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“Press releases are a tricky thing to get right,” writes Business Insider reporter Joe Pompeo. “One simple mistake — like a poor headline or mere typo — can make you lose readers and once they’re gone, they’re not coming back.” To make sure you write a great press release to get the attention of journalists, you should follow these five simple tips.
That’s right; the median salary of young women in 147 out of 150 U.S. communities is 8 percent higher than men in their peer group, according to a new study. “In two cities, Atlanta and Memphis, those women are making about 20 percent more,” Time reported. In New York City and Los Angeles, young women earn 17 percent and 12 percent more than their male peers, respectively. But there’s a catch, and here’s where that asterisk in the headlines comes into play: “This reverse gender gap, as it's known, applies only to unmarried, childless women under 30 who live in cities,” Time reports. “The rest of working women — even those of the same age, but who are married or don't live in a major metropolitan area — are still on the less scenic side of the wage divide.”
Finally, a set of corporate social media mistakes that actually tackle real business realities! Some corporations are using social media, but if you stop educating executives and employees too soon, or offer too many choices of social networks, you run the risk of failure. All of these mistakes are common, but course correction is possible with the right commitment from communications staff, coupled with executive support. — Claire Celsi
It’s no surprise that shouting at people online is a deterrent to business. Social media consultant Shonali Burke says if your Twitter stream is filled with breathless shrieks like, “[My company] just did _____!” or “Wow, what a great offer!” or you badger your followers with tweets like, “ONE DAY ONLY! PLEASE RT!” you need to refine your communication skills. — Susan Young
Get your bookmark button ready. Online marketing exec Tom Pick selected a batch of useful posts that PR pros will cherish. Included in his 2010 “best of” compilation is some great advice from Chris Brogan about blogger outreach. These are resources you'll come back to again and again.
Just in case you were feeling good about humanity, Gawker obtained a copy of an actual pitch that was sent to entertainment execs. A young go-getter in Manhattan is pitching a reality show about his 25-year-old “cool as hell” friend. “What I've seen her do in the last month is so amazing it's something that has to be shared,” he wrote. “She has managed to play four different men, one being an NFL star, and live the most unreal life anyone could live while still being low profile. … Just seeing the craziness in her life is something that anyone would love to see and I know you would feel the same way. This is NOT a joke.” Maybe not, but it is hilarious.
PR Daily Europe contributor Jody Koehler sent this video to the Watch This desk with the following note: “Check out this extraordinary and innovative way of using the YouTube platform. The video features actor Sylvester Stallone promoting The Expendables when suddenly bad guys from the recommended videos on the right start pointing their guns at him. All hell breaks lose after that.” Look out, clip includes gratuitous explosions and Guns N' Roses music.
“Since most would-be readers [of your blog] use search engines to find blog posts, you need to make sure that Google ranks your site highly when those readers search for terms related to your business and the content you're writing,” writes Mashable’s Samuel Axon. How do you improve your SEO? You can start by following these four tips. — Matthew Royse
Before the economy collapsed, sustainability and “going green” were popular trends for corporations. Not anymore, say consumers and executives at Fortune 1000 companies. According to a poll released last month by Gibbs & Soell Public Relations, a mere 16 percent of consumers said they believe most or all businesses “are committed to ‘going green,’” reports Adweek. Among executives, 29 percent agreed that “most or all companies are committed to going green,” the poll found. Why are barely a third of major companies committed to sustainability? Blame the consumer and ROI, say execs. “When asked to identify ‘the barriers, if any, to more businesses’ going green,’ 71 percent of the survey's executives cited ‘consumers' unwillingness to pay a premium for green products or services,’” according to Adweek.
We're all trying to find ways to prove to clients that we really do know what we're talking about. Richard Pentin at If Only Blog pulled together the latest stats to provide an overview of the essential tools for understanding customers’ social media behavior. At the very least you can wow your co-workers with your statistical knowledge. — Beth Carroll, contributor to PR Daily Europe
That’s life, Tiki. You’re riding high in April, shot down in May — when NBC fired Barber as “Today Show” correspondent and NFL commentator. That month Barber’s wife delivered twins; unfortunately, Barber had already left her (after 11 years of marriage) for a 23-year-old ex-NBC intern. The New York Postreports that Barber has hired 5WPR — his third PR firm — to help repair his bruised image. Watch out for that redemption tour.
Don't wait until the end of your media relations campaign to think about measurement. Build them into your plan at the beginning. In an upcoming PR Daily webinar, Ketchum's Dr. David Rockland will show you how to design your own measurement program inexpensively and to work with the newly adopted Barcelona Principles of PR Measurement. Read more about this event.
Shows like “Sex & the City,” “PoweR Girls,” and “SPINdustry” do nothing more than sensationalize what we do for a living in a fairly harmful and untruthful way,” writes PR pro Gini Dietrich. She argues that PR and publicity are not the same. Do you agree? — Matthew Royse
Michigan-based Steelcase, a global leader in the office furniture industry, is hiring a marketing communications specialist responsible for the coordination, implementation, and execution of strategic and measurable public relations activities. Read more about this job.
Junior high students — and men with the mentality of junior high students — are chuckling everywhere. Too bad this story is really quite tragic. The victim’s family — those related to Mr. Samuel Boob — is undoubtedly thrilled to read readers’ comments like: “LOL Butts” and “LOL Boobs.” Classy. (Here’s a screenshot just in case WTAJ changed the headline and deleted the comments.)
A Nevada lawmaker wants to pass a resolution about the pronunciation of the word, "Nevada." That got a MyRagan-ite thinking: More commonly mispronounced words need legislation, too. Which ones would you choose?
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