My Fav PR Apps for 2015!

Let's face it... apps help keep us BUSY PR professionals on target and in the loop. I'm starting the second month of 2015 off with a list of my three favorite apps to keep business and PR pitches as organized as possible and without looking automated or unprofessional.

I'm listing my "Favs" below. Please connect with me by leaving a comment below this blog as to if you use any or all of these apps or what your favorite apps are.

1. PitchRate. This free service connects journalists with topic experts – such as small business owners – for free media coverage. HARO is good, but PitchRate delivers results!

2. Zemanta. Basically, this is a blog service on steroids. The service will index your marketing content for multiple Content Ad formats. It saves you tons of time and is worth signing up for.

3. Aminstitute.com. This clever website helps you develop the perfect headline for your next release or ad campaign. Oh, it is free too! You want to write in AP style, but you want to capture emotion- this website tool helps you do both.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham 

Hype or Spin?

I want to talk about the power of hype. It is a funny thing because it can be a double-edged sword. Public relations is about spin, but there is more to it. A great publicist will create spin that leads to actual press and then results in long-term ROI. A poor publicist will send out chopped flyers, create copy with vested interest, and develop hype that doesn’t lead to more than 15 minutes of fame and no ROI. So, yes there is a difference between hype and spin.

Here are two examples of hype. I’m hopeful these examples will help you think of your long-term strategies before moving forward with a client initiative.

1.       Balloon boy. Remember this? It was all over CNN and Fox news. The media value coverage received went well beyond the million dollar mark. With all the “breaking news hype” and media value, balloon boy’s rep. sunk and their 15 minutes of fame soured.

2.       Dumber and Dumber To. This is a recent example of hype. Jim Carey hosted SNL. He appeared on Howard Stern. Millions of PR value was earned and millions of marketing dollars were spent. When people left theaters after the movie’s premier- the hype couldn’t turn them into fans, nor their social media reviews into positive ones.

This week carefully look at how you craft a PR campaign for a client. Are you teetering more on the side of hype or more on the side of spin?

Velma Trayham of ThinkZILLA