The ideal candidate possesses 1 to 3 years of national public relations experience in a variety of industries. Agency experience is required. Excellent writing skills, extensive experience with the press, knowledge of social media and the ability to multi-task, all with a sense of humor, are key. Must be able to demonstrate relationships and success with the nation’s top consumer broadcast, print and trade press as well as social media prowess. Please send salary requirements in addition to qualifications.

We are a savvy, hardworking and smart team focused on executing targeted and results-oriented campaigns for our clients. We believe that a balance between work and outside activities keeps us eager and excited about our programs, and we enjoy a casual and comfortable work environment in our Solana Beach, CA (San Diego) office located two blocks from the beach. For more information about our company visit our Web site at www.rkpr.net.

Instructions – Please send resume with cover letter to info@rkpr.net, or if linking to a Linkedin profile include an introduction in your email. Please do not apply if you do not have public relations experience – this is not a sales position. We are not currently looking for consultants or senior-level talent. Absolutely no phone calls.

The writer makes some comparisons of being overweight vs. obese, some suggestions on how to lose weight and uses some choice words like “disgusting,” “grossed out” and “rolls and rolls of fat.” The post incensed so many people that the magazine has even become a trending topic on Twitter, and Facebook comments are scathing. In addition, scores of bloggers have been posting responses and mainstream media is also chiming in, including this story from the New York Daily News. In the olden days a few letters to the editor might have made it to the magazine’s front pages, but in today’s world of immediate response through social media, it takes only minutes to launch a war of words by thousands.

Yikes! I’m a huge fan of Marie Claire and have been a subscriber for years. I enjoy the mix of fashion commentary and compelling editorial the magazine provides. But it’s not hard to see how this post would be offensive to scores of people, and come off harsh and discriminatory. The writer issued an update that included an apology, and proceeded to respond to some of the 300+ comments (I’m having trouble finding her comments now, so you’ll probably have to dig.) Her apology alluded to her battle with an eating disorder, although her original post provided easy-to-follow instructions on how overweight people could shed pounds, which only served to flame the fire more. From the looks of the comments, readers aren’t feeling too forgiving.

Marie Claire has posted this response on its Facebook page:

Hey guys, we’ve heard from thousands of people today regarding MC.com blogger Maura Kelly’s controversial op-ed. She has been interacting with readers on our site throughout the day, and has also just posted an apology that’s updated on the original post (link below). Please take a look and continue to share your feedback, thanks

From a PR standpoint, there’s a lot to talk about here. It’s clear at this point the magazine isn’t taking ownership of the content. Is there an apology due in the first place, or is good editorial designed to incite conversation and debate? Did the magazine erroneously let the writer take the fall? Should senior management chime in? How would you suggest they respond? What can Marie Claire do to regain the trust of its readers, or have they dismantled the work they’ve put into being a magazine for all women? I’d love to get your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo Credit : Clouda9

• Mass Direct Message Delete Capability – Like emails, DM’s are one of those pesky things that add up quickly, until you have more than 600 like I do. I hope you all manage your messages better than me, but wouldn’t it be great to delete them all with click?

• Sort Function for DMs – While we are on the topic of DMs, have you ever thought of an old DM you wanted to revisit, only to find you had to slowly go through each page until you could find it? It would be much more efficient to sort by sender, as a start. It’d be even more awesome to search by keyword, but let’s not get greedy.

• Longer Shelf-Life for Searches – PR expert @jgoldsborough and I remember the good ole’ days in Twitter’s younger years when we could go back much farther in time to track activity on a certain topic. Now, search.twitter.com only goes back several days. Can we please go back months instead of days? This is also important for Twitter as they expand resources for businesses – in order to track conversations and trends to prove the social network is a viable marketing tool, we need a more robust archive to study.

• List Notification – Lists are an important way to gauge influence on Twitter, trumping followers when automated follow tools may artificially inflate perceived popularity. Lists can also help signal users that they are important to those in their communities. PR and social media strategist @timotis would love to see some sort of notification that you’ve been added to a list. Sometimes it’s impossible to keep track.

• Manage Multiple Accounts in Web – Most of the many Twitter functions trump Twitter’s own interface because they feature sophisticated functions like the ability to manage multiple accounts from one page. Social media practitioner @samirb mentioned how great it would be if Twitter would add this function, which would encourage more usage of Twitter’s Web version.

• DM Multiple Accounts –PR and social media whiz @ryanmathre suggested that, outside of the annoying auto-DM, the ability to “CC” multiple Twitter accounts via DM would help streamline correspondence as we look more and more to the social network for communication.

• Easier to Search by Geography – Public relations and social media pro @arikhanson suggested that an easier way to search by geographic location would be a valuable upgrade. I agree, as geo-targeting has become critically important for marketers this year. I’d go farther and suggest additional ways to better search the people you want to reach, such as by profession or interests.

• More Detailed Follow Notifications – The current email notification sent by Twitter only includes the new followers name and many followers he or she has, and how many people are followed. What’s more valuable, in my opinion, is the bio which appears on every profile page. I’d love to see that at a glance, to help me decide if we might have a good connection. Right now, the numbers don’t mean much to me.

I couldn’t include every great idea, so I just posted some of my favorites. To reiterate, I know everyone who answered, myself included, are huge Twitter fans, so trust me when we say we aren’t being critical. We’ve simply integrated the network into our daily routines so heavily it’s easy to create a wish list of new and improved features. What did we leave out? If you were in charge of product development, what would you put on Twitter’s roadmap? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Photo credit: alicepopkorn

Heffernan made one suggestion in particular that discredits some of the skills that PR people bring to the table. The concept of “Pay for Performance,” meaning that clients pay for actual secured media coverage, sounds good in theory. The problem is that good PR agencies do a lot more than dialing for dollars. A couple of things the Pay for Performance model doesn’t take into consideration:

· PR planning – While most of us win programs via our PR plans, those overarching communication strategies are constantly evolving. Good PR pros will locate your target audience, monitor your competitors, identify vehicles to communicate the message, pinpoint seasonal or newsworthy tie-ins, trend watch etc… That takes time, and its valuable research that can be used for a comprehensive marketing plan.

· Communication architecture – Companies understand their value to their constituents, unfortunately, not everyone knows how to translate those benefits into persuasive messages. Good PR pros help with that, and create influential messaging that can be used across the board to effectively communicate that goal.

· Full service communication – Media relations is one vehicle for public relations. A true PR program also includes social media messaging and education, grassroots outreach, trade show and event attendance, sponsorships, award identification, charitable tie-ins, stunts, and the list goes on. Each program is different. And if you are relying solely on media hits, you aren’t getting your bucks worth.

· Relationship building – We work hard to create relationships with press and other influencers, and we are constantly developing those relationships as we connect on your behalf. In terms of media relations, we may influence a story that hits stands an year or more from the initial outreach. I once spent a year traveling, talking, massaging a story for a top tier fashion glossy, and a year and a half for a blurb in USA Today. What may not fit today may fit a year from now. We aren’t placing ads, so we can’t control that.

· Quality – What makes a great placement? The circulation of the magazine? A Quote? A link to a Web site? How many times it’s shared across the Internet? A picture? How do you place a value on the results of a media placement? Column inches is a poor measurement on the impact a good placement has. Maybe there are better benchmarks, like awareness, site traffic, donations, changing of perception.

· Long term groundswell – A one hit wonder is rarely a sustainable business. You have to look in the future to see if a communication strategy turned the dial. That doesn’t happen overnight, even for large companies. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where we can see, at an instant, the impact we’ve had on the bottom line. Good PR pros are setting the stage for a long term advancement in awareness and education. Identify success metrics and see how (or if) those metrics change after a period of time. Is the message succeeding?

What do you think? Should PR pros own up to the fact that media hits are our bread and butter, and only charge a client on hits secured? Is all of the rest designed to achieve that goal? I welcome your thoughts in the comments.

Photo credit: tim pitt

I own a PR agency. Our clients are companies selling products for the most part. Consumer products and services – sports, fashion, food, technology. Not too much controversy and certainly nothing political. The faces behind the companies are an incredible mix of people with different lifestyles, views, religions and ideals. While you’ll often hear me share my views of PR, social media, marketing and maybe some other stuff (like my love of animals), you won’t hear me share my viewpoints on politics or religion. I consider it my obligation to my clients to remain neutral publically. I also expect that my employees will remain neutral on topics for the sake of our clients. I believe that when you take on the task of representing a diverse mix of clients, it’s your obligation (as a member of their teams) to censor what you put out in the public world of social media.

I look to other PR practitioners and others in the client-facing business world to weigh in. Is it important in a client-based business to keep your views more private so as not to alienate your clients? Or as individuals with our own interests and causes, is it important to comment on topics that you believe in, despite the consequences? Are these two separate worlds, or should we always consider the way we present ourselves in public to be directly associated with our work?

Photo credit: Tiago Ribiero

The Inconvenient PR Truth campaign focuses on the belief that media relations should be rooted in relationships and targeted, appropriate outreach. While completely true, this isn’t a groundbreaking revelation. PR people and journalists have been promoting this type of interaction for decades. Hopefully PR people who continue to toss spam at reporters will seal their own fates. As an industry, we can and should promote and demand positive media relations habits and work hard to educate our peers on the long term benefits of knowing how and when to pitch a story. My question; however, is whether or not putting a Bill of Rights in writing is continuing to throw our industry under the bus. Do we continue to promote the bad seeds, fueling the sour taste for PR, rather than showcase the successes we drive on a daily basis? Who becomes the PR police in enforcing these rules? Is this really executable? I’d love to hear from PR people and journalists on their thoughts in the comments below.

Enter Bristol’s first crisis communications challenge – the negative reactions to her own company.   Although the story appears to have broken two days ago, it appears we haven’t heard a word from BSMP LLC., other than a fairly cryptic response from her lawyer confirming the company exists.  It’s still unclear whether she has created an agency in the “traditional” sense of the word, where she will take on clients and execute plans.  The Twitterverse has been abuzz and The Huffington Post’s story has received more than 2,000 comments.  I’m sure Bristol’s camp is monitoring “her brand,” but so far they’ve chosen not to respond, which is an atypical strategy from a PR firm.

In my opinion, it’s time to calm the waters with a clear explanation of the intent of the company and the motivation behind a career in public relations.  As with any uproar, the more transparent and informative you can be, the less inclined people will be to come to their own conclusions.  What do you think? What do you recommend Bristol do in response to all the buzz?

Photo credit: O6scura

Newspapers

1. The Wall Street Journal
• Circulation – 2,024,269
• Web site traffic – 4,200,000

2. USA Today
• Circulation – 1,900,116
• Web site traffic – 5,500,000

3. The New York Times
• Circulation – 927,851
• Web site traffic – 14,200,000

4. Los Angeles Times
• Circulation — 657,467
• Web site traffic – 6,900,000

5. The Washington Post
• Circulation – 582,844
• Web site traffic – 5,800,000

6. Daily News
• Circulation – 544,167
• Web site traffic – 6,300,000

7. New York Post
• Circulation – 508,042
• Web site traffic – 2,900,000

8. Chicago Tribune
• Circulation – 465,892
• Web site traffic – 2,600,000

9. Toronto Star
• Circulation – 418,966
• Web site traffic – 670,800

10. Houston Chronicle
• Circulation – 384,419
• Web site traffic – 3,000,000

Magazines

1. AARP Bulletin Today
• Circulation – 24,305,715
• Web site traffic – 1,000,000

2. AARP the Magazine
• Circulation – 24,554,819
• Web site traffic – 248,400

3. Best Read Guides Inc.
• Circulation – 17,000,000
• Web site traffic – Not available

4. The Costco Connection
• Circulation – 8,217,263
• Web site traffic – 70,100

5. Reader’s Digest
• Circulation – 8,158,652
• Web site traffic – 771,200

6. Better Homes & Gardens
• Circulation – 7,634,197
• Web site traffic – 11,000,000

7. Weekly Reader
• Circulation – 7,000,000
• Web site traffic – 12,400

8. Kraft Food & Family
• Circulation – 6,625,000
• Web site traffic – 2,400,000 (Kraft Web site, magazine does not have dedicated site)

9. Hustler
• Circulation – 5,000,000
• Web site traffic – 921,000

10. National Geographic Magazine
• Circulation – 4,708,307
• Web site traffic – 5,900,000

Photo credit: Macrophile

One seminar in particular, People are the Killer APP: How to Grow Word-Of Mouth Movements With Your Brand Fans, was led by Geno Church, WOM Inspiration Officer for Brains on Fire. During the session, Church walked us through a case study of Fiskars scissors. The company sought to ingratiate themselves with the growing number of scrapbookers, a passionate and community-minded group of craftsladies (and men), who are eager to embrace the latest and greatest tools to make their memory books, well, memorable. I’m not a scrapbooker myself (my craftiest moments result in doodles during long conference calls) but I can certainly appreciate not only the creativity, but the camaraderie, that goes into the loved creations.

I was skeptical. Scissors? How is it possible to get a group so jazzed over a non-descript pair of scissors?

I, like most of the audience, was blown away at the picture of brand ambassadorship that unfolded before me. The effort seemed to have created a significant amount of infatuation for something normally shoved in the back of your gift wrap drawer. It’s not often you see such a surge of community spirit, with brand advocates providing priceless endorsement. The effort was, no doubt, incredible. When Church opened the floor to questions, one attendee asked the question I believe was on all of our minds – what kind of budget should you allot for a campaign of this magnitude? Church obviously couldn’t give client-specific numbers, but said it makes sense to assume $300,000 to half a million big ones for a effort of such magnitude.

Cue record scratch.

Many of us work with brands that simply can’t, especially in this economic climate, afford to invest that kind of money in any marketing effort. I wasn’t deflated, and marketers and PR agencies shouldn’t be either. There are many ways companies can propel off and online WOM with very little expense. I’ve put together a short list, and I welcome your creative minds to add your ideas and success stories.

• Start Talking – Joining the online conversation really doesn’t cost anything and can be a very powerful way to humanize your brand with influencers and customers. We “overheard” a blog conversation (using SocialMention) that included a client. We alerted the client who commented with a thank you and clarification of some questions. The blogger was very appreciative and responded by enabling our client to post a coupon, writing another post and including the product in her weekly newsletter with a kind endorsement. Score!

• Unofficial Official – Empower your consumers to play a role in product development and direction, and they’ll feel a sense of ownership and help you spread the word. We helped create a program inviting consumers of a natural foods company to name the next flavor of an existing product. The response was overwhelming, as entrants became immersed in the brand experience and engaged in online conversation about the contest. For another product, the company was preparing to launch a brand new product, so we helped solicit an elite team of beta testers to get the first taste and share their feedback, again, creating passionate brand ownership.

• Refer a Friend – I hate to spam my friends, but when Bluefly gives me another chance at a Chloe bag just for telling a couple friends, I’m a sellout. Incentivizing consumers to “Tell two more” can be a great way to earn a peer-to-peer endorsement.

• Team Player – When employees feel loyalty about a company, they can become both internal and external cheerleaders for your goals and mission. Kashi, a leader in the natural food space, is a perfect example of admiration built upon sheer brand passion. Employees are featured in ad campaigns and walk the streets sporting their company pride in logo shirts, as well as very honestly touting their Kashi-love on social networks and to friends and peers. It’s infectious.

What other ways can company generate word-of mouth without the big bucks. Is it necessary or smart to break the bank?

Photo credit: AComment

• R.E.S.P.E.C.T – While we all have great contacts with journalists and bloggers alike, the way we built those relationships was by showing an element of respect for and knowledge of their content, pitching style and by taking note of what makes them tick. Twitter’s 140 characters doesn’t mean we throw that approach out the window. I’ve noticed a number of rogue PR folks hounding press with invites to their next events, prodding them to cover their news stories or generally assuming a too familiar tone. That’s the wrong way to get media to notice you and can get you a one-way ticket to the blacklist. How to get noticed in a positive way? Read and retweet their blog posts, comment on their tweets in a personalized but not over-familiar way or even ask them questions about subjects in which they offer an expertise. Tread lightly until you have a good understanding of their comfort levels.

• The Name Drop – I’m sorry, but we’re on to you. We know that the Twitter convo you’ve been carrying on with Alyssa Milano is just a one –way dialogue. I know you’re both Dodger fans and both love pink (actually I don’t know if she likes pink) but girl has 300,000 followers and I’m guessing she might not be as quick as you to schedule that slumber party. You never know when something you tweet might resonate with a celebrity – it’s happened – but there’s a fine line between responding to a tweet and battering anyone, celebrity or non, with umpteen tweets to which you get radio silence (and might be perceived as stalking). I’m sorry, but she’s just not that into you. While Twitter enables us to connect with press, celebrities, and colleagues, remember that one of the best ways to build your community is by sharing ideas with peers, not trying to ingratiate yourself only with the uppercrust.

• It Must be Some Terrible Mistake, But I Forgive You – Visions of sad puppy dogs dance in my head when I see “I tried to DM you but you aren’t following me .” Calling a media person out publicly for not following you unless they have requested a direct message is just plain tacky. That’s the beauty of Twitter, we have the opportunity to follow the tweet streams of those we find of interest. As PR people we have an important reason for following press, celebrities, politicians etc… They probably do not see the same value in following us unless we’ve built a relationship. Putting someone on the spot will just create an awkward moment.

Does this sound familiar? Do you think the loudest voice in the room gets the most attention, or do you think it’s best to test the waters on Twitter first? I’d love to hear some examples.

Photo credit: CarbonNYC