Category Archives: Public Relations

Jan 18 2012

3 Ways to Get the Brand Awareness Your Company Deserves

You want people to know you and your company. But that’s not enough.

You have to keep people excited, informed and hungry for more of what you offer. And that starts with omnipresent – or as close to it as you can get!

So how do you get your brand the attention it deserves?

Find out what your audience cares about by leveraging social media platforms
There are powerful tools that can help you understand what your audience wants. So what can you do with them?

-Ask followers what they’d like to see more of
-Conduct polls about your products or services
-Take note of which posts people respond to most
-Try giveaways: This can range from providing useful how-to content for free to offering a free product or webinar. Money is often a barrier to entry—give people the opportunity to try your product or service, love it, and come back for more.

Show people you’re human
Imagine you’re a PR pro for a celebrity. Would you pitch a piece on how many tweets Kim Kardashian gets per month? No. You would cater to what people want to know, like her workout plan, what she eats for breakfast and who she hangs out with. Surprisingly, people do actually want to know these things about Kim K.

The same rule applies to your brand. Yes, you want to provide useful information, but there’s a great benefit to creating and showcasing the culture around your brand. Share YouTube videos of co-workers joking around, encourage your team to mingle at events, create a blog with personality that highlights fund tidbits about employees. People are far more likely to remember you if you let them get to know you.

Find opportunities to share your work
Find speaking opportunities, reach out to bloggers, and submit your publications to magazines. Be creative!

Have you tried submitting your work to awards programs? Ragan Communications’ PR Daily Awards program, for example, (Disclaimer: I work for Ragan) is a great way to get your work in front of prestigious judges (from CNN to The Los Angeles Times) and boost brand awareness.

Winners are awarded a free registration to a Ragan conference of their choice. And, as our conferences feature companies like Southwest Airlines, Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence, and Mashable, it’s an opportunity to learn from and connect with the best and brightest in PR and social media.

Learn more about the PR Daily Awards and submit your entry.

What creative strategies do you use to build awareness of your brand? Please share this with your network and leave a comment on this post!

About the Author
Sam Hosenkamp is Ragan’s social media director. She grew up in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and San Diego, and graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in English and Psychology. Connect with her on Twitter via @SamHosenkamp.


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				Dec
				21
				2011
			
		

		
Secrets to Getting your Dream PR Job in 2012

	


		

		


PR concerns enhancing and maintaining the image of a business, event or high-profiled person.


Yes, that is sexy – which is why you strive to reach that dream job in PR.


A few weeks ago, PR at Sunrise published an article – “Do PR Students and Pros Want to Work In-House or at an Agency” – so I thought it would be a good time to share some advice on how to get that job you are looking for.


1. Know someone at an agency where you are just dying to work at? Spruce up that resume, network like no other and show your brand and worth. Reach out to your network, especially to someone who also receives an incentive for referring you! Pull together your own case studies and present them in a format that will turn the eye of even the most weathered HR professional.


2. Don’t just demonstrate that you know or understand a company’s culture and core values. Be ready to show that you are indeed a great fit for the company and how you both can be beneficial to each other. If you are reaching out to an in-house position, be sure to show how your experience in agency life can be a plus for an in-house job.


3. Look for those press releases that have contacts at an agency/in house job that you covet. Reach out to them – let them know that you are interested in their company and ask for a few minutes of their time to discuss the company and the best way to get your resume looked at. Once again… enhance your image! It takes a lot to secure that dream job, don’t be afraid to leap!


4. Infuse passion and truth in all that you do to secure your dream job. PR agencies and in-house departments look for that fire in each person that they hire.  Show them that you easily adapt but are truly passionate about the work and the image that you are striving to maintain on a professional and personal level.  Being confident about who you are, goes a long way in an interview.


5. Social Networking? Definitely a plus – don’t shy away from PRWeek and/or PRSA events.  Join those groups on Linked In with other PR professionals who may be the key to your dream job. However, do remember that you may be Googled at times, so always bear in mind that you are branding yourself at all times and you don’t want to lose the opportunity to secure that dream job for something foolish that may be posted.


Most importantly, remember that when scoring that dream job in house or in-agency is … never wait for it to land on your lap. Good luck!


About the Author

Lisa Hutchins is a human resources professional who has previously worked at leading PR firms such as Ruder Finn and Cohn & Wolfe. Her responsibilities included recruiting, employee relations, and miscellaneous employee changes. In addition to her HR experience, she has also as a PR pro on an array of accounts and campaigns, including GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. Follow Lisa on Twitter via @lisahutchins.




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				Dec
				13
				2011
			
		

		
In Pictures: Top PR Stories of 2011

	


		

		


Disclaimer: When compiling these images, I tried to exclude news stories that weren’t necessarily “PR” stories or ones that were a little too local in nature (see former U.S. rep from New York, Anthony Weiner). For example, Congresswoman Giffords/Arab Spring/Japan Earthquake, etc. were not reflected in this collage because they were tragic, national (or global) stories that shouldn’t have been discussed from a PR perspective. However, I included an image such as Osama Bin Laden because his death was also seen as a PR boost for President Obama. I also included 9/11 because many were discussing this (whether they should or shouldn’t have) from a PR and non-PR perspective. 


All-in-all, many of these stories fall in a grey area between whether they were national news stories, national PR stories, or both. And there are certainly other images I considered adding to this collage. That being said, I would LOVE to for you to leave comments and let me know which other images could have been included that represent the top PR stories of the year.


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				Dec
				6
				2011
			
		

		
Do PR Students and Pros Want to Work In-House or at an Agency?

	


		

		
January is almost here and you know what that means? Companies are hiring!


While finding jobs in this economy is no easy task, most places look to do their hiring at the start of a new year in order to get people on board and prepared to execute new yearly plans.


So with that in mind, I’m curious to know just what types of jobs people are looking to pursue. Whether you currently have a position or you’re pursuing one, please take a look at the poll below and submit a response.




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				Nov
				30
				2011
			
		

		
For the Non-Techie PR Pro: How to Better Understand Social Media and SEO

	


		

		
“Experience is life’s best teacher.”


Never have words been so true, but when it comes to technology, what you lack in experience, you can gain through simple self-teachings. This, like anything of value, takes loads of time and energy. Luckily, I’ve taken the first step for you. Here’s what I’ve found:


You may think you know social media … but you don’t.




When asked ton he first day of my internship on a scale of 1 to 10 how social-savvy I was, I confidently replied with an “eight,” come to find a few weeks later that I may have swiftly inserted my foot directly into my own mouth.


Each day following I learned, the hard way, that the complex world of social media and monitoring is one that is seriously overlooked at a university level. To avoid the foot-in-mouth scenario I fell right into, here are some quick tips to improve your social-savvy score:


    

  • Follow social media trends VERY CLOSELY! Track social media and public relations-focused blogs using Google Reader (your new best friend!) such as social media explorer and the Buzz Bin.
    • 

  • Read up on and experiment with free monitoring tools like Twiangulate, Icerocket, Quantcast and Compete. Social media metrics are constantly changing and improving, so to be on top of this will be invaluable.
    • 

  • Familiarize yourself with tweet-scheduling platforms. Though initially (naively and adamantly) against any form of automated response, I’ve come to find Co-Tweet to be an effective stress-reducer and schedule simplifier. The content is still all you, but now your tweets are guaranteed to be on time, regardless of how busy your day turns out to be.
    • 



Search Engine Opti-what?




Have an understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Though as an intern, you may not have direct exposure to this right off the bat, your ability to have an educated conversation on link flow and keyword co-occurrence will knock the socks off your supervisor. The SEO Blog will be a great resource to get you started.


Mobile-Moguls in Training 




Though tempting to use as a crutch, not having a smartphone is no longer an excuse for not knowing how mobile technologies work. The mobile apps, QR codes and text message campaigns being rolled out today are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s to come.


One common theme that can be drawn from each of these tech teachings is this: reading. I’m no expert, but I’ve learned the importance of constantly learning. The ability to consistently grow and the passion to do so will be an enviable skill at any stage of your career in public relations and beyond.


About the Author

Nikki Parrotte is an assistant account executive at public relations and marketing firm CRT/tanaka. Connect with her on LinkedIn or via @nikki_parrotte.


 


 


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