Deirdre Breakenridge

Years ago, the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) brands were in the lead when it came to the use of social media communications to connect directly with their customers. However, today, the Business-to-Business (B2B) brands are finding opportunity and value by interacting with customers and other constituents in their social communities.

Last week I wrote a post, The Characteristics Index: Rate Yourself, which discussed the attributes or characteristics that you could cultivate to become an influencer.  They ranged from trust and knowledge to motivation and passion.  A very interesting comment on my blog prompted me to write this post.  I can’t thank Lisa Gerber enough for [...]

I’ve been examining the characteristics of an influencer and the rise to influence among a network of peers. I’ve narrowed it down to several characteristics that I’d like to share with you.  Each characteristic has different values, so you can cultivate these attributes on your own.  My philosophy is that if you can rate yourself [...]

When you’re in your social media planning phases, an audit is critical to the success of your social communications program moving forward.  The social media audit is usually conducted to identify any of the challenges or problem areas within a brand’s current program, as well as to pinpoint genuine opportunities and what’s been working with [...]

I was very happy to see the survey results of a joint study with Worldcom PR Group, the largest partnership of independent PR firms in the world and the Transworld Advertising Agency Network (TAAN), a blue chip organization of advertising agencies. The joint study discussed how PR is getting higher grades in social media, with good projections toward revenue growth in 2011, as reported by the principals of the agencies that were surveyed.

We’re gearing up for the #PRStudChat March 16th session at 8:30 p.m. ET, which is being developed, coordinated and run by several of our #PRStudChat senior classmates.  Valerie and I thought it would be a great opportunity for the community to learn the student perspective on social media, trends on campus, what interests students about [...]

I want to move away from the influencer numbers (reach, resonance, relevance) for a moment and focus on the characteristics that “create” an influencer. Do you think it’s possible for an ordinary person (yes, that means you and me), with daily communication to cultivate certain characteristics and become noticed, appreciated, recognized and regarded as someone with influence?

recently blogged about PR Job mentoring responsibilities, but what about the responsibilities of the mentee? Last week I attended the NYC #HAPPO Hour with John Muscarello, the young professional I have been working with. As we walked around the room, I was proud to be able to introduce him to many potential employers and industry connections. John takes his responsibilities as a mentee seriously and it occurred to me that a good mentorship is a relationship… a partnership both parties must take responsibility for.