Posts Tagged ‘tactics’


HR, Employee Retention, and Growing Your Business: Tracy Bochner, Paradigm PR, Interview With Johna Burke at the PRSA 2010 Counselors Academy

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Transcript -

JOHNA BURKE: Hello, everyone. This is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Counselor’s Academy. And we’re here with Tracey.

Tracey, will you introduce yourself?

TRACEY BOCHNER: Sure. Tracey Bochner with Paradigm Public Relations in Toronto.

BURKE: Canada, yay! So, Tracey, for those people that can’t attend this session of leaders in the PR industry, what are some of the takeaways that you’d like to share with them in the sessions that you’ve learned here?

BOCHNER: I’ve been to some really interesting sessions, particularly on HR, on retaining employees, on growing your business. Some of the biggest takeaways I think for us from the session have been around how to structure bonuses, because that’s something we’ve been looking at very closely, and how to grow your agency. We’re an agency of 14 people and we’re only two and a half years old, so we’re busy on this growth path, and there’s been a lot of–what the most interesting pieces for us have been about growing your agencies to be not big, but the best. That was Elise Mitchell’s session yesterday, which was fantastic.

 And out of some of the roundtable sessions this morning, tips and advice on how to structure bonuses for best motivating employees, how to look at retention strategies that, again, motivate employees. Even the softer things like beer on Fridays, what are some of those tactics that have worked really well for other agencies? And that has been very interesting for us.

BURKE: Great feedback. And where can people find you on the web?

BOCHNER: We’re at paradigmpr.ca.

BURKE: Great. Thank you so much.

BOCHNER: Thank you.

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Posted in Career Advice, Industry Events, Online Video, Public Relations | No Comments »

BurrellesLuce Newsletter: Bolstering Your Communications Tactics in the New Year

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

As 2011 unfolds, many PR, communications and marketing professionals are beginning to examine their strategies and determine how they can be applied in the New Year. It’s a time to lay the groundwork for future campaigns that are designed to increase brand and client exposure, drive traffic to websites, create quality leads, build communities, and enhance relationships with The Media. BurrellesLuce Newsletter: Bolstering Your Communications Tactics in the New Year

Both technology and The Media are evolving and, as a result, so too are the preferences and values of audiences. Still, many communications and marketing practitioners defer to the same old tactics, failing to keep up with the platforms and outlets of the audiences upon whom they rely on for brand or client success. Communication professionals must remember that they are engaging users in the users’ communities or space, rather than a platform controlled by the company.

That’s one reason that digital audiences seem to be increasingly careful when posting about a company, product, or service; they fear getting inundated with mobile and online spam solicitations. As coined by Marie Baker, co-founder of PRBreakfastClub, “blogger bombardment” is running rampant as The Media-scape shrinks and “PR Pros are scrambling looking for new places to get their clients visibility.” She goes on to write, “Bloggers are getting just slammed, and sometimes too much of something isn’t always a good thing.” (2011: The Blogger Revolution, 1.6.11)

In essence, audiences, journalists, and bloggers who aren’t appropriately targeted do just the opposite of what media professionals desire: The audiences disengage and The Media overlook what could potentially be a worthy story. Read more of this newsletter in the BurrellesLuce Resource Center.

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Posted in Advertising/Marketing, BurrellesLuce, Career Advice, Public Relations | No Comments »

A Letter From a Press Release

Monday, November 1st, 2010

Dear PR Professional,

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. “I am not dead and I have an app to prove it.” Ok, maybe I don’t. But granted, I am more than 100 years old and am still holding up fairly well, if I must say so myself.

Our relationship has seen its ups and downs. You’ve shared me in many ways, including, but not limited to mail (long before it was called “snail mail”) and fax – I really burnt up some data lines in my time. Let us not forget email; you’ve emailed me so often and to so many erroneous contacts I sometimes get called “SPAM” or “junk” now – no respect for your elders. And this newfangled “tweeted.” (That’s right, I’m “hip” to it all.)

Now I spend most of my time in online press rooms as a reference link for reporters to “come and get me if they want me.”

A few tips I’ve heard over the years:

ARCHIVE: Even if you focus on social media ALWAYS have a place for traditional releases in your newsroom. This will allow journalists a resource for quotes if someone is not readily available. Your website should have an archive of news stories and I still prove to be a concise summary of events and/or activities important to your business.

IDENTIFY CORRECT RECIPIENTS: Never blindly email me. If you must do this, and I can’t think of a good reason why, at least make sure I’m relevant to the recipient. (I have a positive reputation to maintain after all.)

BE SENSITIVE TO MY SIZE: At least embed me in the email. People hate it when I’m “attached” and frankly just hanging out there is a little scary.

WRITE A GOOD SUBJECT LINE: If you MUST email me, even if the recipient is expecting me, please write a good subject line. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone unopened because nobody really knew what I was so they ignored me.

GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT: If someone says they don’t want a press release, but just the who, what, when, where and why, please give it to them. Also prepare that same information in my form or at a minimum a fact sheet for your archive. Remember once I’m on your website you can still maximize me for SEO purposes.

I still have some gas in the tank so don’t count me out just yet. I know some say our relationship is a bit dysfunctional at best. Sure, I’m traditional, you know – AP Style – but I still have a place in your plan and tactics if you use me wisely. And I really think we can make this work.

Lovingly,
Press Release*

***

*Bio: Press Release is a 100+ year veteran of the PR and media relations industry, where it helps professionals connect and engage with relevant journalists and bloggers. In its spare time, Press Release enjoys finding innovative ways to stay curtain in the ever-changing media landscape and maximize its results. Web: BurrellesLuce Media Outreach; Facebook: BurrellesLuce; LinkedIn: BurrellesLuce; Twitter: BurrellesLuce

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Posted in Media Industry, Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations | 2 Comments »

2010 Bulldog Media Relations Summit: Aedhmar Hynes, Text 100, Interviewed by Johna Burke, BurrellesLuce

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Transcripts -

JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at the Bulldog Media Relations Summit, and we’re here with Aedhmar.

Aedhmar, please introduce yourself.

AEDHMAR HYNES:  Hi, I’m Aedhmar Hynes and I’m the CEO of Text 100.

BURKE:  Aedhmar, you were just on the panel talking about the future of public relations, and I loved how you incorporated and said, you know, we really have to step away as PR practitioners from those tactics that give us that feel good that we’ve done a good thing and align our goals with the business objectives.  How do you counsel your team on how to be a bold–be a good consultant and align their PR objectives with the business objectives?  What you’re trying to serve?

HYNES:  Well, I think to a large extent, much of what we’re doing and have always done is really move a story based on the position of a brand or based on the positioning of a corporation.  And for me, I’ve always felt that it’s critically important to understand the context of what you’re doing in relationship to the overall corporation.  So really understanding what influences the success of that brand, which is much broader than simply the success of its product or the success of its people.  And looking at the context of that and making sure that as a communications professional you understand the influence of government, you understand the influence of Wall Street or finance.  Really, all of those things at a global level, even the understanding of cultures across multiple markets is critically important.

And a depth of appreciation and understanding of that as a context setter for what you’re trying to communicate, I think, is critically important.  And in knowing and understanding the context within which you’re working, I think, gives you the opportunity to be much more effective not only in communications, but in being able to counsel your executives in their own effectiveness in communicating their brand.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.  I think those are amazing insights that we all need to keep abreast of and take our ego out of the equation.  Where can people find you in social media?

HYNES:  Well, I’m pretty easy because I’ve got a very complicated name. And the spelling of my name is A-E-D-H-M-A-R.  And so if you use that as your search, then actually all of the places that I am in the social media pop up straight away.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

HYNES:  You’re welcome.

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Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Career Advice, Industry Events, Online Video, Public Relations | 1 Comment »

Dog-Days of Summer: Perfect Time for PR Reviewing and Planning

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

August in Washington, D.C., where I work, exemplifies the “dog-days” of summer. Congress recesses and it seems everyone else does, too. The slightly slower pace allows us time to reflect on the first half of the year, and make plans for the last two quarters.

“Third and Fourth Quarters Will Define PR Recovery” headlined a recent PR Week article. Debbie Friez's Dog Gus - BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas Dog Days of SummerTo summarize: Just because there was an upswing in the first two quarters of the year, does not mean the industry has truly emerged from the downturn.

So how can you help your organization emerge successfully? 

1. Efficiency is a term thrown-around a lot, but it is still an important concept to PR that few have mastered. One friend, who works at a Fortune 500 company, said she wrote down everything she did for a few days. She was shocked to see she was not as good at multi-tasking as she thought. Her advice was to try to focus on completing a project before you look at the next email or tweet. This mirrors a similar idea expressed in a recent BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas post by my colleague Colleen Flood, who attended the PRSA Counselors Academy back in May and learned that people can only do one thing at a time, as our brains haven’t yet involved to truly multi-task.

2. Mary Fletcher-Jones, Fletcher Prince, said via LinkedIn, that she plans to review clients who came on, clients who left, and what they purchased. I plan to do some of this same reflection and I think it is good for public relations, sales, and client service professionals to incorporate this practice on a regular basis.

Here are some other ideas for your August refection time:

  • Review budgets for the rest of 2010 and start on the 2011 budget.
  • Look at your PR/marketing plan, and decide if you need to make some mid-year changes.
  • Take time to read industry blogs and articles. What new tactics can you learn and put to use?
  • If you find you don’t have time for good refection, you might need to review your staffing needs. Do you need to hire someone to help with new projects/campaigns?
  • Set some new personal goals for the rest of the year. A life coach once suggested posting your main personal goals where you see them often, like on a Post-it note on your desk.

Do you have other suggestions for a mid-year review? Please share some of your insights. How are you working to help your organization emerge from the recession?

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Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Career Advice, Public Relations | 3 Comments »

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