Inside PR 2.79: Defining PR & Divining Google+

• • PR

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Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley talk about the PRSA’s initiative to develop a new definition of public relations on this week’s Inside PR.

The PRSA’s current definition: “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” The public is invited to suggest the elements of a new definition using a ” fill in the blanks”  form on the PRSA Website.

Joe isn’t sure that the PRSA’s “fill in the blanks” crowd-sourcing approach will yield the type of definition that truly reflects the enhanced role of PR in the era of social media.

Gini Dietrich suggests that whatever definition is adopted, it will only be useful if it can be readily understood by the general public. And she believes that right now most people believe that PR amounts to little more than media relations.

Martin argues that the public relations profession should define itself through the lense applied by Jeff Jarvis when he asserts that “In a world of publicness which allows us to connect to each other, to information to actions and to transactions, links, i.e. linking up, help us organize new societies and redefine our publics.”

Also in this week’s podcast, we continue to experiment with Google+. Gini Dietrich has set up the Spin Sucks page on Google+. Take a look at it and let her know what you think of it.

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We’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 2.78: The plusses of Google+

• • PR

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We recorded Inside PR 2.76 on the day Google+ opened its pages to businesses and watched as companies developed their G+ presence in real time.

Now it’s a couple of weeks later, and we thought we’d take a closer look. Gini kicks it off by referencing her blog post on the topic. She calls out Google’s transparency in admitting they helped several companies build their brand pages in advance of the launch. However, she’s noticed some of those organizations haven’t grown their followings or done much posting.

She goes on to say while the social media bubble may have wanted G+ to be a Facebook slayer, that’s not likely Google’s intent. She believes it’s to give us a social reason for using Google and that will provide them with more data.

Martin likes the interface, that you can share directly from Google Reader and that Google docs, calendar and Gmail are all there. He wonders if there’s more of a business application to the platform because G+ is so open and when you’re with friends you want to be in a less public environment – a private room with the doors closed, like FB.

Joe calls out the ability to organize circles by interest. And in his circles for journalists, marketers, web design and PR, people continue to publish interesting discussions. Joe uses the platform to follow posts on an industry by industry basis.

Martin suggests it could be a mini-blogging platform without the constraint of 140 characters; a place for companies to start a larger discussion.

Some recent updates: G+ can be managed by third-party apps like Hootsuite. Right now, there’s only one administrator allowed for business pages – that’s going to change in the new year, but currently it’s a drawback.

And finally, we want to wish all our American friends and listeners a Happy Thanksgiving!

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We’d love to hear from you.

Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 2.76: The world of Global PR

• • PR

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This week Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman talk about the new Plus in Google+, Google+ Pages for businesses. The team watches this breaking news as it unfolds. Gini checks out the Muppets page, Martin checks out the Pepsi page, and Joe checks out the Toyota page. The team looks forward to following the world Google+ pages and how it will develop.

But first, Joe starts off by sharing with everyone his adventures over in sunny, snowing Whistler, BC at the IABC’s Western Canada Regional Conference. Joe was very lucky because he actually won his pass to the conference, and he thanks the folks at IABC Toronto for that.

Then, Joe introduces an interviews from the Public Relations Society of America Conference with Dan Tisch, incoming chair of the Global Alliance. The Global Alliance is the confederation of the world’s major PR and communication management associations and institutions, representing 160,000 practitioners and educators around the world. The Global Alliance’s mission is to unify the public relations profession, raise professional standards all over the world, share knowledge for the benefit of its members and be the global voice for public relations in the public interest.

The Global Alliance is something Martin, Gini and Joe think will become very important very soon, so, make sure to check it out and listen to the full interview with Dan Tisch.

We would love to hear your opinion on the Global Alliance, or if you have any comments, insights or opinions on Google+ Pages. Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 275: Counselors Academy – The place for PR execs

• • PR

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This week on Inside PR, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley interview Abbie Fink about the PRSA Counselors Academy Conference and what makes it special.

If you run a PR agency, you know that it can be hard to find expert advice that relates directly to our business. One conference fills this gap. The PRSA Counselors Academy Conference brings together owners and managers of public realtions agencies across North America for two days of sessions focusing on the business of PR.

Abbie says the Counselors Academy conference is about “being a better owner, a better manager, discovering new ways to do business development and revenue streams … the management side of running a public relations practice.” The magic of this gathering, according to Abbie, is that business owners come together and share their experiences and knowledge freely with one another on business issues. How do they set billable hours? How do they determine when to bring on another employee? How do they deal with problematic clients? Under what circumstances would they fire a client?

At Counselors Academy, business leaders set aside their status as competitors in order to advance the collective whole, the public relations consulting industry. Says Abbie, “If I can help another PR agency owner look at or do something in a different way and they become better at what they do, that’s good for our industry as a whole.”

The next Counselors Academy Conference will take place May 6 to 8, 2012 in New Orleans. And Inside PR’s Martin Waxman is co-chairing this year’s conference with Dana Hughens. You can be sure that I’ll be there along with the senior leaders of my company.

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Do you have an idea for a topic you would like us to discuss? Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 2.74: On the road with On the Record Online

• • PR

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We’re on the trade show of PRSA International Conference in Orlando talking with Eric Schwartzman – on a special joint episode with On the Record Online and Inside PR.

Like us, Eric also records his podcasts over Skype but prefers face to face interviews when he can. And he’s a veteran, who started in April 2005, just after For Immediate Release and around the same time Terry Fallis and David Jones began Inside PR.

Gini, Joe, Eric and I discuss the state of podcasting and Eric talks about his approach:

– He’s feature-oriented, as opposed to news focused, so his shows have a longer shelf-life.
– He continues podcasting because he likes to learn and finds when there’s a mic and recorder, he gets the best answers from experts.
– He sees which shows people love based on the stats, but doesn’t chase the audience; he does what interests him.
– He spends a good deal of time – about eight hours per episode – preparing, conducting interviews, editing and producing, writing and publishing show notes and publishing. It is a time commitment, but he gets nearly 1,000,000 downloads a year.

The discussion ends when a band starts up in the booth behind us.

Do you have an idea for a topic you would like us to discuss? Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 2.73: Live from the PRSA Conference

• • PR

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Coming to you, live, from the PRSA International Conference…and we’re all in Orlando together.

It’s a far better experience to record in person than with Google Hangouts and our Zoom recorders. Body language is easier to read, even though we use video, and we can play off one another better.

We hope you agree!

Soledad O’Brien was the conference opening keynote where she talked about diversity and media relations.

She, as she says, is a “mixed race person.” Her dad is Irish and Australian and her mother is black and Cuban. During her keynote she describes systemic racism and how far we’ve come, but that we still have a long way to go.

Her parents were at Johns Hopkins and living in Baltimore as an engaged couple. They couldn’t get married in Baltimore because, in 1958, it was illegal. So they got married in DC and lived illegally in Baltimore as an interracial couple.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the communication industry.

The PRSA conferences have always had programming that drives toward a greater purpose. Our job is about serving more than the master; it’s our job to not accept things as they are, but to communicate views in order to move things forward.

The keynote Soledad set the right tone for the conference and for any kind of organization…that is: communications should serve as a higher purpose.

She also talked about storytelling being the foundation of everything. She said, as PR professionals, we have to tell her stories and then trust her to take our stories and create something useful for her audiences.

It really bothers her when she is pitched by people who haven’t bothered to watch what she does. She says it’s offensive to receive those kinds of pitches and this is something the three of us discuss at length during the podcast.

Also some news for Joe and Martin at the end…so don’t tune out early!

Coming soon: Interviews from old friends and new, including Pierre-Loic Assyag, Dan Tisch, Shonali Burke, Abbie Fink, Jay Baer, Mary Barber, John Devaney, Eric Schwartzman, and more!

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Do you have an idea for a topic you would like us to discuss? Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pron Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 2.72: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

• • PR

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Martin Waxman, Joseph Thornley and Gini Dietrich start off by remembering the great figure and true visionary, Steve Jobs.

Joe encourages everyone to watch the infamous and powerful Steve Jobs commence speech done at Stanford University in 2005. Jobs end his speech with the words “stay hungry, stay foolish.” Words that inspire us all.

Martin reminds listeners that the Inside PR team will be at the PRSA Conference in Orlando, Florida from October 15 to 18th. He also invites listeners to check out his conversation with with conference co-chair, Bonnie Upright, APR, and PRSA chair and CEO, Rosanna Fiske, APR, about what to expect. Check out the special Inside PR episode here. Gini also remind anyone who is planning on attending the conference to RSVP for the Inside PR Tweet Up on Monday night where your first drink is on the Inside PR team.

Then the team jumps in to a discussion sparked by a comment by David:

Hey guys,

I’m currently a first year public relations student at Algonquin College. I’ve been listening in on your podcasts for a while now and the amount of information that flies around can sometimes be staggering.

The program has been great. It’s exhilarating to be involved in something with people who are as passionate as I am about PR.

But onto my question: Does a college diploma suffice as post-secondary background for jobs in this field? Most successful PR people I’ve spoken to have backgrounds in communications and university degrees. It worries me that my graduation from this program will not be enough.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could speak about this on your next show.

So Joe asks: what kind of education do we see coming through the door of the successful candidates we hire or we see others hire these days.

Martin believes any education is fine, but one should supplement that education with communications work. It is important to have a general background and understanding of communications and PR.

Gini says she doesn’t necessarily look at what the degree is in, just as long as there is a degree. She really pays attention to the internships a student has had before they graduated. She also mentions Arment Dietrich will not hire someone without that person completing and internship with them.

Joe echoes Gini’s point and talks about the importance of internships and encourages students to find a program with a co-op option. Joe mentions that an internship can be a ticket to a job offer.

However, all agree that networking and building a network using social media tools are very important

They finish off the episode with a discussion on a blog posts Gini posted social media tools for listening.

Gini talks about:

1. Twendz: reputation management tool
2. Technorati and Google Blog Search: blog tracking tools to find out who is talking about your services, your brand, your competition, etc.
3. Delicious and Diigo: social bookmarking tools
4. Twitter Search: search Twitter exclusively for your company key words and see what people are saying
5. Website grader and Blog grader: get a basic understanding of where your web property stands
6. Compete: compare your traffic to your competitions traffic.
7. Web analytics: Gini says everyone should be looking at their web analytics.

Joe compares paid tools versus free tools. Sometimes the paid tools don’t always catch everything, and it is sometimes a good thing to step back and see what other free tools can pick up. It may surprise you.

Martin adds to the list, blogrolls, see who the influential people are following. It can be a great way to expand your network.

Gini ends the show with a shout out to the guys over at Quiet News Day, Scott Douglas and Shaun Milne for mentioning Inside PR. Thanks guys!

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Do you have an idea for a topic you would like us to discuss? Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pron Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR special edition: spotlight on the PRSA International Conference

• • PR

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The PRSA International Conference, the largest PR gathering in the world, takes place in Orlando, Florida, October 15 to 18, 2011.  Inside PR is happy to be one of the event sponsors and we had a chance to chat with conference co-chair, Bonnie Upright, APR, and PRSA chair and CEO, Rosanna Fiske, APR, about what to expect.

The event offers a combination of learning, networking, fun and a wonderful opportunity to connect with peers, colleagues, clients, and potential employers.

This year’s theme, ‘Imagine. Create. Inspire.’, speaks to how the profession – and the way we do our jobs – is evolving. 

‘We’re no longer simply purveyors of news releases, we’ve become storytellers.’

There are five programming tracks – Strategies, Tools and Techniques, Specialization, ROI, Leadership and Management – that feature sessions on digital/social media, traditional PR, crisis communications and professional development/accreditation.

Keynotes include: CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien speaking about diversity, Disney imaginer Joe Rohde, whose talk is entitled ‘Theme is a Noun’ and Chris Brogan discussing online communities and how to engage them for your business.

Ultimately, the conference is about people, reconnecting, connecting and engaging with a global network of peers who understand your craft, the profession, your challenges and how the world of communications is transforming.

You can follow the Twitter stream at #PRSAIcon.

And if you haven’t registered and are interested in attending, you can get $100 off the registration by completing this form and entering the code SAVE100.

Join us for a Tweetup

Inside PR is hosting a poolside Tweetup on Monday, Oct 17. Here’s the e-vite with details. Hope to see you there.

Do you have an idea for a topic you would like us to discuss? Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pron Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 271: Complimenting Your Competition

• • PR

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Last week we had a really good comment from Yasin Akgun.

He asked:

Hi guys. I was wondering whether you could answer my question in your next show:

I’m managing the Twitter presence for a B2B company and was wondering whether I am being naive in thinking that Tweets praising or being positive about other brands’ products is OK and good BR (business relations) as well as PR. For example “just seen the Incentive range from Rival Company, stunning stuff!”

I hope the question isn’t one of these where I go back and think “wow how naive was I”. I just believe in fostering good relations with other organisations regardless of the stereotypical negative business attitude of “us and them, theyre our rivals”.

So Martin Waxman begins the discussion by asking, “Should you be tweeting positively about your competition?”

The discussion is lively as we don’t all agree.

Joe Thornley has a point about the early days of social media and how we all shared freely…until we realized we could make money from teaching companies how to incorporate the social tools into their larger marketing programs.

He goes on to say the business world doesn’t see competitors as friendly and, when you give away too much information, they consider you naive. He said he’d rather be silent than compliment or diss them.

Gini Dietrich disagrees and says, while social has allowed her to gain credibility and thought leadership in order for Arment Dietrich to compete with the global PR firms, it was Counselor’s Academy that made her realize there are benefits in working with your competition, instead of against it.

And Martin balances the two by discussing the difference between friendly and cutthroat competition.

He also suggests that complimenting your competition online is really a business decision your company leaders need to make and not something you can do without discussing with them first.

We also touch on the Ragu “crisis,” which was created by some spam tweets and a few upset daddy bloggers. And we discuss the features and benefits of the new Delicious.

We also learned some very sad news. Barbara Nixon, a friend to all three of us, and long-time Inside PR listener, learned last week that her 22 year old son, Kyle, passed away unexpectedly. Our hearts go out to her and her family right now.

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Reminder: Inside PR will be recording live from the PRSA International Conference in Orlando on October 16 and 17. We’ll also be interviewing speakers and participants. So, if you’re planning to be there, let us know and we will grab a sound bite with you.

And, RSVP for the TweetUp on Monday, Oct. 18. The first drink is on us!

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Do you have an idea for a topic you would like us to discuss? Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pron Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joe Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Kristine Simpson.

Inside PR 270: We talk about Intranets and the changes to Facebook

• • Inside PR, PR

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In this week’s Inside PR, Martin Waxman, Gini Dietrich and Joseph Thornley talk about Intranets and the recent changes to Facebook.

Joe’s company’s Intranet is built around a Wiki to host content, Present.ly to support publishing and linking to content and Windows Live Messenger to enable one to one video calls. He encourages people to use these three tools to divert content from emails (we all suffer from inbox glut) and to channel communications from broad publishing through to one to one communications via video.

Martin points out that we have so many “places to go,” so many channels of communication, that managing these different channels can become a challenge unto itself.

And then there’s Facebook. We received a comment from Liza Butcher, who suggested that, “With the changes made this past week, I believe facebook it is trying to be too many things in one space, and ostracizing generations of people that may not be as tech savvy as others. … Facebook was a place for everyone, and now it is becoming too technical for the masses.”

Gini and Martin talk about their impressions of the most recent Facebook changes. Gini points out that it will be important to decide what you want to include in your timeline. Sharing everything won’t be for everyone. And it’s important to be aware of what the timeline automatically shares so that you can filter out the info you wouldn’t want to see there. Martin suggests that we all should become familiar with the “view activity” panel that will enable us to remove content from our timeline. Other neat features: the cover photo we can add to our Facebook profile and the ability to add “milestones” to fill in our timeline.

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Reminder: Inside PR will be recording live from the PRSA International Conference in Orlando on October 16 and 17. We’ll also be interviewing speakers and participants. So, if you’re planning to be there, let us know and we will grab a sound bite with you.