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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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 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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This is a great example of an integrated B2B PR and social media program for HubSpot’s Marketing Fact vs. Fantasy Campaign. Well played, HubSpot. Well played.

http://www.hubspot.com/blog/bid/23690/HubSpot-Apologizes-For-Unicorn-Shortage

Judson Luke | 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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In the weeks leading up to a tradeshow I recently attended with a client, I began Tweeting on their behalf. Using the show’s hashtag, I drummed up some pre-show interest, and even caught the eye of an attending editor, who wrote a blog about our client’s product that was going to be on display.

When I arrived at the show, live Tweet boards throughout the exposition allowed people to post comments. Although I continued to Tweet and promote my client, very few others were using this platform. In fact, the number of exhibitors who were also using the Tweet boards was less than 10. And this was a fairly large show with several hundred exhibitors and thousands of attendees. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

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I love to work out. In fact, I’m kind of a freak about it. My goal is to have a very diverse workout routine for three reasons:
1) It prevents me from getting bored
2) It keeps my body “guessing”
3) It ensures I’m constantly using new muscle groups so that I can see results for my efforts. (more…)

Angela Mork | Post a Comment

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I’d like to think I’ve learned a few things over my years in business, not the least of which is how to initially approach a sales prospect in a meaningful and non-intrusive manner.  It’s all about communication, of course, and properly setting the stage for continued discussions.

But this blog isn’t about prospect etiquette, or effective sales communication.  It’s about how communication is sometimes handled across generational lines. (more…)

Dean LePoidevin | Post a Comment

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