Media Relations

Employment Despair - When Loyal, Experience-rich Employees Get the Axe

It has happened to me and perhaps to you, or a spouse, friend, or relative.  It can mark one for a lifetime.  I decided to put my feelings on paper...yes paper.  Then the editorial board of my local daily newspaper, the Salt Lake Tribune, was kind enough to publish on paper, yes...paper and online, my thoughts. 

Pass it along to someone you know who can relate.

 Laying Off the Loyal

 

 

Layoffs & Getting Fired. The Worst Ways To Do It.

 If misery needs company, today's Ragan Communications column on "Horror Stories From The Front Lines" lists real life testimonials of a layoff, or firing handled badly.

I'd like to add my own personal story to the list.  At one of the first radio stations I worked at, it was clear that the new management wanted to get rid of me.  Daily cruelty was the first attempt.  One day, after finishing my morning news, management pulled me into a very quiet production booth and accused me of "deliberately sounding bad on the air to hurt ratings."  

Whenever I run into someone going through a similar situation, I can always bring a smile to their face by saying, "Hey, if you've never been laid off or fired, you aren't an official member of the communications profession."

Now, enjoy the Ragan article here.

Study Reveals Content Is Still King

A great post today by Jeff Bulla. I'm very happy to see the research he highlights from the Online Publishers Association.  I stand by this: No matter what the vehicle...content is still king.  Those in the journalism and PR professions need to hang tight as we move through this change.  Just like the cash for clunkers campaign, the world is turning in the old clunkers that once delivered the content, for a shiny new vehicle that runs on Internet fuel.

Jeff has a great graphic to go with the post, also below, that made me LOL on a Monday.  And sometimes, that takes work :)   Enjoy his post here.

Social Media Boot Camp Coming To Utah

As a member of the Social Media Club of Salt Lake City, I wanted to let you know we are bringing a nationally acclaimed Social Media Boot Camp to Utah this October.  I have a discount code you can use if you want to register or share this information with those in your office.

SAVE THE DATES – COMING TO SALT LAKE THIS FALL- REGISTRATION LIMITED TO 60 PER WORKSHOP

1. Social Media Boot Camp – Friday, October 23

2. Advanced Writing Workshop – Thursday, October 22

These advanced day-long workshops are tailored for senior management, government officials, marketing, internal/external communications and PR, entrepreneurs, business owners, non-profits and those who provide service and counsel to businesses.  Presented by Ragan Communications, the Social Media Boot Camp sold out in three cities so far this year.

Only 60 people can register for each workshop, to keep the setting intimate and valuable for those who attend.

Here are some links to both workshops – your cost will be less with this Social Media Club code SMCSL9 (entered at registration checkout).  Your cost is $595 per workshop (without your discount =  $745). 

October 23 Social Media Boot Camp Details

Have you mastered these skills:  Social networks, blogs, podcasts, YouTube, wikis?  Learn how Web 2.0 and new media can help you inspire employees, win media coverage and overhaul the image of your company.  This new age of interactive communications is revolutionizing the way we talk to employees, shareholders, the media and our customers.

This one-day workshop will teach you everything you need to know to get started. You'll return to your office with a complete understanding of why social media matters and how the most innovative companies have already tapped into this new communication technology.

October 22 Advanced Writing Workshop

What a great time to be a communicator! Important messages get printed, streamed, e-mailed and Tweeted. Our audiences are reading, watching, listening—and talking back.  Your words, and how you present them, are more important than ever. In our new, one-day edition of Advanced Writing & Editing, you'll learn how to:

1. Find good stories. Where are they? Hint: They're not sitting on your desk or in your e-mail.
2. Improve your reporting. You can't craft a good story—in any medium—if you don't have the raw material.
3. Get your readers' attention. Take your best shot through headlines that grab, leads that pull us in and quotes that convey an engaging human presence.
4. Layer your online story. Summarize your story for the skimmers and scanners, then let readers choose how deep they want to go.
5. Package your print. Use all the tricks to craft a compelling story and keep readers on the page.
6. Match words with sound and pictures. Enhance your audio and video with tight and engaging narrative.

Don't let your words fail you. Tune up your writing with this fast-paced, one-day workshop.

Information on the presenter, Mark Ragan

I plan to be there!  Hope to see you  :)

 
 

3 Topics: Meet Utah's New Media. What's The Best Measure Of Your Online Presence? And "Engaging The New Influencers."

Plenty to talk about!

1. We've heard, with sadness, about newsroom layoffs.  You may not be aware of the new Utah media outlets that are growing (not shrinking) and actually making money on their content and activities.  In tandem with my associate, Lisa Davis, we are writing a four-part series for utahpulse.com on "Meet Utah's New Media."  It starts in mid-September and I hope you'll join us there for profiles on:

• Newspaper Girl - Janet Meiners Thaeler
• Utah Mama, Today's Mama - Rachael Hersscher
• Utah Stories - Richard Markosian
• Mom It Forward - Jyl Johnson Patee

How influential are they?  How do you approach and interact with Utah's new media?  We'll tell you on www.utahpulse.com.

2. Boss still resisting social media?  Can she/he argue with this?

Edelman has done us all a great favor by gathering 100 professors of communications, journalism, business and public relations from North America and Europe.  All met for an event held in Washington, D.C. Sessions were led by 50 practitioners in charge of digital communications in companies such as:  AstraZeneca, CNN, eBay, Environmental Defense Fund, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Starbucks, UPS, Whirlpool and many others.  The resulting report, "Engaging The New Influencers," is packed with best practices and insights into our future...online. Thanks to Steve Rubel for making me aware of it.

A great menu of topics:

• The State Of Media
• Employee Engagement: Encouraging New Conversations
• Every Organization Is A Media Company
• The New Era In Washington D.C.
• Health: Using New Media In A Regulated Industry
• Insights From The U.S. Administration About Engagement
• Crowdsurfing: Engaging Consumers
• Academia: Keeping Up With The Pace Of Change

3. Measurement, measurement, measurement. 

How can you determine how well you show up online? This short, sweet piece on "The Five Senses Of Online Measurement" makes good sense.  Thanks to the Cision bloggers for sharing it.

My Sudden Career Change And A New Golden Rule

I finally have a new career. 

Same PR business, same clients…but my toolbox is brand new and full of social media strategies.  Even better, my clients are stepping up and are willing to try them. 

I studied Web 2.0 for four years, engaged in a forced reorganization of my brain cells.  I’m so glad it finally paid off.   I’m no longer forced to focus only on news releases, public events, media training, and story pitching.  Now I roll up my sleeves and teach clients how to communicate directly with their customers, via social media.  This is as good as it gets, and it didn’t come easy.

The arguments were fierce.

1. "We’ll lose control of our message."

Did you ever really have control?  Your news releases, news conferences and community events were either read or witnessed by only a handful of people.  The reporter wrote your story. 

Also, if you aren’t currently talking with your customers online, you have already lost control.  Anyone can say anything they want about you and you won’t even know.

2. "Our industry has regulations that limit this kind of communication.  Or…we have a profession that will lose credibility if we blog, twitter, etc."

Top government agencies, publicly traded companies, businesses that normally cloak themselves from the light of day…they’ve gone online.   My friend’s son has a new job…he blogs for an attorney.

3. "We need to be able to measure our communications."

Yes you can!  Social media will overwhelm you with details: Numbers, activity tracking, interest tracking, unique visitors, partial but not final clicks, audience reaction, and regular feedback to help you sharpen your message.  In the past, our measurement depended on traditional media via circulation, subscribers or ratings.  Social media measurement is to business what DNA testing is to the criminal justice system. 

4. "We could hurt our reputation.  Employees could offend our customers with photos and even offensive posts."

Yes and yes. But measure this risk against not using social media.  Your competition is or soon will be.  Meanwhile, you will be perceived as hunkered-down and non-transparent.  Write a social media policy and open your doors to the world.

My new PR mantras:

1. BLOG.  Companies that blog have far better marketing results.  Blogging increases Web traffic by 55 percent and grows inbound links by 97 percent (HubSpot research).

2. Become the news.  Put a newsroom on your Website and link your releases to your blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn pages and others.  Oh yes, you can still send news releases to media but I’m warning you, reporters are overwhelmed.

3. Send your announcements to industry bloggers. Do it delicately and do it right.  Do not nag!

4. Buy a good still-camera, an HD video camera, a professional microphone and MP3 voice recorder.  These are so inexpensive it will make your heart sing.  Become the news reporter at your company and document, document, document.  Then post the visuals and your announcements on all of your social media pages.

5. Give your online customers something of value:  Research, prizes, product to sample, free Webinars, ebooks, white papers, a sneak peak at your latest whatever.  If you give, you will get back.  Almost sounds like a new Golden Rule, doesn’t it?

United Airlines "Breaks Guitars" Nightmare. Part Two, Coming Soon.

Last week I told you about Canadian Musician Dave Carroll who tried to get United Airlines to compensate him for baggage handling damage to his $3,500 Taylor guitar.  A year later, he gave up the effort and got creative.  His YouTube video"United Breaks Guitars" has had more than a million hits.   Now, you can read his side of the story here, and below, you can watch a video response by Dave, explaining that after the release of "United Breaks Guitars," United did contact him and offer compensation...which he's turned down.  He's also worried about a United employee who he named in the video, and defends her professionalism...even if she didn't give him the compensation he wanted. 

Guess what?  Dave has written a part II video, which is in production now, and hopes to write a third version.  What a study in consumer activism.  If you were in United's PR department, what would you recommend?  Duck and cover?  Or something more creative?

Supervisors Speak No Evil...Why?

Disclaimer: University of Phoenix is a client. I have not been asked to blog about this (my own choice).

Paranoia abounds in the American workplace.  Cutbacks, layoffs.  Even if your company is in great shape, you are probably still anticipating some kind of bad news.

Which brings me to something of great concern to PR practitioners...getting management to communicate well, even communicate the bad news, or communicate at all.

The University of Phoenix has a research center and just awarded a grant to study how supervisors are communicating with employees during this financial crisis.  I'm anxious to see the results of this six-month project.  If top management loves research, and the research finds they need to communicate better....perhaps they will listen to us :)  When I get results...I'll pass them along!

Read more here. 

Drowning In Social Media Efforts? Tips To Get It Under Control.

You've got your own personal social media to deal with, you have to monitor what social media your kids are up to and then there's your employer who's asking you to get the company into social media right away and "just be everywhere."

Feel like you are "trying to drink from a fire hose?"

Advice to the rescue!  Six steps to wrestle this beast to the ground, with thanks to Mashable and Leo Babauta, author of Top 25 blog Zen Habits and best-selling book, The Power of Less.

Read them here, print and paste on refrigerator door and somewhere very visible in your office cube.

Yes you can take your life back!

Begging Management To Embrace Social Media? Some Good Arguments Here.

It burns in the eyes of many managers.  Absolute fear.  Mention using social media - they see  pictures of teens doing unmentionable things.  Mention YouTube - they flashback to the Domino's nightmare.  Claim that social media can no longer be ignored and they give you the look.  The one that says: "I'm in charge here, and I want to be in charge of my message."

...That's when you refer them to the advertising department.

How can you convince them not to fall behind and miss a major world shift?  How can we break this prevalent attitude of so-me-phobia (social media phobia)?

Tell the boss you'll buy lunch and bring it to her/his office.  Pull up the following podcast: Social Media.  Friend or Foe?  PLAY IT!

The mock scenario...four people try to convince their boss to embrace social media.  The arguments are good.

Podcast: Social Media, Friend or Foe?...with thanks to Ragan Communications