What’s the one thing that any PR professional absolutely needs to have to be successful? If you ask me – it’s the ability to write well. Almost everything we do as PR professionals centers on writing. Which is why I was rather surprised to read in a blog titled 2012 PR Prediction: 5 guaranteed (ways) to affect your resume, which implies that the ability to write is overblown.

In bullet point No. 1: PR skills will move beyond media relations, an excerpt from the blog says:

While a press release does not necessarily need to be well-written, a PR professional must now be able to ghost author a blog in a CEO’s tone and style. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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There is a great deal of discussion about social media’s place in B2B marketing. Although collecting a group of Facebook likes is nice, it is easy to wonder what they are truly worth. Companies are often quick to judge the success or failure of a social media campaign based on measureable ROI. While analytics such as likes, links, conversations and leads is relatively easy to measure on a social media campaign, placing a value on them is much more challenging.

The truth is, if your social media campaign is well managed, over time it can produce highly qualified leads. To accomplish this, your program needs to do two things: provide value and encourage feedback. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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I just wrote a news release for a client that’s 113 words long. Clearly that’s too short – right? Or is it? Granted, it’s lean, but after reading it a second and third time (which is always good advice), the release is sound and ready for review.

It’s important to keep in mind that when writing for a B2B audience, news releases should be fairly straight forward, non-promotional and to the point. Readers and editors alike are looking for facts: what makes the product different from others; performance specifications; how it works, etc. Leave the fluff, and flowery adjectives behind – nobody cares about those things. That about sums it up – in exactly 113 words.

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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I was talking with a client recently who made an interesting observation: he thought trade publications looked a bit fatter than usual. I’ve also noticed that in the past several months many of the industrial books in our target market seem to be gaining weight. And that’s definitely a good thing.

As advertising reps have been making their annual trek to our office to discuss 2012, all of them say that companies are putting more dollars back into advertising – and that seems to be reflected in the thickness of the books. More ads mean more pages, which leads to increased editorial opportunities. 

According to the Association of Magazine Media, ad pages and revenue increased in 2011 in comparison to last year. Although electronic advertising remains strong, there’s something to be said about the comeback of print. Is it because of a shift from electronic back to print, or an overall increase in advertising spending? What do you think? Nonetheless, print advertising is still effective way to deliver your messages to readers.

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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An article on Ragan’s PR Daily titled 7 Essential Tips for PR Newbies, asked PR pros what advice they would give to a person launching their career in public relations.

The wisdom that struck a chord with me was from Andrew Worob, who said, don’t ever get complacent. That’s so true when it comes to PR. It’s great when your proactive media relations pay off in a four-page spread or lands a cover story. Clients love that kind of exposure and it goes a long way toward validating your value to them. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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I have been stranded at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee for seven hours and counting, trying to travel to my inaugural PestWorld 2011 experience in New Orleans.  After rerouting our flight and squatting at two different restaurants, working remotely, I took to listening in on different conversations: fellow travelers from my flight complaining of the long day ahead, a mother consoling an overtired child needing a nap, two friends excited about their weekend trip ahead, our server telling us all about her day and how she runs her station.  When the server said “More Money, More Time” and laughed ruefully to one of her customers, it struck a chord. (more…)

Angela Mork | Post a Comment

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I like to think I know both sides of the fence.

Being in public relations, one of my core functions is interacting with the media on an almost daily basis. But before jumping over to PR, I was a newspaper reporter for several years, which gives me a unique perspective on knowing how both professions operate. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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Air traffic controller

Police officer

Our military fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan

These are three occupations I would consider to be fairly stressful – more stressful than my job as a public relations executive. Don’t get me wrong, the job certainly does have its loosen-the-collar moments when things do get hectic in the world of B2B PR. But in general I think most people would rate the three occupations listed above as high stress for all the obvious reasons. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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Chris Hippler writes an informative article on how to craft an online press release in the August issue of CAM Magazine. Many of the tried-and-true rules for press release writing remain the same for online releases versus traditional print releases. The main difference between the two is including using words for search engine optimization, including multimedia links for video, images and PDF documents, and posting the release on your company website so it can be easily found.

One additional point I’d like to add that people need to be cognizant of is doing follow up with the media – specifically being careful not to over-do-it. In general, editors hate to be bothered by people checking to see if they’ve received your press release. B2B editors are a busy group that receives hundreds of press releases a month. Calling up every editor to check the status of a release is a waste of your time, a waste of their time and diminishes the chances that your message will receive ink. If there are one or two key publications that the release message has a strong, direct connection to their readers, a follow up phone call or email is okay. But be very judicious in doing this – resisting the urge to call everyone will result in better coverage.

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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A new house, a new hope and 2,000 chicken sandwiches – how can you beat that?

Two weeks ago, the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was in Fayetteville building a new house that will be used as a shelter for women veterans and their children. Fayetteville is home to Fort Bragg, one of the largest U.S. Army bases in the country, as well as the adjacent Pope Field. Suffice to say Fayetteville is a military town.   (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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