CaliberPulse

There is a popular quote circulating on social media these days that counsels, “in crisis, a failure to lead can only lead to failure.” Yet knowing just how to lead during turbulent times isn’t always clear especially when facing extraordinary challenges never encountered before.

The first step is to develop a crisis management plan, which begins with a risk assessment that identifies the current threats that will disrupt or derail your business operations. Work with members of leadership and crisis response team and other key stakeholders to identify all relevant threats or vulnerabilities that could impact your company’s, financial […]

Recent changes to the Associated Press Stylebook have surprised the industry it governs. Much to the dismay of many traditional journalistic writers and grammar purists, last month the Associated Press declared that “over” is now an acceptable substitute for “more than” when indicating greater numerical value. Apparently the AP had more change in store. Effective […]

In two very different newsrooms in two very different cities, digital media is stepping in to help "old media" compete in the new world of news content and delivery.

Our social media team recently participated in a highly successful Twitter chat and wanted to pass along a few thoughts of using Twitter chats to increase your professional development, customer service, community relations and most importantly your business objectives.

Newspaper layoffs; One reporter on three beats; The journalism landscape has changed and the practice of public relations has to change with it. These days getting a lead story comes down to relationships. Or, does it? Perhaps it comes down to seeing the right lead at the right time, to putting yourself and your client in the way of opportunity. PR pros must be more “plugged in” than ever before. HARO will help. HARO, or Help A Reporter Out, has changed the way public relations professionals pitch journalists. Over 5,000 journalists nationwide use HARO to locate experts for on-air interviews, article quotes, and more via an email blast distributed to over 56,000 resources three times a day. The best part: HARO is free.

A press release is often considered a tool used to inform members of the media about an event, update, or new information that would make a useful story for their readers. While this is certainly true, a press release is also content on the internet that can be used to draw people searching for certain keywords and phrases to your website. Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just for the text embedded in a website. All communications, including press releases, can be “tagged” with key words to receive priority placement in organic searches and therefore drive users to your message and content. A press release can be optimized for searches by including key words and phrases and adding relevant links to the text.

Over the last decade, marketers have focused on moms as the primary shopper and decision-maker of most households. With the emergence of mommy bloggers and followers coinciding with an unabashed admission of female buying power, more marketing and PR professionals began focusing campaigns on these consumers. Where did this leave dads? Some dads report feeling ignored by brand ad campaigns. A recent Yahoo study about dad consumers is turning heads and should influence some retail marketers to expand their target audiences. Some of the misconceptions that researchers found about dads are: 1. Dads don’t do housework. 2. Dads aren’t interested in retail shopping. 3. Dads don’t sway spending on household products. 4. Dads don’t share brand choices with peers. 5. Dads don’t do brand research.

“Email is the original social media” according to social media scientist, Dan Zarella. Zarella, on behalf of Hubspot, presented findings from an analysis of 9.5 billion Mail Chimp emails, survey responses, and focus group information in a webinar that we participated in last week. We’d like to share the top six takeaways with you. Try using some of this advice on your next email campaign and give us feedback on the results.

In December, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released new guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising (now including blogging and microblogging). These guidelines are intended to ensure that consumers are made aware if third-party endorsements are influenced by advertisers and marketers. Translation: blogging and micro-blogging evangelists (including celebrity spokespeople) must reveal that they have received free products or incentives of any kind that may have influenced a positive endorsement of a brand or product.

Has the daily job of sifting through Google alerts or the local media for company or product mentions turned into a time and resource drain? If you’ve been tasked with gathering media mentions and evaluating results from a variety of national and international sources, a paid media monitoring service is the best tool for the task. Sifting through the options to find the right service can be intimidating at the onset. Several reputable companies offer media monitoring tools that can save time and effort and help deliver comprehensive reports to stakeholders and the executive team. We’ve recently had the opportunity to evaluate several of the products on the market and will share our findings here.

Even though it is difficult for me to get out of the office for a few days, each year I attend professional conferences to stay on top of the latest consumer trends and new media technologies. This year I attended the Public Relations Society of America’s International Conference Oct.16-19 in Washington D.C. My education started the minute I landed at Reagan National Airport and continued throughout the conference, at the workshops and during the networking sessions, where I interacted with respected peers and educators throughout the world. Here’s a summary of the top ten trends I learned — or confirmed — this year at the PRSA Conference that I hope you will find valuable as you prepare your strategic plans for 2011: