dell had 78,700 global employees, revenue of close to $56 billion and Fortune magazine ranked it as the 25th largest company on its Fortune 500 list and 8th on the top 20 list of most admired companies in the USA. They’re kind of a big deal. So it is all the more noteable that they are having the culture of their organization changed by embracing social media.

In this interview Paull Young is joined by Laura Thomas, Lionel Menchaca, Caroline Dietz, Arlette Salcedo and Jacqui Zhou from Dell’s social media team as they talk in detail about their approach to social media. They discuss how they have used tools like their Direct2Dell blog, IdeaStorm, Studio Dell web videos and a Second Life presence to start a new relationship with their customers through two way communication. They also talk about what they have learned from the process that has seen a shift internally in their company’s culture which has been matched by a shift in online consumer sentiment from 50% negative to 23% negative in just one year.

The Dell team will be paying attention to this post, so please take some time to check out their work and leave a comment - it’s a case study worth learning from.

In other Forward related news - if you are anywhere near Athens, Georgia this coming weekend (October 19-20) be sure to come along to the CONNECT social media and PR conference at Grady College. Paull will be presenting a case study on Forward and also a couple of breakout sessions on Second Life and podcasting.

Also, if you enjoy the Amish portion of our Forward Podcast rambling you’ll be excited to hear that Luke has started up his own show with his employer BlogTalkRadio. It’s called The Rundown, it airs live every Tuesday at 1:30pm ET and I’m sure it will be an enjoyable and informative listen.

Finally, the weekend after next (October 26-27) Paull will be attend Podcamp Boston where he’ll be presenting on a panel about Reputation Management for Digital Natives. The event looks like it is going to be an amazing learning opportunity and I hope our panel will be particularly useful for Forward Podcast listeners - be sure to say g’day if you’ll be there.

Technorati Tags: dell, social media, direct2dell, Ideastorm, Studio Dell, online engagement, online community, online monitoring, conversational marketing, online relationships, crowdsourcing, blogging, corporate blogs, corporate blogging

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 Forward Podcast 33 :: Social Media in Action at Dell [42:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (989)

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Bill Sledzik, Associate Professor at Kent State University, joins us for Forward Podcast 32 to give a snapshot of PR academia. Bill is a blogger, PR professor and former PR professional (can you really be a former PR professional?).

In this segment, Bill answers the tough questions that are on students’ minds. What are professionals looking for in a new hire? What questions are you getting from other students? Does blogging matter? How? What about Facebook? Where will I find a job? Is this thing on?

As mentioned in the interview, Bill posted a two-part summary of a study with Kent State and Burrelles Luce. As promised, Bill has threatened to send the full academic tome to anyone who requests it at wsledzik [at] kent.edu

• Study post Part I
• Study post Part II

During the Intro, Paull plugged the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication “Connect” Public Relations & Social Media Conference. Well, look at that, Paull’s speaking at that conference! He’s right there on the Agenda talking about the Forward Blog. The conference has an all-star cast of some of Luke’s favorite PR bloggers. Paull, Kevin Dugan (twice the pr blogger), Constantine, Josh Hallett, and Katie Delahaye Paine just to namedrop a few…and Karen, mustn’t forget Karen. Seriously, if all of those blogs aren’t in your feedreader, get to it.

Paull then bravely mentioned that we’d have links in the show notes, which is easy to say because he’s not doing the show notes this week. So there they are.

Please let Bill, Luke or Paull know what you really think of them. You can email luke [at] forward-moving.com with all your sincerest and most personal thoughts about this or any Forward podcast or leave a comment right here on this blog.

Technorati Tags: pr, public relations, forward podcast, pr students, pr education, career advice

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 Forward Podcast 32 :: A Snapshot of PR Academia: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1337)

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Forward Podcast 31 responds to some recent hot debate in the PR blogging space about just how vocal young PR professionals should be, both in the office and offline.

This episode is an interview with Edelman’s Phil Gomes in response to his post about the importance of young PR professionals ‘managing up‘ - talking up to their boss or colleagues when they feel they have a deeper understanding of an issue. Paull and Phil also discuss the debate that has recently sprung up about whether inexperienced communicators could be doing their reputations harm by speaking up online.

The podcast ends with some brilliant thoughts from young PR professional and blogger Kait Swanson. Her thoughts really put Phil’s theory into practice from the point of view of a young communicator. She’s clearly a fair bit smarter than Paull and Luke, so hopefully she’ll start commenting regularly. Of course, you can join the conversation at any time by leaving a comment or sending us an audio file to include.

This episode is the second time Phil has appeared on the Forward Podcast, he was previously the subject of episode #6 on the dark art of podcasting. Paull has a post at his personal blog summarizing the numerous mentions of this debate so far, there are some excellent thoughts across the blogosphere that can teach a lot to young professionals.

In other housekeeping news, Forward will be the subject of a case study at the Connect: PR and Social Media Conference at the University of Georgia, Athens, on October 19-20. The conference is intended to educate public relations professionals and educators on social media and Paull Young will be presenting on the mission and history of Forward as an example of how social media can be used to attempt to help both young communicators and the industry as a whole move Forward.

We strongly suggest you take the time to read through the entire debate - there’s a post covering the conversation from start to finish at Paull’s blog. The discussion to date on this topic, from both experienced and inexperienced viewpoints alike, is really a case study of the power of social media to move our industry forward.

Technorati Tags: Phil Gomes, managing up, decision support, reputation management, pr blogging, young pr blogging, marketing blogging

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 Forward Podcast 31 - Managing Your Voice in the Office and Beyond [38:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1332)

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Forward Podcast 30 tackles the topic of interviewing with special guest Nettie Hartsock. Nettie wears many hats. She is a book publicist, a freelance journalist, a PR professional and a blogger. She authors the Professional PR and Must Read Business Books for Allbusiness.com as well as her own blog. To fully appreciate what you hear in Forward 30, read about her extensive and incredibly impressive career.

Nettie and Luke talk about both sides of interviewing: being the interviewee (think: job interview) as well as the interviewer (think: what does my client actually do and how do I tell other people). Nettie shares her experiences and advice on everything. As PR professionals, I think it’s important to remember there are more chances you’ll be interviewing someone else rather than being interviewed. It’s more than setting yourself apart in that first job interview, but also dragging information out of that CEO or engineer who hired you to communicate what they do to people who don’t understand what they do. Whether it’s a white paper, brochure, press release, media advisory, speech or doctor’s excuse (alright, I made that one up) you need to know how to get that information.

As always, leave your comments or questions here for Nettie, Paull or Luke. As an added bonus, Paull will now be making rash, inflammatory statements at the beginning of each Forward Podcast. Tune in twice a month to hear the irrational ramblings of an Aussie in NYC (and the dulcet tones of a guy in rural Ohio).

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 Forward Podcast 30 :: Interviewing with Nettie Hartsock: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1956)

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Forward Podcast 29 is a conversation between Paull Young and Doug Haslam about Twitter and other new microblogging tools.
Doug is a Partner at Boston PR firm Topaz Partners and an active blogger and podcaster, of course, he Twitters like crazy as well.

Here Paull and Doug explain what Twitter is, why they like it, how it can be used for business (both for clients and personally) and share some thoughts on what young professionals have to gain from getting involved. More widely, they touch on the importance of networking both online and off.

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 Forward Podcast 29 - Microblogging and Twitter [20:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2545)

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OR ‘why you shouldn’t listen to the Forward Podcast’.

In this edition of the Forward Podcast Paull Young and Luke Armour take you on a tour of all the best podcast sites for PR up-and-comers. They have both been plugged into the PR podosphere for some time and here they share their thoughts on which podcasts hold the most value for PR students and young professionals.

Podcasts mentioned in the podcast:

• For Immediate Release
• Inside PR
• Trafcom News
• New Comm Road
• Comms Cafe
• Six Pixels of Separation
• PR Junction
• Across the Sound
• Marketing Over Coffee
• On The Record Online
• Managing the Gray
• American Copywriter

To close the podcast, Luke and Paull ask for your feedback on the Forward Podcast - what do you think of it? How would you like to see it change? How can it better serve you? Please leave comments below.

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 Forward Podcast 26: A Guide to the PR Podosphere [32:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2831)

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