PR Blogs Worth Reading (And More!)

"Top PR campaigns," "Top social media strategies," "Top crises," "Top people," "Top mistakes," "Top firms," etc. "Top, Top, Top" is seemingly all people like to write about in December. Although these "top" lists can be repetitive and frustrating when seeking new content, they are often very helpful in wrapping-up the end of the year and reminding readers about events and things to remember from the past 12 months.

One "top" list that gave me new information (the best kind of list...) was "The Best PR Blogs Out There" by Jeremy Porter on the Journalistics blog. Here are some of Porter's favorite blogs he recommends reading regularly:

• A Shel of My Former Self
• Brian Solis
• Dave Fleet
• PRDaily
• PRNewser
• PRSarahEvans.com
• PR-Squared

In the post, Porter also expands into "Other PR blogs worth a look," "Non-PR blogs PR pros should read," and "PR blogs I need to explore further."

In addition to reading the article, I also highly recommend reading the comments - many PR pros comment in about other useful sites to explore!

Happy New Year's Eve!

Searching for New Clients

The new year is a great time to reorganize your business. At my job at a small public relations firm in Philadelphia, we are evaluating our current clients. Here are some tips to consider when evaluating whether to keep clients or not:

- Is the client missing payments?

- Are you doing more work than what is appropriate for your payments?

- Are there problems with communication between you and the client?

- Does the client have unrealistic expectations?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you may want to consider not continuing with the client in future. If you decide to terminate a client, you will need to replace it with a new client. How do you look for new clients to replace the previous ones?

- Read the local paper, especially the lifestyle sections. These sections may mention or profile new businesses that are opening or offering new services. These are perfect for new clients.

- Read local blogs and additional publications. The Philadelphia Business Journal highlights new businesses, for example. Blogs, like local papers, may list new businesses opening in the area.

- Explore your area. Simply walking around to see if anything new has opened is a simple way to locate opportunities for new clients.

There are many ways to look for new clients. These are just a few suggestions. Do you have a surefire way to find a new client? Share it with our readers!

Social Media PR Strategy Checklist

As a member of PRowl Public Relations, a large portion of the work I do for clients involves creating strategic social media campaigns that will result in the increase of an engaging online presence through fostering relationships with followers. Each client's social media campaign is unique to its own goals and objectives, however as this article points out from PR In Your Pajamas, there are 7 things to keep in mind when creating any effective social media campaign:

1. What do you want to achieve?
Always begin with the end goal in mind. What specific results and outcomes are you hoping to accomplish?

2. Who is your audience and where are they online?
It is incredibly important to understand who your target audience is and how to reach best reach them. Rather than trying to target every blog and networking site, choose the ones that are utilized by the audiences you are trying to reach.

3. Who are the influencers?
There are always specific groups or people that directly reach and influence your target audiences. These individuals and groups should be utilized as shortcuts to reaching those users.

4. What are they saying?
Be knowledgeable about what your audiences are saying about you, your product or your competition. It is important to know what people are saying so that you can more effectively participate in the conversation.

5. How will your value position align?
After researching what others are saying-- is what you are saying unique or relevant or simply echoing the masses?

6. How can you deliver and contribute?
This boils down to the tactics you are going to use. Are you going to create a well-developed blog? Or are you going to create an interactive Facebook Fan Page that offers unique resources and information to your fans? Consider your target audiences and make a decision based upon which route will be most effective and successful.

7. What resources are you willing to invest?
How much time, money and energy do you have to invest in your social media campaign? Make sure you are aware of your capabilities in order to construct a campaign that is well within your means.

All of these tips are incredibly useful when it comes to making a successful social media campaign and all have been an integral part when constructing my own campaigns for past clients.

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool when used properly and strategically. What are some tips that you would add to this list? Let us know!

Michael Vick's Endorsement Redemption

NFL quarterback Michael Vick once endorsed big name products such as Nike and Coca-Cola. After his arrest in 2007 for his involvement in dog fighting, he lost all endorsements. A few weeks ago, Vick appeared in an advertisement for the first time since his arrest and his return to the field as the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback.

Vick's first new client is Woodbury Nissan, a New Jersey car dealership. While certainly a lot smaller scale than his former clients, it's a start. The dealership's executive manager said the response from their customer base has been mostly positive, but still negative from animal activists.

Vick's recent performances on the football field and seemingly good behavior off the football field have helped improve his image with many people. However, many people still feel that his involvement in dog fighting is unforgivable and should not be overlooked.

The ice is now broken for Vick to begin endorsing products again. It is likely that more companies will now begin considering Vick for marketing deals. Do you think Vick has redeemed himself enough with the public to begin representing brands again or will his past have a negative impact on the brands' images?

To read more about Vick's endorsement deal, check out the article on Philly.com.

It's that time again...

Happy Holidays to all of our members and readers!

As a public relations major who plans to deal closely with the media--and someone who strives to be a responsible citizen, for that matter--I know how important it is to pay attention to current events and stay immersed in media culture.

This past semester, I was required to read the New York Times on a daily basis for one of my classes. I really enjoyed reading the news every day and was grateful for the chance to force myself to stay current on the news. After all, as much as I strive to read the news on my own, other things sometimes get in the way.

With this in mind and the start of the new year fast approaching, I have begun to put some thought into my new year's resolutions. Every year, I try to choose resolutions that are both practical and realistic. This year, one of my biggest resolutions is to continue to read the news daily.

I have even come up with a way to keep this resolution within reach: I have decided to set the home page of my Web browser to the New York Times homepage. This is a quick and simple step that will make it easy to peruse the news everyday; it brings the news to me! This way, every time I sign online to check my e-mail (which I do several times a day), shop or look something up, I will also be conscious of the headlines and will be able to read several news stories each time I am online.

I also plan to use this homepage as a "reminder" to read stories on other news sites. This will enable me to get a balanced perspective and will help keep me a responsible consumer of the news.

Try it with me and see what you think!

Best of luck in the new year.

Thrash is Free!

The NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, in hopes of drawing more attention to their team’s recent success, launched an over-the-top campaign to boost ticket sales. The team’s mascot, Thrash (after Georgia’s state bird “Thrasher”) stole a Zamboni, drove it along the Georgia interstate, was arrested for doing so and thrown in jail. His bail was put at 5,000 tickets being sold to upcoming Thrasher games.

The public relations stunt involved promotions on the team’s website, which included news videos and updates on Thrash’s fate. The stunt was also publicized on the team’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Thrash was behind bars for four days, from Dec. 15 to Dec. 18, until Thrasher fans came through and purchased the court-mandated 5,000 tickets necessary to free him from jail.

I thought this was a fun and creative publicity stunt to get Thrasher fans excited about their team and increase ticket sales. What did you think of it?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Trish Wyatt.

A Media Trend to Spot in 2011

In 2010, a heavy emphasis was placed on readily available mobile Internet. In 2011, location-based services are predicted to make more of a splash. With the addition of GPS availability on new smart phones, location-based services such as Foursquare and Places from Facebook, allow users to update friends on their activities by checking-in at different locations.

Establishments such as theaters and bars are now taking advantage of these applications. More local establishments are registering themselves with these applications, allowing users to check-in at their locations. Businesses can also publicize when they are having promotions according to where you are currently located and some are offering special discounts if you post that you are in their facility. This new tool may be PR’s new best friend and an easy way for businesses to create more foot-traffic. Businesses could create raise awareness of their services and locations by simply registering with applications such as Foursquare. An added bonus: there is little to no effort to this new trend, as opposed to managing a Facebook or Twitter account.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Samantha Wanner.