With technology advancing, consumer behavior changing and shorter attention spans, it has become increasingly difficult to build relationships. Organizations need communication professionals who have a raised creative quotient. You have to be more creative and innovative in your approach to connect and engage with audiences today.
On November 17th, the #PRStudChat community gathered to discuss the importance of Creative PR and taking the art of storytelling to a new level. Heather Whaling, president of Geben Communication and Jason Sprenger, president of Game Changer Communications led the discussion on the different ways students and professionals view and use creative in their PR campaigns.
One question focused on whether creativity is inherent, or if it can be taught. Here are several of the interesting insights our community members shared:
According to community responses, levels of creativity will vary among professionals and your environment plays an important role. At the same time, we agreed that exercising Creative PR is both valuable and a necessity today. A career in PR requires strong skills in many areas. However, social media communication adds a whole new dimension to your creative knowledge and skill set. Taking the time to increase your Creative PR quotient is one way to stand out regardless of the position or your years of experience.
What are your tips for increasing creativity and learning new ways to be creative in PR?
On Tuesday, November 17th at 8:30 p.m. ET, the #PRStudChat community will gather to discuss Creative PR and how smart PR today requires a combination of creative storytelling, powerful visual imagery and data-driven decision making.
Special guests, Heather Whaling, President of Geben Communication and Jason Sprenger, President of Game Changer Communications will lead a discussion with PR students, professionals and educators on the importance of visual storytelling that:
Leverages data to create timely PR opportunities.
Uses social and content to amplify media placements
Partners with influencers to extend campaign reach.
Here’s a little more information on our PR experts:
Heather Whaling is founder/president of Geben Communication. An avid Twitter user, Heather can trace the majority of Geben’s business back to relationships that began online. This ability to turn social networking into business outcomes illustrates Geben’s contemporary approach to traditional and digital PR. After launching the company from her dining room, Heather’s fresh approach to best practices has helped Geben evolve into a highly respected, sought-after, award-winning PR firm. Geben was named the national media relations agency of the year (Ragan/PR Daily) and a top 10 agency for startups (Agency Post). Geben is also the top boutique agency in Columbus, according to Columbus CEO.
Jason Sprenger is the president of Game Changer Communications. Hw founded the agency in 2012 to help organizations propel themselves forward using the entire spectrum of public relations. Before starting Game Changer, he led North American PR for FICO and built a successful corporate PR department at data storage firm Xiotech (now called X-IO Technologies). He has also held various roles with three Twin Cities public relations firms. He has worked for a wide variety of organizations, from large to small and public to private, and has been a corporate, agency and freelance counselor. As a result, Jason has seen the PR industry from as many angles as anyone and learned how to drive success no matter what the challenge or situation.
If you have any questions about Creative PR or thoughts you would like to share in advance of the session, please tweet or DM us. We hope you’ll join us for a fun and informative Twitter chat session focused the art of creative storytelling and the best ways to improve your visual content to create more impact. “See” you on the 17th!
More About PRStudChat:
It began with a simple question asked byAngela Hernandez, then President of PRSSA atCentral Michigan University (CMU). “Is PR Right for me?” A follow up blog post by PR 2.0 expert Deirdre Breakenridgeinspired 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
For students and recent grads with an entrepreneurial spirit, startups provide an ideal training ground to expand your skills, witness the ins and outs of growing a business from the ground up, and gain a wide-range of valuable, hands-on experiences.
But, startup PR is very different than managing PR for a more traditional, established company. And, it’s this difference – plus the nuances, pros and cons – that we’re going to discuss during January’s #prstudchat. Join us and guest moderator, Heather Whaling, on January 21 at 8:30pm ET. Heather is president of Geben Communication, which was named one of Agency Post’s top PR agencies for startups.
During #prstudchat, we’ll cover a range of questions, including:
How does PR for startups/emerging brands differ from PR for established companies?
Pros/cons for startups outsourcing PR vs hiring an internal staffer?
What are some new examples of startups with smart PR strategies?
If you’ve never worked with startups, how can you get your foot in the door?
… plus more!
Have other questions about startup PR? Tweet them to Heather (@prTini) in advance. We hope to see you on Twitter on January 21 at 8:30pm ET.
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 Breakenridgeinspired 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.
As PR people, we’re constantly told, “Target your pitches” or “Build relationships with journalists” or “Help journalists meet their deadlines.”
But, are we practicing what we preach?
I recently used HARO (helpareporter.com) to find sources for a Mashable article I was writing. Normally, I’m the PR person responding to queries and pitching my clients, so it was a bit odd being on the receiving end of the pitches. Talk about an eye-opening experience.
While some of the pitches were fine – a few were even really good – a number of responses were examples of what not to do when responding to a HARO query … or pitching a reporter in general.
With that, based on my HARO experience, here are seven dos and don’ts for pitching media:
Don’t be an annoying Twitter follower. I experienced two kinds of PR people through my HARO experience. The first kind sends a direct message before responding to the query, inquiring if the writer is interested. If you have a story that fits their query, then it’s safe to assume they’re interested. Respond to the query. Follow up after!
And that leads me to the second kind of PR person: The one who sends a random “at reply” just to say “Hey, I just sent you an email.” Well, great. I know sometimes we want to follow up with media via Twitter, but the message may be better received if it’s worked into a conversation. The out-of-the-blue reply felt a little spammy to me.
Respect deadlines. If the writer’s deadline is Friday, that means he/she needs the info on Friday. (Seriously, I received multiple emails from people offering to send me information or schedule interviews the following week.)
Pitch on target. My article was specifically looking for tips and best practices for incorporating Facebook into a product launch. I received multiple responses from PR people who went into extensive detail about their product … but didn’t tell me how they used Facebook. Don’t go on and on about your product, unless that’s relevant to the pitch. If I’m looking for tips, focus on that first. Then, give me the context.
Offer enough “meat” in the pitch. Don’t just send a reporter an email offering to schedule an interview. Offer some insights about what kinds of tips, facts or anecdotes the interviewee can offer. Reporters will naturally gravitate toward the interview opportunities where they’re most likely to receive quality information for their story.
Know who you’re pitching. I was working on a story for Mashable; yet more than one person sent me links to coverage their client received on competing sites. Even better, one suggested I pull information from that article. Why would I want to repeat information that’s already been published? And, if a reporter feels like your company’s story has already been well publicized, they won’t want to reiterate the same story. Give the reporter something fresh to work with.
Be readily available. If you’re going to say, “Would you like details?” be standing by, ready to offer those details. Frequently, journalists work on tight deadlines, so they can’t wait days for you to respond. (And, yes, this means sometimes you even need to be available over the weekend.) I can’t tell you how many people took literally days to respond to my follow-up questions.
Don’t respond and then go into hiding. Someone replied to my query and then went out of town. Everyone’s entitled to a vacation, but if you’re offering to connect a writer with a source, you can’t go into hiding. Turn on your out-of-office response and make sure it includes alternate contact information (either your cell phone or a back-up contact person).
What other tips would you offer to help PR pros brush up on their pitching skills?
I’m kicking off a PR guest blogger series on October 3, 2011. Several of my blogger friends have offered to help out while I’m working on a new project, which I’ll be sharing soon. I’m excited to announce the names of my blogger friends …
Back in 2009, a Dartmouth study revealed that the largest not-for-profit organizations were outpacing corporations and academic institutions in social media adoption. Today, more not-for-profits are finding value through targeted social media outreach and fundraising. With so many organizations moving toward social media communication, we thought the topic of Social Good would not only educate but also demonstrate to our community how non-profits are making a difference through their social interactions.
The #PRStudChat June 15th session at 8:30 p.m. ET will focus on Social Good. Joining us that night will be a panel of special guests, all communications professionals, working with non-profit organizations from awareness to fundraising.
It is our pleasure to announce the #PRStudChat panelists:
Shonali Burke is the IABC-accredited, award-winning principal of Shonali Burke Consulting, which specializes in “integrated communication to the nth degree.” In other words, she helps you turn your corporate codswallop into community cool. She did this at various agencies, at the ASPCA, where she instituted their award-winning measurement program, and she can do this for you. But only if you ask. Nicely.
In 2007, PRWeek recognized Shonali as one of the “top 40 under 40” PR professionals in the US, which she is quite pleased to keep reminding you about and never mind her grey hairs. More recently, she’s been named one of 100 PR pros worth following on Twitter by Valeria Maltoni aka Conversation Agent, and one of 25 Women That Rock Social Media by TopRank. She blogs at Waxing UnLyrical, under the watchful eyes of Chuck, Suzy Q. and Lola, her three rescue dogs. Her long-suffering husband has accepted that Shonali can most often be found on Twitter.
As president of Geben Communication, Heather Whaling helps businesses develop and implement traditional and digital PR strategies. Named one of the top 30 PR pros to follow on Twitter, Heather has been quoted in Inc Magazine, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Mashable about technology’s impact on communication and business. She also co-moderates PR 2.0 Chat (#pr20chat on Twitter), a weekly discussion about PR and social media. Connect with her on her blog (http://www.prTini.com), Twitter, @prTini or via email (heather@gebencommunication.com).
Heather was one of five women bloggers recently selected to visit Haiti earlier this year as part of a blogger outreach tour in support of Fairwinds Trading Heart of Haiti program.
Heather’s company, Geben Communication, focuses on telling a story … communicating the right message to the right audience … influencing public perception. Just as important, we believe in using our platform for good. In fact, the word geben means “to give” in German. Having worked with 30+ nonprofits, Heather believes in the power of these organizations. That’s why for every new client Geben signs, we’re committed to making a donation to a deserving cause.
Melissa Jones graduated from Rowan University with a degree in Communications, concentration in Public Relations. She first got involved in social media while still in college; she volunteered her time at Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit organization for childhood cancer. She spent her time at ALSF simply building their online presence; communicating with existing supporters while also discovering ways to garner new supporters. She is now working full-time at ALSF as their Social Media Specialist.
We hope you will join us on June 15th at 8:30 p.m. ET to discuss Social Good and to chat with our panel of special guests. Of course, if you have any questions you would like to ask the panel, please feel free to post them in our LinkedIn Discussion Group. Hope to “see” you on the 15th!
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
When Traackr reported the Top 25 PR Influencers, I thought it would be fun to quickly find out a little more about some of the bloggers on this list (beyond the “Footprint” that was provided). I decided to take a few of their blog posts and drop them into Wordle.net, turning them into beautiful word clouds. You can tell a lot about these influencers, their interests, critical issues and what they love to share with their communities. Now, remember copying three or four recent posts into a word cloud tool is only a brief snapshot of what could be years of blog posts and PR information. Keeping that in mind, here five of the top 25 influencers and their word clouds, selected randomly.
Before you go to visit the influencer’s blog community, take a look at each one’s word cloud to help you understand the community focus and how you can engage the right way by sharing relevant information.
Here’s the list of a few of the PR Influencers from Traackr, with their word clouds below:
With technology advancing, consumer behavior changing and shorter attention spans, it has become increasingly difficult to build relationships. Organizations need communication professionals who have a raised creative quotient. You have to be more creative and innovative in your approach to connect and engage with audiences today.
