Jobs if you Love the Internet

And I always thought I spent alot of time online…

Turns out that is because of my job! CareerBuilder - as reported by CNN - has determined the top five jobs for people who love the internet, and three of those top five are public relations and/or marketing related.

Top 5 jobs for those who love the internet:

• Branding Consultant
• Public Relations Director
• Recruiter
• Social Media Consultant (can I say “duh”?)
• User Operations Analyst (and ditto)

Happy surfing!

Booming PR Industry

If you saw the January 14 posting by The Economist claiming that the PR industry is booming and, like me, you said “WHAT?”, then read on.

I read a few short synopsis of The Economist’s article and was dumbfounded.  About half of the people I know who are PR professionals were laid off this year, and now I’m hearing that, apparently, the industry is booming? Talk about PR spin.

Turns out that the full article is very interesting. And true. Here’s why:

• Increased need for PR firms from the “Uh-oh’s” in the corporate world (i.e. “undeserved bonuses, plunging share prices and government bail-outs, among other ills”)
• Increased demand for PR due to the recession 
• Spending on PR grew by more than 4% in 2008 and nearly 3% in 2009 to $3.7 billion (comparatively, spending on advertising decreased by nearly 3% in 2008 and by 8% in 2009)
• WOM and social media have been a big boon; in fact, spending in these areas increased by more than 10% in 2009, and spending on them -  particularly social media - will continue into perpetuity
• Services provided by PR and advertising firms are blending (which I have mentioned myself)
• The crushing impact on the journalist community has profited the PR industry, as PR professionals have some specialized knowledge to figure out new routes to gain the attention of the dwindling number of journalists 

Very interesting article - it certainly changed my  mind about the profession, and gave me some hope.

Biggest PR Disasters of the Decade

Can you tell I love the end of the decade, when you get the roundup of the best and worst across a multitude of categories? Well, kids, today it’s the roundup of The 15 Biggest PR Distasters, again from Business Insider.

And yet again, there are many we are all very familiar with: Bridgestone/Firestone tires, Nipplegate, O.J. Simpson’s “I Did It” that almost was, JetBlue holding passengers hostage for 11 hours, and the Oprah KFC stampede. Some I haven’t heard of, but they are truly horrific: Urban Outfitters’ Ghettopoly? Cartoon Network causing a bomb scare in Boston? Philip Morris trying to put a positive spin on smoking deaths? Wowza.

Key takeaways: common sense. Hire a professional. Media training. Common decency. Respond immediately.

Okay, kids - enjoy, and happy holidays!

Creative PR Ideas - Holiday Themed

Often, the best part of our job is being able to think outside the box. Conversely, often the hardest part of our job is thinking outside the box. Here are some samples of extremely creative PR ideas, with a holiday theme.

• BigWarmUp by  Land’s End - viral campaign with tons of buzz. Better yet, it creates an emotional connection.
• Trackthetree.com - A three week marathon of over 4,000 miles, with CNN and the RFID Journal cheering on the Capitol Christmas tree as it crossed the finish line.
• BotanyAngels - A New Zealand PR shop employeed people dressed as angels to perform random acts of kindness on harried shopping mall shoppers at the holidays.
• TwitterMoms - Staples’ PR department developed this campaign to give out $100 gift cards to online moms who spark conversation on how to make holiday shopping easy
• Holiday Tweetups - many people are using Tweetup to gather people for various causes and events
• Christmas carols - Christmas carol parody for a software security company got attention, mostly negative

The takeaway is that there are a zillion different, unique ideas out there, and sometimes hearing about the ideas others have had (whether they’ve worked or not) can spark a flicker of creativity in your program planning. I know it helps me!

My thanks to Frank Strong of Vocus for posting the link to the article that detailed these ideas: ‘Tis the season: 7 creative PR ideas for the holidays.

2009 Chesapeake Conference

The 2009 Chesapeake Conference and Best in Maryland Awards on Tuesday, October 6 was a great day of learning, networking, connecting, and planning. It was a jam-packed day of multiple same-time sessions, covering topics including Twitter and PR, How to Get Big Agency Results from a Small Shop, Defending Corporate Reputation in the Age of Social Media, and Networking with New Media, among many others.

A keynote speech by Sandy Hillman of Sandy Hillman Communications started the day off - sessions by Jeff Davis, David Warschawski, Dave Imre and his panel, Bill Atkinson, Peggy Hoffman, and Dave Harrison, among others, followed. At lunch, the Best in Maryland Awards were announced and given out - congratulations to all the winners, incluging Best in Show winner Sandy Hillman Communications for their work on the 39th Annual World Series of Poker.

Overall, attendees had glowing feedback - some even calling it “the best conference I’ve been to since 1999!”. Many others raved about the Learning Journal given out instead of the usual binder and bag. The day was packed with learning and networking opportunities - including the happy hour after the sessions were over.

There were a few reporters in attandance for the Speed Pitching sessions, including Liz Farmer (who brought a photographer!) from The Daily Record.

Want to attend the Conference after the fact? Follow up on via the Conference’s Twitter stream under #Chessie09.

Chesapeake Conference

Does your social media knowledge need a shot in the arm? Looking for a way to network with public relations professionals? Want to hear the latest PR trends, tips, and tactics? If you’ve answered yes to any of these, then you should attend the 2009 Chesapeake Conference next Tuesday, October 6.

With sessions like “The Latest in Twitter and PR,” “Defending Corporate Reputation in the Age of Social Media,” “Activating Grassroots PR”, and “Networking With New Media,” among many more, and speakers such as David Warschawski, Jeff Davis, David Harrison, Bill Atkinson, Dave Imre, and Peggy Hoffman, along with keynoter Sandy Hillman, the Conference will have something for everyone.

Visit the Conference site for more information and to register. Hope to see you there!

Setting up a Shingle

I’ve written before about the hit that marketing, advetising, and public relations takes during a recession. I serve on the Board for PRSA-MD, and half of the Board members have gotten laid off this year. This statistic is also high for our members. With a plethora of talented advertising, marketing, and public relations professionals glutting the workforce, hitting up against a limited number of available jobs, particularly for senior-level professionals, it’s no wonder that more and more advertising, marketing, and public relations mavens are deciding to set up shop on their own.

Some advice:

Find your niche. Have you dealt with alot of restaurants? Maybe a larger percentage of your past work has been with automotive? Do you have alot of experience planning large events? Small events? Whatever it is, find your niche, and market it. Just like any large company, you need to differentiate yourself from all the other sole practitioners out there.

Professionalism. Answer voicemails and e-mails promptly. Put together a slick Web site. Have business cards made up. From day one, put your best foot forward - after all, in this industry, more than any other (other than the straight beauty industry), impressions have a huge impact.

Hit up your contacts. Hey, it can’t hurt, and it may even help. Get the word out that you’re providing your considerable knowledge and experience under your own name. You never know who knows who, or who has heard of what opportunity.

Network. Join a professional group, join a local networking group, attend career educational events. Come armed with business cards.

Elevator speech. Have your standard ‘elevator speech’ - a one or two sentence description of what your company does, and why you do it better than anyone else - down pat.

Essentially, start out with how you want to finish. Take the time to put together a business plan - it will guide all your decisions.

Good luck!

How to Pitch Your Story

Check out the post I wrote on PRSA-MD’s Chesapeake Conference page on this topic (repeated below).

A successful pitch is the key to any public relations effort. After all, your goal is to receive free publicity for your client, product, or company. To do so, you need to be a pitch master.

Below are some tips on how to provide a successful pitch. However, if you want to practice your pitching skills, be sure to attend the Chesapeake Conference. This year, the Chesapeake Conference will feature a Speed Pitching session.

What is that, you ask? Well, it is an awesome opportunity for Conference attendees to ‘test out’ their best pitches on real, live journalists and receive feedback (and maybe even a story!).  Each pitcher is given 10 minutes with the journalist of their choice; this gives you time to present your pitch, and receive feedback.

Here are some pitching tips to help ensure your pitch is a success:

Frankly, be prepared. Have your story set, your ‘elevator speech’, if you will. Since you won’t have much time, know the main selling points, and have them up front and center as part of your pitch. Though it may not be needed, be sure to have back-up facts, or any additional material, handy (especially facts and figures).

Have a press release ready. Don’t rely on a phone conversation alone – not only may you not be able to get one, but you want your targeted journalist to have all the information possible. Plus, the release is a handy way for them to find your contact info, or more info about your client, product, or company than you were able to get out ‘in person’.

Research the reporter and his/her beat. Be sure to look through recent articles/stories by that journalist, to ensure you’re not giving ‘old news’. If it does sound a bit like a repeat, is there any way you  can provide a new angle? Plus, you don’t want to pitch a travel client’s success story to a courtroom journalist – it’s not a good fit.

Follow-up. Be patient, be considerate, yet be a bit persistent. Follow-up with a voicemail or e-mail, possibly with a resent of your press release.

To put these tips into action, attend the 2009 PRSA-MD Chesapeake Conference and take part in the Speed Pitching session. What other time do you receive a reporter’s undivided attention, along with their candor on how to make your pitch better so it is deemed more newsworthy? I haven’t come across such a time – if you have, please let me know!

This year, the journalists participating in our Speed Pitching session are:

• Rob Terry, The Baltmore Business Journal
• Liz Farmer, The Daily Record
• Dave McHugh, WMAR, producer of “Good Morning Maryland”

We are adding new pitchees daily, so check back often!

For more info on how to successfully pitch your story, check out these additional resources:
How to Pitch Stories for Media Placement�
How to Pitch Stories Like a Journalist
How to Pitch a Story to the Media

Advertising in a Recession

It seems that when a recession arrives, the first things to go are marketing, advertising, and public relations: the staff, the budget, the strategy. However, this is probably the worst move a company can make in a down economy.

This is proven fact. The companies who continued to advertise during the 1980 to 1985 recession had a 256% growth by recession end over their competitors that had stopped or decreased ad spending, per a study by McGraw-Hill Research.

By ’staying in the game,’ you’ll be the lone gunman, so to speak. You’ll be the voice the customer sees, versus your competitors, who have all stopped advertising. Talk about cutting through the clutter!

Plus, not only will you be able to attract more customers by 1) being the only ones advertising and 2) offering them deals, but you’ll also be able to get some deals yourself on ad spending. When no one else is doing spending ad money, the radio stations, TV stations, and print publications cut their costs in the hope of attracting customers - you.

Don’t fall victim to the lure of saving money by cutting your marketing, public relations, and advertising budgets. Rather, keep that budget in place, and actually earn more money - and  more long-term customers - for your business by keeping your brand in the forefront of your customers’ mind.

Gain an Advantage in the Tourism Marketplace

Attention, all travel and tourism PR practitioners!I don’t know about you, but I’m always interested in hearing tips and tricks from industry insiders. Thursday morning, September 17, is the day I will be hearing from three of the region’s premier travel and tourism marketers and PR practioners!

For this Travel and Tourism PR session, PRSA-MD is gathering Margot Amelia, Executive Director of the Maryland Office of Tourism, David Warschawski, CEO of Warschawski, Inc., and Tom Rowe from Visit Baltimore to discuss the best practices and innovative approaches they are utilizing in today’s hypercompetitive domestic and international travel market.

With today’s economy affecting both corporate and leisure travel, an opportunity to hear tips firsthand from three of the region’s premier travel and tourism PR experts is a true advantage.  I’m looking forward to taking advantage of this extremely rare opportunity for an intimate “secret sharing” conversation with three of the area’s top travel and tourism public relations experts.

Want to join me (it’s only $20!)? Visit the PRSA-MD Web site for more information, and to register.