Dear pr people...

Dear PR people : please take this quiz
before you send out another press
release or email pitch. Be sure you
know the answers to each of the 26
questions. (The correct answers are
below:)
1. Has the print, online or broadcast
reporter you are pitching ever covered
this topic?
2. Would this pitch or release elicit a
response from people who read it?
(Other than, “Oh crap, another press
release from hell!”)
3. Is this pitch or release bullshit?
4. Would anyone pass along a story on
this topic to a friend or colleague?
5. Have you Googled the reporters and
bloggers on your list so you know if
they’ve already covered your client’s
competitor?
6. Have you read your client or
competitors’ press releases?
7. Have you checked to see if any
blogs specialize in covering this topic?
Do you know the angle they take?
8. Can you make the copy shorter?
9. Should you pitch a blogger in the
comments on their blog?
10. Can you find the reporter or
blogger’s email if you take the time
to look?
11. Do you know how the blogger
prefers to be pitched?
12. Do you know the name of the
blogger’s dog so you can personalize
your pitch?
13. Have you read the current posts
on the blogger’s blog and can you
discuss them so you can personalize
your pitch?
14. Do you follow the blogger on
Twitter and know what he or she likes
to talk about so you can personalize
your pitch?
15. Do you know if the blogger is male
or female?
16. Should you pitch bloggers on
Twitter?
17. Should you tell your client to check
into advertising on the publication if
you’re really asking for a sales pitch
instead of a story?
18. Should you tell the reporter or
blogger that you know they will want
to cover this story?
19. Should you tell the reporter or
blogger that they should “support your
client’s brand?” (also see question 17)
20. Should you send a follow up email
saying “I just want to follow up on the
pitch I sent you last week,” and not
include the pitch in the email,
assuming that your email was the most
important one the reporter or blogger
read last week and that he/she
remembers every word?
21. Should you send weekly emails with
“content for your blog” without
checking to see if the blogger ever
uses guest posts?
22. Should you pretend you’re not a
publicist?
23. Should you have a phone number in
your pitch in case the blogger or
reporter actually wants to speak to
you?
24. Should you send bloggers
infographics containing huge ads for
your company?
25. Should you send links to content
that the blogger has to register to
view?
26. Should you read The Cluetrain
Manifesto before you send out
another pitch or write another press
release?
Answers: 1.Yes; 2.Yes; 3.No;
4.Yes; 5.Yes; 6.Yes; 7.Yes
8.Yes; 9.No; 10.Yes; 11.Yes;
12.Yes; 13.Yes; 14. Yes; 15.No;
16.No; 17.Yes; 18.No; 19.No;
20.No; 21.No; 22.No; 23.Yes;
24.No; 25.No; 26.Yes. dear-pr-people-please-take-this-quiz-before-you-send-out-another-press-release-or-email-pitch-...

posted from Bloggeroid

7excuses and solutions (why pr firms dont use image)

We’ve found there are six main
reasons why PR practitioners and
businesses avoid using images as part
of their communications.
We thought we'd suggest solutions to
these problems so you can start
creating more vibrantly eye-catching
and interesting content.
“Our product is boring. I don’t think
it would be a good subject for an
interesting picture.”
All the more reason you should use
creative images to enliven your
communications. Think of Innocent
Drinks. Their product is not unique,
but their social media content is
awash with images that are unrelated
to their product but fit with the
quirky image they’re trying to give
their brand’s personality.
However, if you don’t think this would
work for your brand then you should
consider thinking about how you can
create an emotive or humorous image
in some way connected to your
product. Look at this humorous
example for Webroot Internet
Security.
Another tip is to write down your
headline. What first comes to your
mind when you read it? Have you used
a metaphor? It's often easier to
match a picture to a headline than the
whole story.
“Professional photographers are too
expensive; I can't afford to pay for
photographs to accompany every press
release I send out.”
Professional photographers might not
be as expensive as you think. If you
plan wisely, you can get a lot for your
money.
Rather than hiring a photographer on
an individual campaign basis, consider
making a list of all the campaign
activities you will have in upcoming
months so you can think about the
images you might like to accompany
your documents.
It is much cheaper to hire a
photographer for a whole day and take
a wide range of shots to build your
photo library. This collection of
photographs can then be shared with
your whole team so they can have easy
access to photographs when they’re
creating documents and
presentations.
“We’re a small company we can’t
afford fancy digital cameras, never
mind a photographer.”
Don’t underestimate the power of
your smartphone or tablet. The number
of megapixels on these devices is
equivalent to the digital cameras
people were investing in only a few
years ago. Also the quality of apps,
such as Instagram, is continually
improving.
Though the images these devices
produce might not be of high enough
quality for printed materials, they can
certainly be used across social media
and in blog posts.
“I take terrible photographs; they
really wouldn’t be publishable.”
There are two websites worth
checking out if you would like to
improve your photography.
Writer and designer Adam Dachis has
put together a comprehensive guide
on Lifehacker that includes a number
of lessons for use with digital
cameras.
Expert Photography provides a
thorough Beginner’s Guide to
Photography and more than 250 other
articles to help you improve your skills
whether you are shooting with a
camera or a phone. It’s definitely
worth a read.
“I can never get my photographs the
way I like them. I would have to buy
expensive and complicated editing
software or pay someone to edit them
for me.”
Photoshop is the undisputed king of
photo editing. However, it's
notoriously complicated and expensive.
If you don’t want to fork out a whole
heap of cash there are great free
alternatives.
The best options we’ve come across
are getpaint.net and gimp.org .
According to PCMag.com : “Paint.net
lives in an interesting space between
very basic image manipulation
applications like Microsoft Paint and
robust big guys like Photoshop.”
Gimp.org is a credible competitor to
Photoshop, and it’s free. You can
combine it with Photoshop plug-ins
should you feel the package is not
extensive enough. Read
Brighthub.com’s review for details.
If you'd still rather use Photoshop but
don't want to pay for the full
package, try Photoshop Elements. It's
a basic version of the full package at
a fraction of the price.
“I am unsure of copyright laws so I
would rather avoid using other
people’s images.”
The Copyright, Designs, and Patents
Act of 1988 is notoriously complicated
and extends to more than 300
sections. Therefore, you should avoid
using other people’s photographs
unless you are absolutely certain you
are not infringing any copyrights.
When you need an image in a hurry,
it’s tempting to jump onto Google
Images, do a few searches, and see
what catches your eye. Of course,
many images will be copyrighted. To
find images you can freely use, use
the advanced search and tick the use
rights option that says, “free to use
or share, even commercially.” Even
then, please credit the original
photographer.
The same applies with Flickr, the
world’s largest photo-sharing site. Go
to the advanced search and select
“Creative Commons: find content to
use commercially.”
"I find the photographs on these
online stock sites are often very
cheesy."
Generally, it’s worth paying for stock
photography, although it's true you
have to look hard to find shots that
aren't bland, generic, or cheesy.
There's a knack to searching on these
sites. Try to think of conceptual
search terms that go beyond the
obvious. You might, for instance, look
for metaphors from nature or perhaps
the arts.
[RELATED: Learn the art of the
visual story at this November
video summit.
]
As with most things, you tend to get
what you pay for. Take a look at sites
such as Alamy, Shutterstock,
iStockphoto, and 123RF, and find the
cost/quality ratio you are comfortable
with. If you want to buy photos and
use them without restrictions, make
sure you search for “royalty free.”
So, these are just some solutions.
What do you think? Perhaps you have
some of your own tricks to add. Please
let us know in the comments below.
Adam Cranfield is the CMO of digital PR
firm Mynewsdesk. A version of this
story first appeared on the company's
blog.

posted from Bloggeroid

10 quetions to ask your pr agency

Making major decisions within your
organization such as brand direction,
where and when to expand your
territory, when and how to launch a
product, or choosing a PR agency to
work with can easily become taxing.
Decisions like these can be especially
challenging because they tie directly
into the success of your organization,
but you have to give up control to
experts who are not always working
side by side with you.
[RELATED : Learn why you NEED a
content marketing plan at our
December content marketing
boot camp
.]
Choosing a PR agency that cares
almost as much about your business as
you do is tough, but necessary because
you really don’t want to decide to
work with an agency only to be
disappointed, fire that agency, and
have to start the process all over
again.
It’s just not fun for anyone involved,
and it’s exhausting.
The process of selection: It’s a two-
way street
There are many of us who have
experienced buyer’s remorse, and the
street goes both ways.
Smart PR professionals know that
bringing a new client into the fold is a
process of communication, education,
and expectation on both sides.
When choosing a PR agency, there are
questions you can ask before
committing. You can even go back and
ask these questions if you’ve already
decided on a firm, to set expectations
for all parties involved.
Ten questions to ask when choosing a
PR agency
If you’re a PR professional, keep the
following questions in mind as you
work with new clients. If you address
them early on, you will be well on your
way to a better client experience and
agency relationship.
1. How do you measure results ? We
talk about measurement often on Spin
Sucks. That’s because it’s essential
to the success of an agency in
retaining clients and tangibly moving
the needle on ROI. Tip: Media
impressions and advertising
equivalency alone do not move the
needle and results they do not make.
2. How do you stay on top of current
events and trends ? This helps you
gauge whether an agency is growing
and adapting or is instead using a
more traditional approach. Is it
actively researching and engaging
influencers and uncovering new ways
to add value to your organization?
3. What will you need from our team?
This ties into things such as: Will we
need to create content or connect
your agency with an expert from our
team or will you manage those things?
How often will our organization need
to be available for meetings or
interviews?
4. How often should I expect to see
media coverage ? This question is
huge . You can’t leave the answer up
to interpretation. Even though an
agency may not give you an exact
number of times you will be covered by
the media on a monthly basis (this
isn’t advertising), they should be able
to at least provide you with a range.
It is absolutely and unapologetically
unacceptable to pay a monthly retainer
without receiving monthly coverage.
5. How do you integrate media
relations with other communication ?
This communicates that you are aware
of the need to integrate marketing
mediums and that you expect to keep
from being siloed. This is also a great
time to discuss how the agency
communicates media coverage to you
and your team so it can be leveraged
and repurposed throughout your
marketing channels.
6. How else can you help our
organization ? This is a great tag-on
to the above question. Yes, you’re
coming to this agency for media
relations, but it’s quite possible they
are successful in other areas, such as
blogging or social media.
7. Why should we choose you ? It may
seem like a no-brainer initially, but
this question can help you get a grasp
of what differentiates a particular
agency from another
.
8. Will we be expected to pay additional
fees? I have heard one too many
clients say they had additional fees
tacked on to secure “media coverage.”
If you have to pay a fee for an
interview or feature, that coverage is
not PR; it’s advertising. Note : This
does not include budget allowances for
special efforts such as blogger
reviews.
9. Do you have contacts within our
industry? If the answer is yes, ask to
see the coverage the agency has
secured within your industry. You may
decide to choose a PR agency even if
the reps don’t have industry contacts.
In that case, ask for case studies in
similar industries.
10. Do you have client experience
within our industry? Choosing a PR
agency that has had other clients
within your industry is a major plus.
That said, some clients see others in
the same industry as competitors. To
avoid a conflict of interest, find
similar industries where the agency
has experience.
Never underestimate the power of
asking
If you only take away one thing from
this post, let it be this: It’s OK to ask
questions, and you should.
Great PR agencies want to be a
partner and asset to your
organization. If you’re finding that is
not the case with your current
agency, then it might be time to make
a switch. Ask questions and try to
understand how you and your PR
agency can work together to further
the success of your brand.
A version of this article first appeared
on Spin Sucks.

posted from Bloggeroid

Britain furiously reacting over Gas hike

Heating and electricity utility British
Gas attempted to head off public
anger over a price hike by inviting
customers to a Twitter chat just
hours after the increase was
announced Thursday.
Our Customer Services Director
Bert Pijls will be taking part in a
Q&A about our price rise at
1-2pm. Tweet your questions
using #AskBG !
— British Gas (@BritishGas)
October 17, 2013
What the company got instead was
more vitriol than it could handle.
According to The Guardian, 16,000
people tweeted at British Gas using
the #AskBG hashtag, and nearly every
tweet was a knockout punch. Many of
them included “greed” and/or “death.”
#askbg. Did you forget the
balaclava? Isnt that normal in a
planned robbery?
— James Hobson (@
jamesdhobson) October 17, 2013
I've found a cheaper way of
heating than British Gas #AskBG
pic.twitter.com/7EVMTbi5Q0
— Tony Shepherd (@tony_sheppy)
October 17, 2013
The price hike in question is a double
whammy: Electricity rates will go up by
10.4 percent and the gas tariff will
increase by 8.4 percent starting Nov.
23. The average annual cost of energy
will go up £120.
Ian Peters, managing director of
British Gas Residential Energy, said
the price increase is a result of
skyrocketing costs. He also defended
the choice to hold the Twitter chat.
“I would not describe this as a PR
disaster,” Peters told The Guardian .
“We have made a commitment to be
open and transparent. These are
tough decisions we have had to take in
tough times, and it would not be right
of us to hide away and not explain
ourselves.”
Many of the utility’s explanations—it
largely referred customers to its
website and a phone line for people
struggling to pay bills—got lost in the
pile-on, however. Maybe waiting a few
days after the announcement would
have given customers a chance to cool
off.
[RELATED: Find out about our
November event that has
instruction for your entire
communications team.
]
London Loves Business posted a
screenshot of a British Gas job listing
for a social media manager, noting
that Twitter commentators were
speculating over whether the vacancy
had anything to do with Thursday’s
chat.

posted from Bloggeroid

@Holidays must do for pr pros,Brand marketers,social media specialists

Summer has said its goodbyes, and the
road to the holidays is just around the
bend.
As marketers, planning ahead is
crucial, and given that most shoppers
start their holiday gift gathering just
after Halloween
, it’s not too early to hang the social
media ornaments. (Not to mention
that Hanukkah begins the night
before Thanksgiving
this year.)
The holidays are the most crowded
time on social media. It can be difficult
standing out in the marketing frenzy
before December, but it is essential
that you get it right. Here are some
tips and platforms that can help
marketing, PR, and social media pros
harness the power of the holidays:
The more the merrier: Plan multiple
campaigns to increase engagement and
sales. Design them to target niche
audiences with specific rewards and
gifts. Space them out, though; don’t
release six different promotions in
one week. Social marketing platform
OfferPop reports that while brand
holiday campaigns spike in the second
week of December, there is a high fan
participation rate in early and mid-
November. That’s a great window to
kick off holiday campaigns or
introduce a heavy hitter, such as a
holiday shopping spree contest or a
one-day, half-off coupon special.
Coupons: Speaking of coupon specials,
no, they’re not just for the crazies
on TLC. Fans love getting discounts
from brands during the holidays, and
it’s an easy and obvious incentive to
shop at a specific establishment for
gifts. Coupons should have a small
shelf life during the holidays, and can
be offered in the form of codes (make
graphics fans can share) or you can
plan a more complex process, such as
codes that, once used, unlock more
savings.
Mobile coupons are essential. Make
them easy to pull up at the register
from the Facebook page or Twitter
account. As OfferPop’s Mark Cooper
states, “The download-and-print
coupon days are well behind us. Make
sure you’re making mobile a priority.”
Don’t neglect channels: Facebook is
the network to focus efforts on, but
don’t forget to use popular sites such
as Instagram and Pinterest for
holiday-themed campaigns. Niche
campaigns specific to the networks
are an obvious choice, such as winning
a dream “board” or an outdoor photo
and hashtag contest.
Allocate big budgets to social media
during the holidays: Planning ahead
means setting budgets for
advertising, design, etc. Allocate the
greatest amount of ad dollars for
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the
second week of December, as they are
the highest traffic times. Give your
campaigns plenty of attention, but
also use your dollars on tactics aimed
to increase your overall fan base.
Sponsor posts, and buy ads.
[RELATED: Ragan's new
distance-learning site houses
the most comprehensive video
training library for corporate
communicators.
]
Run Timeline contests: Facebook’s
recent announcement that contests
no longer had to be run through a
third-party app opened a door of
opportunity for fan pages. Take
advantage by running holiday-related
contests on the Timeline to engage
your fans. Ask for shares and “likes”
so it’s more likely to be seen by
friends of fans.
If you’re dry for contest ideas or you
have a variety of pages you must
monitor, consider using Post Planner.
It just launched a feature that has
more than 300 built-in contests you
can pick from, quickly edit, and post
directly to your page. Make sure they
are holiday oriented.
The main idea is to plan far ahead and
get creative. Give everything you do
on social media a little touch of holiday
magic or cheer. Don’t forget the
green and red—not to mention the
blue and white—holiday colors.
Abbi Whitaker is the president of The
Abbi Agency . Follow her on Twitter @
abbijayne or @theabbiagency , and visit
her blog, where a version of this story
first appeared.

posted from Bloggeroid

Social media is important to firms

Most businesses that invest heavily in
social media tend to forget one key
component to maximizing their
success in developing direct
relationships with their audience:
They forget to be social.
Much effort and attention is given to
creating valuable content, publishing
at just the right time to maximize
impressions, determining what
triggers to use to incite sharing,
figuring out how to encourage
comments and “likes,” and more.
All of this is great, but there isn’t
anything social about publishing
content and hoping for virality metrics
to shoot through the roof. Even
replying to comments left on blog
content, Facebook updates, tweets,
and Google+ posts isn’t truly being
social.
Think about it in the context of your
life. You don’t go to a party, see
some guy standing in the corner all by
his lonesome, and think, "Man, that
guy is really putting himself out
there!" He’d probably answer a
question if you asked him, but he’s
not doing anything to garner
attention, attract people to him, or
develop connections or relationships.
Except for rare circumstances,
businesses and brands simply cannot
develop meaningful relationships with
consumers on social media without
behaving socially.
The beautiful thing about social media
is that it gives businesses the
opportunity to speak with their
audience, including current and
prospective consumers. That’s
powerful stuff.
Initiate a dialogue.
If you are hoping to develop real
relationships with your consumers,
attract them to participate in the
discussions that are occurring on your
social media properties, and encourage
them to be social, I strongly
encourage you to initiate a dialogue
with them on their preferred online
turf.
By initiating an exchange, you are
greatly enhancing the probability that
you will not only receive a reply, but
also generate a dialogue. When you
create a dialogue with your
consumers, you’re going to
understand them better, learn what
they want, fully comprehend their
needs, and figure out how to provide
tremendous value with your products,
services, and content.
Develop direct relationships with your
consumers.
You are also going to greatly increase
the value of the interactions you have
with your consumers if there is some
give and take. Nobody wants to be
involved in a relationship in which they
are simply broadcast to. That’s not a
relationship at all. People want to
influence the course of a discussion.
This can be unnerving to reps at
businesses and brands accustomed to
retaining control of their
communications, but it is also
extremely exciting if you can adapt,
learn, and be nimble enough to take
advantage of the tremendous value
that direct relationships with
consumers can yield.
If there is one thing to take away
from this post, it is to find ways for
your business to be more proactively
social on social media. You don’t sit on
your hands waiting for consumers to
learn about your business or brand in
the offline world. You market,
advertise, write press releases, work
to generate word of mouth, and
develop and build relationships. All of
this is proactive and action oriented.
[RELATED: Learn the art of the
visual story at this November
video summit.
]
On social media you should really be
doing the same. Try to avoid turning
social media into a broadcast channel
for your content, and get involved
with your consumers where they are
interacting and engaging on the social
Web.
How do you engage socially with your
consumers online?
Matthew Peneycad blogs , tweets, and
posts as RGB Social with the aim of
sharing his advertising agency
experience in social media and digital
marketing with businesses and brands
of all sizes. A version of this story
also appeared on Social Media Today.

posted from Bloggeroid

Focus on arsenal past players

Greatest 50 Players - 13. Kanu
Olympic Gold medal winner Kanu arrived
at Arsenal in 1999 already boasting an
impressive haul of accolades and
trophies. By the time he left North
London five years later, he had added
two Premier League titles and two FA
Cup medals.
But it wasn’t always plain-sailing for
the Nigerian striker.
In 1996, after leading his nation to
Olympic glory in Atlanta, Kanu
underwent a medical examination at
Inter Milan — he had moved to the
Italian giants from Dutch outfit Ajax
Amsterdam with whom he won the
Champions League — and the result
was harrowing. It was revealed that
the marksman was suffering a serious
heart defect, and in November of that
year Kanu had surgery to replace an
aortic valve.
Far from let the adversity get him
down, Kanu used his experience, and
already escalating fame in Africa, to
set up the Kanu Heart Foundation, an
organisation that helps predominantly
young people on the continent.
His philanthropic work is just an
example of his human touch. Kanu’s
touch was equally good on the football
pitch.
He joined the Gunners in the wake of
Nicolas Anelka’s departure to Real
Madrid and, at first, failed to woo the
crowd with his languid demeanour
around the pitch. Soon, though,
Kanu’s attributes became apparent
and the cheeky smile he carried with
him throughout won over the Highbury
faithful.
Kanu could operate both as a target
man or as a deep-sitting conductor of
play. He had the ability to bamboozle
defenders in the blink of an eye, using
superb close control to wriggle out of
tight spots. He was often the scorer
of great goals, too.
His delicious flick-of-the heel goal in
a 6-1 rout against Middlesbrough
springs straight to mind, as does the
time in a North London derby when he
scooped the ball over a despairing Luke
Young before emphatically burying the
ball beyond Ian Walker.
However the moment Kanu will best be
remembered for was the mesmeric
finale to a 17-minute hat-trick at
Stamford Bridge in 1999. Having
already notched twice to haul Arsenal
level with Chelsea, the Nigerian sealed
victory with one of the finest goals in
the history of the Premier League. He
won possession by the left by-line and
found himself faced with, first, an
out of position goalkeeper, then two
defenders and a narrowing angle. Ed
de Goey was slithered past with a
subtle shimmy before Kanu unleashed a
curling effort which arrowed into the
far top corner.
The points were Arsenal’s and a place
in the Club’s history was Kanu’s.....courtesy...www.arsenal.com *visit for more of arsenals 50 greatest players*

posted from Bloggeroid

7 Insights from master story teller -Tom clancy

Many in the literary world were
rendered speechless today when news
broke of the death of acclaimed spy
and military writer Tom Clancy at age
66.
The author, whose works include “The
Hunt for Red October,” “Clear and
Present Danger,” and “Patriot
Games,” is being remembered as a
“ favorite storyteller of the American
military
.”
CNN praised Clancy “for writing
meticulous thrillers focusing on
political intrigue and military tactics
and technology.”
Through Clancy’s brilliant storytelling,
the world got to know CIA agent Jack
Ryan, the main character in most of
the best-selling novels.
No other American novelist could take
20 pages to describe the intricacies of
a wire within an explosive device.
The following quotes from Clancy shed
light on his prolific career—and offer
insights for writers of all sorts:
“Writing is hard, miserable,
lonely work…You have to play to
win.”
“The difference between fiction
and reality? Fiction has to make
sense.”
“You learn to write the same
way you learn to play golf. You do
it, and keep doing it until you
get it right. A lot of people think
something mystical happens to
you, that maybe the muse kisses
you on the ear. But writing isn’t
divinely inspired – it’s hard
work.”
“Books and movies are different
art forms with different rules.
And because of that, they never
translate exactly.”
“Fundamentally, I think of myself
as a storyteller, not a writer.”
“I was one of the first
generations to watch television.
TV exposes people to news, to
information, to knowledge, to
entertainment. How is it bad?”
“Success is a finished book, a
stack of pages each of which is
filled with words. If you reach
that point, you have won a
victory over yourself no less
impressive than sailing single-
handed around the world. Maybe
you'll get published. Maybe you
won't.”
Clancy, a former insurance agent, sold
more than 50 million books worldwide.

posted from Bloggeroid