VI: Please share a little about your professional background. How long have you been in PR?
SP: I’ve been in PR for 16 years. Prior to that I was a journalist for 12 years, with time spent in both trade publications and daily newspapers. Journalism was great preparation for PR because I had a great feel for what reporters desire in terms of business news. On the flip side I had a very rigid definition of news based on my journalism experience and I had to learn how to look at increasing the news value of an announcement.

VI: What do you look for in a good PR story? What makes for a compelling story?
SP: First, I consider which publications might be interested in a story. If it’s a story that I think would attract the eye of the Wall Street Journal, that’s the absolute best. If it’s only interesting to a very focused trade publication, that’s a less compelling story based on the limited readership.

The broadest stories are the best. If a story would interest my mom, that’s a very broad topic relevant to many. If it’s something that would be compelling only to a PhD statistician, that’s very limited. However, you have to do both to reach all audiences.

Another consideration is that a business story has to be told in a way that shows the benefit to a reader who might be considering a purchase. In B2B PR, that’s the bottom line: sell more stuff. It’s too easy to fall into telling the story in an inwardly focused way. How much would you care about a news story that describes a company’s strategy for defeating the competition vs. a story that told you how a new product can save you money and make your job easier.

A good story has to have some independent validation. Sure, every company can go on and on about why its products are best, but that’s hardly an independent information source. Isn’t the information more credible if it comes from the lips of another customer or independent observer? The best PR stories always rely on independent validation in some way.

VI: What’s the big deal about coining the right subject line? Why is that so important?
SP: Editors, reporters and bloggers are often flooded with news releases and story pitches. Just as a new release is structured to have the most compelling information in the headline or top of the text, so too must emails have a compelling subject line. They may never be opened otherwise. At the same time it’s important to be brief and factual in the subject line. If you write a subject line that you think might “tease” a reporter in opening the email, you run a big risk of annoying them. Brevity is best—try to capture the essence in a few words.

VI: Is writing a press release a form of storytelling and if so how is it different from other forms?
SP: Yes, writing a press release is a form of storytelling and that seems to be the hot term right now in marketing and PR. But it’s not a chronological narrative where you typically start at the beginning and follow the thread. The story might be how a product creates value for customers, or how one customer used it for competitive advantage. The story might be told with the ending (product value) cited up front and then moving backwards on how they came to that positive result.

VI: How do you think the field of PR is evolving over the years?
SP: The big change, of course, came from the development of email and the Internet. Before then you were dealing with print publications and news releases were spread through wire services and overnight mail. Go back further and it was largely snail mail and press conferences. Print is evaporating, press conferences are much more infrequent and any kind of hard copy news release distribution is virtually extinct. So, the tools have fundamentally changed in the last two decades.

As the methods have changed so have the targets changed for PR professionals. In the print age, PR was only focused on editors and reporters because they were the gatekeepers to spread the word of company news to the broader public. Now the PR audience directly reaches the press and other audiences. Certainly bloggers and other market influencers are now part of the target. And PR also directly reaches the public. Consider the effect of technologies such as search engines. Someone might be interested in a certain topic and use Google alerts or RSS feeds which pull in news releases even if the reader isn’t press. Because of this there is a huge emphasis on search engine optimization of news releases.

VI: Parting words. What advice would you give to upcoming PR professionals?
SP: Constantly improve your writing and learn as much as you can about the business (or non-profit) you are promoting. The writing is critical. Avoid falling into marketing-speak and clichés. For example, I cringe when I hear someone say “game changer” because it is currently so overused.

Try writing things simply. A good example is the word “utilize,” which is just a pompous way of saying “use.” And remember that improving your writing is a career-long process that doesn’t end when you graduate college. You have to have a bit of a thick skin to be in PR but the most important aspect of this is when you receive feedback on your writing.

Feel free to tweet, like and comment if you enjoyed hearing from Steve and learning about what a crucial role content plays in building brand images.

Photo by FindYourSearch

Related post –
Traits of a solid PR professional

We have been progressively evolving as an online generation, a far cry from the Flintstones in the Stone Age! Just looking back at our contemporary historical periods since the past few decades, we have made major strides through the years.

We’ve evolved from the Machine Age dealing with gigantic mass production machinery to the Information Age which has been about digitizing our economy, dispelling volumes of information using technology. This era also brought the onset of computers – a game changer in the way modern society started communicating. The rapid evolution of computers and the web in our daily life meant dissolving boundaries. It meant faster and more real-time communication, international knowledge exchange and learning, exploring and tapping into personalized needs, changing how we do business via e-commerce.

The Information Age gave birth to a digitized world mimicking and surpassing all that transpires through our physical interactions. What we see, hear, learn, who we befriend, share with, communicate and collaborate with have been made available electronically.

You can like, dislike, comment, poke, vote, buy, sell, promote, recommend..and much more digitally! This led to the metamorphosis of our Social Age. An era that has humanized technology focusing on the many forms of societal interactions and amplifying our inherent need to communicate, express, show and tell.

You can now make a new friend on Facebook, date online via Match.com, look for a job on Monster, connect with a business associate on LinkedIn, buy your latest book on Amazon, share your vacation pictures on Flickr, tweet about what you ate for lunch on Twitter, look up your ancestors on Ancestry.com or even publish your life history on Blogger.

The World Wide Web has made us a closely knit modern society leaving behind a huge digital footprint of our lives. So while my generation might still make a trip to the Smithsonian museum to look at the first species of dinosaurs, there’s no telling where the future generations might look to learn about us a species!

Standing on the bridge of Big Dinosaurs to Big Data the future landscape appears infinite! There’s no telling what this new era will bring with it, and the potential implications of Big Data for our future?

 So what archaeological finds do you think your great, great great grandchildren will find, while digging for your information? What’s your prediction?!

Photos by JD Hancock and algogenius

Just like the Matrix our virtual online world is growing in leaps and bounds given the instant access and power to connect with millions with the click of a button. New age gadgets, smart phones and digital apps have enabled us to become digital journalists and evangelists in our own right. But just like Uncle Ben would constantly remind Peter Parker, Spider Man’s alter ego, this is a constant reminder to us too that “with great power comes great responsibility”.

Whether you are in-focus in front of the camera or behind the lens using your smart phones, it’s important to watch how you portray yourself in front of others. With our increasing participation as an invited speaker or as an active audience member we ‘all’ have a role to play particularly while attending corporate events and conferences. Here are some quick and easy dos and don’ts to keep in mind.

Don’t let your Surrogates get larger and overtake you. (I’ve hyperlinked to the movie wiki incase you’re now curious about this movie.) But getting back to the point, keep the decorum and maintain your tweeting etiquette especially while live tweeting at events. Be your own PR proponent and try not to get yourself in the foot-in-the -mouth predicament.

Easy tip – Unlike Vegas, what’s stated on Facebook or LinkedIn travels all over the digital world and back! So keep it professional, friendly and informative.

People do judge a book by its cover – Let’s face it, we live in a multi-tasking era with “time” being a precious commodity than ever before. So why waste time in creating your first impression that would detract away from ‘who you are’ as a person. Make it easy on others and dress appropriately keeping your end goal in mind.

Easy tip – While attending formal events, don’t dress per your mood or climate, dress per the occasion. Leave your guests with a positive lasting impression vs. a haunting impression!

Don’t ever lose track of the limelight – Yes, when it comes to participating at corporate events, you do have a role to play. You are a brand ambassador for your company no matter what your job title states. A lot of factors contribute towards how a company’s brand image is created. Their ‘people’ play one of the largest roles as it has a direct correlation to a good customer experience.

So project yourself in the best possible light, both literally and more importantly figuratively. You never know when you are being watched and by whom, especially when most of the events these days are being livestreamed and posted on YouTube.

Easy tip – Stay away from inside jokes and gossip instead stay cheerful and project a positive image.

Stay mindful of these easy tips and you’d be a superstar at any given event! Can you think of any others to add to this list? Let’s hear from you!

Photo by Hamed Saber

One unique trait of us as humans is our resilience and creativity in the face of adversity. Our ability to think creatively towards a solution is challenged the most during extraordinary times. This ability comes from our instinctual survival techniques right from our Stone Age that has taught us to not just to survive but thrive over the centuries.

Different factors such as the environment, economy and society have gone through several cycles of change raising with it our stakes to discover, improvise and reinvent ourselves with the times. Changing times have given rise to changing needs – giving birth to new opportunities for growth and development, on a personal level as well as a sociological level.

Today, we live in a technology-driven society that dictates how we interact, communicate and do business with each other. We have all become creatures of modern comfort in a gadget-friendly world allowing us to fulfill our different needs and aimed at making our lives easier. However, on a fundamental level our primary needs have always been centered on survival and sustenance.

That got me thinking about what skills are needed to thrive and sustain in today’s modern workforce? I reached out to a few of the thought leaders while at SAS to seek their advice and opinion. I was looking forward to hearing what they had to say coming from different backgrounds, sensibilities and with over 140 years of collective experience! What I learnt in return was both surprising and delightful. Sharing their collective revelations below:

Adele Sweetwood – Vice President, Americas Marketing - The one skill would be communication – all forms, verbal, written, presentation… With the right communication, you will enable all aspects of growth and leadership. If you were to ask me about the one ‘trait’, I would say, authenticity. People respond positively when you are genuine.

Diana Levey – Marketing Director, JMP - You need to be flexible. Whether you’re at home or in the office, things seldom go as planned. So being able to change on a dime without getting flustered or having your nose out of joint is about as important a trait or skill as I know of.

Jenn Mann – Vice President, Human Resources - Regardless of your industry, it is important to not only be competent in your area, but to have the right attitude. Talent is not enough! Attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team. The right attitude also could refer to a “positive attitude”. What I mean by the right attitude is:

• Willingness to admit mistakes
• Seeing strengths in others and nurturing those strengths
• Not taking yourself too seriously
• Living life with some humility
• Having a “can do” attitude

Paul Kent – Vice President, Platform Research and Development - Be useful! You have to combine your technical skills with your sensory ones. Identify an area this is being underserved and apply yourself to it. (Cheerfully is always a good modifier). Your peers and hopefully your boss too, will recognize you for this. The harder question is how does one learn/practice/polish their “useful bone”…that’s usually called work-experience!

Radhika Kulkarni – Vice President, Advanced Analytics - Communication is a very important skill in all careers. Listen to all the input and be open to all the feedback given to you. Learn to articulate your message in a language that is understood by your audience. This is especially important when you work in a cross-functional team with diverse skills where everyone contributes one piece of a larger picture.

Scott VanValkenburgh – Senior Director, Alliances - Empathy. It may sound a bit strange, but empathy towards your own life, its limits and possibilities and empathy towards others. This helps bring perspective, balance and understanding in both your personal and professional relationships. Today, the need and positive effect of human interaction and connection is at an all-time high, and unless you have empathy, one’s career and life will fall short of its full potential.

Suzanne Gordon – Chief Information Officer and Vice President of IT - If you are a ‘manager’ I would say, it’s building an atmosphere of trust where collaboration can happen easily and swiftly. You need to listen to the people that work for you, you need to encourage them to work out issues amongst themselves and not run to you with problems. You need to support and trust them and hire good people! If you are an ‘individual contributor’ I would say its persistence, not giving up if you have a good idea.

Suzanne sums it best for us by sharing this quote, “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather

Did their advice resonate with you? Can you think of any other skill you believe is vital to thrive and sustain in today’s economy? Let’s hear it.

Photo by country_boy_shane

I believe that no matter where you are in your career path – beginner, experienced or advanced – it’s important to stay on your toes and nurture the quality of being naturally curious. As humans we all are born with this innate capability of curiosity. As children this quality is further pronounced as we try to engage with and explore the world around us. It’s through this formative emotion that represents a drive to investigate, understand, and learn new things while we go through life and experience things for the first time.

At every stage of our life, we all experience moments that are new and novel to us that require sense making. We attempt to tread that and learn about it in many ways, one of which we’ve all done as children – ask questions! Asking questions and quenching that curiosity centered on a new thing has been an age old tradition that we’ve all graduated from one stage to another as children to adults. It has helped us discover, challenge and stimulate our intellectual curiosity as we mature through the years.

Even through our vocational life, it’s equally important that we try to retain that quality that keeps the learning alive and informational interviews are a great way to achieve that. We all are gifted with the abundance of collective intelligence and knowledge bank gained from our existing network of smart, intelligent and experienced peers and seniors. Each one of us brings something unique to the table based on our background, skills and cultural sensibilities. So why not tap into that collective intelligence of your network to extend and strengthen your vocational learning?

Whether you are out there seeking your first break and trying to get a leg in after college, thinking of transitioning and making a complete career switch from one field to another or vying for the success ladder to get a promotion in your existing job, informational interviews can be a useful medium to help achieve that.

Important considerations – Although I address these types of meetings as ‘interviews’ there is a stark difference in these types of interviews with regular ‘job interviews’ and hence should be treated differently. The focus of this interview should be:

• Treat it as an opportunity for self-discovery and self-assessment
• Ask relevant questions centered on that person’s career, company and profession                          
• Explore the career opportunities that lie within
• Use it as an avenue to find your motivation and inspiration seeking advice from someone you admire
•  To network and build on a new contact
• Overall, really treat it as a learning ground to prepare, improve and build on your skills, qualifications and profession
• The most important differentiator being, do not treat this opportunity as a back-door entry to a job. Don’t go blatantly seeking a job, it can potentially put-off your interviewee and might result in cutting short your interview time, where you could’ve spent all that time asking great questions and getting to know your contact better!
• Keep an open mind, respect their time and always walk away thanking your contact for their time and advice.

If done right, you would’ve walked away not only having made a new contact, but someone who could potentially be your mentor down the road, with continued interaction

In addition to acquiring the standard job interviews, seeking the right informational interviews and having the ability to conduct these tactfully will in many ways catapult you and your career in the right direction. So don’t be afraid to ask questions and share that knowledge with your network. Wouldn’t you agree?

Photo by ankakay

As part of WIN, I was glad to attend and participate in both of the recent events. The first was a discussion panel made up of our very own SAS stars in February “How Agile is your Career?” A shout out to Jenn Mann, Suzanne Gordon, Adele Sweetwood, Jamie Robbins, and Nelle Schantz for making this an entertaining, engaging and informative panel for us with active audience participation! The one I attended yesterday via webcast was a talk on “How to Perform Like a Rock star & Still Have Time for Lunch” by author Orna Drawas. She used the art of storytelling and shared anecdotes from her own life to engage with the audience and offer secrets of her success in her career thus far.

I, for one, learn and remember better by writing things down, especially inspirational words and hand-me-down wisdoms. Here is a brief recap of what struck me as commonalities from our speakers to the road of success, be it your career or family life.

Being successful is a relative term and more importantly, a state of mind – Each one of us owns a different yard stick to measure our own accomplishments and a path that leads to our happiness. It’s like one of those fuzzy words that Orna spoke about that can be open to interpretation by different people. The goal to ‘being successful’ is not relative to another person’s success or ‘idea of success’ but an internal drive and zest to do better in our daily lives – all the little things that lead to a bigger milestone in our lives. So the trick is to not be afraid to carve your own path and take baby steps to achieve it at your own pace.

Treat your personality like putty – Play with it till you like the shape that emerges. I state this with a caveat that it does not literally mean swaying with the lightest breeze! Fact is there is always room for improvement and creativity, so don’t deprive yourself of what you can become by being closed-minded and rigid. The trick in that lies with truly listening to what others have to say about you and finding creative ways to improve upon that sense of self without feeling attacked or defensive. More importantly, it comes with a quiet sense of inner confidence and faith in yourself that will help you strive higher.

Don’t take yourself too hard or seriously – This was a repeated theme that jumped out to me, as much as it is important to be goal centric, purposeful and conscientious of how we lead our lives, it’s almost necessary that we don’t forget to have fun. The trick is to retain the ability to see the lighter side of things in life. There’s a great deal to learn from who we all were, as kids! Adventurous, unassuming, playful, creative and innocent. I’m sure life will throw us challenges at every turn and corner, winners are those who ‘sharpen their saw’ and the ability to cope with it all and emerge triumphant!

Just my two cents! Would love to hear your perspective on it.

Photo by FindYourSearch

Live tweeting offers a great way to stay plugged in to the key happenings around an event both for attendees and for those unable to attend the event physically. Typically, when it comes to large events it’s nearly impossible to hit all the places when there are concurrent presentations or workshops happening at different places. You have to pick and choose and prioritize one over the other. Here’s where live tweeting serves as a great online collaborative platform to catch a glimpse of what is happening on the other side of the hall.

So why would you want to live tweet? Well, your reasons may be multifold but the consequent benefits all drive back to relationship building. Twitter is a wonderful new age tool to create, nurture and build on those relationships. Through live tweeting you may gain new like-minded followers and establish new relationships with them at the conference. It can be your initial step to building on your network and forming new contacts at such events. It further allows for an opportunity of collective learning from each other and strengthening your online identity and reputation.

Live tweeting is very similar to sending a typical tweet that involves sharing timely updates on the twitter stream during an ongoing event, workshop or keynote to reach and engage with a broader audience. Different people follow different tweet styles. Some people like to tweet every event status such as – “Joe speaker just entered the stage.” Others may choose to describe the mood in the room: “Joe speaker addresses a room full of excited attendees cheering him on.” Then there are others that tweet direct quotes from the speakers versus the ones that like to opine or tweet out their own two cents about the speaker and the event. The visual learners may choose to capture moments by uploading and tweeting photos on the fly. While there is no ‘one-tweet-fits-all’ formula, I offer some collective advice to help maximize your twitter experience at large events. Listed in no particular order:

1. Use the official Hashtag: Many events these days promote an official hashtag for the entire conference or even individual breakout sessions. While this might sound like an obvious one, using the hashtag in your tweets helps streamline all connected conversations on that topic making content easily searchable by the users. Here’s an example: Insightful presentation by Joe speaker on the future of Business Analytics #abaws.

2. Reference who you are quoting: If you are quoting or referring someone who you know has a twitter handle make sure you use it by adding the @ followed by their twitter name. For example: @Joespeaker: what’s new with the cloud computing world? It allows for them to engage and participate further in those ongoing conversations.

3. Make it interesting, relevant and resourceful: Just like engaging in any cocktail party, try to ensure that when you speak/ tweet you have something witty, useful or insightful to add to those conversations. Aim to add value when participating. Don’t tweet for the sake of RT’s (retweets). If people find it interesting they will pick it up and spread it on, but that should not be your motivating factor.

4. Listen and engage: Twitter etiquette is very comparable to our physical standards. We try not to interrupt someone when they are talking. No profane language to express our displeasure, or yelling over another person while they are trying to make their point. Why should we behave any differently when it comes to our virtual chats?!

5. Make it conversational: Treat Twitter as a social exchange platform versus a one way channel to push your content. Look out for responses. If people react to your tweets or ask you a question acknowledge it immediately and make it a priority to respond to them. It’s all about creating a dialogue with your audience rather than making it a one-sided broadcast.

6. Lastly but most importantly, be your genuine self: People will naturally gravitate to you online if you show them your natural self. Don’t try to project a side of you that you are not in real life. If you like humor, or are the pensive kinds let that side of you reflect online. Let your tweets be a reflection of who you are in real life, that will make these conversations that much more fun and engaging!

Can you think of other tips or tricks to add to this list? Feel free to respond with your comments.

Until then, happy tweeting!

Related posts –
7 Tips to Live Tweet an Event Effectively
Tips For “Live Tweeting” An Event
How to Live Tweet an Event

Photo by: wissam_ali

With the advent of social media, there has been a lot of chatter about its usefulness as well as many raised eyebrows regarding its benefits. A lot of people are still left wondering, how and why social media is even important and relevant to what they do. Most people who are skeptical about joining the bandwagon want to first know what the ROI will be for investing their time in social media. Is it even worth the time or is it better left to the teenyboppers who pride themselves on updating their social status by the minute!?

I believe social media has something to offer everybody; it depends on how and to what extent you use it. It’s not a one-size-fits-all glove, but really depends on what you make of it and how willing you are to venture into it in the first place.

My personal ROI for investing in social media over the past several months has been very apparent. The most apparent return is that it has led me to a contract job opportunity at SAS. Here’s how social media helped me achieve that.

My initial escapades with social media started at a curiosity level, while I experimented with it on a trial and error basis. The truth is, I’m still exploring, as I still do not know or totally understand the full impact of these social media platforms. I started with what made me comfortable: I created a LinkedIn profile and filled out my background and skill sets. I also made it a point to upload a professional photo. I figured people register things better when they associate a visual against any data. I started building connections and strengthened my network online. This took a considerable amount of time, as I’d spend hours trying to research people and companies I admired and wanted to connect with.

I made it a point to customize my LinkedIn invite, which typically included a very short introduction, what I have in common with the contact, and why I would like to connect with them. I think it was this approach that gave me a better response rate in building new connections. I always tried to keep my end goal in mind, in this case it was building a stronger and richer network of people that I could emulate and learn from in my field of interest.

Twitter gave me the opportunity to follow these people, read what they tweeted about and even engage in those conversations with no strings attached! Twitter, like most social sites is merely a tool created for us to use at our own discretion. Garbage in is garbage out! If you wish to have fruitful and productive conversations, the onus lies on you to follow the right people you’d like to have real and interesting conversations with. Tune out the mindless chatter by creating lists of people you’d like to follow and focus on those.

Beware, though: What may have started as a 10-minute activity can easily turn into a couple of hours online spent toggling between a dozen or more tabs open on your monitor. So always keep track of time and make a hard stop using a timer (if need be) so you don’t go overboard with it. Time management is key here. Brief focused bursts of engagement online on a daily basis helps keep your profile active onscreen.

I tried to mix the old with the new methods of networking. While these tech-savvy social platforms helped give me the initial leverage to connect, I followed through with the old-fashioned way of meeting and greeting over coffee or with an informational meeting. This always helped make the interactions more human aside from our virtual connections. I’m grateful for these opportunities that social media platforms created for me allowing me to make new connections, while preserving old ones, and strengthening my online brand presence through each of these platforms.

While your goals may vary ranging from brand awareness, networking, relationship building, or strengthening customer connections, all it takes is an open mindset, adventurous spirit and the willingness to invest a small portion of your day on these sites, and the ROI can be huge in the long run.

What has been your experience using social media, how has it helped you?

Photo by Keith Burtis