Good advice is priceless. Not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. Not imaginary, but practical. Not based on fear, but on possibility. Not designed to make you feel better, designed to make you better... find out more...
The most underrated scene in the Wizard of Oz is the hallway leading up to the audience with the great and powerful one. Find out what hallways and marketing / public relations have in common...
Look, there are very few people out there that really think that Malaysian Airlines have handled this crisis well. And even fewer who are PR or Crisis Communications experts. Three very important lessons can be learnt – which can be applied to most companies, whether or not you are flying 660,000 lb mission critical device with 239 souls.... find out what they are...
There is only one questions you need to ask in marketing... what is it? Well, it's simple and it drives your sales success... find out more here...
One of the things as PR pros we can do is for the audience is let them know when it's safe to whoop, holler or applaud.
This is what our clients always want us to do. It’s kind of like how to start a movement.
Often, we hesitate to spread the word and recommend something because it doesn't feel safe to do so. It's better to say nothing than it is to feel stupid.
Joining in on the standing ovation at the end of a Broadway play isn't some sort of callow sellout. It's actually a tradition that offers solace for the timid or uninitiated.
The trick in PR is to get to the tipping point.
The tipping point is when a lone weirdo has attracted so much of a following that it would just feel stupid NOT to join him. Am I thinking Steve Jobs?
We like to learn from the shirtless dancer… if you have not seen his video then here’s a 3-minute version that can spice your day up…
Ever felt like your day is being run by urgent issues that need your attention? Look, it’s the beginning of the year, so maybe it’s time for a business New Year resolution. Time to stop and look around - then to plan for 2014. Your strategic plan can be simple, but the power is unquestionable. Find out how to go or big (or go quick)...
In the past, marketing and technology were considered two vastly different functions. Nothing could be more different today. Marketing is about creating a customer experience. Read the full article here...
Today’s brands face an apparent choice between two evils: continue betting on their increasingly ineffective advertising or put blind faith in the supposedly mystical power of social media, where “Likes” stand in for transactions, and a mass audience is maddeningly elusive. There has to be a better way... In fact there is... it is trust and for an organization to have it they need strong media relations...
Writing for PR can be simple if you follow 4 golden PR rules:
1. Brief—make every word matter. Learn to give bloggers and reporters the one quality they find irresistible.
2. No intro needed—get to the point, FAST. learn how to cut words but keep your message intact and unforgettable. Remember - who, what, where, when and how.
3. Lead—you have to market your writing! Learn to write a headline that anchors readers to your teaser and first paragraph every time. That means being creative and having some fun.
4. Tell the story—if your story isn’t interesting, dramatic, with a real human for a hero, it doesn’t matter how well written it is. Readers crave a story, so you have to give them what they want - a powerful narrative.
Every piece of PR writing is a tool that needs to be carefully crafted. Follow the 4 golden PR rules, and you're set.
If you’re in the business of public relations, then you’re in the business of persuading people.
This happens at two levels:
1 - the wider PR practice – the reason for media interaction and coverage is so we can reach an organization’s PR goals. In essence we’re persuading the target audience to act in a way that is congruent with our objectives. Most often for the clients we represent this is persuading a group of people in a set geography to purchase a given product or service. Of course, when we move into crisis communications, then this objective is often to change the perceived opinions a group of people have about an organization.
2 - at the day-to-day level, if we’re a PR pro that interacts with the media to gain coverage, then we are simply trying to persuade reputable journalist to listen to our message and include it in their reporting.
Either way, we’re in the business of persuading.
So, wouldn’t it be great if we could increase our persuasiveness?
As it turns out, there is quite a considerable amount of scientific research that can make us more effective atpersuading others. It is scientifically validated and often doesn’t cost us any money to implement.
Want to know what the 6 main drivers to increased persuasiveness are?
To sum up – they are:
Reciprocity
Scarcity
Authority
Consistency
Liking
Consensus
I could write about them for a long time, but better still, watch this fantastic video and in under 12 minutes you’ll have mastered how to ethically increase your persuasiveness. A much needed skill in the world of PR.
How good are you at persuading?