Sitting here in my home office on Friday, September 4th, thanks to our CEO, Scott Signore, giving us the day off and making this a long(er) Labor Day weekend, I can’t help but blog about the end of summer. 

My wife and children just left to go to the beach. I’ll join them shortly.

With them gone, though, I’m reminded of the second day of school when I was a high school teacher some years ago. You see, when you’re a teacher, the first day of school is filled with long, boring speeches from the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, the assistant to the assistant superintendent on down — it’s painful. The third day the students show up and it’s game time. But, on that second day, you’re alone in your room with only your thoughts of summer end and school begin. I feel that way now. Both reflective and upbeat.

So with the sun setting too soon, I’ll make this quick. The topic of the day, class: the local economy. Take notes, please.

Our office is in state that is 50 miles tall and 40 miles wide. It is a small state that has had big economic problems. With a 12.7 percent unemployment rate, Rhode Island’s recent numbers rank it second only behind Michigan in number of unemployed. You’ve heard the bad news, I’m sure. For a while we were drowning in it. It seems, at least to me, that for a long time there every HARO opportunity that popped into my inbox was in regards to this sad subject. I’m tired of hearing about it. You? So I’d like to share a small slice of some recent news you might have missed on the economy, argue that things are getting better and support my argument with what I’ve heard and seen locally, lately.

The good news, according to a recent Associated Press piece I read, is that unemployment may have hit bottom here. The national rate fell from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent. Rhode Island recently crept up three-tenths of a percentage point, but gained 900 jobs. Many of my clients have recently added staff, as have some of the new business prospects I’ve been working with.

We just recently added a new person here in Providence and awarded a well-deserved promotion yesterday, too.

I’m feeling better. Good even. I’ve had four new business meetings in the last week or so. I helped secure those meetings with two pitches, really. The first is that public relations is an economical way to get your messages to the masses, drive demand for your product/software/service, and create credibility that can ease access to capital. The second is that as organizations determine how to best navigate through the final months of 2009, many will start to re-invest in public relations pursuits. Those, on the other hand, that have steadily maintained a PR presence in these tough times, have likely gained a competitive advantage from doing so.

The message — if you’ve been practicing PR strategies and tactics all along, great! If you haven’t, start now!

The message seems to be sticking.

I believe that we have hit bottom. I’ve got a positive outlook. If others believe, practice positivity, invest, recognize a ROI, increase sales, hire and grow their businesses we’ll all be in a better place sooner rather than later. Together we can, right?!

So I offer my thanks to two locals that have been practicing positivity all along: BatchBlue Software and Providence Geeks. As well as others I’d like to learn more about including Providence Pecha Kucha, Business Innovation Factory and Betaspring. There are more.

And there is hope. Even though the summer is at end. Perhaps the recession is too?

It became a running joke in the newsroom, but it worked every time. When things got slow around The MetroWest Daily News, where I used to be a full-time town beat reporter and part-time editor, we would turn to the tried-and-true “man on the street” interviews. Pick a topic, any current event topic, head to your local coffee shop or other applicable location, and ask “real” people what they thought. Most people actually were glad to share their opinions, and before long, you had researched a story based on public opinion.

I turned back to the old “man on the street” format this week. After last week’s Brody PR faux pas, the old PR vs. journalism debate got some digital ink in the same way that the working moms vs. stay-a-home moms debate dusts up every year or so. It got me thinking, can’t we all just get along? And, I turned to some former colleagues for their “real” do’s and don’ts for forging a healthy PR / journalist working relationship. Here’s a sample of what they said (with names cloaked to protect the innocent!).

DO
Overall, my former co-workers see the value of a good PR professional. “Believe me, us editors have a vested interest in filling our pages. If we have interest in something you’re plugging you’ll generally hear back from us PROMPTLY… PR is an invaluable resource that I would have a hard time doing without. And there’s the sordid truth of it all.” – Editor of metropolitan travel and lifestyle magazine

“The key for a good release is similar to a good news story – ABC, baby: accuracy, brevity and clarity. Since I’m only using the facts, flowery prose ain’t going to cut it. Just stick to the basics, and if there’s a news hook somewhere in the release, make it obvious. Most of us don’t have the time to read a three-page release so if the good stuff is buried, it might get missed. Sadly, for people like me, you’re just going to have to dumb everything down.” – Daily newspaper business reporter and features writer

One of the top requests on any list is to know your publication. “If your email isn’t about my coverage area, why are you sending it to me?” asks the education reporter at a suburban Boston daily newspaper. One writer at a construction trade publication shared this real example, “I just got two emails about Suicide Prevention Week. Unless these people can tell me how suicides are a problem in the architecture and engineering field, I’m probably going to be turned off on future emails from you or your firm.”

Another word of advice my friends shared: Tone it down. This goes for the relentless follow-up and coming on too strong with fake positive-ness. One or two calls or e-mails as follow up, then take the hint. “I like it when PR people can actually help me when I initiate the contact and ask them for information about a story I’m working on,” said a usually grumpy technology trade staffer.

DON’T
My education writer friend shares these PR potholes:

“Misleading pitches – Spend three graphs talking about the need for childhood literacy development, then we find out your pitch is for some god-awful kids book.

Availability – If you send a pitch, I assume you are ready to turn it around immediately. So if I call back to follow on your pitch, and you don’t have time to respond or no one is available to talk to me, oh boy!, have you just made an enemy for life.

Bad grammar – Recently, someone sent me a release about Sarah Palin’s resignation from ‘pubic life.’ Just. Don’t. Bother.”

And, don’t both trying to buddy-up to journalists in “creepy” ways, says my tech writer pal. “One lady sent me an e-mail after my company’s massive layoffs giving her condolences and asking if she could help in any way; and I’ve never met her in person!…(Another) wished me a ‘Happy Easter’ and then turned out to be Jewish. One PR guy asked me a ridiculously complicated question about some obscure market, as if it were the most natural question in the world.”

In general, these guidelines boil down to being a good person, not a sleestack, as one of our clients calls it, and taking pride in your work. If I were in Brody PR’s shoes, I might have admitted the goof sooner and pledged to walk the straight and narrow from then on. But isn’t it a whole lot easier to do that from the start?

The Wall Street Journal modified its editorial policy last week and will no longer participate in embargoed news herds, only holding news when dealing with an exclusive. This policy change might sound familiar – in December 2008 TechCrunch also declared that it would no longer honor embargoes.

Online media outlets continue to push the boundaries of traditional journalism, rapidly releasing news with no respect to embargoes and leaving well-respected news sources like The Wall Street Journal to take matters into their own hands to compete.

The loss of the sacred embargo is frightening to PR professionals, but it also makes us stop to think about the importance of quality hits over quantity. When you distribute an embargoed story to your entire media list, can you really expect the best results? Can we blame the outlets that have taken a stance against this approach? Probably not.

The Bad Pitch Blog is full of examples on how the ‘spray and pray’ approach has repeatedly gotten PR professionals in hot water. A skilled PR professional knows quality results come from establishing strong media relationships through strategic pitching and exclusive opportunities give you the most bang for your buck. In the end, those who didn’t get the exclusive will probably still run the news because an outlet as esteemed as The Wall Street Journal ran it.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the world of media. The new policy could have a positive effect on The Wall Street Journal with an increased the number of breaking news exclusives coming their way. And I don’t know a client that wouldn’t give up a few mediocre hits for some ink in The Wall Street Journal, do you? Is this move the beginning of a trend? Will the embargo on embargoes really filter down through to other print publications?

Earlier this month, Matt posted on the proposed FTC guidelines regarding marketing and endorsements as they relate to bloggers and online media. Last week’s BlogHer conference in Chicago served as a platform to continue to look into blogging ethics and PR professionalism.

Following BlogHer, Kevin Pang of the Chicago Tribune wrote that “If there’s a hard news peg attached to BlogHer ’09, it’s the Federal Trade Commission’s proposal to regulate blogger endorsements of products.” Kevin notes the rising market influence of bloggers is the reason why the industry is now looking to identify the difference between subjective reviews and paid advertisements. Additionally, Lee Woodruff of Huffington Post wrote about the power of the female blogging community, commenting on a discussion she participated in that splits writers into the ‘new blogger generation versus the old:’ those that promote products versus those that focus more on writing and personal issues.

The interesting thing to me is this discussion of the two blogging camps – call it ‘fun’ bloggers vs. ‘profit’ bloggers. The remarkable part of the division is that, it seems to me, the blogging community is actively beginning to regulate itself. Paid promotion continues to be a grey area in all forms of media, but some easy steps are helping bloggers set themselves apart as trustworthy sources. Websites like DisclosurePolicy.org and BlogwithIntegrity.com offer templates and pledges aimed to ensure professionalism and disclosure. Personal transparency statements are popping up in an increasing number on blogs we work with, letting their readers know policies on product reviews and endorsements. Let’s not forget why blogs started posting reviews in the first place – because it’s an effective way to communicate likes and dislikes, and most importantly, foster discussions among like-minded readers who have a genuine interest in a product’s effectiveness or ability to please.

It all boils down to professionalism between bloggers and PR reps, honest communication, and realistic expectations. While bloggers are indeed influential media personalities, they are also moms, writers, freelancers… just regular people sharing thoughts to an online audience. As PR professionals, our job is to identify those ‘fun’ bloggers, and respect their personal feelings on product reviews (if a blog doesn’t post reviews, don’t pitch them on the latest, greatest gadget – makes sense, right? Is a post extolling the virtues of wrinkle cream going to appear in between pictures of Jane’s 5^th birthday party and a post about making cupcakes? Probably not.) We must realistically expect what a blogger’s interest level will be and conduct ourselves accordingly. It’s simple professionalism, research, and respect.

Are FTC guidelines necessary to preserve transparency and integrity? Perhaps. But can bloggers and PR professionals work together to address these issues effectively outside of official rules and regulations? Absolutely.

I’ve read that Frank Lloyd Wright soaked himself in creativity, sourced from the beauty surrounding him. There is no doubt he found inspiration in the landscape as well as from his choice in furniture, artwork, and some say the company he kept.

PR practitioners are tasked with being creative everyday. Our proposals need to stand out to new business prospects, our plans must strike the right balance between creative approach and simplicity (so they can be implemented), our pitches must break through the noise journalists hear day in and day out. I’ve had clients admit they source their creativity from us. When the well has run dry and they need inspiration, they call us – even when it’s not directly related to the PR program. What a compliment that is.

So where do we get our creativity? Team brainstorms help – but I suspect most agencies tap team members for jolts of imagination. Those among us who are parents talk about how kids provide a constant source of creativity, others share that clearing their minds through exercise helps out-of-the-box thoughts flow.

But if I had to put my finger on the commonality, I’d say it is our passion for our clients’ success. Passion born from a collective respect for our clients, which manifests itself in a commitment to their success. We are advocates for our clients, and by nature, are innovative about the approaches we take on their behalf. When something doesn’t work, we fix it. When something works well, we push the envelope further.

Where does your creativity come from? Does your agency partner bring you creative value? Which one of us will make Fast Company’s Most Creative list?

Back in April, C.G. Lynch wrote about finding a balance between personal and the professional content when using Twitter. While discussing the difference between personal and private, he quotes Kirsten Dixson, “As an example, you don’t want to write that you’re ‘going to the gym,’ but it might be nice to say, ‘I just set a goal to run a marathon.’” The quote has stayed with me ever since. Whatever it is that you have to project to the masses, give it value. You’ll be easier to relate to, and there will be an actual intellectual or emotional benefit that you provide your friends/followers.

Obviously, the concept goes far beyond the world of micro-blogging. We see is everywhere in everyday life – it’s a key to building successful relationships, especially in business. And now, more than ever, it hangs heavily over the PR bubble, threatening to burst it wide open. PR blacklists and blackouts and the ever-spreading controversy about paid blogger reviews are forcing us to constantly re-examine our practices and become better Pros. It’s a lot of work, and it takes a lot of time, but it pays off. I have started many more conversations with members of press by politely introducing them to an idea, rather than a brand. I pitch them an article, rather than a product. I resist the urge to name-drop and flash famous logos in front of their eyes. And the responses have all been positive. Even if they ultimately decide to pass on the specific idea, I’ve established a valuable connection with someone that I’m perfectly comfortable approaching again in the near future (and perhaps is looking forward to hearing from me).

We all make it our primary practice to personalize our outreach and try to illustrate clear connections between our clients and media members, but we need to continue to take it to the next level. We need to be writers and columnists at heart. We need to present them with ideas that they can use – that they find valuable – and who knows? Someday, we could earn “We Heart PR Pros” week.

Last month Cisco released a study forecasting that video will overtake 90 percent of consumer IP traffic and 64 percent of mobile IP traffic by 2013. While the company’s $590 million acquisition of Flip Video in March likely colored their findings, the increasing popularity of video cannot be denied. As a PR guy well-educated in the declining readership of print media, this report got me thinking about how the spread of video alters our work and how we can maximize it for our clients most effectively.

No sooner had I read the study, when the subject of upping the use of video came up in an intra-agency client call. PR reps from New York to Newburyport had the same question: how can we create, edit and circulate footage in a manner that is successful and authentic, while not cutting in too deeply to our time on the phones with producers, editors and bloggers?

Video hosting sites offer a low-cost opportunity to reach consumers and journalists. To create content for these sites, we’ve created the Matter Media Center, where our teams can easily craft and rework the visual and audio components that make compelling multimedia content.

To help further a client’s use of video in a time-conscious way, consider events and opportunities where video can be easily incorporated. We already attend store openings, press tours and trade shows for our clients, so why not take the extra step of bringing along a handheld to shoot an insider’s view? As newspapers and magazines continue to integrate video into their online platforms, be an asset to editors by offering in-person, taped interviews with CEOs and customers to enhance their burgeoning use of multimedia.

It’s important to note that whether a video is watched on television or online, audiences are conditioned to determine within the first few moments of viewing something whether it’s advertorial or not. So, it’s vital to anchor the use of video around a cardinal talent of a good PR person:  the ability to tell an engaging, honest story.  Here’s a fun example of a successful video from one of our clients, Verizon Wireless.

A few months ago, an editor I was pitching suddenly stopped replying to my emails after a lengthy back-and-forth exchange. We’d been talking about scheduling an interview with one of Matter’s clients for more than a month, and just as it looked like the interview would happen, she vanished.

After a few unanswered follow-up emails, I picked up the phone and dialed her office number. No answer. I hung up, waited an hour, and tried again. Voicemail. Although I was 99 percent sure she wouldn’t return my call, I left a message anyway.

Twenty minutes later my cell phone rang. It was her. Before I could finish answering, she replied, “You left a voicemail! No one leaves voicemails anymore.”

Confused, and a little scared that I did something wrong, I replied jokingly, “You weren’t returning my emails, so I figured I’d try something different.” She broke into laughter and told me “I get more emails in an hour than I get voicemails in a year.”

We went on to talk for nearly a half hour about the lost art of phone communications, and how email, texting and social media might phase out the phone all together.

Needless to say, we finally scheduled the interview, which resulted in a great article for my client. But more importantly, our conversation taught me the valuable lesson of following up with a phone call and always leaving a message.

Just because email, texting and social media have become a big part of our day-to-day communications, doesn’t mean we should completely abandon methods such as a simple phone call. Try it and you might be suprised at the results.

“Die! Press Release! Die! Die! Die!”

That headline from Tom Foremski’s story in Silicon Valley Watcher in February of 2006 was my first introduction to social media press releases (SMPRs). It’s been three years since I came across that piece and I’m still not sure traditional news releases are completely dead.

With unlimited multimedia capabilities on the Web and an array of social networking and news-sharing tools available to us, it goes without saying that Foremski’s approach to SMPRs was on point. Readers want succinct, visually appealing and digestible, spin-free information. But what do editors want and, more importantly, what do they need?

Though PR professionals should always consider a press release’s intent and target audience before making any decisions about its message or format, I argue that you’ll get the most traction from a release that incorporates elements from both the traditional and social media approach.

Sure, there’s a time and a place for Foremski’s SMPR and the easy-to-follow template that Shift Communications created just months after his article appeared. There is enormous value in SMPRs that bullet information and offer approved quotes with an array of other social media and multimedia options. This is beneficial to the reporter or editor who wants to make the story his or her own, or the blogger who just wants to post snippets of the information with videos or podcasts that help tell the story.

But unless you’re merely pitching online editors and bloggers who live and die by social media, I don’t agree that bulleted information is the only way to go. Layoffs and hiring freezes have forced print and online journalists to wear many hats and juggle several roles. As such, PR professionals must consider these ever-changing duties and recognize that if we simply bullet information and put the onus of drafting the information on a time-strapped editor or reporter, we’re running the risk of our news being overlooked.

They key is to make the media’s life as easy as possible. As a former newspaper reporter and editor, I understand the importance of stories with a multimedia component. I also understand the need for well-written press releases that can be run verbatim when the news is important, but not worthy of a writer’s time.

By including a shorter, yet traditional, SEO-enhanced release and adding all the SMPR bells and whistles, we can enhance the opportunity for coverage and keep the media – and, most importantly, our clients – happy.