On September 20, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. ET, we’re holding a special edition of #PRStudChat, as we team up with our friends, Heather Whaling and Justin Goldsborough and their community, #PR20chat.  Together, we’ll be discussing how to help students use their PR skills to succeed in school and in launching their careers. Joining us that night will be two very special guests: Jessica Kleiman, VP-public relations for Hearst Magazines and Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, co-founder and principal of Allen/Cooper Communications. Jessica and Meryl are the authors of the book, “Be Your Own Best Publicist.”

The book breaks down the fundamentals of PR and how these tenets can be implemented for self-promotion.  Our authors have developed 10 guiding principles in their book, and we’ll be discussing these tips and techniques at length.  A few of the questions that we’ll be asking our guests and our community members will be:

Q1. What are some of the greatest barriers to communications in positioning your own brand?

Q2. What are some examples of being fearless in your career? Can you go too far?

Q3. What steps can you take to prepare for the inevitable unanticipated career challenges?

Q4. When is it better to collaborate and when should prepared to compete?

Q5. PRStudChat PSA – What hashtag or social media effort would you like to share with the community?

Q6. How do you stay updated on the PR industry? How do you use the info to keep yourself relevant?

Q7. When is it okay to call yourself an expert? Use hashtag #BestPublicist for a chance to win a copy of the book!

Q8. What are the challenges in balancing creative and strategic needs?

Q9. What was your best “mistake” and how did it help your career?

Q10. Does your passion emanate from love of the brand or love of PR?

For those of you who are less familiar with our experts, here’s some additional information on their backgrounds:

Jessica Kleiman is currently VP-public relations for Hearst Magazines, one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines. She has guest lectured about publicity at NYU and the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Columbia University and has written for various newspapers, Web sites and magazines. You can access more background details on Jessica here.

Meryl Weinsaft Cooper is a co-founder and principal of Allen/Cooper Communications, a marketing, exhibitions and events company with a focus on art and lifestyle brands. Previously, as managing director  of the DeVries Public Relations‘ Home & Lifestyle division and as SVP-Partner at LaForce+Stevens, she led programs for a variety of hospitality and consumer brands.  You can access more background details on Meryl here.

We’re really excited about the September 20^th chat session and looking forward to helping students use their PR skills to succeed in school and in launching their career.  If you have any questions about Be Your Own Best Publicist or you have direct questions for our special guests, please feel free to post them on our LinkedIn Discussion Group.  Hope to “see” you on the 20^th!

A little more about Be Your Own Best Publicist:

In one of the toughest job markets in more than 20 years, with the unemployment rate hovering around ten percent, as well as dwindling job openings and promotion opportunities, standing out and making a good impression is more vital than ever.  This helpful, easy-to-follow guide shows anyone looking to land a new job, attract freelance assignments, stay essential in a current position or get that coveted promotion how they can use PR skills to achieve their goals.  Read more…

A little more about PR20Chat:

You can join #PR20Chat every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. ET/ 7:0 p.m. CT, for a lively, hour-long discussion about PR and social media trends, best practices and what’s next. Follow along using that hashtag.  The community is focused on discussing how social media influences PR pros’ engagement with ALL publics (not just the media and bloggers).

Moderated by Heather Whaling and Justin Goldsborough.  Our goal is to help PR pros deliver stronger results by understanding how new media is shaping the public relations industry.

A Little More About PRStudChat:

It began with a simple question asked by Angela Hernandez, then President of PRSSA at Central Michigan University (CMU). “Is PR Right for me?” A follow up blog post by PR 2.0 expert Deirdre Breakenridge inspired a series of direct messages on Twitter between Breakenridge and fellow PR industry pro, Valerie Simon. This was an important question and one that should be explored beyond one student or one blog post. Why not build a community to help students across the country, and even the globe, learn from the experience and perspective of industry professionals… A community where everyone can learn and grow together. Read more

Because this week is the #PRStudChat ‘Social Good’ session, I wanted to share information about another event for a really good cause.  The #BlueKey Tweetathon is a Twitter event beginning today at 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. ET, to help support the USA for UNHCR’s campaign to raise awareness about the refugee crisis and to urge Americans to speak out for refugees.

As a Blue Key Champion, I’m happy to take part in a program that will use Twitter to increase knowledge about a serious issue that needs attention.  Did you know that at the end of 2009, approximately 43.3 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide?  This is the highest number of people uprooted by conflict and persecution since the mid-1990s.

The needs of refugees continue to grow worldwide.  According to the UN Refugee Agency’s Global Trends Report many of those uprooted by conflict within their own country grew by 4 percent to 27.1 million, which is largely the result of persistent conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia. In addition, there are an estimated 26 million people (which breaks down to approximately 10.4 million refugees and about 15.6 million internally displaced persons) who were receiving protection or assistance from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), an increase of one million people over 2008.  Lastly, among the large number of people displaced by conflict, women and girls represented 47 percent of all refugees and asylum seekers.

If you’d like to get involved, you can join the #BlueKey Tweetathon to raise awareness by following the hashtag on Twitter, as well as the @UNRefugeeAgency handle.  In addition, there are many other Blue Key Champions to follow.  You can check out the participating champions on the UN Refugees Facebook page.  I’m especially excited that “Kite Runner” author Khaled Hosseini’s wife, Roya, will be joining the Tweetathon at 10:00 a.m. Pacific/1:00 p.m. ET.

You can also get the word out about the USA for UNHCR campaign with a few simple tweets:

• For just $5, your #BlueKey could help @UNRefugeeAgency save a life. Get your key today: http://ow.ly/5d4VC
• Did you know that there are more than 43 million refugees worldwide?http://ow.ly/5d54i Your $5 #BlueKey could open a new door for them.
• “Kite Runner” author Khaled Hosseini says “anyone can be a refugee” http://ow.ly/5d59P Your $5 #BlueKey could help change that. Get it today!

I hope you will join in the USA for UNHCR #BlueKey Tweetathon to help spread the word about the refugee crisis, and together through our Twitter communities, we can make a difference.

Get your Blue Key today!

We’re gearing up for a dynamic #PRStudChat discussion on April 20^th at 8:30 p.m. ET, with Eric Schwartzman (@ericschwartzman) and Paul Gillin (@pgillin), the authors of the book, Social Marketing to the Business Customer.  Our discussion will focus on how B2B companies are finding success with new strategies and how they are effectively using social media communications. As an emerging subject of interest, we thought that a discussion regarding the growth of B2B social marketing would make a great topic for our April 20^th chat session.

Here are a few of the questions we will be asking our authors and the #PRStudChat community that night:

Q1: What are the major differences between B2B and B2C social marketing?

Q2: What are the best ways for B2B brands to use social media?

Q3: Name some great examples of B2B brands using social media effectively?

Q4: How do you determine the right platforms for B2B social marketing

Q5: New standing #PRStudChat PSA Opportunity- What handle or hashtag would you like to share with the community?

Q6: How are B2B brands profiting from social marketing?

Q7: What advice would you give to B2B brands that want to increase their use of social media?

Q8: What’s next for B2B social media?

You may have noticed that question #5 is different than the others. We started a new PSA question, so that everyone can tweet out a favorite cause, when this question is asked.

We’re also planning a book giveaway during the chat session.  We will post a question on the PRStudChat blog for students, educators and professionals to answer.  When they answer, they will be automatically entered into our random drawing to a book.  We will randomly select a community member to receive Eric and Paul’s book, Social Marketing to the Business Customer.

Hope you will join us on Wednesday, April 20^th to discuss the subject of B2B social marketing with the #PRStudChat community and our special guests!

A Little More About PRStudChat:

It began with a simple question asked by Angela Hernandez, then President of PRSSA at Central Michigan University (CMU). “Is PR Right for me?” A follow up blog post by PR 2.0 expert Deirdre Breakenridge inspired a series of direct messages on Twitter between Breakenridge and fellow PR industry pro, Valerie Simon. This was an important question and one that should be explored beyond one student or one blog post. Why not build a community to help students across the country, and even the globe, learn from the experience and perspective of industry professionals… A community where everyone could learn and grow together. Read more

Last night #PRStudChat had a very dynamic discussion with community members about the PR Influencer and how to build trust online.  We heard some excellent insight from our students, educators and pros.  Now it’s time to see what our special guest, @chrisbrogan said about being a PR influencer.  Here are Chris’ responses to our questions last night:

@PRStudChat Q1: What does it mean to be a Trust Agent?

Chris Brogan: A trust agent is someone who acts as a human bridge between a company/brand and the people.

Chris Brogan: Example: Morgan Johnston is a trust agent for JetBlue.

Chris Brogan:  The idea was that people would need to learn how to be “Human at a distance.”

@PRStudChat Q2: Why is so important to become an “Agent Zero?”

Chris Brogan: Connectors are everything in a networked world. Agent zero is the connector’s connector.

Chris Brogan: We need more than your smarts. We need your network. We need your presence.

Chris Brogan: Agent Zero is the person who can move people to take action and help others grow.

@PRStudChat Q3: How long does it take to become a member of a community and what steps do you take?

Chris Brogan: That’s a hard question to answer. How long does it take to fall in love?

Chris Brogan: I think the easiest way to answer is that by being helpful and not asking for much back, you win.

Chris Brogan: No fewer than 3 months, and that’s rushing things.

@PRStudChat Q4: What are the characteristics of an influencer?

Chris Brogan: Influencers are the types of people who motivate others to take action.

Chris Brogan: They can use this power for good or evil. There are plenty of negative influencers in the world.

Chris Brogan: The best influencers love their community and benefit from that love indirectly. (OPRAH)

@PRStudChat Q5: New standing #PRStudChat PSA Opportunity- What handle or hashtag would you like to share with the community?

Chris Brogan: My favorite charity is a tie between Skip1.org and InvisiblePeople.tv. I think both missions are vital.

PRStudChat Q6: Who are some of the great influencers that have built trust with their communities?

Chris Brogan: I think @chrisgarrett has a great community. @problogger does, too. They’re both heart-first guys.

Chris Brogan: @LizStrauss is another great community person. So is @barefoot_exec.

@PRStudChat Q7: Do businesses need to have their employees build trust online to be more successful?

Chris Brogan: I think some businesses can be successful without working on online trust, but…

Chris Brogan: …companies who work on trust will outperform their competitors, as it’s a great lever.

@PRStudChat Q8: What is your advice to students and professionals with respect to becoming an influencer?

Chris Brogan: Don’t focus on becoming an influencer. Focus on building a personal presence and platform that…

Chris Brogan: …helps you help others. The more you help others publicly (without bragging), the better it gets.

Chris Brogan: It’s really, really important to realize that influence is made up of three things:

Chris Brogan: Influence is: 1.) Repetition 2.) Entertainment 3.) Value

Chris Brogan: Influence comes from people knowing what you’re about (repetition)

Chris Brogan: Influence comes from people wanting to listen to you (entertainment)

Chris Brogan: Influence comes from giving something important to others (value)

If you want to compare the community’s answers to Chris’ responses, you can check out the transcript (make sure you click on “View Transcript) from last night’s discussion.  We think the #PRStudChat community did a great job with their responses and provided really good insight on the PR Influencer topic!

Remember to comment on the PRStudchat blog to our influencer question.  Several members of the community will be selected to win a copy of Chris’ book, Trust Agents.  And, please take the time to thank @ChrisBrogan for sharing his thoughts and @RuderFinn, last night’s sponsor, for making our book giveaway possible!

A Little More About PRStudChat:

It began with a simple question asked by Angela Hernandez, then President of PRSSA at Central Michigan University (CMU).  “Is PR Right for me?” A follow up blog post by PR 2.0 expert Deirdre Breakenridge inspired a series of direct messages on Twitter between Breakenridge and fellow PR industry pro, Valerie Simon. This was an important question and one that should be explored beyond one student or one blog post. Why not build a community to help students across the country, and even the globe, learn from the experience and perspective of industry professionals… A community where everyone could learn and grow together. Read more …

As a job mentor, my main responsibility is to help my young professional friend find a new position. But, rather than discussing what he’s supposed to do to reach his job search goals, my post is geared toward my weekly responsibilities (not one but many) and what I have to accomplish to be more helpful and highly proactive in his search process.

Here are my weekly responsibilities as a job mentor:

• Review weekly reports submitted by my mentee that detail each day of the week and the different outreach approaches that are taken to connect with other professionals (emails with resumes, LinkedIn messages, telephone informational interviews, and letters sent to HR directors vs. PR professionals).

• Provide feedback on the reports to make sure my mentee is maximizing different types of outreach opportunities.  For example, I noticed early on that a great deal of his outreach was through LinkedIn, but there was not a lot of participation in Twitter chat sessions, with other PR professionals. Each week, I try to let him know exactly which chat sessions or Twitter hashtags (i.e., #prssa, #jobhuntchat, #happo, #prjobs) are great opportunities to not only network, but also learn tips and techniques for job hunting from other students and pros.

• Review job listings and pass along any opportunities that I hear about during the week.  I try to keep my eyes open and send along the opportunities as I see them, or I will make the direct connection, if the individual offering the position is a friend, or personal contact through one of my networks.

• Prepare for weekly interviews by discussing what questions might arise and how to answer them including: how much are you looking for in terms of salary, why do you want to work for our company, and what assets do you think you will bring to our organization?  We also review a few questions that are appropriate to ask the interviewer (these vary depending on the company/position), including the question about follow-up, especially if the interview concludes and the interviewer doesn’t mention the next steps in the process.

• Suggest in-person opportunities to attend each week. Social networking is great to make connections that can lead to an interview, however, there is nothing like the in-person networking event to really get to know potential employers or other professionals, who might lead you to an opportunity. I’ve already let my mentee know that this week’s job search event is HAPPO in NYC.  HAPPO is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a series of events across the country.  The HAPPO event in NYC is being held at Connelly’s Pub, and will have a wide variety of agencies including Burson Marstellar, MS&L, Devries, Peppercom, and Ruder Finn, who are actively hiring. The HAPPO event also has Meryl Cooper, managing director of the Home & Lifestyle at Devries Public Relations, and author of a book called Be Your Own Best Publicist, giving a brief 10-minute talk with some tips for job seekers.  I’ll be attending the HAPPO event, as one of the HAPPO NYC champions, but also I’m there to network and to share mentoring advice.

• Be available to answer questions as they arise during the job search process.  Being a job mentor is not just a once-a-week discussion because questions arise right before interviews, just afterward and really at all times during the week.  I try my best to answer in a timely manner because the job search can be stressful.  Sometimes I’m just there to guide, provide support and give encouragement. I realize that mentoring (just like any job) is not necessarily on a set schedule and you can work after hours too.  But, just like any job, I’m not on the clock and I work to get the job done.

As a job mentor, what do you have to accomplish each week to be more helpful and proactive in your mentee’s search process? And, as a job seeker, how are your job mentor’s helping you?

We are less than a week away from our February 23^rd #PRStudChat with our very special guest @ChrisBrogan, co-author of Trust Agents. Chris joins us that night at 9:00 p.m. ET (please note the time change as we usually begin at 8:30 p.m. ET) for our Twitter discussion on the PR influencer and how to build trust online. We are looking forward to Chris’ insights on the topic and the dynamic discussions with Chris and our community.

We also announced earlier this month that we have an exclusive sponsor that night.  Ruder Finn, is sponsoring the chat session and their sponsorship will go toward several lucky community members receiving Chris’ book.  We’re going to post a question on the PRStudChat blog that night (related to influencers and building trust) and ask our community to answer the question.  A random drawing will select community members to receive the book, Trust Agents, all made possible by @RuderFinn.

We are very excited to have Chris join us on February 23^rd and can’t think him enough for being our special guest.  We’re also very happy to have @RuderFinn as the sponsor of this session, which is designed to educate PR and communications professionals on the topic of the PR influencer. There’s still time to post any questions that you’d like to ask Chris about becoming a Trust Agent or building trust online. Feel free to post them in our LinkedIn Group.  Hope to “see” on you on February 23^rd at 9:00 p.m. ET, for a very dynamic discussion.

A little more about our sponsor, Ruder Finn:

Ruder Finn, Inc. is one of the largest independent integrated communication firms in the world. Through offices and affiliates worldwide, the agency serves the global and local communication needs of more than 250 corporations, governments and nonprofit organizations.

I’ve been studying brand responses to blog posts and comments for quite some time. However, a recent Facebook incident made me build my own personal comment policy for my online persona.  No matter who you are, or your level of influence, you need to be prepared to respond when someone takes the conversation to a level that is uncomfortable, inappropriate and/or just does not belong in a conversation with you or your constituents.

For me, there are several phases or tiers of responses.  I want to be able to discuss topics, give and hear differing opinions and welcome critique as a “gift.”  I learned about 20 years ago, in an organizational behavior class, that both the ability to give and receive feedback is the best “gift” for professionals who are looking to learn and grow.  However, there are times when you can see a conversation is moving in the wrong direction and just like a brand that’s responsible to answer questions, you can’t always just sit back and hope the commenter goes away.

A helpful tool that I came across is the Air Force Response Chart.  If you haven’t studied this chart yet, you should definitely take a look.  It walks a brand through a process of how it should respond based on the nature of the comment.  Of course, this could be your personal brand. Here’s how I evaluate personal blog comments and messages that people direct toward me on social sites:

Comment or Blog Post Validity: Is the comment or the blog post valid, related to the conversation and present a different but legitimate perspective? If yes, accept the comment and thank the individual for the information. If not, you can explain any misinformation or how you feel the information may not apply to you or your community.  This is considered healthy debate and you can at some point agree to disagree.

Level of Responsibility: Does the comment show that the commenter understands the needs of the community and is trying to be helpful or just purely representing his or her own interests?  If there is a level of respect and responsibility, by all means accept the comment and engage in the dialogue.  If there is no level of respect or responsibility, you can choose not to allow the comment to go through or you can let the comment pass.

Level of Respect: The comment reaches an unexpected heightened level of disrespect. Sometimes conversations can go in the wrong direction because of a misunderstanding or purely because the commenter does not have a level of respect for you or your community.  If someone misunderstands something that you have said and gets upset, then you should immediately apologize and be accountable.  If they have offended you and it was a misunderstanding you should work toward resolving the issue. If there is no respect involved and the comments are nasty, harassing, defamatory, etc., you have the right to not accept the comment on your blog.

The Commenter is a Troll: If the commenter is clearly a Troll or what’s known as a Rager (according the Air Force Response Chart) and has not contributed anything positive to the conversation, but is immediately bashing and degrading or ranting and sarcastic, this commenter does not deserve a response.  I do not recommend blocking Trolls or Ragers on Twitter, as it’s always important to listen and monitor what they are saying.  In more cases than not these Trolls and Ragers are put into their place by the community. Here’s where it helps to have a supportive community in place.

The Commenter is a Spammer by Nature: There are times that the commenter is not quite a Troll or Rager, yet has been able to become a friend and access your network on different social sites.  Then, he or she decides to start spamming your wall.  By all means, you have the option of using your privacy settings to block your wall, so this individual can’t make any comments that are uncomfortable and inappropriate and would be offensive to those who are conversing with you.

I’m all for healthy debate and there should always be mutual civility in our conversations.  If we all had the same opinions, it wouldn’t be as interesting or educational.  However, its important to be prepared and set up a system that tells you when its time to respond and thank someone for a different perspective and when it’s time not to respond at all or to change your privacy settings.  In most cases, I find that people want to give opinions and to help one another.  However, spamming and nasty and inappropriate comments just don’t belong in our conversations.  When do you say enough is enough and it’s time to discontinue the conversation or block the person you thought was a friend?

On January 19^th, we announced a very special guest for our #PRStudChat February session.  @ChrisBrogan, co-author of Trust Agents, joins our Twitter discussion to enlighten our community on the PR influencer and how to build trust online. Today it’s very important for PR and communications professionals to realize that they are moving from a liaison role to an influencer role, as they become bloggers and educate through democratized media.

Chris is an incredible influencer himself, and the perfect person to share his thoughts and experiences in building trust with people online.  Through his writing and his work, he’s been helping professionals to understand what it takes to create relationships and business opportunities.  Here’s is more information on Chris and his scope of expertise:

Chris Brogan consults and speaks professionally with Fortune 100 and 500 companies like PepsiCo, General Motors, Microsoft, and more, on the future of business communications, and social software technologies. He is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Trust Agents, and a featured monthly columnist at Entrepreneur Magazine. Chris’s blog, [chrisbrogan.com], is in the Top 5 of the Advertising Age Power150. He has over 11 years experience in online community, social media, and related technologies. Here’s a link to more information on Chris: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/about/

In the spirit of Chris’ book, Trust Agents, here’s what we’ll be discussing with Chris and our community the night of February 23^rd:

• What does it mean to be a Trust Agent?
• Why is so important to become an “Agent Zero?”
• How long does it take to become a member of a community and what steps do you take?
• What are the characteristics of an influencer?
• Who are some of the great influencers that have built trust with their communities?
• Do businesses need to have their employees build trust online to be more successful?
• What is your advice to students and professionals with respect to becoming an influencer?

One more special announcement for our February 23^rd session …We have an exclusive sponsor that night.  Ruder Finn, is sponsoring the chat session and their sponsorship will go toward several lucky community members receiving Chris’ book.  We’re going to post a question on the PRStudChat blog that night and ask our community to answer the question.  A random drawing will select community members to receive the book, Trust Agents.

We are very excited to have Chris join us on February 23^rd and can’t think him enough for being our special guest.  We’re also very happy to have Ruder Finn as the sponsor of this session, which is designed to educate PR and communications professionals on the topic of the PR influencer.  If there are any questions that you’d like to ask Chris about becoming a Trust Agent or building trust online, please post them in our LinkedIn Group.  Hope to “see” on you on February 23^rd for a very dynamic discussion.

A little more about our sponsor, Ruder Finn:

Ruder Finn, Inc. is one of the largest independent integrated communication firms in the world. Through offices and affiliates worldwide, the agency serves the global and local communication needs of more than 250 corporations, governments and nonprofit organizations.