Archive for Public Relations
If you’re looking for your next role in public relations, look beyond traditional PR/Media Relations roles. You may not have considered some of the specialty areas of PR open to you and those could be right up your alley. Here are a few areas to consider:
Investor Relations
Public companies have investor relations departments. Usually, these departments are a subset of corporate communications or report into the CFO. Earnings releases, earnings forecasts, annual and quarterly reports and press announcements all fall under the IR department. You will likely be involved in setting up roadshows, where company executives talk to analysts about the health of their company and its stock, conference calls, where executives discuss quarterly earnings, and press announcements.
While you may not need an MBA to work in investor relations, a solid understanding of stocks and finance will help you tremendously. Communication skills and the ability to work hard under pressure, in a regulated environment and with tight deadlines are a must.
Look for jobs in this field if…you enjoy talking finances, mergers and acquisitions, and options.
Corporate Communications
Every company needs someone to write both internal and external communications, including letters, emails, memos, newsletters and promotional material. These days, a Communications Specialist may even handle social media communications. The goal in this niche is to keep all company communications consistent and professional.
You tend to see most openings with larger organizations and companies that need more centralized communications and messaging. In this role, you may be responsible for not only drafting the messaging mentioned above, but also writing press releases and arranging speaking engagements and press conferences.
Most hiring managers look for candidates with 4-year degrees in a communications field, like PR, communications, marketing, or journalism, as well as heavy writing experience. Being creative, fast on your feet and a good decision maker will help you score the job as well.
Look for jobs in this field if…you love writing and working for a large organization.
Community Relations
Creating community awareness of your employer would be your role in the Community Relations niche of PR. Corporations, non-profits, and governmental agencies employ Community Relations Specialists. Building strong relationships with individuals, other business and organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, local media, and government officials is key for this role to generate community awareness.
You may be required to organize community events and develop community outreach programs, in addition to creating buzz about them. You may organize volunteer programs and other community activities that increase employee involvement in the local community and assist with the planning and decision-making for the organization’s charitable contributions in the community.
A degree in PR or Communications is helpful when applying for jobs in Community Relations, public speaking and a solid grasp of social media.
Look for jobs in this field if…you love interacting with people and planning events.
This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
As the media around us continues to change and evolve, PR practitioners are adapting: we’re participating in social media, creating new content to appeal to many different audiences and using various new media formats in our efforts. So, is what we’re doing still “P.R.”? Or do we need a new name for this enhanced role we play?
Arik Hansen blogged recently that we PR pros are evolving into media producers and that “companies will be looking more and more for a professional with storytelling skills. And photography skills. And video producing and editing skills.”
Last year Eloqua was one of the companies that hired its own media producer. It brought Jesse Noyes (@noyesjesse) on board as a corporate reporter. I decided to follow up with Jesse on his experience over the past year and ask him if he has any advice to help PR pros develop skills for this new type of role. He was kind enough to take the time to answer my questions:
How is being a corporate reporter unique? How does it differ from traditional reporting? How does it differ from PR or other marketing functions?
Well, first, the role of an in-house reporter for any brand is not journalism in the traditional sense. Your role is not necessarily to break news, and I don’t think I’ll be hearing from the Pulitzer committee any time soon. You’re there to create editorial content, whether it’s articles, podcasts, videos, etc, that educate or inform or even entertain your audience. While many of the topics I explore might be pertinent to my company or my industry, I’m not here to tout a product or service specifically. Eloqua has charged me with creating stuff that will delight and engage people working at the cross roads of marketing, sales, social media, cloud computing and tech in general – not to sell.
In terms of PR, I have many former newsroom colleagues that have gone on to this field, with great success. But it was never for me. I don’t communicate with the media, pitch stories to news outlets or blogs, or work with analysts. I have great co-workers who do that. Honestly, if you’re calling me to arrange an interview or get a quote, you have the wrong guy.
That said, how does corporate reporting incorporate aspects of traditional journalism and aspects of marketing/PR?
There’s a new mantra within marketing: “Think like a publisher.” That’s all well and good, but I think brands need to take an even bigger step and think like an editor. The publisher at most outlets is supposed to have little involvement with the actual editorial content. In this day and age where publishing tools are cheap and easy, you need the professional skills of an editor and reporter to differentiate yourself. This requires some very basic, but hard-learned, lessons from journalism. Interviewing skills, research skills, proofreading, an ability to jump from subject to subject, even industry to industry, on any given day – these are the purview of the corporate reporter. My purpose is not only to produce great work, but to elevate the content of those working at every level of the company. Those skills are hard to come by, and why I think more brands will be pilfering from newsrooms in the future.
What skills do you think are most important to the corporate reporting role?
As I noted above, the ability to switch from subject to subject, solid editing chops, and expert interview skills are probably the most fundamental. When I started out in the newsroom, I had great editors who made me feel great about my work, even as they ripped it apart and showed me how to do it right. That kind of editing finesse is critical within organizations that want to act as publishers. I’d add an ability to tell a story, is something that can only be learned with time and a lot of tapping on the keyboard. It doesn’t come naturally all that often.
Can any size/type organization benefit from having a corporate reporter on staff?
Absolutely. Large companies benefit by having someone who can oversee the editorial quality of their content, and to push back when it sounds too much like marketing speak. Small companies benefit from someone who can help position them as market leaders, cutting through the noise without a huge budget on their side.
Do you employ different types of media in your reporting, e.g. video, audio, photos?
All of the above.
Who is your primary audience?
People who want to elevate their sales and marketing. This can range from those just starting out in their careers to those at the highest level within an organization. I have written about and interviewed people working at professional sports team to software-makers to business thought leaders.
What kind of response/feedback have you received from Eloqua’s customers/prospects?
By far, the feedback I get from our regular readers is the most encouraging. Often I meet people at conferences or other events, and when I say I work for Eloqua I hear, “I love the content you’re producing!” That’s the best feeling.
What is the hardest part of making a career change for those “old school” journalists who are adapting to market changes and leaving traditional journalism for corporate PR or marketing positions?
Honestly, I think it’s just wrapping your head around it. You work for a company that sells something to someone. Many journalists would struggle with that. But it’s not really that different. I worked for newspapers and ultimately those papers were a business with skin in the game. At the same time, if the company wants to keep a reporter on a short leash, they probably shouldn’t even make the hire. The relationship won’t work if some brand manager wants to control every period and comma.
For PR and marketing types, I think it’s realizing that writing, editing and narrative skills aren’t just polish. They’re critical to your success. And you can’t just take a night class and say you have “reporting skills now.” You have to find the right people and build a relationship with them internally. Luckily, at Eloqua I work with smart people who see the value in a sharp editorial product.
What lessons can PR and marketing types take from traditional journalism folk in this new world?
Interview people. Write everyday. Understand that people care about a good story, not your product. I was always baffled by PR people who would call me and expect me to just write an article about their company. My readers cared about wider trends and changes in the market, not just about some brand’s CEO. Do the work to find the bigger story, and you’ll have more success getting your brand’s own story told.
Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
The public relations industry is constantly changing. It seems like every day there are new tools to master. How can you make sure you’re up to speed when it comes to your next job interview?
Get Smarter
Blogs
Industry learning opportunities are endless. One way to stay current about happenings in the public relations field is by reading blogs, both about public relations as well as the industry you want to work in.
How do you find the right blogs to read? Start with this list of the top 100 PR blogs and then choose the ones you like the best. Check out the links and blogrolls for each blog to find find other related sites and blogs to read.
Press releases
Searching for releases in your industry or areas of interest will give you topic ideas and domain knowledge to potentially share in an interview. By reading press releases, you can get ideas you can incorporate in the releases you write for your clients, too. While we’re on the subject, you should be reading all the recent releases from any agency or company you interview with before the interview.
Twitter
Follow both industry journalists and other PR folks on Twitter. Once you find someone to follow, check their Twitter Lists to see if they’ve categorized other industry people you should follow as well. Sites like Listorious and WeFollow allow you to search a category to follow new people. It’s a great place to start in following thought leaders.
What Hiring Managers Want You to Know
When you’re in your next job interview, what will the hiring manager want you to know?
They expect you to be up to speed on changes in both public relations and the industry you want to work in. That means if Obama passed an economic stimulus package that affects physicians moving to electronic medical records and you’re applying for a job at a healthcare company, you better know all about it!
They expect you to know about the them. If they have a tagline, memorize it. If they have posted their mission statement, read it thoroughly. If you have the job description, you should understand it and have your questions prepared. Read through all their press releases – you should know about the company’s latest news and management hires. If asked, you should be able to name their top five clients. You should also have a general knowledge of the hiring manager’s background by checking out LinkedIn or doing a bit of internet research prior to the interview.
Hiring managers also like you to have diverse interests that will help in coming up with creative ideas and story angles. And every hiring manager in the public relations industry will expect better than average writing skills. Before the interview, prepare a few samples of your work and make sure they are relevant for the position.
Knowing what the market pays in the PR industry can help you ensure that you receive the right package for the job you’re doing. Whether you already have a job or are applying for one, you should do your research beforehand and know the average salary for the position for which you are applying. It’s common to be asked about your salary expectations during a job interview, so you need be prepared to handle the question.
Without knowing this in advance, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. In an existing job, especially if you have long tenure with a company, this information can help position your discussion around a raise at review time.
Just what are PR professionals earning? Let’s take a look at some of the data available. The average salary for a public relations manager within the United States, according to Salary.com, is $85,761, but not surprisingly, the actual amount will vary drastically depending on which state/city you work in and the specific company, industry, and position.
Agency Positions
The figures below are all based on typical earnings from New York City and San Francisco. When it comes to agency positions, the following salaries are fairly common.
Account Coordinator: $35,000 – $45,000
Account Executive: $45,000 – $58,000
Senior Account Executive: $52,000 – $70,000
Account Manager/Account Supervisor: $65,000 – $95,000
Account Director: $80,000 – $120,000
Vice President: $100,000 -$150,000
Senior Vice President, Executive Vice President, General Manager: $150,000 – $250,000
(This information comes from the salary ranges my PR recruiting firm, Paradigm Staffing, sees for the positions we have worked on in 2011 and from the stated current salaries of the candidates we recruit for them.)
Keep in mind that all of these will depend entirely on the position and the structure of the agency. A VP in one agency may be the highest level next to the owner or the General Manager and require 15+ years experience. In another agency, there are still four or five more levels higher than a Vice President and the typical VP has half the years of experience. Other factors that could affect your salary include how many clients you manage, which clients you manage, your industry specialty, the agency size, and your previous salary history with your company or your previous employer.
Bonuses are another factor that are particularly common in smaller agencies that may struggle with offering the most industry competitive base salaries. Many do, however, offer bonuses annually or semi-annually. Some even offer new business commissions to employees who either win a new business pitch or bring in a viable lead to the agency which can significantly boost your income.
In-House Positions
Working in-house means you’ll have the opportunity to work on one brand or in a specific area of communications at the corporate level or within a division. Most larger companies have an in-house PR team and work with external agencies. The wages tend to a bit higher, especially at the junior and mid-levels and discretionary bonuses are common for managers and above, typically 10-20% of the base salary. Salaries tend to be as follows:
PR Specialist: $40,000 – $65,000
PR Manager and Corporate Communications Manager: $65,000 -$120,000
PR Director and Corporate Communications Director: $115,000 – $195,000
Vice President: $140,000 -$195,000+
Sr. Vice President, EVP, Chief Communications Officer – $175,000 to over $300,000
(This information comes from the salary ranges my PR recruiting firm, Paradigm Staffing, sees for the positions we have worked on in 2011 and from the stated current salaries of the candidates we recruit for them.)
Asking for a Raise
When asking for a raise in your current position, you should have a good reason behind asking. Simply telling your boss that you know other PR pros are earning more than you or that you have X amount of time with the company are not compelling enough reasons and you’ll likely annoy your manager more than help your cause. You can certainly arm yourself with information and a carefully thought out plan to present to your boss. When you offer good, quality reasons with plenty of data to back it up and examples of your increased responsibilities/contributions to the company, you’ll find that you have a better chance of getting a salary increase.
This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
Like many people, when it comes to Google+ I’m wary of putting time and energy into another social media network, especially when there’s not a lot to be gained from doing so yet. Unlike the major social networks Google is trying to unseat with Plus (such as Facebook and Twitter), Google+ isn’t attracting the masses and the folks who are attracted are scratching their heads once they join.
So, what is one to do?
First, have some perspective –Google+ got an impressive jump out of the starting gate with 25 million people signing up for it in the first month. Technology “geeks” and social media experts rave about it. On the other hand, Google+ visitors have dropped 37 percent in the last few weeks, according to Alexa and plenty of “ordinary folk” who got into the beta have expressed backlash for Google+.
Give Google a chance – Google+ is currently in a closed beta testing phase but Google appears to be betting heavily on Plus with impressive marketing expenditures. Google has yet to introduce its Google+ pages for businesses, so it’s impossible to say what the business opportunity will be yet (though that isn’t stopping anyone from speculating)
Be patient – as Doug Haslam writes on the Voce Communications blog: “I ask the early adopters not to declare the service dead or the greatest thing ever- mere days into this limited launch. I share the naysayers’ concerns that it will be hard to move people off Facebook and/or Twitter, let alone other services we are used to using, to make Plus the center of our lives. We don’t even know what the services for businesses are going to be, so snap judgments on this new social network are meaningless. I also share the cheerleaders’ enthusiasm- for me, a hope, really- that Google Plus may actually take advantage of the fact many of use disparate Google services like Mail, Documents, even Buzz (guilty, and lonely).”
What do you think? Have you tried Google+? What do you think it’s chances are?
Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
A post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
It’s summer…the mind wanders…and all of a sudden you don’t have the same energy for your PR efforts. Those new media pitches aren’t rolling off the keyboard anymore; you aren’t spending time on networking occasions; or you haven’t, ahem, blogged in awhile.
Fear not, here are a few tips to stay get that motivational juice flowing again:
Hit re-start – take a fresh look at your work and go back to original proposals and/or plans to see if you’re meeting objectives or to gather ideas for other efforts you could be doing
Give yourself permission to roam – some of my best ideas come from surfing the web, clicking through to links that others have shared, and reading whatever catches my interest
Take advice from those who’ve gone before you – you’re not alone and co-workers, colleagues and others in your network or online have plenty of advice to offer about breaking through writer’s block or ideas for generating content
Check out the competition – sometimes nothing gets you motivated faster than the idea of being left behind; looking at your firm’s or client’s competitors and their PR efforts, or checking out what other PR professionals are up to, could be the motivation you seek
This topic came up in a recent #soloPR chat on Twitter and the group had this advice:
Take some time off:
@dariasteigman “When was your last vacation? Just a few days off did wonders for me”
@karenswim “Take some time away, even a day to recharge & assess if you need to change direction”
Look outside yourself for inspiration:
@CommAMMO “Learn something new, talk to someone new, go to a new conference or meeting, have a new martini…”
@BlueprintCG_PR “I get my mojo back by picking up a good business book on what I need insight on”
@REDMEDIAPR “find what your passionate about and start dabbling ex I love wine but have no wine pr exp so cut my rate to get feet wet”
@dconconi “learn a new skill (eg. sm), take a mini break (or a long one), bring in a sub who you can teach (and learn from)”
@BlueprintCG_PR “Always keep reading…it feeds the brain, gives insight, & points u to new directions”
@BlueprintCG_PR “A good workout helps me clear my lungs & recharge my mind”
@sophie180 “Brainstorm! New biz opps or that new BIG idea”
@mdbarber “Meet with another pro and exchange ideas about each other’s job, or another business problem”
Change things up:
The creator and moderator of the SoloPR chat, Kellye Crane says, “Sometimes working from a different location can jump start the mojo.” She added, “Also, is it time to raise your rates? Sometimes we feel defeated when not being paid our worth.”
Consider the big picture:
@dariasteigman “Assess the problem: is it burn out, boring work, uninspired projects, etc.?”
@jenzings “first, step away and identify the problem–what’s boring? The client, the approach, etc. Can’t fix until examine critically”
@KellyeCrane “When in a funk, I start thinking about what it is I *want* to be doing. Then figure out how to do it!”
@jgombita “Is it really the work you are bored with? Or is it other aspects of your life you are unhappy about? (Transferring emotions.)”
[You can read the full #soloPR chat transcript here or at the solopr.com web site.]
Do you have other tips for staying motivated? Please share your ideas in the comments below.
Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
This is a guest post written by Jonathan Rick.
“We’re gonna make your logo pop! We’re gonna make the
IPREX globe spin! And we’re gonna make the buttons beautiful!”
“A button can be beautiful?” asked a skeptical Susan.
“Oh yeah!” beamed a confident Jesse.
It was at this moment that Jesse had Susan. He’d been muddling through the meeting, but this burst of bravura, energy and passion was sincere and infectious—a gust of fresh wind that won him the contract to redesign SusanDavis.com.
Similarly, when I myself interviewed with Susan, things coasted along for the first 15 minutes. She asked about my experience; I provided conventional answers. Then she deployed her pet question: “If you were an animal, what would you be?”
”That’s easy,” I grinned. “I’d be a dog.” It was at this moment that I had Susan. With great pride and obvious pleasure, I regaled her with stories of my miniature schnauzer, Wyatt.
One final example. I was one of three interviewing a potential subcontractor for a Defense Department project. It was clear this husband-and-wife team could do the job, but they lacked fire in the belly. And because it wasn’t clear that they really wanted the gig, it wasn’t clear if they’d be fun to work with.
Sensing this, my boss’s boss changed direction and pinged the pair with the following question: “Can you tell us about any of your extracurricular activities that relate to the military?”
The husband tilted his chair back, searched his memory, then tilted forward. “Sure,” Chris said, as he proceeded to uncork a heartfelt narrative about a recent weekend when he was home playing video games. When his wife returned, she told him about a veterans charity she had just read about. The story so moved Chris that he dropped his controller and stayed up all night voluntarily coding for the nonprofit.
“If these guys can sacrifice their lives for their country, I can sacrifice a night’s sleep,” he said with a gleam in his theretofore sleepy eyes. It was at this moment that he had us.
To an artist like Jesse, attention to the seeming minutia of Web design was no big deal. To a PR guy like me, naming five national reporters mattered more than discussing my dog. To an engineer like Chris, proposals ought to be won or lost on their merits, not on what the bidders do in their spare time.
Yet what all three of us failed to appreciate was the import of passion. Fortunately, we each were tossed a soft ball to rectify this. Not everyone is so lucky. It shouldn’t take prompting to light your fuse.
Passion, of course, isn’t a substitute for talent. It is, however, a key differentiator, revealing what makes you tick, what drives you, what you’re capable of achieving in the right circumstances. To exude such enthusiasm is to show character. To withhold it is to be average.
So, the next time you’re in an important meeting—be it an interview, a sales pitch, even a date—relax that uncomfortable façade, slacken your stilted smile, and unbottle your passion. No doubt, you’ll be more comfortable. And more successful.
Jonathan Rick, a social media strategist in Arlington, Va, blogs at No Straw Men and tweets at @jrick.
A post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
As a free service that lets its users set up an account in just a few seconds, Twitter has made it easy for people to take advantage of its system. Plenty of tweets come from assumed aliases or posers. Why would anyone do this? And what role do fake tweets play in PR?
First, fake tweets can be really entertaining. Many of the fake Twitter aliases dispense pretty hilarious and well-thought out tweets. Everyone from Forbes to Mashable has published a list of the best fake Twitter accounts. They range from crime bosses (there are about a dozen Whitey Bulgers on Twitter and even @Catherine_Greig is tweeting now) to celebrities(@FakeJeter) and from the cast of Star Wars to memes like @FakeAPStyleBook and@shitmydadsays, which seems to have spawned @oldmansearch. Often the entertainment value is in extending the life of a popular news topic, such as the creation of@Bronxzooscobra.
Faux tweets can also help brands engage with audiences in a new way and/or add a new dimension to the brand. For example, the Mad Men TV show characters who tweet in their fictional voices would seem to be a brilliant branding move on behalf of AMC, the show’s creators, and a smart way to extend the brand and keep audiences engaged even when the season is not airing on TV. (The real story is more complicated.)
Another benign reason for skirting total transparency on Twitter is to establish and build authority. For instance, Lindsay’s Twitter handle, @PRjobs, is an easy-to-remember and authoritative name for someone whose job is recruiting PR professionals. Similar to the practice of grabbing up popular web domain names, some Twitter names become sought-after. @Massachusetts isn’t a government agency; it’s the Twitter handle for Trazzler, a travel deal site co-founded by Biz Stone, one of Twitter’s founders.
Twitter is also used strategically to influence audiences or perhaps attack an opponent. This seems to be happening more and more in politics, with opponents creating fake Twitter names to tweet offensive comments about a candidate, as was the case for California State Senator and leading candidate for mayor of San Francisco Leland Yee says the New York Times. In an unusual example of Twitter impersonation, a faux Rahm Emanuel, who presumably sought to entertain when he began tweeting under the handle @MayorEmanuelduring Emanuel’s run for mayor of Chicago, identified himself to the real Rahm Emanuel in exchange for a donation to a local charity.
In typical fashion, campaign managers and PR strategists simultaneously deny involvement with fake Twitter accounts and discount any influence the fake tweets have.
Of course the most infamous fake tweeter so far is @BPGlobalPR, which took advantage of BP’s slow reaction and lack of communication in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to generate negative attention for the BP brand. The creator of @BPGlobalPR shares his thoughts with PRSA in this interview.
Twitter doesn’t endorse phweeters (phony tweeters) or parodies but openly accepts their existence and attempts to help its users identify real versus phony accounts by verifying certain accounts and publishing these guidelines.
Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
A post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
If it weren’t for social media would Anthony Weiner still be a congressman?
Indeed, along with the other insights and lessons his fall from office gives us, is the takeaway that social media can be hazardous to your job.
Since the Weiner scandal, social media has featured numerous other workers who have lost their job over social media missteps, including this round-up of 10 people who lost jobs over social media mistakes on Mashable.
Even folks whose job it is to use social media are not immune to the repercussions:
- In March, Scott Bartosiewicz, an employee at New Media Strategies, the social media agency of record for Chrysler, tweeted a derogatory message about Detroit drivers from the official Chrysler Twitter account, costing his agency its relationship with Chrysler
- This month, The Redner Group, a small PR firm led by Jim Redner, was fired by client 2K games after a frustrated Redner tweeted a threat to withhold review copies of the popular game Duke Nukem Forever if reviewers don’t offer more positive reviews.
- Two years ago, while on his way to give a presentation about digital media to FedEx communications employees, Ketchum VP James Andrews tweeted a derogatory comment about travel to Memphis (where FedEx is headquartered). The tweet rankled FedEx employees who called Andrews out and extracted an apology from him. He kept his job.
In all of these cases, employees are exhibiting poor judgment and making poor choices in expressing themselves. Social media is exposing their mistakes to the public and to their employer.
So far the repercussions have been at employers’ discretion and not based on labor law or legal precedent; however, attorneys and civil rights group are sensing opportunity. As Lisa van der Pool reports for the Boston Business Journal, “there’s growing evidence the National Labor Relations Board will step in and protect workers who complain about their working conditions on social media sites.”
In the mean time, if your job is to project and protect a certain brand or company image, please tweet responsibly!
Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
A post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.
Speaking from a PR perspective (not necessarily my political point of view) I’ve found myself struck by Sarah Palin’s media presence this week. In fact, I can’t escape the media attention being paid to Sarah Palin lately. Although she is not officially running for office, does not currently hold public office (or any job) and is not starring in a reality TV show, she is all over the place. She is touring the country by bus, but in actuality I think she is filling a void and the media’s dreaded dead air time before Republican party candidates get serious. As much as they complain about and mock her, the media is following her every move.
Here’s how she gets their attention:
- Relying on the element of surprise – while other attention-seeking candidates share their every move with the media ahead of time, Palin does not. She even goes so far as to trick the media who are following her in order to slip away from them.
- Scorning the media (they’ll cover her anyway) – According to the New York Times, Palin used “her bus as a decoy at the back entrance of a hotel in Pennsylvania so she could slip out a side entrance” and “[used] a Sarah Palin impersonator in Boston and instruct[ed] her to ‘go talk to all these reporters’ on her behalf.” (Take note, Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen.)
- Rather than rely on traditional media, become the media – As Michelle Cottle wrote about Palin in her piece in The New Republic last summer,
“She is a prolific and passionate tweeter. Her Facebook page overflows with thoughts on global events both past (DDay, Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate speech) and present (Israel, border security, the need to drill, baby, drill); Of course, unlike other categories of the rich and famous, political celebs (especially populist firebrands) cannot risk being seen as remote or out of touch. But here’s where Palin’s embrace of new media saves the day. Her perky, quirky tweets and chatty Facebook items make her fans feel as though they have a direct line to her—despite the oft-voiced assumption that Palin (like so many pols) does not write most (if any) of her own Facebook posts. Such is the beauty of social networking: It allows a public figure to avoid direct interaction with the public while promoting the illusion of personal connection and involvement.”
Cottle summarized Palin’s other PR strategies in last year’s article for The New Republic,
“Her byline pops up now and again in the opinion pages (supporting McCain, bashing enviros). She periodically hits the campaign trail with favored candidates. She is a prolific and passionate tweeter. Her Facebook page overflows with … news of upcoming appearances (a rally at the Lincoln Memorial with Glenn Beck, a possible U.K. jaunt to meet Margaret Thatcher); the latest media atrocities committed against her; and her rolling endorsements of “commonsense conservative” candidates who tickle her fancy. And, any day now, filming is scheduled to start on the docu-travelogue series in which Palin will “bring the wonder and majesty of Alaska” to TLC viewers.
- And, of course, avoiding “gotcha” interviews and remainig in control – Palin rarely sits down with non-conservative interviewers. (She seems to have BFF status with Greta Van Susteren of Fox News, with whom she frequently grants interviews.) And, according to Cottle, Palin “eschews mix-’em-up formats pitting her viewpoint against that of a more liberal counterpart.”
I’m not attempting to discount Palin’s own charisma and ambition, and I’m sure there are countless tactics in play that I’m not even aware of, but I find myself wondering if these PR strategies could serve as case studies for the rest of us?
Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.
This blog is to share my recruiting experiences and discuss thoughts on the job market, PR industry and technology.
Alison Kenney is an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience.
