Some of our clients think Linkedin is for people looking for jobs. This is one social media forum I like and I am seeing it differently. It is helping me stay in touch lightly with people I know or have worked with in the past. The nicest thing that happened recently was when a client sent us an endorsement over Linkedin that we didn’t even ask for.

On the bigger picture, as a PR professional, I don’t like the term “social media,” but it does remind us that this forum is for light and social comments. For corporate reputations and brand maintenance, it is important for organizations to consider some use of it in the overall PR strategy. It should be incorporated into branding guidelines. Move detailed coversations to a private place.

How can a business owner think like a public relations (PR) professional? That was the question I agreed to address in a recent interview with a business reporter. To answer the question one must first understand what PR is. It is not about promotional gimmicks, special events, press releases or “spin,” but rather a management-level function, based upon market research, and designed to manage the reputation of a company. When an organization puts this on the “back burner,” I am concerned because I don’t understand how anything could be more valuable than the corporate reputation.

In fact, in today’s dynamic communications environment proactive public relations efforts should be a bigger top priority than ever before. In this age of social media anyone can claim to be a journalist. If this is not a major concern for the CEO, then surely the risk management officer sees the red flags. Here are five reasons why PR should be top priority now, just to start:

1. Everyone is subject to a communications crisis.
2. Anyone can be a communications channel.
3. A global media environment means opportunities can multiply worldwide.
4. Our websites and online footprint define us.
5. Your competition will use the channels to define you.

Even without a huge budget, executives can participate in forums, write articles, maintain a web site and comment on articles of interest to the company. To keep this cost effective, I recommend choosing a theme that supports your mission and focusing most communications around that theme as much as possible. This enables you to repeat stories in many formats. In essence you will be recycling information, but establishing yourself as a “thought leader” on a subject that helps define you or your organization. An editor can help to polish what is written, and even a small PR agency can ensure that your knowledge is widely delivered through online and traditional media channels.

Web sites today are designed with content management software so that anyone in your company can easily keep the content current, adding articles, press releases and notices. It is also just as easy for anyone to use free Google tools to see the number of visitors to your site and where they go and what search terms they use.

Even with the inexpensive or free online tools available today, you would be surprised at the number of companies who don’t keep their sites current and don’t know what their visitors want to read or how they search for them. That would be like opening a store and then going on a permanent vacation.

What to do:
• Establish a proactive PR plan.
• Create branding and communications protocol.
• Develop processes for managing communications flow in a crisis.
• Train spokespersons to respond to media inquiries.
• Pump up the news area of web sites and keep information online current.
• Be your own channel of information.

We’ve been in business since 1989 as a virtual agency serving clients in North America and Europe with a focus on delivering top quality work most efficiently. We were on what we used call the “Information Highway” well before most people had discovered the Internet. Thus, our 10 to 12 associates usually were able to avoid routine commutes on the gas hogging Interstates around Washington and other major hubs for 20 years.

In that same time period we have consumed far less paper and each of us only needed to reserve a room in our homes that was going to be heated or cooled anyway. While we have always kept current with technology, we have recycled computers by donating them to charitable organizations or passed them to our children for their school work.

We were doing what was good for the environment long before there was a social push for this. But that is just part of our culture. We’re a PR agency that is frequently acting in ways that are only noted in the news as trends much later. That’s pretty green. What about you?

I heard an interesting description today for people who grew up in the digital era….” digital natives.” That makes me a “digital immigrant,” one who is still trying to learn the language, the culture, and new rules of engagement. I hope eventually to feel like I really belong and will be accepted by the “natives.” At a luncheon conference today on “social media” we arrived to a meeting room prepared with the biggest screen ever filling up almost an entire wall, and the screen was the Windows desktop I see on my various computers. My internal reaction was that I was comforted by this–that I anticipated the presentation would involve looking around on the Web with our Web- savvy presenters. The experts–from DOD’s interactive communications division–were impressive, but they wasted too much time trying to get a Power Point presentation to work, rather than just going online and giving us a tour of where they go to interact online. I did appreciate that they took time for our questions and that they genuinely shared what they thought about the possibilities for applying social online networking tools in our businesses. The greatest take-away for me was the notion of being a digital immigrant. The term gives me something to talk about with my immigrant friends in my real life networking where I am just as comfortable talking to real people, having a refreshment with them, listening, laughing and letting it all disappear into thin air while my Blackberry is off–or at least on vibrate, and the conversation ends there.

Today’s headlines are dominated by the ‘R’ word—recession. While pundits disagree about whether we’re already in a recession or on the verge, the time has never been better to recession-proof your brand and market share through more targeted and strategic promotion.

In today’s economic environment, market research in the form of customer surveys, focus groups, and Internet surveys is more critical than ever to ensure that campaigns are well aligned with audience interests and priorities—and marketing dollars are wisely spent.

It’s also a good time to step back and evaluate your Web site to see how it can be more engaging. The Web continues to be a prime marketing tool, but only when sites are dynamic, interactive, and continually refreshed. More and more, online communities, social media, and Web 2.0 tools—from blogs to user groups—are key to promoting customer relationships, building brand awareness, and reinforcing the perceived value of your products and services.

The cost of video production has diminished as the availability and affordability of cameras has increased. When You Tube became a go-to place on the web, a new communications trend emerged. However, as was the case during the desktop publishing trend of the 1980s, everyone will try it, but only some will last. A good production still requires professional writing, design, narration, quality shoots, lighting and professional
production. Our sample is only the beginning of what we can do, but it reflects the new casual shoot, edit and upload ability the You Tube generation brings to our arsenal of communication tools. In a studio, with professional broadcasters and a well developed script, a high quality production can help our clients take their web sites to the next level and for a fraction of the cost once required to employ broadcasting in campaigns. See video clip as sample of first cut.

One of the most powerful and influential tools used by public relations practitioners is writing articles for magazines that reach a targeted audience. It can reflect an expert’s knowledge or a CEO’s leadership. The article can create understanding of a difficult issue or a complicated product. It also can establish credibility, like advertising rarely does.

PR professionals measure the success of such placements by multiplying the advertising placement value of the space gained three times. So a full page of text featuring an individual or an organization in an article would be valued at $15,000 (given an ad rate of $5,000 per page).

What’s more important though is to produce a high quality story with valuable content and your key messaging–that is timely and relevant to readers. It is critical to ensure that the angle matches up with the editorial mission of the publication. Keep in mind you want to be invited back for a future opportunity.

The best PR professionals for this task are former journalists who have worked within the media. They know what editors are looking for, respect deadlines and are usually very good at identifying a strong story angle. The first step is to thoroughly research your target publication, examine their editorial calendars and then see how the client’s stories might fit into the story plans. A pitch is then created. This is usually no more than a paragraph or two that is prepared to be spoken by phone and also e-mailed. It may take several or more attempts to pitch and win the opportunity.

A lot of time is saved by doing the advance research because there are many publications that will never consider a submitted article no matter how great the pitch is. It is usually cost efficient to work with a PR agent who knows the industry you are in and has connections or can quickly make them in that segment.

After the opportunity is gained, the PR agent and/or his writers and editors produce an outline for the story which is then reviewed by both the client and editor. This is a good step to take because it can save time and money. If a 2,000 word article is written in fully and then rejected, you are back to the “drawing board.”

Before employing any writers, review samples of their work and ask them what questions they would pose, what sources they would tap, and how they would create the article. There is an art to succeeding with this PR tool; it takes planning, communication and coordination, as well as understanding of media.

After you are published, take advantage of this by ordering reprints to distribute to your customers, and note the article on your Web site.