Carlos Perez

Blogging: Your “PR Voice” Heard Around the World

There are millions of blogs on the Internet, and with millions of blogs come millions of opinions. For most, a blog is a “safe haven” or a place where one can share personal opinions and viewpoints to millions of people (or, at least to those who will take the time to listen). It’s simple for anybody to log on to blogging sites such as Blogger or WordPress and create a professional-looking blog in a matter of minutes.

What many people forget is that there are some public relations professionals who use blogs to not just share personal viewpoints, but organizational and professional ones as well. Public relations professional Dave Fleet, for example, won’t simply blog about the day’s happenings, but will use his blog as a means of “exploring the intersection of communications, marketing and social media.” Brian Solis also offers an astonishing amount of public relations knowledge through his blog.

As for myself, I’m not a professional–I’m a student. I’m slowly learning processes and tips on how to become that public relations professional I aspire to. From some of the research I’ve done, I’ve concluded on three reasons for public relations professionals to blog.

1. Be aware of the conversation around you. In doing public relations work, it’s important to know what the public is thinking about you or your company. If the conversation about your organization is going downhill, you’ve got to run ahead of it and stop it.

In blogging, you’re able to monitor what others are saying about your or your business. Keep up with the ever-opinionated society and ask for their feedback on your blog. You can’t be successful if you don’t listen.

2. Get yourself out there! Join the conversation. In the field of public relations, you need to be proactive. A reactive professional is not going to succeed far in his or her career. By participating in the conversation of those around you, online, you’re able to stay on top the public opinion.

You want a large amount of readership for your blog. Go out and get it. The Internet is ideal for you to network yourself or your company to its maximum. Get yourself out there and interact with others in your industry.

3. Start writing and develop the conversation yourself. Everybody wants to hear positive feedback. We cringe at the thought of people “not liking us” or “what we represent.” That doesn’t mean, however, that we have to conform into something we’re not. Take control. Blogging, for public relations professionals, is an amazing opportunity to take the reins and start forming the conversation about the industry yourself.

Develop a blog that people are going to talk about. They might not agree with what you’re campaigning for, but people will start talking. Why? Because of you.

Journalistics is a blog that gives helpful insight to both worlds of public relations and journalism. They recently shared a blog post that laid out the “Best PR Blogs Out There.”

You might find a blog of interest, one that might inspire you to let your voice be heard around the world.

Five Social Media Tools You Should Know About

In public relations, if you want to be successful, you’re going to have to become familiar with social media. When you’re asked, ‘what is social media,’ your response will probably be limited to websites such as Twitter and Facebook. If this were a test, your answer wouldn’t be completely wrong–but it wouldn’t be completely correct either.

Some might argue that social media is a multi-dimensional means of communication, connecting one person to many. Others might say that ‘social media’ is a term that currently describes user-generated content but will soon become obsolete when the entire Internet becomes social. The point is that we don’t want to limit our definition of social media to a couple of social networking websites. There are hundreds of social media tools available to everybody that help define what social media is. Some of these tools are free, while others require monthly fees. Every tool can work to your advantage, however, if used properly.

I’ve done a little research and found information on five social media tools that I can’t wait to utilize as I grow in my career.

1. Socialoomph.com

The website does just as it states: it helps your social media productivity. This tool allows users to schedule tweets in advance that will appear on your Twitter account when you schedule it. You also are given the option to post recurring tweets or one-time posts.

There are two types of accounts that you can develop with socialoomph.com: the free or the professional. While the professional offers a few additional features, the free account will still help you get your job done.

2. Blackbird Pie

On May 5, 2010, Twitter released a new tool that helps enhance the use of your tweets (or the tweets of others). Blackbird Pie is a tool that allows you to easily embed tweets into websites or blog posts.

The methodology is simple:

– Copy the URL of the tweet that you want to embed.

– Go to Blackbird Pie and paste it into the white box on their site.

– Hit “bake it” to process the URL and you’ll be given an HTML code.

Here’s the catch: it only works well with WordPress.org users and is not too pretty with WordPress.com users.

3. Kwout

If you’re a WordPress.com user (like I am), and that second social media tool upset you, I apologize. For now, we can still use screenshots to embed tweets into our posts. Kwout.com is a very simple way to allow us to embed tweets for emphasis.

The steps are quite simple with Kwout–simply take the URL of the tweet you want to embed and paste it onto Kwout’s “demo” bar. After you hit the “kwout” button, it will guide you through how to edit the screenshot. The website will produce an HTML code that you can use to embed the image of the tweet into your blog.

Not only do embedded tweets make for a nice visual component to your blog post, they also can emphasize a certain point you’re trying to convey. Here’s a simple tweet I took from my Twitter account.

 

Fresno State Professor on Public Relations and Social Media [Video]

I recently had the opportunity to interview one of the professors in the Mass Communication and Journalism Department at California State University, Fresno. Professor Betsy A. Hays sat down with me last week and discussed her view on how the public relations industry is evolving with the developing world of social media.

In her 11 years working with Fresno State, Professor Hays believes that we now live in a world where communication channels are practically endless. She believes that the media needs public relations professionals more than ever, as a means to receive information.

The most important thing, however, is content. If you don’t provide the world with valuable content, nobody is going to care.

Throughout the course of her interview, Professor Hays discussed the following topics:

– How has the field of public relations evolved since the development of social media?

– Should social media be incorporated into the classroom setting?

– What are some good ways to utilize social media to promote one’s own personal brand?

– Should teachers and students interact on social networking websites?

The video is only a five-minute clip of a 30-minute interview, displaying only some of her responses. Other portions of the interview will be posted at a later time.

The Digital Transformation–How to Develop a Social Media Press Release

The way we operate is evolving. Photo by Flickr user Naixn

I’ve heard it argued that the Internet and technology is going to “kill” mainstream media. We live in a world where people don’t “talk” with one another, they “tweet.” Our society has accepted “Facebook messages” as a means of “contacting.” Technology, however, doesn’t “kill” the media–it evolves the media and the processes that go along with it.

The Internet has changed the rules of public relations. What was once traditional media contact, is now virtual. While some traditional methods still exist, there are more ways to communicate with the public through the use of technology and social media.

Press releases, for example, are now being delivered via social media and no longer offered solely by mail. How do we develop a proper social media press release? Let’s first look at why some of the old rules of press releases fail in social media:

1) The online world is full of millions of people. The traditional press release focuses solely on the company that is issuing the release. The appeal is narrow–only for the business.

2) The news releases issued are full of jargon that only professionals might understand. Your online audience isn’t going to always understand the terms you throw out in the middle of the release.

How do we develop a successful social media press release? Simple.

1) Consider your audience. You’re now delivering a message to millions of people–write the release in a way they will understand. You want to appeal directly to your audience.

2) Provide useful links. Using links in your press release will do a lot of good for both you and your audience. Firstly, place links in releases to allow readers to potentially land on other pages you’re delivering (e.g. your own personal blog). You have a greater chance of strength your search engine optimization by including more useful links in your release.

3) Choose your words wisely. Don’t use fancy language. Our society is busy and doesn’t have the time to read extra words. Keep your release clear and concise.

4) Make your release social. Embrace the social side of social media and promote conversations within your release. Include a link (See Tip #2) that leads readers directly to a forum that allows comments and feedback. Involving your readers can do wonders for your client or your business. This promotes a positive perception about who you are when you involve yourself with your audience.

Social media press releases are intimidating for some, but are a fundamental change that many businesses need to make if they wish to continue to compete in this field. By developing a strong online press release, you will realize how important these tools are to reaching your audience.

Why Businesses FAIL to Successfully Represent Their Brand Online (Part 2 of the Peter Lang Interview)

In a social world that is moving faster than we can imagine, it’s difficult to stay relevant for any person or company. In a recent video developed by Social Media Energy, it states that their research has found 83 percent of all businesses utilize Facebook. Over 700,000 businesses actively use Facebook pages.

For businesses to remain profitable, they need to maintain their relevance in their field. In my interview with Peter Lang, social media strategist and CEO of Peter Lang International, he compared relevancy to life in the ocean: “The most successful sharks in the ocean can follow their prey and keep up with it.”

There are many businesses that create things that are flawed due to their inability to keep up with the ever-changing trends and they simply don’t have the learning capacity, according to Lang.

Lang offered his top three reasons he believes WHY BUSINESSES FAIL to properly represent themselves online:

1. The business does not know that new social tools exist.

A lot of businesses, surprisingly, do not realize that there are many new team collaboration tools online for their benefit. OnePlace, however, is a website that offers organizational and productivity tools for personal and professional use.

Most businesses don’t utilize these proactive tools; they build themselves on retention. The company will retain old communication tactics because they feel they are not broken. While they might not be broken, they aren’t optimal in today’s society.

As the video itself showed, social media can deliver “great value” to any company, as 41 percent of business owners will testify.

2. The business refuses to adapt to change.

Think of the time you last heard from a business that they will “reply to your e-mail within five to seven business days.” Fairly recent, I’d assume? Think of the time you last saw a business reply to you within the hour on Twitter. Not too recent, I’d assume?

Take the example of Tony Bosco: after having a bad experience at Wow Bao, a restaurant in Chicago, Bosco tweeted about it. The owner of the restaurant read the tweet and responded immediately, offering Bosco promotions and special discounts to try the food again. Bosco complied because of the “immediate interaction” he received, he said.

As in the case of Wow Bao, it’s the simple ideas of listening, responding and problem solving that will really create an adaptive organization.

3. The business has interns represent its brand.

Imagine letting a high school freshman teach a graduate course at a university—this almost never happens. In today’s market, according to Lang, many businesses are hiring interns to develop the company’s social media pages. The interns are representing the company’s brand.

In many cases, the intern doesn’t know how to properly use social media to represent the company. Even if the intern is capable, he or she will still become a liability to the company–this new student has become the voice of a company to an entire online universe.

In this case, you’re putting your company at risk by allowing an inexperienced inter represent the company through social media.

As I learned from my discussion with Peter Lang: stay relevant, don’t be afraid to adapt to change. Develop your online presence wisely. Everybody is watching, listening and perceiving you.

Don’t forget: perception is reality.

Don’t Fear the Erosion

“The public relations lens is starting to erode,” said Peter Lang, Social Media Strategist and CEO of Peter Lang International, “as we need to start looking at things from an overall business standpoint.”

Peter Lang describes himself as a “technology enthusiast.” Bringing international expertise on technology, Lang and his team at Peter Lang International assist in developing personal branding techniques and social media strategy.

Peter Lang, social media strategist. Photo provided by twitter.com/peterlang

I had the privilege of talking with Lang this past week. Over the phone, we discussed the fact that the public relations industry itself has not changed, but the number of those who involve themselves in the field has greatly increased. Lang also offered advice on how to truly benefit from the use of social media in the professional world.

Before we begin, I want to walk you through something that Lang had me do myself to realize how fairly recent social media jargon is. Do this: on a new tab in your browser, go to Google Trends. Once there, simply type in the words “social media” in the search bar and click the “search trends” button. Google Trends shows you how often a particular term is entered, in relation to the total amount of search for that word across various regions of the world.

As you’ll notice, social media is a fairly recent trend. With this rising trend, however, we find that public relations itself hasn’t changed. Rather, more people are participating through the use of blogs, online videos and a multitude of Internet content. Lang noted that “the volume of participation has increased so much that it’s becoming valuable and relevant. It’s nearly close to the entire nation’s population.”

Technological development influences our progression and our participation.

The more “user-friendly” something becomes, the more people will begin to use it. It sounds like a brainless philosophy, but it is growing more evident in the world of public relations.

Take the traditional news release, for example. In years past, according to Lang, the news release was something that was directed from the public relations agent to the media specifically. Now, news releases are available on the Internet and are being written directly to the consumer. They are no longer being sent from one company to another. They are now being written by one company and sent to the world.

There are now places such as Business Wire and PR Web where readers can sift through a multitude of online news releases. “Our means of distribution has drastically changed, with the evolution of social media,” Lang commented.

News releases can now be written and aimed directly at the public, no longer  solely at the media conglomerate. We can now write material and distribute it to our audience and have them see what we want.

“For the first time, we can generate brands and we control the public perception of that brand,” according to Lang.

Relevancy is the key to keep you alive in the industry.

Nobody will take you seriously if you don’t stay relevant. Lang compared this idea to the ocean: “The most successful sharks in the ocean can follow their prey and keep up with it.”

It’s not an easy job. Staying relevant is difficult when the social media software itself changes about every nine months. Not many people have the learning capacity and because of that, “they do a lot of things flawed and they fail,” according to Lang.

Overall, Lang advised that if you have a curiosity for something, you will succeed. If you remain curious about your industry and curious about social media, you will find success. You have to be open to change and be willing to adapt.

“The public relations lens is starting to erode. You have to learn just beyond the PR lens,” Lang said. “Once you understand this and you’re not afraid to interact with your environment–you’ll go far.”

Facebook For Everyone

Photo by Flickr user Laughing Squid

Recall, if you will, when Facebook made its website open to everyone–this place of social networking was no longer limited to those with an e-mail address ending in “.edu.” 

Today, according to Facebook’s own “Press Room,” the statistics show that the site is now home to over 500 million users who “spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.” 

With that many users and that amount of use, it is a public relations professional’s dream and it is also be a great temptation. 

The question is: if you’re able to reach out to so many people in one place, are you going to remain ethical throughout your stay? 

I had the pleasure of reading a post out of the Journalistics blog from earlier this year about the use of Facebook for public relations. Here, it’s solidified that Facebook is a great means of developing media relations and getting one’s own personal or organizational brand out to the public. 

Also, Facebook has helped public relations professionals in the building of “brand affinity.” Facebook becomes the bridge between the public and your brand, if used correctly. Facebook can also become the burning bridge between the public and your brand, if used improperly. 

I’m reminded of the “Nestlé incident” that happened via Facebook in March. After an uproar by environmental activists against Nestle’s use of palm oil in their candy bars, social media sites (YouTube, Facebook and Twitter) were plagued with negative attention against the brand. The company was successful in removing negative videos that were posted on YouTube but couldn’t really cease the “protestor fan base” that had accumulated on Facebook. 

The ethical issue here is simply: should social media be used to bash a company and its product? I believe there a difference between stating your negative opinion on a social networking site and waging a full war against a company. There’s a line drawn with public relations professionals and be careful not to cross it. 

There are many ways we can utilize Facebook for public relations. Here are a couple that I could think of for professionals to ethically use the social networking site. 

Firstly, develop your “friend-to-friend” relationship (or, “business-to-consumer” communication). How you develop your personal (or corporate) profile on the Internet is how the public is going to perceive you. After all– perception is reality. For example, when I finalize a blog post, I usually will post a “status update” on my Facebook, letting my friends know what I’ve recently developed. Simultaneously, I will “tweet” my new blog post to my followers on Twitter. As a result, my friends and followers will see this information and (hopefully) become engaged. 

Another way for public relations professionals to ethically engage in Facebook is to develop groups on the website. These groups allow solid discussion about a certain subject. In our case, it could be a new product’s launch). Not only can you lead the discussion for public relations via your “group,” but you can also learn a few things from other businesses and their use of groups. 

 Overall, the public receives almost too much information from the media. The public has many outlets by which they are reached. As a public relations professional, it’s best to reach them through a medium that you believe the public is more easily accessible. In today’s world that medium is Facebook.

Don’t Publicize The Publicly Accessible

Is the "Public Paparazzi" following you? Photo by Flickr user Naixn

I want to begin with the story of a group of teachers from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, N.C who got in trouble for Facebook. They each had pages on the growing social networking site and each posted a variety of inappropriate comments about their students, their school and their job. Some posted inappropriate pictures of vulgar poses and inebriation. Many parents found this behavior quite unacceptable, and one parents commented that she expected this type of behavior “from teenagers and not teachers.” Teachers have images to uphold, after all, and they shouldn’t tarnish this over the Internet, right? Leaders of the CMS school district took appropriate action and terminated some of their employees. While this story might be two years old, the message remains the same: how public do you want to make yourself regardless of it you have “an image” to uphold?

In her welcoming keynote address at the 2010 SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas, Danah Boyd discussed the idea of “privacy and publicity.” Boyd goes on to define that what is public shouldn’t always be publicized. She talks about differentiating between “PII and PEI:” The former, Personally Identifiable Information, is information that people are more comfortable with sharing, what they want others to know and how they want others to find them online. The latter, Personally Embarrassing Information, is what most people want kept secret–it may get into the hands of someone who would use the information mischievous.

But now, from a public relations standpoint, how are practitioners supposed to handle this idea of public versus privacy? With the developing simplicity of anybody to log on the Internet and post about themselves, the ethics of any PR practitioner is highly challenged as he or she must distinguish between what is necessary and what is excessive information to use.

In Boyd’s address, she says that “people regularly calculate both what they have to lose and what they have to gain when entering public situations.” In essence, people aren’t stupid. They know what they’re getting themselves into.

It’s all in the morals of the practitioner, I believe, as to how “limiting” public information is in developing any campaign, etc. A practitioner could be presented with an array of personal information about somebody, but that information (morally) shouldn’t be used, as it could be permanently harming to that individual and his or her reputation.

To the individuals themselves: be conscious of what you do online. You’re putting your information out into a world that can make you go viral in seconds. Literally. The teachers from Charlotte learned the hard way.

While you might not have bad intentions, be aware that you could, as Boyd puts it: “find [yourselves] in a lot of trouble in ways that [you] weren’t expecting.”

After A [Needed] Break, I’m Back!

I apologize to any readers of mine if I have left you feeling stranded.

Fear not! I am returning here to my desk and preparing for another semester at California State University, Fresno with much-needed Internet use accompanying me. That being said, most of the blogging you’ll see over the next few months I hope will bring you joy. In addition to joy, I hope that someone will find some insight to different aspects of social media and its use in personal branding and marketing strategies.

If I am able to reach out to at least one person in the world, I feel that I have then made at least one change in the world. That is all I can ask for.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

This course has taught me a lot about both media writing and utilizing multimedia to enhance such writing.

Photo by Flickr user its me...jeff!

Before registering for this course, Mass Communication and Journalism 10 (MCJ 10), I was raised to write in a very eloquent and elaborate style as an English major. After changing majors, however, it grew apparent that changing my writing style was going to be a major challenge for me.

Throughout the course, my drafts were returned with many of the same comments and responses: “try and cut down the flowery language,” and “don’t be so academic.”

Ironically enough, my writing started off too ‘academic.’

It was hard to get to the point (as you might be able to tell in some of my blogs), but, regardless, I enjoy writing.

Below, I’ve attached an online portfolio of revised work that I’ve written throughout this semester. It’s been an interesting semester that has really picked at the social media side of my brain. I don’t regret it, however.

In the attached portfolio, you’ll find my revised work of the following types of writing, in this order:

• Resume
• Inverted Pyramid News Story
• Mapped Format News Story
• Magazine Article Query Letter
• Profile Magazine Article
• Participatory Journalism Magazine Article
• PR Press Release for ACEL Fresno
• PR Backgrounder for ACEL Fresno
• PR Video and Audio PSA Scripts
• Self-Analysis Paper

Again, this class a been a bridge that I have just finished crossing. I am now faced with the long road ahead, hoping that I won’t be as “academic” on the journey.