Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
The flowers are blooming and the days are getting longer, and that can only mean one thing: college graduation and summer internships are right around the corner. For students studying communications, public relations is a great field in which to work, but there are some things you should keep in mind when it comes to a career in PR.
PR is a lot more than putting together press lists and writing press releases. While you certainly don’t need to be perfect, you do need to understand some qualities PR firms are looking for in candidates, decide if you live up to these and ensure you demonstrate these characteristics.
- Be your own PR representative. In order to represent companies in a transparent, ethical and positive way, you need to reflect these qualities in yourself. Do you have a bunch of pictures posted on Facebook of you and your sorority sisters out at the bar last weekend? Do you post things on Twitter that might be too personal? Make sure you put your best foot forward online and build your own positive reputation before you expect a client to trust you with theirs. Also think about your own key messages you want your potential employer to know about you and the proof points you can share that reinforce these messages. Think about how to consistently deliver those messages when you are interviewing.
- Be a good communicator. It seems obvious, but PR is all about communication, whether it be with your team, with clients or with reporters. You need to be able to clearly articulate ideas or recommendations via just about any method of communication: email, phone, blog post, instant message or teleconference. You need to be comfortable and proficient with all the many ways to communicate (well, except Morse code) because that is really what our job is all about.
- Be professional. This one also might seem like a no-brainer, but looking and acting professional is essential. In our line of work, you sometimes meet with powerful people that have high expectations and little time to make small talk. CEOs, vice presidents of marketing and other executive leaders within your client’s organization may need to meet with you, and it is important to walk the walk and talk the talk. Dress professionally for client meetings, keep the discussions on appropriate topics and stay calm, cool and collected. Letting your professional side shine will build trust and respect with clients.
- Be proactive and solutions-oriented. Part of being a PR pro is being able to handle just about anything your client asks for. The secret to this quality is to always consider what is best for the client and anticipate what they might need before they ask for it. By putting yourself in your client’s shoes, it is easier to understand his or her perspective and can help you come up with impressive solutions if you run into a speed bump with a project. Always think about how you can make your client feel like he or she is your only client, even if you are working on multiple accounts.
- Be courageous. In PR, you need to be pretty brave. You need to be able to tactfully push back on clients or coworkers who make recommendations that you don’t think would help your account. You need to pick up the phone to call reporters at national publications to pitch stories or follow up on interviews. You need to be graceful when put on the spot. Learn how to use new tools or technology quickly. Even if you aren’t the bravest person you know, you need to be okay with the fact that in PR, you will be pushed outside of your comfort zone from time to time.
- Be flexible. One of the facts of life for PR professionals is that no two days are quite the same. Sometimes a crisis will come up with a client and you’ll need to drop everything to help them draft some messaging or talking points to handle the situation. Other times a reporter will call with a deadline that afternoon and he or she will want an interview with a client. Or perhaps a new business opportunity will come up and you have to put together an impressive proposal in a couple days. Whatever the scenario, you need to have a can-do attitude and be able to roll with the punches.
These are just a few examples of the qualities employers and clients are looking for in their PR people. While you may not really need to be perfect, you do need to be perfectly suited for PR. To get more ideas about the type of work PR professionals need to be able to handle, you can check out our careers page. Additionally below are a few tips as you search for a PR position:
- Follow the hashtag #HAPPO (Help a PR Pro Out) on Twitter
- Leverage LinkedIn to connect with other PR professionals, secure informational interviews and network
- Join your local PRSA and participate in networking and educational events
In just a matter of two years since its beta launch in March 2010, Pinterest has become one of the top ranking social networking sites today. Just last month, Experian Hitwise reported Pinterest is the third largest social network in the U.S., surpassing LinkedIn.
As consumers continue to flock to the site in droves, so are businesses and brands as it’s been proven to drive traffic back to their websites. According to an article in Ad Age, Real Simple magazine’s GM of digital Shannon King shared that, “Pinterest is a huge source from a referral standpoint, even beating out referrals from Facebook in the month of October. It speaks to the power of engaged audience members. We view it as an important part of our social media strategy.” And both small and big businesses alike are following Real Simple’s footsteps, exploring ways to use the site to connect with consumers.
While most content on Pinterest centers around art, fashion, décor, beauty, food and other lifestyle categories, automakers (yes, you read that right) are exploring the platform as a way to engage with their female demographic.
One creative campaign that is garnering a lot of media attention is Honda’s “The Pintermission,” which is part of its larger “Leap List” campaign for the CR-V, a small SUV that is targeted toward females. Given their target demographic, they have come to the right platform since women generate nearly 85 percent of activity on the site according to comScore.
For the campaign, Honda targeted five of the site’s top pinners and offered them $500 each to stop pinning for 24 hours. During their time off from “pinning,” they were to get out and do some of the things they have been pinning about, then return to the site and pin about what they did. Check out what each of these five pinners did on Honda’s board.
While Honda admits they didn’t set metric goals for this campaign, they are viewing it as an opportunity to begin engagement on this new social networking site in a creative way, and integrate Pinterest into the brand’s larger social media strategy to drive traffic to its website. Lauren Ebner, assistant manager of social media at American Honda Motor Co. notes in a separate Ad Age article, “It’s such a fast-growing social-media network and seemed like a really good, different, creative outlet for us and a chance to use a visual medium to promote our cars.” Honda hopes the campaign will inspire others to take a Pintermission (without the $500 incentive) and get out to enjoy life. After all, we do deserve a break from the 24/7 connected world we currently live in every now and again.
Have you come across other creative campaigns on Pinterest? Which ones caught your attention? Let us know.
And if you’re thinking of building a presence on Pinterest, be sure to check out another one of our blog posts, “Ground Rules for Harnessing the Power of Pinterest.”
Earlier this year, we wrote about the rise of Pinterest and its potential for benefitting businesses. We discussed its ability to help businesses drive traffic to their sites, provide a platform for deeper customer engagement, and showcase new products and services in unique ways. Since then, as we predicted, Pinterest has grown like wildfire. In fact, Google Ad Planner notes that Pinterest has reached 16 million users worldwide, crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history.
However, although Pinterest has seen rapid growth, many businesses are still in the early stages of exploring this new social network and determining how to take full advantage of the platform. Given this, we thought it’d be helpful to share some guidelines and etiquette as highlighted on Ragan’s, to help maximize your Pinterest presence and effectively promote your brand.
- Give credit when credit is due: Sourcing the original link is the unspoken cardinal rule of Pinterest. Whenever you find and post an image to Pinterest, make sure to include a link back to the original source. For example, if you find a great photo on Google Image, rather than linking back to Google, provide a link directly to the photographer’s site.
- Don’t trick users into following incorrect links. Unfortunately, some people embed incorrect links with their images so that when a follower clicks on a pin, they’re redirected to an unrelated site leading to extra page views and, as a result, extra income. This is an unethical marketing ploy and good way to lose both followers and credibility. Make sure you link to relevant content and don’t mislead your followers.
- Write a full caption. Tell your followers why they should click on a link by including a descriptive caption for each image you pin. Avoid marketing and advertising jargon and remember that Pinterest is about direct, authentic communication.
- Don’t overwhelm your followers. While it’s fun and slightly addicting to pin images, be careful not to post every image you find compelling, especially if it’s not directly related to your brand. High quality is key in the digital world—and it’s what Pinterest followers love most. Don’t go pin-crazy if you want to keep your followers.
- Interact and engage with your community. Similar to most social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest is more effective when you communicate with both your followers and broader target audience. The more you comment, like, or repin someone else’s content, the more interaction you’ll receive on your own content.
While Pinterest is a great place to promote your business, do so with caution. Rather than spamming people with nothing but your own products and services, use Pinterest to elevate your brand by building and contributing to the community.
Are you a Pinterest pro? Share what’s worked for you!
When I was growing up, my parents were professionals dedicated to building their careers; however, when they came home they were no longer directly connected to the office through technology. Their passion for their work translated then into discussions during and after dinner. These conversations were interactive and inclusive of everyone at the table. My sister and I participated in these discussions and learned how to engage with our parents (and others) on a variety of topics. Conversations were vital in how we as a family communicated and how we stayed connected with each other, and instrumental in developing relationships within our family.
As a parent and a business owner, I worry about how technology is changing the way we communicate. Face-to-face conversations seem to be dwindling as we have come to rely upon email, social networks and texting to communicate with each other. I have friends that comment on how their teenagers are more likely to text with friends than actually having a conversation.
Consider the following quote from a 16-year old boy that was included in Sherry Turkle’s article this weekend in The New York Times, “The Flight from Conversation”:
“Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn how to have a conversation.”
The increased use of technology is decreasing the frequency with which we engage in conversations. We have substituted online connections through Facebook, Twitter, and texting for face-to-face conversations. The reality is these connections do not provide a substitute for conversation.
Ms. Turkle goes on to explain that as a society we are relying on technology to “keep each other at distances we can control.” We “expect more from technology and less from one another and seem increasingly drawn to technologies that provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of relationship.”
Ms. Turkle offers a few suggestions on how we can focus on making time for conversations:
- Create sacred spaces that are device-free zones. For example the dining room, kitchen and/or car.
- Demonstrate the value of conversation to our children and at work. Consider introducing “conversational Thursdays.”
- Remember to listen to each other, “even in the boring bits, because it is often in unedited moments, moments in which we hesitate and stutter and go silent, that we reveal ourselves to one another.”
In addition to these suggestions, I recommend reading Susan Scott’s book Fierce Conversations. Her book provides a valuable guide on how to engage in effective, real conversations with colleagues as well as family and friends.
Two months ago, I did the unthinkable for a college student: deactivated my Facebook account. I am not shunning the social network because I don’t like it, as several young people recently discussed in The New York Times. And I am not going offline because there is anything particularly incriminating on my Facebook page.
What makes me uncomfortable about the tool is that I have actively used it since my freshman year of high school, beginning at age 15. It occurred to me that my page now groups all of the thoughts that my teenage self deemed relevant to the Internet community onto the same page that I currently use as I enter my professional life. I am nine months away from college graduation, and the idea that an Internet record possesses a detailed span of my life, visible to all my online connections, from age 15 and onward into my professional life and career is daunting, and, well, just plain weird.
The Internet has provided us with many new forums to engage, but for my generation, it has over- simplified communication. Work, school, and family identities are mulched into one page—a page that has existed since early high school for me and many of my peers. Google+ did attempt to mitigate this problem with “circles,” and Facebook has come out with similar privacy settings—but the idea is still strange. As I grow older, and my identity changes, my Facebook history still exists, available for my entire online community to see.
However, Facebook is an important tool to have in both your professional and personal lives. It helps you connect with old friends, peers, and colleagues—the ultimate, easy networking tool. This has led me to the conclusion that, following my well deserved break from Facebook (I’ve been on it for six years), I am going to make a new account. After all, it is about time that my online image was refreshed—my teenage self has no place in my upcoming world of job interviews, graduate school preparation, and nine to five business days.
If you are thinking about following in my footsteps and starting over, or just taking a break, Facebook offers two strategies: deactivation and deletion. Currently, I am part of the deactivation club, but if I really want to start over, deletion is next on my Facebook agenda.
Deactivation
What to know: Deactivation, according to Facebook, keeps all of your information stored online. However, it is inaccessible to your Facebook friends. No one can search you, and no one can look at your profile or photos. Some information, such as messages you have sent, will still be visible to others. The most important aspect of deactivation is that all your information is stored, in case you decide to return to the service.
How to do it
- Click the account menu at the top right of any Facebook page
- Choose Account Settings
- Select Security from the left-hand menu
- Click on “Deactivate your account”
If you want to reactivate your account, all you have to do is log in to Facebook, and your page reappears.
Deletion
What to know: Permanently deleting your account is more drastic than deactivation. Once you delete your Facebook account, you will not be able to access it again. Furthermore, any personally identifiable information is removed from Facebook’s database, such as an email or mailing address. However, remnants of your Facebook activity may remain, including messages you have sent. Images might remain on the Facebook server, but it is no longer linked to your name, and is inaccessible to other users.
How to do it
Deleting your Facebook account is more complicated than deactivation. Follow these steps:
- Close your accounts at any website that you use Facebook to log in to. For example, Pinterest, Stumble Upon, and many other websites allow you to log in using your Facebook account. If you log in to any of these accounts for 14 days following deleting your Facebook, your account will be reactivated.
- Go to the Facebook Deletion page and click “Delete My Account.” You will then be prompted to confirm this decision; click “Okay.”
- Do not log back into Facebook for the next 14 days, or it will reinstate your account and you will need to start the process over again.
**Note: You are able to create a new account within the 14 day period, so if you are deleting your account to start a new one, you do not need to wait 14 days.
If you are just entering the professional world, and think that your Facebook could use a fresh start, these tips can help. In PR, we constantly emphasize how important maintaining a professional online persona is—don’t forget to extend this thinking to your personal social platforms.
Public speaking is a skill that every business professional should master. No matter if you are presenting to your company, pitching a new business or giving a keynote speech, you want your audience engaged and you want to persuade them of your message.
We’ve previously written about the importance of body language when delivering a speech or presentation, but it goes beyond your physical delivery. You can be the most dynamic speaker, but if your presentation doesn’t pack any punch, you’ll likely fumble.
In a recent article, “5 types of evidence essential for persuasive speeches,” Matt Wilson shares the five things that will essentially beef up a speech. We’ve included them below, along with suggestions from our past experience. When I begin a speech I like to open with one of the following and pepper in the others throughout.
- Statistics. Statistics help validate a claim and can help captivate an audience. However, the statistics have to be used correctly. Too often, people select startling statistics, yet provide no context. You need to properly explain the statistics and make it applicable to your audience. For example, 12 percent of woman will develop breast cancer. It is much more effective to make it relatable. If you look around the room, one out of eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. You should also be sure to represent statistics accurately – numbers can often be manipulated to help support your point, but doing this could have devastating consequences and hurt your credibility.
- Quotes. Using quotes can simplify your message and leave a lasting impression on your audience. Select concise, memorable quotes from experts or well-known names, but don’t overdo it. You want a few select quotes that help deliver your message. For example, if you are giving a motivational speech, you could use a quote from Walt Disney: “All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.”
- Analogies. Analogies can be a way of bringing your speech to life. They should be clear and compelling and help the audience understand the message. An analogy is a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based. For example, in the movie Forest Gump, Tom Hanks says, “Life is like a box of chocolates.” He uses this to describe how unpredictable life is, because “you never know what you are going to get.” For more tips on how to use analogies, read our previous post, “The Power of Analogies.”
- Examples. Using examples to illustrate your point can go a long way. It is especially effective to take examples from current trends or events, or from prominent figures or movies. Using examples provides people with another angle at which to view your point and can help clarify complex ideas.
- Stories. Stories help to keep your audience entertained, but will help persuade your audience of any point you are trying to make. People are typically more comfortable telling stories to a friend off the cuff. This relaxation helps connect with the audience. If possible, share stories that come from the heart and resonate with you and the audience. For example, if you are giving a speech to generate donations and funding for a race raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, share a personal story about why this is important to you. What got you interested in running? Has someone in your life been touched by the disease?
By adding these techniques to your arsenal while delivering a speech, you’ll be positioned for a successful delivery. It is harder to poke holes in a persuasive speech that has any of these elements to back it up.
What do you like to include when delivering a speech?