THINKing

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

I’m now “it” thanks to Jason Falls. This meme – 8 things you didn’t know about me – has been making the rounds for a while and Jason has challenged me to tell you my 8. Here you go, Jason:

#1. I’m probably too old to blog.

What Is PR?

Too many people say PR when they mean media relations. PR is much more than this and those of us in the profession need to ensure that we are educating others about it.

First, let’s review the media aspect of PR. In subsequent posts, we’ll take a look at other PR tactics:

Printed Press Kits: A Contrarian View

Much has been said about the demise of the printed press kit. Online and electronic versions – pundits say – are the way to go. No editors or reporters want to receive printed press kits when they could have electronic versions. Right?

Media Relations Primer

Non-news professionals often have a hard time understanding why their ENORMOUS news announcement, creates barely a ripple in the media.

That’s not to say a news release shouldn’t be done about it. There are audiences besides the media – like employees, customers and trade allies – to whom news releases may be sent. And with today’s online distribution channels like PRWEB, you can go directly to consumers with your news.

Perfecting The Media Pitch

MarketingSherpa has a good article (open access to this link until December 7) quoting PR expert Benjamin Lewis on tips and tricks of his trade on how to pitch journalists — many of them are right out of his new book, ‘Perfecting the Pitch.’

Top 8 Media Relations Links

In case you missed it, here are 8 links to a series of my previous posts that instruct you on how to develop and implement a media relations program.

Media Relations 101

In The Beginning There Was News

What Is News? 

Media Relations Dos & Don’ts

Know Your Media – Radio

There’s good news and there’s bad news where radio is concerned. Radio has the least lasting impact of the major media, but it conveys the news faster than the other two. And, unlike television or newspapers, once a story airs on the radio, it is apt to be reused several times during the day. For in-depth stories, radio stations often have talk shows that provide outstanding opportunities to present information.

Ad Buyers Shuffle The Cards

A look at Nielsen’s latest report shows that ad spending in the first half of 2007 softened about .5% as compared to 2006. But that is not the story. A look behind the figures tells us that organizations buying advertising are changing the mix and big, traditional media is the loser. MediaPost reports,

Media Fusion

Seems odd, but more than 18% of internet users visit radio sites each month and listen to programming while they are there. According to Media Daily News:

Go Local – Online Ad Spending At $2.9 Billion In 2007

More advertisers are going local with their online dollars. According to eMarketer, local online ad spending will approach $3 billion this year. Additionally, eMarketer says, online is eclipsing radio, which itself is moving into a new category: audio.

Here’s a piece I wrote last year on local online advertising. It still applies.