Inside PR 474: No-slide presentations. Step forward and be seen.

• • Inside PR, Show Notes

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Good times for PR at PRSA Counselors Academy. No-slide presentations! Better tools for Facebook Groups. WordPress joins Hacker One and offers a bounty on bugs. Quartz has an Obsession with propaganda.

Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley are together for another episode of the Inside PR podcast.

Good times for PR at Counselors Academy

Martin returned this week from Counselors Academy and he reports that attendance was up substantially. Martin estimated that about one third of the attendees being first timers. We talk about the conference and the subject matter that stood out for Martin. And among the best news for Gini and Joe: Next year’s Counselors Academy will be held in Toronto.

Better Tools for Facebook Group Administrators

Facebook has provided group administrators with the ability to set up a brief questionnaire that prospective new members must answer when requesting membership in the group. It’s not a big thing. But it will help administrators to understand who is joining the group and what has drawn them to it. Thank you Facebook.

WordPress steps up its efforts to keep our Websites secure

Over 28% of the top Websites are powered by WordPress. So, it’s great to see that WordPress continues to take security seriously. So props to WordPress for joining HackerOne and for introducing a bug bounty program.

Quartz Obsesses on PRopaganda

Quartz has started a new collection of articles on a topic that should be of interest to PR practitioners: Propaganda. No, we’re not suggesting that we see ourselves as propagandists. But it would be naïve to suggest that the birth of the PR industry and propaganda weren’t closely intertwined. And in these times, its ever more important for us to pay attention to the ethics of communications. And when you’ve bookmarked the Quartz obsession, you may want to check out Tim Wu’s treatment of Ed Bernays and the birth of PR in The Attention Merchants. And for a lean-back experience that should spark further thought, find and watch The Century of the Self, a four part documentary first shown on BBC in 2002.

It’s your turn.

We’d love to know what you think about the topics we discussed as well as your suggestions for questions you’d like answered or topics for future shows. Leave a comment on the blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Our hashtag is #IPRMustKnow.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 473: Feedly Features Filters (repeat quickly three times)

• • Inside PR, Show Notes

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Twitter hooks up with Bloomberg. Feedly features mute filters. Sysomos integrates its services as stacks in a single platform. Yik Yak throws in the towel. And PR agency heads head to Seattle for PRSA Counselors Academy.

After several weeks of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley are back in one place at the same time for another episode of the Inside PR podcast.

PRSA Counselors Academy draws PR agencies from across North America

Martin’s off to PRSA’s Counselors Academy in Seattle. And if the expected increased turnout materializes, it will put the lie to the notion that PR agencies are in trouble. On the other hand, we have a feeling that much of the industry is stuck in the traditional media relations niche. And it’s never a good to be tied to a shrinking sector.

Twitter and Bloomberg

Twitter’s partnership with Bloomberg to offer 24 hour video news is a positive move. It makes sense for our news feed to be running curated video news alongside the community-generated news. Twitter may not be the first app that Martin, Gini or Joe opens in the morning. But when news breaks, it’s the place we turn to find out the latest. So, we’re bullish on its new video initiatives.

Feedly features filters

They’re not here quite yet. But Feedly promises users that it soon will offer Mute Filters. And Feedly is going about developing them the right way. They’re surveying users about what they want and asking them to comment on a user interface. Feedly is one of the most useful tools for communications professionals . If you aren’t using it, you should be. Click over right now and create a Feedly account. (No, this is not a paid ad. We’re just big believers in the value of Feedly and want to share it with others.)

Sysomos integrates

Communications professionals have long relied on Sysomos MAP for the data used in communications audits and Sysomos Heartbeat for social media monitoring programs. But Sysomos has been acquiring other services. And now these services have been integrated into a single Sysomos Platform offering several functional stacks: search, listen, discover, publish, engage and analyse. All in one user friendly interface that anyone familiar with Tweetdeck or Hootsuite will find intuitive. It’s a whole new Sysomos. Let’s just hope that it isn’t priced out of the budget range of small and mid-size agencies. Sysomos Light?

Yik has Yakked

When were you last on Yik Yak. Our bet is not recently. And that’s what the company realized too. Users had dropped off steeply. And so Yik Yak threw in the towel. RIP Yik Yak.

It’s your turn.

We’d love to know what you think about the topics we discussed as well as your suggestions for questions you’d like answered or topics for future shows. Leave a comment on the blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], leave a comment on the Inside PR Facebook group or the FIR Podcast Network Facebook group, We’re also on Twitter. We’re @inside_pr or connect directly with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman.

Our hashtag is #IPRMustKnow.

Please rate us on iTunes

We hope you like the podcast as much as we like making it for you. If you do, we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

Inside PR 434: Counselors Academy and Specialization vs. Generalization in PR

• • Inside PR, PR

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Gini Dietrich, Martin Waxman and Joseph Thornley take a look at PRSA’s Counselors Academy this week. The Counselors Academy conference is coming up May 1-3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. All three of us have participated in the past. It is a unique opportunity for PR agency leaders to learn about the “business of the business.” It’s a networking place to find others who share the same business challenges that you do as a communications business leader. In fact, Martin, Gini and Joe first met at the Counsellors Academy annual conference in Phoenix. It’s not too late to register for this year’s conference. If you do attend, make sure to say hello to Martin! 🙂

For our second topic, Gini asks the question, “Is specialization in PR a thing of the past or the way of the future?” Martin and Joe weigh in with their views and how they have harnessed generalist and specialist knowledge in their careers.

We’d love to know what you think. 

Leave a comment on the blog, send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the FIR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter.

And we have a favor to ask: If you like this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.

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Thank you to the people behind Inside PR.

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

Inside PR is produced by Joseph Thornley.

IPR special edition: Rob Biesenbach on telling stories

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Martin here. I’m getting ready to head off to PRSA Counselors Academy’s spring conference and thought I’d catch up with one of the presenters, Rob Biesenbach. Rob is a communications expert, speaker, writer and actor who is ‘fighting to end dull ordinary communications in our time’.  (But he doesn’t have a cape.)

At Counselors, Rob’s going to be talking about how to Unleash the Power of Storytelling to build trust and win business.

He says most people play fast and loose with the definition of story and don’t understand its distinct structure: a character, in pursuit of a goal, in the face of some sort of obstacle.

Stories aren’t a quote from Winston Churchill or a customer testimonial.

Rob likens our job as communicators with acting: both require you to connect with your audience, tell a story well and express yourself. Too many businesses compare themselves to other businesses – when they should be looking to and learning from show business, where the most powerful stories in our culture can be found.

Rob is also doing an Ingnite style presentation based on his new book, 11 Deadly Presentation Sins.

He talks about the three he thinks are the worst:

  • Failure to connect with an audience
  • Failure to focus
  • Doing a data dump rather than a story that’s filled with emotion.

And when it comes to PowerPoint, he cautions us that when you see ‘insert text here’ on a slide, it’s a suggestion, not a command.

Want to hear more? You can catch Rob at Counselors Academy or check out his website.

And if you’re interested in Counselors Academy and the other presenters, you can follow the hashtag on Twitter #CAPRSA.

Gini and Joe will be back next episode.

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We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Inside PR is part of the FIR Podcast Network.

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

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR

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

Inside PR is produced by Ashlea LeCompte.

Inside PR 3.70: Tom Garrity on PRSA Counselors Academy Conference

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It’s Martin semi-solo, this week; Gini and Joe are off.

I’m here with Tom Garrity, president of The Garrity Group and chair of the PRSA Counselors Academy conference for PR agency leaders, which takes place in Key West, Florida, May 4 to 6.

Tom and I start off by chatting about how some PR specialists are also hot air specialists. Actually that’s not quite true. We got on the subject because Tom’s agency represents the Alburquerque International Balloon Festival, one of the more visually exciting events around.

If you follow Inside PR, you’ll know we’ve discussed Counselors Academy before – that’s where Gini, Joe and I met. We’ve been to the event many times, recorded a few episodes there and I was conference chair in 2012.

I’ve said this a number of times: CA is my one must-attend PR gathering of the year, a chance to meet and get to know a smart, friendly and lively group of PR agency movers and shakers.

Unlike other conferences, Counselors is focused on the business of running a PR agency and provides an opportunity to take part in top notch professional development and lots of idea-sharing over casual conversations, coffee or drinks.

This year, one of Tom’s highlights is the closing presentation at Hemingway House, with keynote speaker and ad agency owner Steve McKee, who offers insights from his new book, Power Branding: Leveraging Success of the World’s Best Brands.

Other keynotes include 9 INCH marketing founder Stan Phelps talking about branding and strategic marketing and Shonali Burke on successfully integrating research into your PR plans and pitches.

Tom’s also looking forward to the Bold Moves session – raw conversations about major changes agency owners made in order to transform their business. It’s a Ted X type format moderated by past Counselors chair and Mitchell Communications CEO Elise Mitchell. Speakers include Aaron Blank, president and CEO, The Fearey Group, Lynn Casey, chairman and CEO, PadillaCRT, startup entrepreneur Forest Featherstone and Janet Tyler, founder and co-CEO, Airfoil.

There’s a round of short Ignite presentations, breakout workshops, roundtables and a Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Tom recommends Counselors because it always helps him improve his agency and fill in what he doesn’t know.

Here’s where to go for the schedule. There’s still a bit of time to register if you’re interested. Or you can follow the hashtag on Twitter #CAPRSA.

I’ll be there and will interview some of the presenters for upcoming episodes of Inside PR. Stay tuned.

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We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Inside PR is part of the FIR Podcast Network.

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

Thank you to the people behind Inside PR

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

Inside PR is produced by Kristine D’Arbelles and Ashlea LeCompte.

Inside PR 3.36: Inside SXSWi – an interview with Hugh Forrest

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This is the second of the two shows, Gini, Joe and I recorded at PRSA Counselors Academy Conference in Austin – our annual must-attend agency leader event.

We’ve just watched Hugh Forrest, director of South by Southwest Interactive Festival – or as he likes to call himself, the community manager – present a keynote on SXSWi and how it’s grown to become a major social media and tech event.

Hugh was there from the start as the first employee of SXSW. He was hired by the organizers in the mid-90s when they heard you could migrate a database to a computer and asked him if that was possible. When he said yes, they asked if it could be housed on his computer – he had an early Mac – and a career was born.

The lesson? You need to have the right technology at the right time.

In an interview after his talk, Hugh tells us about how the acronym P.E.A.C.E. describes their approach to the growth of SXSWi:

Patience over profits. It took SXSWi five to 10 years to incubate and grow to where it is today.

Early buzz is good buzz. SXSWi is involved in a 10 or 11 month planning process that starts in July and they try to get people talking about the next year’s festival not long after the current one is done.

Acknowledge your mistakes. If there are issues (and there usually are), be honest and explain to the community that you understand there were problems and you’ll do what you can to do a better job next time. Whenever you’re innovating, he says, expect to make mistakes.

Customer service leads to customer advocates. WOM endorsement and publicity has always been important to SXSWi. They try to create customer ambassadors by communicating often, listening to criticism and establishing a two-way conversation with the goal of turning ‘haters’ or people who’ve had a bad experience into advocates. And that’s what they’ve done.

Encourage massive creativity. SXSWi is not a technology event, it’s all about creativity.

He mentions they’re starting a festival offshoot called SXSW V2V, August 11 to 14, in Las Vegas focused on startups and entrepreneurs. It’s going to be a smaller and more intimate event than Austin and they’re excited about the possibilities of extending the brand.

Gini, Joe and I discuss Hugh’s points and our take on community building, something Gini spoke about in her Social Capital keynote. Have a listen and let us know what you think.

Have you ever been to SXSW? What do you think about the event? Are you planning to attend in 2014? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Kristine Simpson and Ashlea LeCompte.

 

Inside PR 3.34: All together at Social Capital Conference

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We’re at the Social Capital Conference in Ottawa…face to face for the first time a while. Gini has just finished delivering a stellar keynote and we figured that’s a great topic for the show.

But before we get into that, Joe asks Martin, who’s just back from vacation, if he felt out of synch from a social network perspective when he was in Japan. Martin says he noticed the different news/communications cycle, though he didn’t pay as much attention as he normally would (and actually went on a bit of a Twitter vacation, too).

Martin also mentions that being in such a different culture means your eyes are wide open all the time as you experience the world from a fresh POV.

Building an engaged community
Gini’s keynote was all about how to approach blogging in a strategic way, develop a lively and engaged community and drive results for your business.

She says assembling an active community may look easy, but it’s not. It takes a lot of work and time. She talks about how some people look at her success and tell her she’s come from nowhere, but she and her team have been blogging since 2006. She says they made a lot of mistakes along the way because there wasn’t any formal instruction. You had to learn as you went along.

Her secret sauce or success formula comes down to this: participating in conversations, sharing content, visiting other people’s blogs and taking part in conversations there and making people feel welcome. She does her best to get to know people online and understand why they’re visiting the blog in order to make the Spin Sucks content relevant for them.

Joe talks about how important it is to acknowledge and celebrate people and suggests Inside PR should take a page from Gini’s strategy and rededicate ourselves to putting listeners back into the podcast.

So we’d like to encourage all of you to join (or rejoin) the conversation and share your questions, insights, and any suggestions for topics you’d like us to cover. We can talk about them on the show and continue the discussion on our Google+ and Facebook pages. We’d love to hear what you have to say.

Next week, we’ll be face to face again keeping it W.E.I.R.D. in Austin at PRSA Counselors Academy Conference. Till then, thanks for listening!

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Send us an email or an audio comment to [email protected], join the Inside PR Google+ Community, join the Inside PR Facebook group, leave us a comment here, message us @inside_pr on Twitter, or connect with Gini Dietrich, Joseph Thornley, and Martin Waxman on Twitter. Our theme music was created by Damon de Szegheo; Roger Dey is our announcer. Inside PR is produced by Kristine Simpson and Ashlea LeCompte.