For the past few months I have been exploring the possibility of a career in Investor Relations. I have done research online, read books, and scheduled informational interviews with several distinguished professionals in the field. When doing my company research before going into these informational interviews, I heavily relied on the information provided in their online newsrooms and investor centers. I found that some sites were easier to navigate, some provided more concise yet informative descriptions about the company, and some were better linked together than others.
Although investor centers in a publicly traded company's website should be tailored to the information an investor or an analyst may be seeking, it is much harder to determine what is important to have in a general online newsroom. Online newsrooms do not have as specific of an audience; people visiting the site may include media representatives, employees, students, consumers, some inquisitive people, and many more.
As public relations students/professionals, we need to be skilled in a variety of areas, including writing website content and developing online newsrooms that are useful to all of our audiences.
Jessica Levco outlines 10 things to attract and enlighten journalists in the article "Create an online newsroom that reporters will love."
1. List contact information - Include phone and fax numbers, e-mails, and any social media identifiers
2. Make it easy to find - Put the link on the top of the homepage
3. Keep the URL short and simple - Follow the format "news.companyname.com"
4. Make press releases searchable
5. Talk about your competitors - Become the preferred provider of news in that specific industry
6. Include a subscribe button - Allow subscriptions by e-mail, text or RSS feed
7. Eliminate passwords - Don't put more hurdles than necessary to access information
8. Include copyright information - Protect your information by asking for attribution
9. Provide multimedia content - Include photos, graphics, videos, podcasts and press kits
10. List bios of key executives - Include biographical information, their experience and responsibilities
Do you have any other insight into what aspects make an online newsroom useful?
Friday, July 16, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Cover Letters: The Icing on the Cake
For the last few weeks, I have been relentlessly searching for an internship for the upcoming fall semester. During the entire process, I have come to understand and appreciate the importance of a cover letter and its pivotal role in my success in securing an internship.
I'll be the first to fess up that I used to find cover letters redundant and tedious. Having to sit down and write a cover letter that was tailored specifically to each individual company seemed so daunting and time consuming.
However, after reading numerous articles, tips and tricks for writing a successful cover letter, I used this advice to help write numerous cover letters, all of which have helped me distinguish myself from other applicants and have secured me a couple of interviews.
With my new-found respect for cover letters, I wanted to share with everyone some of the advice I applied to my own cover letters from Resume-Resource.
When writing a cover letter you should include the following:
1. The job you are applying for
2. How you found out about the job
3. Why you are interested in the position
4. What qualifies you to do the work
5. Examples of related achievements
6. A closing summary of your qualifications
7. Your desire to meet for an interview
Cover letters should be clear, concise, energetic and professional. Be sure to clarify what employers want to know:
1. Can you handle the responsibilities of the job?
2. Do you enjoy your work?
3. Are you a professional and will you fit in with my staff?
If your cover letter answers 'yes' to all of these questions than your resume will receive more than a simple glance.
Also, be sure to let your employer know that you are the best possible candidate for the position. Indicate how you will contribute immediately to current projects. Make sure you quantify your previous work. The entire purpose of a cover letter is to make yourself appealing to the prospective employer by showing your energy, enthusiasm, passion and professionalism.
So always remember to take your time, write several drafts and include all of the necessary information. Your resume may be incredible, but if your cover letter is a snooze, your desired first impression may fall a little flat.
I'll be the first to fess up that I used to find cover letters redundant and tedious. Having to sit down and write a cover letter that was tailored specifically to each individual company seemed so daunting and time consuming.
However, after reading numerous articles, tips and tricks for writing a successful cover letter, I used this advice to help write numerous cover letters, all of which have helped me distinguish myself from other applicants and have secured me a couple of interviews.
With my new-found respect for cover letters, I wanted to share with everyone some of the advice I applied to my own cover letters from Resume-Resource.
When writing a cover letter you should include the following:
1. The job you are applying for
2. How you found out about the job
3. Why you are interested in the position
4. What qualifies you to do the work
5. Examples of related achievements
6. A closing summary of your qualifications
7. Your desire to meet for an interview
Cover letters should be clear, concise, energetic and professional. Be sure to clarify what employers want to know:
1. Can you handle the responsibilities of the job?
2. Do you enjoy your work?
3. Are you a professional and will you fit in with my staff?
If your cover letter answers 'yes' to all of these questions than your resume will receive more than a simple glance.
Also, be sure to let your employer know that you are the best possible candidate for the position. Indicate how you will contribute immediately to current projects. Make sure you quantify your previous work. The entire purpose of a cover letter is to make yourself appealing to the prospective employer by showing your energy, enthusiasm, passion and professionalism.
So always remember to take your time, write several drafts and include all of the necessary information. Your resume may be incredible, but if your cover letter is a snooze, your desired first impression may fall a little flat.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
PR Around the Clock
I think most PR professionals would agree that their public relations duties do not always end once they leave the office. Even though the work day may end at 5 o'clock, the world does not stop turning then.
This is especially true for those who work for organizations such as the American Red Cross, where I am interning this summer. Since disasters can occur at any time, the Red Cross provides emergency relief 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means important situations involving the Red Cross often occur when communications staff are not in the office. As talented as the staff may be, they can use some help during their off hours. For this reason, the Red Cross has a communications on-call position.
The on-call volunteer operates as the media contact when the Red Cross provides disaster relief services after hours. Typically, on-call volunteers are assigned one week per month in which they will be contacted in the event of an emergency between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. If an emergency occurs during their assigned time period, the on-call volunteer will receive a call from the Bridge, the Red Cross' emergency call center. The volunteer is then responsible for recording the details about the emergency and the Red Cross' involvement in the relief efforts and contacting the appropriate media with that information. In some cases, the on-call volunteer will even report to the disaster scene. Of course, in the event of a major disaster occurring after hours, the communications staff will also be notified and will respond accordingly.
For an organization like the Red Cross, it is absolutely necessary for someone to be available to talk to the media at all hours. What are some other situations that you have been in or that you can think of that require PR professionals to be available beyond the traditional work day?
This is especially true for those who work for organizations such as the American Red Cross, where I am interning this summer. Since disasters can occur at any time, the Red Cross provides emergency relief 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means important situations involving the Red Cross often occur when communications staff are not in the office. As talented as the staff may be, they can use some help during their off hours. For this reason, the Red Cross has a communications on-call position.
The on-call volunteer operates as the media contact when the Red Cross provides disaster relief services after hours. Typically, on-call volunteers are assigned one week per month in which they will be contacted in the event of an emergency between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. If an emergency occurs during their assigned time period, the on-call volunteer will receive a call from the Bridge, the Red Cross' emergency call center. The volunteer is then responsible for recording the details about the emergency and the Red Cross' involvement in the relief efforts and contacting the appropriate media with that information. In some cases, the on-call volunteer will even report to the disaster scene. Of course, in the event of a major disaster occurring after hours, the communications staff will also be notified and will respond accordingly.
For an organization like the Red Cross, it is absolutely necessary for someone to be available to talk to the media at all hours. What are some other situations that you have been in or that you can think of that require PR professionals to be available beyond the traditional work day?
Monday, July 12, 2010
Domino's Turns to Buzz Marketing. Will it Work?
Domino's Pizza is turning to buzz marketing in its latest campaign. In its TV ad, the company explains that they are so confident in their product that they do not feel the need to doctor or manipulate their pizzas for commercial purposes. Instead, the company is turning to its customers and the public at large for its next advertising photos.
Customers are encouraged to take their own photos of their Domino's pizza and submit them online at showusyourpizza.com. Customers can win $500 and the chance to have their photo actually used in a Domino's Pizza ad.
The photo guidelines? According to the website, in all photos taken for commercial purposes, whether taken by a consumer-turned-photographer or the company itself, the following guidelines will be followed:
Do you think this campaign will succeed in generating word-of-mouth buzz about the company and its products? Do you think this campaign is a good way of connecting with customers and the public at large? It certainly caught my attention! While I don't plan on submitting my own photos, I think it is a fun and clever way to generate both business and awareness--not to mention cheap for the company (the winner is only promised $500 and the money spent on web development and TV ads is probably money that would be spent on promotion either way).
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Customers are encouraged to take their own photos of their Domino's pizza and submit them online at showusyourpizza.com. Customers can win $500 and the chance to have their photo actually used in a Domino's Pizza ad.
The photo guidelines? According to the website, in all photos taken for commercial purposes, whether taken by a consumer-turned-photographer or the company itself, the following guidelines will be followed:
- pictures only of "honest-to-goodness" pizzas will be taken.
- pictures only of pizzas made by Domino's employees will be taken.
- the pizzas in the photos cannot and will not be "artificially manipulate[d]"
Do you think this campaign will succeed in generating word-of-mouth buzz about the company and its products? Do you think this campaign is a good way of connecting with customers and the public at large? It certainly caught my attention! While I don't plan on submitting my own photos, I think it is a fun and clever way to generate both business and awareness--not to mention cheap for the company (the winner is only promised $500 and the money spent on web development and TV ads is probably money that would be spent on promotion either way).
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Disaster Strikes, PR Cleans It Up
Whether it is a hurricane, flood, oil spill, or corporate mess (because we all know there are plenty of those), one of the main jobs of a PR practitioner is to use their skills to assist in managing the crisis. In a recent article in PRSA's online publication Public Relations Tactics, intern Philip Volmar describes the tactics used by three PR professionals who have had to deal with crisis management on a large scale. Volmar does this to compare the PR response of the recent BP oil spill with the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.
Volmar begins by quoting John Deveney, head of the Deveney Communications firm, who dealt with the PR aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Deveney said, “What we’ve learned from Hurricane Katrina is that we need to have a one-voice strategy." Deveney also comments on how impressed he is that media outlets, businesses and local governments have successfully proved to have one collective voice on how to handle the disaster at hand.
Volmar continues by quoting regional PR Director of MGM Mirage Mississippi Operations Mary Cracchiolo-Spain who said, "Perception becomes reality for some people. Key challenges are dispelling rumors and responding to negative media coverage.” According to James E. Lukaszewski, president of the Lukeszewski Group, “All crises follow patterns — from robberies to weather disasters — that you can use to forecast and plan for [other] crises."
So what does all this mean? What should any PR novice take away from what the professionals are saying? Volmar combined the collective experiences of Lukaszewski, Deveney, and Cracchiolo-Spain to outline the following points when managing a crisis of any size:
Communicate with core audience. During Katrina, MGM spent the first 48 hours relinking communications with the public by establishing an 800 number and creating a website dedicated to the crisis. Now for the oil spill, the company rerouted the hurricane hotline to a new oil-spill information center.
Form strategic partnerships. Deveney said that in Louisiana, coastal parishes are coming together with other stakeholder groups to conduct media monitoring and image audits.
Establish a hub for information. To reduce the amount of media volume on a crisis, develop a one-stop source for simplified facts, background information, story ideas, contacts and news releases. The Mississippi Beyond Katrina website is an award-winning example.
Be sympathetic to employee needs. Don’t forget that a crisis can impact human lives in addition to the bottom line. Communicating with employees will prevent rumors, and trust will flow to your audience.
Define roles. The leader must be empowered to make executive decisions, and the spokesperson must set the tone for the crisis.
Validate victims. One way to manage the victim relationship is simply to apologize — early and quickly. Often, a public apology is all that is needed. “Apologies are the atomic energy of empathy,” Lukaszewski said. “Apologies limit litigation and settle people down.”
To see the original article or to learn more about crisis management, click here.
This guest blog was written by staff member Michele Reilley.
Volmar begins by quoting John Deveney, head of the Deveney Communications firm, who dealt with the PR aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Deveney said, “What we’ve learned from Hurricane Katrina is that we need to have a one-voice strategy." Deveney also comments on how impressed he is that media outlets, businesses and local governments have successfully proved to have one collective voice on how to handle the disaster at hand.
Volmar continues by quoting regional PR Director of MGM Mirage Mississippi Operations Mary Cracchiolo-Spain who said, "Perception becomes reality for some people. Key challenges are dispelling rumors and responding to negative media coverage.” According to James E. Lukaszewski, president of the Lukeszewski Group, “All crises follow patterns — from robberies to weather disasters — that you can use to forecast and plan for [other] crises."
So what does all this mean? What should any PR novice take away from what the professionals are saying? Volmar combined the collective experiences of Lukaszewski, Deveney, and Cracchiolo-Spain to outline the following points when managing a crisis of any size:
Communicate with core audience. During Katrina, MGM spent the first 48 hours relinking communications with the public by establishing an 800 number and creating a website dedicated to the crisis. Now for the oil spill, the company rerouted the hurricane hotline to a new oil-spill information center.
Form strategic partnerships. Deveney said that in Louisiana, coastal parishes are coming together with other stakeholder groups to conduct media monitoring and image audits.
Establish a hub for information. To reduce the amount of media volume on a crisis, develop a one-stop source for simplified facts, background information, story ideas, contacts and news releases. The Mississippi Beyond Katrina website is an award-winning example.
Be sympathetic to employee needs. Don’t forget that a crisis can impact human lives in addition to the bottom line. Communicating with employees will prevent rumors, and trust will flow to your audience.
Define roles. The leader must be empowered to make executive decisions, and the spokesperson must set the tone for the crisis.
Validate victims. One way to manage the victim relationship is simply to apologize — early and quickly. Often, a public apology is all that is needed. “Apologies are the atomic energy of empathy,” Lukaszewski said. “Apologies limit litigation and settle people down.”
To see the original article or to learn more about crisis management, click here.
This guest blog was written by staff member Michele Reilley.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Cool New Tool to Better Understand Your Audience's Motivations
Knowing your audience is one of the most important aspects to a successful communications plan. You need to know who your target audience is, what they like, where they consume information, etc. in order to strategically craft your message as well as disseminate it correctly to produce a desired effect.
Although there are many sites that allow you to purchase information about different audiences, there are also a few free ones that give snapshots of an audience's demographics and pyschographics. One such tool that I discovered today is called "Global Web Index LITE."
With this three-step program, quickly get a snapshot of what motivates your audience, what they do online, and how they feel about brands in social media.
First, choose a country. Second, choose an age range. And finally, choose a category that you believe best relates to the audience you're targeting.
Here are descriptions of the categories to help you choose:
Risk taker: “I like to take risks”
Informers: “I regularly inform friends and family on new products and services”
Positives: “I feel positive about the global economy”
Strivers: “I’m always striving to achieve more in life”
Premium Lovers: “I tend to buy the premium version of the product
Internationals: “It is important to stay in touch with what is going on in the world”
Thrill Seeker: “I like to pursue a life of challenge, novelty and change”
Try it here! I chose "USA," "16-24" and "Strivers."
What are you and what did you find out about other people like you?
Although there are many sites that allow you to purchase information about different audiences, there are also a few free ones that give snapshots of an audience's demographics and pyschographics. One such tool that I discovered today is called "Global Web Index LITE."
With this three-step program, quickly get a snapshot of what motivates your audience, what they do online, and how they feel about brands in social media.
First, choose a country. Second, choose an age range. And finally, choose a category that you believe best relates to the audience you're targeting.
Here are descriptions of the categories to help you choose:
Risk taker: “I like to take risks”
Informers: “I regularly inform friends and family on new products and services”
Positives: “I feel positive about the global economy”
Strivers: “I’m always striving to achieve more in life”
Premium Lovers: “I tend to buy the premium version of the product
Internationals: “It is important to stay in touch with what is going on in the world”
Thrill Seeker: “I like to pursue a life of challenge, novelty and change”
Try it here! I chose "USA," "16-24" and "Strivers."
What are you and what did you find out about other people like you?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Client Update: Casa Papel's New Website
Casa Papel has re-launched their website: www.casapapel.com
At Casa Papel the expert staff can truly "bring your vision to paper," specializing in distinctive and high-quality paper from around the world, paper craft tools, accesssories and paper-related services. The website now features information about all of the services offered, as well as product profiles, and the decorative and specialty paper selection. Casa Papel is a design house with the ability to create exactly what you've dreamed up, creating the perfect invitations, cards, stationary and so much more. With papers from Japan, Italy, Tibet and many other places, you really will be amazed that paper could be so beautiful!
If you live in Philadelphia or in the surrounding area you must not only browse the website but really go visit the store too. Casa Papel is located at 804 North 2nd Street in Northern Liberties Philadelphia. To schedule a free consultation call 267-761-9149 or e-mail hello@casapapel.com.
Also, please sign up for their newsletter here! You don't want to miss out on special offers, events, workshops and more! Follow Casa Papel on Twitter @CasaPapel!
At Casa Papel the expert staff can truly "bring your vision to paper," specializing in distinctive and high-quality paper from around the world, paper craft tools, accesssories and paper-related services. The website now features information about all of the services offered, as well as product profiles, and the decorative and specialty paper selection. Casa Papel is a design house with the ability to create exactly what you've dreamed up, creating the perfect invitations, cards, stationary and so much more. With papers from Japan, Italy, Tibet and many other places, you really will be amazed that paper could be so beautiful!
If you live in Philadelphia or in the surrounding area you must not only browse the website but really go visit the store too. Casa Papel is located at 804 North 2nd Street in Northern Liberties Philadelphia. To schedule a free consultation call 267-761-9149 or e-mail hello@casapapel.com.
Also, please sign up for their newsletter here! You don't want to miss out on special offers, events, workshops and more! Follow Casa Papel on Twitter @CasaPapel!
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