White Hat PR
I n the online world, “white hat” strategies are for the good guys — ethical hackers, security experts, and site optimizers looking to build long-term results with honest help for users and search bots alike. While Black Hats manipulate and game algorithms, White Hats think strategically to put useful information in front of audiences who want it.
The best PR work — online and offline — lives by the same code: Be sharp. Be honest. Use the best tools and use them well.
PR Satori: Like Each Other a Little Less
I’m writing today on the value of an increasingly overlooked professional trait: detachment. We’re all supposed to care about just about everything these days — like it, share it, pin it, retweet it. We’re friends, fans, and followers. We have relationships with clients, with media, with colleagues. It’s a big warm fuzzy bear hug of social nicety, and it’s a totally asinine way for business to function. Don’t get me wrong — I’m in favor of friendliness, and professional courtesy is...
read moreTech PR: The Post-Product World of Ad Revenue
I tend to have a certain amount of faith in the high tech economy, but my opinion took a slight knock this morning when the WSJ quoted ad network Millennial Media’s IPO paperwork. Apparently, the folks at Millennial don’t know “when or if we will ever achieve profitability.” Points for honesty, I suppose. (And negative points for anyone who would buy the stock.) While I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the idea of a company going public with little to no plan to be profitable, the story makes a broader point...
read moreIdentity Crisis: The Great Slogan Misfire
I was all set to write a post today on images in PR, from infographics and photography to Pinterest (my new addiction). But then my state unveiled its new tourism slogan, and I just couldn’t resist. There’s a reason that really good catchphrases are rare and often expensive. The challenge is to capture the individuality of a company, product, etc., in just a couple of words — to convey what it is or does in a way that speaks to customers. “Breakfast of Champions.” “Just do it.” “Think...
read moreStrategic PR: When Silence Is Golden
People often think of public relations as sort of a professional version of that annoying kid who’s always trying to get everybody’s attention. It’s easy to imagine that pleading tone of voice and just substitute the details: “Pick me! Pick me! I want to be the source! I want to be the source!” That’s the mindset in which all attention is good attention — which some PR pros may believe, but most adults know to be untrue. In this share-friendly, hyper-communicative world, there is pressure to have the...
read morePlain English PR, Or Why Marketing Constructs Suck
I have a news flash that shouldn’t be one: potential customers want to know what you do, how you can help them, and why your product is better than the competition’s. The job of your PR and marketing teams is to tell them. It is not to make up trademarked terms or meaningless catchphrases that allow you to blather without saying anything informative. We all have our list of terms we’ve read one (or ten) too many times; mine includes “solutions,” “synergistic,” “intelligence,” and a whole...
read morePR Images: The Dangerous Attraction of Stock Photography
You’ve seen the images; several times in fact. On the home page of one company’s website. “Enlivening” the most recent blog post for another. Maybe even inserted in a press release or product announcement for a little visual interest. The problem? It’s the same @#%!$^ picture. Stock photography, 1; company identity, 0. Having worked for several years in web development, I’m more than aware of the convenience of online stock photo libraries. For a few bucks here and there, you can purchase high quality...
read moreGoldman Sachs: When a Crisis Goes Beyond PR
Many employees who decide to quit their jobs dream of the big kiss-off — an apocalyptic retribution for years of wrongdoing, real or imagined. But few get to enjoy their revenge in the pages of the New York Times. By now, most news junkies have read the very public resignation letter of Greg Smith from Goldman Sachs in today’s paper of record. It’s a barn-burner — well-written, ideally placed, and designed to create massive shockwaves at Mr. Smith’s now very former employer. So first of all, hats off to Smith...
read moreWorthwhile PR: A Very Palpable Hit?
Clients are always excited about a hit, as well they should be. But let’s not forget that some hits are better than others. Pop quiz: Which is most valuable — the inclusion of your company in a broader industry story? or a you-only piece? Answer: It depends, of course. But while companies tend to be much more excited about being the sole source for a story, a good — read: trustworthy — journalist is unlikely to put up a serious piece (that isn’t a profile) without casting a wider net. And readers, from consumers...
read moreGreetings from the Pink Ghetto: Are Women Ruining Public Relations?
[Note: Before you send hate mail to Jim Crawford, please note that this post was in fact written by Kate Schackai (female), who is easy to find.] Public relations is many things according to the industry trade coverage: growing, changing, redefining itself, fighting with marketing for control, and now, apparently, wearing lipstick. It all makes sense now. As PR Daily reported today, a recent study by Sydney recruiting firm Salt & Shein in Australia identified PR as a so-called “pink ghetto,” chock-full of women and worried, as...
read moreHazards of Technology: At the Mercy of IT
We live in such enlightened times. Technology makes everything easier. It pays our bills. Wakes us up in the morning. Hell, if you spring for a $4000 refrigerator, it’ll even write your shopping list for you. Soon, there will be nothing left to do but let our imaginations run free through fields of wildflowers while our smart devices take care of the obnoxious to do list we generally call “Life.” I’m normally so much more of a tech optimist — and today’s cynicism should be taken with a grain of salt —...
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