I have not posted since March because I completed the PR class that required blogging.  I spent the next few months in the capstone PR course at the University of Oregon:  PR Campaigns.  The course required students to cooperate with a local organization in creating and implementing a public relations plan.  It was a great experience; a sort of mini-internship.  I considered myself on a track to success.  Months later, I realize that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I had underestimated the power of networking.  Experience and work ethic do not mean jack &%#$ in the world of employment here in America.  It’s all about the connection you have and who you know.  I had always had faith that diligence and ingenuity would pay off if you stuck with it.  Wrong again!

I continued to pursue an entry-level position, or even a temp position, up until I ran out of resources and applied for a job at a call center making minimum wage.  I imagine that it will not be long before I am living in a van down by the river

‘Twitter is one of the most effective social media sites for getting your message out to, not only a mass community but also to a specific targeted media community.’

 Expanding upon this idea, Diana Ennen of All About Public Relations explains the vast array of applications Twitter offers PR practitioners:

‘It’s also more than just networking back and forth, you can have chats, host events, get more publicity for your articles and press releases and even announce your seminars and radio shows.’

The process of developing a social media strategy must begin with observation and research.  “Follow the leaders in your industry and take advantage of their knowledge,” suggests Ennen.  After you’ve recognized who to follow, you can begin to identify the specific tactics they employ to become successful.  Emulation of the most effective social media tactics is the best way to make use of your PR efforts online.

As presented by Topper, here is a list of the steps a PR practitioner would take to make use of Twitter professionally:

• Follow Reporters                   
• Listen                                  
• Create a friendship
• Develop your Message
• Use Links
• Follow up

Aside from the “use links” item, this list closely resembles the strategy any new PR practitioner would follow in the past.  The social media platform enables practitioners with a logical and effective way to engage journalists and to promote clients.

The PRSA Code of Ethics is a code that anyone studying PR will become very familiar with.  It requires PR practitioners to “Be honest and accurate in all communications,” and to “Avoid deceptive practices.”  The Code was written for PR practitioners to follow, thereby enhancing the profession’s reputation.  In reality, the PRSA Code of Ethics is violated in every possible way on a daily basis. 

The author of “The good, the Bad, the Spin,” Bob Conrad, posted a blog about the ethics behind accrediting sources.  He indicates that news media should adhere to a Code of ethics too.  Conrad states, “While PR folks – and really, people in general — should be prepared apologize, or acknowledge wrongdoing, the news media business must also do the same. The problem is that too often, it doesn’t.”   And why should it?  In a society where money controls everything, would it not stand to reason that ethical writing behavior only pays off if it helps you avoid a lawsuit?  WRONG!  The ethical PR practitioner will survive the unethical predecessors as the trend of transparency takes over the media.

Two weaknesses of the PR profession include:
1.  The profession is defined in many ways.
2.  More is promised than can be delivered.

I argue that the first weakness is actually a strength.  The profession adapts itself to whatever function will benefit the client to the greatest degree.  Of all of the PR practitioner guest speakers I’ve listened to as a student at the University of Oregon, all of them have worked at jobs where they perform PR duties, but are not labeled as a PR person. 

As for more being promised than can be delivered, all you have to do is look at the PRSA Code of Ethics.  Is it really possible to be honest and accurate in all communications? 

I consider this to be a major weakness of the PR profession:  The Code of Ethics is nearly impossible to follow!

Source: NewspaperDeathWatchSurvey Copyright 2009

As the influence of traditional print media wanes, people increasingly rely on media from the internet.  One reason for this change can be explained by the time constraint people face as they search for news that is relevant to them.  Most passengers on a bus thirty years ago would have had a print newspaper in hand; in 2010 many people are browsing the Twitter, Facebook and other social media for news content.  This example is evidence of the progress that technology has made in terms of the circulation of relevant media to its audiences.

The information within standard newspapers does not have to compete for attention the way information on the internet must.  Micheal Kinsley of The Atlantic explains the difference:

‘One reason seekers of news are abandoning print newspapers for the Internet is that newspaper articles are too long. On the Internet, news articles get to the point. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions that don’t add to your understanding of the news.’

The Twitter platform serves as a good template for the appropriate length of a message in order for it to be internalized by the average consumer.  CEO of KDPaine and Partners, Katie Paine firmly believes in the value of concise messaging.  “I tell my audiences all the time that if they can’t fit their messages into 140 characters they can’t get them across.”  Each word must contribute to the intended influence of online content as opposed to content in magazines or newspapers.

The technological trend of allowing access to internet applications from portable devices will continue to envelop consumers of American society.  If every American had mobile access to the internet, the implications for all areas of media would be intriguing to say the least.  Dishonest marketing practices would immediately be unveiled and consumers would have the last word in determining the success or failure of a business.

It will be a long time before every American has mobile internet access.  When it does occur, online marketing will have fully evolved and traditional media will be but a subject within history books.

BarCamp is defined by Wikipedia as ”…an international network of user generated conferences (or unconferences) – open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants.  Corbett explained how iStrategyLabs has made a name for itself by hosting Barcamp events, in which they pay for alcohol and invite professionals to attend and mingle in a social setting while discussing a certain topic (usually pertaining to marketing and issues concerning the digital sphere).
       Corbett provided our PR class with general advice concerning how to effectively market an organization in the digital sphere.
The first piece of advice is to “Be in a community.”  As an example, Corbett mentioned how being a part of a community on Twitter (a.k.a being a member of a twibe)  can lend advantages in terms of connections and resources.
         In order to work toward being included in a community, his second piece of advice was to “Emulate successes of companies in niche communities.”  There is a greater chance of gaining a following by using success stories as inspiration.
         His third piece of advice is to attend BarCamps in your region.  Being a PR practitioner is all about connections.  BarCamps serve as a meeting place for talent represented from an array of professional fields.  Attending BarCamps is good first step toward becoming part of a professional community.

Kent State University professor of Public Relations, Bill Sledzik , offers one possible answer.  “Students seeking guidance turn to the internet, and what they find are thousands of news releases filled with the same worthless crap.”  He goes on to say, “If you don’t read good writing, you don’t produce good writing. And the teacher can’t make you do either.”

Anthony Juliano, a marketing strategist and communication teacher, defines what is means to write well:

‘Good writing is first precise, but also concise.  That means choosing the right word/phrase while also using as few words and sentences as possible.  It means there’s nothing left out that’s necessary to convey exactly the right meaning, but nothing is added in that’s superfluous either.’

Juliano specifically mentions not adding anything superfluous, a.k.a. fluff.  PR practitioners would be wise to acknowledge that journalists or bloggers do not appreciate receiving what comes across as marketing fluff or happy talk.

Sledzik offers a better way to approach crafting a news release.  “Read the stories produced by the journalists or bloggers you’re trying to influence…and mimic their style.”  When targeting a specific area or member of the media, doing the research to find out their communication style is always  advantageous.  The media source will ultimately be more receptive.

The reputation that Toyota has built over the years may be in serious jeopardy thanks to the widespread media coverage of deaths and injuries resulting from the faulty accelerator pedals of over four million Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the U.S.  This CBS news clip contains the last moments of a 911 call from a family who were in their Toyota vehicle when the accelerator stuck.

To hear the horrifying last moments of a family riding in a death trap sends a message to automobile consumers that riding in a Toyota means running the risk of death.  Can America’s top automobile manufacturer recover from this kind of public relations crisis?

The YouTube video from CBS news highlights the shortcomings of representatives from Toyota in fully addressing the issue of faulty engineering.  Toyota states that it is, “confident that the problem has been addressed.”  The issue of the faulty accelerator pedals has prompted investigators and skeptics to investigate the engineering of Toyota vehicles more thoroughly.  There is evidence which points to problems within the electronics system of Toyota vehicles because the accelerator pedal is connected to the electronics system in most Toyota vehicles.

Has the PR department of Toyota done enough to quell the outrage of American consumers over this fatal engineering blunder?  Only time will tell.

Forrester categorizes social computing behaviors into a ladder with six levels of participation; we use the term “Social Technographics” to describe analyzing a population according to its participation in these levels.

Social Technographics Ladder

Charlene Li, co-author of “Groundswell” and member of the Forrester Research, Inc., identifies the reasoning behind beginning a marketing plan based on an analysis of a market’s social technology behavior. ” A more coherent approach [to online marketing] is to start with your target audience and determine what kind of relationship you want to build with them, based on what they are ready for.”

This approach to relationship building can save a PR department valuable time and effort.  If PR executives for a business decide to immediately employ online marketing tactics (blogs, podcasts, twitter updates, etc.) without understanding how their target audience consumes and processes online media, they run a high risk of missing their market’s demographics.  For example, if a company with limited resources wishes to create a “groundswell” effect that will surround a new product they should focus on building relationships with the demographic that is more likely to be categorized on the Social Technographics ladder as a “creator, critic or collector.”  If the business is successful in influencing creator and critics to respond positively, the resultant web content is, essentially, free press.

Achieving a groundswell effect that reflects positively upon a company is a complicated and difficult task for any PR department.  It is with tools such as Social Technographics which provide vital strategic advantages to those PR agencies who are social media savvy.

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That’s our green, eco-friendly slogan- Flooneed flows green and cleans mean.

Michael Davies, a director of the media intelligence company Gorkana, believes that the growth of public relations is the result of the combination of marketing or branding with digital media and networking technologies.  Davies states, “The PR community has been a lot more proactive than other marketing disciplines in delivering solutions to companies to exploit the digital opportunities.”

The power of the press gained its power from advertising and marketing.  The better the journalism within a given publication, the more eyes it would receive, and the more revenue the publication could ask for its advertising.

Robert Phillips, the UK CEO of Edelman, the world’s largest independent PR agency explains the tension among traditional journalistic publications and the online community.  Phillips explains that “One significant newspaper article can be supplanted by a powerful blog, which in turn can be usurped by a sudden rush of tweets.”

In effect, the journalist as the middleman can be effectively cut out of the equation. It takes a “specialist” PR practitioner to effectively exploit the advantages of social and digital media.  Phillips concludes that “The PR industry itself needs to reflect not just on the changing media landscape, but also on the fact that the very nature of ‘influence’ and ‘audience’ has changed fundamentally.”

Although the growth of PR and the decline of traditional journalism may cause difficulities  in adjusting  to the new media climate, it is an indication that the power of the economy is shifting to the hands of the people.  Bloggers, commenters and reviewers etc. are undermining the power of marketing corporations which must now shift their attention to the voice of the people.