Understanding the environmental and financial impact of the 1,400 page Carbon Credit Bill before Congress may seem a bit daunting.
Understanding the environmental and financial impact of the 1,400 page Carbon Credit Bill before Congress may seem a bit daunting.
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on July 03, 2009 at 05:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Delivering PR Value to our Clients and Employers in the Web 2.0 World
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on May 23, 2009 at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
When a new business prospects asks:
"What do you know about my industry?"
There is no greater joy than to be able to respond with:
"I wrote the book on it!"
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on April 20, 2009 at 09:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on April 04, 2009 at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
But if you are frustrated looking for that first job, consider these suggestions to get you through.
1. Try to freelance for a weekly newspaper covering town meetings. It will give you practice writing and thinking like a reporter -- essential PR skills. And you will learn a lesson in making a dull zoning board meeting sound interesting. You will also learn how to find the issue and see both sides of it. Plus you will get paid for writing something, that first $25 check will be a big ego boost.
2. Cable companies all have studios and local news operations, where you can volunteer and learn basic TV news production skills -- from camera operation to floor manager to editing on Final Cut Pro.
3. Write one article for the school paper before you graduate -- at least you will have a news clip to show prospective employers.
4. Join the US Army, US Air Force or US Navy. Talk to a local recruiter about getting into Armed Forces Radio and Television (AFRTS) or becoming part of the information operation of a military branch -- best training you will ever get in PR, News and Life! And, despite all the misconceptions about "having to take orders," you will get more responsibility, respect for your position and have more authority a lot faster than in any civilian job you can get right out of school -- whether you are a young officer or enlisted person. (There are also reserve slots available, so you can combine work with military experience and training.)
5. Volunteer for a social action or church group -- take the organization on as you would a client and promote them like crazy.
6. Find an aunt, uncle or neighbor who owns a business and offer free PR services for the summer. Then ask a local PR agency to give you some guidance... most pros will share their knowledge. Even a tiny business needs a news release now and then.
7. Go to graduate school in public relations or journalism. Go to a university near where you want to work -- e.g. BU for Boston, NYU or Columbia for New York. You will make old-school-tie contacts that will pay off for years. Take Media Bistro courses to hone your skills in various aspects of PR and writing -- www.mediabistro.com.
8. Go to law school -- and forget the whole thing!
9. Produce your first feature film or documentary -- pay for it with your parents' credit cards and enter it into film festivals, hoping for the best. If your film gets selected you will meet a lot of interesting, creative and media savvy people.
10. Don't sweat it -- get the folks to buy you an SLR digital camera and a really good flash for graduation, and travel on the cheap to Asia, The Middle East or Europe. Keep sending your pictures out to magazines and your local paper... just get something published!
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on March 25, 2009 at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
FAST FORWARD
Of course it is not either or. Clients who say they ONLY want to be on the Web or only in print miss five points that all argue for an integrated approach to communication.
1. So many people get customized news reports based on their own search words e.g. specific interests -- so if you sell Atlantic char, chances are you will reach Atlantic char buyers directly through Web visibility.
2. A feature article in Restaurant News about ones Atlantic char distribution operation will pay off in prestige and image a.k.a. brand equity. Note too that reporters, with Restaurant News and other print media outlets, look for information and news sources on the Web just like everyone else. More web exposure increases the likelihood of getting more editorial attention.
3. Dominating Google searches also comes into play. The more exposure a company has on the Web, the more it will fill two or three pages when a prospective customer or client checks out the company using Google. That helps to reinforce a buying decision.
4. Immediacy -- by targeting Web media, we can be pretty sure (if the story has a modicum of news value) that we will get a placement on a Web version of a major media outlet right away; be it The Boston Globe or just the other day we got our client covered by the Khaleej News in Dubai, UAE. Those placements can be easily "clipped" and sent to stakeholders. The placement in Khaleej also tells constituents that my client is firmly positioned in the Middle East.
5. Control your message -- When a crisis erupts, you may just want to get out there with your side of the story, carefully crafted with the details and context included precisely the way you want. These types of placements do not do much to win over detractors, but they certainly bolster support among allies.
And ... in case anyone missed it, the candidate who understood the value of the Web and continues to use it as a way to communicate and build community won the Presidential election and the other guy didn't
Dick Pirozzolo
781-235-9911
The Public Relations Training Board
( www.publicrelationstraining.org )
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on February 24, 2009 at 06:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
I read an interesting item from Chris Taylor, marketing miracle worker for Silicon Valley Success Stories and founder/CEO of The Tager Group (http://www.tagergroup.com). Chris has wisely branded his company www.tagergroup.com/ as "Your marketing department tm" Smart move -- all too often outside consultants get pigeonholed as implementers, doers --- and in some cases clients use the dreaded term "vendor" to describe their brilliant marketing and PR firms.
Chris points out in his entry for Pro Marketers, a LinkedIn
forum for industry professionals, "It always surprises me how often companies don't have real
marketing plans or answers to the core questions a marketing plan is designed
to address. By "real" I mean a good analysis of the market, the
competition, themselves. A SWOT analysis delving into Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats. Being able to articulate their value proposition,
their positioning, their key messages. Measurable objectives with the
strategies and tactics to achieve them."
Chris also points out, "I built a template about ten
years ago and have used it over and over to great success. I know there are a
million books and sites about building plans. But which are really excellent?
Has planning caught up with the world of web 2.0 -- social marketing, brand
monitoring tools? Realizing that social marketing doesn't make sense for all
companies in all industries, what is on the horizon when it comes to
planning?"
Here is my PR consultant perspective: Gotta have the
marketing plan!
Without a Plan it is too easy to fall into the trap of being
measured against benchmarks such as news releases-per-month or placements per
quarter... that is a vortex that will suck the marketing communication campaign
right down the drain.
Plus you are not positioning yourself high enough in the
corporate structure as a strategic thinker and someone who can get -- and keep
-- a company moving along a path with real goals in terms of awareness,
markets, sales, and mechanisms to deal with problems that occur along the way.
A few random ideas on planning.
Chris is absolutely correct about SWOT -- push the corporate
management team into developing the SWOT plan. What is more, creating the plan
gets everyone involved who interacts with the BOSS. That generates publicly
stated goals which leads to broad
commitment. You want the SWOT plan to be THEIR plan.
Make the plan part of what you get paid for. Minimize the Spec Proposal and, if you can,
abandon the word "proposal' from your lexicon. If you are with an outside
PR agency offer to do "a comprehensive marketing plan" as your first
order of business "once you have been retained."
Evaluation ... Let's
say you send out a thousand news releases on a new software wrinkle your client
has come up with and 2-3 reporters write lousy reviews. A lot of CEOs would
blame the PR person. If you have a plan you can -- at the very outset --
educate the CEO to understand that media feedback is the cheapest market
research a company can do. Reporters are gatekeepers. They get to keep their
jobs because they understand what their public (your customers) want. Heed bad
reviews and make that part of the evaluation process within the original SWOT
plan.
If that doesn’t work remember the words of Motivational Guru
Tony Robbins (http://www.tonyrobbins.com) –
“There is no such thing as failure. There are only results.”
Meet -- it is easier to just keep doing and not
pull the plan down from its virtual shelf, open it and take a tough look at
where you are going. Insist on bi-weekly meetings. Face-time keeps the
marketing communication campaign focused and helps to position you as part of
the management team. A monthly evaluation and a quarterly evaluation with the
whole management team participating is essential.
But I still want to be in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com). Despite enormous changes in communication –
including more recent emergence and impact of social media on corporate
communications -- clients still love to see their name in
print.
Alas, the news hole is getting tighter, print media is shoving more content
online -- the Christian Science Monitor
(http://www.csmonitor.com
) now only publishes an online edition. And reporters are pressed to
churn out copy for hourly
deadlines. It is a constant education process to build a comfort level
among clients that online REALLY matters and that their customers are looking
online for specific information. One way to make your point -- where do your
clients put advertising dollars today? Hmmm pay-per-click, other online
advertising and increasingly interactive, information packed websites media
buys that did not exist a decade ago. The New York Times is nice, but online PR
results matter more when it comes to branding, awareness and SALES.
For more on SWOT visit http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
Dick Pirozzolo
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on January 08, 2009 at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
1. Know Your Product or Service
It seems straightforward, doesn’t it? Well, it is, but unfortunately, there are far too many salespeople who, for one reason or another, have been trying to sell without having a good grasp of what they’re selling. These individuals can have a certain degree of success in a good economy, but they’re the first to fail when the going gets tough. You need to know what you’re selling from top to bottom. You should have every feature and benefit on the tip of your tongue. If you don’t, you need to make this your top priority.
2. Know Your Target Market
Knowing who to sell your product or service to is just as important as knowing what you’re selling. You need to pinpoint who it is that buys what you’re selling and target them specifically. This is especially true during an economic slowdown when you might not have as much to spend on advertising and prospecting.
3. Know Your Competition and Your Competitive Advantage
Your competition is always there, but they’re bound to be more ruthless when there are fewer customers. Start by listing your obvious competitors and then dig a little deeper to discover any others who might be sneaking under your radar. Then, figure out what makes your business different from theirs, and how you can stand apart. Evaluate obvious advantages like cost, features, quality, or distribution, and don’t underestimate other advantages such as location, reputation, or social responsibility.
4. Be a “Proactive” Business Developer
Now is not the time to be waiting for your phone to ring. Make your own opportunities by networking, advertising, making calls, and pounding the pavement. The more you reach out, the more you’ll get in return.
5. Mine the Gold in Your Existing Client Database
Don’t underestimate the value of your existing clients. When business is slow, use the opportunity to call your “regulars” to inform them of new offerings, specials, and volume discounts. You’ll probably be surprised just how much business you’ve been leaving on the table by not contacting them sooner!
6. Don’t Leave Business on the Table- Cross-sell Your Products and Services
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip. Always offer your clients other products or services related to whatever they’re buying. As long as what you’re offering is relevant, they’ll appreciate your suggestions, and they might take you up on what you’re offering, as well.
7. Track Progress and Results
Without tracking your sales processes and results, you will never know what works and what doesn’t. There are plenty of easy-to-use customer relationship management (CRM) software programs that can help you monitor your sales efforts from start to finish. Trust me. They’re well worth the investment.
8. Learn From Your Mistakes
Have you had difficulties with a certain market segment? Or, have you been burned by one particular customer repeatedly? Well, there’s much to learn from these situations. Don’t keep hammering away at someone who isn’t buying from you. Learn from these mistakes, and move on – quickly.
9. Be Persistent
The old adage, “sales is a numbers game” is true, especially when business is slow. Persistency is one of those traits that is common among all successful salespeople. A “don’t give up” mentality is truly one of the most valuable attributes that you can have.
10. Enjoy the Process
Let’s face it. Not everyone is cut out to be a salesperson. Selling should be fun. You should enjoy the challenge and feel the thrill each time you acquire a new customer. If you feel this way about sales, be grateful. There are many others who dread their jobs and would prefer to be doing something else. So, show your enthusiasm, enjoy the process of selling, and succeed.
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on December 29, 2008 at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Social media may baffle business owners over 30 who dismiss the phenomenon as a way for college and high school kids to feed their incessant need to always be in touch. Twitter is especially head scratchworthy. Twitter (http://twitter.com) is designed for making mini-posts that let other Twitter users know what you are doing -- walking the dog, buying a pair of Manolo Blahniks, or watching the Pats vie for a playoff spot. Before you dismiss Twitter as pointless prattle, hold on! Here is how Boston PR guru Roger Bridgeman, CEO of Bridgeman Communications (www.bridgeman.com) sees Twitter, “A lot of B2B companies are dismiss new social media networks such as Twitter. The claim is ‘This may be fine if you’re talking to college students but my customers don’t twitter.’ That may be, how many CEO’s Twitter when they go to lunch? Nevertheless, technology companies are using Twitter as their front line for customer service and satisfaction. Tech companies who deliver business service applications – think Sales.com, a VoIP managed service provider or on-line business service – will see customer complaints on Twitter before they get an angry email. "Case in point. We just converted to a new version of Bacon’s Cision, a B2B media database. We hit a snag with the new interface and one of our young colleagues who was “tweating” a friend just happen to complain. Guess what? Cision monitors Twitter references and a Cision tech rep was on the phone to her in 20 minutes. That’s smart B2B.” And in case anyone is wondering what blogger Dick Pirozzolo is doing at 6 AM on Christmas morning, I'm waiting to open the presents!
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on December 25, 2008 at 06:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The press release is back-and stronger than ever.
Readership of corporate announcements and releases has skyrocketed because the public no longer relies
solely on the press to police and present information. In fact, the general public now comprises 50 percent of
today's release readership online-thanks to online newsrooms, search engines and tools such as RSS. The
potential for communicators seeking to reach audiences directly is staggering. If you can master SEO and
keyword usage, your news could go viral with the push of a button-especially if you're savvy about how
you distribute your announcements. What's more, mainstream media (MSM) is more likely to pick up your news
these days to run on its websites and news feeds-if you can hone your news judgment and think like a journalist
when crafting copy.
Observations are thanks to Bull Dog Reporter editor Brian Pitman bpittman@bulldogreporter.com. FREE
daily news content -- and PR University's audio conference schedules are -- at Bulldog Reporter's Daily 'Dog at
Posted by Dick Pirozzolo on December 18, 2008 at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)


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