Public Relations Princess

Speaking Out Against Unpaid Internships

A few months ago, I participated in the 140 Character Conference here in Des Moines. The format is pretty cool, kind of like a mini-Ted Ex. I could have spoken on any subject under the sun, but choose one that is near and dear to my heart: Student internships.

Recently, I read a Warren Buffet quote, "You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out," in reference to the shady financial practices perpetrated by Wall Street. The same is true with internships. When the economy turns for the worse, you find out which companies are ethical and which are not. 

Unpaid internships are illegal unless they meet very specific criteria. Any company who solicits unpaid interns is swimming naked in the human resources pool. The logical way to stop these internships is to encourage students not to take unpaid jobs. But, its much more complicated.

Universities are complicating the situation by posting unpaid internships right next to paid ones, which implies a tacit endorsement of the practices. To make matters worse, professors and programs at the college level emphazise the importance of internships in getting a job upon graduation. And I'll admit, as a hiring manager, I am usually more impressed by a student who has managed an internship or two on top of their academic duties.

Probably the most important thing to point out is that the students who need these internships are the LEAST LIKELY to rat on their potential employers. They're so desperate to get the experience that they will shell out a lot of money to live near the internship and work for free. The down economy is making the proverbial tide go out and stay out.

What's the answer to cracking down on these unpaid internships? Here are a few suggestions?

1. Speak out. When you see an unpaid internship offered, call the U.S. Labor Dept and report it. States have federal DOL offices. Here is the contact info.
2. Forbid your child from working at an unpaid internship.
3. Call local colleges and universities and ask them what their policy is on posting or tacitly encouraging unpaid internships. Follow up with the university adminsistration with a letter that contains the rules for internhips. 
4. If your child has worked an unpaid internship, you may be able to collect back pay, even if they agreed to work for free. Contact a labor law attorney to see if you have a claim.
5. Tell people you know that most internships, unless they exist to benefit the intern, are most likely illegal.

Companies who play be the rules should be the most concerned. Big, for-profit companies who offer unpaid internships are cheating the young people that they employee. It's wrong. And I'm speaking out.

Sounds Like Congress Needs a Social Media Policy

I've watched the spectacle surrounding Weinergate for days now. During Weiner's tearful presser where he took "full responsibility" (whatever that means) for his transgressions, after the tears stopped, the arrogance came through.

One line really bothered me, though. It was his astonishing read on his culpability. "I am not going to resign. I did not break any House rules."

Except the catch-all House rule that states:

The House rules state that “a Member … of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.” Um, I believe he violated that rule. Unless the standard of behavior in the House is sexual depravity.

The Congress could have saved itself a lot of time if it simply made each member sign a social media policy. The policy should explicity explain the following elements:

1. Every member of Congress should understand the responsibility involved with using social media. Clearly, Congressman Weiner thought that hiding behind his computer in his underwear was ok. But this is not something he would have done in his congressional office.
2. You can't be a Congressman from 8-5 and then turn it off and be a private citizen. You take the oath, you are responsible for your behavior online 24-7. It doesn't matter whether you use "government-owned" electronics or not. Former Alaska Governor Palin is finding out the hard way that conducting government business on personal email is just as wrong.
3. Lewd chat and photos are OBVIOUSLY inappropriate in a professional setting. If a private employer found evidence of this behavior on an employee Facebook page or Twitter account, they would be gone. GONE.

A social media policy should be a legal document signed by each member, much like a non-compete contract or internet use policy. That way, when things like this happen, congressional leaders can use that document as proof that each member was apprised of rights and responsibilities and are held accountable for trangressions.

Mrs. Pelosi and members of the House ethics committee, if you need some help drafting that policy or educating your members on appropriate online behavior, just call.

 

Public Relations Professionals: What Do They Do?

I watched the Indy 500 last Sunday. I'm of those people who used to care less about the Indy Racing League. Didn't care about the cars, the drivers, the sport. The noise of them buzzing by was the perfect background noise for my Sunday afternoon naps.

That is, until I worked on the Ethanol account in a public relations firm. For two years, my team and I had an incredible opportunity to shape a national debate: Would ethanol be a part of our nation's solution to our dependency on foreign oil? The people who hired us wanted to build awareness for the corn-powered fuel and educate Americans on its benefits. It proved to be a challenge. Outside of the Midwest - where corn is hauled to ethanol processing plants and turned in to pure alcohol - it did not have much name recognition. That is, until the Indy Racing League announced that it all of its drivers would use 100% ethanol in each and every race.

The day that Paul Dana, ethanol advocate and first driver of the "E" car, was killed in a test run at Miami Homestead is firmly planted in my mind. That Sunday, in my house painting clothes, I dropped everything I was doing to write a press release about Paul's death and his legacy. My thoughts bounced back and forth between the loss of Paul, his wife who was carrying their child, and my job to get the facts right. My collegue Sharyl and I traded drafts for two hours before sending it off to our client for approval.

So, back to my premise. What DO Public Relations Professionals do? Here's my take.

1. They shape the debate: Ethanol is a mandated fuel mix in many states. But winning the hearts and minds of the American consumer was the goal. My job was to identify the knowledge level of the consumer, identify strengths and weaknesses, and to use public relations channels to inform the public through a variety of means.
2. They research: The only way to measure consumer awareness was to do national research, which my company commissioned. Then, using the raw data, my job was to identify areas in which consumers needed more information, had erroneous beliefs, or simply didn't care. Knowing how to design and execute a research plan was crucial to my job.
3. They write: After identifying key messages, those were written in to all kinds of documents. We wrote an Ethanol insert for all the Indycar programs, we wrote fact sheets, news releases, media pitches, position papers, powerpoint presentations, op-ed pieces, web copy, blog posts and ad copy.
4. They plan special events: The photo above was taken at an event at a Dallas, Texas 7-11 convenience store. Our second driver, Jeff Simmons, took over behind the wheel after Paul Dana passed away. That event featured two more Indy car drivers, the Secretary of Energy of the United states and ethanol advocates from all over the country. We gave away cheap ethanol and pitched reporters all over the state. It took a lot of time and planning, but it reaped benefits in the local media and taught Texas to pronounce ethanol "Eth-an-ol" rather than "eeeth-an-ol."
5. They manage crisis situations: When Paul Dana died, the ethanol industry suffered a psychological blow. Not only was its most passionate and visible advocate dead, but he died in a firery crash in the ethanol "E" car. Not a great visual. Moving the organization past this loss and regrouping was part of my job.
6. They talk to the media: I formed relationships with media across the country while working on the ethanol account. It was my job to think of as many angles as possible, so my team worked hard on finding reporters from as many beats as we could. We ended up pitching energy reporters, business reporters, feature reporters and trend reporters. The most memorable and creative pitch my team did ended up appearing as an AP story in more than 140 different media outlets.
7. They find advocates: There were many allies of ethanol, such as corn growers, industry groups, convenience stores, "Clean Cities" initiatives, and of course, the Indy Racing League. It was our job to reach out to them and form alliances for our client, and figure out ways we could work together.
8. They tell the truth: Sometimes in the heat of the moment, it's tempting to skip steps, make assumptions, and push the button before the facts are checked. Sometimes the client is asking you to do things that push the boundary of the truth. Sometimes it's your boss. Don't be tempted to take shortcuts that will undermine your credibility with your team, client or employers.
9. They educate themselves: PR Professionals should be among the smarest people on the team. They're articulate, well-read and care deeply about the subject matter they represent. They keep up on current events, read the newspaper and know about what's going on in the world.
10. They use new media tools: There has been much debate about the role of social media in the PR world. Moving forward, I can't imagine a PR professional doing a thorough job in any industry without utilizing all tools as their disposal.

Through my experience working on this account and many others, I've used every part of my brain to help my clients put their best foot forward. I've helped them make business decisions, challenged them to think about certain issues in a new way, given them fresh perspective.

(And I want to reiterate: I was only one person on an entire account team. No one person could have done all this work! I simply wanted to give real examples of all the types of work a PR person might be expected to do.)

It's invigorating. It's why I love my job. PR is an awesome career.

 

Six Alternatives to Sending a Press Release

It's my firm belief that list-building services such as Vocus and Cision - while making reporter list building extremely easy - have also created a generation of very lazy PR professionals. It's nice to pull a minty fresh list out of that database. But that is the easy part. Now it's your skill and creativity that will get your news in front of those reporters. Yes, I said CREATIVITY.

Arguably, the worst part of being a PR Professional is facing that list, breaking it down, and digging in to pitch those reporters. But the most important thing is NOT writing the press release and blasting it out. First, you have to back up and say, "What is my message, and who would appreciate hearing it?"

If you have to, go ahead and write the press release. In fact, if that's how you organize your thoughts, or find your key message, be my guest and write it. But DON"T SEND IT!! Challenge yourself never to send another standard press release again. That is, unless someone specifically asks for one. Or your client forces you to write one. This is really, really sneaky. Even if you write it, don't send it.

Instead, here are alternatives that you SHOULD be utilizing instead of a press release.

1. Pitch email: More than 90% of reporters claim that they want to receive pitches via email. Since you're already emailing, just put your pitch in the form of a story, with bullet points emphasizing the most important details you want the reporter to know. Here is the key to a successful pitch email:
   
   • Google the reporter's name. After ensuring that she still writes for the news outlet, click on one of her recent articles. Make sure it is within the same genre as your pitch. In other words, if you are pitching a healthcare story, make sure that she covers that subject.
   • Write a one paragraph personalized intro for every email you send."I read your series on healthcare abuses in the nursing home industry..." Show some interest in the reporter's work.
   • The remaining portion of the email can be the same for every reporter. This is your brief opportunity to capture the reporter's interest with your pitch. Make it short, and make it interesting.
   • Write a subject line that gets attention and describes your pitch. "For your information" is not a good subject line.
2. Make a website posting (preferably a blog post): If your client has a newsroom or a blog, post your pitch material in the form of a web article or blog post. Use story-telling language, not a standard press release format. Tag the post with keywords and link out to the company's website or other information if possible. You can start a new blog on Posterous in less than 15 minutes.
3. Send a Tweet: Turn your key idea into a tweet. With a little practice, you'll be a pro at getting your message across in one or two tweets. Ideally, it would be great to send these messages to a reporter as a direct message, but if all else fails, go ahead and say "@JeffZeleny, did you know that the most outstanding pork tenderloin sandwich in Des Moines is at Smittys?" (of course, you'll want to come up with your own tweet material) If the reporter does not respond, follow up with an email pitch.
4. Send a Facebook message: I'm friends with a lot of local reporters on Facebook, but not so many national reporters. But even if you're not friends with a reporter on Facebook, you can still send them a message. Attach a link or photo if you have one.
5. Pick up the phone: Sometimes, a quick conversation to gauge a reporter's interest can save you a lot of time, especially when it seems as though a reporter is no longer covering that beat. If you keep your call brief and courteous, the reporter will be happy to point you in the right direction. If they don't answer or are on deadline, follow up with a pitch email.
6. If you're in the same city as the reporter, offer to meet them for coffee. Sometimes reporters are looking for any excuse they can to get out of the newsroom for a while.

This post really is not geared specifically for pitching bloggers. But my advice is to never send a blogger a press release. Bloggers are not traditional journalists. They aren't used to receiving press releases. In fact, most don't use them at all. Amber Naslund covers the sentiment well here. Plain and simple, press releases are just too formal. The quotes are absurd and aren't even used in most newspaper stories. I've never seen a blogger regurgitate a press release, especially not the made-up gobbelty-gook quotes.

PR pros have this incredible opportunity to be content creators instead of "content suggesters." Unless your client is absolutely hounding you to get in the Wall Street Journal, spend your time and energy telling your own story on your own website. Then use social media to build an audience (including media) and get your story out. My favorite homegrown content success story is Blendtec.

They created their own videos on their own site and used social media to tell the world. No boring news releases allowed. In fact, I wish I could hand Blendtec a stack of press releases to blend.

Journalists Using Facebook in Reporting: Lazy or Smart?

In the past week, I have witnessed two incidents in which a mainstream journalist, one print and one TV, have used Facebook as a tool to gather source material for stories. In both situations, they were criticized by people who questioned the efficiacy of Facebook as a credible source for journalists to utilize.

Three years ago, when I first joined Facebook, I noticed that very few mainstream journalists had joined the crowd. After talking with a few of them, I learned why. Here were the reasons they gave:

1. I don't want to expose my personal life to my work colleages, boss and the public.
2. My boss won't let me join Facebook.
3. My station blocks Facebook and I can't access it remotely.
4. I can't maintain journalistic integrity and have opinions about the news of the day.

Those barriers are falling one by one.

Personal vs. Professional:  Most professionals have found that there is such a thing as a "work-life" balance on Facebook. Or at least, learned to appreciate that they can truly enjoy using Facebook for most things, while realizing that simply by being a journalist in the public domain that they have to watch what they say to some extent, while still enjoying Facebook in all the ways their friends do. Most of my journalist friends post pictures of their kids, talk about where they might eat dinner, and complain about being tired or sick, just like the rest of us do. Guess what? They're human. It makes them more credible, not less.

Mainstream media news directors are finally hopping aboard the social media train. And more importantly, they're finding out that having their own journalists use it as part of their jobs is a huge advantage. It's risky, for sure. But as long as the companies train the journalists on how to use social media properly and trust them to be professional, journalists can use social media to investigate, discover new story angles, quickly find information, locate sources and also report the news.

News outlets are unblocking social sites as more reporters use it to do their jobs. The evening news desk guy at the Des Moines Register now checks in on Foursquare to the "paragraph factory" and his employer is obviously aware that he's using Facebook to gather news. His co-workers, once warned by leary editors not to use Facebook are now often required to do so.

Journalistic integrity: Our society has been fundamentally changed by social media and they way the public uses is to communicate. It would be plain foolish for a naturally curious reporter not to use this powerful tool to listen to people talk and gather information. Of course, reporters have to be careful about what they say, but they should be fully aware of the implications before using it.

Are you "friends" with reporters on Facebook? What's been your experience interacting with them?

Lessing Flynn Public Relations -Des Moines, Iowa

Looking for top-notch public relations counsel in Iowa? Lessing-Flynn Advertising offers a full repertoire of services including strategic planning, media relations, press release development, crisis management and social media strategy and execution.

PR veteran Claire Celsi leads a team of professionals at Lessing-Flynn that can tackle any public relations job, big or small. Give Claire a call to see how she can help.

Claire Celsi
Director of Public Relations
Lessing-Flynn
3106 Ingersoll Ave
Des Moines, IA 50312
515-274-9271 or 515-554-6754
Follow Claire on Twitter.

What it's Like to Start a Solo PR Practice

In April 2009, I started my consulting firm, The Public Relations Project, LLC. It was probably the best business decision I've ever made. Here are some of the things I've learned along the way, and some things to think about if you're thinking about making the leap into self-employment.

1. Experience: Hard work is not a substitute for experience. As a senior PR counselor, people pay me for my expert opinion. If you haven't got experience, a solo practice is not the route to go.
   
   
2. Connections: If you are well-connected in your community, you will have no problem finding business. If you are new to town, or haven't built a significant network, you may have problems getting started with finding clients.
3. In-Person Networking: You should be very comfortable with meeting new people, going into situations where you know no one. It's amazing how many people stay in their comfort zone and wonder why no business comes to their door.
4. Digital Footprint: It's essential to have a digital footprint. A website and/or blog must give potential clients a way to read about you, what you do, and provide a way to contact you.
5. Partnerships: Reach out to business partners who can help you fill in the skills you'll need to serve your clients. If your clients need websites, and you don't do that, find a reliable business partner who can help. Same with graphic design, media placement, etc.
6. Social networking: You simply can't claim to be a modern PR practitioner without knowing how to navigate the world of social media. Simply saying you "have a Facebook page" is not enough. You have to practice those skills everyday so you can keep up with daily changes that are forever changing the industry.
7. Equipment: Be sure to have a reliable computer (I'm a Mac advocate), a color laser printer, a fax/copier/scanner combo machine, a camera, and a Flip video device for starters. I'm a fan of cloud computing, and save all my computer files in an off-site storage system that backs up automatically. If my machine was lost, stolen or damaged, I'd still have my business files. I also have a wireless modem that allows me to work online while traveling or away from my office.
8. Phone: I run my entire business using just a cell phone. So far, I haven't had any problems. If you're on a lot of conference calls, I'd have a land line, for sure.
9. Incorporation: I incorporated my business right away to be able to fully deduct business expenses from my tax liability. In my case, having an LLC also is an easier way to file taxes and have some separation between myself and my company (legally).
10. Speaking of taxes: they suck. Save at least 15% of your income in a savings account that is separate from your regular business accounts. If you're doing well, you'll be "rewarded" with paying quarterly taxes by the IRS. Congratulations, you've arrived. :~)

The absolute best part about having a solo PR business is controlling your own schedule. If I want to take a longer morning walk with Trixie the Wonderdog, or go to a lunch-time networking event, or cook dinner, then my boss lets me do that!

I also get to chose my clients, and they get to chose me. I love that. It's a beautiful thing. Tell me, solo PR pros and others who have started their own PR agencies: what do you love (or hate) about it?

 

 

VineMe Lauches Today

I'm very pleased to announce that the latest startup in the Des Moines tech world is being launched by two dear friends of mine. VineMe is very cool!

Josh Fleming and Tony Muse come from different planets in my solar system. Josh is a colleague from the agency world and still my favorite listening ear and confidant. Tony was a high school friend and also mentored my kids in roller skating when they were young. Both of them are smart, accomplished in their own sphere of influence.

Tony Muse is a world-champion speed skater. Yep, he still looks pretty darn good in spandex, too! Josh is not only a rockstar at Lessing Flynn, but is a powerful force in the Des Moines social media community, where everyone has something to contribute. Josh is usually the first one to notice and use his considerable influence to point it out. He's also actively involved in the community, a husband and the father of four adorable kids.

Together, Josh and Tony created VineMe, a new social platform that allows users worldwide to crowdsource content by time, subject tags, places and people. The content is indexed and displayed in timeline form, allowing users to organize and search content chronologically. When I first heard of the concept, I scratched my head and said, "Huh?" Josh encouraged me to just sign up start posting photos. He was right. Select a few of your favorite photos, post and you'll get it. Here is a video that explains the concept. Happy Vining! And congratulations, Josh and Tony! WORD! 

Anatomy of a Good Blogger Pitch Email

There is no doubt that the PR profession is profoundly changing. As the months slip by, I can't stress this enough: Press releases are passé. PR professionals are forced with a decision: Get with it, or get out of the profession.

A few weeks ago, I got in some hot water with some of my fellow PR professionals for being too tough on a agency employee for sending me an off-topic pitch. Since then, I've received my share of pitches. Copyblogger's Brian Clark really inspired me today, after reading this excellent monster list of recommendations on how to pitch properly.

Since it's never my intention to simply point out what's wrong with our profession - but to try to point out what is right - I'm including this recent email I received, along with my comments, to point out why it works.

Here is the headline and the first paragraph:

It was addressed informally, "Hi, Claire," but that's cool. She spelled my name correctly. Second, she included a crucial detail. Since I contribute material to PR Daily, she immediately made the connection that she was sending this and thought it would be suitable for PR Daily. To be completely honest, the subject line was ok, but could have been a little more exciting. But it was descriptive, at least. Don't waste that crucial real estate with a spammy note such as "press release" or "for your consideration."

She obviously took the time to Google my name, noting my connection to PR Daily. That is crucial when dealing with a reporter or a blogger. It does not take more than 2 minutes to Google each person. If you don't have time to research each person, that means you are spamming your pitch to WAY too many people.

Next, it's a marketing trends story. I occasionally write about that subject. The best part came next. She offered her company as an ongoing resource! And gave me the name of a real person to contact. Cool!

The email was informative, factual, full of good information. The marketing trend link took me to a web page with the information promised. She also took the extra step of including the information into the body of the email in case I just scrolled down to see it.

Appropriately missing was a news release. Why? Because this is NOT NEWS. It's information. It's a huge mistake to use a "news release" format to transmit INFORMATION. This is called a "pitch email," and it's highly effective because it meets the following criteria:

1. On target with what the blogger writes about
2. Personalized and researched
3. Explanatory
4. Valuable information
5. Timely

Well done! I'd love to hear your stories of some great pitches you've received. Thanks for reading!

How to Wing It in a Media Interview

This video is my all-time favorite classic example of a media interview gone bad. It also shows the risks being associated with being named Guy. Here's the backstory, read it before you view the video and it will be even funnier! This is a great case study on how a even a clueless interview subject can be coached by a skilled reporter to give a reasonably sensible interview even if they are unqualified.

I never tire of seeing his facial expression when being introduced! Don't take any chances with your media training. All new spokespersons should be accompanied by a PR rep when they attend interviews.