Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Are you looking for a tool to make it easier to follow journalists on Twitter? Cision, a global provider of media monitoring, media research, distribution and media evaluation PR software and services, recently released a new relationship-building tool for PR professionals and journalists called JournalistTweets. I have spent some time using this tool and found it to be helpful when trying to find out what types of topics are resonating with media and industry analysts. Some journalists tweet about recent articles they’ve written, which can be helpful to look at if you’re contemplating reaching out to that person.
JournalistTweets aggregates tweets from reporters, bloggers and analysts making it easy to monitor and engage with this audience. For instance, you can see what business reporters and analysts are posting via Twitter. Here are some examples.
@rkoplowitz a principal analyst at Forrester, tweeted about an upcoming seminar, “Doing a seminar with Newsgator on social networking in the enterprise – join us!”
@scobleizer, an influential technology blogger, tweeted, “Google’s social search is very interesting. I searched for “Silicon Valley” and it gives me an accurate list of friends talking about that.”
And @rbkarel, principal analyst at Forrester, tweeted, “#iod2009 panelist discusses use of entity analytics. Haven’t heard much from IBM on EAS in quite a while, esp regards to bigger message.”
JournalistTweets provides a real-time snapshot of what thousands of reporters, editors, bloggers and broadcasters are discussing in the areas of business, technology, lifestyle/entertainment and health. Currently, Cision streams content from journalists in North America and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand to additional countries in the near future.
This is a great tool to monitor the types of journalists are interested in or have written about recently. It is also a great way to build relationships with media. As the media landscape continues to mature, we anticipate social media will increasingly become the platform of choice for establishing relationships with journalists. It will be interesting to see what other types of tools become available.
To learn more about how to connect with journalists via Twitter, send us an e-mail at info@communiquepr.com.
Communiqué Public Relations (www.communiquepr.com) is seeking a graduating senior college student to fill an unpaid internship vacancy.
Within our boutique firm, we look to interns to provide hands-on tactical and administrative support. We are excited to have an opening for an intern starting in December 2009.
An intern’s experience will be as rewarding as he or she desires with responsibilities commensurate to the commitment he or she demonstrates. As an active member of the account team, this intern will acquire “hands-on” public relations experience, gaining exposure to areas such as media relations, press material development, media list building and more.
Intern candidates must be comfortable with Microsoft Windows and Office (esp. Excel, Word & PowerPoint) and be articulate, energetic and eager to learn.
Duration: Three to six months
Desired start date: December 2009
Qualifications: Graduating senior college student majoring in public relations, journalism, communications, business administration, marketing, English or related field.
Desired skills:
Self-starter who can work independently with minimum supervision as well as collaboratively in a team environment
Good oral and written communication skills
Organized and efficient
Friendly and personable
Articulate and thoughtful
Energetic and enthusiastic
Willingness and eagerness to learn
Consistent, regular and punctual attendance
Fluency with Microsoft Windows XP and Office Professional 2003 (Outlook, Excel, Word, Power Point)
Interns at Communiqué PR typically assist with the following types of work:
Conduct research as requested
Perform general administrative duties (i.e. photocopy, fax, note taking, ordering supplies, etc.)
Draft and compile press releases, briefing materials, status reports, coverage updates, etc.
Assist with press outreach and communication
Stay grounded in our clients’ business and PR goals
Please send your resumé and cover letter to opportunties@communiquepr.com by November 13, 2009.
Communiqué PR values collaborative relationships with clients who appreciate having a PR agency at their side to help meet company objectives. We are strategic in our thinking, focused in our implementation and dedicated to providing measurable results along with exceptional client service. Our goal is to exceed client expectations at every turn.
Recently, Colleen Moffitt and Jennifer Gehrt, co-founders of Communiqué PR were quoted in the Daily Journal of Commerce (also picked up by the Associated Press) and The Spokesman-Review about organizations’ use of social mediums such as Twitter.
Twitter enables companies to monitor conversations about their products and services and also gauge consumers’ sentiment towards the company. In addition, unlike some social networks such as LinkedIn, which is a closed network, Twitter allows businesses to connect with new people and track the competition.
In the articles, both Colleen and Jennifer leverage their personal and professional experiences with Twitter and advise companies to consider engaging in this medium to monitor conversations and converse with key audiences. However, in order to do this successfully, organizations need to make a solid commitment to Twitter (or other social media) and appoint someone within the organization to maintain and regularly update the account and engage with other users.
To read The Spokesman-Review article entitled, “Businesses Dip Toes into Online Networking Pools,” which includes insight and examples from Jennifer on how companies and non-profit organizations are utilizing this medium, click here.
Additionally, you can read the Daily Journal of Commerce article entitled, “Firms Wonder: To Tweet or Not to Tweet?” by clicking here to gauge Colleen’s perspective on Twitter and get a sense of what she discussed during the recent Northwest Environmental Business Council luncheon.
“Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” is a book written by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dwek. Based on decades of research on achievement and success, Dwek outlines how with the right mindset, we can fulfill our potential and achieve our toughest goals.
Everyone on our team is reading the book and discussing how we can apply some of the principles outlined in the book in both our private and professional lives. The first chapter outlines the two basic mindsets – the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. According to Dwek, a fixed mindset is one in which you believe your “qualities are carved in stone” while a growth mindset is “based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.”
In the PR world, as with many professions, our work is ever-changing and oftentimes, we are tasked with challenging projects. In order to be successful, it can be helpful to have a growth mindset and look at these challenges as a way to grow professionally. When we are pitching stories on behalf of our clients, we are often faced with roadblocks, such as journalists not having the resources to write an article or not having enough time for a briefing. It’s important to look at these roadblocks as a challenge and creatively brainstorm ways to secure that coveted coverage or media or analyst briefing – rather than just giving up and blaming ourselves for failing to achieve success. For example, if the journalist is pressed for time and isn’t able to write an article because the publication is understaffed, we could offer to write a byline article or editorial to save time and resources.
It’s been fascinating to discover how a mindset can really influence the various aspects of your life. Have you been faced with a challenge recently in your professional or personal life? How would you evaluate your mindset in that particular situation? We would love to hear about your experience and how you think your mindset impacted the outcome of the situation.
As many marketers and PR professionals know, the right images are often essential to build correct brand awareness with consumers or key business decision makers. However, the cost of custom photography can be prohibitive – especially when a brand manager has to travel to a location to manage the composition and direction of a photo shoot.
Consider Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The company has almost 1,000 properties in more than 80 countries all over the world. Jonathan Phillips, senior manager for photography, has at least one photo shoot scheduled each week making it difficult to attend each and every one of them.
Given this, Phillips was thrilled to have the opportunity to use OnSet, a new solution launched on October 20 by OnRequest Images, a leading provider of custom photography services and a Communiqué PR client.
The OnSet Live Shot Dashboard uses standard browser technology and is combined with a standard interface that is available to clients via their mobile devices, desktop and laptop computers. This allows managers to review the composition and direction of each shot and provide immediate input to people on location through a “click-to-text” feature.
According to Phillips, Starwood’s ability to collaborate with photographers has been revolutionized with OnSet. “We are participants now and love that we can collaborate directly with photographers as they shoot.”
Additionally, by allowing images to be sent from the set to others on the marketing team, OnSet provides a window for all photography stakeholders to see the progress of the photo shoot and comment in real-time.
As many companies continue to look for ways to mitigate the costs surrounding worldwide brand-building activities, we believe that solutions such as OnSet will become increasingly popular.
For more information about OnSet, please click on the click for the full press release: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091020005195&newsLang=en
The virtual goods market is exploding with the sales of in-game items, avatar customization, virtual gifts, digital media and other goods that exist solely in digital form. In fact, leading investment firm Piper Jaffray, estimates that revenue generated from the sales of virtual goods worldwide in 2009 topped $621 million. The firm also predicts that the virtual goods industry will be a $2.5 billion market by 2013.
On October 29 and 30, San Francisco will host the 2009 Virtual Goods Summit. The event will focus on the emerging market opportunity for virtual goods and economies as the virtual goods market continues to thrive and influence the development of social networks, community sites and many other new and exciting markets.
Our client, Digonex, a provider of real-time, demand-driven automated pricing solutions, will be in attendance at the event and will be speaking with media about trends in the virtual goods industry. Specifically, Rex Fisher, vice president of business development for Digonex, will share how the adoption of dynamic pricing models can help organizations in this market capitalize on limited windows of opportunity and drive significant revenue for digital goods.
We reached out to a number of industry media on behalf of Digonex to secure in-person briefings at the event. Thus far, we have secured three briefings with VentureBeat, Virtual Goods Insider and Inside Report on New Media. Stay tuned for resulting coverage and a recap of the event.