Whether it’s at a dinner party, on a plane or every time I make a trip home to my beloved home state of Florida and my [insert just about any family member here] asks for the ump-teenth time, the most common question I’m asked about my job is, “So, what is public relations? Really? What do you do?”

I usually give a standard response about the role of public relations within an organization and the services an agency provides its clients (along with an explanation of how public relations is different than advertising—somehow, this seems to be a confusing concept). But recently these questions have gotten me thinking more about who we are as public relations professionals.

Here’s what I’ve come up with: We are researchers, relationship builders, listeners, strategists, news connoisseurs, networkers, communicators, advisers and problem solvers.

Sometimes we are crisis managers, event planners and travelers. Occasionally we are printer technicians. Often we are writers. Pitch writers, speech writers, Web copy writers, tweet writers. We are reporters, as one colleague recently documented.

[I’m not done and already that’s a long list. No wonder our days are so busy!]

In the ever-changing digital age, we’ve become photographers, videographers, designers and social media mavens. Thanks to Matter Chatter, we’re even bloggers.

Always, we are students, forever learning about our clients, new media trends, best practices in PR and much more. Personally, one of my favorite things about working in PR is the chance to learn something new every day and to study under the tutelage of my savvy, dynamic and creative colleagues.

We are Jacks and Jills of many trades, us PR professionals. It’s part of our job description. We have to play many roles, to keep up with the times, provide our clients with the best services and results possible and advance our profession. I don’t think we’d want it any other way, though. Don’t we thrive on the challenge and variety of our jobs? I do.

I’d rather be called crazy than boring.

Sure, that could be applied to my personal life, but it’s something I’ve always said about client relations.  To me, there is nothing worse than having a client part ways because they felt like they were sold on creativity, only to be managed by a team that was okay with things being “status quo.”

In today’s world, status quo just doesn’t cut it.  Status quo isn’t going to get the attention of the reporters who are stretched too thin and are tasked with finding the stories that are impactful AND will drive click-throughs.  Status quo isn’t going to create evangelists for your brand.  Status quo isn’t going to drive enough sales to justify a significant PR spend.

When I saw this infographic on PR Newser (based on soon-to-be released research from the Horn Group and Kelton Research called The CMO Challenge) – the number that jumped out at me was that only 3% of CMOs felt like their agencies were leading the charge for innovation.  Three percent is a sad, sad number.

I have sat in a lot of brainstorming meetings in my career.  It’s probably my favorite part of this job.  And, in almost every one of them,  one or two crazy ideas surface.  Crazy ideas that are actually tied to a client/prospect’s business goals and/or objectives.  Crazy ideas that could help a company break away from the status quo pack and get some well-deserved attention. I have been part of pitch teams where I KNOW that the ideas are what sealed the deal.  I have pitched crazy ideas to many clients – and they are usually met with a twinge of excitement and a general appreciation that their PR partner is thinking about things differently.

To me, the biggest affront to my professional pride is to hear that we didn’t win a piece of business because our ideas “weren’t creative enough.” I know I can’t win them all, but I’d rather not participate if my team can’t — because they don’t have the time or the ability — deliver thinking that inspires the imagination and gets people excited. I hate to disagree with the popular axiom, but showing up IS NOT half the battle. A chimpanzee can show up.

Sure, it’s true that sometimes creative ideas don’t stand up to rigorous vetting against the goals of a business. Not all of them are going to be winners and, let’s face it, some of them turn out to be kind of nutty in retrospect.

But long-term clients of mine have told me time and again to “keep the crazy ideas coming.” They never ask for ideas that will maintain the status quo. Clients never urgently call me for ho-hum ideas.

So I’m okay with crazy.  I’ll never be okay with boring, and you shouldn’t be either.

I have recently realized that without meaning to do it, I have fallen in love with Twitter. I love it for my clients, who use it as a way to get closer to their customers and employees. I love it for me professionally because I can see what my smart clients and reporter friends are interested in/reading/looking at/looking for right now. I love it for me personally, because it gives me a good laugh and keeps me up to speed all day long without taking all my time; there’s nothing like 140 characters for efficiency and clarity.

I know I’m not alone, but sometimes being on Twitter – even though it’s my job to be current and even though it’s mostly in the background  – feels a little like playing hooky from work. Like when I laugh out loud at something (@30_Rock_Quotes), or I spy (and buy) a great handbag on sale from @kspadesales (only two left! 50% off!), or I read some crazy article about a woman trying to get her husband out of jail in a suitcase. Sometimes, on good days, I feel like I’m at a really great cocktail or dinner party, listening to people who are belly-laugh funny, but who are also being really honest about the things that make them think, or wonder …or just say “huh.”

Now listen, please don’t email me now to tell me it’s FINE to be on Twitter, and tell me all the reasons why. People pay Matter to know all about Twitter, and to help be their voice on it. So, yes, I know I’m not REALLY doing anything wrong, but I can’t stop my 40-something, Irish Catholic conscience telling me that I probably just should not be having this much fun at work all day.

So just for fun, I decided to check around with my super smart Matter colleagues to see who they follow, and why…I did this partly to round out this blog, and partly to be sure that I’m not abusing my Twitter time (refer back to Irish Catholic guilt, which just keeps coming back at you even when you tell it it’s not necessary). I learned some fun things about who people follow, but more importantly why they follow that person. Here’s a top line rundown of why people follow who they do:

They are funny (we all need a good laugh, or 15, every day)

They give me something (leads on stories they’re writing) (oh, and see above bag anecdote – I am not alone on that one)

They give me information (school vote tonight, park committee meeting Saturday, etc.)

They’re famous (Cher, Shaq, Mia – the cobra who escaped the Bronx Zoo @BronxZoosCobra)

They have a genuine voice, it’s engaging to follow them

And here’s where my guilt is assuaged completely. See, the above list effectively captures the sentiment of me and my colleagues, but it also captures the essence of the best practices for strategy, planning and voice that we describe to our clients for their handles.  Be genuine. Give your followers something interesting and tangible (if possible). Be engaging.

How do you feel about this confluence of personal and professional, fun and strategic? For me it’s moments like these, when personal preference and professional best practices come together, that the merging of our work and home lives – the different worlds colliding in a way that makes both better – seems real, and good.

You don’t have to be the son of two science teachers (like yours truly) to have an interest in space travel and NASA’s soon to conclude space shuttle program. I clearly remember watching early space shuttle launches on live television at my elementary school, and also recall that semi-frequent liftoffs were front page news (click here for a video showing 30 years of shuttle missions as a single launch). Today, 30+ years since it began, the space shuttle program is front page news again.

Acknowledging up front that I’m barely credible as a source for such statements, the world was a much different place when the first shuttle went into orbit. While Little League, Cub Scouts and my role in the safety patrol (in fact, I was captain of the Waddington Elementary School safety patrol as a 6^th grader – you know you’re jealous) were my priorities, bigger things were underway in this world. War was being waged over the Falkland Islands, the U.S. was entering a severe recession, and the recently married Prince William was born.  Amid these significant happenings, NASA’s space shuttle was capturing millions of imaginations.

This morning I read that the crew of the Shuttle Atlantis had mixed emotions as they were making final preparations for landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and that’s understandable. Ensuring the organization could focus on destinations further from Earth, NASA decided to turn over “low-orbit space travel” to a commercial entity that will likely have a capsule ready to fly in 2015. In the meantime, travel to and from the International Space Station will be led by other nations, with U.S. astronauts sometimes catching a ride.

To some, the end of this phase of America’s space program is melancholy.  But I think today’s landing is cause for celebration! I say hats off to the men and women who have operated the space shuttle program since its start, and kudos on their success! Like the experience of millions of children who sat in a countless number of American classrooms watching shuttle launches and landings, I enjoyed the opportunity to  dream of outer space and appreciate the sacrifice of all those at NASA who helped get us there.

As anyone who’s ever worked with me (or, frankly, met me) is aware – I take a lot of pride in my hometown of Syracuse, NY and try to keep close tabs on home by including the local newspaper, the Post Standard, as part of my online news-gathering routine.  Earlier this summer, I paused on a headline that involved two favorite subjects: my home neighborhood (Manlius, NY) and technology apps.  I ended up with another glimpse of how in the online world, two groups of readers can view the same story and yet come away with completely different messages.

The online article featured a woman whose family has lived next to mine for more than 20 years, Sally Hootnick.  It told the story of how Sally left her iPad on a vacation flight home and subsequently used the Apple proprietary technology, MobileMe, to locate the device.  She tracked the iPad as it journeyed from JFK to Long Island and then later as it made several airport-to-airport hops, leading her to the reasonable conclusion that the iPad was picked up and being used by an airline employee.  Unfortunately, the airline and the police were unwilling to track the lost item and, despite some clever uses of MobileMe (like annoying the thief by pinging the device with random sounds – nicely done, Ms. Hootnick!) she eventually gave up the effort and upgraded to an iPad 2.

While I usually don’t read the comments section attached to newspaper articles, this was a story involving a friend and neighbor.  Plus, depending on your vantage point, the story had something for everyone to sink their teeth into.  From a technology standpoint, it’s a perfect example of software being used exactly as it was intended, regardless of the discomfort that tracking technology presents many users.  From an ethical view, it raises the question of the obligation a person may have to locate a lost item’s owner (though the law is fairly clear in this case – the finder could have and should have returned the item).  And so I scrolled through the comments, fully expecting there to be comments from the members of the cult of Apple (to which I subscribe happily), and perhaps comments from lawyers clarifying the ownership debate.

It was therefore a bit of a surprise to read the storm of responses that the story generated over just two days on Syracuse.com.  The flames were personal, hurtful and misogynist, and reflected the kind of class and wealth divide that is clearly turning our political and cultural dialogue into something rather ugly.  The posts were anonymous, enabling (perhaps even encouraging) users to send some pretty vile, even vaguely threatening – if later banned – posts.

I’m a regular Web reader and hopefully understand the medium better than most. Still, I was struck that if a person can’t be the subject of what is, to me, an innocuous story about missing property and technology tools without opening themselves up to attack…why would any “normal person” ever want media publicity at any level?

Ms. Hootnick’s story underscores the uncertainty of the web as a publicity tool – it’s nearly impossible to know what direction a story will take – but it is the very openness of the web that makes it so invaluable. I tell Matter clients that if you have a story to tell, you need to be willing to take the sometimes senseless, but often thought-provoking feedback of the public.  The internet allows the “peanut gallery” a platform on which to vent opinions – ANY opinions, many of which may be irrelevant to the discussion on hand.  But it also creates a kind of collective narrative that can sway the course of everything from elections to consumer product design.   The openness of the Web is precisely what makes it ultimately more powerful and, perhaps, more trustworthy than other forms of mass media.  And if one is to swim in these waters, one needs to expect some sharks.

Thankfully, I am told Ms. Hootnick needed none of Matter’s PR advice in this situation.  Her MobileMe story was picked up on a national ABC feed and more follow-up on her case is in the works.  According to my parents, she shook off the comments that would have sent most people, at the very least, into a full-scale flame war that probably would have been more embarrassing than helpful.

My guess is that at some point in the coming weeks, I will have to address a situation in which a client wants, but unfortunately cannot have, guaranteed positive response to a web story.  Perhaps another will want to go toe-to-toe with the online masses.  When it happens, I’ll be able to say thank you to Ms. Hootnick for the media lesson.

Writing is part of everything we do here at Matter. Pitches, briefing notes, bylined articles, notes from a client call or interview – it all requires us to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards) to get our thoughts out before they flutter away.

The topic of “writing” in general has been on my mind lately (I know, very deep), as one of my teams perseveres on a pretty extensive writing project. We’re creating content for a magazine published by a client for its extensive customer base. My colleagues and I are doing all the things a reporter would be doing: interviewing sources (in this case end-users); bouncing ideas off each other; writing, editing, scrapping drafts and starting over again; submitting finished pieces to the editor (our client contact); and sometimes watching 1,200-word articles that went through multiple drafts get cut for space. It’s exhausting, but it’s giving me and my team an interesting insight into the process reporters and editors go through every single day. Performing both our PR duties and editorial duties has personnally given me a new appreciation for the work our media targets do every day.

While we’re all respectful of our media contacts’ time and bandwidth, I suppose that I’m guilty of taking for granted what they actually do, day in and day out. When setting up a briefing for a client or sending background materials, I only see that small sliver of work that goes into the completed article. I don’t see all the late nights hunched over the keyboard, cigarette smoke choking the air, a reporter complaining that the editor just won’t get off his back and then yelling “copy!” the moment he rips the paper from the typewriter (every newsroom out there is just like the one in the Superman movie, right?).

Kidding aside, there’s a ton of work that goes into writing and publishing a magazine, and as a PR person that’s never worked in a newsroom, I have a new appreciation for the effort that goes into pushing an undertaking like this across the finish line.

Finding new PR pros is never an easy job, but somehow our recruitment team continues to amaze me. We’re a demanding bunch, the quality of work and the rigorous pace we demand of our staff is often a shock to the system for those new to our offices. Still, they must keep their pick axes sharp over in HR, because we routinely find those diamonds in the rough. Recently this ability was on show with the recruitment of some marvelous summer interns. Here in the Providence office, we’ve been joined by Kate Hardcastle, on her summer hiatus from Marist College (coincidentally the alma mater of our Principal and CEO Scott Signore). Duly impressed by her work ethic and desire to learn more about a potential career in PR, we asked Kate to write a blog post about her first few weeks on the job and offer some advice to any others that might follow in her footsteps. So, in her own words, here’s Kate…

THE POWER TO QUESTION

My first day arriving as an intern in the Providence office I was nervous, apprehensive, and eager. Not only was it my first look into a potential career in PR, but it was also the first time the Providence office had had an intern. I was the guinea pig.

Within minutes of me arriving I was given various tasks on different projects. Scared that I would be a burden, I tried the best that I could to be self-sufficient and not ask questions, while at the same time effectively completing each task.  I felt this was the best way to prove myself and show that I could do anything that was assigned to me.

Sooner or later I realized I was punishing myself by doing this. By not asking questions nor seeking more information on things I did not know, I was not only limiting my own learning opportunities but also slowing my workflow. A PR agency is an environment of constant deadlines, and other people were relying on my results, regardless of my level of experience.

As an intern you are not expected to walk into an office and immediately know everything. There is no harm in asking a question or two along the way; if anything, this shows interest and keenness. It is important to have the confidence to admit that you don’t know something, rather than pushing it aside and never learning it at all.   Questions show an openness and willingness to learn and are essentially invaluable.

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

“The power to question is the basis of all human progress” ~ Indira Gandhi

In the great cinematic achievement that was Demolition Man (with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes in a dystopian near-future) every restaurant, no matter how humble or fancy, was a Taco Bell.  The film explained that The Bell had won the “franchise wars” and so became the only restaurant brand in their society.  By the end of the movie, Stallone had defeated the villains and returned freedom to the land, but the point about the power of brands was what stayed with me.

In our less cinematic world, there are plenty of examples of this power.  Don Sutherland, a writer who spent a great deal of his career covering the photography industry, said it best when he told me that Sony could successfully market a blender, the kitchen appliance of choice at that moment. His perspective was proven in the marketplace soon after the introduction of the Sony Mavica, the camera that captured digital still images and stored them directly on a 3.5” floppy disk. (Remember 3.5” floppy disks?) Until that product introduction, Sony had no presence in the digital still camera category and it was dominated by typical photo brands such as Olympus, Nikon and Kodak. However, one Mavica generation later, Sony was the category leader. The Mavica line of cameras was a serious technology breakthrough at the time – so success wasn’t unexpected. However, despite significant drawbacks – a fixed focal lens and no zoom, for example –early adopters selected a Sony product on brand alone.

Among other brands, I liken the success of the Mavica to the introduction of anything branded by Apple. Since the introduction of all things beginning with “i”, the global giant of Cupertino has dominated the market with some of the biggest game-changing devices of our generation. Other brands have succeeded as well, building strength inside a category and often stretching beyond; though not always making such a positive visible impact on the consumer world. While it starts with the introduction of solid products that people enjoy and value, successful brand management plays a crucial role in the process. We are trained to embrace a widget because it comes from such a reputable provider of goods.  Sometimes, that trust or even a “cool factor” is enough to carry a product or service to success.

In the public relations business, we think a great deal about the power of brands and reputations.  In fact, the way a brand communicates about itself is often the secret ingredient in changing a product into an unstoppable market trend. Many of our clients are mid-sized technology companies who have a very real need to synergize the messages they bring to the market, and often our work starts with the launch of a brand that resonates with decision-makers and causes them to take notice or better yet, action! The messaging structure only begins there, but should be a part of all communications initiatives executed by a client.

Speaking of the impact of brands…more than ever it seems to me that many popular categories – particularly those with a slant toward technology – are dominated by only a few. Google. Microsoft. Facebook. For example, the acquisition of Skype by Microsoft is a timely indicator of the extension of established brands. The Skype name will dissolve and its system and service will live on as part of a product family.  In our business, we think a great deal about the power of brands and reputations.  In fact, the way a brand communicates about itself is often the secret ingredient in changing a product into an unstoppable market trend.

$136.38? $1.34? $0? What’s a Facebook “like” worth to you?

PR teams across the globe, as well as at home at Matter, are increasingly being called upon to help boost the number of likes on their Facebook page. Simultaneously, everyone from research firms to Main-Street businesses are trying to connect a value to that little click of a button.

One company, Eventbrite, this spring tied some figures to the debate, announcing that its Facebook likes were more profitable than its tweets. The company said an average tweet about an event drove 80 cents in ticket sales during the past six months, whereas an average Facebook Like drove $1.34. Another figure floated around last month notes that for retailers, each new fan acquired on Facebook is worth 20 additional visits to their website during a year. The figure, based on data from Hitwise and from Techlightenment primarily focuses on UK online retailers for its study. Social Media Today, however, disagrees, saying hitting the like button is similar to a dead end conversation.

The Facebook Media team weighed in on the conversation last fall. Among the data they shared, they said, “The average ‘liker’ has 2.4x the amount of friends than that of a typical Facebook user. They are also more interested in exploring content they discover on Facebook — they click on 5.3x more links to external sites than the typical Facebook user.”

A study last year of 4,000 panelists by social media measurement firm Syncapse showed an average fan is worth about $136.38 (between purchases and engagement), although for some successful social marketers the value can be dramatically higher, and virtually zero for others. Also last year Fellow Friar Brian Morrissey reported in AdWeek that social media specialist Vitrue, which aids brands in building their customer bases on social networks, “determined that, on average, a fan base of 1 million translates into at least $3.6 million in equivalent media over a year.” Forrester Research at the time cried out that a like is worth zilch.

No matter which calculation you reply on, in the race to be popular and have people like you (a la Jan Brady), companies should consider what value their fans contribute to their business goals. What incentive have they given them on Facebook to make a purchase? How often and in what way do they interact with that fan base? No matter how we quantify a “like,” most people seem to agree that being in tune to your customers’ attitudes is an invaluable commodity.



One of the things we do in PR is coach our clients on how to give the best possible interview to the media. When we do a coaching session, this is our formula:

Effective communications begins with understanding your audience. Our first fifteen minutes are all about painting a “day in the life” scenario, describing the world of a reporter/blogger/broadcast journalist/analyst. We’re lucky to have a good number of former reporters on staff, and really solid relationships with so many of our friends in the influencer realm – we have great insights to share that make it easier for our clients to understand pressures and goals of those they are speaking with.

Cover common sense do’s and don’ts. These shouldn’t surprise you, they include such pearls as: Don’t lie. Don’t guess. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know; if you don’t know an answer, just say so and offer to get back to the interviewer with details. Lead the discussion to your key messages whenever possible. Use quantifiable, real examples when you’re describing how great your product is (Bank XY used our product to virtualize their data center, cutting heating and cooling costs by 60% annually). Engage the reporter, seek their feedback as the interview progresses, and ask if you answered the question she just asked.  This isn’t a magical formula, but it’s helpful to remind anyone about.

Practice. Then we get to work, individually, with each executive to be coached. Normally, we try to identify in advance what each person needs to work on most to optimize their ability to communicate effectively. For example, one executive may need to curb a distracting verbal tick (um, uh) and another may need to find a way to sound less defensive when faced with a challenging question.

Feedback. We tape or video each interview, depending on the kind of media the executive will be interviewing with most. If the majority will be via phone, we tape so that he or she will hear nearly what the journalist will in an interview. If it will be in person or live television, we use video feedback. This part is critical. We are direct and honest about the best presentation of information, and provide ideas to make it better.

Take-aways. Following the session, we use what we’ve learned in preparation for each interview, and remind the spokesperson about their key focal points for delivery and content before each interview.

Integration of flawless delivery and solid content. Delivery is key. Content is king.  Having them both work well together is the path to the ideal interview, in which you tell your story well, and the journalist gets everything they need.

I do a media interview now and then as a spokesperson for Matter. And each time I do, I gain a new respect for our clients and their ability to juggle their jobs (as Directors of Product Marketing, or VPs of Engineering, or CEOs) and to give great interviews. It’s easy to sit and give advice about how to do an interview, but actually being in the hot seat is the best way to understand why, sometimes, people make mistakes when interviewing. Can you guess what my closer is going to be? I love doing interviews because it helps me (see point number 1!) understand my audience, and communicate more effectively with clients about actually conducting an interview. Let’s be honest, there is really nothing like experience to remind you that armchair quarterbacking is a lot easier than sweating it out on the hot seat.