Your PR Architect

A while ago, I chided a PR and social media communications agency for the so-so quality of their promotional videos on YouTube. But, it wasn't all bad. In the video below, Steve, one of their social media gurus, talks about how to create a social media policy. He mentions getting counsel from attorneys, minding government regulations, and taking into account the organization's HR needs. All fine, up to a point. However, he leaves out a few essentials that most organizations need to consider when crafting a social media policy -- and the strategy that goes with it: What's the goal of the organization's social media effort? Do all employees understand that the company's Twitter feed isn't a place to complain about internal policies, or a poor outing by the New York Rangers? What about looking at social media policies other organizations have adopted? What's worked, and what hasn't? ( Applebee's fumble with the storefront pastor  in 2013 leaps t...

I didn't get the job. I was reminded about this when Facebook notified me that a company I'd "liked" had changed its name. They didn't hire me. That's life. I love my current job. But, in 2014, I interviewed twice with an auto parts manufacturer in a rusting town. They wanted someone with deep expertise in internal and external communications. Someone experienced in winning over skeptical old-line workers with union ties. Someone who'd done internal videos. Photo: KarleHorn at German Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 or CC BY-SA 3.0 de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/ 3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons Me? Not quite. They didn't hire me, and I politely asked what skills I needed to win that job. They said: "We wanted someone with more experience in social media." That hurt. I had social media experience, creating Facebook and Twitter accounts, podcasts and blogs for clients. Maybe I could forgive them for not reading my res...

While Pope Francis led a spiritual resurgence of faithful Catholics in Cuba, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City last week, a different resurrection was taking place a few steps away from St. Patrick's Cathedral. Brian Williams went back on TV Thursday to deliver news of the Pope's visit, working out of studios at 30 Rock. Except he's on MSNBC, the cable news channel that has fewer viewers than any other NBC-Comcast-Universal property. By fimoculous from Seattle (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons Mr. Williams, you may recall, fell off the NBC News' anchor desk seven months ago, after sharing tall stories about his exploits in Iraq and New Orleans that proved inaccurate, to put in kindly. Williams -- affable, credible, and a good front man for NBC's news product -- had fibbed. He was suspended, and only through the graces of new leadership at NBC News, was given an opportunity to resurface at MSNBC, where he began his network career a few decades a...

Had enough of the content tidal wave yet? The web offers more than "stream of consciousness." It's scream of consciousness -- a term I attribute to the  artist Carolyn Kassnoff around 2001 -- but it's more accurate than ever. Every thought, idea, wry observation, or snarky Kardashian slap finds its way into the torrent of social media. And no place is it more evident than Twitter. PR pro David Ericson recently blogged about many ways to use Twitter for public relations . It's a good read, describing how Twitter's alliance with Google helps the social media site reach casual web consumers who aren't (yet) Twitter members. So, if you're a PR pro who's working to get recognition for a client's services and products, there's value to including a well-planned Twitter strategy. Yogi Berra, C. 1956, via Wikimedia Commons But there's another way for PR people to leverage Twitter, although you need a registered Twitter account. I...

Social media and public relations can work quite well together. If you know what you're doing. Trouble is, if Kelly Brady’s your expert on the topic, grab a parachute. Now. Your plane's on autopilot and you’re about to smack a mountaintop.  Howcast.com posted a 2013 video with Ms.Brady expounding on the value of social media in PR. And very little of it has any basis in how social media really works for most PR pros. Publicist Kelly Brady Note: Ms. Brady believes landing a story in the New York Post is a good PR hit. If that's your paper of record, then her advice might be worth following -- if your client loves Page Six. (Learn more about Ms. Brady here .) Here are excerpts of her pearls of wisdom: “Social media is relatively a new tool in public relations.” Sure, if you’ve been living the hard-partying life since 2009. By then, Facebook had more than 100 million users. Today, it’s close to 1.4 billion users. “Creating a buzz about the account...

PR people know how to tell and sell a story. They know how to persuade. They don't always know how to promote themselves. This week, an agency sent a pitch and a link to their YouTube channel. They offered a series of 90-second clips showcasing their wisdom regarding social media. Here's one: Each of their videos sounded like it was recorded in a restroom. At a fast-food restaurant. Not how I'd want to come across on the web. PR is a business of persuasion. You must persuade clients that you know your topic, know your media targets -- and you know what you're doing. I'm sure these people are smart. But when you post videos with poor audio quality, or don't re-shoot segments in which a speaker makes an obvious on-camera flub, you're not persuading anyone. You're only telling me that you don't attend to the quality of content that's the meat of social media. Truly smart shops recognize that you can't persuade anyone with vid...

I coach and advise students about careers in public relations. So I see my share of online job postings for PR positions. Too often, they read like this: By Esra / Esra (http://www.sxc.hu/photo/230083)  [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons [Headline:] Entry-Level Public Relations/Sales/Marketing In Your Eye  Marketing Inc   is currently offering entry level sales and marketing positions that include comprehensive training. No prior sales or marketing experience is necessary, and we will train you at the entry level to learn a variety of skills from sales and marketing to management and mentor-ship. (sic -- mentorship is seldom hyphenated) Responsibilities in Entry Level Include: Assisting in the daily growth and development of our company Assisting with efforts of new business acquisition Expertly managing the needs of external customers Developing strong leadership and interpersonal skills Face to face sales of services to new busi...

Like Gibbs on TV's NCIS, I have a few rules. They do not involve serving as a Marine sniper, but they'll work in most public relations circumstances. Here's my top ten: Rule No. 1: Don't lie to the media.  Rules 2-10: Don't lie to the media.  Journalists have access to a printing press. A broadcast signal. A website. Social media. And, when wronged, reporters will not hesitate a moment to use them. Especially if reporters are lied to. Nothing says this better than the article at the following link, courtesy of PR entrepreneur Peter Shankman: http://www.longislandpress.com/2014/04/02/my-squashed-interview-with-steve-madden-shoe-guru-turned-ex-convict/ Lesson: if you're a PR person and your client asks you to lie, hand him/her your phone. Ask the client to do the fibbing. Maybe his reputation can handle it. Yours can't.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that an "institution is the lengthened shadow of a man." Biographers sometimes use the phrase to describe titans of 20th century industry -- George Eastman, Henry Ford, etc. -- whose personal imprint lived on in their companies after they passed. Today, viewed through a PR lens, I view your personal brand online  as your lengthened shadow. Like a shadow, it follows you and says things about you that you don't verbalize. This is especially true when you create a Facebook or Twitter account -- and do nothing with it. Twice this week, I've looked up executives' pages on Facebook to try to learn more about them. Yes, I know -- I should be finding them on LinkedIn, where business connections override social contacts. But Facebook garners the most traffic of social media sites. And people often share opinions and stories on Facebook that offer some insights on their interests. Plus, I was curious to see how these women, both recognizable i...

This afternoon, Rochester's police chief shuttered a downtown nightclub called Plush. The club -- scene of a recent shooting -- had taken its battle to stay open to the people via social media. And lost. The last time I saw a nightclub win a battle with city hall was .... well, never. I'm no nightclub expert, but I can rattle off names of saloons gone by that enjoyed their 15 minutes of media fame. Studio 54 in New York City. Bachelors III, a Queens, NY establishment best remembered for one of its high-profile co-owners, Jets quarterback Joe Namath. They're all long gone. No nightclub wins a battle waged in the news media. And that adage now extends to social media. The "public service announcement" on Plush Lounge & Night Club's Facebook page berates the media for negative coverage of the recent shootings at the night spot. Could these events have taken place at Target or Toys R Us, as the writer suggests? Sure, if Target or TRU served alcohol an...

Aside from the minor tedious nature of a 6-plus minute slide show, there's plenty to like about MillerCoors posting scenes from its 2011 diversity summit on YouTube. I like linking diversity to the fundamental goals of the business: "Diversity Sells Beer." Or a clear focus on "regular employees" from different backgrounds, not executives in $1000 suits. (Although diversity initiatives really catch fire only when senior leaders actively champion such change.) Capturing key points on whiteboards, and chronicling them in stills (and video) isn't a bad way to keep these learnings close at hand. It's not a Joe Sedelmeier film, but it works. The disappointment, however: MillerCoors' video has had a stunning 116 views as of this blog post. MillerCoors' parent, SABMiller.plc, has 70,000 employees worldwide. If only 10 percent are MillerCoors employees, that still leaves a stunning gap between the number of views and MillerCoors' workforce. ...

My earliest PR successes came from creating newsletters for business-to-business clients, alumni, and employees. These publications -- semi-weekly, monthly, and quarterly -- each helped grow relationships between my clients and their constituents (customers). And none of them exist today. Casualties of the digital age? In some ways. In the 1980s, desktop publishing gave almost everyone the power of the press. And some resulting newsletters were ghastly, much like some of today's blogs. But, as the internet grew, printing and mailing costs increased, and managers and marketers switched to online content: e-newsletters, or some other digital solutions. Those managers overlooked an important factor: their audiences . People who view a newsletter as an emblem of a relationship. They're accustomed to physical connections, and willingly invest their resources and time to support those relationships. After spending their workday staring at an optically challenging computer scree...

This started out as some informal recommendations I shared with a colleague at a large not-for-profit institution. As with many large enterprises, not all areas within the organization get the online visibility they desire. My friend's area wants to earn some visibility with prospective customers -- but the "mother ship" organization's social media strategy doesn't provide the ability to promote individual departments or divisions. Here's what I shared with my colleague: Facebook would be an OK place to purchase ads, if that's where your target audience is looking -- and if they will take action based on your ads. When I visited (your department's) Facebook page, I saw 430 views, but just 24 "likes". You want the 'likes' to grow, because they show up on other people's Facebook feeds. For comparison, a small local non-profit's Facebook page has 64 likes. It's much smaller than your organization, so word of that pag...

Great communications means building relationships: leveraging the right message, in the right voice, with the right audiences.  You may have a working PR strategy. But, if it's not yet interwoven with building relationships via social media, content marketing and event presence, you're only doing outbound, one-way messaging. Are you listening to your customers and stakeholders online? Can you look them in the eye and be unafraid of what you see? With 20+ years of corporate, academic, and not-for-profit public relations successes, I'm starting a new chapter. I've broadened the definition of PR via executive presentations, video podcasts, media relations, government affairs, social media, content marketing and event management. Please let me know about your marketing, social media and communications challenges. You have marketing and revenue targets;  I can audit, align, refine and implement your communication strategies so you're building relati...