Archive for the ‘Digital Cocktail’ Category

The very mention of the words student, teacher and social network in the same breath summons controversy in the blink of an eye; what with states like Missouri legally disallowing students and teachers to become “friends” on social networks like MySpace and Facebook, it’s now more than just an issue of ethics and personal privacy. Students will always try to get closer to their teachers if only to gain a peep into their private lives, not because they’re voyeurs, but because they’re naturally curious as to the other side of the stentorian they see and interact with in school.

Read the rest of this entry »

I had the opportunity recently to try BuzzStream, a tool created for PR professionals to help track activity and conversations with key online media and bloggers. It’s sort of a combination of super-powered database with a dash of Cision and a splash of project management. The idea is to make it easier to for PR people to track relationships with online influencers to make for more effective interaction.

What I love about BuzzStream is that it makes it simple to bookmark information from the Internet – from articles and posts you find important, to information about the authors, using an intuitive tool that automatically fills in all the details it can grab. Talk about a time saver – no searching for contact and manually filling in information, outlets etc… You can also add your own notes and even rate influencers to prioritize future outreach.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was introduced via Twitter to a new tool available to marketers, PR people, or anyone hosting chats on Twitter. Hashtracking.com offers much slicker analytics for a particular hashtag than any tool I’ve seen yet. Created by developer Brian Maso, the site seeks to help anyone adding or following a particular hashtag, from special interests to chats, a way to better gauge metrics like reach and participation.

Read the rest of this entry »

By now we’ve all heard the news – popular email subscription service HARO, which supplies media leads to PR people and anyone else looking to become famous, was acquired by PR software company Vocus (which also owns PRWeb). HARO founder Peter Shankman, who grew at warp speed the resource from its humble beginnings as a Facebook page to the giant it is today, will continue to run the company.

My take – awesome call by the Vocus team. They’ve got an instant audience of 100,000 of their primary client-base at their fingertips. While the number of PR database options have grown over the years, Cision, previously known as Bacon’s, had arguably been the leader historically. I’d wager that Vocus and Cision consider each other their greatest competitors. Those of us courted by the companies probably know that Vocus has the best technology (critical when we are on deadline) and Cision is less expensive, and may have better media contacts and profiles. Now, while we don’t pay for the emails we receive from HARO, we are now all essentially clients of Vocus. That means huge brand awareness and potential loyalty, that in my opinion, Cision’s heritage used to own.

Read the rest of this entry »

The term mat release is sort of a blast from the past. Unlike typical press releases, the mat release approaches the “news” more from the end-user’s perspective, melding consumer-geared verbiage with a journalistic writing approach.   In its original form, the early mat release firms mailed formatted articles on glossy paper to participating newspapers and the newspapers would choose among dozens of articles from that particular mailing.

Are PR pros still using mat releases?  They are, but the tools have evolved to meet the needs of the online world.  One company, ARAcontent, has “digitized” the release of feature articles through a focus on media web sites and backlinks to client sites.

According to the company’s materials, ARAcontent matches topics with editorial calendars, which improves the chance of the story being published. In addition, they provide rich analytics that provide insight into editor accesses, placement results, circulation and ad dollar equivalency (if you are into that). The idea appears to be to save the practitioner time and energy. Hundreds of editors use the service after an easy registration.

According to Matrelease.com, you can expect mat release stories to appear in suburban and community papers, though articles do appear in the top-100 newspapers with regular frequency; however the top newspapers like USA Today and The New York Times probably won’t use them because they have the staff needed to generate editorial in-bulk. That said, in today’s environment, when staffs are increasingly slimmer, many newsrooms may gladly welcome additional content. And coverage in the top 100 dailies is significant.

Read the rest of this entry »

This month, the inaugural InfluenceSD awards highlighted some of San Diego’s top social media mavens.  One of the most exciting battles was top agency, with a number of PR, advertising, and social media agencies vying for the top honor.  Bolt PR, a Carlsbad-based public relations firm, accepted the agency award.   We took the opportunity to delve a little deeper into their social media strategy and achievements.

SCPB: Please give us some history on Bolt PR. Who founded it? Who are some of your clients? What are your specialties?

BPR: Founded in 2007 by Caroline Callaway, Bolt PR is a boutique public relations and social media management agency based in San Diego.  Rather than focus on one industry, our specialty is generating exposure for small businesses and start-ups.  Our clients range from tech start-ups and restaurants, to a private school and small healthcare company.

Read the rest of this entry »

The fact that technology is changing how we work is old news for today’s savvy PR pros. Perhaps nothing articulates the industry-wide shift better than this statistic: A recent survey found that 89% of journalists rely on blogs when researching stories, while 65% turn to Facebook or LinkedIn, and 52% get information from Twitter.

In addition to helping PR pros connect with journalists, technology can also improve productivity (check out these mobile apps!), as well as client communication. At Glasscubes, we work with customers – many of whom are solo and boutique PR firms – every day to improve efficiencies, workflow and collaboration. Based on that first-hand experience, here are three tips to help PR pros leverage technology to get more out of each day.

1. Pick a suite of tools that work well together. There are countless apps, online services and software packages on the market. As you consider incorporating a new tool, don’t forget to check if it’s compatible with your “main” modes of communication and organization. For example, if you run Gmail and Google calendar, you shouldn’t pick a service that only works with with Outlook. Likewise, if you prefer Google Docs, avoid incorporating a tool that only works with Microsoft Word. The interplay between services and apps is key to increasing productivity … and decreasing time wasted.

Read the rest of this entry »

San Diegans have been buzzing online about #influenceSD’s inaugural awards program to recognize the city’s social media movers and shakers.

After weeks of online nominations and voting, the finalists were revealed Wednesday night for a number of categories including Top Blogger, Top Non-Profit, Best in Business and Top Agency (disclosure – RKPR, my agency, is among the finalists). A complete list of finalists can be found here.

Read the rest of this entry »

As PR practitioners we have a whole new set of challenges as our industry could arguably be changing faster than it has in decades.  It’s hard to weed through the numerous resources available to help us harness the social Web, but the book “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations,” co-authored by Deirdre Breakenridge and Brian Solis, is a great resource that delves into the intersection of PR and social media from both strategic and tactical perspectives.  I’ve had the opportunity to watch a panel discussion from both authors, as well as meet and speak with both of them in addition to reading the book. As thought leaders for our industry, Both Solis and Breakenridge offer forward thinking insight that can help us stay ahead of the game, and help paint PR as a critical tool for brand building and communication.  After reading “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations,” I had the pleasure of digging a little deeper with Breakenridge.

In addition to co-authoring “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations,” Breakenridge is the author of PR 2.0 New Media, New Tools, New Audiences and.  She is the Co-Founder and President of Mango! Marketing a PR, marketing and social media agency in the New York Metro area and also the Co-Founder of #PRStudChat, a dynamic monthly Twitter discussion with PR professionals, students and educators.

Who should be reading this book? Traditional PR practitioners, students, social media enthusiasts?

I would say, “All of the above.”  Putting the Public Back in Public Relations is a useful resource for PR professionals, students and social media enthusiasts.  I think it’s particularly important that PR students (the PR leaders of the future) understand how PR is changing and the dynamics of today’s media landscape.  They also need to learn how to reach stakeholders by studying the sociology of the web and by using a new PR approach to build relationships and long-term value for their organizations.

We’re also finding that business executives, entrepreneurs, marketing, and branding professionals in various industries are discovering helpful information and guidance within the chapters of the book.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rachel: I’ve used Blackberry since the days of black and white text and purple plastic casing.

I was Blackberry’s biggest cheerleader! I told the world that business people needed to be able to write emails fast and you couldn’t do that with an iPhone! I could browse the Web and Twitter, sure!  But what I really needed to do was send email!! Team BlackBerry!

I asked my friend Kai MacMahon, VP for Ogilvy’s Digital Influence team in New York, to co-write this post with me because he’s been captain of Team iPhone since the beginning.  Kai is far geekier than I (I mean that in the most complimentary way ), tends to be an early adopter of all things gadgety and would probably vote Steve Jobs for president if he made the ballot.

Out of nowhere Kai replaced his iPhone with the Droid.  I was shocked, but curious as Kai seemed to be ecstatic about the purchase.  So remembering change is good, I read the techno-heavy reviews on Engadget, Gizmodo and other sites, and decided to make the leap, changing out my only three month old Blackberry Tour.  In this post Kai and I intend compare the three phones in non-geek speak, to help you figure out if it might suit your needs.  In addition, we welcome your own comparisons in the comments below.
Read the rest of this entry »