PR and the 4th of July!

With the 4^th of July coming up, I wanted to dedicate some time on today’s blog to the holiday. If you are an aspiring publicist, or an existing professional, you have to consider the holidays and make a communication plan. Many of your clients will be on vacation during the 4^th of July – but what if someone wants an interview? Will you be able to reach your client on vacation?

Many PR professionals already have their qualified media and unqualified media communication plans in existence. If you’re reading this and you don’t have a plan as of right now, you’re late and you need to come up with one.

I tell my PR apprentices to consider media value during the weekend and only qualify press outlets with national reach. Bloggers, local papers, FM radio – they can all wait for a response.  If CNN comes knocking at your door, let them in and make sure you can get a hold of your client asap. Thus, tell your client if he or she sees your number, they need to answer it because it is the national news calling. Otherwise, they’re good to go for a vacation.

Speaking of which, I will be on vacation starting Wednesday and until next Monday. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

Coco the CEO 

PR on the Weekend

As a publicist, you are like a doctor. You are always on call- even on your “off” days. Client emergencies come up, news doesn’t stop, etc. So, how do you step away from your role as a publicist until you get that crisis communication call?

Well, I have a few tips for stepping outside the publicist role until you do get that phone call.

1.       Shut your phone off when you go out with family and friends. They need your attention. Shutting your phone off for an hour or three will not end the world- I promise. So, shut the phone off and cut yourself off from email, text messages, social media updates and enjoy some “me” time.

2.       Make sure you never respond to a client when it isn’t an emergency during your days off. If you start responding on your days off to minor issues, etc.-  your clients will always expect you to do this. You are setting yourself up to work 24/7 which isn’t great because this actually lowers productivity levels.

3.       Don’t offer advice to friends in the business during days off.  PR people tend to hang out together. Don’t talk shop when at the movies, etc. It will be hard, but plan those conversations for coffee work dates during the week. A) You can write off the coffee expense and B) You are at work when it is appropriate to talk shop. Talking about work with PR friends on off time brings stress to the forefront of your mind and, in this case, you should just go sit in your office the rest of the day!

Try to use these tips and enjoy your time off this weekend.

I will be back blogging on Monday and Tuesday next week and then enjoying some “me time” away from the blog until July 7^th.

Coco the CEO

Public Relations Boom Booms

Ever get a work boom boom? Not sure what this is? It is a minor mistake that isn’t going to get you fired by a client, but it will lessen your reputation with them. Well, as publicist this can happen to us- even though we spend the majority of our time preventing and even recovering our clients from the exact same thing. So, how as publicists do we use our own tools and take our own advice?

First, treat the situation as a minor hiccup. Don’t make a bigger deal than it is worth. Step away from the problem for 24 hours so you can think of the recovery plan from an objective point of view.

Second, know you don’t have to respond right away, if at all. We have to respond quickly on behalf of our clients. There is now rule, however, stating we owe ourselves or anyone else an immediate explanation for a minor hiccup. Again, the first step will help you evaluate if you need to address the issue and if so, how.

Last, move on. This is the hardest step of all for us PR people. We tend to harp on details. Let small mistakes go as we are all human. Let’s say you had a spelling error in a press release. It happens. Move on. If you totally put in another client’s name on that same release- well, that’s more than a hiccup. So address yourself, potentially address the situation and then move on with dignity.

We all make mistakes. Boom booms happen. Recovery is what keeps real PR professionals moving forward.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

PR Protocol

I wanted to talk a bit today about PR protocol. I am finding, more and more, that many publicists these days hit the ground running simply to obtain clients – with no real plan or standard for quality control. The main goal is money and growth, leaving protocol policies on the back burner.

Well, this is a bad idea. There are many, many reasons why you need to have protocols set up and signed for when you go to contract with any client.  Levels of conversation needs vs. actual needs should be defined in a protocol or Terms of Service statement.

I find many PR people are grabbing the client, going to contract, and figuring out the big things later.  While this may work for a while, it will not work for long. My advice to anyone aspiring to be a publicist is to obtain an attorney-approved protocol defined contract, this way you kill two birds with one stone.

Protocols make it easier for you to define goals and expectations to clients and it helps keep clients in-line when things are not moving fast enough for them or they request work outside of the contract.

If you hold a PRSA account, and you should when starting off in the PR field, check out this B2B video: http://www.prsa.org/Learning/Calendar/playback/5962/Best_Practices_for_B2B_Public_Relations  It helps define Best Practices and protocols.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO  

Business PR 101

There is a difference between celebrity PR, branding PR and corporate / business PR. Most people don’t understand how important corporate / business PR is.  Many believe a press release should only go out when a new product / service is launched. Well, that is true but it shouldn’t be the cornerstone of your PR campaign.

Internal PR relations is often overlooked when companies hire a PR firm. There are crisis communication needs, Board of Director and investor relations that have to be properly navigated, and there is employee morale via company newsletters, email statements, etc.  This component of company / business PR is expensive, needed and continuous. So, why do many companies overlook it?

Simple. Ignorance. When you launch a company – don’t always bank on the media to be your best advocate. Your employees are. They talk about the company and their employment experience to others as much as any member of the media. So, it is important to accurately communicate with your team. There are also legal issues as to what and how things are communicated. Thus, many of us PR professionals work on a day-to-day basis with legal team, a fact often not known by the general business community.

If you are seeking to open up a business, or improve your company’s standing, anytime soon- think about this area of public relations and then call me! I am happy to provide a quote on my services.

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

AP Style Writing

Happy Monday! Today I want to share an interesting read shared via another PR Rep I know.  We were having a discussion about AP formatting and how many new publicists either don’t know what this is or they simply don’t care.

In his words, “The Associated Press Stylebook has been the gold standard for arbitrating style for journalists and other professional writers for decades. The wire service guide recently made some changes to the time-honored bible for writers. The AP changed its rule to allow use of “over” to also mean “more than.”  More recently, AP has decided to spell out states completely (when used with a city, town, village or military base). Previously, the AP had its own unique manner of abbreviating states’ names — unique in that it was a third way — neither completely spelled out nor abbreviated with two capital letters in accordance with U.S. Postal Service practices. Hence, Arizona was known to AP initiates as “Ariz.”, which wasn’t a consistency issue as much as it was a formality issue.”

I do believe the AP standard shouldn’t be ignored. There is something to be said for the practice of true public relations efforts versus the enormous amount of “fake it til’ you make it” practitioners opening up companies everywhere these days.  Seeing an AP styled release is a breath of fresh air in today’s industry. It helps true PR professionals identify one another.

Why am I saying all of this? If you are looking to jump into the PR game, please make sure you are learning the practice of AP writing and wiring. This alone will amplify your status as a true PR professional within the industry!

Until tomorrow,

Coco the CEO

Classic PR Gaffs

It’s Friday and time to have a little fun. I wanted to talk about the top three “gaffs” in the PR world that even the most seasoned professional still, at times, commits.

The first one is the assumed interview.  We all know what the word “assumption” makes out of you… well, it often happens within the PR world. You build a relationship with a reporter and then think the press release will be picked up without a pitch. Wrong.  Many PR people have relationships with reporters, so don’t assume your press release will be picked up – let alone viewed- by a busy reporter. You still have to make the pitch.

The second one is the lack of a follow up call. We all know reporters are busy. You should still leave a voice mail for the ones you are pitching if you don’t hear back. Again, they are busy people and are inundated daily with press releases from agencies, entrepreneurs and other wires. Things can be overlooked and a simple phone call can quickly fix an oversight.

The third “gaff” is giving your client the impression of a magic wand. PR people are not, and do not have, magic wands. If you sell your client a one-shot fix (booking agent, marketing services, personal assistant, counselor, career couch, etc.) then your client will be mad at you in the long run.  This is one area where you don’t want to be proactive in customer service. Stick to the contract. If you deviate even the slightest to help your client, you will assume the added responsibilities of the position and then fall short later. It is ok to tell your clients ‘no’ when they are asking for services outside of the PR contract.

Until Monday,

Coco the CEO